Is Everything Determined and Parables of the Kingdom  --Samantha Wiktor

While reading “Is Everything Determined,”  by Stephen Hawking, I was trying immaculately hard to wrap my head around the author’s concept, but in the end, found it confusing and frustrating.  He addresses some fairly large issues and makes great comparisons such as, the effective theory of fluid mechanics not being exact but then contrasting his example by reminding us that we use this theory successfully in the design of ships or oil pipelines.  I think that through this reading I learned that, yes, we do know enough to predict certain situations.  I know that if I place my hand on a hot over, it will get burned.  This is common knowledge discovered through experience.  I’m not sure that we, as a human race, could ever come to the point of knowing or through a set of laws being able to predict what will happen in every circumstance possible, but it is a very interesting thought.  Hawking even says himself that “the idea that there is some grand unified theory that determines everything in the universe raises many difficulties.”  I think throughout this essay, Hawking is searching for something comparable to the golden rule.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.  I think that Hawking wants to take something this simple and universally known and create a rule or set of rules that function in the same way.  He is looking for a golden rule for determining everything.  This, then, raises a problem of authority.  Who is to say that Hawking’s set of theories or rules are greater and should be accepted over my set of theories or rules.  Hawking then touches on free will and says that, “..if we are all determined by a grand unified theory, none of us can help what we do, so why should anyone be held responsible for what they do?”  This applies to the insanity theory that loosely says, if you are crazy and commit a crime, you receive a free pass.  We, as a human race can not function with a grand set of theories or rules.  We need the free will and capacity to let some events and situations determine themselves.

In “Existentialism,” I liked when the author talked about anguish.  He first asks what is meant by anguish and then proceeds to claim that man is anguish.  We, as a human race are and embrace anguish.  He is obviously an observer of people when he loosely claims that even though some people claim not to be anxious, we say they are hiding it.  I think that is absolutely true.  Personally, I have never met anyone that wasn’t anxious about at least one thing.  If not anxious, then nervous.  Or, as Sartre put it, is someone with an “uneasy conscience.”  We all have something that we’re unsure of or nervous about.  There are always decisions to be made and different problems that come up daily.  I thing that Sartre is trying to help us understand that when we throw this feeling off as unimportant or, in another case, become completely overwhelmed by an anxious feeling, we are not alone and he reminds us that all of human kind feels this way at some point or another.  He makes the observation that, “anguish is evident even when it conceals itself.”  I agree with this statement because I know that I have become pretty experienced at covering up my problems.  I don’t want others to feel sorry for me or feel the need to reach out and help me at any time.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t have any, it just means that I have, as Sartre says, concealed them. It’s helpful to read this passage and to remember that anguish is here and all too present in the human race. 

Is Everything Determined/Parables of the Kingdom

Team Minotaur

Is Everything Determined/Parables of the Kingdom

World views are very diverse for the most part but I believe in these two articles that they are similar in the argument that everyone is responsible for our own actions. Hawkins makes states this argument as the third problem he see with determinism. We claim to have free will but he believes this could be just an illusion. Furthermore, he state that the human brain is subject to the uncertainty principal. We have an element of randomness in human behavior and we cannot predict human behavior.  Hawkins summaries this with, we must adopt what he labels the “effective theory” that one has free will and is responsible for one’s actions. Jesus in, “Parable of the Kingdom”, and under “Ten Talents”, gave special number of talents to three servants. These servants we to make good of these talents and return back to his lord. Two to these servants utilized the talents and produce double talents upon their return and we allowed to enter in the kingdom of heaven. There was one that did not utilize the talent but buried this away and out of his sight. When he returned to his lord he did not have talents to offer and was denied to enter as the other servants had. His lord said to him “For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. I interpret this as we are in control of our own destiny and we are responsible for our personal outcome. If you don’t contribute to a better way of life and don’t work hard for the things you desire, then you will not be rewarded with such. This is not to say that some people aren’t born with a “silver spoon”, but someone in the ancestors worked for this outcome and provided this lifestyle from their hard work. Even those that did not have to work as hard as family members before them will often lose the fortune or gifts if they too don’t work hard to keep it. You get in what you put forth. If you make bad decisions there will always be a consequence for your actions.

