Definition of Philosophy

Avatar and the Philosophy of Faith

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avatar-movie-posterI just read one of the most interesting takes on “Avatar”. The movie itself is interesting and entertaining from the CG to the storyline. Ok so interesting and entertaining is actually an understatement, at least compared to my initial reaction – and my second and third. Yes I’ve watched it that many times already and will watch it again if someone asks me to go out to the movies with them!

Anyway what I really wanted to write about is not how cool the movie is but how interesting the philosophy of Randy David, a journalist from the Philippines is. Mr. David mentions briefly the different issues the movie touches on.

In such manner do many of us project our disaffection with our own world (and often with our own selves), and the sense of guilt we feel over its current state. James Cameron’s script is, in many ways, the story of Western colonialism’s plunder and destruction of indigenous societies. It is also a parable on human greed and technological violence.

As he said though that “is only the most obvious level at which the movie may be understood.” He then discusses the concept of the avatar and then somehow twists it around to relate it to Jesus, Nietzsche, Marxism, and of course the concept of faith and belief – a topic that will surely make good fodder for conversation anytime.

For a good philosophical read on “Avatar” you can read the full article “In a World of Avatars” here.

Woman Philosopher Hypatia’s Life in Agora Film

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agora-movie-posterDecember is still more than six months away which means we have quite some time to wait before we can see the movie Agora.

According to Wikipedia, “Agora is an upcoming 2009 historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar, written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil, and starring Rachel Weisz and Max Minghella. It was screened Out of Competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It will then get a general release on December 18, 2009.”

The movie is about the love story of astrologer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria (Rachel Weisz) and her slave Davus (Max Minghella). It is more than a love story though because it also shows what went on during Hypatia’s time in the 4th century when religious persecution was rampant among Christians and Jews. Racehl Weisz says empathically of the story, “It’s the true story of a fourth-century woman and, in some ways, nothing much has changed. We’ve evolved in so many ways, and in others we haven’t evolved at all. We can go into outer space and travel to the moon; we can cure certain diseases; but we still kill each other in the name of religion. It seems so primitive to still be doing that.” How true.

The real Hypatia was a Greek scholar from Alexandria in Egypt. Aside from being a philosopher and astronomer she was also the first notable woman in mathematics. Hypatia died in the hands of a Coptic Christian mob who blamed her for religious turmoil.

The “Examined Life” is Worth Watching

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judith-butler-and-sunaura-taylorSocrates said that the “unexamined life is not worth living”. In this case we can definitely say that the Examined Life is worth watching!

Examined Life is a film showing eight renowned philosophers in turn walking and sharing their thoughts with writer and director Astra Taylor. Featured philosophers in Examined Life include Cornel West, Avital Ronell, Peter Singer, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Martha Nussbaum, Michael Hardt, Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor.

The film was done with the premise that “philosophers have long done their best thinking when directly engaging with the outside world, not in isolation from it,” and since walking means going out and Neitzsche once claimed that “only ideas conceived while walking have any value” then it’s easy to see why Taylor chose to give us a peek into the philosophers thoughts while they were literally out on the streets.

The film has been receiving praise for bring philosophy to the figurative (aside from the literal) streets, making it actually understandable and even interesting for regular people. Ok so interesting might be too strong for some people but at the least she got the philosophers to open up in a manner that steers clear of too much big terms. In the end, interested or bored, reviewers agree that the discussions with each philosopher will leave you thinking a bit deeper about different things in life. So if your brain needs a little jump-start or you want to indulge in a variety of philosophy lessons without having to pore through lots of books my advice would be to watch Examined Life.