Wittgenstein, Arendt, Popper & Kuhn, Foot & Thomson-LH 34-37, FL 27-28, WGU Introduction-p.35... [But first catch up on the Existentialists etc.]
1. What was the main message of Wittgenstein's Tractatus?
2. What did the later Wittgenstein (of Philosophical Investigations) mean by "language games," what did he think was the way to solve philosophical problems, and what kind of language did he think we can't have?
3. Who was Adolf Eichmann, and what did Arendt learn about him at his trial?
4. What was Arendt's descriptive phrase for what she saw as Eichmann's ordinariness?
5. Both Popper and Kuhn changed the way people understood science. What did Popper say about the method for checking a hypothesis and what name did Kuhn give to major breaks in the history of science?
6. What is the Law of Double Effect? Many people who disagree with its principle--and with Thomson's violinist thought experiment--think that whatever our intentions we shouldn't play who?
WGU
1. Being grown-up is widely considered to be what? Do you agree?
2. Is Leibniz's optimism more likely to appeal to a small child? Why? 3
3. What was Kant's definition of Enlightenment? 5
4. What do Susan Neiman's children say she can't understand? Do you agree? 9
5. Why is judgement important? Is this a surprising thing to hear from a Kantian? 11
6. Being a grown-up comes to what? 12
7. What did Paul Goodman say about growing up? Are his observations are still relevant? 19
8. Why (in Neiman's opinion) should you not think this is the best time of your life, if you're a young college student? 20
9. What did Samoan children have that ours lack? 27 Can we fix that?
10. What is philosophy's greatest task? 31
Discussion Questions:
- Was Wittgenstein's main message in the Tractatus correct? 203
- What are some of the "language games" you play? (What are some different things you use language for?) 204
- Can there be a "private language"? 206
- "Eichmann wasn't responsible..." 208 Agree?
- Are unthinking people as dangerous as evil sadists? 211
- Is "the banality of evil" an apt phrase for our time? 212
- Was Popper right about falsifiability? 218
- Was Kuhn right about paradigms? 220
- How would you respond it you woke up with a violinist plugged into your kidneys? Is this a good analogy for unwanted or unintended pregnancy? 226
FL
- Pro wrestling is obviously staged. Why is it so popular?
- What do Burning Man attendees and other adults who like to play dress-up tell us about the state of adulthood in contemporary America? 245
- What do you think of Fantasy sports? 248
- Was Michael Jackson a tragic figure? 250
- Is pornography "normal"? 251
#10
ReplyDelete1. The book “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus” by Ludwig Wittgenstein is mainly about how the most important questions about ethics and religion lie beyond the limits of our understanding and that we should stay silent if we can't talk meaningfully about them.
2. The term “language games” describes different activities that we perform using words since there is no single common feature that explains the whole range of the uses of language. Solving philosophical problems was to remove the cork and let the fly out. Wittgenstein believed that philosophers got confused because they believed that language had one simple meaning and he wanted to show the philosopher that he or she had been asking the wrong questions or had been misled by language. According to Wittgenstein, we can not have our own private language.
3. Adolf Eichmann was in charge of transporting the Jews of Europe to concentration camps in Poland, including Auschwitz during Adolf Hitler’s final solution. He was not responsible for the policy of systematic killing but he was heavily involved in organizing the railway system that made it possible. Hannah Arendt learned that Eichmann was an unthinking man who did not personally kill any Jews but helped send millions of people to their deaths
4. Hannah Arendt describes Eichmann as “the banality of evil.” This means that Eichmann’s evil was that it was the evil of a bureaucrat rather than a devil. Eichmann believed that he did not do anything wrong because he was following the law which caused him to allow Nazi views to affect everything he did.
5. According to Popper the best method for checking a hypothesis is to try to prove that your theory is false. Kuhn described a “paradigm shift” as significant breaks in the history of science that overturns a whole way of thinking.
6. The Law of Double Effect is the belief that all conclusions of a thought experiment can be right, but only if your intention is to defend yourself or someone else as long as deliberate harm is not done. The Law of Double Effect has predictable bad side effects of an action with a good intention. Many people who disagree with the Law of Double Effect think that we should never try to play God because it is not our decision on who should die and who should live.
