philosophy

Before I came to Baylor, I had never taken a course in philosophy, and I didn’t really know what the word meant to begin with. I was a business major for two years, but I felt like I was not fulfilled by my studies, and since I didn’t enjoy them or care, I didn’t do as well as I could have done had I been studying something that interested me. While I was very interested in becoming a religion major, I wasn’t sure of the possibilities that were out there for me following graduation. I felt that philosophy and religion were deeply interconnected, and philosophy gave me a broader amount of possibilities after college, so that’s what I chose. When I made the decision, the advisor I had spoken with said to me, “Ah, so you’ve seen the light.” How appropriate, I thought. I had not only made a decision to change the course of my college career, but I had made a decision to completely change the course of my life. At first, I wasn’t sure just what I was getting in to, but I knew that I wanted to be the best person that I was capable of being, and I felt it would help me along the way. After all, if I was able to become a better person, I would have a better life. My life has undergone a lot of changes in the last 3 years. And I will admit, most of them are negative. None of them are a result of my actions, but instead, just sad circumstances for my family that have lead to dramatic changes in everything. I feel like I came to the study of philosophy at just the right time, because I feel that I’m able to deal with what has been happening, and further, I’ve been able to help my family deal with it as well. I feel like studying people like Aristotle teaches me how to live well. Aristotle is the best example for me because he gives such a direct approach to living well and attaining excellence. He not only emphasizes the self but also relationships with others, such as friendship. I no longer find the same things to be important that I did a few years ago. While I’m sad about the changes in my life, I’m happy about the changes in myself. I wish that everyone studied philosophy at some point.

Plato's Euthyphro

If anyone else has read Plato’s Euthyphro, I wonder if you, like me, were reminded of religious hypocrisy. In the dialogue, Socrates questions Euthyphro’s motive for prosecuting his father for murder. While Euthyphro claims to be an expert in the matters of piety, he seems to overlook the issue of right and wrong. First of all, I wonder if anyone can really be an expert on piety, since it seems impious to claim to know what is God’s will and further to claim that you live in a perfect light of holiness? Does piety not acknowledge human limit? I believe that is part of faith. I know that in Euthyphro’s case, we are discussing the Greek gods, not Christianity, but the argument could still apply. After all, don’t we see much religious persecution that seems immoral? In the dialogue, Euthyphro’s father had not actually committed murder, but had rather detained a worker of his who had killed another worker in a drunken fit. While the father went to seek for help on the matter, the worker died. For me, the automatic response is that the father is not guilty. He did the best he could with the given situation, and I for one am not all too concerned with the well-being of a murderer. People have used religion as a crutch for many atrocities. For instance, in the history of the United States, southern white slave-holders claimed that God had made them superior to African Americans and thus slavery was intended by God, and further, they claimed that they were acting for the well-being of the slaves because they were like saviors for them. While we see how ridiculous this is now, it’s horrifying to think that Christianity was ever used in such a way. After all, Christianity should not be “used” to begin with. It is a way of life, not a crutch, and it certainly did not aim at racism, only at good.

Purpose

In Book X of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, there is a quote I particularly like.

“So if it is true that intelligence is divine in comparison with man, then a life guided by intelligence is divine in comparison with human life. We must not follow those who advise us to have human thoughts, since we are only men, and mortal thoughts, as mortals should; on the contrary, we should try to become immortal as far as that is possible and do our utmost to live in accordance with what is highest in us. For though this is a small portion of our nature, it far surpasses everything else in power and in value.”

Aristotle was quite progressive to see that human beings have the capability to be like the divine. I like to think that since we were created in the image of God, that this is our purpose. That small part of us which is potent enough to live in accordance with what is best in us is too often forgotten it seems. Sure, we cannot be perfect, but striving towards perfection or excellence is a very good thing. A life guided by intelligence allows us to learn more from the world, since learning is an activity which promotes understanding and compassion, we should seek to learn all that we can. We should seek greatness not for the sake of honor or earthly renown, but rather for its ability to lead us towards happiness. Happiness in part results from fulfillment, and how can we be fulfilled if we do not attempt at least to exercise our capacities? Fulfillment comes from the effort and from trying, since we know that we are not divine and cannot be so, the journey we take in our attempt to be the best we can is where we gain our fulfillment. While watching the Matrix 2 and 3 I began to think more about purpose. The movies do well to show that Neo has a purpose beyond what is human, and he fulfills his purpose. He seeks to surpass his own human limitations and to reach towards what is his utmost best. While it is science-fiction, it is nonetheless a good demonstration.

