Subversive language and the role of philosophy
"I am writing a book." This is not as creative, interesting, or impressive as it actually sounds, so in my day-to-day interactions I like to just leave it at that. "I am writing a book." If pressed for details, I'll reveal that it's a Korean history book. The rights to this book will be sold to a Korean businessman, who wants to publish the ( Read more... )
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Hm.
Hmmm.
So, here I am, with my finger on the trigger of the gun whose muzzle is leaning on the temple of my chosen victim, and suddenly by a fluke of telepathic contact my mind is all at once filled with a deep and comprehensive understanding of all the good philosophy ever done by humans.
In your view, does any of that new understanding make me reconsider my previous decision to squeeze the trigger?
If so, why would that be?
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Will philosophy dramatically change the behavior of humans on a micro level? Probably not. One would like to think that certain individuals, offered the insight of a rigorous course in thinking, might rethink instituting the Holocaust, or the Inquisition, or various efforts at oppressive colonialism. But there's no real telling.
On the same note, take the same individual with the same gun to the same victim's head. Via telepathic contact, you can fill him with the knowledge contained in any of the humanities, sciences, or any other field. Which one stops the squeezing of the trigger?
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But the idea that moral philosophy gives up entirely on the notion that a comprehensive grounding in good moral philosophy changes the way one thinks about things like committing murder seems strange to me, so I wanted to confirm that this is indeed what you were claiming.
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