(Catch up: Mar 20)
Wittgenstein- #5 William P. #6 Kal I.
Hannah Arendt- #5 Jadyn Cortes. #6 Adam S. #7 Sidney S.
FL 27-28-
Something in QE Part IV - Should speech be free?- #5 Inas I
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QE Part V - What is happiness?- #6 Liz E. #7 Alexzander P.
John Rawls- #5 John G. #6 Jackson P. #7 Aedan D.
Alan Turing- #5 Larry Lehmann. #6 Troy R.
Peter Singer- #5 Parker #6 Samantha Johnson. #7 Autumn
FL 29-32- #5 Ben S.
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
I like Rawls’ theories on society. I think to create a better world we must imagine a world in the sense that we do not know what position we will hold in that society. I think this would create a more equal world view of a lot of folks. Also on his note, I completely agree that sports players should not be making millions of dollars for being gifted. Yes, athletes work hard, but they live such privileged lives and get paid millions of dollars because of it. I think if we cut athletes' pay and gave the money to essential workers (teachers, doctors, nurses, veterans, 9-5 workers, etc.) we would be better off as a society. I am saying this coming from someone who was a competitive athlete growing up (traveled the country and outside the country) and loves baseball: I do not think the hard work from playing a sport is necessarily millions of dollars worth…
ReplyDeleteI agree! I feel like there should always be a limit on how much a single person can make. I think that in itself can help the society, since currently it is few that hog all the money, and it’s not the people working in the mines, or performing surgeries.
DeleteI don't agree with what you said about athletes not being able to make millions. Athletes bring in revenue, tourism, and promote a country in turn affecting the country's overall GDP as well. Because of how popular these sports are, they bring in revenue to the country they serve while placing their physical well being on the line. Then again athletes are not federally sponsored rather they are owned by privatized shareholders.
DeleteSearle’s discussion on computers and if they are capable of thought reminds me of the fear and debate writers in my department (english) have about AI. The thought and fear is that AI will replace human writers and that there will be no need for humans in writer jobs. This is a butch of lies. AI is not that advanced and even if it gets smarter, there is no way a human would fully trust AI the way we do other humans. This is because AI is monitored and trained by humans to reflect human thoughts, but without a human aiding AI, AI would not function correctly. AI is not learning on its own, but rather through human writers… All this to say, I do not think AI or computers will ever think or act on their own without the help from humans.
ReplyDeleteI remember growing up and going to the Earth Day festival in Nashville my freshman year of high school. I was walking around the booths and decided to watch a video to earn $1… this video changed my life. It was a short 10-minute documentary about how animals are treated in meat processing farms. That video broke my heart. I had begun eating vegetarian before that, but after watching that video I had become vegetarian fully and even tried to be vegan for a couple of months. I love animals, but after 7 years of being vegetarian my body can’t do it anymore. I have begun incorporating fish. I think the philosophy of animals is interesting because although I agree that animals should be treated fairly, I do think being fully vegetarian or vegan can cause health related issues even if it is good for animals and the environment. I still suggest you try it out for a month or two. I lasted 7 years and I still enjoy vegetarian meat!
ReplyDeleteVery insightful! Though we are part of the food chain, there will never be a need for the abuse of animals.
DeleteI agree with you. It becomes exhausting to the body when the only thing you eat is vegetables. As someone who partially vegan through obligation, I would say I am more of a pescetarian but the nuances don't really make a difference to the body.
Delete1. The Imitation Game, also called the Turing Test is an artificial intelligence test that sees if computers work like brains. Many philosophers did not believe that computers actually think but some philosophers did. The Imitation Games was to see if a tester could tell if the thing responding was another person or a computer. They would conversate and if the person could not tell if the responder was a person or a computer, the computer passed the test.
ReplyDelete2. Peter Singer was a consequentialist that believed that humans should help those in need when they can, no matter what. He compared a drowning child to a starving child in Africa and how they are alike. He thought that those who have money to spend should donate to charities to help the other countries in need. I think this was a great idea and it still is today. There are many countries that are not forunate to have the things we have in America. Therefore, we should always help those in need.
3. Singer is still very popular today. He believed that animals and humans have equal pain. He called those who disagreed, speciesist. He was opposed to animal testing and many farming practices. He did not like the fact that the animals were placed in small spaces and killed and slaughtered for food. He even put a recipe for lentils in one of the books to persuade people to eat something else.
1.) John Rawls called his thought experiment the “original position.” Its primary device was the “veil of ignorance,” which required individuals to design principles of justice without knowing their own social status, abilities, or personal characteristics. This ensured that the principles chosen would be fair and impartial, as no one could create rules that favored their own particular circumstances.
ReplyDelete3.) The Imitation Game was a test proposed by Alan Turing to determine whether a machine could exhibit intelligent behavior indistinguishable from that of a human. It later became known as the Turing Test. In this game, an interrogator interacts with a human and a machine through text-based communication and tries to determine which is which. If the machine can convincingly imitate a human, it is said to have passed the test.
ReplyDeleteTo oppose this idea, John Searle devised the Chinese Room Argument as a thought experiment. Searle argued that even if a machine could convincingly respond in a way that appears intelligent (e.g., passing the Turing Test), it would still lack true understanding or consciousness. He illustrated this by imagining a person inside a room following a set of syntactic rules to manipulate Chinese symbols without actually understanding the language, suggesting that computers, similarly, do not truly “understand” but only manipulate symbols.
