What is the State for?
A full audio recording of the Scoundrels session on, “What is the State for?”
Why Do We Hold On to Zombie Ideas?
We talked about why we hold onto disproven ideas. Jim said capitalism is the zombie idea we can't let go of. Jane said zombie ideas come from hope and wait underground to be useful again. Maybe we don't want to feel stupid. We talked about a fake disease called bixonomania, General McChrystal throwing away his portrait of Robert E Lee painting, and being surrounded by a world we can't comprehend so we use heuristics to survive. Also: cognito hazards and Seth wondering what it means to be wise in a post-truth, post-trust society.
What Is Community?
Before Seth said a word, Jan made a request. We said our names. One at a time. It seemed appropriate given the question. What is community? Is it a group, an event, a school of fish? Tim had notes. The fish people had opinions. Galileo kept his mouth shut. We didn't.
Is There a Hierarchy to Morality?
Can you be moral toward your neighbor if you don't love yourself? Should everyone have water, or is that unfair? Tonia wants us to get better at identifying where we depart. A Korean student knows that you are your relationships, without them you cease to exist. We're killers who sometimes bless our kills. Maybe finding common ground is just imperial posturing. Maybe it's the most interesting work in philosophy.
What Exactly is Death?
What exactly is death? The question seems obvious but gets slippery fast. We explored death as the cessation of change, the end of Pete-ing and Seth-ing, a cultural decision about which indicators matter. We talked about consciousness decomposing and why we keep picking disruptive versions of death in our culture. Jan's mother-in-law apologized in a warehouse dream. Pete wondered if you can die if you're not self-aware. Max held onto his grandpa calling him a good kid. And Luka wants to start a cemetery with fruit trees instead of gravestones.
Discrete as I wanna be.
Thom wanted to know: is there such a thing as freewill? Jan's nephew thinks God only cares when you're sad, broken, or dead. Bob's riding hard for complexity. Don won't spoil a 100-year-old book. And I confessed I find determinism comforting—because we're still the vessels through which it all flows, still experiencing choice even if it's not "free."