Q: “Is trying to define who we are just a ceaseless task that we will never solve? Can we not just settle for who we, ourselves think we are?”
I find this question very interesting because one of the most important parts of life is finding our true self. I feel that the question of who we are relates to many of the most important aspects of people’s lives, such as religion. People feel that once they understand who they are they will have a better understand of their purpose in life; I completely agree with this idea. I feel that this question implies that the search for who we are may be pointless; assuming that it is pointless would be a major mistake.
We may not be able to fully define who we are in a way that is universally accepted, but I feel it is imperative that everyone attempts to answer this question over his or her lives. Knowing who we are gives our life purpose and meaning. I feel that the small roles people play in their lives do not show who someone truly is. The fact that I am a Boston Celtics fan may be an important part of my life, but I do not believe it is a part of who I truly am. The important part of the search for who we are should involve a person finding something they want to devote their live to. Malcolm X is an example of this idea. He thought he knew exactly who he was by the small roles he played in his life until he went to prison. Once his family introduced him to the Nation of Islam while hew was in prison, Malcolm found true purpose in his life. He explains in his autobiography that there was a moment of awakening, where he absolutely knew who he was; he felt like his true identity had been hidden from him his whole life. I feel that other people will find who they are in many other types of ways, but almost all of these ways relate to helping others.
I feel that it may be impossible to describe absolutely who we are with words, but I believe that people will know who they are once they discover their purpose in life. Too many people become identified with the roles that they play in their lives, such as their job, what religion they associate with, their political party etc. I feel that people will truly know who they are when they stop thinking that these things as a part of themselves. Malcolm X was a Muslim, but I do not feel that this identified who he was; he was a person that was on a mission to teach blacks the truth about who they were because he felt it would improve their lives. People need to focus on a purpose in their lives, and stop trying to identify themselves with words.
I feel the idea of who we are is bigger than the actual question itself. I do not think we can ever fully answer the question of who we are because the answer will be filled with roles that we play in society. Even though I do not think it is possible to answer the question, I feel we should use the question to find a purpose in life; I think a purpose in life causes people to feel truly fulfilled, which is something that identifying with roles will never do. Furthermore, I do not feel we should even get to the point of settling who we think we are, because who we think we are still ends up being an attempt to define ourselves with the roles that we play in society. We need to stop trying to identify ourselves with roles that society determines; we need to find a purpose in our lives.
Can we describe who we are without using the roles we play in society as the descriptors?
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Are we all Sophists?
During class today, we discussed the difference between the Sophists' principles and Socrates’ principles. During the discussion about the Sophists, I discovered something very interesting. Even though the Sophists represent ideas that we are supposed to be against, many of the ideas seem to represent values in our society.
The idea that we must win the game of life seems to be one of the main examples of our society supporting Sophist values. Sophists wanted to win the game of life, no matter what that entailed. I feel that even though we cannot define exactly what it means to win the game of life, most people in our society represent this principle. People want to be happy, and most people feel they need to make a lot of money to achieve happiness. Sophists did everything they could to get rich, even if it meant taking advantage of others. I do not feel that everyone in our society is trying to get rich, but almost everyone has future goals. I feel that many of the people who have these goals will do anything to achieve them. I have seen many instances where people are so focused on achieving their goals that they are not worried about how their achieving process may affect others. People want to win the game of life, no matter what it takes; I feel this idea relates exactly to what the Sophists represent.
Even though not everyone's main goal is getting rich, I feel that being wealthy in looked at as a major advantage in our society. I also feel that being wealthy is represented in our society as being extremely important. It seems that our society represents the idea that the wealthy are more important than everyone else is. I think this idea is identical to what the Sophists believe. Sophists seem to believe that winning the game of life means having more possessions then others do; the American dream seems to represent the same idea. Instead of considering what is good, or what the truth is, Americans seem to only want to have the most money.
Since it seems that we are not supposed to support what the Sophists represent, I am wondering if we should support what Americans represent. Maybe I am wrong, but it seems like most Americans would support the idea that getting rich is extremely important. It seems that more Americans represent Sophist ideas rather than the ideas that Socrates represents.
Do you feel that Americans represent many Sophist ideas? And
Do you believe that American people support the wrong principles of living?
The idea that we must win the game of life seems to be one of the main examples of our society supporting Sophist values. Sophists wanted to win the game of life, no matter what that entailed. I feel that even though we cannot define exactly what it means to win the game of life, most people in our society represent this principle. People want to be happy, and most people feel they need to make a lot of money to achieve happiness. Sophists did everything they could to get rich, even if it meant taking advantage of others. I do not feel that everyone in our society is trying to get rich, but almost everyone has future goals. I feel that many of the people who have these goals will do anything to achieve them. I have seen many instances where people are so focused on achieving their goals that they are not worried about how their achieving process may affect others. People want to win the game of life, no matter what it takes; I feel this idea relates exactly to what the Sophists represent.
