contemplating metaphysics

Last year, as a high school senior, my favorite class I had ever taken in high school was Bioethics, which combined the views of some of the most famous philosophers and applying their beliefs and theories to modern-day issues concerning the biology, dignity, and meaning of the human being. When I first enrolled in this philosophy course, I expected the material would be similar to that which I had already learned last year, and easy to master. I still remember day one of walking into Dr. Layne's class, and the first question she posed was, "What is philosophy?" Many different and sensible opinions were thrown into the discussion, but what really got me thinking was when she mentioned that philosophy was reflected upon itself, and that the simple question "what is philosophy," in and of itself is a philosophical question. Rather than concluding thought, philosophy inspires it. I absolutely couldn't agree more.

Last Friday, we began our discussion of metaphysics, it's concerns, and then problems and that it poses in the field of philosophy. When I used to ponder the questions of metaphysics, I felt as if my mind would enter into a trance of continual thought and questions which I absolutely couldn't wrap my mind around. I could sit there for hours and really try to think about the universe and its existence, life's purpose and end, the existence of God and what it means for Him to be eternal. One topic that struck me was that of the divide created between essence, the question which brings to light the required characteristics of a given object. We were asked: since not all desks may look exactly alike, are they still desks? Desks typically have four legs, but are four legs required for an object to be a desk? Can we make that comparison with people? Are there "required" characteristics of a human being for a certain person to be that exact person? I started thinking about my own inner characteristics, habits, emotions, and personality traits. Even if I eliminated a part of me that I considered to be a minimal aspect of my inner being, such as my affiliation for tye-dye clothing, I would not be the Katie that I know myself to be and that others know me to be. From this example, I can draw that every aspect of us as humans, makes up the essence of the individuals that we are; and we are simply incomparable to object characterization. Every small part of us is in fact required for us to be the people that we are.