You are Here

Part of my summer reading has included Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. The book mainly is a justification/call for scientific research in/on space. Sagan is defending NASA funding (and other endeavors like it). I recommend the book if only for the pictures, which range from capturing the grandeur of galaxies, to portraits that merely encompass our little earth. Most of the book is explaining what all was gained and advanced by the Voyager expeditions, as well as the Apollo missions and others. One quick example is that the way we discovered that CFC's react with ozone molecules the way that they do, stemmed from scientists working on different chemical reactions which would be taking place in the atmosphere of Venus, which contains large amounts of cholrine and flourine. I'm not promoting NASA funding, mainly because I don't know enough about it, but the book does give you some good examples that can combat the ignorant, unthought ramblings of people who say space research is useless in light of the current issues here on earth. There certainly has been and can be much gained from such studies.

After that digression, I'll get to the quote this post was intended for, which has little if anything to do with the previous paragraph. It comes from chapter 1, titled "You are Here". I actually used a bit of this for a speech in one of my comm classes and feel that it is one of the most inspirational while at the same time, put-in-our-place couple of paragraphs I've ever read.

 Within the blue circle is the "pale blue dot" we call home. The picture was taken by a Voyager satellite as it left our solar system and turned around for a look back. Enjoy:

That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out there lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar", every "supreme leader", every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

2 Year Agreement (with myself)

To any of you, if there are any, who missed my writing, I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post. Since then, I've had semester finals, a move back home for a brief summer, and a jump right back into hectic work weeks and friend-filled weekends. That leaves little time for blogging but, with the conclusion of a rather significant period of time ending soon, I felt it was necessary to devote a bit of time to it.

Two years ago, give or take a day (take one), I ended my last high school relationship. After a bit of time, I realized that almost the entire two years previous (50% of high school!!), I had been in a dating relationship of some type. There was a lot of good things to come from those two years, and I certainly learned things from them that I could have obtained in no other way.  But I decided that the next two years of my life were going to be drastically different than the previous ones and that college was going to entail a much different outlook than high school. As a result, I formed a sort of 2-year pact with myself that I was going to remain single and devote those years to myself, to my education, to experiencing life, and to do all of this while not being restricted in any form by a relationship. (Disclaimer!!!: I know that not all relationships are chains and whips. But, if I were to truly care about someone, I would want to treat them properly and give them the time they deserve. And that necessarily takes time away from other things that were to go on in those first couple of years in college.)

Well believe it or not (believe it), that pact will come into completion tomorrow, June 1st. That is correct. Two years have passed and I have remained 100% single for the entire two years.

In retrospect, quite a lot has resulted from my decision, most, if not all, of it for the better. As of right now, I can only see good stemming from it. Who knows, that could change. I do know there was a (now) noticeable psychological effect on me. It was something that I didn't fully discover until a few days ago, but I fully believe it was there the whole time. However, it seems to not have caused a problem.  Luckily I was able to see it and begin working against it. 

So I guess one thing I can offer to anyone who would consider making a resolution of any type, is try to recognize what it would actually create within you. Try to see how a given resolution would affect your mind and your outlook on the world and those around you. A noble goal may create some unforeseen stepping stones along the way that may not be so good to have in your possession. 

Where do I go from here? Who knows... (actually I might). Regardless, I step forward into a new period of my life, using all the information I've gained from the past two years, taking on new things as they come, and experiencing life all along the way... with whomever may be experiencing it there with me.

         .....ladies.

Last day in April

Well I am officially done with all my classes for the Spring semester of my sophomore year. Consequently, I decided this would be a good time to post a blog before I begin the studying process. Two tests (non-comprehensive) on Monday. Latin test Tuesday. Paper Wednesday. Paper Friday. I'm glad my week fell into place like it did; it could certainly be worse.

Yesterday something happened to me that has never happened before. Little things built up and a few key events occurred back-to-back that tipped it off. I won't deal with specifics (I don't feel this is the appropriate venue for such conversation) but I would gladly discuss it with anyone that desires to know more.

It only lasted about 3 hours. For that, I am thankful. Others have certainly experienced longer bouts of this than that. I suppose you could call it a mood or perhaps a disposition. There were no dangerous thoughts or anything along those lines. In short, it involved a great deal of foundational introspection and radical thinking/questioning. But like I said, I don't wish to discuss anything more than this on here.

I do want to talk about what brought me back. There were three things.

