When I Grow Up..

While babysitting I hear many interesting comments from the children. I periodically ask the twin six year olds what they want to be when they grow up because I enjoy hearing the creative answers. Recently the girl answered I want to be a dance teacher like my mom. This showed me two things. First, she most likely does not realize that some people in our society would look down on this because the amount of money that she would most likely make. And Second, that enormous influence that adults have on their children and the importance in raising children with great morals and values.

The little boy refused to answer for awhile but finally answer that he just wants to be happy and help people. This was very inspiring to me. I hope that everyone focuses on what will make them truly happy and the importance of relationships and helping others. Their comments make me take a second look at my life and my future goals. Children are a great example of what our mindset should be. They often teach me not to fall into the social norms and to accept people for who they are.

Role in Society

Because the year is coming to an end and classes are being scheduled for next semester, I have been rethinking my major. As a visual arts major, one of the most common questions that I am asked is " What are you going to do with that?". I find it frustrating to keep defending my major. It has me questioning what my major should actually be and how I can best contribute to society. In America we are so consumed with money and material objects and I wonder if staying a visual arts major is right for me. At the beginning of the year I was embarrassed to tell anyone what my major was because I knew that there would immediately be assumptions, and some people would misunderstand. Some people look at having this major as being a "cop out" or being uneducated in anything else. This class has helped me accept the social norms and work to overcome them. I hope that I am successful, maybe not in terms of money and material objects, but because I am doing what I truly should be doing regardless of any factors that would normally inhibit artist.

His/Her or Her/His?

Since the school year is winding down I, like all other students, have to write a couple of papers. Each time I face the same challenge when referring to individuals. Do I say their, his/her, or her/his? Or do I avoid the issue and try to reword my sentence. As absurd as it is, there has been plenty of times where I have found it easier to reword my sentence than to conquer the issue and write it as I planned.

It reminds me of when I was learning my body parts when I was younger. My mom would refuse for my to have nicknames for any part of my body. Although I was made sure to know that they were considered private parts, I was taught that girls have vaginas and breasts while boys have penises. My mom explains today that she believes giving these "private parts" nicknames only gives them more power. A penis is a part of your body just like an elbow is. Although we laugh about it today, I can appreciate what my mom was trying to teach my siblings and me.

I feel the same way about the issue of choosing which way to write "his/her". I think that there is entirely too much conversation about the grammatical way of writing it. I am actually a tad upset that I am contributing to the commotion by blogging about it. I understand the argument that "his" should not be first all of the time because, well why should it? And I understand that in a very literal way it is still putting men before women. But if we make so much fuss over the issue than we are just showing that there is power behind "his" being first ( just like my childhood lesson). It shouldn't matter. If women are constantly trying to become equal with men than we should not be affected that "his" is first instead of "her". If equality means that neither has more weight or pull than the fact that people are so upset when "his" is placed first does not make entire sense. It would be the same issue if "her" was always placed first.

Or maybe I am misinterpreting my mother's lesson? Maybe the fact that "his" is first IS giving power to the man behind the word. Maybe we should find a neutral word. But to me that would completely erase all identity. It would erase the essence of men and women.

I know that this is a very small problem in the bigger picture , but I think it tells a lot. It shows that we have a long way to go before men and women are considered equal. It shows that there is a great amount of progress that needs to be made before his or her, she and him, manhood and womanhood, do not have power behind their placement in a sentence. I am happy the fact that these questions are being proposed and addressed and that even these small issues are not being tip-toed around anymore. But, where should we draw the line between acknowledging women's equality and completely bashing men and their history? I am not sure the solution to this problem or if by not changing it I am just surrendering to the problem and avoiding it, but it is something to consider.

