How I Met Your Mother and Philosophy

1 Summary paper one How I Met Your Mother and Philosophy: Being and Awesomeness Harvard University 2 Summary paper one How I Met Your Mother and Philosophy: Being and Awesomeness Introduction With regard to the area of social media, some heroes exceed the limits of their fictional worth and become the embodiment of hopes & inspirer. One such character is Barney Stinson from the television series "How I Met Your Mother." In the chapter "You Too Can Awesomize Yourself" Kris Goffin is an excellent illustration of Barney's character and his ability to see the best of life at the most challenging moments. It uses him as a yardstick to show how we need to be the best we can be every day of our lives. Barney's essence is revealed via the ways he shapes his view of the world and the lessons he shares, which give the novel's readers the tools to address adversaries of life. In this essay, the spotlight is on Goffin's point of view. First of all, will take a closer look at the philosophy of awesomeness of the main character Barney Stinson and its positive impact on the personal development and mental health. Main Thesis of the Text In "You Too Can Awesomize Yourself" from "How I Met Your Mother and Philosophy: Kris Goffin sheds light on the idea that "the awesome" in reference to the character Barney Stinson. The central thesis is that the chapter explores the issue that Barney's life can serve as a helper in changing negative feelings into positiveness with the support of conscious choice and execution. Goffin sets out providing the copy on being awesome and shows possibilities of shifting your life in a positive direction by breaking the negative chain reaction. Besides that, the section also looks into empathic phenomena resulting in the split between the somaticist vs, cognitivist by discussing the cognitive approaches, and giving a rundown of whether the individuals can voluntarily feel or manipulate their moods. Finally, the chapter argues that while some of the tactics used in hype yourself up are more of stuffing your eyes, it is also a self- 3 reward of valor of being able to move away from the routines and respond positively to the calls (Goffin, pp. 95-110). The chapter adds to this tendency by looking at the complicacy of emotional processes and the way cognition influences our emotional experiences. Goffin combines the polemic viewpoints of somaticists and cognitivists, emphasizing the ideology "fake it till you make it", that is held by somaticists, which is about executing strict bodily motions to affect emotions. By contrast, some even assert that feelings, not situations are divisive, hence, individuals taking cognizance of their thoughts gives them the power to choose the emotions they want to have. Besides, chapter connect with the current philosopher Jesse Prinz's notion that "emotions involved in the body and cognitive assessment." The narrator shows this perspective here, eliminating the oversimplification that being awesome is achieved either by just choosing to or by avoiding the feeling of the negative emotions (Matterhorn , 2014). The author, Goffin, does not stop at the simple consideration of the psychological impacts of inventing our own emotional stories but he extends much further to ethical issues. Even though, people may often intentionally alter the way they feel in order to choose to be happy, it is quite crucial to determine where the point of no return is between authentic spiritual transformation and deception. The paper gives an idea for readers whether or not conscious rewriting of emotional scripts in their minds to get rid of the negative emotions is a fearless act of self-improvement or a dishonest act. Important Points of Fact In the chapter " Goffin supports the claim by focusing on the character’s strengths of Barney Stinson and brings different formulas for staying positive (Goffin, 45-56). Goffin dialogues about Barney's internally assured behavior that sits on his firm belief in the strength and ability to choose to be amazing throughout his life’s griefs (Goffin, p. 47-49). What Goffin 4 wants his readers to understand through presenting Barney as a person is that transformation of the negative sentiments into positive ones is possible with conscious actions brought in as a result of a choice (Goffin, 51-53). The author employs a staunch prevalence of the character Barney to present how greatness could be employed for the sake of coming out of trials and for promoting well-being (Goffin, 52-54). Adding on to that, Goffin touches on the controversy that the inner workings of human emotions are only in the heart ( of the individuals), which goes against his main idea of having the intellect as the governing body of inner judgments.cognitivist perspectives (Goffin, 5456). The author discusses the debates over these issues in the essay to add more depth to her ideas on emotional transformation. Here, he shows how the theories influence our understanding of Barney's philosophy of how the awesomeness happens (Goffin, pp. 55-6). In this exceeded stage also Goffin discusses Jesse Prinz views about "embodied appraisal" as Prinz's ideas about emotions (Goffin, 56). This theory alludes to the fact that the emotions consist of both bodily reactions and cognitive processes and which as such can't be put-decided by single individuals using what could be referred to as the simplistic approach of selecting them (Goffin, 56). Prinz’s point of view is added by Goffin so that he will succeed in intensifying emotional improvement spread, and his audience will not exclude the wapsectr between body sensations and cognitive interpretations in their own emotional intercepts (Goffin, 56). Overall, the selected guidelines, arguments on conflicting concepts, and current experiences in life of a teenager contribute to setting up the thesis well as it brings different points of view according to which a teenager can find new positive emotions in overcoming negativity. Important Points of Discussion 5 A funny question that the text brings up is how acceptable emotional manipulation and ethical questions are. Similarly, through his belief in being consciously awesome and overriding negative feelings, Barney Stinson proposes the concept of fabricating, but that raises the question of integrity of feelings and the ethic of altering emotions. This brings out the problem of what authenticity & autonomy mean in terms of feelings. For example, in "The Nicomachean Ethics" Aristotle writes on the key role in playing by the character virtues in the process of attaining eudamonia which means human flourishing. How morally correct does their artificial influence of emotions correspond to Aristotle's idea of valorous personality, and does it really promote true well-being or just a camouflage of cheerfulness? The phenomenon of whether