2011 Commencement Address by Penn President, Dr. Amy Gutmann

Penn President Amy Gutmann addressed nearly 6,000 graduates at the University of Pennsylvania's 255th Commencement on Monday, May 16. At the ceremony, Gutmann also conferred honorary degrees to Renée C. Fox, a pioneer in the field of medical sociology; Mo Ibrahim, the mobile communications entrepreneur; Nicholas D. Kristof, columnist at The New York Times, and Sheryl WuDunn, senior managing director, Mid-Market Securities, and president of the social investing consultancy, TripleEdge; Ei-ichi Negishi, the recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Joyce Carol Oates, award-winning author, poet and playwright; and Denzel Washington, award-winning actor and director and also Penn's Commencement speaker.

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• University of Pennsylvania
• Commencement
• Amy Gutmann

[iROFLatYouSOxD]

I don't know what you mean by faulty conditions, but I will go in detail over AIM about what EXACTLY I'm talking about if you'd like.

[dkwonism]

@iROFLatYouSOxD Sorry but you may have to qualify your statement. "An understanding of reality that is given could not be progress for the foundation of which is unknown to the person?" Well if I hadn't mistaken your meaning of words, I think that your assumption is that at least some movie-aspirers do not retain a foundation upon which reality should be built. What a dreadfully weak argument; you are merely underlining the faulty conditions of particular movie-goers.

[iROFLatYouSOxD]

Taking for granted therefore an understanding of reality the general public cannot think for itself and movies having such an influence on the general public ought to be pursued by philosophers so that their shaping (that is movies shaping) of human thought/action is one that is better controlled and one that would suit mankind rather than the individual or whoever (again assuming movies influence thought, and that this influence is intentional, and that this influence benefits a one or a few)

[iROFLatYouSOxD]

@dkwonism They give to people a conception of reality, that is, an understanding of reality. An understanding of reality that is given could not be progressed for the foundation of which is unknown to the person.

[iROFLatYouSOxD]

@dkwonism

I would add that movies have great influence on the general public, the general public being an unintelligent entity. Movies influenced by Spielberg ie movies he's directed or produced, tend to have in them concepts (more specifically themes) that inspire thought and action..

[dkwonism]

@AntiquityCentury21 It is a new medium by which people perceive emotion and information - a very specialized one at that given that usually the former is proportionally more predominant than the latter, and therefore has its set of pros and cons different from that of other mediums such as books. Now if you're trying to contend that real-life experience should be the source of learning, I say to you sure it should: but as a supplementary source of perspective, movie is no less inspiring ...

[dkwonism]

@AntiquityCentury21 I don't see you logic there. Surely for the sake of saying they must have said that they learned everything from the movies ... insofar as movies inspire and motivate like books did and still do, I don't know how that is representative of how low are country spirals downward.

[AntiquityCentury21]

I can't tell you how many idiots I've met who say they learned everything growing up, "from the movies." It shows how far we've fallen in this country. 

[brookelyn7714]

This was a great speech, but she almost stole my man Denzel's material. I'm glad he's quick at improvising by thinking fast on his feet!