Existentialism and Art

Recently in my art history class we discussed the topic of existentialism. I love whenever my classes simultaneously teach me about the same topic because it offers a completely different perspective on the issues that I may have never considered. We discussed existentialism in regards to the surrealist painter and sculptor Giacometti. I am an art major so I was very interested in learning about what inspired different artist. Alberto Giacometti is know in the art world for being associated with existentialism. Giacometti became friends with Jean- Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvior around the 40's and later came to know Samuel Beckett. Jean- Paul had the biggest influence on Giacometti and his work. Many of Giacometti's sculptures have an interesting texture and a very narrow body and face. This directly associates with Sartre's idea of people choosing to be fully present in time or just going through the motions. Giacometti's sculptures depict someone who is not fully aware and involved in their life. Often viewers feel discomfort when viewing his sculptures and are described as haunting.

This was one of the first times in history that artists, philosophers, and writers were so intertwined that it is unsure of who is influencing who. Many people believe that Giacometti was influenced by Sartre. Some suggest that Sartre used Giacometti to further push the ideas of existentialism by manipulation his figures to have a different meaning than Giacometti actually intended and using Giacometti as a mediator to people interested in art. But than again some people believe that most of Sartre's ideas were actually Simone de Beauvoir's. Maybe Simone de Beauvior was a master at manipulation and planned to have her ideas be known anyway possible. Or perhaps Sartre and Giacometti were simply friends because they had the same views on the meaning of life. I will never know the answer to these questions, but I have learned the power of art and the value in incorporating all aspects of myself into my artwork.

The two pictures are of Giacometti's sketches and of his more famous sculptures.

Feminism Subcategories?

The idea that all women are not included in the same feminism category still seems to bother me. I think that even though black women have different set backs to overcome than white women, both are still female. In a lot of ways black women are stronger and have many valuable traits to offer to the feminism movement that white women would not understand. They need to be included in the same category to teach white women. Black women have to overcome the issue of all racial prejudices before equality between women and men can be reached, however, this means that everyone needs to overcome these issues. This is not a valid reason to separate the two categories for me.

It if anything adds to the struggle which we are facing. Although we should acknowledge the fact that the history of women's lives are different, we should also acknowledge the fact that women as a whole struggle with their role in society. Double standards regarding men and women affect everyone. It is just one aspect to an identity. If women start separating themselves into different categories than their will be tons of subcategories upon subcategories. I don't necessarily have a problem that their would be subcategories but if this is so, than white women should also have a subcategory apart from feminism, because white women also struggle with different issues than black women. It could be argued that white women struggle with the pressure that society sets on solely white women. When we were told in class to think of a perfectly feminine women all of us thought of a white women. This shows that not only are many associations with beauty and white women skewed, but also that for a longer period of time a specific type of idealism and constraint has been put on white women.

Being raised in the south alone has set me apart from other white women. Overall women in the south have been taught to cater to men's every need. Still today in my household after a large family meal or a holiday the women, without question, take the plates from in front of the men, and go to the kitchen to clean. This is after of course they have prepared the meal and all accommodations for that day. Women in the south also have to overcome the assumptions that every young teenage girl is going to become pregnant and have babies and not be able to provide for herself. So does this mean that women in the south should have a cajun women's movement? Each group of people coming from different locations and backgrounds offer their own insight to what womanhood and the female form is actually about and how to overcome the separation between men and women. As long as all of these different groups of women would unite under one category of feminism, or any other title, than I think I could fully support it.

Sensations

Last friday we discussed some of Hume's reasonings. Hume believed that without sensation, ideas are meaningless. Over the break we have all been surrounded with an overload of tastes, colors, and sounds and other sensations. I kept reflecting on Hume's thoughts on perceptions. I cannot deny that all of these things in the moment are more "lively" than anything that we can imagine. And although all of our thoughts and ideas come from things we have experienced, I do not believe that we are incapable of having just as powerful and real moments inside of our mind or soul. Hume talks about everything using the actual senses, however, he does not focus on actual feelings and relationships to others. What about love and hate and courage? These feelings are within the soul and cannot be seen. I would argue that these feelings are just as powerful as actual physical sensations.

