Bard Suggests a Topic

 In the spirit of tapping the ultimate knowledge of Bard, the Google AI, I asked Bard the following question:

I run a philosophical discussion group. I need a good topic for this week's meeting. What do you suggest?

Here are some good topics for your philosophical discussion group:

• The nature of reality: What is reality? Is it objective or subjective? Is it material or spiritual?
• The existence of God: Does God exist? If so, what is God like?
• The nature of consciousness: What is consciousness? Where does it come from? What is its purpose?
• The meaning of life: What is the meaning of life? What is our purpose in the universe?
• The nature of good and evil: What is good? What is evil? What is the relationship between good and evil?
• The nature of free will: Do we have free will? If so, how much free will do we have?
• The nature of morality: What is morality? What are the foundations of morality?
• The nature of justice: What is justice? What are the foundations of justice?
• The nature of beauty: What is beauty? What are the foundations of beauty?
• The nature of love: What is love? What are the foundations of love?

These are just a few suggestions, and there are many other great topics that you could discuss. The most important thing is to choose a topic that is interesting to you and your group members.

<Des> Well, I recognize all of these questions as past topics, but some have not been discussed for a while. Perhaps Bard used this blog as a source of some of their answers? I'd like to think so.

Perhaps we can pick from this list at meeting time.

Stages of Life

 I was reading one of my favorite philosophy books recently.  The author was recounting the many stages identified by past philosophers and others who have spent time naming the many stages of life, and how they can be identified.  Kierkegaard saw 3 stages, Rousseau named seven, and so on.  I have often spoken of the stages I've found myself in as I have passed through my arc of life.  

Freud:  5 stages

Piaget:  4 stages

Erik Erikson: 8 stages

Carl Jung: 5 stages

Daniel Levinson: 4 stages, but with smaller steps in each

One of the interesting aspects of this is the naming of the stages, since we live life on a daily basis without a map or landmarks to measure our passage from stage to stage.  We see life around us and draw conclusions from our experiences, only later applying them to our own lives.  Or, it seems that way to me.

Look up the stages of Freud, Jung, Erik Erikson, and others.  The stages they talk about are a fascinating mix of perspectives.  I will go over some of them in the introduction at the meeting.