I Ching

I'm not sure if I did it right but my results were 16 and 2

16 is Enthusiasm, I think it's talking about sympathising with other people and doing what's best for them even if it isn't what you want.

2 is The Receptive, I didn't really understand this one. It talks about duality and then about death.

I don't think either really answered my question so I'm assuming I did it wrong. After I figure it out I'll repost this.

Meditation

I have never done Qi Gong before but did not expect it to be too difficult. I was wrong; it was very hard. As the instructor kept telling us to do more and more things like to sit a certain way, place our tongue a certain way and to picture things it became difficult to keep up. I tried to follow along but after awhile I became restless and I could not do it anymore. I kept trying, I would open my eyes and take a break and than try again but half way through the meditation I gave up completely. Even though I could not follow along as well as I would have liked to it was interesting and it was nice to have just a relaxing class.

More On Art....

I completely disagree with R.G. Collingwood's statement that art is not amusement. The beauty of art is its ability to evoke feelings, even amusement. As Tolstoy said, "...the aim of art is beauty and that beauty is recognized by the enjoyment it gives" (pg956). Any piece of art, whether amusing or not, brings people together and creates communication, that's what its purpose is.

Even though I agree with Tolstoy more than Collingwood I don't think art always has to be moral, sometimes the best arts are the controversial ones. I do think that boundaries are needed sometimes, but as I said in my last post, I don't think an artist should have to worry about offending someone because that takes away from their work.

Also, in response to something said during class, I think poetry read by someone other than the original poet isn't a copy. A poem or any form of art changes when someone tries to recreate it.  It loses some of its original value while gaining new ones, it becomes a entirely different piece of work.

Poem

Because I Could Not Stop For Death
by Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.
We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

2nd Quarter Reflection

This quarter has been one of my most stressful quarters in high school. I had so many things all going on at once in my life that sometimes when I got to class I felt checked out.
That's why I feel like I can relate to this unit the most because I've been relying heavily on art, these two months, to clear my head after a long stressful day. Because of this I started to dislike Plato more than I already did because I just couldn't understand how anyone could dislike art when it was so important. Yeah I understand everyone is entitled to their opinion but I find it hard to believe that there hasn't been a time in his life when he wanted to escape reality.
And I don't understand why it's okay for him to write The Republic, which is a form of art and say it's not okay for anyone else because art distances you from reality.
My favorite part of this quarter was probably the imperfect societies debate. I had been dreading that debate all winter break but towards the end I actually started to enjoy it. Debating isn't my strong suit and it's nearly impossible for me to think on the spot. No matter how easy I realize the question was, once I've already answered, when I’m on the spot my mind goes completely blank. However, I felt like I was getting better and better at thinking on the spot as the days went on. I was on the tyranny group and when I was first assigned to it I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find ways to defend it because it went completely against everything I believed in. But by the end of the debate I started to find more things wrong with the other governments than tyranny. I even started to feel proud of being on team tyranny.

Plato

I disagree with Plato's theory of art because I think art is a very important part of life even if it keeps us from reality.
I think, for the most part, escape from reality is a good thing. Sometimes life can get so chaotic that it's hard to just enjoy it. That's why we turn to music or any other form of art, it is a way to relieve stress caused by day to day life and makes "reality" easier to handle.
I think I would go insane if I didn't have some sort of art to turn to when I had a problem, art is away to express both good or bad feelings in a healthy way.
In the reading, Plato's Attack on the Poets,  it talked about a singer who tried to make people realize their problems through singing but it only distracted the people more from their reality. When I was reading that I didn't see what was so wrong with it. It's nice to be distracted from life problems sometimes. Those people probably spent most of their lives worrying about their poverty and misery but by hearing the music they were able to, at least for a few minutes, leave that behind and just enjoy the moment.
But I do understand that to much of it can be a bad thing (when it comes to technology). Most people spend countless hours of their lives staring at some sort of screen while life passes by. This removal from reality isn't healthy. For example, some people rely on computers to do all the work for them which lowers attention span and makes them less self-sufficient. Technology also negatively effects social skills because no amount of cyber communication can replace the importance of human interaction.

What Is Art?

As Karen mentioned during class, sometimes in life it is hard to say everything on your mind that's when we turn to art for help. Any form of art that you create enables you to express your feelings in a healthy way. It's a way of being yourself without having to worry about anyone else.
That's why I don't think an artist should be limited to what they create because of fear of offending someone. I understand that somethings may not be appropriate to be displayed in an art museum, but I think an artist should have freedom to create whatever they want as long as it does not harm anyone (physically).  Psychologically harming someone is also wrong but I think that's a part of art too. Art should evoke feelings from the viewer.
 The best piece of art are the ones that make people take a second look and continue to think and discuss about long after looking at it.
So what exactly is art? I think art is anything that someone can see beauty in. The composer we talked about during class who wanted people to see the art in silence may not be what I would normally think of when I think of art but to him it was, so it's art. As long as something appeals to at least one person than it's art.

