The Honors humanities series and the London Centre : ideas, thoughts, reflections, and their impact on my philosophy of life : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of the English Lanuuage defines philosophy as "the general principles, laws or causes that furnish the rational explanation of anything; the rationale by which the facts of any region of knowledge are explained." More specifically, I would consider philosophy as comprising the values, attitudes, morals, and beliefs of a person that influence and guide his actions in life. In Krapp's Last Tape, Samuel Beckett suggests a popular existentialist view that a man is the sum total of the acts that make up his life. This theme extends from the "existence before essence" idea. Every man has a unique experience in life proving that he "lives" or has existence rather than he just "is", has being or essence. Therefore, in describing my personal philosophy and how it has been affected by my participation in the Humanities series and the London Centre program, I will center specifically on my personal attitudes in three general areas. I will first examine my attitude toward others. Second, I will look at how I view religion and my existence. Finally, I will look at my attitude toward myself. As I believe the idea that man is largely a product of his environment, I hope to support that by relating my beliefs in the aforementioned areas to the environment surrounding me in my life.