Jack's Philosophical World

  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...

 Jack Hayes   Would it be bad if there were no future people? For whom and why? This is a question that is hard to answer. If you really think about it, there are some answers you could put in play. Everyday, humans kill wildlife that roams our planet. Whether its for eating, to straight up poaching, animals everyday are killed. The seas are overfished and there are countless endangered species of wildlife. The Oceans are also filled with plastic, and they're warming up more and more each year. Wildlife would easily be much better off without people.  Pollution would also become a thing of the past, and our planet would most likely do much of the healing it needs.  You could even argue that people would be better off not existing because our planet will be supposedly uninhabitable. Some could argue maybe that'd be best, but without future people, it honestly would be just sad. There is so...

  Are you the same person today that you were when you were 10 years old? Why? What consequences does your answer have for questions about survival, memory, and responsibility?  I have always been a deep thinker but right around the time I turned 10, my anxieties in life began to shine. I began to fear of the things that could possibly go wrong. If my mom was 10 minutes late picking me up after school, I was convinced she got in a car crash. I was scared for middle school because I didn't think I was smart enough to pass any classes.  I was someone who was scared of the world. Today, I know I have made it to this point, and have gone through really high ups and really low downs. I survived middle school, and high school, and I also wasn't near failing. I had a lot of help from people who built who I am today, and showed me how to survive, and be responsible. I can remember so many events so vividly over the course of ...

  Jack Hayes   How does Critchley characterize anxiety?  Critchley describes anxiety as where "the facts of the world recede from view". There is nothing yet everything at the same time, and it's confusing. This is a great description of life with anxiety, that I'm sure so many readers felt.  What makes it different from fear? What makes it different from fear is that there is no particular object that we are stressing. To me it is like having 50 tabs open at the same time. When your scared of something, you exactly what your scared of.  What does Critchley argue is the role of philosophy?  The philosophy is having an acceptance that we will die instead of being scared or denying it.  How does this apply to the pandemic? This applies to the pandemic because people are scared. Every time you go into public, you are taking a risk of being infected, and also possibly infecting others. But we cannot just shut down and sit inside forever until the virus goe...