Today our group got off to a bit of a rocky start, but no worse than anyone else's. We began by introducing ourselves and playing a game of "Guess the major" for everyone. Unfortunately, no one guessed anyone's major successfully, but some came close. Following that, we talked about general philosophy, which proved to be quite difficult, if not entirely vague. Most answers involved the word "thinking." After we had finished that, we created an informal outline for tomorrow's discussion and will hopefully come to class on Tuesday with some solid discussion ideas on the philosopher Plato.
On a personal note, I am finding this informal organization of class discussion quite refreshing, and a good escape from the structured rigor of contemporary education. The discussion period and by extension the class period passed by in an unexpectedly quick fashion once we had begun seriously discussing our topics.
Now, a question for you: What is a personal philosophy you hold close to you? This can be a moral, ethic, quote, or statement; as long as it's something you believe to be valuable to you and has possibly contributed to building the person you are today. If you think it needs explanation or has some relevance to your life then feel free to include that as well - Keep it as informal as you want, and put in whatever you feel appropriate!
Regards,
Jonathan
Sec 14
ReplyDeleteI'm excited as well about learning more on others take on philosophy. I was a little skeptical at first, since no one knew what they were doing, but thats to be expected in the first group meeting.
My personal take on philosophy is pretty vague: The set of ones view on the world and the knowledge they gather from experiences. I'm assuming thats not too far from what anothers take on what philosophy is. I'm also excited about our discussion on Plato, being that I have no knowlege of this famous philosopher and would like to!
If there was a like button... I would have clicked it. Jonathan, you're a good writer and very professional.
ReplyDeleteI am excited too!
My personal philosophy... though broken, works.
This past summer... well year really, but mainly summer, has decided to flush the toilet that is connected to the sewage pipes that like to drop awful smelly things on my head (trying not to swear on here).My grandmother died, my mother was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, car accident, blah blah blah etcetera etcetera etcetera. Basically, too much for me to handle. I had to make a choice. I could be miserable with the cards that were dealt or I could be happy.
My philosophy is that you choose your happiness. You choose your reactions. When I sat down and finally accepted everything for what it was and decided I did not want to be upset anymore it felt like the world was lifted off my shoulders. It was amazing how a change in perspective helped me get through my day. Instead of seeing what was causing me problems, I felt my heartbeat. I felt life. I saw that the sun was shining and I think for the first time in a long time, I noticed the birds chirping. I started seeing everything in my life that was beautiful and comforting. The bad, which could be counted on my fingers and toes was greatly outweighed by the good.
Now I am not saying what so ever that you should ignore the problems. What I am saying is that
you should take your bad situations and deal with them with a better attitude. Of course I still hurt at the thought of my grandmother or mother or how much that woman got from my insurance company, but the bad does not define my life. The bad just made me stronger.
So, appreciate the little and big things, feel your heartbeat, keep your chin up, and remember that there is no such thing as a bad day, just bad moments within that day.
oh and by broken, I mean that it doesn't work for every situation, but applying this philosophy to every situation will help your sanity. it's part of the reason for the tattoo on my ankle.
Delete"Happiness is a choice" - that's a nice philosophy! Easier to pull off in the First World, admittedly... but notice how happiness tends not to correlate with wealth and material possessions etc. On the other hand, there IS a pretty tight correlation with health. That's why ONE of my personal philosophies is: mens sana in corpore sano. (Extra credit to whoever is first to translate that.)
ReplyDeleteNow: I've posted a few comments to try and encourage reticent group members but I'm going to make myself stop. This is supposed to be a students' forum, mainly, so take it away STUDENTS...
mens sana in corpore sano - a healthy mind in a healthy body.
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ReplyDeleteI really agree with you Kyle. Sometimes that's the only thing you can do, and I kind of taught myself to start thinking that way last year. I had moved here for college and it was not easy for me being away from my parents. My mom is the most wonderful person I know and I was homesick all the time. It was really starting to wear me down and eventually I just decided that I wasn't going to wallow in it anymore. I am here for a reason, and I just have to remind myself of that sometimes.
ReplyDeleteOur session was off to a rocky start, but I'm sure we will have some great discussions this semester! Now, since I don't know much about philosophy, my 'personal' philosophy is pretty vague. However, I do try every day to be open-minded and optimistic. And, I do agree that happiness is a choice!
ReplyDeleteI apologize for posting on here so late, but I have been out of town for the past four days. As for happiness being based on choice, I do agree, although sometimes happiness naturally does happen, without choice. After our discussion on Thursday, I do admit that I am excited for our group activities!
ReplyDeleteFor my own philosophy, I always find myself reminding those around me to always be themselves. To find happiness, I believe that you have to be yourself and believe in who you are. See you all tomorrow!
For my own philosophy, I believe that we are the masters of our own destiny, and that every decision we make, puts us one step closer to a fate of our choice. I agree with Kyle, you choose your happiness, in that we can choose to let things in our life to make us happy, as well as remove things from our lives as well.
ReplyDeleteBasically, life is the car, and we are the driver.
My personal philosophy is really like quotes and morals such as live life to the fullest and cease the day, also work hard and play hard. I agree with Jason though. Like when we were little people told us we can be whatever we want when we grow up and that anything is possible. Which i agree that we do choose are own destiny and we are the only person in control of our selves even if influenced by others.
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