The Issues of Philosophy in Relation to Society - Essay Example

Philosophy Address: 21st April Dear Patrick, I hope all is well; I would like to enlighten you on some issues that Ihave gained understanding of in the course of my studying. In the contemporary environment, philosophy is one aspect bound to influence the day-to-day activities that people engage in. There are very many different concepts and ideas that affect the way people think and act upon situations. However, it is important to acknowledge the most appropriate course of action in an effort to achieve the most that one can in life. It is also imperative to understand this to try to comprehend the relevance that philosophy implies to society. Many philosophers have come up with diverging ideas on the concept of life and society and one of the acclaimed ones is Mary Warnock. According to her, philosophy does not involve the resolution of societal problems. Rather than this, it is the questioning of the legitimacy of some of the societal notions known to man. I find this very inspiring from the fact that many people in society look at philosophers and expect them to resolve their problems in an effort to make the environment a friendlier place. People should shun this mindset, focus on the mental engagement of understanding other complex issues in society, and think whether the purpose displayed in them is genuine or whether there is a better manner to improve this. I further concur with the sentiments of another professional philosopher by the name Mikhail Bakunin. The philosopher argues that it is important to recognize the thoughts of others but not act as per they say. This is a very important concept as far as survival and relationships are concerned. Through this, I find it very efficient to relate with people listening to what they have to say and by no means being a judge of their character and ideologies. Rather than this, I find it imperative to recognize and acknowledge their sentiments while putting a personal boundary. Failure to do this would lead to actions that would eventually leave one confused due to mixed ideas. From the sentiments of Philip Kitcher, every society should have an internal urge or rather desire to seek and recognize the truth. However hurting the truth may appear, it is the only way that society can gain a better understanding of self. I concur with this idea by stating that despite the fact that there are flaws in the contemporary environment and people only look up to the upright characteristics, there is a possibility that they may also bear errors as they are reconstructed repeatedly by humanity. People are often afraid of following the law and trying to appeal these notions but the faster they gain reconstruction, the better-placed humanity is. This matter requires increased attention in an effort to get a society that does not only lean on the contemporary and future notions, but also relates to the already set ones and evaluates their competency. Another issue that affects the contemporary society and that I find personally interactive is that relating to gender. It is a widespread notion from ancient times that the female is generally weaker. In an effort to indulge in this issue deeply, Katha Pollitt, another acknowledged philosopher states that people go around the concept of gender without caring about the feelings or rather the sentiments of females. I personally relate to this and state that women are supposed to bear the right to communicate their sentiments on various issues in society and gain an audience. Katha states that many people engage in the evaluation of whether women are better, worse or equal to men. She states that this is not the question for evaluation. I also find it important to recognize the achievements that women have made in the past and offer their acknowledgements. Adolf Hitler was one recognized dictator in the 20th century. He bore sentiments that are rather disturbing since he claimed that human beings should not receive any form of widespread knowledge but rather information supplied to them gains limit. I do not agree with this fact and state that people should have access to as much information as they can despite Hitler’s defense that humans have low intelligence. With the spread and discussion of the ideas, human beings have the ability to comprehend the various issues that society faces. I also state this claiming that any form of secrecy can create disturbance and anxiety among people in society thus spiting them to carry out unconventional actions. The New York Times is a forum that tables many discussions and views from professionals. According to the editor, every society should acknowledge and appreciate its flaws. This is a very important point and I find it very intriguing because without the acknowledgment and the follow up of these flaws, a society may continue heading down the wrong path and end up in deep trouble where it is too late to recover. Recognition of the flaws and acceptance should assist every society including the one that we are living in the contemporary times to improve for a much greater future. According to Francois Jacob, there is no worse thing than carrying out an activity, and in this case unethical activity, with a personal notion of its right (Francois 47). He states that this is the worst thing that humans can do. I completely agree to this from the fact that many of the contemporary world’s activities that human beings are based on personal belief and do not have any further reference. An example of this is the attacks that a group of Muslim’s by the name Al-Qaeda carries out. According to Muslims, all that they do is for the purpose of religion and for the effectiveness and pleasure of their Muhammad. However, failure to evaluate the actions leads to the death of many people through the bombs that they drop in various places in the world and killing innocent people. It is thus important for the protection of society, that people evaluate their actions and look further to access the repercussions that they would have on society as a whole. I agree with the sentiments of Immanuel Kant only to a point where he states that it is important to philosophize. In his research, Kant found out that there does not exist the ability to find philosophy. However, I tend to differ with him in this as research from books and various other reputable sources of history show the ideologies of different people at their ages and what their notions stood for. This is discovery of philosophy and it is up to the society to decide which the best notion to live by is. In addition to his work, the point where he states the importance of philosophizing is vital. This is at points where research may be carried out and there is no positive result or rather the philosophies found in the research do not conform to contemporary ways of live. At this point, the importance of philosophizing comes in. Nagel Thomas states that after review of contemporary problems present in society and witnessing the number of past people that have attempted to resolve them, people tend to give up on the resolution. Nagel states that this should not be the case. I agree with him and state that society should make this a challenge in which victory should be the goal. With continuous attempt to resolve the issues, future generations or the younger generation gains insight and can also resolve the issues that we cannot resolve as they will have got much more knowledge from their experiences at the time. James Harris concentrates on the issue of the Catholic Church and its failure to accept the teaching of the Copernican Theory by Galileo. He states that the church refused to offer him a chance to teach the crowd from the fact that they did not want it to be termed ‘True’ from their deep religious beliefs. I concur and state that people should have received the ability to listen to the words offered by the wise theorist and understand the notion of creation from different aspects. I find the issue of philosophy in relation to society a rather intriguing subject that should receive more commendation than currently offered. The various philosophies and notions taken by past and current philosophers assist in the better understanding of the society in different perspectives. It is important to assess critically the manner through which people live and assist in correcting actions that may appear unethical. Sincerely Name Work Cited Jacobs, Fracois. The Logic of Life: A History of Heredity. New York: Princeton University Press. 2009. Print. Read More