The unexamined life is not worth living. In what sense is this true? It seems we could be quite happy or happier just simply not giving mind to anything. Naturally, or should I say evolutionairally, we have quite sophisticated auto-pilot devices that allow us to navigate the world and the problems within it without much ado consciously.
Harry Frankfurt - he of the popular On Bullshitting title - says that autonomy is defined hierarachally. If we are to be autonomous, we must think about our thoughts, our wants, our desires. To do this, is to be autonomous and, in essence, to be human. We must have thoughts about thoughts - 2nd tier confirmations of our whims.
Harry Frankfurt - he of the popular On Bullshitting title - says that autonomy is defined hierarachally. If we are to be autonomous, we must think about our thoughts, our wants, our desires. To do this, is to be autonomous and, in essence, to be human. We must have thoughts about thoughts - 2nd tier confirmations of our whims.
Michael Bratman - he of important work on social co-ordination - says we take this one ste
p further. We not only have 2nd tier thoughts about thoughts. But we try to watch this up with an overall policy that guides our life. In fitting with the dialogue, Gladwell wants to want to drink coffee because he has a policy that he is a coffee drinker. Perhaps coffee drinking allows him to interact with a certain crowd, a social millieu. Maybe some of his favorite authors also have a weakness for the Java and this lends some chic to it. Or maybe he just likes the taste. In any event, there is quite a bit of thinking going on.
The question is - how often do we engage in this type of thinking? Certainly, its not all the time. Work must be done, there's chores to be had. But my question is a not that we bypass this mode. But, there question, should we be engaging in it at all? And, if so, how much? And, would our lives be much different if we engage in 2nd tier thinking or just go through on auto-pilot. And do people, besides real keeners, actually formulate life policies? A lot of folks have goals, but we often don't have a policy about coffee. And, after all, don't we kind of just stumble into things? A friend recently described his life by saying if, 20 years in the past, he could see 20 years into the future to where he is now, it would seem so crazy. But every step of the way was gradual. He was stumbling not necessarily irrationally, but definitely unknowingly.
p further. We not only have 2nd tier thoughts about thoughts. But we try to watch this up with an overall policy that guides our life. In fitting with the dialogue, Gladwell wants to want to drink coffee because he has a policy that he is a coffee drinker. Perhaps coffee drinking allows him to interact with a certain crowd, a social millieu. Maybe some of his favorite authors also have a weakness for the Java and this lends some chic to it. Or maybe he just likes the taste. In any event, there is quite a bit of thinking going on.The question is - how often do we engage in this type of thinking? Certainly, its not all the time. Work must be done, there's chores to be had. But my question is a not that we bypass this mode. But, there question, should we be engaging in it at all? And, if so, how much? And, would our lives be much different if we engage in 2nd tier thinking or just go through on auto-pilot. And do people, besides real keeners, actually formulate life policies? A lot of folks have goals, but we often don't have a policy about coffee. And, after all, don't we kind of just stumble into things? A friend recently described his life by saying if, 20 years in the past, he could see 20 years into the future to where he is now, it would seem so crazy. But every step of the way was gradual. He was stumbling not necessarily irrationally, but definitely unknowingly.
This calls into question not the pursuit of philosophy as a pursuit about defining the nature of politics or science or conceptual analysis. But it does call into question part of the ethos of philosophy that has been with us since Plato or Socrates (I really fail to figure who said what between them) - that the best life is one of examination - examination that is pointed, in part, inward.
Is this too much?
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