Introduction: Section D

Attacking a Straw Man:

This concept was intriguing to me, the idea of attacking something that doesn't really exist on the mere basis for having an argument. I have a feeling this goes on a lot in politics, and for some reason it works for politicians. Despite the fact that they are not really refuting what their opponent said, just attacking the possible inclinations surrounding it. The whole idea was created for individuals who do not have an argument, so in a way it could be suggested as cheating. And it’s cheating that I feel like a lot of people fail to recognize. In the next presidential I will be curious to see how often this tactic is actually used.

Introduction: Sections B & C

• "Why might it be a good thing to have one’s head in 'the clouds'"

This question was posed at the end of the “What is philosophy section”, and it deserves some thought. Aside from the potential theory that this is based around the notion of getting high (which is possible, if not most likely), we all need to have the capability to escape. The world we live in, and the realities of it are often times scary, unforgiving, gruesome, and haunting. Although being in touch with reality is important, it’s also good if not beneficial to your social and mental health to be away from these harsh realities of life. I often do not watch the news because it’s depressing, and I really just don’t want my day to end with bad news. Although I understand the ignorance that might result from this, it has made me an overall less fearing and more hopeful person. If I had to see all of this death and other bad news that is spread across the media, it would make me a lot more cynical than I should be at only 20 years old. In this sense, having your head in “the clouds” is a good way, for me at least, to see the world in a more positive light.

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• " What is the meaning of life?"

The age-old question was posed at the end of the section on approaches to philosophy. Quite simply, there really is no one meaning to life. And that is simply because there is a lot of life out there. And all of this life from a mere ant all the way to us human beings have a different purpose, whether they know what it is or not. I suppose in some respects the meaning life is to find what your meaning in life is, to literally give your life meaning. And fortunately I have already done that through music, and other people have done so through their own passions. Life is such a vast expanse of possibilities that it is far too broad to explain in the answer to such a short question. And in reality there is more than one question to be asked about life, and consequently death. For instance, what is the meaning of death? Which is entirely appropriate given that death is a consequence of life. To put it simply, this is a question that is going to constantly be answered with another question. So instead of trying to find an answer, just ask yourself this question, what is the meaning in your life? If you can answer that, then I think you’re doing just fine on this journey, which we will never truly understand the meaning of, and I’d prefer it stay a mystery.

Introduction: Sections A

•   “The unexamined life is not worth living”- Socrates

This quote from the Greek philosopher Socrates raises the question of, why are we here? This could be examined on a grand scale such as, how was the universe created or how did our species evolve etc. But stepping away from a scientific perspective, this quote could simply relate to someone trying to find his or her own purpose in this world. Everyone in this world is here for a reason, whether it is for better or worse. Whatever the reason is, we owe it to ourselves to find out what that reason is. Living a life without purpose is like not living at all. At that point you might as well just stay in bed all day, and watch the sun as it rises and sets, slowly ticking away the hours of your feeble existence. I’ve come across people who aren’t doing anything with their life, and show no signs of doing so anytime soon. And it’s sad because I just look at them, and wonder why they are even wasting their time. Life is the grandest most miraculous wonder our universe has to offer, and yet people just waste it. They go about their day, just going through the motions as if their life is going to magically one day have meaning to it. But that’s not how it works, in order for your life to have meaning, you have to give it meaning. You have to set goals, have dreams, and just go after what you want. Because nothing in your life is just going to come to you, you have to go find it. So, what this quote to me is trying to say is, if you’re not going to live your life with the hopes of one day finding out why you are here to begin with, then you might as well not be alive at all.

     

• “It is not difficult to avoid death, gentlemen of the jury, it is much more difficult to avoid wickedness, for it runs faster than death”- Plato’s Socrates

This quote comes from Plato, one of Socrates’ many students. The context of the quote is centered on Socrates’ trial; he was to be sentenced to death for corrupting the young minds of Greece. In the eyes of the ancient Greeks Socrates’ ideas where very radical. For one, he did not believe in the gods. The ancient Greeks did not want his ideals to keep spreading and so he was put to death in 399 B.C.E. Plato came to his defense during the trial, and this is where this quote comes into play. The justice system, even in America is not always fair. In many cases it is a biased, ignorant, and corrupt part of any government. Socrates’ trial was considered to be unfair, and unjust. The juries were not allies of the philosopher, and the courts knew that when they appointed them. The jury is whom this quote is directed to. Plato knew what decision they would come to, and so he gave them this one provoking thought. This quote suggests that their actions are going to come back and bite them. That if they choose to wrongly sentence Socrates’, one day something bad will happen to them. Their “wickedness”, as Plato words it, will catch up to them.  Which I think for a lot of things is true. I feel like good things will happen to good people who are good not out of the hopes of getting something in return. Vice versa I feel as though bad people will have bad things happen to them. Agree to disagree if you must.

Principles of Philosophy

Metaphysics: The nature of, the study of, the idea of being

Micro- on the smallest scale, my essence of being is that I’m a musician. When I’m playing drums, piano, or singing by my self, my essence of being comes out through music. You can hear it; everything has a purpose.

Meso- when we take things to a slightly larger scale, for instance jamming with a few friends, my essence of being changes. No longer is it just my emotions, and interpretation of how a piece of music should go. The essence of being becomes a culmination of every musician in that room. We just vibe of each other, taking in all the emotions of each instrument and the musician playing them, and our interpretation self will change as a result of that.

Macro- one could experience the largest scale of being at a huge outdoor music festival. In a situation like this you have upwards of 20 bands performing in different areas at once. All this music is just filling this space, and its all coming together in your ears. Your essence of being is being shaped by a multitude of different artists who play different types of music from all around the world; it’s a beautiful thing.

 Axiology: The nature of, the study of, the idea of value

Micro- on the smallest scale of value, I consider myself to be a neutral political party. My views, and what I value politically are not shaped, or really fit into any one particular ideology.

Meso- on a slightly larger scale, like the state of Massachusetts, there is going to be more than just one political view. However, Massachusetts is generally seen as a liberal state. The majority of the population holds liberal values such as, a progressive government and agrees with government aid.

Macro- on a large scale like the United States, there is a vast range of values (especially politics) that extend beyond one individuals views, or even an individual state’s political ideologies. These values are ranging from liberal, conservative, or anywhere in between.

Epistemology: The nature of, the study of, the idea of knowledge

Micro- On the smallest level I think of the idea knowledge as being the amount of knowledge one would need to build a shed.

Meso- the next level of knowledge could be thought of as having a group in a classroom like atmosphere learning how to build a shed for their back yards. In this situation you have a multitude of different background, and interpretations what the shed will look like.

Macro- On the largest scale, knowledge could be thought of as the collection of books written on building sheds, and other “do it yourself” carpentry projects. The knowledge on this topic is not simply from your perspective or even a small group of people. Rather it is a culmination of different people from different cultures and generations across the world. Just think of all the ideas you could learn on a scale such as this.