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Untangle Philosophy
Великобритания
Добавлен 19 сен 2021
Bringing Clarity to Your Philosophical Confusions.
Welcome to Untangle Philosophy! The purpose of this channel is to explain complex philosophical theories, ideas and concepts in simple, easy-to-understand videos.
We're currently working towards covering the entire UK OCR & AQA A-Level specification. However, most videos are relevant to everyone, everywhere.
My series on Kantian Ethics, for example, is relevant to every university that teaches Kant -- and that's pretty much all of them!
My Qualifications:
First Class BA (Hons) - Philosophy
Master's with Distinction - Ethics, Epistemology & Mind (University of Edinburgh)
Welcome to Untangle Philosophy! The purpose of this channel is to explain complex philosophical theories, ideas and concepts in simple, easy-to-understand videos.
We're currently working towards covering the entire UK OCR & AQA A-Level specification. However, most videos are relevant to everyone, everywhere.
My series on Kantian Ethics, for example, is relevant to every university that teaches Kant -- and that's pretty much all of them!
My Qualifications:
First Class BA (Hons) - Philosophy
Master's with Distinction - Ethics, Epistemology & Mind (University of Edinburgh)
Plato’s Dualism | Arguments from Recollection & Affinity Explained
Did Socrates prove the immortality of the soul? Moments before his death, he presented arguments suggesting that death is far from the end. In this video, we explore Socrates’s Arguments from Recollection and Affinity as discussed in Plato’s dialogues, Phaedo and Meno.
Socrates argues that learning is not a process of gaining new knowledge, but rather of recollecting what the soul already knows. Through the Argument from Recollection, he demonstrates that knowledge is inherent in the soul, unlocked through questioning and reflection. This is shown vividly when Socrates guides an uneducated slave to discover geometric truths, suggesting that the soul knew these truths before birth.
In the Ar...
Socrates argues that learning is not a process of gaining new knowledge, but rather of recollecting what the soul already knows. Through the Argument from Recollection, he demonstrates that knowledge is inherent in the soul, unlocked through questioning and reflection. This is shown vividly when Socrates guides an uneducated slave to discover geometric truths, suggesting that the soul knew these truths before birth.
In the Ar...
Просмотров: 57
Видео
Plato’s Dualism | Reincarnation & the Argument from Opposites in the Phaedo
Просмотров 32День назад
When you die, is it the end, or does your soul live on? For Plato, the soul is eternal and indestructible, distinct from the mortal body. In this video, we’ll explore Plato’s dualism, his Argument from Opposites for the immortality of the soul, and his ideas about reincarnation. Perfect for University Courses & A-Level Philosophy & Ethics OCR & AQA or equivalent. 🔍 Key Points Covered Plato’s du...
Criticisms of Situation Ethics #2 | Fallacies & Child Euthanasia
Просмотров 3614 дней назад
Is Joseph Fletcher's Situation Ethics really a loving and inclusive theory? In this video, we critically examine its most controversial aspects, including Fletcher’s stance on babies with Down’s syndrome, the subjective nature of “love,” and its potential for justifying harmful actions. Joseph Fletcher’s Situation Ethics advocates loving one’s neighbour and puts people first, but it’s not as si...
Criticisms of Situation Ethics | What Does “Love” & “Situation” Actually Mean?
Просмотров 17421 день назад
What could possibly go wrong with an ethical theory based on doing the most loving thing? In this video, we untangle the criticisms of Joseph Fletcher’s Situation Ethics by digging into two key concepts: “love” and “situation.” What do these terms actually mean? Does Fletcher provide a consistent explanation sufficient to guide ethical decision-making? Perfect for University Courses & A-Level P...
Aristotle’s Prime Mover | The Final Cause, God, and Eternal Motion
Просмотров 144Месяц назад
In this video, we explore Aristotle’s Prime Mover: an eternal, unchanging being that explains all motion in the universe. This isn’t just any first cause; it’s pure actuality, immaterial, motionless, and even… God. Perfect for University Courses & A-Level Philosophy & Ethics OCR & AQA or equivalent. 🔍 Key Points Covered: The need for a first mover Why the Prime Mover is pure actuality, motionle...
Is LYING Wrong? Mill & the “Sacred” Rule Against Lies | The Ethics of Lying
Просмотров 426Месяц назад
Is lying ever justified for the greater good? What about when the benefit of lying is only marginal? In this video, we explore John Stuart Mill’s position on the ethics of lying. Through his refined version of Utilitarianism, Mill tackles these questions, offering rule-based guidance as to when lying is morally permissible and when it’s morally forbidden. Mill doesn’t dismiss lying outright but...
