Perfection?

And so week 3 of classes begins.

Woke up around 7:45 Monday morning to get to Uni by 10am. My first class wasn’t till 11, but the State library (right next to campus), opens at 10 and Oliver wanted to get there early. He didn’t have any courses for the day, but was planning on camping out there at the library from 10am till they closed at 6pm to get some work done. He’s taking a very intense workload. He and I got coffee there at the library and I did some readings, then at 10:45 I left for my philosophy seminar, which was from 11am-1pm.

Our professor began the class by talking about pleasure and why we received pleasure from observing certain things. She also explained to us the idea of ‘perfection’ and how the definition differed between the rationalist philosophers versus the empiricists. What exactly is perfection? What is pleasure? I’ve discovered in the topics of philosophy, which are usually very complex and elaborate, it is always good to begin by simply defining what each idea/word means in the context.

So I asked myself the question: “What gives me pleasure?” And I came up with a short list of the first things that came to my mind: Good food, kissing, music, pleasing others, feeling loved, succeeding at something, sunshine/warmth, being touched tenderly, feeling beautiful, a glass of good red wine, cats, the smell of old books, romance, feeling the wind in my hair, and driving. I had this list within 5 minutes… looked at it… and asked myself why those experiences gave me pleasure. Some make me feel happiness, some make me feel valued. Some are just for the sheer enjoyment or entertainment. Some of them move me… make me feel ALIVE.

What about perfection? What is “perfect”? How does one judge it? Is it a critics place to judge what is “perfect” or beautiful? Is perfection judging something on what it SHOULD be… aka a “perfect” example of what it is meant to be?

We got into our groups (I’m in group #3 with Ben, Jesse, and Brittney) and we had to discuss some questions about perfection. 1. Is it possible to observe perfection and not be moved by it? And 2. Have you ever seen a film or other object that you thought was perfect but which you did not like or at least had no effect on you?

My group discussed the meaning of perfection and the meaning of “being moved” by something. We decided that “flawless” things do exist, but may not necessarily “move” you. Like a perfect apple, for example, which doesn’t have much meaning to me. But on the other hand, we also realized that the beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. If someone has extensive knowledge on a certain thing, in their expertise of how that thing came about, they may be extremely moved by a perfect object which may mean very little to someone else. Back to my apple, for example… someone who works at an orchard for a living and has extensively studied apples and experienced all sorts of apples and has all this knowledge of apples and how they are made may have a deep appreciation for a perfect apple that the average person may not have the knowledge to appreciate. And, therefore, the perfection of something may be more concrete, but the appreciation for the beauty of that perfection may vary depending on the individual and their history and knowledge.

It was a very interesting talk and I really enjoyed listening to the others in my group and hearing their perspectives.

After class ran into Jean-Francois, (aka Jeff), and we got lunch at the Mayo Café. At 3 I had my Adaptation lecture and we discussed the movie Sleepy Hollow and how it compared to the novel, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I had never seen the movie or read the book, so I had to do both over the weekend. When I hear The Legend of Sleepy Hollow all that comes to my mind is the movie we used to watch for Halloween when we were kids; a short, animated version of the story.

After lecture I went back over to the library to relax and get some work done for classes. At 6pm I went over to Urbanest to have dinner with Caroline and afterwards over to Doris’ to have some true French crepes for dessert!

Yet another busy week ahead… I’m tired. Feel behind in my classes already. I think I need to be more organized. I should have an agenda or something… usually I keep a calendar in my journal that I write due dates and to-do lists in, but since I’ve been keeping this blog, I haven’t been journaling as much. Ever since 7^th grade I’ve kept a journal… wrote in them on a daily basis throughout middle school and high school, and at least 2 or 3 times weekly once I started college and had less free time. I’ve filled dozens of them… mostly with my ramblings… excess emotions I need to get out… a place to vent, or to just organize my thoughts out. Sometimes I simply write what I did that day. Back in high school when I had a lot of pent up emotion and a lot more free time, I tried writing poetry a lot. Kind of lost time to do that after graduating though… I miss it sometimes. Its just really time consuming I guess… Always began with a word or phrase I liked… or a strong emotion or feeling about something I felt I wanted to express. Just one little inspiration and then a lot of free form writing on it and afterwards the structuring.

Anyhow, my journal is just for me. Its like my rock… I can’t imagine not having it. Its like a part of me. My words… my inner self. There’s nothing I can’t say in it… nothing I can’t admit… share… no matter the shame, the guilt, or the acceptability. Its nice to have a place you can be completely honest with yourself. I feel it is a good practice for anyone. You are allowed to face the truth… of what you feel… what you think… what you desire… what you wish. You face the truth of yourself.

I suppose my journaling is what began my love for writing. It helped me develop my “voice” as a writer.

I should get some homework done now.