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LHP 2
1. What point was Aristotle making when he wrote of swallows and summer? Do you agree?
2. What philosophical difference between Plato and Aristotle is implied by The School of Athens? Whose side are you on, Plato's or Aristotle's?
3. What is eudaimonia, and how can we increase our chances of achieving it, and in relation only to what? Do you think you've achieved it?
4. What reliance is completely against the spirit of Aristotle's research? Are there any authorities you always defer to? Why or why not?
FL
5. What did Sir Walter Raleigh help invent (other than cigarettes) that contributed to "Fantasyland" as we know it today? Was he a "stupid git," as the Beatles song says?
6. What was western civilization's first great ad campaign? Does advertising and the constant attempt to sell things to people have a negative impact on life in the USA?
7. What did Sir Francis Bacon say about human opinion and superstition? Do you ever attempt to overcome your own confirmation bias?
8. Which early settlers are typically ignored in the mythic American origin story? Also: what about the early "settlers" who were brought here against their wills and enslaved?
9. What had mostly ended in Europe, but not America, by the 1620s, and what did the Puritans think would happen "any minute now"? Why do you think people keep making this mistake?
HWT
10. What is pratyaksa in classic Indian philosophy, and how does the Upanishads say to seek it?
11. There is widespread belief in India that the practice of yoga can lead to what? Do you think it can?
12. What is metanoetics, in Japanese philosophy?
13. What does ineffable mean? Is it possible, though paradoxical, to use words to indicate something you can't put into words?
14. Unlike the west, religion in Japan is typically not about what? And what is it about to you?
1- Aristotle was saying that brief moments of pleasure do not make a person truly "happy". He believed that true happiness was measured in your overall achievement in life. I agree with Aristotle's basic idea that real happiness is not found in a few moments of "good" things. However, I do question his notion that Eudaemonia/happiness/fulfillment can be affected after one's death. I wonder how someone's life could get objectively worse if, from their perspective, nothing has changed.
ReplyDeleteWhen you're dead you don't have a perspective, at least not from Aristotle's pov. So his claim is not, evidently, about the view from the other side of the grave.
Delete1. When Aristotle wrote swallows and summer, his point was that short-term joy is not the same as happiness, saying that just because one swallow has migrated, doesn’t mean summer has arrived yet.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Some days I feel great, and the very next day I might feel bad, even when nothing has changed. Just because you feel happy for some moments, doesn’t mean you are satisfied with your life as a whole, which is what I would define as true happiness.
2. While Plato believed that, to understand the world, you must look at the Forms of things and not real life examples of them, Aristotle believed the opposite; the real life examples of things define more of what they are than their forms.
Personally, I think it’s a little bit of both. The whole thing with the perfect circle not actually existing, while still being an existing concept that affects reality convinces me that the forms of things are important, but I think that for physical objects like cats, their physical form is equally, if not more important than our idea of the form of a cat. For example, suppose there are two species of cats that look identical, but one can talk and one can’t. Wouldn’t the metaphysical forms of the two species of cats be identical? I know it’s kind of a stretch, but I just want to explain why I think physical manifestations are just as important as forms.
3. Eudaimonia is a Greek concept of happiness, but not in an emotional way. It’s more like a mixture of happiness and success or satisfaction with one’s life, but it also extends beyond your own life both before birth and after death. Much of it is determined by luck--how you were raised, what happens to your children after you die, etc.--, but you can increase your chances of achieving it by practicing good emotional habits; feeling the right emotions at the right moments. For example, if you are a solider, you should feel fear, but not cowardice or foolhardiness. Eudaimonia involves striking a balance between emotional states. Aristotle believed all virtuous behavior struck a balance relative to two extremes.
I absolutely do not think I have achieved Eudaimonia. I don’t feel that I am extremely virtuous, but I try to be as much as I can, in all honesty. I don’t think I’ve achieved it because I feel I often act and think in unvirtuous ways, even if I don’t let others see.