words

"thank you dance"

http://www.reshareworthy.com/humpback-whale-rescue/#hYGwsf4uF4wmzGHU.01

Team Unicorn: Certainty vs Bewilderment

                In order to maintain some sense of sanity (whether that sanity be real or imagined), humans like you and I are certain to need certainty. The anxiety and stressors placed on the average person usually stem from some combination of uncertainties in their lives. We are comfortable knowing that a dog is a dog, a paycheck brings in money, and household belongings will be there upon returning home. These tangible ideas are what keep people going. Religion is one of these tangible ideas that ease people’s discomfort about what we truly mean and how we fit into the world or universe. This is not necessarily a negative idea; that we have to put ourselves into the realm of the known in order to deal with the unknown. It allows us to move forward and for some, instead of fear the unknown, explore it. The quest for knowledge is the quest for certainty. What we find may also leave us bewildered, unable to comprehend the possibilities outside of what we know to be concrete. The theory that I am merely a holographic version of actions being performed by a two-dimensional version of myself out in the “universe” somewhere is completely bewildering. It also creates that sense of “enchantment that follows a complete collapse of reference and reconcilability.” This is the driving force behind progress. Bewilderment is necessary. It reminds us of our insignificance, while also reminding us of the relative role that we play.

Our Universe May Be a Giant Hologram--Samantha Wiktor

I think it’s very interesting how Greene explains his life growing up and how it affected him in his daily life as an adult.  He questions the limitations of human perception and knows, even at a young age that our minds are limited by what we see.  He says the word “universe,” actually means “all there is.”  So to say that the notion that more than one universe exists is a contradiction in itself.  We can not have confidence in an alternate universe when this one that we know of, are familiar with, and have grown up in, is all that we’re set up with.  We are unable to live with a level of certainty due to the fact that our universe is being questioned.  All of these questions being asked about our universe and the parallel universe we live in reminds me of the movie, Inception.  In this movie the characters explore new and different realities and allow themselves to live and be apart of somewhere completely new and different, with each level of their understanding and thinking being questioned.  Just watching the movie I was constantly confused and frustrated.  The different levels of thinking were maddening to never be sure of how or where your true person originated would be too frustrating.  How can we take something that is so familiar to us and transform it into something different?  We would constantly be living a life of confusion and I think that would eventually drive us all mad.  

Team Phoenix: Bewilderment/Certainty

First of all, I just wanted to point out how much stuff like what was in the first text freaks me out -- the idea of everything in our world and our world itself being a projection of another reality? How does one even grasp something that complex? It’s a pretty overwhelming thought and I can’t imagine how many questions must be buzzing around a physicist’s head on a day to day basis. Anyway, in regards to whether or not I think certainty is necessary – in a societal sense, a level of certainty is extremely necessary. To use an example, in Westernized societies, if people aren't certain that their individual hard work will eventually pay off for them and their families, they won't be motivated to do the work of the society, which means they won’t be motivated to follow the rules of the society, which will ultimately lead to the society's demise. In an individual sense, people need to have a level of certainty in how their day to day lives are going to pan out. If that certainty is threatened, then the individual’s entire perception of reality is threatened -which can lead them to react pretty drastically in an act of self-preservation. Basically, if people are uncertain, they are chaotic.

In regards to bewilderment, I think it certainly is humbling to be uncertain. For example, whenever I find myself watching the show Cosmos (which isn’t often – I’ve learned by now that my brain can’t handle that much astronomy. I’ll be up until 6 in the morning searching for answers to questions only to come up with hundreds of more questions – all of them still unanswered.), I feel pretty small and insignificant, and to some degree that type of perspective can be really beneficial. Bewilderment cools off some of those narcissistic/egocentric attitudes that come with being human; it puts us in our place. It reminds us of how little we really are and how little our tiny sun and tinier planet means to the rest of the universe(s).   

