Last class already!
I'm hitting the road for my annual August meetup with far-flung friends and won't have as much time this week to think up questions. Let's crowd-source them. UPDATE: I'm back, had a great time (see below). Thanks for your questions, crowd. 🙏
Anderson, ch12-15; McDermott, ch13-14; Romano Parts 5-6. REPORT: Hailey, Isocrates (Romano pt 5); Jada, ---
- Had you ever even heard of Isocrates? Why do you think most of us haven't? Do you prefer him to his more famous almost-namesake?
- COMMENT?: "In the United States, we don't have to teach people how to philosophize because the country's immense diversity forces them to it. And if, in America, we've come to recognize that truth comes from consensus... Isocrates, not Socrates, is our man." 560
- Are you persuaded by Romano that President Obama was a pragmatist (in the American philosophical sense)? Is it likely that we'll have a philosophically-inclined president in the future?
- Looking back over our whirlwind mini-'mester, how would you summarize what you've learned about the intersection of American philosophy and American culture? Are you hopeful and optimistic for the future prospects of democracy in America, or otherwise? Or is it hard to think beyond November?
- More coming soon... Please help me out, everybody post a couple of discussion questions.
- I'm back... Do you agree with Emerson (and Anderson, and James) that "language...routinely and inevitably falls short of experience" and that, therefore, there's a place for the poetic in philosophy? 196
- Anderson says John Dewey, despite his strong advocacy of democracy, "displays deep misgivings about American culture" and "recognizes the need...to be prepared for the failures of democracy in a precarious world" (215). Do you have such misgivings? Are you prepared? Do you think we can rebound from our failures?
- What do you think it means to say that "community must cross time as well as space"? 232 (HINT: see Dewey's gravestone epitaph)
- Are you an Either/Or or a Both/And thinker? 243-4
- Do you agree with McDermott that "boredom and ennui are signs of a living death"? 198
- Is indoor and night-time baseball a mistake? 205
- Have cities become hostile to the "human scale" and absent a suitable "personscape"? 207
- COMMENT?: "Education is a process of living and not a preparation for future living." 217
- COMMENT?: "What the best and wisest parent wants for his/her own child, that must the community want for all of its children. Any other ideal for our schools... destroys our democracy." 221
- COMMENT?: "Isolation from the flow of experience is a fate worse than death..." 222
Following up Erica's report...
Here's a virtual tour of Jane Addams's Hull House
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Following up last week's discussion of "cyberphilosophy"...
One scene reflects the themes — A.I., fake news, transgender lives and Gen X — that make the film a classic.
Neo, the hero of “The Matrix,” is sure he lives in 1999. He has a green-hued cathode-ray-tube computer screen and a dot-matrix printer. His city has working phone booths.
But he’s wrong: He lives in the future (2199, to be exact). Neo’s world is a simulation — a fake-out version of the late 20th century, created by 21st-century artificial intelligences to enslave humanity.
When we first saw Neo, though, it really was 1999. The idea of A.I. feeding on human brains and bodies seemed like a thought experiment. But the movie’s warnings about A.I. — and everything else — have sharpened over time, which explains why it’s been harnessed by all kinds of people in the years since: philosophers, pastors, techno-boosters and techno-doomers, the alt-right. Judged solely on cultural relevance, “The Matrix” might be the most consequential release of 1999... nyt
"Americans don't ask what Justification is, but what it does."
ReplyDelete"... all parties to the situation share assumptions about what's needed for a justification, it violates our understanding of the word to suggest that further argument is necessary."
"Justification means nothing else needs to be done - the issues is closed. At best, justify conveys the sense in American English of "to persuade through the presentation of reasons, or facts, or evidence, or states of affairs, or something short of a gun to the head." (Romano, 579-580)
I never thought about justification in any other terms other than the reasoning behind a decision, but with the implication that the reasoning makes the decision the right decision. But that is not necessarily true, just because I come create a list of reasons and present facts does not mean that a decision is the right decision. Romano further states that justification is more easily reached with the people share values or beliefs, but that this justification is just permission without a challenge.
Perhaps we have this wrong in America, where we allow decisions to be made as long as there's some "justification" for that decision. Perhaps we should push back on some justifications, challenge them to make sure we're truly making the best decision. One example that continues to circle around in my brain is the mask mandates that we had in 2020 that were pushed back on and later done away with. Why did we all (obviously not all, there are some who still wear masks) stop wearing them? I don't really remember the justifications that I saw at the time, but I don't believe any of them would have survived being challenged by scientific studies and experts. Especially since we still hear the mask recommendations when certain viruses are surging. It is interesting to me that we were persuaded to stop wearing masks, even though there is a lot of research that shows masks are a great tool for stopping the spread of an airborne illness.
