The Existence of Socrates

This is something I wanted to ask in class, but I didn't want to feel and/or look stupid. Instead, I shall blog about it: did Socrates exist? All we really know about Socrates is what Plato has "said" he said. Did Plato just make him up. Was Socrates a figment of Plato's imagination. Was Plato crazy? We'll never know.

I don't understand how someone can live by someone else's guildlines to life (Plato's, Aristotle's, etc). Why not make you own? Is it because everything that we know is influenced by what we read, see, and hear and therefore have no unique thoughts? I'm babbling. I guess what I am trying to say is, are there any unique ideas today? If people around the world were having the same ideas around the world at once (flying) and then Plato's ideas of the forms and then you lose it through reincarnation. IJUSTDON'TGETIT.

Philosophy and I

Philosophy: "Hi."

Me: "..."

(End)

Like oil and water, philosophy and I do not mix, er, rather communicate. I'm not sure I can even think in a philosophical sense. So, when I am blogging, asking questions in class, or mumbling something in classing, I'm merely poking out into the dark. Is this what philosophers do in general? Poke out in the dark until something makes sense to them? Why does there have to be an explanation for everything? I'm going to talk about science for a bit. Just because someone 'proves' something with an equation with science, doesn't make it true. What are numbers and letters? Something humans made up so they could use as a way to count and spell and therefore communicate and further/complex their existence. It scares me that everything I know is just something someone else made up.

But maybe I'm crazy and this makes absolutely no sense to anyone whatsoever.

Language

The question of whether or not logos (word and reason) was the primary reason that humans could communicate with God; or simply with the language that we as humans have, we are able to reason. Does this reasoning, however, let us communicate with God was the question asked in class. This is not what my post will be about.

Why is it that humans use language to make their lives so complex? Why is it so hard to say 'what you really mean' or 'how you really feel'? In Alaska, there are more than 7 different words for snow and how it falls. Why don't we have that here? Well, I supposed it has something to do with the climate, but why don't more people know about the 7 different words for snow? Is it because they don't need to know it? Why do people feel the need to use extremely large words that the average person has no idea as to what it means? And then when the average person asks them to define it, the person who said the extremely large word is unable to give an accurate and understandable definition.

Free Flowing Thoughts

So, my attempt at video blogging failed. I did make a video blog, however I was unable to post it to the website. I will try to summarize what I said in my video:

During class on Monday, the class (or more accurately the same few students) discussed (or more accurately argued) about the various kinds of the Christian religion, the Bible and its meaning, and Jesus, the Radical One. My question is (to Professor DKJ and anyone else who chooses to answer) why is it that Who Are We? by Pojman keeps turning back to religion when the question of the book is "who are we?" Is the answer to human nature religion? Do humans make up ideas because that is how they have to cope with the world around them?

If one is going to make any reference to the Bible, one has to realize that no one knows who wrote it. And, if they did write it, it is all opinionated bullshit similar to what I am writing right now. Why does one choose to listen to anything they read or hear? That answer is based off of some pre-cognitive decision of what the listener or reader already knows and is willing to know and know because of the world around him or her.

(I want people to know that I do not go over my posts before I post them, because then they would not be my free flowing thought, but rather some essay-like assignment that is not of my creative mind.)
(I do, however, use spellcheck.)
(P.S. I said none of this in my video)

What If There Were No Laws?

This is a question that popped into my head last class (Wednesday), although I'm sure it has crossed my mind before. I believe we were discussing whether people are born with a clean slate, innately 'good' or innately 'bad'. Someone (in the class) came up with the notion that it is because of the laws of society that people behave the way they do. What I don't understand or comprehend or not know that I don't know is what about before the word 'law'? Before language? Before 'good' and 'bad'? And why is 'good' and 'bad' the way that it is? Who comes up with the word for it, decides what defines it and what can be categorized under it? Is it society? Why is it 'bad' to not be 'good'. Ooh, I'm losing my point. So, what if there were no laws? I know, well I don't know, but I think many people do think about this question. The world may wreak havoc and possibly destroy itself, because people do like to have some structure in their life. And if there were any future generations they could become innately bad. Or, possibly, because no one can say for sure, because laws are something that we as humans do not like to follow or like to break, the freeness of not having them would provide for an open environment, where people could just be.

"The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living"

Today in class, someone quoted Socrates, "The unexamined life is not worth living." I believe this quote can be interpreted in a number of ways.

First off, the way Socrates would have wanted his philosophy to be interpreted. What did he mean by unexamined? There are many different definitions for examined today (carefully observed, tested, legal inquistion, etc); however did examine have a different definition when Socrates used it? What/whose life is Socrates talking about? Is he talking about one's (let's say mine) life, or life in general?

I also think that one can possibly overexamine their life (or maybe someone else's) to some aspect. So, how do you know if you've examined your life enough, Socrates? When is it worth living?

The way I interpreted the quote is such that one should question everything. Do not take everything in without an answer for why it is the way it is. I strongly disagree that anyone can say someone's life is not worth living. It does not matter your political, religious, moral, ethical, racial, gender, or sexual orientation standing. This is kind of a rant and off topic.