Oh, How They Suffered.

As I sit in class I get lost in thought and think, "Those poor Greeks. How they suffered. They were attacked daily with the ideas of the Skeptics, the Epicureans, the Stoics, and the Aristotelian. " I can't imagine living in Greece at a time where I'm being told that, "that the world is made up of atoms and void that are randomly colliding to make what is around us." Then turning the corner and hearing, "you know the world is made all interconnected made up of a logic order." Then hearing from across the street, "We can't know. We can't even know why we don't know. So, it's best just not to believe anything you hear. " I couldn't be any more confused if I was scuba diving and told that I needed to find a way to make a campfire using a jellyfish and a coral reef or else the little mermaid wouldn't be able to cook her steak for dinner.

Now, I know that I'm going to the extreme by saying something as crazy as that (because the littler mermaid is obviously a vegetarian) but I do admit that out of the many philosophies we've gone over so far I do have my favorite. So far I think that I like the ideas of the Skeptics the most. They don't pretend to know everything. They accept that they don't know and don't go any further. The Skeptics even tell you that they have no clue what's going on and it is that honesty that I admire. At time it might seem like the Skeptics are doubting out ability to gain knowledge, but that's not the case. The term Skeptic actually means examination, inquiry, consideration; their doubtful attitudes are not negative at all, but inquisitive. The Skeptics attempt to gain knowledge through asking and investigating and don't take anything to be certain until they are 100% sure that it is (the word used to describe this suspension is epoche) ; which unfortunately rarely happens.

The Skeptics are just covering all their bases before they make a decision about anything. I think that this is one of the best ways to live-- if you can't understand something or answer a question leave it off making a decision or answering the question until you are completely informed over the matter. This might just seem like a way to procrastinate but I feel that it is a way to get things done more efficiently. It reminds me of a saying my other always recites, "El arragan tiene que hacer las cosas de nuevo y en tratando de ser menos trabajo verdaderamente hace mas." (The lazy person that tried to cut corners ends up doing more work-- I apply this saying to the art of thinking off course.)