Aristotle

Diana Magnani
Professor Middleton
CAL 103-C

Achieving Happiness is Achieving All

      Aristotle believes, very wholeheartedly, that the greatest good is happiness. In other words, he believes that, above all else, happiness is the most important thing to strive for in life.  He says that daily duties, obligations, and responsibilities are all to fall below the pursuit of happiness.  To be quite honest, I tend to agree. 

      I believe that happiness is the most important thing to strive for because, once achieved, everything else has a tendency to fall into place.  At first, daily duties, obligations, and responsibilities seem to be a drag, but to the truly happy, nothing is dull.  I have seen proof of this in my own life.  Personally, I strongly disliked my high school.  I didn't believe in its values, morals, or procedures.  I thought the education was very sub-par, and I thought the teachers were wildly incompetent.  I spent my high school years absolutely miserable.  I didn't want to get up and go to school every day, I didn't want to do anything after school except sleep, and I certainly did not want to do anything school related at home.  Because of this, I did not do as well as I should have in high school.  I didn't give it my all.  Now, I am at a school I am happy with.  I believe this school is headed in the right direction, and I am glad to be a part of it.  Now, with this fresh starts, I can truly say that I am happy.  With this happiness, I have noticed that those little things that used to bother me about school, don't matter any more.  I no longer dread having to do homework, or study, because I know very well that everything I am doing is going to pay off in the end.  My daily duties, obligations, and responsibilities, the same things I once dreaded, are now a pleasure. 

      I am living proof that Aristotle was correct.  One should first strive to achieve happiness in every way. Only then will everything else gently fall into place. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Diana Magnani
September 24, 2012
Professor Middleton

Taking Matters into Your Hands

        The impact and influence Dr. Martin Luther King Jr has had on this nation, and the world, is definitely undeniably large. He is, in my opinion, the most influential person in America's history. One of his more controversial philosophies is that we, as American citizens, should break any and all laws that are unjust. I firmly believe this philosophy to be true. We should feel free to openly protest and break laws that are factually unjust. 

       Dr. King said on multiple occasions that he is not a man to break any law he pleases. In fact, he believes that it is our responsibility and our right to live by the laws we deem just.  However, he does say that if there is a law that is unjust, we should break the law and take any and all consequences with a smile on our faces. How can it be morally right to break a law? The answer is simple. "A law in manmade code that squares with the moral law or the law of God (219)." If the law is unjust, that is, if the law is not in alignment with the natural law of mankind, it should not be a law and should not be respected as such.  I believe everyone should partake in this practice. In fact, I believe that it is our responsibility, as Americans, to stand up for what is right.   After all, we are a government intended to be for the people by the people.  Our founding fathers crafted the Constitution in such as way that our right to revolt against an oppressive, unjust government is absolutely clear.  Therefore, we as citizens should most definitely exercise our right to revolt against the government. 

Gandhi

Diana Magnani
September 16, 2012
Professor Middleton

Strengths and Weaknesses of Satyagraha

        Satyagraha is a practice set forth by Gandhi.  It emphasizes the importance of self-sacrifice and self-suffering.  Many people have compared Satyagraha to the practices of civil disobedience and passive resistance.  In this chapter from Gandhi's book, Gandhi makes a clear distinction between passive resistance and Satyagraha. Passive resistance allows for the use of brute physical force for the purpose of reaching the end of a protest; Styagraha, on the other hand, excludes the use of violence in any shape or form for any conceivable purpose.  This, as well as the other core tenants of Gandhi's teachings make it very controversial in terms of its effectiveness.  There are many strengths and weaknesses with the practice of Satyagraha. This blog is intended to further explore the strengths and weaknesses with the practice.
        One of the biggest strengths of Satyagraha is that it quickly draws a lot of attention and sympathy to the protesters, thus drawing attention to the cause.  Satyagraha is intended to inflict only self-suffering.  If you were walking down the street and watched a group of peaceful protesters being arrested, would you stop to see what they are so gratefully giving up their rights for? Most of us would, and Gandhi knew this and used ti to his advantage.  Another strength is that Satyagraha is a great way to get your point across without doing harm to any person or property.  It might not be as efficient as scorched earth policy, but it peacefully gets the job done.
       One major weakness of Satyagraha is that it takes a much longer time to get noticed than any form of violent protesting.  For example, if one man was sitting on the corner with a sign saying that he demands fewer taxes, and another man was standing at the opposite corner with a machine gun saying that he demands lower taxes, chances are the man with the sign would not be looked at twice while the machine gun wielding man would be taken notice of right away.  The same logic applies to Gandhi. It probably would have been more efficient, and maybe more successful, to go with a more violence ridden approach to his protests, however, being more successful doesn't necessarily mean it is the better thing to do.  Gandhi valued morality over desires, and he was more concerned with the right thing than the most successful thing.
       Overall, there are both strengths and weaknesses within Satyagraha.  I believe that it is always better to take a non-violence approach to almost anything; however, I am aware that being non-violent may be taking the longer route.  I, like Gandhi, would rather put my head on my pillow at night knowing that I did the right thing by humanity than the right thing by my desires.

Machiavelli's "The Qualities of the Prince"

Diana Magnani
September 2, 2012
Professor Middleton

True Qualities of a Prince

     Machiavelli's essay, "The Qualities of the Prince" is a how-to style essay that lays the foundation for the morality of royalty. In the essay, Machiavelli discusses the way princes should act with regards to the military, taking the blame, generosity, being loved over being feared or the contrary, keeping his word, and avoiding being despised. In my opinion, Machiavelli made some very valid arguments. However, I do believe that a lot of what Machiavelli wrote is wrong in philosophy. 

     I definitely agree with Machiavelli in his philosophy of being a strong, smart military leader. Machiavelli states that someone who "learns to know one's own country can better understand how to defend it" (40). This goes along the same thinking as saying that the best and most reliable defense is a strong offense. I believe this to be absolutely true. I feel that the strongest and wisest military minds are the ones who understand their homeland, their territory, and their soldiers. With that knowledge, these brave military thinkers are better suited to go into battle because they are overly aware of their surroundings, and they know what their soldiers are capable of. 

      I disagree with Machiavelli with regard to his teachings on why it is important to be a well armed person. Machiavelli teaches that being disarmed makes you despised. I certainly do not agree with that statement. I believe that there is a certain level of respect that must be given to the man who walks unarmed, because he is so confident in his natural abilities and the decency of others to hold with head high without his hand on his gun. I firmly believe that weapons cause fear which, in turn, brings about an atmosphere of panic and an unavoidable arms race. This is what is currently happening in this country, and I believe that if people started to believe more in the decency of others we, as a nation, could see a major improvement in crime rates. I believe that philosophies such as Machiavelli's instill a fear in people that feed into the desire to want to be armed and therefore instill that fear in others. I believe that war is, sometimes, a necessity, and I definitely believe in fighting intelligently. However, I do not believe that people should despise those who are disarmed; in fact, I believe that people who are disarmed should be respected and admired as role models.