Critchley's Philosophy Journey and its Relation to COVID 19

    Hey everyone, 

            Feel free to read my review about the article, "To Philosophize Is to Learn How to Die".

 

•  Mr. Critchley's take on anxiety is very unique, especially with the pandemic in full force. His view on anxiety is that it is merely a feeling and an actual circumstance. Meaning, everyone experiences some sort of anxiety on a constant basis. In fact, he mentions that many people are probably feeling some "profound anxiety" due to the pandemic, which makes sense. We cannot run away from anxiety, but rather confront it to become stronger and build the courage to stop fleeing in stressful situations. Anxiety is a mental blockade that hides behind every human being. There is no way of treating it, but ways to help it include, acknowledgment, challenging oneself, or honing the positives in life. This is different than fear, as fear is notified by some actual object. Critchley says."We've known at least since Aristotle that fear is our reaction to an actual threat in the world." For example, with the pandemic, there is widespread fear which is normal, since it is an actual event and not a feeling (anxiety). 

 

•  Critchley's take on the role of philosophy is interesting. He describes the role of it to be some sort of bonding technique. Since we are in a global crisis currently, he is looking at the ways in which philosophy can form an illumination and comfort us during difficult times. In this current situation that we are all facing, perhaps turning to philosophical metaphors and literature will shed some light on the bigger issues in this world and add a sense of hope for the future.

 

• I do agree with Critchley's overall message. Although some may debate it, I believe that everyone experiences anxiety, and sometimes it is exacerbated causing even more panic, but this needs to be controlled. We all live with anxiety, it is the ways that we control it, as Critchley explained, there are bigger problems that inflict actual fear in people (COVID 19). I love Mr. Critchley's ability to manipulate the audience and explain that we cannot hide from our problems or fears, we must confess and confront them to become stronger (Growth mindset).