\ Haven:Mist and Shadow Calendarlogs/Jacks White Oak Philosophy 101 Session 1240911
Calendarlogs

Jacks White Oak Philosophy 101 Session 1240911

In the tranquil setting of the Latin Classroom at the Spender Arts and Wellness Center, Philosophy 101 Session 1 unfolds under the guidance of Jack. The classroom, adorned with aged tomes and the ethereal glow from stained glass windows, sets the stage for an intriguing first class. Jack welcomes the attendees, including Ash who is keen on sharing the allure of academia with their skeptical partner, Isaiah. The session begins with introductions and a brief warming-up where latecomer Brian Miller apologizes for his tardiness. Jack, with a nod to tradition and structure, sets the tone by delving into the expectations for the course and engages the students, including Ash and Brian, in a preliminary discussion on their previous experiences with philosophy. The conversations pivot around the core topics to be covered in the semester: classical philosophy, epistemology, moral philosophy, metaphysics, and the philosophy of religion, sparking curiosity and laying the groundwork for an interactive and introspective journey ahead.

As the lecture progresses, personal interests and philosophical inclinations surface, enriching the discourse. Isaiah, somewhat aloof at first, reveals a deep-seated affinity for Stoicism, asking Jack whether it will be featured in the curriculum and sharing his admiration for figures like Epictetus and Seneca. The session ends with Jack assigning a reflective homework task, urging students to explore classical philosophers and articulate their personal intrigue towards them. Ash playfully challenges Isaiah to contribute due to his unexpected display of philosophical prowess. Jack responds to lingering questions, including Ash's query about his favorite philosopher, revealing his preference for Aristotle and the concept of virtue through balance. Despite a brief moment of physical discomfort from Isaiah, recalling a recent piercing, the session concludes on a note of anticipation for deeper explorations into the realms of philosophy. The interaction between Jack, the students, and Isaiah not only sets a promising academic trajectory but also hints at undercurrents of personal growth and discovery poised to unfold in the classroom and beyond.
(Jack's [White Oak] Philosophy 101 - Session 1)

[Tue Sep 10 2024]

In the Latin Classroom of the Spender Arts and Wellness Center at White Oak
Aged, leather-bound tomes and meticulously annotated manuscripts line the sturdy, oak bookshelves. The soft, filtered sunlight seeps through the stained glass windows, casting a colorful, ethereal glow that dances across the weathered, wooden desks and the intricate, Latin inscriptions adorning the walls. The faint scent of antiquity lingers in the air and the distant murmur of students poring over ancient texts can just barely be heard in the distance.
It is about 65F(18C) degrees.

"Mmm," Jack tells Ash. "JR, it's nice to meet you. You're welcome to sit in and audit this class, though we typically want students to enroll if they are going to keep coming back to classes." A nod to Isaiah. "Well. We will give things a minute more, and then start."

Ash waves a hand between Jack and chamoy as they introduce the two. Despite their polite tone, they carry themself with their head high, mood cheerful, and a guiding arm on their partner's upper back. They look for a good seat, before adding, "I'm hoping he'll see what I enjoy so much about school... he's been encouraging me to take a minor in medicine, or switch majors, so perhaps I can entice him into joining me." They give Isaiah a find smile.

Brian ducks in and takes a seat. "I'm sorry I'm late." he says, quietly.

Jack looks up at Brian. "Good evening," he says. "You're late, young man. What's your name?" He's getting ready to start.

Ash pushes two desks together, then encouraging Isaiah to join them. They wave to Brian with a smile, recognizing him.

Brian nods. "Sorry, sir. Brian Miller. I'm a newly arrived Freshman, and I got turned around."

"Well, Mr. Miller," Jack tells Brian. "You're here now." He pauses. "Well," he says. "This is the intro class for Philosophy 101, which is the lecture series I will be teaching this semester. Who has taken a philosophy class before?" he asks, pacing down between the desks.

Brian raises his hand. "My high school had a split Intro class for Philosophy and Psychology, sir."

Ash lets Jack know, "Winston, a fellow student, has asked me to keep notes. I hope you won't mind me doing that on my phone, while we discuss?" They hold up their Hello Kitty phone, as if it was necessary to prove it, then keeps it up in answer to the question. "I've taken a few at my other school."

Isaiah looks at Jack for a long time, mulling them over as he shakes himself out of his daydream, though he isn't fully awake- there's some parts of his pretty blue gaze that are still quite groggy and tired. "Yes, sir," he murmurs obediently, taking a seat and corssing his legs at his booted ankles, keeping himself silent from that point forward as he makes himself scarce alongside Ash, watching the priest, from near the rear of the class.

"Of course," Jack tells Ash with a nod, pacing back to the lecture to silence his own phone. Then he turns to look at Brian. "Wading right in, Mr. Miller. What did they tell you about philosophy in high school?" he asks. "What did you study -- the four sentence version," he says.

