A Telling Title

         As Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance drew to a close, it proved the title to be a perfect fit to the novel. The Narrator begins to become concerned with things like his sanity and his relationship with his son. When this happens he becomes anxious and he refers to anxiety as being a trap. It certainly becomes a trap for him; it keeps him from being happy and living a quality life. It starts affecting him and showing its symptoms in different areas of his life. He starts losing energy, feeling down and no longer enjoying food. This leaves Chris feeling only confusion towards his father and there is uncertainty on both ends of the relationship. Once he accepts this sort of insanity, he finally starts to become a little more sane. He starts to connect with Chris and his anxiety about losing all sanity starts to fade. He begins to focus on having quality in all aspects of his life and puts care into everything he does. The end of the book is a very optimistic start to the understanding of living a life of quality. 

Evaluating an Evolution

      Reviewing the evolution of the philosophies that influenced Phaedrus was helpful in clarifying some of Phaedrus's ideas. The foundation of his entire philosophy is based on the two main ideas of Kant; the world is controlled by causes and rational acts are the basis for freedom. He believed that only rational people can be free because they can choose, based on right and wrong, how they want to react to a situation, what they should say, etc. Fichte was next in this evolution and, straying from Kant's view that the world is both objective and subjective, physics and reason, he stated that it has to be one or the other. You can either explain humans in terms of physics, with psychology or sociology, or you can explain them based on reason. After Fichte came Schelling, who had the idea of an absolute. He still believed in the division between subjectivity and objectivity, but he believed they were not incompatible with each other because they both were a part of the same greater idea, the absolute. This comes before subjectivity and objectivity; it cannot be explained and is beyond reason. Hegel feeds off of Schelling's ideas. He believes that the absolute is not where the start, which was what Schelling thought, but where you end. It is not beyond reason, but included within reason; the absolute is a product of reason. There is no division between subjectivity and objectivity because it is where the rational world aligns with the physical world. It is clear to see now that Phaedrus has been evaluating this evolution in order to make the next advancements in this philosophy. 

Initiating Interest

       From reading ZAMM and discussing it in class I have begun to pay extra attention to the influence of interest in educational institutions. Persig looks at interest as a factor of how well the student will gain knowledge and possibly receive desired grades, but he has yet to explain what factors influence interest. As I have not yet finished the novel, I do not know if he will delve into this topic, but I have started drawing my own conclusions based on personal experience. A comment from Dr. Clark during our class discussion took me off guard; he mentioned that one of the problems of needing interest in order to gain knowledge is that we cannot force ourselves to be interested in something. This caused me to start thinking about what influences my interest in a class. Why am I more drawn to one subject over another? One of the first things that popped into my head was that I am more interested in the subjects in which I am more successful. In these subjects I can continue to learn and move forward and go deeper, as, with subjects that I am unsuccessful in, I feel that I am stuck in one place and do not move backwards or forwards. This stagnant position is not appealing and I quickly lose any interest that I may have once had. There are also many changing effects to my daily interest in a certain subject. These interests could be triggered or hindered by: 

• outside conversations pertaining to the subject that change my perception of it
  
• the feelings that I have toward the integrity or character of my professor
  
• the people that are in the class (maybe friends that distract me from the subject, therefore, changing what I take away from the class)
  
• the amount of caffeine I intake before the class/the amount of sleep I have had
  
• past experiences with this subject or teachers that I relate to it
  
• what time and on what day of the week the class is scheduled
  
• how relevant I think the subject is to my daily life....
  

The list goes on and on. One thing that I notice is that many of these factors are manageable. Therefore, we should be able to change them in a way that, instead of hindering, they will trigger our interest in the subject. This makes me question Dr. Clarks statement that we cannot force interest on a subject, but then I have to ask why I would be changing those factors in the first place. If I changed things so that I would be more interested in the subject, what, if not interest, would drive me to change those factors? And this is where my interest in philosophy starts to scare me because I know I could think about this forever and never really get anywhere. 

 

Comparing Philosophies on Education

          Pirsig and Augustine agree that the pursuit of knowledge is one of humanities most honorable quests. They both agree that the core of a real education is sincere interest and that enforcing education by scolding or beating cannot be used to gain the student's interest. Augustine illustrates this idea with his studies of Greek and Latin; he gets more out of his Latin lessons because he enjoys studying it and he has an attraction to it. He believes everyone has their own quest for knowledge and "a student of good quality does not follow another's studies but studies along his own paths" (Augustine). Pirsig illustrates this idea with Phaedrus's gradeless institutions. When he takes away the ulterior motive of grades, the students who have an actual interest in their studies are the ones that continue to pursue knowledge. They also both agree on the fact that we are not omnipotent creatures. We are not born with the knowledge of right and wrong and that is why we have instructors. Phaedrus believes these instructors are parents, teachers, philosophers, mathematicians, etc. Augustine believes that there is one ultimate Instructor, God, and that the pursuit of knowledge should be toward Him because "knowledge of God is greater than any other" (Augustine 75). Pirsig and Augustine agree that the human spirit longs for a knowledge greater than that of the physical world, of right and wrong or of a creator, but they disagree on what true knowledge is. 

Affirmative Action Debate

       The debate on Affirmative Action this Monday was the first encounter that I have had with the subject. One side of the debate fought for Affirmative Action, which calls for consideration of race or sex with employment, education, etc. This position takes into account that, in order for equal opportunity to be a reality, we have to realize that people are born with unequal opportunities. We have to be aware of these inequalities so we can give the people born with fewer opportunities a leg up in order for them to have the same chances as everyone else. This is a valid argument. Coming from a very privileged home, I can say that I have more opportunities then most and many of them I take advantage of. Some people could work all their lives for something that was just given to me on the basis of the family that I was born into. The other side of the debate was against Affirmative Action. This side argued that we should discard the race or sex cards because if you give them special opportunity then that is just as racist or sexist as giving them a disadvantage. This is just reverse racism or sexism. This side wants to erase all of the history and past afflictions that have taken place in this country. In my opinion, this history cannot be overlooked and we have to take into account that there are people that are born into underprivileged homes. I do think that, instead of focusing on race and gender, we should also consider family income. I believe that people need to work hard to be successful, but I also believe that a child born to incompetent parents should not suffer for their laziness. 

Zen??

        Reading further into Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has proven to be a difficult task. Persig's thoughts seem to be so far into the "high country" that he does not know how to organize them in a way that does not overwhelm the reader. I have to cut my reading down into short pieces in order to properly digest the thoughts that Persig spits out. Even then, when I continue reading, I have trouble continuing on the journey through his thoughts because my footing is already unsteady. When Persig started comparing Phaedrus to Jules Henri Poincare I got completely lost. The whole concept of theoretical mathematics and absolute mathematical certainty was way over my head. I did come away with a broad understanding of some of Persig's ideas; if you got rid of value-free thinking then you would have no basis for intellectual pride, which allows for Quality. Quality and intellectual pride cannot both be sustained at the same time. I am in the process of unfolding all of his other ideas... get back to me in about 10 years and I might have untangled a tenth of this book.

General Ideas

       Persig and Augustine agree on some broad ideas of humanity. They have similar opinions on the effects of meditation in daily life. They believe that this meditation will lead to a life of quality and bring us closer to the truth. They differ on what you should spend your time on, but time and care certainly lead to a prosperous life and a spirit of well being.  Another idea that these philosophers agree on is that humans are capable of good if they only choose the right values to live by. They have to watch out for potential pitfalls. Persig and Augustine might not agree on what these specific pitfalls are, but they both believe in the power of change in a human being because that is the reason they are writing both these novels. The basic philosophical ideas written about in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and the Confessions are analogous. They have ideas of spiritual well being, meditation, care, and the ability to change. 

Zen and the Art of Mac Maintenance

Well, this conflict with technology is a fresh frustration in my mind this week because my hard drive completely died and erased everything off my macbook. I can look back on it as a learning experience of what type of person Phaedrus would link me to. I had all the signs of a romantic during my technological crisis of obtaining the "white screen of death" on my new macbook pro. Of course, I was instantly stressed out and incapable of figuring out any way to repair my faulty possession, in which I had placed so much of my trust. I know nothing about technology and was too afraid to try anything on my own for fear of digging it into a deeper grave. So I whipped out my trusty cell phone, which, somehow, worked despite my electronic eradicating super power, and called my boyfriend. Phaedrus would say that Keith has a classic view towards technology; he respects its power and enjoys its many functions. He was there in no time, equipped with only a pocket knife and a nerdy excitement to start the surgery on my beautiful baby. Being a Windows user, he had no prior experience in fixing a Mac, but, after a little bit of research, he was plunging into the open carcass of my newly deceased laptop. Meanwhile, I was in the corner hugging my knees and rocking back and forth. I guess Phaedrus is right; I need to realize that my computer is more than just a pretty little notebook that I can boss around and stuff every bit of my life into. It is just a bunch of wires and screws and circuits and bolts. If I want to be happy with technology I shouldn't run away from it just because it is not serving my immediate needs. I did exactly what Jon does with his bike when something goes haywire; I put it in the hands of someone that I thought was more capable, but by doing that I could have mistakenly put it into the hands of someone with testosterone and a pocket knife. That wasn't the case this time; Keith did not do any harm to my laptop, but I would have been a lot more zen if I had known anything at all about the inner workings of my own laptop.

The Quest for Quality

Pirsig asks a valid question, "What is quality?" and it was surprisingly difficult to answer. We all seek after quality in every aspect of our lives. We want to do quality work at our jobs and have a quality family and we find quality in all the things that we spend our money on. It is this idea that the thing that we find quality in is somehow better than the other things that are performing the same duties or serving the same role in our lives. It is hard to grasp the concept of quality because it is unique to each person. This is where we get the saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." There is no one thing that is quality. Quality is relative to what a person values and this is dependent on their culture, religion, beliefs, etc. It is determined by what we feel is superior. So whatever we worship or whatever idols we have, whether that be a god, money, technology, drugs, attention, appearance, that is what we will use as our quality guide. If the thing that we have resembles this idol or brings us closer to this thing that we worship, then it has quality. This can be a very dangerous concept, if we are confused about what quality is we are likely to think that something has quality when it does not. But if we are all capable of creating our own definition of quality then who's to say that something does not have quality? Can we say that anything does not have quality? Does this mean everything has quality? What about humans? Do all humans have quality or can they lack quality? Are there degrees of quality? All of these questions are for us to answer individually. That is why we cannot define it, the concept of quality goes as far as the mind can wander.

