One of the main topics in the reading by Sartre was choice.
Sartre does not look at choice as something positive it seems. Instead he makes
it sound negative by saying that we are condemned to live a life of choice. So
what does this mean exactly? Well I think it means that we were condemned to
live this life full of choices by being born. Our birth was not something that
we chose but it is something e must deal with. From our birth on our choices
are completely up to us and we must deal with the consequences. For some of you
that mat may be getting irritated with how bland and straight to the point my
blog is I hope you have realize that I used my power of choice to make this as
simple to understand as possible. I do not use big words to make my posts more interesting
because I do not think it matters that I know how to use the thesaurus tool on
Microsoft Word. Which brings me to the next topic of discussion on how we live
our lives. There were two methods discussed in class, the first was that we
shape our lives off of what the others think or the second we digest what the
other says and become our own person. I think that the majority of us shape
ourselves off of what the others think. We do it to avoid being hurt. If we
walk through a room getting insulted we think of why that is and we change
ourselves to stop the insults. Modeling ourselves off of what others think is
not necessarily a bad thing and I don’t think it only applies to how we act. I believe
it is similar to what we consider to be good and bad. What we consider good or
bad is based off of what the majority of us believes. Well in the case of how
we act if the majority of us think acting a certain way is the right way then shouldn’t
we act like it? Sure one can say that just because the majority of people think
something is right doesn’t mean it is but then that is also the case for what
is good or bad. So why not change the others opinion. I think people are
constantly acting a certain way because of what others think. Take the
classroom for example; it is always the same people adding to the conversation
going in you know someone is going to talk. But every so often the people who
normally talk don’t have anything to contribute they make comments like “I agree”
or “irrelevant” because they think it is expected of them and by not doing it
they won’t uphold their status. But this logic also applies to the students who
don’t say anything because they are afraid they will be chastised by the class.
There is nothing wrong with shifting the way we act to different social groups
it could sometimes be taken as a sign of being polite. We all act differently
when we are by ourselves than we do when we are with our close friends or when
we are with our family or in class. We do it because we are acting in a way
that is acceptable to the people around us. If somebody were to say that they
act completely different than the people around them and do everything
different than the others, I would say that person is lying. Because when does
anyone want to be around someone that gets on their nerves. That person who
acts uncivilized would end up being alone.
Interesting post. And funny too: "For some of you that may be getting irritated with how bland and straight to the point my blog is I hope you have realize that I used my power of choice.."
ReplyDeleteNow, on topic, I fully agree that we do indeed model ourselves off of what other people thing. Like Thad previously mentioned in class, we spend so much of our day thinking and trying to figure out what other people think of us. Its sort of ridiculous, if you think about it.
For, if we can all openly acknowledge the fact that we spend so much time thinking of what other people think of us, then we should cease being worried about what other people think of us.
You see, the mentality that the 'Other's' or the 'Herd's' sole mission in life is to 'judge' us is a little silly when you deconstruct the 'Other' and the 'Herd' and realize that they are individuals themselves. In a way, we are just as much the 'Other' as we are the 'individual', as we are all members, however willing, of someone else's 'Other'. And if we ourselves are the 'Other' to someone else, we should come to realize how little attention we really pay to other people; we are too pre-occupied protecting ourselves from what they think about us.
Thus, while we have the expectation that the 'Other' is judging our every movement, the reality is that they are too occupied with the same worries to do so. I hope that made sense. It did in my head.
This was one of my favorite topics throughout the whole curriculum, that of freedom of choice. As I would agree that Sartre does not see choice as a positive thing, I would have to disagree with Sartre’s view. Though we are condemned to choice from birth, it is choice that allows us to become who we are and what we experience. Every action you take is a choice, as well as every action you do not take. Life is filled with choice, and though you can take it as negative, it is important we embrace these choices. I do see how we can feel that it is “unfair” that we must choose, but at least it gives us freedom. If we were unable to make decisions, there would be no such thing as influence. Things would be pre-determined, and you would have no control over situations. With choice however, we are free to do whatever we want. Choice can be a burden, but would you rather live with no chance for influence on others, or have the opportunity to truly make an impact in the world we live in. In my opinion, whether or not the choice you make hurts or helps others, it is the mere fact that you even have choice that allows you to be free. Liberating indeed.
ReplyDeleteThis was so interesting to me, as a woman choice is never a bad thing. You look at history for example, and you see that the liberty of choice is something that should be cherished and I agree. I had never thought of it in this way, as a burden. It interesting though, how he put it, you have the choice and when you chose and it turns out it was for the worst the blame and anguish falls on no one but you…and I guess this could be a bad thing. But the positives outweigh the negative, I mean we know what certain decisions we make can result in bad things happening but we learn to take responsibility and I think this is important. The concept of taking responsibility is huge, if a man see choice as burden it may well be because he chooses not to take part in the responsibility that comes with making independent choices. Anyway I understand his argument and his angle but I am not one to agree. I believe it is through independent choice that we are able to grow and learn, my mom once told me that if I wanted to raise my daughter right I had to let her make certain choices in order for her to learn, it comes with curiosity. If I tell her that the stove is hot, she may or may not believe me but she will not really understn and chose to change her actions until she feels the heat and learns for herself, this is essential for mankind.
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