This is good exam prep.What topic or even individual class this semester did you find to be the most challenging, intriguing or puzzling--and why? What idea or class made you think the most? What does your choice of topic or lesson suggest about you as a philosopher?
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Philosophy is a very challenging yet phenomenal class. It has taught me a variety a things ranging in their simplicity to high importance. I have learned that I should not be afraid to ask questions and that even the smartest people in history had to continually asking questions to increase their knowledge. I have learned not only about philosophers themselves but their ideas and thoughts that they have died for. For this class we have read many works of writing and in class, we were shown movies that explained common theories used in this subject, such as determinism. Watching 2001: A Space Odyssey, I attained an understanding of many themes. The film deals with themes of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence and extra terrestrial life. Over the years, I have always doubted the fact of extraterrestrial existence and I have been curious of how computers and machines became smarter than humans. The lessons taught in class have made me continue to question, but I have grew an understanding and back up information to question as opposed to questioning the entire topic.
-Abby
The ethics chapter was most intriguing. There were just so many ideas and methods people came up with to help in decision making, a skill which could solve lots if done correctly. Decision making, this one simple everyday task, gave rise to so many philosophies over the hundreds of years. There’s Bentham with his hedonistic calculus which calculated the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. Personally, I thought this was the best method for making a choice. It made sense using logic and math to find the answer. However, it was not until we read the story about the people in Omelas and the poor imprisoned child that the lack of emotion in this calculus made its argument weak. Aristotle’s golden mean which stated that each person should find the perfect middle response to every event that happens. The golden was not just taking each end of the spectrum and dividing by two, but deciding what the perfect middle ground was for that specific person. I thought this was better than the hedonistic calculus because it answered the problem on emotions, and it also included relativism. But the problem is there are some situations where carrying out an action in a vice would be acceptable too. Also, many decisions require on the spot thinking and trying to find the perfect middle would take too much time. Each method had its merits and I was going to use them to solve my own problems but it was not until when the weaknesses were presented that I realized that ethics is more complicated than it sounds.
Philosophy was easily the most intriguing class I took this semester and probably ever. This class definitely made me think the most. I was actually surprised in how much thinking I could do first period in the morning. Philosophy is so puzzling because there are no answers. Every question brought up in Philosophy would only be answered with different ideas. There is no such thing as the right answer. Another reason why I found Philosophy to be so puzzling is that the class questioned things that I have never thought about. It took things like happiness and other simple words and tried to define them. It also tried to define the meaning of life and death. A part of Philosophy that was challenging was the green book. I do not think I have ever read such complicated and confusing writings. I also have never had to take so many post-it notes. I do not really know what this suggests about me as a Philosopher. I think that if I never took this class then I would never consider myself a Philosopher. I think my choice of Philosophy suggests that I am like any other Philosopher. I may be puzzled and confused at times but I am also intrigued. Even though, I might never know the truth and the right answer I can still believe my own ideas.
Philosophy was definately the most intriguing class this semester. It made me think i was a real philosopher because many of the issues brought up in class, i've thought about or considered in some way or form. Philosopohy gives you all different prospectives on a topic but never a definate answer. Philosophy proves the statement that theres a answer for everything wrong.
Determinism and Free will was one of the most intriguing topics this year. People live there life they don't wonder if there next course of action has already been determined or if they have total control of your life. Theres technically no middle ground you can't have determined free will. with determinism you have to believe in some greater being with ties into religion alittle bit. every topic we've ever done has been used in another thats the great thing about philosophy its not just applied for one thing only and then thats it. a topic always come us up down the line in another. philosophy is the best place to start your morning, it gets your wheels turning.
Philosophy was one of the most interesting classes I’ve taken. A lot of people ask me if i like it and whether they should take it or not next year. My answer is always yes! I say if you want to be confused, yet question morals, virtues, etc, then go for it. Philosophy has taught me that I can ask questions without getting a straight out answer. It has shown me that it is okay to be confused about things and not everything has an answer. My favorite class this semester was when we went to the auditorium. We got into two circles and had to throw the ball around. We kept adding more and more balls and no one really understood the point of it, but it was fun. It taught us something and it showed that philosophy can be fun and not all post it notes. Philosophy made me think a lot and one moment I would agree with this philosopher and the next agree with a different one. Philosophy tells me that it is okay to be confused and not everything is perfect all the time.
Philosophy class for me is one of the most difficult courses that I have taken so far. It is also one of the more interesting of my classes. Plus, I don’t think I’ve ever taken so many notes and details on just one idea in particular instead of generally. Listening to and sometimes participating in all of those discussions about all of the various philosophers we covered, was one of the things I liked about this course. Hearing about philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle and their views was a study in contradictions. Philosophy is so difficult because it’s confusing a lot of the time. For any questions you have, the answers you get will vary depending on who you ask and what the subject is. One philosopher will say one thing, but another philosopher can contradict the previous answer that was given. In the end, the answer you choose depends on what way of thinking you use. No one can tell us what to think but ourselves.oe
The most intriguing topic brought up this semester was probably the 'brain in the vat' problem, and the question of what defines the word 'alive' or 'human'. This definitely made me think the most, because previously i have always defined a living human being as an individual with a functioning heart and/or brain. However, after reading hypothetical situations in which a person's brain is imitated by a computer and functions are sent out by a radio-transmitter--i thought twice about my definition. Certainly the person was alive because his brain was functioning, and his heart was beating (therefore, his body was moving), but the fact that his brain was OUTSIDE his, body, i had never accounted for a situation like that.
I began to think about it, and i sadly came to the conclusion that i couldn't consider him a true human being. First of all, i couldn't fathom living like that, and if i ever had to live with my brain outside my body, i don't think i could cope with it. This is also ties in with the issue of "frightening computers"--and how far technology is progressing. I feel that if technology can come to that rate--imitating the functions of human brains perfectly, people and their bodies will become utterly dehumanized, and what makes us human will have less and less value. Anything that can be manufactured easily loses its value, and that can soon happen to a human. I think, as a philosopher, my choice of topic makes me a firm believer in status quo--that we should come to a standstill when it comes to uber radical advances.
Throughout this philosophy course, it began to surprise me how often philosophy is used in every day life. I frequently found myself saying, " Oh my god, I learned this in philosophy!" Also, many of the topics we have explored and discussed in class have actually crossed my mind before. For example, the unit on the existence of knowledge which I found to be very intruiging, I always have wondered about before. It amazes me all of these different ideas, what if everything only exists in your mind or if we really do know anything. Alot of people did not enjoy The Turn of the Screw, but I actually loved it! I was really into it and I found the way the Governess thought was fascinating. Ethics was definitley the most difficult topic, mostly because there was alot of terminology used and theories. All of the topics were puzzling and really had me thinking so throughout the rest of my day I was ready to THINK!
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