I think that good justification is essential in our society, but we would need to redefine the criteria of justification to something more than just liking the justification.
It also comes back to fear being a big influence on why we don't question justification. If you can pump enough fear into someone, they will listen to whatever you say. I guess we kind of live with a big of stockholm syndrome in a way.
DeleteIt also goes back to not talking back or questioning those above you. Much like in church, school, and many businesses, if the boss/preacher/ or government says so, then you do.
I enjoy the idea of being questioned, especially if it is on something I know better or know more of. Debate and civil conversations can take a huge turn when you deepen the questions being asked or use intellectual notions to overpower the other person through speech.
Re: masks, there did come a time when Dr. Fauci et al suggested that masking in every public situation was no longer a necessary "best practice" required for optimal public health maintenance. But that time was long after the issue had been thoroughly and evidentially-UNjustifiably politicized. Romano's main point in this discussion is that pragmatic justification is a matter of supporting the "best practice(s)" in light of rationally-predictable outcomes that have the greatest likely consequences... but that justification is NOT a matter of obscure epistemic theorizing. His point, in other words, is to draw a tight connection between belief, action, and result. "Whatever works" in actual practice, not just in theory, is the pragmatists' watchword.
DeleteYesterday, I went kayaking down the Caney Fork river with a friend that was visiting from my hometown back in GA. If you have never been to the Caney Fork (and love being on the water), you should definitely check it out. The water is so clean and clear that you can see to the bottom in most places, and the fishing and wildlife are prime. During the safety meeting, instead of listening to river safety rules I read up on some of the history of the river. Before the Center Hill dam was built, people would cut the trees down in the area and fashion rafts to float down the river to the Cumberland and into Nashville where the trees would be sold for lumber. Pearling was also a major past time before the damn, where the mussels in the river would produce some of the highest quality fresh water pearls in the world (apparently one pearl sold for the modern equivalent of $41,000!). With the construction of the damn, the flow of the river changed and people were no longer able to float into Nashville on timber rafts. Pearling stopped with the dam as well as the ideal habitat for mussels to create pearls was destroyed. It makes me wonder what other small bits of Americana were lost to the needs of progression, like building dams to support the production of electricity.
ReplyDeleteDuring our trip, we got to experience some of the wildness and wilderness. There are stretches of the river that still seem untouched by humans (though there are always little reminders if you look hard enough, like the odd old tire or private boat ramp), but you also float under a few overpasses from hwy 40. We sat on a sand bar to eat our lunches, watched fish jump out of the water, and some cows that were clearly prize-winning since they were out standing in their fields. Get it? Out standing, outstanding. I know, I know. In what is probably the most American thing, we even saw a bald eagle and then a nest that we believe to be for a bald eagle. I snagged a few pictures of the nest and can show those off in class if anyone is interested.
I didn't know how badly I needed to "commune with the river spirit" as my friend and I called it during our trip, but even with the mild sunburn I'm feeling pretty good about life right now. Sometimes you really do just need to spend some time out of the cities and suburbs.
I have a book I think you would enjoy called "Reading the Lost Signs of Nature". It really gives you an in-depth overview of what we tend to miss, even on trips like that.
DeleteIn my field of work, I keep going back to the chapters about wildness and getting out of the norm. On Thursday, me and my field partner seen a dow and her fawn just standing in an open field. We just kind of sat there and watched them for a second before getting back to digging. Just taking that moment and opening your sense to nature can really improve your mood and replace importances of life before you again.
Love. Love. Love.
Delete"spend some time out of the cities and suburbs"--Yes!
DeleteAnd spend some time just out of town, out of your standard routines. My annual meetup with old friends in Durham had the same kind of restorative impact that time in the "wild" can have... we were wild in our own way, reverting a bit to the way we were back in the 80s as grad students. I recommend the experience.
Hailey, I'm going to look into that book. Thanks for the recommendation. On another note, my parents live "in the country" and often have deer wandering through their yard. My daughter recently saw a mama with twin fawns playing. She's always calling me and telling me about their antics. It really is a mood changer, like you said.
DeleteI live West Meade, where we often find deer cavorting on our lawn. I've never understood why anyone wants to hurt Bambi.
