Journal #1

 

 

Major Idea of the Section-

 

            The major idea of the section is examining your life. Through the stories of Eric Clapton and Deon Sanders we were shown what an unexamined life can be like and that it leads to unhappiness and in the case of these two men suicidal tendencies. Socrates also said “The unexamined life is not worth living” which was a key saying in the lesson. These things all teach us that we should look at our lives to see how we really are living.

 

Three Ideas I want to Remember-

1. Socrates’ teaching that “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Socrates was saying that if we don’t look at our lives and how we are living them we can’t’ and wont be living them to the fullest and wont be truly happy. Examples of this are the stories of Deon Sanders and Eric Clapton, where they were rich and famous and had everything they thought they wanted but weren’t happy.
2. Icarus and Deadeuls- In this story Icarus is flying with wax wings. He is having fun and not paying attention to his surroundings. He flies high and not remembering his fathers warning gets to close to the sun and his wings melt and he falls to his death. This is an important story especially for teenagers, like me who will soon be driving and this type of situation can occur.
3. Blind Men and the Elephant- In this story a king takes blind men and has them all touch a different part of an elephant. He then asks them what they think an elephant is. The blind men all touching a different part of it all think an elephant is something different and they get into an argument and eventually start fighting. The king does this to show that people have narrow views of things and can’t see it exactly the same as someone else does. In short he is saying everyone has a different point of view.

Image provided from http://www.billyblack.com/3Pegasus/01410297Pegasus.jpg

The image that reminds me of the major topic of this lesson is Aristotle’s boat images. He says that there are two kinds of people in this world. One kind of person is like a boat without a rudder and goes wherever the water takes them and has no control over their lives. The other type of person is like a boat with a rudder and can control where they go in their lives.

 

            One question I’d like to keep to ponder is, am I learning from my mistakes?

 

From this study I learned that to make myself a better person I should try examine all aspects of my life, academic, social, faith, and see where I need to improve in them. I could do this by seeing how I spend my time at home. Do I do all my homework or sit around for a long time and watch T.V. and play around on the computer? Another way to examine my self is asking how I treat others, especially in public around my friends. Faithfully I could see how well I pay attention in church. Do I find my mind wondering frequently? If so I should try to focus on the service.