The practice for dying In my childhood, I was constantly bombarded by a Chinese saying that birth, aging, sickness and death are the four major things that one would encounter in life. In one’s live, dying is an unavoidable biological process. Although we all know that at one point, we need to leave this world, but this does not mean that we all could confront it with a peaceful attitude. We could hardly find a person who is not afraid of death. And instead, he or she is waiting for death calmly like Socrates. As Socrates said, “the one aim of those who practice philosophy in the proper manner is to practice for dying and death” (Plato, p.12). Agreeing with Plato’s philosophy, I also think that philosophy is like the practice for dying. In order to gain …show more content…
It is patently true that our thoughts are often distorted by our bodily desire. “The body is present and makes from confusion and fear, so that it prevents us from seeing the truth” (Plato, pg.15). Take adolescent egocentrism as an example, adolescences are in the intense period of building self identity and seeking recognition from peers. Since they wish to gain acceptance from peers and a sense of belonging to a group, their desire of gaining attention often drives them to think that they are the center of things. This egocentric body desire often encourages them to try risky things such as heavy alcohol drinking. They will immerge themselves in an imaginary world and think that alcohol toxicities will not happen to them. Besides, adolescents will also think that they are the focus of attention in social situation. However, these personal fables and imaginary audiences are not true, and instead, they are some wrong thoughts developed from adolescence’s bodily desire. Therefore, in order to pursuit correct and undistorted knowledge, one must separate their bodily desire from their
Chapter 1 Jamie family are on board the Star of Bethlehem Davie befriends a crew member named Mathieu Mathieu dies Davie becomes very sick; the family is quarantined Davie gets better
Adolescence is popularly known to be a very tumultuous stage in a person’s life. In the adolescent stage (also coined the identity vs. role confusion stage by theorist Erik Erikson) bodies are changing rapidly, emotions are unfamiliar and unexplainable, and refraining from succumbing to peer pressure is more challenging than ever.
Socrates believes that the entire philosophical endeavor is a preparation for death and that the true philosopher looks forward to dying. His students, however, cannot understand why the philosopher should want to die, and Socrates hopes to dispel their fears of death while bringing them to an awareness of a figurative death where desires cease to control the soul . In addition to noticing the figurative nature of death, he also wants them to give further consideration to the literal death as well.
Adolescent egocentrism is a concept developed by David Elkind. This theory is typical immaturities in adolescent's thinking. Adolescent egocentrism is when a teen believes that other people are extremely observant to the teen's actions and appearance. That is, egocentric teen believes that “all eyes are on them all the time”. This self-centered thinking is displayed for example when I was a teen I often would spend hours primping myself because I thought that everyone would take notice if I didn't look my best. I remember being highly distraught over the minor embarrassment of having a burger in their nose while speaking in front my classmates, I think that everyone saw it and will associate me with the minor hiccup for the rest of their
First of all, with the use of plot and character as dramatic elements, MacLeod is able to depict the main characteristics of the nature of adolescence, mainly the search for identity and the quest for independence. Among the scientific community, adolescence is believed to be the most crucial period in human development. It is a period of “rapid biological, social and psychological change” (Soto, et al. 330). There are the transformations that define puberty, there are changes in the relationships and attitudes towards adults and peers, and many teenagers struggle to form a coherent identity (331). In the process of discovering their identities, most adolescents become self-centered. Having not yet
In the Apology and Phaedo, as Socrates prepares to die his friends are concerned about him and why he does not fear death, but rather looks forward to this. Plato through Socrates makes this statement of his beliefs of death and what lies beyond this final barrier of consciousness. Plato believes that we live on through our souls and into another body. Socrates faces death with excitement because in his eyes to die is to practice perfect philosophy. This comes from his Argument of Opposites and the Theory of Forms.
The Odyssey written by Homer is an epic poem set in Ancient Greece. It’s commonly read by ninth graders in high school. I believe that The Odyssey should be taught to freshmen because of the good morals and values that it instills in people; these are applicable in everyday life. This poem teaches people that it’s important to stay true to yourself and those you love, that overconfidence and arrogance could end up harming yourself and others, and to have bravery and courage, even when it seems difficult. First of all, as said earlier, The Odyssey teaches people to stay true to yourself and those that you love.
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” (Mark Twain). This quote from the famous American writer is the basis for what became one of the hardest ideas to comprehend, death. Death has always been a complex term, causing one to struggle with what the true definition is. It is also hard to wrap your mind around what does it truly mean to die. These are the questions we long for the answer. Whether we acknowledge it or not, death has always been feared by many. Death remains an impossible question, one that has been unexplained since beginning of time. Even though dying is a natural, we as a human race still fear it. What can be done to defeat this never-ending battle? According to Montaigne’s “To Philosophize is to Learn to Die” and Cory Taylor’s “Questions for Me About Dying” we can overcome this by living to the fullest, living with no regrets, living a legacy, and lastly not fearing the inevitable. If you want to conquer the question of life, live in the moment.
