Exotic Journeys: A Tourist's Guide to Philosophy
brought to you by Ron Yezzi
Emeritus Professor of Philosophy
Minnesota State University, Mankato
© Copyright 2015, 2020 by Ron Yezzi
Return to Ron Yezzi's World Page
Here is the organization scheme:
In a Nutshell
8 BASIC ISSUES: My Positions on Basic Philosophical Issues
Ethics+: More Specific Ethical or Moral Issues
Logic+: More Specific Logical Issues
Social/Political+ 4: Social and Political Issues
Texts & Papers: Texts, Papers, and Presentations
Op Eds: Public Thoughts and Submissions
On Philosophers: Comments and Commentaries on Other Philosophical Works
In a Personal View
(For each issue, I begin with a personal Prelude. I always liked Descartes' autobiographical start to his Discourse on Method. Click on a major philosophical issue to proceed. Topics are listed for each issue to give you some indication of the content.--RY)
For a more neutral presentation of the first six issues, you can go to Philosophical Issues.
Topics
Prelude
A Hypothetical Situation
Religion: A Definition
Arguments for God's Existence
A Scale for Claims About Truth and Falsity
Meaning of the Terms
The Design Argument
Three Scientific Advances
Evolutionary Explanation
Evolution: True or False
A Verdict on the Design Argument
The Moral Argument
Religion: Its Moral Usefulness
Avoiding Evil Actions
Kant's Moral Argument
A Verdict on the Moral Argument
The Wager Argument
General Remarks
God's Nature
The Traditional Theistic View
The Problem of Evil
Other Conceptions of God's Nature
William James
Paul Tillich
Henry Nelson Wieman
Faith and Reason
Secular Prospects
Religion and Human Needs
The Secularization of LIfe
Religious Evils
Worthwhile Values in Secular Morality
Conclusion
Topics
Prelude
Conceptions of Determinism
Two Concepts of Determinism
Rejection of Predestination
Two Concepts of Causal Interaction
Rejection of Fatalism
Control of Human Actions
The Traditional Conception of Free Will
Rejection of the Soul
Rejection of Introspective Certainty
Rejection of Sartre's Position
Actors in the Control of Human Actions
Psychological and Moral Responsibility
Guilt
Responsibility
Topics
Prelude
Traits of a Good Person
Three Examples
Personal Assessment
Approaches to The Good Life
Egocentrism
The Basic Flaw in Egocentrism
Selfishness vs. Enlightened Self-Interest
Self-Assertion
Practical Difficulties
Example: Agonizing and Choosing by Two Persons in Similar Situations
Withdrawal Within Oneself
Obedience to Principles
Two Types of Principles in Ethics
Value of Principles Generally
Value of Open Principles Specifically
Cultivation of Virtue
Spirituality
The Traits of a Good Person Re-Examined
Trait Imbalances
Over-sensitivity
Over-intellectualization
Misused Displays of Character
Excessive Cooperativeness
Some Remarks on Personal Satisfaction
Topics
Prelude
Rejection of Skepticism
Rejection of Moral Relativism
Moral Relativism and "Might Makes Right"
A Paradigm Case of Wrongful Action
Grounds of Objectivity
The Need for Error-Correction Procedures
Modes of Knowing the Good Life
Openness to Life Experience
Response to Contrary Evidence 1
Evaluation 1
Faith
Response to Contrary Evidence 2
Evaluation 2
The Sales Mode
Response to Contrary Evidence 3
Evaluation 3
The Legal System Mode
Response to Contrary Evidence 4
Evaluation 4
Cooperative Consciousness-Raising
Response to Contrary Evidence 5
Evaluation 5
The Rational-Empirical Mode
Response to Contrary Evidence 6
Evaluation 6
Error-Correction Re-Examined
Conclusion
Topics
Prelude
Violence and Males
My Own Experience
Conclusions Based on My Own Experience
Human Nature and My Human Nature
Human Nature
My Human Nature
Our Special Group Human Nature
Unnatural Acts
The Way Things Naturally Are Intended To Be
Roman Catholic Position
Natural Law in Political and Legal Theory
Not Fooling with Mother Nature
Natural Adaptive Dispositions
General Conclusions about Unnatural Acts
Interrracial Dating and Sexual Relations
Incest
Artificial Methods of Contraception, Oral Sex, and Masturbation
Homosexuality
Cloning
Science, Nature, Nurture, and Autonomy
Reductionism in Science
Nature vs. Nurture
Autonomy
Significance of Reductionism
A Brief, Naturalistic Interpretation of Human Values
Autonomy in the Modeling of Human Behavior
A Simplified Model for the Process of Autonomy Develoment
Comments on the Model
A Qualification
Reason, Emotions, and Human Nature
Harmful Associations with Reason and Emotion
Harmful Emotional Actions or Reactions
Harmful Rational Actions or Reactions
Use of Terms
Reason
Emotion
Mixtures of Reason and Emotion
Reasoned Assessment of Probabilities
The Passionate Rationalist
Reason and Sensual Pleasure
Striking a Proper Balance Between Reason and Emotion
Some Brief Thoughts on Emotional Exuberance
Allan Bloom and Rock Music
Commentary
Dealing with Denials of Reason
Freud
Rousseau