Bewilderment and Certainty

As a whole and individually we need certainty. There are many unknowns out in our planet. Just for example, the purpose of life, how things are created, and what lies beneath the ocean that we have yet to study. These phenomenon’s are all unknown and are very unlikely to be answered. Although we have these questions unanswered we are still able to live with some certainties. These certainties can include something like the loved ones in your life. This certainty gives us a sense of comfort, there are many things that are mind boggling, but we do have a foreground that has allowed us to almost look past our questionable existence. Certainty has given us something to fall back on when these questions may overcome our thoughts. The question of reality can be puzzling and a lot of the time feels like a complete cycle of not knowing but the things in our lives that we are certain about has allowed us to find that foreground once again. I do also believe that over thinking things can cause bewilderment, which I believe is not necessarily necessary for our lives. When we sit and over think about how the world works, we never can fully come to a conclusion. This cycle is often overwhelming and incredibly annoying when one tries to wrap their head around.

Team Minotaur-Melisa

Animal Minds

I do agree that the pure goose excludes humanity, but I don’t necessarily agree that the human-animal interactions is an inherent loneliness. First of all this would be a case by case basis. I have never had the experience of raising geese or even observing them. I do have dogs and have raised a few cats. How can an animal be lonely if it doesn’t know any other way of life? There is nothing to be missed if the animal has never needed, experienced it or understands it. They have a much simpler lifestyle than humans. The basic of food, rest and survival are the necessities and while some don’t require the love and companions like a dog or cat does they seem to be quite content. Paul Nicklen seem to experience something quite extraordinary. I didn’t hear the story as though the Leopard Seal was lonely, it just appeared to be taken by Paul’s presence and luck was on his side that she grew fond of him for a short while unlike the woman that was killed by the same species of animal.

 

Serpents of Paradise

I think it could be beneficial for someone to live as Abbey does in this story. We need people who are able to learn from other animals and species to advance our own knowledge and to share it. I personally would not be able to live as he does but we need to allow nature to take place without disturbance in order to expand and understand diversity. He has a respect for nature and rightfully so. Humans have an instinct to destroy the things that cause us fear, to be able to see the beauty and allow the nature a chance must be an amazing thing to witness if you have the courage to do so.

 

The Serpents of Paradise- Samantha Wiktor

I think it is very interesting how Edward Abbey describes his encounter and experience with the snakes living around him.  He sees them as equals or even superior to himself and even goes so far as to say he would rather “kill a man than a snake.”  To me this seems too drastic.  How can you value and put a human life above an animal?  This is too extreme of a thought.  The fact that someone can take a human life and set it to equal or less than a human’s life is inconceivable.  I can understand how he might see a snake as a companion or in a strange way a friend just to keep company.  But to compare a snake with a human life is too far.  I think the right thing was to take care of the snakes and release them far away from his house.  It was strange for me to see the way he treated snakes as friends and was so distraught when he came home from working only to find the snake had gone away.  He treats these animals as his friends and the line is stretched further than just friends.  He is overcome when he can’t find ‘his’ snake.  It’s just too much when he takes the snake with him around on tours and allows it to be around other tourists.  It mainly made me uncomfortable how much of an activist he was for the rights of animals and saying he would kill a human before a snake. 

How might humans learn “animal” and then be able to think in animal ways?

1. Humans can learn “animal” in exactly the ways Clive Wynne does.  By observing very closely the interactions animals have with other members of their own species.  Watching how a dog interacts with a person only shows how dogs interact with people.  To truly attempt to understand a what a dog might be thinking, or at the very least become better at predicting its behavior, one must observe the dog interacting with other dogs.  Learn how the dog asserts itself.  How does it attempt to fit into a new group of dogs?  A clear understanding of the behaviors dogs exhibit in these situations can then give us an idea of what it really means when a dog growls or barks.  Is he barking at the mail man to say, “Go away” or is he barking an alarm to tell his owner that there’s someone approaching the house?  Maybe the dog is just excited because he knows that particular mail man carries treats with him. 

