Day 4, and Essays 1, and 2

The first week of John Carroll was tough. I already have a few research papers to write! I finally felt relieved that I would get a break from the work. But, I still had Mr. Schick's class to go through first. We reviewed the ancient Greeks and Socrates from the homework we had the night before. Mr. Schick makes anything sound interesting when he teaches it. He is so enthusiastic in what he does, and it makes his class fun, and I always walk out wishing his class would be a little longer than it already was. He sent us home with a few essays to include into our blogs.

 The first essays question is: Give your original definition of arete, and describe how Socrates and the ancient Greeks demonstrated this quality.

I believe that the true message of arete, is to give it your best shot, and never quit. Arete is not just getting something done, it's going above and beyond to get the job accomplished. Socrates demonstrated this characteristic by pursuing his dream. His goal was to teach the youth of Athens how to open their minds to the world. He wanted his pupils to be curious and ask questions. Socrates did not just teach, he enlightened the minds of the youth. As an example: He didn't give answers, he asked questions. It made people think twice about the littlest things. In my opinion, Socrates demonstrated arete by doing what no teacher or philosopher has done before, and by going above what he wanted to do.


The second essays question is:  Imagine that Elbert Hubbard and Socrates have time-travelled to the present.  Describe what they would think or say about life in America in the year 2012.

If Elbert Hubbard had time-travelled to the present, I believe that he would be pleased and dissapointed. He would have thought that his article had changed peoples perception of how things are done, because of its popularity in the early 1900s. He would see that with the new technology around, people can now do things themselves, and not have to ask others for assistance. But, he would also see that the technology has made people lazier. People are now put thing off until later, and some don't get anything accomplished throughout the day. On the other hand, Socrates would be very proud of the way humans have evolved throughout the years. He would be intrigued by how much we have learned over time, and how humans live in a world surrounded by technology. I am sure that both would have a lot to say about the present, and it would be very interesting to learn about what they think.

Essay 3 will be posted in the upcoming days.