Blackburn

In Blackburn's article, he concluded that if a person doesn't understand his/her situation fully, he/she cannot begin to think about what is the next step to take. To support his conclusion, he stated some of his believes. To start, Blackburn believes that if you do not understand your life, then it is not worth living it. He insists that through rational reflection, a person can eliminate the bad things in life and replace them with good things. Also, he states that a person does not have control over the direction of his/her life until he/she views his/herself in the right way.

As humans, we all reflect upon ourselves, whether it is looking for a reason to live, or just trying to improve the world. In the article, Blackburn stated three levels of self reflection. One is which we reflect upon ourselves just to get a better understanding. Another is that the way we think of ourselves affects the way we act. The lowest level of reflection, is when we reflect upon ourselves to find a reason for doing the things we do.

Though I agree with most of Blackburn's philosophies, I do have one objection. I think that self reflection is only useful to those who believe in existence. To someone who feels as if they were the shadows of society, unnoticed and stepped on, self reflection is useless. In fact, self reflection may be the reason of a person committing suicide. For someone who reflects upon themselves to find a reason to live, yet finds nothing, may end up in tragedy. The words and believes of one can be the killers of another.