Captain Beefheart

Captain Beefheart and his magic band is an experimental rock/blues band created in the 1960's. The band was very influential among the early rock setting, Often seen as some of the first pioneers of experimental and alternative genre. They often used many different elements in their music, ranging from field recordings, to spoken word. Captain Beefheart had released a total of 13 studio albums, the most famous being Trout Mask Replica. Trout Mask Replica is often seen as one of the greatest, and most important records of all time, which, many to all first time listeners will not agree with. Upon first listen of the album it sounds messy, poorly timed, and in ill taste, but surprisingly, upon further inspection every strum of the guitar and poorly recorded word fits in place.

Depression and Art

A possible link between mental illness and creativity has been documented throughout history. With this paper I hope to explore how mental disorders, particularly depression and anxiety(seeing as those are the most common in artists) affect and inspire the work. I hope to really explore the idea of a "tortured artist" and how that has changed the way we view art. Does having a mental illness make someone a better artist? How is art helped by mental illness?

Psychological Disorders in Artists

I am an artist, and am very passionate about what I do.  I also have a deep interest in psychology, so with this paper, I am hoping to get the best of both worlds.  I would like to connect the two unrelated topics and tie them together for an interesting piece.  Primarily, I want to research psychological disorders in artists.  Since this is a pretty broad subject, I was thinking of getting more specific by narrowing down my options. I could maybe study one disorder in several artists, or one artist's disorder.  For example, I am very curious about Vincent Van Gogh.  Besides being a fan of his artwork, I would love to know why he cut off his own ear.  Aside from just trying to be less vague with this project, I think it would be very helpful in learning who he was as a person, and not just as an artist.  However, I could benefit from it because this would also create a better connection for me to his works of art.

Yet more of the old

I'm looking forward to researching and writing about death rituals and or how we perceive death. It will be a journey that will go around the world looking at how different culture see and deal with death. It fascinates me how groups of people vary drastically when it comes to death, some see it a it is, a natural part of life; and we see it as an alien event in our life that we fear and hide from. I'm excited to see how the world views the end, and how they treat the body after death. After all, death brings mean and virtue to the lives we all hold so dear. 

All About The Blues

      I chose the history of blues as my topic. Blues, I am told, is a form of jazz music and I have always been interested in the kind of stories told through both instrumental and vocal jazz. They're stories of pain, and love, and hope, and sorrow and those emotions fascinate me in a way I cannot explain. Jazz, as an art form, expresses so much in a single riff that I can't imagine anyone not being interested in the tactics behind it. Also, there are many jazz vocalists and players that lead some of the most intriguing lives and only know how to share it through their music.
     Blues is a subtopic of jazz that I feel would be incredibly rewarding to research because I have previously done projects on a multitude of jazz vocalists/instrumentalists, none of which have been blues artists. I want to encompass the genre of blues and it's re-layers into a paper, which will be difficult, but I'm very excited to try. I think a paper on blues will not only be well written to the best of my ability because it interests me, but also it will be rewarding and a great learning experience that I can then apply to my own musical endeavors.

Not Buddhism

I want to research Buddhism because it has always seemed like such a peaceful religion.  The fact that it is a non-theistic religion really interests me.  From what I know about the religion already also makes me want to research it.  I would like to find out more about how the lifestyles of those who practice it differ from those of other religions.  I hope to learn from my research the ways of Buddhism and how it effects those who practice it.  I also want to know how it impacts different people, places, and cultures around the world.  


b t dubs I thought of Buddhism first

middle eastern conflicts

I picked this topic because I wanted to learn more about why there is so much violence in the middle east. There are a lot of small countries packed into the middle east It is a very complicated area and I want to learn the roots of all of this violence.  Is it because of religious ideas, political differences, or a combination of both?  The U.S. is heavily involved there and I would like to know the root of it all.

