Gazzaniga Blogpost 1

Ethical hard wiring in the brain affects moral decision making. 

Complimentary to Apiah's ideas about data influencing moral decisions.

Ethical decisions are more based off of internal attitudes rather than external truths.

First Response: The Qualities of the Prince by Machiavelli

A Prince’s Duty Concerning Military Matters

1- Machiavelli thinks it is better to concentrate on war than on personal luxuries. I agree that it is not good for princes to think only of themselves because they should serve the people. But why does everything have to be about war?

2- I agree that in war communities it is more respectable to be the best swordsman… but I do not think this is relevant today. Also, Hobbs claims that everyone’s power is equal whether it is physical strength or other so there is controversy on this matter. (After reading How a Prince Should Keep His Word paragraph 5 I have come to the conclusion that this is relevant in today’s society. Also, after reading the entire essay, it seems that Hobbs’ idea does not really apply to princes that have the support of the people.)

3- Yes, if a prince is leading an army he should be familiar with the land and have street smarts or rather land smarts.

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5- I agree that it is imperative to study history, because it often repeats itself.

6- Machiavelli’s idea that princes must be active even in times of peace is relatable to my athletic experience. I like to say that the off season is the hardest season.

On Those Things for Which Men, and Particularly Princes, Are Praised or Blamed

1- Ooh so he thinks you should not try to be good all the time but rather demonstrate selective goodness. Interesting.

2- I think Machiavelli is saying that princes that pursue vices are more successful. This idea seems a little bit twisted, but it seems like Machiavelli has a point here.

On Generosity and Miserliness

1- So Machiavelli is saying that generous people do not receive praise, and people are quicker to recognize a tiny flaw than a huge virtue.

2- “In our times we have not seen great deeds accomplished except by those who were considered miserly” (225). Someone generous to their own people is probably considered miserly to the world. I guess this means that everyone is selfish.

3- “… for spending the wealth of others does not lessen your reputation but adds to it; ony the spending of your own is what harms you” (226).

On Cruelty and Mercy and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than to Be Feared or the Contrary

1- “for with a very few examples of cruelty he will be more compassionate than those who, out of excessive mercy, permit disorders to continue, from which arise murders and plundering” (227). This is a good point because the right amount of cruelty will keep the most people safe. I think this goes along with the element of fear that is mentioned later.

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3- “fear is held together by a dread of punishment which will never abandon you” (228).

4- Avoid being hated by having a reason for taking a life and by not taking property. This also makes the people sound bad because according to Machiavelli, they value their property more than the lives of their loved ones. This is a depressing essay because I like to think that people are better than this.

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How a Prince Should Keep His Word

1- The more successful princes have not been committed to keeping their word.

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3- “but since men are a sorry lot and will not keep their promises to you, you likewise need not keep yours to them” (230). Well, I believe that this could be a good way to stay a prince, but it is also depressing. Machiavelli is saying a lot of negative things about people as a whole. People like leaders who steal from other communities as long as some of the bounty trickles down to them.

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5- “Therefore, it is not necessary for a prince to have all of the above-mentioned qualities, but it is very necessary for him to appear to have them” (230). Sounds like modern politics… nothing has changed. I am re-evaluating my previous statement in which I expressed the opinion that Machiavelli’s work is out of date.

6- “Let a prince therefore act to seize and to maintain the state; his methods will always be judged honorable and will be praised by all; for ordinary people are always deceived by appearances and by the outcome of a thing; and in the world there is nothing but ordinary people; and there is no room for the few, while the many have a place to lean on” (231). This is so depressing. I cannot deny what he is saying, but I do not like it all the same.

On Avoiding Being Despised and Hated

1- “What makes him despised is being considered changeable, frivolous, effeminate, cowardly, irresolute…” (232). Yep, sounds legit, sounds like the qualities I would not want to have in a field hockey coach.

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4- “I conclude, therefore, that a prince must be little concerned with conspiracies when the people are well disposed toward him; but when the populace is hostile and regards him with hatred, he must fear everything and everyone” (233). Seems legit, no argument here.