4. Aristotle’s philosophy was against relying on authority. I don’t think there are authorities that I always defer to, but there are authorities that I hold in high esteem, like my parents. And, if I think about it more broadly, I would probably defer to a lot of authorities without even realizing it, like if I saw a video online by a supposed expert on a subject saying something on the subject, I’d probably just take them more or less for their word. Or if I saw a scientific study or an article saying something.
I think I defer to authorities like my parents or other older parental-type figures because they have more life experience than me, and they know me better than anyone, so I think they usually know what’s best for me. It took me awhile to accept this, because I think, as a kid, I often felt like my parents and adults in general didn’t understand me, but, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to grasp more that they were once my age, too, and that, while they might not understand my pop culture references, they understand who I am as a human being just from their experience with me.
As for deferring to apparent experts, I think I and many others do that because we don’t have the interest or motivation to seek out the information for ourselves, and often we simply could not understand it if we tried, like in the case of esoteric scientific knowledge or math.
You're fortunate in having parents whose authority you continue to value. But think of all the scoundrels, now and historically, who are/were parents.
DeleteThat's true. That I can't account for.
DeleteRemember to put those section #s in your comments, all.
ReplyDelete2. The painting of the school of Athens points out the that Plato looked to the immaterial world of forms while Aristotle wanted to understand through experience. Aristotle believe it was much more important to understand the physical world around us rather than a spiritual one. I believe that we live in a world which we cannot fully understand. We have been given our senses to make sense of it while we live. However, I would wager that the majority of what is happening in the world we do not have the faculties to either notice or understand.
ReplyDelete3. Eudaimonia is an eternal form of joy, not a momentary state of happiness. While happiness is reliant on circumstances, true joy cannot be lost by circumstance. Eudaimonia is like joy in that it it is not a momentary feeling; it is more of a contentment with a life well lived. Aristotle believed Eudaimonia came from success in all things. One way he proposed a person may increase their chances of gaining Eudaimonia was by pursuing good character and raising successful children. This meant your Eudaimonia is not only influenced by your own actions but those of others so it was your duty to influence those around you to pursue their own Eudaimonia.
4. Reliance entirely on others for your own knowledge and wisdom was against his beliefs. He did not believe it was right to trust something to be true simply because you trust the source.
I personally have authority figures in my life who i will defer to when needing guidance of any sort. I have good parents, personal mentors, and wise friends who I can look to. However, their advise is just that, advise, and I am responsible for the decisions i make regardless of whose idea it was. For that reason I don't do things simply because another told me to.
Eudaimonia is probably not "eternal," but it's definitely not supposed to be ephemeral. And it's not really a state of "joy" I think, more of virtuous satisfaction at having attained a good life.
DeleteThe reliable sources of wisdom in our lives, when we are fortunate to find them, are still not (I think) to be "deferred to"... just listened to, considered, conversed with...
JT Hamilton-H02
ReplyDelete1. The point he was trying to make was that just having moments of happiness don't make you happy overall. He thinks that happiness isn’t based on short term joy. I kinda disagree with this thought. I think happiness is a short-term emotion, like sadness. They can change at a moment's notice. Then there are longer term variations of these, like contentment or fulfillment and depression. More in line with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. You can be overall fulfilled with moments of sadness, and you can be depressed with moments of joy and happiness.
4. Relying on other’s authority was completely against the spirit of Aristotle’s research. The only time that I believe I look to a figure of authority to figure things out for myself is if I know them well enough to know that we have an aligned set of values and similar thoughts on an idea already. If I don’t really know the person or don’t agree with their ideas on something, I’ll have to do my own kind of research to get an idea.
And even when we do trust another to reflect our own core values back to us, it is we who must choose to act in compliance with those values.
DeleteWill Slaughter- H2
ReplyDelete3- According to Aristotle, Eudaimonia is a state of lasting joy or happiness, and it can be affected by things that you do in you own life or by things happening in your life that you cannot control. In order to attempt to increase our chances of achieving eudaimonia, Aristotle says that we should strive to live a good life in relation to those around us, which will bring us closer to a state of eudaimonia.
