Here are a few interesting Ted Talks on various philosophical topics. EXTRA CREDIT if you write a one paragraph (read: at least 7 sentences) comment here...
What's the Right Thing To Do?
The Paradox of Choice
Creating Freedom
The Illusion of Consciousness
My Philosophy for a Happy Life :
Sam Berns is a Junior at Foxboro High School in Foxboro, Massachusetts, where he has achieved highest honors and is currently a percussion section leader in the high school marching band. He recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Sam was diagnosed with Progeria, a rare, rapid aging disease, at the age of 2.
We Need a "Moral Operating System"
Is There a Real You?
4 comments:
I watched the Ted Talk "What's the Roght Thing To Do?". In this Ted Talk there were two scenarios. In the first one you were driving a car with a working steering wheel but broken brakes. Ahead of you is 5 workers. You could either continue going straight and crash into the workers killing all 5, or you could turn and crash into one worker killing just that one. The majority of people chose the second option. I would also choose the second one because the moral thing to do would be turn and only crash into the one worker because the effect of killing that one worker wouldn't be as big as if you killed 5 workers. The second scenario was where you would be a bystander of a similar situation. Except this time you would be on top of abridge above where the car is and standing next to a fat man who's leaning over the bridge. If you push the man, he'll fall and die, but he'll stop the car from killing the 5 workers. The majority chose to just let the car kill the 5 workers. I choose that option too because even though in the first situation the moral was that it's better to save 5 lives than just one, in this situation you're killing an innocent bystander that has nothing to do with the car or the workers. Also, I think it would be wrong to push the man because you would know that he would die, therefore it would count as homicide.
I watched the Ted Talk, "Is There a Real You." I have learned a lot about humans and how we can be our true self. What I have learned from watching the video is that people think that they know their true self by reading their horoscopes, magazines, and the environment around them. These things influence people into believing that what they read defines them. However, Ted explains how we are created by our memories, different experiences, our beliefs, our knowledge and more. We are a collection of these things. Our body parts are our part of us, but they don't define us. At the end he explains how we can change our direction of our development, He also says that we can't do whatever we want because we all have certan abilities and things that we can achieve. We can shape ourselves and create our self by our decisions and that is the real you.
Really interesting! Did you agree with Julian Baggini (that's his name, not Ted) about all of this? :)
I watched the Ted Talk "My Philosophy for a Happy Life" by Sam Berns. Sam Berns is a seventeen year old boy who was diagnosed with Progeria, a very rare disease that rapidly increases growth rate. Although Sam has had this disease for a long time, he explains to the audience that his sickness doesn't define him, and that he has learned to enjoy his life and live it to the fullest. Sam presents 3 main points that he believes are most important in order to maintain a happy life. The first aspect to his outlook on life is to focus on the things that he can do instead of feeling bad about the things that he can't do because of his disease. "I try hard not to waste energy feeling bad for myself, because when I do, I get stuck in a paradox where there's no room for any happiness.” The second aspect is to surround himself with people that he wants to be with. He says, "I feel like I'm at my highest point when I'm with the people that surround me everyday." The third aspect is to keep moving forward no matter the obstacle. "I feel that no matter what I chose to become, I believe that I can change the world. And as I'm striving to change the world, I will be happy." After watching this, I agree with everything that he said. This video has an extremely powerful message; in order to be truly happy, you must first create a positive outlook for yourself and start by channeling your energy into doing things that you enjoy, rather than feeling upset about the obstacles that might get in your way from time to time.
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