PPEstudentblogger

Just a student writing about what interest her..

[studentblogger]

"It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important"

Arthur Conan Doyle 

[studentblogger]

Motivation ideas for a dreary day

Schools over, it’s Christmas break. 

we all want to take a break but there is a heavy burden in our minds about exams on January. 

The burden and stress is so apparent that we can’t seem to enjoy a quiet day without feeling guilty about it. 

Even-though it is stressful, keep in mind all the hard work and effort you did over the term. you deserve a little break. Write a schedule and a TO DO list then make sure to follow it. incorporate some relaxing time and discover new hobbies and fun things you have always wanted to do but didn’t have the time {for me it’s this blog :)}

Remember to have fun and enjoy the little things like the the weather being sunny, the sky being blue, the smell of fresh air, the taste of home-cooked meals and so many little things to be grateful and happy for. 

2020 has been a very long year, we are all stuck at home and living in fear that someone close to us might get sick. So we all deserve a little break. 

Take this Christmas break as a rewind and refresh period for the next year and who knows maybe the little things that you learn to be grateful for may well in fact make you a happier person in general :)

[studentblogger]

Why are opposing opinions important?

Firstly, when i talk about opposing opinions, i'm talking about those that challenges the conventional wisdom and not those that are said just to blatantly hurt other people. The usual norm nowadays is to shut down any opposite arguments that doesn’t conform to the traditional norm. Our society’s tendency to make other people conform to their ideals is a very dangerous trend. 

1. When we shut down opposing opinions, we are shutting down potential truths that could have revolutionise the world. For example, if we had shut down heliocentric ideals at the beginning as well as any other challenging  opinions towards the solar system, we would still be blindly following the idea that the sun revolves around the earth, ABSURD!

2. it allows us to explore deeper into our own truths, with the constant opposition to our truths, we would then try to refute with the fundamental principles of the truth and in that way we will explore the “truth” even further making us fully aware of the depth, the flaws and the power of this believed fact. 

3. I'm not an expert, but in my opinion opposing opinions causes debates and to have a well argued debate is a very important factor for us as humans to develop and open our minds to the multitude of perspectives. Only in that way do we truly discover partial truths, how much we actually believe in the ideas instilled within us, and perhaps confront our very own values. 

It’s very difficult to identify which truths are true, but as we constantly refute opposing opinions, understand other arguments, we will be able to identify and accept which “truths” work for us. 

apologies for the dlkfjaslfj spelling mistakes or grammar errors. I hope i did get my point across at least. :) 

[studentblogger]

Free speech 2

Part 2 of on liberty’s themes 

When is government intervention justified on free speech?

does the freedom of speech mean that you can say whatever you want? NO BIGGG NOO. 

yeah I know this may seem a bit contradictory but IN MY OWN OPINION (not a fact) - there is an extent to which you can exercise your free speech and that is to the extent where it doesn’t hurt anyone else. 

a bit ambiguous right? sorry. It has been a constant debate to determine where the boundary lies and honestly, i have no clue either. What i would say is if you are talking to someone and you know what the thing you are saying is going to hurt them, then don't say it. Don’t hurt someone intentionally, and if by mistake you do unintentionally hurt someone, apologise and ask them which aspect makes them uncomfortable to talk about. Of course, each person is different, what may be uncomfortable to me may not be to someone else and that is why i think controversial social media post is very dangerous. 

Especially with famous figures, you don't know which of your followers may be affected by what you say. I would suggest that one should put a warning that states “controversial content” just so that people understand that they should separate their own opinions before engaging in debates in the comment section. 

I am definitely not condoning people posting “bla bla should die” or “this and that do not deserve life or rights”, if you are really strongly against something, you should state “I am against this”, state why and be prepared for people to send in their own perspectives and opinions too. You can’t expect to post something online for the world to see and not receive any feedback - that’s what makes social media such an awesome place to share and have debates :)

so what I think is that people should be able to debate freely online, especially regarding controversial topics as that is the only way for us to eradicate the echo chamber and explore different perspectives of the same topic. Even-though it may be difficult to ensure that people will debate in a way that does not hurt other people, what i would suggest is while reading things online separate yourself from your emotional opinions and that way, you will only engage using facts and reason as opposed to emotional blur. 

I am definitely not an expert on human behaviour or neither am i a free speech activist. This is just what I think so feel free to engage in the comment section :)

[studentblogger]

Free speech 1

part 1 of on liberty’s themes 

disclaimer : these are summaries as well as my own opinions 

The problem with today’s society 

Although there are no laws in place that inhibits free speech or expression of opinions (well not yet, at least) the concept of public opinion is far more dangerous to the freedom of speech and actions. 

“Society can be oppressed not only through political means” 

I very much agree with this point, the problem with our current “snowflake” generation as well as the human nature of society is to make people conform to the normal norm, and if not they make sure that the opposition’s view at least respect the other person’s boundaries. The latter argument may sound alright but when we start setting incredibly high boundaries, it stifles people’s ability to speak freely. For example, the younger generation are usually seen as a more democratic party supporter, what this means is that for those republican supporter it may be hard to express their opinions in school or with their friends for fear of being excluded or made fun of. This is what led to a student led rally of trump supporters encouraging more “closeted” republicans to speak their truth. 

The fact that social media is so accessible to everyone nowadays increases the fear of being publicly shamed and excluded against. Many might be inclined to say that this fear and censorship is okay towards dangerous and extremist ideals but how exactly do we determine which of these ideals are dangerous. Take a historical example, heliocentric ideas were deemed incredible dangerous and “atheist” but if those views were silenced in the past, we would have been conformed to believe that the sun revolves around the earth. 

That’s it for part 1 - please feel free to state whatever opposing arguments you might have - i'm here to learn :) have a blessed debate-full day 

[studentblogger]

Introduction

HELLO

Hey people, i’m pretty sure there isn’t anyone at this point.

This is a blog for my fellow PPE students.

The blog is not for commercial purposes, it’s just a way for me to connect with other people to see if maybe one of you share the same ideals and opinions as me.

I’ll be covering about political debates, books i’ve read and just random thoughts that pop up in my mind. Hope to see one or two people here soon