ARE HUMANS DETRIMENTAL TO THE PLANET?

   

As the video portrays the effects of mankind's innovations and impact on the world, we begin to realize that the elimination of our primary and secondary needs such as clothes, shelter etc revert us back to mankind's prehistoric days. Our animal instincts have no ethics or morals because we are prepared to do anything in order to survive. Does this make humans inherently evil?

What is the root of all evil? Are we inherently 'evil' or 'good'? Are good and evil contingent with society?

Join us in Room 3226 at 1 pm in Wolfson Campus as we discuss and debate on: Is human intelligence a curse for planet earth?

GRADE SAVERS

 

October 20th 2015

 

 

 

We will be conducting a study session for the upcoming Mid Term which will be held on Friday for M W F classes and Thursday for T R classes. Join us in Room 3226 at 1pm to discuss the topics learnt, as we go over the reviews prepared by Lazaro Nunez on Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 7.  

Voltaire by Max Isambert

Francois-Maire Arouet

Born in 1964 Pairs France, Voltaire wrote a number of literary works, philosophical papers, and is considered to be one of the greatest minds during the French Enlightenment.  He advocated for religious freedom, free trade, civil liberties, and social reform. His writings were a catalyst for the French and American Revolution.

Francois would’ve been considered a rebel in today’s society. Throughout his schooling as a young boy, François went against his father’s wishes, to become a notary, and pretended to be a recorder in Paris while in fact he was writing. Once his father found out, Francois was sent to study law. Francois fell in love with a protestant refugee, in the Netherlands working as a French ambassador, and was forced again by his father to return to Paris.  Continuing to support his highest views on religious tolerance and the applications of the government, François developed a tense relationship with the authorities that landed him a couple of imprisonments and exiles. However, in one of these imprisonments, he wrote his first play OEdipe and regained his reputation. During his time at this imprisonment he also penned the name Voltaire. Voltraire’s name would be seen as a break from his past.

Voltaire would be later exiled to Britain. Curuois about the Country’s, relative, freedom of speech, Voltaire wrote a collection of essays, Letters Philosphiques sur les Anglais, which outraged Franc , the letters ridiculed the French government,  and later exiled. Throughout Voltaire’s’ life, he would be exiled from Paris a multiple of times and from Geneva.  His final stay would be Ferney just next to the border of France where he wrote Candide known to be one of his greatest works. Still during his stay in Ferney, Voltaire published Dictionnaire Philosophique which was one of his most important philosophical works. It demonstrated his views on religious order and his ideal religion that taught more morality.   During his short stays he wrote works.

Voltaire set out to see his premiere of the play Irene, in Paris. On his way to Paris he soon realized that he will not be alive any longer and wrote the following farewell words, “I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition”.

He did, however, make it to the play and passed away during his sleep.

Voltaire will be buried by his friends in the abbey of Scellieres. He will be recognized In 1791 by the National Assembly, for being one of the most influential men during the French revolution. The National Assembly has his body moved to the Pantheon, in Paris, and it brought 1 million people to recognize his works.

A Summary of Charles S Pierce's 'How to make our Ideas Clear' D Rashila Fernando

SUMMARY: HOW TO MAKE OUR IDEAS CLEAR

Charles S Pierce

Context: Charles S Pierce was known as the father of Pragmatism. Here I summarize his article How to Make our Ideas Clear 

The passage begins by recalling the difference between clear and obscure conceptions, distinct and confused conceptions which the author assures has remained unchanged over the years. A clear idea is defined as a justified true belief that is unmistakably appreciated. An absence of this property would define an obscure conception. A distinct idea would be defined as a conception that lacks the absence of clearness or clarity. Descartes explored the ideas discussed by comparing the idea of a stone which possesses properties such as that of temperature (warm and cold) with the concept of God, who he found to be both distinct and clear. Although Descartes lacks precision in defining such concepts, it is evident that he attempts to regard a 'clear and distinct' idea as one which contains both clarity and coherence, thereby 'impressing itself on the mind'. Keeping this in mind, Descartes would therefore classify the concepts of numbers, time periods, and space as clear and distinct ideas; Clear and distinct ideas enabled Descartes to arrive at a conclusion that he can be certain of.

The text stresses on the need for logic to guide us to make clear ideas which I think is vital as logic is the process of reasoning according to strict principles of validity. We are also given an insight to the concepts of doubt and belief which remind me of a quote by Andre Gide "Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it." The author relates two examples to highlight the fact that the evolution of thoughts over a time period (be it hours, days or even years) lead to belief; that is the irritation of paying a fee with five coppers or a nickel. The illustration of the hesitation described could be termed as Doubt and the result or decision as Belief and help us achieve a better understanding of the concepts in question. We are also informed about the distinction between the two elements of consciousness with the example of musical notes which I find to be rather helpful in making sense of what we are immediately conscious of and are mediately conscious of. For example, music is comprised of notes and the air. While a single tone may be extended for a certain period of time and may last long unlike with relation to air, we understand that it might be present to a sense that whatever we hear is completely absent from its past and will not be found in the future (which is the very definition of immediate consciousness). Moreover it is imperative we also comprehend the difference between sensations, that are ever-present while they last, and thoughts, which are comprised of an inception, middle, and an end as they constantly stream through our minds. Using the analogies discussed, we are then introduced to the concept of belief.

