TED Community » Jesse Phillips

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Finding answers to the question, "Why do we often act in ways that negate our greater prosperity?"

An idea worth spreading

Finding answers to the question, "Why do we often act in ways that negate our greater prosperity?" and putting these ideas together in various resources that work to help individuals live and do well in their own lives and that we all may be useful in the context of the living world.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +0.80 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Conversation: Which video game has challenged your perspective on the way you live your life and how?

  Jan 28 2012: Blitz Ball FTW!

• A reply on Conversation: What TED Talks represent examples of the ideas expressed in Iain McGilchrist's talk: The divided brain?

  Dec 11 2011: Good find! Although I kind of lost the connection I think the speaker was trying to make about how we can develop both sides of our brain and be in two places at the same time. What do you think?
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  A reply on Conversation: Now That We Know, What can We Do?

  Nov 20 2011: Good points! But how can we build on what we have if we do not evaluate what we are doing and find areas where we can improve?
  
  Also, I never intended the notion that you are not doing enough and apologize if this is how you took a previous comment. I did propose the notion that we could all benefit from examining our actions so that we may be more successful in achieving our goals. I believe one of the purposes of friendship is to call our actions and beliefs into question so that we may improve one another, "The friendship of good men is good, being augmented by their companionship; and they are thought to become better too by their activities and by improving each other."
  
  João's description for this conversation is that "By having access to TED I have access to knowledge and ideas. Many of those "just" structured feelings, ideas, thoughts, knowledge I already had, other have reinforced tremendously my beliefs and strengthened me to live with hope in a better future for our World. The question is not to have access to these thoughts and go around telling well structured ideas about different themes and look like a wise person. The question is how to change and/or improve what needs to be changed/improved? How to use it towards creating a better Human society?"
  
  Which is why I said, "I wonder if it might be helpful to create more concrete goals to effect change. My guess is that the people in this discussion already do much to advance good works in their own communities. Perhaps there is some way we can support each other, to advance the goals each of us have for our local communities?"
  
  If you are one of the people who already do much to advance good works in your community that is awesome, I was trying to question how we solve more concrete problems as João requested in his description: "energy production and storage, recycling waste, collective transport, cities structuring, health research, economics, education system, social and spiritual orientation..."

• A reply on Conversation: Now That We Know, What can We Do?

  Nov 20 2011: "In view of the fact that all knowledge and every pursuit aims at some good, what it is that we say political science aims at and what is the highest of all goods achievable by action. Verbally there is very general agreement; for both the general run of men and people of superior refinement say that it is happiness, and identify living well and doing well with being happy; but with regard to what happiness is they differ, and the many do not give the same account as the wise. For the former think it is some plain and obvious thing, like pleasure, wealth, or honour; they differ, however, from one another—and often even the same man identifies it with different things" -Aristotle
  
  I think, unfortunately, there is a difference between the many and the few. To say that humanity "may be doing as much as we can realistically do at any given time" seems to admit that the many cannot become wise, for how can humanity be doing everything we realistically can do to better our world when the many think happiness is some obvious thing? Or worse to admit that there is no distinction between the many and the few and that humanity "may be doing as much as we can realistically do at any given time" suggests that none of us can improve ourselves, because if we are doing as much as we can do at any given time how can we improve ourselves?
  
  I agree that we cannot do it alone, so, in the spirit of expressing our dreams for review and discussion, with the hope that by accepting critique about our dreams we may find more success and better effect change, I admit that my dream is to create a collection of ideas that seeks to discuss answers that aid us in living and doing well both as individuals and as social beings. I also coach youth water polo, run a company, and try to live compassionately. Ideas from TED Talks provide seemingly limitless insight to help answer this question. But I still have much work to do on the collection of ideas before it is ready to be reviewed.

• A reply on Conversation: Now That We Know, What can We Do?

  Nov 20 2011: Of course supporting each other and sharing dreams is good and the people in this discussion are already being the change we want to see in the world, but how do we judge if what we are doing is enough or if our actions will be successful in achieving our goals?
  
