We talked about the discourse between Liebniz and Voltaire
regarding God and the idea of a perfect world. One person said that the world
couldn’t be perfect if we don’t have anything to compare it to. It seemed as if
most of the group agreed with Voltaire.
Naturally, the topic of Valentine’s Day came up. One person
suggested that the holiday was entirely consumer-oriented. Evidently, most of
the group doesn’t particularly care for the holiday considering the
conversation shifted into Valentine’s Day horror stories.
After an awkward silence, we started talking about Die Hard.
One person said he had never seen the movies…. He was scolded immediately.
Majority stated that the first movie was the best.
Next we talked about sharks and how they are a more rational
fear than clowns. One person said that they find aquariums scarier than the
ocean. After that, we talked about spiders. Several people in the group
admitted they were afraid of spiders.
When Dr. Oliver came by, he tried to relate fears back to
Voltaire and Liebniz. One person brought up the question: If the world is
perfect, does that make people perfect? No one seemed to agree with the notion
that we could be. One person stated that the world needs to have both good and
evil, because a world of pure perfection couldn’t exist otherwise. Dr. Oliver said
that this was because we need the evil in order to appreciate the good. I don’t
think Dr. Oliver would be able to see eye-to-eye with a stoic.
Actually I don't agree that we "need the evil to appreciate the good," but I'll grant the point for the sake of argument. The next crucial question would then be: how much can we believe we "need"? It's hard to believe we need as much as we've got. It's impossible for me to believe that Newtown, for instance, can have been part of any divinely "perfect" plan. It's also impossible for me to accept the notion that the Newtown shooter's free will was worth a single child's life.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for misinterpreting what you were saying, but I was just trying to do my best to jot down as much of what you were saying as I could. I see what you're saying about the Newtown shooter and I wish we had had time to delve deeper into that subject with regard to Voltaire and Liebniz's philosophies.
ReplyDeleteMy view on the shooting is that this is the way the world works sometimes. Its tragic of course, but some things can't be helped. Personally, I believe we cannot enjoy pleasure without first experiencing pain. Most things in life are relative. Just as you can't adequately determine that the first song you ever hear is a "good" song if you've yet to detemine what you would define as a "bad" song. All in all, as tragic as the shooting was, it definately made me better appreciate the sanctity of my own life.
I believe that it would be very hard to experience pleasure, if even possible, without pain. I feel that this is why the farther people get in sports the more passionate they get about it. The more they train, the more they enjoy the win.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Joe, it is indeed the way the world works sometimes: tragically, horrifically, unacceptably. Would YOU be willing to tell one of the grieving parents that their loss is "relative"? Me neither. That's why I'm a pragmatic meliorist, unwilling to accept such events as inevitable... let alone "necessary" or "for the best."
ReplyDeleteBut of course that's how things look through my glasses. I'm still willing to peek through yours. But I'm gonna have to whip those specs right back off again, if such tragedies are made to look "rosy" through them. Again, from my angle of vision, that's unacceptable.
The attitude we take towards such things is of course, finally, a matter of personal decision for each of us. That's why we need to philosophize: to know what we think, to challenge ourselves to think constructively so we'll act correctly and CHANGE a world which so clearly does not always work out for the best, for everyone. And on that note we can talk today about Jeremy Bentham's proposal: "the greatest good for the greatest number."
I don't mean to imply that such tragedies are entirely "inevitable" but they are not entirely within our control. As horrific as it sounds, there could be another school shooting going on as I type this sentence. I too agree with Bentham's utilitarian proposal. I'm not suggesting that we should just sit back and accept such tragedies like Newtown as facts of life, but there's also no changing what's already occurred. We can only think of ways to create a safer future and thus expand the greater good.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there is no reason to explain to grieving parents that there loss is relative, but I would not be afraid to explain to them how those horrific events made me value my life more. It also inspired me, as well as many others to think of ways to prevent such horrible events in the future. If I were a grieving parent, I would be more at peace knowing that my child didn't die for nothing...but of course that's just me. I can't speak for the people who lost loved ones in the shooting.
I agree with eli. There needs to be pain and bad things happening in the world for us to appreciate the value of our life and to really appreciate happiness. I don't think that I could tell a parent who just lost a child that their pain is relative. Maybe we are just more sensitive to others and their pain than they were when this claim was made.
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