Keira Warren HO2 - HWT 10. In classic Indian philosophy pratyaksa is the perceptual experience as a way of knowledge. The Upanishads says to seek it through a more holistic approach stating that to uncover deeper knowledge one needs to meditate and go through direct experiences.
ReplyDeleteH02 - HWT 13
ReplyDeleteIneffable means something to great to put into words. I believe that it is possible to find words that get close to what you're trying to describe, but I know that I have never been able to convey exactly what I mean when I'm in these situations.
H02 - LHP 3
ReplyDeleteEudaimonia means to flourish or succeed. You can increase your chances of achieving it by having the right kind of character, according to Aristotle. It can only be achieved in relation to life in a society. I don't think I have achieved eudaimonia.
No young person, and possibly no living person, can claim yet to have achieved it. "Count no man happy until he is dead,” said the ancient historian Herodotus. Not sure he and Aristotle were on quite the same page about this, but eudaimonia is definitely more a quality of a lifetime in its totality than a feature of any given stage of it.
DeleteI also don't think I have ever achieved Eudamonia, however this is a word I have never heard of before and it intrigued me. It seems like a good think to work towards.
DeleteKatelin Burch H02
H02 - LHP 1
ReplyDeleteThe point that Aristotle was making was that, in his opinion, a few moments of joy don't add up to true happiness. I agree with him because even the darkest days can have their bright moments, but that doesn't mean that you are ultimately happy.
And, in a normal life we'll all go through unhappy patches without relinquishing our possibility of achieving eudaimonia.
DeleteLHP 1. Aristotle was essentially saying that there is more to true happiness than those few fleeting moments of pleasure. I agree to an extent, especially later on in the chapter when this is expanded upon, that happiness is more than surface level experiences, however I stray a little when he says that even children cannot be happy. This is supposedly because they haven't even begun to experience life yet, they have no "success," but I think this is just a different sort of happiness. A pure, innocent one that you can only have at that point in your life.
ReplyDeleteLHP 2. The School of Athens paints Plato as a philosopher concerned with what is beyond us, while Aristotle is grounded more in observable reality. Personally, I'm more in line with Aristotle--although it's fascinating, I just can't put too much emphasis on the abstract. Even if our reality is truly different from what we perceive, it's not like there's much that could be done to change that. Aristotle's style of philosophy, rooted in what is applicable, just feels more productive to me.
ReplyDeleteI would say too, it's hard to learn and understand something when it's just the "form" of that thing. It's a lot easier to understand, think on, and relish an item when you're able to physically observe it. Personally, I learn better in a hands on environment or with a visual aid, so Aristotle's view of things is a lot easier to understand and comprehend than Plato's as well!
DeleteEudaimonia is a Greek word that is translated as flourishing and is meant to be deeper than the temporary emotion of happiness. We can increase our chances of achieving it by developing the right kind of character and following the right kind of emotions. The question is, what are the “right” characters and “right” emotions? In my own definition, I would say that yes, I have achieved it. (Q3)
ReplyDeleteYou must be much older than you appear.
DeleteSeriously though... I think the Aristotelian way to say this is that you're on the road to achieving it. Life is a highway etc.
LHP 1
ReplyDeleteThe point Aristotle was trying to make was that a few moments of pleasure do not add up to a happy life.
I agree with Aristotle. A few moments of pleasure don’t add up to equal happiness. I believe a life lived in purpose is one that is filled with true happiness.
LHP 2
ReplyDeletePlato preferred to think about the ideal forms of everything, and would have been “content to philosophize from an armchair,” but Aristotle wanted to experience and study the world through his senses.
I am with Aristotle on this one. Maybe it is the aspiring scientist in me, but I believe one of the best ways to learn is by direct observation through our senses.
