1. What did John Rawls call the thought experiment he believed would yield fair and just principles, and what was its primary device?
2. Under what circumstances would Rawls' theory permit huge inequalities of wealth between people?
3. What was the Imitation Game, and who devised a thought experiment to oppose it?
4. What, according to Searle, is involved in truly understanding something?
5. How do some philosophers think we might use computers to achieve immortality?
6. What does Peter Singer say we should sacrifice, to help stranger
3. What was the Imitation Game, and who devised a thought experiment to oppose it?
4. What, according to Searle, is involved in truly understanding something?
5. How do some philosophers think we might use computers to achieve immortality?
6. What does Peter Singer say we should sacrifice, to help stranger
7. Why did Singer first become famous?
8. How does Singer represent the best tradition in philosophy?
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
==
NOTE: These questions are out of sync, probably due to the weather postponement at semester's beginning. But it'll all come out in the wash, as the saying goes.
1. After Plato, the next philosopher to turn his attention to the details of child-rearing was who?
2. What's the first step of human reason, according to Kant?
3. If we have hope for moral progress, what do we want for the next generation?
4. What was Orwell's nightmare?
5. What "perfidious reversal leaves us permanently confused"?
6. What are you committed to, if you're committed to Enlightenment?
7. What is freedom, according to Rousseau and Kant?
5. What "perfidious reversal leaves us permanently confused"?
6. What are you committed to, if you're committed to Enlightenment?
7. What is freedom, according to Rousseau and Kant?
8. What's the key to whether or not we grow up?
==
Discussion Questions
WGU
WGU
- Should philosophers pay more attention to child-rearing and parenting? 36
- What do you think Cicero meant by saying that philosophy is learning to die?
- Do you feel fully empowered to "choose your life's journey"? If not, what obstacles prevent that? 37
- In what ways do you think your parents' occupations influence the number of choices you'll be able to make in your life?
- If you've read 1984 and Brave New World, which do you find the more "seductive dystopia"? 39
- Are we confused about toys and dreams? 40
- Do others make the most important decisions for you? 41
- Do you "make a regular appointment with your body"? 42
- Do you trust anyone over 30? 45
- Is it "reasonable to expect justice and joy"? 49
- Are you "committed to Enlightenment"? 51
- Do the passions for glory and luxury make us wicked and miserable? 53
- What does it mean to say there are no atheists in foxholes? Is it true? 54
- Was Rousseau right about inequality and private property? 55
- Should philosophy be taught to children, so as to become thinking adults? 57
- Should children "yield to the commands of other people"? 61
- Should parents "let the child wail"?
- Are Rousseau and Kant right about the true definition of freedom? 62
- Is Rousseau right about desire? 65
- Did Rousseau's abandonment of his children discredit his thoughts on child-rearing? 69 Or show him to be a hypocrite for saying no task in the world is more important than raising a child properly? 72
3. What was the Imitation Game, and who devised a thought experiment to oppose it?
ReplyDeleteThe Imitation Game is a test used to see if a machine has intelligence in the same way a human does. John Searle devised a thought experiment in opposition of this test.
H02
DeleteH02 - 5. How do some philosophers think we might use computers to achieve immortality?
ReplyDeleteSome philosophers believe that we will eventually achieve immortality by uploading our consciousness into a computer.
H02 - 4. What, according to Searle, is involved in truly understanding something?
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding the semantics behind the symbols you are using rather than just knowing what order to put them in.
HO2- WGU 3. What was Kant's definition of Enlightenment? Have courage to use your own understanding is the motto for enlightenment as said my Kant, he states that individuals should free themselves from dependence on authority and dogma and rely on their own reasoning and understanding to influence their actions and beliefs. He states the importance of intellectual independence, courage, and the willingness to think for oneself.
ReplyDelete4. What was Orwell's nightmare?
Totalitarianism, surveillance, propaganda, and lack of individual freedom and autonomy. This is exemplified in the book 1984 and animal farm of which the characters go through dystopias and a bleak life of totalitarianism.
6. What does Peter Singer say we should sacrifice, to help stranger
we should sacrifice some of our own comfort and wealth. This is a note that we should all donate to charities and help the fellow man regardless of if they are strangers are not.
2. There would be huge inequalities of wealth if the poorer folks were to directly benefit from it in some way.
ReplyDelete7. He became famous because of his influential books about the treatment of animals.
8. He is constantly challenging widely held assumptions.
LHP 1
ReplyDeleteJohn Rawls calls his thought experiment ‘The Original Position.’ Its primary device was choosing without knowing your own place. He believed that if you designed a society without knowing where your place would be, life would be more fair.
LHP 2
ReplyDeleteRawls’ theory permitted inequality in wealth only when the most disadvantaged people or the poorest people would benefit. He believed that reasonable people would choose this society if they didn’t know what they would end up being.
LHP 7
ReplyDeleteSinger first became famous because of his popular books about the treatment of animals. One of his most influential books is Animal Liberation.
WGU #10
ReplyDeleteWhat is philosophy's greatest task?
