The Ethics of Awesomeness

Sunday, August 29, 2021

What Is It

The word “awesome” once meant inspiring extreme fear or dread. Nowadays it’s mostly used as a general purpose exclamation of approval. So when we describe a person as awesome, are we saying that they exemplify some general form of excellence? Or are awesome people those who break specific social norms to generate moments of creative expression and social connection? Would the world be a better place if we all aimed to be more awesome and less sucky? Josh and Ray stand in awe of Nick Riggle from the University of San Diego, author ofOn Being Awesome: A Unified Theory of How Not to Suck.

Listening Notes

Is “awesome” just a word for things we approve of? Or is awesomeness a particular kind of excellence? Josh thinks the term has become meaningless and overused, but Ray argues that it holds a definition of doing something excellent that inspires respect and admiration. They disagree about whether a pro-social condition such as helping other people is necessary for awesomeness and wonder if it should only be used to describe things with an ethical dimension.

The philosophers are joined by Nick Riggle, Professor of Philosophy at University of San Diego. Nick provides his definition of awesomeness as being good at creating social openings, followed by various responses to these invitations and the importance of being sensitive to how they will be received. Ray then asks about what it means to suck, which Nick describes as declining a social opening for no good reason. Josh wonders about the relevance of expressing one’s individuality, which Nick believes can be understood through the difficulty of breaking out of social roles. He also proposes that describing things as awesome means that they have the potential to play a role in social dynamics.

In the last segment of the show, Ray, Josh, and Nick discuss awesomeness in the context of war and its interactions with politics and social oppression. Josh points out how Nick’s theory situates awesomeness as a moral value and how it might be less accessible to certain groups of people, such as introverts. Ray worries that they fits Nick’s definition of a “fake ass person,” but he reassures them by pointing out its condition of being deceptive about taking up social openings. Nick emphasizes the mutualistic relationship between social change and awesomeness and the importance of expressing our individuality in a communal way.

  • Roving Philosophical Report (Seek to 4:33)→ Shereen Adel speaks to people on the street about what they think are awesome, from favorite animals to airplane food and friendships.
  • Sixty-Second Philosopher (Seek to 45:40)Ian Shoales认为“awesome”这个词在美国文化中被过度使用。

Transcript

Transcript

Josh Landy
“棒极了”只是我们认可的事物的一个词吗?

Ray Briggs
或者令人敬畏是一种特殊的卓越?

Josh Landy
如果我们都努力变得更棒,世界会变得更好吗?

Comments(27)


Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Wednesday, July 21, 2021 -- 3:31 PM

没有. This is stupid. Anyone

没有. This is stupid. Anyone knowing awesome from mediocre gets this.

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Harold G. Neuman

Sunday, July 25, 2021 -- 4:47 PM

Everytime someone tells me

Everytime someone tells me something is awesome, when it is little better than usual, reasonable
习惯上,我认为夸张是为了效果。我想掐住这些人的喉咙,要求他们知道他们对牛逼的定义是什么。例如,一次舒适而成功的排便并不可怕。大峡谷可能是。或者,borealus。当我们在一家受欢迎的餐厅点餐时,这可不是什么好事。如果服务和食物是特别的,我们可能会重新检查我们的评估。Awesome是一种过时的算法,留给我们的是一种虚无感。这是对政治正确的进一步无用应用。如果我打喷嚏,你会说:,太棒了? I truly hope not.

Tim Smith's picture

Tim Smith

Sunday, July 25, 2021 -- 11:24 PM

Riggle discusses this and

Riggle discusses this and more. You have more in common with his thesis than you think.

里格尔不傻。他拿自己的论点开玩笑,但他所讨论的术语中有一些新的东西,这是几乎所有美国人都同意的。难得有社交机会。我们不要用古怪来浪费它们。恐惧不再是令人敬畏的核心。奇迹延伸到社区,最近,它很难找到。

Awesome Prius
-Nobody

The same goes for bowel movements.

Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Monday, July 26, 2021 -- 3:15 PM

Well. You may have this any

Well. You may have this any way you wish, Tim. Awesome is over-used. In 1986, i had a brief relationship with someone.. She was a mid-level administrative professional, paid in the 65 to 70 thousand dollar range. Her boom crutch was UM. She could not prepare well enough to avoid this piece of presentational sleight-of-vocalization. Anyone in the business of presentations understands that a pause is better than an um. Awesome is similar. Seems to me. Same with if you thank someone for something and they reply: no problem. If there were a problem; could be one, you have no business in any kind of. person-to-person public contact. You are welcome is respectful and involves only one more word. .I do not care for new-speak. This has nothing to do with constructive change. It is about respect, understanding and uncommon sense. Common sense is no longer an option, it seems.

Tim Smith's picture

Tim Smith

Monday, July 26, 2021 -- 11:40 PM

Well indeed. I detect a chill

Well indeed. I detect a chill.

我的方式和愿望都不及你和里格尔的一半有趣。如果我理解你,问题是语义漂白(SB)和一个宁静的好旧的日子,已经失去了所有的敬畏感。如果我没听错里格尔的话,镇里有个新词叫"牛逼"它一有机会就赞美人类。

Bleaching is a technical term that I honestly don't understand too well but can be measured using n-grams. The transition that you are talking about is SB. Awfully bad becomes awfully nice over time, changing from modifier to an intensifier. I don't want to get too deep into it but to say that this is real and measurable with natural language modeling and linear algebra.

If I were to do this analysis, I agree that awesome has transitioned from modifying the Grand Canyon to intensifying the taste of candy. I haven't done that analysis and don't have the talent. I have looked at the n-gram for 'awesome,' however, and its usage has considerably increased in the last two decades, tagging closely with the term' sucks.' Using Google's n-gram viewer or Microsofts, the word 'excellent' has a more gradual slope and is perhaps intensifying.

Nick Riggle, who is a better thinker than I am, without doubt, isn't using vector space to make his case, and neither are you. Instead, he appeals to our common sense and uses anecdotes, not unlike yours of the mid-level boom crutching 'um' user. Riggle and your friend's usage are not intensifying but somewhat different ideas altogether. 'No worries' or 'no problem' and 'um,' for that matter, are particles of pause for social politeness.

里格尔给牛逼和烂逼赋予了全新的意义。同样,这只是我自己的理解,但当我看着n字母组的观众寻找这些术语时……这似乎确实有些关系——即通常对彼此不太友好的美国群体之间的社会开放。

This social engagement is awesome, and not my way but Riggle's. I prefer wack with my coffee, mescaline, or drug of choice. Regardless of how good the old days were for me, the new day is different and ever-changing. I want to enjoy that drink with some reflection but not too much reverence for lost meaning. There isn't any.

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Harold G. Neuman

Wednesday, August 4, 2021 -- 12:01 PM

难以置信的寒意。没有

难以置信的寒意。没有华丽的语言和修辞技巧。好了。华丽的足够了吗?“了不起”是另一种戏剧许可——让重要变得平凡的方式。有点像,1986年我和前任去的那个地方。这些话题在成为话题之前就已经令人厌倦了。在我看来,这些平凡的事情值得进行任何哲学讨论,这是有争议的。但是,做这些决定不在我的权限之内。关于取消文化,现在有各种各样的想法; history revisionism; and who knows what else that have peripheral relation to philosophy. Flavors of the week. These diversions have no place, seems to me. Their creation (or emergence) is distraction from more serious problems that current thinkers are loathe to tackle...

many of which are insoluable. And have been for centuries. So, rather than rendering philosophy irrelevant, new questions are posed; new problems, suggested, tongue-in-cheek, hopinig no one will notice. i noticed. Read some of what Burke has written about rhetoric. Maybe the light bulb will yet illuminate.

Tim Smith's picture

Tim Smith

Thursday, August 5, 2021 -- 8:35 AM

Um...OK. No problem. I guess

Um...OK. No problem. I guess I can't have it my way.

So it's not semantic bleaching. Your point is what then? That this post is not worth posting. Yet still, you post to it? I think the philosopher protests too much.

