PL301 Practical Philosophy Week 2 - Assignment

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

One memorable line from the Forrest Gump movie is that "Life is like a box
of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

Respond

Our textbook discusses sixteen different "Life is like" interpretations for
the meaning of life. It would be useful to review these before starting the
assignment.

In no more than 450 - 500 words, you will be constructing your own Meaning
of Life.

1. For this assignment, first fill in the blank with your own answer for
"Life is like ________________," and briefly explain what you mean by your
answer.

Then, answer the following questions:

2. What does your answer about what life is say about you and how you see
yourself? (For example, if your answer is happy and light-hearted, then you
probably see yourself that way as well. Or, it could be that your answer
reflects how you wish life was and that it was different from your real
life.)

3. How does your answer explain your ultimate life goals? Expectations?
Hopes? Fears? Purpose? If it does not explain any of these things, why not?

4. Would your close friends and family members agree that answer truly
describes your outlook on life? Why or why not?

5. Now that you have had some chance to really think about it, would you
like to start this assignment all over again with a different answer for the
"Life is like" statement? If "yes," what would the new answer be and why
would you prefer it to your original answer? If "no," explain why not?
(Possible answers might include that you are too lazy to keep working on the
assignment, that you are too arrogant to admit that you have changed your
mind, that you are too dogmatic and rigid to even considering that your
first answer was not the best answer, and so forth).

It is preferable to come up with your own answer about what "Life is" for
you. However, if you are having a hard time coming up with an original
answer, besides those mentioned in the book, some answers given by other
students are listed below.

Life is a puzzle, except that you don't know what the picture is supposed to
look like, and you don't even know if you've got all the pieces.
.Life is like a maze, except that you try to avoid the exit.
.Life is like a poker game. (It requires luck, but you can win with a high
pair and you can lose with a flush.)
.Life is like an adventure.
.Life is like a college class.
.Life is like a football game.
.Life is like a visit to hell.

Please ensure that your essay addresses each component of the assigned
questions and that your answer is well-organized, uses excellent,
college-level prose, and makes judicious use of textual evidence. Your essay
must follow APA formatting and should be 450- 500 words long.

If you quote, paraphrase, or summarize from the textbook or any other
source, you must include in-text citations and a References page.