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Searching For Values

My Video

Cassandra's Search for Values Project

Collin Saleh: Search for Values and Meaning

Will Gietema's Video

Search For My Values - Will Gietema / Rhodes College from Will Gietema on Vimeo.

Video Fun

I think that this week has definitely been my favorite week of search.  I don't mean that for just this semester.  Out of all three semesters, this has been my favorite part. It has been really cool to see how other people haave put together their own projects.  I think that it has been fun to see other peoples perspectives and their visions for their own projects.  We've seen everything from animations, to documentaries, to sitcoms.  Its just been really fun. I am glad that I have been able to give positive feedback to others for their work.  Watching each project gave me some ideas for how i can do future projects.  Its also cool to see how different each project is and how they fit the personalities.  You can clearly see that we have put a lot of work into our projects and they reflect the values that we have learned throughout the three semesters.  I like how some of them were abstract and not just the average commentary, which was what I chose to do. One thing that I wish or would like to do is the animations because watching them was fun and I never would have thought of some of the ideas that our classmates came up with. so that was neat. Also watching the comedies and mockumentaries was entertaining.  I think that everyone's project was unique in its own way.  All of my thoughts are positive.
I really enjoyed working on this project. It definitely allowed me to go back and reflect upon everything that I have learned and put it together.  I like making videos. So this was definitely fun for me. I have learned an infinte amount of things.  We have had so many dynamique discussions.  I am glad that I decided to take SEARCH and I would recommend it to any incoming freshmen.  No offense to LIFE, i've just never taken it. I think that I will also be able to take everything that we have learned and apply it to the real world.  I have enjoyed this semester with professor johnson and everything  that we have done.  It has definitely been an amazing semester.
So what is the meaning of this journey supposed to be? I am still trying to figure it out.  I have definitely had the chances to question different ideas.  I have had the chance to analyze the world from different perspectives and read many different texts. I don't really know if I can pinpoint a definite meaning of what everything means.  I think that as a thinking being, SEARCH has taught me to continue to expand my own ideas and think beyond myself.  I am supposed to carry on.  I am supposed to form my own theories about the world. I can take the viewpoints and thoughts of others and apply them to myself.  I can take the thoughts of Nietzche and Descartes and form my own ideas regardless of if I agree with these individuals.  SEARCH has taught me to continue to recognize the essence of myself and my own value. Thus I think that I will continue to use the values that I've learned later on in life.  I don't know what my fate is.  But I do know that I can choose my own values and what I believe.  I can also decide what actions I choose to take.  Hence I choose to take what I've learned and use it to achieve a greater cause.  It has definitely been a fantastic experience.  I will carry on and live a good life. I will never forget this course.  I'm thankful for the amazing journey and I'm sure that it will continue.

"Katie Searches for Values"

MySearch (Will Murphy)

Pheonix

David Pettiette's Search for Values Project

Final Project - Andrea Tedesco

Flow of Searchiousness

Responsibility in Modern Society

          Over the course of this last week, we have discussed the ins and outs of human responsibility. We attempted to give an objective definition, and then followed up by describing how far it extends. Although we weren't able to give an outright definition of responsibility, I believe that the best way to define responsibility is to describe its bounds. Of course, like most subjective matters, establishing concrete boundaries where responsibility ends is almost impossible. 

          I believe that although we can spread the word "blame" or "responsibility" around with a fair amount of ease (despite not being the exact same thing), the impact of the associating the blame with persons can only be a result of direct involvement. That is, we cannot punish someone who did not commit a crime merely because they may have been influential. The clearest examples are those involving the law. When someone breaks a law, consequences are dealt based solely upon claims that can be backed up by evidence. We do not punish someone for possible influence on the person who committed the crime.  Of course, that does not mean that a person who pays someone to commit a crime goes free. Although there is admittedly a great deal of gray area in reality, how are we to punish those that did not have a concrete role in the crime? However, often the bounds of blame reach farther than may be realized.