Even though not everyone's main goal is getting rich, I feel that being wealthy in looked at as a major advantage in our society. I also feel that being wealthy is represented in our society as being extremely important. It seems that our society represents the idea that the wealthy are more important than everyone else is. I think this idea is identical to what the Sophists believe. Sophists seem to believe that winning the game of life means having more possessions then others do; the American dream seems to represent the same idea. Instead of considering what is good, or what the truth is, Americans seem to only want to have the most money.
Since it seems that we are not supposed to support what the Sophists represent, I am wondering if we should support what Americans represent. Maybe I am wrong, but it seems like most Americans would support the idea that getting rich is extremely important. It seems that more Americans represent Sophist ideas rather than the ideas that Socrates represents.
Do you feel that Americans represent many Sophist ideas? And
Do you believe that American people support the wrong principles of living?
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Response to Megan Cooney (2/10/2010)
Q:Why is it that violence and crime have such a seductive effect on the human mind?
I believe that peoples need to commit violence and crime is related to a purely human quality. I feel the human sense of self is the main reason for the seductive affect that violence and crime have on the human mind. This sense of self causes humans to feel the need to constantly want to compare themselves with others; it all comes down to the fact that each human wants to know if they are better or worse than someone else. This idea can take many forms, and each form represents a different way that people act. There are a few different reasons why the human mind is attracted to violence and crime, but I believe they are all related to the sense of self that humans have.
I think one of the main reasons for the attraction that humans have towards violence and crime relates to societies values. Children our told by their parents that violence and crime is bad and they should never associate themselves with it. When children grow up, they see crime and violence all over television, and they notice that it is something that makes people stand out; children understand that the attention from violence is negative, but it often seems that this negativity does not affect them. When these children get older, they want to be different. Most of these people will try to stand out in a positive way, but many will not have that opportunity. The people who do not have the opportunity to get attention in a positive way will look to get some in a negative way.
The seductive effect that violence brings is created because of the attention that people will receive. People know that crime is something you should not do, but it always seems interesting because of the way media depicts it. People who commit crimes often feel great about themselves during the crime. Bank robbers often feel a rush during the crime because they know they are taking a risk. They feel like they are doing something that most cannot do which makes them feel special. The desire to commit crimes and violence is caused by the rush that people get from doing something that is a risk; the sense of self that humans have causes the need to stand out, and taking risks fills this need.
The effect that violence and crime have on the human mind is caused simply by the human’s sense of self. Humans want to stand out in some way, and violence and crime provides this. Even though the humans sense of self causes the desire for crimes and violence, I feel our society causes people to want to commit crimes more then they would normally. This leads to my interest of what society’s impact on violence and crimes is.
What effect do societies values have on the human desire to commit violence and crime?
How much of an effect does society have on the human mind?
I believe that peoples need to commit violence and crime is related to a purely human quality. I feel the human sense of self is the main reason for the seductive affect that violence and crime have on the human mind. This sense of self causes humans to feel the need to constantly want to compare themselves with others; it all comes down to the fact that each human wants to know if they are better or worse than someone else. This idea can take many forms, and each form represents a different way that people act. There are a few different reasons why the human mind is attracted to violence and crime, but I believe they are all related to the sense of self that humans have.
I think one of the main reasons for the attraction that humans have towards violence and crime relates to societies values. Children our told by their parents that violence and crime is bad and they should never associate themselves with it. When children grow up, they see crime and violence all over television, and they notice that it is something that makes people stand out; children understand that the attention from violence is negative, but it often seems that this negativity does not affect them. When these children get older, they want to be different. Most of these people will try to stand out in a positive way, but many will not have that opportunity. The people who do not have the opportunity to get attention in a positive way will look to get some in a negative way.
The seductive effect that violence brings is created because of the attention that people will receive. People know that crime is something you should not do, but it always seems interesting because of the way media depicts it. People who commit crimes often feel great about themselves during the crime. Bank robbers often feel a rush during the crime because they know they are taking a risk. They feel like they are doing something that most cannot do which makes them feel special. The desire to commit crimes and violence is caused by the rush that people get from doing something that is a risk; the sense of self that humans have causes the need to stand out, and taking risks fills this need.
The effect that violence and crime have on the human mind is caused simply by the human’s sense of self. Humans want to stand out in some way, and violence and crime provides this. Even though the humans sense of self causes the desire for crimes and violence, I feel our society causes people to want to commit crimes more then they would normally. This leads to my interest of what society’s impact on violence and crimes is.
What effect do societies values have on the human desire to commit violence and crime?
How much of an effect does society have on the human mind?
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