Presentations: #2 Truett-Judith Jarvis Thomson's violinist thought experiment and abortion
WGU -192
1. What hallmark of modernity reversed Plato's and Aristotle's judgment?
2. What gives life meaning, for Kant?
3. In a truly human society, according to Marx, how would our capacities to work develop?
4. Most jobs involve what, according to Paul Goodman?
5. People were certain, as late as 2008, that what?
6. What alternatives to consumerism have small groups begun to develop?
SSHM ch1
1. Calvinism set out, for Henry James Sr., what impossible task?
2. Kaag thinks the Civil War gave WJ his first intimation that what?
3. WJ's entire life had been premised on what expectation?
4. What did WJ say (in 1906, to H.G. Wells) about "SUCCESS"?
5. What Stoic hope did young WJ share with his friend Tom Ward?
6. What thought seeded "the dilemma of determinism" for WJ?
7. As WJ explicated determinism in 1884, the future has no what?
8. WJ found what in Huxley's evolutionary materialism alarming?
9. Determinism has antipathy to the idea of what?
10. To the "sick soul," what seems blind and shallow?
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Setiya Intro, ch1
1. What reminder does Kieran Setiya say he needed when he was younger? What kind of philosophy did his teachers say he needed? (pref) What has he experienced since age 27?
2. What is moral philosophy about?
3. Does Setiya think "everything happens for a reason"? What were Job's friends wrong about?
4. What did Nietzsche say about happiness and the English?
5. Who is Susan Gubar?
6. To whom should disability matter?
7. What's the difference between disease and illness?
8. What does Setiya think Aristotle gets wrong?
9. Who are Setiya's heroes?
10. What does Setiya say about Marx's vision of communist society?
11. What was Harriet Johnson's reply to Peter Singer?
12. What did Setiya appreciate about his fifth urologist?
13. What, contrary to Descartes, does pain teach us about our bodies?
FL 41-42
1. What became of the 1998 study that promoted the false belief that vaccines cause autism?
SSHM ch1
ReplyDelete1. Calvinism set out, for Henry James Sr., what impossible task?
The impossible task Calvinism set out for Henry James Sr. was to exercise the human will freely and meaningfully to satisfy a God who was both omnipotent and infinitely removed. This led him into a state of spiritual and personal desolation. He was supposed to act as though his actions matter in some sense, but they really amounted to very little. I think it would be very hard to live knowing that your fate was determined for you no matter what you did. Whether your fate was good or bad, it would seem like what you do doesn’t matter. In that case, I guess a fear of God would still cause someone to act in a way they think pleases God even though it’s supposed to already be decided what their fate is. God is the determiner of fate, so they want to please God.
2. Kaag thinks the Civil War gave WJ his first intimation that what?
Kaag thinks the Civil War gave William James his first intimation that he, along with the rest of the universe, was not free but fated. I don’t think I believe in some predetermined fate; I think the choices we make have an impact on the outcome of our lives and the things we do. For example, my life would look a lot different if I chose to pursue a different degree, go to a different place, etc. I think the actions I take do have an impact on my “fate” and the outcome of my life.
3. WJ's entire life had been premised on what expectation?
William James’ entire life and been premised on the expectation that he could exercise his free will, but he discovered that he couldn’t because he couldn’t fight in the civil war. It seems to me that if James really wanted to fight in the civil war, he could have, but it was an act of free will not to. Either way, choosing to fight or choosing not to seems to me to be an act of free will.
1. Kant believed that rational consciousness and self autonomy was what gave life meaning, in other words life was meaningful because everyone has the option to choose.
ReplyDelete2. For Henry St. James, Clavinism completed the impossible task of exercising human free will in order to satisfy an omnipotent yet removed God.
3. William James and his friend Tom Ward shared the stoic belief that human's responses to situations can never be taken away from them, even if everything else is.
1. Calvinism set out for Henry James Sr., what impossible task?
ReplyDeleteThe impossible task for Henry James Sr. was to "exercise the human will freely, meaningfully, in order to satisfy a God who was both omnipotent and infinitely removed." The belief in predestination and God's plan seems like it would lead to a lifestyle of resignation and complacency with the way things are, rather than how they should be. I find it interesting that Henry James Sr.'s father (William James's grandfather) was such a successful businessman and entrepreneur while also being a fervent Calvinist. If I held the same belief system, I feel I would naturally let my life unfold without much intervention or desire to change outcomes. Perhaps the successful grandfather was driven by his belief that successful and deserving people are those who go to heaven, and therefore willed himself in that direction to fulfill his perceived destiny.
