Thinking Outside the Box: Plato & Sartre

Plato, through his "Allegory of the Cave," expresses that our senses, a primary mode of attaining our knowledge of our world, cannot be trusted.  What we sense, isn't always the whole truth.  What we perceive is an imitation of the truth and thus we must not rely entirely on our senses.  We must look from different perspectives; we must turn around.  Our senses are narrow, we must use all senses to determine from one point what something is, then change our location entirely and perceive all over again.  Again and again.  In order to attain more truth of what it is we are sensing.  In order to change our location, in order to carry out this search action as described, we must be free of binds.  The prisoners in the cave were comfortable with their binds and their location and thus did not free ourselves.  Our comfort is our self-set limitation on our knowledge.  By stepping outside our comfort zones we expand them, permitting more truth.  Often times thinking differently is uncomfortable and difficult, and more than often this is what changes your thinking and attains knowledge.  Plato expresses that thinking differently and searching for knowledge is an acquired skill, as staring into the bright sun got easier as the one prisoner continued to do it.  Our limitations are self-created, self-accepted.

"GARCIN: Inez, they've laid their snare damned cunningly-- like a cobweb. If you make any movement, if you raise your hand to fan yourself, Estelle and I feel a little tug. Alone, none of us can save himself or herself; we're linked together inextricably. So you can take your choice. Hullo? What's happening?"

This quote from Sartre's play, "No Exit" can be interpreted to say that our knowledge is dependent upon the knowledge of those around us.  Our knowledge has been accumulated by the distributed information from others, albeit false, true or otherwise.  In a sense, the knowledge of others is both our limitation and our expansion.

"Alone, none of us can save himself or herself; we're linked together inextricably."

Alone, we can question and ponder, we can experiment and reason, but our thoughts and enterprises can never be validated without others, we can never know how close to the truth our thoughts and opinions are without the scrutiny of others.

AP Term: Anachronism

Defined by AP to be "something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time."

Perhaps this could mean a plate of food showing up in a public restroom or a character wearing sunglasses in a time period when sunglasses did not exist.

Here are some visual examples of Anachronism:

Anachronism often creates a sense of displacement with various effects:  either humor, discomfort, sadness, or maybe for symbolic meaning.

Big Question: Has One Ever Wondered

Do People choose to think a certain way or is it a habit that has been formed over time?  How much of our thoughts are dictated by our conscience and sub-conscience minds?

Literature Analysis: The Scarlet Letter

1.)  The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne begins with an introduction entitled The Custom-House, which introduces the narrator and the setting of the story (which is in Salem, Massachusetts, 200 years prior to this narration).  The narrator while working in this house discovered documents and other papers which he then decided, in his life, to compile into a story called The Scarlet Letter.  The novel begins with the main character, Hester Prynne stepping out before a crowd in a plain gown adorned with a lavishly and extravagantly embroidered scarlet letter A.  The A is the symbolic of Prynne's sin; Adultery.  In this Puritanical Massachusetts colony, Prynne is set before all the public to be ridiculed and shamed for her sin.  Here, it is revealed that Prynne's husband was lost at sea and presupposed to be dead.  She, under this notion, fell in love and had a child with another man, whose identity at this point is unknown.  Standing before the crowd, Prynne holds tight to her daughter Pearl, another symbol of Prynne's guilt.  Fathers and other clergymen of the colony essentially publicly try Prynne, attempting to break her and pry from her the identity of her partner sinner.  It is conveyed here, that this colony is very strict, rigid, dogmatic, and vicious against all sinners to the point of making it a duty to find the second sinner and bring him the punishment he deserves.  Towards the end of this scene, Roger Chillingsworth is introduced.  He is a physician and Prynne's husband.  He has come seeking revenge on Pearl's father.  Only Prynne knows this.

