The Eternal Pursuit for Knowledge and Meaning (aka Nikki’s soul-searching journey)
Intellectual or not, the human mind is on a constant path of furthering it’s own knowledge. Whether it be street smarts gained by years of socialization or the physical push for a higher education, we grow and adapt and seek out new information to cope with our ever changing surroundings.
Since the dawn of time, man (and woman) have pushed and grown to new heights to advance as a civilization. What drives this innate sense of growth and prosperity? What pushes us to seek higher education and put ourselves through years of schooling?
In it’s truest form philosophy refers to the “love of wisdom,” but in a general sense it could also refer to “the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group.” To myself that definitely seems like the pursuit of knowledge and growth in a person. As seen by this photo, even philosophy itself, moves and adapts and seeks more and more to fulfill their insatiable need to explain the universe.
We desire knowledge to figure out this crazy universe and if there is a true meaning to our lives or if we’re just pawns in someone’s game or just specks of dust floating in space.
Different views have different opinions so what are we really supposed to believe? We as individuals seek out philosophy as a way to differentiate ourselves from the general populace of “sheeple” and to find our own meaning to life. To learn and hear people’s opinions and learn tolerance and how to argue for ourselves and stand up and fight the face of injustice.
Philosophy gives us a platform to seek a higher knowledge and expand our views. I personally am here to develop my own opinion and find my voice in the endless void. It is so easy to be lost in the sea of opinions and just give up and join the masses, but it takes real chutzpah to be the voice above the rest and really be yourself.
And along the words of the eternal cliche Robert Frost “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —I took the one less traveled by.”
TL;DR I’m very opinionated and I like big words. Different people have different views, it’s almost like we’re individuals. Philosophy gives me existential crises and I don’t know if I like that.
Sep
26
By bryanjack
Sticky Posts for the Week of September 24th – 28th
Category: Introduction to Philosophical Inquiry Tags: argument, blog comments, blog posts, blogging, comments, communication, Explore, introduction to philosophical inquiry, knowledge, learning, links, philosophy, week in review, widsom Leave a Comment
Visitors to the class blog this week.
It’s been a busy week shaping up on the Philosophy 12 course blog, with comments and posts covering topics from morality to education, literature and the existence of good and evil. Threads of conversation and comments leading off in countless directions. Upon some conversation in class and reference to some of the blogs analytic – tracking, there are a few posts that we decided could be gathered as a sort of week-in-review to hopefully foster further conversation around the themes that are arising:
Liam’s post on good and evil has garnered much conversation about the existence of morality, and the social constructions surrounding our ideas of good, evil, and all that lies between. Seven comments and counting.
While Mariana wasn’t the only Philosophy 12 participant to mine this terrain, her post has served something of a hub around the conversation about learning and the discomfort it brings about, but also the rewards of growth. Five comments and counting.
Kelly’s post concerns learning as well, but addresses the shifting terrain of truth and the difficulty of “knowability.” Three comments and counting.
I’ve collected these posts and links here in the hopes that aggregating these various conversations might allow us to take them to a new place and understanding. Don’t feel obligated to continue the thread in the comments section for the posts if you want to synthesize and regroup what you are reading and take it to the ‘next’ place – start a new post and link to the thread that preceded it: make the connections for your audience, and take us with you!