S2 Gamsat

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University of New South Wales *

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MISC

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Philosophy

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Oct 30, 2023

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3 things in syllogism ● Is it coherent ● Does it bite off enough to chew ● Do i have enough to say

Task A Plans Theme: Passion ● Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don't let anyone limit your dreams . - Do what you want to do and don’t let anyone’s influence stop you from trying new things or having big aspirations ● Don't let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. Believe in yourself. Do what you love. And be kind to others, even if you don't like them. - Don’t let anything stop you from doing what you love. - Be nice to others even if you do not like them ● Science is not only a disciple of reason but, also, one of romance and passion. - Science does not only involve rational judgements but also love ● Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf. Brainstorm: ● People can achieve anything they want to, if they are willing to put their time and effort towards it. ● Following one's passion ultimately has the most positive impact - both on the individual’s wellbeing but also on society as the individual is more likely to be more productivity and therefore make a positive contribution to society. Skullcap, lemon balm, licorice root Ekhart Tole Contention: Humans are capable of achieving greatness in their endeavors, if they persist and TS1: TS2: Theme: Freedom ● 1. I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will. - Humans are free and independent and are not able to be trapped ● 2. He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself. - ● 3. Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it. ● 4. Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future.

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Task B Plans Theme: Society ● The clash between Popper and Kuhn is not about a mere technical point in epistemology. - Popper vs Kuhn: Popper repeatedly emphasized the significance of a critical attitude, and a related critical method, for scientists. Kuhn, however, thought that unquestioning adherence to the theories of the day is proper; at least for 'normal scientists - Epistemology: theory of knowledge - This difference in knowledge is not just a technicality in the philosophical understanding of knowledge but has a more widespread impact. ● There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children. - The values of society can be understood by how children are treated within it ● Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish - too much handling will spoil it. - Governing a successful country is tricky and too many people trying to get involved can ruin this process. ● History is not everything, but it is a starting point. History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is a compass they use to find themselves on the map of human geography. - History is used for people to position themselves in present society both politically and culturally. Brainstorm: ● How children are treated in society is telling of the true values of that society ● Do you agree? Yes ● Why? Children are the future of a society and carry forwards the values within a society. ● Children are vulnerable, and ‘innocent’ and how they are treated is telling of the values a society holds. ● Children - vulnerable, innocent, learning, future Contention: The way children are brought up reflects the values within that society and therefore children reflect both the past and future of a society. TS1: Societal values are determined by the past and determine the future of a society. TS2: The values of a society are reflected in the upbringing of its children. ● E.g. Intersectionality between my upbringing -> indian culture and australian ● Parents are influenced by their religion LAW & JUSTICE

● If poverty is the mother of crime, stupidity is its father - Jean de Lu Bruyere ● The faults of the burglar are the qualities of the financier - George Bernard Shaw ● Punishment is as likely to harden and corrupt prisoners as it is to reform them ● Reformative effect of punishment is a belief that dies hard, chiefly, I think because it is so satisfying to our sadistic impulses. - Brand Russell ● The victims of crime have a right to see criminals made to pay for their crimes As Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zhou put it ‘punishment and reward are the lowest forms of education.’ The human race has been fascinated with punishment for millenia, and views it as retribution for victims and their families and as a deterrent for others. However, this view of punishment is a double edged sword, that also serves to achieve ‘an eye for an eye’, to demonise crime-doers and separate them from the rest of society, thus limiting their reform. This lens of punishment employs a utilitarian perspective, wherein the deprivation of an offender’s freedom is seen as a necessary collateral when protecting the safety of the wider community. Contemporary Western society believes that incarceration may act as a vehicle for those who have made mistakes to have an opportunity to remake their lives, however, punishment comes at a cost. Punishment is often a bandaid that attempts to cover a larger problem of inequality and institutionalisation, and it is not the solution to reducing crime. In today’s world there is an overreliance on punishment as a means to reform offenders, due to a misapprehension of crime as a cause rather than an effect. The widespread misunderstanding of the psychology of offenders results in a dependence on punishment, which provides a limited scope for facilitating reform. America has the largest prison population in the world, with around 700 people incarcerated for every 100,000 people. The sentiment of ‘do the crime, do the time’, has been promoted by the American government and the judicial system as the best strategy to decrease crime rates and deter repeat offenders. However, this punishment came at a great cost as upwards of a trillion taxpayer dollars were funnelled into the expansion of the prison and criminal justice systems. Yet approximately 70%of individuals released from a prison sentence still go on to be arrested within five years of their release. This is a clear indication that punishment is not acting as a deterrent to crime-doers. Skinner’s examination of punishment through a psychological lens, indicates that in operant conditioning, the punishment must be applied almost immediately after the negative behaviour in order to reduce it. However, there is usually a period of months if not years between an offender’s crime and the consequential punishment. Another reason for the ineffectiveness of incarceration as a method of deterrence is because of the negative influence of other individuals. Research has shown that reform is more likely to occur in prisons where inmates are separated by the degree of their crime as it removes the incentive to partake in crimes of a more serious nature. However, the biggest flaw of prisons is that in an attempt to protect the wider society, we remove the individual from it, pushing them further away from civilization and the positive influence it brings. Majority of prisoners experience some degree of institutionalisation which leaves them in a state of anxiety and uncertainty upon their release,

