The Care Paradox -- Why Do You Care? How? | The Curious Philosophy of Care

Why do people care?
#Philosophy #Care #CarefreeWandering

Related videos:
Daoist Philosophy: Ease | Zhuangzi’s The Happiness of Fish:

Daoist Philosophy: Identity | Zhuangzi’s Death of Hundun:

Hans-Georg Moeller is a professor in the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department at the University of Macau.

Special thanks to Ron & Rory for the amazing animations!

[josuepena]

This is the best philosophy content available on YouTube in my opinion, with not only a knowledgeable creator but also an impactful and helpful message

[markoslavicek]

I find it conceptually very *caring* that an academic philosopher - who is focused on profilicity research - engages in direct development of a profile (and openly points out to it).

[jakemcculley]

I'm reminded of R.D. Laing's definition of love, that it "let's the other be, but with concern." (that's probably not verbatim, but it's close) He wrote this in contradistinction to what he perceived as very violent methods of parenting, which are nonetheless totally normal, which attempt to mold their object, the child, into what it's "supposed" to be, rarely with the desired results.

[mouwersor]

Love seeing Stirner mentioned, underrated philosopher

[BettinaAscaino]

It’s not either caring or not caring, but a constant “negotiating” with ourselves and the environment. We might go to the extremes of the spectrum as we learn, as we try different masks on while looking for acceptance. Even self care is learned through interacting with the world. It’s a delicate balance that requires daily work (like housework that must be done each day). Our minds tend to simplify/clarify the ambiguity of existence and expect to find “the truth” which would act as pacifier of our anxiety. A truth as such is what I’d be suspicious of because it would ignore nuance, ambiguity and the important role of exceptions to the abstract truth. Humility goes a long way. We are not gods so accepting that caring (or any virtue) requires constant assessment because we tend to believe if it’s “good”, we can’t go wrong. Wrong. Caring for self or others limit each other in a never ending dance.

[consentacademy]

That point about care no longer being focused on first degree family members and close friends but shifting to being about the general peer and a performance of that care really helps me put into words something that I've been noticing. Also this of course reminds me of the book The Fall by Camus. And your points about daoism vs Heidegger or Foucault about deep care as a kind of disengagement is something we are taught to cultivate as Buddhist monks (in the Japanese Shingon tradition at least) a kind of Bodhisattva mentality where you simultaneously care about the experience of all living beings but without allowing yourself to be dragged into the sort of mundane drama of the everyday life of everyone. It's also quite hard to explain and more of a certain quality of a way of doing things rather than something purely intellectual so it would take time to explain.

Thank you for making these videos.

[KaiserTheAdversary]

Thought provoking, accessible, well presented, and pleasant to listen to. This is some top notch philosophy content.

[drjimnielson]

It seems dubious to collapse "self care" - especially of those who may not have received proper care as children, or other survivors (for instance those with PTSD) - with Peterson's "sovereign individual." In my experience self care is not the expression of the Will to Power but the recognition that you need things like rest, time for reflection, exercise, human companionship, and so forth.

[Murdrocks]

17:36 to 18:09 - Is this a critique of therapy? It just sounded kind of negatively framed, espescially: "People are caring so much about themselves that they think they need a therapist in order to care better for themselvs (...) individual psychotherapy, is very much focused on the idea that you have to take care of yourself and it's even so important that you can't do it on your own (...). So it's an overly concerned with oneself that developes a whole profession of self concern." And the later discussion of therapy in regards to "the common pathology of self care" and Jordan Peterson, it sounded like you think the rise of the need for therapy is a bad thing. Could you clear this up?

[davidorth]

Love the nuanced content. I am reminded of TS Elliot's "teach us to care and not to care"

[sitis]

Hello, Dr. Moeller. Will there be a video about the relations between modern capitalism and prolificity? Or in more general sense, the link between the modes of production and the identity-building (I would suspect the identity-building differs between the classes under each mode). Kind of like a dialectical-materialist view on identity-building within the historical movement process. Thanks.

[tormunnvii]

I am not my caring, but “i” allow for my caring regardless. This is because it tends to bring good fortune to all involved, and sets us on the path towards understanding and freedom (so long as one holds with an open hand).

[zuLess]

The death of Norm Macdonald, and the following revelation of his cancer diagnosis that he kept secret for almost a decade, has cracked the worldview horizon and my potential ideal for a disinterested approach to life -- something neutral, real and true for its own sake. Only when faced with the reality of death like this, can a person truly become carefree/careless of the likes of Norm Macdonald. This is one of the paradoxes of being suicidal, because the will to let yourself die is a superpower -- that of not caring, and so gives you power in life.

[ghswav]

Love the hints. Can't wait for the next video!

[JohnnyDoe]

Perhaps conditionality isn’t too radical of a thing to be considered in this topic? What factors would lead a person (or a population) to have to honestly care about others? What roles do sympathy and empathy play in caring? Can conditionality play a part in these two?

[Sokail]

I think something similar is going on with judging -not necessarily passing bad or sever judgement, just judging in general, making distinctions and coming to conclusions. I tend to think about it in far simpler and frankly perhaps a bit naive terms, but still, it goes something like this:

When we judge other people we in fact judge ourselves -insofar as we distinguish between bad qualities we abhor and good qualities we cherish in people, and thus in ourselves too.
When we judge ourselves, we do so as if we were somebody else -let's say through the lens of the other, if that even makes sense to you.

(actually, I am only on the 5th minute of the almost 30 of this video, but just as you were describing how we are forming our subjectivity by caring, this thought sprang to mind and so I wanted to share it. I have no idea whether you are also talking about it at a later time, but I'm sharing it anyway)

[Ba-pbul]

Of course, Hegel dealt with a similar point regarding nepotism. The dialectical point was to treat the nation as your family (a form of Prussian nationalism)

[logiconlyzone]

The care for self and other are intertwined. To recognize care for oneself eventuates our understanding that others struggle or suffer similar things. If we should care for ourselves the other follows. Egoism occurs only when one does not even care for themselves. It’s a hyper-focused perspective on the outside and objectivity, where the individual is not concerned with what is good or bad for them or others, but what they want, what is immediately “good”, and these desires are unreasoned and not emotionally pondered. It’s a non self reflected position to be egotistical, which sums up why egotistical people are so hard headed and impossible to reason with or appeal to.

[FutureMindset]

Caring is the reason humans have survived as long as we have. Caring for our tribe, our people, ourselves, our survival.

Without caring, there would be nothing to do or strive for. Still though, it's important to realize that caring about everything, especially for those things that are outside of our control is detrimental to our health and puts a lot of pressure on us. It's all about finding a balance...

[neoepicurean]

I've just finished an MA in ethics and philosophy of religion. I have been considering whether to progress to a PhD level, but I do feel that academic institutions are becoming overtaken with 'profilicity' and this presentation of an image of care and understanding, which I feel is very inauthentic. But whenever I try to express this I have to beat my way through a barrage of 'isms'. I'm not sure it's worth the struggle.