Senses and Thought

There was a section in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" that I could not get out of my head after reading it. Pirsig gave an example of a boy born without any senses to explain different philosophers' views on how the human senses are related to thought. This boy does not have any feeling, taste, sight, hearing, and he cannot speak. He is fed through a feeding tube and is kept alive with the assistance of others. The question that he poses is whether this boy will have any thought. One philosopher felt that he would have no thought, that sensory reception was a necessary precursor for thought. Another philosopher had this idea that there are many things that we can think about that cannot be perceived with any of our four senses, such as time. Both of these views have valid points. I pursued another point of view and asked my friend Keith what he thought about this boy and his thoughts, or lack there of. He believed that this boy would have no thought because he would have nothing to think about. He said the second philosopher's argument did not apply to someone without senses. Time is directly related to senses. You see it when you watch people grow taller and change with age, when the seasons change and when the sun moves across the sky and turns to night. He would not have any thought about time if he has never experienced the results of it. This is a valid point as well. I found this idea so intriguing and I could talk about it all day, but I have not yet made my own philosophical conclusions on this matter.

Reigniting the Mind

I could not stop reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". Everything about that book is intriguing. The way Robert Pirsig tells his story of the adventure that he takes with his son and another couple across the country on motorcycles is so invigorating. I feel like I'm riding with them, feeling the wind and the rain and the heat and the emotions of it all. It is breathtaking and, every time I had to stop reading it, I just wanted to pick it back up and find out where we were going and what he was going to say next. Pirsig is a fascinating person and, yet, he remains quite a mystery at this point in the novel. Obviously, this book is not written to tell a story about a vacation, but it is Pirsig's Chautauqua. He is talking to us in a way that will "improve the mind and bring culture and enlightenment to the ears and thoughts of the hearer" (Pirsig 15). He does this by sharing his views of philosophy and human nature that can be seen in himself, his son, John and Sylia. It is written with such purpose that you understand the importance of the ideas that he is bringing up and you feel the need to scrutinize and unravel all the philosophical opinions he is throwing out, but you're not pressured into believing what he is saying. I think that, by writing this book, he reignited the fuel of the mind. He wants to encourage us to start thinking about the world and not just keep living in it as we have been taught to live. He is calling us to a better life; one that is not so caught up in life itself, but in the quality of life, the care we take, and the presence that we have in our reality.

Vive la Philosophy of Kant

Kant is the philosopher that I can most relate to so far in our studies of the philosophy of human nature. It seems like we have kept a lot of his ideas and they influence our daily lives. An interesting idea that he believed was this idea of the human mind only being capable of knowing things in space and time. We cannot know something that we are not programmed to perceive. To illustrate this unique view of the human perspective, Dr. Clark gave the example that our minds are like a black and white television. The reality of what we are seeing may be in color, but our minds are only programmed to see in black and white. We cannot really know what the reality is because what we perceive in our mind is different than the contents that came into our mind. I cannot know something the way it was prior to my experiencing it because it was out of my time and space. I can relate this to the idea we have now of cultures being ethnocentric. This is not a perfect parallel, but more like the idea of ethnocentricity stemmed off of Kant's ideas. It helps me to understand his idea by relating it to the cultural lens that we perceive the world out of. It is almost like Kant's idea is that there is a common lens for all humankind that affects our assessment of the things we experience.

Kant also believes that we should treat people as ends. We are all rational beings that are capable of reason and morality and it is not within our power to decide what one person is of greater importance or value than another. If we treat ourselves as an end because you think that you are valuable, you should treat everyone else that way because we are all capable of the same things. This idea is a great advancement from the philosophy that we have studied prior to Kant. It is the first time that we have seen an expectancy of humility in human nature. Past philosophers have talked about the importance of striving for your own happiness and not worrying about others, this idea of what's right for you is what's right for me. I believe that every human is capable of being good and moral, so it is interesting to see where this idea originated and what other ideas were popping up at this time.

The area that I find Kant disagreeable in is his view on God and the soul. He treats both God and the soul as an afterthought; they are things we can hope for, but will never truly know. It is almost as if he is saying, "It would be nice if there was a God and an afterlife, but these are things we can only hope for." To believe in something is not just to hope for it. It is not just something that you dream about. It is something that you put your trust in and you spend time and effort to understand. You can get to know God if you want to, but you can't just hope that he's there and that he's listening. You have to try and build a relationship with Him and you will know that He is real.

