Saturday, January 13, 2018

DESCARTES WAS WRONG: A PERSON IS A PERSON THROUGH OTHER PERSONS


By: Abeba Birhane
Level of difficulty: ** This is a philosophy text and as such it is in a different category from other texts. Don’t make it the first level two you do.
BEFORE YOU READ
The text you are going to read is a philosophy text. This being the case, it is vital that you prepare properly. In short, don’t skip the videos.
·         PHILOSOPHY - History: Descartes' Cogito Argument [HD]
·         I Am Because We Are: The Spirit of UBUNTU | Max Quinn | TEDxBSU
·         Hubert Hermans' summary of the Dialogical Self
NOW LISTEN AND READ ALONG
Use the icon to the left of the screen to listen to the text. Be sure to read along, highlight important points and use the margins to take notes. Here I am assuming you are working with a printout, the most efficient way to work.
QUESTIONS
1.       In what fundamental way does Ubuntu philosophy differ from Western thought?
2.       What conclusion can be drawn from the examples provided in paragraph two?
3.       The reason the Ubuntu philosophy doesn’t sit well with the way we perceive ourselves is………….
4.       The views of Descartes, which are summarized in paragraph four, are collectively called….
5.       What was Descartes’ purpose in formulating his philosophy?
6.       Read the account and analysis of the case of Kitty Genovese. The purpose of the writer in citing this example is to draw attention to a contradiction. State clearly what it is. Begin as follows: Although…
7.       Latené and Darley might have come up with a different explanation for the events that took place on the night Kitty Genovese died if they had taken …..into account.
8.       Bakhtin’s purpose in formulating his philosophy was to see if he could ….
9.       Bakhtin reached the ultimate conclusion that…
10.   The effects of solitary confine seem to prove that Descartes / Bakhtin / Piaget /Freund was / were wrong.
11.   The purpose of solitary confinement was ….but it failed miserably because lacking human relationships and the give and take that goes with it….
WRITING TASK
The text ends with the following words: There is a Zulu phrase, ‘Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’ which means ‘A person is a person through other persons’. This is a richer and better account, than ‘I think, therefore I am’. Write an essay in which you discuss to what extent you agree.
DESCARTES WAS WRONG: A PERSON IS A PERSON THROUGH OTHER PERSONS
This straightforward yet profound text tackles a problem that has long occupied the thoughts of thinkers worldwide: what makes us who we are? In doing so it challenges the Cartesian cogito and introduces us to a very different answer to the question. The whole text is a brilliantly written persuasive essay on the issue. The writing task I have provided is designed to bring everything together and should not be timed.
1.       People are born without ‘ena’ or selfhood and instead must acquire it through interactions and experiences over time.
2.       A person is partly forged in the crucible of community.
3.       The philosophy of René Descartes
4.       The Cartesian cogito
5.       To find a stable point of view from which to look on the world without relying on God created wisdoms (This is the minimum you need. Your clue is the semi colon.)
6.       Social psychology purports to examine the relationship between cognition and society, a collective of Cartesian subjects are the real focus of the enquiry.
7.       Vital contextual information
8.       Reconcile the relational world embracing version of the self and the autonomous inward one
9.       Truth is born between the people collectively searching for the truth in their process of their dialectic interaction
10.   Descartes and Piaget

11.   To turn the prisoner’s thoughts inward , to prompt her to reflect on her crimes, and eventually help her return to society as a morally cleansed citizen / a person risks disappearing into non-existence

1 comment: