Gazing at Philosophy

Tyler White
Ms. Wagener
AP English Language
5 August 2013

Gazing at Philosophy

     Wow! That was the thought that constantly ran through my mind as I read this book. I was utterly amazed at all the different philosophic views that I read about. Aristotle, Socrates, Kant, Marx, Plato, and many many more! Back whenever people had to come up with answers on where the world came from, I can understand why there were so many different views on how we got here. I had heard of Aristotle and Plato and possibly even Socrates but never really agreed with their ideas.

      I was hesitant in reading this book because of the fact that I knew some of the philosophers would challenge my faith in Christ. I read the book with an open mind, however, and ended up enjoying it very much. If I were to pick one philosopher I have no idea where to begin! I did not entirely agree with any of them, honestly. I did however agree with most of Aristotle's ideas. I like the way that Aristotle described animals and plants and separated the two of them. He also stated that everything had a category and a sub-category. This is a practice that is still used today in the science world. 

      When asked where on the rabbit's fur I reside, I'd like to answer honestly. At first, before reading this book I would say that I had snuggled deep down in the fur and gotten comfortable. Then, as i was reading this book I heard something towards the top of the fur and decided to go check it out. I feel as if that is how Sophie felt too as she went along in her studies of philosophy.
      As of right now, I would say that I am continuing to climb towards the top of the fur. New questions enter my mind everyday and each one makes me more and more apt to climb faster and faster. I feel like most people will respond to this question in the same way and claim that they are high on the rabbit's fur. The difference with me is the fact that I would not mind if I fell off the hair I was climbing up. I would snuggle right back up and be perfectly content with not knowing. This was something that Alberto claimed made a good philosopher. Knowing that you do not know everything. I do not claim that I am a good philosopher, because a good philosopher would have the desire to go and learn. I do not have that overwhelming desire. 

A Look Through The Lenses

Tyler White
Ms. Wagener
AP English Language
23 July 2013

A Look Through The Lenses

   Immanuel Kant saw philosophy and life through a new perspective. He said that everyone perceived things differently and nothing was really different just the way we saw it was. He explained that if you were to put on a pair of red sun-glasses you would see everything in red and if you wore them long enough that's how your mind would start to see things. He called this the "Red Glasses Experiment". He claimed that certain conditions governed how we experienced the world. 

   To think like this puts a whole new perspective on the way we look at things. As we grow older our outlook on life and how we wish to live changes. As with water into a pitcher, our mind and the way we see things adapt to our 'forms of intuition'. Kant claimed that we cannot imagine what the world is like for everyone. We can only imagine what life is like for me. Kant described that we cannot have an understanding for das Ding an sich, or the thing in itself, we can only be certain of how they appear to us. 

   I believe Kant's reasoning was brilliant! I think he is completely right. Someone sitting next to me looking at a half-empty glass might claim that it is half full. While, on the other hand someone else might claim it is half-empty. Why is this? Because as Kant explained, we all see and perceive things differently. Kant also said that we use reason to come up with answers to questions. Alberto used the example of a ball rolling into a room. If that were to happen to me I would turn to see where it came from. This is because I am a human being and the law of causality is part of who I am. As we grow older our perspective on things change. We might look at the same glass twenty years past the time we first looked at it and claim it is half empty other than half full. Kant believed that the 'tint' on our glasses changed as the conditions changed. 

Side Note

Side Note

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M_ZF8r5e7w

This is a link to the conversation that I hinted at in my last blog post. 

I hope you will get as much insight out of it as I did. 

Christianization of Philosophy

Tyler White
Ms. Wagener
AP English Language
7 July 2013

Christianization of Philosophy

    In all honesty I do not entirely recall how the two philosophers really christianized Aristotle and Plato. I had to re-read that section. I did come to some conclusions, however. Two great philosophers, Aristotle and Plato, had not really been around Christianity so, they did not base their teachings and their thoughts with the fact that there could be a higher being. But, whenever St. Augustine and Aquinas came around they 'christianized' the teachings of Aristotle and Plato. 

