What Is Moral

     I am an incredibly wise unwise person. I am perceptive and (when I want to) I can totally and completely think out something to it's full extent. However, unless I find myself in the position of writing a paper, sitting in a classroom, or having an intellectual conversation with someone, I find myself completely filter-free. I say the first thing that pops into my mind no matter how hard I try not to or how dumb it is. (This probably stems from some deep seeded insecurity from my early childhood because I was more inclined to learn than my peers and was ostracized because of my intelligence-being dumb/saying dumb things helped me make friends. Pathetic, I know.)

     This filter-free unwise way of going about my life has had its ups and downs. I was able to get out into the "social world" and make friends, but I also made a fool of myself. I've said things like "Europe is south of Canada," which, it totally isn't. My independent and strong-willed personality has also really not benefited from my apparent lack of verbal filter. If you ask my mom, she'll tell you that as a child (and even today) men in my life, like karate teachers or music coaches, who have treated me less than equal have found it difficult to "deal with me" because even as a 7 year old I expected to be their equal and I would tell them so (this ended in the inevitable switched of karate studios and music teachers). If you ask my friends, they'll tell you I'm occasionally offensive and often find myself apologizing. Everything I say that is somewhat offensive, of course, is completely unintentional and I never plan to say it before it comes out of my mouth. Like a "speak before regret later" type of scenario. 

     My point in all of this useless rambling is that being unwise (and therefore not thinking critically before speaking) has often landed me in some sticky situations. Therefore you can probably conclude that, in direct relation to the fact that is morally wrong to offend people, there is a moral imperative to think critically. If I was able to avoid potentially offending someone with my inability to control what I say then I could argue that in social situations it's fine to not think critically. There's a time and place for everything (which is why I'm a nerd in class and borderline daft out of class) so there should be a moral imperative to think critically if say, you were involved in the media and were broadcasting a news story or if you are a celebrity and have a huge following. You can't just say what you want when you want because you want when a large group of people are listening. Especially today when there are a group of people on the internet practically begging to be offended. 

     A question that may come to mind is the inconclusive personal definition of what is moral. People from different groups of life have different morals. Here, in western society we punish those who go against the law, however there is a tribe in Africa which praises those who lash out against societal rules because they believe that the individual is acting out because they are feeling unnoticed (or something along those lines). Basically everyone gathers together and say good things about the person. Here we think its morally right to punish those who go against the law, and there they do not. 

     Another example of the shades of grey between what is morally right and wrong is the "heart in a box" transplant technique which is under clinical investigation in Europe and the US. I read an argument that said that if they could still keep the heart beating, at what point can a doctor declare the patient dead. At what point does the doctor stop trying to save one patient's life in order to use their organs to save another? Medicine is probably one of the most iffy areas for moral right and wrongs so a lot of questions can arise from it. 

    Also one last question. If we cant define what a moral right or wrong is, how can we justify what thinking critically is. Someone can do a lot of "critical" thinking on something and completely miss the point entirely. And if they miss the point did they really think that critically? 

Dead Languages and The Internet

     I think that the idea of not being able to conceive an idea or thing just because we don't have the words for a thing is completely absurd. Take the inventor of the internet, for example. I'm decently sure that they had no idea what the internet was- or could become -when they started to create it. They were able to conceive the idea before there was a word for it. 
     The idea that our language is shrinking is possibly true, I know that I don't have an extensive vocabulary, but whatever words we used a few hundred years ago we've replaced with others. For example, all the technological language we use today wouldn't have existed so long ago.
    The idea of languages dying is a bit harder to justify. For example, everyone knows that Latin is known as a "dead language". I think that the death of a language is really quite awful because its basically the death of a culture. However, the death of a language means that those who once spoke it now speak something else. This merging of cultures is also very important for enriching our lives. 

I Am Weak and Broccoli Overpowers me

I am a very picky, particular eater. I prefer plain foods and I prefer them not to mix. I'll even eat my salad vegetable by vegetable. Last year, I was vegan and because of that I dislike a lot of foods since I hadn't eaten them in so long. For example, I hate anything creamy; milk, ice cream, super creamy cheese- I absolutely detest them. Another example is spicy food. I absolutely cannot tolerate anything spicy and may or may not think broccoli is too spicy. This may be because in Junior Kindergarten I somehow got my hands on a Jalapeno pepper and the spicy oils got into my mouth and eyes. Or it may be because I have inherited weak genes that won't allow me to brave even mild salsa. This is completely different to other people who eat their salads mixed, spicy food, or enjoy ice cream on a hot day. My mom finds my weird eating habits particularly annoying since she's the one making me a disassembled salad. 

This raises some questions; "How do personal experiences affect the way we enjoy food?" and "Does every one see colour the same? (like what if I see green and you see blue but we both call it red?)" 

I Learn That Sharpie is Superior to Crayola While Drawing A Cave

So, this is my cave. My idea behind it is that we’re introduced to something, and we become obsessed and don’t really “branch out” from them. I cave, as you can see, has the supporting structure at the opening comprised of social media platforms, parents, school, and books. These are supposed to represent what we learn from. The more we depend on these single sources and trust their validity (Learned how to use that word in history. Thanks Kochanuk), the further we find ourselves traveling into the cave. The interior of the cave is black and windowless because once we find ourselves engrossed and all trusting in something, it’s hard to turn around and find our way back to what may be called truth or reasoning. As my stellar drawing skills show, books (like the Bible or the Quran) also add to our sheltering from what is the truth. Some religious extremists don’t believe in science because what they’ve read has told them to believe otherwise. To me, this is what Plato’s cave is all about, our refusal of knowledge in favour of security (security as in the comfort of religion or what you think you already know).

 

Plato's Cave & Raging About Dinosaurs

Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” the people are, obviously, us. We have no choice but to believe what we are told because it’s the only thing we’ve ever known. When the prisoner was lead into sunlight, he was removed from his ignorance. Although at first apprehensive, he eventually learns the truth about life and acquired knowledge he didn’t previously have, thus “broadening his horizons.” As he returns to the cave he is ostracized because the other prisoners refuse to accept what he has to tell them since all they have ever known as the truth is suddenly being called false. They’re being told that everything they’ve ever based their lives on is incorrect and foolish, and they don’t take kindly to this.

         This aspect of the cave, the unwillingness to learn more is, and forever will continue to be, confusing to me. I relish on the idea of learning. My mind is a sponge that mops up knowledge like it’s no one’s business (unless it’s chemistry, I really understand none of that). To me, closing your mind to learning is very prevalent in today’s culture. People are constantly setting themselves up for failure when they decide to be close-minded. Some of it is just ridiculous, teenagers refusing to pay attention in class because their teacher is sassy or hard-core bible students totally ignoring the existence of dinosaurs (THERE ARE LITERALLY MUSEUMS FULL OF BONES AND PROOF. HOW COULD YOU JUST REFUSE ALL THAT?). So to me, in modern day, Plato’s cave is all about the ignorance of people and their refusal to educate themselves or be told that they're, perhaps, wrong.