Satre - Object and/or Subject

Dr. Layne has taught us that sex is a great example of going back and forth between subject and object but never both. That at any given point of intercourse you are either the subject (the doer) or the object (the one being done).

I agree that most of the time we, couples, are teeter tottering between being the object and the subject. I disagree that you can not be both. I have been married for almost 15 years now and with going into to pornographic detail have been both the object and the subject simultaneously.

When you give everything you have of yourself to your self and to your partner there is an amazing sense of freedom, comfort, safety, love, passion, animalistic urges, fear, craziness, euphoria and love that I feel only comes after both parties agree to be free. Free to share anything and everything with each other. Being vulnerable enough to make mistakes, learn from them and be a better lover afterwards.

I have been both Subject and Object............have you?

Marx - Existence

Marx - “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness.”

I wish I could disagree with Marx’s quote stated above. Unfortunately it is true. What do for a living (our jobs/careers) “makes” us who we are or who we are thought to be. What type of car we drive, how big our house is, where our kids go to school all affect peoples perceptions of us.

Why is it not that what we think and know we should be doing be more important then what material object we possess. I think we can all agree that we take no physical possessions with us when we pass away. With that in mind why then are those material belongings so important? Why do we “keep up with the Jones’?” I am in my mid 30’s now and have come to realize that the only “thing” that matters really, is spending time with my family and showing them how much I love them.

I agree with Marx but I try to live like my consciousness is determining my existence.

What are your thoughts?

Kierkegaard - What stage of life are you in? Aesthetic, Ethical or Religion?

I hoped, after learning the three stages life we live in base on Kierkegaard’s philosophy, that I would be one of the few living in the ethical realm. Unfortunately I am not. I do think life is a game sometimes. I am focused on life’s pleasures, food, material items, love, etc. I have not found out who or what my authentic self is. I am often bored with life’s flow. I feel a great amount of despair being my own individual. I am a slave in my own body.

What stage are you living in?

How honest are being with your self.

Descartes.........The mind is not just a Thinking Thing

Descartes objected against the fact that the mind was not just a thinking thing. Well, I agree and disagree. Our brains purpose is to think, contemplate, rationalize, make decisions. To think is just that we are processing information from all of our senses and bam, there is our thought(s).

On the other hand what about our 6th sense? What about the fact that we are not just simple mortals, human beings, animals? What about the unexplainable things that occur in our lives? Haven’t you ever picked up the phone to call someone and they called you first and they are already on the line one you answered it? Have you ever had that feeling of something outside of me is happening, greater then me, bigger then me, something unexplainable?

Do you think the mind is or is not just a thinking thing?

Hume - No innate knowledge?

David Hume thought that there was no innate knowledge. He thought that all knowledge was gained via experience. I agree that a very high percentage of our knowledge is gained via experience but definitely not all of our knowledge.

Why you ask? Well simply because I know without a shadow of a doubt that everything we “know” does not just come from what we experience after birth. Here are only a few examples/proof that their is innate knowledge after all. First His Holiness The Dalai Lama is the 14th Dalai Lama and each is viewed as reincarnations of past buddhist ancestors.

Savants are also a great example of their are things we are simply born with both knowledge and ability. Kim Peek, the real Rain Man was the person that the character Dustin Hoffman played was based off of. Mr. Peek is severely disabled, can’t walk, and can’t even button his own shirt. But, what he can do is amazing. He has read over 12,000 books and remembers everything about them. He remembers everything about music after only hearing it once. He reads two pages of a book at one time. His left eye reads the left page and his right eye reads the right page. How else could this be possible if he was not born with the ability?

Leslie Lemke, a severely disabled young man who at birth lost his eyes in order to safe his life was adopted by the Lemke family, had amazing gifts. He could not talk, walk, dress himself, etc. But, at the age of 16 he woke his parents up playing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 flawlessly, after only hearing it once earlier that day on the television.

