Hello Philosophy Society!
Discussion 1: Journaling
Today we began our discussion on the role of journaling in our ability to process and function. When we put it on paper, it gets out of your head and leaves room in your mind to think about other things. We read through the Reflective Mind Map chapter and talked about how valuable it is to each of us to use a method like this.
Sometimes we do not have words for how we feel. We may just feel uncomfortable or the absence of feeling good; “I feel like shit” or “I feel bad.” It is up to us to develop a sense for how we feel and learn to break up our ambiguous emotions into different parts. This is what the chapter on journaling is for.
Discussion 2: Anxiety
Anxiety is one of those emotions that sometimes may be unclear what the cause or object of it is. We can go through the Reflective Mind Map checklist to uncover what is making us upset. The question I am trying to answer is, ‘Why do I feel this?’ so that I can use the emotion constructively. This is where our ‘motivation’ comes from.
We first must feel something to be motivated to do something. To do something, we must know what it is that is emoting us. Then we can act in response to that emotion or feeling. There may be times where one has a goal but lacks the motivation to push themselves towards the goal. Here, one can create motivation by placing themselves in situations or circumstances that will evoke emotion. For example, one can attempt a task knowing they will fail so that they feel the sense of loss that can be used as a motivation to learn.
It is important to understand our emotions so that our relationships are not negatively affected. If we are holding some negative emotion, we will bring that with us to any of our relationships. It is important to deal with our emotions first and people second so that we do not negatively affect our relationships with others.
The purpose of a negative emotion is to understand it so that I can increase my wellbeing. Something in my experience is causing me to feel upset so it is important to take time to understand what is the cause and how to best approach that thing. I can ask myself, “What is the meaning or place of the emotion?” I can further ask these questions:
1) what is the nature of the emotion?
2) what actions can i take now that i understand it
Understanding our emotions is only part of developing mature wellbeing. We also have to make decisions and take action relative to the emotions we have.
One’s self confidence can be affected by anxiety. The way we see ourselves, our self-concept, can be accurate to our ability to complete tasks or perform or not. Someone can be very confident but have poor performance whereas someone can be low in confidence and have high performance. Our confidence in our ability to complete tasks is called self-efficacy.
You can incrementally increase your self-efficacy by doing tasks that seem challenging and associating an accurate self-talk/ narrative relative to your progress on the task. For example, Self talk: “this is a difficult thing for me to do.” (do the task) Self talk, “Even though it was challenging, I did the action anyway. Even though I felt I could not do it, I was actually able to.” It is important to allow ourselves to feel positive emotions and have positive self talk relative to the completion of the task so that the next time there is positive emotions and self-talk associated with doing the task.
Philosophy Academy: Feeling Good Ch4 “Start by Building Self-Esteem”
Today we read pages 53-68 in Feeling Good. Here Burns is discussing the sense of worthlessness one feels when they are depressed. He identifies how important it is for a counselor to respond to the negative thinking patterns of their clients. Achievement is not something that is associated with our worth. Improvement is only long lasting when we directly address how we evaluate ourselves and our lives. The problem lies in the self-defeating thinking and behavioural patterns we engage in daily. Identifying the problem, like someone is perfectionistic, does not help with solving the problem of perfectionism. The first step is talking back to the self-critical internal dialogue. This is best done by writing down the critical thoughts and the responses to them. Burns uses the triple column technique (63) to identify the critical thought, identify its distortion, and provide a rational response to it.
Burns, David. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. Harper Publishing. New York, 1999.
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Mass Market Paperback – Dec 30 2008
Discussion 3: Thought Transformation
There is a process of thought transformation. Some thoughts are repeated so as we respond to these thoughts with a rational criticism, we will get better at saying the final rational response and skipping over the negative thought entirely. We will be able to reason our way through the negative thinking patterns faster and faster. Every time a negative thought arises, it is another opportunity to practice a healthy, rational way of thinking about the content of the thought.
Some thoughts will be of a larger category and a rational response to the general subject will also apply to all of the thoughts that fall within the category. We will become skilled at responding to patterns of thinking in general and be able to develop healthy responses to a variety of situations and circumstances.
