The Situation of Corruption

In the evaluation article “Egotistical” written by Teylor Mock (2011), Mock suggests that the show Jersey Shore portrays the scandalous lifestyle of “Guidos” and “Guidettes” and the effect of their lifestyle on younger generations. Mock supports his thesis by addressing how the Guido’s and Guidette’s image influences society, how men judge women based on their appearance, and how these individuals create unnecessary drama. Mock’s purpose is to identify why people are wasting their time watching a show in order to prove that the values portrayed in the show are not advantageous to society. This article is directed towards everyone and Mock lures in the audience by using a pathetic appeal.

We find this article hilarious! We agree with Mock that the lifestyle of the Guidos and Guidettes is a bit egotistical. To us, their lifestyle is composed of many conceited values and their actions toward other humans are less than socially acceptable. The abbreviations GTL, FTD, and DTF are not something we want our young children learning. The way these individuals treat others represents their arrogant beliefs towards life. What really grinds our gears is the fact that these individuals stick together seeking sex for fun. How could any person be happy living a lifestyle of deceit? To us their image is nothing but a lie; making others think they are something that they are not!

Mock begins the article describing what each abbreviation means, such as FTD, or “fresh to death”. Mock then addresses how the individuals of Jersey Shore set a standard on how both men and women are supposed to look: one should have a tan, be physically fit, and dress accordingly. While these Guidos and Guidettes are at the club, if a group of Guidos sees a group of Guidettes and there is one “grenade” within the Guidette group, then the Guidos know, the group of Guidettes are not DTF, or “down to fuck” (Mock). According to Mock, these individuals are immature and “cause unnecessary drama.” Mock describes the ignorance of Jersey Shore by stating “The show also promotes the shallow judgement of women, and fornicating with people you meet at a club, solely for the purpose of having sex for pleasure rather than for strengthening a bond with someone for whom you have deep feelings.” While the younger generation may think this behavior is acceptable because it is on television, Mock renders these behaviors as “[…] deplorable things we have allowed into our mainstream culture and what we have allowed to influence us.” 

Works Cited

Mock, Teyler. “Egotistical” Connections. Southlake: Fountainhead Press, 2013. Print.

Judging Philosophy

          In "Education, Democracy, and the Life Worth Living" (2012), an evaluation article, Mark Kingwell claims that higher education is currently not obtained for the pursuit of knowledge, but the hopes of landing a good paying job. Kingwell establishes and supports his thesis by discussing how postgraduate degrees are sought in regards to a market advantage, personal values are endangering the standard position, the word "use" is defined by market reality, and there is a need to break the association between education and work. Kingwell's purpose is to inform people in general on the need to reevaluate what a college education is composed of in order to repair the depression created by the market advantage seeking students. The intended audiences are those individuals who define education as relating to work and Kingwell establishes a relationship with the audience by providing a background of philosophy which questions the very essence of market reality.

   Our group has found that we have different opinions on this topic. One group member claims that a personal friend obtained both a degree in Philosophy and English, yet this individual wants to be a stylist, which defines the market’s influence on what a college student pursues. Another group member agrees and blames the standard position for defining what a prosperous life encompasses. However, we all agree that the standard position defines a prosperous life as purchasing luxury cars, homes, toys, and clothes. This lifestyle is only achieved by making a good amount of money and therefore forcing envy into the minds of the general public and infusing them with the will to do whatever makes the most money, so they too can live a luxurious life. We agree that the standard position is negatively affecting students as they are the only ones left with the choice of what they do with their collegiate career.

While college students are supposed to choose what path to follow based on their career choices, market advantages, the standard position, the definition of “use”, and the link of education and work tend to affect a college student’s decision of where to direct their collegiate career- that is towards their passion or towards an abundance of money. Kingwell claims that postgraduate degrees are chosen based on market advantage by asserting that “Students respond by assuming a consumer stance to their own education, swapping tuition dollars not for the chance to interact with other minds but to acquire a postgraduate market advantage.”Kingwell further states that “When we don’t articulate the value of the humanities, we end up with the predictable spin-off into denunciations of elitism and counter-denunciations of its reverse-snobbery evil twin, anti-intellectualism.” Kingwell goes on to define the word “use” by “Things of instrumental value serve needs other their own, either some higher instrumental value or an intrinsic value. And yet, in practice, “use” almost always comes down to money, which is itself a perfect example of a lower instrumental value” (Kingwell). “The market’s monopoly on reality reinforces the dominant value of competition and selfishness, incidentally coverting education into a credential-race that can (and rationally should) be gamed rather than enjoyed” suggesting the definition of “use” is influenced by human competition and selfishness (Kingwell). Since “democracy depends on a population of engaged, critical thinkers who have general humane knowledge of history, politics, culture, economics, and science” then we, as citizens, must break the bond between education and work and once we complete that, “the value of the humanities and non-applied sciences” will become clear (Kingwell). As long as money is the driving force behind collegiate careers, there will continue to be a depression among graduating students and only a philosophical perspective can relieve the current crisis at hand.

Works Cited

Kingwell, Mark. “Education, Democracy, and the Life Worth Living” Connections. Southlake: Fountainhead Press, 2013.