Julian Baggini:
Is there a real you?
British philosopher Julian Baggini explains his theory of how we have certain essences about us and how the actions we take make up that essence. Another thing he talks about his how we look for things that may contribute to or give us insight into what our essence consists of such as horoscopes, Myers-Briggs tests, or even surveys that are printed in magazines. Baggini breaks down his idea by first talking about how at the center of all of our life experiences is our core or essence and that we acquire these different experiences as we go through life. The next thing he does is remove the core from the equation and talks about how all the experiences are intertwined because they belong to one brain. Baggini then asks you to ponder the thought of us not being a thing made up of all these experiences, but that we are the collection of all the experiences. I believe the main point that Julian Baggini was trying to get across is that we should not live our lives trying to find out the things that contribute to our essence, but to live through experiences that will define our essence instead. I believe that there may be a character from Arthur Miller's, Death of a Salesman.
Biff Lohman, also known as Willy Lohman's son, is the perfect character for the job of representing how to live life and form one's essence. In Death of a Salesman, Biff works as a farmhand in the West, whereas Willy was a successful salesman and wishes for Biff to follow in his footsteps and become a salesman as well. Although Biff respects his father, he does not want to be a salesman and is in fact very happy with his job as a farmhand. He wants to carve his own path in life and have his own unique experiences rather than just follow what his father did. In doing this, Biff is making a large contribution to his essence by doing what makes him happy.
The theme that both the book and Ted Talk seem to follow is a common one. This same theme is found in American culture. Julian Baggini's theory describes America exceptionally because he believes that we start as a blank slate a gradually gain experiences throughout our lives, much like how people immigrate here everyday in search of a fresh start in hopes of making a name for themselves. Biff Lohman's situation also relates to America in that he is in pursuit of a career that makes him happy, just like it is every American's wish to have their dream job. Inevitably it is ourselves who determine who the real us is and there no better place to discover yourself than America.
Biff Lohman, also known as Willy Lohman's son, is the perfect character for the job of representing how to live life and form one's essence. In Death of a Salesman, Biff works as a farmhand in the West, whereas Willy was a successful salesman and wishes for Biff to follow in his footsteps and become a salesman as well. Although Biff respects his father, he does not want to be a salesman and is in fact very happy with his job as a farmhand. He wants to carve his own path in life and have his own unique experiences rather than just follow what his father did. In doing this, Biff is making a large contribution to his essence by doing what makes him happy.
The theme that both the book and Ted Talk seem to follow is a common one. This same theme is found in American culture. Julian Baggini's theory describes America exceptionally because he believes that we start as a blank slate a gradually gain experiences throughout our lives, much like how people immigrate here everyday in search of a fresh start in hopes of making a name for themselves. Biff Lohman's situation also relates to America in that he is in pursuit of a career that makes him happy, just like it is every American's wish to have their dream job. Inevitably it is ourselves who determine who the real us is and there no better place to discover yourself than America.