Improve Your Quality of Life

So in class this week, Professor Piper asked us whether or not we agreed that gaining philosophical insight will improve our lives. I think it would improve the quality of many lives.

If more people in this world were both a little more theoretically and practically wise, I believe there would be less violence.

A lot of people you see now lack empathy for others, a big contributor to violent tendencies. Instead of putting themselves in someone else's shoes, they judge others' actions with much bias. For example: say you were walking down the street and a homeless man grabs your jacket, begging you for something to eat. A good amount of people would ignore him and continue walking. Some may even kick or hit him. With a little more empathy (practical wisdom), we'd be able to understand that maybe this man lost his job to no fault of his own, and is stuck in this terrible place.

On the theoretical side, a big thing a lot of people lack is objectivity. This holds true with almost everything: religion, sexual preference, race, gender, etc. With a little more tolerance towards people of different cultures, the world would definitely be a better place, and we'd all be healthier intellectually.

Men in Black

When Professor M. asked us to look at the Men in Black clip with the alien inside the human's brain, he challenged us to answer the question: is there another entity inside our brain that controls us?

If you use Men in Black as a literal example, then no. There can't be. The "human" in Men in Black was something like our robot. It was a device designed by these extra-terrestrial beings to fit in on planet Earth. A real human being? No.

We are real human beings. We know this because we can feel it. We can feel our own arms, legs, flesh. And I suppose we would be able to feel if there were another being inside of us.

Vaccinations

Last month, we discussed the dangers of vaccinations and the argument over whether or not they cause different diseases, most notably: autism. The question of whether we should still receive these imperative vaccines regardless of our beliefs was posed, and my answer is yes.

While every individual is welcome to their beliefs (it's their rights as Americans), not getting vaccinated for certain vaccines, like the MMR, is putting the health of others at risk, and that is not a civil liberty. People who knowingly transmit HIV have been arrested in the past, people who have refused to take precautions against the disease.

You cannot take someone else's life into your own hands. Vaccinations for these diseases are administered for the safety of not only the individual, but all the people that person comes into contact with.

Say you have a child, and you refuse the MMR vaccination for your child. Your child comes down with the disease, but you don't even know it. You bring your child to the playground. Your child infects another child, and that child dies. Shouldn't you be held responsible? Your decision indirectly lead to the death of another human being. Instead of taking a chance with autism, you shifted that gamble onto another person.

Kind of radical, I know, but the point is: while you may be allowed to believe whatever you want, when it comes to the welfare of other individuals, you do not have the right to make decisions for them regarding their health.

Good luck!

I'm sad to see Professor Mazoue leave us. I wish him all the best and will miss him. Class has been so fun and I've learned so much already about thinking outside my box. Will miss the way he challenges me.

Now, regarding the Ship of Theseus thought experiment, I just wanted to comment on how difficult it is to make one choice: is it the ship or is it not?

My initial reaction was that no, if you take away all of the pieces of the ship over time and replace each and every piece with a new piece, it will no longer be the same ship. You will no longer have the loose plank with the nail sticking out of it that you stubbed your toe on, or the wheel which you gripped so tightly, you left hand impressions. While it may still be performing the same actions, it has lost its sentimental value. It is no longer the ship you remember.

Same goes for people. A few people in class brought up those with mental illness or those in vegetative states. You always hear people say: "That's not the Mary I used to know" because it's not. While Mary may still look the same, she is not the same outgoing, fun-loving person you knew.

Even so, it is harder to make that comparison with human beings. I understand why people had a problem with that.

Can You Really Change?

This was brought up tonight in the discussion group, and I wanted to address it more. I think as a human being, if you want to change, you can change. You have to be dedicated enough to change. You have to put yourself behind the idea 100%, and you have to put your whole self behind it. Your mind, your body, and your soul.