Blog #2

Maggie Vincent

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English Language

28 July 2013

Equality

      Equality has been a struggle for humanity all throughout history. Whether it is color, gender, or religion, inequality has always been there. One of the enduring fights is between man and woman. The question of whether or not men and women are equally intelligent and important has been argued a lot throughout time. Fortunately, today women have a much higher place in society than they used to. Hopefully, the path to worldwide equality will be a much smoother road than it has been in the past.             

      Aristotle's belief that women were incomplete men infuriates me. I do not understand how he could believe that men provided the form and that women were merely the substance when it came to reproduction. The fact that Aristotle could not see that the mother had an influence on the child makes no sense to me. Even worse, people believed what he said and it was accepted as the truth. Today we know that the man and the woman each contribute half of the genetic material when reproducing. I liked Plato's view that women had the same potential as men. He said as long as they received the same education they could be just as intelligent. I just wish Aristotle's beliefs had not set women back in the world.

     I was not surprised that the majority of the philosophers that were mentioned were men. Throughout history, men have risen above women because of better educations and more opportunities. The woman that was mentioned, Olympe de Gouges, was killed for speaking out. It has only been in the past century, when women have had access to education, that women have gotten equality.  So much progress has been made in the last century and I cannot wait to see where we are in another one hundred years.  My only hope is that when a book is written about philosophy five hundred years from now, it includes women as well as men.

      Aristotle has since been proven incorrect about his view of women. However, he did plenty of damage with his beliefs. As popular as he was, many people agreed with him and his view of women. If only his mentor, Plato, had been the one the people had believed. Maybe now that men and women are more equal there will be more women written about and listened to on philosophic matters.

Blog #1

Maggie Vincent

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English Language

27 July 2013

Impossible Questions

      Wars have been fought and genocide has been committed over the origin of the world and the

origin of man. Millions have died just because they do not share the same beliefs as a more powerful

nation. Yet there is still no concrete answer to where the world comes from. Everyone seems to have a

different answer to a very impossible question. Then when someone else disagrees, there is bloodshed.

As these heinous actions take place, each and everyone has their own internal struggle with who they

are. Blood is shed within each and every person as he or she tries to come to terms with the question of

who he or she is.

      I honestly have no idea of I am or who I will be when I die. As I grow up I will grow towards who

I will be in the end. I believe that only after I have lived and made all my choices will I truly know who

I am. Another thing I believe is that I can never truly know anyone else. Knowing oneself is an

incredibly personal thing and something that is not possible to share with someone else. No one knows

exactly what I am thinking or feeling all the time except for me. Also, everyone is continually changing.

I am nothing like the person I will become in 50 years. The only thing I know is who I want to be in the

end. I want to be a helpful, caring, and open minded person. My wish is that I can become the person I

have in my mind right now. This idea might change as I grow older, but it will always be what I strive

for.

      Everyone has a different idea for where the world came from. Even in my household growing up

there were different viewpoints. On one hand there was the Creationist theory and on the other was a

strictly evolutionist theory. I always had trouble seeing where my faith and science could work

together. For years I struggled with my beliefs and how they did not fit with what science had to say.

Finally someone showed me how they could go hand in hand. I believe that everything started with the

Big Bang that caused the universe to expand. I know that we as humans evolved from monkeys into

what we are today. However, I believe that God was the one that set this all in motion. It is also my

belief that everyone has the right to believe what they want and I know that people do not necessarily

agree with me. My beliefs may eventually change as I change, but this is what I believe now.

      Who I am and where the world comes from are two questions I have asked myself for as long as I

can remember. I still struggle with them, and I believe I always will. I know I will doubt myself and

what I believe as I grow up. There will always be people that disagree with what I believe and will try

to pretend to know who I am. This struggle may not always seem like it is worth it. However, if the

alternative is a life of ignorance, I choose the struggle.