Blog Post 2 (The Skeptics to The Utilitarian, and Your Life)
After reading Chapter 13 of "Archetypes of Wisdom," I came to learn more about Karl Marx and his opinion on capitalism, and how he felt alienation was the most destructive feature of capitalism, according to Chapter 13-4. Once I learned about what he believed alienation to be, I found that I actually agree with it. But the question is, why do I agree with this view?
It would be best to clarify what alienation is in his eyes. "Alienation occurs when the worker no longer feels at one with the product of his or her labor. An alienated individual rarely feels at home with himself or herself, or with others," (Soccio 13-4). I first thought the answer to my question would originate from within myself only because not too long ago, I was working at a shoe store. This was my first job so I didn't know what to expect of it. However, the longer I worked there, the more I dreaded going to work. Going to work brought out such a negative side of me that I didn't know I had. The difference is that I actually enjoyed what my job required me to do. It was the people that I had to work with that made me feel miserable. In short, I didn't feel at home there, or with the people there. Which is why in this case, even though I feel I can relate to it in my own way, I don't think I'm the best example of alienation that I can think of,
On the other hand, I thought about my sister, who has admitted that she wants to change her career. She's a dental assistant, receives decent pay, and is actually very good at what she does. But she says she would much rather do something she enjoys. Even though she isn't thinking about changing her job because of the pay, another point mentioned about alienation in Chapter 13-4, she is still considering it for her happiness. "Alienation is a state of powerlessness, frustration, repressed resentment, and despair," (Soccio 13-4). Someone who comes home ranting and venting about their job and coworkers everyday (something that my sister does), sounds like they could possibly be alienated as well.
In the end, I think I agree with his stance because I believe we all experience alienation in some type of way. There are numerous amounts of people who want to stick to things that make them happy. There are a ton of people who want to stay true to themselves and would much rather live in poverty than work for only money. I'd like to meet the person who claims to be content with them self while only working for money. Chances are they haven't come to the realization that they just might be alienated too. This is something that is also stated in Chapter 13-4a, "Alienated life creates a sense of distance from nature and renders people unconscious of precisely how unhappy, unspontaneous, and unfulfilled they really are."
Word count: 501
Dibs
ReplyDeleteTotal number of words in the post: 502 words.
ReplyDeleteSpelling errors: No spelling errors that came to my attention.
Grammatical errors: None that I realized.
Lack of clarity: Very clear and easy to follow.
Organization of ideas: Paragraphs were organized and easy to follow.
Did the author answer their question? Yes, the answer was questioned.
Did the author provide a concrete example that clearly illustrates their main point?
Author provided an example of how they themselves experienced alienation.
How does the author’s concrete example illustrate or not illustrate their main point?
The author's example illustrated their point by showing how they experienced alienation and why they believe Marx had his view on alienation.
Do you agree or disagree with the author’s answer and why?
I agree with the author's answer because I too have experienced alienation.
What is a concrete example that clearly illustrates why you agree or disagree with the author?
My example of why I agree with the author is because I have experienced alienation which led to depression.
What is your explanation of how your concrete example clearly illustrates your reason for why you agree or disagree with the author?
My example clearly illustrates why I agree because I suffered through alienation from family, from fellow classmates, and from co-workers.
Nice peer-review Courtney.
DeleteThank you Courtney, for the clear assessment of my post. I'm happy to see you understood where I was coming from. I'm sure everyone can relate to your stance as well. I know we've all experienced alienation in school, work, and much more, just as you say.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Chapter 13 of "Archetypes of Wisdom," I came to learn more about Karl Marx and his opinion on capitalism, and how he felt alienation was the most destructive feature of capitalism, according to Chapter 13-4. Once I learned about what he believed alienation to be, I found that I actually agree with it. But the question is, why do I agree with this view?
ReplyDeleteIt would be best to clarify what alienation is in his eyes[:] "Alienation occurs when the worker no longer feels at one with the product of his or her labor. An alienated individual rarely feels at home with himself or herself, or with others," (Soccio 13-4). <--[Read my comments to http://isaacphilosophy101.blogspot.com/ regarding the use of quotes.]
I first thought the answer to my question would originate from within myself only because not too long ago, I was working at a shoe store. This was my first job so I didn't know what to expect [from] it. However, the longer I worked there, the more I dreaded going to work. Going to work brought out such a negative side of me that I didn't know I had. The difference is that I actually enjoyed what my job required me to do. It was the people that I had to work with that made me feel miserable. In short, I didn't feel at home there, or with the people there. Which is why in this case, even though I feel I can relate to it in my own way, I don't think I'm the best example of alienation that I can think of,<--[This thought is incomplete, and it's not clear exactly how you are working this example into answering your question.]
On the other hand<--[The use of this phrase is typically done with a corresponding initial passage that uses the phrase "On the first hand..."], I thought about my sister, who has admitted that she wants to change her career. She's a dental assistant, receives decent pay, and is actually very good at what she does. But she says she would much rather do something she enjoys. Even though she isn't thinking about changing her job because of the pay, another point mentioned about alienation in Chapter 13-4, she is still considering it for her happiness. "Alienation is a state of powerlessness, frustration, repressed resentment, and despair," (Soccio 13-4). <--[I made a correction in the earlier passage in which you introduced a quote in a similar way. Check the Chicago Manual of Style for how to introduce quotes. Also, again, in this passage as well, it's not clear how your example relates to what you are citing from the reading. You don't offer us any explanation or illustration of how your example is related to what you are citing. You need to do this explicitly. You can't expect other people to just fill in the gaps for you. Although it's the case that in many interpersonal interactions, one can often accurately infer what someone else is thinking, this act (which is also referred to as mind-reading or having a theory of mind in psychology and philosophy of mind) requires the use of a lot of information that is often not available to readers of a text. Furthermore, students often don't realize that when they write, they make a lot of assumptions about what other people might be thinking. Don't assume that others will clearly understand what you are saying if you don't explicitly say it. Doing so should also help you work out your own thoughts.]
ReplyDeleteSomeone who comes home ranting and venting about their job and coworkers everyday (something that my sister does), sounds like they could possibly be alienated as well.
In the end, I think I agree with his stance because I believe we all experience alienation in some type of way. There are numerous amounts of people who want to stick to things that make them happy. There are a ton of people who want to stay true to themselves and would much rather live in poverty than work for only money. I'd like to meet the person who claims to be content with them self [Replace with "their selves"] while only working for money. Chances are they haven't come to the realization that they just might be alienated too. This is something that is also stated in Chapter 13-4a, "Alienated life creates a sense of distance from nature and renders people unconscious of precisely how unhappy, unspontaneous, and unfulfilled they really are."
[Overall, your technical writing is fine, but you need to work on developing the content of your writing. Consider my advice about how you need to do more in terms of explaining things.]
Best wishes,
Dr. Mun