My name is Brian
Woulfe and i am the spokesperson for group #3.
in our discussion
Tuesday, group 3
focused on
BE's pessimism and dark humor that was pointed at the cult of
positivity, especially in the breast cancer community. i think the aspect that really got a good and thoughtful response from all the group members is "is there any
merit in an overemphasis on the silver lining that one
may find in the darkest clouds of our experiences, or, is the
American Psyche trained to try and find the lining even when it
doesn't exist? Also; if the silver lining can not be found in these situations, are we manufacturing it through
wishful thinking to keep ourselves from dealing with the darker side of the human experience?" we did not come to any
consensus on these points but did have some good debate and some great
analogy's that illuminated the different points of view.
I'll share my own
anecdote with the class since i cant touch on all the great points from our talk. i feel that we construct the silver lining in the dark clouds of our lives....it softens the blow from terrible realities,
and for one reason or
another, we have trained ourselves to
truly believe we could never face without these emotional "air bags". i have a friend from
high school that is happily married; unfortunately he and his wife lost their first born child four days after he was delivered. in my eyes, and i trust in most of yours, this is a tragedy....however; on
facebook for the days and weeks following their loss, the most common words that were written were less consoling than they were
explanatory.
So many of his friends and
acquaintances said that it was better that their new born, and now dead baby boy was in a better place....and this should make this unlucky
couple feel better about their and their baby's misfortune. i can critisize what those people said, but i was no better than all of them. i dared not point out that these people were saying something that i found attestable because i saw what effect these condolences had on him and his wife...they responded to all of them with a polite thank you and expressed how their supernatural justification helped them through a tough time.....i think that BE is right on with her
snarkie criticism of the cult of
positivity and think that i speak for the rest of group 3 as well.... any
thoughts?
My name is Claire Randolph. I’m double majoring in philosophy and psychology. I’m not exactly positive of how I’d like to use either of those majors. I’m interested in attending culinary school (with imaginary money, at this point) as a break between a bachelor’s degree and, hopefully, a Ph.D. I’m from a small town in West TN that you’ve most likely not heard of and hopefully will never be so unfortunate to visit. I’m not entirely sure of what sort of facts about myself related to happiness to include. My only sentiments on happiness that I’ve formed so far is that I have experienced it. I think that happiness is not some tangible place that we reach, and there is no secret to pertaining it. I think that it does not “come” to us or that we can “find” it, but that we feel happiness after fleeting seconds where things feel comfortable and safe, we feel in control (if not in control, then satisfied with our position), and we’re near someone/people that we can identify with, discuss, and feel compassionately towards. I don’t believe that there is some “secret” that we can use as a tool to unlock some mystical door into complete happiness/utopia or whatever word you want to use; I think that we stumble into when we’re not necessarily thinking about finding it. This is a vague interpretation, I think so far, but I could change my mind; it’s just what I’ve understood so far.
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Well I’m Colton Durham currently a sophmore pursuing a dual major in Psychology and Philosophy and when I graduate my plans are to attend a yet to be decided graduate school and study Psychology.
Now am I actively searching for these secrets? No, but I am taking notes on ways that seem to make me and the people around me happier.