Dylan's Words

          I want to write my research essay on Bob Dylan. He is simply one of the most amazing writers and poets I have ever came across. His words seem to scratch the soul and cool the heart. Sometimes he makes your face hurt from smiling, and other times he leaves you cold and nostalgic. I either want to explore some of the roots of Bob Dylan's music; such as Woody Guthrie's writing and aspects of that era, or I want to look at specific passages in Dylan's songs and ask where they came from; and what was their impact on society. The passion and enigmatic aspect of music has never been more successfully displayed than in Dylan's epic accomplishments of literature.

research project

For my topic, I chose to research the roles of angels and demons in various cultures. I thought this topic would be interesting to research because many all cultures have different views and outlooks on angels and demons. While some cultures don't even believe in demons, some cultures actually worship demons. Just as some cultures are dependent on angels while some probably don't think much of them. It will be interesting to see how these different cultures compare and how they differ with the roles of angels and demons.

A Creature Comparison Across Cultures... Or Something Like That

          Shimmering snake-like scales, leathery wings, fiery breath and a penchant for hoarding gold and consuming humans- for many of us, this evokes the image of a 'traditional' dragon. However, dragons and other creatures appear in myths all over the world, taking on a different form in each culture. Even the wolf we are all familiar with has different connotations in each culture it appears in. Each of these creatures may be compared to others of its ilk, but each holds a unique place in the tales of its respective culture. 

          I would like to compare the forms and meanings a certain creature takes in different cultures. The status and associated meanings of each animal, mythical or not, reflects the ideals of each culture. The same beast hailed as a hero in one place may very easily be viewed as a monster in another. The treatment and actions of a creature in myth may reveal a culture's belief system and relationship to the world around it.

Angles and demons again

For my topic I chose the role of angles and demons in cultures. I picked this one because in mythology I made up my own people and their stories were all about demons and angels. I think it would be fun to see how other cultures relate, if at all to what I made. Researching this will take me all over the world I believe, they are found just about everywhere. One question I do have is why do they seam to be such a universal thing. Also if  any cultures share a demon or angle, just like how the Greeks and Romans shared the same gods.

Buddhism

Buddhism has always been such an interesting topic to me. It was my favorite part of my WP classes, (the small amount we spent talking about it, that is) and I chose it as my research topic because I would love to get more in depth in my research about it. I want to know things about their rituals, if they have any, their beliefs in higher powers, and their moral values. One thing that has always interested me about Buddhism is how relaxed everything seems; the way they value other people and how they tend to choose peace over getting angry with others. I wish I saw that more in the culture we experience today in our country.

Morals and Ethics in Myths, Legends and Folklore

How do moral lessons tie in with cultural stories? People may be surprised to learn how the mythologies of different cultures tie into their religions and set a moral base for even the most basic of moral and ethical beliefs. Most, without an extensive theatrical or historical literary background, would make the connection of how ancient mythologies lead to the most complex of modern society’s religious cultures. The use of mythological themes and legendary symbolism in modern society display historical importance of how mythologies have made an impact on modern day lifestyles. Mythology is used to teach moral principles and create relatable circumstances of overcoming obstacles of ethic standards. Writers and storytellers have, over the centuries, used tales of myth and legend to teach the young members of their civilizations how to behave and believe. A character struggling to overcome moral obstacles where the ideals and status quo of their communities may be called into question learn the importance of connecting with these myths, legends and folklore. As a legend is passed from one generation to the next, they become warped and altered, often developing their own culture as they go.

Being

What does it mean to be? A question that everybody strives to answer throughout their lives. Well, you can do and you can be. Both are controlled by different parts of the brain and both mean so much to the way human beings live their lives. There are no particular reasons why we do what we do and what it really means to be a human being because there is a unique perception within each of us. We can get caught up in doing and we can get caught up in being but both are constantly forming the foundations of our existence.
According to Leonard Shlain, from The Alphabet Versus the Goddess; our brains are made up of two distinct hemispheres that work in correlation with each other in order for human beings to function. There is the right brain that controls all of our emotions and being. Then, there is the left brain that controls all of our cognitive action and doing. Although, recent research has shown that the left frontal lobe has been identified to have feeling-states of happiness and optimism. So, that proves that there is some argument to be found in whether or not there is a distinct divide in the activity of our brains. We cannot simply just state that our brains are made up two distinct sides because there is no definite split, left or right, in our brain that controls emotions on one side and physical action on another. Like I said, there is unique activity that plays a role in different parts of the brain. What are your thoughts?

