Question 1 -John Stuart Mill on Freedom
Question one on freedom as described by John Stuart Mill makes sense to me because the idea of individuality subjectively fits the personal view of a quality type of life. When each person remains free developing into the person they can become according to personal feelings, perspectives, and importantly the creative process this inherently contributes to a society where freedom to do so benefits everyone and prevents what he views as social stagnation. Therefore John Stuart Mill idea of freedom allows the best possible development of people individually and people as a society evolving independently and collectively toward a better type of social co-existence and what the ancient Greeks call a life worth living. A philosophically critical approach to Mill and his ideas of freedom connected to non-conformity looks at the issue of everyone unquestioningly following the accepted way of doing something – living – as the only way and the danger of people in a society behaving in such a manner. The fundamental needs of society change and as a group, welcoming ideas from an individualistic approach contributes to the process. This is similar in concept to introducing new blood to a gene pool. Society like an isolated gene pool will weaken and destroy itself from within without new ideas (new genes) that contribute to its survival.
Finally, Mill justification that an unpopular idea may be the best idea looks at the social movement of abolitionism as an example. This was not the prevalent idea of those ruling Western Civilization at the time. It took individuals thinking alike and speaking out about the immorality of humans holding other humans in bondage in a time of enlightenment about the ideals of freedom, equality, and the pursuit of happiness connected to such ideals to stand up to the status quo supporting slavery.
Question Two - Plato’s Theory the Soul is Immortal
Question two according to Plato’s theory that the soul is immortal has meaning for my life because of the subjective personal view attached to understanding the reason God created human beings and why they exist. Plato’s view of the soul belonging to a separate world from change and to the one of forms because the soul is reflective, invisible, and rules the body naturally fits this personal and subjective idea giving meaning to idea of an immortal soul.
Judeo-Christian precepts hold God created humans in His image makes the most sense the true image of humans connected to the image of God makes the soul the true image. This fits the subjective and personal understanding that an omnipotent God seen in all creations of the universe has to mean the truest image of God relating to humans is the immortal soul.
Subjectively, and personally, the idea of each person at some point having his/her body reanimated for an eternal existence seems simplistically childish and absurd. On the other hand, the idea of the soul as immortal genuinely seems the most brilliant explanation of the question. Subjectively and personally, the identity of self connects with the personality and free will of the personality expressed in the form of the human process. This in part comes from the soul existing within the flesh.
Consciousness comes from the influence of the soul on the personality of the human body it inhabits. Though the soul remains immortal and a reflection of the image of God in each human being, nonetheless, each human being remains a distinct individual entity unto itself by the symbiotic relationship of the soul the soul incarnated into flesh through the individual human experience. When one hears, people are kindred spirits this is the embodiment of the soul recognizing itself in another person and vice a verse. This is a comforting epiphany when personally and subjectively the meaning became evident.
Question Three - How Much Does Media Control Human Definition of Beauty –
As a society, the Media too-often defines beauty and our views/feelings of freedom. This idea about Media too-often defining beauty holds truer with adolescent human beings – particularly females and their perception held up to the ideas put across magazine covers, music videos, and motion pictures. When magazines and the other media show too-thin models jumping off the cover, screen, or billboard then this surely causes impressionable adolescent girls to believe they need look the same to be beautiful. Young adolescent boys on the other hand look at the muscled males coming across visually in the same manner and believe that is the ideal beauty. This all started with the ancient Greeks and later Romans with the Renaissance masters like Michelangelo and his “David” creating the ideal of beauty representative of the human body. Personal and subjective ideals of what beauty means is just that when one is capable of appreciating this calls for a personal perspective – a natural process as part of the essence of a life worth living.
On the question of Media defining and therefore influencing the meaning of freedom for people, that seems generationally dependent for the answer. The Baby Boomer generation and older almost refuse to acknowledge too much of anything Media produces including (ideals of beauty) defining freedom. Listening to this generation and those of the previous still alive, the typical consensus remains not trusting anything the Media reports – especially about what freedom means since 911 and the loss of more personal freedoms due to the power held connected to Homeland Security. Younger generations also reflect different responses to Media defining the precepts of freedom through commercials about cars, clothes, lifestyles. Most definitely, the influence of Media dictating the meaning of freedom to society must look at the generational attitudes of the people living in a society.
