Midterm

Once again, I apologize for the lateness of this. If you didn’t already get my email, I had some computer problems earlier this week, and lost half of the midterm, all I had done. I’m doing this on a borrowed laptop. I hope you will accept it, I didn’t do a couple of questions because I didn’t want it to be any later than it already is.

4.) Sean Henning

5.) sh_sport

6.) sh_sport@yahoo.com

7.) http://shsport.blogspot.com blogger.com

8.) I have read all, but skimmed some of them.

9.) I have watched all the videos.

10.)
Fundamentalism is a mental disease:
I actually liked this video, mainly because I could understand it, lol. I'm still not sure what I think about being able to be an evolutionist and a Christian, but either way, the points were validated. It is hard to see how you can believe in both and still believe in Creationism. But I don't believe that every unit of time in the Bible is exact. For instance, I don't think that a day in creation is 24 hours, but some much longer period of time. I can see animals being put on this earth, and then adapting according to different environments, and changing certain characteristics about them, and having changes in DNA. But I don't believe that we evolved from monkeys, that's for sure.

Truth lies:
Interesting video, some thoughts I guess I haven't pondered in a while. I agree that humans most likely would make up some sort of God, in order to have purpose in life, and to make sense of creation and our meaning. But at the same time, I am still a Christian, and I do believe in faith, and just trusting that something is there, not needing to prove its truth scientifically. I hope that as the older I get, the deeper the thoughts I have are, due to the size of my cerebral cortex, haha. That would be awesome, because I don't really think too many deep thoughts these days.

Things that jiggle:
Interesting, and weird at the same time. The thing that I did like about the video is that it makes a good point for philosophers. Even with all of our knowledge of physics, we can't know everything, and we will never know exactly how we have life. We know that atoms combined with four forces are important, but not all the intermediary steps. The video needed to be more explanatory though. I'm getting tired of all these random clips and words popping up. It's freaking me out.

Inflationary theory:
Very interesting, I had never heard of this. I never thought that the world could still be expanding, but the evidence definitely makes sense. Its funny how much Albert Einstein was opposed to this at first, but then eventually gave into reason and accepted that he was wrong.
The question I have is, can the earth ever reach a point where it cannot expand anymore? Is this even possible, or will it keep expanding indefinitely? I mean, it has to run out of room to grow eventually right?

Socrates:
After reading his apology, it really makes me thankful that I can live in a world where I don't really have to worry about being put on trial for my own personal beliefs. I like the fact that he stuck to his guns, and didn't give in to the demands of the government. He believed in what he thought to be right. A lot of this writing was very difficult to read, the words were confusing. And it was LONG. So parts were definitely skimmed. But all in all, I admire his heart and steadfast belief in what he holds true.

Wilson:
I like what Wilson has to say. It doesn't really matter if he's a Christian or not, the great thing is that he is appealing to his fellow man for help in saving the earth. There is so much separation between the two parties, science and Christianity, and in reality, you can be both.
I really appreciated how he respected a Christian's devotion and emotion that they put into what they do. That's why he thought it was so necessary for evangelicals to hop on board his idea.

Lisa Randall:
Very interesting what she has to say about dimensions. I had never even known that there were four! Let alone maybe more. I like her comment that we might just not be physiologically designed to recognize all of the dimensions, we are not able to picture them, but that at some point, we may be able to identify them through experimentation. Her example of the sphere was very good, because I definitely can't picture a 4-D sphere! Crazy to think that gravity could be stronger in a different dimension. This proves Cusa's point correctly that we really know nothing! I wonder how many different dimensions there could be?

Nicholas of Cusa:
Haha, this was a great video. A little difficult to understand at times, but the message rang clear to me: we really don't know anything. I do agree with this to an extent. While it is true that a lot of the things we say we believe in can have a lot of holes in their credibility, a lot of different smaller facts that might not be true. I still believe that a lot of the things that I "know" are definitely true. For instance, I know that my heart is beating right now. And I know that blood is being pumped throughout my body, and that is bringing me oxygen and nutrients. I also know that I like women. I KNOW this. Now this last one is a little bit more difficult to believe, but I know that there is a God. I don't need to see him, or to prove his existence through science. Quite frankly, I can't. But I can feel Him, and I can feel His love, and the way He directs my life. And I know that it is real, even with out the physical proof.

Who are you?:
Well I didn't particularly like the film, but I did like the quote by Jean Paul Sartre about how we have everything figured out except for how to live. This is pretty basic, but yet so true. Once I think I know what is going on in this life and that I have a handle on everything, my world is shaken and I all of a sudden don't know anything.
I can't even begin to count how many times I have decided to choose one philosophical outlook on life, to stick with it, and then things in my life change, and I choose to adapt to a completely different one. So I've come to the realization that I don't in fact know anything, since I always seem to be wrong.
Fukuyama:
Fukuyama was kind of boring to me. I like the fact that he is hopeful, and does see history as having a direction toward good. I think he pointed out that at one point, we were more of a socialist/communist society, and now we are moving toward more of a liberal democracy, which is good. He believes that history has a direction, and it is generally toward the good.
He also pointed out that to have a true end of history you must have:
The end of human nature
An end of science, because science constantly changes the environment that people have to adapt to
This is a very good point, because science pretty much dictates our lifestyles these days.

The existence of God:
I love how Griesemer, Lloyd, McCann, and Pippin kind of dodge the question on whether or not God exists. You either believe in Him, or you don't. I also like what Dumont had to say about belief in science and religion when he said that they are both a faith in the unknown. As a science major, I agree with this statement, because there are so many things science-related that we don't understand but are forced to believe in. Such as the human brain. We know it works, and we know most of the parts that make it up, yet we still don't know exactly how it works, but it obviously works.

