Discussions today = Why Major + Covid Essay + Sample Add Info Essay

Three major items were discussed today. 

SAT

1. 
   The next two dates for SAT are on Oct 7 & November 4. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to opt for the November 4 date. 
2. It is important to begin the day with 40 minutes of digital SAT from Khan Academy and Collegeboard. It must be in the early MORNING, when our minds are blank. 
   

Significant Activity

1. We just started new Significant Activity Essay. A brief essay was attempted in the class. Assignment given to complete a 400-600 words essay to be submitted tomorrow.

WHY Major

1. Several attempts have been made to prepare Why Major Essay. But today we discussed WHY this is one of the MOST challenging Essay that one can attempt during application season.

POETRY

1. Earlier we have done a couple of small POEMS. Today, W. H. Auden's poem "An Unknown Citizen" has been assigned for reading and appreciation. [Link Here]

Reading Activities

1. Emperor of Maladies [Link of 27 pages]
2. The Selfish Gene [Full Book]
3. Selfish Gene is here [Summary ]
4. Worldly Philosophers [Critical Study GUIDE]
5. Robinson Crusoe (discussed in detail as to WHY this is a MAJOR text of Western Civilization, and how this apparently simple tale incorporates ideas from Capitalism + Colonialism + Religious Doctrine (specifically the doctrines of Sin + Atonement + Redemption cycle of Christianity.) [Illustrated Abridged]

Essay Discussion Today

 We talked a few things in (dis)order. 

1. 
   We began with Run(a)e from Nagaland. 
2. We moved to HAMNET and Bertleby the Scrivener. 
3. We then talked about 'Reembrace' as an act of defiance against the 'Erasure of time'. We then listened to "A Tribute to Rituporno Ghosh". Listening to "Remember Me" poem by Christiana Rossetti can be a wonderful way of looking at men's desire for eternity through remembrance. Also recalled the greatest modern French Novel "Remembrance of Things Past."
4. We then drifted into the world of songs - first, "Miss Sarajevo" by Bono and Pavarotti. Then the inevitable "Musee des Beaux Arts". Then we could do the ending of Keats' poem "Ode to the Grecian Urn", which makes reference to TWO types of truth - Beauty as Truth, and Truth as Beauty. This dichotomy can only be understood when we see that TRUTH is single-dimensional. That Truth can be understood only in Art, while Life is itself truth (whether ugly or beautiful). I would also love to go back to the unforgettable lines from Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I could not wait for Death." This is the link to a Wonderful Dramatization of the poem.
5. 
   Made a quick reference to Nietzsche's concept of Apollonian and Dionysian character in human beings. Apollonian characters are more logical, while Dionysian characters are more into physical pleasures. 
6. By the end, Zaina and Progga are 'requested' to write something that will give them some clue to what is coming for them. This exercise will be of use when we go into many such long exercises.
7. We all agreed that in writing ESSAYS, a beautiful thing can only surface, when there is a terrible depth of thoughts tugging at our hearts.  

Application Season: 2023-24

 Yesterday we have started a new session for the 2023-24 session. The following items were discussed.

1. Connection between Philosophy and Natural Sciences and Technology. We also gave a brief reading from Andrew Feenberg's "Philosophy of Technology". It is highly readable for a non-expert. The author RIGHTLY connects upholding democratic values for ensuring ethical use of frontier technology. Interestingly, this article, which was written in 2003, makes intelligent allusions to modern technology of the 2020s.
   
2. Thereafter we read through the two articles by Yuval Noah Harari, both of which were published in FINANCIAL Times. These are excellent readings for someone new to the idea of how technology-dependence by governments on the pretext of security and surveillance can DRASTICALLY cut down on individual freedom. Here are the links - (1) World after Corona, (2) Big data and end of Free Will .
3. From Noah Harari, we moved on the consideration of "Free Will" and the nature of it. We briefly discussed two novella - Metamorphosis and The Outsider - both of which are mid-Century European texts that discuss the question of Free Will in a world dominated by organized faith. 
4. We also very slightly touched upon the Question of TRUTH as seen in the context of Epistemology. It will be discussed in greater detail in our next class. 
5. I have assigned Andrew Feenberg article and a LONG reading on Style & Fashion from BBC. 
6. Coming Friday at 9.30, we shall commence our first Application Essay.