Who is this guy? - blogpost

In the book "The Stranger", Meursault has gone to the nursing home where his mother resided prior to her death. Once its over, he has some of that "delicious" coffee that he craved, and caught a small weekend fling with an ex coworker. "Who is this guy?" is the perfect title for this blog post because that is exactly what we want to figure out. His neighbor, with a devious past life and a ruined present, confides in him because he finds that "men" can talk to each other. Mersault is seen as a man to his neighbor because his mother just past, he works very hard, and holds a decent composure. The way i look at Mersault, is as an emotionless, inhumane person. He walks around with the belief that he holds a stature that is above others and he may live within society however hed like. For those who do choose to live with society, do it in a manner way, and have humane morals, ones that society will judge and help to create a person. Mersault killing a man on the beach just to do it, to satisfy his own curiousity, is inhumane and morally wrong. One who chooses to live in they're own imaginative world, where there are no rules or limitations for one, not limitations physically but rather spiritually, is one that is in deep trouble.

Huckabees blog

After watching “ I heart Huckabess” in class, I connected the movie to the essential question, do we live in a world that is meaningful and makes sense? The characters in the movie explore this same question as they dig for answers, only to find that the answers will not be buried into text as they had hoped for. Novels, authors, and experts on existentialism help selective individuals try to find they’re reasoning or “purpose” in this life and the next.

The movie had seemed so obvious almost as the main character, the activist trying to save bits of nature found on a Huckabees’ parking lot, hires two existentialist detectives that are hired to follow him around all day and analyze the kind of person he is in order to determine who and what makes him connected to other things or people in this world. The two existentialist detectives are also a couple, so a follow-up question I had during the film was whether the two had joined together based on the hypothesis of them both once being lost and feeling unconnected in this world when younger, much like how the boy is.

The movie then takes a turn as Mark Wahlburg is introduced in the movie as another client of the two existentialist detectives, who after all this progress he had made of discovering who he was, receives a book that he deeply analyzes to be the answer to his question, which also only made him ask more and more questions about who he is. The book he had received was actually from an author who based her novel on exactly the opposite of what the existentialist detectives were preaching. As the detectives followed they’re patients around studying them, the novelist was studying them, following them around.

The boy starts to follow the author’s words instead of the detectives, but still practicing they’re strategies on self-relaxing. He doesn’t know which route to go anymore to find himself, and only confuses himself more. In the end, he feels that everything is for a reason, coming to the conclusion that the novelist was once under the detectives wings but separated to a solo lifestyle, preaching the opposite after leading a life of confusion. He also believed that the author led him back to the detectives purposely because they're lifestyle of battling witty comments based on life was all a hoax for they're teamwork to satisfy the client down the road, helping them to realize both sides and coming to a conclusion on they're own much rather than being told who who they are.

I believe the world we live in is as meaningful as we want it to be. We can look at the world as a dangerous and dark place, or it can be seen as the most safest place in the world. I think whether the world itself is a scary place, it is seen and judged by the people in it, based on the people in it. Nothing makes sense to you unless you can actually try to make sense of it. To show your dedication to understanding something is even a start, and whatever conclusion you make of it is your conclusion, no one is right just like no one is wrong. We pay psychiatrist to analyze us and be told who we are, through discreet answers. that is because they know no more than we do, they listen to the questions we ask and only help us to ask questions we havent thought of yet, not answer our questions.

Manifesto

Its hard to describe each and every individual, that is why David Banach labels us as "absolute individuals". To prove his point based on every single person being different he writes his lecture based on existentialism and the freedom of human beings. His lecture "the ethics of absolute freedom" shows his meaning of freedom and how one can be free. Freedom can only come a long way, and as for society us as a whole have also come a long way, molding and changing our views of what actually make us free as human beings.

As Individuals, we perceive things differently, such things as images or experiences. Banach uses the "face/candlestick illusion" to demonstrate a major point of his. His point discussing the way people choose to see this photo, whether it be two people kissing or a candlestick, says a lot about that direct person and they're state of mind. "Each of us is trapped within our own mind, unable to feel anything but our own feelings and experiences." Our mind relates only to things that happened to us specifically. To think beyond what you know, or outside the box based on other's experiences, only helps to expand knowledge but can never help to escape your own feelings and thoughts. Banach refers to all individuals as "absolute". The word absolute is used by him and meant that each individual is completely and absolutely different. In the math-world, a single number, like "3", is viewed as a whole value. Every number is a whole value, but every number also has an opposite, or what is referred to as their "absolute" value. Just as the number "-3" has its own absolute value, it being 3. Each number has its own absolute value and no other number carrying the same. Banach refers to Human Beings in a similar way. No other human shares that same value, as they are all absolute in they're own way.

We are all different from each other and see things differently. Banach gives off three words that help to better understand the mind of individuals, "Essence precedes existence", and in other words, for something to exist, essence must first pursued the creator. He uses the example of paper-cutters being seen as a good product, but with the potential to be a great product, so the inventor tweaks them to become today’s pair of scissors. Whether it is a pair of flawed paper cutters or a picture depicting two different things, people choose to see what they want to see. Everyone is captivated by they’re own strength and mind. We are brought up being told how to live our lives and told right from wrong, when we reach that certain age where help is no longer attained to us, it is up to us to choose whether we will live by those rules growing up or try to excel to newer heights, living life in a careless point of view. As Americans we are told that we are free and have that privilege when compared to other places. Except, to live in a world full of rules and laws which we must abide by, does that make us entirely free? It makes humans want to disobey and nudge away from goodwill living, such as drinking laws and driving laws, etc. We are prisoners to our own minds because growing up taking in years of the same lecture by parents, teachers, and media brainwashes us to live life a certain way. Even laws and rules that we live by each and everyday are tweaked and improved by our nation so that obedience may become an indefinite.

