Okay, here’s my topic for today.
Sorry I’ve been MIA for a hot minute, things got hectic with classes/work/home life (it’s still pretty crazy), but I need a break; I’m here now.
I am only taking 12 credits this semester (3 cr. per course) and the hardest course I have is turning out to be my philosophy course. I’m still wondering if it’s because I never did take a Philosophy course in all my five years of college — or what. Tis the third week of spring 2017 and I feel as if I’m suffering.
The philosophy course is a 300-level one (so it’s not that bad) and it is called Theory of Knowledge–hence the title of today’s post! We’ve only touched on four philosophers so far… Foucault, Descartes, Wittgenstein, and Stroud.
Foucault speaks on the relationship between truth and power. Basically, that those in power (whoever or whatever that may be) influence the way others view or believe to be the truth. If you’re curious, look up Bentham’s Panopticon design that Foucault uses as a metaphor to explain further how it works.
Descartes‘ and Wittgenstein‘s theories go hand in hand… and I do not have a firm grasp on any of it. Ever heard of that phrase “cogito ergo sum“? It translates from Latin to “I think, therefore I am”. Descartes coined this phrase. To be honest, it’s just nice to say something in Latin… LOL.
From what I understand (which is not much, in this case), Descartes had a grand question; a question that philosophers are still trying to answer and figure out. Basically, he asked the question of whether or not what we do at any point in time is actually happening. Or are we just dreaming? How would we know we are dreaming or not? How do we know what reality really is if we have never experienced a real reality?
The day we discussed this in class, I felt like I had truly gone mad. These are existential questions… and It makes me feel like I am descending into a rabbit hole. I lost a bit of Wittgenstein’s theory because I was falling asleep. All I got from his part of the lecture was “The Language Games”. Again, from my limited understanding of this topic (and some helpful explanation from a Philosophy minor), the language games are basically the interaction between every person you meet in your life. The language you use to communicate influence the way you think and look at others and also kinda sorta relates to societal norms.
Stroud detailed and agreed with Descartes’ theory … and that’s kind of all I got from him. Tonight I need to read Vogel, I have no idea who this person is, but apparently he disagrees with Descartes. This kinda makes me feel better because Descartes’ theory just leads me to think that there is no point of life. Glad someone else disagrees as well.
I may or may not continue giving updates about this… but I hope you have a fabulous night/morning.
Happy Curl, Happy Girl
Signing off,
Curly Island Girl
Tales of A Curly Island Girl 