Reading Blog 3: First response to Morality as Anti-Nature

(Numbers correspond to number labels in the reading)

1- I like that Nietzsche thinks it is stupid to try to get rid of passions even though they cause people to do stupid things. I also like the dental analogy because my mom is a dentist. (347)

He really goes off on the church. Its practices are “hostile to life” (348).

2 – is interesting because he does not think highly of the need to cut something completely out of your life to resist temptations… huh… I do that.

3- “one remains young only as long as the soul does not stretch itself and desire peace” (349). So I guess I am old now... Why does it make me old to feel sad when people are bullied?

“There is nothing we envy less than the moralistic cow” (349). I don’t 100% agree with this, but I think that most people envy wealth more than they envy people with morals (There is a huge market for reality TV Shows that star wealthy people and their cribs).

What is he saying about peace of soul?! (349)

4- Oh my goodness, preach, Nietzsche. Finally someone brings up the point that every moral code taught so far is nearly impossible. Also, I think Appiah would agree with this point because he said something about the unlikelihood of becoming a virtuous person.

“almost every morality which has so far been taught… turns, conversely, against the instincts of life: it is condemnation of these instincts, now secret, now outspoken and impudent” (349). I especially like the ‘now secret’ part because it is so weird to me that some natural things in life cannot be spoken about. I do not wish to list examples because I have grown up feeling uncomfortable discussing them.

“life has come to an end where the ‘kingdom of God’ begins” (350). This is funny because only the dead can get into the kingdom of heaven.

5- I like that he refers to himself as an “immoralist”.

The Four Great Errors

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2- I like how he calls the error of confusing cause and effect the “immortal unreason”.

Appiah would not agree with Nietzsche’s statement that “his virtue is the effect of his happiness”.

I he saying that every claim that people make about virtues making your life better are false? In that case, Nietzsche and Appiah would agree because Appiah acknowledged that living a virtuous life would not necessarily lead to positive consequences.

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4- I don’t understand what he is trying to say about dreaming and how it relates to imaginary causes.

5- I agree with his paragraph about the brain ‘imagining causes’ because I learned about the brain’s tendency to immediately compartmentalize in psychology.

6- Is he trying to say that feelings are not caused by anything? So why do people I feel guilty when they do something wrong?

I agree with his claim that faith does not award you with pleasurable feelings but rather the ability to write things off that are unexplainable, therefore easing the compartmentalizing mind.

7- Whoa, Nietzsche is about to attack free will.

“the doctrine of the will has been invented essentially for the purpose of punishment, that is, because one wanted to impute guilt” (355). Nietzsche’s last idea that free will is an error is probably one of his craziest. How would you prove something so abstract? Even so, I like where he is going with this idea. But at the same time, I still feel like some actions should be considered bad even if they were not made by choice or free will.

Collab Project Topic Preferences

My choices are in preference order

Gender Ethnicity Social Identity: I am interested in gender ethnicity and social identity, because I find social trends interesting. I am always thinking about the influence of society on the opinions about gender, ethnic, and social roles.

Education:  I am interested in the many of approaches to education, and their respective effectiveness. I am also interested in the roots of the current education system we have in the US, what reforms have been made over the years, if there are any future reforms in sight, and how education in other countries compares to what we have in the US.

Social Networking and Communications: I am interested in how social networking and communication has changed with new technology. I am especial interested in the effects that these changes have on social interaction.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/01/21/charters-need-policy-and-community-support.html

This article is related to education, and I chose it because I am interested in charter schools. This article is pro charter school. It discusses charter schools' need for the support of the government to succeed.

Reading Blog 2: First Response to The Case against Character

Before reading this article, I did not have a good understanding of virtue ethics. I thought virtue ethics didn't make sense at all, and I thought a person would be crazy to try to base their actions off of what a made-up virtuous person would do. Now, I have found many things that I like about virtue ethics.