ReplyDeleteWGU
1. Renoucing your hopes and dreams, a life less adventurous and worthwhile. I do think it becomes harder to reach your dreams as you age, and you can become easily exhausted with the lone battle.
2. Yes, because they have yet to realize that there is a time limit to understanding the world
3. Reason's emancipation form its self-insured immaturity
4. Abysmal nature of contemporary culture since I don't use social media
5. None of the answers to the questions that really move us can be found by following a rule. yes, because this is linking back to the courage more than knowledge
6. Doing what you can to move your part of the world closer to the way that it should be, while never losing sight of the way it is.
7. People need to grow into a culture that offers meaningful work, a sense of community, and faith that the world is responsive to their efforts, while his critiques still ring true, many people have forgotten it today
8. We describe that from this point on, life goes down hill
9. The experience of making meaningful contributions to a community. Yes, by giving them easy but morally rewarding tasks like household chores.
10. Enlarge our sense of possibility
1. the main message was about ethics and religion lies beyond the limits the understanding and that we can't talk meaningfully about them. we should basically stay silent.
ReplyDelete2. The language games were different activities that are performed using words. They said we need to remove the cork and let the fly leave. this basically meant people need to think outside the box.
3. Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi administrator and Arendt learned that he did no wrong and he was not evil by his trial.
4.the descriptive phrase was "the banality of Evil"
5.they were both trying to prove that there theories were false. they though this was there best method. kung describes a paradigm shift.
6.the law of double effect was the predictable bad side of effect with good intentions can be acceptable. deliberate harm is no. do not play god.
1. Wittgenstein's Tractatus was about how ethics and religion can't be expressed in meaningful language, so we should just stay silent about them.
ReplyDelete2. Language games are different activities that we perform with words, according to Wittgenstein, and the way to solve philosophical problems is to "remove the cork and let the fly leave." Nobody has a private language.
3. Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi put on trial after World War II who claimed that he was innocent. Hannah Arendt learned that he was an unthinking man who did not personally kill any Jews, but was responsible for sending millions to their deaths.
4. Hannah Arendt called Eichmann “the banality of evil” because he was just following orders and everything he was doing was legal at the time. This doesn't mean what he did is justified, it just means that his evil was that of a bureaucrat and not a devil.
5. Popper said that to check a hypothesis, people should try to prove their theory wrong. Kuhn called major breaks in the history of science "paradigm shifts."
6. The Law of Double Effect is used to justify the bad side effects of actions with good intentions as long as there is no deliberate harm done. Many people disagree with this principle because they don't think we should play God.
#11
ReplyDeleteLHP
1. What was the main message of Wittgenstein's Tractatus?
This message was mostly about ethics and religion which we should stay silent about each topic.
2. What did the later Wittgenstein (of Philosophical Investigations) mean by "language games," what did he think was the way to solve philosophical problems, and what kind of language did he think we can't have?
According yo Wittgenstein we need too "remove the cork and let the fly leave". Which means that we should not have all the same opinion and that we should be able to think outside the box.
3. Who was Adolf Eichmann, and what did Arendt learn about him at his trial?
Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi who was put on trial after WWII. He claimed he was innocent. Arendt learned that he personally did not kill any Jews but did send millions to die.
4. What was Arendt's descriptive phrase for what she saw as Eichmann's ordinariness?
"the banality of evil"
5. Both Popper and Kuhn changed the way people understood science. What did Popper say about the method for checking a hypothesis and what name did Kuhn give to major breaks in the history of science?
Popper said to check hypothesis, and should try to prove them wrong. They both thought that this was the best method. Kuhn describes this as "paradigm shifts".
6. What is the Law of Double Effect? Many people who disagree with its principle--and with Thomson's violinist thought experiment--think that whatever our intentions we shouldn't play who?
The law of double effect was the predictable bas side effects with good intentions can be acceptable. But we should not try to play God.
