Thank you for offering this course. I
feel that it and others like it are what
college is really about; the making of a
well rounded individual, not the pursuit of
a certification of completion ( diploma ).
The course has reminded me of some
things that I have already known, and
introduced me to others previously
unknown.
The reminder to question things,
question everything, is something that I
occasionally need. If I was not reminded
to question things then I may forget to
question the basics. Who Am I? Where
Am I Going? Who Are You? How Are We
Connected? Is There A God?
Some questions I know can not be
answered easily. Some answers can not
be heard easily. If the question is not
asked then the question will never be
answered. In the readings that were
assigned to the class, in every one, at the
core of each, was a question. How do we
know what we know, how is the knowing
arrived at, is this way better then others?
In each case the question was answered
differently.
How do I know what I know? The easy
answer is that I just do. Actually my
knowledge is built up aesthetically, bit by
bit. If I am presented with a piece of new
knowledge, I look at it and see if it has a
pleasing appearance. I then compare it
to other pleasing appearance pieces and
put it into my map of knowledge in a
manner that I find comfortable. Those
that I find displeasing I ignore and they
eventually go away.
Some of the things that I find pleasing
will, I know, cause me to seem crude and
base when others see them. I prefer to
think that I have stripped down the idea of
all of it's fancy dressings and that it is
there, pure and unadorned. Some of
them are ranked as follows, there is no
way for me to list them all:
1) Things that affect my personal survival.
2) Things that affect me having sex.
3) Things that affect me having
companionship.
4) Things that affect me having personal
comfort.
5) Things that affect me having power to
influence my environment.
The above things are some of what I
consider when a new piece of knowledge
comes my way. There is not one that
does not affect the others, nor one that is
not affected alone. Some are affected in
a pleasing manner when a piece of
knowledge is negative ie, going down a
road can cause a breakdown, don’t go
down that road. Other knowledge can
affect one category one way and another
category another ie exercise is healthy for
you, I find it tedious and boring.
Well, anyway. This class has been
one more step in my path to becoming a
conscious and alert human being. I hope
that it has been a step for others.

Jim