FL 6
ReplyDeleteWestern civilizations’s first great ad campaign was one that convinced many Europeans to travel to the American colonies for hope of a better future, when that wasn’t the fate of the many that went before them.
Yes, the constant advertising in the USA has a negative impact on life here. Aside from the constant overstimulation and people feeling left out due to not being able to buy the new popular item, the advertising has led to major overconsumption in the USA. Not only is it hurting the people who live here, but it is also hurting the environment, as our oceans and the USA itself fill with waste and plastic.
Hannah Ferreira H01 LHP #1 - Aristotle is making the point that we should not let temporary things, whether pleasures or sorrows, and their accompanying emotions, determine how we view our overall quality of life. Temporary pleasures do not equal happiness and temporary sorrows do not mean a bad life. He wants us to look beyond those circumstances. I agree with him on this.
ReplyDeleteHannah Ferreira H01 FL #6 - Western civilization's first great ad campaign was getting people to come over to the colonies for a new life. Constant advertising in the US has caused such a negative impact on life. It has created constant comparison and discontentment, prioritization of the material over the spiritual or otherwise unseen but important characteristics of life, and a culture of skepticism where everyone is constantly wondering if something is really what it seems (we should be wary but we are forced to be more wary than we really should need to be in life).
ReplyDeleteHannah Ferreira H01 HWT #13 - Ineffable means "too great or extreme to be expressed in words." I think it's possible mostly to be circumlocutory in the way that you put into words something that can't be put into words -- you can't really do anything directly because otherwise you would actually be putting it into words. You can only say so much.
ReplyDeleteLHP #2
ReplyDeleteThe philosophical difference shown between Plato and Aristotle is that Plato is depicted pointing upwards and observing the Forms of life while Aristotle is seen reaching out to the world in front of him. I believe both ways of thinking and observing life itself have their place; some questions might be better answered through the senses while other questions may benefit more from concentrating on the Form of the topic as Plato preferred. Personally I would tend to fall in line with Aristotles approach more often than not, although I see nothing wrong with applying both methods to the same question.
Aristotle also thought it was important to inquire into the form of things (but note the lower-case "f"), but he differed from Plato in saying that the forms are not something separate and apart from our visible world: they're in the things themselves, here on the same plane of existence Plato calls the "cave"...
Delete2. What philosophical difference between Plato and Aristotle is implied by The School of Athens? Whose side are you on, Plato's or Aristotle's? The School of Athens demonstrates the difference between the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle by showing how Plato’s philosphy is based upon the world of Forms whereas Aristotle’s is based on the real world that we can sense. I side with Aristotle in this respect because I think it’s a tad nonsensical to philosophize based on a completely inanimate plane of existence. Why must we think of a form of a cat when there exists a tangible cat in reality?
ReplyDelete- Ani Heng H01
3. What is eudaimonia, and how can we increase our chances of achieving it, and in relation only to what? Do you think you've achieved it?
ReplyDeleteEudaimonia is an objective conception of happiness that is more permanent than the happiness we usually think of which is usually fleeting and based on how we feel. We can increase our chances of achieving it by “develop(ing) the right kind of character,” according to Aristotle. Based on Aristotle’s characterization of eudaimonia, I definitely don’t think that I’ve achieved it wholly, but I think I’m on the right path to it because I try to live like that, though I don’t necessarily always follow it. However, I’m not sure I entirely agree with Aristotle’s conception of happiness since it seems to rely a lot on the luck of having a good upbringing and being affected by events outside your control. On the other hand, I do agree with some aspects of eudaimonia like bettering ourselves, especially in relation to our community.