Race vs. Culture

Unknown to many, there is a very distinct line between culture and race. It is a common misuse in today's society to use the words "race" and "culture" interchangeably and without knowledge of their actual meaning. Race is the division of humans into different groups based purely on their physical characteristics, such as skin color, eye shape, build, hair color, etc. The three most common categories of race are Caucasian, Mongoloid, and Negro. It is very difficult to talk about race without talking about culture. Through my studies in my intercultural communications class, we have defined culture as being a learned pattern of perception, values, and behaviors shared by a group of people, passed on generationally. Quite often, when people are referring to a cultural stereotype, they use the word "race" instead of "culture". There are many studies that have been done that suggest there are no biological differences unique to all humans of a specific race. Therefore, when someone says, "White men can't dance", he/she is talking about a race (Caucasians), but is incorrect in his/her assumption of this race having any biological disadvantages to any other race. We need to realize that the way "race" is perceived today is offensive and ignorant. The next time you observe a stereotype that is not biologically related, remember that it is a culturally unique behavior that has nothing to do with race.

Backwards and Forwards

After reading through the entire memoir of Barack Obama, I believe that he finally finds the person he is by going back to see the culture that he comes from. He always feels out of place in Hawaii and in Chicago, but when he goes to Kenya, he finally feels like he is at home. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that he looks like he fits in. He is, for once, a part of the majority and he no longer feels that he sticks out like a sore thumb. Another reason that he is so comfortable in Kenya is that he has a name there. Just hearing the name Barack Obama brings about a history and a story from the past and a lot of the time reveals a distant relative. It becomes clear to him that he does have a place where he belongs and a group of people that share the same feelings and desires that he has. He even begins to realize that his father and grandfather were just as confused and scared as he is. He hears their stories and realizes the trials they had to bear and the pain that came along with the inability to provide for everyone in need. He feels that this is an inherited burden that he must carry and that, along with the family he has just discovered, comes a great responsibility. This is the reason that he was a community organizer and the thing that pushes him forward in his life, this responsibility to his people, his community, his culture, his past and his future. Barack Obama learned that, sometimes, you have to go back where you came from in order to find out where you are going.

GRAMMARMAKESITEASIER

Heather gave a very refreshing lesson that reminded me of why we take so much time learning the dreaded grammar rules. I have to admit that I am one of the many people that have a lot of trouble with grammar and find myself complaining whenever I have to do yet another worksheet on the placement of commas or the naming of phrases. This lesson was a little different and gave me a perspective on grammar that I had never used before. A simple sentence was written on the board and we were told to take all the grammar out of it. At first, we all took out the comma and the period, but then we took out the capital letters, the phrase at the beginning of the sentence, the spaces, and the letters. When we were done, there was nothing left. We were, then, given a worksheet that had a paragraph written in all caps, without any spaces, periods, comma, etc. For me, this was the most interesting part of the lesson. Of course, the paragraph was very hard to read, but this was not just a ridiculous exercise. This style of writing was used in Ancient Greece, but, over time, grammar was introduced to make it easier for the reader to comprehend the meaning of the written word. Along with this lesson, we learned how grammar can change the meaning of a sentence. Therefore, I will try not to complain when we have another grammar lesson and keep in mind the reasons that we spend so much time trying to perfect it.

Government and Human Nature

This week's philosophy lesson included views on government as well as human nature. We learned about Hobbes and Rousseau, who both agreed that government was a necessity, but had opposing opinions on why. Hobbes believed that humans are naturally selfish and at war with one another and that government is used to restrain the worst aspects of our nature. For Hobbes, government is justified only by the bad effects of letting humans make their own choices. Rousseau viewed humans as being naturally at peace with one another and government is supposed to bring us back to the nature of our being. He believed that the goals of government are to provide quality and freedom for everyone and to help us remake our nature. I agree with both Hobbes and Rousseau that we need to have some form of government in order to keep us all accountable for our own actions, but I don't agree with the reasonings of either. Government is not going to solve the problem of the sinful nature of human beings. If we are going to become a world that is at peace, we need something greater than a monarchy or a democracy. We cannot rely on our government to make this world a peaceful place. We need to hold ourselves accountable before we can expect others to do the right thing. This is a collaborative effort and the government is set up to support and guide this effort. It is our job to spread peace and look out for one another if we expect to survive in this world.

Far Away Fathers

The absence of the "Old Man" has a huge impact on Barack just as my father's death has had on me. At the beginning of his memoir Barack is living his life in a way that will live up to his idea of his father. He never really knew his father, but he has gathered small pieces of his old man's personality and made him into an educated, wise, and powerful man. It wasn't until he meets his half-sister that this idea is shattered and he becomes even more confused with who he is as a person. He realizes his dad is a deadbeat, unsuccessful and irresponsible man that verbally abuses his children, leaving them all with insecurities and emotional distress. Barack never had a father figure in his life, which leaves him without a role model in a world where he is part of a painfully small minority. His life becomes a journey of self discovery and hardship. My father died when I was eight, leaving my family in disbelief and sadness. I don't remember a lot about my dad, but the idea of him is instilled in me from the stories I hear from my family. I have my own memories, of course, but they are clouded from years of reflection and meditation. Through this experience, I relate well with Barack. It is a very painful experience to grow up without a father. When everyone around you has that person they can go to in order to feel secure it is hard to be content with the family you were given. You start to feel stripped of an essential tool for survival of everyday life. It is a very unique experience to grow up without a father and this allows me to connect, on a different level, with Barack Obama.

