Jack's Philosophical World

  Derrick Darby in his work “Reparations and Radical Inequality,” addresses restitution in terms of a group level compared to an individual one.   He presents the argument that slave owners should contribute reparations to slave’s relatives.   With the horrible injustices the have happened over the course of history in the United States, the question has been posed if living descendants of slaves should be paid for the horrifying acts of the past. In July 2008, the US House of Representatives stated how they were committed to “‘redressing the lingering consequences of these misdeeds” (Darby, 2010).   The   aftermath from the horrific events still continue to have consequences today in with the imbalances between blacks and white in education, wealth, health, and more. With the US being more than five decades away from Brown v. Board of Education, there still continues to be a setback for black students in educational underachievement, compared to white students....

  To what extent do Caney's arguments about reparations regarding anthropogenic climate change apply to the issue of reparations for slavery?     Caney makes a strong case to show that not paying forward reparations is in no way turning a blind eye towards people of color in terms of historical injustices. It is a very generalized idea in terms of it being right that people don't recognize the flaws in doing so. In terms of environmental reparations, Caney does not believe anyone is entitled to protection from climate threats, yet argues that people in places like Africa and other lower end countries bear the effects the hardest. Caney has problems with Parfit's take on climate in which he says it actually benefits future people. With people already feeling the effects of climate change, and a potential skyrocket of hunger Caney believes that action must taken. Her arguments about reparations do not apply to her views on climate reparations becaus...

                 The Second- The duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of radiation corresponding to a hyperfine transition of cesium-133  in the ground state.                    Standard clocks measure each second in what is called universal time. Not every clock is accurate, but each clock measures the frequencies of the cesiums as best they can. There are some much more accurate clocks that monitor the accuracy of the cesium interactions. If we didn't keep track of time, none of this would be relevant! Since we do though and each second is defined so  distinctly, the motions of these small atoms make time relevant. 

 The relativity of time is the fact that two events that may occur at the same moment, are actually not the same moment. It is a complex thought that may be confusing, but examples are helpful. In New York, someone wants to throw a baseball as far as they can. Let's say someone in Paris has the same exact idea, and they want to do it at the exact same time. The relativity of simultaneity is that when the balls are thrown, they will not be thrown at the exact same moment. Although they can say it was at the same time, form a distant observer (maybe up in a plane between the two countries), it will not be at the same moment. What is not relativity to simultaneity is appearance simultaneity. Norton uses an example that involves watching a star explode in space. Although we may think it just happened in the present, it may have happened 10 million years ago. Norton explains that you cannot clarify the relativity until the appearance factor is solved, because there is relativity to it. ...

  Before reading McTaggart's article, how did you conceive of the nature of time? Did you recognize your own view of time in one of the series that McTaggart describes? What does McTaggart mean by "the unreality of time"? Were you surprised by any of McTaggart's arguments?          This is a topic which I actually think about very often. I'm someone who is always looking into the future and wonder what opportunities or events I will come across in my life. I also try very hard to live in the present, but I know life is a moving cycle and I can't help but think ahead. I'll be honest, I consider myself a deep thinker and sometimes I think so deep that I get a little uncomfortable. A similarity that struck a nerve with me was the A series. The A series indicates that the past, present, and future are continual illusions, which is something I have found myself pondering over. An example in my life that...

  Do we have duties to protect future people from adverse effects of climate change? Why? Who is “we”? Many people say we do. As Caney says, Climate Change is widely recognized, and soon we are going to have to start changing the way we treat our planet. If something is widely recognized, and is not acted upon, it shows major incompetence. What if one day, our planet becomes uninhabitable, and we knew we we were on a path to trouble? Future people may hate us for all we know because we could have stopped it.  I will not say that though, because we have no idea what the future holds. When you ask who is. "we", I believe we is referred to the human race of today. People should become more proactive about unplugging things when they aren't being used, and turning the coffee maker off when its done.  These little things can add up, and it may seem small but if everyone left their lights on, it would be a problem. The government also comes into play here, and when signs become...