APEnglish–Los Al

Today’s quote:
“Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage”.
-Thucydides

After we spent a good 10-15 minutes getting settled in and writing down our thoughts regarding the quote, we went on to play some games. Too bad Tara and Nghiem were absent today, the Package Deal was missing a part of its deal and its Pipe Fitter.

After Eldridge succeeded in elevating our energy levels, he then re-asked the question that he had left us with last Friday: What motivates humans? What do we want?
-Happiness is the summum bonum (the good)
-And below it, exists the lower goods:
drugs, sex, money, rock and roll
jewels, Dancing with the Stars
Entertainment, shoes, iPods, cell phones
FOOD
*they become evil when they are substituted for the greatest good, happiness
(What Eldridge had said on Friday that I thought was interesting: the bottom levels are shortcuts. When you shortcut, you short circuit. When you short circuit, you fry out.)

Eldridge then moved on to talk about the self, which is substituted for the highest good, when people believe they are the most important (ex: It’s all about me). Then he asked, “What happens when you take God out of the picture?”. We were told to think about this as we read chapter 3.

Hobbes would have believed that life was nasty, brutish and short; it is a violent and vicious life. According to Hobbes’ philosophy, fear motivates people to do things. Since life is full of violence, we are prone to act on impulse in order to survive. We are struggling to survive, causing us to do whatever it takes to survive.

Eldridge then pointed out how humans assemble themselves:
units -> clans -> tribes -> nations

When people are in wars, they talk about it- for example, by writing songs and poetry.
Epics are about wars. The Iliad is a great example of this.

Hrothgar is the king of the Danes. Shield Sheafson came from his imagination.
Plato said that poetry poisions the mind. It takes what you know is true and puts other things, which could be fallacious, in it. Soon enough, the stories become real and the real story is distorted, causing us to ask, “What is true?” and “What is reality?”.

HW:
Keep up with the Grendel assignments and reading
Book reviews

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