Memphis Undergraduate Philosophy Conference 2009

I've been wanting to post a blog about my trip to Memphis, and in light of wanting to put off necessary reading, I decided this would be an appropriate time. I've spoken to quite a few of you about it but there are others out there who I haven't informed so hopefully this isn't too redundant for those of you I have discussed this with.

I left at 245 A.M. Friday morning along with my friend and colleague Brian. We arrived at Loveless Cafe. just outside of Nashville, TN, around 730 or so. Dr. Weinberg from IU had recommended it for its excellent fresh biscuits, and I've very glad he did. From the time I got done eating, until I ate sushii at 9 P.M that night, I only ate a bagel around 1. That was one heckuva meal!

The keynote (presented by a professor) was a new perspective on philosophy for sure. It dealt with the epistemology and metaphysics of MLKJ and Malcolm X and how their views, which only differed in slight ways, affected their equally (in)famous, yet variant, responses to violence. Oh and as a sidenote, he basically said that 99% of whites were (and most still are) morally deprived (himself included) due to how they treat Blacks and their personhood. After his talk, it was tough to disagree.

There were 10 undergrad presenters. Each one was in an area I had little to no prior knowledge/background in. That was my favorite part. I came away from the conference with a whole list of topics/philosophers that I want to look further into! I also met a lot of cool people in the short time too, from Arizona, to Missouri, to Arkansas, to Tennessee, to South Carolina, to Pennsylvania! I ate some good sushi Friday night, and BBQ grilled tofu in a black bean chip dip for dinner Saturday night. Needless to say, I packed a ton of experience into about 48 hours (of which, was about 16 hours of driving). 

As far as my presentation itself, I was pleased with it. I don't think I deserve an award, but I was happy with how it went and there know major or attention-detracting faults. I had a couple good questions, one of which, I'm going to have to look into to see how it affects my paper. But that positive is only small in comparison to the people I met and the topics I became aware of for further study.

But I think what I take away from the short weekend is the overall experience. Like I said, I was not gone from Muncie, IN, for more than 50 hours, but I still came away from it with a ton! Most significantly, I further solidified my desire to continue on my present path and stay in Philosophy. Ever since my first class I had fallen in love with the subject, but there is a distinction to be made between loving philosophy and loving the professional/academic side. This weekend proved I love both aspects.

I got back at 5 AM Sunday morning, took a short nap, did some homework, and then was fortunate enough to have my family in Muncie to enjoy the afternoon with! It was a great 3 days to say the least!

The Masters

Every year, I become entranced. The question is: "Why".  I do not watch golf any other weekend out of the year except maybe twenty minutes of a Sunday final round of the US Open or another major if its a close finish and I happen to not be busy. For the Masters this year, I've followed Thursday and Friday, watched a good amount with it muted Saturday, and I've been watching since it began today. 

I surely hope it is not the horrid advertising that somehow grabs my unconscious (because I consciously hate those ads). I'm not sure I've heard more wimpy, agonizingly-nostalgic narrating for a sporting event than Mike Turico and Jim Nance on those commercials. "The masters, a tradition unlike any other..." and that sickening piano music they play when they show the scoreboard.... *wince* They even have 114 year-old Pat Summerall for some of the 3 second ads when they come back from the commercials. Thats it, just 3 or 4 three second ads... Thank you Pat Summerall.

But then again, maybe it is the fact that the Masters is hyped up like it is. Maybe all the attention it receives makes me want to pay attention.

 In any case, I'll watch the rest of the day to see if Phil continues his Birdie-fever and catches the leaders or if Tiger can catch fire by feeding off of Phil's pace. Or maybe one of the leaders will stave both of the superstars and win their first green jacket. Either way, I'll be watching, and who knows why.

Different World-Views and Different Rationales (sp?)

At philosophy club last fall, we discussed a summer field-study of a small handful of philosophy students who traveled to Professor Kalumba’s home country of Uganda. The goal of the field-study was to see if there was any truth to the claims of an anthropologist who dwelled with a tribe of Africans for almost 30 years, and published a book, in 1959, on his view of their philosophy. But for this post, it doesn't really matter what he concluded, I was more shocked by their experienced way of going through life.

The Bantu are a tribe with very traditional beliefs. To this day, they belief that your ancestors and (their idea of) gods are influencing factors on almost every event in their life. For instance, they belief that if one were to get bit by a mosquito that there were two causes. The first cause, would be the mosquito biting them, but the final cause would be either god or an ancestor inflicting this upon them. They believe that for every event, there is a reason behind it, viz. there is a supernatural power manipulating the natural world. They see the current events in their life as directly resulting from either a  past trespass or good deed done to the gods or their ancestors. When there is an ailment, they go to a type of witch-doctor who prescribes some actions that would appease their ancestors or god and wash out their previous trespass.

Recently, a cousin of professor Kalumba was sick. She went to a M.D. and found out she had cancer. Then she went to a witch-doctor and the doctor told her to do so and so. 2 months later, she died. But this is not a problem for the tribe. The blame is put on the cousin. The witch-doctor didn't fail, because he simply has to say that the cousin didn’t do all he prescribed.

But here is the rub, this doesn't bother them. They have no concern that there could have been another result. They don’t use experience to try different methods of curing. They have no knowledge of the scientific method (or similar methodologies). They ‘know’ their beliefs are the right ones, and that there is no other way. The witch-doctor certainly doesn’t keep records of who he saves and who he kills. What happens was meant to happen.

But don’t they realize that there may be other ways of achieving their goals? The answer is no. Their world-view completely directs their beliefs. It simply is what there is. They have no reason to question it. We feel that the reasonable thing to do is to get medical help, but to them, the rational thing is to go to the witch-doctor and do what he says. Their world-view dictates reality and what is rational.

This has been a huge eye-opener for me. Its simple, but has had a profound impact on me. To me, it shows that what is rational, is subjective, and relative to the individual subject and their social location. Rationality isn't this objective ideal, but rather a personal approach to life. For some, that may be a no-brainer, but it certainly wasn't to me. As a result, this story has dramatically affected how I tend to view the different situations I'm presented with.

Quick post: Pictures of Reality

Busy and exciting day today! Professor Jonathan Weinberg from Indiana University will be coming to give a presentation on "Armchair vs. Experimental" philosophy. Yesterday we realized the room we had reserved was not a "smart room" with a projector and computer. So we scrambled around to find a projector and then spent forever trying to make sure it was in working order. Things should be good to go.

I know I've linked this before but you all seriously need to subscribe to this picture blog from the Boston Globe. They post new photos about 2 times a week and they are usually quality, but there are some weeks where the pictures just grab you. This week's post is one of those posts. Enjoy!

Lastly, I just found out this morning that I was accepted to give a presentation of a paper I had been working on. It will be in the undergraduate part of the Midsouth Philosophy Conference taking place April 17th and 18th in Memphis, TN. I'm looking forward to seeing what people think of my work as well as hearing what everyone else is working on, at the undergrad, as well as professional level.