In the previous lecture, I brought to your attention the famous "Is / OUGHT" question, which states that you can not logically deduce what you ought to do from a factual description of reality.
Yet we have a lot of convictions, religions or ideologies, that tell us how we have to act in relation to the real world, we live in.
Of course, materialism doesn't escape from this feature, but it explains why I said that it is the philosophy most people don't like.
The origins of materialism lie in the ancient world and arose in contrast to religious schools of thought.
The religious schools derived much of their teachings on ethical life from their religious doctrines.
In the later, monotheistic traditions, the glory of the spiritual stood in contrast to the "lowly" pleasures of the body.
But what to do, when you have no punishing god, no perspective of earning a place in the afterlife or progressing in the chain of reincarnations. What if you are just here in this world?
It isn't surprising that the word "materialistic", as we saw in the previous lecture means "believing that having money and possessions is the most important thing in life"
The materialist is only after lust and luxury in his life, at least that is a standard reproach of those who believe in all those "higher" values in life.
However, the most famous materialist of the Ancient World, Epicurus, (341 - 270 BC) lived ascetically, along with the majority
of philosophically inclined people of his time in Athens and taught in his school that this was the appropriate way to live.
although critics can cite instances in his writings that are ambiguous on the question, for Epicurus the path to pleasure was by no means associated with excess and lavish taste.
Epicurus and his followers were known for eating simple meals and discussing a wide range of philosophical subjects. He openly allowed women and slaves to join the school as a matter of policy.
An interesting historical detail is that Epicurus is said to have originally written over 300 works on various subjects, but the vast majority of these writings have been lost.
I mention it because he is not the only materialist in history, whose works have disappeared. We'll get to that in another lecture.
For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to help people attain a happy (eudaimonic), tranquil life characterized by ataraxia (peace and freedom from fear) and aponia (the absence of pain).
He advocated that people were best able to pursue philosophy by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends.
He taught that the root of all human neurosis is death denial and the tendency for human beings to assume that death will be horrific and painful,
which he claimed causes unnecessary anxiety, selfish self-protective behaviors, and hypocrisy.
According to Epicurus, death is the end of both the body and the soul and therefore should not be feared, a clear materialist point of view.
Epicurus taught that although the gods exist, they have no involvement in human affairs. Makes you wonder, of course, why they exist.
He taught that people should behave ethically not because the gods punish or reward people for their actions,
but because amoral behavior will burden them with guilt and prevent them from attaining ataraxia.
Epicurus was an empiricist, meaning he believed that the senses are the only reliable source of knowledge about the world.
These are the basic views of a materialist and Epicurus wasn't the only one who held such a view. The next lecture may surprise you in that sense.
Thank you for your attention again.....
MacMillan The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd edition
TABLE OF CONTENT -----------------------------------------------------------------
1 - 100 Philosophers 9 May 2009 Start of
2 - 25+ Women Philosophers 10 May 2009 this blog
3 - 25 Adventures in Thinking 10 May 2009
4 - Modern Theories of Ethics 29 Oct 2009
5 - The Ideal State 24 Febr 2010 / 234
6 - The Mystery of the Brain 3 Sept 2010 / 266
7 - The Utopia of the Free Market 16 Febr 2012 / 383
8. - The Aftermath of Neo-liberalism 5 Sept 2012 / 413
9. - The Art Not to Be an Egoist 6 Nov 2012 / 426
10 - Non-Western Philosophy 29 May 2013 / 477
11 - Why Science is Right 2 Sept 2014 / 534
12 - A Philosopher looks at Atheism 1 Jan 2015 / 557
13 - EVIL, a philosophical investigation 17 Apr 2015 / 580
14 - Existentialism and Free Will 2 Sept 2015 / 586
15 - Spinoza 2 Sept 2016 / 615
16 - The Meaning of Life 13 Febr 2017 / 637
17 - In Search of my Self 6 Sept 2017 / 670
18 - The 20th Century Revisited 3 Apr 2018 / 706
19 - The Pessimist 11 Jan 2020 / 819
20 - The Optimist 9 Febr 2020 / 824
21 - Awakening from a Neoliberal Dream 8 Oct 2020 / 872
22 - A World Full of Patterns 1 Apr 2021 / 912
23 - The Concept of Freedom 8 Jan 2022 / 965
The Discussion
[13:21] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Thank you Herman
[13:21] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): interesting
[13:22] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): I like his idea of death denial
[13:22] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): He openly allowed women and slaves to join the school as a matter of policy...wasn't it normal in those days that woman join't classes?
[13:22] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ignore it I mean
[13:22] herman Bergson: One of the most interesting things to me is that most of Epicurus writings have been destroyed, have disappeared....
[13:22] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): how do we know they existed then?
