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About Schmidt: So what about him? Evil, Ethics and Conspiracy as society saturating
Hi friends!
Some extra credited for those so inclined. And the wise. Taken from the classic “About Schmidt”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bywUe7ZBAtU
Clip 1: In this clip Schmidt meets from his daughter’s in-laws and suffers through the marriage ceremony to an idiotic but somehow likable, interesting idiot. Schmidt has developed the habit of writing letters to the African kid he sponsored: A 4:00 am add made him write a check. Here is a lonely person who has cut through all his silly relationships to see he is wasting and has wasted his life on "good friends, good times". And now, he finds himself surrounded by new pointless, poisoning people.
Clip 2: Schmidt has sponsors an African orphan child, Ndugu. He writes monthly checks but no more. After the wedding, Schmidt realizes he is going nowhere and admits to himself his failure in life. He writes a letter to the African child he sponsors about this,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-zEwGZ56Bs
Clip 3: Next Schmidt returns home and finds he has a letter from Africa, from the child he sponsored, the one out of emptiness upon Schmidt's wife's death, he decided to send checks to. Within the letter is a message that transcends the particulars of languages,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfcjyXmSqOs
Extra credit (25 pts): Watch these 3 short clips and respond:
In Philosophy of Religion,
Does this sequence say anything about the problem of evil? Particularly the evidential problem. Compare and contrast to E1 and E2. Now, we have our own E3. If it says anything, what? Explain why, what or why not.
In Ethics,
Does this help us understand the radical differences between Rights theory and Utilitarianism? Does the sequence seem to also be in the realm of virtue ethics? Where what kind of person you are, not what happens or what you have the right to, is emphasized? Or what perspective? Is Schmidt a recovering Nihilist?
In Introduction to Philosophy,
Does our society live in a “Santa Claus” like conspiratorial amnesia concerning what we can and should do for others, anywhere? Did conspiratorial patterns make us forget the rest of the world? For introduction, a quick clip from the great movie the Truman Show. Truman lives his life in a fact world of movie sets while people watch him from birth onward on their TVs and computers. An interesting film. Then he starts to realize...everyone around him is an actor.
The old saying: Society is a Prison. Some of us are Prisoners, but Most of us are Guards.
Comment, given your class focus, or however you wish, on these two short clips.
Finally, you all: Does Schmidt go to Africa?
Cheers~
Dr. Lee Basham
Logic and Philosophy
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