Sophocles’ beliefs were built around the central tenet that “the unexamined life is not worth living”. That may be true of life itself, but most decisions are made without examination. We act; we react. After the heat of the moment has cooled it is problematic to explain the reasoning behind a judgment call. Our “gut feelings”, spine tingles, goose bumps, biases, and the voices of our id and superego are all fighting to be heard, but the best victor is reason.

Labels

Reason is a science even when applied to subjective dilemmas. This course introduced us to the rationale of Sophocles, Aristotle, Kant, Mills, Gilligan, and others who have been influential in Philosophy. After becoming properly acquainted with the entire body of their theories, the graduates of this course could tell on which side these great thinkers would weigh in on any issue imaginable.

Furthermore, I can personally look at an action and match it to a scholarly defense. A mundane assertion, “I chose to tell you the truth because it will inflict less pain now than it would if I had waited,” translates to a Utilitarian perspective. That one word, Utilitarian, that one category clarifies an entire thought process of measuring the potential good and bad for all concerned. The predominant impression I have after this course is that labels are necessary.

In the 1950’s social psychologist Solomon Asch conducted a study that asked the subjects to identify which two lines were the same length. In reality the other respondents who answered before the subject were instructed to give false answers. Even though the misleading respondents were obviously mistaken, social pressure often influenced the subject to answer incorrectly. Seventy-four percent of the subjects answered incorrectly at least once during the course of the study. That is the impact that our society and environment can have on judgment (Hayes 1).

This is important to note, because it explains the sway that charismatic leaders can hold over “the unexamined life”. Labels are socially relativistic. To say that Hitler was a great leader is not to say that we agree with his methods or beliefs. The ethical label simplifies the process of finding out where one stands; it inherently carries the power of words to shape our perception.

Individualization

We nullify that power when we don’t know what the labels mean. Citizens often faithfully vote Republican or Democrat without prior knowledge of the stances of the two parties. Personally I found out that my political ideology favors Libertarianism- but runs the gamut from extremely liberal to extremely conservative given different, specific topics. From that realization I came to an understanding of the variety of people. While labels are very good at explaining black or white, they miss gradations of color and gray matter. Deeper thoughts are literally and figuratively in the gray matter.

I like to think of Psychology as the science of one person’s mind, their individual “gray matter”, and to think of Sociology as the science of the generalized, collective “gray matter”. Each dilemma, such as that of international conflict, poses a psychological and sociological theory, such as ‘Naghib Mahfouz loves America’ or ‘Muslims hate Americans’.  In short, evaluating each person through the wider context of their specific cultural influences and then examining their personal school of thought (as idenitified in this class) is building a strong house on a stable foundation. As a country and as people it is a necessary skill, especially as technological expansion gives us easier access to other viewpoints.

Conviction

The thought process involved in reaching a conclusion can reveal a lot about a person. I learned that I am harsher on bureaucracies, probably because of my modest upbringing; I learned that I am more cynical than I thought, that deep down I believe that the world is inhabited by egoists; I learned that sacrilege is in the eye of the beholder. It also opened my eyes to the occasional disparity between my theoretical philosophy and the philosophy my action portrays. In tumultuous countries “Give me liberty or give me death” is a possibility- not just a statement; they can be convicted for their convictions.  If they can risk their lives for their beliefs, then I should be standing up for my beliefs.

It’s an easy point to miss in America. The particular entitlement to rights is a popular subject, but the public does not care to focus on the responsibilities. In our consumer culture wants often come before needs. When I consider my vote or my career options my focus is centered on the positive aspects, what I have to gain. That’s fine according to ethical egoism, but utilitarian theorists would beg to differ. I lack the conviction to act on most of my beliefs, because self-discovery is a constant journey into the “Limbo” of morality, ethics, and philosophy. Many Christian denominations believe that one day we will have to explain every choice that we have made. If that is true, then the study of Philosophy is good training.