Hello Philosophy Society!

Discussion 1: Housemaster

Our first discussion was in regards to Aristotle's concept of developing practical wisdom, which occurs predominantly by specific roles; one of which is the housemaster. Managing a house has many elements. You have to screen new roommates who move in and ensure that their personalities, values and lifestyles are conducive to the house. Some people with major mental illnesses or substance abuse issues will necessarily not be conducive to a harmonious living condition. The first skill of managing a house is finding good people to live with.

Discussion 2: Antisocial Behaviour

Different groups exist. The Philosophy Society is one of them. Other groups of people, even if they are composed of people who have studied philosophy, do not necessarily embody the principles of inclusiveness, cooperation, learning, and the other prosocial values of the Philosophy Society. Sometimes these other non-philosophy society groups may behave in ways that are actually antisocial towards our group. Examples of this antisocial behaviour are bullying, being exclusive or clique’, being socially disrespectful by attempting to push members out or make them uncomfortable, discrimination, ageism, and ingroup/outgroup bias.

It is important to remember that we do not control the actions or behaviour of others. It is also important to remember that reciprocating antisocial behaviour will not lead to a constructive situation. There is a healthy balance between being the victim of antisocial behaviour and not perpetuating it towards others in response. The best method is to have a long term approach of interaction based on prosocial principles.

If the other group is acting in an antisocial way the first step is to:

#1) Identify the Behaviour

This is important because we need to determine what behavioural phenomena is distinct from other kinds of behaviour. Keeping a track record of antisocial behaviour will help to understand the nature of the behaviour in the individual or the group. For example, if everyone is sitting in a circle and some members attempt to cut off a section of the group by placing chairs with the back of the chair facing the other people, they are physically using objects to create their own clique group apart from the inclusive group as a whole. This kind of situational maneuvering is a form of antisocial behaviour in the context of ingroup/outgroup bias and in the category of bullying due to ostracization and being exclusionary.

Once the behaviour is identified,

#2) Determine the Appropriate Social Response.

It may be that the best response is to overtly discuss, loud enough so everyone in proximity can hear, in a calm and compassionate manner what the behaviour is and why it is inappropriate. Antisocial behaviour becomes the subject of discussion for the Philosophy Society by understanding its nature as a group and discussing why it is harmful and unethical.

#3) Critical Discussion of Behaviour

Discussing the behaviour of individuals in the third person close enough so they can hear you will be a social punishment in itself. This is a form of socialization that will, over time, regulate the behaviour of the antisocial person or group. The best outcome would be if the antisocial person or group actually engaged in critical discussion with the group they are causing harm to. This would amount to an evidence based discussion to promote awareness and empathy in the perpetuator of antisocial behaviour. The goal is to reduce future occurrences of this type of behaviour and guide the individual towards more prosocial behaviour.

#4) Principles

The Philosophy Society is based on values, principles and a social method. These properties distinguish itself as a group from other groups or individuals who do not explicitly embody these properties or make efforts in striving towards them as goals.

When contrasted with other groups, as in the social ostracization clique behaviour explained previously, the Philosophy Society acts in ways that are inclusive, understanding and empathetic towards its own members and other groups or people. If a group has antisocial properties within its membership, it will be self-defeating over time and risk disillusionment because of the behaviour of its members. If a group treats other human beings in an antisocial way, they have within them a disrespect for humans in general and are prone to treating their own members in the same way if they are perceived as different.

Over time, people will most likely desire to be part of the Philosophy Society because of the prosocial values, principles and practices that it embodies. As these other groups, whether self-proclaimed philosophical or not, are self-destructive in the way they act, people will gravitate towards the Philosophy Society for its true alignment to wisdom.

Allow others to make their mistakes and do not harm them in response. They must learn the self-awareness of their own behaviour that only has harm to an unhealthy ego or self-concept. Strip the walls of arrogance and entitlement for we all must learn to live and love together. Through understanding, acceptance, and honestly we can be better people.

Every one of these 'in the moment social situations' that you face on your own or with the Philosophy Society is a training opportunity. Identify the phenomena and train an appropriate response to the social circumstance. Utilize the weekly Philosophy Society discussion group as a panel to bring up these specific case studies so that we can all learn from the experiences of each other.

It is also important to remember that we all make mistakes and not to demonize people for them. The worst parts of humanity are still part of human nature. It is up to us to understand those antisocial aspects of our species and learn how to create a prosocial context. Holding ourselves and each other accountable for our mistakes is important for our growth as people. This means we allow the person to learn from their mistake and grow from it. It is important not to avoid social issues and let people persist in their mistaken actions or behaviour. They may lack awareness or have poor habits. If we can communicate to them the issues within their way of being, then we can provide them an opportunity for growth.

