I did it. I finally finished the 50 lecture course, "Great Ideas in Philosophy." It is one of the longer courses as it covers just about every great philosopher throughout time. So what does one learn from all this? Simply that philosophy is nothing more than the love of learning and the introspection into the hows and whys of humanity. So what is learned from a survey course of all the so-called great minds? Well, the bottom line is that nobody really agrees on much of anything. There is the Socratic view of life which says that the only life worth living is the examined life - a case for self-worth by means of self-examination. There is also the view held by many that the only life worth living is the active life - success in life is in the "doing" of things rather than the talking about things. The ideologies differ wildly, but at the core of everyone from Socrates to Bacon and through to modern philosophers is the idea that it is worthy of investigation.

I am now in lecture 7 of 12 in "A History of Hitler's Empire." Although this one is on DVD, I still find that I am listening rather than watching .

Tomorrow, I will take off for Laredo (about an 8 hour drive each way,) so I expect that I will have completed a couple more course by the time I return as I have packed a few for the ride.



I checked out the DVD, 13 Conversations About One Thing because I had noticed it on IMDB the other day when looking up John Turturro. It was really a good movie. The one thing that the conversations is about is "happiness." It is a subject dear to my heart, as I believe that you are happy if you decide you are happy. The movie to my way of thinking shows that same points - but perhaps someone with a different point of view about life would take the exact opposite meaning from the film - who knows? Perhaps I have been studying philosophy too long - haha.

John Stuart Mill stated, "Ask yourself if you are happy and you cease to be so."

In "Paradise Lost", Milton put it this way - "The mind is its own place and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."

These are both quoted in the film and are a cerebral way of saying what Bobby McFerrin made a mint telling us.. "Don't Worry - Be Happy!"

RATING 8 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 12:05 AM