A Beginning

      
A Beginning...

     This blog will be an on going project as I delve into an introduction of western philosophy with a focus on Nietzsche as my independent study for the second semester of my senior year. I'll be using Nietzsche as a starting point for myself and my introduction to philosophy, but eventually work my way to other thinkers, be it Kant, or Nagel, or somebody I'm totally ignorant to as of right now. Why Nietzsche? Well, I've heard of him, and from what I understand and have learned, he's a cornerstone, but not as dense as classical philosophy from Plato. Also, My mentor said, I'd really like him as he is a pioneer of unconventional thought.

     I identify myself foremost as a writer, but I realize that I'm lacking a philosophical background, and consequently a more worldly or studious understanding of what drives people to act and think the way they do. I want to know and think more, so, I took this opportunity in the hopes of being considered a more literate person, writer, and thinker as well as to better become acquainted with thinkers that have shaped the field of philosophy, believing that learning from them will force me to further question myself and discover other "problems" of life in which to exhibit in my writing and begin to change to in order to feel like a more complete, sound, person, and each idea serving as some kind of catalyst to spark an intellectual reaction with my expanded ability to bring more into my work to create a more compelling and worldly piece of work.

     What I will be doing this semester may seem like an unconventional process, that being writing a blog as my curriculum and a representation of my work. But, I considered my freedom with this project, and took advantage of the internet and incorporated my values of visual representation and publication. Knowing I don't have enough time to paint a masterpiece, nor write my own zine; a blogging service is the perfect place for me to record, collect, and connect my ideas/concepts through "tagging" or categorizing posts, "reblogging" other material from other writers (bloggers), and also offer a space for my ideas to be known and an audience to interact with.The world is now able to access my work, so, why not give it to them, and why not benefit from their interaction?

     So as for the format of my blog, cleverly and lovingly titled Lightning Strikes Twice In the Hour of Despair, as I see it now, I'll have three main catagories of postings; the first one being a "My Thoughts On______," type and serving more as a coherant or drafted reflective posting, than those that i make in my Nietzsche designated Moleskine, and annotations.

     Secondly, I'll also be posting other pieces of work I see, mostly visual art, that I feel represents a certain idea, and I'll include a short explanation of my thoughts. I assume this type of posting to occur less frequently than my first type, just because of the workload already at hand. Though I'd like to make this blog explicitly artwork any my interpretation, but that wouldn't fit my need to be introduced to philosophy. But that can be another project. You can consider this posting a "What Else is In the World and How it Relates to______" type of posting.

     My final posting category will be personal postings and vary between short pieces of philosophical fiction with an explanation attached, and ideas that I've developed. I will make these categories of  blog postings as frequently as i can but no less than three times a week, as any less would not be sufficient to display the work I've done, but I will continue to post my on going schedule with what I'm working on regularly.

     I'll be talking to my mentor on a pretty frequent basis as we'll both be working together, and in my eyes he is a bottomless resource of thoughts to inspire even greater thoughts. Were I to post my thoughts, or a record of our conversations, this blog would seem like more of a personal blog, and the readability and interest of this blog would undoubtedly triple (at least in my sentiment,) and while I'm ambivalent, his interaction as my mentor is a part of this project...so I think I will post our meetings.

  My work may not focus on a specific realm, or theme of life/economics, but it is an introduction to philosophy, and the fact of my unknowingness and curiosity will hopefully open my mind wider to help me better define, create, and articulate ideas- becoming an even greater critical thinker.

                                                                                               -Tath

             -I apologize for the length, I want this to be more informal...as my vision of a blog is...but this introduction was totally necessary, so to give the reader insight into my rhyme and reason.