How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy

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Beyond this, there is the implication – and also an aspiration spelled out – that by understanding such differences we will all manage to get on better, communicate more helpfully, traverse the dangers of a mental landscape scarred by misunderstandings, and all this in a world of thought where, however many explorers we have, everything remains riddled by uncertainty and speculation. And those so certain of their world view may be the most dangerous of all. There are plenty of things we think are normal, but here are ten things Irish people do that the world thinks are weird. Nevertheless, he finds a coherent way to structure his itinerary, grouping ideas by sub areas of philosophy : Epistemology, Ontology and so on, and exploring concepts under each of these as offered by different parts of the world. Thus we have chapters titled Pragmatism (America), Karma (India), Harmony (China) and so on, to delve into a unique theme and its resonances across cultures. At age 20 we don’t care what the world thinks of us; at 40 we worry what it is thinking of us; at 60 we discover that it wasn’t thinking of us at all.— (K & M) Continuously monitor what your audience thinks about brands, campaigns and your competition with daily updates.

No One Was Ever Thinking About You When You’re 60 You Realize No One Was Ever Thinking About You

It’s also true that people in the ‘neither’ group may be more likely to be convinced by arguments that are put forward by those who deny the safety, effectiveness and importance of vaccination. Conversely, Western countries are not as secular as they claim to be. Western missionaries still invade other cultures seeking to buy converts under the guise of altruism and the only public holidays are those dedicated to Christian festivals.In conclusion, Will Rogers popularized the statement attributed to him in the 1935 movie. QI believes that he also created it. Over time the statement was replicated and modified. The year sequence was changed from 20, 30, 40 to 20, 40, 60. Also, the viewpoint presented in the first two parts was swapped. These changes generated the modern version. Thus, the modern saying does not have a single author.

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But he does believe that the various traditions can learn from each other and can see how one might think differently if different ideas are emphasized. Plus, he thinks this is the way the world is going anyway, with globalization bringing the various cultures into closer communication, such that in the future global philosophy will be a cross-cultural conversation with roots in the various traditions. Even Winston Churchill said, “It is arguable whether the human race have been gainers by the march of science beyond the steam engine.” Pondering “the consequences of entrusting a human race so little different from their predecessors of the so-called barbarous ages such awful agencies as the atomic bomb,” he pleased, “Give me the horse.” In other countries, that’s just completely nuts, and we should watch our Ps and Qs when we travel, just in case. 2. Drink copious amounts of tea – we love the cupán tae Credit: Pixabay / @TerriC

In your 20s, you spend a lot of time being self-conscious about what other people think of you. Then you hit your mid-30s and start to realize they weren’t really thinking about you that much.” One of the great unexplained wonders of human history is that written philosophy flowered entirely separately in China, India and Ancient Greece at more or less the same time. These early philosophies have had a profound impact on the development of distinctive cultures in different parts of the world. What we call ‘philosophy’ in the West is not even half the story. But the truth is, that no man is much regarded by the rest of the world, except where the interest of others is involved in his fortune. The common employments or pleasures of life, love or opposition, loss or gain, keep almost every mind in perpetual agitation. If any man would consider how little he dwells upon the condition of others, he would learn how little the attention of others is attracted by himself.

BBC Radio 4 - Start the Week, How the World Thinks

Baggini is annoyed with Western-philosophy dumping the prefix altogether and presuming that the tradition's particular ways of conceiving the world, namely, the spirit of reaching out for a single, final truth through the methods of reductionism, empiricism and rationality, are the only ones that are to be taken seriously. Thus, he sets out to seek what others have on offer, and his journey is primarily focused upon India, China, Japan and the Islamic World (considered in terms of religion rather than region) with cursory glances at Africa and tribal cultures. Thus it is not so much as 'How the World Thinks' as 'How South/East Asia and Muslims Think'.

It's organised into broad sections like - How the world knows, how we are, how the world is, the world acts, etc. - which broadly correlate to theories of knowledge (epistemology), theories of self, theories of reality (ontology / metaphysics), and morality. Then within each section there are chapters with broad themes - like tradition, intuition, no-self, Harmony, etc. Within each of those themes Baggini will pull in philosophical traditions from around the world which he thinks are relevant. I didn't learn as much as I wanted to, I was only really able to digest what I already had a grasp of, like karma, for example. Other than that, perhaps I should re-read this book when I get a better grasp of different philosophies. Whether it’s calling a cupboard a press or saying, “I will, yeah”, when you mean no, there are many sayings that we have in Ireland that the world thinks are bizarre, but to us, they are just the Irish way. 7. Responding to a question with a question – we can’t deny this one Credit: psycatgames.com When you’re 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you’re 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you’re 60 you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place. It has left many environmentalists with a fear that Johnson has so far failed to heed his own apocalyptic rhetoric, even if he now grasps the problem.

people support vaccination across the world? How many people support vaccination across the world?

It may seem so normal to an Irish person to put crisps in bread, but it is one of those things Irish people do that the world thinks are weird. Maybe they need to try it! 8. Sayings that make no sense – I will, yeah Credit: Pixabay / NDE Take Japan as one example. Only 66% of Japanese respondents thought vaccines were important for children to have – very low in comparison to other countries. But few disagreed that vaccines were safe (only 8%) and disagreed that they’re effective (only 3%). If few people thought they were unsafe and ineffective, why would support for vaccines be so low? Furthermore, the book uses very many words to not say that much at all. I grant that such a complaint might be mostly blamed on me potentially missing some of the authors more nuanced arguments (not being particularly well versed in philosophy). One feature of the book that was enjoyable was the way he discussed contemporary events--such as the election of Donald Trump or the policies of Xi Jinping--through the lens of their culture's philosophical traditions.

Julian Baggini sets out to expand our horizons in How the World Thinks, exploring the philosophies of Japan, India, China and the Muslim world, as well as the lesser-known oral traditions of Africa and Australia’s first peoples. Interviewing thinkers from around the globe, Baggini asks questions such as: why is the West is more individualistic than the East? What makes secularism a less powerful force in the Islamic world than in Europe? And how has China resisted pressures for greater political freedom? Julian Baggini’s new book is so timely and so important. … T his, I would say, is his best to date.” Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday At the heart of our company is a global online community, where millions of people and thousands of political, cultural and commercial organizations engage in a continuous conversation about their beliefs, behaviours and brands. It would have been more appropriate to name this book 'How Some People Think' given it's largely the viewpoint of a middle-class Anglo-Saxon male. Women are dismissed with a summary comment ''women's voices are almost entirely absent from the world's classical traditions'. This is true but doesn't warrant leaving out the contributions of Indian women like Gargi, Maitreyi and Lopamudra who were well known for their learned and spirited debates with men and Greek women like Hypatia. It would have been interesting if Baggini had compared their thinking with the males.