Blog #4

Reflection #4

In Sophie's World we have read up on both the empiricist and rationalist philosophers and their modes of thinking. For me, this is very satisfying because I have a much more rationalistic way of thinking, and I enjoyed seeing a shift in thinking from answering questions through God and spirituality, to using reason and experience. A big part of this mode of thinking was doubting everything that wasn't real, which I believe Descartes took too far with erasing everything besides the fact that he is thinking, and consequently, real. Even if this world we experience may not be real, it is what we are experiencing and living through, and doubting all of it's relevance will only make living in it more difficult. Basically, whether or not our world is real doesn't matter because its the only thing we have. When we accept our reality as it is, we can begin to figure out answers through reason. However, reason is second to emotion for most people. I admire Hume's revelation of how emotions can impact us, and that emotion is a more primary feeling that our reason. He also criticized Descartes, claiming that not everything can be explained through reason. This is where I find myself between Hume and Descartes, as Hume considered Descartes at fault like me, but perhaps for the wrong reason. I think Hume's thinking that not everything can be explained rationally can actually be countered by later discovered social sciences like psychology or through good enough reasoning. Although, not everything may be explained rationally, much more than Hume and others even in this time period believe can actually be explained through logic.

Connection #4

Now, I see reason as one of the biggest parts of my life. It is constantly at the forefront of my mind, and when I say this I don't just mean that I have good decision making, but reason is so important to me. Some of my friends and I talk about topics similar to what a philosopher may converse about, and usually we come to our conclusions through reasoning and logic, but also take into account actual events and experiences. Connecting it back to Sophie's World, this feels like taking the best of both worlds from the rationalist, who use logic, and the empiricists, who use experiences and real-world facts. This is another reason it felt so good to learn about the shift from spiritual thinking to rational thinking.
My friends and I have also talked about the unreasonableness of people, and how so many issues could be solved if people used reason more. A lot more of those problems, or evil in general, comes down to a lack of empathy, greed, or having been raised in an environment that made you hold evil qualities. However, when you think about it reason can overcome all of these. A lack of empathy creates a more hostile/unforgiving attitude towards someone, and reason may conclude that if everyone had sufficient empathy and cared enough, the world wouldn't have those negative attitudes, or maybe hold much more positive modes of thinking. Also, when it comes to greed, it gets a little bit unclear since greed has no definite line. But using reason, one can determine when they hold an abundant amount of wealth/power/resources, and can decide that there are others that could use that excess. This in turn creates more overall happiness. For one who grew up in an environment harboring negative qualities, it may be hard for them to see the error of their ways, and sometimes they are just ignorant to their wrongdoings. But if they are able to see the logic against their actions, they can realize a need for change in their lives.
I've talked a lot about reason, but empiricism also has had a huge impact on society. The importance of statistics and facts to research studies are a crucial component in the scientific community. An even further impact of science is the development of the empirical scientific method, which is now taught widely in schools across America. The impact the rationalists and empiricists have left on today's society, is clear to see (or observe!).