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CRITICAL THINKING JOURNALS

Heraclitus of Ephesus

Heraclitus of Ephesus was a Greek philosopher in the pre-Socratic era (Graham). He is also well-known for his philosophy of “unity of opposites”, which contains the idea that everything in the world is both unique and distinct, but also exists as one (Graham). As not much written information exists about Heraclitus (Graham), it is not possible to confidently declare how his philosophy may be derived from his experiences.

 

“Opposition brings concord: Out of discord comes the fairest harmony.” This quote is an excellent example of what Heraclitus meant by unity of opposites. Discord and concord are opposites – war and peace, chaos and order. However, they cannot exist without each other. They are woven together, and can even be viewed as existing on a spectrum or in a cycle. Opposition, or strife, forces man to find a solution. In finding a solution, he finds harmony with his world again. Heraclitus spoke often of transformation (Graham), and it is easy to interpret his quote as an observation of how the world waxes and wanes from one state (discord or concord, in this example) to its opposite and back again.

 

Heraclitus’s words in action can be observed in nature, in a hurricane. A hurricane is a spinning storm, and as the rotation increases in strength, so does the clarity of its eye – a distinct region in the center of the storm, insulated by the hurricane’s own power, where there are no clouds, no rain, and little wind (Wolchover). In 2003, Hurricane Isabel passed over Hampton Roads. I was a child then, but I remember the terrifying wind, the thunder, the torrential rain. And yet, when the eye passed overhead, it was as there was no storm at all. The sky was a pristine blue and for an hour, people were able to rush outside and clean up debris before the rest of the storm passed. This was the eye of Isabelle, an eye that whose serenity directly correlated with the force of her stormy bands, and observable proof of the fairest of harmonies begotten of discord.

 

Works Cited

 

 

Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian novelist, who often says “A little bit of madness is quite healthful” (Coelho). According to an interview by Marika Schaertl for Focus Munich, Coelho had been institutionalized by his parents three times, because he was a “non-conformist” who, despite his parents’ wishes, wanted to become an artist. He certainly achieved his dream, as he’s now a hugely successful Portuguese-language author with a massive social media following.

Coelho once wrote, “The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.” This line can be taken to mean that holding an opinion or expressing a thought is not enough to effect change in society. We must be act upon our opinions and values, and express them physically in order to create a discrete change. In layman’s terms: the television channel will not change, no matter how much one hates the current program. We have to get up and change the channel, or turn the television off ourselves.

In my life thus far, I’ve found it particularly useful to be willing to critique and complain to someone. An example: last year, Thomas Nelson’s administration sent out a survey to the student base. I took the survey (I’m sure many others ignored it), and on the final page where it asked about additional complaints, I suggested increasing visibility about academic counseling and its services. I was far less polite in that moment because I was aggravated that no one had informed me that certificate students didn’t get an assigned counselor, but I digress. My point is, about two weeks later, there was an email announcement about a Q&A session on academic counseling. It’s exactly the sort of thing Coelho’s words refer to. I had a problem, and when give an opportunity, I submitted my complaints. The complaints were accepted and an effort was made by administration to improve the situation. That is the moral of the story here. We must stand up and speak, do something, if we want our world to change.

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William Penn

William Penn was the founder of the state of Pennsylvania (hence the name, roughly translating to “Penn’s Woods”). He was a political activist, and a Quaker leader in a time when that particular religious group was persecuted and “reviled by respectable society” in England (Tolles). A prolific author, he wrote perhaps four dozen pieces of short literature (essays and pamphlets) advocating his political and religious views (Tolles).

"Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium which we pay for it." This quote from Penn reflects his struggles as being part of the Quaker group in mid-1600s England. It refers to how justice operates – generally speaking, an organized system that dictates certain cultural values and the consequences for acting outside these values. Penn was not afforded the same justice and protection other Englishmen received, because he did not act within the cultural values of his time and place. He was a Quaker instead of an Anglican, touting religious freedom and tolerance (Tolles).

It comes down to the idea of “we take care of our own”, the implication being that those who are not our own, are not taken care of. Even worse, they may be actively discriminated against or persecuted. It brings to mind the plight of my friend Dani, a high school English teacher in a poor Southern city. She works at a charter school, in an area riddled with gang-related crime that permeates her classroom. A month ago, she lost a student in a drive-by shooting. The administration’s instructions were to ignore the incident, but she refused. As she told me, “These kids just lost one of their friends, how am I supposed to teach them about grammar?” She spent that next lesson consoling her students and discussing the consequences of gangs in their community. For that, the administration put her in “in-school suspension”, where she had to report to work, but she was not allowed to teach her students. Her boss is openly hostile toward her, but her students adore her – they know that she cares for them. I think that there’s more people like Dani and Penn out there than we care to admit, being beat down by their communities for their alternative beliefs.

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Henry Ford

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, either way, you’re right.”

Henry Ford was – and still is – and American icon of industrialism, and is considered the grandfather of the automobile industry. Unfortunately he was also anti-Semitic, but that’s another journal for another day. Ford was born during the Second Industrial Revolution, and was active during a time of great change in how America handled business and manufacturing. He spearheaded some of the change himself: for example, introducing extremely high wages for the time in order to attract and keep the most talented workers.

His quote above – well, I think Jim Boomer said it better than I ever could. Ford’s words “emphasizes how much attitude determines success or failure.” Henry Ford went into everything he did with determination and optimism. He was willing to try radical new ideas that completely upended conventional notions about what worked for keeping workers working productively and efficiently. He set higher wages to attract and retain skilled worked, and scheduled his workers for eight-hour shifts, as opposed to nine hours.

Ford’s words hit e particularly hard. They remind me of my time at my previous school, a private four-year institution for fine art. I was there for two years, and grappled with motivation issues for most of that time. There was a philosophy class I took – it was described in the course catalogue as “Global Politics”, but the original professor left, and the new one was a philosophy professor from Johns Hopkins who changed the class to “Global Perspectives”.

It was without doubt, the worst class I have ever taken. I felt like I understood while the professor was talking, but the moment class ended, I was completely lost. I couldn’t understand the objectives, much less the material. Every day I walked in there, it was with dread in my heart. I couldn’t do it. There was, during that entire semester, only one reading that seemed to be written in plain English, and it was an excerpt from a larger Joan Didion work.

I ended up completely failing that class, to the point of breaking down in sobs during my final presentation. However, I’d like to think that if I tried to take that class again – maybe after an Intro to Philosophy course – and kept up the attitude that yes I can understand the material, yes I can pass the class… Well, maybe I really could understand philosophy a second time around.

Heraclitus
Ford
Penn
Coelho
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