Blog 3 - What Social / Moral Principles do you find compelling and why? How do these principles fit with the personal principles you identified in Blog 2? Do they conflict at all? Do you think you can live according to both? How will you go about doing so? i.e. Prioritize them? Adopt specific ones for specific contexts?
The Social/Moral Principles that I found compelling was Aristotle's means to an end theory. If you do something for something else it's a mean. I feel that I often live that way, although sometimes I wish i didn't. I sometimes wish that I didn't do something just for something else, but I feel that many people find themselves living that way and that is why is is compelling. Also, Satre's theory is very compelling. He says that life is what you create or invent and that you are fully responsible for everything in your life. Many people also live that way. The most interesting and compelling to me was Taoism. That is what I talked about in Blog 2. It really teaches
you to not over-think and let nature run it's course. I would love to be able
to think that way. I am an over-thinker and am always projecting, but if you are a Taoist, being average is okay. I would love to think average was okay. I am always trying to go above and beyond, and therefore I am always stressed.
I feel that it is possible to live by both theories. However, you will only be living 'a little bit' by each theory. If you are following means to an end, you are always doing something for a reason. Sometimes, you are doing things to please people and always trying very hard. However, if you follow taoism, i don't feel that it is as necessary to please people and do things for a reason, for being average is okay and you do not always need to go above and beyond. I don't think I can personally live by Taoism, although I wish I could. I am always too worried about being great at things to the point where I don't like it. However, I definitely think i can live by Aristotle's means to an end theory. I feel that I could try living 'The Good Life' and that would make me the happiest, for I'm always trying to excel at something than be average.
I commented on Catherine's blog at http://catherinedba.blogspot.com/.
I think we were supposed to refer our blog to Karl Marx's reading and John Locke's but, fuck it. I like what you have to say about Aristotle's means to an end thing because I can relate to it as well. In that I don't give much of a shit about school. I personally believe I can learn things of more intrinsic value on my own, but, I have to go because my parents have been saving for me to go to college since I was an infant. So I'd be an ass hole if I didn't at least get a BA. Taoism also intrigues me a lot in that being okay with who I am as a human being should be more than enough to live happily. But, I personally believe that an average life in the mind of a Taoist doesn't necessarily mean you cannot achieve greatness, I think it means to achieve greatness in what comes naturally to you instead of forcing yourself down streams that only lead to stress and anxiety.
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