November Update

After publishing the module of philosophies addressing our urge to procrastinate, I am currently tackling how to achieve happiness, if it exists or is something to be achieved at all.

In order: Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC), Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), Susan Wolf (1952-Present)

As I dug into the research, I discovered a dichotomy of approaches between philosophers—while some seek to understand how to achieve happiness, some simply argue on how to avoid unhappiness. So far, I have written on Susan Wolf and Arthur Schopenhauer’s approaches to this question and sent them to Ms. Bendall for revision. Over Thanksgiving break, I have finished researching related philosophies of Aristotle, Friederich Nietzsche, and Bertrand Russell. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time appreciating their work—their work makes me happier too and I can’t wait to share my findings with the public!

I plan to finish drafting articles on the three philosophers’ approaches by the end of the first week back from break. Then, I will use the second week to revise my writing with Ms. Bendall and post them before or during Christmas break. After I’ve published my work, I hope to work with Ms. McGivern to make any needed changes.

samples of my topic-related documents

Overall, I’ve been spending an average of at least 5-6 hours each week because I enjoy the work of learning new philosophies and writing articles. It took me a lot longer than expected to work on this module on happiness. However, this is largely because my research and writing turned more in-depth and varied than those of the first module on procrastination. I think happiness is too profound a question for a high school student like me to tackle sufficiently. Nevertheless, I am putting in my best effort to expose others to some philosophical outlooks through my writing.

As I continue my project, I realized that I have had similar effervescent enlightenment that resembles the thoughts of philosophers. The difference between us is that philosophers take the time to articulate their wisdom in words and, hopefully, follow them. I hope I can one day be able to channel my own philosophy into works of art.

Images' Citations:

Bust of Aristotle. Marble, Roman copy after a Greek bronze original by Lysippos from 330 Bc; the alabaster mantle is a modern addition. (2006). wikipedia. Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle#/media/File:Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpg.

File:Arthur Schopenhauer by J Schäfer, 1859b.jpg. (2021). Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Arthur_Schopenhauer_by_J_Sch%C3%A4fer,_1859b.jpg.

Friedrich Nietzsche, circa 1875. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche#/media/File:Nietzsche187a.jpg.

Profile photo. (2016). GoodReads. Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://www.goodreads.com/photo/author/17854.Bertrand_Russell.

Profile photo. (2016). GoodReads. Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://www.goodreads.com/photo/author/396018.Susan_R_Wolf.