[13:23] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): to begin with
[13:23] herman Bergson: No....According to Aristotle women weren't even full human beings....expressing the beliefs of those times
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ha
[13:24] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): these times men believe woman are second too
[13:24] herman Bergson: We know that they have existed because others who lived in those times and somewhat later reported about that fact Gemma
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): women are still fighting that issue
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ah ok
[13:25] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): actually I figured that
[13:25] herman Bergson: Yes, this woman / man equality issue....really amazing....
[13:26] herman Bergson: Probably Epicurus saw all humans as being equal
[13:26] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): I guess he also liked food
[13:26] herman Bergson: Contrary to his contemporaries
[13:27] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): food cooked by woman and slaves I suppose
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:27] herman Bergson: Ahh He allowed them to the kitchen ....I see :-)
[13:27] herman Bergson: Interesting historical finding :-))
[13:28] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): i'd served him coffee with salt
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): omg lol
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): OMG!!!
[13:28] bergfrau Apfelbaum: lol
[13:28] herman Bergson: But the general issue here is that materialism denies the existence of an Otherworld...
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): yes
[13:29] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and living a life of pleasure not pain
[13:29] herman Bergson: and instead of the fact that people who believed in Otherworld and gods became unpopular, materialists became unpopular
[13:29] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): why was that?
[13:29] herman Bergson: an interesting phenomenon
[13:30] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): you mean popular to those who believed?????
[13:30] herman Bergson: There maybe several reasons Beertje....
[13:30] herman Bergson: No Gemma ...popular to those who were in control in society....
[13:30] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): but you have both in that last sentence
[13:30] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): the same
[13:31] herman Bergson: MAterialists dont have a common basis for ethics
[13:31] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): both became unpopular
[13:31] herman Bergson: it is debatable...
[13:31] oola Neruda: it would be difficult to raise an army if death was the "dead end"
[13:31] herman Bergson: Religious believers are the easiest to control....
[13:32] herman Bergson: Maybe too , oola
[13:32] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): very true
[13:33] herman Bergson: Where the materialist still has to figure out a lot about life and existence, the (religious) believer already has all the answers
[13:33] Ciska Riverstone is offline.
[13:33] oola Neruda: that would not have to be only with Christians.... Valkyries were said to take the fallen to Vahalla....
[13:33] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): which makes it simpler
[13:33] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): oh right
[13:33] herman Bergson: And when those in power say YES those are the right answers stick to them or perish....
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): most religions have afterlife as a reward
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): phone
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) will be right back.
[13:34] herman Bergson: It applies to any religion or ideology oola
[13:34] oola Neruda: yes...
[13:35] herman Bergson: gather the people under an ideological umbrella and the flock will follow the leader
[13:35] herman Bergson: people want to feel safe and secure....
[13:36] herman Bergson: the way to achieve that is to give them answers...and religions do so
[13:36] herman Bergson: like ideologies
[13:36] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): religions give also fear
[13:36] herman Bergson: In that sense, materialism makes people insecure....
[13:36] oola Neruda: yes
[13:37] herman Bergson: the soul dies with the body...???? OMG......and what happens after that????
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): nothing
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): the people left grieve
[13:37] theo Velde is offline.
[13:37] herman Bergson: That is how our mind works....we prolong the consciousness of time across the border of death
[13:38] herman Bergson: Yes Gemma....to die is easy.....to be left behind is the real thing after a death
[13:38] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): oola said that well
[13:38] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): last week
[13:39] herman Bergson: Those who stay behind are confronted with the fact that it can be them next time
[13:39] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): you never know
[13:40] herman Bergson: That is what makes people insecure and take refuge to a religion....if it happens it is God's will...aahhhh good....not my problem then :-)
[13:41] herman Bergson: Just to have the consolation to know that god knows what is best for me....that feels good
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): well i think a lot has to do with upbringing
[13:41] herman Bergson: of course....
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): not taking refuge
[13:43] herman Bergson: But religion (and ideology) are such deeply rooted cultural phenomena....
[13:44] herman Bergson: Epicurus questioned this aspect of life already more that 2000 years ago...
[13:45] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): I am sure he was not the only one and we will hear about others
[13:45] oola Neruda: am thinking of India where the body is burned and the ashes put into the river....
[13:45] herman Bergson: and in a next lecture you'll learn that it wasn't the Ancient Greeks who as first ones came up with these questions
[13:46] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): that is where my body is going
[13:46] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): not their river tho
[13:46] herman Bergson: My general observation is that through history you see two groups of people
[13:47] herman Bergson: on the one hand believers of all kinds, and on the other hand those who said...there is nothing more than us and the world
[13:47] herman Bergson: world
[13:47] herman Bergson: and that second group has always lost the debate
[13:48] herman Bergson: until........?????
[13:48] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): well i see another group of those who are constantly seeking answers
[13:49] herman Bergson: it depends on the questions to what side they belong, I'd say Gemma
[13:50] herman Bergson: Well...let me leave you with all the questions for now and prepare for next lecture :-))
[13:50] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ok!
[13:50] herman Bergson: Thank you all again...:-)
[13:50] herman Bergson: Class dismissed....
[13:50] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Thank you ツ