1) A good friend. I'm not much for sentimental *explicative*. However, in this situation, the "ear-to-listen" that this friend embodied certainly was and still is appreciated. More than that, this friend pointed me to the things that matter in this life, the things that truly matter. All it took was directing me toward a picture, toward a memory captured, toward a history of a friendship, wrapped up into a plainly framed moment. Simple, yet shining brightly.

2) music. I'm not sure I will ever have the first clue as to how music is able to affect me the way it does. I have always been fond of music. Over the past 3 years, I have grown to love it though and as a result, it has become a part of who I am. But last night, music had an even more meaningful impact on my life/personality/thoughts. It motivated me. It kicked me in gear. It grabbed me, and pushed me forward.

3) philosophy :) Did you really think I could discuss this post without bring philosophy into it? There are pros and cons to philosophy [enter the audience's gasps of shock here]. As much as I would like to say that it is always good, it does have its drawbacks. I personally tend to equate it with and define it as "the questioning spirit" (that is just my view). And similar to the questioning spirit, where you are led can be disheartening and unfulfilling. You can either not find an answer, which can, but shouldn't always, be troubling, or you may not be comforted by the answer that is your result. Either way, the result of philosophy/"the questioning spirit" can be scary and very real.

But how did it help me on the last day of April? Well it wasn't a general aspect of philosophy but rather a specific thought (One huge upside to philosophy is the reality that pretty much everything ever has a philosophy and has been discussed intelligently, or perhaps not so, by someone somewhere). Last night I recalled a quote by Richard Comstock. He said, "If a person were to believe that the cosmos is moral, then one would attempt to behave morally, and thus [help] confirm their thesis." This was an example of a "truth requiring antecedent belief", which I  actually critiqued James' use of them in my paper, but in this instance, I agree wholeheartedly.

To conclude this rather lengthy post, I'll state the thought in my own words: "If you believe the world to be moral, you first must act accordingly." Ponder that piece of prose people!

Memphis Undergraduate Philosophy Conference 2009

I've been wanting to post a blog about my trip to Memphis, and in light of wanting to put off necessary reading, I decided this would be an appropriate time. I've spoken to quite a few of you about it but there are others out there who I haven't informed so hopefully this isn't too redundant for those of you I have discussed this with.

I left at 245 A.M. Friday morning along with my friend and colleague Brian. We arrived at Loveless Cafe. just outside of Nashville, TN, around 730 or so. Dr. Weinberg from IU had recommended it for its excellent fresh biscuits, and I've very glad he did. From the time I got done eating, until I ate sushii at 9 P.M that night, I only ate a bagel around 1. That was one heckuva meal!

The keynote (presented by a professor) was a new perspective on philosophy for sure. It dealt with the epistemology and metaphysics of MLKJ and Malcolm X and how their views, which only differed in slight ways, affected their equally (in)famous, yet variant, responses to violence. Oh and as a sidenote, he basically said that 99% of whites were (and most still are) morally deprived (himself included) due to how they treat Blacks and their personhood. After his talk, it was tough to disagree.

There were 10 undergrad presenters. Each one was in an area I had little to no prior knowledge/background in. That was my favorite part. I came away from the conference with a whole list of topics/philosophers that I want to look further into! I also met a lot of cool people in the short time too, from Arizona, to Missouri, to Arkansas, to Tennessee, to South Carolina, to Pennsylvania! I ate some good sushi Friday night, and BBQ grilled tofu in a black bean chip dip for dinner Saturday night. Needless to say, I packed a ton of experience into about 48 hours (of which, was about 16 hours of driving). 

As far as my presentation itself, I was pleased with it. I don't think I deserve an award, but I was happy with how it went and there know major or attention-detracting faults. I had a couple good questions, one of which, I'm going to have to look into to see how it affects my paper. But that positive is only small in comparison to the people I met and the topics I became aware of for further study.

But I think what I take away from the short weekend is the overall experience. Like I said, I was not gone from Muncie, IN, for more than 50 hours, but I still came away from it with a ton! Most significantly, I further solidified my desire to continue on my present path and stay in Philosophy. Ever since my first class I had fallen in love with the subject, but there is a distinction to be made between loving philosophy and loving the professional/academic side. This weekend proved I love both aspects.

I got back at 5 AM Sunday morning, took a short nap, did some homework, and then was fortunate enough to have my family in Muncie to enjoy the afternoon with! It was a great 3 days to say the least!

