Caitwin

Thank you so much for sharing this video, I resonated with this on such a personal level. I live in a tiny town surrounded by hundreds of conservation land. Until the 60's, the rivers were very polluted until a woman almost single-handedly convinced the Massachusetts politicians to create a Clean Water Act. This woman, Marion Stoddart (the coolest 90-year-old I have ever met), and her work became a catalyst for the Clean Water Act on a national level. On a more personal level, my father, who is by no means a hippie, and I have replenished the property I live on which was once full of trash and plastic. We plant saplings, wildflowers, and fruit to attract animals. It's kind of turned into a wildlife sanctuary because no one would dare kill a bunny, duck, or ground hog in our yard. The forest has become a refuge and a peaceful place to reset from the rest of the world. The documentary talks about forest-bathing and man, if you have ever come out of a meditative walk in the woods, you know EXACTLY what she means. Protecting our planet is not some "crunch granola hippie crap" that I am told very often. It is vital. It is both self-less and self-fulfilling. When it comes down to it, your motivations for planting a tree (for your health or someone else's) doesn't matter. What matters is that is must be done. So plant an apple tree, or a blueberry bush, or save a root from a random cut down. Or at the very least, experience what true magic nature provides.

@RichardY Isn't it close minded though to put down Plato's Republic just because it doesn't make sense to you? I'm not being aggressive here, but I'm just wondering what justifies putting a philosopher down without having grasped the message of the book? I read Plato's Republic a few months ago and yes, there are questionable aspects, but I also wouldn't say that it is no less important. I would say the same thing about most philosophic works I have read. I also wouldn't consider philosophers as "rankable" because they approach truth to the best of their abilities from different angles. We need those angles, right?

Thank you!

@Leo Gura What is your opinion on Aristotle? I am currently reading his book On the Soul, which I find very interesting. Other people please feel free to respond

Hi there, I'm really glad to hear you're going for a philosophy degree! I attend a college with an intense focus on Western philosophy. I'm a freshman and am currently studying Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, Socrates, etc. As a philosophy student, you learn very quickly that you are there to STUDY philosophy. Although many professors encourage you to challenge certain philosophical ideas, there is a noticeable tension and a thought of "is it really right of you to question 2000 years of philosophy?" For me, that was the hardest thing to overcome. Philosophy should be questioned and allow yourself to think against the grain. Another thing you mentioned was finding a career. My mother was also a philosopher major and an alum of my college. One of her biggest takeaways from studying philosophy (and the reason I chose to follow in her path) was that it taught her to think. It teaches you to question, deliberate, and think outside the box. In a society (at least in America) in which the focus of education is to cram "facts" into young minds and force them to prove what they know through test-taking, being able to counteract that is one of the greatest skills and something that will make you stand out from the crowd. For example: my mom graduated college and ended up working for a major news company. She had NO production knowledge until that first day, and yet she learned to adapt and thrive. Other people she went to school with did anything from teaching political science to becoming a lawyer to retreating into the mountains. My point here is that being a philosophy major may not ensure a job in that profession, but it can help you in whatever it is that you end up doing and you can implement in anything you do. My advice is to follow your passion and see how it turns out. I love what I'm learning and I think I would have really regretted not taking the path I am on now. If not for the future, follow your path because it is what you want now because you are passionate about it. Besides you never know what will happen Good luck in your endeavors P.S. I'm a philosophy student who's dream is to be a holistic nutritionist. It works