Thoughts on MLK

In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” I found myself interested in the quote, “…groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.” If we look back on history, that has seemed to be true. Perhaps a certain individual begins a movement, such as Adolf Hitler in Germany, and has awful visions for cruelty, but then once such a person gets followers, his visions get worse because he has support and others who expand upon his current ideas for oppression. At that point, the group is no longer his, it is instead an independent entity, with a mind of its own, and all members contribute to make this group, such as the Nazis, a monster. At this point I do think that the group becomes worse than the individual. It’s easier for people to act out when they are not alone, and especially when they are angry. People fuel each other’s fire.

Mr. King also mentions that from the time the African Americans were children, a sense of inferiority was instilled in them, probably even subconsciously. This is a direct result of the segregation he is talking about. The term “separate but equal” is the biggest load of nonsense ever put forth as a justification for a law, after all, there is no such thing. With separation comes inequality, and King saw that, no matter how much people attempted to assert its morality, in truth it was just another means of holding people down. Segregation is one of the most embarrassing aspects of our nation’s history, in part because it took so long to get rid of. When one considers that America has often taken the role of international savior to other countries, fighting against communism, genocide, and racism in Germany, it seems that we never applied our own philosophy from international relations to our homeland. I hope that our nation has since become more enlightened.

When Dr. Bowery pointed out how much philosophy and yoga have in common, I found that the idea of meditation is one of the best things someone can do for the mind. I have tried meditation before when I was very stressed out about school and other things, and it has really helped. It allows me to center my mind and refocus all of my energy on what’s important. It’s so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind world around us. So many people, so many deadlines, so many tasks to be done, in general, so much pressure. The thing is, we in a way facilitate that sort of pressure because we allow it to be put upon us. We’ve become so used to reacting in certain ways to stressful situations, and our methods are not usually positive. Meditation is calming. Just sitting still and breathing, focusing on the breaths you take, and on nothing else. It really seems to allow unity of body and mind. It helps to try to empty out your thoughts. Regaining control of yourself is important, because we are at times so out of control that we lose ourselves without even knowing it. I often find that sometimes I get so busy with school and work and pressures from other people that I can’t really remember what I did that day other than school and work…Where was my down time? What did I do too just chill out? I can’t even sleep because I’m so focused on tasks looming ahead for tomorrow. I certainly don’t always want to live my life that way. Meditation is like me time…when I just pause and take a few moments to clear my head, I’m more efficient anyways. So actually, it’s a very valuable way to spend some time.

Working in retail, I have a lot of conversations with random people who come into the store. Since the store happens to be near a truck stop, many of our customers (but not the majority), are truck drivers. At first, I think that I should be nice to them, seeing as they probably haven’t spoken to anyone in a while, being on the road most of the time. And it’s true, I can always spot them when they come in, because after I ask how they are doing that day, they begin to divulge the whole of their outlook on that day and sometimes on their whole lives in general. When I ask how someone is doing, I typically want a brief, but positive response. I don’t usually want a long and drawn-out explanation of why each person’s life is miserable. And unfortunately, that is the typical response I get from such customers. It makes me sad, because it seems as though a majority of the world is feeling downtrodden. When I get upset with my own situation, I try to consider that somewhere out there, someone else is having a much harder go at it than myself. And so, I feel selfish for being so dramatic or for focusing too much on my life. I want to give these pessimistic customers a good talking to, not because I feel like I know any more than they do, but because it’s truly disappointing to be so negative and not entirely necessary. Have people always been so negative and whiney, or is this a weakness of modern culture? I wish the rest of the world could read some of the philosophic works that I’ve read, simply because they are the best self-help books you can find, because they tell you how to live life. Aristotle in particular lays it out for a person, and I like to think that human beings are made from a thicker fiber than I see so much today.

Aristotle’s explanation of friendship is one of my favorite points he makes. I’ve never thought to classify or qualify my friendships in that manner. It really helps to explain how some friendships last longer than others. For example, it’s nice to have friends that you meet in class. Sharing notes is always beneficial, but it’s really good to have someone to talk to before and after class, or discuss events within or outside of the classroom. But these are just friendships of utility it seems. Perhaps that’s why, when the class is over, there isn’t necessarily some deep sadness or regret when you no longer get to see that friend anymore. This is what you always knew would happen; because that’s the way those types of friendships work. In fact, if I look back, probably many more of my past friendships were those of utility than I thought, they were just dragged out a little longer. For that matter, I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced what Aristotle terms a “good friendship.” I’ve had friendships that were very meaningful to me, but they didn’t last, and I have a feeling that if they were real and true they might have been more permanent. I know that people grow apart and that is natural I suppose, but is it possible that two people can maintain a virtuous friendship for most of their lifetimes? I’d like to think that it’s possible. And if so, are they something that occurs by chance or is it something we must actively seek after every day? What are the chances that I will find someone so like myself that such a friendship is possible? I must admit that I feel pessimistic about the likelihood of attaining this perfect friendship, but it’s uplifting nonetheless to think about.