Tagged: Socrates Exchange

Our philosophy series, the Socrates Exchange returns with  the question “What is progress”.  Centuries  of development have allowed us to live longer and advance in ways we never could have imagined, but with over population, depleted resources, and nuclear weapons, some say we’ve progressed too far. Does progress have an ending point?  Is too much progress a bad thing? Can one person’s progress harm the progress of another? Can progress in science, technology and human rights harm progress in religion and morality?  

Guests

What makes someone a true friend?  We use the term friend in so many different ways to refer to so many different kinds of relationships and people: we friend hundreds of people on Facebook; spouses, children, parents are all supposed to be our friends now; we have bffs, friends with benefits, and frenemies.  On the one hand, when we use the term so widely we risk emptying it of all meaning.  On the other hand, we use it so widely because we value friendship so highly.  How can we cut through all the confusion and find our real friends?  What does genuine friendship entail?  Can we foster g

Why should we punish?  To “balance the scales of justice”?  To exact revenge?  To deter crime?  To remove the offender from free society?  To reform the offender? Is punishment a moral act, or is it simply a form of social control? Is punishing children different from punishing criminal offenders? Is there a difference between torture and punishment? Is death ever justifiable punishment? Does punishment strip the punished of her dignity? Which rights should prisoners loose?  The right to vote?  The right to privacy?  The right to be a parent?

Throughout American history we have underlined the ideals of ‘equality’  The Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech have all declared  that all men are created equal, but are they really?  In the past people of color, new immigrants and women have been less equal. Gays still fight for equal rights.  Those of a privileged class may have the same rights as the poor, but still enjoy some benefits that the poor can’t.

When we look at the nightly news or study history we might easily come to this conclusion. We have armies and police forces, lawyers and judges, in order to protect us from each other. Is all of this violence a result of something inherent in human nature or the human condition? Or is violence exacerbated by society, for example through violent entertainment or by encouraging competition in all aspects of life? Is it possible to imagine a world without violence? But, is violence always a bad thing?