End-of-Year Wrap-Up

Choose from the Philosophy Menu Bar ▼ HOME INDEX Justice 6.v.25 The Good Life 20.v.25 Hume & Testimony 3.vi.25 1H25 Reflections 17.vi.25 Nietzsche 1 24.ii.25 Nietzsche 2 11.iii.25 Universal Basic Income 25.iii.25 Hegel 22.iv.25 2024 Wrap-Up 10.x.24 Democracy 14.i.25 Civilisation? 28.i.25 Compulsory Voting? 11.ii.25 Berlin and Freedom 15.x.24 Nussbaum, Sen and Capability 29.x.24 Slavery Reparations 12.xi.24 Rawls 26.xi.24 Assisted Suicide 11.vi.24 Popper and Evolution 20.viii.24 Popper continued 17.ix.24 Berlin and Romanticism 1.x.24 Marx 19.iii.24 Kant and Knowledge 16.iv.24 Kant and Morality 30.iv.24 Education and Religion 14.v.24 Hobbes & Security 23.i.24 From Locke to Mill 6.ii.24 Rousseau: Social Contract 20.ii.24 Rousseau and Education 5.iii.24 AI and Ethics 31.x.23 Aristotle and AI 14.xi.23 Autumn 2023 Review 28.xi.23 Democracy 9.i.24 Private Education 5.ix.23 The Very Elderly 19.ix.23 Justifiable Law-breaking 3.x.23 Moral Authority 17.x.23 The Wells School of Philosophy Roll Call 10th December 2024, Hare Lane, 1000-1300 hrs: Tutors: Linda (L), Steve (S) Pupils: John (J), Patricia (P), Alexis (A), David (D), Margie (M), Howard (H), Colin (C), Ray (R), Scribe: Gavin (G) Apologies: Madge (M), Viki (V) The homework set We hope that you are all able to come to what will be our last meeting of the year, when we will look back on the many areas of philosophy that we have explored this year. Steve will be sending through some reminders about what we covered. Syllabus The topics were (not in chronological order): John Rawls. A radical view of liberalism as seen from the mid-20th Century / the (end of) the Cold War. Justice as fairness. His very social 'social contract'. Relevance to today's populist world? Or has the world changed irrevocably? Democracy is not what it was? What is it now? How can it be saved? Martha Nussbaum. Her notion of 'capabilities', as an alternative to virtue ethics, consequentialism, etc the reality of what you can do when truly free. To demonstrate unique human dignity. Does she resolve the global vs. local/relative moral tension? Isaiah Berlin. His take on freedom: his way of combining traditional negative/positive types of freedom into one pervasive, practical and powerful philosophical idea. So that freedom is the value that makes all other values possible. And debate is enriched. What can we learn from him about defining the nature and role of true freedom in today's world? Karl Popper: philosophy and human evolution. Believed in philosophy as an activity. You do it. A radical critic of traditional philosophical ways of gaining knowledge (e.g. induction/empiricism) and how this can inform action. Thinking in the broadest context, encompassing art culture and science, and learning/moving on from knowing what isn't true. Falsification trumping (traditional) verification. Eliminating pain being more useful than pursuing vague notions of happiness. Going with the random ebbs and flows of evolutionary theory. Linking the natural and human worlds productively. I found Popper hugely refreshing, radically changing my views on how knowledge is gained. Did you? Kant's Categorical Imperative. His attempt positively to negotiate the traditional rationalist/empiricist divide for resolution of moral issues…based on his take on the human condition and how humans and Nature interrelate. To go back to basics, hence 'groundwork', to identify 'maxims' based on reason, rooted in 'goodwill'. Identifying categorical imperatives, rooted in his version of the golden rule. To create 'duties', both to ourselves and to others. Behaving with dignity. Are you a Kantian? Does he provide a philosophical bridge between the Enlightenment and Romanticism? Karl Marx. What can we learn from him that might help us make sense of, and improve, the world/human order today? His belief that man is essentially maker, and defined by his work? That class divisions are the root of problems. We're all victims of false consciousness, rooted in capitalism. But is history a good predictor of the future? Rousseau. His unique (and hopeful) definition of man's state of nature: that man by nature was good; sympathetic to the plight of fellow men. And that man was corrupted by society and, in particular, by material/property acquisition. So 'everywhere we are in chains'. As a consequence of amour propre (Here, Here!). He identified the 'General Will', as more than the sum of individual wills. And deliberative democracy..at least on a small scale.. An early bridger to the Romantic Period, via his emphasis on the importance of human feelings? But did his 'noble savage' concept lead his views on education to be weird/unrealistic? Hobbes, Locke and Mill/The Enlightenment. The source of knowledge being experience and reason, in the context of what it is to be human. The break with scholasticism/Greek and Roman philosophy, and the oppressive power of religion. Back to basics…what can we really know? The roots of democracy. Have contemporary philosophers (for e.g. Rawls, Popper and Berlin) moved us on from Enlightenment thinking? How? Does Hobbesian thought on what is freedom rule again? The State of Democracy Today/Ben Ansell and the Reith Lectures 2023. Was he overly optimistic that we could still improve/save democracy? By focusing on local democracy and getting people, as citizens, more engaged in the processes. From the bottom up? What might BA say about Trump's election? How do we disagree agreeably? Assisted Dying/Suicide. Obviously very topical. Involving a collision between principles (simply believing/not in the moral desirability of having