A picture that Seung-Hui Cho sent to NBC news before the shooting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ChoSh.jpg

One example in reality of this would be the Virginia Tech shooting. The person who was taken to jail was punished because he (and only he) could be convicted of physically committing a crime. (The shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, is shown in the image to the right). Yes, you may say that the school environment did not give enough support, or that the students around him were not aware enough, or that his parents gave him a wrongful upbringing. However, how are we possibly able to say that the school, the students, or his parents were to blame. Simply enough, we can't. Even if we were to say that we, though not directly involved, were responsible, or to blame, what difference would this claim make in society? None, whatsoever. The impacts of our claims to responsibility only extend as far as reality allows. 

          In this way, we have defined what responsibility is. We have shown that responsibility (not blame) is defined by the means of impact it has in reality. I do not believe that we were all partially responsible for the Virginia Tech shooting. Nor do I believe I am responsible for the murders constantly occurring in Memphis, nor the failure of the school systems or government. This is because, firstly, there is no possible way that I could spread my time or efforts enough to solve all of those "responsibilities" of mine. Secondly, we cannot be concretely defined as responsible for the actions.

Power Benefits Us and Confines Us

This week in class we covered Foucault and we also talked about the Fiero reading on Tuesday.
Foucault's views about power are very interesting.  He emphasizes that power is every where.  In society we live under a society that has a system of laws and are controlled by a higher system of power, which is the government. We mentioned this in class when we talked about the domain of the state and the domain of the individual. First of all, the domain of the state is a higher source of power.  The state controls everything in society. The state is in control of the laws that are set into place. The state is in control of things like taxes and punishment for crimes and other things.  As individuals, we are subject to the power of the state.  We have to oxide by the principles set in place by it.  Foucoult emphasizes the ideal that power is all around us.  We are individuals and we have the right to make choices and govern ourselves.  However when it comes to society as a whole we essentially have to conform to the power of the state.  In class we talked about this when we addressed things that are considered to be abnormal.  We kind of talked about how their is a majority rule when it comes to things.  For example we talked about criminals and how their behavior is unacceptable.  We also talked about our choices and how we are coerced by a system of power.  We used our decision to come to Rhodes and follow the curriculum requirements as an example.  We talked about how the system uses positive incentives to encourage people to follow its rules or principles because they will actually want to follow the rules.

I personally think that Foucaults ideas of power are unique.  I think that I would agree with many of his viewpoints about power.  There is definitely a lot of force behind it.  As individuals, we are forced to do certain things for reasons. For example, we have to abide by laws because if we don't do so, there are negative consequences.  We also perform certain actions because of our beliefs and thoughts. In class we talked about the decision to go to college.  I talked about how, for me, the decision not to go to college was not an option.  For me, this was because of how I had been raised by my parents. Thus, I think that power is something that binds individuals in a way because it forces us to conform to certain standards. We are limited in our actions.

 I think that having a structured system is a positive thing in certain ways. Think about it.  How do people define social values and what is acceptable? We define these things because we live under a system with structure. Structure gives people guidelines for how to live our lives and what choices we make.  I think that it allows us to make decisions easier because we have an organized system set in place and we can make observations based on these things. I think that structure also helps to define the social norms that we create.  On the other hand, the system and force can  be negative because it can limit how we think.  It kind of places us in a box.  If we are used to abiding by certain standards, we may be closed minded when it comes to new ideas of what is acceptable.  Thus the system can cripple us in certain ways.

I would like to read other people's point of view on this post.  There are certainly more questions and ideas that can be addressed about Foucault's views and what I written.  Thanks for reading!

