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my-personal-blog-spot · 6 years

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Existentialism 2/2

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my-personal-blog-spot · 6 years

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The first discussion was a little difficult for me to really get into. I like to allow this class to dig deep into my mind and uncover thoughts. Most of the time I have an opinion, and I leave usually I feel drained of all thoughts by the end of class, and run back to my dorm to write down reflections of my thoughts. But not this time, I just felt more grounded in my previous thoughts. Dreamers and realists.... I would prefer to say I am a dreamer, though it is not possible to be completely one or the other of course, that would be way extreme. I day dream, and fantasize in my spare time, probably more than I should. But it is okay, because I do not often follow those dreams, however I dream these unrealistic things because they allow me to feel incredibly free. Free thought takes me outside of my reality, away from the moment at hand. I am still very realistic (I think), and this is why I do not follow all of my dreams. I do think individuals should follow their dreams, but only the ones that mean the most. The dreams that cannot be removed from your head, those are the dreams to follow. Setting goals allows me to obtain big dreams in a realistic manner. At times I feel lost due to the feeling of realness. Of course we are constantly living in reality, but when serious events happen they feels so real so fast handling the emotions on a whim can be difficult. I am talking about the moments that do not happen often, moments that you cannot prepare for. These moments hit so quick, drowning my head with so much emotion I can't even tell which emotion I am feeling. Truly being lost in a moment, almost as if I am dreaming. Anyone else know this feeling? Overwhelmed by reality. Transcendence is the power of consciousness to negate and go beyond the facts of matter. How far will we go to get what we want? Touching on a discussion from a few weeks ago, I realized that when I am faced with many options I find myself more overwhelmed than when I have just a few things to choose from. I personally find eliminating options, allows me to see a clearer picture of what I really want. Applying this to real life, when making decisions, they should be made in good faith.

ME

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my-personal-blog-spot · 6 years

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Decision making and self reflection

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my-personal-blog-spot · 6 years

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Without faith in religion, some people might feel lost. Faith allows people to hold answers, however, the subjectivity of the truth allows us to recognize that the belief, the faith resides in whomever chooses to feel it. Without a religion, we may be struck with uncertainty. When thinking with reason, questions start flowing through our brains, questioning existence could lead to skepticism and skepticism to despair. But, life is full of contradictions, Unamuno embraces the contradictions and quarrel, they are what makes him feel alive. But, “whoever desires immortality with a passion and even against all reason deserves it the most of all.” Unamuno wants us to embrace our struggles and not be fearful of future conflicts. Accepting the idea that conflict resides in the future allows struggles to be handled with greater ease. After all we are all just “being-in-the-world.” We were all brought into this life, as far as I know, with no choice. Though we are only present as long as our bodies can last on the earth, the impacts we bring upon each-other are a ripple effect, and carry on past our lifetimes. Recognize that we are all beings in this world. Societies ideal person is not realistic, and we are not forced to conform to the ideal “they-self” image, but people crave acceptance. They-self is not an unpleasant idea, but it takes the individuality and the diversity away from our world, stripping the colors from society. In conflict, we try to respond in an acceptable manner, avoiding uncomfortable situations, Heidegger says we are always a prisoner to they-self. We try to define ourselves hoping that we will find free will, but freedom resides in individuals, not in their actions. To be free, you do not have to practice your freedom. At times uncertainty in my future can leave me full of angst. But recognizing that nothing in the future is certain allows me to know that uncertainty is a part of everyday life, there is no way to deny it, so I must embrace it. Live in the moment, but don’t live for the moments. Accepting my emotions as they come, but not living in my emotions.

