Hello group one,
(being Kierra, Jamie, Ian, Stephanie, Erin, Grant, Tyler, and Mervat) First, let me apologize for not posting this yesterday. In retrospect I probably should have not been the author because I had a lot to do yesterday, but I just volunteered without thinking. My mistake.
So yesterday (wednesday), after a long explanation of our baseball themed participation system, we discussed pages 3-13 of America the Philosophical by Carlin Romano. These introduction pages gave the backdrop for the theme of the book, which is that the rest of the world has an unfounded view that Americans lack in philosophical capability. Romano, and Dr. Oliver, were quick to point out that 'pragmatism,' a school of philosophy which values utility but differs from utilitarianism in that it does not adhere to classical Empiricism, was founded in the United states. Furthermore, Romano argues that the US has reached a pinnacle in philosophical understanding which far exceeds any other culture; for example, the ancient Greeks or 19th century Germans.
We did not really have time to discuss anything in great detail, but I think this book is provacative and will lead to some interesting discussions.
-Layton Switzer
First off, I'm lovin' the Calvin and Hobbes. =]
ReplyDeleteI was one of the people who was in charge of the reading and questions and what not for Philosophy Bites back. The two main focuses in this reading were Mary Margaret McCabe on Socrates and the Socratic Method for chapter one, and Angie Hobbs (another reason I love the Calvin and Hobbes, It's a nice allusion) on Plato and Erotic love for chapter two. As far as textbooks go, I'm enjoying this one quite a bit so far. It's interview-like format is really giving it a nice conversational tone which, in my opinion, makes it immensely easier to follow along with than America the philosophical.
FQ: According to Angie Hobbs, the (probably fictional) priestess called _______ taught Socrates everything he knows about eroticism. -Diotima, Pg. 14
DQ: Do you think that the modern society that we live in today makes it easier to regularly and effectively engage in the Socratic Method than it was in the society of ancient Greece?
Link: And here's a cool link to a little school video regarding the meeting of Socrates and Euthyphro That was Discussed briefly on page 3. Enjoy :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDZTqL0WN3M
I read Socrates and Plato. It was very interesting. Socrates felt he had to debate his ideas and keep questioning it over and over. Declaring If you don't think about it enough then it's not worth living what you are doing, for that he said that the people didn't really know what they thought. Plato went as far as to say that he and other philosophers would be better at political power. But, the people of Athens not valuing Socrates as much sentences him to death.
ReplyDeleteThat lead me to this question DQ
Is it really true that you can be too smart for your own good?
FQ - Wisdom for Socrates was not knowing lots of facts, or knowing how to do something, but meant understanding what?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdHp0FmEr78
Answer to FQ: The true nature of our existence, including the limits of what we can know. pg3
DeleteI was charged with the task of reading the last portion of the introduction in "America the Philosophical." To summarize it, Romano briefly describes the six part of his book. They are as follows:
ReplyDeletePart 1-American Philosophy and the Tradition
Part 2-Abandoning Toothless Truth
Part 3-The Rising Outsiders
Part 4-Gutenberg's Revenge: The Explosion of Cyberphilosophy
Part 5-Isocrates: A Man, Not a Typo
Part 6-Just Saying No to Justification
FQ: Who does Romano credit with ending "a two-millennium limitation of philosophy to a narrow, bad-faith search for eternal, objective truths?" (Richard Rorty, pg. 19)
DQ: What does it mean to be American? What's the connotation of the word "America"?
Link: Here's a little preview of Part 5 with some quotes from Isocrates. . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6_ZoVRr5tI
FQ: Nigel Warbuton says "people engaged in the Socratic Method are not as thoughtful as people in the library. Why?
ReplyDelete(Answer Pg 4) People engaged in the Socratic Method usually scrutinize ideas more in the market place
DQ: We read what Socrates meant when he said the "the unexamined life is not worth living," but what does it mean to you?
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC-YPNpPxS8
I found this video that further explains the Socratic Method
FQ: What did Socrates's friend Chaerophon ask the oracle about Socrates?
ReplyDeleteAnswer to FQ: Chaerophon asked, "Is anyone wiser than Socrates?" the oracle replied, "No one is wiser than Socrates."
DQ: Is there anyone today that thinks as much as Socrates did that people might remember in the future like how we remember Socrates today?
RL: http://socrates.clarke.edu/aplg0220.htm
This link helps explain who Chaerophon was.
Hey ya'll!~ Nice Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, 'tis a classic. :D
ReplyDeleteI was in charge of reading pages 13-16 of "America the Philosophical" by Carlin Romano. Throughout this section, Romano mentions many foreign philosophers (i.e Richard Feynman and Susan Jacoby) who believe that Americans are the absolute bottom of the barrel when it comes to rationality, insight, or philosophy. Jacoby believes that America's "junk culture" has affected their understanding of what Philosophy is and has caused the nation as a whole to become unintelligent and for a nicer word, dumb. Romano counters this by explaining that Jacoby doesn't use any examples in her argument that could be considered legitimate in rebuking any credibility that America has an intellectual nation. Romano goes on to give many examples on how America is the leading Philosophical, scientific, and innovative country in the world.
FQ: What was the name of the book and the author that Romano described as being the "most vehement" towards American culture and philosophical ranking?
(Answer Pg. 13 "The Age of American Unreason" and Susan Jacoby)
DQ: Do you think think that America can be qualified as the world's leading nation in science and Philosophy? Why do you suppose that other foreign nations believe that we are the lowest common denominator when it comes to anything intellectual?
Here's a short documentary called "Stupid in America..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4pN-aiofw
And here's a documentary called "American Philosopher."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hLFEXoRzU4
I was in charge of reading pages 17-19 of "America the Philosophical"
ReplyDeleteFQ: Who the 2 people that shown that philosophy transported from ivory tower to street or cafe can sell books? (pg. 16)
FQ: What story noted that philosophy majors scored highest of all majors from 2001 to 2004 on the verbal reasoning and analytical writing parts of the Graduate Record Examination? (pg. 17)
FQ: Who does Romano refer to as “philosopher-in-chief” (pg. 18)
FQ: What is the term used to describe the conversations between Plato and Socrates? (pg. 4)LH
ReplyDeleteFQ: What does the cave story come from? pg.5 LH
DQ: Do you agree with Plato that "Ordinary people have little idea about reality"?
Link: okay so I personally like to use Sparknotes as a study guide and I found The Republic by Plato on there and this is a link to Important quotations which I found to be really interesting
http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/republic/quotes.html