Kimmie Steakley Midterm Blogpost

     As I turn and look at the others at the table with me, I am both anxious and excited for what is about to come. It is the 20th annual Philosopher Convention and MTSU happened to be selected to host it. Additionally, I have been chosen to ask a panel of three prominent authors questions about philosophy. These authors are Nigel Warburton, author of A Little History of Philosophy, Julian Baggini, author of How the World Thinks, and Kurt Andersen, author of Fantasyland. As a fan of each of their books, I feel just as excited as the audience seems to be. Finally, the audience settles and I realize it is time to begin. I collect my thoughts and then pose the first questions. 

         

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                     

Me: "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?"

Kurt: I think that the answer is yes. My book focuses mainly on Americans, which I believe most people in this room are, and and the way that we tend to believe whatever we want just because we can. I mention in my book that "We had got started as a land of excitable escapees (and of hustlers and the hustled) determined to spread and devise fantastic new truths, and those origins defined us," (The First Great Delirium). America as we know it was built on fantasies every step of the way. Our roots are still prevalent as we continue to believe in and follow fantasies, no matter how possible they may actually be. We are also often very centralized in our thinking, viewing American history and current matters as most important. I think that Americans, as well as most other people, could benefit from researching philosophies that my help ground them and open their mind to more realistic possibilities. 

Nigel: I want to add onto this by making a callback to my book also. I mention many different Western based philosophers throughout time and their viewpoints. I agree with Kurt that considering many different viewpoints from different people will help a person gain a greater perspective on life itself. As I say in A Little History of Philosophy, "The word ‘philosopher’ comes from the Greek words meaning ‘love of wisdom'," (ALHP 3). Philosophers examine the world in ways that are optimistic, pessimistic, Earth focused, universe focused, and many other differing styles. Many philosophies are based of the philosophies of others, but adapted to fit another thought process. I think that this process can be important for people to do. By examining different philosophies, one can ponder how they themselves view life and consider why other people may think differently. 

Julian: I agree with Kurt and Nigel that the answer to the question is definitely yes. My book delves even more deeply into this concept by focusing on philosophies around the world, not just Western ones. The first chapter of my book describes a philosophical conference that I attended in India, where I noticed that the way they go about discussing philosophy differs greatly from the typical Western style. While thinking it was odd, I then realized that "there was a strong current of animosity towards Western culture and philosophy, directed at both its manifest failings and its condescending sense of superiority to Indian culture, something I fear my sceptical comments might suggest I am guilty of," (HWT 31). I think that we are all guilty of judging other cultures' way of thinking simply because it does not align with what we are used to. Learning about other philosophies, including but not centralized around Western ones, is beneficial to acknowledging the human connection regardless of race, religion, or background. 

Kurt: I am glad that we all seem to agree. Now, what do you think?

     I realize that Kurt has turned to me for an opinion. I panic momentarily, as I am only a host and not a professional philosopher. However, I realize that through reading the works of the men beside me, I have further developed my own personal philosophy and thoughts on the subject. So, I gather my self and respond. 

Me: I definitely agree with all of you. I think that it is interesting in comparing each of your books, as Fantasyland is focused on American philosophy, A Little History of Philosophy is focused on Western philosophy, and How the World Thinks overviews many different philosophies from around the world. I  think that for this question in particular, as mentioned, Julian's work demonstrates this concept very well. Philosophical thinking is something that everyone can do, and it is important to develop your own personal philosophy. It is also important to realize that no one knows everything. While we may disagree with others, it is important to consider the viewpoint that someone else may have, regardless of whether we completely agree with it or not. 

Me: Thank you all for your responses. Now we will move on to the next question, which is " 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?" 

Nigel: I think that there are many possible answers to this question. In short, I have seen that philosophy has continuously evolved as more people add onto existing viewpoints while discovering their own. In comparing history to a piece of paper, we cannot know what has happened until we unfold the paper, and we will not know what the last piece holds until we see it (ALHP 128). There is no way to know for sure what the future holds, but I hope that people will continue to ponder over life while respecting and building off of the views of others. 

 

Kurt: I would hope the same, but again, I have seen that Americans have continued to build their realities off of "truthiness" and hold their own opinions as fact (Now Entering Fantasyland). I have not seen this pattern show signs of stopping, which leads me to believe that Americans will continue to base their views off whatever reality they believe is true unless they look into philosophy and actual truth further. 

 

Julian: To Kurt, I would say that this issue could be resolved not by changing American views entirely, but encouraging Americans to "appreciate better the virtues of their indigenous pragmatic philosophers," (HWT 113). I believe that people should embrace their own views while not disregarding those of others completely. If they do this, we may see a positive trend in how the world will communicate in the future. 

Me: I agree with that view, and I believe that the internet is helping give people a larger database of opinions to view. I think that if people are able to have a civil conversation, such as this one, we will improve as a society.

     We continued on like this for around 45 more minutes. I, along with a few audience members, asked insightful philosophical questions to the authors to see their response. Overall, it ended up being a great event that made me much more inclined to be open minded to many different views in philosophy.

Kimmie Steakley, Section 12