Time

I think one of the hardest concepts for me to grasp is the idea of our perception of time. Kairos is a term that I was taught to mean "God's time". I have learned this term at in years of Catholic schooling.I have attended a "Kairos Retreat" where all clocks and technology were taken away so we could try to understand a small glimpse of what life without time would be. Kairos is also a retreat offered to prison inmates and has a special structure of events. I have realized that this term in itself is contradictory, however. God does not have time, or anything even related to it. Past, present, and future do not exists as we know it. Any thought that we relate to infinity is inaccurate because we are not programed to think in this fashion. All we know is days, minuets, and seconds to plan out our day, and lives. Without time, we would have no structure.

Tomorrow is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

When we discussed the two philosophical schools the Stoa and the Garden I couldn't help be think of the common phrase I tell myself: "Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life". It usually motivates me if I have had a bad day or want incentive to better myself. It also helps me to look to the future and not dwell on past mistakes or irritations. I was voted biggest procrastinator out of my high school graduating class and do not have trouble living up to the name. It is one of my biggest flaws and affects all of my relationships. Because of this, I often think of Carpe Diem and of "Living each moment to its fullest". However, when I know that "Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life" I often tell myself that tomorrow I will stop procrastinating. These false promises happen so regularly that I sound more like someone trying to quit smoking or an alcoholic than someone who has trouble with time management. What I realized after discussing Carpe Diem in class, however, is that this thought process could cause further pain and stress if I keep putting off happiness and contentment. I should change my phrase to "The next second is the first second of the rest of your life" or " Make this second count ". When you brake time into increments as small as a seconds or even mili-seconds than instead of worrying about whats happening in the evening or tomorrow or next week than it is easier to be positive and productive with your life. A second in your lifetime compared to years or even time itself is so insignificant. So instead of dwelling on negativity or distress we should work on making every second the best. This to me is much more obtainable, is less daunting, and has less pressure than trying to make this the best of my year, or having a flawless day. If each second is productive and working towards a good then they will inevitably accumulate and contribute to a long term good and happiness.

To all of my fellow procrastinators, you might enjoy a few of the many articles and videos that I have accumulated over time through my "googling" and "stumbling" the topic of procrastination. You can put off blogging and read/watch if you would like.

Videos:

Procrastination

Procrastination animation by Johnny Kelly

Articles:

Good and Bad Procrastination

The Power of Planned Procrastination

Take action now on procrastination before it affects work, relationships

Habits

When discussing how habits affect out daily activity and happiness I have become very grateful for how I was raised. Sometimes I whole heartily believe something and I have no explanation or reasoning for believing so. This reassured me that I should explore the reasoning behind these feelings and discover if the habits I have formed are true and good. There is one aspect of the theory, however, I do not fully grasp. I do not understand why habits such as biting your nails is considered bad. It is more of a neutral action rather than a bad one. But maybe this in itself shows that it is bad because it does not do good. So is any action that does not immediately create progress toward a good considered a bad habit? Cracking your knuckles, biting your nails, or popping your gum should not be so closely scrutinized as a horrible task.

So All IS Number?

I have never though of math as something beautiful until Friday's class discussion. I like Pythagoreans' idea that everything is related in a unified whole. What I do not understand, however, is how man us the number 250 and justice the number 4. I am curious about the equation and how these numbers are actually achieved. I did not appreciate Pythagoreans' ideas until we were presented with the thought that the soul is through and through number therefore it cannot be destroyed and the body is irrelevant as our essence is number. I could better understand the arche "All is number" after thinking on that statement. Personally, I dwell too much on the body and I forget that our physical presence on earth is actually temporary and our soul is the part of us that cannot be destroyed. Pythagoreans not only reminded me of this but presented the soul in a way that I had never considered before. The idea that my body along with many other bodies could simply be a vessel for the same soul makes me feel more connected to the past. It also makes me want to take better care of the soul that could be passed on after I die. I do not fully believe in reincarnation, but I do think it is comforting to know that I could be, just like everyone else, a vital part of this large puzzle and mathematical equation that makes up the universe.

