Learning About Today’s World from Descartes and Hume
Like so many young people in America, I was introduced to an important academic discipline in college purely by accident. In my particular case, the year was 1975, the subject was philosophy, and the accident was the person of one Peggy Fredrickson, who happened to be taking a course in logic. I regarded Peggy as cute, which caused me to sign up for the course as well.Like so many of my “unrequited love” stories of the day, my “thing” for Peggy never panned out. But I had also fallen hard for philosophy, and, miraculously, it appeared to feel the same way about me; we enjoyed a torrid romance in which she called me to wrap my arms and wits around her, and tackle some of the questions that have challenged humankind for thousands of years: Who are we? How do we learn about the world “out there,” and what limits exist in our capacity to know? Why are we (and all of that stuff) here? What are our rights? Our duties?
Probably the most common piece of wisdom derived from Western philosophy is the French rationalist Rene Descartes’ “I think therefore I am.” That we exist is absolutely certain, but beyond that, all else is mere conjecture.
Frankly, I was never as taken by the so-called “cogito” as the rest of the world seems to be. I’m not saying that it’s false, but I’m not sure how useful it is. Human beings don’t function on certainty; we function on a network of beliefs that we deem to be highly probable. We don’t need certainty; it doesn’t buy us anything. I just looked at my hands typing this article, and I said to myself, “These are two hands.” Yes, it’s logically possible that this is a delusion, but I’m as sure as I need to be that it is not.
I was actually more impressed with Scottish empiricist David Hume, who taught us something else along the line of knowledge and certainty. He said, “We always disbelieve the greater miracle,” meaning, for instance, that if my friend said he saw an five-legged dog, I’d be obliged to decide whether it’s more likely that a five-legged dog exists, or that my friend’s statement is incorrect.
This has great meaning in our world today–perhaps more so all the time. Take the guy the other day who, in the context of a focus group on politics, explained that Jesus could come down from heaven and tell him that Donald Trump was lying about something, and that he’d still believe Trump. I’m not sure many people (of any religious persuasion) would agree with him, but that’s not the point; his statement is quite pertinent to what Hume said. In the all-too-frequent case of conflict, we all have to believe one concept over another.
Re: Trump, for instance, we need to believe that one of two parties is lying:
a) Every single one of the 16 of the women accusing him of sexual assault, James Comey, the 17 U.S. intelligence agencies that have concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 election, and the thousands of journalists covering his presidency whom he dubs “Fake News,” or
b) Trump himself.
It’s up to you, America. No one can make this judgment for you. And, it’s true: If you choose to believe Trump, you won’t be alone; you’ll join the guy in the focus group….though I’m not sure that will land you in particularly good company.
(There’s a type in your fourth paragraph. You say “Jesus could come down,… and that he’s still believe Donald Trump”. You probably meant to say “and he’d still believe…” Please delete this parenthetical aside when you fix that error.)
I think Hume would really only apply for the guy in the political forum if he was disbelieving the direct and open appearance of Jesus, as that would be a miracle.
Trump lies all the time, literally between 5 and 8 times per day (depending on who’s counting) he tells a public, documented baldfaced lie that is easily disproven.
If you understand the idea behind the Final Judgement, Jesus exists in every person we meet who is of good heart. So this asshole is literally meeting people all the time who tell him that Trump is lying literally all the time. Those instances would not be the greater miracle in the sense that Hume would consider it… it would be the Coming of Jesus in all His glory that would be the greater miracle.
The asshole not believing that Trump is lying is the opposite of a miracle: its a mundane act repeated ad nausium, done for the worsening of mankind and as a defilement against the teachings of Christ.
Thanks for the note on the typo.
There is no doubt in my mind that the world would be a far better place if we could all emulate the character of Christ.
Bush the Lesser was thought by a great many to be the ultimate embarrassment for our country. I don’t miss Junior, but Trump is definitely less qualified, less believable, and more dangerous to liberty and justice.
Yes. 45 was the best thing that ever happened to 43.
Craig,
Well, you certainly have an interesting slant on philosophy !
It would appear you make a decision, then hear the evidence, not really what Descartes had in mind.
The claims against Donald Trump by these various women are at best petty, vague and at worst, very dubious.
One woman ( Temple Taggart McDowell: The 1997 Miss Utah USA) who claims she remains “traumatized because Donald Trump kissed her once on the mouth 20 years ago, may have more credibility if she hadn’t been paid to take part in a “celebrity kiss-a-ton” , and other publicity promotions.
Another, Mindy McGillivray claims she was groped by Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2003, when she was 23 during a ray Charles concert.
In her own words, “All of a sudden I felt a grab, a little nudge. I think it’s Ken’s camera bag, that was my first instinct. I turn around and there’s Donald. He sort of looked away quickly. I quickly turned back, facing Ray Charles, and I’m stunned. I remember thinking Donald Trump may have touched me inappropriately”.
Oh yeah, let’s not forget sweet innocent Jessica Drake, who also claimed the young Donald Trump traumatized her by embarrassing her and kissing her hard on the mouth. Well,… maybe her claim is true…but then Jessica isn’t that sweet or innocent is she ? At that time she had just completed her 87 hard core pore movie, and countless pornographic photo shoots . Nor does Jessica mention her online store selling adult videos and sexual paraphernalia.
Oh, and her connection to the Clinton campaign !
The thing is, these allegations never expand any further than “he kissed me, or may have touched my backside”.
No doubt Trump tells what he believes is his version of the truth. And that’s the problem when deciding anything. Anyone who is experienced in listening to any dispute quickly realities it possible for two people to tell two different versions of events, and both be sincere and truthful.
There’s truth in the old saying, “there’s my version, there’s their version, and the truth “!