Happiness

Learning about the different philosophies of thought that have existed in the past, I have become more aware of my own philosophies of human nature. The three philosophies we focused on this week were Epicurean, Stoic and Skeptic. These were all philosophies that put the spotlight on "me". They all had very different perspectives on life, but one common factor: they were all about what you had to do to make yourself happy. I was disgusted when I heard that people knowingly and openly lived their lives like this. For many of us now, we say that we live for things, but we end up just worrying about ourselves. I guess these philosophies are a very honest approach to how they will live their lives, but the followers of these beliefs lack disgust that should come along with their lifestyle. This does not surprise me because they do not believe in anything but themselves and Skeptics don't believe in anything at all. How can you not believe in anything at all if you believe in not believing? The Stoics believe that a lack of emotions will make them happy. What? Isn't happiness an emotion? How can you be emotionless and be happy at the same time? Epicureans believe that there is nothing to fear of God and death because we are just a clump of atoms that will eventually brake apart. Why would you ever want to believe this? What would be the point of life? These philosophies are awful outlooks on life. I choose to believe in God even if it is a more difficult path to follow. He is the ultimate Happiness in my life. To those who ask why God gives me hardships and why he allows me to be sad I will say that my hardships are just temporary trials and my pain is the distance that I have put between myself and God. My lack of happiness does depend what I do to make myself happy. It is this that distances me from my God and destroys my happiness.

A Good Man

I am so glad we are reading Barack Obama's book right now. It is a great time to start building our knowledge of politics because we will want to tell our children and grandchildren about the important time in history. Barack Obama just received a nobel prize and, although it is controversial, it is good to know the person behind the prize. I feel that I have a better understanding of the kind of man that he is and an educated opinion on how he will do as our county's president. Barack Obama is a strong man that is not swayed by the opinions of others. He finds for himself what he is going to live for and what he deems worthy of his time. He has been through many hardships, but takes that pain and anger and uses it to pursue his goals even more ardently. When a problem arises, Barack uses cunning tactics to avoid or fix the situation. When Obama is leading the bus of people to demand answers about the asbestos, he realizes that one man in the group can't read. Barack gets up and starts chanting the agenda to the crowd instead of embarrassing the illiterate man in front of the whole group. This is smart, not only to save the guy from a humiliating situation, but also to get his army hyped up. I think Barack Obama has all the qualities that a president needs to be successful, he just has to use them in the right way. He has the prayers of many of his fellow countrymen and the gift of a good heart so I have faith that he will help our country prosper and piece back together some of the broken dreams that he has been fighting for all his life.

Our Own Understanding

Blogs are a great way to put ideas together that we have gone over in class and incorporate them into our everyday thinking. I am always really cautious of what I put on my blog because I know that anyone could read it. I want to make sure that the statements I am making are congruent with what I actually believe. If this were just a journal for only a few to read, I would not be so careful. Therefore, I am impressed with the knowledge of myself that I have gained through this experience. I have not only learned how to write more efficiently, but have gained an understanding of how strong my beliefs are and where they lie. It is easier for me to voice my opinions on these topics because I have spent a lot of time thinking about them and have had the chance to come to my own conclusions. If I didn't have to do the blogs I would also lack understanding in class. It forces me to go back over my notes and fully comprehend the lessons before I draw my own conclusions. Blogs are an easy way to help us draw out our thoughts and opinions and apply the things we learn in class to our daily lives.

The Only Omnipotence

The Platonic theory of remembering God through creation makes me weary of Plato's teachings. I do not agree that we are beings that have the capacity to really know who or what God is. If life was just about remembering what we already know then how can some people not recognize God when He is so apparent in His creations? With God's blessings we are drawn to him and if we seek him through prayer, godly people, biblical teachings and other tools we begin to learn and understand the ways of God. If we know everything, how can we separate God's omnipotence from our own? I find this to be so unreasonable and somewhat comical that Plato's theory puts us on the same level as God in our capacity to understand His ways and reasons. As His creation we are to trust and obey His commands, not try to understand why He gives them or if they are right. If we are diligent in our search for the right paths, if we pray for his guidance and ask questions about his teachings it shows God that we want to know who He is and that we care about Him. He will not always bestow us with the knowledge that we seek because only He knows what is best for us. We should not be anxious in our ignorance because God is the Only Omnipotence who loves us and cares for our well-being.

A Person and a President

"Dreams of my Father" gives us a look at the life and character of Barack Obama and allows us to connect with him beyond the political domain. Barack shares his story so genuinely that anybody who reads this book can find some aspect of his life that they can relate to his or her own. His struggles with race, family, education, temptation, money, drugs and sense of self shape him into who his is today and we should be honored to have such a selfless account of our president. I was surprised at the totality of his openness; even if Barack did not remember all of the details or why something was important to him, he would still make it known to the reader. His descriptive accounts of the past painted pictures in my head as I read and I could see Barack as the human that he is instead of the politician that I saw before. From personal experience, I know that family struggles can strengthen your character in ways that only God can provide and I found myself connecting with him in his confusion and solitude. It was also very inspirational to hear that he was from such humble beginnings. It is common to hear of presidents growing up in white, middle class homes that already have their hand in politics. Just by sharing these personal experiences, he is embracing his unique character and inviting us to be a part of his new journey as our nation's leader. I am very proud to have an honest, hardworking and passionate man to represent me. If Barack Obama uses what he has learned from the past, he is capable of making wise decisions and sticking with what he believes in.