Is LYING Wrong? Augustine & the Eight Types of Lies | The Ethics of Lying
Просмотров 2132 месяца назад
Is it ever okay to lie? Would you lie to save a life, protect a secret, or avoid harm? For Augustine, the answer is always no-but that doesn’t mean all lies are equally bad. In this video, we explore Augustine’s eight types of lies from his “De Mendacio” (On Lying), and uncover his fascinating arguments-both theological and secular-against lying. Augustine is the first philosopher (that I’m awa...
Augustine’s Philosophy of Lying | Intention, Truth & Deception in “De Mendacio”
Просмотров 2052 месяца назад
What makes a lie a lie? Is it just about saying something false, or is it more the intention to deceive? In this video, we explore how Augustine uncovers the definition of a lie in his short treatise, "De Mendacio" (On Lying). Far from being a black-and-white moralist, Augustine provides a rigorous and deeply considered analysis of lying worthy of any modern philosopher. 🔍 Key Points Covered: -...
Is LYING Wrong? Plato & the Myth of the Noble Lie | The Ethics of Lying
Просмотров 6122 месяца назад
Would Plato (or Socrates) lie to you? In this video, we explore Plato’s discussion on lying in The Republic, in particular his concept of the “noble lie.” This idea suggests that, under specific conditions, rulers are justified in lying to their citizens for the benefit of society. The myth of the noble lie seeks to convince everyone that they are “born of the earth” and mixed with either gold,...
Leibniz’s Theodicy | The Best of All Possible Worlds | The Problem of Evil
Просмотров 5182 месяца назад
In this video, we explore Leibniz's theodicy and his argument that this is “the best of all possible worlds.” Despite the existence of evil and suffering, Leibniz argued that a perfectly good and powerful God would create the world in its most optimal form, and used the Principle of Sufficient Reason to support his argument. We’ll also examine Voltaire’s satirical response, in which he famously...
Augustine’s Theodicy | Free Will, Fallen Angels & Original Sin | The Problem of Evil
Просмотров 3473 месяца назад
In this video, we explore St. Augustine’s response to the problem of evil in his theodicy containing fallen angels, forbidden fruit, and condemned babies. According to Augustine, evil is a result of the misuse of free will, beginning with fallen angels and the first sin of Adam and Eve. Augustine also introduces ideas like privational evil, predestination, and the Principle of Plenitude to supp...
John Hick & the Soul-Making Theodicy | The Problem of Evil
Просмотров 5813 месяца назад
Is reality a vale of soul-making? Explore John Hick's soul-making theodicy, and his attempt to reconcile the existence of an all-powerful (omnipotent), all-loving (omnibenevolent) God with the reality of suffering. Building on the ideas of Irenaeus, Hick sees the world as a place of moral and spiritual growth-what he calls a “vale of soul-making.” Join us as we break down Hick's key concepts li...
Irenaeus' Theodicy | Developing into God’s Likeness | The Problem of Evil
Просмотров 2793 месяца назад
In this video, we explore Irenaeus’ theodicy and his approach to solving the problem of evil. How can an all-powerful (omnipotent), all-loving (omnibenevolent) God coexist with the presence of evil? Irenaeus argues that evil plays a crucial role in human maturation, allowing us to develop into the likeness of God by striving toward moral and spiritual perfection. Perfect for University Courses ...
Aristotle's Theory of Change (Part 2) | Substantial & Accidental Change
Просмотров 1834 месяца назад
In this video, we explore Aristotle’s distinction between substantial and accidental change. We explore how these ideas help us understand not only the physical world but also Aristotle’s ethical theory. From the birth and death of organisms to the development of virtue, this video breaks down how change is central to Aristotle’s understanding of both nature and human development. Perfect for U...
Aristotle’s Theory of Change | Matter, Form & Privation | Potentiality & Actuality
Просмотров 3554 месяца назад
Aristotle’s theory bridges the gap between the ideas of Heraclitus, Parmenides, and Plato, offering a practical way to understand the world’s changing nature, from the formation of a statue to the growth of an acorn. In this video, we break down Aristotle’s explanation of change, focusing on his three principles of change: matter, form, and privation. We also explore his concepts of potentialit...
