On Monday
afternoon, it was really nice day, and I invited this awesome author which are
Julian Baggini, Nigel Warburton, and Kurt Andersen at Starbucks or Panera
Bread. I was so excited and had a lot of question but there is the one question
I want to ask. I got there and we were
sitting in a corner full of I library books. I welcome them. Please all sit
down. I would like to introduce myself.
Everyone: Hello Betsy
Akpotu!!!
Betsy: Now let get
started. I have question for each of you. “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 religion,
ethnicity, nationality, belief, etc.? If so, how? If not, why not?”
Betsy: Baggini, you were
first to raise your hand and I am sorry, I felt like calling you Genie in
Aladdin because that is interesting name to call you.
Baggini: That is okay.
Hahahaha. I prefer that anyway. Well that a twisty question and I do not know.
The way I see it is what do people think of this day and back in the past.
Philosophy is the unknown, what we do and time and our history of what happen
plus karma can bit you in the butt.
Betsy: Hahahah, so you
are saying is there no end in the cycle.
Genie: Close, (“Our days
are organized by the progression of the clock, the short to medium term by
calendars and diaries, history by timelines stretching back over millennia. In
the beginning was the end. All culture sense of past, present and future, but
for much of human history this has been underpinned by a more fundamental sense
of time as cyclical p.107 HWT,”)
Betsy: Alright, Kurt Andersen, what do you do
you think of this question.
Andersen: Hmmm…All I can
say is this and this also hard question for me as well. What happen, already
happen. Philosophy may or may not help for some people either its in the
religion side or the other side. It depends on you.
Betsy: Interesting. Can
explain more for me.
Andersen: Sure. The
philosophers of the eight tenth century explained the gradual decay of
religious faith in way very simple manner. Religious zeal, said they, must
necessarily fail, the more generally liberty is established, and knowledge
diffused. Unfortunately, facts are by no means I accordance with their theory…
America one of the freest… nations in the world fulfils all the outward duties
of religious fervor… In the North they are… superstitious and hypocritical in
their religion and In the South, they are… without attachment or pretensions to
any religion but that of the heart (FL p.60-64)
Betsy: Okay and finally
Nigel Warburton. What do you think about this question?
Warburton: What I see is
this. People ask a lot of question that we still do not have the answers. Its
your belief. What you see you do but your actions lead to your consequences.
For example, everyone are seeking happiness and no more judging other people
religion, if there is God then God exist, if not then we you make your own
belief. No one is perfect but do not push people limits. Pascal, Epicurus, and
Boethius are relative in between. Epicurus said that we should not fear death,
but Pascal said if you aren’t sure whether God exists, what should you do?
Obviously, there is a risk that you be on God and lose: that God turns out not
to exist. But that is a risk you should take. Boethius provided a link back to
the Ancient Greek Plato and Aristotle Happiness has to come from something that
is more solid, something that can’t be taken away. (Chapter 4, 7, and 12. LH)
Betsy: Thank You so much.
Baggini, Warburton, and Anderson. I really do appreciate and your best opinion
on this.
Warburton: I have a
question for you.
Betsy: Yes
Warburton: What do you
think.
Baggini: Yeah, I curious
too. What you think Betsy.
Anderson: Yes, what do
you think.
Betsy. Well. Uhuh. Hmmm.
I can tell you this. In this world we do not have the freedom to do whatever we
want. We can make mistakes, lie, save people from danger, or try to make things
better. The world is the unknown. We have a long way to go and its hard to
change people perspective, you cannot. The only way is to give people some
advice and let it be. If you are born in a religion place and believe in God
than do you, but just do not cross the red line or plant seeds in their mouth.
That is the way I see it. I wish more answers but that is a tuff question to
put it.
Baggini (Genie): I have
one question for you Betsy. Explain to me How would you answer James’s “really
vital question for us all: What is this world going to be? What is life
eventually to make of itself?”
Betsy: I do not know what
the world is going to be in the future, and I am sure you do not know either,
all of you. If we keep going through this cycle, there is no end. As a Nigerian
person and I was not born in the United States of America. I am afraid and terrified.
I have been bullied, cursed at, and no one had carried for my life. I wish
people could stop blaming other people. I cannot yell at them saying AAAAAAA go
way. History has been lying to your face the whole time and you want to throw away
the history book at the window. 400 years of racism and we are still going
through this path, history have been repeating itself. The world is the
unknown. Everyday, I feel I do not belong in this world. I feel I am out of
place and should not belong here. If people listen to other different culture
then we can hold hands and sing Kumbaya together, but on unfortunate we cannot.
I am just tired. Well. I am done. Thank You authors for coming please enjoy Starbuck
coffee.
Betsy. Thank you for your blogpost. I enjoyed your humor, and your mention of Andersen's reference to the eighteenth century philosphers. I often wonder what they would have said if they been born in 20,000 BCE or would they have just been trying to survive.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping Baggini would have mentioned the philosophy of African countries including Nigeria. He concentrated more on the philosophy of Asian countries specifically China which did give me a better appreciation of Chinese philosophy.
I appreciate your personal input and agree that, "We have a long way to go, and it's hard to change people's perspective." Once it's ingrained in us, changing one's view is an acknowledgment that we were once wrong and almost no one wants to admit that.
I also regret that you have been treated the way you have in this country.Years ago I joined TIRRC because I wanted to support an organization that worked to protect immigrants' rights.Too many Americans forget the often quiet contributions of immigrants.
He does mention Africa a bit, recall the brief discussion of "ubuntu" etc. But he could have said more. Solomon's "Passion for Wisdom," another small introductory text I've used in the past, has a bit more to say about African philosophy. Likewise his "Very Short Introduction to Philosophy"...
Delete"In the North they are… superstitious and hypocritical in their religion and In the South, they are… without attachment or pretensions to any religion but that of the heart" - how things have changed, since Jefferson said that! Wonder if the cycle will spin the other way again? Hard to imagine a future southern US "without pretensions to religion"...
ReplyDelete"its hard to change people perspective" - yes, but it's relatively easy (maybe too easy) to influence or even bias the perspective of children. So if we want to change the world for the better, we'd better make sure we teach our children well.
"If people listen to other different culture then we can hold hands and sing Kumbaya together...I am just tired." - I understand your skepticism, but listening with an open mind and heart really is where we begin to take a sad song and make it better. It's shameful that you were bullied and maligned by ignorant people. They weren't well-taught. We must do better.