Life, Death, and the Pursuit for the Unknown

Response to quote 1

               Sometimes life is unbearable. As humans however we want to prevail or have a reason to continue. Without some type of reassurance throughout life that there is more to come than becoming dust life would be hopeless and meaningless. To continue with the pointless exercises of living would lead one to think ever more on the end to come. Advancement and community would become a hassle and not worth the time. We as humans have a quest for significance because without one life ceases to seem real and becomes pointless, devastating, and cruel beyond imagination.

                To help us along our journey to complete our quest we create stories that imitate our life so that we can choose the outcome. By being able to choose the outcome we allow for an image of what might be so can focus on the here and now. The average person answers a child’s questions through a story. These stories become myths as they are passed down from generation to generation. They also help give meaning to a seemingly pointless situation or existence.  

                Every person in the world has a different experience of what life is. In expressing our life story we not only allow others to see our lives but begin to understand ourselves in a new light. Myths help to explain the unknown void of death. With an alternative we have hope for a new and better existence. As humans we need all the hope, for the impending end that all living beings must face, that we can get. 

                Believing in an afterlife provides a foundation for a reason to live and live well. As the world is now flooded with stories and books it is hard to decipher one from another. Some books help me to face a truth in my life. Non-fiction stories that tell of how one person faced a situation allow me to solve a problem. Having significance to life allows me to get through disappointments and to ignore those comments that offend me because of having faith in a better life to come. Devoting my life now to others is possible as my belief of the life after death gives me hope for an eternity of joy. The joy I will later have gives me more joy when I am able to make another smile. The myths I believe in give me a glimpse of eternity and understanding of universal mysteries letting me know now who I am and who I will become.

Plato’s Analysis of You and Me
    You and Me by Lifehouse is an excellent song. It is all about the love shared between two young people. And love is but the desire to possess something attractive, something beautiful. These people are attracted to one another in love, but also in the desire to possess the opposite person’s beauty. While this isn’t the most romantic way opf looking at blossoming love, it is not intended to demean that bond. It is simply the way in which our brains instinctively function.

Nietzsche’s Rundown of Pursuit of Happyness
    This movie is a truly beautiful thing. It chronicles the struggles of Chris Gardner as he attempts to better himself and thereby better the world around him. Nothing in his life is beautiful; he’s unemployed, broke, homeless, and trying to raise a son as normally as possible under those circumstances. He is fighting to avoid the ugliness that would come out of degeneration in his life and relationships. Unfortunately, he is hard pressed to stem the tide of degeneration, let alone improve the beauty of the world around him. I like to think that he does eventually achieve this goal, although the closing scene of the movie leaves me with doubts about this.

Kant on the Purposiveness of Starry Night
    I just saw Vincent Van Gogh’s painting entitled Starry Night and I must say, I do appreciate it. It is exactly the kind of thing that I judge to be beautiful, and as such I take great pleasure in it. Others will, say that it is entirely unattractive and useless, but in saying so they would be wrong.  No matter their justification, their assertion that Starry Night is unattractive is baseless and irrelevant. I especially love the colors that Van Gogh used. They make the painting seem like it had a purpose, even though it serves no true function. But that’s how I like it: a sense of purposiveness without any true purpose.

The Landslide brought Kant down

This piece of music has a strong very realistic message about life. It tells a story about recovering from a loss, and what it takes to start moving on. Lyrically it is pleasant and therefore beautiful. Acoustically it also has a very calming melody to it. If one doesn't like country this may not be as pleasing, but for those who enjoy a calmer style of music will love this piece. Aestetically it is beautiful. This song is relatable to almost everyone, because everyone has experienced some sense of loss at one point in their life or another. Overall I enjoy this piece quite a lot.

Ficino goes on A Walk to Remember

A Walk to Remember was a beautiful love story between two people heading down very different paths. There's Jaime, the good Christian girl who gets picked on because of her modest sense of style and her tendency to keep to herself and her books. Then there's Landon an arrogant little prick who feels he can get away with whatever he chooses. After his friend gets in a tragic accident Landon starts to get over himself, and begins to Jaime for the beautiful person she is. What he thinks is love is really his desire to posses her beauty. I found their gradual trading of souls to be quite beautiful. Landon goes through quite the transformation and that is probably due to him beginning to take part of Jaime's sweet soul as she begins to open up to him.

Plato goes to Belize

After looking at the painting of that lovely island in Belize, I must critize it. While it is beautiful it is merely a copy of a copy of copy of the idealistic paradise. Any piece of art is simply an imitation of the real place or person. This piece tricks the viewer into thinking a place like this could really exist, when in reality the colors present in the painting are not likely to appear in real life. I believe art should be censored so people can live in reality, not wishing for the fantansy that will never be possible.