Aristotle's Four Causes | Material, Formal, Efficient & Final
Просмотров 2834 месяца назад
Aristotle's Four Causes | Material, Formal, Efficient & Final
Augustine’s Influence on Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics | Original Sin, Free Will & Beatific Vision
Просмотров 1094 месяца назад
Augustine’s Influence on Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics | Original Sin, Free Will & Beatific Vision
Aquinas & the Virtues | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #9
Просмотров 1425 месяцев назад
Aquinas & the Virtues | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #9
Aristotle’s Influence on Aquinas and Natural Law Ethics | Eudaimonia, Teleology & Nature
Просмотров 1495 месяцев назад
Aristotle’s Influence on Aquinas and Natural Law Ethics | Eudaimonia, Teleology & Nature
Aquinas & the Ethics of Abortion | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #7
Просмотров 3575 месяцев назад
Aquinas & the Ethics of Abortion | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #7
Doctrine of Double Effect | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #6
Просмотров 2,4 тыс.5 месяцев назад
Doctrine of Double Effect | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #6
Interior & Exterior Acts | Aquinas vs. Bentham on Intentions | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #5
Просмотров 1436 месяцев назад
Interior & Exterior Acts | Aquinas vs. Bentham on Intentions | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #5
Real & Apparent Goods | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #4
Просмотров 1506 месяцев назад
Real & Apparent Goods | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #4
Primary & Secondary Precepts | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #3
Просмотров 2806 месяцев назад
Primary & Secondary Precepts | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #3
Aquinas & the Four Laws | Eternal, Natural, Human & Divine | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #2
Просмотров 5336 месяцев назад
Aquinas & the Four Laws | Eternal, Natural, Human & Divine | Aquinas & Natural Law Ethics #2
Do the Ends Justify the Means? Kant vs Utilitarianism
Просмотров 6627 месяцев назад
Do the Ends Justify the Means? Kant vs Utilitarianism
God or Gods? Unravelling the Hidden Polytheism in Genesis 1 | Genesis Analysis Ep. 2
Просмотров 7448 месяцев назад
God or Gods? Unravelling the Hidden Polytheism in Genesis 1 | Genesis Analysis Ep. 2
The traditional problem of evil argument starts with a false assumption about the nature of adult human souls. In the traditional argument, the thought is that God should have put human souls in bodies on a planet where there is no death, no disease, no suffering and no evil of any sort. Since He didn’t do that, either God is not all powerful, or God is indifferent to human suffering or there is no God at all. The reality is that adult human souls will just naturally take to selfishness (sin) like ducks take to water. Right at the beginning of the Bible, Adam and Eve take to selfishness (sin) even though they are in paradise, a perfect world. Being selfish (sinful) is just a natural property of adult human souls. So what’s going on on Earth is that God is giving people the opportunity to “outgrow” selfishness (sin), much like children outgrow childish things. He does this by giving human souls glimpses of a heavenly world, a world with God, and glimpses of a hellish world, a world without God. Then people can make an informed choice about where they want to spend eternity. People have to first “outgrow” that “childish” selfish (sinful) behavior they started with. Souls that do so will get the kind of ideal world that atheists imagine God should produce for everyone. So the problem of evil argument simply starts with a false assumption about the nature of human souls.
Wonderfully explained ❤
Thank you 🙂
The Father was speaking to the Word and to the Spirit - the three persons in one God. It had nothing to do with polytheism.
Ep. 2 now uploaded :) ruclips.net/video/YH69THV0q_M/видео.html
bro was one step away from being john wick
Great explanation. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Hello brothers thanks for sharing watching and great video thanks new friends🙏🙏🙏
baller
Hi! Just posted my first criticisms video of situation ethics. Check it out here: ruclips.net/video/0_HD3NqYZFc/видео.html
Just a chill guy telling truths in a world of lies love broski 🐐🤠‼️🔥🌋
I've two qns: Does a philosophical theory change with the passage of time? How the population size affected the Greek philosophers? I mean, suppose there were very very few people listened to Socrates. Would he had turned out differently in his life? You should take q&a sessions, too.
I've been enjoying your talks since two days. How about explaining political happenings through the lence of morality?
Thank you for your comment. Glad you've been enjoying the videos. It's not always a good idea doing RUclips videos on politics but I would love to do political philosophy at some point :)
A quick, easy-to understand summary!! Thank you :)
You're welcome!
