Concept Reflection

Mr. Orlando's Raw Socratic Dialogue:

Example: Teacher: “What is Happiness”? Student: “Happiness is to be joyful about something.” Teacher: “Is it happiness to be joyful about someone’s suffering?” Student: “Certainly not. But only to be happy about good things not bad things.” Teacher: ”I see. So, happiness is only related to good things and not bad. This sounds very good. Is war good or bad? Student: ”War is bad. People die and lives are lost.” Teacher: “Well said! Is the winning side in a war happy or sad about winning the war? Student: “Of course they are happy they won the war.” Teacher: “So, we agree that war is bad because lives are lost. So, then it follows that one can be happy over another’s suffering. Is that true?” Student: ”Certainly not.” Teacher: “If lives are lost in war, this is bad and there is sadness we both agree. Yet, you said just a moment ago that the winning side is happy after winning the war. (by R. Orlando) [review this for homework].

Economics: Is a science (or philosophy depending on who you ask) that varies in thought and action but typically aligns with the ideological and political views of each Economist. There are some that are like this and; then some that are guys so opposite like this. Others still view the study of economics as "trade theory" with the goal of acquiring wealth and luxury by maximizing economic policies for the benefit of those who share this particular economic ideology (for example: "trickle down" economics). An example of this thought might be viewed here like this . These believe that material success and wealth accumulation (for individuals and society) is the final word on "applied economics".

We will try to explore them all in our pursuit of truth. For the time being, the characterization we will focus on for the philosophy of government and economics in our class will unfold as we progress throughout the school year. Humanely speaking, my own essential thought of it is as follows: "Government and Economics is an engine by which each individual pursues their happiness or tries to eliminate (subtract) their present unhappiness." (Orlando).