Can Philosophy Help People Face the Truth? Conversation Between Authors

"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, who? If not, why not?"

Proposing this question to authors and philosophers Nigel Warburton, Kurt Anderson, and Julian Baggini I would say that they would all agree that philosophy helps people find truths and beliefs and rejects the fabrications of society. With a conversation among them and myself this is how I imagine it would go:

Kurt Anderson author of Fantasyland would quickly agree, explaining that the growing media is to
blame for the falsehoods being spread by stating, "today we live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, by the governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, political groups..." (FL, 243) Kurt Anderson would agree that philosophy is necessary in making sure people do not believe everything they are told and instead they should use the tool's philosophy provides in order to have more independent thoughts.

Nigel Warburton, the author of A Little History of Philosophy, offers us access to the minds of great philosophers and teaches us to think and act as a philosopher should. Nigel would have us think like Socrates. He would explain that the people who think they know everything are actually the ones who know little and that is why philosophy is and is an important endeavor so we can stay grounded and find the truth rather than believe false pretenses. "The mind shaping reality just is reality. There is nothing beyond it. But his did nit mean that reality remained in a fixed state."(LH, 128) He would agree that the key to a better understanding of life would learn more about philosophy. 

Julian Baggini, the author of How the World Thinks, would also praise philosophy for its tools to help people open their minds and think and agree that it brings a better understanding of different cultures. "My more modest intention has been to find out what we need to understand in order to begin to understand." (HWT, 12) Bagginis book explores the different philosophies around the globe and encourages readers to seek knowledge to better understand oneself. He is one to disagree with the American mindset and to inspire people to learn about other philosophies and cultures and with this, we are led to believe that philosophy encourages diversity. "The solution is not to get American to think less like Americans but to get them to appreciate better the virtues of ingenious pragmatic philosophers."(HWT, 112-113)

I would answer this question by agreeing with the authors. They all provide good reasons to look into Philosophy and to find true beliefs. As humans, I think we forget just how powerful our minds are. Philosophy is a gateway to unleashing new ideas and exploring different beliefs.  Philosophy is about gaining a better knowledge of life. I would agree that philosophy helps us respect the truth and reject lies because philosophy forces us to think. It would also help us respect one another beliefs even if we do not agree because we are only trying to find something to believe in just like everyone else.

I thought is video was a good explanation as to why philosophy is so important. The video explains how philosophy helps us to find the truth and become more independent thinkers.

Another question proposed would be: How would you answer William Jame's "really vital question for us all: What is this world going to be? What is life eventually to make of itself?"                                                                                                           

Kurt Anderson's reply would mainly be about the people of America and how he believes that we can overcome the current turmoils we are in for a better future. "Cultural predispositions and National characters are real, and societies do come to crossroads and make important choices. We regain our national balance and computer...Nations and societies have survived and recovered from far more terrible swerves, eras that felt cataclysmic and they were happening."(FL, 440) With this statement Anderson believes that this "fantasyland" that we created will soon be hit with reality and people are going to want to know the truth.

Nigel Warburtons would reply to this question by stating, "We can't really understand what there is until it has all been unfolded." (LH, 128) He would encourage one to think like Socrates and know that "there is a good chance that the spirit of Socrates will continue to shape its future." (LH, 245)  He would hope that people would learn to think for themselves and with this idea, I would think that he has a positive look on the future of our planet.

Julian Baggini would suggest that we should become more knowledgeable of other cultures and philosophies, therefore becoming more open-minded, and then maybe this world can survive and that people can find what life will make of itself. He states, "My philosophical journey has also convinced me that we cannot understand ourselves if we don't understand others... If cultures are to meet rather than clash, we need to understand not just how others differ from ourselves, but how we differ from them."(HWT, 11-12) I perceived these statements as we will find our purpose in life if we explore all options and maybe we can figure out life then. I would expect Baggini to say that the world could be a better place if we educated ourselves on other people's thoughts and not just our own.

 I would answer this question by saying that we do not have the power to look into the future and that said we should just take each day as it comes and appreciate it. We should try to take care of our planet and each other for a better future. The state of our world at the moment is not the greatest but like Anderson, I believe that we can overcome any obstacles.

Kiera Riordan: Section 12