1.
In David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech to the graduating class of 2005 at Kenyon College he really challenges how we think. The very first thing he does is explain this story about two young fish swimming with an older fish, and the older fish asks them “how’s the water?” They respond with “what the hell is water?” This story is a metaphor for how humans live their lives, which is not really being aware of our surroundings. Humans always tend to look at the bad things in life when they aren’t in the greatest mood. An example he gives is when you see a big SUV burning through 40-gallon tanks of gas, driving terribly, and that the patriotic or religious bumper stickers seem to be on the ugliest, biggest, and most selfish cars. He says this a way not to think, rather “it’s not impossible that some of these people in SUV’s have been in horrible auto accidents in the past, and now find driving so terrifying that their therapist has all but ordered them to get a huge, heavy SUV so they can feel safe enough to drive.” (Wallace) This perspective change in someone’s life might be difficult in some situations, but I think it’s crucial if you want to live a happy life.
He ends off his speech with the same thing he began with, simple awareness. If you’re too focused on what you have to do and not having any awareness about what is going on around you, you are being very selfish. He says the “real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over” (Wallace). Being aware of your surrounding is what the two young fish were missing. The same thing that they have been swimming in their whole life was something they didn’t even know what it was. The level of awareness you decide to have in life, will decide what perspective you see in different situations, which will ultimately decide the quality of life.
2.
I do agree with David Foster Wallace’s main points. I think being able to agree with DFW is not the hard part, but rather being able to put what he is saying into how you actually live. Right now, it’s easy to say that if I am ever in a bad mood, I am still going to always look at the brighter side of things and choose the positive perspective. But, when I am actually in a bad mood, there is a good chance that I won’t be able to do that.
3.
My understanding of empathy is how much understanding and compassion you can give someone. This might not be correct, but for this question that’s what I am going by. So, no I don’t think he was referring to empathy, for the main reason that we don’t actually know what most people are going through when we go to a grocery store, in traffic, or other many things we do throughout the day. I think the mindset that he was referring to was to help make our own life better by always thinking about the possibility of what other people are going through. On the other hand, I feel like having empathy is supposed to be able to help the other person that needs that level of compassion.
[note] Now since being reminded of the quote in the next question, I disagree with my answer. I do think that he is referring to empathy because he says “to sacrifice for them over and over”. Maybe we don’t know exactly what someone is going through. But, always being available for someone and trying to help them in any way possible I feel is a result of having empathy for someone.
4.
“The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day.” I think this is one of the best ways a person can carry themselves. It might not be the easiest thing to do. But, if everyone did this, then humans in general would be able to achieve so many more things if we all truly cared about each other.
5.
DFW’s main point of always being there for someone and truly caring for them contradicts what Bloom had to say about having empathy. Bloom, on the other hand, said that someone’s struggling has a lesson that they can learn from it, which might be true. But, DFW says that having empathy is just caring about them and sacrificing for them. It’s not always trying to reach a solution, rather being there for them and having compassion for whoever is in need of it.