Brian nods. "We spent most of the semester on ethics, sir, and a bit on the mind-body problem. It wasn't very deep, since it was a high-school level survey class."

Jack nods to Brian. "And Mr. Starling?" he says. "What did you cover in your philosophy classes?"

Jack glances over at Ash. "Well?"

Ash explains a little sourly, "My uncle had me change classes, but we covered things like metaphysics, ethics, logic puzzles, and a lot of history. It was when we started covering identity and he found out that we covered lightly the metaphysics of faith and God that I was forced to change." They make a face, but then their expression and tone softens as they look to Jack with a soft smile. They admit, "I wasn't very good with the history or names of the various famous philosophers, but I've always enjoyed deep discussions on the why's of thing, how people think, why they think what they do, and the fundamental truths and nature of existence. Philosophy has been something I've been very interested in."

"We're going to cover some of those things," Jack tells Ash and Brian and Kayly. His eyes briefly flick over the Isaiah, but he focuses on the students. "We're going to cover fundamentally five topics," he says. "First -- classical philosophy," he says. "Second, epistemology. Anyone know what epistemology is?" he asks.

Ash raises a hand, smiling broadly.

Brian raies his hand, as well, but then puts it down when he saw Ash's go up first.

"Starling," Jack says to Ash. "I saw you there too, Mr. Miller. Don't worry."

Ash looks to Brian, then drops their hand, crossing their arms a little as they give him a gentle smile. But, Jack asks them first, anyways. "The knowledge of knowledge, the wisdom of wisdom. Less poetically, the science, in a way, of understanding. We didn't get to that in class, but it seems like a beautiful topic."

"That's more poetry than prose," Jack observes to Ash. He looks at Brian. "Mr. Miller?" he says.

Ash shrugs, having said as much, but turns to listen to Brian's version.

Brian shrugs. "My answer is similar, sir. It's a study of how we know what we know, and the relationship between the mind and reality."

"How we know what we know," Jack repeats, echoing back something Brian said. "The knowledge of knowledge. Both good," Jack says to Ash. "It's the philosophy of knowledge -- how we gather foundational truths. For us..." He looks over at Isaiah. "Well. Many White Oak students find that quest important." He pauses. "We will also cover moral philosophy, metaphysics -- Mr. Miller, want to take a stab at what metaphysics is?"

Brian nods. "It covers things like time, space, identity... mostly theoretical issues. But because they are of a more fundamental nature, some people consider it the highest level of philsophy."

"Mr. Starling?" Jack asks Ash. "Have anything to add?"

Isaiah's pretty blue gaze drifts up towards Jack when he singles out the redhead briefly with his gaze, plush lips parting sweetly as though to speak, but ultimately he falls silent, perhaps mulling over the potentiality of becoming a student here. He smooths that too-short skirt over what small amount of his freckled thighs it might cover, then casts that gaze aside to Ash when they are called upon, raking through dreadlocks with his gaze alone before turning back towards the man teaching the class, a curious hand going up in the air as he awaits his turn.

Ash tilts their head, thinking over Brian's answer. "I've always thought of it more as... the nature of truth. I suppose fundamental nature is fair, too - a scientific view. It asks the the question 'What?' - or rather, refuses to shy away from it, delving in as far as one can. I'm... sorry, I think I tend to be an abstract thinker... it's hard for me to gve as clear an answer as Brian's." They don't seem sorry, shrugging, but acknowledge their lack of clarity.

Ash turns to look at their partner after speaking. They seem a little surprised, but more curious than anything else about his interest in the topic.

"It's really a little more than that," Jack says. "Metaphysics is more like -- logic problems," he explains. "It's time travel, or how the impossible works, or even things like the problem of evil," he says. "That of course shades into the last topic, philosophy of religion, which concerns questions like how God might exist and be good and yet evil might exist as well." He pauses. "Our first class, though, will be classical philosophy, likely next week."

Brian nods, still taking notes.

Ash chuckles slightly, stopping themself a moment too late, holding a hand to their lips. They start taking their notes, now that the full syllabus is revealed, as a means to move quickly past that.

"Father Jack," Isaiah speaks up, his hand still in the air; less waiting to be called on by this time, and more choosing to steal a moment to speak. "Will you be covering Stoicism?" he wonders, leaning forward a bit in his seat as he reveals that he does have some interest in philosophical matters. "And if so, how deeply?"

"We'll touch a little on Marcus Aurelius when we discuss Classical Philosophy," Jack tells Isaiah. "Though I think for our purposes Aristotle and arete are more valuable than Zeno. It will come up a little in philosophy of religion, too."

Ash squints a little, glancing between them. They seem to recognize at least some of the names, though their brows twitch just slightly at Zeno. But, this is what class is for, learning things, so they just listen.