Clive understood and acknowledged that the divers who rescued the whale genuinely felt that they were being shown gratitude by the whale.  But he wouldn't confirming that that is what the whale was actually doing because he doesn’t “speak whale.”  Being a scientist, this is a fair point.   For him to confirm that the whale was thanking these divers for saving it from the crab traps, he would likely have to spend years observing whales closely enough to witness (many times) a whale A bumping whale B several times, then starring at it for 15 minutes or so after whale B did something to help whale A like removing a crab trap.  His point being that it’s impossible to truly know what that whale was doing.

2. I think it is definitely important to have a connection with one’s environment.  A feeling of connectedness is what people mean by being “grounded.”  I think its important that we all feel grounded in some way.  We need to have some deep sense of our place in our world to keep us from feeling overwhelmed by all the things we try to do in our lives.  People seem to get busier and busier all the time.  We have class, then work, then more class, then sports, then family and we try to juggle all these things every day.  While advancing technologies boast abilities and features designed to make people more productive, this constant immersion in digital screens and the constant race to the next appointment pulls people away from the natural environment.  When we take time to quiet ourselves and take even just a minute to look away from the screen and watch a squirrel run, stop, look, run some more and scurry up a tree, we can find a sense of calm and tranquility that can’t be found on the Discovery Channel.  And taking just that minute to notice a squirrel going about her business, can cause one to notice more squirrels crossing one’s path.  Soon enough, if one pays attention, one finds oneself looking for squirrels in the trees and in the grass.  I do this myself and that little bit of enjoyment that comes from watching cute squirrels be cute and frantic in their own lives helps me feel just a little less frantic in mine.

Animal minds and Serpents of Pardise

Animal Minds
1. One of the divers from Animal Minds explains, "when

she was only inches away from my chest…she stopped and pushed me on the chest backwards, then released then pushed again… she swam to the surface and just stared at me, she wasn’t looking at anything else. She was just looking directly at me…she went to the next diver and did the same thing…one by one”.  I completely agree with this! At the beginning of this story they describe the wall as first being very cautious of the divers until the whale soon begins to learn what the intentions of the divers are. The divers soon begin to cut these ropes that was holding the whale down, when she becomes free her gestures towards the divers is a gesture somewhat like a thank you. I believe that her gesture shows how animals other than humans also have a sense of feelings. The whale has full gratitude towards these divers, which leads me to believe that the mind of other creatures could be as complex as the brain of human beings. I don’t believe that the whale was “distorted” in this scenario, I believe the whale learned what the divers were doing and full heartedly showed her gratitude after she was freed. When thinking about feelings in other creatures, I just believe that they have another way to show feelings unlike we do. There are so many things in our world that we aren’t 100% sure about but that is because with some things we don’t have the power to study. For an example, we have not even been able to study the brain to its complete capacity, so it is hard to say that another creature does or doesn’t have feelings and can connect with other beings. I believe that all creatures have the ability to feel the same emotions as all.

2. I do believe that dogs and other creatures are able to sympathize with others, in this TED talk, Abumrad and Krulwich describe the scenario on how dogs began to feel shameful when talked down to. These dogs although may not fully understand what they have done they are still able to decipher our feelings and have reactions to our words or emotions we portray. I also do believe that animals do have a sense of knowing what is happening with another creatures thoughts or feelings. Especially dogs, I believe are able to decipher many things. It has been seen before that dogs have empathy with those around them. With humans dogs are really prone to feel what their “master” is feeling. In some cases it has been seen that dogs have a sixth sense almost that allows them to feel differently than we do. In many cases, dogs have been the reason humans have found cancerous tumors or other medical deficiencies. This could be evidence that dogs do feel and are able to communicate with others, this is seen usually in drastic situations when things are needed to be communicated.

