Candide’s Punishments, Do They Fit the Crime?

Why do punishments exist in the first place? All actions must have a consequence to them. If we do generous things, typically we will be rewarded. If we do evil things, punishment is inevitable. Our society has its share of good and evil. Good and evil, however, can be interchangeable. We see things from different perspectives, some would see an action as an act of kindness but others might see it as meager or rude.

Should Candide have been punished then? His innocence made him ignorant and his ignorant made him foolish. His punishment was not in vain. It was a way for him to snap back into reality and forget his so called "paradise." People shouldn't always have things go their way. A so called "paradise" should not exist in our world. People need to be constantly challenged to strengthen their resolve and add more to their experience. The feeling of safety made Candide vulnerable and weak.

Punishment is necessary in most societies. Some people live their life, thinking that they can do whatever they want without any consequences. Punishment is there to show these people that their actions are not justified in their society and it exists to remind people what will happen to them if they do not act accordingly.

Who is the Modern Socrates?

When we think of Socrates, what do we think of? The first thing that comes through my mind is a philosopher. He was a quick witted and clever minded person who challenged authority and questioned everything. He forced people to think a great deal more and he made arrogant people look even more foolish than they already were. He was a benefactor to his society.

When I try to think of a modern day Socrates, no one really pops up in my mind. People today might question or challenge controversial ideas, but I believe that theirs movies are quite different from what Socrates had. People today usually do things to gain fame and money.  They bring up topics of interests or of controversy, but do they really just want to challenge it, or are they doing it just for the attention? Are they really trying to find answers to their questions?

When we think of people today, we don't think of them as philosophers. There are music artists, film directors, talk show hosts, all these people who ask questions, but we don't label them as philosophers. They are just doing their job. How many people would die for their beliefs? There might be people out there who might actually have true motives, but nobody deserves to be labeled Socrates.

The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living

What makes life worth living? Everyone has their own answer because we all have our own views on what is valuable to us and what is not. How is it that we find these answers though? I believe that answers do not just reveal themselves to us, but that we have to question ourselves and things around us to find what we are looking for.

Constant questioning of our motives and our surrounding helps us to stay aware, understand, and improve. A person that reflects on their life will come to see what it is that is valuable to them, what they truly believe in, and what in life has given them a real reason to be happy. These things will help a person find their true purpose in life. People who examine their own life will also have a chance to look back on their past mistakes and prevent them from happening in the future.

Questioning our surrounding helps us with our survival and our well being. By understanding our surrounding, we can get a better understanding of why people around us act the way they do and it helps us realize that there are many things in the world that we do not know about. Knowing these things will help us to accept the way some things are and it will motivate us to learn more.

We are born with the ability to process and retrieve information. Why should we waste something that is given to us? So many things can be revealed to us if we just question things. The unexamined life is definitely not worth living.

Eulogy

Rich lived a good life even though it was rather short. It is hard for us to lose someone dear to us, especially someone like Rich. He was a rather quiet guy, but once you got to know him, you find that he is not as awkward as he seemed. Most of his close friends deeply cherished his friendship and his company, even though it seems as if all he did was listen to you. Words are not enough to express how dearly we miss our good friend Rich. This is not a moment for us to shed our tears though, but a moment for us to celebrate the life of Rich.

What is it that we remember when we think of Rich? Many people who knew would agree that he was a very caring and an awkwardly funny person. He spent much of his time doing volunteer work. He would always tell me that being able to help anyone, as little as the task may have been, was one of the best feeling in the world. He felt that money should not be the only incentive for doing work. Rich said to me that even though volunteer work does not pay you with money, it rewards you with something even better, happiness. People might not agree with his views on things, but he felt that knowing that he made someone's life better even by just a little is more than enough of a reward for him.

Rich was a great guy. He received decent grades in school and went to school even if he was not feeling too well. Another thing that defined Rich for who he was was his sense of humor. He had the tendency to laugh at just about anything and he would have a smile on wherever he was.

I will be forever grateful for having a friend like Rich. He never wanted to see people cry and he always tried his best to make everyone happy. Rich will forever live in our hearts.