Philosopher Who (Midterm Post 2)

The Good, The Bad, and the Timey Wimey (H01)

We've heard from all sorts of philosophers on the subject of happiness. Some say you choose to be happy, some say you shouldn't depend on emotions at all, and some say that everything just is-- that there is no changing it. Well the Doctor takes a bit from each of those philosophies to craft his on, to me, better one. In the episode "Vincent and The Doctor," the Doctor travels to the time of Vincent van Gogh. Now one of the most famous painters in the world, van Gogh was laughed out of town in his day. The Doctor and his companion become very close to Vincent, a severely depressed man, and, in an effort to help him, they take him to the future. In a museum in Paris van Gogh sees how beloved his work is. 

Vincent visits the museum

Once they've returned Vincent back to his proper time period, the Doctor and Amy (his companion) rush back to the museum to see all of his new artwork. Amy had imagined that showing Vincent would keep him from committing suicide, resulting in more beautiful paintings. She was wrong, however. The Doctor consoles her and tells her that:

"The way I see it, life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them any less important."

There lies one of the Doctor's ultimate philosophies. Over the years the Doctor has encountered so many bad things that he has to hold on to the good to keep going on. He doesn't say, however, that you can't live without emotions. Or, even, that you should try to live your life without it being emotion driven. Emotions can be the path you follow but you must be able to move past the wrong turns. Neither does he say that you need to always control your emotions. Put simply, he is just preaching a philosophy of acceptance. 

There are things in life that cannot be controlled. These things will make you sad, happy, angry, etc. but you can't control the emotion you feel. The best you can do is to accept these things. One way to do this is to listen to the Doctor's words. Good things won't always make the bad better, but the bad won't ever make the good less important. What it really boils down to is what you, personally, place more importance. What do you focus on. Do you focus on the good? Or do you emphasize the bad? 

Either way, you must feel. There is no forgetting your emotions. Emotions are what drive you and help shape the person you are. Life without feeling wouldn't really be living, would it?