Respond to all of the following.
Part I
Meditation- the practice of dialogue with oneself- seems to have held a place of honor among Socrates’ disciples. When Antisthenes was asked what profit he had derived from philosophy, he replied: “The ability to converse with myself.”
- Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life (91)
Please locate and describe a space that is of philosophical significance for you, which is to say, a space where you practice philosophy and think. If you do not currently have a space, please work to construct or discover one.
Please feel free to use the following questions as starting points for your response. Where do you go to meditate? Which spaces encourage this way of being? Why do they encourage it? If you do not currently have a space, how can you make one or establish a new one?
Keep in mind that this space can be indoors or outdoors. It can be a room, a chair or a spot on the floor in any kind of space. It can be a bench, a set of stairs or a park.
Please describe the physical location and your interaction with it. Be sure to use direct textual evidence from at least one philosopher in our Bibliotherapy to support your philosophical connection to the space. The space itself is important as is the thinking and transforming that occurs there. The direct textual evidence can work to present and support the spiritual development that is facilitated by the space.
Please respond in 1-2 pages.
Part II
“Philosophy is the set of principles and practices available to one, or which one makes available to others, for taking proper care of oneself or of others.” (136)
- Michel Foucault, Hermeneutics of the Subject
Please identify two common philosophical ailments that may characterize a person’s life. The following are some potential examples: impatience, imbalance, living in a state of distraction, procrastination, living in a state of irrational fear, or always feeling disappointed. Briefly analyze each of your two ailments and define them in your own terms. Be sure to address the following questions. Why is it a problem? How would this condition manifest itself in ways of thinking, feeling and/or acting? How does this affect the person embodying it? How can it impact other people?
Please be sure to use direct textual evidence from the Bibliotherapy texts from at least one philosopher in your response and connect the philosopher’s thinking with your own on the treatment process. The following questions may serve as interesting starting points. How would Epictetus suggest we deal with impatience? How would Aristotle view and solve procrastination? What would Epictetus suggest to someone overly concerned with their grade on this paper?