By the examples above I hope you can see that we, I hope all of us, have innate knowledge that we are born with.

Please check out the following website for great videos and more detailed examples of savants: http://www.neatorama.com/2008/09/05/10-most-fascinating-savants-in-the-world/

Ignorance iS........Bliss?

A few weeks ago we were discussing Plato and Socrates and this quote has stuck with me ever since.

“You yourselves, surely, know that wrong action done without knowledge is done because of ignorance.” PLATO, Protagoras, 357d.

My wrong action most recently is assumption of knowledge. See, my wife is a high school band director and works well over 40 hours a week, some late nights and often on the weekend there is something she must attend to. Being married for over 13 years I have loved her will all I have. My heart, my soul, my pain, my wishes, me as I am figuring me out.

I assumed I knew why she shouldn’t be spending all those extra hours at school and could somehow find a better balance with her work and family obligations. I assumed I knew what it was like to take over a band program after turmoil and unrest. I assumed I knew what decisions she should be making for her which might better serve my wants and guess what, I was wrong.

I do not know what is better for anyone as I do not yet still know what is truly the best for me because it is ever changing. A fine balance between figuring oneself out, finding out what works and what doesn’t work. Please do not assume knowledge as I have. I think Descartes would agree by this point that challenging everything, all senses and truths would be a wise decision.

What do you think?

Aristotle: Happy

Aristotle believed that The Golden Mean, temperance, was the balance between too much and too little, i.e. courage, too much courage would make a man reckless and too little courage would make a man a coward. I do not see how then if our end goal for all of our choices, our choices in life, are to be happy how his thinks also there could be a temperance in everything else. Why would it not be that if we were happy all the time would that not be the extreme, the too much, thus not balancing, and having temperance with happiness as well? Would we not become unhappy by being happy all the time? Isn't being unhappy part of knowing what being happy is and then balancing it out?

Feminist? - Reposted

Nellie McKay “Feminists don’t have a sense of humor”

I found this video amazing in several different ways. Musically she is playing a stringed instrument and singing at the same time while looking into the audience and interacting with them. As a French Horn player I know the difficulty of performing on stage but not on this level.

Irony is defined as, the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irony. I am in awe of McKay’s ability to perform, rap, sing, “argue”, share her feeling and thoughts about such sensitive things; such as, politics, abortion, sexual issues, men vs. women, etc.

I found Ms. McKay an extremely versatile performer and greatly appreciated Dr. Layne sharing this video. Thank you.

Here are a few more links I found interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJZY-Czcp2E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIbpxHBmvYY&feature=related

http://www.nelliemckay.com

Philosophy Really.......Reposted

When discussing the definition vs. examining definition of Philosophy, my brain started spinning. What is life all about? Why do we think and not think about things? Why are some things/people more important than others? Why do we need such precise answers in life, i.e. scientific exacts, mathematical precision, etc.?

Long story short, I am greatly appreciating that something as simple as a required Introduction to Philosophy class can help wake me up, stir the gumbo!

I know life is very short. My older brother was killed in a car accident and that devastated me. The reason I am sharing this to everyone is I am challenging everyone to question, seriously, what they are thinking about. What drives them to make the choices they make?

To me, we are what we think we are!

IGNORANCE IS........Bliss?

A few weeks ago we were discussing Plato and Socrates and this quote has stuck with me ever since.

“You yourselves, surely, know that wrong action done without knowledge is done because of ignorance.” PLATO, Protagoras, 357d.

My wrong action most recently is assumption of knowledge. See, my wife is a high school band director and works well over 40 hours a week, some late nights and often on the weekend there is something she must attend to. Being married for over 13 years I have loved her will all I have. My heart, my soul, my pain, my wishes, me as I am figuring me out.

I assumed I knew why she shouldn’t be spending all those extra hours at school and could somehow find a better balance with her work and family obligations. I assumed I knew what it was like to take over a band program after turmoil and unrest. I assumed I knew what decisions she should be making for her which might better serve my wants and guess what, I was wrong.

