Philosophy Bites’s David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton conduct a podcast interview with Harvard Philosophy Professor, Sean Kelly. They discuss Homer, the meaning behind his many epics, and philosophy.
Kelly mentions that in The Odyssey, Odysseus doesn’t reflect on his actions, nor is he held accountable for the decisions he makes. He just makes these decisions, letting the gods do the rest. It is believed Homer thought that this was when humans could be at their best-not worrying about what the future held and letting mightier powers control their fate. Kelly speaks about how Homer concludes that our ambition, strength, and determination is drawn out of us by the gods.
When we do our best, we are known not to name ourselves as the source of our accomplishments, but instead, outside forces like the higher powers we all believe in. For instance, when athletes do well in a game or when performers nail a song they’ve been practicing, the first being they thank when they give their acceptance speeches is “God”.
Warburton says, “The key to a good life is acting, not burdening ourselves with reflection.” Another good point made in the interview is that humans are known to depend on “contagious emotion” instead of letting their own personal emotions be apparent. For example, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his speeches, people allowed themselves to be captivated by his rhetorical skills and amazing way with words. If there wasn’t this overwhelming sense of admiration from that large of an audience, would thousands of people really have listened? When one started cheering, they all started cheering. When a mass audience started preaching his words to their neighbors, more people spread the word, and so on and so on.
Without this contagious emotion,” important cultural changes for the better wouldn’t have happened” says Kelly. Humans need either other humans or gods to depend on when making even the smallest decisions in life. How about depending on ourselves?
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