Belief, according to Charles S. Pierce, consists of three properties: Not only are we aware that we have attained it and does it possess the ability to pacify our impatience associated with doubt, but belief also results in or leads to the cultivation of habits. In my view, this concept seems to follow a somewhat circular pattern. That is to say, the motive of thinking would be the irritation of doubt which leads one to relax their thoughts as one arrives at a particular belief. However as belief is considered to be a habitual process, which requires in depth thought about something, it finds it way back to another thought. Thus it is, in my view, a cyclical process. Furthermore, it is important we understand that "different beliefs are established by the different modes of action to which they give rise to" in the words of Charles S Pierce. Pierce also discusses the definitions of a path (the displacement from point A to point B) and velocity to explore the concept of a force which can either be defined as something that 'is an acceleration' or 'causes an acceleration.' Thus Pierce is opening our minds to the concept of fallacy that lies entirely in the propriety of language. Another concept introduced towards the end of the chapter is that of reality which is a discipline concerned primarily with Logic. We are given an illustration that Descartes put forth concerning dreams: In simple terms, Descartes questions reality when he remarks that although dreams may seem very real, they are in fact not the right way to tell that we are dreaming. And because we can never be certain that we are dreaming while we are dreaming, and we can't be certain that we are not dreaming when we are 'not dreaming', sense experience cannot be a reliable source of knowledge. 

PHILOSOP-HER

The Artificial Intelligence of  “HER”

“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

In Spike Jonze’s critically acclaimed film, HER, the protagonist, Theodore Twombly, a lowly introvert falls in love with a computer program. Although Samantha is an A.I, the relationship  blossoms into something that is far from purely platonic. To the audience of the movie, this may seem like a bizarre concept to grasp given the less-technologically advanced era we are in (compared to that of the movie). More important is the philosophical question it raises: how can a computer ‘love’ a human so much that in the mind of the human, it is “real”?. Can an A.I love like a human if we program it the way humans love one another? In the near future, that possibility might become a reality. The case of Theodore, who cultivated a relationship with Samantha, intimately, like any other human relationship makes us contemplate about the differences between a computer program and a human being. In the film, Samantha has fifty thousand other relationships while being with the protagonist. How is that different from a man or woman who practices polyamory?  The number, hopefully, is far less but the idea of having multiple partners for some individuals is just another program. How does Human intelligence differ from Artificial Intelligence? This is what we we will explore when we meet on the 13th of October.

Links that will help you prepare for Tuesday’s discussion:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/the-philosophy-of-her/

http://andphilosophy.com/2014/12/15/her-and-philosophy/

http://hplusmagazine.com/2014/03/26/response-to-susan-schneiders-the-philosophy-of-her/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_artificial_intelligence

http://consc.net/mindpapers/6/all

Timeline of Philosophers

THE VOLTAIRE SOCIETY: Talking Philosophy

The Philosophy Club at Wolfson Campus welcomes you to an environment that opens up your mind to learn, share and critique philosophical ideas. We meet every Tuesday at 1pm in Room 3226 to discuss philosophical topics of interest that range from the relationship (if any) between wisdom and happiness, the universality of beauty, the philosophy of time travel to the role of philosophy in the nature of science and in particular, artificial intelligence. The list really is endless and we are more than happy to hear what you have to say on the issues discussed.

ON OUR AGENDA

Discuss, Debate and Deliver

If you are a student taking Phi2010, we understand that fifty minutes of lecture time isn't enough to express your thoughts and clear your doubtful mind. Your mind is like an ocean of thoughts, flooded with unprocessed, fresh and raw ideas gushing in all directions. And you might find yourself drowning in a dark void of doubt until your fifty minutes is up and your stream of consciousness vaporizes  to thin air where it will remain forever. Regardless, even if you are a student completely unfamiliar with Philosophical concepts, there is nothing that can prevent the evolution of a thought or the blooming of a brilliant idea. And the beauty of it lies in the fact that it can happen anywhere, anytime. You might be in a train on your way to college, contemplating about motion and somehow find yourself thinking about the possibilities of time travel or at the cinema being baffled by the philosophy and possibility of artificial intelligence after watching Spike Jonze's Her.

The Voltaire Society is the right place to give voice and value to your thoughts and ideas.

In addition to conducting discussions and debates that will primarily be on (but won't be limited to) a philosophical topic taught or referred to in class, we also organize field trips to enhance our learning. We also watch movies and documentaries that consist of deep philosophical theories and read works of literature that revolve around similar topics on which our analysis and discussions will be based off of.  

THE NAME OF THE CLUB

Voltaire, or  François-Marie Arouet, was a French philosopher and a prolific writer who stood up for civil rights such as the right for freedom of speech and freedom of religion in particular. We decided to incorporate his views on the freedom of speech into the ethic of the Philosophy Club so we can freely express our opinions on a variety of  topics in a civilized and dignified environment.

THE BLOG

We upload articles on philosophical topics discussed and debated on during our meetings as well as issues taught in class. We also have a section dedicated to students who are in need of assistance with the Phi2010 course which consists of reviews, and guidelines for writing a good Philosophy Paper.