conversations
Dec/040
one of the things i’ve encountered quite a bit while studying philosophy at the unversity is conversing with people about very delicate subjects. people’s political, ethical, and religious convictions are often some of their dearest and most closely held beliefs – and discussing them with someone who doesn’t agree with you can be, for lack of a better word, difficult. i think it’s a pretty widely held modern american value to shoot for ‘tolerance’ of that which is different, but one of the things that drives seekers of knowledge is well beyond tolerance and into the realm of understanding. the hard part can be finding common ground – foundational building blocks that you can agree on that provide a place to start. once we agree on certain things, we can always move forward from there.
coming out of election season, i’ve observed a lot of people (radical liberals, staunch conservatives, reasonable moderates). some of them struck me as idiots even more ignorant than myself (no small task), others as unbelievably educated. the worst thing that came out of this whole season was the super-heated division between americans that, when it really came down to it, shared 95% of their beliefs. liberals saw red when they passed a house with Bush/Cheney ‘04 sign in the lawn, and the reverse was true as well. many conversations turned into arguments – and this isn’t just from my own experience, either.
if there is one thing that people get passionate about – it’s religion. never has there been a topic where more people tried to force their ideas on others than religion. and it’s not just religious people, either. i’ve seen plenty of other athiests who take every opportunity to try and destroy the beliefs of people of faith. i’ve made every effort in my conversations to always try and learn, always try and understand a point of view other than my own.
i guess the bottom line is that it seems pretty unreasonable to believe we’re ever going to be able to limit ourselves to ONLY socializing with people who share the exact same beliefs as ourselves. so how do we handle this? do we try to quietly act as inoffensively as possible, smiling and nodding ad not making waves? do we excuse ourselves when activities or conversations that make us uncomfortable are being executed? i think more often than not, we incorrectly make the assumption that people will be offended if we politely and assertively follow our hearts and don’t just act like herd animals.
be courteous. be mindful. be brave. go hawks. (sorry, they’re on ESPN right now)
finito
Dec/040
semester is done,
it feels realy *bleepin* good
having free time now.
oh philosophy,
i came, i saw, i conquered
without reading it.
a stroke of genius-
to call the game we play “wow”
oddly, a great name.
so next semester:
two film classes and shakespeare
oh yeah – western civ.
next month will be fun-
getting a new boss at work,
i’ll cross my fingers…
sophia philos
Dec/040
another semester almost tucked away – but with a notable tinge of significance this time around: with the exception of the final i have to take next wednesday, i just got out of my last regular philosophy class at the university of kansas. it feels weird. that being said, next semester’s lineup is looking pretty easy with the exception of western civ 2 – which will just be a lot of reading. i’m taking two evening film classes, so two nights a week will be spent watching the movies of japan, chile, argentina, and uruguay. i’m also excited about a class on shakespeare i’m taking. i guess i need to start making scheduling preparations at work for the upcoming semester as well, but i’m not that worried about it for now.
it’s odd to think that in 5 months i’ll be done with college. what comes next? real life? i’ve been doing the office grind for years now. doesn’t look like much will change after i graduate. maybe a location change, though. i’m thinking north american west coast or asian east coast. both would be expensive, but i think what i’m really after is the same old obsession with growth – and as much as i love kansas, a radical environment shift is probably more condusive to personal growth (whether positive or negative).
now to make the last corrections on my last philosophy paper for my last philosophy class at ku. damn, that sounds almost as weird as it feels.
vacation
Dec/040
so i’m taking 4 days off work next week (two days of vacation plus two regular days off) to write my paper. i’ll probably be spending a lot of time out of the house to try and remove the temptations of computer games and tv. i wish i could spend my vacation hours on something more fun, but i guess this is what i get for putting it off to the last moment. at this point, i’m just hoping and praying to find some good sources for critiques of black’s argument that i can use as reference materials.
oh yeah – i finally got rid of the mop on my head. i just couldn’t put up with it anymore. i never thought it was going to turn out looking good or anything like that – i twas more just a test of will to see how long i could go without cutting it. the wait is over, and the hair is off. now about this crap on my chin…
3 a.m.
Nov/040
so, it’s nearing on a quarter past too-damn-early o’clock in the morning, and i’m finally quitting warcraft for the night. why is it that it’s so easy to blow 4 hours on a game like this in the blink of a eye? today went by pretty quickly at work. we were a bit shorthanded so i was just basically logged in taking calls for the last 3 hours of the shift, and it’s so amazingly faster when you’re talking with customers than when you’re doing quality monitoring crap. oh well, i guess the grass is always greener…
i think i’ve decided on the max black topic for my paper, since i haven’t done any real reading for the time thesis. i’m going to need a substantial portion of out-of-class research for the paper, and i think i can at least write a draft of my idea for the possible worlds argument without having done that – then i can just fill in the details after spending a few nights in the stacks at watson.
so, i missed out on turkey day with the fam, mostly due to weather and mental exhaustion. i really didn’t want to drive – but the day was salvaged when the roommates decided to cook. turkey turned out pretty good, and although the mashed potatoes turned into soup after an accident with the milk jug, the meal really hit the spot. my thoughts were with my family, though, so i’m really looking forward to christmas, when i’ll be trudging home – rain, sleet, snow, hail, or biblical apocalypse.
i’ve really basically stopped going out – which is probably a good thing for my wallet, but a bad thing for me socially. i can’t remember the last time i struck up a conversation with a girl i didn’t already know. i think i might need to put the computer down and spend some time interfacing with real people. might do the soul some good. maybe next week i’ll spend some time at the coffee shop with my laptop and get some writing done.
catch me next time – same bat time, same bat place.