One thinker that has consistently caught my attention throughout my years of study is Jose Ortega y Gasset who wrote a very influential work entitled the Revolt of the Masses. In this 20th century work he argues that the fundamental problem of the modern period is how little people are actually thinking.

Most of the times that someone begins a sentence with the words "I think", they usually are not thinking at all-but rather reacting.

Plato argued that the activity of thinking philosophically was a movement out of the cave and towards the eternal and transcendent forms.

One reason people fail to think is that it requires effort and concentration. Most people want the path of least resistance. This mentality can be devastating since the majority of people will accomplish little if anything as a result of looking for what's easy. Nothing great was ever accomplished without significant effort.

To make matters worse the phrase "I have the right to my opinion" has become an excuse for thoughtlessness. Ignorance has been the condition of the possibility of just about every injustice that has ever taken place. Philosophy is an activity that seeks knowledge of fundamental questions not simply opinions.

The existentialists concern with human freedom was a result of the implications of that freedom. Our actions are not simply a footnote to our existence but rather our existence is a result of our actions.

To the pursuit of greatness,

Miguel Arechavaleta

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