Our Retreat to Probability
As my first blog post, I thought I would first take the time to introduce myself and explain what I seek to achieve with my blog, even if it be just to articulate my thoughts in the form of instantaneous word vomit on a page. First of all, I am a student studying English and Philosophy at the University of Bristol, and thus this blog will be a product of thoughts, as I begin my journey as a philosophy student having never studied it before and explore its application to the modern day world. Application of ancient as well as contemporary philosophers, whether it be Socrates or Chomsky, to what I see around me as a 21st century 19 year old girl growing up in an increasingly media saturated world, bombarded by an overwhelming array of simulacra and a post-modern culture of confusion and increasingly rapid globalisation, should be marginally interesting to say the least. Whether it be a psychoanalytic look at a modern world or the drug crisis of millennials to simply an exploration of Keats to Bukowski or an ode to Gaspar Noe and other great films and music, I hope you find something that you enjoy, or that interests you within my blog, as i natter about anything and everything that I find of interest. Thus, I thought I would begin my blog by surrendering to my own ignorance, and thus my own awareness of this, through Hume's concept of induction. And, yes, this does mean I give you 100% freedom to distrust everything I say, just as Descartes distrusted the very nature of reality.
It has been brought to my attention recently, living within an age of rapid technological advancement and an overwhelming acceleration of globalisation, that I am constantly bombarded by a seemingly never ending stream of different ideologies, ideas and theories all aiming to outdo one another. when asked which, for example, political philosophy I agree with, I always state the fact that I believe it to be a charade, and emphasise the idea of it not being real, much to peoples dismay. Although I understand that this is not in the very least practically useful, I do very much believe that people must be aware of their own ignorance. Upon sitting in a seminar last term, I felt a sense of relief as I learnt that one of the great philosophers, David Hume, also thought this way. His idea of induction stated that we can never truly be sure of anything, not even that the sun will rise tomorrow. To most, this sounds ridiculous, but hear him out. The need to not take knowledge for granted is abundant in our world, for example, how many times have theories of the Earth's shape been disproved? Or the very theory of the cause of gravity? Our knowledge is clearly limited, and this is largely because we, in Hume's view, do not have the capacity to comprehend or conceive the true causes of things. The very essence of causation is beyond our grasp. This takes me back to the very idea of a post modern world being so caught up in itself and unaware of our own ignorance, that we are almost becoming more ignorant as we apparently become more advanced. It appears to me, as though people are so desperate to hold on to something to believe in, even if they cannot explain the very roots of its existence or their cause to believe in it, simply because they seek stability. It is almost as a personal belief system, whether it be political, religious or scientific, has become a necessity in a postmodern world. I guess what I mean to say is, I'm just a bit fed up of everyone pushing their agendas upon others, clinging to an idea of inferred knowledge being absolute truth and thus refusing to accept criticism or opposing ideas. While I say I am fed up of this, I also understand that it is inevitable in an increasingly fragmented world where knowledge seems the only certain thing for many, and I cannot blame people to holding tightly onto beliefs as mistaken concrete knowledge (which we seem to lack altogether, save arguably that of maths or logic), in such an uncertain world.
Anyway, I do sincerely apologise for the disorganisation and confused stream of consciousness that has just occurred, but please forgive me as it is my first blog post and I do aim to become more familiar to this alien world in time. As I said, the whole purpose of this blog is not to solve questions or to state facts, but simply to ponder (how philosophical), just as I, the girl constantly criticised for overthinking, do everyday through observation of the world around me and patterns of social behaviour. I really hope you bare with me and do stay with me for this journey. :)
It has been brought to my attention recently, living within an age of rapid technological advancement and an overwhelming acceleration of globalisation, that I am constantly bombarded by a seemingly never ending stream of different ideologies, ideas and theories all aiming to outdo one another. when asked which, for example, political philosophy I agree with, I always state the fact that I believe it to be a charade, and emphasise the idea of it not being real, much to peoples dismay. Although I understand that this is not in the very least practically useful, I do very much believe that people must be aware of their own ignorance. Upon sitting in a seminar last term, I felt a sense of relief as I learnt that one of the great philosophers, David Hume, also thought this way. His idea of induction stated that we can never truly be sure of anything, not even that the sun will rise tomorrow. To most, this sounds ridiculous, but hear him out. The need to not take knowledge for granted is abundant in our world, for example, how many times have theories of the Earth's shape been disproved? Or the very theory of the cause of gravity? Our knowledge is clearly limited, and this is largely because we, in Hume's view, do not have the capacity to comprehend or conceive the true causes of things. The very essence of causation is beyond our grasp. This takes me back to the very idea of a post modern world being so caught up in itself and unaware of our own ignorance, that we are almost becoming more ignorant as we apparently become more advanced. It appears to me, as though people are so desperate to hold on to something to believe in, even if they cannot explain the very roots of its existence or their cause to believe in it, simply because they seek stability. It is almost as a personal belief system, whether it be political, religious or scientific, has become a necessity in a postmodern world. I guess what I mean to say is, I'm just a bit fed up of everyone pushing their agendas upon others, clinging to an idea of inferred knowledge being absolute truth and thus refusing to accept criticism or opposing ideas. While I say I am fed up of this, I also understand that it is inevitable in an increasingly fragmented world where knowledge seems the only certain thing for many, and I cannot blame people to holding tightly onto beliefs as mistaken concrete knowledge (which we seem to lack altogether, save arguably that of maths or logic), in such an uncertain world.
Anyway, I do sincerely apologise for the disorganisation and confused stream of consciousness that has just occurred, but please forgive me as it is my first blog post and I do aim to become more familiar to this alien world in time. As I said, the whole purpose of this blog is not to solve questions or to state facts, but simply to ponder (how philosophical), just as I, the girl constantly criticised for overthinking, do everyday through observation of the world around me and patterns of social behaviour. I really hope you bare with me and do stay with me for this journey. :)
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