The truman show response Essays - Articles, Philosophy,

In the movie "The Truman Show", the main character Truman is living a life in which all of his experiences are simulated. Truman un knowingly lives on a TV set where everything is set up, but he believes that he lives in the real world . This resembles what the prisoners went through in "The Myth of the Cave" , when they were stuck in chains and could only see the shadows on the wall . Truman' s reality is staged for him by the directors of the show , j ust like how the prisoner's reality is made up by the people creating the shadows. Both Truman and the prisoners are presented with a reality, and they have no reason not to believe in this theatrical world. They are fooled into believing things that are untrue. The prisoners identified shadows with things that they are not. Also, everything in Truman's life was made up such as his job, where he lived, his friends, his family, and his relationships . The people narrating these false realities have the power to alter the mind of the people they are fooling. The narrators can make them believe in whatever they want them to , allowing the narrators to create an entire alternate reality. One quality of the ideal state is the idea of wisdom. Being wise requires knowledge of self-discipline by using reason. The wise people in the ideal state are outnumbered, but they naturally prudent, so they are the governors. This is similar to how man's soul is ruled by wisdom and reason. The second quality is Courage. To be courageous one must be able to persevere through tough and fearful situations. Also, one must withstand the training and follow the teaching created by the law. The third quality of Plato's ideal state is temperance. Plato begins by describing temperance as a sense of control that man has over the indulgences in life. A person governs their own soul, and it is solely up to that person to make the right decisions. A person's soul works similar to the ideal state, they both are responsible for leading themselves through good and bad. Aristotle recognizes four causes, material cause, Formal cause, efficient cause, and final cause. These causes must be acknowledged in order to acquire the correct knowledge of whatever object is being studied. The first of the four causes, material cause, is the first source of information you can get from the object. It defines the material out of which the object is made, literally what substances make up the object. The second cause respectively, describes the shape or design of the object. It depicts exactly what the object is trying to portray. The efficient cause is by whom was the object was made. This cause represents who the creator is and states that the creator is the sole reason this object exists. The last of the four causes is the final cause, which speaks to show the magnificence of the object as a whole. This cause is the reason for the objects existence, to be admired. I agree that there is a connection between happiness and virtue, I believe that one cannot be truly happy without living a somewhat virtuous life. Aristotle uses a great analogy with plants, describing how in order for a plant to flourish, it's internal functions must follow a natural state. This correlates to humans, by demonstrating that if we do not follow our righteous human nature, then we cannot flourish and grow into happy human beings. Having virtue also requires a decent upbringing, in which one is taught how to be respectful, and to not partake in shameful behavior. This is essential because everyone has natural inborn desires that can lead us astray from good nature. Choosing to give into these desires might bring someone a short-term happiness, but eventually the happiness this person feels will fade. Aristotle depicts which goods are necessary for happiness in someone's life, and which are unnecessary and solely trappings. Things such as good health and life ar e necessary, but other things such as wealth, friends, and fame are just add-ons. The only real happiness someone can achieve requires an honorable

What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed in College

What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed in College Not everyone graduates from college; doing so is a huge deal because its an incredibly difficult journey. Its expensive. It takes a long time, it requires a heck of a lot of dedication, and there often never seems to be any rest from what other people expect of you. In fact, its sometimes easier to feel smothered by your responsibilities than it is to feel in control. So just what can you do when you feel overwhelmed in college? Fortunately, being in college means that you have both the desire and ability to figure out how to make things work even if you arent feeling like you can. Take a deep breath, start simply, and then show em what youre made of. What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed in College First, be bold and block off 30 minutes from your schedule. It can be right now; it can be in a few hours. The longer you wait, of course, the longer youll feel stressed out and overwhelmed. The sooner you can make a 30-minute appointment with yourself, the better. Once youve reserved yourself for 30 minutes, set a timer (try using the alarm on your phone) and use your time as follows: 5 Minutes: Grab a pen or use your computer, tablet, or smartphone and make lists of what you have to do. And while this may sound easy, theres one catch: instead of making a long, running list, divide it up by sections. What do you need to do for your Chem 420 class? What do you need to do as a club vice chair? What do you need to do for your financial paperwork? Create, in essence, a bunch of mini-lists and organize them by topic.5 Minutes: Mentally walk through your schedule for the rest of the week (or, at the very least, the next 5 days). Where do you absolutely have to be (like class) and where do you want to be (like a club meeting)? Use whatever time management system you have to mark down what you have to do and what you want to do.10 Minutes: Break down your calendar using your micro lists. What must be done today? What must be done tomorrow? What can wait until tomorrow? What can wait until next week? Be brutal with yourself, too; there are only so many hours in a day and o nly so much you can reasonably expect yourself to do. What can wait? What cannot? Assign to-do items from your lists to various days in a way that sets reasonable expectations about how much you can get done in a certain amount of time. 5 Minutes: Spend a few minutes to specifically break down how you are going to spend the rest of your day (or night) today. Allocate as much time as possible in your schedule, making sure to account for things like breaks and meals. In essence: How will you spend the next 5-10 hours?5 Minutes: Spend your final 5 minutes getting yourself and your space ready to work. Do you need to go for a brisk walk? Clean up a workspace in your room? Head to the library? Get some water and coffee? In essence: get yourself moving and prepare your environment so that you can hit the ground running. Once your 30 minutes are up, youll have made to-do lists, organized your schedule, planned out the rest of your day (or night), and prepared yourself to start. This, ideally, will allow you to focus on the tasks at hand over the next few days; instead of always worrying about studying for an upcoming exam, you can tell yourself, Im studying for my exam on Thursday night. Right now I must finish this paper by midnight. Consequently, instead of feeling overwhelmed, you can feel in charge and know that your plan of attack will allow you to finally get things done. You got this!