blackburn simon think a compelling introduction to philosophy

It has insisted on the power of rational reflection to winnow out bad elements in our practices, and to replace them with better ones. It has insisted that the unexamined life is not worth living. In this way, ideologies become closed circles, primed to feel outraged by the questioning mind.įor the last two thousand years the philosophical tradition has been the enemy of this kind of cosy complacency. Reflection opens the avenue to criticism, and the folkways may not like criticism. People like to retreat to within a thick, comfortable, traditional set of folkways, and not to worry too much about their structure, or their origins, or even the criticisms that they may deserve. They are to be understood only by brothers and sisters within the circle. They will shrug off criticism: their values are “incommensurable” with the values of outsiders. Others may want to stand upon the “politics of identity”, or in other words the kind of identification with a particular tradition, or group, or national or ethnic identity that invites them to turn their back on outsiders who question the ways of the group. Some are fearful that their ideas may not stand up as well as they would like if they start to think about them. Many people are discomfited, or even outraged, by philosophical questions. There are always thoughts that stand opposed to it. Since there is no telling in advance where it may lead, reflection can be seen as dangerous. Doing this properly is doing one more piece of conceptual engineering. Reflection enables us to step back, to see our perspective on a situation as perhaps distorted or blind, at the very least to see if there is argument for preferring our ways, or whether it is just subjective. When these beliefs involve the sleep of reason, critical awakening is the antidote. It is because of ideas about what the others are like, or who we are, or what our interests or rights require, that we go to war, or oppress others with a good conscience, or even sometimes acquiesce in our own oppression by others. In the end, it is ideas for which people kill each other. We are typically ready to believe that our ways, our beliefs, our religion, our politics are better than theirs, or that our God-given rights trump theirs or that our interests require defensive or pre-emptive strikes against them. Convictions are infectious, and people can make others convinced of almost anything. There are always people telling us what we want, how they will provide it, and what we should believe. Goya believed that many of the follies of mankind resulted from the “sleep of reason”. …One of the series of satires etched by the Spanish painter Goya is entitled “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters”.

Blackburn simon think a compelling introduction to philosophy