The Up Side to Death

Death is a staple for life, with out it there would not be a driving force for life. Every action in nature is to extend the time between the present and death. Even as humans we do this, we take action to help savor the short amount of time we have alive on this earth. We all go out and attempt to gain wealth, prestige, love, or joy for a simple reason, to have as much of a full life as possible before the hand of death extends to us. With death comes life, the large majority of us have eaten meat at one point or another, to people on the verge of starving, the death of that animal gave them life. For those of us that take to a less, violent, diet think of it in the way of a mother leopard killing a gazelle, it is sad that the gazelle is dead, but if it wasn't for the death of the gazelle, the young leopards would perish of starvation, death gives life in many regards. If nothing where to die from a result of an encounter with another then there would be no food or space, thus resulting in a larger scale of death, the balance of death and life gives stability to our world.

Death is not only a part of nature, it is a cruelty that is used by people to gain and hold power, for it is within this abuse that we fear death. We fear this force of nature to the extent that we don't even wish to talk about it, we run and hide from it. Death makes life vivid, without death how would there be any rush or experience in life, there would be no fear of the unknown. There would not be bravery of the few, there would be no valor in the face of danger. Death, in many ways, shapes who we are and how we do things. We all rush to experience life and its riches, we run to make an impact on the world, to make an impression, to leave our own great legacy behind and why, so we live on even after the cold embrace of death has taken us. Death forges the world and those within it, without death there is little worth in living.

Death is the end that give us all some form of meaning. We all race to make connections with others in the path to death. We hunt for others that make us happy before our life ends, we seek the joy that is so elusive in this world. Death motivates us to look for a connection till death, we look for people that bring us joy and pleasure before we can feel it no longer. Death drives us to find companionship and love in the world, death is not something to be feared. Death is the driving force for the pursuit of good in the world, death makes life, a short experience, worth living. We all race to make an impact on the world, the life of others, and make the best of it. Without death there is no life.

Who do we think we are?

What it means to be human is that we were born a member of the most dominant race on the planet Earth. Born into the top of the food chain, most humans living in well developed civilizations receive the best food, shelter, medicine, and technology currently available on the planet.  For most humans in the modern world, we hardly even think about the things we need for survival, which is one thing that makes us incredibly unique to all other species.  But humans have been unique to other species since the beginning of our existence.  The incredibly complex and sophisticated human mind is what sets us apart from other species and makes us the most dominant race in the world.

One of the greatest philosophical issues we face as humans is having free will.  Having free will is one of the greatest things about being human, and also one of the most challenging.  Because of our well developed cultures and societies we have a great ability to make millions of choices that carve our fate.  The amount of choice we have as humans is amazing, but many choices we make are influenced or constricted by many things like our beliefs, morality, and other humans.  Your moral beliefs, the people who influence you, the rules of society, and even money can greatly constrict the choices you make to the point where it seems like you have no free will at all.  Some believe you have no control over your destiny as a human, but the remarkable amount of free will that we possess throughout our lives is part of what makes us human.

The quote, "Our insistence on cognitive knowing may have already robbed us of some of our capacity for being human" is quite untrue.  It is true that we have lost touch with some of our ancient primal behaviors and ways of survival, but we have not lost touch with our human nature.  Our insistence on cognitive knowing is a great part of human nature and what it means to be human.  Since the first humans were roaming the earth, they used their greater intelligence to survive.  Our survival instinct combined with our insistence for cognitive knowing and development led us to make and use tools, weapons, shelters, and even create societies.  During the past few thousand years humans have had the greatest increase of cognitive knowing ever, leading to incredible advances in technology, culture, population, and way of life across the world.  Even though humans are not living like we were thousands of years ago, we still have the same primal instincts that we did back then and have always had since the beginning of human-kind.  It is very untrue to say that we have been robbed of our capacity for being human, because our insistence for cognitive knowing is one of the biggest things that make us human.

