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JA2. Metaphysical Thinking

Statement

This has been a busy but exciting week of peer discussions on metaphysical thinking! Hopefully, you know now what men and women have been discussing for eons; we are all philosophers; we all have valid opinions and judgments about the world around us.

For this week’s journal, please share with me what the most interesting part (lesson/discussion) this week was. How did that experience change your worldview? Please explain how you thought before, and how the new viewpoint changed that old thinking into something new.

Answer

The story of Charles Simic was the most interesting part of this week; it is such a fascinating and encouraging story that involves a child to comes out of the ruins of war to be one of the most influential poets of the 20th century (UNH Library, 2008).

Charles’s metaphysical viewpoint can be reflected in his poetry, where he sees the world as a dark place, full of chaos and madness, but he also does not forget the spark of beauty that represents the hope that lightens the way to the future. He sees that good and evil coexist, mentions God as a reflection of his belief in a higher power that controls the universe and uses dark humor to express his thoughts about the world (Harp, 2004).

My viewpoint of the world can be summarized as I believe in God, and I believe that humans are created with pure goodness, and all evil in the world is a result of environment and circumstances; thus, it is possible to change a man’s nature from evil to good, if you change the circumstances and put the effort. I also see the world as a dark place, and it is only getting darker, and I don’t see the hope that Charles sees.

Reading about Charles and his views did not change my view, but made it more profound as he saw little hope, but I see even less. Dark humor is a strong technique to face the world, and I see my community laugh at social media posts that should only impose tragedy.

To conclude, the matter of metaphysical thinking has been a matter of debate recently, as the advancement of science and technology should be able to prove or disprove some of the metaphysical claims, thus moving the responsibility of metaphysical thinking from the philosophers to the scientists (Oxford, 2o13); but I still believe it is interesting to read the philosophers’ thoughts and see how they see the world.

Word Count: 392.

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