6.) Peter Singer argues that we should sacrifice our excess resources—such as money spent on luxury goods, entertainment, or non-essential comforts—to help strangers in need, particularly those suffering from extreme poverty and preventable diseases.
ReplyDeleteI agree with him! I feel that help others in turn enriches your own life in a way that no other form of media can. You get to learn about these people, their stories, and can watch them grow just by lending a hand. No human is a waste.
DeleteI agree with him as well. Using excess resources to help others is especially better considering the amount of resources depleted and disposed through food, clothes, and unused essentials annually.
Delete4. What, according to Searle, is involved in truly understanding something?
ReplyDeleteIn order to truly understand something you must know the true nature of it. To truly know you must have a deeper understanding of the subjects background and identity. You must be intentional in your approach and keep digging to find the truth.
What does Peter Singer say we should sacrifice, to help strangers
ReplyDeletePeter Singer argues that we should sacrifice our overspending and sacrifice our luxurious purchases. That the excess should be used to help those who are in need of basic human materials. Singer encouraged people to adopt a more selfless approach to helping others, even if it meant personal sacrifice.
This is Will Phillips
Delete8. 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
ReplyDeleteYou should not think of this as the best time of your life because you haven't experienced enough life. The race of life is a marathon and there is much more after your 20's. These unrealistic expectations can damage your expectations and cause you to act uncharacteristically. Instead of romanticizing these years, young college students should focus on building a strong foundation for their future.
1. What was Kant's definition of Enlightenment?
ReplyDeleteKant defined Enlightenment as - Reason’s emancipation from self-incurred immaturity, I agree with this definition. Simply taking into account the idea of “shedding light on” being the root definition for the word. Immaturity is living in darkness, it’s why we’re scared and afraid. But turning on the lights helps one to see rationally and view things for what they really are.
2. Being grown up comes down to an ideal. As Neiman puts it, one rarely achieved in its entirety, but all the more worth striving for
1. John Rawls created a thought experiment called the "Original Position," which was designed to help people decide on fair and just principles for society. The key idea behind this experiment was the "Veil of Ignorance." This meant that people had to make decisions about society’s rules without knowing anything about their own personal situation, such as their wealth, social class, abilities, or background. By doing this, Rawls believed that people would choose fair principles because they wouldn’t be able to favor themselves over others.
ReplyDelete2. John Rawls' theory would allow for large differences in wealth between people only under specific conditions. According to his Difference Principle, inequalities in wealth and income are acceptable only if they benefit the least advantaged members of society. This means that a society could have very rich and very poor people, but only if the existence of wealthier individuals helps improve the situation of those who are worse off.
3. The Imitation Game was a test devised by Alan Turing to determine whether a machine could exhibit human like intelligence. John Searle opposed the idea with the Chinese Room Argument which was a thought experiment to challenge it.
1. What did John Rawls call the thought experiment he believed would yield fair and just principles, and what was its primary device?
ReplyDeleteIt was called "the original position" and its primary device would be "the veild of ignorance.
2. Under what circumstances would Rawls' theory permit huge inequalities of wealth between people?
His theory would permit huge inequalities of wealth between people if those inequalities benefit the minority members of society or those who are worse off than most.
3. What was the Imitation Game, and who devised a thought experiment to oppose it?
It tested how well a machine could mimic a human in terms of intelligence. John Searle opposed it with the "chinese room argument."
1. Being grown-up is widely considered to be what? Do you agree?
ReplyDeleteBeing grown-up is often seen as a state of resignation, responsibility, and loss of idealism—where childhood dreams give way to practicality and compromise. Many believe maturity means accepting the world as it is rather than trying to change it. However, Neiman challenges this view, arguing that true adulthood involves balancing idealism and realism rather than simply giving up on aspirations. Whether one agrees depends on how they define maturity—either as mere acceptance or as an ongoing effort to shape a meaningful life.
2. Is Leibniz’s optimism more likely to appeal to a small child? Why?
Yes, Leibniz’s optimism—that we live in “the best of all possible worlds”—might resonate more with children because they are naturally hopeful, trusting, and less cynical. They have not yet encountered enough hardship to question the idea that everything happens for the best. Adults, on the other hand, often see this perspective as naïve, given the amount of suffering and injustice in the world. Neiman suggests that a mature outlook doesn’t mean rejecting optimism entirely, but rather developing a measured, thoughtful hope rather than blind faith in the world’s perfection.
3. What was Kant’s definition of Enlightenment?
Kant defined Enlightenment as “man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity.” By this, he meant that true maturity comes from thinking for oneself rather than relying on authority or tradition to dictate beliefs. He saw Enlightenment as a process of using reason and critical thought to navigate the world independently. Neiman connects this idea to growing up, arguing that true adulthood involves a commitment to intellectual and moral self-determination, rather than simply conforming to societal expectations.
What was the Imitation Game, and who devised a thought experiment to oppose it? thought experiment devised by Alan Turing, which is now famously known as the Turing Test. In the game, there are three participants, a human (the "interrogator"), a machine, and another human. The interrogator must determine which of the other two is the machine, based solely on their responses to questions. The goal for the machine is to "imitate" a human well enough that the interrogator cannot reliably distinguish it from the human participant. John Searle devised a thought experiment known as the Chinese Room Argument in 1980 to oppose the idea that passing the Turing Test demonstrates true understanding or consciousness in a machine.
ReplyDeleteWhat, according to Searle, is involved in truly understanding something? intentionality
What does Peter Singer say we should sacrifice, to help stranger? Things like money, time, and convenience. We should spend our leftover money on helping those in need of basic human materials