Bentham

Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher and political radical.  He is know for his moral philosophy in particular utilitarianism. Utilitarianism evaluates actions based upon their consequences. 

His moral and political philosophy is based off three things. 

1) the greatest happiness principle 

2) universal egoism

3) the artificial identification of one's interests with those of others.

The greatest happiness principle, is what is morally obligatory is that which produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people, happiness being determined by reference to the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain. The absence of pain is what he referred to as happiness. 

He argued that the hedonistic value of any human action is easily calculated by considering how intensely its pleasure is felt, how long that pleasure lasts, how certainly and how quickly it follows upon the performance of the action, and how likely it is to produce collateral benefits and avoid collateral harms. Taking such matters into account, we arrive at a net value of each action for any human being affected by it.

His moral philosophy points out how the primary motivators for humans are pain and pleasure. Bentham does say that humans would seek the general happiness of all because somehow the happiness of others are inter winded with their happiness and serve as boundaries. States that you can measure happiness in terms of people, and how everyone is counted as one which is able to also bring in equality. 

source: http://www.iep.utm.edu/bentham/#H4

http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/5q.htm

Bedtime

This is the first time, I ever had a bath with bath salts, the last time I had a bath was probably six and it was after I had requested one. Well over a decade and I found my self taking a bath once again. It was very different from what I remember it being, this time it was't filled with toy ducks or my mom telling me it was time to get out. This time, my bath was delegated to de-stressing and getting ready to sleep. It felt amazing to just relax and take a moment to just say right now, I don't have to worry about college or roommates, I just have to take a moment to be thankful for everything. I ended up just looking back on everything in life up to this moment, and I was thankful. Thankful, to be able to have warm water to even take a bath, for my family, friends, an education. Sometimes, we get caught up in life and forget the little things that really mean everything and for me it took a bath to be thankful.

Tangerine Party

Few times do we get to go in nature and just enjoy the moment. The tangerine party was a step closer to trying to just reach serenity and one with nature. I mean to go into the middle of a trail near a duck pond and eating a tangerine section by section, I don't know about the vast majority of people,but I know this was a first for me. I can't explain the tranquility of just sitting early in the morning on a spring day and just enjoying a tangerine. It makes you appreciate your surroundings and have an inner peace at least for just that minute.

Nothing can be something

While I was not doing anything for 15 min, it left me having to think about everything. I constantly tried to just not think about anything, but it was impossible. Instead, I stared at my friends painting, how the colors blended and how it was absolutely beautiful. I never really took the time to examine it throughly and just take a moment to appreciate it's beauty, but while having to do nothing I finally had the time to do exactly that. I feel in love with it even more, and was beyond thankful for having such an amazing piece in my possession. Doing nothing is something and it helped me clear my mind and for just 15min escape all the responsibilities I have in hand. It let me appreciate the artwork I am surrounded with.

XII

The five colours make man's eyes blind;
The five notes make his ears deaf;
The five tastes injure his palate;
Riding and hunting
Make his mind go wild with excitement;
Goods hard to come by
Serve to hinder his progress.
Hence the sage is
For the belly
Not for the eye
Therefore he discards the one and takes the other.

This poem is talking about how sometimes having too much can get in the way of seeing things for what they are worth. How five colours make man's eyes blind and five notes make his ears deaf. It's the problem of having to much knowledge that gets in the way of actual fulfillment.

Don't we all push a rock up a hill

Sisyphus maybe to an outsider had a pretty tough life, by being punished through the gods to push a boulder up a hill everyday and never being able to attain his actual goal, but don't we all do that? Think about it the majority of Americans or at least in my case wnl senior high school students thrive under routine. We wake up, get read for school, go to school, maybe stay after school for sports or clubs, go home, do homework, eat dinner, and finally go to bed and maybe this has been your routine since you began elementary, then haven't we been pushing up a boulder for as long as we can remember too? Yes, we have physically not had to push up a rock up a hill, but we have had to push up our education, social, and personal life up the hill of life and yet we have not gotten to peak. Maybe for some the peak is graduating high school, college, attaining our first job after college, or even retiring. My peak happens every day, because I have gone through one whole day and survived that's the ultimate peak. Although, at points I may not love my daily routine, I can only say if it's not broken why fix it??

Winston

Winston was able to explain the article easily and I was able to understand what he was saying and retain that knowledge. He highlighted the key items and repeated them to stress the importance of them. While also connecting it to other philosophers or situations that happen in life, making it all that easier to recall. We would write things on the board to highlight the importance of the concept and he would also overview the section thoroughly, not just skim it. You could tell he not only understood the material, but he also was comfortable in explaining it and confident in his capabilities in explaining, it projected throughly as he talked about the article, how he mentioned the religious women and the other forms. Winston did an amazing job and involved the class in the discussion, which is very hard to do.

White Paper

What do I see in a white piece of paper?

When I see a white piece of paper I imagine all that can be written on it; from math problems all the way to a drawing. A white piece of paper seems to be just a vacant piece that is simply plain, but it's not about what is there in the present rather what could be there. It gives you room for creativity and imagination rather than a piece of paper that has context in it. It leaves you to wonder in how many ways can I turn this piece of paper into something more, if I fold it a couple times it could be an airplane and for those that have skills in paper origami it can be something beyond imagination. A plain piece of paper is capable of remaining as it is, but if the owner of that paper has will they can transform it into something more or make it part of an entity bigger than itself. I personally admire a blank sheet because it's almost like the tabula rasa it's a fresh start a new beginning to something.