Woooow, great explanation ❤
👏👏👏👏
"I am reminded of a great German philosopher, Immanuel Kant. He is a specimen of those people who are absolutely in the mind. He lived according to mind so totally that people used to set their watches, whenever they saw Immanuel Kant going to the university. Never - it may rain, it may rain fire, it may rain cats and dogs, it may be utterly cold, snow falling … Whatever the situation, Kant will reach the university at exactly the same time all the year round, even on holidays. Such a fixed, almost mechanical … He would go on holiday at exactly the same time, remain in the university library, which was specially kept open for him, because otherwise what would he do there the whole day? And he was a very prominent, well-known philosopher, and he would leave the university at exactly the same time every day. One day it happened … It had rained and there was too much mud on the way - one of his shoes got stuck in the mud. He did not stop to take the shoe out because that would make him reach the university a few seconds later, and that was impossible. He left the shoe there. He just arrived with one shoe. The students could not believe it. Somebody asked, “What happened to the other shoe?” He said, “It got stuck in the mud, so I left it there, knowing perfectly well nobody is going to steal one shoe. When I return in the evening, then I will pick it up. But I could not have been late.” A woman proposed to him: “I want to be married to you” - a beautiful young woman. Perhaps no woman has ever received such an answer, before or after Immanuel Kant. Either you say, “Yes,” or you say, “No. Excuse me.” Immanuel Kant said, “I will have to do a great deal of research.” The woman asked, “About what?” He said, “I will have to look in all the marriage manuals, all the books concerning marriage, and find out all the pros and cons - whether to marry or not to marry.” The woman could not imagine that this kind of answer had ever been given to any woman before. Even no is acceptable, even yes, although you are getting into a misery, but it is acceptable. But this kind of indifferent attitude towards the woman - he did not say a single sweet word to her. He did not say anything about her beauty, his whole concern was his mind. He had to convince his mind whether or not marriage is logically the right thing. It took him three years. It was really a long search. Day and night he was working on it, and he had found three hundred reasons against marriage and three hundred reasons for marriage. So the problem even after three years was the same. One friend suggested out of compassion, “You wasted three years on this stupid research. In three years you would have experienced all these six hundred, without any research. You should have just said yes to that woman. There was no need to do so much hard work. Three years would have given you all the pros and cons - existentially, experientially.” But Kant said, “I am in a fix. Both are equal, parallel, balanced. There is no way to choose.” The friend suggested, “Of the pros you have forgotten one thing: that whenever there is a chance, it is better to say yes and go through the experience. That is one thing more in favor of the pros. The cons cannot give you any experience, and only experience has any validity.” He understood, it was intellectually right. He immediately went to the woman’s house, knocked on her door. Her old father opened the door and said, “Young man, you are too late. You took too long in your research. My girl is married and has two children.” That was the last thing that was ever heard about his marriage. From then on no woman ever asked him, and he was not the kind of man to ask anybody. He remained unmarried."
good one
Obviously the evolution of the soul is nonsense by today's knowledge. I presume Aquinas' views on elective abortion (not covered here) would have been firmly against. I think the most rational argument for when abortion becomes good or bad is when the fetus becomes capable of living independently of the mother. I think, until that point, the fetus can be safely considered an inseparable part of the mother's body, for which she has sole responsibility. It's not nice to cut off one's own finger, but there's nothing stopping you from doing so if you really want. So should it be for any other part of your body in my view.
Thank u bro from Türkiye.
I have a project on this right now, you explain this so well, keep up the good work!
Thank you, will do!
You explain too well❤
Thanks! 😊
Genius
"The prime mover is milk, everything else is a cat." That must be the greatest explanation Ive ever heard. Great video!
Good, you mentioned TRUST (most important). Famous Slavoj Žižek has done psychoanalysis in The Parallax View: Anglo/Japanese Masters of HYPOCRISY (appear to what they are not - caring/moral)
my problem with lies meant to "protect" people is it takes away my agency. If I grew up my entire life and was lied to about who my parents were, or my partner had an affair but instead of confessing, they chose to keep it secret forever, under the proviso that "we're happy now, why ruin a good thing" Would the truth cause me pain? Yes. Would the truth possibly lead to shattering the family relationship? Maybe. But that's up to me to decide. You've deceived me and now it's my turn to choose whether I wish salvage our relationship or not. Keeping a deception from me because you think it's "protecting" me is offensive. It's condescending. In my personal experience, being the youngest child of the family, despite being in my 40s now, I still find that my family simply don't include me in some discussions because I'm still perceived as the "baby" of the family. Especially when I got sick and needed heart surgery and received a cancer diagnosis, I was treated with kiddie gloves. "oh don't tell Cooper, he's too sick and weak. the truth will be a burden on him" It literally happened during COVID. While in lockdowns my heart was failing and I was enduring tests to see how we would proceed with the operation, and I discover that everyone had kept the secret from me that my brother-in-law died over a week ago. Their concern was that I had enough to deal with and should focus on my own health. I ended up missing the funeral, also partially due to lockdowns, but had I been informed sooner I might've figured something out. There were exemptions for travelling upon compassionate grounds. We were very close and we were both battling health concerns and confided a lot in each other toward the end. Him dealing with pancreatic cancer and me dealing with my own. I hadn't heard from him in a few weeks and it was devastating when I finally heard the news, but I was _more_ upset about the deception. Especially how they perceived me of not being capable of handling the news. I'm not a child. I'm a 40 year old man. My brother-in-law died. You're not protecting me, you're condescending me. There's also the assumption of lies you "take to your grave" which I would attribute my earlier example of a partner having an affair. Their hope is to keep it secret forever. The reality is that most lies are revealed eventually, somehow. And I feel strongly that discovering a lie is vastly worse than a confession. At least you gave me the decency and respect to confess, which is far better than catching somebody in a lie, which alludes to the possibility they were never going to come clean, meaning they don't have any respect for you. So no matter how old your lie is, it's better that you confess, rather than they catch you. Just be honest. If the dress makes me look fat. Tell me. If you're cheating on me. Tell me. If you say you're 6'4'' on Tinder and you're not... what did you expect when we meet up? Just be honest. All lying does is show that you don't respect me enough to handle the truth to make an informed choice.
