Personal Application #1

During the first week and a half of this new trimester, we’ve had plenty of interesting discussions about a variety of topics. Ranging from the preference of a short, happy life over a long, miserable one to what makes up a person’s identity. Everything we’ve talked about has been a new idea for me to consider and apply to my own life.
One concept that made me think for a very long time is personal identity. The various theories regarding where our identity lays struck me. The body theory seems entirely implausible to me, I don’t think that our identity is only in our body. Although it may play a part in the sense that our bodies are what identify us to the world, I think that it is a much smaller role than our minds. When I consider it, I am who I am due to the things I’ve experienced and the way I think much more than the body I show to the world. Although some aspects of my identity may change with the way my body looks, it would never be able to fundamentally change who I am. My confidence could increase, the way other people act towards me could change, but what I hold to be important in my identity comes from inside of me.
Watching Source Code was just as thought provoking as some of the group discussions that took place over the past few weeks. The ending brought up the idea of alternate universes. I do think that, in a weird way, it’s entirely plausible to consider the multiverse theory. In another world, I could be a famous musician traveling the world, and in another I could be already graduated from high school and attending college early. As terrifying and strange as it sounds, there is no reason why it couldn’t happen. It is silly to think that this is the only universe or the only place where something is happening, everything is bigger than we are.

Sophie's World Reflection #1

So far, the novel Sophie's World has captured my attention and helped to teach me exactly in the way it was intended to. The wording is simple enough to follow along and understand the deep, philosophical concepts that are being explained. I feel as though I'm learning with Sophie. As she discovers more about herself and the basics of philosophy, I do too. 

The chapter discussing fate is one that caught my attention especially. I’ve always had a hard time deciding between fate and free will, and tend to lean towards free will. To me, the concept of fatalism doesn’t sit well. I don’t think that everything to happen is predestined. In my mind, there has to be an element of choice in life. People are not controlled by whatever has been decided. If there is something determined for everyone’s life, to me, it seems that there’s room to change the story. 

Later on in the novel, a particularly interesting statement is made in a letter to Sophie. “Wisest is she who knows she does not know”. This is a concept I’ve always agreed with. For a person to be able to understand as much as they can, they have to acknowledge that there are things in the world that they don’t know. A person who knows little but assumes they know everything cannot be taught a thing. However, a person who understands the limited nature of their knowledge can be taught anything, they are more open to learning and understanding their world. 

This novel, so far, has been incredibly useful in reinforcing concepts we’ve already discussed in class. It has also taught me more about many different philosophers and their beliefs, while being enjoyable at the same time.