Basement Boy

Platonic theology is very similar to a sermon that I heard on the "basement boy" a few years ago in church. The "basement boy" is a parallelism of what happens to a human when they become content with the world. It is the story of a boy who spends his whole life in the basement staying satisfied watching HDTV, playing on his Wii, and eating junk food. He even has a trampoline and the newest surround sound stereo system. Why should he not be perfectly happy with all these things? There are stairs that lead to an unknown world, but what would bring about the desire to climb them? Basement boy rationalizes that the risk of going to find out what is beyond the basement door is too high; it could cause him harm and he has so many good things in the basement that there is no need to go. The problem with his logic is that he doesn't understand what "good" things are, doesn't know what "happy" feels like. How could he know what to compare things to if he has been stuck in a basement his entire life? In Platonic theology the world is our basement and we must get restless with it, the stairs represent wonder and we must walk up them toward the realm of the mind. This explains why curiosity is such a blessing. It is okay to have questions about the One who created you because that pushes you into taking the first shaky steps up to the door. If you didn't care about the Lord then you wouldn't be asking questions in the first place. Basement boy must realize that he is not going to find out what the True Good and Happiness is unless he leaves all his possessions behind and climbs up the stairs.

His conversion from the basement to a beautiful Godly life will be a complete recreation of his body. He will no longer dwell in the mortal body that lived in the basement, for it is not fit to survive in the presence of God. His eyes would not be capable of seeing the beauty, ears deaf to the voice of the Lord and legs too weak to stand. God's beauty is so great that it will create for him new eyes to see, His voice so powerful it will form new ears to hear and God will provide in him the strength to walk in this new wonderful world. Although the reward of the journey is great, it will not be easy. If he returns to the basement he will not recognize the things he used to define his life by and it will be an uncomfortable existence. He will become overwhelmed with the fallacies of his old ways and shocked at his earlier contentment. None of this will compare to the happiness he will find in God, the only Good. So what is in your basement? Is it food, clothes, sex, acceptance, beauty? Whatever it is, you must realize that, even if you succeed in attaining it, it will never make you truly happy. These "good" things do not even compare to what God has for you. Set those things aside. Don't worry about what you are going to wear tomorrow or what your friend said about you. Don't get discouraged when you look in the mirror. Know that these are not the important things. Get to know the Truth, wonder about who you are and where you are going, get uncomfortable with "things" and get out of the basement!

Creation and Creator

Augustine's reflections on the complexity of mind and memory should open our eyes to the Creator. When he considers the categories in which we receive knowledge, the ways in which we store it and the ability we have to reproduce it there should be certainty in the existence of our Maker. How can a person believe that humans exist due to chance; that somehow everything fell into the right position at the right time and became sufficient in all this complexity? Disregarding the minimal chances of that happening, how could that explain where we get our memory, beliefs, and spirit? The human mind alone is too intricate to be formed without a higher power. In an infinitely simpler way we know it is not likely that all of the tiny pieces in a wristwatch fall together in the right place in order for it to perform its proper function. Every moving part is in perfect alignment with one another, every gasket, every screw, every dial, all moving together from the same power source and all parts having equal importance in order for the next movement of the hand to ensue. If this seems impossible we must take into consideration how simple a watch is in comparison to the human body. A human brain can comprehend the making of a wristwatch because all the pieces are of substance, but we will not ever know how to form a feeling, or a spirit. The ingredients are beyond the human capability to conceive. My ignorance of the most common things in this world confirms my knowledge of the One and Only in heaven.

What About Will?

The problem with Socrates' philosophy on human nature is his complete avoidance of the subject of human will. He believes that the existence of sin sprouts out of the absence of knowledge. If a human were to have omnipotence he would be divine. So what about temptation and disobedience? Even though I know an apple is a healthier snack than a brownie and I am not ignorant of the consequences that come with eating that brownie, more often than not I will give into temptation and eat the brownie. Socrates fails to see the ultimate idea of human nature; we are sinners by nature not by stupidity. God gave us the freedom to choose between right and wrong with the knowledge that He provides. We are all capable of attaining the knowledge through Christ, but it is what we do with that knowledge that distinguishes us from one another. To be wise is not the highest virtue; it is to love. This sounds like a completely separate idea, but love applies to everything and is what we use to choose between right and wrong after we have identified them. If the love in my heart for God is true then obedience will come naturally. My love will rise above temptation and curiosity to a place that, I know, is beyond the satisfaction that I could possibly get from a brownie (or any other worldly thing). It is God's gift to us that we have our own will; it is like having your own playing piece in a board game. We are free to move toward the finish line or back where we started and everyone knows it is better to move toward finish.