I want to give some fictional and non-fictional examples too. There's a story where a couple of adventurers end up in a tavern and meet a stranger, long story short, this stranger attempts to mol3st the younger adventurer but he escapes. The adventurers decide to go back home and on their way they come across a town who want them to meet their revered leader. Long story short, they discover this glorious leader is the one that tried to mol3st the kid in the bathroom of the tavern. Should the adventurers tell the townspeople their noble leader is actually a PDF?? The truth may shatter the reality of the town and send it into anarchy. In the same way, in reality, we discover all sorts of "truths" about our founding fathers. In their time, they were slave owners and did horrible things, compared to today's standards. Should we try to suppress this information, should we try to cancel George Washington because he doesn't meet purity tests of 2020? It's the theory of re-writing history or white-washing things to make it more palatable. To protect certain figures who have become symbols to a nation. If we discovered that our founding fathers were actually horrible people, should we suppress this information or "be honest"? The truth may cause pain. We may end up tearing down statues and certain groups may start riots over the protection of these statues...
there's another aspect of lying that is not meantioned in the video: by lying over small things just to be polite and avoid "pain" we more and more normalize lying to a point, where we unconsciously deceive each other and ourself up to a point where we no longer are able to differentiate between truth/reality and lies. our perceiption of reality is influenced by our exchange of information with each other. it also makes communication more and more challenging since language is used to avoid pain rather than the exchange of information. (this is often pronounced in communication between autistic and allistic people.) You can even go as far as saying that downplaying lying or even demand lying just to protect our emotions can be a danger to our species' survival since we need to have a clear picture of how things actually are despite our indiviual emotional sensitivities..
Utilitarianism
Betraying someone's secret happiness gain would have to offset the amount of pain and unhappiness caused by the betray.
Absolutely! So it depends on whether the overall or aggregate happiness is increased. Do you think Bentham might be off the hook here because, practically speaking, the unhappiness caused by betrayal would almost always outweigh any happiness gained?
Love your videos, great explanation
Thank you!
This was very useful; thank you!
You're welcome! Thank you for your comment
Thnks. Good summaary.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you
Augustine's understanding of humanity was rooted in the intellectual and cultural context of his time, which was indeed limited compared to modern perspectives. While his views were advanced for his era and often guided by sincere intentions, basing our entire understanding of humanity or faith solely on his interpretations may overlook the significant developments in philosophy, psychology, and theology that have occurred since. Augustine’s insights-particularly on human nature, original sin, and grace-remain influential, but they are part of a broader tradition that has continued to evolve as new knowledge and perspectives have emerged. It is therefore important to appreciate Augustine's contributions while also engaging with subsequent developments in human thought. Look up Holistic Free Will you can download the full document from PhilPapers
thank you so much this is soooo useful
Glad you found it helpful! Thank you for the comment
Brilliant video, very useful and clear, thanks!
Loved it! Amazing materials. Will share it with my friends. In the 1st chapter of Jan Assmann's The Price of Monotheism, under the very first section How Many Religions Stand Behind the Old Testament?, he expressed exactly the same opinion. And he call them the 'primary religion' and the 'secondary religion', former being polytheistic, and latter monotheistic. On page 9, one passage reads: These two religions are not just placed side by side in the Hebrew Bible. Rather, they stand opposed to each other in a relationship of tension, since one envisages precisely what the other negates. That this antagonism does not break out into open contradiction is due to the fact that neither religion unfolds in its full purity and rigor in the writings of the Old Testament. The archaic, polytheistic religion that seeks to make its votaries at home in the world is accessible to us only in fragments, having been painted over by the monotheistic redaction. It cannot be reconstructed in anything more than broad outline, with the help of numerous parallels drawn from neighboring religions. The post-archaic, monotheistic religion of world-redemption, for its part, is evident only as a general tendency in the books of the Old Testament, and does not come to full expression, in the severity with which it denounces other religions as idolatrous, until the writings of rabbinical Judaism and patristic Christianity that build upon those books. In the Hebrew Bible, both religions are able to coexist in this state of nonsimultaneous simultaneity, of a “no longer” and a “not yet.” Indeed, this highly charged antagonism within the Bible undoubtedly represents one of the secrets of its worldwide success.
Thank you, that was very interesting. I've added the book to my wishlist for the future. I love this bit: "The archaic, polytheistic religion that seeks to make its votaries at home in the world is accessible to us only in fragments, having been painted over by the monotheistic redaction". Thank you for sharing!
