Week 4 Response

Marilynne Robinson defines self-awareness in her essay Freedom of Thought as “the human ability to consider and appraise one’s own thoughts”.  This is, in a sense, philosophy.  Plato does exactly this in his dialogue The Republic.  He uses Socrates to propose ideas but then uses Glaucon to consider his own proposed ideas.  Throughout the two Plato readings, he focused on how mental and physical balance brings about a well-suited leader.

In Plato’s The Republic, there is a conversation for the creation of the perfect leader.  In the conversation, Socrates initially proposes mathematics for a course of study for the leader on the grounds that it develops reasoning, requires persistence, and is practical.  In the end, the subject does not really matter, so long that it develops the skills to think logically and critically.  This is similar to Holmes opinion on a liberal arts education.  He believes that it is more about the shaping of the individual rather than the vocational training.  While speaking of mathematics (specifically the effects of studying it), Socrates claims that the study is necessary “if he’s going to be a human being” (The Republic 201).  Seeking to answer the course question of what it means to be human, it seems to me that to be human is to develop and refine logical thinking, especially if one is to be a leader.

In speaking of the ideal leader, Socrates proposes that a sort of philosopher-king shall be best fit to rule.  The leader should first be a philosopher, then a king who is not eager to rule but rather “drudges in politics… not as though he were doing a thing that is fine, but one that is necessary” (The Republic 219).  A very intimate account of the creation of humans is given in Timaeus.  At one point in this account, the creators create a mouth for man.  It serves as an entry for what is necessary (like food), but also as an exit for what is best (like speech).  The philosopher-king serves as the mouth of the body that is governed.  He takes in responsibility when needed (entry) and also benefits the city with his actions (exit).  It is not beneficial for him (or her) to only focus on studies, nor is it right to focus solely on war and physical well-being.  The ruler must love both physical and mental labor if they are able to rule in the best manner.

In the writing Timaeus, Plato reiterates the importance of both the physical and mental.  In fact, it is the “one way to preserve oneself… so that each may be balanced by the other and so be sound” (Timaeus 84).  Timaeus continues to go on and mention souls.  The first two mentioned are the immortal (brain) and mortal (heart) souls.  The immortal revolves around intellect but the mortal revolves around sensations felt by the body.  Both are undeniably important.

I’ll conclude with a personal, but related note.  I have a friend who has recently started to work out every day in order to improve his physical state.  On the morning of the eighth day, he said “I awoke feeling better than I have in months.  I feel less agitated and my mental clarity is through the roof”.  This just shows that not only are the mental and physical aspects of the body are both important, but they are actually closely related to one another.

Week 3 Response

     I was honestly not looking forward to reading the epic poem The Iliad by Homer. I thought it was just another ancient story that was irrelevant to me. However, I was actually entertained while reading/listening to it. Homer’s descriptive imagery is almost breathtaking, but the poem is much more than a bunch of detailed mental pictures. The poem really captured the contrasting societies of the Greeks and Trojans. The Greeks were war-driven barbarians, while the Trojans were rather peaceful citizens.

     The aforementioned contrast is showed in the interactions that Achilles and Hector have with their respective families. Achilles only goes to his mother, Thetis, when he needs something (i.e. Greeks to start losing and new armor). On the other hand, his foil character, Hector, cares about his family. He worries about and fights for their safety. Before he heads to battle, he finds his wife and child so that he may speak to them again before he goes. In that conversation, Hector tells his wife “No, no, let the earth come piling over my dead body before I hear your cries, I hear you dragged away!” (211). This reminded me of the bible verse John 15:13 which says “There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.” (New Living Translation). Hector's devotion to fighting for his family until his foreshadowed death shows his immense love for them.

     Another distinction between the Greeks and Trojans is the motivation and justification for the war. The Greeks attacked Troy because Helen left her husband Menelaus (the Spartan king) for Paris (the Trojan prince). So because of the actions of a few people, the Greek city-states united to besiege Troy. To me personally, this does not seem like a very valid reason to wage war on another city for over nine years. This makes me think that the Greeks enjoyed fighting and were looking for an excuse to start fighting. The reasoning for the Trojans fighting can be best summarized when Helenus (son of Priam) declares “hard-hit as we are -necessity drives us on” (198). They did not choose to fight, but rather feel obligated to protect their city from savage invaders.

     A third situation where the Greek and Trojan societies are shown to be polar is in the treatment of Hector’s dead body. Achilles tied the body to his chariot and dragged it across the battlefield several times in a brutal display of power. The Trojan king, Priam, peacefully comes to Achilles to beg for his son’s body so that there may be a proper funeral. The savage nature that Achilles reveals in his attempt to mutilate Hector’s body reminded me of the novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In that story, two tribes of boys form. The tribe led by Jack is rather savage and thrives on brutal acts of power (like the Greeks). Ralph’s tribe tries to hold to morals and values that they hold to (like the Trojans). In both stories, the uncivilized group overpowers the civilized group.

     So what does this all mean? While The Iliad is an entertaining story, it actually is a vessel that delivers information about two ancient societies. Like I mentioned in my blog post from last week, the entertaining plot of this work preserved it throughout thousands of years. Now we get to learn about the nature of the Greek city-states and the city of Troy.

