Monday, October 8, 2007

Since Philosophy is about reflection more than anything else, it is evident that philosophy is key because it also has something to do with Art, Craft, and Science. It seems as though Philosophy occurs in the self due to its tentative definition of being the search for wisdom, self-understanding, self-examination, and self-reflection. Ultimately it is interior in its nature, by looking inward, comprised mostly of ideas. Furthermore, life is essential for Philosophy to occur. Therefore, Philosophy, Art, Craft, and Science all very well may be confined to life and all that is distinctively human since the fundamental quality of all that is appears to be physicality. Hence, we can determine that the one thing that is for certain is that there is a body and that body will eventually die.

On another note, I was wondering if you could take a look at my idea for my essay and see if I'm on the right track. I decided to use the action of taking my dog, Tucker Dee, outside for a walk. This concept begins with Philosophy, where the idea of this action is first and foremost the determining factor in analyzing the variables that will come into effect. Depending on what time of day it is, I may or may not have to take a flashlight with me, what time of the year it is, I may or may not need to wear a coat, and if there is any precipitation, then I would have to put on rain boots and carry an umbrella. Various other factors affect the preparation I need to take in order to successfully accomplish my responsibility, and I adjust my routine as they become apparent. Furthermore, there is a lot of science involved in this task because it's a fact that Tucker needs to go outside for a walk every few hours in order to get his exercise and go to the bathroom. I gained this knowledge through observation and trial and error. If I wait too long in between the times that I take him out, he will be obligated to relieve himself inside on the nice clean floors, since he is such a small dog and he reaches the point where he can no longer control himself. When all is established, and I am ready to take him outside, Tucker understands what is going on because he remembers from the previous time. First, I check the weather outside and decide if I need to put on any outerwear, then I put on my shoes, grab his leash, and hook it to his collar accordingly. In amongst all of this action is where Craft takes place because I am doing something where all of the results are reproducible. I proceed to pick him up, carry him down the steps since he refuses to walk down them, and put him down on the sidewalk. He continues by turning right, heading straight for the grass where he automatically goes to the bathroom every time. After he is finished, I clean up after him, dispose of the evidence, and we head back to the sidewalk where we will continue on our walk. Therefore, a lot of Art is also craft, but it is self-expression that makes art distinguishable from the other. The way that Tucker and I trot down the sidewalk is where Art becomes a determinant since we are both self-expressing ourselves in the relaxed manner that we walk.

1 comment:

M E Achtermann said...

Towards the end of the second paragraph here you say that "a lot of art is also craft". This may seem like just a matter of word-play, but it's not so much that art is craft -- art and craft are distinct one from another in themselves -- but that some, or rather much, of what we call or perceive as art is really craft. This is my view of the matter, anyway.