Delete"It is essential to realize that the public story of the American odyssey was played out in the clutches of nature, at war with nature's children, the American Indians, and at war, internally, on the land, about the land, for the control of the land." (McDermott 200)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't really thought about it, but much of our history are stories about being in conflict with indigenous people, seeking to manifest our destinies with the power and resources that only owning a vast landscape could generate. McDermott mentions the pioneer days, but we continued to take advantage of indigenous people long after we forced them to settle on reservations.
I recently listened to a podcast on the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond that talked about her and her husband families and how they gained influence in Oklahoma during the turn of the century. The podcast also talked about Killers of the Flower Moon, a book (and now a movie) on the Reign of Terror in Osage County Oklahoma, the same county that the Drummond family call home. No spoilers, I haven't read the book yet or watched the movie, but there are similar stories across the US where the indigenous tribes were taken advantage of at best.
While I know its hard to read about the atrocities white people committed against other humans, it is essential that we study it. We have to study it so that we can recognize when it is happening again, so that we can stop it. I get it, I completely understand that it is really uncomfortable to talk about our dark history. It can even be embarrassing if you uncover something that tarnishes the images we created of our ancestors. I say that from experience; I was always told that we had some Cherokee blood in our DNA , that my grandmother spent her summers with her grandmother on the reservation. I often took pride in that history, being able to lay claim to some Cherokee ancestry. Until my uncle started digging deeper and discovered that the reason my grandmother's grandmother was raised on the reservation was that her father ( my great, great, great grandfather) essentially stole a young teenager from the reservation and forced her into marriage, and then abandoned her after getting her pregnant. He went on to marry a few more times and settled in Alabama. I believe he also fought for the confederates but that could have been his father. Either way, I don't think that there is much pride in the fact that my only connection to the Cherokee Nation is through a kidnapping of a child. I often wonder how many other people that claim indigenous heritage via great grandparents or grandparents, and were not raised in the culture know that more than likely that connection only because of something similar to mine.
We tend to gloss over the history of the indigenous here, and I think that is a major disservice to the indigenous nations and ourselves. We need to know that part of history, so we don't repeat it. Ours is a bloody history and it is one that warrants accurate study.
Back to Killers of the Flower Moon, Time Magazine did a great article about the book/movie and the very true story behind them. It talks about the Headright system that allowed for white "guardians" to control the money and lands of indigenous people, and the "Reign of Terror" where 24 Osage tribe members were killed in a 4 year time period. This was just barely 100 years ago, and is just one example of the tumultuous history of the US and indigenous nations.
Here's the link to the article, in case anyone wanted to read it:
https://time.com/6325586/killers-of-the-flower-moon-true-story/
Those who want either to ignore or rewrite our history on the grounds that we should insulate young people from anything that might make them feel bad about their "heritage" are just being willfully dishonest. You can't improve a history you don't even know. And while the present generation of anglo-americans (et al) may not be guilty of perpetrating historical atrocities and injustices, it definitely has inherited a socio-cultural advantage that has created an un-level playing field. We bear responsibility for received advantages due to the sins of the fathers and mothers whether we feel comfortable about it or not. If we're really honorable we'll want to rectify that inequity.
DeleteThanks for sharing. I wasn't aware of this book and movie. I will check into them. You know I understand what it's like to have a dark history. I expect many of us do or will at some point in our lives. Your story causes me to wonder again why we humans hurt one another so deeply. Especially innocent children. Innocent people. Stories like ours need to be shared so atrocities like those our bloodlines experienced might cease. Maybe I'm wrong to connect my story with yours because they are different circumstances but I feel for the innocence lost by the children, innocence taken by evil men.
DeleteWhen I was single, I spent about a month on the Navajo Indian Reservation. It was eye opening in many ways. However, I was very faith-based, young, and somewhat closed minded so I didn't understand nor embrace as much as I probably would as 50-something year old me. There was such beauty there, yet also such heartache.
Discussion Question:
ReplyDeleteWhere did the beginnings of the liberal arts originate and how? Would early educators and students recognize our "version" of liberal arts and still falling underneath their definition?
Follow up, how did you find out about liberal arts? Was it even spoke about when you were younger and starting the learn the differences between focus' in college?
To answer my own questions.
DeleteThe beginnings of liberal arts can be traced back to early Greece and Roman education. People started to notice the connection between how a person lives and where they live. I do think that they would recognize our modified version as still being a similar education style. Though there have been additions and subtractions to the field, it still circles the facts of culture, ethics, history, sociology, and the teachings of time.
