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Diamond Burr

Brief descriptions of the problems surrounding the various issues/problems pointed out by Nagel (1987) and (Goldinger / Burr, 1999)

          This essay is an attempt to show some rudimentary understanding of some issues pointed out by the authors cited above. Our goal in writing these brief descriptions of the problems surrounding the various issues is to show that it’s possible to understand what the issues and problems are, trying to articulate the questions that provoke controversy.

           Enlightenment is the emergence of the man from immaturity for which he is himself responsible. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s understanding without the guidance of another (Burr 02). Though, meditation  is necessary to clarify ideas and invert the position of our mind, from a zero point to a reasonable  comprehension of controvert positions of the authors. By reading these authors, one can emerge in a deep ocean of questions, that are fortunately answered along the  pages, but one thing pushes another one, and  then we easily become philosophers, in the attempt to link the immense perspective of subjects they propose.

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          Let’s start with freedom and Determinism. The  last one is rejected by a group of theorists holding a position called libertarianism. Although libertarians present a number of specific criticisms of determinism, most of these objections are concerned primarily with what appears to be a consequence of that position (Burr 30). Hard determinism, a major version of determinism, denies as does libertarianism, that moral responsibility is compatible with universal causation. (31) Some defending soft determinism, maintain that people can be morally responsible even though their behavior is determined (31). Determinists see enormous possibilities in directing the development of humans through the study of the hereditary and environmental factors influencing behavior (31). The sum total of a person’s experiences, desires and knowledge, his hereditary constitution, the social circumstances and the nature of the choice facing him, together with other factors that we may not know about, all combine to make a particular action in the circumstances inevitable. This view is called determinism (Nagel 51).

            [02] God and religion. The argument from Scripture attempts to prove God’s existence on the basis of the fact that we have some writings (Old Testament, New Testament, Koran, and so on) that tell of God. These writings are assumed to have been inspired by God and therefore reliable (Burr 117). Some people have even believed that if there is no God to back up moral requirements with the threat of punishment and the promise of reward, morality is an illusion: “If God does not exist, everything is permitted  (Nagel 62).

                [03] Morality and society sociological relativism is the name given to the factual claim that societies sometimes have different ultimate principles (Burr 200). Utilitarianism is a moral theory that holds that right acts are acts producing the greatest happiness (Burr 201). There are three objections to interpret religious foundation for morality. The first is that people make

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judgements of right and wrong. Second, if God exists, and forbids what’s wrong, that still isn’t what makes it wrong. Third, fear of punishment and hope of reward, and even love of God, seem not to be right motives for morality (Nagel 63).

[04] State and society .The marginal cost of becoming a well-informed voter almost always will outweigh the marginal benefit. Downs admits that this conclusion may not be true for every individual voter, but he claims that it is for most. The alleged voter apathy so often deplored really is voter rationality. Admittedly government would better serve the interests of an informed majority than it would those of an uninformed one. Collectively it is rational for voters to become well informed. Individually it is irrational (Burr 302). Nagel comments this passage: “I’m not sure I understand how responsibility for our choices makes sense if they are not determined. It’s not clear what it means to say I determine the choice, if nothing about me determines it. ... To avoid this conclusion, you would have to explain (a) what you mean if you say you could have done something other than what you did, and (b) what you and the world would have to be like for this to be true (Nagel 58). There’s no prospect of a world government, which is just as well, since it would probably be a horrible government in many ways. However there’s still a problem of global justice, though it’s hard to know what to do about it in the system of separate sovereign states we have now (Nagel 86).

[05] Mind and body .To preserve human uniqueness and to avoid viewing humans as determined objects, some philosophers claim that humans, unlike machines, possess nonphysical

minds. These minds, they contend, enable humans to think and feel in ways that could not be duplicated by any machine ( Burr 398). Everybody knows that what happens in consciousness depends on what happens to the body. If you stub your toe it hurts. If you close your eyes you

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can’t see what’s in front of you. If you bite into a Hershey bar you taste chocolate. (Nagel 27) Philosophy can’t tell us what stars or diamonds are made of, so how can it tell us what people are

or aren’t made of? (Nagel 31) He arrives in a conclusion: “One possible conclusion is that there has to be a soul, attached to your body in someway which allows them to interact. If that’s true, than you are made of two very different things: a complex physical organism, and a soul which is purely mental (This view is called dualism, for obvious reasons.) (Nagel 30).

            [06]  knowledge and science. Sextus Empiricus is not maintaining that all propositions are true or that all are false. What he is maintaining is that it is impossible for us to determine which are true and which are false. (Burr)  We couldn’t get along in life without taking the ideas of time, number, knowledge, language, right and wrong, for granted most of the time: but in philosophy we investigate those things themselves. The aim is to push our understanding of the world and ourselves a bit deeper (Nagel 05). Many human efforts, particularly those in the service of serious ambitions rather than just comfort and survival, get some of their energy from a sense of importance – a sense that what you are doing is not just important to you, but important in some larger sense: important period. If we have to give up, it may threaten to take the wind out of our sails. If life is not real, life is not earnest, and the grave is its goal, perhaps it’s ridiculous to take our selves so seriously. On the other hand, if we can’t help taking ourselves so seriously, perhaps we just have to put up with being ridiculous. Life may be not only meaningless but also absurd (Nagel 101).   Nagel explains: But the reasons against a purely physical theory of consciousness are strong enough to make it seem likely that a physical theory of the whole of reality is impossible. Physical science has progressed by leaving the mind out of

 

 

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what it tries to explain, but there may be more to the world than can be understood by physical science (Nagel 37).

            In conclusion, one can understand that knowledge depends on the mechanisms of transmission, which means the attempts of registering it and the interpretation of people who do not have connections with the local culture, is sometimes vulnerable. It can be in conflict with global references of acceptable standards of behavior and  reasonable tolerance and agreement.

 

Works Cited

 

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, New York:

       Modern Language Association, USA, 1988.

Goldinger, Milton; Burr.  Philosophy and Contemporary Issues. University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 

      1999.

Nagel, Thomas. What does it all mean? , Oxford University Press, New York, USA, 1987.

 

About the Author

Última atualização do currículo em 30/07/2009
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Man I think I Love Her?

Yellow Benz wit a spoiler kit, wit my spoiler chick
Yellow diamonds on my neck and wrist, match this yellow bitch
She a trip, shawty she the shit, she know she the shit
If you don't buy her what she want then she throw a fit

She a bitch, shawty mean as shit but she super thick
And she act silly like a kid, give her candy stick
She a bit, make her flip a brick, make her sic a chick
Since legit, I've been swanging dick, Gucci Mane the shit
(Burr)

I met a girl name Susie, I let her join my group
I know she not a groupie, so I let her in my coupe
I snatched her in my fender while I stashed her in my tire
Susie is a money maker but that bitch a liar

I think I love her?

thanks for the lyrics dick mouth :p

Diamond burr debridement of a corneal ulcer in a dog (under anesthesia)