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IH 0851: THE GOOD LIFE

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A Look Back At This Semester

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This semester has been nothing but normal. For one thing, this class is asynchronous, a very interesting experience, and something that I wish I had in-person. It evoked critical thinking and helped me develop my mind in ways I never knew about. Here I will be discussing all the modules and material that I have been reading and analyzing over the past semester which aided in that journey for me. Hoping to express all of my thoughts through this presentation, please come with me on this summed up path, unveiled through the words within this book.

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Module 1: Subjectivity and Objectivity

In the book, Don Quixote goes on an adventure, much like other chivalry tales and creates his own chivalry story for himself, where he is the main protagonist of his story. He is seen as crazy to many that come across his path, some even playing along.

  • “At this moment a gelder of hogs happened to arrive at the inn, and as he arrived he blew on his reed pipe four or five times, which confirmed for Don Quixote that he was in a famous castle where they were entertaining him with music, and that the cod was trout, the bread soft and white, the prostitute ladies, the innkeeper the castellan of the castle, and that his decision to sally forth had been a good one” (pg. 29).
  • This shows the contrasting ideas of idealism and realism. Don Quixote is being served stale bread and horribly prepared cod, yet he chooses to believe that the bad food is a wonderful meal. He is morphing the real world into what he wants to believe it to be-- his own chivalry story.

Reflection

This book and module touches on the ideas of subjectivity, objectivity, truth, perspective, and self-certainty.

  • In a way we create our own subjective thoughts, but only to an extent in which fits into that objective truth that modern society has created. We end up having to sacrifice our subjective authority to fit the standards.
  • Like said in the discussion board, we are much like Don Quixote where we know much about what we know, but yet don't know enough to know what we don't know.
  • The way take from those experiences in life helps become the framework of our lives in the future.

I've learned that we are what we make ourselves out to be, while staying within those objective truths that society and the world has created to be the norm. We can never be like Don Quixote as he is someone who went to the extreme to drop everything to pursue his chivalry tale's dream. Yet this story has taught the readers that we are just like him in ways we don't even know. We desire to have that freedom but are bounded by the world.

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Module 2: Origins of Thought

This module holds three separate readings: The Epic of Gilgamesh, Genesis, and Myth & Psyche.

  • The Epic of Gilgamesh talks about Gilgamesh's journey to find the solution to mortality. He is so scared of death after the passing of his best friend, that he goes off to try to find out how to escape it. However, as said in the tablets, “'No one at all sees Death, no one at all sees the face [of Death,] no one at all [hears] the voice of Death, Death so savage, who hacks men down’” (Tablet X, 304-307).
  • Death is such an anonymous presence that is waiting as the time ticks for each person. We do not really know what happens after death and during death, but it is something that is inevitable for everyone.
  • Genesis talks about the creation of the world. The first chapter talks about how God created our world in six days and “blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (2.1, The Seventh Day, God Rests).
  • It gives us categories and separations of things such as night and day, heaven and earth, and knowledge of good and evil. We use these groupings to help with our understanding of the world.
  • Myth & Psyche talks about different myths and its meaning on the consciousness of oneself. It also talks about "The Hero's Journey", something discussed from the Voicethread where many stories follow this type of path as the story develops, such as the "call to adventure".
  • Similarly, The Epic of Gilgamesh also includes this development of "The Hero's Journey". Something discussed in this passage was that “the hero myth symbolizes that personality formation occurs only through struggle, suffering, and sacrifice. The hero’s triumphs and defeats are the paradigms of the individual’s confrontation with the challenges of his or her own individual life – no matter how mundane or exalted” (Kalsched & Jones, pg. 3). This is what is described through the epic as Gilgamesh being the hero of his story.

Reflection

Even though these stories are old, they all have something to tell us. It shows that even back then we are all striving to have the same understanding. It is to understand ourselves (our psyche) and the world around us. The common theme between these text is the idea of mortality and the idea of understanding our psyche. They all show that we do not live long, and that we have to make use of the time we have right now.

I've learned more about the ideas of mortality and learned more about the understanding of oneself. We are all confused and struggling in life, but we don't have to struggle alone. It shows the importance of storytelling as it helps us understand that we aren't alone. We are all trying to make sense of this complicated world that we call our own.

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Module 3: Sense of Our Rational Thoughts

This module includes readings from Plato, Trials of Socrates and Parable of the Cave.

