GN February 19, 2013 DREAM OR NOT?
Photo by: Life is dream,, iNeedclimax, 20102013 My guiding question is, “Is life a dream?” This question has puzzled many people including Rene Descartes and the Elizabethan poets from the late 16th century and early 17th centuries. Rene Descartes’ “ I think, therefore I am” proves that we are thinking beings. From that proposition, Descartes goes on to prove that all of the world exists. We are not simply figments of our own imaginations. We therefore have a corporeal1 existence. Many poets from the late 16th century, such as Shakespeare, wrestled with this question as well. At the dawn of the Renaissance, many people were influenced by empiricism; they wanted to separate the physical and spiritual worlds. Despite the work of Descartes and others, people still wonder if the world is a creation of their own imagination (Sophie’s world).
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Corporeal: adjective of the nature of the physical body; bodily.
Lyrics, “ Life is a dream”, written by King Kayvan, I chose these lyrics because it states clearly Kayvan’s belief, but it shows that even though, he believes its a dream, he still hopes it isn’t. Why is that?
This question is important to me because it leads to the question of selfdetermination. If everything was a dream we would have no essential control over what occurs. The question also gives rise to other questions, such as what the meaning of philosophy is. “ Is life a dream?” is relevant to our times because it is meaningful in all times. Free will versus predestination is an ageold question. Is our fate immutable2 or do we have the ability to control our destiny? This question also leads to consideration of the importance of taking responsibility. To what extent are people responsible for their own actions? “ Is life a dream?” is a good guiding question because it is multidisciplinary. By multidisciplinary I mean it is grounded in philosophy, poetry and science. This question is open ended, arguable and leads to many other questions. For example, if life is a dream, whose dream is it? How do we accept responsibility? And do we have control over our own lives? The question also possesses emotive force, intellectual bite, and encourages people to engage in quality discussion. It is related to fundamental religious beliefs, and the debate between proponents of free will and predestination.
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Immutable: adjective not mutable; unchangeable; changeless.
Discussion of “Is life a dream?” leads to topics like whether our politicians should accept responsibility or maintain plausible deniability regarding drone strikes; whether people see same color in the same way; and what is the biological cause of color blindness, a defect3 in the way our eyes function. What would it mean if life was a dream? If so, only one of us would have real, individual and personal thoughts. The rest would be a projection of that person’s imagination.` This question presents a risk no matter how it is answered. If life is a dream, we would have to give up on our own dreams because we would not have control over our fate. If life is not a dream, we have a big responsibility to ourselves and others. In conclusion, “ Is life a dream?” is a wondrous question and can be answered by different people from different perspectives. Sometimes we would like to have someone else make all our decisions for us, and other times we know that selfdetermination is not only desirable, but necessary. The question is provocative and challenging, making it the perfect guiding question for me. PART OF SPEECH IS
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MLA Ineedclimax. Life is a dream photography / conceptual . 20102013 . Wed. URL
<http://ineedchemicalx.deviantart.com/art/Lifeisadream185236658>
Defect: noun lack or want, especially of something essential to perfection or completeness; deficiency 3