agency over one's life/death) and practice (the safeguards/legal framework needed). And conflating/confusing the two. More informed discussion needed? vs. grandstanding in Parliament? Citizens Assemblies? Moral Dilemma: Should Britain make reparations for the effects of colonial slavery? Relatedly, do we have a duty to aid people today living in extreme poverty in other countries? Are we talking acts of charity or justice? (ref. the work of Thomas Pogge) Are we right to discuss such issues in terms of 'human rights'? (Thank you Alexis and Ray for your contributions which springboarded us into such an insightful discussion). Religion and Education: should faith-based schools exist? Does the constitutional presence of religion in schools act against the principle of community and integration that an educational system should support? What is the benefit of faith-based input? I know this doesn't add up to 16 topics…I've merged some to avoid too much reading. But hopefully there's enough here to prompt some recollections and new thoughts. It might prompt discussion on the 10th if everyone came with one particular thought or insight that has changed their previously held views. And a couple of overall themes which have constantly surfaced… Plenary Session Introduction(S) A lot has happened in the world this year. There's been a lot of democracy in the sense of the many people voting. What have been the overall themes of this year's study? Where have you changed your thinking as a result? Discussion Let's Be Pragmatic As per My Fair Lady: "Words, words, words I'm so sick of words I get words all day through First from him, now from you Is that all you blighters can do? "Don't talk of stars Burning above If you're in love Show me." Show me, do something. Marx was right about much but what in the world should we do about it?(J) How can we put our thoughts into action? Forget the idealism: the world isn’t going to come together and move in one direction. (Something about existentialism and Wittgenstein.) Perhaps we should follow the Stoics who say that the only thing you can control is yourself. And what is existentialism?(R) We haven't been entirely idealistic. We covered assisted dying, for example. We have been practical.(D) Popper was very refreshing in that he urged us to look at problems upwards. In the UK we can look at homelessness. Elmbridge CAN has seen some very heartening results.(M) On our philosophy course, we were told: "Do not think you will come up with any original thought."(L) Let's get away from Russell, Frege and other nit-picking stuff; from philosophers who think they'll get a paper out of attacking another philosopher.(S) A lot of forces for change today stem from ideologies, so we need to be wary.(R) The problem so often is in the semantics: the same phrase means slightly different things to different people.(C) Knowing the Recipient You know where the money is going if you meet the people who will receive it.(A) There is a difference between knowing a fact and knowing a person. You need that human connection.(S) After some years in the Citizens Advice Bureau, you get to know the person when matters take a year or more.(H) On social media, users tend to show no respect for users they don’t know.(C) The State of the World We live in a society built around the possibility of Mutually Assured Destruction.(C) Elon Musk is frightening in the political power he now wields, building rockets and an Internet in space. Extraordinarily wealthy individuals do not fully understand the potential impact of their possible actions. Much of the investigative work into people-smuggling gangs was done by the BBC. Politics Much depends on the quality of government and governance, and the quality of people working in it.(R) One problem with the first-past-the-post system is politicians tend to forget about the 49% who voted against the proposal that 51% of people voted for.(S) What is it that distinguishes left from right in politics?(S) A feeling of responsibility towards others.(M) Can we substitute the word 'capitalist' for right-wing?(J) Marx foresaw drift from workers using hands to workers using machines. Marx didn’t foresee the rise of the middle class.(A) Aristotle was right-wing in that he thought an elite should run society.(C) No-one in politics is yet prepared to say that the Brexit decision they voted for was wrong.(A) What we need is a new collectivism.(S) Education Bunker Roy created the Barefoot College in India. He chose grannies as his students because they would go back to village to use their new skills.(L) Education is not about telling people; it’s about pupils working it out for themselves.(A) Pupils are doing philosophy much more now at schools.(L) Randomness Popper accepted the randomness of life, which creates a link with Darwin.(S) If more than one factor is responsible for an outcome, then statistically it is very likely there will be clusters.(C) Requests for next year More modern philosophers.(D), (H) A more right-wing philosopher, such as Nozick.(G) We could cover Scruton.(L) Eastern philosophers?(M) Podcast Referenced: Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields on Plato's Cave (2024). Radio Four: Thought for the Day. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0kb2m6s Hugo Rifkind (2024). Times Radio. The Times. https://www.thetimes.com/radio/show/20241211-28852/2024-12-11 Books Recommended: DK (2024). The Politics Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (DK Big Ideas). DK. Will Buckingham (2024). The Philosophy Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (DK Big Ideas). DK.