Final Post, A Conversation

Conner Schmitz

Prof. Phil Oliver

Co-Philosophy

May 5, 2020

A Fake Conversation

Kurt Anderson, Aristotle, William James, John Lennon, Fredrick Nietzsche.

SCHMITZ: I want a better world to live in, a better place to call home. America has been contorted into a place where the most inconceivable ideas are getting the most attention, may that be isolationism, denial in climate change, etc, while the most logical ideas and solutions are being tossed aside by the people who hold the most power. This has trickled down to the average citizen, turning most of its citizens into conspiracy theorists, causing many Americans to deny the importance of self-isolation and social distancing amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic. Because of spoiled media outlets that idolize a former reality a TV host as a President, who’s caused America to spiral into a hotspot for Covid-19 cases. I think so much of this could’ve been avoided if people; specifically the people wielding authority knew what the more serious and important problems that my country… that my planet is facing, and took better action to prevent global catastrophes to happen.

ANDERSON: There’s people within all levels of our government who hate the status quo so much  they’ve been delighted to make the federal government stop working when “they couldn’t force it to give them total victory— for them government dysfunction is an end, not just a means.” (FL 413) If you would’ve finished my book, Mr. Schmitz, you would know I believe Donald Trump’s first election (and probable next four years) to be proof of my theory of fantasy.America has mutated into a place called deemed to be called ‘Fantasyland,’ a place where the American people have been allowed the right to believe any damn thing they want, regardless if they had facts to back it up or not. These Americans can choose to choose to mainline cleaning supplies into their arm because their president told them it’s a safe thing to do, or they could continue their self isolation and social distancing mandates to avoid the virus that’s caused New York City alone to have more deaths from Covid-19 than any other nation; but we Americans can believe any damn thing they want, that our beliefs are equal or superior to anyone else’s, experts be damned. (FL, 6-7)

ARISTOTLE: But by believing in another’s authority, you can single-handily take away the spirit of philosophy; just because one has power doesn’t mean they’re automatically correct. Us philosophers thrive on debate, we feed off of the constant yearning for what’s right and wrong, it seems you’re after the same goal Mr. Schmitz. (LH 13-14)

NIETZSCHE: You mean to tell me that Americans’ can create their own moral compass? their own guidelines? In my book Thus Spake Zarathustra, I wrote about a fictional person of the future who isn't locked in a box due to a predefined moral compass,; this Übermensch, or ‘Super Man’ could have his own values, superstitions, or beliefs without being bogged down by and specific moral code, like the ones set on the believers within Christianity. I also suggest that one of the next steps in human evolution is to take away ‘God.’ If God is dead, then one has the potential of clear guidelines about how one should life and not let any authoritative figure dictate our morality. I think the patterns of though and feeling that we happen too possess have a history. Once you know the history of how we come to have the concepts that we do, it is hard to think of them as fixed for all time and as somehow objective facts about we ought to behave. Some people are either unafraid of the worlds current pandemic, or just plain ill-informed. (LH 172-174)

JAMES: Your idea of this Übermensch reminds me a lot of a Mr. Schmitz’ definition of an American citizen, I can see a bit of foreshadowing from your late 1800’s book in the 21st century, Nietzsche. But as a pragmatic thinker, I believe always a safe bet to attempt to rationalize and understand every side of a metaphysical dispute, even if ones argument might be interminable. It’s astonishing to see how many philosophical disputes collapse into insignificance the moment you subject them to this simple test of tracing a concrete consequence. Pragmatism suggests that the truth tends to vary, it’s based upon the individual, whatever is most rewarding. To make that apparent during America’s current situation, one can be able to differentiate goods way to stay healthy and while being able to jokingly discuss proper amount of pine sol to inject suggested by Donald Trump in order to ‘flatten the curve.’ There can be no difference anywhere that doesn't make a difference elsewhere - no difference in abstract truth that doesn't express itself in a difference in concrete fact and in conduct consequent upon that fact, imposed on somebody, somehow, somewhere and somewhen.    (Pragmatism II)

SCHMITZ: All fair points! Forgive me if I’m wrong, but it pragmatism sounds a bit selfish to me? Many things can be debunked the moment someone with a rational & sound mind enters a conversation.That doesn’t help the fact that people are still stubborn and subject to their own beliefs, no matter if those beliefs are true or false, possibly even life-or-death during this coronavirus pandemic. What would it take to push American society in a better direction?

