Happiness and Meaning Project Reflection
Essential Questions:
a. What is the purpose of your existence?
b. What is happiness and what makes you happy?
c. What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
d. To what extent can literature shape your personal philosophy on happiness and meaning?
Project Description Handout:
https://docs.google.com/a/animashighschool.com/file/d/0B5ktO3NLUDlcems1NU1kbjZudWM/edit
Project Reflection:
New Insights
I think one of the biggest new insights I gained from this project was that what I believe is very malleable. It doesn't really come from the texts as much as personal experiences. Because I am so young, I have so many things telling me to believe this and that, and have been mentally tossed around constantly. I have gone from being Christian to not really believing in any sort of religion or deity; there are just so many external forces wanting you to follow their thought process, and as a young, blooming mind, I can be taught to believe things with enough evidence, even though that evidence may actually be entirely misleading. Of course, as I begin to grow and mature, I am slowly solidifying what I really believe, based on my surroundings, and what it teaches me about right and wrong, but I must say that there are many opportunities to adopt new ideas that could drastically change the flow of my belief system. In the story "The Adventure of Phoenix Jones", Phoenix states his opinion on the police: "They wear costumes and don't fight crime because they like to. We wear costumes and fight crime because he likes to." It is like he is saying that the state of the police force has influenced his beliefs to where he thinks that the community needs anonymous heroes in order to actually make a difference. I think that all these small kinds of things can influence ones' beliefs throughout their entire life, and, even as someone starts to really solidify their beliefs, if they aren't willing to change their view, they won't be able to progress and adapt to what society calls them to do.
Further Questions
How can people with vastly different beliefs integrate?
How can understanding (and then respecting) other's beliefs improve relationships?
Is there a strategy that could help understand each other's beliefs.
Documents
a. What is the purpose of your existence?
b. What is happiness and what makes you happy?
c. What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
d. To what extent can literature shape your personal philosophy on happiness and meaning?
Project Description Handout:
https://docs.google.com/a/animashighschool.com/file/d/0B5ktO3NLUDlcems1NU1kbjZudWM/edit
Project Reflection:
New Insights
I think one of the biggest new insights I gained from this project was that what I believe is very malleable. It doesn't really come from the texts as much as personal experiences. Because I am so young, I have so many things telling me to believe this and that, and have been mentally tossed around constantly. I have gone from being Christian to not really believing in any sort of religion or deity; there are just so many external forces wanting you to follow their thought process, and as a young, blooming mind, I can be taught to believe things with enough evidence, even though that evidence may actually be entirely misleading. Of course, as I begin to grow and mature, I am slowly solidifying what I really believe, based on my surroundings, and what it teaches me about right and wrong, but I must say that there are many opportunities to adopt new ideas that could drastically change the flow of my belief system. In the story "The Adventure of Phoenix Jones", Phoenix states his opinion on the police: "They wear costumes and don't fight crime because they like to. We wear costumes and fight crime because he likes to." It is like he is saying that the state of the police force has influenced his beliefs to where he thinks that the community needs anonymous heroes in order to actually make a difference. I think that all these small kinds of things can influence ones' beliefs throughout their entire life, and, even as someone starts to really solidify their beliefs, if they aren't willing to change their view, they won't be able to progress and adapt to what society calls them to do.
Further Questions
How can people with vastly different beliefs integrate?
How can understanding (and then respecting) other's beliefs improve relationships?
Is there a strategy that could help understand each other's beliefs.
Documents