The blame game

This week in class we discussed how the best way to have power over someone is for them to think you do not have power over them at all and that they are making a decision all for themselves. We also learned about how when someone does something “bad” or “crazy” responsibility of the action can be shared amongst someone other than to doer of the action. We used the example of the Virginia Tech shootings to further think about the second point. In class we stated that that responsibility could be held on the people that Seung-Hui Cho reached out to and did nothing about. Since they knew about his tendency for violence and he never got this court appointed treatment for being mentally ill (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/06/AR2007050601403.html), why where these people in authority never put on the stand for letting this in a sense happen. If you know someone is dangerous why let him or her walk the streets without treatment? That is basically asking for trouble. I would normally say if someone did something that broke a law all blame should be placed on that person. But in a situation like this where someone is clearly mentally ill and he was supposed to receive treatment for it and he never got it, I feel like not only the doer of the action should be held responsible but also the people who sat by and basically waited for this ticking time-bomb to go off.  Someone was not doing his or her job and someone should have been punished for not giving him the help he needed. Granted, treatment may not have completely helped him or even prevented this from happening, but there was still a chance that this disaster could have been avoided if he got the help he had needed. 

The Atlas in Each of Us

I have little doubt that many blogs will be written on the topic that I've chosen to discuss today--the endlessly equivocal, durably debatable matter of human responsibility. It's a question personalized by modernists, socialized by postmodernists, and philosophized about in classes like ours: can the responsibility for the actions of an individual be placed on his community? And conversely, to what extent are individuals responsible for the ailments of society?
The issue of personal responsibility is something I consider often, actually, less in the realm of my ability on society as a whole, but rather my how my actions in the community will affect individuals. I frequently find myself imagining all the scenarios that could result from one of my actions--how something I've done (or didn't do) could potentially affect the life of another. For example, say that while driving, I threw an empty soda can into the street. Later, a small child playing in his front yard sees the shiny can glinting in the sunlight and decides to go investigate, toddling out into the street. He is subsequently run over by a car. Now, who's to blame? The driver, for not seeing him in time? The child, for walking onto the road? The parent chaperoning him, for not keeping a better eye on him? Or could one perhaps trace the blame back to me, the litterbug who carelessly tossed my waste into the street? I may not have hit the child myself, and I may not have been responsible for  the child's actions, but it was my action that set this other event into motion. Forgive me for the morbid example, but hey, maybe you'll think twice about littering now?
 Admittedly, this way of  thinking of responsibility is less philosophical and more neurotic, but it still poses an interesting thought: who can rightfully shoulder the blame for a problem? When something bad happens, is the responsible party always as obvious as it seems?
In class we discussed whether the Virginia Tech community could be held partially responsible for the shooting spree of Seung-Hui Cho. There was an actual lawsuit against the college for not warning the campus early enough after the first attack, in which two people were shot (source). But could the blame stretch even further, to the people that knew him, for not noticing that something was seriously wrong? Each of us does not live in a vacuum; we are all affected by the actions of others, whether consciously or not. In turn, we all affect others, both as individuals and as part of the community. Andrea brought up in class how this theme of community responsibility is expressed in The Laramie Project. Despite the objections of citizens of Laramie that hate crimes like what happened to Matthew Shepard weren't a product of their society, that "stuff like that doesn't happen here," the fact remains that it did happen there. Matthew Shepard's killers may have acted alone, but the community cannot efface itself of all blame. It was a conservative town, that probably unknowingly nurtured a lot of homophobic sentiment. The responsibility for combatting crimes like these lies with society at large: we must eradicate the problem at its source by promoting rights and equality above hate.

Diffusion of Responsibility

On Thursday, our discussion of Foucault lead to a deeper conversation of responsibility. Foucault's belief is that everything is everyone's responsibility because it is your community. This lead to a discussion of whether starvation in Africa is our responsibility because we are aware of it. This was interesting because our discussion turned to defending why we are not responsible for these situations. I thought that one of the most interesting questions that was brought up was why we are more invested on showing why we are not responsible than why we are. As said in class, I think it is because people to not want to have to feel blame or guilt if something goes wrong in what they have taken responsibility for if they are in a group setting. However, if one is alone and something goes wrong, they are more willing to take responsibility because it is obvious that they are the only ones who can fix the situation. This "diffusion of responsibility" concept reminded me of videos that I had seen in psychology. In the video, psychologists set up two different cases of smoke coming through a door. In one case they had one individual witness the smoke while they were taking a test, and in the other a group of individuals witnessed the smoke. It was interesting because in most cases the individual would respond by getting help, but in the cases with a group of individuals, they would all occasionally look around at the others to see if they were reacting to the smoke and no one would respond. I think that this study says a lot about how humans react differently to responsibility in communities. 