Why?

             

              
            Humans are fragile, ephemeral creatures. We are fleshy, bipedal collections of organ and bones with almost no natural defenses against the "outside world". We as mortal as any other species on this planet, yet somehow we have set ourselves part. Why is that? The answer lies in the question "why". We question things. We want to know more. We're curious creatures. To be human is to have emotion and the ability to tell of and question that which we have never seen.

              Humans are the only creature known to ourselves to ponder questions that have no definitive answer, such as the workings of philosophy and the meaning of life. We consciously believe in and question forces beyond our ken. Art allows us to voices out thoughts, feelings and emotions about these questions. It gives us a way to speak with others at a fundamental level. For example, Friday's documentary explained the significance of certain patterns at the Drakensberg, Lascaux, Altamira and other galleries of rock paintings- they are recordings of the visions painters experienced while in the caves. To be an artist is to convey emotion through art so that it may be recognized and understood. An artist creates art because it gives him or her a sense of fulfillment. Humans connect to each other through art. That imagination, the conscious belief in an unknown, makes us human. 

             We are really rather odd creatures. We differ from others in that we question things. We want to know- why? We have questioned the meaning of our existence so often and so thoroughly that there are classes devoted to these questions. I don't know about you, but I have no idea why we do this. It's not really necessary to our survival, is it? We really can physically survive without constantly questioning every aspect of our beings. That being said, it's amazing how questions have taken such a place in our lives. They exist to affirm that we are, indeed, human. 

What it means to be human

What it Means to be Human 

'What does it mean to be human?' is a very broad question that could have many different answers.
Being human means being imperfect, making mistakes that sometimes you learn from, sometimes you don't, and having flaws and learning to accept them. And I think that one of the most significant realities of our existence is the journey between pain and ecstasy that we as humans experience throughout our lives. We all feel pain, we all feel ecstasy. We also all cause others to experience these phenomena.

The thing is, our existence and lives would be mostly pointless without the existence of others around us. Because of the emotions we cause others to feel, and the emotions that others cause us to feel, there must be a point of enlightenment in the human life where we come face to face with imperfection, and become comfortable with the realness of it. There is no way in human existence to escape that vast range of emotion between pain and ecstasy, or to avoid causing other people to feel those things. We cannot please ourselves or others 100% of the time, but that's really the just of living isn't it? Our deepest pain causes our greatest ecstasy. Human existence will forever be imperfect, and that's okay.

Human what does it mean to be ?

Humans have always asked compelling questions such as"what is the meaning of life?" or "what does it mean to be human?", questions that haven't been, or simply cant be answered. We have tried to answer these questions, and even went to psychological and sociological extremes to find a conclusion, but have only found that these questions cant have one simple answer. Most people think of things like love and hate when they think of an answer, and give compelling reasons as to why they think of them. But does this mean that people who haven't felt love, or hatred, or even the people who don't feel any emotions aren't human?

To my understanding a human is one who has a higher level of thinking and emotion than other mammals. We are different from other animals in way that dramatically sets us apart, were capable of thinking on another level than other mammals. we have much more neurons per square inch than all other life, which in turn lets us dominate the planet and build monuments. On the other side humans are capable of feeling the most emotions, we can feel both the best, and worst of any mammal. These exaggerated emotions often work against us when going through hard times and millions have lost their life's because of hurting someone emotionally.

We face many philosophical issues around the world, examples being along the lines of life and death, murder and sacrifice. We've always pondered why we are here and have come up with many theories and religions as to why. Religion and myth being the first to give an explanation to our many questions, but people have always been  skeptical of the answers they gave, not believing in the masterful stories and myths, calling them bloodthirsty and fake. The philosophers who questioned things such as religion have failed to find an answer as to why we exist but have came up with theories as to how we came to be, teaching the newer generations that they  are right and not to believe in religion. Many people don't like religion because of all of the religious extremists who kill others because they misinterpreted their religion, and no body's really ok with that because their stealing peoples lives and every one's afraid of death. Death is the end of life as we know it, when your brain shuts off completely and never turns back on. We will never know what happens after death, whether it be the afterlife, rebirth, or nothing. Death is the great unknown, every one's biggest, and most locked in fear, and no matter who you are, or where you live, its going to come to you in time.