LHP #11
ReplyDelete1. Wittgenstein's Tractatus main message was that "ethics and religion lie beyond the limits of our understanding and that if we can't talk meaningfully about them, we should stay silent."
2. The "language games", according to Wittgenstein, are the different activities that we perform using words. He thought that the way to "solve" philosophical problems was to "remove the cork and let the fly out." We can't have our own private language.
3. Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi administrator who was in charge of transporting the Jews of Europe to concentration camps in Poland. Arendt learned that Adolf believed he had done nothing wrong but did send millions of Jews to die.
4. Arendt's descriptive phrase was "the banality of evil".
5. According to Popper, he said that to check their hypothesis, scientists should try to prove their theories as false. "Paradigm shifts" is what Kuhn called major breaks in the history of science.
6. The Law of Double Effect was that "predictable bad side effects of an action with a good intention can be acceptable, but deliberate harm is not." We should not play God.
1. What was the main message of Wittgenstein's Tractatus?
ReplyDelete"The most important questions about ethics and religion lie beyond the limits of our understanding and that if we can't talk meaningfully about them, we should stay silent." He emphasizes not wasting time on certain thoughts and he is straight forward.
2. What did the later Wittgenstein (of Philosophical Investigations) mean by "language games," what did he think was the way to solve philosophical problems, and what kind of language did he think we can't have?
You can perform different activities using words. If you followed his logic, your philosophical problems would vanish, and he used the example of a fly in a bottle. You should remove the cork and let the fly go. A private language.
3. Who was Adolf Eichmann, and what did Arendt learn about him at his trial?
He was a Nazi. That he didn't feel as responsible for what he did because he was following orders.
4. What was Arendt's descriptive phrase for what she saw as Eichmann's ordinariness?
"The banality of evil."
5. Both Popper and Kuhn changed the way people understood science. What did Popper say about the method for checking a hypothesis and what name did Kuhn give to major breaks in the history of science?
He said it's all about refuting a claim, not proving it, in science. Paradigms were important in science for Kuhn.
6. What is the Law of Double Effect? Many people who disagree with its principle--and with Thomson's violinist thought experiment--think that whatever our intentions we shouldn't play who?
"Predictable bad side effects of an action with a good intention (in this case saving yourself) can be acceptable, but deliberate harm is not. You shouldn't play God.
- Kelly Molloy, Section #13
1. Its main message was that the most important questions about ethics and religion lie beyond the limits of our understanding and that if we can’t talk meaningfully about them, we should stay silent.
ReplyDelete2. Different activities that we perform using words. When Wittgenstein described language as a series of ‘language games’ he was drawing attention to the fact that there are many different things that we use language for, and that philosophers have become confused because they mostly think that all language is doing the same sort of thing. In one of his famous descriptions of his aim as a philosopher, he said that what he wanted to do was show the fly the way out of the fly bottle. A typical philosopher will buzz around like a fly trapped in a bottle, banging against the sides. The way to ‘solve’ a philosophical problem was to remove the cork and let the fly out. What this meant was that he wanted to show the philosopher that he or she had been asking the wrong questions or had been misled by language. We can’t have private language.
3. The Nazi Adolf Eichmann was a hard-working administrator. From 1942 he was in charge of transporting the Jews of Europe to concentration camps in Poland, including Auschwitz. He was an obedient normal man that did not see any problem with his involvement in helping nazi’s.
4. Arendt used the words ‘the banality of evil’ to describe what she saw in Eichmann.
5. What scientists do, according to Popper, is try to prove their theories are false. Paradigm shift
6. Predictable bad side effects of an action with a good intention (in this case saving yourself) can be acceptable, but deliberate harm is not. Shouldn’t play God.
1. His main message was that the most important questions about ethics and religion lie beyond the limits of our understanding and that if we can’t talk meaningfully about them, we should stay silent.
ReplyDelete2. Different activities that we perform using words. The way to solve these problems was to remove the cork and let the fly out. He thought we could not have a private language.
3. Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi. Arendt learned that Eichmann did not feel guilty because he was following orders.
4. Arendt said she saw ‘the banality of evil’ in Eichmann.
5. Popper said testing a theory involves seeing if it can be refuted (shown to be false). The name Kuhn gave was paradigm shift.