acting as a barrier between ex-offenders and ‘a better life’. To make matters worse, finding stable employment and accommodation with a criminal history is another challenge, leaving some with the sense that they have no other option than to return to crime. Crime is commonly portrayed as the cause of our problems, however, it is simply an effect of a wider system that disadvantages marginalised groups in society. America’s gross overrepresentation of African Americans in the prison population, is paralleled by Indigenous Australians making up a significant proportion of the Australian prison population. These communities suffer from generational trauma and other long-lasting effects of slavery and colonisation. The lack of opportunities available for individuals in these communities is associated with hardships that include poverty, homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse. Unless they are addressed, these hardships pave a path that leads to crime. For some individuals prison even becomes a place of refuge, a roof over their head with food and clean water. The discrepancy in government funding for educational facilities as compared to the money spent on building prison infrastructure, means individuals in low socio economic areas turn to illegal activities to make an income. This is highlighted by the American government diverting a large proportion of their funding for their ‘war on drugs’ on incarceration and only a small minority to treatment, education and prevention. Furthermore, systemic racism and the disproportionate use of force against marginalised communities result in anti-authority sentiment. This sentiment causes individuals in African American and Indigenous Australian communities to mistrust law enforcement, worsening the relationship these communities have with crime. Although there have been prison programs implemented to tackle reform in offenders in recent years, these programs are not tailor made for each inmate and do not take their life experience into account. Even though it is possible that some individuals can be reformed in the midst of negative influence in prison, the challenges they face outside prison hinder them from complete reform. Therefore, the focus needs to shift from reformation of individuals within prison, to prevention of their offence by giving disadvantaged individuals a choice. Overall, perhaps we should aim to reduce crime through prevention and systemic reform, rather than through punishment. In the words of psychologist Edward Skinner, ‘those who have been punished are not less inclined to behave in a given way, they just learn to avoid punishment’. It would be naive to believe that we could completely eradicate punishment as a method of reforming crime-doers, as it does serve some important functions.The perspectives presented in this essay are limited, and in the multifarious, heterogeneous society we live in there will naturally be diverging opinions. We do not have to agree on everything, if we can simply agree that we should exert more resources towards the prevention of crime rather than punishment, then we can make progress. Theme: Brainstorm: Contention: TS1:

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TS2:

1. If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. - Machine: government is rational and methodical - Agent of injustice: distance between action and consequence. - Break the law: presented in a positive in a positive light 2. With the development of industrial capitalism, a new and unanticipated system of injustice, it is libertarian socialism that has preserved and extended the radical humanist message of the Enlightenment - Libertarian socialism 3. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor - Links to BLM. Do you have to be anti-racist to not be racist? - Sweden in WWII where they were politically neutral but kept economic connections with Germany - Staying ‘neutral’ indicates privilege - E.g. poem by martin niemoller - “when they came for the jews, i said nothing because i wasn’t a jew”. Perhaps people only care or take sides when they are the ones being oppressed. - Staying neutral - allows the current system to remain in place - It is often those who stay neutral who are able to have their voice heard more compared to the voices coming out of marginalized or oppressed communities - Tokenistic and performative action e.g. posting a black square on instagram that drowned out educational BLM voices, - Slacktivism - or performative activism 4. We don't classify all doctors as incompetent because of the infrequent instances of medical malpractice. We should apply that same rational standard when it comes to how we view law enforcement - Not all police officers are racist or behave in a way that treats one ‘race’ differently than others. - We cannot classify all police like this - But I think the difference is not talking about all cops being racist - as each individual police officer, rather it is the systemic issue of racism within the structure and history of the police force and the judicial system.

- Links to not all men - when we talk about the me too movement and the mistreatment and inappropriate actions perpetrated by some men into women. Instead it is the history of power that men have had over women and the way that these historic systems have been built to oppress women. TS1: TS2: Contention: To combat injustice, we need Hook: Introduction themes: Contention: TS1: Example: Explain TS1: Link to contention: TS2: Example: Explain TS1: Link to contention: Conclusion:

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Task B 1. Coming to grips with your identity is a lifelong pursuit. - 2. A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. - Our thoughts are what make us 3. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will. - Independent will is not the same as free will. Independent will insinuates that we are able to act independent - Conformity -> The pressure to conform and mould ourselves into an image whether that be through the accumulation of material goods or through inauthentic behavior, is ever present. Especially in a world where we are constantly bombarded with ads of a new ‘must have’ device and social media influencers never fail to remind us that what we’re wearing went out of trend last week. - As people we often desire to be included within an in-group, whether that be within the confines of the school playground or a corporate boardroom. As such, we are often conscious of the way we dress, speak and act and try to emulate that of the group in order to seek acceptance. - Ultimately although the world around us influences the way we think and behave, it is up to us to become aware of this. It is important that as individuals that we ensure that we are not contradicting the beliefs of our authentic selves, when trying to assimilate to the norms present within our communities. - Peer pressure and not being able to exercise your own free will - as a child when you were peer pressured into buying a new bratz doll, t-bar shoes and begged your mum to give you a sandwich to fit and be cool. As you've gotten older, you realize that in a world where we are constantly bombarded with advertisements for the latest iphone and social media influencers show us a new fashion trend every week - phasing out the old one. However, you are now more aware that

keeping up with trends or indeed behaving in an inauthentic way to be part of a particular in-group, is a tiring ordeal. - On the flip side of this is to cancel culture and politically correct language - exercising independent will is limited by the norms in the society you live in. E.g. celebrating australia day may be seen as politically incorrect in some australian communities - How you see this level of peer pressure within your community and on a global scale. 4. To thine own self be true. - Be true to yourself