Bertrand Russel's Enlargement Of Self

Self image is crucial for an individual’s sense of well being. It can also be a source for their identity and dreams for the future. As well, others’ impressions of the individual considerably affects their view of themselves. This interaction can either build their self esteem or tear it down. In his short story, “The Glass Roses”, Alden Nowlan explores the idea that when an individual is coming of age and is struggling to determine their identity, how others’ perceive them - specifically father figures - deeply influences how they perceive themselves. Stephen, the protagonist, is a fifteen year old boy on the cusp of adulthood working in his father’s woodcutting company. As he finds fascination in beauty and feels enslaved by the work, he fails to gain his father’s approval and falls to depression. Fortunately, he forms a friendship with the Polack, who provides a kinder definition of being a man as well as a hope for the future.

As discussed in class, philosophy is about engaging yourself in conversation to the extent of thinking what other people are saying with virtues in mind. It is interesting to figure out how one comes to an opinion or thought and where the evidence comes

A man will find in himself a perfect comprehension. The world is his for who can see through its pretension.

Philosophy is defined by Webster as "Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline" or "Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods." This essay is a general look at those who pursued that intellectual means, those who investigated, even those who reasoned Reason. Because volumes could be written and this is a rather quick, unworthy paper: apologizes.

“You will find the world in your own eyes, if they learn how to see; in your own heart if it learns how to feel; and in your own fingers if they learn how to touch.” (Dunham 188).

What is Philosophy? Well, by conventional definition, Philosophy is the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct. This, while providing a contextual definition of the word philosophy, just scratches the surface of its actual meaning. In this essay we will attempt to answer “What is Philosophy?” by discussing the works of Plato and Rene Descartes. First, we begin by summarizing and comparing the theme of their works for similarities so as to better form a definition. In order to begin answering the question, “What is Philosophy?” we must comprehend each author’s method, themes, and goals throughout their works.

In the essay “from Knowledge Its Own End”, John Henry Newman stated the true education from his perspective by dividing knowledge into two parts, and believed that people should pursue for knowledge itself instead of a realistic purpose. He asserted that “knowledge is capable of being its own end” [32] and “the cultivation of knowledge is for physical enjoyment” [33]. He used Cicero’s viewpoint to support his idea as well, which stated that as soon as escaping from the pressure of reality was the happiness of knowledge. In addition, he sharply separated knowledge into “useful” and “liberal”, and contrasted them. Liberal knowledge was to pursue for its own sake, while useful knowledge was sort of commercial and purposeful. Newman concluded by

The term “philosophy” means the love of wisdom, and those that study philosophy attempt to gain knowledge through rationality and reason. 1 Socrates, the father of ancient philosophy, once stated “the unexamined life is not worth living”. This is the most important part of life and it is need to find purpose and value in life. If a person chooses to live their life without examination, their life would lack value and they would be unhappy. They would also be ignorant to the effects of their choices on themselves and the people around them.

Discuss, using examples from this essay, whether or not he successfully achieves his thesis through this piece.

In the essay, Russell presents the study of philosophy as a valuable undertaking, even though it does not directly help the whole world or increase one’s material wealth. The value is to be found for the student of philosophy herself or himself. This value is primarily found in the intellectual development that is available for those who undertake the study philosophy. They can escape narrowness, dogmatism, and narrowness as they become citizens of the world, with enriched intellectual capacities. Russell concludes with the idea that the mind becomes enlarged through the study of philosophy.

Having a surplus amount of knowledge is often seen as something that is desired. But, sometimes having knowledge that

Philosophy, like all other studies, aims primarily at knowledge. The knowledge it aims at is the kind of knowledge which gives unity and system to the body of the science,

Montaigne says that it is a “personal weakness” that makes one content with their own or the knowledge of others. Rather, a better human would always keep learning, never be happy with what they know, because the more you know, the more you know that you don’t know.

It states that even though philosophy doesn’t give us a certainty of true answers, it suggests many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from tyranny of custom. He also supports the idea that philosophy is beneficial because it “enriches intellectual imagination”. The essay brings up the points of the practical man, and why they are at a loss of intellectual imagination because they don’t explore the unknown by viewing life as simple. As evidence, he uses an example of mass disease and poverty of a society. The theory is that in those conditions, there would still be much to be improved to produce a valuable society. Even if the society has the proper food supplies, they need the ‘goods of the mind’ (knowledge) to build a well-governed society. He believes practical men undermine that aspect, thereby explaining their lack of intellectual imagination. The next argument is that philosophy saves us from convictions, prejudices, and cultural beliefs. The affect that that has on a person is to open up a fresh prospective with very little bias. He believed for this to be beneficial to people socially, by developing empathy which helps you understand others points of view. That theory goes hand-in-hand and gives a fine segway to his fourth and final argument of “the freedom and equity learned from philosophical contemplation reflecting in your personality (action and emotion). The

Doing philosophy as many philosophers demonstrate over time and in the present is to simply question the understanding of what is known and not known or accepted and unaccepted. This is to say, that philosophers must question all aspects of life and all the surrounding dimensions of the world. In doing so, the philosopher is trying to grasp a firmer or different understanding of the truth that is either presently or not presently known; whether comforting or not comforting. One of the world’s most famous and original philosophers Socrates, had a student named Plato who explains this very concept of philosophy in the “Allegory of the Cave” when describing what it would be like for the newly free prisoner to realize the actual true reality in which the prisoner lives in. “[The prisoner would] be pained and dazzled and unable to see whose shadows [the prisoner had] seen before”, but the prisoner would now see reality more clearly than previously seen before. (Plato) Though the prisoner’s revelation seems to be uncomforting, Plato follows this newly sorrowful seen reality by asserting that the prisoner’s next steps in continuing would be to “see the sun, not images of it in water or some alien place, but the sun itself, in its own place, and be able to study it.” (Plato) The prisoner could now expand on this new realization of reality and allow this new view to further carry the prisoner to future and further understandings of reality and its