Well it has been a little while since my last post. I got off from work not long ago and I began to think about this blog we have.
Sorry if it seems like I am rambling in this blog entry. Life has been crazy busy and I have all these thoughts swirling around upstairs...........
It is funny how I have no prior background in Philosophy but I find myself trying to figure out and apply what we have learned in our lectures and readings. I try to take tidbits from philosopher X and tidbits from philosopher Y then see how these relate to everyday life. I think the greatest thing we have at our disposal is this ability to look at philosophers from the past and not be subjected to one form of thinking. We can take what we feel applies to what we believe and work off of that. I for one would have found it hard to be on of Pythagoras' followers because I could never sit there and listen to someone behind a curtain nor be a follower of one ideal. While I understand why people did and still do these things, for me it is more about learning from the past and further bettering ourselves on what they had only begun to scratch the surface on. It is about having the ability to combine all of these different philosophers into my beliefs and adapting what makes the most sense to me. I mean this thing about freedom of thought is one of our most sacred things we have that many in the past have not. It just goes to show how far we have come from our ancestors and the progress we have made.
As Forrest Gump said, "That's all I have to say about that."
For now =)
Good Night Folks
-SWS II
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Glad you are working at integrating these philosophical thoughts into your life.
ReplyDeleteI second Dr. Bowery's applause. It's good to have choices when it comes to what we choose to believe. What we need to be on guard about is just layering them without examining and dropping old ones which no longer work for us. It would seem to be an almost-infinite, if not infinite, process. That said, I am like you in my optimism of making progress.
ReplyDeleteSteven,
ReplyDeleteI wonder about two things. First, you mention how you take various things from various philosophers as they apply to your beliefs. Do you find some of your beliefs challenged by some of these thinkers, or do you find that you are taking in what agrees most with your current belief set? Just curious...
Second, you menton the great good of freedom of thought. My question: could it be that submitting oneself to the guidance and teaching of another, often by limiting freedom of thought, is a distinctive mode of freedom not available to the average free-thinker? I'm thinking of something like a spiritual student who submits his life and thoughts to a Zen master or spiritual mentor, for instance, so that he can (precisely by curbing his own free thought) deepen his perspective and become more wise. Of course with any teacher, there is a point at which we have to ask: what do I think about that? So, your point is well-taken.