Tyler Lotz 
Meghan Lawrence 
Gavin Lane The area that Greek culture has influenced our world today, through my eyes, is their quest and determination to ask and answer questions. There is a lot of attention to what philosophers said, but I am marveled at how they came to even think about those topics in the first place. The only reason I think about those things is because they have already been thought of and answered. So it leaves me to merely evaluate there final product, their creed, but I would not even wonder into the depths of philosophy if it wasn’t for someone else posing questions.
Today people are still searching. People are trying to be better. People are trying to become more efficient in life in all aspects and trying to take the shortest, not always the easiest, path. People are doing that by listening to others who claim to have figured it out. The people are writing books, sharing thoughts, plans, strategies, and others are interested in what these people are stating. Of course these authors are doing to earn some money, but they first had to ask themselves a question. They then answered that question and proclaimed it to themselves as worthy enough for others to believe it as well. Its audacious. However, audacious is not always a negative thing.
How and why people are seeking to improve their welfare is beyond me. The facts are inarguable. People are selling and buying books that are meant to help you help yourself. They are full of theories. They claim to be groundbreaking, as if we all have been wasting our time in the dark. It reminds me of the philosophers that we learn about: creative, progressive, and audacious.
Laura Jane Hood
10:23 am, 02.01.13
I agree with, and really like, your point that Greek philosophers began a process of thought that is incredible.
I would push back on your thought that people are still on this path however. You are correct, there is a fraction on the population that desires more knowledge, deeper insight. But I would say that, more than ever, we live in a society that accepts what is fed to us. We want quick, sound bite, information. We want to know “the facts”, and know them quickly, so that we can then continue on with our day. Rarely, do we spend time on our own researching these things. I would say that more than ever we believe what we believe because we’ve been told to believe it.
But I don’t think this is new. The philosophers of Greece were stretching ideas and norms. The vast majority of people around them were also fine knowing what they knew because they were told to know it.
Paige Wilson
2:25 pm, 02.01.13
I think that the point that you are highlighting is a very interesting one. It is not something that I have taken the time to think about before. Undeniably, the Greeks have paved the way for the philosophical schools of thought that we take for granted today.
Perhaps they began asking these deep questions primarily because they had the luxury to do so. Before their time, the peoples of the earth were primarily focused on physical survival and therefore did not generally spend their free time in deep thought about existence and the divine. This being said, I do believe that humans naturally search for something greater. Ancient peoples may not have written extensively about philosophy, but they did worship various deities. Although man has progressed significantly since the time of the Greeks, we continue to ask similar questions in search of some kind of meaning for our lives.
I would never deny the fact that in the world today, people generally believe what they are told by their educators or by their parents. However, I also think that every man will come to a certain point in his life in which he questions his God, faith, and values. We are curious beings, fascinated by what we cannot know and fearful of what we cannot see.
Gavin Lane
9:30 pm, 02.01.13
I think that this is a very interesting point. The Greek’s were searching for wealth, fame, and fortune and I agree that many people are still searching for that today. Isn’t this what the American dream has become? The American dream used to be coming to America and working your way to the top. But now the dream has become about being rich and famous. Therefore like you said above, people will go through incredible lengths to achieve this fame and fortune. Though this isnt the same as the Greek search for knowledge and answers, the root is the same