Week 2 Response

For as long as I can remember, I have attended church.  As a kid, I remember being told about stories in the Bible, so when I heard that we would be reading the first twenty-three chapters of Exodus, I thought that this would be a fairly easy assignment.  However, as I went through the reading I found that I was confused.  There are things in the Bible that have and still do confuse me, but I’ve never been confused about a Bible story that I’ve heard a million times.

My first major point of confusion was in Exodus 1:10 when the pharaoh says, “Come, let us deal shrewdly with them [Israel], lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land” (English Standard Version).  The logic behind this really did not make sense to me.  If Israel was really so numerous and strong, wouldn’t it behoove the Egyptians to become allies rather than enemies?  Later on, God unleashes ten plagues over Egypt.  These plagues ruthlessly lay waste to the land and people of Egypt.  I found myself wondering why Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go after the first few plagues?  I then remembered that God promised Moses that He would “harden pharaoh’s heart” (Exodus 7:3a ESV).  It seemed to me that God was controlling both sides of this conflict.  He was punishing the Egyptians for not letting the Israelites go, but wasn’t giving them the opportunity to let them go.

It was at this time that I also wondered why God found it necessary to punish Egypt so brutally.  As an aspiring engineer, my logical mind didn’t understand this.  Samuel C. Florman once defined engineering as “the art or science of making practical” and this did not seem very practical to me.  If he is truly all-powerful, couldn’t He have found a peaceful way to resolve the issues at hand?  In the midst of all these plagues, God claims that “I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD” (Exodus 10:1b-2).  Then it clicked.  In ancient times, stories were spoken and passed down through generations by tongue.  No one would pass on stories of peaceful resolutions, but rather mighty, divine displays power and deliverance.  If God had resolved the problems peacefully or prevented them altogether, I would not be reading about it today.  Since this story has been passed down for thousands of years, we all get to hear about God’s great power and we can know that He is the Lord (just like the verse says).

Modern Christians tend to feel uncomfortable with the Old Testament.  Marilynne Robinson acknowledges this in her book of essays When I Was a Child I Read Books.  She states that the Old Testament is treated as “greatly inferior to the Gospels,” but continues to say that “the significance of the Old Testament cannot be denied” (96).  Robinson is completely right in saying this.  God uses the Gospels to show his love for humanity, but his love means close to nothing without an understanding of His infinite power which we can experience through the Old Testament.

Week 1 Response

Both Arthur Holmes and John Dewey propose interesting ideas about thought and the development of the human mind in their respective writings The Liberal Arts: What and Why? and How We Think.  As the honors class looks to study “what it means to be human” (from the overview in the course syllabus), it is almost crucial that we begin with analyzing thought.  Dewey mentions that humans are commonly referred to as “the thinking animal” as it is what sets us as a species apart from life on this planet.

In his writing, Holmes states that “Man is a rational being” (37) and later continues with “To be rational is also to be analytic” (38).  Acting in a rational manner frees us from acting on instinct.  Dewey warns against acting on instinct while talking about reflective thought. Reflective thought is not through instinct, but rather is to be considered suspended judgment based on belief accompanied with evidence.  While it may be tempting to act on impulse, reflective thought is far more beneficial and we as humans are blessed with the ability to do so.

Holmes stresses the importance of a liberal arts education to the development of a person.  It is often stressed in his writing that a liberal arts education is more about shaping the individual rather than the vocational training that is received.  The word “liberal” comes from the Latin root “liber” which translates to “free”.  Dewey makes a rather bold statement toward the end of his writing in saying that “Genuine freedom, in short, is intellectual” (13).  This quote, in particular, reminded me of the novel 1984 by George Orwell.  In the novel, a tyrannical government succeeds at controlling thought.  At one point, the main character claims that “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows”.  True freedom lies in the mind of the individual.

Another topic that is touched on by both Holmes and Dewey is the topic of mental discipline and development.  Holmes criticizes a student for asking “What can I do with all this stuff anyway?” instead of asking “What will all this stuff do to me?” (32).  He believes that it is the responsibility of a liberal arts education to teach the student to be able to adapt because occupations and job obligations change over time.  He is concerned with the education leading to mental development instead of the attainment of factual knowledge.  Dewey’s perspective on education is similar and is shown when he writes that “The aim of education is precisely… a disciplined mind” (12).  The discipline and development mentioned go hand-in-hand with each other throughout the educational process.

A final topic to bring up is mostly related to Holmes’ writing.  The society that we live in puts such a large emphasis on being productive.  However, being human means far more than working because we were made to serve God in all that we do.  As a society, we sometimes forget that jobs are created for people and people are not created for jobs.  While vocational specialization is necessary for a liberal arts education, it should not be the main focus.  A liberal arts education should transcend the circumstantial vocational training that typical degrees offer.

To briefly conclude, a liberal arts education along with reflective thought should lead to mental discipline and development with the end goal of the discipline and development being intellectual freedom.  It is the freedom that comes with intelligent thought that sets humans apart from the world.