17 February 2015: Participant Observing in Philosophy

Once I walked into Philosophy class today, we had already begun talking about our new subject, Epistemology. Epistemology is the study of knowledge, truth, belief, etc,. Previously we had been discussing about the Self, and within that discussing free will vs. determinism. Anyhow, my professor, Ryan Shriver shouted out eight questions about Epistemology to get our brains thinking or “Confused.”

  1. Is there a difference between knowledge and belief?
  2. Can you believe something that turns out to be false?
  3. Can you know something that turns out to be false?
  4. Does truth always stay the same or does it change?
  5. Is it important to question your beliefs?
  6. What does it mean for something to be true?
  7. For something to be true, does it have to be certain?
  8. Is it important that what you believe is true?

Furthermore, after hearing all of these questions I didn’t even know where to begin thinking. I began to look around the room to see what other scholars reactions were to these questions. Scholars were looking up at the ceiling, itching their heads, blank staring, and overall everyone looked a bit puzzled but willing to try and answer these difficult questions.

Research Methodology
Research Methodology

This professor reminds me of Bill Mangrum. He likes to have a sense of community within the class. He likes everyone to know each other and feel safe when talking, even about controversial topics. Overall, we sat in a circle and began taking turns at trying to answer these questions. These questions then lead to debates and arguments between scholars and it was a very thrilling, brain confusing class.

9 February 2015: My Major

As I start to begin thinking about what major I would like to go into, a lot of things come into my mind. Everything from me wanting to be a doctor, an architect, an engineer or even a business major. I am currently a freshman here at the fort and I am still undeclared. The most relevant major I could connect to as of now is business. My father is currently a commercial sales insurance agent for Brown and Brown Insurance in Southern California.temp_logoFollowing after his footsteps and taking over his book is something I could pursue, but do I want to do something different with my career? So many thoughts and questions pop into my mind and it’s hard for me to think clearly of what career path I would like to accomplish. After this summer I have an opportunity to intern for a finance firm in Steamboat Springs, CO. This will give me a great idea of what it would be like to work in this field. I was able to get this opportunity because I am good family friends with a gentleman who works there. I believe my work ethic and organization could get me far within this field, but we will see. On the other hand I have the opportunity to see what its like in the insurance field of business. I could spend a summer in California with my dad to experience and really get first hand exposure to this professional business world. Overall, as of now I am very unsure in what I would like to study. I have a brief idea that business could be my best route, but on the other hand I am not so sure that I want to be behind a computer all day. Also, within a business major (especially my father’s job) they travel a lot, and I am not so sure I want to be away from home often.