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Post by Alexis Bond on Sept 15, 2015 19:06:50 GMT
1) If I realized I were just "stuff" and not a being made of light I would feel disappointed. In the film previous students mentioned that they felt boundless and liberated when they were told they were made of light, and I agree. The thought that I were made of light would make me feel like I had meaning, a real purpose on this Earth. Hearing that I am just “stuff” makes me feel uninspired. The quote from the movie explains exactly what I would feel like, “A glorious piece of meat”. Once the idea sank in I would feel better. Who cares if I am just made of "stuff" and not light? Not me. What difference does it make what I am made of? I believe life is what you make of it. Realizing that I am made of "stuff" wouldn't change that fact that I am capable of making an impact on the world or someone’s life. Life is all about choices, and I choose to be happy regardless of what I am made of.
2) Here are some examples of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave using my life as the template. The first would be Santa Claus. Right before Christmas my parents would always tell me Santa wouldn’t bring me presents if I didn’t behave. So I would behave more and receive presents at Christmas. As I got older I learned there was no Santa Claus. Even after learning this I still made cookies for my dad (AKA Santa) to eat while him and my mom wrapped our presents. Another example would be the tooth fairy. As a child I was told to put the tooth I lost under my pillow and the tooth fairy would leave me a gift, usually money. Again, once I was older I realized it was my parents that would leave the money under my pillow.
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Post by Kelli Valbuena on Sept 16, 2015 19:37:02 GMT
1. If there really is nothing metaphysical about me, I wouldn’t believe it. For me, I understand that I’m made up of star dust and atoms. I know that I have evolved out of something organic and ancient. However, this does not convince me of the fact that I’m ONLY this stuff. Although the things of my body make up myself, it does not make me who I am. Being primitive, I go based off of emotions. It might not be very evolved of me, but when I think about my values and beliefs, none of them are solely based on logic. Everything, for me, needs to make sense to me, whether through the use of facts or personal experiences.
2. After seeing the Allegory of the Cave, I noticed many similarities between the character’s in Plato’s analogy and my earlier life. I used to believe in Santa. I saw the “shadows” of Santa just as the characters did on the cave wall. I saw presents signed by him, I saw half eaten cookies, I saw boot prints on the floor of my living room. I even saw reindeer poop on the lawn. My parents set everything up for me to believe in something societal. Essentially lying to me, they snuck around for almost a decade to keep this façade going. Then, one year, I saw my mom wrapping gifts. Christmas day, I saw the same gifts under the tree signed by Santa. It didn’t help that her signature was the exact same font as Santa’s. Then one day I got up the courage to ask her the question I had been mulling over for over 6 months: Is Santa Real? She very carefully asked me back, “What do you think?”
I told her I thought he was fake. Her silence was enough. Although I had been told a lot time ago that Santa wasn’t real by my brothers, I could not wrap my head around that realization until I had seen it with my own eyes. 11632
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Post by Kelli Valbuena on Sept 16, 2015 19:38:34 GMT
1. If there really is nothing metaphysical about me, I wouldn’t believe it. For me, I understand that I’m made up of star dust and atoms. I know that I have evolved out of something organic and ancient. However, this does not convince me of the fact that I’m ONLY this stuff. Although the things of my body make up myself, it does not make me who I am. Being primitive, I go based off of emotions. It might not be very evolved of me, but when I think about my values and beliefs, none of them are solely based on logic. Everything, for me, needs to make sense to me, whether through the use of facts or personal experiences.
2. After seeing the Allegory of the Cave, I noticed many similarities between the character’s in Plato’s analogy and my earlier life. I used to believe in Santa. I saw the “shadows” of Santa just as the characters did on the cave wall. I saw presents signed by him, I saw half eaten cookies, I saw boot prints on the floor of my living room. I even saw reindeer poop on the lawn. My parents set everything up for me to believe in something societal. Essentially lying to me, they snuck around for almost a decade to keep this façade going. Then, one year, I saw my mom wrapping gifts. Christmas day, I saw the same gifts under the tree signed by Santa. It didn’t help that her signature was the exact same font as Santa’s. Then one day I got up the courage to ask her the question I had been mulling over for over 6 months: Is Santa Real? She very carefully asked me back, “What do you think?”
I told her I thought he was fake. Her silence was enough. Although I had been told a lot time ago that Santa wasn’t real by my brothers, I could not wrap my head around that realization until I had seen it with my own eyes. 11632
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Post by Leslie Jumonville on Sept 28, 2015 20:35:16 GMT
1. How would you feel if you realized that you were just “stuff”, just this body, and that there was nothing “meta” physical about you? Be sure to use your “I” voice and present your reaction in an autobiographical framework. Also make pertinent references (when possible) to the film on mysterium tremendum.
The feeling of just being a body, just being there, scares me. The idea that one day I won't be here scares me. There's so much more to life than just being a body. I feel like I've yet to discover what it is that makes me more than just "stuff", more than just a being in the universe.
2. Using your own life as a template, provide two or more examples of Plato’s Allegory of the cave. Hint: think of those times in your life when you mistakenly believed something to be true or real but you later realized wasn’t. Be sure to think within the context of the movie.
I have an older brother by about 3½ years. When I was a little girl, probably around 4 or 5 years old, I remember one day my brother came up to me and stabbed me with a pencil. "You got lead poisoning and you only have a minute to live!", he said as he pointed up to the timer on our microwave that was already counting down the minute left of my life. I instantly started crying and begging him to let me live. But my brother explains to me that it can't be undone. I'm literally on my knees, thinking, I don't want to die. Why would my brother do this to me? How much time do I have left? I look at the clock. 10 seconds to go. My brother starts to countdown out loud, "10...9...8..." As the time came to a close, "3...2...1...". I remember grabbing onto his leg, eyes shut tight, and yelling an elongated, "NO!" It was like a scene out of a dramatic movie. Seconds later, my brother is yelling at me, "Get up loser, you're not dead." I was confused at first. Did the lead poison not effect me? Am I an exception to the rule? I never once thought about rather or not my brother was telling the truth. My mind set as a child was, he's my brother, he would never lie to me. So the fact that he was lying and just playing a joke on me, never occurred in my mind and was never an option. I also think people will believe just about anything you say, if you say it with confidence. I think that's what happened to me that day (aside from being young and naive) I'd believe anything my brother told me.
CODE: 11632
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Post by jomel28 on Oct 17, 2015 2:48:16 GMT
@everyone
1) I could understand why you guys would feel that way because when someone says it they make it seem like it is a negative thing. But in reality being made of star stuff and atoms etc. is just as amazing as being made by some higher being (to me at least). Both are very mysterious and facsinating. Why, you must ask? Because we will never really know the answer in our lives. Not until death thats for sure (maybe not even death will give us answers?).
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Post by glennonbell on Oct 29, 2015 0:27:05 GMT
Response to Alexis-
I think it's easy to fall into the romanticized notion that we are beings made of light because it is very empowering sounding. However that doesn't make who we are, or what we are made of any less magnificent. The fact that we are alive, that we were the one that survived (in terms of sperms and egg) is amazing. Your response to learning that we are "a glorious piece of meat" is super healthy and frankly really awesome. You aren't letting anyone's opinion (even the universes) stop you from being all that you are meant to be.
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