Red Pill or Blue Pill?

Matrix- 
The Matrix is a science fiction action film starring Keanu Reeves. It depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality, the Matrix, created by intelligent machines to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source. When computer programmer Thomas Anderson, under the hacker alias "Neo", uncovers the truth, he "is drawn into a rebellion against the machines" along with other people who have been freed from the Matrix. 

Neo, when given the chance of the blue pill (wake up in his bed not knowing anything and continue to live a peaceful delusional life) or red pill (face the truth of reality and his enemies which would force him outside of his normal lifestyle), takes the red pill. This perfectly relates to Nietzsche's philosophy of achieving happiness by going through the pain in life. Nietzsche's states that in order for one to get real fulfillment they must go through the pain first, which relates to Neo because if he was to take the blue pill he would wake up in his bed living a fake easy life without real joy instead of fighting and going through that pain to live in reality to achieve true happiness. 

The Matrix also partly relates to the Philosophy of Buddhism, as when Neo "unplugs" from the illusion-generating Matrix he allows himself to "die." This leads, inevitably, to self-sacrifice: by finally "allowing himself to die," Neo "is reunited with spirit" and "becomes the true savior of humanity." Similar to Buddhism, "no-self" in which one does not have a soul or a "permanent self." Neo also risks his life to fight for the greater good and makes many sacrifices for humanity.  

Like Socrates, Neo is also chosen and must save his people like Socrates was trying to. Matrix also relates to Socrates because of the teacher/student relationship portrayed throughout the movie. His teacher never gives him any answers but only shows him the paths he can choose to walk. 

The Existential Value of Scott's Tots

Michael Scott cringing at his own failure to follow through with his promise

"Scott's Tots", season 6 episode 12 of popular sitcom The Office is considered by many (along with season 4 episode 13, "Dinner Party") to be the most cringeworthy and difficult to watch episode of the show or even in all of television. It brings up feelings of empathy and shame in the viewer, especially the younger audience of the show that is near college-age.

Synopsis: "Hey Mr. Scott, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do? Make our dreams come true!"

In the episode, Michael Scott, a main character of the show, discovers that it has been 10 years since he ridiculously promised a group of 3rd graders to pay for their college tuition when they graduated, and he must go to a reception at the school in his honor, put on by the now-12th grade students about to graduate. Unfortunately, Michael isn't as rich as he thought he'd be 10 years ago, and he must tell the kids that he cannot pay for their tuition. When he gets to the school, they put on a whole song and dance for him along with testimonies of how well their lives have gone and how they've always had this goal in mind and their dreams are close to coming true.

Then Michael tells them the truth. This is met with anger and yelling. He tries to make up for it..... by offering the kids laptop batteries. This did not help at all. Even the fact that the batteries were lithium.

"Hold on! They're lithium!"

The Existential Value of Scott's Tots

"There were a lot of times over the years where I was pressured to get into the drug game. But I always thought back to my guardian angel, and the gift that you gave me. So I just want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to go to college, educate myself, and become the next President Obama."-One of Scott's Tots

Though it's obviously horrible how Michael Scott broke a really big promise here, it is also evident that it wasn't completely worthless. Existentialism teaches that the sum of what you are is what you make of yourself.  Despite Michael's broken promise, the kids knew the promise of a college education, so they made something of themselves. One student refused getting into drugs because he knew that because there was a promise of a free college, he had a hope and made something of himself. Despite the fact that the promise didn't end up being fulfilled.

"The principal told me that 90% of Scott's Tots are on track to graduate, and that's 35% higher than the rest of the school. So I think if you hadn't made that promise, a lot of them would've dropped out. Which is something to think about, I think."-Erin Hannon, Michael's receptionist/assistant

Despite Michael's promise being fulfilled in the form of useless laptop batteries, Scott's Tots actually did make something of themselves. While Michael thought he "destroyed 15 young lives", he actually made a positive difference, at least in the existential sense. Though Scott's Tots were all deprived of their promised tuition, they all ended up graduating at a much higher rate than the rest of the school. They made something of their lives, despite the broken promise, and gave themselves actual value in life.

The pleasure of friendship

Thanksgiving break gave me the opportunity to see friends that I had not seen in a while since college had started. Some of these friends go to college in different states hours away so I do not get to see them often. Being able to spend time with my friends and family over break gave me a lot of pleasure. After learning about Epicureanism this semester and how Epicurus believes that friendship is very important for finding happiness in life, it made me appreciate the time I got to spend with my friends over break even more. Epicurus also believed that in true friendship a person feels the other's joy and sadness as deeply as their own. I was able to affirm this in my own relationships. One of my friends in particular has been going through a difficult situation. I have known this person my whole life and he is like a brother to me. I felt his pain as my own and really enjoyed the time I got to spend with him.