Marriage

On friday when we discussed the aim of a city it caught my attention. I had never question how a city was formed of why. I have to agree that a city was created in order for transcendence. Depending on other people is very important to our everyday lives. What is the point of a life or having other people around you if you do not fill it with relationships or interactions with others? I liked the example of marriage that Dr. Layne gave us as well. This was something that I had never thought about as well. She proposed the question do enter marriage to stop the other from doing what they please or trust the other person will make us a better person? This was very interesting to me. I had never questioned the idea of marriage mainly because I have grown up in a community where no one ever questioned the institution of marriage. I have to agree that it is better to trust that the other person will make you a better person. But is it really possible to find someone that you trust that much?

Class Notes: 21 Friday 2010

On friday we started out discussing the topic of ethics to politics. We tried to determine if values are real are they only real for individuals or for everyone. Also discussed if values are constructed, and who constructs them and determines their merit.

We touched on the idea of economic ideology which means that happiness of an individual equals the masses flourishing of a state. We questioned what is the aim of the city, why is the city created in the first place, and are cities based off of a social contract or simply for transcendence.

Transcendence means that we can become more than we are because of one another and we are dependent of one another. Dr. Layne gave us the example of marriage. Should we enter marriage to stop the other from doing what they please or trust that the other person will make up a better person

Another topic we explored in class we the art if arguing. Many people can agree that philosophers like to argue. Abuse sometimes gets confused with arguing. Abuse is name calling and yelling. Contradiction also gets confused with arguing. Contradiction is repeating what another saying but as the opposite. Arguing is not simply stating beliefs or preferences with reasons to back up the statements. Arguments are not just stating things as facts. Arguments are using facts to prove your statement is true.

There are two kind of arguments, formal and informal.

For formal arguments, premises statements are used. Premises are used to support the conclusion. A conclusion results from two premises that relate to each other to form a truth. An argument is considered valid if the two premises lead to the conclusion. An argument is a process of reasoning that intends to establish the truth of a conclusion based on the bias of the truth of the premises.

An argument can only be valid if the conclusion follows the premises.

An argument is invalid if the conclusion does not follow from the premise. Key words that indicate a conclusion include: thus, so, therefore, hence, consequently, we see that, we many conclude.

If there is a question of the truth of a conclusion than many times the next step is to question validity of a premise.

Often a conclusion is stated before he premises some words to indicate this include: for, since, because.

Sometimes a conclusion from a previous argument can be used as a premise for another argument.

In informal and formal arguments one is said to be valid if the concision really does follow from the premise and invalid if it does not. It is important to remember that validity does not mean conclusion is accurate.

Just because two people have the same belief doesn't mean you have to agree on the same premisses. An example of this that we discussed in class was people's reasoning for believing in a God.

Dr. Layne showed us a video of Nellie Mckay in order to demonstrate how sarcasm can be used for as a way to make an argument. The lyrics " Feminist don't have a since of humor" were used in a playful song in order to show the exact opposite. Towards the end of class we started to discuss different types of common fallacies.

The first fallacy we discussed was faulty cause (post hoc ergo propter hoc). This is defined by mistakes correction or association for cause by assuming that because one thing follows another is is cause by the other.

The second fallacy we discussed was hasty or sweeping generalization ( dicta simperciter). This assumes that what is true of the whole will be true of the part or that what is true in most instances will be true in all instances.

This was how we ended class and monday we will continue from here.

A World Without Color

As I sit down to post my thoughts into this blog I have realized how limited our language actually is. No one can ever fully describe their thought process or an idea that is trapped in their head. I think most of Philosophy is dealing with the struggle to use our words to try to communicate moments of realization or wonder.

What I wanted to write about, however, is one simple statement that was made on the first day of class that I can't seem to stop thinking about. Although many new ideas and thoughts were explained our first two classes the particular topic of color was one of the most interesting things mentioned. When we talked about how color is not real it was not the first time I was introduced to this thought or the first time I had spend time deliberating about color. After reading a book titled The Giver by Lois Lowry, I imagined I world where color did not exist. Then I quickly realized that I was still imagining color, just less vibrant colors. This lead me to other questions such as: what is nothing? or How was I created?. I have been questioning reality of certain situations ever since. Because I am a Visual Arts major, I have appreciated color since I discover Crayola as a child. It is amazing, and a little frustrating, that one of the elements I enchanted daily and use to create is actually nonexistent.