- Ani Heng H01
4. What reliance is completely against the spirit of Aristotle's research? Are there any authorities you always defer to? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteA lot of people who read Aristotle’s work believed him completely. However, in doing so they were relying on his authority which went against the spirit of Aristotle’s research, in which he emphasized investigation, research, and reason. I definitely defer to authorities including my teachers who are pulling from a wealth of knowledge that was passed down to them. While there are certainly moments where I question the things they say, there is a certain level of trust I put into them to be giving me the right information. I think all of us have to to a certain degree since we can’t always question everything in our reality without completely losing sense of it. What I mean by that is that, if we questioned whether the color blue is the color blue or the validity of math, we would be striving for our own version of reality which would entirely distract us from actually living our lives. Also, when we’re born we often rely on the authority of our parents for survival purposes. I think it’s a good thing to question things and challenge different views, but I don’t think it’s always productive for all aspects of our lives.
- Ani Heng H01
Right, we should question and suspend judgment about important things. Whether blue is "true" blue or not, depending on the context, may for example not be so important.
Delete1. What point was Aristotle making when he wrote of swallows and summer? Do you agree?
ReplyDeleteHe was making a point that true happiness doesn't just come from a few moments of pleasure, but rather came from the longterm. I agree with Aristotle. I believe that there are moments in life that I personally have lived where just one event gave me an immense amount of joy. For example, when I found out that I was receiving a spot in the 2023 Buchanan Fellows cohort, I was so extremely happy that I couldn't contain it. However, these moments do flee. I have become more joyful and more fulfilled the longer I live life and the more relationships I form.
2. What philosophical difference between Plato and Aristotle is implied by The School of Athens? Whose side are you on, Plato's or Aristotle's?
Plato's theory of forms was a much more abstract concept (pointing to the limitless sky), while Aristotle's idea of eudaimonia was a more concrete/practical concept (pointing out to the world around him. I am on Aristotle's side. I don't believe that we have to look beyond the physical world to find meaning (excluding religion, as I am religious).
3. What is eudaimonia, and how can we increase our chances of achieving it, and in relation only to what? Do you think you've achieved it?
Eudaimonia is the greek word for happiness that can also be translated as "flourishing" or "success." It is an objective form of happiness that isn't about momentary feelings of bliss. We can increase our chances of achieving it by "interacting well with those around us in a well-ordered political state," (13). I don't believe that I've achieved eudaimonia, as I have not reached a point in my life that I would describe as flourishing. However, I don't really know how important I view achieving eudaimonia, as I find most of my joy and fulfillment in Christianity.
4. What reliance is completely against the spirit of Aristotle's research? Are there any authorities you always defer to? Why or why not?
The reliance of authority in ones life is completely against the spirit of Aristotle's research. This is because Aristotle's research emphasizes investigation and reason. I typically will always defer to my parents because I know that they have had more life experience than me and always have my best interest in mind. I also defer to professors because I trust that they are well informed on the subject that they are teaching. However, if I question something that an authority figure says, I always do my own research to decide if I should continue to defer to them.
Jaylin Moore - H01.
ReplyDeleteThe School of Athens depicts Plato and Aristotle's differing views on the idea of forms. Plato reaches upwards, searching for something he cannot see, while Aristotle reaches ahead, observing the tangible world in front of him. I'm inclined to side with Aristotle here - I don't think the concept of forms is a useful one. Ignoring the imperfections of the world isn't going to make them go away; if you don't account for them, then nothing you say is going to be applicable to anything. You can think about the perfect, ideal sidewalk all you want, but if you don't notice the uneven bits while you're walking on one, you're just going to trip and fall on your face.
Allison Gibbons H01
ReplyDelete1. What point was Aristotle making when he wrote of swallows and summer? Do you agree?
Aristotle was making the point that we shouldn't define something as wholly good based on one event, or assume that only good things will follow after one good event. Though I see his reasoning, I would also add that this logic can follow for bad things as well. One bad experience should not define the whole day as bad.
LHP 1) Aristotle was making the point that one small moment of joy does not mean that one has found true happiness, that true happiness is just a short fleeting feeling of joy.