Philosophy's greatest task is to enlarge our sense of possibility. When seeking examples to show the possibility of other lives or concepts than the ones we take for granted, many twentieth-century philosophers turned to science fiction.
Rawls theory seems almost exactly like socialism. He has these ideas for equality but provides no means of implementing them. I also strongly disagree with his assertion that athleticism and intellect are simply acquired through luck. People devote there lives to a sport, or intellectual pursuit. Without an incentive for excellence in then excellence would rarely exist.
ReplyDeleteWhy did Singer first become famous?
ReplyDeleteSinger first became famous because of his influential books about the treatment of animals.
8. How does Singer represent the best tradition in philosophy?
Singer represents the best tradition in philosophy because he is always challenging widely held assumptions.
1. What did John Rawls call the thought experiment he believed would yield fair and just principles, and what was its primary device?
Rawls called the thought experiment The Original Position and was used to design a better society where people don't know what position in society they would occupy. He believed this would make people choose fairer principles since they wouldn't know where they would end up in life.
1. What did John Rawls call the thought experiment he believed would yield fair and just principles, and what was its primary device?
ReplyDelete"the original position", and it was the idea of designing a society without knowing what position you would occupy so that one is sure to make each position in society have equal opportunities, to create fairer principles.
2. Under what circumstances would Rawls' theory permit huge inequalities of wealth between people?
there could only become a inequality of wealth if the poorest also benefited from the richer gaining wealth
Adriana Ramirez Speis H03 LHP
ReplyDelete1. What did John Rawls call the thought experiment he believed would yield fair and just principles, and what was its primary device?
John Rawls named his thought experiment ‘The Original Position.’ The primary device was the ‘veil of ignorance’ from which you would stand behind while developing a better society, not knowing where you would end up. His two principles were called the Liberty Principle and the Difference Principle. These principles are honestly confusing to me. Especially the difference principle. Why does someone use have to directly benefit from money you earn? Have they put in the same amount of work as you? If not, why do they deserve to benefit from your years of schooling and thousands of hours of dedication and hard work?
2. Under what circumstances would Rawls' theory permit huge inequalities of wealth between people?
Under the Difference principle, huge inequalities of wealth would only be allowed if the wealthy person’s wealth directly benefits the “lowest-paid worker.” I agree more with Nozick’s thought from page 232 - that if people love some sport or art form and want to give their money to it, what is to stop them? We don’t get mad a people who go to every Titan’s game and we certainly shouldn’t get upset if the Titans players make a living from it. Not every one is capable of singing or playing sports or painting portraits and they should be compensated for their talents. I highly disagree with Rawls that intelligence and athletic ability are purely due to good luck. Athletes put in countless hours of training to keep their body in peak physical condition. They suffer injuries and make countless sacrifices to achieve their goals. There are some genetic components that impact intelligence such as developmental delays, ADHD, giftedness, etc. but even gifted people can take their gift for granted. I have a 4.0 gpa as a senior but that is not because I’m lucky. It’s because I’ve busted my butt and made sacrifices within my personal and social life to do so. I have sacrificed my own mental and even physical health for the sake of maintaining my grades. I didn’t just walk out of Anatomy II with an a like it was no big deal. That class nearly killed me and tanked my GPA. I got a 50 on the first exam. I put in the work to correct it and I studied for HOURS! My thesis is 160 pages, not because I typed out a bunch of gibberish or knew exactly what to say but because I spent a TON of time gathering relevant literature and transcribing my project. The idea that intelligence is just good luck is honestly offensive; it dismisses and discounts the work people have put in to better themselves. People can train themselves to succeed and learn what study methods work best for them.
3. What was the Imitation Game, and who devised a thought experiment to oppose it?
The imitation game was the original name for what is currently known as the Turing Test for artificial intelligence, created by Alan Turing. John Searle created the Chinese Room example to oppose it.
Adriana Ramirez Speis H03 LHP
ReplyDelete4. What, according to Searle, is involved in truly understanding something?
John Searle believed that to truly understand something, there must be semantics involved, not just syntax. He compares AI to a parrot who is able to speak but that speech is not meaningful to the parrot.
5. How do some philosophers think we might use computers to achieve immortality?
Some philosophers think we may be able to upload our conscious to a computer in the future to achieve immortality. I don’t agree with this. The human mind is too complex and computers will always be inferior. All they are capable of knowing is what we have taught them through programming.
7. Why did Singer first become famous?
Singer first became famous because he wrote the book “Animal Liberation” about animal rights and treatment in the 1970s. I honestly think it’s interesting people will mention “humane” treatment on animals… but animals aren’t human. I agree that pigs and chickens shouldn’t be shoved into insanely small spaces with no ability to move around, but they aren’t human. It is okay to kill and eat an animal.
8. How does Singer represent the best tradition in philosophy?
Singer represents the ‘best’ tradition in philosophy because of his skepticism and constant questioning of well established beliefs and principles. He also lives out his philosophy rather than just talking about it. His conclusions are supported by fact.
Tessa Wallace H03
ReplyDelete7. Singer is famous for his book Animal Liberation. It talks about the treatment of animals and how they should be treated humanely. He had strong opinion about this topic.