The first aspect that I like about it is that virtuous actions are those that a virtuous person would make. This means that virtuous actions take emotions and other human things into account. In addition, the qualities themselves are not virtuous but rather the person who has mastered them is virtuous. For example, I find this to mean that a virtuous person has mastered the virtue of honesty but not that complete honesty is always right.

I also like the idea that being a virtuous person is what makes life worthwhile. The article makes sure to point out that “worthwhile” does not mean that one’s virtuous actions lead to positive consequences. This is slightly hard to understand because being virtuous does not lead to the type of life that society values today. Being virtuous does not guarantee good karma that eventually leads to wealth. Instead one probably has to forget their inclinations toward success in business / social status to truly let go of their vices. I think that these societal values are the biggest restraint stopping people from becoming virtuous.

There are many points in the discussion on personality in relation to virtue ethics that I agree with. The first and foremost is that situations affect actions. When I am feeling fabulous, I only stop whistling to smile at every person I see in the street, but in my darkest moments, I am less than friendly, not willing to share a smile or even eye contact with anybody in passing. Like the hypothetical people who were asked for change, “if I had a settled policy of never giving [a smile], even that pleasant [mood] wouldn't help” (408). This quote is significant because situations do seem to affect one’s virtues, but even so, people are still shown to possess individual characteristics.

I have not yet finalized my opinion on the two following questions:

1.     Are situational acts in fact virtuous?

a.      At this point I do not think that they count as virtuous acts because “we should want to do the right thing for the right reasons” (409). This opinion (and the whole virtuous person thing in general) seems a bit idealistic, but I like it anyway.

2.     Is it possible to have a “good life” (become a virtuous person)?

a.      I would like to think that there is a way to become a virtuous person, but it seems unlikely. (Can we find one example of a virtuous person? I think that it would be impossible to tell if a person is virtuous or not when considering the fact that “we’re inclined to overestimate disposition and underestimate situation” (411).)

Questions:

What is the vice “Calculating”?

"Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight"

I have always been under the impression that cockfighting is a form of simple animal abuse. Without any real insight on the matter, it just seems like a crude form of entertainment. I appreciate Clifford Geertz’s article and the deeper understanding of the Balinese sport that it offers. I agree with all of the points that he brought up about how the cockfighting is a metaphorical status war creating an intricate web of rivaling groups of kin. At the same time, however, I do not agree with the rituals that are hurtful to the animals involved. I also think it is interesting how obsessively the Balinese men labor over their game-cocks (massaging their legs and bathing them in ceremonial water, herbs, and flowers). I also think that his findings on the motivation for such a prominent cock fighting culture are interesting and on point.

I do not agree with the Balinese citizens’ belief that game-cocks represent the “direct inversion, aesthetically, morally, and metaphysically, of human status: animality”, and I find their social standards of eating privately, filing canine teeth, and not allowing infants to crawl a little bit unsettling. All three of these aspects of life are completely natural, and I think that the Balinese people should accept our “animalistic” qualities rather than deny them as parts of our lives. Although I do not agree with the animalistic-demon-blood-sacrifice reasoning for cockfighting, I am intrigued by the social motivation behind it.

When I look past the poor treatment of the game-cocks I see many positive qualities to the fighting games. The cockfights are symbolic battles between rivaling families, and they seem to actually reduce, if not eliminate, violence in communities. I find this fascinating because in the US we have similar traditions in which sports teams, for example, will represent groups of people inhabiting an area. The only difference is that in Bali, the cockfighting and its referees are so highly respected that there are no further disputes past the physical battle between game cocks, while games between athletic teams are not enough to settle conflicts in the United States. Fans criticize referees, and fights erupt over the outcomes of athletic games. I also do not see the gambling aspect of cockfighting as a negative. The monetary value of each game is merely an indication of its social significance. The higher valued fights signify “deeper” rivalries and higher socially ranking families. In the long run, the betting bears little effect on the wealth of the families because money is constantly being moved back and forth with each game. I also like the fact that money is only borrowed from allies so that money can never be owed to an enemy.