如果你愿意,我们可以用伯克。你在那里买不到东西。2022世界杯小组赛分组他首先是个政治家,其次是哲学家。他谈到了Riggle所触及的一些要点(社交联系,关系和语言),但他采用了两种方法来让桌上的花被剪掉。如果那是你的桌子,那就切掉…开导我。但是说句话,伯克到处都是为了满足他的需要,不像里格尔精确地呼唤一种新的审美。

I will hear Riggle out first... then wack it down as needed. That is the ethic of philosophy, and also kind of awesome.

Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Thursday, August 5, 2021 -- 9:41 AM

没有t sure we are on the same

没有t sure we are on the same Burke. Kenneth is the one I referred to. An autodidact and college instructor who never obtained a college degree. Talented intellect, who played by his own rules and marched to his own drumbeat. He recognized the limitations of rhetoric, and was, thereby, the one to best write about it.

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Tim Smith

Thursday, August 5, 2021 -- 5:43 PM

Definitely not talking about

绝对不是在说同一个人。我会调查他的。这需要一些时间,但我一定会这么做。

Take care.

Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Friday, August 6, 2021 -- 2:41 PM

Thanks, Tim.

Thanks, Tim.

Tim Smith's picture

Tim Smith

Friday, August 13, 2021 -- 2:45 PM

Harold,

Harold,

我读过伯克的《永恒与变化》(PAC)和《动机的修辞》(ROM)。语言“华丽”,但内容很好。我不确定关于里格尔的论点你指的是什么,或者这些书是否是正确的。

我喜欢与众不同的哲学家,但现在回想起来,伯克即使没有像埃德蒙·伯克那样被封为圣人,也受到了好评和尊敬。至少我现在读过他的几部作品。

我需要帮助。你认为肯尼斯·伯克的研究指向了什么?他不是在争论文字意义的丧失,他似乎承认创造力,并从文字和句子中衍生出新的意义,这是文学批评的事实。他实际上使用了敬畏和awesome,类似于ROM里的Riggle,我可以引用那些段落,但它们与这里的社会开放理念并不完全相关。但伯克认为人类的行为很了不起。如果有的话,在我看来,伯克至少会接受里格尔的观点,他是思想和行动作为我们利益衍生品的强烈支持者。这一点在PAC中很明显。Riggle指出社交开放是人们的兴趣所在。我也喜欢伯克关于神秘主义的讨论,这也可以延伸到里格尔在无神论意义上的观察,在那里,人们认为行为是可怕的,在媒体和人与人之间的互动的巧妙的社会开放中,先前受到神的启发的行为。

I'm not reading these as closely as I should perhaps. It would be nice were Kenneth Burke alive today to discuss Riggle's work at least

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Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

2021年8月6日,周五——下午3:30

General remarks on the

General remarks on the premise of this post. 1. I do not see awesome-ness as a matter for ethics at all.. Tried to get to that earlier with velvet boxing gloves, clearly lacking effect. 2. When I referred to the Red Sea incident, I could not qualify that. We were, I venture, not there.. 3. If, as I doubt, Jesus arose from his grave after three days, that would have been awesome, I guess. And just so. There are notions posited on this blog. Many of which I find dubious, if not preposterous. There are commenters with whom I disagree, ideas I find paradoxical---even though paradox is impossible, as a practical matter....something only explainable, within our limited understanding.

In any case, thanks for your indulgence. PT is still more fun than a headache. Or covid. But, you might consider breaking your repetitious mold..Moreover, thinking more deeply on whether there are ethics connected with things like awesomeness...There is no next big thing. Never was.
Good night and good luck.
Be Well.

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Harold G. Neuman

Saturday, August 7, 2021 -- 2:55 PM

Lastly,your notions of ethics

最后,你对道德的看法,以及它们如何在算法、科学等常规事物中发挥作用,让我感到困惑。道德是滑。是真理。但是,工具和知识的进步似乎超越了伦理问题。我在这里说的不是憎恶。有明确的例子说明……现在的想法会否认。在戴维森看来,伦理、道德之类的东西都是命题。Subject to skepticism, according to Dewey's notion about the
信仰的阴暗本质。哲学的变化。但是,从根本上说,并不是这样。如果哲学被便利或下一个大事件所背叛,这也不会是最后一次。

Tim Smith's picture

Tim Smith

Tuesday, August 17, 2021 -- 10:33 PM

Algorithms and science are

Algorithms and science are human endeavors and as such incorporate ethics by virtue, rule, or consequence. Internet searches, image deep fakes, and calls for car warranty extensions are examples of ethical issues with algorithms. Opium, DDT, leucotomies, and American eugenics are examples of scientific ethics gone wrong. So too and often with social interactions, but not in this case, the ethics of social openings. Riggle is not chopping at the root of philosophy, or at propositional attitudes exactly. There is no convenience in observing a new meaning to awesome, only greater explanatory power and proscriptive thought.

