Sunday, November 11, 2018

Philosophy 101 - Essay block 14, 15


Chapter 14 – The Existentialist: Soren Kierkegaard

Abraham Joshua Heschel: “Let us labor under no illusions.  There are no easy solutions for problems that are at the same time intensely personal and universal, urgent and eternal.” (page 402)
I chose this quote because I am both a person of faith and a person of science.  I know first hand how challenging it can be to reconcile the scientific truth with the Truths about faith and belief.  Even though I believe that science and faith can peacefully co-exist if they grant each other a small space to exist in the unknown, I know that science poses heavy questions to belief, and likewise belief does the same thing.  Every individual must try to find a common middle ground between the two that works specifically for them about the external universe, lest they look to be literalist evangelicals and not philosophers. 

Alexander Solzhenitsyn: “We do not err because truth is difficult to see.  It is visible at a glance.  We err because this is more comfortable.” (page 404)
I think this quote speaks to the idea that we don’t examine our lives nearly as often as we should.  We hold such low bars for ourselves and grieve hard when we fail.  We choose not to open ourselves up to philosophical ideas because living in the dark is preferable.  But when we open ourselves up to the ideas that surround us, examining our lives in the process, we see the truth easily.  It is the darkness that keeps us warm at night.  Truth is a cold, hard mistress.  We like to stay where we feel comfortable rather than face a truth that is harsh.

Soren Kierkegaard: “Man is a synthesis of the infinite and the finite, of the temporal and the eternal, of freedom and necessity, in short a synthesis.  A synthesis is a relation between two factors.  So regarded, man is not yet a self.” (page 410)
Kierkegaard believed in the duality of humanity, the push and pull, as it were.  Yet, his last sentence, that “man is not yet a self,” despite the duality, he speaks to the inability to analyze himself objectively, because objectivity simply does not exist in Kierkegaard’s world.  I like this quote because it reminds me of what Socrates said about an unexamined life.  When pursuing Philosophy, one needs to step outside of their comfort zone and really think about what they’re trying to put into words. This is how a man becomes a self. 

Chapter 15 – The Pragmatist: William James

G. K. Chesterton: “There are some people, and I am one of them, who think that the most important and most practical thing about a man is still his view of the universe.  We think that for a landlady considering a lodger it is important to know his income, but still more important to know his philosophy.” (page 427)
This is a fantastic quote because it is absolutely important to know a person’s view of the universe.  There are a wealth of philosophies on life that could potentially conflict with my own philosophy.  It’s critical that I find out these things.  In today’s era, we look for people who align with us politically.  In previous years, we could just avoid talking politics but as an open Jew, it’s CRITICAL for me to know if someone does or does not support a politician who has emboldened racists and called them “fine people.”  To leave this unsaid or assumed could mean the difference between life and death.

William James: “All our scientific and philosophic ideals are altars to unknown gods.” (page 432)
I love this quote because it plays into my bias.  As stated before, I am a person of both science and faith.  As such, I see science and philosophy both “worshipping” (in a sense) to unknown gods (since we can’t empirically prove God exists).  We people of faith believe in a higher power and we worship according to the worship practices of our place of religion.  As people of science have hypotheses and theories at which to place altars.  Though it seems that science has a leg up by being able to “prove” things, there is still a lot that science doesn’t yet understand (like the inner workings of the brain), just as there is a lot that faith and philosophy can’t yet understand.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz: “When we reason about the liberty of will, or about the free will, we do not ask if the man can do what he wills, but if there is enough independence in his will itself.” (page 440)
This quote makes me think.  Because of free will, we know that a person can do or say anything he wants, but we ask him if “there is enough independence in his will” because we want to know if he is a man of spontaneity or passion, or what have you.  Is he a person who will carry out decisions or will he falter while waiting for someone else to lead?  It is important to know this about a person because it will tell you a lot about the kind of person with whom you’re dealing.  It will let you in on a critical aspect of his personality. 


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Grade: 10/10
Professor Comments: There is one Block of Essays left, the Final Paper, and any exams you need to submit. The conclusion of the semester is close. Then the winter break.

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