Unit 1 - Personhood
Q1. How did Descartes decide what is certain?
A1. To doubt things that can be doubted.
Q1. What is the idea of the Golden Mean?
A1. Choosing the middle-path between two extremes, for example the Golden Mean between cowardice and foolhardiness is courage.
Q1. What is the Happy Planet Index?
A1. A measure of a country's sustainable wellbeing and happiness.
Q1. Which philosopher from the Aesthetics Lesson said, “Beauty exists in the mind, and each concept of beauty is different.”
A1. David Hume
Q2. What is Hume’s Bundle Theory?
A2. According to Hume, there is no permanent self. The self is a bundle of experiences, such as sensations, emotions, and thoughts that constantly change.
Q2. What are Ethics?
A2. A guiding philosophy that deals with what is good and bad, and how to act with moral duty and obligation.
Q2. How did Costa Rica top the Happy Planet Index and what should we learn from them?
A2.
- A mid-income country
- Sufficient spare time
- Abundant interpersonal relations
- Access to education, healthcare, and nutrition services
- “Social capital” over material wealth
- Importance of peace
- Protecting the landscape
Q2. Name two philosophers who believe that the meaning of art is unchangeable.
A2.
Immanuel Kant - Once one has made up their mind on art, you can’t change their mind, because it’s all based on subject emotion and feeling. (Art is subjective).
Lucy Lippard - Our perception of art and beauty are skewed by those in power and those who “choose” what is beautiful. (Those in power influence what is beautiful).
Q3. Name the philosopher who said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
A3. Socrates
Q3. What were the three parts of a human soul according to Socrates?
A3.
Reason = truth and knowledge
Spirit = righteous
Appetite = desires
Q3. Explain the co-relation between society and the Marshmallow Test.
A3. Society often tends to judge what’s on the surface level, and never digs deep to understand the reason behind the actions and thoughts an individual has.
Q3. What is the Japanese philosophy: Wabi-Sabi?
A3. It’s a Japanese philosophy that believes in beauty lying in imperfections.
Q4. What does the Ship of Theseus theory say about personal identity?
A4. It raises the question that if each part of the ship is replaced, would it still be the same ship? This is an ongoing debate about whether personal identity is about physical continuity or whether it exists independently of the body.
Q4. This famous quote was said by which philosopher?
“When a motion is successful, it generates happiness, but when a motion is unsuccessful, it generates pain.”
A4. Hobbes.
Q4. What are the four pillars of a meaningful life?
A4. Belonging, Purpose, Transcendence, & Storytelling.
Q4. How is the train scene in the movie, Spirited Away, beautiful?
A4.
- Calm environment
- Characters sit beside each other
- No conversations are exchanged
Q5. Define Substance Dualism.
A5. The idea that the world is made up of both physical stuff and the mental stuff.
Q5. Who were the two philosophers who believed in the greatest good for the greatest number?
A5. Mill and Bentham.
Q5. Which philosopher says, “Happiness is the purpose of human life and the ultimate goal”?
A5. Aristotle
Q5. What are the four points that Kendrick Lamar makes on music?
A5.
- The importance of authenticity.
- Spirituality and consciousness in music = personal reflections and philosophical ideas.
- Music as a form of therapy.
- A platform to address issues, such as racism, inequality, and social justice.