I do not know what is better for anyone as I do not yet still know what is truly the best for me because it is ever changing. A fine balance between figuring oneself out, finding out what works and what doesn’t work. Please do not assume knowledge as I have. I think Descartes would agree by this point that challenging everything, all senses and truths would be a wise decision.

What do you think?

Wiping the slate clean

In Descartes’ Meditation number 2 he talks about wiping the slate clean, clearing all preconceived ideas, senses and the like to start from the new. At first I thought of the idea as preposterous but later I was reminded of a dear friend of mine in Arizona, Judith. She was a practicing Buddhist and lived a very simple life, had modest things and loved talking to her animals and plants. Again at first I thought this was preposterous and quite ridiculous but such a different action and approach to life then I have ever witnessed with my own senses, it was like I had no choice but the think on her terms. I had to come up with a reason why. So, I bought a buddhist monk meditation CD, listened to it often, and from that point forward tried to live simply, simpler.

After a while I found myself less stressed, more one with the world if you will. This was approximately 15 years ago and somehow I have slipped back into the norm of things for the most part. I have become less a tuned to my natural needs and wishes and have again bought into the societal must haves of the nice car, the big house, the diamond ring, I hope my wife does find this on my computer, but think about it realistically. What do we need as human beings to really live, to really think as a species?

Who is willing to wipe the slate clean both to challenge yourself philosophically but also to see what you are really made up of, what makes YOU, you? I only need food, water and shelter to survive. EVERY other item/possession I own is extra and damn it is simply too much.

This might be too much for Intro to Philosophy but it is MY reality. I am living in a world where things are taking over my senses. I have now made the decision to start clearing the clutter and wiping the slate clean..........

God is ISing

Last week we discussed God as the purpose, the end cause, the it thing that caused all things. Personally, I am very spiritual, not so much as a specific religious entity, but as a caring, aware human being. I believe there may or may not be a "cause". I also think, why does there need to be a cause? As human beings we like reason, definition, explanation. The unknown is more often scary for us and to not know is uncomfortable and unsettling.

If God is ISing then I ask this question: If a child were born on a stranded island with no other human beings to teach religion, God, etc., would that child know God? Will that child feel spiritual, special, etc. Are we taught religion by rote or should we listen to scripture, lectures and the like and challenge, debate and question the philosophy behind it?

These are all questions that I have asked myself probably a couple of hundred times and hope they spark an interest in looking within and outside of your 'self'.

Thank you!

Aristotle: Happy

Aristotle believed that The Golden Mean, temperance, was the balance between too much and too little, i.e. courage, too much courage would make a man reckless and too little courage would make a man a coward. I do not see how then if our end goal for all of our choices, our choices in life, are to be happy how his thinks also there could be a temperance in everything else. Why would it not be that if we were happy all the time would that not be the extreme, the too much, thus not balancing, and having temperance with happiness as well? Would we not become unhappy by being happy all the time? Isn't being unhappy part of knowing what being happy is and then balancing it out?

Allegory of the Cave - Approved

Allegory of the Cave

On January 31, 2011 we finished class with Allegory of the Cave (http:www.youtube.com/watch/v=JDotts34MY&feature=player_embedded. I could not find this link for some reason so I looked at a couple of other depictions of The Allegory of the Cave. I found these two pretty interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ei7LqbYb8M and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69F7GhASOdM. I was very confused at first but kept watching and trying to understand the main point. I realized that allegory must have something to do with purpose and in fact allegory means: an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor.

I learned that if you are looking for a reason, you will find one, meaning if you are interested in finding out why or what is really going on in life you have to pay attention and open to what is really going on and not get in your own way with your beliefs or slants, etc.

I greatly appreciated the symbolism in the type of story, how an object can mean something totally different if you are looking for another meaning. I am David Toal and I approve this style of writing / story telling. Thank you.