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Daniel's picture

Daniel

Sunday, August 8, 2021 -- 6:57 PM

The word describes the

The word describes the phenomenon of awe, as in "shock and awe". Could this be an attempt to portray military aggression as "awesome"?

Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Monday, August 9, 2021 -- 2:17 PM

Anyone's guess is as good as

Anyone's guess is as good as anyone else's. Depending on motive, we can bend meaning, any which way we wish. This is why I have been fascinated with Davidson's idea of propositional attitudes.
Desire, belief, expectation, and a dozen others are what they are at any given time, depending on contingency and a totality of circumstances. Dewey, notoriously, found beliefs shady. Ideologies twist meaning to their own ends. Religion ends up with Philosophy in University humanities departments.
Some say the humanities are thereby enriched. I am not so certain. Truth remains illusive.. for all of the foregoing reasons. And more,I expect. But, some might argue, this is all rhetoric. Sure. But, if we do not exhaust reasons, we cannot arrive at solutions either.

Tim Smith's picture

Tim Smith

Tuesday, August 17, 2021 -- 8:44 PM

I flat out disagree with the

我完全不同意这一说法——“任何人的猜测都和其他人的一样好”,但我同意这很可能只是猜测的观点。我要多读一些戴维森的作品,看起来杜威的作品很快就会在这里重复,这样就会有时间思考他对信仰的看法。肯尼斯·伯克(Kenneth Burke)并不认为这些都是夸夸其谈。我读得越多,思考得越多,就越喜欢里格尔的观点。这是一条远离信仰极化之争的道路,花时间表达身份,甚至庆祝它。

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Daniel's picture

Daniel

Monday, August 23, 2021 -- 2:44 PM

Awesomeness and its negation,

awesome和它的否定,“suckyness”,乍一看似乎是代表卓越和低标准的表达。然而,这似乎不是事实,因为后者可以指物体实际的或可能的完美或不完美,这些东西可以同样的方式独立于观察它们的人来判断。然而,Awesomeness似乎包括令人愉快的非凡性这一主观现象,因此它描述的是一件事,而不是一个人或事物。作为一种命题态度(阿拉·戴维森),当某件事被称为“棒呆了”时,比如冰淇淋蛋筒的味道,一个追溯至味觉的真实谓词,其原因可以通过物理过程来描述,它被应用于主体的思想中,即在一个“精神事件”的背景中,应用于一个抽象的对象,即冰淇淋蛋筒的一般概念。它的甜美和半融性之所以令人敬畏,是因为它是卓越的,可能与我称之为“令人敬畏”的原因非常不同,例如,也许是因为我想给卖给我它的人留下深刻的印象。说它“很棒”必须包含在它真的很棒的情况下。因此,我同意对话者诺伊曼关于某物的令人敬畏的事件是很容易接近的通过把它考虑为一种命题态度,它可以是任何一种信仰,主张,恐惧,渴望,欲望,等等,关键的一点是其中之一是令人敬畏事件的真正原因,而不是感知什么的物理原因,与主体对它的命题态度有关,构成了一个抽象的物理对象,虽然是真实的,但不能有助于令人敬畏的说法的真相。

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Tim Smith's picture

Tim Smith

Monday, August 23, 2021 -- 4:48 PM

Jesus! Two interlocutors are

Jesus! Two interlocutors are greater than one. If I can find no second on the intertubes... I will resign myself to the proposition that Davidson is awesome.

Dewey have agreement? I am just trying to Riggle my way out of this.

