HUM 250 GCC Humanities

Wu Wei is the act of non-action or doing nothing. When I reflect back to my life and the choices I made in the past, I question myself if these actions helped me become the person I am today. As I ponder back on the past, I also wonder about the world we live in, the course of energy that runs as time goes by. One night, a day or two before I turn in my final art project from 3-Dimensional design class, I try to find a base for the sculpture to stand on. I had the choice of creating one out of cardboard left over from the cardboard spaceship project or I had to find a rock to glue on the figure, which only takes a minute. In the end, I ended up making a cardboard base using hot glue to stick the pieces together since I did not have any rocks or other objects that would keep the sculpture from falling over. After completing my project, I thought about if I made the right choice of using cardboard, deciding to make a stand involving effort than finding an object that involves finding t

The Bhagavad Gita is an ancient text that teaches us the message of spiritual wisdom and the importance of duty from ancient India. In the story, Arjuna struggles to act in the Kurukshetra War when he discovers his friends, his family, and other people he knew on his opponents' side. He withdraws from the war, refusing to kill the people he loves and become responsible for their deaths. Conflicted between love and duty, Arjuna decides to not fight in the battle until Krishna appears. Krishna convinces Arjuna to stick with his duty and fight the enemies even if it costs the lives of his loved ones. He wants Arjuna to fulfill his duty  without getting bad karma in which Arjuna listens to his advice and chose to follow his duty. Every person has a duty to accomplish during our lifetime. It is a moral commitment to something or someone to make people happy. A duty involves having a moral commitment to something, for example going to jury duty or volunteering in a homeless shelt

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”  ―  Aristotle Aristotle is one of the Greek philosophers that caught my attention the most. He is known for his ethical writings called the Nicomachean Ethics, an account that discusses his take on happiness. He argues that happiness is the most complete end to live a good life for the soul to exercise activities according to reason. The purpose of human life for Aristotle is to live well, flourish, and to have a good life. His model of the good life speaks to me since he asks what is the ultimate purpose of human existence. I ask myself and wonder if there is a meaning to a good life. After reading the assigned articles, I realized that to live a good life is to enjoy life and be happy. Aristotle teaches us about the goal humans must reach in order to search for happiness which is to reach Eudemonia, a state of flourishing. As humans, we grow to become a better person to achieve our

Achilles, a demi-god and the son of Thetis and Peleus, was a Greek hero who is known for his involvement in the Trojan War in Homer's The Iliad. The question I ask myself after reading this story is Achilles a hero for his actions? Is he considered a hero after what he had done to Hector after the death of his friend Patroclus? I believe that while he is considered a hero for his bravery in the war against the Trojans, he can also be nefarious for his actions. Although he has a few positive traits in which he is fearless and brave, Achilles has a few flaws. For instance, he is quick-tempered at the beginning of the story when he argues with Agamemnon for taking Briseis, his prize as well as his wife, away from him after giving up Chrysesis to her priest father after he seeks Apollo's help in returning his daughter. Achilles is also shown to be cruel when he killed Hector as an act of revenge for murdering his friend Patroclus and ties his body with a rope attached to the back

Abraham from Genesis 22 was a character known to be obedient to God on accepting his request to sacrifice his son Issac without having any second thoughts. This catches my interest since this story deals with a troubling decision of sacrificing a child which is disturbing. It raises difficult ethical questions about why Abraham decides to carry out God's request. He is known to be the father of faith which he has faith in God and is willing to follow his demands. In the story, God speaks to Abraham and asks him to fulfill his request to test his faith “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Abraham did not react when he heard this and did what God told him to do. This is not only alarming, it is frighting to see a father who is willing to sacrifice their child to complete a task. A question I ask myself after reading this is this: was Abraham ethical for acc

Courage, bravery, and compassion are the key pieces of what makes a hero a hero. It makes the person show concern for the people in need and risk their own lives to save others who are put in a dangerous situation. A hero could be firefighters who rescue the people that are trapped in a burning building, a police officer who stops a madman from hurting anyone, or a soldier who serves in the army to protect his/her country. These characteristics is what makes someone a hero, a brave person who puts others before themselves and protect them from harm. The epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a powerful king of Uruk in Sumer that explores the themes of friendship and immortality. In the first half of the story, he was a cruel tyrant who was obsessed with power and abused his people. He starts off as a anti-hero, a person who lacks heroic characteristics including courage and morality. His actions towards his people is what makes him a villain instead of a hero, a callous person who i