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'Studying philosophy' -Brown Essay - Inspiration


thelittleone 2 / 2  
Dec 30, 2009   #1
Hello

I would really appreciate it if you could have a look through this essay!

Tell us about an intellectual experience, project, class, or book that has influenced or inspired you.

Studying Philosophy as part of the IB Diploma has inspired me to deliberate on many seemingly mundane issues that I had never given much thought to previously. In fact, I would sometimes be so bewildered after Philosophy lessons that I would start questioning just about everything around me.

Once, I even caught myself pondering the philosophical importance of a junk mail caption. 'YOUR FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS'. I encountered this phrase - spelled out in large red letters ï in a leaflet promoting higher education. At face value, this statement was clearly meant to convey the importance of choosing whether or not to pursue higher education. The underlying insinuation of free will, however, prompted me to reflect further on this issue ï do I really have the freedom to choose my path in life, or is my future pre-determined? Is it really me who is making the choice, or am I a mere instrument of causality?

During my Philosophy studies, I became fascinated with the contrasting views on this subject, as free will is something that most of us naturally take for granted. It comes to us so naturally to believe that what we do is out of free choice, our decisions instinctively feel voluntary, so that it seems nearly impossible to think that our actions - even more so spontaneous ones - are somehow part of a causal chain of events and cannot but take place.

What I mean is, when you reach for the chocolate bar or the packet of chips, you probably do not tend to think to yourself: 'Did I decide that I want to eat this, or was I pre-determined to want it?' Maybe it would not matter to you who or what decided that you should crave something right now ï either way, you just want it. But when you do think about it, what if you are no different from a computer ï simply carrying out tasks, all of which you have been pre-programmed to do? Does this mean that your life is inauthentic and perhaps even meaningless?

For now, I am not reaching for the gun just yet: I am betting everything on the hopeful probability that I am at least partially free. However, having been defined by forces beyond me, it is a matter of heart that this causation should be reciprocal - I want to make the world as much as the world makes me. I have the natural curiosity of a philosopher but through my future studies, I hope to go a step further. For as Marx said, the philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.
damo 9 / 36  
Dec 30, 2009   #2
woo IB!
by philosophy do you mean TOK?
i like how you question yourself in the beginning, shows that you are pondering.

idt this is really a comma moment, id either use a ; or make it two sentances

I became fascinated with the contrasting views on this subject, as free will is something that most of us naturally take for granted.

same with this one. commas separate phrases and these are sentences.

It comes to us so naturally to believe that what we do is out of free choice, our decisions instinctively feel voluntary, so that it seems nearly impossible to think that our actions - even more so spontaneous ones - are somehow part of a causal chain of events and cannot but take place.

i would change that part about the gun, you never know what the reader has had happen in their life, is it not possible that a relative/ friend killed them self like so?

besides that its very interesting, please comment mine as well :] good luck i hope you get in
OP thelittleone 2 / 2  
Dec 30, 2009   #3
Thanks for your advice, I'm slapping myself right now - I can't believe how insensitive the gun remark is!! My brain's a little muddled from writing/editing too many essays/answers at the moment :( I will definitely have a look at your essays, but I'm sorry if I won't make it by Jan 1 (presuming they're application essays) as I'm a little behind with my own applications!
EF_Kevin 8 / 13,321 129  
Jan 11, 2010   #4
'Did I decide that I want to eat this, or was I pre-determined to want it?'

Or maybe the thoughts that arose in your mind to make you think of eating it are actually just reflections of the environment, past and present! Maybe your thoughts are not your own, but instead just noise generated by the interplay of all this worldly stuff, including us.

Hmmmm... about the gun part... I don't think it is insensitive. Many deep thinking people have found themselves in a dark state of mind, feeling hopeless. It is so common that I don't think it is insensitive. However, I think you should introduce the idea of despair before mentioning the gun, because it is a little confusing this way.

:-)

At the end, put that quote in quotation marks.


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