2. Kaag thinks the Civil War gave WJ his first intimation that what?
After watching his brothers go to fight in the Civil War from the sidelines, James experienced their dangers firsthand through their accounts while feeling helpless. This led him to contemplate the possibility that life is fated and that he had no free will.
6. What thought seeded "the dilemma of determinism" for WJ?
For William James, the thought that life was fully determined by nature led to his "dilemma of determinism." In science there is a widely accepted philosophical argument that everything that exists has a long chain of causation behind it, and this idea tormented William James. Personally, I am open to the possibility of determinism. It does not hurt my life either way, and in a true sense there is literally no way for me to ever know. I find the principle of sufficient reason to be a compelling perspective, if it were possible to map all the moments leading up to a certain instance, a pattern seems destined to form.
1. Calvinism set out, for Henry James Sr., what impossible task?
ReplyDeleteCalvinism set out the task of using human (imperfect) free will to satisfy a perfect and infinite God. Obviously a human cannot accomplish this task on their own. This led to a sense of hopelessness and futility for Henry James Sr.
3. WJ's entire life had been premised on what expectation?
The expectation that he was to be free to the greatest degree possible. No opportunity to learn or explore should have been kept from him.
4. What did WJ say (in 1906, to H.G. Wells) about "SUCCESS"?
James described success as a “disease.” He portrayed it as an unattainable state that a whole population of people spend their entire lives pursuing, only to realize that they could never reach it anyway.
ReplyDeleteSection #1
Why Grow Up
4.) In short, Goodman believed jobs involved unnecessary tasks. I can’t say I disagree with him. Most jobs that you don’t receive a degree for are never-ending, repetitive routines that are pointless. Sometimes, even if it’s a job you got a degree for and worked up to that moment for, it still proves to be pointless.
Sick Souls, Healthy Minds
2.) Kaag believes William James first believed he was fated and did not have free will after the Civil War. I do not agree with William James’s perspective, rather, I believe we are both fated and have free will. Our free will is whatever choice we make, whatever we do or don’t do, and our fate comes from either one of our choices. For example, if you have the choice between an apple and a banana for breakfast, your fate depends on what you decide to eat. Maybe you’re allergic to apples, so you decide to eat the banana and you live another day. Or maybe you’re allergic to one and you don’t realize it, so you eat both of them and have a reaction. Every choice (or free will) has a different fate, but that does not mean we don’t have the choice to choose what we want our fate to be.
4.) I disagree with James’s perspective once more. He believes success to be a disease we can never quite reach. I disagree. I believe anything could be a sign of success—big or small. Your success could run out, of course, but that’s doesn’t mean it is impossible to succeed.
1. What hallmark of modernity reversed Plato's and Aristotle's judgment? The hallmark of modernity that reversed the judgments of Plato and Aristotle is the shift from teleology (purpose/nature) to efficient causation (mechanism), coupled with the rise of modern empiricism and individualism.
ReplyDelete2. What gives life meaning, for Kant? For Kant, cultivating a good will through the free, rational pursuit of moral duty and becoming worthy of happiness, rather than just pursuing pleasure gives life meaning.
4. Most jobs involve what, according to Paul Goodman? According to Paul Goodman, most jobs involve useless, unfulfilling, or “phony” work.
1. WJ's entire life had been premised on what expectation?
ReplyDeleteTo have free will.
2. What Stoic hope did young WJ share with his friend Tom Ward?
One has no free will ecept the reaction to the world they were thrown into
3. What is distinctive about "our age" that makes James particularly relevant?
anxiety and depression seem to be at a large.
1.) The modern shift toward individual autonomy and subjective experience overturned Plato and Aristotle’s emphasis on objective order and fixed purposes, replacing their idea of a structured, purpose-driven reality with one centered on human perspective and self-determination.
ReplyDelete2.) For Kant, meaning comes from rationality and moral duty. Life has value when individuals act according to reason, following universal moral laws they give themselves rather than acting on impulse or external pressure.
3.) Marx argues that in a truly human society, work would no longer be forced or alienating. Instead, people would freely develop their abilities, engaging in creative and varied forms of labor that express who they are, rather than being confined to repetitive tasks for survival.
Section #1
Delete