100 Years

Sometimes in life we are so focused on our problems that we end up wasting it. But the next year when we are faced with more problems we look back and realize how trivial the previous year's one was (at least that's what happens with me). There has been so many times where I  wished I could do a year over again because my "problems" were so much simpilar then. Unfortunately, we can't go back, we only have the present which before long will too becomes our past, so we have to make the most of  it while we still can.
100 Years by Five For Fighting makes me realize just how fast time goes by so I should enjoy every moment I have.
 I first heard the song way before I turned 15 (the age mainly focused on in the song). At the time this song didn't have much of a meaning to me because I felt like I was so far away from that. But now 15 has long come and gone and I realize just how fast time did go.
Also, in the song he says "that we only have 100 years to live" but the sad reality is that the average person has much less than that. Life is short so we need to make the most of it.

Paradise

I'm in "paradise" when I am sitting near the ocean. There is something incredebly therapeutic about being near beautiful blue water and just listening to it crash against the shore. When I'm there I feel like nothing else in the world matters. It's the few places where I can just be, with no worries. Unfortunately, I can't be there all the time but everytime I play Paradise by Coldplay I feel like I am transported there.
The tune of the song makes me feel relaxed and any stress I had just seems to disapear.
It gives me chills every time I hear it.
It is about how when we are younger we had expected our lives to turn out amazing but often times life is nothing like how we envisioned it. Our dreams are the few places we can turn to and escape reality. Though this song makes me really sad it also gives me hope. 
It makes me realize that even though life isn't the fairytale every little girl dreamed of there is some good in it and you should never give up on your dreams because somewhere there is your perfect paradise waiting for you.

Song Reflection

Out of everything we have done this year in philosophy the song presentation was probably the hardest for me. When Mr. Summer's first told us that our project  involved us singing I was sure (at least hoping) he was joking. I just couldn't picture myself singing in front of a class. Finally, when the day of the presentation arrived (today) I kept thinking of an excuse not to do it. I was even tempted to say I didn't write a song. But I knew I couldn't do that so instead I hoped the bell would ring before it was my turn. I kept looking over to the board where my name was written hoping there would be more people in line before me but finally it was my turn. I knew there was no avoiding it. My stomach was in knots and my hands were shaking. Maybe to some people it wouldn't have been that big of a deal, especially since the class is so small but to me it was like I was about to deliver a speech in front of an arena filled with people. If it had been just a speech in front of the class it would have been fine but singing. Me?? I can't carry a tune to save my life.
But now as I reflect back on today I guess it was a good experience to have. In a way I think it eased my fear of public speaking (at least just a little bit) because now I can think, "at least I'm not about to sing."

What is Justice?

If someone were to ask me this question last year I probably would have answered with "justice is doing the right thing." But the more we discuss in class and  read The Republic I realize I don't really know what justice is.
There's so many different definitions of justice. I mean mine still is doing the right thing. But what does that really mean? The way I interpret doing the right thing as might be entirely different to someone else.
But no matter what definition justice is given I think it's a very important part of having a stable society. A society without justice, at least the justice decided upon by the majority, would be chaotic. This kind of reminds me of Freud's theory. Without the ego and the superego (justice) to keep the id in check people would be doing whatever they felt like doing whether it was destructive or not.
Even if Adeimantus and Glaucon are right that people only do the right thing when it benefits them or because they are afraid of the consequences, at least they are still doing what is considered right. No matter what someone's reason for being just is, the way I see it, as long as their being just that's all that matters.

Marx Alienation

When I was looking stuff up for the debate I found this video. I think she does a good job explaining Marx's theory of alienation in a more understandable/relatable way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvp-tlLyoWo&feature=related

"We're all mad here." - Cheshire Cat (Alice In Wonderland)

 Karen's blog  reminded me of a question that I've had for a while...


How can we be sure that we aren't all crazy? I guess we can't ever be sure of the answer but the possibility that I could be the one who's actually crazy and everything I am seeing is just all in my head is a scary thought. A schizophrenia sees and hears thing no one else does but how do we know it's not actually there? For all we know what ever they are seeing is what's actually real.
In the book The Giver by Lois Lowry people could only see in black and white and only the Receiver of Memory (Jonas) could see color. Does that make Jonas crazy? I would answer no to that question only because color is a normal part of our society but to the people in the story it was an idea beyond their comprehension. Just like many of the ideas of the people regarded as insane by our society. So how does someone just go crazy (by societies definition)? Have they reached a level of knowledge that we can't even being to comprehend? So where does that leave the rest of us...are we the crazy ones for not being able to see it?