Humans handle series of events from they’re lives in a way that they can achieve as much fun and excitement, or any other emotion prospered, from it as they can. Life is definitely too short, a common saying for years, which I completely agree upon. I too think about how short life is, and how it seems practically impossible to come out on top successfully in such a short period of time. Which is probably the huge reason we as humans love to read up on celebrities or the extremely wealthy, living they're luxurious lives on top, through magazines or television screens to get a glimpse of the life that we all would like. We chase these dream-lives because to have money means that you have no worries and lead nontrivial lives that need no meaning. As humans, we try to pursue money in so many alternatives, including shackling other human beings for our own gain. "It is self-defeating to attempt to use other humans as objects to satisfy our desires." Banach believed that in order for us to be free, we must desire the freedom of all men. Thinking backwards in history to slavery days, where owning slaves was desired and normal between Humans, trading them around and selling/buying actual human beings taking them for granted. Obviously we live in a new era, a completely different lifestyle now, where all men are treated equally and fair, in some state of manner. Suppose Banach included the freedom of Prisoners, and as they are condemn as men without freedom, then is letting all those prisoners free to live amongst us going to make us better people?

I believe that in order to obtain freedom, it must be done through a mental and physical state. Only in our minds can we accept us for who we are and stop judging ourselves. There are many ways to be free, for some being free means only escaping their reality. The negatives to this is the drug-abuse or other addicting formulas, but once that 'escape' leads them back to they're actuality, they are back within a world of hatred and violence. Some people may live in a hostel environment, mainly third world countries, but when they step foot into they're church and begin to practice they're beliefs, they may feel safe and free once again. Everyone can be free in they're own way. Its whether or not we choose to pursue that freedom.

Blog Post #3: Response to part lll and part lV

"Life is a series of meaningless actions culminating in death"

I liked this quote from Banach alot because it really made me think and share a different side of insight to my usual train of thinking. I think that what Banach is saying in his Lecture is that humans handle series of events in a way that they can achieve fun or excitement or other emotions as much as they could through them. These events happen so that we as humans have something to do, distracting us until our ends. A common saying is always heard throughout our years, "life is too short", which i believe to be true. I too think about how short life is to come out on top as celebrities do or the very much wealthy. Maybe thats why those people living the glamourous life is always on our television screens and magazine covers, so that we may read up on them and get a glimpse of the lives we wish to have.

Banach believed that in order for us to be free, we must desire the freedom of all men. I connected this thought with another quote he had in his lecture, "It is self-defeating to attempt to use other humans as objects to satisfy our desires". Immediately i had thought backwards into history to slavery times, where owning slaves was desired and modern between Humans, trading them around and selling/buying actual human beings, taking them for granted. Obviously we live the exact opposite lifestyle now where all men are treated equally and fair, in some state of manner, but i still dont see how we as individuals are free now that freedom in all men is given. Not to contradict Banach or rearrange his words but suppose if he hadnt included the freedom of Prisoners, and they're condemnement as men without freedom, then is letting all those go and allowed to live freely outside of jail going to make us better as people?

In Banach's lecture he mentions "The Myth of Sisyphus" and the story of Sisyphus is shared in his words. The myth of Sisyphus says that as punishment to the 'condemned' Sisyphus, they thought WITH REASON that there was no better (and dreadful)punishment than "futile and hopeless labor". Its funny because in our day and age now, and not mythical, we almost reward Prisoners with LESS than petty wages to do hourly services within correctional facilities until the day they are released so that they have money to claim on the outside. It was interesting tho to find in Banach's Lecture that Philosophers believe that if one's sources of external value have been taken away, you will then find value within yourself. Two children stories were included to create a visual of what this means, How the Grinch stole Christmas and The Wizard of Oz. Both show the moral of the story to be that they're real values came from within, and for all they're time to be wasted chasing things representing value to them, and the value found from within was much greater than any external thing they possessed or seeked, because it could never be taken away.

HW #3 post - Comments

Leticia's page...
Good post. I liked how you used a general question and not only answered it but connected to it on a personal level. I agree with your take on Banach's lecture because just as he perceives us to be complete individuals i find that everyone being labeled as individuals is so that everyone's differences are seen even greater. i liked how you showed that answering the question made from Banach's lecture was only difficult enough to create a new question to answer it. Maybe you could try finding a connection between the question you made to Mara's question that captured your attention so much, then restate your main idea. it made me think about how my life has been led so far, and after a conclusion i decided that it is possible for my life to have come down this road compared to the other doors i couldve walked through long ago in life, such as Instead of going to public High School if i chose to stay in catholic school, and went there for High school. Much would be different for me. Great post, great thoughts.

Ariel's page...
good stuff. I like the way you took two sepearate quotes from Banach's lecture and connected the two. I agree with your main idea that everyone has different interpretations as to what seems to be valuable to us(hopefully that was what you were aiming for...). It seems that at this day and age the only things viewed as "valuable" are the electronics that we carry in our pockets. Just as the quote you picked out had mentioned, the golden rule, "act only as i would have others act." If others are going out and getting that brand-new ipod or cellphone, should we act just as them? i liked how you answered Banach's questions with your own interpreted answer. Perhaps to help show your understanding of his questions to your answers as a connection, you could lead off afterwards with some follow-up questions of your own. after reading our post, i thought abt individuals and happiness and where to pursue it. I thought first about how we all choose to pursue happiness by owning as much electronics as we could, but i started to think maybe im asking the wrong questions? what if i should be asking myself if those who cannot afford to pursue these devices are still happy without them? I actually gained these thoughts from reading your post. It was good. keep it up