If an individual denies that some phenomena occurred, it is important to remember that our perception may be wrong. It is not acceptable for the other to disregard our perspective, i.e. lacking empathy. Our perspective must be grounded in evidence that is objective, meaning that it can be observed by other individuals. We can always fall back on the nature of habits: if someone acts in a certain way in some situation, we can be humble that maybe we were incorrect in our perception. However, if they have or are developing an antisocial habit, the behaviour will occur again. We can keep a track record and remind the individual in the moment of the effect of their behaviour. This is contingent on their willingness to attentively listen. We fall back again on the social critique of behaviour in the moment as a means to correct and adjust each other as agents.

Discussion 3: NFT’s and Cryptocurrency

Responsible investment has to do with not delegating the use of your money to others. There is much more learning involved if you find an investment that falls within your interest that you can learn about. There is a difference between giving one’s money to another and risking them losing it for you and you losing money yourself. If you have the time to make your money, find a way to invest it that places you as the agent who has made the decision. There is a fine line between investment and gambling and it can easily be blurred.

NFT’s and cryptocurrency have been the modern ‘get rich quick scheme.’ NFT’s have gained greater attention since COVID due to the market of online meeting rooms. Holding online property rights to forms of media has a limitation on our current global usage of these online mediums. During the pandemic, it seemed that humans would be spending much of their time in the online community but human nature is not geared towards looking at a computer screen. Even the most up to date VR is not as authentic as real life interactions.

Humans grew in a natural environment and they will always prefer some form of a natural setting. The nature that we evolved in will always take precedence over forms of technology that are artificial and mimic sensory or perceptual experiences. These online mediums are a means to an end: we were making the best out of a bad situation during the social distancing phase of the pandemic.

Cryptocurrency has largely been used as a criminal money laundering mechanism. It is unwise to invest in something that is not tangible because you do not have control over your investment. Currency is also a means to an end. Currency is to be used for something like starting a business or owning property. Every form of investment has risks but with attention to those factors they can be mitigated.

The first and foremost investment is yourself. It is better for you to hire an assistant and pay them a good salary so that you can have more time to live your life. Being locked into a job that demands most of your weekly hours may earn you high income but comes at the cost of your life. Capitalism is a bad thing when we make it the ultimate value. Living a good life is more important than dying with lots of money.

Discussion 4: Eudaimonia

Aristotle said that we need health and money for the opportunity at the good life. The good life, eudaimonia, was a life of contemplation and being virtuous. Was aristotle missing anything in his conception of Eudaimonia? Positive psychology is the scientific study of eudaimonia which has found that self-determination is one of the largest contributing factors to living a good life and wellbeing.

Discussion 5: Autonomy in Religion

Some people find security in having some answer, whether it is true or false, to questions of our existence and the human condition. Faith bridges the gap of confusion for religious people when things don’t make sense. For example, “Why has my son died? If God is loving and has a plan then why would he take my son away?” “because God has a plan and I have faith in God.” These kinds of beliefs can give solace to circumstances that are the hardest for us humans to deal with.

At the same time, the strict dogma of religion takes away from our autonomy by placing answers that do not actually make sense without faith. Religious believers are in some ways forced to accept certain kinds of explanations of events because those explanations are provided by the religious community.

Not only are explanations of events provided for but also guides to action and moral conduct. Religious dogma stipulates a moral code specific to its group's interpretation of scripture. To be part of a specific religious community is to make a conscious effort to follow that community's practices.

Both beliefs and actions are dictated by religious groups and each member holds their membership relative to the adherence to the preordained actions and beliefs. Deviating from both belief and action can lead one to being labeled as a heretic or blasphemer. Both of these labels had serious negative consequences throughout history.

Discussion 6: Philosophy of Religion

There is a difference between being theological and philosophical. Being theological means that you accept the scripture given to you and you try to make sense of it. Being philosophical with regards to religious scripture means that you accept some of it does not make sense, lacks empirical evidence, is contradictory but also are able to extract the wisdom from it where it exists. For example, in Christianity the serenity prayer has a lot of wisdom. It reads

This ‘prayer’ has a lot of philosophical bearing on living a good life and our mental health. Knowing what we are in control of and what we are not is very important for us in terms of where we spend our emotional energy and how to guide our actions.

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