Question 1: The British philosopher, John Stuart Mill, states that "in an imperfect state of the human mind, the interest of truth requires a diversity of opinions." Given that a plurality of voices is crucial to broadening our educational experiences and cultural awareness, what is one view that you hold-large or small-that would contribute to the variety of perspectives at Notre Dame?
One of TOK studies divides truth into three categories: I-truth, we-truth and it-truth; in my opinion, they represent the evolution - the truth justified by myself, my society, and universal respectively. The "truest" truth among them is it-truth, where everyone, regardless of its background or society, can agree on. Therefore, my viewpoint, "internationalism," -- the world as one -- will surely contribute to the society of Notre Dame.
By suggesting internationalism, I don't mean we should eliminate our valuable cultures. Instead, I mean that internationalism should be on our prior viewpoint. The idea that nation's interests should be secured first, instead of understanding neighbor countries, harms our societies eventually. Yet, nationalism is still the perspective on the top of our paradigm today. This narrow perspective does not only cause small and large conflicts such as Israeli-Palestinian, but also hinders us from approaching to the "truest" truth, since nationalism doesn't concern other communities' thoughts. Therefore, we need development of ideology to achieve global harmony.
Question 2: What is consciousness?
Consciousness is usually seen as an ability to think and feel. Then, what does it mean by 'think and feel?' As Rene Descartes said, "I think therefore I am," thinking is directly related to our existence as humans, while feeling is equivalent to emotion, a way of knowing others and myself. Too often, we think consciousness is 'knowing myself', hence easy to gain, but consciousness in our society is actually 'knowing myself and others,' extremely difficult to achieve.
One of men who clearly had consciousness is Martin Luther King Jr. Shown in our history, he continuously thought about the best way to make people 'conscious' - think and feel about the persecuted black people - throughout his life; he kept his 'dream' for the world where everyone would be conscious. However, despite King's sacrifice, his dream didn't seem achieved yet completely. Therefore, I want to contribute to bring the 'dream' to our society.
I would appreciate any harsh criticism :D
sukhomoonhiïźthis is my first time replyingïź
i am also applying to Notre Dame. :D and i have no idea how to deal with the first prompt
your response appears deep, here are some small points I feel you may want to change
I mean that internationalism should be on our prior viewpoin
i think "i mean" here is rather colloquial.
and somehow I feel your response is a lot of ideology... I am not an expert in writing essays, so you may want to wait for others' response
regarding the first one, I
One of men who clearly had consciousness is
this is awkward...
and the ending somehow does not feel like an ending. Do you have any concrete examples of your personal experience to back up your statement1? or your plan to do so1?
Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it...
Yes, I woud like to change the end of my second response, since the extension is not needed for 150 words. Instead, I will actually write concluding sentence, as you suggested
Good luck with your essay writing! :)
Hopefully we will see each other in UND? :D
HI! Im applying to U of ND, too :D
I believe your essays are quite deep and eloquent!
You might want to double check on grammar, but other than that, your answers seem great..
Good Luck to both of you!
I hope we will be meeting each other next September!!
