Conversations About Life
Having taken a philosophy class previously, I was looking foreword to some heated discussion and controversial conversation when I signed up for this class. In my past experiences with philosophy, all of the conversations somehow ended up on the existence of God, no matter how great the conversations’ intentions were.
After the very first class it became very clear that the conversations in ‘Conversations About Life’ were going to stay on topic. The nature of the members of a class is what determines the quality of the discussions held within it. In my previous experience, the class was dominated by a few individuals who were determined to convert the entire class to atheism, so all conversations ended up with the atheists arguing with the devout Christians, and the conversation would get nowhere. But as is high school I suppose. My Conversations About Life class was mature enough to stay focused on the conversation that was at hand, rather than to try and further their own agendas.
The main difference, content wise, between Conversations about Life and the course I took previously was that Conversations about life was guided by topics that were at least partially based in fact. This is a major difference, because in an argument there would be at least one thing that is indisputable rather than the entire argument being at least partially flimsy.
I was drawn into the class from the very beginning, the conversations were so much more intelligent than the ones I had in my last class, and even the outgoing personalities were able to take a step back from the conversation to allow everyone to talk. Our first topic was Evolution, but not in the sense of whether it is right or wrong, but rather in the determination of whether it should be taught in schools. I think this was a perfect topic to start on because it gave a very accurate reading of the personalities of the individuals in the room without causing a strictly religious debate. The class was able to flow through varying topics over the course of the semester, from the effectiveness of our police force to the concept of love, and because of the course I was able to learn about myself more than any other school course has ever allowed me to.
From examining issues that are political and philosophical in nature, I learned that I am bigger than any label that someone could put on me. What I mean by this is that even though there are political and philosophical labels, I will never completely fit into any boxes. Through the course we examined political labels by tackling issues that are clearly political in nature like the benefits of Teach for America and Gay Amendments. However, we also examined the lesser-known philosophical labels like utilitarian, labels that detail how we make decisions that are moral in nature. Personally, I discovered that I am passionate about a wide spectrum and approach topics through different methods. I learned that I really don’t have a pattern in my decision-making. Most importantly I learned that there is nothing wrong with how I think and how others think, but that we should appreciate the differences in opinions that everyone brings to the table.
For my final paper in Conversations About Life I wrote on the Gay Amendment that may be put to ballot in Ohio in 2014. This is of particular interest to me because I will be a registered Ohio voter by that time, and gay marriage has been a hot button topic for my generation. I am also interested in it because I have several friends who do identify as LGBTQ and would be directly affected by any change that this amendment brings to the state. Because of this class I have become a more informed thinker, and I know I will use this kind of thinking in my future career as a chemical engineer.
After the very first class it became very clear that the conversations in ‘Conversations About Life’ were going to stay on topic. The nature of the members of a class is what determines the quality of the discussions held within it. In my previous experience, the class was dominated by a few individuals who were determined to convert the entire class to atheism, so all conversations ended up with the atheists arguing with the devout Christians, and the conversation would get nowhere. But as is high school I suppose. My Conversations About Life class was mature enough to stay focused on the conversation that was at hand, rather than to try and further their own agendas.
The main difference, content wise, between Conversations about Life and the course I took previously was that Conversations about life was guided by topics that were at least partially based in fact. This is a major difference, because in an argument there would be at least one thing that is indisputable rather than the entire argument being at least partially flimsy.
I was drawn into the class from the very beginning, the conversations were so much more intelligent than the ones I had in my last class, and even the outgoing personalities were able to take a step back from the conversation to allow everyone to talk. Our first topic was Evolution, but not in the sense of whether it is right or wrong, but rather in the determination of whether it should be taught in schools. I think this was a perfect topic to start on because it gave a very accurate reading of the personalities of the individuals in the room without causing a strictly religious debate. The class was able to flow through varying topics over the course of the semester, from the effectiveness of our police force to the concept of love, and because of the course I was able to learn about myself more than any other school course has ever allowed me to.
From examining issues that are political and philosophical in nature, I learned that I am bigger than any label that someone could put on me. What I mean by this is that even though there are political and philosophical labels, I will never completely fit into any boxes. Through the course we examined political labels by tackling issues that are clearly political in nature like the benefits of Teach for America and Gay Amendments. However, we also examined the lesser-known philosophical labels like utilitarian, labels that detail how we make decisions that are moral in nature. Personally, I discovered that I am passionate about a wide spectrum and approach topics through different methods. I learned that I really don’t have a pattern in my decision-making. Most importantly I learned that there is nothing wrong with how I think and how others think, but that we should appreciate the differences in opinions that everyone brings to the table.
For my final paper in Conversations About Life I wrote on the Gay Amendment that may be put to ballot in Ohio in 2014. This is of particular interest to me because I will be a registered Ohio voter by that time, and gay marriage has been a hot button topic for my generation. I am also interested in it because I have several friends who do identify as LGBTQ and would be directly affected by any change that this amendment brings to the state. Because of this class I have become a more informed thinker, and I know I will use this kind of thinking in my future career as a chemical engineer.
final_paper.docx | |
File Size: | 87 kb |
File Type: | docx |