@@untanglephilosophy You are welcome. I found this note from Rendsburg's course guidebook: An important point to be noticed is the presence of demythologizing, that is, the conscious avoidance of words that can be associated with pagan deities. A. This is seen especially on day 4, where the words sun (shemesh) and moon (yareah) are consciously avoided. B. Even the singular form sea (yam), which was also the word for the sea god of the ancient Canaanites, is studiously avoided in favor of the plural seas (yamim). C. The author does not want the reader to think for a moment that God is responsible for the existence of pagan deities. I am keen to find scholarly books/papers that provide a more in-depth analysis of this demythologizing strategy within the Genesis creation account. Do you have any recommendations? Thank you in advance.
@@untanglephilosophy I've just finished reading Nahum Sarna's 'Understanding Genesis', and didn't find anything relevant. A few artifcial intelligence tools recommended Umberto Cassuto's 'A Commentary on the Book of Genesis', but I didn't find anything relevant. I do notice that 'The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures' (from your reference list) mentions the point but doesn't dive deep. "To avoid even the hint that these other deities are present, the authors of Genesis 1 use circumlocution to designate the sun and the moon-“the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night” (1.16), although “sun” and “moon” are common words elsewhere in the Bible." I also find the same point made in another book, Gerhard von Rad's 'Genesis - A Commentary', but, again, not in details. "These created objects are expressly not named "sun" and "moon" so that every tempting association may be evaded; for the common Semitic word for "sun" was also a divine name. "
I love the term 'theodicy', most often it appears to be an ironic combination of theo- and idiocy. Augustine did not shine for his critical thought skills, he was no philosopher.
nice video. keep it up!!!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
Good work young man, you made it so simple to understand, Love from India❤(a UPSC aspirant)
Thank you for your comment! Glad the video helped you
Why does God allow evil...? 'Good' and 'evil' have their existence in the unSaved judgmental dualistic mind of the beholder! There are equal amounts of (whatever) 'good' (is) and the same for evil in the Universe. The Universe is perfectly balanced; The First Law of Soul Dynamics; "For every Perspective, there is an equal and opposite Perspective!" For us to imagine/conceptualize 'good', we must imagine 'evil'. Such judgment is not made by the Saved! There is neither good nor evil, there is just God! The very question of "why does God allow evil" (is so fraught with fallacious assumptions and ignorance that the pursuit of the question) is no more than vain mental/ego masturbation. Which is what philosophy (without science) is; mental masturbation! The "free-will/choice' vs 'determinism' argument is already a fallacy; a false dilemma. That they are already a fallacy, it shouldn't be shocking that there is a superior theory. The quote from Feynman at the end is the death knell of both 'free-will' and 'determinism' and their bastard children 'compatabilism and un-compatabilism! But first, a definition; "Free-will/Choice"; an egoically satisfying theory as to the meaning of a feeling/thought (ego). Get it? Whether the concept of 'free-will/choice' is anything more than an egoic delusion seems to be simply answered by 'deconstruction'. The punch line is that All is One! The Enlightened/Saved, Mystic know this experientially. Quantum physics certainly supports this. So, starting from this point, One single Universe, in perfect balance... One Truth perceived by Consciousness through infinite unique Perspectives (Souls), us. Not anything is actually moving, time is the theory to 'splain the illusion of motion, and now there are concepts of a 'self' distinct from Self with the ability to alter the entire Universe to, most often, make their own little life a bit more comfortable. After all, if you could actually 'change' anything, in the great One, you'd have to also 'change' everything! Talk about an ego trip, a God complex, no wonder people believe in 'free-will/choice'. Not to mention that everyone has the Godlike ability to alter the Universe for a Big Mac! Is this not the very definition of 'chaos'? The concept/belief does have quite the twitching support group, though. I suspect that the notion of free-will/choice is just another acquired belief virus. The symptoms of the defenders supports that theory. So, deconstructing Truth, 'free-will/choice' is impossible, other than as a notion/belief/delusion. Every moment of existence exists Now! "The Laws of Nature are not rules controlling the metamorphosis of what is, into what will be. They are descriptions of patterns that exist, all at once... " - Genius; the Life and Science of Richard Feynman All 'eternity' at once; Here! Now!!
I have issues with the word evil... What is evil? Is a tiger eating a prey, is that evil? Is trump evil or harris? And why? Evil is a perspective, for example in a war, either side will call each other evil.. so what is it? I dislike these terms because its polarizing and it's another 'hip' word to use.. It's simplifying difficult matters.
thank you sir
You're welcome!
I mistakenly say "Aquinas" instead of "Leibniz" at 1:35. My sincerest apologies for this!
