I could not believe it. Hosting a panel at the last annual Philosopher's Convention at MTSU had been a dream come true. This year, the convention would be held in Texas, and I was unsure if I would be able to go. However, I received a call inviting me to host a panel once again! Only this time, the philosophers I would interview would be Susan Neiman, John Kaag, and a hologram AI of Sigmund Freud that had been programmed to respond in a way that he likely would have. The event was going to be exciting for sure, and I of course accepted. After waiting for what felt like years, but was only about 4 months, I finally hopped on a plane destined for Texas.
After a couple of days of waiting in a hotel room, the day of the conference was finally here. I took my place at the panel and waiting for the audience and others guests to arrive. Once all of the panelists, including hologram Sigmund Freud, had arrived and we said our "hello"s, it was at last time to begin.
Me: Thank you to everyone who has come out today, I know that we will have a great discussion! To start off, I want to ask two questions. The first is inspired by Susan's book Why Grow Up: "What does it mean to grow up? Why should we?". The second is inspired by John's book Sick Souls, Healthy minds: How William James Can Save Your Life: "What makes life worth living?".
Neiman: I would love to start off this conversation. As for the first question, I will give you a quote from my book, "Childhood is not fixed, nor are the stages of life that follow it. And this truth is not merely a matter of historical or ethnological interest, for if our paths are not determined, then we are free to choose among them. At least in principle." (WGU 34). When we grow up, we are able to use what we learn from the world around us to develop our own character. Some people grow up because they have to, some grow up naturally over time. Either way, growing up gives us the freedom to find the path in life that will bring us the most happiness. As Kant said, humans are the only animals able to "choose their life's journey", and though people need education, unlike animals, we use this knowledge to later make our own choices (WGU 38-41). Growing up means forming your own opinions and using this freedom given to humans to choose who they will be in the society that they live in. Moving on to the second question, life is worth living because of "The ability to see life as the whole it has become allows you to see the strengths with which you've lived it, and develop a sense of your own character," (WGU 197). Being able to see your growth into a happier person over time makes life worth living. Also, getting older means managing your own emotions better, giving back to society, and helping younger generations navigate the world as they come into it. All of these factors are reasons why life is worth living.
Kaag: My answer for the first question is that growing up means realizing free will, as Susan said. It also means taking responsibility for your own actions, and not letting life just happen to you, but taking charge of it. Though it was hard for me and I realized that not every solution will apply to every person, it is still important to take action. As for the second question, I somewhat disagree with you Susan. I believe that to pretend like any one has a greater understanding of life's meaning than anyone else is not helpful to those who question it (SSHM 172). I touched on this somewhat in an interview with Skye Cleary, and I said that it is important to realize that the answers to many existential questions that we pose do not and do not have to work for us. I agree most closely with the William James philosophy "Life is worth living - maybe" (SSHM 171). This means that life does not have a set value or reason for existence. This may help some people accept their life more easily, as it has for me. However, more than just accepting life, we must take steps to try to improve it, and find our own meaning for our own lives.
Freud: Thank you both for your contributions. I personally believe that the importance of growing up is realizing how our unconscious thoughts effect our decisions. Children begin their life attracted to the parent of the opposite sex parent, and this attraction reflects how they will interact with others as they grow up and try to mirror the relationships that their parents have as the attraction to the parent fades. "For some people, this awkward eraly desire completely shapes their life without them even realizing it," (LH 179). For these feelings and many others in life, it is important to understand how lingereing thoughts that we may be unaware of could be affecting us. Growing up makes us realize the need to analyze these unconsious thoughts and how they influence our actions. As for the importance of life, it also has to do with realizing unconcious thoughts. As my fellow philosophers have mentioned, growing up allows a freedom that childhood does not. By learning about the aspects of our personality, from unconscious to conscious, we will understand our self and importance better. Through this process, we can figure out what our own importance is in life.
Me: Thank you all for your answers. Since I recieved good feedback last time, I will again throw in my ameteur philosophical opinions if no one is opposed. For the first question, I agree the most with Susan that growing up lets a person establish their own sense of self, and is not a boring part of life like we are told. For the second question, I agree with John that each person's meaning in and of life is different, and should be. No one has one correct answer as to the reason why life is worth living. Still, I do believe that each person does have a meaning that they should search for to make themselves happy.
With the first two questions answered, we were off to a great start. As I prepared the next set of questions, I was sure that this panel would be a great one, and hopefully everyone would leave with new questions to ponder.
"...each person does have a meaning that they should search for to make themselves happy." -- Right. The question for each of us is personal: 'What is the meaning of MY life?' But a mature approach to this question entails recognizing that others' lives and happiness are equally compelling and potentially meaningful to them.
ReplyDeleteNice touch, with the Freud hologram. I don't think we have to accept all his theories about the unconscious, oedipal impulses, dreams etc., to agree that growing up involves a re-examination of thoughts and ideas from the time of our pre-reflective immaturity. That's just another way of talking about "thinking for oneself."