"That's the branch of Philosophy that I really enjoy," Isaiah shares, leaning back in his seat before catching the look of confusion on Ash's face, and despite being a couple, there's something about Isaiah that can't help but rub their 'theyfriend's' pretty little nose in their own lack of knowledge, starting to list off the greats with a devilish smirk. "Epictetus, Seneca... Veritable legends, really.. Their words keep me sane in a world of social media insanity. The art of keeping your history close to your chest, letting only those who deserve it know the dark parts of your past and who you really are." A pause, then the ginger-headed cutie tacks on, "And even then... Mystery reigns. Be vague, never overshare.." he muses.

"For now, though?" Jack says. "We've been at this an hour -- or less, for you late comers. So instead we'll have a brief homework assignment," he says. "Who doesn't like homework in the first class?" He nods to Isaiah, even as he keeps his focus on the students.

Brian simply waits to write down the assignment.

Ash looks at Isaiah blankly, blinking - and not rewarding him for his bragging - before turning to Jack and nodding. "I mean... I sort of do." They chuckle, picking up their phone again to share the homework details.

Humor. "Well, Mr. Starling. Mr. Miller. Miss Menendez," Jack says. "For all of you, I want 200-300 words by Sunday night on a classical philosopher -- someone before 476 AD -- and why you find them interesting," he explains. "I don't need you to dig deep. You can go to Wikipedia, if you want. What I care about is not the WHO, but the WHY. Any questions?" He nods to Ash. "You can give the assignment to your classmate, too."

Brian nods. "Noted, sir. Turn in via email?"

Ash blinks, then tilts their head, humming. Their long gray dreads click as the beads bounce against one another. They turn to Isaiah then, and poke him. "For showing off, you get to be my Wikipedia, nerd." They give him a smirk, then nods back up at Jack, saying, "Will do! He's, ah... verbose, so he might go over the limit. He's a very deep thinker." They give a soft, fond smile, then starts to share the assignment.

Ash taps their phone against their chin as they try to think over any questions, before saying, "Yes, I have one - who is *your* favorite, and why? Not trying to cheat, but genuinely curious."

"... This is bullying," Isaiah complains to Ash wit ha perfect little pout set upon his freckled face, sweater-clad arms crossing over his chest, then causing him to suck in a breath and wince. "Ow ow ow.." he murmurs, cupping his hands over the lower edges of his pectoral region then. "... I forgot I got them pierced this morning. Dammit..." There's the sound of an irritated whimper, or perhaps a whine, as the redhead falls silent, still cupping his hands protectively over his chest as he opts instead to quietly listen to the banter between Ash and Jack.

"Email is fine, Mr. Miller," Jack tells someone. "Or you can come by my office," he says. "Any questions before I finish class for the evening?" he asks.

"Email is fine, Mr. Miller," Jack tells Brian. "Or you can come by my office," he says. "Any questions before I finish class for the evening?" he asks.

Brian nods at Jack in understanding, not with a question.

Ash pets Isaiah, rubbing his crimson curls a bit patronizingly as they wait for the Father to finish thinking over the question they've asked Jack.

Kayly finishes writing out the homework assignment and shakes her head on the subject of questions, slipping her phone away as she yawns slightly.

"Have a good night, everyone," Jack tells the class. "Glad to be back in the swing of teaching."

Ash says "What/ "
Ash says "What about my question?"
Ash tilts their head to Jack with confusion.

"Did I miss a question?" Jack asks Ash. "Sorry -- ask it again, please?"

Ash asks Jack, relaxing a bit as he simply didn't hear them, "Who is your favorite, and why?"

"I'm a little too strong to be a student here," Isaiah says to Ash, waiting for Jack to mull over their question as the curly-headed cutie starts to stand, pulling his skirt down in the back to cover his freckled butt cheeks, which fight a valiant war against public decency. "I guess I could apply for a teacher's assistant position, though... I'll think about it. I don't think I'm the type of person this shool wants hanging around, anyways," he assumes, smirking, then raking fingers back through his own hair as he glances towards the door. "I'm gonna walk a bit, maybe."

Brian stands and gathers his things. "Thank you, sir. See you next time." he says, as he heads for the door.

Ash stands, frowning at Isaiah before saying, "Wait for me, Babe, I'm just asking a question." They reach out for Isaiah's shoulder, then brushes back to grab him by the hair, before turning back to listen to Jack.

"Mine?" Jack tells Ash. "Aristotle," he says to Ash. "The essence of man is virtue -- and virtue comes from a balance in all things," he explains. "But we'll talk a great deal about arete, or excellence, soon. Also perhaps about Plato, who is a close second," he admits.

Ash nods to Jack, thoughtfully. "I think I'd really like to investigate that definition of virtue, some time. Arete sounds like a more relevant concept to my life, though." They turn their head Isaiah, eyeing him, before saying, "I don't want to take too much more of your time, Father, but I look forward to more discussion with you. Feel free to reach out to me as Unbroken on Myhaven, as well."

Kayly makes her way out to the hallway, saying, "Have a good night Padre." to Jack as she passes by him.

"Good night," Jack offers.