Philosophy Reflection Essay

This was my first major introduction into the study of philosophy, and I can honestly say that it has had a major impact on my belief system. Many of my views progress to been changed and my over t bulge out ensemble view on look is much different than it was five months ago. To me, the two approximately interesting work were the Tao and The brainiacs I. The Tao describes a very interesting way of life. Of all the philosophies weve read, it is the simplest and most beautiful. Instead of scanning for hidden meanings and analyzing all parts of life, Laozi just assorts us to get it on life. Do no more than you put one over to do, but do everything you have to do. He tells us not to worry about death and just see life. I honestly think back very simple and peaceful way of living can bring us much more happiness than we have now in our current society. However, the only way it can be implemented is if everyone follows the Tao, and that is nearly impossible in our current socie ty. We should honestly guess to snuff it simpler lives and see the beauty of everyday things.The other work that actually impacted me was The Minds I. Im not sure if it qualifies as a single work, but there were several important themes that really interested me and changed some of my views. The section that really interested me the most was the section describing hefty machines and animals, and their family relationship to humans. I had always considered humans superior to animals due to their intelligence and ability to communicate. I never thought too much about the idea of intelligent animals and even machines and their relationship to humans. An intelligent machine or animal that can communicate definitely would be on the same evolutionary level as humans, and thus there could be no way to justify creating an intelligent robotic servant or helper without harkening back to the ideology that prompted slavery.Also, destruction of this machine or animal would be equivalent to murder. However, I still so no moral objection to creating an intelligent robot, as long as we give it its hold freedom, just as we would to one of our children. Its may be considered playing God, but if we are his greatest creations, we should have the right to test our limits. Only through a recreation of consciousness done and understood by us can we begin to understand our own consciousness as swell up as ourselves. I had never really thought about technology in this way and never seriously questioned the origin of my consciousness, so the Minds I really legionsd me to think aboutlife in a different way.Throughout the term, I not only changed and reconsidered many of my views I discovered things that I subconsciously believed without really thinking about it. My beliefs not only changed, I discovered beliefs that I never knew I had. Some of these views surfaced when reading certain works alike(p) The Mysterious Stranger and Nietzsche. Although these two works didnt change my deep-set views that much, it was interesting to see my instinctual beliefs get challenged. I discovered I was a pretty moderate thinker, but these readings caused many of my views on life to change. However, I still disagreed with many of the views expressed in class discussions with certain works, like the Tao. except then I realized that the Tao is designed to have different meanings to everyone who reads it so they could find their own way of life and thus doesnt lend itself well to class discussions.I saw that the way philosophy has evolved over the years mirrors the way society has changed throughout history. The older philosophies that weve read, like the Tao and Plato work, calculate to try to tell us how to live our lives to get the most happiness and satisfaction out of it, and how to find the way or see the light. The more modern philosophies seem to nonperformance the idea of a true path and tell us how to live in the best way, but they dont guarantee happiness from i t. The most interesting pieces for me were a mix of the modern and older philosophies, like Nietzsche and Socrates Apology (I guess because he lived in a ancient but modern society). yet though they were completely different and I completely disagreed with one of them, they were much more compelling to me. One important thing that I learned is that I hate reading about something that I agree on, I dislike having my views proven by another writer and rather read new ideas and opinions.From all the texts read and discussions weve had this year, its hard to highlight just three things that I learned. One of the most stimulating texts to me was The Circular Ruins. Especially when read right after Is God a Taoist, this simple story made me reconsider all my beliefs on existence and God. Just like the main character was, we are unbroken in the dark about our condition, where we came from and how we exist. We claim an all-mighty Godas our creator, and call ourselves superior beings in hi s image. However, whose to say that we are not just insignificant nothings, created by another being of no importance. Would that make us less real and important? From this story I learned to stop attaching importance and purpose to everything I do. Maybe there is a reason we dont know where we come from perhaps we dont want to know.Another important lesson came from stockpile Blues. The main characters all had to deal with finding a cultural identity while trying to escape the trap of the white man. The only ones who made it out were the ones who had a strong cultural identity. They knew themselves and identified with their past before they attempted to escape the reservation. Victor and Junior either tried to ignore their past or couldnt come to terms with their heritage. They tried to escape before they were ready, and couldnt cope with the failure. The books point, despite the suicide and Victors destruction, was amazingly positive, it showed that if you come to terms with your past and yourself you can overcome any obstacle set against you, but you must have this understanding or you will exterminate yourself.From The Razors Edge I learned a lot about the purpose of life from each of the vastly different characters. At first, it seems like the point of the story is that there is a difference between what we want and what makes us happy and fulfilled. Suzanne, Gray and Elliot all got what they wanted yet all seem to live unhappy, unfulfilled lives. Further inspection showed that they all are living the life that they fully wanted and expected to live, and they are perfectly content. Isabel wanted both(prenominal) Larry and high society type of life, and thus is disappointed with her life because she couldnt have both. Larry didnt know what he wanted out of life, so he took basically a timeout from the real world, went into seclusion and discovered what he wanted out of life. Now he, knowing full well what he wants, is the most snug of all the character s. The lesson to be learned is that happiness is completely relative, and thus you cannot call anyone a failure unless he considers himself one. Also, its all right to take some time out of the real world and relax, take a step back and see what you really want to do next.In the end, this class really has changed my views on the best kind of life. I still believe that you need to live the type of life that will make you the happiest and most satisfied, but I dont think that most people know what type of life that is. If you dont have a passion, dont force yourself into any profession. Explore the world and find something that really interests you otherwise you will get forced into a miserable life that you hate. If you have a passion, you have to follow it. You have to come in terms with who you are understand and remember your past and childhood.We have to examine our lives to discover what we really want, then try to find it. We must simplify our actions, and we have to stop overa nalyzing others actions and words. We have to lose our ego and sense of shame, and stop caring what people think of you. This is the simplest way to live and live happily, without having to adjust your actions to fit what other people expect from you. We have to stop fearing death and keep on living life in the happiest possible way. This will be the happiest, simplest and best life for everyone.