I like the way you talk, it is much better than other people who cover topics involving Philosophy and Ethics!
Thanks a very kind thing to say. Thank you
How does such a philosophy deal with cases when the preferences of the majority are tyrannical towards the minority? And for animal preferences, how do we weight them? How is the preference of a mosquito weighted against a dog, and a dog to a human? Does a lion as an apex predator have 500+ times the preferential weight of its prey, considering that an adult lion consumes 500+ prey animals (gazelles, zebras, etc) over the course of its lifetime? How can we allow lions to continue to exist when their dietary preferences are in conflict with the survival preferences of so many prey animals? There seems to be so much ambiguity to me when we evaluate ethics in such subjective terms.
Weak rule utilitarianism makes the most sense to me, but in ways where the weakening in exceptional circumstances doesn't devolve to act utilitarianism (more sophistication, broader in scope) but rather simpler, more generalized rules (less sophistication, narrower in scope). For example, suppose I'm walking along a secluded beach which has been temporarily ruled off-limits for swimming due to shark sightings. And while walking along the secluded beach, I spot a child in the distance drowning in the sea. I cannot save the drowning child now without further breaking the rules of staying out of the waters. Yet this is an exceptional circumstance and the basic, simpler rule of human decency (the higher probabilistic utility of acting benevolently) takes precedence for me here. So I violate the lower-priority, more sophisticated rules of staying out of the waters to save the child, but not in pursuit of act utilitarianism; I do it in pursuit of a simpler, more generalized rule of human decency and responsibility which has higher priority in this scenario. Life generally demands that we navigate conflicting rules and conflicts of interests. There's a practical type of rule pluralism required to do so effectively, with more generalized rules taking higher precedence than less generalized rules (which are more likely to find themselves in a state of conflict, as they're less generally applicable). As an example, I value a sophisticated rule of never resorting to violence, but that takes lower priority to me than the generalized rule of protecting my family. If someone breaks into my home, the more generalized rule of protecting my family now takes moral precedence over the less generalized rule of never resorting to violence. As another, I value aiding complete strangers (broader in scope) but not as much as aiding my own children (narrower in scope) -- if the two are in a state of conflict, my children take priority.
That trolley variant with the fat man seems rigged for shallow thinkers incapable of deep consequentialist thought in my blunt opinion. The practical societal consequences of condoning such actions as ethical would likely lead to complete chaos. If we permit pushing innocent people off of bridges under any circumstance, then we'll likely deal with public outrage, and even the basic act of crossing a bridge would become a public safety hazard. It's just thoroughly counter-productive to ethically condone such actions even from a purely consequentialist view; we don't even have to consider the means. To me, a more practical way to highlight the difference between proper ends-oriented thinking vs. means-oriented thinking is like this: suppose we have three drivers: A) A drunk driver who has no foul intentions and just means to drive home safety. B) A blind driver who has no foul intentions and just means to drive home safely. C) A sober, seeing driver who has no foul intentions and just means to drive home safety. A means-oriented thinker should find no difference between the three since they all have the same means (all have good intentions, e.g.) and doesn't care about consequences. However, to me as an ends-oriented thinker, A and B are behaving unethically despite their means, because if we ethically condone drunk/blind driving, chances are that we will get our fair share of bad results from it (these blind/drunk drivers might get lucky and arrive home safely, but other blind/drunk drivers may not be so lucky if we ethically approve of blind or drunk people driving all over the place).
