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Bertrand russell the value of philosophy
Effects of technological innovations on our society
Bertrand russell's essay on philosophy
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The reason why society advances is because of the innovations put forth by innovators. Therefore, it can be said that innovators are the reason why society advances. Bertrand Russell highlights three reasons why society is reluctant to the changes put forth by innovators. These are, “…the instinct of conventionality…the feeling of insecurity…that vested interests are bound up with old beliefs…” these ideas are all present in the play, Julius Caesar (Bertrand Russell 1). Russell states a number of facts about the way society views innovators and the statues quo, and Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare many centuries before Russell was born, demonstrates that his philosophy applies to all generations, before, present, and after his time period.
Bertrand Russell states that the instinct of conventionality is the most important reason why society resists innovators. For example, the mob reacts violently after Brutus and the other conspirators/innovators murder Caesar. “And with the brands, fire the traitors’ houses” (III Sc.2 ln. 269). With the murder of Julius Caesar, the conspirators disrupt the status quo and the stability of conventionality. This relates directly with Russell’s assertion that a mob that has been pushed out of its comfort zone will react violently to the originator of thus mentioned change. In this example, Brutus and the conspirators who murdered Caesar are the innovators since they disrupted the status quo, which was Caesar’s presence in the Senate. However, one can analyze the same situation and reverse the roles. Julius Caesar is the innovator, and by disrupting the system of the Roman Republic, he brings upon himself his assassination. Julius Caesar’s upcoming crowning by the Senate is disruption ...
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...in. Russell predicted a similar scenario when he stated “ …that vested interests are the principal source of anger against novelties …” (Bertrand Russell 1).
Bertrand Russell’s essay’s points about the reception of innovated ideas by the general public are highlighted in the play Julius Caesar. Indeed, the whole play was about an innovator who paid the ultimate price, death, for expressing his innovative idea. The human race will develop into a more understanding society, once we can realize that the only way to advance the human condition is to innovate upon old innovations.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.
New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.
Russell, Bertrand. Individual Liberty and Public Control. Class Handout. Concordia
International School Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
...orld differently than nearly any other person on the planet. Like children, like Thaddeus, they will often see the simplest solution to a problem, and their solution will almost certainly be the best. Youthfulness makes itself evident in the eyes of such innovators with a deepness that matches that of a child. Unfortunately, children have not learned to defend their ideas and being impressionable, they will accept what they are told without questioning the given idea or defending their own work. Innovators have maintained a belief in changing the impossible to possible through an uncorrupted openness and childlike mindset for what is possibilities. Thanks to people inspired by the same movement as is displayed in “Come On, Wagon,” we constantly move beyond what is impossible with Zenna Henderson giving voice to moving forward, past the impossible and our own rules.
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are the creators of these marvelous innovations, and that soon, they will be the ones to lead
...s. Society must try new experiences and keep their ears and mind open to new philosophies and ideas, because without them, it cannot learn from its mistakes and will continue to ‘make funeral pyres and [jump] into the middle of them’ (163).
...ced that with each field of study comes a different thought process. Aristotle, an ancient philosopher, is able to see both the good and the bad regarding technology; Jean-Jacques Rousseau, an eighteenth century politician deeply rooted in self-preservation, saw that the only way to improve oneself was through natural means; René Descartes, a mathematician, believed the only way to better the human species was through scientific assessments and technological advancements.
Humans have a tendency to point out the flaws in their peers, simply because it is easier to find someone’s flaws instead of their strengths. Bertrand Russell’s essay, “Individual liberty and Public Control,” supports this idea by suggesting that all societies are quick to judge and immediately reject any change that makes itself present in the community. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, and Mark Antony are innovators that gain direct support of the Roman masses and refute this idea of societies direct resistance to change. Bertrand Russell’s views on society’s reaction to innovators and the upheaval of the status quo are not an accurate depiction of the Roman republic’s reaction to the three key innovators of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
In “ 5 Things We Need To Know About Technological Change”, by Neil Postman, Postman describes the prices we have to pay each time something new is made. The first price is culture, culture always pays a price for technology. For example, cars and pollution ( and many other less obvious examples). As Postman says: “Technology giveth and technology taketh away”.The second thing to know is that there are always winners and losers in technological change. As Postman explains: “the advantages and disadvantages of new technologies are never distributed evenly among the population”. There are always winners and losers in technological change. Winners tend to be those whose lifestyle is most closely aligned with the values of technology. The losers are those who don’t put technology on the first place. So for some technology is everything, while others are not that into it. As for the third thing that Postman describes is that in every technology there is a hidden philosophy about how the mind should work. I believe what Postman is saying is very similar to what Nicholas Carr, the author of “Tools Of The Mind” said. In “Tools of the Mind”, Carr introduces us to a new word, which he frequently uses called “intellectual ethic”, meaning an assumption implicit in a tool about how the mind should work. Carr explains how the map, clock, and writing are “intellectual technologies” that changed society and our ways
In the above essay, I presented the opposing views of William Paley and Bertrand Russell on the design argument. I then compared and contrasted the arguments showing that the arguments mostly differed. Finally, I evaluated the two philosophers' arguments and concluded that Paley's design argument was stronger than Russell's argument against it because Paley developed the support for his claims more thoroughly.
The preceding Enlightenment period had depended upon reason, logic and science to give us knowledge, success, and a better society. The Romantics contested that idea and changed the formula...
We as humans have developed a form of society in which everyone has a purpose and a job they must do. In some circumstances, we are unhappy with the path we have chosen or are given. We all wish to make a change, yet we never seem to stand up to our leaders and change this; we follow the cultural norms even if we don’t like or understand them. The basis of this idea is out of fear of the unknown. People tend to be afraid of that which they have not experienced; an oxymoronic device negating our obligation to discover and innovate.
Coyne, Kevin P., Patricia G. Clifford, and Renée Dye. Breakthrough Thinking from Inside the Box. Harvard Business Review (2007): 71-78. Print. The.