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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