Midterm Blog Post
*I walk into a conference room at the school's library where the 3 authors where getting settled in, seemingly having just arrived. I open the door and introduce myself to them all, and note the tense but not hostile air of the room. They all sit at the table across from one another. Geniuses. These men all have extremely extensive and differing research, beliefs, and views of the world that we are all going to dive into today. It's strange meeting them, after having spend the entire last semester reading all about these previously mentioned beliefs and researches. We all get our cheap coffee and sit down. I'm kind of nervous, but in my mind I'm thinking "Just act smart and you'll be fine".
Me: Alright guys, I just have a few that I'd love to get your opinion on, so we'll kind of just pass this question around the room, Sounds good? Alright. So, do you guys think philosophy can help people learn to respect truth, facts, reality, and one another and to reject falsehood, selfishness, superstition and polarization, partisanship and mutual hostility based on differences of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, belief, etc.? If so, how? And if not, why not? That's kind of a lot so we can go one at a time, skip around or do whatever you guys are feeling. Julian, we'll start with you.
JB: Well according to Aristotle and Leibniz, yes, philosophy can help people respect truth, based on the the Law of Excluded Middle, which states that a something can either true or false from deduction by observation of facts, and cannot be either or in between, at least according to some (54).
Me: So truth is dichotomous?
JB: Sort of, truth is either/or, but it is not completely black and white, and things are often far more complicated in reality than they appear on paper. Looking at philosophers like Aristotle and Leibniz's theories can help us to understand the nature of truth better. I also think that philosophy should have a more pronounced role within the education system which would be a benefit to society as a whole. The more we learn about the great thinkers of the world, the more we can learn about ourselves and each other. I also think that feeling like something about reality to be true does not really make it true in reality (HWT 34). We can't just rely on reason, because the autonomy of reason cannot be absolute (HWT 79). I do agree with the Upanisads, that ultimate truth is far beyond our rational understanding, but philosophy can help us at least try to get to a grasp of it.
KA: The way I see it, we can make this reality whatever we want it to be, we can basically custom make it based on what we desire. This is already what is happening. You can show people straight, cold facts, and they can simply shrug them off and refuse to believe it, because that's what the popular way of life is now. We as mankind have been walking the line between real and fiction for so long that it's now commonplace, almost expected. I think that has gone on too long to be reversed. Facts no longer matter if a person simply doesn't want to believe them. Having beliefs in something is fine, but not when it contradicts reality. People want what they want, whether it's truth or falsehood, and that's just the way people are now (FL 10).
ME: You mention this in your Fantasy Land book a lot.
KA: You bet. Take for example Anne Hutchinson, a Puritan lady from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I mentioned in my book that she was so American because she saw her beliefs as true so much because they were her beliefs (FL 34). And she was just one of the few examples from the beginning of the fantasyland ideology. That's exactly how people think today too.
NW: There's a lot of different positions that philosophers take on subjects like these, like I'm sure you noticed me mention in Little History. One of the beliefs that stood out to me was Boethius' conversation with the Philosophy lady. She tells him that luck is random and often changes. She also explained that mortals are mistaken by allowing their happiness to be dependent on things that can change, and that they should get happiness from themselves (LH 42). I do think this story of Boethius is a simple, but perfect representation of how philosophy can indeed help us with thinking through, solving and answering all the great questions of life.
Me: So you subscribe to more of a Stoic perspective on issue in life?
NW: I do but not 100%, I think it's great to have in your back pocket .
Me: Alright, good stuff, good stuff. Here's our last question and discussion of today that should get some juicy conversation going. What is this world going to be? What is the life going to make of itself? Kurt you can go first this time.
KA: Like I mentioned before, I think that the cat has been out of the bag for far too long for us to even hope of reversing it. People love their fantasies and their fantasylands. They don't want truth they want happiness. I do believe that philosophy will help some people understand the truth more, but I think the majority of people will continue down the path that humanity is currently on, especially in politics and religion (LH 416-417).
JB: I do believe that all people have the capacity for rationality, and this will drive them, but people are not as rational as they think there. There is a volatile, ever-increasing polarization in the world in terms of beliefs and political standpoints (HWT 59-68). So this will be something that we have to overcome, whether it be by philosophy or communication that we come to some sort of middle ground for all of us. Philosophy may not solve all of our problems, but it can sure help us understand them, even if only a little bit more.
NW: I tend to agree with Julian on his point of philosophy helping us through our problems. I think if we go back and look at some of the classic philosophers like Socrates, John Stuart Mill and David Hume, we can see how these great thinkers saw the world and how they communicated that to the world. We can use their ideas and also try to think the way they did, and bring that thinking to the issues of our days and then seeing how far we can go. This is essentially what tried to communicate in my Little History of Philosophy book. I think that we can go so many places today, just like how these people did in their age. And we must be willing to hear, accept and help each other.
Me: Awesome, this is so great. Thank you all so much for this, it's quite an honor. But before we go on, I have just quick simple question for us to talk about.
They all shared ready looks, completely unaware. Here comes my favorite part.
I paused.
Me: Do you believe in the existence of God, and why?
They all seemed to mentally load the trigger, and I took a sip of my coffee getting ready for what would be a much more entertaining discussion.....
Sounds like you want to continue the conversation. Want to do that for your final report?
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