Definition of philosophy...

"Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it" -Andre Gide

First quarter reflection

"There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and that is to contradict other philosophers." - William James

One thing that bugs me about philosophy is that there is never a straight forward answer. In every other class every question has had one definite answer and I have become accustomed to that. But in philosophy no matter how much we debate one theory another one by a different philosopher is just as plausible. This annoys me. I feel like we aren't getting anywhere. But at the sometime that's something I'm actually starting to like about philosophy. In a way it's nice to know that a question has a billion answers and not one is wrong. 

Trying To Understand Hegel

  I never really questioned the possibility of my existence if  others weren't there before I learned about Hegel and his theory of mutual recognition. Though it was an interesting question it still makes no sense to me. This is where I agree more with Descartes that because I can think and reason I know I exist. I don't need people to come to that conclusion.
There's no way to prove that anyone exists and just because I recognize someone is there's doesn't mean anything. I can't read anyone's thoughts...for all I know everyone could be robots or a figment of my imagination and maybe I'm the only human on earth...scary thought. So the only thing I can ever be sure of is that I have thoughts and therefore I must exist...at least to some extent.

Paper

A blank piece of paper holds a limitless possibility to what it can become. It could become a piece of artwork, a novel or even a paper airplane. This paper is much like the entire world with the potential of becoming just about anything.The person writing/drawing on the paper has a great impact on it as do people living in earth. We have the option of protecting it and making sure it is filled with beautiful animals and plants or destroy it with pollutants to the point where we can no longer see its beauty. The paper can be recycled and used again to be made into many different things by doing this it is able to help reserve the earths beauty. Also, the paper unlike most man made things was once a part of the earth. It was once part of a tree, a tree created by the earth. It stayed a tree for years and benefited humans by producing oxygen before being cut down and made into paper. No matter what happens the paper has and will always benefit the earth. That's how the paper is able to hold the entire earth, it holds its past and now its future.

Free will?

The more I think about religion the more I begin to question free will. Even if God doesn't exist and no one in a completely different world is writing our story do we still have free will? Society no matter where you go plays a factor to what we do and don't do, the government sets up laws that its citizens are required to follow and our parents values are usually passed down to us.  There's always outside influences controlling our lives. For example, I come to school everyday because I know it's the right thing to do. Why? Because my parents have always told me it was, it's illegal to skip school and society frowns upon those who are less educated.  I don't really think of all this at the moment it's become almost instinct for me to go to school so I feel as though it is a choice I have made. But did I?

Kierkegaard vs. Nietzsche

To Kierkegaard the ultimate goal of life is reaching the stage of religion. To enter the religious stage one must first pass through the aesthetic and the ethical stage. It isn't until they finally reach the religious stage that they achieve eternal happiness. Nietzsche on the other hand believed in living in the present and celebrating life.

To defend Kierkegaard's point: Belief in a higher being is what gets a lot of people through any dark time in their lives. Like the example from class, a man holding on to a branch is going to die, unless there's a miracle, the branch will probably eventually break  but that submission to faith and trust in God is what makes life better at the moment. Coming to accept death makes life at the moment easier this is similar Nietzsche's belief  in living life for the present.

To defend Nietzsche's point: What if there is no God? You wasted your whole life living the life a God that never existed told you to live. Wouldn't you be much happier making the most of the time you had on earth in case there is no salvation? Death is inevitable part of life and I don't think Nietzsche would argue against that but it seems more rational to enjoy life then constantly think of death in hopes of finally gaining happiness that can't be guaranteed.

Hume

If you can't trust your senses what can you trust? Yes, reason is important, but without your senses what is there to even think about? What is the use of reason without senses? An idea must come from another idea. If you see a horse and then you see another house you connect those two horse as being the same creature. It was through your senses that you can make this conclusion. You know that the sun will rise tomorrow because you have seen the sun rise the day before and everyday since you were born, to come to the conclusion that it probably will rise again tomorrow.
 If you see and smell fire you shouldn't sit there and analyze whether it's real or not, at that time you have to trust your senses and run. Yes, your senses can't tell you everything, like that wax from a candle is still wax, but you must first observe the wax melting off the candle before you can come to the conclusion that its property did not change. We take in everything in the world through our sense then use our reason second to better understand it. Therefore, senses come first and reason is second.
Also, Descartes argues, that an imperfect being can't think up the notion of a perfect being so therefore God must exist. But everyone has a different perception of a what a perfect being is to them. So everyone's God has to exist to make his theory true. Also, there is no way to prove what perfect is. As an "imperfect being" how can you be sure that what you're thinking to be perfect is actually perfect?