1) For the seniors and anyone else who wants to comment: What was the purpose of the Lemon Exercise?
2) For the juniors and anyone else who wants to comment: What daily battle between free will vs. determinism do you see going on daily in school and in American society?
It was for a good brain exercise. We got to know our lemon and compared them. In the end of the activity we had to throw them into the bucket and then find our lemon. It was a good memory exercise also.
ReplyDeleteThe lemon exercise showed us that the lemons are unique and not all are the same, just as humans. No two lemons were the same and each one possessed a special quality that made it unique. The lemons became familiar to each person so each individual owner became attached to the lemon. Once the lemons were taken away, many felt like they had either abandoned or neglected their lemon. But when the time came to "find" your lemon again, not one lemon was left behind.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with McKenzie that some people became "attached" to their lemons, and I think a text-book definition of this exercise was to show exactly that, attachment, in order to prove/show Buddhism. One of the main characteristic of the Buddhist philosophy is simplicity, meaning distancing oneself from materialist items, even lemons, because attachment is the ultimate cause of suffering. When the lemons were taken from their owners after extensive "bonding" a moderate form of suffering followed for some people. This exemplified perfectly the idea that closeness to people and items result in distress just at the Buddha claimed.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Kenzie. Like all objects in this world, everything is unique and different. We all can not be the same, neither could our lemons. We were told to study our lemons and tell about them. This brought us closer to this object, developing a bond. We even had the opportunity to name them. By doing this we developed an emotional attachment, which is why when we were told to give them up were became worried about their well-being. This exercise showed the different philosophies of the students in the class, those who cared about their lemons and those who could care less.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, some became overly attached to their lemons. It was neat to see the perspectives of others though. I feel this was one of the lessons. We each broadened our thought patterns concerning the world around us through each other. At the end of the day, my lemon was a lemon. I would have eaten it had other people not touched it. To contrast, in the 'hype' of the moment in class, the lemon seemed to mean more. Observation and admiration outweighed purpose and realistic value. All too often, humans don't respect everything around us. We believe we are "just it." In reality though, we are just another functioning part of a planet in the universe.
ReplyDeleteThe Lemon exercise was not only to show us that the lemons were different from each other but also that all things are unique. It was interesting how each person had a unique connection with their own lemon. Each of us could spot our lemon after just a short time with them we already knew the different grooves and spots they had. It was almost like we all had felt some greater value to the lemon then there really was. Maybe, for just that short moment we all had realized how much each little thing, even lemons has an effect on the humans.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot that has been said. We became attached to our lemons so when it came time to find them back we could tell which one was ours. We got to act like kids again with imaginary thinking. The lemons kind of became our imaginary friends. We got to name them and tell everyone about them giving them human characteristics.
ReplyDeleteI agree with McKenzie. We took an everyday object and examined it as if we've never seen it before. I think it was good to become so attached to the lemons. It made us truly realize how different they were. Some could associate them with another object while others associated them with actual people. It also taught us responsibility when we had to pick them out of the group, remembering little details of our own.
ReplyDeleteI see the battle between free will vs. determinism in relationships mostly. Everyone wants to know who their husband or wife will be in the future and they look at their life wondering is this who I am going to marry. From my experiences in every relationship I ask myself is this the kinda of man I want to marry or is this the man I want to marry. The second question I ask is am I dating him because I want to or is it for a real purpose. I find myself lost in all these questions wondering if some how free will and determinism are connected. I honestly think every relationship is pre-determinied and by free will you choose the person that the relationship holds. I honestly think they go hand in hand and there are so many questions that go along with it!
ReplyDeleteI feel that we face daily battles between free will and determinism in school by our choices we make. I feel we have the free will to do homework or just to make excuses why it wasn't done. I feel like the only determinism is whether or not we are going to be sick, or not go to school that one day. In the American society I feel we face daily battles in relationships. I feel it is determined who we are going to meet, but it is our free will in order to acknowledge the fact that they are there, and we have to work at the relationship otherwise it's not going to work. They could be pre-determined but I think that you have to use free-will in order to make the relationship work..
ReplyDelete2) I believe students have a lot of free will in school. Thanks to public schools, all can attend class at least through high school. Students can choose to do well or to not do well in classes based on the effort they put forth. They may also choose schedules based on their interests and future plans.
ReplyDeleteI feel like there is a lot of determinism in finance today, because the economy is rough in America and it's hard for anyone to get ahead. America is supposedly based on free will, but this is becoming further and further from the true case.
Overall, however, I believe Americans can achieve many educational and financial dreams with enough effort. To me, little in life seems completely determined.
I believe that every day we have a battle between free will and determinism. We decide the small stuff, like what we want to do or say at any given moment. On the other hand, however, I feel that most of what we do in school is already determined. We can choose to do our homework, or what we are going to say to another student. But for what is determined, I believe the main points in our life are. Not necessarily much in high school, but life in general. Especially when we become older we will realize determinism has played a huge part on our life.
ReplyDeleteI think Carly just read my mind and put it into words.
ReplyDeleteIn school we as students have so many options! We have a lot of free will. Class schedule (for the most part), we chose how we do in school, if we actually want to try to succeed or just not come at all.
Free will is also greatly involved in society. You can decide to get a job, get a car, get a house, go to college, you decide if you even want to get up in the morning.
Also, you could look at it that people use their free will to do something they were already pre determined to do, they just have a built in drive to do what they were made for.
I agree with Mckenzie. The lemon activity showed us that things are more than they seem to be. If you take to time to get to know them. It also taught us that like humans they are not all the same and we shouldn't expect them to be. It was a great activity and very interesting to see how different things can be when you take time to see them.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the lemon activity taught us about individuality and attachment. Every lemon had its own personality and traits. We may give names to these traits but someone else might think of the trait as something completely different than how you view it. For example I gave my lemon a nose, birthmark, bottom, and other characteristics that someone else may not view. When I took someones lemon I felt empowered, like I had the whole world in my hands. When someone took my lemon I felt a hint of loss. I felt like my lemon was being tortured but I felt my lemon was independent and could handle himself. Wow, I'm talking about this lemon as if it was my child. I guess that's what the whole point of this activity was, to view something differently than it was originally intended.
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