Friday, March 4, 2011

On Being Human

I am about to begin outlining my final Philosophy paper for the term (insert relieved smile here). 

Usually I linger in the research stage of paper writing and postpone the dreaded writing component until the very last minute.  I love research and find learning such a fascinating process.  I do not love writing, nor do I find it fascinating.  It's boring, time-consuming and difficult. 

Perhaps that is why I find myself surprised that there is a part of me that is not dreading this paper in my usual way.  In attempting honesty, there may even be feelings of excitement and anticipation that arise within me when I think about writing this paper.  I'm not entirely certain of the reason (although it's likely to be tied to the paper topic), but I'm thankful nonetheless.


So what am I writing on?  The placebo effect and how it supports the theory of nonreductive physicalism.*  We are powerful people with a capacity to participate in our own healing.  That is the simple reality of being human. 

*The belief that one is entirely physical in composition and possesses higher-level capabilities (thinking, spirituality, etc).  This is often viewed in opposition to dualism - the belief that humans are composed of two separate substances - matter and spirit (or body and mind/soul). 

No comments:

Post a Comment