The Masters

Every year, I become entranced. The question is: "Why".  I do not watch golf any other weekend out of the year except maybe twenty minutes of a Sunday final round of the US Open or another major if its a close finish and I happen to not be busy. For the Masters this year, I've followed Thursday and Friday, watched a good amount with it muted Saturday, and I've been watching since it began today. 

I surely hope it is not the horrid advertising that somehow grabs my unconscious (because I consciously hate those ads). I'm not sure I've heard more wimpy, agonizingly-nostalgic narrating for a sporting event than Mike Turico and Jim Nance on those commercials. "The masters, a tradition unlike any other..." and that sickening piano music they play when they show the scoreboard.... *wince* They even have 114 year-old Pat Summerall for some of the 3 second ads when they come back from the commercials. Thats it, just 3 or 4 three second ads... Thank you Pat Summerall.

But then again, maybe it is the fact that the Masters is hyped up like it is. Maybe all the attention it receives makes me want to pay attention.

 In any case, I'll watch the rest of the day to see if Phil continues his Birdie-fever and catches the leaders or if Tiger can catch fire by feeding off of Phil's pace. Or maybe one of the leaders will stave both of the superstars and win their first green jacket. Either way, I'll be watching, and who knows why.

Different World-Views and Different Rationales (sp?)

At philosophy club last fall, we discussed a summer field-study of a small handful of philosophy students who traveled to Professor Kalumba’s home country of Uganda. The goal of the field-study was to see if there was any truth to the claims of an anthropologist who dwelled with a tribe of Africans for almost 30 years, and published a book, in 1959, on his view of their philosophy. But for this post, it doesn't really matter what he concluded, I was more shocked by their experienced way of going through life.

The Bantu are a tribe with very traditional beliefs. To this day, they belief that your ancestors and (their idea of) gods are influencing factors on almost every event in their life. For instance, they belief that if one were to get bit by a mosquito that there were two causes. The first cause, would be the mosquito biting them, but the final cause would be either god or an ancestor inflicting this upon them. They believe that for every event, there is a reason behind it, viz. there is a supernatural power manipulating the natural world. They see the current events in their life as directly resulting from either a  past trespass or good deed done to the gods or their ancestors. When there is an ailment, they go to a type of witch-doctor who prescribes some actions that would appease their ancestors or god and wash out their previous trespass.

Recently, a cousin of professor Kalumba was sick. She went to a M.D. and found out she had cancer. Then she went to a witch-doctor and the doctor told her to do so and so. 2 months later, she died. But this is not a problem for the tribe. The blame is put on the cousin. The witch-doctor didn't fail, because he simply has to say that the cousin didn’t do all he prescribed.

But here is the rub, this doesn't bother them. They have no concern that there could have been another result. They don’t use experience to try different methods of curing. They have no knowledge of the scientific method (or similar methodologies). They ‘know’ their beliefs are the right ones, and that there is no other way. The witch-doctor certainly doesn’t keep records of who he saves and who he kills. What happens was meant to happen.

But don’t they realize that there may be other ways of achieving their goals? The answer is no. Their world-view completely directs their beliefs. It simply is what there is. They have no reason to question it. We feel that the reasonable thing to do is to get medical help, but to them, the rational thing is to go to the witch-doctor and do what he says. Their world-view dictates reality and what is rational.

This has been a huge eye-opener for me. Its simple, but has had a profound impact on me. To me, it shows that what is rational, is subjective, and relative to the individual subject and their social location. Rationality isn't this objective ideal, but rather a personal approach to life. For some, that may be a no-brainer, but it certainly wasn't to me. As a result, this story has dramatically affected how I tend to view the different situations I'm presented with.

Quick post: Pictures of Reality

Busy and exciting day today! Professor Jonathan Weinberg from Indiana University will be coming to give a presentation on "Armchair vs. Experimental" philosophy. Yesterday we realized the room we had reserved was not a "smart room" with a projector and computer. So we scrambled around to find a projector and then spent forever trying to make sure it was in working order. Things should be good to go.

I know I've linked this before but you all seriously need to subscribe to this picture blog from the Boston Globe. They post new photos about 2 times a week and they are usually quality, but there are some weeks where the pictures just grab you. This week's post is one of those posts. Enjoy!

Lastly, I just found out this morning that I was accepted to give a presentation of a paper I had been working on. It will be in the undergraduate part of the Midsouth Philosophy Conference taking place April 17th and 18th in Memphis, TN. I'm looking forward to seeing what people think of my work as well as hearing what everyone else is working on, at the undergrad, as well as professional level.