Serpents of Paradise

 

1.

I do also believe that animals are a superior as human beings. Growing up my dad consistently reminded me the value of animals. He had a sense of relation with every creature he came in contact with. I believe that sometimes more than others, people can have relations with creatures. In this reading, Abbey states, “the snake is passive, apparently contented, and makes no resistance when I pick him p with my hands and drape him over an arm or around my neck”. I personally viewed experiences like this many times while I was growing up. My dad always had a way with animals, every animal loved my dad and consistently remember their relationship with my dad. I fully heatedly believe that we are all connected with animals but others are more empowered to this connection and are more susceptible to act on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can we really know another person? Team Sphinx

Can we ever really know a person? I believe we can never really know a person because each person has their own secrets and each person will only let people know certain things about themselves. We may think and believe we know a person inside and out but we really don't we all have a best friend a sister or a brother or even a cousin or someone who we believe we know but the truth is we don't know that person. For example I really thought I knew who my childhood best friend was but truth is once we got into high school things changed for the worse and her true colors came out. Another example is I'm a twin and I really thought I knew who my sister was because we were always together and we told each other everything well at least I thought we did, but recently she became engaged and didn't tell me and she even went dress shopping with out me and through the entire engagement she left me out of it and ever since we were little we always talked about being there for each other. This goes to show that you never really who a person is just like I didn't really know who .my childhood best friend was and even my twin. I agree with Morrison when he said “an image can determine not only what we know and feel but also what we believe is worth knowing about what we feel”. We create an image of the people that we really want to truly feel like we know them and that image almost makes them perfect in our mind and when they back stab us or disappoint us we feel betrayed because in our mind we believed that we knew that person inside and out and never thought they would do such a thing. It almost makes us feel like we've been living a lie because we thought we knew that person and we made them seem like such an amazing person.

Team Phoenix: What responsibility do we have to one another?

In “Strangers,” Morrison writes that he “denied [the woman] her personhood, the specific individuality we insist upon for ourselves.” I think the main responsibility we have to each other is to appreciate that we’re all different from each other. Our similarities to each other (hobbies, similar upbringings, etc.) might be what bring us together initially, but it’s our differences that actually make us closer. I think Morrison might’ve been suggesting that it’s a bad thing that we see ourselves in other people. I don’t necessarily agree with that. I don’t think a lot of us can really see where a person is coming from until we walk a mile in their shoes, at least not at first, but I think once we’re able to understand who they are (and why they are) without having to put ourselves in their place, we’ve achieved a much stronger bond that’s more intimate and meaningful. I think a lot of the times that we start to feel tension in our relationships – because of faults in each others' personalities, clashing opinions, etc. --we tend to shut each other out. MLK mentions in his letter that he “is not afraid of the word ‘tension.’…there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth.” I think our main responsibility to each other is to face the tensions we feel with each other head-on; Make an effort to grow from the tension instead of dismiss it and run in the opposite direction. Once we’ve managed to achieve that, I think we become much closer to coming to terms with the fact that we’re all different from one another – and that our differences are not something to be afraid of. I know that my strongest relationships are the ones that have had some ups and downs. I’ve learned something from those people and that’s what brought us closer together. If I didn’t allow myself to face the tension, those strong relationships and meaningful friendships would’ve been reduced to “kind of okay, not that deep, not irreplaceable” acquaintances. Closing ourselves off from truly understanding the experiences of others prevents us from bettering ourselves (and vice-versa.)

Can we ever really know another person?

