Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
( Reaction Paper )
“Human Existence”
Title
We live in a day and age where everyone constantly focuses on data, numbers,
and scientific findings, but what is often over looked is the philosophy of everyday life,
the impact it has on decision-making, and the direction of professional careers and its
relationship to life. Philosophy and the concepts within philosophy impact many
avenues in my life such as my professional career, life, and my education (Warburton,
2004).
First of all, what is philosophy? Philosophy means love of wisdom. It is the study
of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind,
and language. Philosophy goes beyond facts, measurements, and scientific findings and
it depends on judgment, reflection, and intuition. Such questions are often posed as
problems to be studied or resolved. In the case of the direction of my professional
career, philosophy plays an important role in determining what I want to do as a career.
I have done a lot of reflecting lately using judgment of different courses I have
taken to help direct me towards a suitable career. Instead of focusing on how much
money I would make, how much power I would have, or objective feelings I have
towards a career, philosophy has taught me to use intuition as a guide to what is the
right decision. Philosophy helps me to view situations in a subjective manner where I
don’t have to use data to determine what is right or wrong; I instead use my feelings as
a guide to my judgment of that situation. For example, right now I am debating on
whether I want to continue on and get my master’s degree or if I will be satisfied with a
bachelor’s degree. When I posed this question to my good friend, he asked “why not
just get your Ph. D.?” I will use my philosophy and reflect on these important decisions
by using judgment and discernment (Brinkmann, 2010).
In life I would pursue philosophical answers very much the same way. For
example, when faced with a problem, it wouldn’t be enough to form a conclusion based
solely from personal opinion. Instead, I would need to develop a thesis and focus on
gathering information so that I could clarify the problem. It is only then that I will be
able to use inductive or deductive reasoning to make a sound decision. I will try to avoid
arguments such as the missing information argument which generally suggests that
someone is either uninformed or misinformed about a certain subject. Before making
decisions I will make sure that I am well informed on the subject and have viewed both
sides of the arguments with an open mind so I don’t make a bias decision.
Dualism also plays an important role in my personal life. Dualism creates a link
between what I see or feel objectively and what I think or dream subjectively. It is hard
for me to believe that anyone is a pure objectivist whom only believes what he sees,
feels, hears, taste, or smells. In my life, mind and body dualism separates ideas and
thoughts from objective experiences while creating a connection between mind and
body at the same time. I will use this philosophy to describe my feelings and intuitions I
have that can’t be explained in objective terms. It is important to note that mind and
body affect and interact with one another but mind and body dualism doesn’t describe
which or if one is more important than the other. Dualism has also helped to use
reflective practice to instill the importance of the mind and the body and their ability to
coincide with one another (Kinsella, 2010).
The idea that anything and everything we do has an impact on later decisions is
known as holism. As an elementary student, I couldn’t see the connection between
different subject areas. For example, I thought music was just singing and mathematics
was just numbers, but as I got older and music became more complex, there was the
need to be able to count the different notes. In my life holism ties every decision I have
ever made with every decision I will ever make. This is important to remember because I
may make a decision thinking it will only affect one aspect on my life, when in reality it is
interconnected with everything else in my life.
As a physical education teacher holism is even more important. Holism deals with
three different levels that all interconnect. The first level deals with the physicality and
how it is connected with aspects of everyday life. This is important to me as an educator
because it puts emphasis into relating physicality to everyday life. The second level deals
with practical usefulness. This is important to me as an educator because students want
have practical reasons for doing certain things. By developing practical usefulness,
students will find physical activity more meaningful. The third level of holism deals with
improving the quality of life as a whole. As an educator this is the most important aspect
of holism because in ties everything together and doesn’t put more emphasis on one
single aspect.
This philosophy class has really helped me find the linkage or connection
between all subject areas I am studying or have studied. I further developed my critical
thinking skills through the different approaches in philosophy (common-sense
argument, missing information argument, the argument against reductionism, linear
causation, and single causation). I learned the importance of lifelong learning and the
impact that being surrounded by great minds can have on success in life. Having a
positive attitude can have a big influence on whether I succeed or fail in anything I may
do in life. Everything we have talked about can be used in some way or another in our
lives. It doesn’t matter if we are physical education majors, exercise science majors,
physical therapy majors, art majors, or history majors the information presented to us
can be used in any life situation that we may stumble upon. I will leave you with one
final quote that influences my life everyday and drives me to always want to be better.
“There is nothing noble in being superior to fellow mankind. The true nobility is being
superior to your previous self (Chin, 2010).