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Philosophy!



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Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:24 pm
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LowKey says...



12) What did Kierkegaard mean by "the crowd" and why was he so critical of it? Do you agree with his assessment? Explain.

18) Discuss the notion that if we are not careful language "bewitches" intelligence. Explain Wittgenstein's concern and what he proposed as a way out of bewitchment. Provide one or two examples of bewitchment. Be precise.

19) Explain what Wittgenstein was driving at when he said that "what can be said at all can be said clearly, and what we cannot talk about must be passed over in silence." When he said that, did he think that philosophy could be "said"? If not, why not? Explain.

21) What is the "they" and what function does it serve? What is the they's role in dealing with the burden of being human?



Exam Q.'s. Halp?
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Once was Dreamer, is now LowKey_Lyesmith.

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Thu Jun 11, 2009 12:07 am
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Exialac says...



I'll do one.
12) By the crowd, Kierkegaard is merely referring to social norms/ comformity. Kierkegaard was critical of this because he felt that "The present age is a senseless age devoid of passion", meaning he felt that because everyone had conformed to such an extent, that creativity/uniquness was something of the past. For the assessment just talk about social cliques at your school with examples. I'll start you off ->fads. If I have time I'll try to help you with the rest. :)
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Thu Jun 11, 2009 1:44 am
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Rosendorn says...



*Pounces*

Nothing specific, but I shall try my hardest!

12- I think "the crowd" is peer-pressure. It's the mass-consciousness that drags everybody down. Ie- "The crowd" is the lowest common denominator. If you fall into "the crowd" you are dropping yourself down to the lowest common denominator and are not able to go to your potential. It is the group that doesn't change, doesn't rise up, because of a few people who prevent it from doing so. It is also protective of itself, so if you fall into "the crowd" it is very hard to get back out.

18- "Bewitched" to me, means language takes possession of it. You are so caught up in creating the perfect phrase, the perfect word, that you do not get your point across. It means you're not focusing on the intelligence itself; you're focusing on the words used to convey it.

Another meaning could be that you use language to puff yourself out, or lead people down the wrong idea paths. If you word something in such a way that the meaning is only visible to the author, but what others glean from the language is completely different, the intelligence can be "smudged" and skewed for personal gain.

"Intelligence" in the context above is somebody's ability to wrap their head around ideas. If that is not properly conveyed with language, if it is not "bewitched," as Wittgenstein put it, then it is able to be at least half-understood.

Of course, this is all after reading nothing on the topic, so I could be way, way off. (It's the same for everything, here, really. I'm just giving my thoughts on things. Which is what philosophy is all about, isn't it?)

19- Words are only about 7% of speech, as I'm pretty sure you know. If an idea is only able to be said with words, then it is possible to understand it, even if that idea/words are only said, or read, to oneself. However, what cannot be "said" is emotion. Silence, for this case, (In my opinion!) is body language. It's explaining how you need to be face-to-face with a person to completely understand.

For the second part of the question, I believe he is saying philosophy can be said. He might also be explaining why it must be so complicated. Because philosophy is trying to put words to very complex ideas, it must be clear, precise, and rather emotionless. Because the "what cannot talk about must be passed over in silence," as I stated before, is about the subtext of body language and tone of voice, philosophy has those elements mostly stripped out. Since it requires the reader to add in their own emotion to the text. This means the ideas in philosophy can be "said" around the globe and the meaning remains rather unchanged. The only things that change are the examples as people integrate the philosophy into their own culture and life.

21- So, with the rough understanding, here's what I got on "they"

"They" would be the equivalent of "The crowd" from Kierkegaard. Only, to be about the burden of humanity, it must be more. I believe "they" is the possibility of falling in with the crowd. By being called "they," humans shove themselves into the group of humanity, instead of going along the individualist side of "we are all a majority/minority of one" (The majority thing comes from my mom. Original quote is minority. I think). It is the fear of government numbers, being forgotten when you die, just becoming one of "they," ie- the average person. I also believe it is what causes some of us to strive for greatness. Those people do not want to become "they"; those people want to become a named person.

And my sentence above demonstrates the burden by my avoidance of using "they" tp explain the topic. By achieving, you get lumped into a new group. One that is higher than "the crowd" but it is a group none the less. So, it adds to the burden because no matter what you do, you are always "they" to somebody.

*Note- All of this is from my own musings and does not come from any certain texts. It is all my opinion and I cannot tell you what facts they are grounded in because I don't remember myself. I just hope it helps. ^_^

I also hope this made sense...
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

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Thu Jun 11, 2009 4:34 am
LowKey says...



Mwa-ha! Thanks so much Rose and Exialac! You guys are awesome.

This is the last question I have, and naturally, it's one where I get snagged at:

Compare and contrast refined utilitarianism and simple utilitarianism

Any ideas?
Necropolis SB / Necropolis DT

Once was Dreamer, is now LowKey_Lyesmith.

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
  





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Thu Jun 11, 2009 7:04 am
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Exialac says...



Dreamer wrote:Mwa-ha! Thanks so much Rose and Exialac! You guys are awesome.

This is the last question I have, and naturally, it's one where I get snagged at:

Compare and contrast refined utilitarianism and simple utilitarianism

Any ideas?


Well I only learned total vs average. So maybe it's the same. So :
Total utilitarianism would be like the state is only worth living for if and only if everyone is united and works together

Whereas Average utilitarianism would be based on the general qunitative qualities of of the state. It would be immoral to place someone above or below that general quailty in the state.

...something to that effect...maybe someone would clarify it even better. I'm that muddy swamp! You want the white sand the drinkable water. ;)
Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson. You find the present tense and the past perfect.
  








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