My collection of bus rides and wonderings through Peloponnese allowed a new standpoint on perspectives to develop; with a Kindle holding a copy of From Socrates to Sartre and my teal moleskin as the tools at my disposal. With the help of a make-shift curtain from my scarf and ginger tablets, I fought the urge of motion sickness and immersed myself into the philosophies of Plato during the long bus rides. During our out-of-bus times I walked through the ruins of Olympia and Nafplio where I wondered if one day someone would be walking through roped off sections of the crumbling remains of the cities we cherish today. I looked at the half-visible statues and the remnants of a great civilization with a certain sadness that can only be understood from a very solemn standpoint, but I am sure the pouring rain and mysteriously grey sky simply added to my somewhat-mellow-dramatic steam of thought. Nonetheless, the rolling thunder created the underlying mood which supported my slightly-out-of-character philosophical behavior.

However, under consideration of being in Greece, the land of philosophy and democracy, I made the decision to let my mind continue down this rabbit hole for the week that we bussed around the Peloponnese; and another plus being that it fit our assignment of studying “Human Ingenuity” pretty perfectly. So, there I went with my kindle and moleskin, wandering the hilltops and seasides of the Peloponnese, questioning like Socrates.

In our first outing of the trip, we visited the ruins of Olympia where I wrote the following in my little blue book:

Those who actually make an impact — do they really understand their presence? Did Socrates, Plato, Aristotle? Could they have predicted their effect on the world, on the way we view things today? And did the citizens of Delphi or Olympia ever consider that thousands of years later tourists would guided through their homes, viewing their city as just a model on display?

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No one acts with evil intentions; however, no one is obligated to follow the law and only should if it is to his/her own advantage. // People do not go out of their way to maliciously cause harm or create dangerous situations — that is psychotic. But, yes. Horrible, terrible things occur. This internal debate between right and wrong can never be solved, because my right is another’s wrong and vice versa. I do not think that anyone would go out of their way to commit an crime had they known the evil impact of such actions; yet, some laws and rules can often be seen as arbitrary…

Essentially, throughout my journey I asked a lot of questions to myself and others, and came to a very socratic finish: I am going to accept that I know nothing. This is not to say I give up questioning, but rather acknowledging that these are difficult questions that will perhaps never be answered.