Hey! I found your videos because I’m looking for valid criticisms to tell my very utilitarian friend, haha. Firstly, you have a lovely speaking voice and are very engaging and informative thanks! This is what I can’t figure out how to argue against: My friend says that Utilitarianism being too demanding is a human limitation, not a flaw with the moral philosophy. ‘It being demanding doesn’t make it less correct,’ he says. The other point he makes is that, for example in your charity case, where utilitarianism is arguing that selfishness is good in some cases - as you said, that feels wrong to us, intuitively. My friend says intuition isn’t an argument for moral correctness - that ‘it feels wrong’ is a guess from our ape-brains, that is generally applicable in day to day life but not useful for an objective moral philosophy. ‘If you can’t argue why it is wrong then it feeling wrong is meaningless.’ I’ve tried but I can’t find a reason why things like selfishness, violations of consent, etc etc are still wrong even if the result is maximised pleasure. I’m very new to philosophy, and I’d love some pointers. Help! 😅
Thank you for a lovely comment! I leant towards utilitarianism for a long time, so to some extent I agree with what your friend is saying! But let me try and provide some things to think about. Your friend is correct, at least to some extent, that being demanding doesn't make a theory not correct. Doing the right thing isn't supposed to be easy, like how staying fit isn't supposed to be easy either. But there are a few problems here: (1) You can say "It being demanding doesn't make it less correct" about any moral theory you want. So you might not get a point here, but neither is utilitarianism. (2) The problem is about the theory being TOO demanding. According to traditional Utilitarianism, on a scale of possible actions, the ONLY right action is the one that maximises pleasure. This seems wrong for many reasons. For one, you could do something extraordinarily good and charitable, but if there was an action that was the tiniest bit better, your action would still be wrong--even if you could not have known that there was a better action, or due to some arbitrariness in the consequences that meant the other action was a bit better, and even if you're doing much more good than anyone else. There are no moral saints in utilitarianism; EVERYONE has to be a saint as standard--that's the problem with its demandingness. This brings us to (3): "being too demanding is a human limitation, not a flaw in the moral philosophy". Again, I would say this is only true to an extent. For a moral theory to be plausible it needs to take into account humans as they actually are, not invent some idealistic conception of the human. It needs to take into account our psychology, our motivations, our wills. Its aims need to be achievable, just like how aims in physical fitness need to be achievable. We shouldn't put the ability to run a marathon as the standard of physical fitness. Similarly, the implication of traditional utilitarianism--that you can never treat yourself because you would create more good by spending that money and time on helping others--is an unrealistic aim. It is a theory built for non-existent superhumans, not humans as they actually are. Some other points: (4) It is not wrong to insist that a moral theory needs to have a certain level of intuitive appeal, like you say. We should expect a moral theory to conform a least to some extent to our intuitions and our beliefs. To see that this is true imagine a theory that concluded, "you know what, killing people is fine". Such a theory would severely lack intuitive appeal and be inconsistent with our other beliefs and suggest to us that there is something wrong with the theory. So intuitive appeal can be used as part of the evaluative criteria of moral theories, its just a question of how much of our intuition we are prepared to be contradicted. One final point, (5): What made me turn my back on utilitarianism is that it is a poor theory of justice. For me, a MORAL theory ought to complement justice, not oppose it. Utilitarianism is happy to impose sacrifices on some individuals in order to increase happiness for others. The striving to maximise happiness can lead to an unequal distribution of happiness across society. The best form of this argument is from John Rawls' "Theory of Justice" Wow, I need to stop writing and do something else.
@ thank you so much for your response, I really appreciate it. I completely agree with you here, especially when it comes to justice and the uneven distribution of pleasure. An example I made to my friend about why I don’t consider myself a utilitarian is that, if we use the trolley problem but both tracks have 5 identical people, but I would gain satisfaction from learning what it’s like to kill someone, I would still not be able to pull the lever - even though the utilitarianism choice would be to pull it because the satisfaction of my curiosity is added pleasure. I would not be able to pull it because of my belief that killing is wrong as a baseline (without any context), regardless of the consequences of killing, and regardless of the amount of pleasure or pain involved. Because I can’t provide a reason for why killing is wrong, my friend discounts this - but I don’t think an intuition shared by the majority of humans should be discounted. As you say, we are not something other than we are; our ‘ape-brain intuition’ as my friend calls it, is baked into us, and so our moral judgements must take it into account. Is there any one moral philosophy you consider to be better than utilitarianism personally? I am currently of the mind that none of them are without flaw and that it’s an impossible task to write a set of rules or a code that works for every moral judgement. But I know far less than you and other philosophers!
Thank you for your channel. I have a question. Why didn't God make the Bible so clear and exhaustive that there was no way to distort it or pervert it. Thank you
Thank you for a great question! I think there are a multitude of responses that different people of different beliefs would have to this question. I think one persuasive answer is that God simply didn't make the Bible. The Bible is written by many people at different times and at different places, whose works they had no intention of being compiled into a "bible", and who were only trying to capture, as best they could, truths (as they saw it) about the divine. As a result, the Bible preserves a process of theological development and discussion. It is why Moses states that punishment for one's sins will be visited unto the third and fourth generation; but why Ezekiel argues, at length, that one is not punished for the sins of their father. The righteous are rewards, and the wicked are punished. In turn, the books of Job and Ecclesiastes challenge this view also. If this is true, they ask, why do the righteous sometimes suffer, and the unjust go unpunished? Jesus's message can be seen as a response to this question. The Bible is a dialogue, and as a result it challenges us to engage with the scripture, to look deeper into its meaning instead of shallowly accepting its statements at face-value. This perspective, I think, enriches the text, and as such the text can be enjoyed by anyone no matter their beliefs. I think that is one plausible answer to your question.
Hick is a heretic.
One man's heretic is another man's prophet
Welcome to the video! Hick's theodicy is an interesting albeit problematic defence of God. More theodicies, including Augustine and Leibniz, will be added to this playlist: ruclips.net/p/PL85Fs8yMgt8rG-jLqbtK40m3J39vtL8gv