Hello everybody! Today, I was a bit nervous to participate in discussion, because I felt I did not have much to contribute. Like every other class, however, our group always manages to stay engaged. Today we discussed the ways in which our friends allow us to become who we wish to be. We said that, in many ways, the people we choose to befriend are those who possess characteristics that we desire. Therefore, being around those people often, cause us, with or without noticing it, to act, speak, and make decisions similar to them. Often times, we imitate our friends. We started by describing human instincts. Humans possess an instinctively selfish characteristic. The idea of friendship goes against this common trait, in that it requires one to release this characteristic. We do not think friendship is moral or immoral, but rather a part of life. Commonalities are valued by the moral, whereas differences are valued in a friendship. I do not believe true friendship is possible to obtain. I think this relates to Plato's theory of forms. We can attempt to obtain it and hope for it, but it can never truly be obtained. This may be attributed to human selfishness and imperfection. We discussed that often times we are more brutally honest with friends than strangers. We tell friends what they need to hear; we tell strangers what they want to hear. We could all relate to falling out of friendship. Falling out of friendship does not always means that this relationship ended on bad terms. It could mean that one or both of the individuals had changed. It could also mean, that because of distance, the relationship had faded entirely. We also looked at the differences between male friendships and female friendships. We determined that males, often times value their friendships more than their love relationships. The opposite is true of females. Women have trouble maintaining friendships, due to their competitive, jealous personalities, as well as their heightened sensitivity and dramatic characters. We determined that good friendships will challenge you to do better; on the other hand, poor friendships will pull you away from your personal goals. Friends build character and show you what to look for in future friends. Something to think about...How do our friends allow us to become who we want to be? Is it possible to fall out of a friendship or would that mean one never existed at all? Why is it that friendship is a gradual process? Can true friendship ever be obtained? I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts and continue discussion next week.
-Arielle Roides (PHIL 1030-13)
"... being around those people often, cause us, with or without noticing it, to act, speak, and make decisions similar to them." I never noticed how accurate this was until the other day when I was talking to someone and I did one of my girlfriend's facial expressions without meaning to. The more you hang out with someone, the more the two become alike. As for guys valuing their friendships more than their love relationship, I believe that to be a very stereotypical statement because I do not completely agree with that; although, the statement is true for SOME guys. I believe true friendship can be obtained but like any relationship both parties have to work towards the goal. I also believe that it is possible to "fall out" of a relationship, but it does not necessarily have to be on bad terms but due to the different paths being opened and the forming of new friendships and new ideas. This discussion helped me broaden my view on different types of relationships and I particularly enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on the next discussion is that I believe that many people think there is a big "yuck" factor in cosmopolitanism. People do not like differences and want other people to be like them, to have their beliefs. The idea of taking on the problems of the world is a type of taboo to most people. Would you be most affected by a bomb exploding down the street or a bomb exploding in, say, France? If it has nothing to do with your state of residency why worry, right? I look forward to discussing this topic in class and hearing everyone's opinion on the matter.
I believe that it is true that the more you hang around someone, the more two people become alike. I always use the same phrases that one of my friend uses when I'm talking to someone else. I didnt notice anything about it until we discussed this in class.I also find that female friendships are way different tham male friendships; females are more sensitive and dramatic, but it seems that males just gt over it. I don't think that true friendships exist because everyone loses friends all the time. As you lose those friends, you learn from it and prepare for the next couple of friends that come. I really had fun discussing this with the class. im looking forward to hearing everyone's opinion next class.
ReplyDeleteI found our discussion of the changing dynamic of friendship particularly interesting. Do knew means of communication (texting, facebook, skype, etc.) enhance long-distance friendships or do they serve primarily to weaken friendships by degrading communication skills? As our grasp of technology reaches ever greater heights, many aspects of human sociology change to be compatible with new innovations.
ReplyDeleteQuestions for next class:
Does cosmopolitanism encourage its followers to enforce their own morals on others in order to better them?
What sort of moral/philosophical situations present problems for cosmopolitans?
