Water for Elephants

I was watching the movie Water for Elephants and thought of Kierkegaard. The main character Jacob works as a veterinarian for a traveling circus and finds himself in for a great adventure. I also read this book which gave me more insight to his character. Jacob reminds me of a religious man because he does what is best for the animals not matter the consequences. He does what's best for them because that's what he feels is right. One of the main horses in the show had an issue with it's leg and would not be able to recover. The ringleader ordered that the horse remain alive and performing in the show otherwise Jacob would be redlighted. (Redlighted meaning thrown off the train while it was moving.) Jacob chose to put down the horse anyway, even if it meant he would be killed. It's something Jacob felt was right. Through out the entire movie, Jacob stands by his love for the animals and it is very impressive.

Feminism

I was reflecting on our class about Simone de Beauvior. I was thinking about how women can even the playing field...if a woman is trying to be less "feminine" isn't she just trying to be more like a man? And if she embraces the "feminine" then she is just accepting what man has classified her to be. It almost seems hopeless, like there is no way to break the mold. I started to notice these things in my everyday life. Sometimes I play basketball in the gym with some boys from my work. I noticed that whenever they boys make a three pointer it's a high five and then the game continues. Well I happen to have a pretty good shot, so when I made a three pointer, all the boys stopped in awe. "Wow a girl made a three pointer! She is amazing." I felt like they thought my shot was so amazing purely because I was a woman. It made me angry...I don't want special treatment. I don't want my standards to be dumbed down, and when I actually meet men's standards it's considered a feat. Hopefully one day women can reinvent what being feminine really is.

SVU

I was watching an episode of Law and Order Special Victims Unit the other day right after out class conversation on the religious man, and the ethical man. In the episode, a man killed another man who was a child molester. The child molester even raped the man when he was child. When the police officer was interrogating the man, I couldn't decide whether he was ethical or religious. The man felt no need to explain himself and did it because of his own reasons, not for the greater good. His actions weren't thought of with sympathy or empathy either, but I didn't know if his actions were religious or ethical. I just felt it was interesting to see how philosophy is everywhere. Kierkegard is awesome!!

The Adjustment Bureau

I recently saw the movie The Adjustment Bureau and thought I should write on it. The movie is about whether we have the choice of free will or if our fate is mapped out. It also brings up what god is and whether he/she actually exists. During the entire movie, Matt Damon is trying to change his fate to be with the woman he loves. People, or "angels", constantly try to prevent Matt from doing anything that could potentially ruin the plan (or his fate). I won't tell you if he ends up with the woman or not, but it brought up the idea if we have free will or just the illusion of free will. Do we think we make all of our decisions but it is actually controlled acts of fate?

February 11th Class Review

In class we talked about virtue. In order to have virtue, we must show our rational side. We are different from animals in the sense that we are rational beings. To be virtuous, you must act in the right way for the right reasons with the right feeling at the right time. Having virtue is being able to feel at an appropriate level of emotion at a given time. The example in class was if your children were murdered, you were allowed to feel anger but an appropriate amount for that situation. We talked about how everyone has desires for food and sex but in order to be virtuous we must take those desires and use them appropriately. Instead having sex with whatever just to procreate, you choose your own partner. We asked whether a woman has virtue if she is promiscuous. In order to be virtuous she has to believe that what she is doing, other women should do, a universal truth. Our reasons have to match our desires. In class we watched Seinfeld and examined two characters, Elaine and George. We had to determine whether either of them was virtuous. In class we discussed George was virtuous. That how he stood up to the man in the theater was a virtuous act and Aristotle said virtuous people would be recognized. Some argued that he wasn’t virtuoso because he had the right desires (to get laid) and but not the right reasons. Elaine was not virtuous because she gave into her desires instead being a rational being. We also discussed leisure time, and how we must learn how to spend our leisure time appropriately.

Munich

I was watching the movie Munich this weekend and I started wondering about what constitutes justice. In the movie, the main character, Avner, assembles a team and kills many of the Palestinian terrorists involved in the assassination of the Israeli Olympic Athletes. After this movie I was wondering what is Justice? At what point did Avner's revenge stop becoming "justice". Was it even justice in the first place? At first I completely supported his mission to kill the terrorists but started questioning it when he started seeing his targets as actual people. In reality his actions were also acts of terror. This movie was a great example of how can be destroyed during their quest for justice and if justice ever really exists.

Mind or Body

During class, we discussed whether the mind or the body was in control. I was thinking that, as Dr. Layne said, what makes humans human is our ability of free thought, choice. The ability to deny our impulses and follow our own moral compass. If the body was in control wouldn't we only follow our biological impulses? Wouldn't we be the same as any other animal? Follow our sexual and primal instincts? The mind is what allows us to choose our actions and overcome those urges and impulses. It allows us feel empathy and emotion, things that animals may not have. What if we studied people with sociopathic tendencies? Would their brain structure be more similar to animals? Would they have more biological similarities?