Our self-talk, the voice in our heads, is an audio feedback rehearsal loop. We have to learn to take control of this self-talk by being critical of it when it negatively affects our self-esteem or prevents us from doing things that are in our best interest. We can develop healthy principles that we can apply generally that will help motivate us and lead us to greater wellbeing.
Discussion 4: Unpacking Meaning
Sometimes we will say things that have much more meaning than the statements we used to represent it. In philosophy, ‘unpacking the meaning of something’ is to explicate or expand on the implications of what something means. Emotionally, we may unpack the meaning of a feeling by making an effort to understand what is affecting us relative to the emotion.
We stop unpacking an emotion when it does not affect us or evoke an emotional response anymore. It is like sanding something until it is smooth, when the wood becomes flush. When we are able to communicate how we feel without being triggered, we know that we have come to a place of understanding and acceptance with the experience that initially made us upset.
Discussion 5: Triggered People
For example, someone is triggered about something and will not let it go. They associate you with the past experience that hurt them and they are now taking that negative emotion from a different experience out on you. One solution to this problem is ignoring them but really it is not a solution. This may be a coping mechanism to avoid conflict in the moment or when you are not of sound mind to deal with it. At a certain point, someone acting this way is being abusive towards you if you are not the cause of the harm. In this context, it may be appropriate to construct boundaries and not engage with them, at least when they unjustly become triggered.
It is important to learn to deal with all people because if you simply ignore some individuals, a person who is similar to them will eventually come up again in your life. When you are presented with the same kind of person, it may be in a context where they have more situational power than you and you are forced to deal with them. It will help you to have already gained some practice in how to navigate certain kinds of responses to these kinds of behaviours.
To deal with someone who gets triggered, we would have to separate ourselves from the triggering content. This can be quite challenging and it is important to be stable enough to not allow oneself to be triggered in response to their emotional outburst, reframing or accusations. We have to act in a distinct way from the previous triggering experience so that we are seen in a different category. From this place, we can use the Socratic Deconstruction Method to determine what the meaning of their emotional response is. If we are able to stay constant in their experience as a distinct entity from the original triggering experience, we may be able to provide a healthy contrast from which they can develop a sense of mindfulness of their triggered state and how the original experience affected them.
Discussion 6: Application of Skills
These tools, knowledge of distortions, can be used in our social interactions in the present moment. When we learn these things, they are immediately applicable to what we are experiencing. We most likely have self-talk, are reading this text, or will soon be in a social situation. In all of these contexts, understanding the distortions, becoming familiar with critical thinking, learning the place of meditation and controlled breathing, are relevant to optimal functioning for us immediately. These skills are not devoid of applicability to our circumstance. We can immediately begin using these skills in the moment and throughout our days.
Reflections: Identity and Action
There is a layering of our identity. Some things have greater importance to us and who we are than others. It makes sense that when you start a new day, you do and practice the thing that is the most important to your identity. If you are a runner, begin your day by training. If you paint, start or continue a canvas. If you are a vocalist, sing until you have warmed up your resonation chamber.
Once you have sufficiently practiced this facet of who you are or you simply don’t have time due to basic need obligations, like work, then you can move on to the next facet of your identity. You are done when you have ‘worked out’ this part of your body or mind. There should be one incremental step towards mastery before you move on to the next activity.
To be your self is to do the things that you identify with. Your ‘identity’ is what makes you distinct from others and will be the source of your sense of wellbeing. It is important for you to take the time to be who you are and fulfill your identity through your actions. Test is out and see how you feel over time when you prioritize your day and decisions based on what matters most to you.
Academic Reflections 1: Land Back, Private Property, Natural Resource Management, Being Canadian
This Canada Day, settler Canadians should think about 'land back'
If we begin the discussion of indigenous land jurisdiction on the metaphysical premise that there is no such thing as private property, we immediately begin with a contradiction and a self-refuting claim. If private property does not exist then there is not ‘land’ for one to reclaim.
