Metaphysics and morality | Raymond Tallis, Joanna Kavenna, Simon Blackburn

Raymond Tallis, Joanna Kavenna and Simon Blackburn explore the relationship between metaphysics and morality.

Most philosophers have thought our account of the world must precede our conclusions about how we should act - metaphysics before morality. Now in an era where there is deep puzzlement about what the overall framework might be, it begins to look as if we need to know what we want to do and achieve before we can decide on what account of the world we might adopt. Should we put morality first and decide how we want to change the world before framing theories to understand it? Or is this profoundly mistaken and a quick route to conflict, division and chaos?

#philosophy #metaphysics #morality

Physician, philosopher, poet and novelist Raymond Tallis is ‘one of the world’s greatest living polymaths’ (Intelligent Life) and the author of Not Saussure, The Pursuit of Mind, and The Kingdom of Infinite Space. He is Emeritus Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Manchester, and much of his philosophical writing has been informed by his medical expertise.

Winner of the Orange First Novel prize, Joanna Kavenna’s works include A Field Guide to Reality, The Ice Museum and Inglorious. Her journalism has appeared in the London Review of Books, The Guardian, and the New York Times.

Author of Think and Truth: A guide for the perplexed, Simon Blackburn has worked to bring philosophy to a wider audience. He was Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge and Vice President of the British Humanist Association.

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What do you think of this debate? Leave a comment below.

[spitfirepilot]

Our sense of what is is utterly saturated by the normative. There is no fact / value gap. All our knowledge of what is, is deeply connected to what we think should be. Facts exist - we can't make them up, but we understand and evaluate them in the light of our concerns and projects.

[samrowbotham]

Philip K Dick was obsessed with the questions of what is reality and what does it mean to be human. He explored both themes in his books and seemed to understand that reality is a recurring simulation which Nietzche dubbed the Eternal Return and which modern consciousness researchers like Anthony Peake and Tom Campbell amongst others have run with. PKD's books are fantastic in the sci-fi genre and a number have been turned in to films which most people would be more familiar with, Blade Runner, Minority Report and Total Recall being the most famous.
I miss these discussions as I used to watch them regularly then someone made the bizarre decision to start a paid membership scheme right in the middle of the lockdown when many have lost their jobs including me. So watching this snippet is the best I can do but its all pabulum for my Soul so thanks very much for the upload it really is appreciated by me, myself and I.

[joedavis]

... Living a moral life is its own reward.

[vijayasubramani]

Metaphysics, Morality and Mysticism are as inseparable from each other in the interest of the highest development of man, as intellect, will, and emotion are inseparable for his highest psychological development. Said R D Ranade

[David]

Simon made his political bias obvious and looked foolish.

Despite a 3 minute limit, Joanna! “The novelist”, spoke for over 4 minutes and no one stopped her.

Ray had about 90 seconds and got cut off.

These people don’t understand neutrality, fairness or justice.
Their actions tell me I have nothing to learn from them.

[skilltreebusybee]

See what you did there you took abstract and put through a filter "your prospective" and it became structured .the negatively charged or positively charged narratives lost and gained energy do to the held charges that fuel your convictions
If you give structure to the abstract you just makeing natives or cemical structures and until you act with conscious intentions you cant give life to the cemical and atomic restructuring process. But life in as far as science is concerned is a energy tracfer system it's how we spend and consume energy that's ethically important.o

[joedavis]

... Any idiot can tell right from wrong. All we need is moral courage to act on it.