I sort of feel like I am being repetitive in what has been posted already, but I really did find particularly interesting the thought that the more we are around a person, the more we begin to mimic their attributes and personality traits. This seemed obvious to me before, and I saw it displayed in other people, but when I examined my own expressions and personality and quirks, it was surprising to realize how many of those were actually what I had gained from others close to me. This is interesting to think about and, i think, a great philosophical question.
ReplyDeleteAs for next class, I think cosmopolitanism is having that understanding of others and still being able to live with the people that share your particular view or opinion, AND those who do not. I like how Appiah suggests listening and talking to each other and working together and hearing each other out and not just dig your heels in and be impossible to work with. He also throws in that conversation isn’t going to solve everything, which i like, and also agree with. Appiah points out many good things. Some questions:
What does Appiah say it is best to start out with in working things out together? (talking and listening)
If people handled their differences more like Appiah suggests, how would those things/relationships look different?
--Natalie Ricketts
I had never thought of friendship as a philosophical discussion topic prior to our reading and discussion, but it was truly intriguing. I do not think a friendship can be perfect; we are humans, and no relationship we generate can be. However, we can always strive for this more perfect form of relationship. Friends grow us just as much, perhaps more even, than our own families because we choose them.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading up on cosmopolitanism, I believe I may be a kind of cosmopolitist; I find the diverse cultures of the world fascinating. I wish we could all come to an understanding of one another; it sounds cliche, but I think we need more understanding and less hate. "No man is an island," and I think what goes on over seas (such as unjust treatment of those who manufacture our clothing and numerous other commodities...) affects us. I though what Appiah had to say about 9/11 was pretty gutsy; it's a sensitive subject for a lot of people. However, I agree with him; it frustrates me that people use that as an example to condemn a whole race/culture.
Questions for discussion: -Do you think this "single society" Appiah envisions is possible in our lifetime?
-Has there been an invent in your life that has caused you to change your views on morality?
-Do you agree with Appiah when he says that we have baseline obligations to the less fortunate of this world?
Friendship is a funky thing. We strive so hard to make and keep friends, that we often times forget about leaving time for ourselves. Despite the fact that I believe that friends shape who we are, I still believe that we as humans ultimately shape and mold ourselves into who we want to be. Ghandi says, "Be the change that you wish to see in the world". I don't think that we can rely on others to help us change how we percieve the world. After all, we need not trust anyone but ourselves. It is human nature to be deceitful. How do we know for sure that our friends truly care and love us..... we don't. It is hard to say who is and isn't our true friends. I believe that the heart of every relationship is love, and without that in a friendship, you have nothing more than an enemy. With that said, I believe that there are truly good people out there who would make perfect canidates for a so called "best friend", but it is all a matter of getting past the bad ones to get to the good ones. You can't have rainbows without rain. As for cosmopolitanism, I like how it defines it as a moral community entiled to live in different modes of life. My questions for the next class discussion are, Do you think that the world will ever become so close to agree on one particular thing as a whole... world peace? And also, Why does Appiah say it is important to have a common biology?
ReplyDeleteIn our discussions on cosmopolitanism, there was pretty quick mutual agreement with Appiah. We agreed that the ideal way to live is respecting one another whether we agree or not. The best way to work through things and issues that might arise is talking it out and being open to and listening to each other. People should be able to live together despite what they may disagree upon.
ReplyDeleteOur next topic, we’re talking about credibility and discrimination. I found interesting the part where Fricker points out the line between being and not being prejudice. She points out the women and football example - if a woman’s opinion is overlooked in a conversation because it is assumed women don’t usually know much about football, that is not necessarily prejudice, just more of a stereotype. But if she begins to contribute well-informed, intelligent information to the conversation and is still overlooked because she is a woman, that is prejudice. I think this happens much more in our world today than people think. By no means are racism, sexism, etc. no longer existent. They exist in various forms still and these are just some of them.
What are some ways we don’t think about as much that people are still discriminated today?
Why do you think this still goes on today even with our “equal rights”?
What is one step we could take to maybe diminish these ways some?
--Natalie Ricketts