Adam Hachicho Midterm Post

 

Adam: Hello guys and welcome to another weekly interview on my channel. I have three special guests that everyone has been requesting me to interview. They are well known Philosophers, authors, speakers, and much more. We are all joined here today to discuss the importance of Philosophy in our life and how it could help us in the future. Okay Gentlemen let us get into it but first start off by introducing yourselves to the viewers who may or may not know you.

 

Kurt Andersen:  Thank you for having us here today Adam, My name is Kurt
Anderson and I am the author of “Fantasy Land: How America Went Haywire” and the host of erstwhile Peabody-winning public radio program Studio 360.

 

Julian Baggini:  Hello everyone! Thank you again Adam for having us it is a pleasure to be present here with you guys. My name is Julian Baggini, and I am the author of “How the World Thinks” and 20 other books about Philosophy. I am as well a co-founder of Philosophers’ Magazine.

 

Nigel Warburton: Hello! My name is Nigel Warburton, and I am the author of “A Little History of Philosophy. I am excited and looking forward for this interview today.

Adam:  Thank you guys for being here today and let us head straight to the topic. To start it of with a very important question "Do you think philosophy can help people learn to respect truth, facts, reality, and one another, and to reject falsehood, superstition, selfishness, polarization, partisanship, and mutual hostility based on differences of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, belief, etc.? If so, how? If not, why not?”

 

Julian: In Our world nowadays, people overlook the importance of Philosophy and how it can help solve many of our current world problems. Learning philosophy can help people learn about respect especially towards each other. It opens the mind and helps people accept others no matter what race, ethnicity, religion, or skin color. As I stated in my book, “Social harmony is for us the summum bonum – the greatest good. Harmony is linked with the value of ubuntu, which emphasizes the bonds of humanity between us.” (HTWT 246). Social harmony is an important factor in our lives but due to politic, and separation in our country it has been neglected. I would also like to add on how Western like us view harmony in a way that it could negatively impact us which is completely wrong. After studying harmonies from all around the world I learned that their Harmony is different. They please one another rather than pleasing themselves first. I also stated in my book, ““Harmony consists of opposing tension, like that of the bow and lyre” (HTWT 225).

 

Kurt:  I agree with what you said Julian, but I want to add onto this by focusing on my book Fantasy Land. I personally do think that philosophy can help you find the truth, but us Americans believe in illusions and misconceptions rather that learning and accepting the truth even if it does not match our ideal life. I imply this because as I mentioned in my book, “If I think it is true, no matter why or how I think it is true, then it is true, and nobody can tell me otherwise” (FL 49). Our founding fathers built this landing with a mindset that The United States is a free country, and we tend to believe whatever satisfies our need not what is better for everyone. “Dedicated to blurring the lines between the fictional and the real, people in the living history world became focused on what they called the authenticity of their simulations” (FL 224). I talked more about on a live interview with PBS news. At the end to answer your question Adam my answer would be No. We are so deep in fantasies that we got used to the fact that the truth can be whatever we want it to be.

 

Nigel:  To start off your question, I will say that Philosophy is important and is neglected by many people. People might ask what do you mean by the word “philosopher”? I would answer that question in one simple sentence as mentioned in my book, "The word “philosopher” comes from the Greek words meaning ‘love of wisdom” (ALHP 3).  Being a philosopher simply makes your life better by being unbiased and accepting of all ideas. People nowadays are never satisfied with what they got and seek things that are not as valuable but helps ease their pleasure and happiness. “We are all caught up in a hopeless cycle of wanting things, and getting them, and then wanting more” (ALHP 132). People are just brain washed by television, social media, celebrities, and political views that alters their decisions and emotions. So yes, Philosophy helps people understand the truth and provide more facts. On the other hand, regarding religion, and race it depends on the way people are raised and their ideals. Parents and family member can alter their children’s point of view towards people with different religion or race could alter their thoughts and actions towards them.

 

Adam:  I definitely agree with all you guys, especially Nigel. Philosophy is very important and with the right knowledge your life path would be completely different and unbiased. One more question for you guys, “How would you answer William James's "really vital question for us all: What is this world going to be? What is life eventually to make of itself?".

 

Kurt: I believe that there is no stopping what is happening now. People are entitled to their fantasies and are blinded by their own knowledge of truth, and without understanding and looking into Philosophy things are going to go to the worst.

Nigel: I do disagree with Kurt here. I really do believe that with further knowledge and studying philosophy, people would rise and help shape the future and have the true characteristics of a philosopher and really understand the love of wisdom.

 

Julian:  I am going to back Nigel and say that even though we are currently divided, I do believe that philosophy is helping people adapt and change their ideals and morals towards the better and hopefully one day we become a better version for the future.

 

Adam:  Thank you guys for being here with me today and addressing this important situation. It has been a pleasure and thank you all for watching this interview and Goodnight!