Every good memory I have my friends are there with me, and every bad memory I have my friends were there to get me through it. Friends to me are the most important thing in life because they bring me happiness and help me when I am suffering. Learning about Epicurus's beliefs about friendship helped me to appreciate friendship even more and remember to enjoy every moment I get to spend with my friends.

Fear of Death

Out of all the philosophies we have reviewed in class, Epicureanism has resonated the most with my own life. One of the main beliefs in Epicureanism is that humans should not fear death. The reason being, "Therefore, it is relevant neither to the living nor to the dead, since it does not affect the former; and the latter do not exist.” (Epicurus, 124). While this claim by Epicurus if founded in the belief that their is no life after death so death cannot do us any harm since we will cease to exist, I believe that even those who believe in an after life should not fear death. Death is the one guarantee in life. So, fearing the only thing in life that is inevitable doesn't make much sense to me. Epicurus believed that fearing death was causing many people to miss out on life and I agree. While I don't fear how my death will affect me, I do fear how my death will affect others such as my family and friends. I have lost family members and I know that the death of a loved one can have a huge impact on a person's life. So, I agree with Epicurus that death should not be feared because it gets in the way of living, but I am worried that my death will have negative affects on those around me. Overall, I think that death should never be feared because it is something that will happen to everyone. Life cannot exist without death so it is important to accept this and focus on the affects I can have on people while I am alive.

"Don't Worry, Be Happy"

The song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin related to several of the philosophical perspective that we have discussed this semester. The song begins with the following lyrics:

Here's a little song I wrote

You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy now

 

 

Essentially, all of the lyrics in this entire song revolve around not worrying about anything that is happening in your life; just be happy no matter what. The main philosophical idea that I think this related to is the Epicurean philosophy. He is saying that you always need to seek to have a pleasurable state of mind and try and experience as much pleasure in your life as possible, while experiencing as little pain.

I also belief that this relates to wu wei from Dao De Jing. By living a life free of stress and worries, and always focusing on being happy, I feel that this would allow one to live a life in the world without excessive striving and stress, over-thinking, over-analyzing, or forcing thing.

Connection between ataraxia and my time spent in Africa this summer.

During this past summer, my cousin and I travelled to Tanzania, Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. It was one of the best experiences of my life. The mountain was challenging, but making it to the top was very rewarding. Though the mountain was incredible, what has stuck with me the most about the trip are the attitudes of every local that we met while on the mountain. We had around 25 people in our group in total. We had seven tourists, three guides, and the rest were porters (the people that carry the tents, food, and pretty much everything except for your snacks and water and maybe some extra layers of clothing). When we discussed the Epicureans' idea of ataraxia, the porters and guides in our group is the first thing that came to my mind, especially the porters. Ataraxia is the freedom from distance, stress, and anxiety. According to Epicureans, it is the highest form of pleasure. The porters did not get paid much when compared to the amount of work that they did. They had the hardest job, yet every single one of them radiated positive energy. They would always greet you, ask if you needed anything, and have conversations with you even though some of their english was not perfect. Though they do not have a lot of material goods, they still seem to be stress free and have a way of building up those around them. Their favorite phrase is "Hakuna Matata" or "no worries." They basically used it for everything, and I loved it. "Thanks for setting up our tent!" "Hakuna Matata no problem!" "Can I please have some tea? "Of course brother, Hakuna Matata." They say the phrase often, and they seem to do their best to live by it as well. My favorite part of the trip came the second day that we were on the mountain. Once we made it to camp for the night, we had our formal introduction to the porters. This introduction came by way of singing and dancing in a big circle. You could tell that they all truly loved what they were doing, and it was an amazing experience for all seven of us tourists because none of us had seen anything like it. We had myself and my cousin from the US, a recently married couple from Spain, two cousins from Denmark, and a lady from Mexico who had been to over 120 countries. Despite us coming from all around the world, we were all enamored by the joy that the locals seemed to possess. These locals probably do not have near the amount of material goods that any one of us tourists have, yet they seemed to be happier than all of us. I believe this is what ataraxia is all about. The only stress and anxiety that existed in that singing and dancing circle came from us tourists wondering when the altitude sickness was going to kick in.

Snowden and the Ring of Gyges

Edward Snowden is a world famous whistleblower known for disclosing top secret documents of surveillance programs that the NSA was conducting. Snowden was selected to run these programs due to his high level of intelligence and skills in the surveillance field. Essentially, Snowden had the power to spy or anyone or anything by hacking cameras and other electronic devices. The system was initially designed to avoid terrorist activity and serious crime. However, Snowden recognized the ability to abuse this power and deprive the masses of their privacy.

Very much like the Ring of Gyges, Snowden had the power to abuse an individual's privacy and not be caught. Rather than abusing this power, he decided to expose the corruption and let the public know what they were secretly being subjected to. Snowden was able to avoid his appetites' cravings and was able to rationally maintain control of himself.