Early Morning Philosophy

I woke up early today, at least for me. At 5:15, I escaped from a dream that offered nostalgia and a pinch of regret, if only briefly. I considered going back to sleep and even closed my eyes in this effort. However, my mind was awake and my eyelids preferred to be open. I started my day feeling contemplative. I donned my light blue Elvis bathrobe and entered the living room, making eye contact with my bookcase. Of course, books should be organized if you own more than fifteen. I have four shelves associated with the Civil War, one each for WWI, WWII, and other conflicts. I scanned the personal development shelf, which led to the philosophical group. I say group because the number of books doesn’t qualify as a shelf, but that’s where I decided to start. I should expand this group so that it warrants a shelf of its own.

Past Philosophy Professors

I took philosophy with Mr. Klofas in high school and both classical and contemporary politics with Professor Beck. Honestly, I’ve hardly touched this group of books except in the packings and unpackings since Farmington. I believe these two would be proud that I finally re-engaged in the matter this morning. Why I haven’t entered these philosophic books in nearly ten years is ridiculous. I immediately remembered how fascinating the subject is when I dove into Aristotle. 

I took Mr. Klofas’ class as a sophomore. Mr. Klofas is a tall bespectacled man, whose hoarse voice carried weight. He often read philosophy as we wrote essays in class. Most kids were in their junior or senior year. I remember my friend, Mariah, sat behind me. Actually, I had a major crush on her. I’m pretty sure I memorized a Flight of the Concords song to sing as a marriage proposal. Anyhow, Mr. Klofas initiated an interest in philosophy. The class was definitely more appropriate for the upper class students, but I think I tried more than they did. I certainly tried less as a senior compared to many sophomores. This high school class focused on essential life questions: what is the meaning? Are we inherently good or evil?

At UMF, I took political philosophy. Some of the questions were similar to Mr. Klofas’ class, but here we focused on the relevance to governing. From these books, I found further interest in the topic, especially when we discussed in class. I took this class with outspoken peers. I was still discovering my views and could easily be swayed in one direction or the other.  Differing opinions filled the large classroom. We talked and wrote on Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Rousseau, Locke, Hobbes, and Machiavelli. These were the only classes where I was happy to have bought these books.

Annotating Aristotle

So, here I am, ten years since I last opened Aristotle’s Politics, sitting at my dining table. I read the introduction and begin to identify personal essay concepts of my own. It would be wrong not to take notes. I grab a fresh notebook from my stash. Four pages. That’s all I consume up to this point in writing (of Aristotle, not to mention the thirty plus page introduction, which I skim). Yet, from these four pages, I can see the foundation of my own thoughts.

• Aristotle was alive over 2,000 years ago; are his philosophies outdated?
  • Belief in slavery
• Is leisure what makes a good life?
• Is man inherently good or evil?
  • “Man is furnished at birth with weapons which are intended to serve the purposes of wisdom and goodness” (1253^a25)
• Is living alone good?
  • “Man is a political animal” (1253^a7)
  • “The man who is isolated…because he is already self sufficient, is no part of the city, and must therefore be either a beast or a god.” (1253^a25)

These come from the Oxford Press’ paperback, edited by R.F. Stalley. We do not have records of Aristotle’s lectures, but we do have his notes and such. According to Stalley, “it is customary to use the page, column, and line numbers” to help reference Aristotle’s work. You would read the above mentioned quotations in this manner (ex: page 1253, column a, line 25). Each of the questions warrants its own essay. 

Gratitude and Future Essays

Therefore, this post shall mark my gratefulness to Mr. Klofas and Professor Beck for teaching me the various philosophical thinkings. I look forward to reading some of these books with renewed energies and a fresh mindset. 

I will publish some of these essays for paid subscribers, but I hope to hear from you in the future. Humans are always evolving (or devolving, depending on who you ask). These are a few questions that will be debated until the end of time. We can use different philosophers whose opinions are as opposed as two magnets of the same magnetic field. We can also refer to our own experiences to decide answers for ourselves. 

Boiled down, as long as answers satisfy us individually, that’s what matters. My current answer is to keep reading Aristotle. Then, maybe Machiavelli for an additional viewpoint. I recommend reading some philosophy yourself to challenge your beliefs or encourage you to think for yourself. Which question deserves the first essay?