Monday, September 22, 2014

Thymos Create Inspirement

Jordan Housholder
9/22/2014
The Theory of Thymos: Plato’s Prediction

People are strange. Throughout all the ages of man, armies have wasted their lives going to war over things as frivolous as an apple as well as many who kill themselves and others in the name of a divine being that they have never even seen. At the same time, many heroes have given their lives in protecting liberty and standing up for justice and freedom. What could cause people to make decisions such as these? The ancient Greeks believed that there was a part within each of us that caused us to make irrational decisions like these. This was called Thymos. Plato wrote extensively on the topic. He said that all forms of society are born from this philosophy of Thymos, and I agree. Upon examination we can find that political initiative, the life blood of a free society, flows from the attributes of Thymos. Likewise, if we do not control this place within, we will develop a weaker more tyrannical society.

The Thymos that dwells within each of us is the seat of our passions. It has been defined as that area of the soul where feelings of pride, indignation, greed, and shame as well as those of kindness, charity, empathy, courage, and nobility are located and ruled. The Thymos is a force of progression. It is not content with where it is now. It wants to grow, to become greater. If left unchecked, it will even push a person to dominate or enslave another. It also drives many people, especially men, to seek glory in what they do and a legacy for others to remember them by. This is an essential part of a human being.

Plato compared the human soul to a chariot with the charioteer and two horses. The first horse is called Eros. This horse was not well bred, hard to control, and is represented as a black horse. The second is Thymos, of royal breed, but rather prideful and difficult. He is a white horse. The charioteer’s name is Logos. He is the master of these horses and has the potential to control them, or to destroy the whole chariot by his lack of control. The meaning of these three Greek words are Appetite (Eros), Passion (Thymos), and Logic or Reason (Logos). Combined, these three function to make us each who we are. To find the key to understanding Plato’s idea of the soul (and how Thymos works into it), we must look at the other two parts of the chariot.

Thymos is the part of our soul which allows us growth. However, depending on which of the other two agents it listens to will determine whether it grows to a healthy and strong Thymos or becomes a deformed and weak force for evil. When Thymos begins to act like Eros (or we allow our passions to become dependent on our carnal appetites), it will grow weak and unhealthy. In contrast, the Godly capacity each of us has to reason and think for ourselves allows us to subjugate both our passions and our appetites to work as a team. When we master all three of these fundamentals of the soul, we exhibit pure greatness. Men in this station will often demand respect, and are they very dignified. When this state of being is achieved, we receive a greater sense of what we feel is right and wrong, our understanding of justness (the primitive form of justice) quickens, and we begin to get a sense of what we want the world around us to become.

This sense of justness brings with it a need for action. When people with strong Thymos see unjustness being exhibited towards themselves and to those with whom they are associated, they cannot help but stand up for that. When there are enough people who rise to fight this unjustness, no matter what the price, there will be a change in the society to match the new active majority’s view of justness. This now becomes the new law of justice, and it will remain so until a new active majority overrules that in the name of their perception of “justness,” ad infinitum. This is the key to political action. A persons natural sense of what is “just” and what is not. But this is not always a positive, improving concept. When the active majority decides that what is “just” is not in fact true or eternal “justice,” then the society is headed for a dark period.

The first way that a Thymos can become twisted is if it is allowed to fall into step with Eros; our appetites were not meant to control our passions. This occurs when reason steps aside and is not firm in its control of Thymos. Thymos then begins to see the “freedom” of following ones basest instincts. When one totally logical person loses his or her passions to things like eating, sleeping, and amusement, they become totally immoral and selfish. This is just the opposite of what is necessary for a freedom reform. The sense of “justness” caused in this type of person will change as fast as their animal instincts will. If the active majority consists of these people, they will have an extremely unstable foundation.

Another way a Thymos can become socially destructive is when you feed it but don’t control it. By hooking that beast to your chariot unbridled, you are asking for destruction. This type of Thymos is like a unkept fire. It will only grow and consume everything around it. When this type of Thymos develops inside of someone, they lose all the positive attributes that used to be a part of it. All that is left is pride, indignation, and greed. This person, when insulted or not recognized as much as they would like, will lash out in indignation because of their pride, or the shame they feel because of the truth shown them. They won’t only fight back, they will begin to rally others around them, lighting others on fire as well. As this begins to happen, greed sets in and those people begin to seek for power. This is much like what happened in the French Revolution. People with this mindset will have a very oppressive idea of “justness” and they will normally use force to instagate their idea of justice.