6. The Law of Double Effect was predictable bad side effects of an action with a good intention (in this case saving yourself) can be acceptable, but deliberate harm is not. We should not play God.
Section#11
ReplyDeleteLHP:
1. Its main message was that the most important questions about ethics and religion lie beyond the limits of our understanding and that if we can't talk meaningfully about them, we should stay silent.
2. The way he thought to solve the philosophical problems was to ' remove the cork and let the fly out the bottle.' He thought that we could not have our own private languages.
3. A hardworking administrator in charge of train schedules during the holocaust, through his trial Arendt learned that he was the banal of evil.
4. The descriptive phrase used to describe him was banal.
5. Popper believed that the process for checking a hypothesis was more so trying to prove what you believed to be true or false, rather than testing to prove your hypothesis true. Kuhn called it a paradigm shift when an old hypothesis was overturned.
6. The law of Double Effect is the predictable bad side effects of an action with good intentions. They think we should not play God.
WGU
1. Being grown up is widely considered to be a matter of renouncing your hopes and dreams, accepting the limits of the reality you are given, and resigning yourself to a life that will be less adventurous, worthwhile, and significant than you supposed when you began it. I do not agree with this interpretation of growing up, I believe life can still be adventurous and dream-fulfilling as long as you keep believing.
2. Leibniz's optimism would be obvious to a toddler. Because they are new to experiencing this world and have not yet learned of the bad that can happen in this world, they have no clue what to expect other than good things.
3. Kant defined Enlightenment as reason's emancipation from its self-incurred immaturity.
4. The abysmal nature of contemporary culture since she does not use social media. I do not agree I don't think you have to use social media to understand the negative effects it brings to its abusive users.
5. Judgement is important because none of the answers to the questions that really move us can be found by following a rule.
6. Doing what you can to move your part of the world closer to the way that it should be, while never losing sight of the way it is.
7. Paul Goodman said, ' When consuming goods rather than satisfying work becomes the focus of our culture, we have created or acquiesced in a society of permanent adolescents.' Most of his work is still as true today as it was back when he created it.
8. We don't have a society built that makes people want to grow up and become a part of it.
9. The experience of making meaningful contributions to a community. We could if people would help their neighbors rather than secretly compete with them.
10. Philosophy's greatest task is to enlarge our sense of possibility.
Q1. What was the main message of Wittgenstein's Tractatus?
ReplyDeleteA1. "The most important questions about ethics and religion lie beyond the limits of our understanding and that if we can not talk meaningfully about them, we should stay silent."
Q2. What did the later Wittgenstein (of Philosophical Investigations) mean by "language games," what did he think was the way to solve philosophical problems, and what kind of language did he think we can't have?
A2. Rather then having one set essence or definition, it's closer to a family of words. Let people think outside of the limits of language. Private.
Q3. Who was Adolf Eichmann, and what did Arendt learn about him at his trial?
A3. A Nazi who ran the death trains. That he was banal.
Q4. What was Arendt's descriptive phrase for what she saw as Eichmann's ordinariness?
A4. The banality of evil.
Q5. Both Popper and Kuhn changed the way people understood science. What did Popper say about the method for checking a hypothesis and what name did Kuhn give to major breaks in the history of science?
A5. They are trying to disprove their theory. A paradigm shift.
Q6. What is the Law of Double Effect? Many people who disagree with its principle--and with Thomson's violinist thought experiment--think that whatever our intentions we shouldn't play who?
A6. "Predictable bad side effects of an action with a good intention can be acceptable, but deliberate harm is not." God.
#11
ReplyDelete1. ethics and religion lie beyond our understanding. If we can’t talk meaningfully about them, we should stay silent.
2. Different activities that we perform using words. Remove the cork and let the fly out. We cant have our own private language.
3. He was a Nazi administrator that transported jews to concentration camps. Arendt learned about that Eichmann didn't feel guilty because he was just "following orders and the law."
4. "The banality of evil."