    I think it is impossible to really know a person. We might think we do if that person is really close to us; a sister, a best friend, a boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife, etc. You might share big secrets and confide in this one special person things you would never tell anyone. Even in that case that person will never fully know you. For starters it is really hard to even know and understand ourselves, let alone fully understand someone else. Each person has to have their own inside world, their own personal feelings and thoughts that they would never reveal to anyone. I really think that if we were an open book, even if it was to only one person, we would loose our identity. We tend to make our own personal image of a person, like Morrison told in his story. An image that is convenient to us and that will serve a purpose in our lives. That is why we get disappointed when we realize that a person is not what we thought. Although that person never lied to us. We lied to ourselves, wanting that one person to be as we wanted them to be.  I agree with Morrison when he said “an image can determine not only what we know and feel but also what we believe is worth knowing about what we feel”.  It is very true that we rely on images all the time. We even think we might know a person just by looking at them. The truth is that no image, no body language or even experiences could make us really know a person at all.

1. Can we ever really know a person?

I believe that we can never really know who another person is fully. There are things and events in a person’s life that they normally wouldn’t share with everyone. Everyone has an internal mind, which consists of our personal thoughts. These thoughts are apart of us, which makes us separate from others. Also, when people go through traumatic experiences the cause of them could leave a person changing in a matter of ways. One’s personality can completely change because of the feeling they received that may have altered the way they view the world or even how they view themselves. A lot of the time when big impact events occur, the thoughts of that person can cause them to hide there true feelings. There are so many cases when a person will commit suicide and there close family and friends will say that they never saw it coming. We hide so much in our minds, that a person who may seem happy on the outside may be struggling and fighting on the inside.In Morrison’s essay, she creates an image on how she wishes her new neighbor could be. Over time she develops a mental picture and becomes very disappointed when she discovers that her neighbor is not who she imagine them to be. This occurs a lot for me personally, I have met people before and without even really knowing them I have created a person who I think they are in my mind. In time I learn who they are and most of the time I am disappointed that they are not what I wanted them to be. Also, many people have multiple personalities that can be deceiving when trying to get to know a person.

"First Person Plura"/ “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self”

I imagine Alice Walker and Paul Bloom, if they were to sit down and have dinner with one another, would find something to share in common in regards to one's Self. Paul Bloom acknowledges the existence of a multitude of personalities within each person. While Alice Walker in her essay highlights the fragility of our temperament. Alice remembers vividly being the confident, dauntless child she was. She flourished in social situations, giving formal speeches without hesitation and promptly declaring herself "the prettiest" to her father in an assertion that was reason enough to choose her over her siblings (and he did). Then preceding retelling of an accident that left her eye blinded and visibly scarred she points out the twist of fate abruptly stating, "It was great fun being cute. But then, one day, it ended." This is followed by a dramatic withdraw socially and academically for her. She recollects this time negatively. At age 14 she has the mass left in her eye removed and minimizes the appearance of the damage. Although, as drastically as her personality seemed to 180 at the occurrence of the injury, she claims that, "Almost immediately I become a different person from the girl who does not raise her head." Paul Bloom would consider this an illustration of his point, "The idea is that instead, within each brain, different selves are continually popping in and out of existence." Paul Bloom believes our personalities can be conditional and dominate depending on circumstance. Alice Walker’s essay gives a seamless account of how delicate our dispositions may be and how rapidly they can polarize.

