Ideas of the 20th Century

In lecture six, we analyze how cultural and political upheavals of the 1960s and 70s—including the Vietnam War and Watergate—generated moral confusion and skepticism about connecting mind to reality. We examine how these crises undermined trust in institutions, leadership, and shared moral frameworks. The lecture then turns to Saul Kripke’s theory of names as “rigid designators,” arguing that language can directly connect us to reality rather than merely to concepts. We also examine Joan Didion’s reflections on morality and self-respect, which suggest that beneath cultural disagreement lies a shared moral core grounded in survival, loyalty, responsibility, and love.