  Often I am impatient and want all injustice and behavior that does not have compassion as its driving force to stop immediately. Of course this is a bit unreasonable.
  
  I do think perhaps it would be helpful if we expressed dreams that are more concrete than to be compassionate and to be the change you want, etc.
  
  Being a disciplined thinker in a specific field and to push the bounds of originality is a bit more concrete but still overly vague. Perhaps I am over thinking the need for concrete goals?
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  A reply on Conversation: Now That We Know, What can We Do?

  Nov 20 2011: João Coucelo
  
  Great attitude! I wish everybody would read this article, to be aware of their "default self" so that they might act more like you! The following is a great article by David Foster Wallace:
  
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/20/fiction#history-link-box
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  A reply on Conversation: Now That We Know, What can We Do?

  Nov 18 2011: Good summation so far! I wonder if it might be helpful to create more concrete goals to effect change. My guess is that the people in this discussion already do much to advance good works in their own communities. Perhaps there is some way we can support each other, to advance the goals each of us have for our local communities?
  
  For instance, it seems the most material contributions so far has been that we must support our youth. How can we best support our youth and end anti-youth industries?

• A reply on Conversation: What TED Talks represent examples of the ideas expressed in Iain McGilchrist's talk: The divided brain?

  Nov 16 2011: Sabine, great connection!
  
  Jill's talk brings up the same great points about our left hemisphere's concern for our own self apart from everyone else and our right hemisphere's focus on the experience and energy that surrounds us and connects us with each other—and what is more, how much we may benefit from stepping into the world of our right hemisphere:
  
  "And I pictured a world filled with beautiful, peaceful, compassionate, loving people who knew that they could come to this space at any time. And that they could purposely choose to step to the right of their left hemispheres and find this peace. And then I realized what a tremendous gift this experience could be, what a stroke of insight this could be to how we live our lives."
  
  "So who are we? We are the life-force power of the universe, with manual dexterity and two cognitive minds. And we have the power to choose, moment by moment, who and how we want to be in the world. Right here, right now, I can step into the consciousness of my right hemisphere, where we are. I am the life-force power of the universe. I am the life-force power of the 50 trillion beautiful molecular geniuses that make up my form, at one with all that is. Or, I can choose to step into the consciousness of my left hemisphere, where I become a single individual, a solid. Separate from the flow, separate from you. I am Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor: intellectual, neuroanatomist. These are the "we" inside of me. Which would you choose? Which do you choose? And when? I believe that the more time we spend choosing to run the deep inner-peace circuitry of our right hemispheres, the more peace we will project into the world, and the more peaceful our planet will be."
  
  Thanks for your contribution!
  -Jesse

• A reply on Conversation: Now That We Know, What can We Do?

  Nov 15 2011: Frans,
  
  I had originally typed a much longer response explaining my point but accidentally refreshed my browser and was too lazy to retype everything. Also you cut my sentence short which changes the point I was making...
  
  Instead of defending (I am after all not here to argue but to discuss for our mutual benefit) my point I will direct you to Steven Pinker's talk:
  http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html
  
  "Steven Pinker charts the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present, and argues that, though it may seem illogical and even obscene, given Iraq and Darfur, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence."
  
  Although you may very well be right in saying, "Today our world counts more slaves than all slaves put together in previous history. And also about conflicts I think there are more than you know about."
  
  I would prefer to remain positive and to know. As I stated previously, "we should strive for the truth".
  
  Thanks,
  -Jesse
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  A reply on Conversation: Now That We Know, What can We Do?

  Nov 15 2011: I think we are getting there! Look at how little conflicts and slavery exist globally because of differences in geographical location. Did you read Happiness, the Hard Way?
  
  I think the idea of Eudaimonia is a very powerful concept and agree with McMahon's conclusion that, "we might focus less on our own personal happiness and instead on the happiness of those around us, for relentless focus on one’s own happiness has the potential to be self-defeating."
  
  And the idea of Eudaimonia, namely that compassion for our fellow man is our greatest virtue, relates back to McGilchrist's conclusion that we must focus less on the static non-living objects and more on how we should best use objects and act ourselves in the context of the living world.