Nietzsche
Topics
Prelude
The Relative Attractiveness of Conservatism and Liberalism
My Own Individualism
Republican, Democrat, or Third Party Person
Correct or Incorrect
Judging Those Who Disagree With Me
Individualism
Scientific Scrutiny of Human Beings
Individualism
Ego Identity and, Self-Actualization
Autonomy and Reconstructed Individualism
Responsibility
Personal Responsibility as a Popular Moral Notion
Individualism and Personal Responsibility I: The Basic Outline
Idealized Personal Responsibility
Realistic Personal Responsibility
Individualism and Personal Responsibility II: Responsibility and Irresponsibility in A Culture of Poverty and in A Culture of Affluence
Responsibility and Irresponsibility in A Culture of Poverty and in A Culture of Affluence
Some Reflections on the Two Cultures
Social Responsibility
Levels of Social Bonding
Responsibility for Others' Actions
Freedom
Freedom and Individualism
Non-Interference and Opportunity
Freedom As Opportunity
Balancing the Two Kinds of Freedom
Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom and Irresponsible Actions
Some Objections and Replies
Objection 1, Freedom in Ordinary Experience
Reply to Objection 1
Objection 2. Violation of Entitlements (Robert Nozick)
Reply to Objection 2
Objection 3: Freedom as Opportunity and Authoritarian Rule (Isaiah Berlin)
Reply to Objection 3
Loners, Rugged Individualists, Inward Seekers, Private Persons, Egotists, Rebels, Revolutionaries, and Reactionaries
Individualism, Social Contract Theory, and the Western Liberal Tradition
Rational and Naturalistic Liberalism
Liberalism and John Rawls' Social Contract Theory
Commentary on Three Great Political World Systems
Overview
My Proposed Galilean Analogy
Descriptive Philosophical Portraiture
Great Political World Systems
Science, Human Nature, and Political Systems
Solving Three Mysteries
Free Markets & Fair Markets
The Free Market Principle
Assumptions
Explanation
Strengths
The Free Market of Ideas
The Internet As a Free Market
Academia as a Free Market
Some Reflections on Academia and the Internet as Free Markets of Ideas
The Socio-Economic Free Market: Its Problems
The Free Market and Traditional Individualism
The Free Market Assumptions
The Free Market, Boom-Bust Cycles, and Instability
The Free Market and Self-Correction
The Free Market and Mutually Beneficial Exploitation
The Free Market and Desirable Character Traits
The Free Market and Competition: Constructive or Destructive
The Free Market, Innovators, Investors, and Rewards
The Free Market: Briefer Considerations
The Free Market, Making Money, and Meeting Social Needs
The Great Recession (2007 - 2009?)
Free Markets and Fair Markets
Affirmative Action
Statement of the Problem
Possible Solutions
An (My) Affirmative Action Solution
Some Relevant Evidence Regarding Affirmative Action
Historical Data
Data from the Statistical Abstract of the United State: 2004, 2007, 2012
Affirmative Action and Law
Some Principles of Social Policy Relevant to Compensatory and Distributive Justice
The Principles in More Detail
Some Beneficial Consequences Associated With Affirmative Action
The Meanings of Racism, Sexism, and Discrimination
Racism
Sexism
Discrimination
Overcoming Criticisms of Affirmative Action
Criticism Alleging Unfairness
Criticisms Alleging Personal and Social Harm
Criticisms Alleging Unworkability
The Real Injustice With Affirmative Action
Topics
Prelude
The Scientific Challenge
Three Claims About Folk Psychology
Vs. Solipsism
The X-Centric Fallacy
Questioning Solipsism
Five Reasons for Rejecting Solipsism
Other Minds
Supplementary Background
The Analogical Argument for Other Minds
Human Differences
Entity Distinctions
Gray Areas or Overlaps
Reply to a Standard Objection
Consciousness, Causal Efficacy, and the Scientific Challenge
Spinoza, Terminology, Emergent Evolution, and a Solution to the Mind-Body Problem
Reconstructing Spinoza’s Terminology
Reconstructing Spinoza’s Terminology
A Solution to the Mind-Body Problem
Implications
1. Mind-Body Separation 1
2. Mind-Body Separation 2
3. Rejection of Kim’s Argument Against Downward Causation
a. The Meaning of Emergence
b. The Mental in an Evolutionary Continuum – primordial mental events and mental incapacitations
4. Mind, Matter, and the Collapsing Continuity Fallacy
Kim’s Argument and the Fallacy
Mind-Body Irreducibility and the Fallacy
5. Mind: Limitations and Opportunities
The Mental and the Substratum
The Mental and Culture
Note about Memes and Culture
The Mental and Past Personal History
The Mental and Opportunities
6. Mind, Mortality, and Immortality
Immortality in Physical Characteristics and Behavior Traits
Remembrance Immortality
7. Free Will and Determinism
Two Concepts of Causation
The Compatibilist Position
8. Brief Comments about Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Conclusion