  • Trials of Socrates talks about Socrates and his trial for his two charges of impiety and corruption of the youth. It introduces the Socratic Method in which it is a series of questions that help evoke critical thinking and discussion. “You see, fearing death, gentlemen, is nothing other than thinking one is wise when one isn't, since it's thinking one knows what one doesn't know. I mean, no one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all goods for people, but they fear it as if they knew for certain that it's the worst thing of all” (pg. 44).
  • This is the idea of mortality. Socrates believes that you should not fear death because you do not know if death is good or bad, and yet those who think that they are wise believe that it is something we should fear. This also ties into Socrates’ wisdom and how he is wise. He is wise because he does not make assumptions of the unknown and does not think that he is correct.
  • Socrates is not there to impose his thoughts onto other people, but rather is there to try to encourage people to critically think and to get rid of those subjective thoughts that people believe are factual.
  • In Parable of the Cave, prisoners are chained up and only know the shadows that pass by in the cave. One prisoner escapes and finally sees the truths of the world and that the light that shines to create those shadows is actually the sun. He knows that he would be ridiculed by the others because they would not believe him but he states that “‘I think,’ he said, ‘that he would prefer to endure everything rather than be that kind (the cave-dwelling kind) of human being’” (pg. 4).
  • The prisoner would endure it all than to go back to what he used to live as in the caves. He found that truth and knowledge in the outside world and changed his perspective to fit that truth of the world. He realizes that his ignorance and imagination of what those shadows were while chained in the shackles are not worth his time.

Reflection

This module, similar to the first module, talks about the ideas of subjectivity and objectivity, in relations to our rational thoughts. The problem with subjectivity is that we are too certain of our own authority that we fail to realize that we can't really trust that. Instead of feeding into our subjective thoughts, we must think rationally as it helps overcome the limits of subjectivity and arriving at objective understanding of our experience. Both Trials of Socrates and Parable of the Cave help readers understand the problem with subjectivity and shows us ways to reach that objective thought. I learned to not really trust what I believe and to be open to more rational thoughts, as I dissect my thoughts and questions. We have to understand that we continue to learn, even when we are older. Though we can not know everything, knowing some things is still better than none and our acceptance to become more knowledgeable makes all the difference. Subjective and objective thoughts are opposites, yet there is harmony between them, something that fundamental to expanding our current knowledge.

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Module 4: Polytheistic Consciousness

As we go on with the semester, we come to readings that deal with Greek Mythology and their Gods and Goddesses. The readings include: Homer's Odyssey, as well as passages dealing with Aphrodite and Ares.

  • In the Odyssey, Odysseus is trying to find his way back home after years of not being back after the Trojan War. There are many examples of Xenia (that deals with hospitality, and in terms of the Odyssey, the relationship between the hosts and guests. There are many Gods and Goddesses involved during the journey that Odysseus takes on to go home such as Poseidon, Zeus, and Athena. Athena especially was the Goddess who had helped Odysseus and fought for his safe arrival home. This book shows the importance of Gods and Goddesses, as well as the polytheistic consciousness that people had followed.
  • In Aphrodite, it discusses the idea of sexual pleasures and the sexual realm. Many images of sex and femininity come from the descriptions of Aphrodite. It discusses the contrasting ideas of religion and the ideas of Aphrodite's cult, as well as touching on procreation and love. “There is this same communion of enjoyment between the body of lovers, and many men are moved by the body and the pleasure of their mistress in the same way as a mother by the body and pleasure of her child. Maternal love and sexual love are the only kinds to have invented such variety of caresses,ticklings, kisses, tender games and little surprises. According to the myth, to make a baby laugh and to delight one's partner in sex both draw upon the same Aphrodisiacal intimacy” (pg. 35).
  • This is the connection between love and creating a child through that love. People are able to make love to each other through sexual intimacy and be able to produce a creature that we can give that love that was used in the sexual intercourse back to them. We end up going back to our roots to when our mothers caressed and cared for us, and carrying with us through our relationships with lovers and our own children. We show our innocence and vulnerability to someone else which creates such a lasting bond and experience.
  • In Ares, as the God of War, it is fitting that it talks about ideas of war. “War defends civilization, not because a war is claimed to be a just war, or a justified war. The just cause lies not in the end — overcoming evil, repelling barbarians, protecting the innocent — but in the way the entry into war and the conduct of the war maintain the steadfast virtues, the ‘gentle light’ shone on them by Ares” (Hillman, pg. 204).
  • War defends civilization not because of the reasons of war (if it is justified or not) but it helps people keep their values and virtues. They stay with their values and continue to stick by it “defending” what they stand for.

Reflection

These readings help us understand the ideas of a polytheistic consciousness. Many of these ideas can still be applied to our modern society. Odyssey helps us understand the importance of these Gods and Goddesses on their lives, helping to explain different phenomenons and questions of the world. All the gods have different roles that they play, making them all important in a variety of ways. In a way, though I do not believe in these gods, I still can take the ideas of war and love from these passages and apply it to my life. It helped evoke my understandings of why people go to war, and the connection between love and procreation in a much more deeper way.

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Module 5: Identity & Self

In the reading of the graphic novel, Persepolis, the readers get to experience the perspective of the writer, Marjane Satrapi, during the Iranian War. She grows up during the war and it ends up shaping her sense of self through politics, religion, and perspective.