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Tim Smith's picture

Tim Smith

2021年8月26日,周四——晚上9:28

This show went all over the

这个节目到处都是。这个节目前发布的很多地方都做得很好,尤其是伊恩的部分。我确实读过这本书。就像我读完的大多数书一样,我发现自己对这本书总体上很感兴趣。并非所有的哲学都是深刻的。有些是出乎意料的。实际上,我认为这可能比作者想的要多得多。

我认为有时候忍受是很可怕的。也许这就是我在这里学到的。

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Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Wednesday, September 8, 2021 -- 1:07 PM

All else aside, I just don't

All else aside, I just don't get an ethical connection with awesome-ness. Can't even suss why there ought to be one.

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Tim Smith's picture

Tim Smith

Saturday, September 11, 2021 -- 5:05 AM

What is the difference

What is the difference between swimming and parkour? Cultivating community, style, and individuality, and I would add meaning. This is one of the examples Riggle uses from his book. The fact that he is a world-class athlete gives him a unique appreciation for this ethic, and I would say that is how he first came to the concept.

伦理和道德往往是相同的。考虑一下道德观和道德观念可能会有所帮助。人类的行为可以是令人敬畏的;汤姆·哈蒙(Tom Harmon)在丛林上空从飞机上跳下来走开了,理查德·布朗(Richard Brown)摔破皮掉进了滑板公园,人们在思考新的含义。

The ethic is appreciation and respect of others as they show us new ways of acting and creating meaning.

The connection is one of the book's arguments that PT chose to pick up as that is not only where the fun is but also from where conflict resolution and personal and social growth come.

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Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Thursday, September 23, 2021 -- 10:17 AM

I suppose I have been tedious

我想我在这个话题上已经很乏味了。也许只有可憎的吗?考虑到其他因素,我的生活经历,面对面的,令人敬畏的,并不可怕或可怕。恐惧和恐惧并没有与我对敬畏的概念联系在一起。我从来没有去过大峡谷。也没见过大堡礁。我看过北极光的颜色。发现那些既不可怕也不可怕。现在,我想,如果我亲眼目睹了所谓的红海分离,我一定会感到困惑不解。或者说是耶稣的复活。 Such events are enigmatic---if one was not there.
因此,它们是信仰的问题。或信念。在以前的例子中,我承认人们有充分的权利保持他们的信仰和信仰。如果这些命题的态度与我们珍视的事物相关联,顺其自然。根据最近的说法,“了不起”被高估了。每个人都有自己的专辑要做。I am just not that excited about it...

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Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Monday, January 10, 2022 -- 7:25 AM

没有t necessarily germain here,

没有t necessarily germain here, but since the matter of linguistics could be involved, I wonder if PT might have a hearing on modern usages? When ordinary words are toyed with to suit new notions, the mix can be humorous. For example, reveal being used in lieu of the more traditional revelation.
Or, the also-recent use of pivot, to denote a change of course. There are other emergent examples which show the influence of mass/popular culture. Linguists think about these things...have probably written about them. If you have done a show about this, I am unaware of it.

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Harold G. Neuman

Tuesday, February 15, 2022 -- 1:37 PM

Yesterday, my wife and I ate

Yesterday, my wife and I ate a, low-end brunch at a local nook. It was a quiet, pleasant experience. There was a small distraction. At the hosting desk, the greeting sign read: we are awesome. They were not. It is a quiet, pleasant, low-end place to eat. We will, for those reasons, likely eat there again.
Awesome is superfluous hyperbole. But, oh...hyperbole IS superfluous, isn't it?

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Harold G. Neuman

Friday, February 18, 2022 -- 7:15 AM

Since the initiation of the

Since the initiation of the notion of awesomeness, I have aggravated some people with my remarks, amused others: and perplexed a few more. Deciding that my views are distinctly contrary to a plurality of thinkers and participants, I bow out, gratefully---no, not gracefully---I meant what I wrote. My favored term of approval has been : outstanding! It is a traditional and conventional term and conveys approval in a non-trendy sort of frame. And the thing I like about it most is the ring of sincerity. People smile and their eyes light up when they hear it. Sincerity still has a lot going for it.
——在我看来。“糟糕”是不会出现的。

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