Saturated in Sin

Book X of "Confessions" is the most condemning of the books so far. The weakness of humanity and our saturation in sin is revealed and Augustine succeeds in arousing disgust. Humans can become so deceived that we often times hold ourselves up to a level higher than sin to a point that we do not even realize we have sinned when we do wrong. How can we not realize the corruption within ourselves when we are in such despair? I have seen myself passing judgment on others without seeing my own flaws. This statement sounds ridiculous because my act of passing judgment without any knowledge on the subject is a flaw that will be judged against me. With every God-gifted sense that we possess we sin. When we take more joy in the effects of our senses than the One who gifted them, we are sinning. When the power goes out in my house I do not stop to give thanks to God for the gift of sight that I previously had and have now become more aware of in its absence. I see it as a stolen possession; my sight becomes, not a gift that is undeserved, but an ability that is my own. When I eat I do not choose the food that will best nourish the body that was made for me, but the food that will bring about satisfaction of my senses of taste, smell and sight. When I submit myself to the Lord I tell Him that I will put Him before any of the things in this world, yet I do not realize my daily submission to things such as the five senses of my body, which I could not possess without the Lord. How can we free ourselves from sin when we are so oblivious to it? We can only ask for humility and conviction, accept that we are sinners, repent, and pray for the gift of God's mercy on us.

I'm a Blogger

My overall impression of blogging is that it helps me to become a more comfortable writer. It was rough when I first started. I was dreading the thought of putting my novice writing on the world wide web for anyone to see and I would spend hours thinking about what I was going to write. Even after all that, it was still hard for me to blog out my thoughts when I sat down at my computer, so for a couple of the first blogs I wrote an informal outline to straighten out my unorganized ideas. Looking back at those paragraphs I can see that they were written well (possibly better than any of my later ones), but there is an obvious discomfort in them. Although I meant every word that I said, the way that I said it was so planned out that it lost the personal quality that is so important to me and my readers. I still have to think about what I am going to write before I ever look at my computer, but I am better at choosing things to talk about that I have strong opinions on. Outlines are no longer a necessity for unscrambling my thoughts and, although it still takes me a while to transfer those ideas from my mind to my paper, the words are beginning to come more naturally. I don't know if I will ever be a productive writer or feel the flow of words rush through me, but I believe Steven King was right when he said, "[w]hether it's a vignette of a single page or an epic trilogy like The Lord of the Rings, the work is always accomplished one word at a time" (King 151). Therefore, I will rely on the ease of my writing to grow with every word I blog.

Talent and Joy

Although King tries to be “as encouraging as possible” (King 138) in explaining what it takes to be a good writer, it has proven to be somewhat discouraging to me. “On Writing” seems to be a novel that a person would read if they were aspiring to be a full time writer. King tries to persuade his readers to read whenever they get a chance and to pursue it because they enjoy it. He is so drawn to his work that it is no longer work for him; it is playtime. Honestly, it is rare that I pick up a novel that brings such joy to me and “[i]f there is no joy in it, it’s just no good” (King 144). Steven believes there should be talent along with the fun factor. I sure hope that is not true because if it is I should just put down the book right now. I can write an adequate paper, but it comes with a lot of strain. It doesn't just flow out of me and I definitely do not feel that "excitement of spinning something new" (King 148). I am willing to work hard and organize my toolbox, but I think that I am missing some of the most essential tools. Steven King’s obvious talent and joy in writing makes him the good writer that he is, however, it reveals my own incompetency.

Weapons of Warfare

The Christian society and Satan's society are in an epic battle. These societies are armies, in which, humans play the role of soldiers. Unfortunately, Satan's army finds its strength in numbers, but their weapons of warfare are weak. The soldiers have to earn their ranking and with higher rank comes value and glory. God's warriors are already valued, but they must accept their role in His humble army and obey His commands. The Lord provides His army with weapons of faith, hope and love. The strongest weapon that Satan can provide is death. For a short while it appears that Satan will win the battle because of the size of his army and his cunning tactics. Some of the soldiers in God's army will drop their weapons and surrender. They will throw out their faith first because they cannot see its power, then they will lose hope when Satan's army starts to attack and the wounds become too much to bear. They will eventually join the other side and ensure their own defeat. For it is love that will win the battle. This is not a humanly love, but the love that God gives us is a love that cannot pass away. His love is immune to any deceit, it can heal any wounds, strike down any enemy, and overpower any other weapon. Satan's army will fall into a tragic defeat while the Lord's army celebrates an eternal victory.

Finish Strong

The reason for death can be a hard concept to grasp for many Christians, but Augustine brings about a very important outlook that we should take into consideration. He refers to a natural succession of events, or God's plan, and compares it to a spoken sentence. Each syllable has a beginning and an end, when a syllable ends a new one can begin. If one does not end the next one can not begin. Our lives are syllables in God's speech, in which, we are formed to carry out a certain duty. If this duty is not fulfilled we disrupt the purpose of his message. We are judged on a very short performance so we have to be diligent in our work. When we are done with this work we will rest and find nourishment in the arms of God because our work was good and He is proud. It is our job to make sure that our work is good because He has chosen us to be a part of His creation and a chance to receive His love for eternity. Everything that we hold dear, everything that is pleasant and right in this world was made by Him. Our job is not to love and enjoy these things, but to use these blessings as examples to show others the magnificence of the Creator whom you receive them from. With this job the Lord gave us the ability to remind others where their happiness and comfort comes from and to help them fulfill their own God-given task. When we have finished our work we will receive our reward that will make the earthly objects, which we once held so dear, pale in comparison to His love. By completing the mission God gave us, death is merely the step across the finish line towards victory and His open arms of pride.

