The Shrink and The Sage – Page 19

Must challenge mean confrontation?

February 24, 2014 Julian Baggini The Shrink and The Sage

The intellectual modus operandi in Britain is one of adversarial conflict. In the debating chambers of Oxbridge, the high courts, the nation’s parliament, and even news programmes, good, rigorous debate is equated with polarised, confrontational discussion. To argue well is to win, to agree is to concede, and to refuse to come down clearly on one side or the other is to be woolly and evasive. No wonder then that the typical Brit is unable to distinguish between a legitimate challenge that deserves consideration and an outright attack that needs to be repelled.

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How free are we?

February 17, 2014 Julian Baggini The Shrink and The Sage

A necessary illusion is likely to contain an unavoidable truth. In the case of free will, that truth is that human beings do things for reasons and are able to modify their behaviour on the basis of argument and evidence. Is that free will? You decide.

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Should we fear the worst?

February 12, 2014 Julian Baggini The Shrink and The Sage

We can learn to see the world in any number of ways with relative equanimity. What’s disconcerting is the prospect of the view we have got used to being turned upside down. To use another metaphor, the prospect of having the rug pulled from under our feet is frightening but not because we can’t stand up perfectly well on floorboards.

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Is it better to focus on today or tomorrow?

February 4, 2014 Julian Baggini The Shrink and The Sage

Human beings ought to think in all three tenses. We are the product of our histories and what we go on to do will continue to shape our identities. Dwelling on or living in the past may be bad but reflecting on it is essential. Similarly, worrying too much about or living for the future is not the same as preparing for it. How we think about the different times of life matters, not simply which one of them we focus on.

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Do we need to focus?

January 25, 2014 Julian Baggini The Shrink and The Sage

I’m glad that some people have a narrow focus and so spot the important details generalists miss. But there should be more space for those who attempt to join the dots. We need both close-ups and landscapes, a wide and narrow focus, if we are to see all that needs to be seen.

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