First Personal Plural

If I had the opportunity to have dinner with the four authors, I would definitely be on Paul Blooms side. I really liked his article and I agree with most of his ideas about the self-sense.  After reading “First Person Plural”, I realize that I found the answer to the pursuit of happiness. I believe, like the author said, that each of us has multiple selves, with different desires, and they are constantly fighting for control. One self is competing with the other, making ones happiness the misery of the other. The way we make decisions depends on which of the selves “win”.  In the article it is stated that one self doesn’t have access to the other selves.  But I believe they do, and that is how we can make the decision we think it is the best considering all the self-senses memories. The idea of having a short-term self and a long-term self helps explain why sometimes we decide one thing over the other. The long-term self tends to be more cautious and more experienced than the short-term self.  Although the long-term self is not always right, it tends to be.  Having multiple selves doesn’t mean you have multiple-personality disorder. It just means that there are different “you’s” trying to decide what is best for you in that very same moment.  Which of the selves wins depends on the time, moment, place and state of mind we are in at that very specific occasion. On the other hand, as the philosopher Jerry Fodor said, “If, in short, there is a community of computers living in my head, there had also better be somebody who is in charge; and, by God, it had better be me”. This means to me that even though there are several selves, I am in charge of each one them and I decide which one I listen to and which one I don’t. My favorite part of the article was when Paul Bloom wrote, “The community of selves shouldn’t be a democracy, but it shouldn’t be a dictatorship, either”.  Listen to all your selves, because in the end, they all are part of you, but don’t forget you decide which one to listen to. In the same context, Alice Walker explained on her essay, “Beauty: When the other Dancer is the self”, how she became aware of her self sense when her daughter asked her where she got that world in her eye.  All her world was in her eye, and she loved it. After all that time, she finally could be happy with herself and faced the old self. This is explained when she said, “We dance and kiss each other and hold each other through the night. The other dancer has obviously come through all right, as I have done. She is beautiful, whole and free. And she is also me”.

Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self

I feel as though all the authors from our short readings would agree on the fact that we have multiple inner beings of ourselves. With each story we were able to identify the changes of the author throughout the story. When I listened to Jill Bolte Taylor, she portrays a sense of nirvana and reaching a peaceful state internally. Here we are able to see the right side and left side brain of Jill Bolte Taylor. With the short story, “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self”, we are able to see the quick change in self-confidence the author has. Alice Walker, starts out as a confident beautiful girl until her accident, she then becomes increasingly aware that she no longer lifts her head or feels herself anymore. While growing up she is made fun of and her self-esteem lowers throughout the year. She begins to question her self-image and how people see her, she frequently asks her family if they think she has changed to. Her family sees her no different though, but her view of herself is no longer then beautiful girl she once felt. When the author questions her changing self it tied in with the reading “First Person Plural”, the author, Paul Bloom, says that “many researchers now believe, to varying degrees, that each of us is a community of competing selves with the happiness of one often causing the misery of another”. The way I perceived this, was that sometimes the misery we have in our lives are usually caused by our inner being thoughts we create for ourselves. It shows how the way we see ourselves can be much different from the way others around us may see us. At the end of the story “Beauty: When the Other Dance Is the Self”, Alice Walker, has a daughter and her view of herself quickly begins to change again. She worries that her daughter will look at her and question what is wrong with her eye. This continually pops into the authors mind until one day while she is standing over her baby’s crib her daughter looks up and says, “Mommy, there’s a world in your eye”, hearing those words gives the author a sense of comfort. She is relieved that her eye is seen as beauty to her child, when she saw her eye as a worthless part of her. Her perception on herself begins to change once again.

 

Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self 

Samantha Wiktor Team Sphinx

I found this story extremely frustrating.  I think it was hard for me to read this tale and picture the way Alice saw herself after the “accident.”  She says she doesn’t raise her head for six years and will no longer stare at anyone.  I don’t see how someone could waste six plus years of their life feeling sorry for themselves.  yes, it was an accident.  It did not happen on purpose.  Why would you feel sorry for yourself, when you have the choice to live.  At least she still had one good, perfectly healthy eye to use.  She could never see herself in the same way she did before the accident.  She was no longer pretty or worthy.  She had lost all self confidence as a result of one incident.  Then, at the end of the story she undergoes a procedure to remove the scar tissue in her eye.  Then and only then is she finally happy and living life to the fullest again.  Once the scar is taken away, then she has her dream boyfriend and becomes valedictorian, is the most popular student, and “queen.”  Why did she allow herself to be held back so much?  It seemed as if the moral of her personal story was that she was not good enough or deserving of any of the wonderful things life has to offer until she had her scar taken away.  And what kind of way is that to live?  We can be “beautiful, whole, and free..” even with something we see as a blemish.  Not everything has to be perfect in order to enjoy our life.