Week 3.2 A video of this week I would like to share is about the burning of the library of Alexandria. As a philosophy specialized in ancient philosophy, I have struggled to make sense of the thought of ancient thinker whose work disappear because of the burning of the library. So, I cannot avoid thinking that this burning was a terrible event in history. One fact that astonished me was that the responsible for the burning was Julius Caesar. I do not think that he was, for the dates do not agree. When the burning occurred, the activity of the philosophical schools of Alexandria was flourishing, and it was in the first or second century of our era. Julius Caesar, on the other hand, was killed in the first century BC. Besides, Julius Caesar was a great intellectual: he wrote poems and the famous Gallic Wars. So, why would intellectual have burned an importer center?

Week 3 One of the videos we watched this week was about some experiments with bonobos and rats that tried to prove that animals can share and feel empathy. One of the experiments consisted in one bonobo being inside of a cage with food and another outside with no food. The cage could be only open from inside, and both bonobos had not met before the experiment. The point of the experiment is to observe whether the bonobo inside of the cage would open the door for the strange bonobo outside, and share its food. The result was unbelievable: the bonobo inside did open the door and share its food with the other one. This experiment makes us think whether humans would share their food with a completely estrange. I think the answer is “no”, which proves that animals are sometimes better than humans.

week 2 This week my classmates (and I) started presenting videos to the class, so I watched so many different interesting videos. I should like to share my opinion about those which were more attractive for me. One of the videos was about Nelson Mandela’s life. I had already heard about Nelson Mandela, but this was the first time I really learnt something about his life. I could not believe that Mandela was in prison for twenty-seven years. It was too much time for a guy who won a Nobel prize, and who is considered a hero. I admired the will of this man to support tough conditions and stay true to his principles. [cont ...]

Week 1 This first week of the semester I listened to two tapes, and watched four very interesting videos in class. One of the tapes was an interview with a man who suffers Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Although I have already heard about this many times, it was very shocking for me to realize how serious this “illness” is. I cannot image myself being unable to control my behavior, or being unable to pay attention. However, I was amazed when the man said that ADHD can be a gift. He could finish his PhD in just two years, and he wrote one book in only four months. So, ADHD can be a superpower. Anyway, I would not like to live with this disorder. Moving on to another issue, one of the videos I would like to talk was about “top 10 facts about dreams”. Among these facts, there was one which interested me most, that is, the theory that explains the reasons why we dream. This theory, called “threat simulation theory”, claims that we dream to simulate dangerous events and, in this way, learn how to react in certain situations. Dreaming, in this theory, fulfills biological requirements. Even though this theory has the merit of establishing the biological bases of dreaming, I think that dreaming is something too complex to have such a simple and reductionist explanation.