![]() There are a couple of structures that I found that discuss this issue: However there has to be a mechanism that would allow us to process information in a mutually significant way. So the concept of responsibility enters the conversation, even in such a vaporised reality. To start off with and to set an appropriate tone, a quick video.Ī helpful tool in this discussion is a meaningful definition of truth. ![]() All of which is a fancy way of saying: YOU ARE WRONG! Of course this applies to matters that lie at the threshold of opinion, but the very foundation of truth itself is a shifting quagmire. Since the end of the Enlightenment, the nature of knowledge has become increasingly uncertain, and the idea of a metaphysical truth or perfection has been all but eradicated. There is also an audio file from an NPR interview with the author of a topical book in the Further Resources section. The article about Pitcairn is a little long, so for the purposes of the discussion important passages have been left in dark black ink, while the rest has been included but greyed out. Under the Island´s legal and moral code, nothing wrong had been done. Under Commonwealth law there were crimes committed that needed to be punished. Due to the trial and its verdict the Island´s culture and way of life was threatened. Since the island was under the rule of Commonwealth law a trial against the perpetrators took place and was overseen by New Zealand authorities. In 2004 it was seen in the news concerning serious accusations of child abuse and pedophilia. A web address to a more complete description can be found in the Further Resources section below.įinally there is a case study of an isolated island in the Pacific called Pitcairn. Next comes an article that discusses the basics of cultural relativism. A favorite is “Culture is everything you learn after birth,” but others are provided in an attached document which offer a little further nuance. The first step is to come to some definition of culture that we can adhere to for the purposes of the debate. Should we act on that impulse or learn to respect cultures that follow practices well outside our own code of conduct? Somewhat of an eye-opener for me personally.Īt what point does a society have the right/responsibility to intervene against a different culture on moral grounds?Ĭultural Relativism is a concept developed to maintain respect for cultures whose morality system differs from our own in some meaningful way. However as members of a morality-driven culture we will always find ourselves in situations where we feel obligated to interfere against an act that severely contravenes our own moral code. Natural vs synthetic happiness.Īn interview series with mythologist Joseph Campbell. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as planned. Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce - and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.ĭan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the idea that we’ll be miserable if we don’t get what we want. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied. Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. THEOLOGY AND FALSIFICATION, from the University DiscussionĪ great discussion on religion and tautologies. In the Salon we talked about one of the last chapters in the book where he gets really speculative and really fun. Koch also has a book called: Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist. For a more serious treatment of his ideas see this article in Nature. They were designed to be discussed with friends (and lots of wine).Ĭhristof Koch on Consciousness at the MIT in a debate about his work on consciousness and what it means for artificial intelligence. ![]() Most of the things below are outside economics. ![]()
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