Philosophy
If you're not used to thinking philosophically, here's a bit of a conceptual conundrum for you: you have certain personal and professional goals, projects and desires that you'd like to accomplish and satisfy. And presumably, much of what you do is, to varying degrees, something that you do for your the sake of your future self. You are used to thinking that you have a self, that you will continue to have an enduring self through time, and that there are boundaries that separate your self from others and the rest of the world.
So what is this self thing that makes you you? Is it bodily identity? Psychological continuity? Some immaterial soul? A bunch of neurons that are not themselves conscious and which are bundled together in ever-changing patterns without centralized control? There are no answers in the following short clip, just questions that may be interesting to think about and whose conclusions may imply we ought to change certain attitudes toward self and others.
Of course, if Hume was right, there is no self... it's just an illusion... and maybe our moral attitudes may have to radically change to correspond to that fact.
- Can You Really Own A Position?
I've been thinking about the use of the verb to own with respect to an intellectual view. When a student is being wishy-washy about a proposition he or she is arguing for and clearly believes, I'll tell the student to "own the position." ...
- So What Are These Ethical Issues Around Gay Marriage?
With North Carolina's enshrinement of bigotry into their state constitution and Obama's evolution to accepting the need for gay men and lesbians to receive fair and equal treatment under the law, there has been lots of talk about the ethical dilemma...
- Roger Scruton - Why Beauty Matters
Beauty has been a central and enduring concept in the philosophy of art and aesthetics since its inception in ancient Greece. During the last few centuries, however, and due in large part to geopolitical, philosophical, religious, economic, and scientific...
- The Secret You
What does it mean to be you? How is it that the physical matter making up the many neurons in your brain somehow produce your subjective, conscious experience? Are your neurons themselves conscious? While we're at it, what exactly is consciousness?...
- Geoffrey Warnock On Kant
Imagine if the conceptual basis of just about every single belief you ever had, not just as a layman but as a professional and conscientious intellectual, were suddenly shattered by the writings of a single man? That's exactly what happened to Immanuel...
Philosophy
What Is the Self?
So what is this self thing that makes you you? Is it bodily identity? Psychological continuity? Some immaterial soul? A bunch of neurons that are not themselves conscious and which are bundled together in ever-changing patterns without centralized control? There are no answers in the following short clip, just questions that may be interesting to think about and whose conclusions may imply we ought to change certain attitudes toward self and others.
Of course, if Hume was right, there is no self... it's just an illusion... and maybe our moral attitudes may have to radically change to correspond to that fact.
- Can You Really Own A Position?
I've been thinking about the use of the verb to own with respect to an intellectual view. When a student is being wishy-washy about a proposition he or she is arguing for and clearly believes, I'll tell the student to "own the position." ...
- So What Are These Ethical Issues Around Gay Marriage?
With North Carolina's enshrinement of bigotry into their state constitution and Obama's evolution to accepting the need for gay men and lesbians to receive fair and equal treatment under the law, there has been lots of talk about the ethical dilemma...
- Roger Scruton - Why Beauty Matters
Beauty has been a central and enduring concept in the philosophy of art and aesthetics since its inception in ancient Greece. During the last few centuries, however, and due in large part to geopolitical, philosophical, religious, economic, and scientific...
- The Secret You
What does it mean to be you? How is it that the physical matter making up the many neurons in your brain somehow produce your subjective, conscious experience? Are your neurons themselves conscious? While we're at it, what exactly is consciousness?...
- Geoffrey Warnock On Kant
Imagine if the conceptual basis of just about every single belief you ever had, not just as a layman but as a professional and conscientious intellectual, were suddenly shattered by the writings of a single man? That's exactly what happened to Immanuel...