I Think, Therefore I Am...the Downfalls of Thinking...

So I found it slightly ironic that practically all of this week's readings and discussions concerned the topic of thinking.  I happen to be a pro at over analyzing every little thing that is done and said around me!  So I most definitely agree with the whole idea of "idols of the mind" because the mind is where it all happens.  I have even gotten to the point where I have to write out my feelings just so I can stop thinking about them!  Along with part of the discussion on Monday, I am also a pro at doubting, which is a form of thinking.  Since this all means existence, I should never have to doubt that!  The whole idea of gravity being like the mind and being able to act on matter from a distance also made sense to me.  It seems that everything has connections, it may be distant, but my mind still decides to focus on them.  This can be frustrating or helpful.

I first enjoyed reading Bacon's ideas of truth, death, love, and studies.  For me, the most interesting topic was the one about death and how we all seem to be contemplating it.  (I think this issue was addressed earlier in the semester by another philosopher.)  This seems to tie into the next part we read about the "idols of the mind."  It is so true that we have so many biases built up in our minds.  Oftentimes I find mine are more my individual beliefs rather than those that the culture of man has built up in my mind.  However, overall I think society suffers most from the one of marketplace where words are taken to mean the wrong thing.  Misunderstandings can cause so much chaos and pain in many ways!  If I have one opinion it supposedly affects everything else.  I found it interesting that we are more excited by affirmatives, yet negatives are more forcible.  Everything just seems to culminate to mean that with all the senses getting involved things get even more complicated...such is life I guess!

Well, I wasn't able to listen to Friday's discussion because I went on a concert tour with the college choirs to Douglas and Casper, WY.  So my bit of Humanities for the day was listening to songs from various time periods, including the Renaissance.  However, I did read Pope's essay and felt I was in total agreeance with a lot of things that he mentioned.  It was all about human nature and how our lives are cluttered with so many virtues, some positive and some painful.  Pope is again still contemplating how God fits in with all this and we are now coming to the part where science is brought into play too.  What a great ending too, to ask about what brings happiness and bliss to human nature.  Can we even find it on this earth in the midst of the confusion brought about by the thoughts of our minds?