5. Testing to see if a theory can be refute. Paradigm shift.
6. "Predictable bad side effects of an action with a good intention
can be acceptable, but deliberate harm is not." We shouldn't play god.
1. Renouncing a persons hopes and dream and being less adventurous. Yes and no it depends how a person chooses to live their life.
Delete2. Yes because they are new to the world with no prior information.
3. "Reason's emancipation from its self-incurred immaturity."
4. "Abysmal nature of contemporary culture since I don't use social media." Yes in a way because social media is a whole other society.
5. Judgement is important because no answer can be found by following rules. I assume not.
6. Doing what you want while not losing sight of the way it is
7. People should grow up in a culture that offers meaningful work, sensible community, and faith in the world. Unfortunately not it has been forgotten.
8. The best time in our life should be the hardest one.
9. "Making meaningful contributions to a community."
10. "Enlarge our sense of possibility."
Section 11
ReplyDelete1. Ethics and religion is different for a lot of people but it’s best to just not say anything
2. Different activities are what we would use that perform words I feel like we should not have any limits
3. A nazi admin who moved Jews to concentration camps Arendt learned that eichman just did what he was told
4. Banality of evil
5. To see if a theory was true or not
6. How just because we do something bad for the better is not acceptable that is not our job.
1. he said if we don't have a proper understanding of ethics and religion it would be best not to speak at all.
ReplyDelete2. we need to remove the cork and let the fly leave basically meaning think outside the box
3. He was a nazi administrator who transported jews. he did not feel guilty because he was just "following orders"
4. "The banality of evil"
5. he said to try and prove your theory wrong rather than right. a paradigm shift
6. unintended bad results from good intentions aren't always bad.
#13
ReplyDelete1.) In "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus," Ludwig Wittgenstein contends that the crucial inquiries regarding ethics and religion transcend the bounds of our comprehension. He advocates for silence when meaningful discourse eludes us on these profound subjects.
2.) The concept of "language games" refers to diverse activities conducted using words, lacking a singular defining feature to explain the entirety of language use. Wittgenstein sought to dispel philosophical confusion by challenging the assumption of a unified language meaning, emphasizing that philosophers often erred in their inquiries. He asserted the impossibility of a private language.
3.) Adolf Eichmann, under Adolf Hitler's final solution, orchestrated the transportation of European Jews to concentration camps, including Auschwitz. While not the architect of systematic killing policies, Eichmann played a pivotal role in organizing the railway system facilitating mass genocide. Hannah Arendt portrayed Eichmann as a thoughtless bureaucrat complicit in sending millions to their demise.
4.) Hannah Arendt characterizes Eichmann as embodying the "banality of evil," suggesting his malevolence stemmed from bureaucratic compliance rather than diabolical intent. Eichmann, believing he adhered to the law, allowed Nazi ideology to permeate his actions, oblivious to the moral ramifications.
5.) Popper advocates for a method of hypothesis testing that involves attempting to disprove one's own theory. Kuhn introduces the concept of a "paradigm shift," signifying significant upheavals in scientific thought that reshape entire perspectives.
6.) The Law of Double Effect posits that all outcomes in a thought experiment can be morally acceptable if the intention is self-defense or defense of others, provided deliberate harm is avoided. It acknowledges foreseeable negative consequences of well-intentioned actions. Critics argue against playing the role of arbiter over life and death, rejecting the notion of humans assuming such godlike decisions.
#10
ReplyDelete1. What was the main message of Wittgenstein's Tractatus?
If we cannot properly understand religion and ethics and its differences we should just not discuss them at all.
2. What did the later Wittgenstein (of Philosophical Investigations) mean by "language games," what did he think was the way to solve philosophical problems, and what kind of language did he think we can't have?
Different activities using words, think outside of the box, private language.
3. Who was Adolf Eichmann, and what did Arendt learn about him at his trial?
A nazi. He did not feel guilty because he was following orders.
4. What was Arendt's descriptive phrase for what she saw as Eichmann's ordinariness?
She saw the banality of evil in Eichmann.
5. Both Popper and Kuhn changed the way people understood science. What did Popper say about the method for checking a hypothesis and what name did Kuhn give to major breaks in the history of science?