Being Human

            To be human is to be able to think, act and talk like no other animal can here on earth. A deeper meaning is to express emotions and form our own opinions on things. Then see maybe our options change. Learn and educate ourselves in knew things. To create, develop and evolve to make life easier. But even more important to being human is that we come together with other humans and share our own stories and emotions we each other. And when we start sharing, we ask questions. Eventually the questions get bigger and broader. What is the point to life, Is there life after death, Are we alone and so on. Some people spend entire life times trying to solve these questions.

            The best answer man has been able to come up with for these questions is art. Just like everyone's answers to those questions is different, art is also different. There is no real way to answer any of those question or to paint a canvas or draw that blow of fruit from the 8th grade. Everyone has their own personal options and perceptions for the big questions and art. There for art is the best way to help people deal with such daunting ideas. With it people can easily express their own views on life after death or what is ever on their mind. Whether be with paint, pencil, pen, music, ink or any other form of artistic expression. 

            Being an artist is someone who crafts. For me that is a perfectly plated and garnished plate of food. With volume, some negative space and a little bright shaving of a fruit or vegetable on top. And of course for some all they will ever see is a pile of food. But they do not quite understand its beauty and the skill needed to make it. Just like how I do not care for something someone just finished painting and call their master piece. I am not an artist  in the traditional sense, so I do not feel the same over some color on canvas.

           To be a man or women used to have very strict out lines and were to never go outside them. But now thanks to protesting, marching, rioting and picketing there is really no difference in being a man or women. Of course other than the whole reproduction part. But thanks to ground breaking science you can now remove your penis or get boobs if one so chooses too. So really there is not much of a difference anyone, especially when there has become a number of people who were at one point male, then became female and vice versa. 

           This quote we have,"...robbed us of some of our capacity for being human." I believe that is not true at all. To have developed the cognitive thinking we have now just shows how far man has come. Just because we can now look at something an now its meaning or what is does, does not rob us. It just push us to the next step, to perhaps add on to it or make it better. If man becomes complacent with the Mona Lisa, then sure we are robbing ourselves of some emotions and experiences. But we are humans, we are never complacent. We are always replacing the old out dated for the new and improved. We would all still be staring at fire going oooo, ahhhh and freaking out at fire if we were not able to cognitively learn that wow thats hot and hey it does stuff to meat. But because we have evolved our cognitive skills, we can build off what we have absorbed. Then push to improve and better our experiences and further evolve. We do not need to relearn every time we step outside an look round.

What is being human?

        Many people ponder over the question of what it means to be human.  Being human is what makes us smarter than every other animal on this planet.  Humans are known for being more intelligent on both the emotional and logical levels.  No other animal has built skyscrapers or created fire.  This great intelligence comes with a price though.  Lots of people around the world deal with many psychological issues such as depression and eating disorders.  Individuals can slowly loose interest in life and the word around them or care to much about what the world thinks of them.  It is difficult to find meaning in ones life.  Some never find meaning and struggle through life for long periods of time.  I believe the key to finding meaning in ones life is to find what makes you happy and embrace it.  The only problem with that though is that some have trouble finding what makes them happy or they are afraid to embrace it.

        One of the ways we confront these issues is by creating art.  We create art to express our emotions and feelings that we cannot put into words.  It helps us cope with the difficult feelings in our life and it helps us calm our minds.  Lots of times talking helps you get through some of these troubles.  This is the case because it gives you a way to express how you feel.  Artists do this same thing but they just do it differently, like through painting or writing.  They don't look at the world that much differently than everyone else they just express themselves differently.

