Disclaimer: I do not pretend to be an expert in the field of philosophy. I only claim to be a student who finds the subject interesting and worth discussing. My opinions are just that; they are not fact. They are my own personal observations about particular class discussions and readings. This does not reflect the opinion or ability of my professor. Admittedly, I am not the best philosophy student nor the best informed and while the professor may have explained it in such a way that was cry...

Philosophy scares me. I always considered myself a fairly intelligent individual with special knowledge in Latin America. I am working on taking the next step in the long journey to a PhD in history with a focus in Latin America. I am comfortable in my area, as anyone would be, and always am looking for new ways to branch out in my field. I always believed even learning about other fields was crucial in being a truly educated and well rounded individual. I’ve taken several psychology cou...

This is not meant as an attack on Descartes, his intelligence, or his philosophy, but I find it difficult to believe what he says based on the time period in which he comes from. He is no doubt a brilliant philosopher and much better at philosophy than I will ever be. Besides his expertise in philosophy, he was a brilliant mathematician. I also do not understand all that he says. His discussion of God, in particular, I find very interesting. I believe there was an important passage which...

While leaving my place the other day, I pulled out behind a very slow car. Unfortunately, whenever I pull out onto this particular road, I find myself behind a slow vehicle, especially when I am late for whatever date, appointment, or event I am headed. On the occasion in question, I said outloud to myself, "I am SO UNLUCKY!" Immediatly, as the words left my mouth, I thought of Aristotle and his writing on chance and luck in Book II of Physics . He introduces luck and chance as things t...

When I first started reading Plato, I observed something that I realized would probably happen every time I read philosophy. When attempting to understand the characters, historical significance, time period in which the piece was written, and the philosophical argument, I find myself not just thinking of philosophy. I find myself conneting it to every thing else besides philosophy. Being a scholar of Latin American history, I, probably much to the chagrin of Socrates, use this as an e...

Let’s take a look at the question Meno presents to Socrates: “Can you tell me, Socrates, can virtue be taught? Or is it not teachable but the result of practice, or is it neither of these, but men possess it by name in some other way?” The fact that Meno asks this question of Socrates shows his utmost faith in Socrates; he feels that Socrates can answer it for him. But, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Socrates refuses to answer the question for Meno. He turns the conversation aroun...

When first encountering Socrates in the works of Plato, one almost becomes like Socrates themselves: full of questions but lacking in answers. Socrates as a character is endlessly entertaining although he can also be very confusing. In Plato’s Meno is where I first met this man who claims to know nothing. In his discussion with the beautiful and willing Meno, Socrates plays the part of flirtatious older man, someone who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut, acts as a fountain of kn...

I need to start posting what I've already written for philosophy, but doing that at work can be difficult. I am sneaking this in because the boss is out of the office today. A Lesson: When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar........and the beer. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonn...

I just saw an advertisement for the Godfather on television and was inspired to post. One of the subjects of The Godfather books and movies is the Italian-American, which is a category I fall into. I am a card carrying member of NIAF (National Italian American Foundation), I attend their retreats, the big Gala in Washington, D.C. every year (which famous I.A.'s are honored and invited to attend), and recently was awarded a two week educational trip to Italy (from which I just returned on Satu...

Ok now I am playing with the font and size. This is definitely not that interesting for a blog. Let's talk about Vegetarian Times, the oh so tasty magazine I subscribe to. Am I a vegetarian? Only when I eat vegetables and vegetarian meals, however that doesn't stop me from experiencing the "other side." When I first subscribed, I was skeptical, especially since I also subscribed to Food and Wine magazine. I decided, as one who delights in experimental cooking and baking, I would give it a sho...

Because I am not technologically inclined, I do not know if this will even work. "This" meaning my first attempt at posting on my blog. Sole purpose of this blog is to be a portion of my philosophy grade, which means I better get this crazy thing working! I am keeping this short and sweet for the time being, especially since I do not know if this will even post. We all know the heartbreak when you type out an extraordinarily long, complex, and wonderful email only to have the darn thing erase...