    St. Augustine looked at Plato's teachings and agreed with them. He did, however, bring God into them. Plato believed that the world had always existed and St. Augustine knew that God had created the world in seven literal days. So, St. Augustine came to the conclusion that the 'idea' of Earth had always existed in God's thought processes. Without St. Augustine Plato's teaching would have almost all but been forgotten. Aquinas did something altogether different than what St. Augustine did with Plato's teachings. 

    Aquinas stated that Aristotle did not make the connection to Christianity because he didn't know what it was since he had not been introduced to it in his time of philosophy. Aquinas stated that whenever Aristotle mentioned a 'higher being' that surely he meant God. But, if you think about it, that makes no logical sense. In the book Sophie's World  it states that there are two ways of life. You can look at something and think it is one thing when in reality it is something completely different.
   So, for Aquinas to state that was a very bold move and on that I was very pleased with. I could look at some of today's very pronounced atheists that claim there is a higher being of some sort, and claim that they believe in God. When very Christian, Ben Stein, approached very pronounced atheist, Richard Dawkins, Richard was at a loss of words when asked about a higher being. Even Richard admitted that there is a possibility that the world could have been created by intelligent design. So for Aquinas to assume that Aristotle may have believed in a higher being, God, I would agree with his assumption. 

Views on Women Throughout the Ages

Tyler White

Ms. Wagener 

AP English Language

23 June 2013

Views on Women Throughout the Ages

    We have had many movements in our own backyard on the idea of equality. Whether it be racial, gender, or religious equality we have seen all the battles be fought. In 1955 we battled with racial inequality. During the late 19th century we started to see women get upset that they weren't treated the same as men. Surely this has always been the case but, we see it become more prominent as time goes on. Especially in our own history do we see women's rights become a big deal. However ancient Philosophers such as Aristotle had his own views on women. 

    When I read Aristotle's view on women, I'll admit, I laughed a little bit. The fact that he had this idea in his mind and the fact that he had such a huge impact on the people around him was slightly terrifying. Women had come some way forward by this point in time and by him saying that puts them back to where they were. I'm sure any female that has read Sophie's World  will hate me for saying this but, I agree with Hegel's view on the difference in the sexes. I do however, agree with the fact that Plato thought that women could be as great and thoughtful as mean if the were trained correctly. 

  With the fact that I just stated that I agree with these views, then it would not come as a surprise to me that all but one or two of the philosophers in this book were male. It kind of makes sense to me. Women were put on the back-burner during this time so most of the philosophers would have been male. However with Aristotle's view, it seemed an unkind thing to think even during that time. 
   Today we are still fighting the fight between man and woman and I feel as if we always will be. Women will want their place in history; but men being stubborn as we are, won't let that happen without voicing our disapproval. However woman are making their mark on history and will continue to do so, in my opinion. 

Questions of Life

Tyler White
Ms. Wagener
AP English Language
12 June 2013

Questions of Life

    The unanswerable questions, "Who am I?", or "Where does the world come from?", often appeared in the conversation of many philosophers in history. If I were asked these questions I would almost automatically know my answer. Coming from a home of Christian faith, God, would be my answer to both of these very philosophic questions. I suppose that's the whole point behind these questions, making you think.
   Throughout history we have had many philosophers try and answer these questions. So why can't they be answered. Someone such as myself could answer, "God created the earth and He also created me." The thought that there could be a 'greater' being is an alien thought to a majority of people and that idea would be laughed at. One might argue, "If God did create all of this, then where did God come from?" This question, even makes me think. It drives my mind to imagine what came before God himself. It was always told to me that God himself has always existed since the beginning of time itself. Which, logically makes sense. However, what made God decide to create this vast universe out of nowhere if He has always existed. Growing up in a Christian home and going to church and attending many seminars I have had these questions thrown at me and I have come up with logical explanations to these such questions. God created us to have a relationship with Him. We needed a place to reside and that was when God created the earth as we know it today. As for the question of, "Who am I?" that is a very personalized question and therefore, cannot be 'answered'.
   It does not matter if someone provides some sort of explanation as to who we are. We are human beings and are very individualistic. We are all essentially the same, however, no two humans are alike. We all make different decisions in life so one might be able to answer their own question as to who they are but, they cannot even begin to answer who someone else is. So the question, "Who am I?" Will remain an 'unanswerable' question. The question "Where does the world come from?" Will never be agreed upon and therefore will also remain, an unanswerable question of life.