just saw the hurt locker--hard movie to watch

I just watched the hurt locker. Wow. It was hard to watch but also compelling. Anybody watch it? Insight?

What is a philosopher?

I stumbled upon this, whilst reading of terrorism ...

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/what-is-a-philosopher/?src=me&ref=general

Thoughts and Bumper Sticker

I'm definitely a fan of some version of Talysa's Big F for a bumper sticker....."You have your Big T...I have my Big F."

I think this semester has reinforced some very important Big T ideas for me. I am a firm believer in we can only know what is in front of us in this world. If there is something bigger out there, like an ideal world or whatnot, it's out there and beyond our capabilities to understand with the senses that we have. I think what really matters is the here and now and we should go out and learn as much about our world as possible. Why we're here and if there's something else waiting out there to tell us all the big secrets who knows.

Change

This class helped me to understand the mystery behind big 'T' and little 't' . I have realized that the only truth that is true to me is what i define as truth. My truth is influenced by everything i go through everyday. Instead of finding the big 'T' that defines everyone, i came to a conclusion that what and who i m is the big 'T' for me. If i don't exist nothing does, the truth starts from my existence.
I have also learned to appreciate duality in things. Good and evil is just the way of creation to keep balance in the world. It is necessary to have duality in things to keep our world more dynamic to live in.
Thank You all.
Deepak

Bumper Stickers... final thoughts

"Philosophy is a fundamental part to life and will continue vexing the thinkers."

"Knowledge, it's my Big Gulp!"

My change and the Little T's that follow.

My views on what I thought was my "Big T" never really changed. I always knew that I personally had my own Big Truth and I would never enforce that on someone else. I believe that living according to my Big Truth will be revealed through my actions, but simply because I feel that you can see patterns within a person's life. I guess in some ways I am similar to Aristotle, in that he categorized trees and plants and came up with names. Whereas I enjoy watching the patterns of others and, not indefinitely categorizing people into one group, but just being able to see the likes and dislikes of everyone, it's fascinating. (Especially listening to the different ways in which people learn, kinesthetic, visual, and auditory.)

I have always felt that each and every "Little T" made up my greater whole of the bigger truth. Little T's are attainable, yet they can always be changing to suit the issues of the present. But the roots of my Little T's lay within the respect for others and trying to understand their point of view to see how I could apply changes to my own life to better myself. As difficult as this can be, it is interesting to learn new perspectives from all sides of the spectrum of life.

I enjoyed this class, I'm really going to miss the class discussions. :(
Thank you Dr. Griffin for being the amazing woman you are, and so creative with your classes!

For the Sticks!!!!

" I m confused but it's OK, i m a Philosopher."

Changed Ideas

Socrates had said that "The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being." One of the most prominent conclusions I have made upon taking this class is this same observation, modified slightly: "The unexamined word is not worth using."

What I mean by that is: I found I had been using certain words (not to be confused with uncertain words...) with an incomplete understanding of what I meant by them.

I was not necessarily using these words (typically those which describe abstract thoughts: Justice; volition; and good old truth, to name but a few) in an incorrect context, but for most of these words I was unable to come up with a solid definition of what I meant.

To be sure, taking the advice of this saying to extremes can be a little silly; an example of such ridiculousness may be found in this dialogue between Homer Simpson and Dr. Julius Hibbert, in which Homer denies any scientific phraseology (and eventually, even colloquialisms) as sufficient conversational material.

The positive consequence of incorporating the saying's instruction into our everyday behavior, though, is that it serves as a safeguard for acquiring words in this fashion and progressing no further in our understanding of them.

In summary: A bumper sticker idea.

Yum Points OmNomNom

My bumper sticker quote is “My little t is big enough for me. “

It wasn’t so much that my views changed as a result of this class but that this class helped me find the words to give voice to those views. Although it would seem that that voice was a little too timid to speak out in class as often as I would have liked. So long and thanks for all the clips. XD

What I did on my summer....

Nope, that's not right. What I learned in Philosophy through Film.

I can't really break apart what I learned in philosophy this semester from everything else I have absorbed and metabolized in my brain during the last 16 weeks. It all comes down to a quote that I thought was trite and kitschy:

grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things that I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.

Thanks for the ontological crisis, Dr. G! At least I can still enjoy movies. :D

(Also, I think that's my bumper sticker/quote. "Thanks for the ontological crisis, Dr. G!" It's either that or "If there's a big T, doesn't it mean there's a big F too?")

A semester's thoughts, condensed.

I really, really enjoyed looking at different philosophical perspectives in film. I think now when I watch anything I'll be more able to happily take note of particular philosophical ideas when they're presented.

Anyway, extra credit :)

I think the biggest thing I've noticed this semester is just how danged entrenched we are in the Mythos vs. Logos and truth/Truth debates. We haven't progressed far at all! We also don't really know (truly know) what reality is. We know so much, yet know nothing at all. How interesting. Personally I still think there is a big T, but there are a bunch of small ts that point to/are part of the T; I don't think people's varying opinions on things makes a dent in how reality carries on. But hey.