Now, Prynne is found in a cottage-like house isolated from the rest of the colony; Prynne and Pearl have been shunned and ostracized.  Prynne learns to cope with her new circumstances, she cares for Pearl, her only happiness, and works as the local seamstress.  When Prynne does enter the town most people fear her, some children tease and harass her.  Pearl grows into an impish child and eventually harasses her mom as well.  Pearl is characterized as very intelligent, devilish, impish, yet with an aura of beauty and happiness about her which fuels Prynne to strive through her adversity.  As time passes, the town settles and Prynne's Scarlet letter becomes a regular site to all.  In addition, Prynne receives help from the one sympathetic character, Arthur Dimmesdale.  He defends Prynne against the other clergymen who try to take Pearl away from Prynne.

How Hamlet's use of Language Differentiates Himself from Epic Heroes such as Beowulf: Essay

             Hamlet stands out as a character because he was one of the first, if not the first, to provide us with a window into his thinking.  Characters before Hamlet were very simple in their use of language; using language to describe, direct, and reveal.  Hamlet deviated from this in using his language indirectly, to conceal and deceive, and to analyze his own thinking.  In other words, Hamlet uses language to convey his thoughts and thus he diverges from the epic hero, such as Beowulf, who uses language to communicate his actions.  By using his language indirectly and to hint, to veil and to mislead, and to analyze himself and his thoughts, Hamlet’s use of language differentiates himself from epic heroes such as Beowulf.

             Early heros, such as Beowulf, use language in a very direct manner; stating every deliberate meaning to their intentions.  For example, in this quote, “Our errand is a great one, our business with the glorious King of the Danes is no secret; there’s nothing dark or hidden in our coming.” Beowulf, to the Watchman upon the Danish shore, deliberately delivers a concrete and direct message with his language.  Hamlet is dramatically different.  “I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me: I am very proud, revengeful (italics mine), ambitious, with more offenses at my beck that I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in.”  Here, Hamlet states everything he plans to do, he announces to the audience, who, under popular misconception may believe Hamlet has not made up his mind, that he has decided on revenge, however, this is not stated directly to either Ophelia or the audience, all Hamlet says directly is that he is revengeful.  Nevertheless, with this single word it is spoken indirectly that Hamlet is marching towards revenge and has contrived a brilliant mouse trap in which to execute it.  In doing this, Hamlet differentiates himself from the epic hero, Beowulf.  Beowulf even goes far enough to use his language to state that there is nothing hidden or concealed in his actions or language, Hamlet, quite differently, conceals a lot with his language.

The Most Important Concept that I've Learned So Far...

             So far, a lot has been learned this year even though I have the same teacher and have learned his philosophies in the previous years.  But the most important item of knowledge that I have taken away as of this time in the year, wasn't from him.  It was Roy Christopher and other Internet Giants that we had the honor to speak with via Blackboard.  The incredible experience broke the generational boundary and made that point, "That my generation isn't careless, isn't snotty and spoiled, and is appreciative of the new technology and desirous of learning it to a full understanding."  So many people in my senior class that are enrolled in Dr. Preston's Ap Literature course wrote how important they felt, "Program or be Programmed" was to them.  This demonstration we made to Roy Christopher and the rest told them that there is hope in us, we're not all what everyone says we are.  We are not all what Louis C.K. says we are.  However, he is, to my understanding, entirely right about everyone's unhappiness.  We should all take a step back, and actually look at the new horizon we've reached.  Otherwise we can't, no matter which generation, appreciate this advancement.

Internet Giants - Blackboard Conference: Roy Christopher, Ted Newcomb, and Howard Rheingold Alumni

We started off with Ted Newcomb asking some questions for Roy Christopher after short introductions.  This led to the real, pioneering discussion.  So, here are the main points:

1. Relating this period in history to Hip-Hop; this is a technological revolution.
2. It is impossible to surpass the medium itself:
1. Society cannot make something, like an app, on mobile technology that will become more important than the fact that Society has mobile technology.
3. "Program or be Programmed"
1. It isn't necessary to know how the technology works to use it, however, knowing how it does work, and knowing the best ways to use it, makes you a more mature user.
4. Advent Horizons create challenges in intergenerational communication, however, these challenges provide opportunities to teach those of older generations how to use the new technology and essentially cross their Advent Horizons.
5. We must find balance in our lives between digital and analog technologies.
6. With technology changing so rapidly, people can pick and choose the technology they use.  
7. The goal with using technology in education is to find the perfect blend of theory and academics with practical and technological use.