Jorge Secada

Generosity, terror, and the good for humans

If there is something in philosophy that can appeal to everybody, something it has to offer anyone, it is the ideal of a self-critical life—a life lived reflectively, submitting belief and action to dispassionate examination. For sure, not all make this ideal their own, but that is at their expense and to the detriment of the fullness of their lives. As citizens of our country and of the world, we all have the duty to consider objectively matters of public interest and to deliberate carefully about the course history will take in the years to come. If we measure our obligation merely consequentially, and in order to justify our complacency ask “what is the point of considering these issues when I have no way of actually influencing the course of events?” then we are denying our humanity. We can all live according to truth and the good; and in order to do so, we must each consider and confront, within the measure of our capabilities, the circumstances we share with our fellow humans.

Learning to Understand Descartes

Books reviewed in this article: Janet Broughton, Descartess Method of Doubt Joseph Almog, Who Am I? Descartes and the Mind-Body Problem