To say that every single person in this world has the same meaning to their life is wrong. Different people have had different experiences and those experiences will shape their thoughts regarding what is meaningful to them and what is not. To be honest I am not sure if I have discovered the meaning of my life at this moment, I am still young and have maybe a few more years before I have to sit down and actually think of the meaning of my life or if I am following the right path.
Right now I hold very few things really meaningful to me, my family and traveling. Even though often I do not get along with my family I still care for them. When I am angry or annoyed they are always there.When I am happy and optimistic they are there. When I just don't know what to do with myself they are there for me. Family is meaningful because they have always been a security blanket for me and will keep on being for a long time. Traveling is also meaningful to me because it allows me to learn so much more. It is something that excites me and makes me giddy. Traveling makes me look forward to the next day, every hour brings new things. I do not know how to properly express the meaning that traveling has to me, but I know that many of the ideas and thoughts I have would have been shaped differently if it weren't for travel. Family and travel are big parts of my life and have shaped me.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Candide's Punishment, Do they fit the crime?
Candide's first punishment was expulsion from the castle because he was caught getting friendly with Cunegonde. At first I thought this was too extreme, it did not seem fair that a stolen kiss was worth being kicked out and almost left for dead. Yet as the story progressed I began to realize that maybe being banished from the castle was not the worst. If he had been given a less extreme punishment for the stolen kiss then Candide would have been present when the Bulgarians attacked. He might have died trying to defend Cunegonde from being ravished by the Bulgarians, and that would have been a greater punishment for his crime.
Sticking with only his first crime and his first punishment I feel like his punishment did fit the crime. His expulsion from the castle caused him to go out and learn more than what he knew. Even though Candide's crime was not serious, his punishment was. It might have be seen as harsh but it allowed him to live and to travel, to learn. Because of his punishment Candide was allowed to experience a harsher life than what he believed to be true, this has allowed him to learn and to be able to decide for himself what the best of all worlds is for himself-everyone has their own.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
How do I know what I know.
In all honesty I have no idea how I know what I know. Maybe it was through observation or experience but that doesn't fully support any knowledge I have. It's frustrating because I can't really explain it, it is frustrating because it doesn't matter if I trace a thing I learned to the beginning, it always end up in the same two ends: I saw someone do it or I experienced it myself.
I know how to play the piano, I remember learning how to play the piano. I was much younger than I am right now and I had a small keyboard set up to a piano. My teacher would sit next to me and hold up a note card with a music note. Then she would play it, say the name, and play it again. I had to repeat this until I learned or memorized that music note. Then she would move on to the next. After a while she would quiz me call out a name and I had to play it back to her or she would play something and expect me to tell her the name. It would be a similar process with some pieces she required me to play. This makes me realize that everything I have 'learned' are things other people told me about. In school I learn what the teacher teaches, how did they learn it? Someone had to tell them and so on.
I know what I know because other people told me a majority of it. The other part I know because I experienced it. I know not to put my hand near a stove because it will hurt. I know not to do a lot of things because they are painful but I also know to do a lot of other things because they are good or pleasant. I don't think there is a way where people can say, "I really know this because...." This topic is frustrating because what I know might be something else someone else does not know and then there are the things that a few people might know but they know them to be different. How can we be sure that what we know is 'correct'? Does it depend on the morals of that person? I know what I know due to experiences and observations, while everything I know might not be right it is what I have grown to know, and my knowledge is my reality-everyone has their own reality.
I know how to play the piano, I remember learning how to play the piano. I was much younger than I am right now and I had a small keyboard set up to a piano. My teacher would sit next to me and hold up a note card with a music note. Then she would play it, say the name, and play it again. I had to repeat this until I learned or memorized that music note. Then she would move on to the next. After a while she would quiz me call out a name and I had to play it back to her or she would play something and expect me to tell her the name. It would be a similar process with some pieces she required me to play. This makes me realize that everything I have 'learned' are things other people told me about. In school I learn what the teacher teaches, how did they learn it? Someone had to tell them and so on.
I know what I know because other people told me a majority of it. The other part I know because I experienced it. I know not to put my hand near a stove because it will hurt. I know not to do a lot of things because they are painful but I also know to do a lot of other things because they are good or pleasant. I don't think there is a way where people can say, "I really know this because...." This topic is frustrating because what I know might be something else someone else does not know and then there are the things that a few people might know but they know them to be different. How can we be sure that what we know is 'correct'? Does it depend on the morals of that person? I know what I know due to experiences and observations, while everything I know might not be right it is what I have grown to know, and my knowledge is my reality-everyone has their own reality.
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