Philosophy 2730F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Walter Lippmann, Manufacturing Consent, Investigative Journalism

• School: Western University
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: Philosophy 2730F/G
• Professor: Ryan Robb

Document Summary

Philosophy, and the accumulation of knowledge generally, is a collective undertaking that involves presenting arguments (reasons that support our beliefs), then criticizing and defending those arguments. There are, at least for the purposes of this course, objective and universal moral norms/rules/principles (i. e. , cultural relativism and subjectivism are not sustainable views in a course that presupposes the existence of meaningful moral standards). Mcluhan: the very study of human nature requires that we understand the message conveyed by the medium/tools/technology humans construct as a means of helping themselves in their projects. The message" of any particular technological innovation is, according to. Mcluhan, determined by assessing the extent to which human life is changed with its introduction. So, in order to come to see/hear/understand the message that is the modern mass media (i. e. , industrialized print, television, the internet, etc ), we need to reflect creatively about the way human existence changed since the innovations were introduced.