ReplyDeleteLHP 2) The difference implied by the school of Athens is that Aristotle is more focused on the present and physical world while Plato is more focused on the abstract "Theory of forms". personally I agree with Aristotle more, i think one should focus on the world and how it is before thinking about its perfect abstract form
LHP 3) eudaimonia what Aristotle believed to be a persons reason for being alive and that true happiness was found in trying to find that reason and/or making it come true
Jake Daly section 2
1. Aristotle was referring to the pursuit of happiness when he wrote of swallows and summer, specifically that it takes more than one happy moment to make a good life. I think most people would agree with statement because it's the same sentiment of one bad day doesn't make a bad life. You need a balance of happy and sad days to really know what happiness is. Where i start to disagree his idea that children cant be happy because i believe children have a mix of happy and sad days even if it's less or there view of what is changes as they mature.
ReplyDelete2. The distinction made by "The school of Athens" was Plato believed that we could gain knowledge by thinking abstractly about a particular idea, while Aristotle believed you must experience and explore reality. I agree with Aristotle like the example Warburton used in LHP if you want to understand cats you have to go out and study them you can't just sit and dream about them.
Dyauni Johnson H03
DeleteIn response to your comment about children being happy--
DeleteChildren can have good days or bad days just like the rest of us, but I would go so far as to completely refute Aristotles claim and say that children are in fact the happiest among all of us. The adage that -ignorance is bliss- is indeed true. Children are concerned with who will get to the playground first, what will be for lunch? This reality is much more centered in the concrete and the present, while the modern world for adults has us concerned with how we will make rent, and who will be the next celebrity president.
Adriana Ramirez Speis H03
ReplyDelete3. What is eudaimonia, and how can we increase our chances of achieving it, and in relation only to what? Do you think you've achieved it?
Eudaimonia was an Aristotilean conception of objective happiness. This type of happiness is long lasting and it is a state of being. It may be influenced by external events but unlike our conception of happiness, it is not “fleeting” or caused by one particular event. Aristotle believed the key to increasing eudaimonia was “develop[ing] the right kind of character.” This will lead to good behaviors and having those consistently makes you virtuous. Eudaimonia is achieved only in relation “to society.” Like the name of this class, it is a part of philosophy that is only successfully cultivated in the presence of others.
I do believe I have ‘achieved’ Eudaimonia, as I understand it. I am happy to be alive and I do my best everyday to do the right thing. I love the principle of the Golden Mean, striving to remain somewhere between humble and proud.
Adriana Ramirez Speis H03 -
ReplyDelete2. What philosophical difference between Plato and Aristotle is implied by The School of Athens? Whose side are you on, Plato's or Aristotle's?
Plato attempted to understand the world abstractly and looked to the “Forms.” Aristotle saw the world more practically and concretely, believing it was best to observe what is right in front of us. As mentioned in our previous class, Aristotle would examine the inside of the cave while Plato would venture to the outside world. I am much more rational, looking to data and evidence that is testable, so I lean more Aristotilean. I am religious, though, so one could make an argument that I enjoy thinking abstractly and about things that are intangible.
Tessa Wallace H03. 2. The difference that was implied was that Plato was fine to sit and think about the world, but Aristotle wanted to go out and explore and experience what he was thinking about. I agree with Aristotle one this one. I think that it is important to go out and experience the world to really understand what you are thinking about.
ReplyDeleteTessa Wallace H03. 3. Eudaimonia is about flourishing or succeeding rather than happiness. We can increase our chances of achieving this by knowing what we want to flourish or succeed in. I am not sure if I have fully achieved it, yet I have never thought about it. I think that I will one day when I fully understand what it is.
ReplyDeleteTessa Wallace H03. 4. The reliance that goes completely against Aristoteles research is always believing your authorities in your life. This also means that you should always make sure what people are telling you are true. I think that I go to my parents and family for guidance, but I always make sure what they are telling me is true. I think that it is important to also make sure the information you are getting is true.
ReplyDeleteFYI: I try to look at all your comments, but I don't have time to respond to them all. Absence of a response does not indicate lack of interest on my part. But earlier posts do get priority of attention. If you post comments on the day of class, I won't see them until later.
ReplyDelete