October 2, 2019
If I’m being honest, when I reread Strawson’s essay for the second time, I became more annoyed with him than the first time. When I first read it, I was mainly confused at both what he was saying and why he quoted so many different authors who seemed to disagree with his opinion.
As well as becoming more annoyed with his writing, I agreed more with at least two of the points he made during the second reading. One of his points is that we don’t have one big life story, but small moments and pieces that we choose to fit together to create our story. Personally, when I tell people my “story”, I don’t tell them everything. I let them know a few sad things and that I’m a musician, reader, and a kind person. So like Strawson says, I pick and choose what my story is.
My man Galen also used some big fancy words that I didn’t understand. So here, let me define them. Curriculum vitae: a brief account of a person’s education, qualifications, and previous experience, typically sent with a job application. Aka, someone’s life story. I also have no idea what propounded means. Propounded: put forward (an idea, theory, or point of view) for consideration by others.
The biggest issue I had with Strawson’s writing both times I read it, is that he constantly contradicts himself and has your head spinning in a circle. The introductory paragraph is the worst one to read. In this paragraph, he quotes five different professionals who all disagree with Strawson’s point of view. Even later on in the essay when he finally makes his point, he continues to quote three or more individuals in one paragraph who, you guess it, contradict his belief.
I have to admit that this cracked me up a little. Particularly when you wrote about “my man Galen.” 🙂
You did a good job sticking with him, although you found him trying.