Puerto Rican blurbs on every day life.
March 11, 2012 by Debbie

12. “Hell is Other People”

Original post date: November 26, 2011. What the hell is this, Debbie?

*Debbienote: Hooray, Existentialist philosophy. This was posted the Saturday after Thanksgiving (we had the entire week off for Thanksgiving break). In class the week before, we started off by reading “No Exit” by Jean-Paul Sartre, and later that week we read some of his actual philosophy. Just pick and choose anything of his to Google if you want to read more; it’s all amazing. I’ve also blogged here before on “No Exit.” I absolutely love the play, and if you have the time, I actually linked you to a PDF of the entire play, hosted on my site, Foonville (look, I’ll even link it again in case you get lost). It’s pretty short (47 small pages) and it’s a very easy read. It’s a play in one act (so even if you’re like me and you don’t really like reading plays, it’s still a great read). If you’re into philosophy at all, you’ll love it – especially if you’re into Existentialism. 

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January 22, 2012 by Debbie

Tartuffe

And just as those whose courage shines the most
in battle are the least inclined to boast,
so those whose hearts are truly pure and lowly
don’t make a flashy show of being holy.

There’s a vast difference, so it seems to me,
between true piety and hypocrisy:
How do you fail to see it, may I ask?
Is not a face quite different from a mask?
Cannot sincerity and cunning art,
Reality and semblance, be told apart?
Are scarecrows just like men, and do you hold
that a false coin is just as good as gold?

Ah, Brother, man’s a strangely fashioned creature
who seldom is content to follow Nature,
but recklessly pursues his inclination
beyond the narrow bounds of moderation,
and often, by transgressing Reason’s laws,
Perverts a lofty aim or noble cause.

A passing observation, but it applies.
- Cleante, Tartuffe by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere

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November 13, 2011 by Debbie

The best play in the world

“No Exit” by Jean-Paul Sartre has totally captured me. I don’t often say that about plays, either.

Really, it’s short. It’s one act, which amounts to 47 half-sized pages (or less than 25 full pages). You should read it. Quotes and rationale to ensue.

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October 23, 2011 by Debbie

Feminist Moment:

Sorry I suck at blogging, guys – school has consumed my soul (again). I was doing some reading for my philosophy class, and came across this quote. That I wanted to share before I took off again.

It’s from Epictetus’ Handbook (Enchiridion), which is basically Epictetus’ ideas on how to live life. Epictetus was born a slave in AD 50, was sent to study by his master around AD 68, and gained is freedom and taught philosophy in Rome later in life. He died around AD 150.  In the Handbook, his thesis is that the body is “out of our control,” but the mind is “in our control” – when we align the two, we find happiness.

He basically said the same thing Sextus said: “For the man who opines that anything is, by its nature, good or evil, is forever being disquieted,” where the goal in life is “quietude,” rather than “happiness” or “euphoria.”

If none of that philosophy makes sense, I’m sorry. I’ll blog more on it later, or edit this post with more detail in the future (empty promises). For now, that’s not important.  Just read the quote. 

Chapter 40: Once they reach the age of fourteen years, women are addressed by men as “madam.” Accordingly, when they see that there is nothing else but pleasing men with sex, they begin to use cosmetics and dress up, and to place all their hopes in that. It is worth our while, then, to make sure they understand that they are valued for nothing other than their good behavior and self-respect.”

Feminist Philosophy next Fall? I think yes.

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September 11, 2011 by Debbie

It’s Been a While Since I’ve Read some Douglas Adams

… imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, ‘This is an interesting world I find myself in – an interesting hole I find myself in – fits me rather neatly, doesn’t it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!’ This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it’s still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything’s going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise.Douglas Adams

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