Timeline for Who are some philosophers who explore the possibility/impossibility of the intimacy of understanding others?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
13 events
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| Apr 1, 2023 at 13:22 | comment | added | Scott Rowe | @Frank Me. I said we simulate everything, so we anticipate based on what we have experienced before. Projection is the same thing. Actually, there is a recent book about the whole concept. I'll try to remember author / title... | |
| Apr 1, 2023 at 2:03 | comment | added | Frank | @TheThoughtDetective Does any philosopher make the point that maybe there is another sort of obstacle to sharing experience which would be along the lines that we can't help but project some of our feelings on to the Other, so that when the Other tells us about their feeling, not only can we not really experience them, but we even actively distort the communication based on our imagination of what the Other is feeling or trying to tell us? | |
| Apr 1, 2023 at 1:02 | comment | added | The Thought Detective | @ScottRowe Yep! Though, to be fair, I think it might go even deeper than that. Even if you have ridden a bike, you have no clue that your experience of riding a bike is in any way similar to my experience of riding a bike. Let's switch over to a colours-based example. Imagine one of us sees all the colours as inverted. Now, as I learn language, I point at a rose and say, "That's red". You may be seeing the inverted colour, but you would learn to call this inverted colour, "red". We would agree linguistically, but have completely different experiences! | |
| Apr 1, 2023 at 0:58 | comment | added | The Thought Detective | @CriglCragl Thank you! The Intersubjectivity point is very fun one. I think you're right in that Husserl would answer this question with an analysis of intersubjectivity. I was tempted to talk about the phenomenological approach to empathy, but I'm rusty on the literature and it feels like it's hinted at in "Other Continental Approaches". | |
| Apr 1, 2023 at 0:54 | comment | added | Scott Rowe | If I have ridden a bike and you describe your bike riding experience to me I can relate, possibly even feel it viscerally in my body. If I haven't ridden a bike, it doesn't matter how much physics I know, I can never feel your experience when you describe it. All experience is a simulation based on prior experiences. We can only simulate, and we always experience things after they actually happen. The Matrix is our own brain. | |
| Mar 31, 2023 at 23:59 | comment | added | CriglCragl | Surely Husserl, the founding Phenomenologist, focused on intersubjectivity as the means for sharing experience. Like your answer, clear, concise. | |
| Mar 31, 2023 at 22:42 | comment | added | Frank | Thank you! I think the "qualia" angle is really appropriate here. | |
| Mar 31, 2023 at 22:37 | history | edited | The Thought Detective | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Mar 31, 2023 at 22:31 | history | edited | The Thought Detective | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Mar 31, 2023 at 22:25 | comment | added | The Thought Detective | @Frank That's a very fair point! I didn't realise that was a possible read (perhaps a better read than mine). I've added a section at the end to try and address the debate around those kinds of questions about whether other people experience the same things as us. | |
| Mar 31, 2023 at 22:24 | history | edited | The Thought Detective | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Mar 31, 2023 at 21:23 | comment | added | Frank | Maybe it's just me, but I think the OP is looking for philosophers who commented on the possibility/impossibility of intimately sharing feelings given that other people/minds are taken to exist. It's more about the uniqueness of our personal experience. When I feel "sad" can I really convey that to someone else in a deep sense? Is the other person's understanding of "sad" the same as mine? | |
| Mar 31, 2023 at 21:12 | history | answered | The Thought Detective | CC BY-SA 4.0 |