With the coming of the new year here are some philosophically inspired resolutions for you to adopt:

1. Become a sage. Chuang Tzu once said, "The sage looks at the inevitable and decides that it is not inevitable. The common man looks at what is not inevitable and decides that it is inevitable." Recognize that what appears to be inevitable is not and take one step to becoming a sage.

2. Improve the quality of your thoughts. Marcus Aurelius recognized that "The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." So, resolve to take this step towards becoming happier in your life.

3. Find time to sit still. Blaise Pascal once said, "Most of the evils of life arise from man's being unable to sit still in a room." Take some time to be still, meditate, or just relax with no distractions. It's good for the soul.

4. Take some risks. Paul Tillich once said, "He who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a failure in his whole being." Don't be a failure, try something new!

5. Examine your beliefs. David Hume pointed out that "A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence." Take some time to examine your beliefs and the evidence for them.

6. Spend some time with good friends. Epicurus recognized that "Of all the means which are procured by wisdom to ensure happiness throughout the whole of life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends." Re-connect with friends.

7. Be mindful. The poet Tagore observed, "The greed for fruit misses the flower." Remember to stop and smell the flowers on your journey.

8. Be satisfied with what you have. Epicurus once remarked that "Nothing satisfies a man who is not satisfied with a little." Focus on and appreciate what you have.

9. Identify your purpose. As Nietzsche once said "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how." be sure you are clear about the meaning and purpose of your life and strive to live accordingly.

10. Be a prepared observer. Louis Pasteur once remarked that "chance favors the prepared observer. Be ready to take advantage of new opportunities that arise this year.

 Most of all, have a happy new year!

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A woman once visited Henri Matisse in his studio and, after examining a painting he had just finished, declared to him, “The arm of this woman is much too long.” His reply was quick. “But, madame, you are mistaken. This is not a woman, this is a painting."
  Ellen langer

 A tourist in New York's Greenwich Village decided to have his portrait sketched by a sidewalk artist. He received a very fine sketch, for which he was charged $100. "That's expensive," he said to the artist, "but I'll pay it, because it is a great sketch. But, really, it took you only five minutes." "Twenty years and five minutes," the artist said.
  Thomas Sowell

 "I didn't see the need to do things that didn't need to be done. Sometimes matters just resolve themselves if you leave them alone long enough... Public administrators would get along better if they would restrain the impulse to butt in, or to be dragged into trouble. They should remain silent until an issue is reduced to its lowest terms, until it boils down into something like a moral issue. When you see ten troubles rolling down the road, if you don't do anything, nine of them will roll into a ditch before they get to you. Four-fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still. When things are going all right, it is a good plan to let them alone."
  Calvin Coolidge

 "I was at the Gate of Paradise with a crowd of people who wanted to enter. And St. Peter asked each of them which religion he belonged to. One answered 'I am a Roman Catholic." 'Very well,' said St. Peter; 'come in, and take your place over there among the Catholics.' Another said he belonged to the Anglican Church. 'Very well,' said St. Peter; 'come in and take your place over there among the Anglicans.' Another said he was a Quaker. 'Very well, said St. Peter; 'come in and take your place among the Quakers.' Finally, he asked me what my religion was. 'Alas!' I replied, 'unfortunately, I belong to none at all.' 'That's a pity,' said the Saint. 'But enter anyway and take any place you wish.'"
  Benjamin Franklin

 "A crab said to her son, "Why do you walk so one-sided, my child? It is far more becoming to go straight forward." The young Crab replied: "Quite true, dear Mother; and if you will show me the straight way, I will promise to walk in it." The Mother tried in vain, and submitted without remonstrance to the reproof of her child.

Example is more powerful than precept."
  Aesop

"A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that's unlocked and opens inwards; as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push."
  Ludwig Wittgenstein

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This is a common question for students to ask especially after a brief exposure to some of the concepts in philosophy. However, philosophy has a direct bearing on much of everyday life. Let’s look at it in terms of the major questions we’ll address this semester.

Is knowledge innate or learned from sense experience? If you have children this question and the search for an answer has direct bearing on your life since the question has major implications for education. Nearly every educator has been a philosopher or influenced by a philosopher for whom this was an important question. The origin of knowledge and how it is acquired is important to know or have some idea about if you are at all concerned about effective education. For adults the question has bearing as well in terms of being able to learn new things. In an economy drive by information and information technology how we process this information is directly relevant to our everyday lives. So, philosophers like John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and John Dewey who investigate this question are also relevant.

Is the mind independent of the brain? Philosophers and scientists have been investigating the mind, the brain, and their interaction for centuries. We’ll see many competing theories on this question but how is any of this relevant to you? One very big word can answer that: psychopharmacology. Do you or anyone you know take some medication for ADHD, ADD, depression, bipolar disorder? If so, then questions about how the mind and brain work and interact are directly relevant to your everyday life not to mention your overall mood, happiness, and general mental state. These drugs could not have been discovered and developed without some idea about how the mind and brain worked. While these may seem like exclusively scientific questions, much of the work in the area of neurology has been done and continues to be done by philosophers. Some of the philosophers we’ll look at in this area include Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, John Searle, and J.J.C. Smart.

Is there an objective reality independent of appearance and perception? This question sounds very esoteric and perhaps far removed from and irrelevant to everyday life. But, like most philosophical concepts, relevance lurks just below the surface if you know where to look. Many of you may be familiar with the prayer of serenity: 

God grant me the serenity 
to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Embedded in this prayer is the notion that there is a difference between what you can change and what you cannot. This is simply the distinction between objective reality and perception. Though not all philosophers we’ll study agree that there is a difference between the two, the notion that there is a difference is the basis of at least one major school of philosophy called Stoicism. The notion that there is a difference between what you can change or control and what you cannot is a central idea in Stoicism and as such has formed the philosophical basis for much of self-help psychology. One consistent piece of advice contained in almost every volume of self-help literature is the importance of recognizing this distinction.

Is there a God? For many of you this will be one of the easiest questions to relate to everyday life especially if you practice some form of religion. But, it may also seem irrelevant since you may be thinking that it can only be answered by faith and therefore is not worth asking. But, these sentiments themselves are philosophical in nature and bear examining (which we will do!). One philosopher we’ll be studying named Thomas Aquinas pointed out that the question of God’s existence is fundamental to every other religious question one can ask. If God’s existence cannot be establish the remaining religious questions are moot. At the very least an examination of the historical ideas related to these questions might be enlightening and lead to a deepening of one’s religious sentiments.

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