  • “My parents were called in by the teacher. ‘Your child is disturbed. She wants to become a prophet.’ ‘What about it?’ ‘Doesn’t this worry you?’ ‘No! Not at all!’ Nonetheless, my parents were puzzled. ‘So tell me, my child, what do you want to be when you grow up?’ ‘(A prophet) I want to be a doctor.’ ‘That's fine my love. That’s fine.’ I felt so guilty towards God” (pg. 8-9).
  • This shows the contrast between religion and science & analysis. Science and analysis comes up with solutions to questions about the world through science and technology. However, with religion, they have solutions as well but it is not backed up with evidence. It also shows the idea of how parents can try to morph you into what they want you to be, and would want to hear what they want to hear. Marjane (the young girl) told her parents that she wants to be a doctor, even though she doesn’t truly want to be.

It also talks about her struggles of growing up. Just like anybody else, she tries hard to fit in. Such as the time when she was in Austria where she was a teen and trying to fit in with the crowd.

  • “So I pretended to participate, but I never inhaled the smoke. And as soon as my friends’ backs were turned, I stuck my fingers in my eyes to make them good and red. Then, I imitated their laughter. I was quite believable” (pg. 38).

Reflection

Just like how Satrapi developed her story through what she experienced, we notice that we all experience different things as our perspective on many situations are different from one another. It is also the idea of finding ourselves at a young age, as we grow with the author throughout the novel. We all go through a similar transformational path toward adulthood, but the way we approach and take away from the path to adulthood varies between people. That is what makes us unique in how we think and take from experiences. Though we can be influenced by many factors within our lives, it is the variety of experiences, choices, and opinions that make us who we are. Taken from the discussion board, we are all still trying to find ourselves in this process of life. What I learned is that it is not necessarily something where we abandon the authority of our cultural identities because of that demand of modernity, but it is something that we see fit for ourselves and our minds. We take what we want from our cultures, as it is something that aids us in becoming our unique selves. We still have the authority to govern our decisions and mind.

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Module 6: Societal Roles of The Self

Girlhood is an autobiographical nonfiction book that touches on the ideas of gender, sex, empty consent, sexuality, intimacy, and even patriarchal socialization. As hard it was to read the stories that was discussed and described by the author, it showed many hardships that come from these societal roles, specifically for women.

  • “Sandra Lee Bartky writes: ‘In contemporary patriarchal culture, a panoptical male connoisseur resides within the consciousness of most women: they stand perpetually before his gaze and under his judgement. Woman lives her body as seen by another, by an anonymous patriarchal Other’” (pg. 248).
  • There will always be that lingering patriarchal cultural thought where we are constantly judged. Women are built on the judgements of other people, more specifically, men and their thoughts.

This book also shows the growth of the author as it takes us on the journey of self-care, self-growth, and self-love.

  • “Like any kind of love, my self-love needed to manifest as an active practice of care. I had learned this about relationships with lovers, that ‘love is as love does,’ but I had not internalized it. A body isn’t very well loved by the person who abandons it when its needs conflict with the desires of strangers” (pg. 260).
  • At the end of the day, you are the only one who stands in front of you. We only have ourselves to rely on at times, and to abandon it is just disrespectful and hurtful.

Reflection

This shows the ideas of societal roles that affect all of us in our world. We are built off of what we learned from childhood where in some cases, we have no sovereignty over ourselves. As I have said in the discussion board, the expectations built from those impressions from our surroundings and society are what determine the limitations of the roles we play. It is not something that is absolute and essential, not something built in our biology, but rather learned. However, through reading this book, I have learned that I must learn to be with my past, rather than completely blocking it from my life. This reading was hard to read as it talks about topics that are triggering, yet so essential for everybody to know and understand. It helped me reflect on these topics and understand the struggles that many other women face.

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What did I learn overall?

What I have drawn from all of our readings is the main arching theme, that is, the idea of identity and self. That "good life" that this class is named after, is the version of life that we see that best fits ourselves. It is something that we can apply to our lives. We are all different, and that understanding that we are all different is what helps us grow at our own pace and helps us find that "good life". We can find inspirations from our experiences and other people’s experiences, as life is a collection of all of those things. That is what I have done with these readings from many different people and cultures.

I am slowly starting to help myself in the this growing process that I call life. It is not something that I can grow off of subjective thoughts alone, as I still live in a world full of many different people, those unique in their own ways. I think that the way I think of life is different now, as I can use more rational thinking and critical thinking within my daily life. What is key to growth in my opinion, is the idea of encouraging different thoughts and being open minded. We should take what we see best fits our interest, and improve with those ideas. Though we live in a world full of different people, the one who truly matters in our lives is ourselves. We are all capable of growth, and that growth starts with you. That is something I want to pursue as I grow older.

Life is an

Open Book..

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Ready to Turn the Next Page?

Thank you!

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for a wonderful semester of thoughts and reflection

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