2017-04-08: Maps of Meaning #8

topic

discussion notes

  • We act out things that we don’t understand

    • We “understand” things in many different ways: acting out, feeling, representing partly incorrectly

    • Abstract representation probably most high-level form of understanding

    • Thus, limiting what you consider legitimate knowledge to abstract representation → large part of knowledge has to be cut out

    • Animals have a form of knowledge, which might not be abstract representation

  • The individual, culture and nature

    • There are positive and negative archetypes of each of these

    • Need all six characters to guard against ideologies (that lack half of the characters)

  • Free will

    • Is there free will? What is free will?

    • Is determinism compatible with free will?

    • If causality is one force and randomness is another force, would free will be a third cause?

    • Not believing in free will creates problems with taking on responsibility.

      • You can take on responsibility (in a pragmatic sense) and it will help you, but since you don’t have to, you might lack the motivation.

      • You can explain your behaviour and say “I couldn’t have acted differently”.

    • Impossible (practically) to find all causes of human behaviour.

  • Female archetypes

  • The history of Hungary

  • Morality

    • You need to share norms/values in order to be in the same circle of morality (where you can demand things of others and they can demand things of you)

    • How can you listen to demands made by people who do not share the same values?

      • They put you outside of their moral circle, but want to stay inside your moral circle
    • In many situations, norms and values are not an issue (treating a patient in hospital - won’t ask them about their values first)

    • All human beings share some basic values