Existentialism-Robert Soloman

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my-personal-blog-spot · 6 years

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The presentations that were prepared on the first reading flowed nicely. Most of the conversation consisted of opinions, leaving me with the personal thoughts of others as tools of persuasion. Initially I was not ecstatic to engage with the class about the reading because I did not appreciate the underlying messages of the text. I developed a better understanding through the presentations and the classes reflections. At the end of the discussion I left knowing life is what you make it. Meursault was an absurd character. Beginning the reading I felt empathy for him, I believed his unusual behavior was due to the death of his mother, my opinion was soon changed. I was rubbed the wrong way when Meursault aided his thought to be pimp neighbor Sintès write a letter to destroy a girl Sintès thought was “doing him dirty”. Meursault flew through life never giving a damn, he lacked emotion, empathy, and affection. He believed that the world was purposeless, his actions were irrelevant to the world either way so he did not waste time trying make a good life for himself. When the first group presented the question asking if I wanted to be Meursault’s friend I did not even have to think about it, I immediately clicked “no”. Although I never changed my mind… (I still do not want to be his friend) Though I was shocked anyone said they would be his friend, the class showed me a different perspective. Meursault does not judge. Though it would be nice to never be judged by a friend, I find comfort in hearing a difference of opinions and options when I am conflicted. Meursault seems like a shell of a human to me. Meursault lacks a reason to live, he often does something because he has “nothing better to do”. The second group really got me thinking when they asked what makes us feel alive. ADRENALINE, personally I know I am alive when I can feel my heart beating. Being nervous, in danger, or even in trouble is what gets my blood pumping, not knowing what is going to happen next, anticipating my next move. Meursault never seemed to be struck by adrenaline or be taken over by angst. Meursault seems as if he does not have anything to live for, but he never searches for one… He sits in him room smoking cigarettes and people watching. I wonder what makes him get up in the morning. Response I enjoy the way you have written your reflection. It has allowed me to open my mind and indulge in the different viewpoints from a reader’s perspective. Though the reading did not, your reflection did pose a reality check to me. Some events possess reason, while others are meaningless. Searching for meaning is pointless, reasoning will eventually expose itself when necessary. When Meursault found hope, it was too late. Had he not killed that girl, and ended up in prison, I am not sure he would not have found hope at all. Meursault was set free from himself when he was sentenced to death. Reflection 2: 334 words, no response Suicide is a very touchy subject for most of those who know someone that has taken their own life, including myself. The word suicide leaves a sour taste in my mouth, only because my lack of understanding. Both of my parents were raised very Catholic. Both my parents have a sibling that took their own life before the age of 18. Needless to say, suicide was never something I was allowed to have my own opinion on. Deciding now, I will revolt. Life and death are the only givens in this world and to cut your life short is a travesty to those around you and obviouslyâ€¦ to your own existence. At times I would like to escape this life but I am hindered by many emotions, especially not knowing what will follow it. Going through the phases of life sometimes we feel lost, lacking reasoning to continue life, but that is no means to take life into your own hands. The present is only present for now. Tomorrow is always a new day and yesterday is always in the past. To dwell on the past or the future is a waste of time, neither of them can ever be changed. As humans, it is our responsibility to take care of ourselves physically mentally and emotionally. To search for a specific meaning of ones is an overshoot. There is no predestine â€œplanâ€ written on a message in a bottle that will give life meaning. Life is subjective to each individual that walks on this earth. The meaning of life is found through what makes a person most happy. This world is absurd, mostly due to the people that inhabit it. We are placed here to find our destiny, made up of the fearless and the fearful. Coming to the realization, happiness is found within. To be content with yourself, is to be content with your surroundings, letting go of all doubt and angst. Being able to live in the present is a true gift. Reflection 4: 512 This week’s topic of discussion was Truth is Subjectivity. I do believe that truth can be interpreted differently from person to person. We were born into a world with no guidelines. Religion, gives the people something to hope for, providing a set of rules to follow (10 commandments). People find comfort in religion because it is reassuring, the word of the Lord preaches kindness and acceptance to all. Whether this is true… WHO