Said that proving something to be true requires seeing it be refuted. Paradigm shift.
6. What is the Law of Double Effect? Many people who disagree with its principle--and with Thomson's violinist thought experiment--think that whatever our intentions we shouldn't play who?
Predictable bad affects of good intentions. Do not play with god.
13
ReplyDelete1.religion shouldn't be talked about if you don't know its intricacies and differentiations
2. nuances with words to play around with them, thinking outside the box, and private language
3. A Nazi, and Arendt learned he never felt guilty because he was just doing as he was told
4. Benality of Evil
5. Proving truth requires questioning its validity, Paradigm shift
6. Actions done in good faith can still have bad effects/consequences, don't play god
13
ReplyDelete1. The main point would be that we are unable to comprehend Religion and ethics and that we should not talk about it since we do not understand it
2. Language games are diverse activities using words, and he thought that we would be able to solve philosophical problems by thinking outside the box, and he believed that private language was impossible
3. He was a Nazi who would transfer the Jewish people to concentration camps and he did not feel guilt because he was only "following orders"
4. Banality of Evil
5. Popper said to try and prove your own theory wrong instead of trying to prove it right. Khun introduced the paradigm shift.
6. Acts done with good intentions or in good faith can still have bad consequences. Dont play god.
1. If we do not understand religion fully, and all that comes with it, then we should not discuss it at all.
ReplyDelete2. Games using words, nuances, thinking outside the box.
3. Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi. He did not feel guilty because he believed he was "following orders."
4. The Banality of Evil.
5. Proving your theory wrong instead of right, Paradigm shift.
6. Some acts done with good intentions can still have negative consequences, to not play God.
Section 10
ReplyDeleteRacheal Clark
1. Ethics and religion should not be discussed without proper understanding.
2. " Remove the cork and let the fly out." Play games using words and don't just think of base line.
3. He was Nazi that lacked guilt because he was just following orders.
4. The Banality of Evil.
5. He said to always prove your theory to be wrong rather than right. This is called the Paradigm Shift.
6. Anything can have consequences, even those with good intentions. Never play the role of God.
Section #13
ReplyDelete1.The main message of Wittgenstien's Tractatus was fundamentally concerned with the question of what philosophy is and what it is meant to do.
2.He was refering to simple examples of language use and the into which the language is woven. He thought that the way to solving philosophical problems was looking through abstract reasoning.
3. Adolf Eichmann was a German Nazi offical. Arednt learned that he tried to cover up his lack of skills and education and even "blushed when these facts came to light.
4.She said "neither perverted nor sadistic" , but "terrifyingly normal" and " the banality of evil"
5. It doesn't prove anything is true; The Paradigm Shift
6. the double effect law is the principle to provide specific guidelines for determining when it is morally permissible to perform an action in pursuit of a good end in full knowledge that the action will also bring about bad results.
1. What was the main message of Wittgenstein's Tractatus?
ReplyDeleteThe main message of Wittgenstein's Tractates was that if you do understand a subject fully you should not discuss it since it could come off wrong, an example would be ethics or religion.
2. What did the later Wittgenstein (of Philosophical Investigations) mean by "language games," what did he think was the way to solve philosophical problems, and what kind of language did he think we can't have?
He thought that people could think outside the box of language to solve questions/ problems, language games were ways people could think, or talk to others.
3. Who was Adolf Eichmann, and what did Arendt learn about him at his trial?
He was a German Nazi, and that he was not guilty for what he did because he was just following orders.
4. What was Arendt's descriptive phrase for what she saw as Eichmann's ordinariness?
Banality of evil
5. Both Popper and Kuhn changed the way people understood science. What did Popper say about the method for checking a hypothesis and what name did Kuhn give to major breaks in the history of science?
To actually prove yourself wrong, Kuhn the paradigm shift.
6. What is the Law of Double Effect? Many people who disagree with its principle--and with Thomson's violinist thought experiment--think that whatever our intentions we shouldn't play who?
The law of the double effete is basically that every action even in good faith could have bad consequences, and they think we should not try and play God.