In Your Mind

I'm a big fan of the band Built to Spill. One of my favorite songs is called "In Your Mind." The chorus of the song goes, "And no one can tell me to listen, and no one can tell me what's right, cause nobody has my permission, and no one can see in your mind." These lyrics really resonate with me because I find so much truth in them. How can I say what's right for someone else? I don't know their emotions, their thought processes, their perception of things and people. My view of the world could be totally different from another's, but this doesn't mean that one of us is wrong and the other is right; it simply means that they're different. This is why I get so angry when I encounter intolerance. For example, I clearly remember coming home on the evening that votes were casted for same-sex marriage. My parents had another couple (who happen to be extremely conservative) whom they're friends with over for dinner. When the subject of homosexual marriage came up, Mr. Brock, one of my parents' friends, proudly proclaimed, "We voted against the fags." Now, I'm not homosexual, but my cousin is, and I have many gay friends. Thus, I was rather offended. Why should he have even been able to vote on the issue? He's not gay; same-sex marriage has no effect on him, so why does he get to make such an important decision in other people's lives? Why does he get to define what valid love is? Or what marriage should be? He's totally homophobic, and therefore could not possibly understand a homosexual relationship. It's a shame how we let our prejudices get in the way of letting other people live their lives to the fullest. Every time I catch myself making a judgement, I always think about that Built to Spilt song. It's not my place to tell someone else what is right, and I will never let anyone make that decision for me.

Fear Behind Religion?

I feel as though college is much better for me than high school was. I've always been an outside-the-box kind of thinker, and I feel like Loyola has helped expand my mind, while the Catholic high school I attended tried to shove all of us into the conservative, religious mold they had created. I never really understood why there's such reluctance to doubt and question; some of my teachers even told us that doubting is a sin. This didn't sit right with me because humans are naturally curious. Why can we test the limits of math and science, but religion is untouchable? The more I thought about it, the more I came to suspect that this refusal is based on fear. Religion gives people something to hold on to; it can give people meaning in their lives. The thought that there may be nothing "out there" and that we're just a small speck in the universe can definitely be unsettling. It can turn people's worlds upside down because they have put so much faith and have structured so much of their lives and identities around the concept that God exists. People don't even want to explore the grounds for their own beliefs. I've come across so many people who don't even know why they follow the religion they follow; they were simply raised that way and aren't willing to try and break away from the path that's been set out for them. I don't mean to sound arrogant or self-righteous, but I almost feel bad for these people. Our world can be so much more than the one society tries to shove down our throats. I would hate to live in the reality completely constructed by religion because in a sense, it strips away our imagination and ability to explore.

Aristotle's Take on Friendship

I recently read Aristotle's theory on friendship from his work Nicomachean Ethics. He says that the best form of friendship is a friendship based on what is good, in which friends enjoy each other's virtue. This friendship will endure because the only motive for it is the care that each friend feels for one another. He also states that this form of friendship is rare because good people are hard to come by, and friendship based on the good is outnumbered by friendships of pleasure and friendships of utility. I could not help but agree with Aristotle because the friendships I share with my friends have always seemed so different from other groups of friends. We genuinely love and care about each other, and we fully accept each other. I attended an all girl's high school, and I was never able to understand how girls could bounce from friend to friend. I almost feel as if people don't understand the true meaning of friendship. Without my friends, I would go crazy. I confide in them, and they confide in me. Our group has no cattiness; we don't secretly hate each other as many friends do, and we're completely real with one another. I think this is the reason why I don't make strong friendships very easily. I've always prided myself on my judge of character; and when I come across a genuine person, they stand out to me almost immediately. The only problem is that, in my opinion, genuine people are tough to come by. I guess that's why I only have four people whom I consider my best friends.

Nietzschem

Last semester I read several various philosophical texts for my English class, one of which was Nietzsche's "Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense." In this text, Nietzsche explores the possibility that one person's perception of the world could be totally different from another's. For example, one person may see blue as red, green as purple, and so on; however, we would never be able to detect these perceptual variations because words, such as names of colors, are simply metaphors for our perception of things and concepts, and we cannot see through other's eyes. I have always wondered about this, even when I was a child. I've always wondered about the possibility that the reality I'm experiencing could be vastly different from anyone else's reality. Pondering this also guided my thoughts to how everything is controlled by language; for example, we all know what a dog is, but this is only because we have accepted the connection made between the word "dog" and the actual physical animal. The word that identifies the thing, whatever it may be, is not part of the thing's essence because, if this were true, Nietzsche says there would not be so many different languages. As I previously stated, according to Nietzsche, language is ultimately nothing more than metaphors for things and concepts. This theory really got me to look at things with a new perspective. That's what I enjoy about philosophy, it makes you see the world differently; and in my opinion, that can be very humbling.

Sex & the City

Prior to our classes on feminism, I watched and thoroughly enjoyed Sex & the City. However, after Dr. Layne used it as an example during her lecture, I haven't been able to watch it with the same frame of mind. After being made aware of it, I'm astonished by how much a show that is supposed to celebrate female independence feeds into the typical stereotypes that surround women. Literally every episode concerns how these women, who are seemingly strong and independent, desperately try to find male partners in order to complete themselves. The message this show sends is rather troubling; although the characters have successful careers, living space of their own, and can afford all of their own expenses, it is not enough to bring them true happiness. In a nutshell, women are basically being told that no matter what they accomplish, they cannot live a fulfilling life without a man. The fact that Sex & the City is seen as liberating to women is disappointing because it seems as though a large number of women don't understand the freedom they are fighting for.

Personal Identity

Last semester, I took an English class entitled Texts & Theory. The first half of the semester was spent reading and discussing various philosophical works; the second half was spent applying these theories to literature. Given that I've always been one to question and wonder about everything, I applied the philosophical way of thinking required for my class to my every day life and continue to do so. Over the past few months, my perception of the world as well as myself has undergone quite a transformation.

I can't help but wonder, "What if everything I know is wrong?" Everything we think we know, all our truths and laws, were created by man -- even the idea of God. Now, I've never been very religious, but at times I would pray to ask for something or to express thanks. However, now I find it extremely difficult to pray at all because I don't know if I believe in the god who's supposed to be listening. In such a short amount of time, I went from being positive that God exists to being unsure about who or what to pray to. As a result, I feel totally lost and confused. I have no idea what I believe in anymore. The introduction of philosophy to my life so far has turned my world upside down.