Nov 17th Lecture :)

In this lecture, we took a philosophical approach to the course discussions. I thought it was very interesting because it allowed us to look at course content in a new perspective. I think that it is important to look at an issue from as many angles as possible in order to get the most accurate bigger picture.

In this lecture, we discussed Plato and his idea of the forms, which are now known as Platonic forms. The forms are the class concepts; the standard for everything we see in the physical world around us. Plato states that the physical world is not in fact the real world. In the physical world, we can only see examples of these forms. For example, we can't see "roundness", but instead we see examples of roundness in everyday objects, such as in cherries. I also thought it was interesting that Plato was the first to claim the seperation of the body and the soul, which then the Christian fate pushed along and developed.

In addition, to disussing Plato in this lecture, we also discussed Descartes and his theories. I remember learning about Descartes in previous years, so it was interesting for him to be brought up in this context. Descartes' main idea of "I think, therefore I am" was brought up and expanded to enable us to see his views. Descartes goal was to refute skepticism and he went about it by denying the existence of everything, until he concluded that the only thing he can't deny the existence of was that there was an "I" doubting.

I enjoyed this philosophical lecture, even though it requires a lot more abstract thinking. I prefer using this abstract way of thinking in analyzing issues. This lecture explored many realms that have not been touched upon in previous lectures, making it a crucial one.