        "Our insistence on cognitive knowing may already have already robbed us of some of our capacity for being human."  To this quote means that at some point we may take technology to far.  We will eventually remove ourselves form the world around us.  This is bad because one of the main characteristics of being human is our awareness for the surrounding world.   If eventually we reach a point were we would rather live in a virtual life then our own real life then there will be no point in even living.  We need to learn how to appreciate life as individuals rather than try to escape it when things get rough.  Their will always be bad times in our lives but we have to try to also look at the good times in order to get through it.

What Makes Us Human?

What does it mean? To be a man, a woman, or an artist? The term human refers to the idea of being mortal and mundane. Humanity is essentially the combination of the ideas and principles that make us "human". It ranges from our abilities to comprehend human emotion and connect to the people around us, to the fact that we do not live for ever and have to come to terms with our mortality. Human, like many other terms in our vocabularies such as good, evil, and so on, are all terms that do not have a set definition and vary depending upon who you are and what you have done.

Humans rely on art to communicate and explain thoughts, ideas, and concepts that we fail to do with words. Who determines what art is? Art is in the eye of the beholder and to each it means something similar and yet entirely different. Someone who creates art, an artist, is one who can see the connection between thought, emotion and indention. They are able to draw on their own experiences to interpret

human

What does it mean to be human? There are various aspects of being human that makes us human. One of the things that make a human is our superior intelligence to other living creatures. Some people even question that we are the most intelligent creatures on earth. We are slowly destroying the planet we live in by draining its resources and polluting it. Another thing that I think makes us human is that we question critical reasoning. Instead of just letting things be we question why certain things happen which gives us a greater knowledge of things such as sciences and mathematics. Some people I believe take being human for granted going their whole lives being told what to do instead doing what they love and contributing what they love to do to society.

Some people question whether human beings are naturally bad and self absorbed or good and caring for others. I believe that a majority of humans are good from my experiences in life. There are people who are self absorbed and don't care about others but the majority of people I believe are good and would rather help someone else than themselves. Some examples of this are the Boston bombings, after the bombings happened people came together to help the victims that were injured and the rest of the United States supported Boston after this tragic event occurred.

Art helps people express themselves and issues  in our society. Art in some instances can be more powerful than anything else in relaying a message to someone or even society. I believe that art in some instances takes us away from our boring lives and gives us something to really think about at times. Art can relay a message better than words can sometimes and makes us really think about something we might not have before.

As hard as we try I don't think we will be able to achieve our full humanity. As long as humanity is here there will always be things to improve upon it. We will never be able achieve full humanity that would mean peace between all nations in the world and that's nearly impossible because of the religious differences and cultures between societies in the world.

"Our instance on cognitive knowing may already have robbed us of some of our capacity for being human". I believe this is true because the more we get into advancements in science and technology, the more we are straying from what it really meant. People are more materialistic than they have ever been in history. This also might be a sign that humanity is evolving as well though. We might just be changing into a more technological society. Most of these technological advancements aren't making us better human being or more productive in our lives. We would be able to live perfectly fine without all this technology today but some people think that it is a necessity to have. Some of this new technology also interrupts how the brains been working for thousands of years as well because most of the time instead of having a conversation face to face a lot of our conversations are done over texts or facebook. This might be the sign of a changing society or just straying off from being human in general.

Human Being Being

Humanity is a concept to be interpreted. It is an ideal that we, as humans, have come to ponder in millions of different ways. To be human can mean one thing to me, another to you, and another to Griffin. It can be taken as a way of being or simply a way of being right now. Humanity is broken, but not past the point of being fixed. Because being human is different to everyone, the answer to the question, "What does it mean to be human?" can have more than one answer. This is mine.

Being human means being able to accomplish things that not every other species necessarily is able to. Humans experience life in a way that is not easily comparable to others and has no way of being compared to others because humans cannot fathom the life of an ant or a groundhog, no more than an ant or a groundhog can communicate with humans to let us know that our lives can be compared. Being human means being what we are while everything else in the world is what it is. The way we interact with the lifeforms around us and the nature that surrounds is an imperative part of being human. 