One thing I wished we'd talked about a whole lot more is love-- what it is and what it means or does to us. I'm still of the mind that it's the most important thing in the world-- it reinforces one's value and encourages people to be creative and explore the world we're in. It's more than a feeling, as a favorite band of mine put it.

Extra Credit

I've learned how a lot of viewpoints that are common today trace back to philosophers hundreds of years ago.

I've come to the conclusion that many of us fail to understand each other, but at a basic level most of us agree on many points. George Moore was onto something: clarify the meanings of what we say so everyone knows exactly what we are saying.

I'll never again be able to just watch a movie: I'll be looking for the ontological crisis, ideas that trace back to Plato and Aristotle, and other philosophical things that I've never even recognized before.

One of the bigger things I've learned this semester is that a lot of what I perceive to be problems with the world are tied to someone, somewhere, making up a big Truth and playing on a common desire for such to gather a following. And the reason this is even a problem in the first place is because many people feel the need for some additional direction in life beyond that which they can discover and give themselves.

And lastly, while writing this I learned that abstract math (automata theory to be exact) and philosophy should never be mixed! My mind is in such a scrambled state right now...

Extra Credit

What I learned this semester:

Ontological crises abound whether we want them to or not...

As someone who is an atheist I apparently believe in nothing, which is funny since I believe in science and rationality...

Thanks to Dr. G, I will forever be looking for the philosophical meanings of movies where before I could just tune out...

There has to be some way to break out of ping-ponging between Plato and Aristotle...

The truth (big T or little t, your choice) is out there...

Overall, I enjoyed the class. I was a little vexed from time to time, but then patience was never one of my virtues. And I hope that I was able to pass some of my vexation on to the class. I have a t-shirt that reads, in Latin "Chaos, panic, and disorder...my job here is done." I hope that I was able to spread a little disorder with some of my commentary in class.

There is a book by Richard Back called Illusions. It's a slim book and can easily be read in an afternoon. I know that Dr. G recommends Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as a good book; I recommend Illusions along with The Tao of Pooh.

I'm going to end this post with a couple of my favorite quotes from Illusions. Hopefully they will intrigue you enough to read the book; if so, then my job will be done.

"Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a false messiah."

"A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed, it feels an impulsion....this is the place to go now.
But the sky knows the reason and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons."

"The simplest questions are the most profound.

Where were you born?
Where is your home?
Where are you going?
What are you doing?

Think about these once in awhile, and watch your answers change. "

and finally...

"Everything above may be wrong!"

What I have learned this spring ...

There are many, many holes in our knowledge ... in our world, in our societies, in the plot of Stargate SG-1 ... in our minds.

We seek to fill those holes, we seek to know more and more about everything, otherwise we would never have crawled out of the muck millennia ago ... our curiosity is a survival instinct one that has led to science, to art, to religion, and to philosophy.

Philosophy isn't just a lackadaisical pondering of our own navels ... it's a contemplation of how we choose to live our lives, how we make decisions, and how we choose to motivate ourselves ... It (philosophy) gives us perspective on the universe ... it lets us choose our path from the multitude of options open to us ... we may choose violence or peace, we may choose education or ignorance, we may choose to do our thinking ourselves or we may choose to follow some one elses path ... philosophy permits us the option of considering our own decision making process ...

With out philosophy we would live un-examined lives full of motives and meaning that we could never comprehend much less control ... philosophy gives us hope for being rational and considerate beings at some point in the far distant future when we have passed the need for superstition to fill in the holes that wallow in the backs of our minds.

Extra Credit :)

I feel like i've adopted a post-modern perspective since i enrolled in the philosophy 389 course. I feel that one Big T is oppressive and unrealistic. I love the idea of a bunch of relative little Ts that suit individuals. Any one Truth would either have to be extremely vague or allow punishment to all the people not following it. I feel both options in that case are uninteresting.

In response to the love blog, I think if we all try to stay aware and introspective we can find what we want. In order to maintain our needs we should live our lives by commitment rather than emotion (which is extremely transient.) The inability to delay gratification implies immaturity which will stifle the success of a relationship with even the most loving and understanding mate. I can understand the incorrect interpretation of Fairytale romance as a child but as an adult we must learn to challenge the stories and lessons we've heard to become unique individuals. Fairy-tales are fine for children but removing responsibility for people's own actions as adults by blaming Fairy-tales is just an assurance that they may not be ready for a relationship at this point.

Oh, you definitions!

http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=1

Star Wars

Here is a roughly 2 minute synopsis of the original Star Wars trilogy done in Legos.

Enjoy!

Comic!

Here's a cute comic. It's one of xkcd's older ones. I think it is another cool way to imagine the idols of the mind. None of our views are the same, we all have different little worlds!

http://xkcd.com/52/ Enjoy :)

Blawg 4!

Here is Bloggity 4.

Topic? Philosophizin' about the Lovin'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EGq0p5j7vc