Philosophical Awakening Rush

Jiana Rush

Staff Reporter

Is there a possible balance between pessimism and optimism? Can one be a religious realist? Is anything really objective? Even history, which is factual, has been changed through the lens of peoples’ personal perspectives.

These are just a fraction of the questions I ask myself on a daily basis. I have hated poetry and deeper meanings in literature, but I have learned to appreciate philosophy and attempting to understand why people think differently. Overthinking plays a significant role in a lot of peoples’ lives, including mine. Why do we overthink or even bother to ask ourselves these questions? It is vital that we continue to question everything to grow as a society. The majority of the time we do not bother to inquire which leaves us as ego-centric, ignorant people who rely on the little understanding we have of life to survive.

To answer the initial questions, yes, yes, and perhaps. I believe that everyone has a moral compass and whichever way it points to, it is human nature to err. Although most people want to believe there is a good outcome for everything, it is normal to think about the worst possible outcomes. It is not wrong to know there is evil in the world and preparation for said evil should take place in even the smallest of circumstances.

To balance religion and reality is a different story. In most well known religions, there is a faith required that allows for trusting in a higher power that can not be seen physically. It is necessary for a realist to see something to trust in it. Religious realism is an actual concept often correlated with Christianity. To be able to think logically while being religious is hard, not because being religious is illogical, but because most religions are faith based and are without physical proof of the god or higher power in which that specific group worships or believes in. Again, it is normal to be a logical person while also being religious.

An article, essay, etc. can be written from an objective stance however, in every piece of writing and such, there are opinions. All writing has a source of inspiration for why it was written which stems from earlier writings containing personal beliefs. Who is really to say that everything is objective? There are deeper meanings in everyday conversation which are left to us to discover.

All questions have an answer or in some cases, answers.