LENNON; “You say you want a revolution. Well, you know we all wanna change the world… You say you’ll change the constitution, You tell me it’s the institution. Well, you better free your mind instead.” There’s always been a back and forth between the what the status quo is, and what’s right. One of the best ways to ignite a movement, to bring change, through is through music. When we first recorded our self-titled album in 1968, there was social unrest across the entire globe; the same year French president Charles De Gaulle dissolved the French assembly, which caused a quarter of workers in the country to strike at the peak of the protest; the Beatles song ‘Revolution 1’ is rumored to be the soundtrack to those French protests, much like when 100,000 people marched on the US Embassy in London to protest the Vietnam War. I know that music, just like any other artistic medium has the capability to spark a movement that can’t be put out, and bring some much needed change.. (Revolution 1).

ARISTOTLE: Art, whether it be a painting, music, or literature, it always seems to bring out emotions people might’ve not known they had in themselves. This is just one of many ways to seek the truth and find happiness. But it’s still human nature to use logic and reason, before you make potentially life threatening decisions, if you were to look at it during the Coronavirus Pandemic. It’s what sets Man apart from Beast, and my idea of Eudaemonia, which an objective way to is to develop a good character; feeling the right emotions about certain situations will allow somebody to achieve happiness, Eudaemonia. This seems to still have relevance two-thousand plus years after my demise. Eudaemonia translate to English pretty roughly, but can be summed up as the flourishing or success of the individual rather than a sort of momentary happiness that seems to be more sought after, especially many people of America. I think it’s safe to assume  Seeking some sort of private eudaemonia while living during a pandemic could result in a better approach to society once the dust settles and people return to what’s left of normal life.. (LH-11-13)

SCHMITZ: I too think that it’s important to develop ones virtues, it isn’t a radical thought to have; that individuals should attempt to do the right thing and become better people. Personal development key to getting through a global pandemic, and I think by listening to the Center for Disease Control to do little things right now (social distancing, wearing a cloth mask in public) are not just a few good virtues to have, but a few great ways to keep yourself and others safe. I still don’t seem to understand why people ignore the facts that are present and continue to believe we’re not facing a worldwide problem. Are people less precautious about their safety (and safety of others) because they believe there’s a life after this one? Who’s to say they’re wrong? It’s easy to think somebody's grandmother ponders the though ‘why should I care if I die from this virus? I’m passing soon regardless, and I get to walk through the Pearly Gates once this adaptation of SARS takes me for good.” 

JAMES: You fail to realize that all people have their own different truths. My academic friend C.S. Pierce and I spent many years at Harvard University developing a different approach to truth, defining the truth as something that works for a particular individual. For example, one who believes in a higher power does so because there’s things to benefit from it, most, often a life after death. Regardless if it has facts to back it up, the act of believing creates their truth. So to say that “God exists” as a true statement is simply to say that it is somehow good for the believer to believe it, some people are able to grasp the idea of a higher power, something that put us on this Earth (possibly for a reason), while somebody else could see right through that.

ANDERSON: The ‘whatever works’ mentality can work for the average-Joe, but in a time of crisis it’s not what needed. This ideology of subjective truth is one of the reasons America is at the standstill that is is now. There may be people in public refusing to wear masks because they for some reason they believe they’re immune to the illness in the air. In times of crisis we shouldn’t let ‘whatever works’ dictate what could cause the downfall of ones health.