Power of Knowledge and Cults

     Today in class we discussed Foucault's notion of the power of knowledge. The discussion seemed to center on how the most powerful form the power of knowledge can take is in the production of docile subjects. A docile subject in this context is basically someone who is persuaded to believe a truth without actually being aware of the inherent persuasion. I think that in addition to being the most powerful form of knowledge it can be extremely dangerous and often times abused. Once an individual has mastered the ability to make docile subjects they can spread their ideas to other people and truly make them their subjects. This type of persuasion is often found in cults or extremist groups in which a leader is able to create a rhetoric or system of thinking that lends itself to the members so they feel like they are genuinely having the same original thoughts as the leader. I think being able to understand these types of interactions will help society further their understanding of cults and extremist organizations so that they can be prevented and defused more easily. This is important because in the last half century there have been multiple examples from the Nazis to Charles Manson and his "family"to terrorist organizations . With these examples there is a notion of fear and violence that is accompanied with their mention and their actions. The simple truth though is that they are only possible through the power of knowledge and the leaders ability to create docile subjects that will not only completely believe in the leaders ideas but follow them as if they where their own. I think that this is another way to look at Foucault's idea of the power of knowledge and how it can be applied to the physical world.

The San Diego Effect

          I imagined a good number of papers would be called "What is _____," so I figured I would title this something more energetic.  A wonderful series of questions have been examined by Kant and Foucault in our text, so let us suppose another.  If individuals are pondering existence, and France has posed the question of "what is meaning," and individuals have thus begun studying the same existence as their peers, then a new culture of self-evaluation must be in development.  I just watched the first season of Game of Thrones, based around an imagined medieval kingdom, and the most valuable lesson therein is that our community values have shifted from the land of valor.  I observe a culture based off of a search for personal value sets, wherein each individual defines the values most essential to their self.
          There is another moral pursuit in Game of Thrones, where the lover chases dreams rather than duty.  I take this as a modern construction of a culture that was not quite so prevalent in times of arranged marriage and universally tragic breathe.  We do not pursue valor as in the past, but rather opportunity for escape from the reigns of society.  The Enlightenment is a primitive example, the civil rights achievements in the last century are a full execution of what has been on minds for centuries.  When Veronica Corningstone in Anchorman achieves her aspirations to be an anchorwoman, she has overcome the barrier that society has placed, barriers that are quickly coming down in this increasingly tolerant society.  In Game of Thrones, a peasant could never sit on on the Iron Throne.
          This is what I call the San Diego Effect, after Veronica's achievement and because I wrote this overlooking the beautiful blue expanses beyond San Diego.  Take this developing culture of achievable aspiration, and try to explain it as anything other than a culture.  People pursue opportunity differently than in the past.  We can actually choose to do what we want to do! Government imposed freedom has a wonderful effect- tactical use of the expression free country to watch football rather than mow the yard, and a simultaneous impression that dreams may indeed be pursued and are likewise achievable.  Freedom feels like sunshine, but responsibility weighs like a sack of bricks, we are free to carry as many as we want.  We have a human nature to enjoy the freedom of aspiration that we have earned from three hundred and more years of pondering, but how can we judge what happens when too much responsibility takes its tole on the overambitious? Maybe these are the corrupt politicians that we hear about, or people who turn Batman into a battlefield.  Or Ron Burgundy talking to a dog with night braces and matching pj's.  To make it clear, I am not posing an argument, or asking "what is questioning?" but rather "what effects does questioning have?"