week 2.1 The Modern Spark

• In the eyes of Francis Bacon, we humans are full of prejudices. But in his philosophy, prejudices are seen through different spectrums. Bacon calls this, “the idols of the mind”.
•  four idols of the mind

  • idols of the cave
  • idols of the tribe
  • idols of the marketplace
  • idols of the theater
• • The idols of the cave serve as our personal biases. It is our preferences, our likes, our dislikes, our favorite colors, and our favorite food.
• • The idols of the tribe are biases from our tribe, community, or family.
• • The idol of the marketplace is biases we acquire through language and interaction.
• • The idols of the theatre are the biases from systems of thought, education, religions, dogmas, and principles.
• Francis Bacon highlighted the idea of prejudices.
• In Soren Kierkegaard’s philosophy, he shifted the conversations to the stages of life we humans go through.
•  stages of life

  •  aesthetic stage
  • ethical stage
  • religious stage
• • aesthetic stage is the stage where what is important for us is what is good, but during this stage what is good, is what is pleasurable to us. Kierkegaard sees the -- stage as our self-centered stage and the stage where “I” is the priority.
• •  ethical stage is the stage where we start to feel responsible towards others. From the “I” prioritization toward the importance of the “We”. The -- stage is where we begin to reciprocate the feeling of concern not just for us but for others.
• • religious stage is the stage where we transcend the idea of the “I” and the idea of the “We”. Kierkegaard sees the -- stage as the selfless stage. We do not prioritize ourselves but instead, we are willing to put ourselves on the line for the sake of others. I am an instrument to your success and happiness.
• Friedrich Nietzsche shifted the conversation to types of humans.
•  For Nietzsche, a person can either be a sheep, a camel, a lion, or a child.
• • The sheep can be described as a follower. They love conformity, comfort, routines, and safety and their identity is merely a reflection of others
• • the camel shares many similarities with the sheep. Like the sheep, the -- is also a follower of the conformities of society, however, the -- does not like comfort, instead, it pushes itself to the limits and to the best of its abilities to achieve it. But all achievements the -- chases for are all within what it follows and all its conformities.
• • The lion is the destroyer of the conformities that it followed and the cage it was once comfortable in. The -- is reactive and a strong commentator of the cage. It challenges the conformities it followed but the problem is the -- does not hold on any principles in life.
• •  the child is the ideal types in the eyes Nietzsche.
• • The child is the manifestation of independence, its ultimate goal is to make itself accountable to the principles that it makes, follows, and believes in. The -- will not conform and will be willing to change his principles if it is not helpful.
• Martin Heidegger sees that we humans go through so many things in life.
• Because we are being-in-the-world and are geared towards death, we sometimes feel an uncanny, and uncertainty in what we do and where we are going. Heidegger calls this unease feeling as angst or existential anxiety.
•  Heidegger believes that a person consumed by the ambiguity of life becomes a Dasman and a person who discovers the authenticity of who they are becomes a Dasein.