Midterm

 

Aidan Rose: Alright guys I have two questions for you guys because I am curious as to how you guys will answer each question. During these questions feel free to agree or disagree with each other this is an open discussion of opinions and I’d like to hear from all three of you. With that being said the first question I have is 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 Andersen: Hello nice to meet you all. First off, I would like to say buy my book Fantasyland How America Went Haywire. Now as to your question I think that we all can agree on this. Philosophy is important to our history and I think that we can all benefit from all this. However, let us not act like this is the case all the time. I mean look at America in the 1700’s they was obsessed with religion and “miracles” I mean some people claimed that they felt the  “Holy Spirit” and “started to moan weep scream jerk or faint.”(FL pg.45). Americans just wanted evidence and they got it. “A country shaping itself around the idea of individualism in all senses whose people were already known abroad for their expressiveness, a histrionic and absolutely individual experience of holy magic was perfect.”(FL pg.46). I’m not here to judge what you believe but c’mon now if you think that any of that was true then I don’t see how you could be respecting reality.

Julian Baggini: I can understand what you are saying, but If we talk about now I do not think that they have learned how to separate the fake from the real so that people are able to come to their own conclusions and have a better understanding of how the world works. For all, you know, to them that could realistically and they believe that when the Holy Spirit takes over that is what is supposed to happen. People have different cultures based on how they were raised. With all that being said “certain mystical or meditative experiences cannot be taken as reliable sources of the world as it is.” (HWT pg.35), so I am inclined to believe that some of those things just wouldn’t be considered true in and of itself.

 

Aidan: That was interesting I think that it is possible but there will always be something or someone that can prevent them from figuring out the truth and then we can end up making assumptions based on how people act or what they look like, that can cause us to be misled and end up thinking that what is true is false and what is false is true. Alright time for the second question, 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 Warburton: I think that eventually, people will try to come to an understanding and be able to work with each other to work on common goals. Even though in some places that is the case, a lot of other places just can’t seem to get along with each other and that causes conflict. Don’t get me wrong it is not like the people that work together won't argue I mean we would have to figure out “ a way to live together while still obeying the laws of the state.”(LH pg.107). If we somehow manage to figure out that, then I think that the world will be headed into a brighter place.

 

Kurt Anderson: Over the past few years I’ve seen what can happen to a nation. They can become greedy and selfish. In the last presidential debate for instance during the campaign “it felt at times as if the speakers were no longer in a fact-based world where actions have consequences, programs take money and money has to come from somewhere.”(FL pg.417). They do it for greed and even though that is one case in one part of the world I think that it is possible for this to spread around the world. I’d be a little worried and pay attention or I’ll be saying “Welcome to Fantasyland,”(FL pg.417) once again but for the entire world.

Nigel Warburton: That can be considered true, but don’t you think that we can all come to an understanding in the future?

Kurt Anderson: That is possible but from what I have seen I do not think it will be as easy you might try to make it. That would force people who do not like each other to come to an understanding of each other and some people have too much pride and ego to just come to a compromise and an understanding.

Julian Baggini: Do you think that it is possible for there to be a balance between the two? A good mix of conflict and agreement?

Kurt Anderson: I can see that being a thing. If people were able to find a balance between the two there might be some improvement in what people have seen before and left their so-called “Fantasyland”.

 

Nigel Warburton: I can agree with that as well. There will be problems but if the majority can come to create a balance between the two we would be better off.