The last dangerous type of Thymos is actually not dangerous in and of itself. Its presence makes it so that the other two types can function, making this, in my opinion, the most lethal of the three. This is a domesticated Thymos. Thymotic behavior is essential for liberty and freedom because it invites all to stand up for what they believe. It is this same behavior that caused early Americans to fight for liberty. When that behavior is removed, you have complacency and apathy. This is why the “active” part of any majority is the part that has the power. A person who doesn’t stand for anything will fall for everything. These people might not agree with their immoral leaders, but they won’t do anything about it. When one of those flaming groups of powerseekers begins their quest, these people won’t care what’s happening (as it won’t hurt them). They will be caught in the fire and throw their lives away for a selfish tyrant and a cause to which they don’t even understand or really care about. This is the kind of Thymos that is destroying America as we speak.

Thymos was something greatly understood by ancient peoples throughout the world. It was the source of many great political changes like the Magna Charta, Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. But when not harnessed appropriately it has also led to some of the worst moments of history, times like the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Communist movement. We can see the need to awaken those who don’t have any passion, and to stand up for the true sense of eternal justice. Some have been pushing their personal idea of “justness” upon what we thought was true “justice.” In truth, this process has been in motion for years. We are at a crossroads of freedom and bondage predicted by Plato. I swear that I will take up the reigns of my chariot and guide my passions and appetites down a road towards freedom. I can only hope that you will join with me in this Race for Liberty.


See Plato’s Phaedrus and The Republic for details and sources.


I would love some feedback! Please rip it apart so I can make it better! Thnx!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Vanguard Song


This is the video for my final presentation for Vanguard. Here are the lyrics:

We’re not just some random kids from off the street
We have some potential and the world to beat
We can endure trials through snow or rain or sleet
Great things to accomplish, great people to be

Oh how we love learning; each autodidacts
Come ask us a question, ‘cause we know the facts
God is our foundation, with Him nothing lacks
Individuality is something we track
We live citizenship and self-government
For a certain purpose to this world we’re sent
We’ve got the best mentors; teachers that are meant
To help us along our way; make sure we’re not bent

‘Cause we’re Van-guard. We shoot for master class.
Van-guard. We have happiness.

We know liberty and the constitution
We’ll fight communism, but without a gun
Use words and ideas united as one
Once everything’s over, we can say we won

Cause we’re Van-guard. Leaders that have might.
Van-guard. Truth is in our sight.
Van-guard. The forefront of light.
Van-guard. Spearhead of the fight.

Freedom! That is what we got.
Freedom! We’ll never give it up.

Vanguard wins the battle, Vanguard beats the dark
Vanguard are the leaders, Vanguard makes a mark
Vanguard is triumphant, Vanguard gets the win
Vanguard will forever feud wickedness and sin

God is on our side; that means we’ll never fail
We will draw our boundary; keep distance from the rail
We’ll never give up, not in the rain or hail
Even if it seems like we’re as slow as a snail
Sometimes we are called to have burdens we bear
Love we have for others we will surely share
We have found that even when life isn’t fair
We can still work hard and we can always care

Even through all hardship, God is not gone
He is always with us, helping us along
We can win the battle; right will beat wrong
All we have to do is turn the light on
Personal life missions matter a lot
Throughout all of Vanguard, that is what we’ve sought
Everybody learns to live with what they’ve got
If we live our missions, more we will be taught

We’re all Vanguard heroes who stand for principles
Strong in service so we can work miracles
We the Vanguard Youth accept the challenge to
Move forward in our pursuit of right and truth

Yeah, we’re Van-guard. We love leadership.
Van-guard. We know history tips.
Van-guard. Literature and art.
Van-guard. A Eureka heart.

One day we’ll stand up before the judgement seat
We’ll fall to our knees and kneel at Jesus’ feet
He will know that the flag of freedom we unfurled
And then we can tell Him, “Yes, I changed the world”

Monday, April 14, 2014

The poem I wrote for Eureka

The world

The earth in which we live in,
Is quite the masterpiece,
Each little tiny creature,
That flys or crawls or creeps.