people always have to be authentic or if there is a concept of being good can be ventured. This can be extended to looking at the relationship between authenticity, independence, and moral behavior (Aristotle, Book II, Chapter 6, pg. 110). In addition, the text also targets one the most intriguing issue embedded within narrative in the formation of emotional experiences. Although Goffin highly emphasizes the awesomeness of being awesome even in adversity, it also lets us reflect on how people’s discussions affect their interpretation of the experience and how people’s narratives influence our emotions. Considering this issue corresponds to the philosophical argument on narrative identity and emotional build (Matterhorn, 2014). Philosopher that goes by the name Paul Ricoeur in book title Time and Narrative sets the narrative identity concept by suggesting that individuals construct their identities through storytelling. In what ways does the 'awesomely' of Barney Stinson in delivering his philosophy of being cool illustrate or bring Ricoeur's view of narrative identity to question? Apart from that, how does cultural belief build the sense of emotion impact people in their emotional experiences and expressions? A lot of exploration like this can 6 illustrate the art of narration, self-definition, and the mysteries of the emotion (Ricoeur Vol. 1, pp. 188-190). There is more to this than that, as well, in that it makes people stop and think about the link between emotional well-being and moral character. While Barney undertakes the journey of 'awesomeness,' his pursuit keeps the primary focus on the self, amusing and inspirational, yet among the questions raised is, the ethical aspect of the emotive makeover. Through this, it is obvious that these theories revolve around utilitarianism and deontology .Is utilitarianism, concentrating on the net happiness level obtained by the majority, or do Barney's actions disregard others' right to what they deserve? Now, let us shift the focus to deontological ethics, which is centered on the notion of moral duties and principles, how does it assess the morality behind making people’s mind feel to manipulate their emotions for one’s own interests. Discovering these ethical constructs may help cultivate thorough examination on the moral dimensions that emotional selection has for each person and for society in general. Reflection Barney Stinson, portrayed by Kris Goffin in "How I Met Your Mother," is a character who serves as the primary focus of this essay. But Goffin uses this opportunity to touch on the notion of wanting to feel good about yourself even when life throws you some rough blows. Going through Gofman's opinions and his guide on how to awesomizie the emotional experience, I was astonished by the fact the significant role the involvement into decisionmaking has in shaping our feelings. The figure of Barney Stinson illustrates that what we all need is only the confidence and certainty in ourselves, which we all dream to have them in our own life styles. Nevertheless, it is his rock-steady and unshakable belief in picking solo First Comes Love, which a thing that makes him different from others, even when he is in the ground 7 of his challenges. It is this part of Barney's character that I highly relate to, especially the times I am have not been able to think positively when things get hard or when I face failures. People are like me, and here I want to highlight the struggle of many people to stand against pessimism and self-disbelieving in the hard times. Goffin's illustration of the potential of selection to transform the unfavorable into positive emotions imprinted on me remarkably. It brought back to me situations in my own life when in fact I intentionally chose to face problems with an optimistic attitude, though during that time I either felt unable to cope or was incredibly worn out. It isn't easy at first to get into this mindset, especially in the moments of hardship, but I see that it works well when I do manage it, and the environment becomes not so bitter to go through any hardships. There is one element of Goffin’s discussion that immensely interested me that is the comparison between the somaticist and essentialis perspective.cognitivist perspectives on emotions. The notion that our emotions are determined by both sensory cues and cognitive evaluation also go against my current perception that distress just pop out of nowhere. Given that I am somewhere between the cognitivist and the constructionist positions, holding that emotions are not merely rational or simply created by beliefs and thoughts, I believe that emotions are affected by both of these factors, leaning more towards the cognitivist view. My own emotions in shaping highly impact the body feeling which itself contribute more to shaping feelings. As I have tried to understand my feelings better, I have discovered that when I am overly anxious, my heart starts beating faster, and I have potential to feel physical tension in my body. Through these bodily responses I can feel much stronger power in my feelings of uncertainty and it also can lead to the process of the negative thinking cycle. While I am still in the learning to identify these sensation and consciously work to relax myself, I believe I'm this 8 one step closer to successfully endure the anxiety on my emotional well being of mine. It was a very captivating moment of the movie when Goffin shared Barney's philosophy that "anything is awesome". Of course this sentence intrigued me to consider and to ask myself how I can base my own life upon similar principles. Although I won’t be sporting a life-size Barney costume to get everyone’s attention or coming up with the most creative plots, I can easily approach the world with a smile and a cheery attitude and appreciate life in every moment. This could include any type of a struggle like reforming negative thoughts, showing gratitude, or experience the activities that make pleasure and the whole. Conclusion Lastly, "You Too Can Awesomize Yourself", narrates an insightful story of the energy that that positivity can have on life by the life of Barney Stinson. Barney's outlook on life and the advice he shares are highlighted by Goffin in her story which in turn, gives readers a window to think about the necessary steps one needs to take in making a choice and being emotionally strong in emerging form a difficult situation. Through practicing brief mindfulness exercises, curiosity and self-reflection, individuals can outline a powerful mindset and lifestyle, which will lead to overcoming adversity and cultivation of life's happiness. As I have studied and used Goffin's methods in my own life in relation to the shaping of my emotional experiences and the power of general positivity, I am greatly impressed and I feel like I should apply them in my life.