cares. During class I found my greatest reflection through the personality test. The test consisted of listing a color, animal, a safe place, and a white room along with 3 words to describe them. It was then revealed to us that the color was a subconscious representation of yourself, the animal exposed what qualities you look for in a partner, the safe place represents family, and a white room describes your interpretation of death. Immediately I saw the correlations, and was shocked. Even the person next to me (my best friend since kindergarten) reflected the qualities she wrote down. On the contrary, the person next to her did not see a relation between his thoughts and the personality test. It was then revealed to the class that the test had no correlation to self-reflection (maybe he didn’t like what he wrote?). I immediately realized that upon writing these, I chose a lion thinking I was reflecting myself image of bold and courageous. Yet I still found a way to correlate my color and animal to myself. Also, the way I described the white room was nothing at all how I think about death. I almost felt gullible, I tricked myself into thinking, wow I really do like bold people, but that was not my original thought. I had twisted my own thoughts because it made more since the way the leading group described what the animal and color represented. Believing what I wrote became my truth because it gave me a sense of direction. I basically just described myself as alive, beautiful, and luscious, in search of a partner who is bold, strong, and courageous. This improved my understanding of the subjectivity of truth. The truth is wherever one feels most comfortable. I chose to believe in the test, while the guy a few seats over disregarded it. I chose my truth and he chose his. Truth is subjective as is everything else in this life… believe it or not (pun intended). Response: I too believe that religion and fate are correlated. The uncertainty of religion forces humans to find faith to believe, or not... Giving your life to something you're uncertain of is bold, though nothing is certain, so in that case are we not all following something blindly? I do agree, religion, if at all chosen should feel good, the truth is found within, it should not be forced, otherwise what is the point? Miserably following something that you do not understand? Sounds like living hell to me. Some find comfort, and some feel lost in religion, that is why the truth of your soul is subjective. Refelction 5: I had a hard time sorting through my thoughts during this discussion. Coming up in a religious family, it is almost damning to be faced with the words “God is dead.” The past discussions have lead me to believe in the subjectivity of truth, allowing me to not see statements such as “God is dead” as an attack on my religion but rather a difference of opinions. I do not practice my religion often, but I was raised going to church every Sunday, and Wednesdays, I was baptized as a new born, received my first communion, and first conformation before I even graduated from middle school. Whenever I was curious about my faith I avoided talking about it, I rejected those thoughts immediately. Nietzsche mentions that humans were brought to life with the curiosity of who we are and where we came from. I would like to think of myself as an open-minded person but, I have not allowed myself to view my religious thoughts transparently. This class has allowed me to hear other opinions and debacles without posing a threat to my beliefs. I feel uncomfortable to say I do not always put full faith in God, because at times, He is the only thing I have encouraging me to do better. I find the strength within myself to push on, knowing I have God by my side to guide me in the right direction. As humans, we are always searching for answers even though nothing can ever be certain in the answers we come across. I find comfort in God, I do not need to search for answers, for I have faith. The expressive remarks from others falsifying my beliefs is not a threat to me any longer. We are often mute when it comes to voicing beliefs, I think this is due to uncertainty, no one wants to look reckless or crazy. This discussion yielded a powerful feeling. Personal beliefs do not need to be spoken or fought for, they do not need to be accepted or declined, but felt. I feel the presence of a higher power, it is comforting to believe in heaven. My thoughts have not been grounded, but I do find faith in God. Response: First of all I really like the way you have written your response. As humans we often search to find the truth in everything. I agree with you... Truth can be horrible. But, do you believe that truth is horrible? Yes, it can effect some people so negatively, but the truth is not to blame. How we react to the truth is the issue. People are always on a chase to find the truth, to find answers, to find closure, maybe we are better off without knowing how we got here, why we are here, or what our purpose is. People simply cannot handle the truth. I personally do enjoy the closure of knowing truth, but I almost feel lost in the truth after learning that truth is subjective in this class.

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my-personal-blog-spot · 9 years

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