Each human, and each animal,
Has it's own way of living,
And this was all made possible.
By the One who keeps on giving.

Each leaf on the tree,
Each pebble on the roads,
Each piece of dirt and speck of dust,
Each flower as it grows.

By all of His creations
The big ones and the small,
If He had not done all for us,
We wouldn't be alive at all!

So thanks to God,
Almighty King,
Our shelter
Underneath His wing.

For His creation, of the world
And let us not forget,
To take care of it, while we are here
And respect His gift, each little bit.
-Dassia! :D

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Prezi on Drought

Hi Everyone!!

Here's my Prezi on Drought for Eureka Apprentice! Hope you like it!

Thanks! :)

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Samuel Colt

Hey Everyone! :D

I made a youtube video this week on Samuel Colt (the man I'm studying) and part of my report. Here it is, hope you like it!
Samuel Colt

-Dassia!

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Poem on the Constitution!

Hey Everyone!!!

So, Megan, Being the MOST AMAZING FRIEND that she is, helped me right an AMAZING Poem on the Constitution for Class this week... Hope Ya'll like it!! :) It's two people conversing back and forth, the Yellow Girl being the one who loves the Constitution, and the Blue Boy who learns to! (That's just the way that me and Megan saw it... It can be two boys or two girls... doesn't quite matter!) 


I’ve heard the words a billion and a half times,
We the People… and so on it climbs.


They make me want to yawn and sleep, and Laze my day away…
What is the point to a worthless Constitution anyway??


I really do try my hardest, to stand up for all my rights,
I participate in the legislate, still holding up my little light!


What does the constitution really say? I don’t even know,
Confusing colossal words and such, just row after row after row!


I find such Joy in reading these things, it helps me keep my knowledge keen!


So do I need this slip of paper that many men have signed?
Who can tell me what it means, and perhaps refresh my mind?


I’ll tell you about the constitution, and how I love it so!
And about the lives of so many men, who lived so long ago!


The signatures on this page, did these men really live and care?
About the people to come. Did they really want me to learn, teach, and share?


Yes! These amazing men cared and that is why they made,
A constitution, be it long, and maybe a little strange…


But I guess that’s why we should love them, you see,
Some of the Greatest men in History!


Exactly my point, you’re starting to get it!

Stick with me, and you’ll never regret it!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Executive Branch Prezi!

Here's my Prezi for History and Geography:
http://prezi.com/jbnjtiui-thw/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
Enjoy!!! And give feedback!

Prezi on Congress

Hey Everyone!!

So, for Apprentice this week, I did a Prezi on the Legislative Branch... I hope you like it! :)

http://prezi.com/i8gbhki61-ol/congress/

Yep!

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Prezi on How?? Chapter 11

Hiya! :)

I did a Prezi for Leadership Journeyman this week... I thought it looked legit and decided to put it on the blog! So here it is! Hope you Like it! :)

http://prezi.com/9dljrrjb7doe/how-chapter-11/

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Master Paper

Hey, just thought I'd post some links to the paper I wrote for Master/Journeyman. So here it is!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

"Understood Betsy" video

Hello everyone!

Here is the video that Kena and I made for our Inspirement this week. It's really cheesy, and it doesn't make much sense, but I really like it! :-D Thanks! :-)



Friday, January 24, 2014

My Monthly Project

Hey everyone, my project for this month was to learn 10 hymns on the piano. Here is a video that I recorded of me playing three of these hymns.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Diligence video-Tortoise and the hare...and slug


I think I've finally figured out how to load this thing.  There seems to be so much time that passes between posts with video, that maybe they change settings or something on me.  This time, I uploaded to youtube, then was able to pick it from there.


Voila!  And there you have it, for those of you who are not on the Google community, now you all can see it!
Hi! :)
Here's my Prezi on Betsy Ross for History and Geography Journeyman Class!

http://prezi.com/cyzjutcnixqb/betsy-ross/

Yep!

-Grace :)

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Here is my Prezi for Leadership class yesterday... Hope you like it :)

http://prezi.com/qjozftv9bsz4/1776/

Thanks!

Grace :)