Biodiversity and a sustainable civilization does not mean that we do not use natural resources. Natural resource management is based on ecological science and not an unrealistic approach towards the natural environment, the economy and civilization. Using natural resources is necessary for our continued existence and it does not mean it necessarily comes at the cost of our planet’s ecosystem. We have a responsibility to the biodiversity of Earth and our anthropocentric self-interest to keep a balance with the environment we live in.
Valuing our species does not necessarily mean it comes at a cost of other species. How we manage our relationship with other species and the natural environment is a realistic and responsible way forward. To assume that we cannot extract natural resources because of an anthropomorphic view of nature is conceptually flawed and unreasonable. Nature is an entity on its own and imposing human characteristics onto it is a fallacious way of thinking.
We live in a current state where colonialism has occurred. In Canada, someone who is born here has every right to this land as an indigenous person would. We have to accept that globalization and the development of civilization is a real phenomena. It is not realistic for us to believe that we cannot utilize the natural resources on our planet as long as we do so within an ecological friendly manner.
Colonialism and the residential school system were serious issues in how our global state emerged but we cannot change the past. We can only be aware of our present and move forward from this current point. We now live in a nation that accepts private property to function at a global scale for all the millions of people that live in Canada.
Being Canadian is not limited to the Indigenous people. Many people were born here who are just as Canadian as any indigenous person. This is a completely different issue than the horrific problems of the residential school system, cultural genocide and colonialism. These past issues occurred and it is important to develop some social response to them. But this is a different thing than our existing state as a country, how we manage our resources and people, and our relationship to other countries in the world.
If the landback movement means that the original descendants of Canada's indigenous population assume control over natural resources, this is something that they can develop a political party and be voted in for. To ignore the current democratic state of our country is to be delusional. We live in this state of the world and finding our place within it is necessary for us to function. Just because a person has a lineage to the land does not mean they have competency to manage the current state of the infrastructure or people on that land. This is an example of the genetic fallacy: the truth of something is based on where it originated and not its content. Let us fully support an Indigenous political party that can manage our country better than all other parties. This is something that needs to be based on the current state of the country and not on who lived here first.
Jurisdiction over natural resources or any other control over Canada is not something that will simply be given away. If anyone believes that they can manage the economy, natural resources, foreign policy, and all the other elements that our political system addresses, then prove it with the current groups you have control over. If you are better at managing anything, you can show your skills and be acknowledged for it. People will ultimately observe your success and that will give you the advantage in a democratic voting process.
It may be the case that Indigenous people have a different mode of governance via appeal to elders and chiefs. However, we live in a globalized world and some form of integration between the indigenous governing method and the democratic, multicultural method, is necessary. It is unrealistic to expect that all the multicultural people subsume under the political framework of the indigenous population. If that method was superior to the current method, everyone in the country would have to agree on it and not follow and appeal to authority or patriarchal governing system. This again goes back to the genetic fallacy, just because the indigenous people have some original way of governing does not mean it is the best. Being first doesn't make you right. You being correct is determined on the merit and relevance of your efforts to the situation or circumstance.
Every system of government has problems of corruption and the Indigenous appeal to the Elder's authority system is not removed from this. Allocating resources and power into the hands of a few leaves open issues of corruption in those few. This is not to say that democracy does not have its flaws too for ad populum, the majority opinion is not necessarily the correct one, is another fallacy which is the crux of the democratic method. Tyrants have been voted into power so there needs to be some political progression globally to prevent all forms of corruption from being a problem.
Instead of focusing on ‘land back,’ it makes more sense to focus on natural resource management and a place for the indigenous culture to flourish within the existing framework of Canada’s globalized civilization. It is important for us to be realistic about our current state of affairs and also be mindful and acknowledge mistakes of the past.
Academic Reflections 2: The Pandemic and George Floyd
I am responding to a confusion a student communicated about the pandemic and the George Floyd murder.
First, we were mandated to stay at home during the pandemic because COVID-19 was a serious virus that was overwhelming our emergency services. Our government and anyone who participated in following the mandate was making a collective effort to prevent the spread of the virus so that our hospitals could keep up with how many people needed their attention. It was a difficult time for all of us to stay at home, not socialize, wear masks, and not work but we valued the lives of our people and were mindful of the scientific data on virology.