I found out about the area of liberal arts in high school. I knew I was good at history, biology, and writing, but they didn't have classes specifically for liberal arts. I kind of feel in love with the idea of studying society from a holistic perspective and getting to learn all about the different components that make up our planet. Looking back, it was spoke about, but no one knew the correct term for it. A majority of my family did focused studies in practical areas: mechanics, medicine, hospitality, etc. I always got asked "Well, what are you planning to do with that degree?", and my answer was always "I can do anything with it with the proper application", but they never understood my passion for it fully.
"What are you going to do with your philosophy degree?" --Pursue wisdom, try and live a richer and more meaningful life, find a vocation that matters and makes a difference. That's one answer.
DeleteHere's a longer one:
"The origins of liberal education
‘Liberal Arts’ derives from the classical and medieval collection of subjects known as artes liberalis: "the knowledge worthy of a free person". The idea is that freedom only exists when you can recognise alternatives (and choose between them). This free society relies on the conscious choice of its people to take part in particular structures.
The heart of liberal education
What knowledge and skills do you need to be a critically-engaged citizen? The simple answer is critical thinking. Most liberal education programmes aim to develop critical thinking skills. Students will analyse and criticise a range of concepts and materials, developing the ability to approach new ideas with confidence. Graduates from these programmes often seek roles where they can make new interventions. They might be working in technology, politics, charity, academia, or a traditional profession.
Liberal education from past to present
Liberal education is not new
Liberal education is one of the oldest forms of education. It was the primary educational structure at the great medieval universities across Europe. Traditionally, there are seven subjects that made up the liberal arts:
The trivium of humanities (grammar, logic, and rhetoric); and
The ‘scientific’ quadrivium (astronomy/astrology, music, geometry, and arithmetic).
Together, these seven 'artes' contributed to the overarching art, philosophy..."
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/schoolforcross-facultystudies/liberalarts/prospectivestudents/undergraduate/what_is_liberal_arts/history_of_liberal_arts/
#1 Had you ever even heard of Isocrates? Why do you think most of us haven't? Do you prefer him to his more famous almost-namesake?
ReplyDeleteUntil this class, I had never heard of Isocrates. I didn't start highlighting the section until this quote: "It is far superior to have decent judgments about useful matters, than to have precise knowledge about useless things." (Kindle: location 10360)
Seems wisdom is superior to knowledge.
"The instilling in students of a flexible, critical spirit, and a mastery of language" defines the liberal arts education, of which Isocrates is considered the father. I am also impressed to learn that Isocrates "helped move philosophy from speech to writing." His emphasis on wisdom and critical thinking...formulating thoughts into words internally then aloud and on paper...sharing ideas in all realms of life...particularly politics and issues important to citizens...all this plus virtue...I kinda like this guy. LOL.
Yes, "sharing ideas in all realms" is what Isocrates represents... in contrast to Socrates, who favored face-to-face conversation and evidently mistrusted the written word. I agree with I, not S, on this. Just as we need to be receptive to the world through every portal, we need to be expressive on every available platform that promises successful engagement with our peers (especially engagement across our differences).
DeleteYes, "sharing ideas in all realms" is what Isocrates represents... in contrast to Socrates, who favored face-to-face conversation and evidently mistrusted the written word. I agree with I, not S, on this. Just as we need to be receptive to the world through every portal, we need to be expressive on every available platform that promises successful engagement with our peers (especially engagement across our differences).
DeleteWhat do you think it means to say that "community must cross time as well as space"?
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this quote, I imagine a bubble, represented as the community, covering a neighbourhood. I feel this is the way most people (including myself) think of the word community. However, this quote broadens the definition of the term. For a community to grow and be impactful to its members, it has to last through generations and expand into various areas. I think this is the best way to speak about the word. Also, I love the way space was used in the quote because it can mean many things. When talking about communities, space can represent land, households, families, or events. Anywhere that groups of people come together can be considered space. This quote is a great take away when expanding and continuing to have relevant communities for years to come.
I hinted at John Dewey's perspective on a possible meaning of this phrase. The last lines of his little book "A Common Faith" also adorn his gravestone:
Delete“The things in civilization we most prize are not of ourselves. They exist by grace of the doings and sufferings of the continuous human community in which we are a link. Ours is the responsibility of conserving, transmitting, rectifying and expanding the heritage of values we have received, that those who come after us may receive it more solid and secure, more widely accessible and more generously shared than we have received it.”
'The continuous human community in which we are a link' is surely a community that traverses both time and space, and points to progress in ameliorating the conditions of a more flourishing existence for our heirs. If only every community would come to identify as a link in the larger community of trans-generational humanity! Then maybe we'd finally study war no more.