Language and Philosophy

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is credited for saying that "man is by nature a social animal" ( Politics 1.1253a).  He believed that no human being can live on his own—or that if someone can, then he is not man, but either a beast or a god. S ociety, therefore, is something man naturally creates.  But why? What is society? And what is its role in human life? What is Society? Society is generally defined as an organized group of people whose members interact frequently and have a common territory and culture.  In philosophy, the question “what is society?” has been a topic of much inquiry since the modern period (17th-19th c.).  The British Enlightenment philosophers Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704), for example, asked about society’s origin, nature, and justification.  In answering their questions, they formulated what is known as the “social contract theory.” The Social Contract Theory According to the social contract theory, socie...

Adam was the bridge operator of a railroad drawbridge; his job was to ensure that trains and boats passed safely on the bridge. One day, he took his eight-year-old son with him to work. At the bridge, Adam goes into the engine room, and tells his son to stay at the edge of the nearby lake. A ship is coming, so Adam lifts the bridge. Though supposed to arrive an hour later, a train filled with passengers also happens to arrive. Adam’s son sees this, and tries to warn his father. But Adam wasn’t paying attention and is unaware of the oncoming train. Just as the oncoming train approaches, his son tries to lower the bridge but falls into the drawbridge gear works, leaving Adam with a horrific choice: a) to save the train by lowering the bridge but crush his son, or b) save his son by leaving the bridge open and allowing the train to crash. What do you think should Adam do? Why?

“ When we encounter another individual truly as a person, not as an object for use, we become fully human .” —Martin Buber (1878-1965) We human beings are said to be social animals, that we are naturally drawn to live in groups, be it a small family or a complex city. In these groups, we interact with each other; and we do so mostly because, like useful objects, we need something from them. Other interactions, however, are more selfless and intimate; they are not based on other people’s usefulness. In them we don’t treat others like objects—but as “subjects.” In philosophy, this kind of relationship is referred to as “intersubjectivity.”   What is Intersubjectivity? The term “intersubjectivity” was coined by the Austrian-German philosopher Edmund Husserl (1859-1938). It is a compound of the prefix “inter,” which means “between” or “among,” and the philosophical term “subject,” which refers to a conscious being. Intersubjectivity is the interchange of thoughts and feeli...