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Personal development goal essay
Personal development goal essay
How materialism affects society
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In today’s society, materialistic objects are prized. We strive to gain a self-worth from the things we put our names to, whether it’s tangible or intangible. The term “ownership” can refer to many elements. I agree with Plato in that owning objects is an important factor in building one’s character but I also think that ownership extends beyond the tangible to talents and skill. Ultimately, ownership and the development of self are intricately intertwined, and our possessions often become fragile trophies of self-worth and achievement.
According to Aristotle, ownership of tangible goods can help to develop one’s moral character. I agree with his philosophy. Owning an object or other goods helps one to discover certain virtues, such as responsibility or purpose in caring for what you own. All objects you own, you must acquire, either through purchasing or through gift. Depending on how you acquire the object, defines its value, either monetary or sentimental. These different values help to develop one’s sense of self, as one grows as a person and develops one’s moral character. By learning these important skills, such as responsibility and purpose, one has a better understanding of oneself.
It is one sad existence, to live and die, without discovering, what could have been. The question is often asked, what is the meaning of life? Or even, what is the purpose? There is no clear answer, and yet there is a search in every moment, every breath, and every corner, for a minute hint. In a societal setting, identity is merely determined by the amount of tangible things owned. Society places the ideology on individuals that those who own the most tangible things are above others. An individual can trump all those societal values by owning the self. This brings equality to all, and levels the playing field. This has been true throughout history, however behind all of this, there are individuals learning to conquer themselves. It begs the question, what defines a person, the physical or the metaphysical? There is obviously a compelling relationship between ownership and the sense of self or identity. But, is it ownership that determines the sense of self or is it perhaps, that the sense of self determines ownership. The
In ending this essay, having and being are states of mind, and having is associate with physical tangible ownership. Having is selfish, while being is unselfish and cheap. Being mindful of capitalistic having brings awareness of its destructiveness, and sheds light on what we have become. Defining ourselves with our career title instead of who we really are as people shows the degradation of our society. We desire to possess, but always seem to forget that even the richest people in the world cannot take with them their things.
tied down so that they may not move or look backwards. All they see is
Democracy is a topic extensively studied by political philosophers all around the world. Plato was one of these philosophers. Plato believed that “democracy […] is a charming form of government, full of verity and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike”. An analysis of ancient Athenian democracy and the Republic provides great understanding of the statement within its context. The statement itself is valid, but Plato does not appear to mean what he said.
The message to value more important things in order to have a wisely spent life is demonstrated very well through literary devices in “The Necklace”, by Guy de Maupassant. Madame undergoes an ironic moment in life as she learns what is worth valuing. She is a very greedy woman who only cares about herself. The reader would never think of her as the person to do work, but that thought changes as she misplaces what she thinks of as a valuable item. If Madame just learned how to live life in a way that will not make her upset and to value things that are valuable towards life instead of expenses, she will be better off. But this is how Madame views her life, while others take notice of the significance in their lives. Values are different towards people across the world, and Guy de Maupassant defines that in his short story, “The Necklace”.
Aristotle and Plato were both great thinkers but their views on realty were different. Plato viewed realty as taking place in the mind but Aristotle viewed realty is tangible. Even though Aristotle termed reality as concrete, he stated that reality does not make sense or exist until the mind process it. Therefore truth is dependent upon a person’s mind and external factors.
"What does it mean to own something?" has been questioned for centuries and there have been many arguments as to how it affects a persons character. As philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre's states, "ownership extends beyond objects to include intangible things as well." is very true and I am in agreeance with it. A person cannot just say that they own something because it's around them, but rather should be because they have learned it thoroughly. Whether this thing be tangible or intangible, a person must have mastered it either in its craft, or just in what the thing is, including oneself. To own oneself is more than just tangible, and sight, but sound. When people own things, it changes the person they are.
By Characterizing himself –Socrates- as both ignorant and wise, he presents us with one of the most striking paradoxes. Like so many of the other philosophers, is provocative in that its apparent self-contradiction hides an important idea for us readers to discover. Though out this text Socrates ignorance results from his belief that he has no knowledge of moral idea, or moral properties, such as justice, virtue, piety, and beauty. He asserts that, if only he knew the relevant definitions, he would be a moral expert who could answer philosophical questions about moral properties- questions such as is a certain action just? Or is it truly good for a man to be virtuous? Socrates believes that only someone that is “truly wise” would know these essential definitions and be able to provide such expert answers. It is important to determine whether Socrates does, in fact, accept priority of definition principle and, if he does, whether he is committed to a false and problematic principle that subjects him to catastrophic results. A textual analysis will be a philosophic inquiry into Socrates’ conception of knowledge, considering what he believes knowledge to be, how the knowledge of definitions fits into his epistemology, and whether or not his conception of knowledge is philosophical compelling.
Plato widely a respected philosopher and is arguably one of the greatest philosophers of all time. I knew nothing about him or what he stood for before taking this course and I found his theory on human nature very exciting. “Plato’s most fundamental contribution to philosophy was the distinction he drew between the changing physical objects we perceive with our senses and the under changing ideals we can know with our minds.” What Plato means is when we see something that we think is good or bad that there is good strong reasoning behind why we think the way we do. I find this very intriguing because, this it pertains to how I feel about everyday things and big Icons. For example, when hanging out at a friend’s house that is considerably richer
In my opinion, Socrates’ analysis of human nature is very true as it ultimately brings us
Derrida argues that what we know as truth within words in our current society, is not, in fact, the actual truth of the words. Throughout time, we have de-centered language, and have begun giving it new meaning that multiply from there. We have left the true origin of words behind and have distorted them into words that, while powerful, do not represent what they should. One word that has become twisted is the word property. Originally it meant a thing or things belonging to someone; possessions collectively, a building or buildings and the land belonging to it or them, the right to the possession, use, or disposal of something; that is, ownership. It was a physical item, something that could not think for itself or have its own agency. Throughout history, however, the word has turned towards encompassing people, more specifically towards minorities. In Othello, we see females as property to their fathers, and then to their spouses. They are not supposed to have their own opinions, intellect, or agency.
Still innocent and so naïve, the common human consciousness slowly began to raise itself, giving birth thereat to great men, who will forever remain in the hearts of the “consecrated”. One of those great men was Plato.
Even nice possessions, tracked or accomplished without modesty, can become a cause of misfortune and distress. This idea is found repeatedly in the texts of philosophers. Many of them perceive moderation as the answer to most of life’s mysteries. When people live beyond reasonable means, they become overwhelmed and tend to be dealt with with negative consequences. For this reason, measuring balance and harmony, in the right proportions, makes life worth living.
Plato’s idea on the self is very simple yet complex. He has a different way of talking, which means that he either tells you what he means or he contradicts himself. He starts off saying that the soul, psyche, is the “thing” that causes things to be alive, but then says that “I” equals my soul. Does that mean that I cause myself to be alive? That thought can be very contradicting and complicated to understand. He then goes and says that the soul is different from the body. This thought is very complicated and makes Plato’s words very contradicting. On the other hand, Plato’s idea of self can be simple to understand if we take another view on it. We know that two things are constant in Plato’s search to find the answers for the soul and these