Up@dawn 2.0

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Questions for John Lachs

Let's re-boot this collaborative effort. Everybody please come up with at least one question for John Lachs and post it here. I'll send them on to him before his Thursday visit. 

Evan kicked us off the other day:

1. According to your book, it says that Alfred North Whitehead "averred that all of philosophy may well be a series of footnotes to Plato." Do you agree with this opinion? Why or why not? 
2. Is there a particular philosopher that influenced the writing of your book? 
3. Under the section of Ethics, there are three philosophers with different aspects of ethics. Those philosophers are Mill, Kant, and Butler. Do you agree with one of the philosophers over the others? Or do you have a different opinion on the topic? 
4. Would you consider Plato and Aristotle as the backbone of philosophy since the disagreement between them on the method of philosophy is still with us today?

7 comments:

  1. 1. In your book you said “The APA needs to establish a commission to study the full range and effectiveness of philosophy,” do you think this would help start the change in different departments realizing the importance of philosophers and including them on their team and faculty?

    2. You said in your book “Thinkers maintain that philosophy can do everything while others insist it can do nothing… philosophy is a result of other fields,” philosophy is a department that focus is on a variety of different specialties that add a new dimension of analysis on a variety of matters. Why do you think other specialists are not embracing philosophers for their input?

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1) How do you think philosophers' sometimes vastly different opinions from each other will affect the way different professions are guided, as well as the government, if a Council of Ethics is formed? Who will determine what ideas are better than others?

    2) Can you expound on what you mean when you say "philosophy is receptive to religious considerations"?

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  3. Questions:

    1. Which Philosopher(s) most impacted your Philosophical career path?

    2. Did you ever believe in something other than Stoic Pragmatism?

    3. Would you suggest the younger generation be exposed to more Philosophical studies and concepts?

    ReplyDelete
  4. 14-2
    1.Where does John Lachs thin Philosophy is going in the future?
    2. Does he think philosophy is going to evolve, or stay as it is through time?
    3.Does Philosophy have a future beyond the university? Alternative jobs in philosophy?

    ReplyDelete
  5. The questions we made today in Group 4 Section H1:

    1) How would you structure the "ideal philosophy distribution" in a university if you had the chance?

    2) Do you consider Philosophy more of a subject or a way of thinking?

    3) Do you think that we need to learn by imitation or by experience at our college age? Would the outcomes of our lives be better if we chose one over the other?

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  6. H01 - 1

    1) It says that you arrived at the position of being a Stoic Pragmatist somewhat recently at the time of your books publication, but how do you know that you won't change your mind, or clarify your viewpoint further in the future. What makes this instance in your life different than previous times you may have thought you had it figured out?

    2) I forget, but Dr. Oliver, I saw you write our next question down on your notepad so if you could remind me what it was, that would be great haha. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  7. 1. How prevalent would you say pragmatism is in American philosophy today?

    2. How does pragmatism relate to postmodernism?

    3. Where most people find materialism in the US, you describe it somewhat differently: "The truth is that we are in love with the future, worshipping its promise and answering all its demands." How does this relate to materialistic decisions not based upon the future? You cite the example of people saving for retirement or preparing for the next promotion, but what about people over their heads in credit card debt or drop out of high school?

    4. After describing the benefits of pragmatism in one paragraph, you write: "These are the reasons that pragmatism takes the place of lame versions of Marxism and religious thought as the philosophy of hope and effort." Do religion and pragmatism have similar goals? If so, are they held to the same standards? Do you see pragmatism becoming (or already become) the philosophical basis of American culture, similar to Stoicism in ancient Rome?

    5. An essential idea in pragmatism is the possibility of progress. How do we recognize true progress, and how do we then foster it?

    ReplyDelete

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