A Simple Strategy

I would love to be a writer that does not care about my readers. Not that I have readers. Honestly, all of my writing is done solely for the benefit of my education, making it, not the reader, but the grade that is my concern. If there is no concern for approval, I believe that writing would be more personal and valuable. While reading King's "On Writing" and Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style" I found some common advice: "write in a way that comes naturally to you" (Strunk and White 70). If you try to fudge your way into a better paper with vocabulary that is beyond your comprehesion or sentence structures that don't come with ease you lose the respect of yourself and your reader. It seems like such a simple rule; to write with the skills you possess. It is the use of skills, which we have not yet acquired, that hinders the ones we have. If I expect anyone to read what I write and comprehend its meaning, I should be able to comprehend it. My goal is to set aside my need for appreciation and recognition so that I may have a chance at attaining it.

Common Knowledge

The lecture on "Confessions" in a historical context was informative, but I found it somewhat unnecessary considering the message of the novel. It is true that we must keep in mind the vast differences of Augustine's culture and society in order to realize the extraordinary accomplishments that he made in such troubling situations. Among many of these accomplishments in writing "Confessions" he brings a significance to self expression, influences movements toward a more perfect world, urges repentance, and arouses a desire for truth. It is even more inspiring to learn that he lives in a time when political order is in shambles and change is a source of chaos and concern. Yet, stressful situations, no matter how big or small, are a part of every mortal life. Although Augustine lives in a different time and is challenged in ways we can not perceive, he knows that humans all share common emotions and anxieties. He writes to us as one of us, not as a historical figure. The purpose of the novel is not to gain an understanding of Augustine's life, but to receive a longing for the calming, healing hand of Christ. We are all well aware of the pains of hardship and panic of uncertainties and that is all the background the "Confessions" require.

The Son of God

My desire in reading "Confessions" is an understanding of the Son of God. After hearing Dr. Clark speak of his three encounters with the novel as a result of his changing desires, I contemplated what kind of encounter I wanted to have with Augustine. I was weary of reading something so personal between a father and his son, like I was somehow eavesdropping on an intimate conversation, but the further I read the more personal it became. I was no longer a third party, but somehow an extension of the speaker. I realized that, although Augustine was writing from his personal experiences and trials with God, he was expressing it in a way that any human, compelled by God, can relate. It is sincere and vulnerable to the point that it seems as though the stories he tells are from a personal past that I have forgotten. Augustine is a vacuum for all the human waste that resides within me and by reading his confessions he draws me in so close I don’t even realize I am confessing my own past transgressions. In this sense I understand a little better the role that Christ plays in our relationship with God. He is aware and compassionate to our human failures and he purges them for us so that we may share the intimate relationship that he has with his father.

A covenant with God

To many, the foolishness of God is evident in every biblical story of failed covenants between God and humans. God made humans as a reflection of himself, yet we are made from dust. We are deceptive and disobedient creatures with no moral backbone and a flawed sense of reality. By creating a covenant with a human, whomever that may be, God enters into a partnership that will inevitably be broken. Many may justify this by saying that He was just giving humans a chance to fulfill this covenant, but God knows that, as humans, we have no chance. In the stories of the bible it is God that gives himself the chance to belong in a covenant with his creation. He wants that bond with every fiber of his being, even when we fail. It is then that He has his chance to pick us up and dust us off. We need to realize that these stories of failed covenants are not about the foolishness of God, but of humans. They should be humbling and reveal to us how dependent we are. We become so self-absorbed and worldly that we shove God out of our covenant in our own attempt to make it stronger. We have to stop trying to pick ourselves up when we fall and let God help us. Christ was the only one that fulfilled the covenant because he was fully saturated in God. He did not just imitate God, but was God. Christ was willing, obedient and completely surrendered to Him and so became just as much a part of the Covenant as God was. “God breathes into humans the breath of life;” all we have to do is take it in.

Humans as Imitators

To think of myself as a being that was formed as a reflection of my society makes me wonder if we are even capable, or for that matter, worthy of trying to imitate God. If our desires are based off of those that we see in other sinners, does that make our desires sinful? How do we pick good models to imitate when we are all sinners and all sins are equal in the eyes of God? The only way I can go about answering this question for myself is to base my argument on Dr. Clark's quote, "Evil is not a 'thing' that we desire. It is the way we desire something good." It is not important what desires I have in common with other sinners in this world, but the reason that I have these desires. This leads me to question who I hold to a high enough standard to imitate and what my standards are. I came to North Park seeking a knowledge of God, not only in an academic sense, but in a spiritual sense. When I seek the wisdom of my professors I seek it not for better grades or a higher IQ, but to find in them the nature of God that they have attained through their studies. Many of my desires lack this kind of pure ambition, but this was one that I could honestly share because it is such a strong drive in my life right now. I believe that the way that I listen determines what I hear, and so I will listen with a heart open to God. I will imitate those that have a stronger desire for God than they do for status or appearance, and I will seek in them the God that has blessed them with those desires. I believe that I am capable of imitating God because he has given me the ability and the desire to find him within my society and within myself.