Event

Film: Being In The World - USM Philosophy Symposium Film

Join world renowned philosopher Hubert Dreyfus, along with a generation of philosophers he inspired, as they take us on a riveting journey of ideas, tackling some of the deepest philosophical issues of our time. In this enlightening trip, we learn what is unique about human beings that allows us to take the risks necessary to learn skills, and how an appreciation of mastery can help us recover a meaningful world. Travel to New Orleans to meet the Queen of Creole Cuisine, travel to Spain to meet the legendary poet and flamenco master Manuel Molina, and enter the world of Hiroshi Sakaguchi a Japanese master craftsman.

Humans acting at their best respond faster than they can think. They converse, experience "flow", "play out of their heads", and in general are responsive and receptive to the demands of their unique situation. Masters don't deliberate and reflect, but "straight away do the appropriate thing at the appropriate time in the appropriate way." Given that spontaneous actions can reveal people at their best, why is that today people feel that, in order to act well, they must always reflect and then, like a machine, choose the most rational response?