Thursday, September 25, 2008

Again.
Hobbes is really interesting - when you're not pressurized to understand every single word, and you can read at leisure.

When I took Philo in Year 1, we discussed dreams. How do you know you're awake, how do u differentiate when you're dreaming or when you're truly awake? Read Descartes' Meditations for some very confusing discussion about this. HObbes mentioned dreams too.

He says:

For my part, when I consider that in dreams I do not often nor constantly think of the same persons, places, objects, and actions that I do waking, nor remember so long a train of coherent thoughts dreaming as at other times; and because waking I often observe the absurdity of dreams, but never dream of the absurdities of my waking thoughts, I am well satisfied that, being awake, I know I dream not; though when I dream, I think myself awake.


Hah. There you go. Who careS? I know I'm awake now.

Speaking of dreams, I had a weird dream that I was 1 of a pair of twins, and there was like some adventure, fun-filled, with dangerous dark waters, and identity crises. And you know what, I wasn't even a girl o_O Dot.
i know.
my first(?) post this year... well this academic year anyway.
and it's not going to be about me :P

i was reading Hobbes (again) but the full version of 'The Leviathan', and I realised Hobbes said something reminiscent of Newtons' first law of motion, that (the latter) goes somewhat like: An object remains at rest or in its state of motion unless a net external force acts upon it.

well, bearing in mind that Newton published that in 1687, Hobbes said (in 1660) in the Leviathan that: when a thing lies still, unless somewhat else stir it, it will lie still for ever, is a truth that no man doubts of. But that when a thing is in motion, it will eternally be in motion, unless somewhat else stay it, though the reason be the same (namely, that nothing can change itself), is not so easily assented to.

ok, it's not like exactly the same. but. oh well, i don't know what i'm getting at anyway. I bet Hobbes never knew who the hell Newton was or vice versa. news travel pretty slowly in those days. haha :)