Another part of being human is expressing emotion. We express emotion through facials and gestures and acting. We are able to not only tell others how we're feeling but also show and feel it. Humans have the capacity to feel our own and others emotions while still staying stable. We are able to fake emotions and let them go completely. We can feel happiness, disappointment, fear, frustration, anxiety, excitement, depression, sadness, anger, love, and a multitude of others almost as inherently as we are able to breathe. That's not to say that animals cannot feel those emotions as well, humans are just able to express them in ways that animals cannot. Humans can feel and feel again and feel differently tomorrow and feel differently the next day. Our emotions are tied to our situations which means that any moment of any given day could be different than the next. No one can be certain as to whether you will be upset five minutes from now or beaming with joy, but it doesn't matter because we're allowed to do that. As humans, we are allowed to feel an entire range of emotions in a few minutes and have everything stay normal, because we are stable enough to continue our lives. Animals may be able to feel emotions as well, but absolutely not in the depth that humans can, and to be honest, I'm not sure if they would want to be able to. Being human, to me, is knowing that we are emotionally capable of incredible feats and using that knowledge to better humanity.

Blog Post #1

To be human is a tough thing to explain, and it might not even really have an explanation. Physically being human means being a homo sapien but there is so much more to human life than just that. There are all different kinds of humans, ranging in skin color, hair color, eye color, etc. and also ranging drastically in personality and ethics. To be a man, by the worlds standards, means to have muscles and to be strong physically and emotionally; not to cry at movies or ever feel weak. To be a female by the worlds standards means to have the perfect hour glass figure, and be more emotional than a man, but not enough to the point where all of your ex boyfriends call you crazy. The difference in the way men and women are supposed to look and act in the world is what most people look at as what being a man or woman is. To be an artist is something completely different from being a man or woman, though. Being an artist is being able to express your emotions and inner thoughts in outward ways for others to enjoy, and a way to let your personality come out.

The statement that is to be explained from The Creative Impulse is basically saying that the way we think about things and reasonably play them out in our heads is whats keeping us from being a full human. The only group of people I can think of that has full humanity is babies. They are pure and have no knowledge yet. They do not think about what is right or wrong, or what will affect their futures. They do what they want when they want and don't think anything about it until they are at an old enough age to start understanding their parents' warning about safety and behavior. They are fully human because they are living as a human with no other thoughts. Their only thought is that they are alive and that they want this or that, but not thinking about all of the other things going on in the world and how their one simple want could affect it. They are living a simple and pure life, somewhat similar to how cavemen used to live, but even they followed some rules of life that we do today. 

I believe there is no explanation or definition of being human but that it is all interpretation. It is in the mind of whoever is asked the question. When I personally am asked the question, I would say that a human is someone who would help others before themselves. A real human is a person who, in the case of an emergency like 9/11 since it is that day, would leave their home to help other people get home safely and get out of the burning building. I believe that we as humans have a natural urge to want to help others who are in tough situations, and if you would not sacrifice some of your time and energy to help someone out who is in serious need, then I cannot view you as a real human being. Some people are selfish, yes, but even the most selfish people would help in a serious situation, and put their needs aside to make sure someone got home safe to their families and was okay. I believe that is the true meaning of humanity, helping others in need.

Man, Don't We Have Issues? :)

9/11/14

Humans have this wondrous ability to ponder the world around them and to create ideas pertaining to it. But with this amazing capability, which seems to just be a by-product of evolution and natural processes, problems arise that deal with the very nature of oneself. Humans have to face philosophical issues due to the fact that we have conscience thought. Most of these issues are in the form of a question that seems to have no answer, or an answer that is too much for us to handle. Some of these questions are: What is our purpose? How were we created? Is there a supreme being? Why ______________? These questions are so large that simple speculation just leads you astray, and trying to answer them from a scientific approach is virtually impossible. The answers to these questions may be that we have no purpose; we were created through natural processes; "God" could be an illusion of the mind, "God"could just be the inner-workings of the universe. 

