In class we viewed a very interesting film from the Black Mirror series on Netflix. Most of the class was really concerned about things like the technology at play; while others were concerned about their own personal obsessions with the use of the new technology. I, on the other hand, saw something else; the struggle between deception and reality.
As a philosophy major, one interesting thing I've encountered was the philosophy behind truth and lies. Granted, in the film it was rather unsettling to see how much the grain has integrated into their live however, the one constant thing that hasn't change since the beginning of time has been the "need" or "desire" to lie.
As the film started and progressed we observed the grain being introduced via commercial. They showed how the grain is implanted into the brain to promote the idea of a perfect memory. Having a perfect memory would be a big step for the human race however it would also be removing the boundary of repression and forgetting certain things that as a person I may not want to remember and relive over and over in my head.
Coming from the perspective of Fi, time and time again she felt the need to lie of how, where, and when she encountered Jonas to Liam. Several times, Liam caught her in a lie with the grain. Whether she was lying to protect herself or she was lying to save her relationship; there lies the unconscious battle. On one hand, we could perceive that she was was victim of the untruthful condition but we could also see that she was having a battle of deception or non deception. Re-watching the film, I came to the conclusion that she wasn't a victim of the untruthful condition, which means that she believes the lie within itself but she was pushing for Deception.
She lied to cover up when, where, and how she met Jonas to avoid the truth of hurting and putting in jeopardy what she built with Liam. Little did she understand the more lying she does, the futher down the rabbit hole she goes and looses her love.
Sources:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lying-definition/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lying-definition/#UntCon
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lying-definition/#DecVsNonDecAboLyi
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lying-definition/#TraDefDec
Modest and honorable Derrick,
ReplyDeleteI do not know much about Philosophy of Lying; however, I want to express my appreciation for your enlightening remarks for the good of the order. Lets begin, when you wrote, " she believes the lie within itself but she was pushing for Deception. She lied to cover up when, where, and how she met Jonas to avoid the truth of hurting and putting in jeopardy what she built with Liam." I am intrigued from your publication because this shows that human nature remains constant as technology evolves. Fi kept the memories for her reason whether that was pleasure or reminiscence but as you said she "pushed for deception," meaning that she chose to deceive. Fi knew how how she felt towards Jonas and she still went to the house party, this leads me to believe that, though Fi has the grain and can easily delete those memories to forget those supposedly "hard times that caused her to have sex with Jonas;" however, she does not. Fi purposely deceived Liam. The reason this is important to note is because it shows that human nature has the potential to remain constant despite technological advancements.
In your literature, you also mentioned, "little did she understand the more lying she does, the futher down the rabbit hole she goes and looses her love," I would also like to add that she enjoyed the deception and perhaps would go further if she could. As you implied there is a desire to lie.
God have you in his keeping,
Wise Council
David
I appreciate and agree with your perspective about the desire to lie, Derrick. While I understand that the grain could be seen as negative, I don't think that it goes against the human ability to forget and repress. The grain seems to just provide the perfect memory and the people choose to not always move forward. The grain doesn't automatically mean that memories are replaying. Those who posses the grain just appear to overuse it, perhaps because , in this context, it was still quite new to the people. This reminds me of our discussion about cellphones and people's personality. Some people may get caught up in the use of all of the amenities the cellphones offer, while it may be a casual every-now- and then luxury for others. While I do believe that the grain, the cellphone, or any other type of advanced technology can be efficient, I also realize the technology can really lead to negative circumstances. This is because, as Derrick seems to imply, the technology is like a reflection of people's own desires to do certain things, which is sometimes deceiving another. As David pointed out, human nature remains constant despite technological advancements (and I'll add that it's even magnified or more exposed) with technological advancements.
ReplyDelete