Freddie Mercury is Alive

On memory and existence.

Someone is really dead only when there remains not a single person with memories of them.
This thought emerged in the midst of the whimsical and the random that make a good Sunday afternoon conversation with a friend who faced a common loss.

So I say Freddie Mercury is alive! Caveat, I'm not claiming he literally exists in a corporeal form at this moment in time. What I mean is that his memory remains and we can vicariously (Youtube, music tapes, biographies) experience his genius. Eight generations from now, he may still be remembered. Say what you will, Bohemian Rhapsody is as much a masterpiece (and probably as overplayed) as Beethoven's symphony in C minor.

Lets put aside the likes of Freddy, Newton and Shakespeare, the thought applies to us mere mortals too. The day not a single person in the world remembers you, is the day you truly are dead. Dammit, I better record an album do some worth it shizz with my life. Do we crave immortality more than we think or somethink or nuthink at all...

We are earthworms.

I went to the garden of remembrance with Azad today. It was great catching up over avocado and chili chocolate ice-cream cones after. He hasn't been around hall much, and I know the unfortunate story behind that now :(

We were talking about the after life and covered the different religions and their conception of what happens after someone dies. The three religions of the book belief in after life, either a better existence, or a lesser one. The other major eastern religions (hinduism and buddhism notably) believe in transmigration of the soul. But, what if we just die?
Die, period. Cease to exist. Not be. Nothing after.


pawsome picture from chinese buddhism site. is it trippy or is it trippy?!

We humans regard ourselves as superior since we are thinking beings. We are not the strongest, fastest or most resilient organism and yet we survive. How? "By exploiting our surroundings" appears to be too simplistic, but it's the most pragmatic explanation. In a highly intrusive fashion, we change our surroundings to suit us.
Not just because we can, but perhaps because we must? This may be our evolutionary advantage after all. Okay...maybe "finding opportunity in our circumstances" is a nicer way of putting it. We being thinking beings has kept us in the mad game of existence.

I proposed the following theory to Azad.
We are no different from earth worms. We are mere matter and that is what we will continue to be after death... just a slightly more decomposed form of that matter... maybe fossilized after a bunch of centuries.
So what happens after you die? Are you that same being? Do you still even think? Maybe not, so do you cease to exist? Maybe so.
Perhaps there really is nothing after death, but being the species-centric race that we are, believing we are superior to earthworms, we cannot accept that. Hence the creation of heavens/ hells/ rebirths etc.

He said he could grasp that logically, but that is not how he feels about this issue. he intuitively feels there is a God and cannot believe that the play we put on daily has a futile end... to make room for new puppets on the stage of life.

In any case, my heart wants to agree with him, my brain doesn't know... after all, there may be an earthworm heaven.

Ponens, tollens, pollen, tones?

My dearth of knowledge in theoretical philosophy is a pretty big setback, especially in the higher level philo modules. Phrases are flung about the class casually and I have to note it, usually in bahasa baku, if the terms are not in (plain) english.
The next task, deciphering my scrawly writing in order to google said word/phrases, is no simple one... not just because of the writing but due to the permutation and combination games played with the various alphabets in the search bar, trying to get the right word.
Anywho, a lot ponen-ing, tollen-ing, and a bunch of modus-es, have been going around the class for the past couple of weeks, time to get the terms down pat!

syllogism and ornithology
more penguin facts and humour here (:

4 simple argument forms seen in philosophy classes. Of the 4, the modus ponens and modus tollens arguments are most frequently used. The last two are intuitively graspable and with similar logical laws to the first two, so I didn't bother to expand the explanatory portion.

(1) Modus ponens:
Short for modus ponendo ponens,
Latin: the way that affirms by affirming.

(i) If P, then Q.

(ii) P.

Conclusion: Therefore, Q

The first premis is an "if-then" or conditional claim

P implies Q,

The second premise is that P, the antecedent of the conditional claim (i.e. the if part), is true.

Thus one could logically conclude that Q, the consequent of the conditional claim (i.e. the then bit) must be true too.

If the if is true, then the then is true.

(2) Modus tollens:
Short for modus tollendo tollens,
Latin: the way that denies by denying.

(i) If P, then Q.

(ii) ¬Q

Conclusion: Therefore, ¬P

Again, the first premis is an "if-then" or conditional claim
Once more, P implies Q,
The second premise is that Q, is false.
Thus one could logically conclude that P is false.
(for those not too familiar with the symbols: if P, then Q. Not Q. Therefore, not P)

By transposing the premise with material implication (i.e. the if-then statement), one can switch modus ponens to tollens and vice versa.
If the then is false, then the if is false.


(3) Modus ponendo tollens:
Latin: mode that by affirming, denies.

(i) Not both P and Q
(ii) P
Conclusion: Therefore, not Q


(4) Modus tollendo ponens:
Latin: mode by which denying, affirms.

(i) P or Q

(ii) Not P

Conclusion: Therefore, Q

I will chuck in a bunch of examples in another post. For now, back to thesis writing *raaaawr*

number crisis

Dear imaginary number, in lieu of questioning your ontological status, I would recommend dreaming with Descartes. Empiricism is quite threadbare. Reading is cheaper than therapy.
xoxo
Eva.

A review of existentialism

When going through some of my old philo stuff, it dawned upon me that I really am forgetting a disgraceful number of things. *Pbbbbbbbt* should be ashamed to admit to it being my minor.
So I'm doing a brief summary of existentialism. Existentialism was really one of my favourite ideologies. The opportunity to objectively study a counter to the solipsistic syndrome that sometimes descends. Slowly. Noose-like. Threatening. A little tighter and snap. Now indifference.
Anywho, there is a wide variety of philosophical ideologies that make up existentialism so there is no universal definition for it. Remain open and realize that most existentialists have a different view and form and this review is by no means exhaustive, it's really an uber brief intro for the uninitiated.

Existentialism is a 20th century philosophy concerned with human existence, finding self, and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. Mainly, it is the belief that people are searching to find out who and what they are throughout life as they make choices based on their experiences, beliefs, and outlook without the help of laws, ethnic rules, or traditions.

In existentialism a person’s judgment is the determining factor for what is to be believed rather than by religious or secular world values.


Some basic tenets of Existentialism are:

1. Humans are defined by their actions (not by their "nature" or potential). You are what you do.

2. Humans are always free to choose (Existentialists reject determinism in any form).

3. Included in this freedom, is the freedom to define themselves through their choices, through their existence, through their actions. No one is good because of what she thinks or feels but only because of what she does. Good people are those who do good things.

4. Existentialists recognize and accept the fact that humans are by nature social animals and social beings. We exist for one another.
Metaphysical solipsists may cry now.