tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4516524448870006829.post6966868126743638199..comments2023-10-17T08:04:08.714-04:00Comments on The Examined Life: The First Thing Is to Admit What We Don't KnowAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04614116686638969278noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4516524448870006829.post-6128174721651956502011-05-07T12:41:00.933-04:002011-05-07T12:41:00.933-04:00I've sometimes feared that philosophy is dead....I've sometimes feared that philosophy is dead. I believe we need it now more than we ever have--contemplation and discussion of what our sciences have revealed, how they have shaped us, and how to live in those new shapes.<br /><br />I'm not a theist, but I have dubbed myself a failed philosopher who has a lot of remedial work to do. Psychology, I'm less sure about. Does that sound funny coming from me? The workings of the brain are being better explained by neuro-biology--now, there's fun! It was always the philosophy end of psychology that appealed to me, so I wonder if we don't need more philosophy and more neurobiology and fewer of those goofy studies of whether the brains of men and women are or are not innately different or whether pheromones work on people.<br /><br />Good post and my gratitude for reminding us what science did and still can do to create misery, as well as to generate "progress" and information. Judgement, Ethics, Morality that speaks to today's conditions--these are the proper focus of man, I believe.Nancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15166865250789996825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4516524448870006829.post-89855982646088657442011-05-05T18:14:11.080-04:002011-05-05T18:14:11.080-04:00You know that I'm firmly rooted in the science...You know that I'm firmly rooted in the science camp; science in its purest form cannot go wrong.<br /><br />As you and others have pointed out, though, it's when us pesky humans bring our own biases and foibles into the mix that things can go awry. This is inescapable. If the science is going to get done, we've got to be the ones doing it. That's why peer review is so important. There will always be unethical people out there, and some of them are bound to be scientists. <br /><br />I try to temper my scientific bent with the more philosophical things in life. You can reduce music down to tonalities and pitch and rhythm...but it takes a little something extra to put it all together in such a way that a song can bring me to tears. I love those moments as much as I love arguing with an anti-vaxxer. ;)Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05149068921334726430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4516524448870006829.post-42735006192312359982011-05-03T04:14:08.702-04:002011-05-03T04:14:08.702-04:00I agree that unless we examine how our fears pose ...I agree that unless we examine how our fears pose as rational factors in the decision-making process, out decisions will be hopeless skewed. Science just IS - we make it good or bad. <br />What I do think is that we have to stop being dismayed that human beings act like the sophisticated animals that we are. We were not noble savages without technology, we were very often savage savages. Man in not inherently good, he does what he has to in order to survive first, and usually only when he feel secure in the world will be show kindness and social cooperation and rationality.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173711110500689117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4516524448870006829.post-76924995273143430232011-05-01T20:52:53.211-04:002011-05-01T20:52:53.211-04:00The key is responsible science, and for nuclear po...The key is responsible science, and for nuclear power, most of us do that. Every decade or so, there is an incident, but in the bigger picture, we are safer now than ever before.Ken Richeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09425810816600512504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4516524448870006829.post-56603079812549379442011-04-28T10:44:51.949-04:002011-04-28T10:44:51.949-04:00This is an interesting post, Sheria.
"What i...This is an interesting post, Sheria.<br /><br />"What is inherent in our nature that makes us need to believe in something so strongly that we exclude reason and compassion from our thought processes?"<br /><br />I ponder this question myself.<br /><br />Love,<br /><br />SBSarcastic Bastardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116577711704241625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4516524448870006829.post-31807003002230785462011-04-27T16:45:13.124-04:002011-04-27T16:45:13.124-04:00"Hanging the solution to today's problems..."Hanging the solution to today's problems solely on science or reason is no more rational than announcing that it's all in God's hands."<br /><br />Likewise blaming those is pointless as well. It's one of our human failings that we look for blame, but that we do anything beyond vegetating, seems to be the product of reason and to me, the question isn't whether to depend on this or that for answers, the question is about the quality of reason and the reasonablility of our beliefs. Much of our reasoning isn't reasonable, but rather rationalization and many of our beliefs are a form of escapism.<br /><br />But that still leaves us with the problem of of how to control our impulses or even to understand them. There's no easy answer and the nature of the question makes all the difference. <br /><br />The world is hungry, frustrated, ignorant and poor. How do we solve that. Certainly compassion argues that we do solve it as does the inherent danger, but Compassion doesn't come from science or pure reason. It isn't inherent in the concept of faith either, although for many, it's a huge part of it.<br /><br />There's something other than these two straw men demanding attention to the human condition. We both feel it, but what do we call it? Buddhism teaches it, some other religions do, but are often hypocritical about it. That's what Jesus was talking about in the Samaritan parable.<br /><br />I wish we could develop an argument for compassion, but it's beyond me, but we feel it, don't we? We know it's right and all the more so if it's not for fear of God, in my opinion or even the logical thing to do.<br /><br />Why then do we argue as though life had one dimension with two poles?Capt. Fogghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03093968390001879062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4516524448870006829.post-56587742846651617772011-04-27T14:56:18.311-04:002011-04-27T14:56:18.311-04:00what an interesting entry Sheria. It is ties liek...what an interesting entry Sheria. It is ties liek this that I miss Sarah even more than I try to..we woudl be discussing your outlook and mostly agreeing with everything you write. Sarah thought you were a remarkable woman and who am I to disagree. Thankyou for giving us so much food for thought. (Also things and events that I never even knew about )<br />Love Sybil xxSybilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02516012178494813281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4516524448870006829.post-26082185350314431332011-04-26T19:50:49.773-04:002011-04-26T19:50:49.773-04:00unmitigated, that is exactly my point.unmitigated, that is exactly my point.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04614116686638969278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4516524448870006829.post-52524130044280228442011-04-26T07:42:08.667-04:002011-04-26T07:42:08.667-04:00I don't think science is ever inherently evil....I don't think science is ever inherently evil. The humans who pervert its uses bring the evil with them.unmitigated mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13901264130484454602noreply@blogger.com