Addiction is formed by an initial choice fueled by external beguiling factors. From the time we are born, we know absolutely nothing, our minds are a blank slate. In fact, according to Jean Piaget’s cognitive stages of development, the mind does not begin to think abstractly from concrete ideas or reason until the final stage (formal operational), which lasts all the from age twelve and on. Because of this, we can deduce that at any age in our development, we are susceptible to external factors influencing our behavior. With that being said, a person’s decision to participate in the use of any substance is influenced by much more than their knowledge that it is “wrong”. Peer pressure, stress, curiosity or even medical practices can ignite the choice to abuse substances. The majority of addictions that begin in the pre-teen and teenage years stem from their exposure to drugs and alcohol in the media, many even claim that
Compared to concrete thinking in childhood, adolescents’ thinking becomes much more abstract. This enables them to partake in self-conception; differentiating between who they are and who they may become in the future (Arnett, 2013). This developmental milestone is presented in The Breakfast Club when the five teens are sitting on the floor, discussing their insecurities. Andrew asks the group, with a horrified expression, if they are going to be like their parents. Claire answers with certainty that she will not (Hughes, et al., 1985). As they imagine their future selves like their parents, they are conceptualizing their feared selves (Arnett, 2013). Andrew also speaks of the false self he presents to make his father proud. This is shown as he admits that the physical pain and humiliation he caused a peer was not something he wanted to do, though he knew it was an action for which his father would praise him (Hughes et al., 1985). According to Arnett (2013), it is during the period of adolescence that teenagers recognize the false selves they present and that their false selves are contrary to their actual feelings and thoughts.
“A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted…” – Ecclesiastes 3:2, ESV. These were the words of King Solomon in his old age. It is common knowledge everyone will die, but the time of death is what nature made unknown. Perhaps God created that for a reason – to make humans concentrate on their life and live up to the purpose for which they were born. It is disturbing and depressing for anyone to have knowledge they may not last for more than six (6) months and I absolutely agree with Isaac Asimov that “Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome”. Why should anyone be subjected to the cruelty of depression before death? This is why I support the idea of “aid in dying”
Adolescence is both a social and cultural construct as well as biological one, it is the developmental period where one transition from being a child to adult and face biological, psychological, and social challenges. This challenging, and important time in between childhood and adulthood has caused a lot of interest in the psychological field and a number of theories have been developed in order to try and explain the different stages of development. One of the most significant models of psychosocial development was created by Erikson (1963) and the stage related to adolescents is known as the “Identity vs. Role-Diffusion”, where the one is in constant pursuit of a coherent sense of self during the teenage years. When the teenager is unable to put together aspects of themselves they experience role-diffusion. Later on Elkind (1967) introduced his theory of adolescent egocentrism, explaining the increase in preoccupation with oneself during the teenage years. Kohlberg (1969) quickly followed up with his theory of moral development, in order to examine how adolescents develop their ability to solve ethical dilemmas. Another challenge teenagers need to face is mental health. The psychological part of striving for independence, while still struggling with identity formation and having poor coping strategies can have serious consequences and lead to mental illnesses, such as depression which is a growing concern among youths. This essay will further examine to what extent
In this sense, inexplicable fear of death can manifest itself in an excessive desire to obtain achievements to counteract this anguish and the person takes an anxious race against time, no enjoyment of one's own achievements. The deep religious beliefs, rituals and ceremonies helped familiar with death. Friends and neighbors accompanied the suffering and the dying and provided support and comfort in this difficult time of the end of life. “Numerous Researchers now for many people believe that, continuing bonds with the deceased is a regular part of healthy adaptation” (Klass & Walter,
According to Erikson’s theory, as the individual transits into adolescence, he or she begins to express the high interest in understanding and trying to make sense of the self and its qualities. This process includes self-awareness, self-conscious and self-examination ( Brinthaupt & Lipka, 2012). Porfeli, Lee & Vondracek (2013) believed that in the early to middle adolescence, the individuals are struggling to identify the balance between developing a unique individual identity while still being accept by the general society. Therefore, it explains the reason why individual may develop high consciousness towards to criticism in social environment. Simultaneously, Hoffnung, M., Hoffnung, R. J., Pause, Jeffrey, Burton, Hine (2013) stated that adolescences are able to evaluate self identity from multiple perspectives as well as able to take others opinions into
There are five characteristics that all adolescents have. These characteristics are biological growth and development, an undefined status, increased decision-making, increased pressures, and the search for self. The brain and the endocrine system control biological growth and development. During the early stages of adolescence, individuals experience growth in height and weight, changes in the body, the development of sexual characteristics, and skin problems. For example, I started getting curves in my body when I hit puberty. My body started to develop changes. Our society’s expectations for children and adults are clear, but for the adolescent, expectations are inexplicit. Some adolescents are treated like children, but some are treated like adults. There is an undefined status. For example, my parents pay for my lunch, but I have to have a job so I can support myself.