Art  helps us to cope with these questions; whether they be unanswerable, or their answer disturbs us. I believe art is an expression of emotion through any means. And it doesn't even necessarily have to be what we are feeling at that particular moment. Art can look at different perspectives of the human condition and express to others truths to these questions that we could not have answered by a logical sense. When you listen to a piece of music there is a flood of emotions and feelings that surge through your head. You move the way the rhythm does and you sense the emotion of the melody and feel it as your own. A thought that could come to mind while listening to the piece of music is that this is the purpose of life; this is it, live now. Art allows an escape from the mundane, giving meaning, and it gives us a more satisfied answer to some of our philosophical issues. 

The quotation, "Our insistence on cognitive knowing may already have robbed us of some of our capacity for being human" is false. The very nature of being human is to pursue the unknown, and to find meaning in things (apparently even if there is no meaning to be held we should still try to find meaning, look at our life...if there is no meaning we should still search). This is part of the human condition. So, to say that our capacity for being human has been decreased due to the fact that we crave cognitive knowledge is false. In fact, I believe it does the opposite. This drive for knowledge makes us more humanlike than most other human characteristics. Our curiosity could be the entire reason for our philosophical issues. So it looks like facing these issues, is just part of the human condition. 

What Does It Mean To Be Human?

To know the nature of self is to know what it means to be human. Once we understand human nature and our potential impact on each other, we can begin to utilize our significance of life. To be human means embracing our individual and our species' imperfections, yet always strive and struggle for excellence. Our curiosity prompts us to continue evolving.  Part of that natural transformation leads us to separate and divide ourselves into groups. Communities, races, genders, and class are all ways that we simplify our identity in order for other groups to comprehend and connect. As humans we all have commonalities and relatable aspects of our personalities. This automatic connection is the way we associate with others. We all have insatiable want of belonging. Our search for community, yet desire for individuality, makes us human.

Our habit of over thinking our actions and choices lead us to losing our most basic human instinct. We approach situations and objects with a previous knowledge. This hinders our ability to experience something without judgement. "Our insistance on cognitive knowing" has upset our initial reaction process and "may already have robbed us of some of our capacity of being human"(The Creative Impulse). In order to regain our full humanity we have to teach ourselves to be unbiased and clear headed in all situations. If we do this, we will be able to experience the world in its full glory. This adaption is only possible with an open mind to what we can achieve as a human race.

Journal Response

What does it mean to be human?  Man?  Woman?  Artist?  These are questions in which billions of answers could apply to.  Personally, being human is being alive.  There are approximately seven billion types of people on the planet.  No two of us are identical in this world.  Humans are the creatures that roam the Earth, questioning what it means to be human.  Being male or female merely depends on our genes.  Sure, there are psychological, emotional, and physical differences between genders, but ultimately, we are the human race.  We, meaning all of us: male and female.  As far as the meaning behind what an artist is, we cannot quite distinguish the difference between who is and is not.  Technically speaking, an artist is "a person who practices any of the various creative arts".  Well, who are we to define exactly what is considered a creative art?  Anyone can be an artist.  Creativity is unique to each person, and in a way, we are all artists.

As stated from The Creative Impulse text, humans may have already lost some of our ability to achieve full humanity because we are insistent upon acquiring knowledge through merely our own intuition.  The meaning behind this is that we sometimes allow ourselves to rely on our own perceptions rather than obtaining information through factual evidence.  Based on this, we are not correct as often within our understanding, therefore losing accuracy.  While observing the collage on the bulletin board in class, each student displayed their thoughts on the differences between the humans depicted.  Some of these categories included culture, race, activities, practices, class, emotion, style, time, and age.

We also discussed our observations about human beings in general.  The class came to the conclusion that we are all unique, and alongside that comes inequality.  Despite this, we all have common qualities: We are all living, and at some point (no matter our opinion of what happens afterwards) we will all die.  That is what a human being is.  A living creature that walks the Earth amongst others, and eventually deceases.  Our class synthesis concluded that there are many varying definitions of what it means to be human, but ultimately, our existence as a whole depends on each of our opinions.  This is how we create discussion and contrasting opinions.  In the end, we are driven by knowledge, reflection, and understanding, and that is how we are all connected.

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