The murder of George Floyd went viral in contrast to other murders and abuses of police power and racism because of the situation itself. Floyd was tortured to death on camera by suffocating while communicating to the officers he couldn’t breathe. This went on for nearly 10 minutes until he died. The reason that this specific murder was so abhorrent was because he was pleaing for mercy and the murderer did not respond. The near 10 minute video of Floyd being suffocated on film was what distinguished this murder from many of the other unjust racial killings of blacks in the United States by Police.
There is a difference between someone being shot and dying in an instant and someone actively holding a person down in a position where they cannot breathe. Floyd’s case is of a different kind and much worse than pulling a trigger. The murderer of Floyd was warned that his actions could lead to his death by Floyd and he persistently choose to do continue in his actions against Floyd until he died.
Us staying at home due to the pandemic is not the causal factor for Floyd’s death going viral online. Floyd’s death would of gone viral with or without the pandemic because of how he was murdered. The pandemic and the stay-at-home mandate are irrelevant to the public awareness of Floyd’s death.
Whatsapp Chat
WaC 1: Nuclear War
Reggie: Just curious: what do you all think about the possibility of nuclear war, or war in general? Do you think it would be our ethical duty to participate in a "just war"?
Mark: If it happens, it happens. We'll deal with it as did generations before us.
Reggie: Conversely, does the notion cause feelings of anxiety or nervousness?
Mark: Do you feel this way? I understand if you do. I imagine many do.
Reggie: Personally, I don't. But then again, I'm not being conscripted.
Mark: Good.Then you can help others if it happens.
Reggie: So you have no opinion other than "que sera sera"?
Mark: We thought about it and are prepared.Not sure about others.
Reggie: How have you prepared? How does, and to what extent should, one prepare for a nuclear holocaust?
Mark: For city folks, gotta know how to survive without all those creature comforts. Indigenous Peoples survived the last two ice ages.The north and Westerners are tough people. I'm impressed. They have taught me a lot.
Reggie: I guess that assumes we get hit by a nuke -- and if Toronto ever did, I think creature comforts would be the least of our concerns. But let's say the threat is remote. Do you have any family/friends in the military? If so, what if they were to be deployed? My brother in law did two tours in Afghanistan. He's no longer in the military, but I would imagine what others might think/feel if their loved ones were sent overseas.
Mark: Good question Reggie.Has anyone else responded to your question? Above is as much as I can share for now.
Reggie: https://youtu.be/JBeq_keMhmc
Mark: Perhaps your brother-in-law might be able to share a couple of tips with you. Why not?
Reggie: For sure he'd have his own opinions. But I'm asking more from a philosophical perspective. More along the lines of just war theory.
Mark: I am open to the idea that it may not be nuclear. Russia released a video in 2018. Non-nuclear. Same impact as if a meteor hit the Earth.
Reggie: It also goes to political theory, as those in Ottawa would be the ones sending troops to war.
Achilles: Nuclear war is possible but unlikely. There are other measures that would be used to respond to a nuclear threat if necessary.
War can take place but countries don't want their infrastructure to be destroyed for it sets civilization back. The Kremlin destroying Ukraine is so bad for Ukraine's progress as a people and country. Its akin to cultural genocide and war crimes
If Canada were invaded I would defend it. I don't feel anxious or nervous. When the missile hit Poland and there was a possibility for NATO entering officially into the conflict I felt some anxiety. When the Kremlin tests nuclear weapons that makes me uneasy. I feel we need to deal with the fascism of the kremlin and give the russian people freedom and safety for that will give the world freedom and safety
WaC: Videos
Researchers Say They Are Close To Reversing Aging
Chomsky-Foucault Debate on Power vs Justice (1971)
PSN 2(32) - 16.11.22 Journaling, Anxiety, FG Ch4 - Self-Esteem, Thought Transformation, Unpacking Meaning, Triggered People, Applicability of Skills, Identity and Action, Landback, Floyd and Pandemic
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