In response to the Socratic Universe:
Well as a devout believer in Jesus Christ, I would love to comment on this. The problem with what these philosophers are trying to say is that its not always about proving something. Sometimes its just about belief. People are always trying to explain everything, and have a fear of just trusting that it is there, without explanation. We don't like to think that we can't explain something that we believe in, but sometimes, thats just the case. For me, the proof is in my life, and the amazing things that I have been blessed with. The proof is also in the things that surround me: nature, friends, loved ones, etc. To me, that is God and His love that He has for me. There are also times when I feel His presence and know that He is real. So as a Christian, I have come to the understanding that not everything in this life needs to be explained. Sometimes they just need to be accepted.

Huxley 2:
Gosh, I totally agree. This film was all over the place. The ideas and concepts were buried in crazy photo shots and random clips that I didn't understand. I did think Huxley's outlook on pharmacology was interesting. Especially how he thinks that eventually they will find a better substitute for alcohol. As if we need one, haha. But interesting nonetheless. And who the heck is that black guy? Who is he supposed to be? Huxley? I didn't understand that. I think I need to read more on Huxley from another source, since this video didn't really explain him and his ideas.

Huxley:
I really liked the quote Huxley made about man trying to do everything, and that we can never do enough. I've noticed that it's so easy to feel in this life that we need to focus our energy on just a couple of things, such as a job and family, and we forget that there are so many options. I think we should constantly be exploring all of them.

11.) Lisa Randall believes that there are many more dimensions in this world than we currently know because there are other dimensions that we can’t feel but may be able to prove scientifically. Because of how we are built physiologically, we may not be able to feel every different dimension, but we may be able to do research and prove these dimensions to be true. Her example of gravity is good in that it is a weaker force for us within the dimensions that we believe in, but in another unknown dimension, it could possibly be a lot stronger. It seems that they do have some evidence for her beliefs, but a lot of what they know is untested and unproven. What it seems they do know for certain is that there are more than four dimensions.

12.) Aldous Huxley’s views on education are kind of confusing from just watching the video. What I got out of it is that he believed in expanding the mind and learning more, especially through the use of pharmacology. So in the sense of learning, he believed that it was important for the improvement of society. He definitely worried about technology and the effect it will have in the future, and I felt like he was against society giving so much power to machines and not using our own minds enough. The biggest thing I got was that he believed in expanding the mind as much as possible, even if that meant with the help of drugs.

13.) I definitely think science and religion are compatible. They may be very different from one another, but they can also coincide. Arntzenius from USC says it best when he states that science and its claims can be assessed in the light of mathematical deduction and experimental evidence, and religion is a belief in something that more spiritual. In a way it is a belief in something that is guiding our life, even if we can’t see it. I see them as Dumont of Mt. Saint Mary’s College does, as both being a faith in the unknown. In reality, so many things in science can’t be fully proven, they are just how we believe something to be based on some evidence. Like Davis from CSC, I believe that both of them will eventually lead us to the overall universal truth in which God is responsible for, so both are important in our lives.

14.) Socrates was put on trial because he was corrupting the youth minds of Athens. He was a critic of democracy and also didn’t totally agree with the state religion at the time.

15.) Philosophy-study or investigation of the truths and principles of who we are, what we know, and how we should life.
A. Western philosophy

16.) The inflationary universe concept is the idea that at one point, the universe went through this huge exponential expansion that was driven by a negative-pressure vacuum energy density, and that it is still expanding today. It also serves to fix a few of the problems with the big bang theory, such as the horizontal problem, which is meant to determine why the universe appears homogeneous and isotropic, the flatness problem, which is why the density of matter in the universe is comparable to that which is necessary for a flat universe, and the magnetic monopole problem, which stated that the early universe was very hot and that a lot of monopoles would be produced. Also, the inflationary concept is more of a description of the bang itself, whereas the big bang theory is concerned more with the aftermath of the bang. The inflationary concept helped to smooth out these problems with the big bang. I think it’s important to know astronomy in order to do philosophy because if you want to make assumptions about this world, then it is important to know what kind of a world we are living in. It is important to know the science behind how our universe is created if you want to state an opinion on how society should go about treating things in that universe. Also, a lot of different concepts involving physics have to do with space and what is occupying that space, and a lot of philosophical arguments I have noticed have to do with the concept of time and space. This means that it’s kind of important for a philosopher to know the background on something he is arguing about, otherwise his point won’t have any validation.

17.) Heisenberg developed the "Heisenberg Uncertainty (or Indeterminacy) Principle", and this was based on quantum physics. He developed a new way to explain the energy inside Bohr's Atom which lead to quantum physics. According to Heisenberg, what was revealed by active observation was not absolute, but a data based on theory and confirmed by observational situations was. He determined that the objective motions of bodies in space time were valid, even though they weren’t applicable to his quantum mechanical interactions. He also stated that particle behavior couldn’t be predicted with certainty. Therefore, it will never be possible by pure reason to arrive at some absolute truth.
Einstein was a great scientist and philosopher. He developed a bunch of different theories such as theories on gravity, heat, and relativity. He also developed a lot of different mathematical equations that have helped scientists in other fields as well, such as astronomy and measuring black holes. He also came up with the formula E=MC2 during the nuclear age.
There were definitely some differences between the two. Einstein believed that everything was relative to something else, and that everything in life was connected in some way or another. He recognized the complexity of our nature, and knew that we could never grasp the full meaning of it all. I think Einstein didn’t really believe in Heisenberg and his quantum mechanics theory because he didn’t think it was complete since there was no real explanation of individual atomic behavior.

18.)

19.) Understanding biological evolution is so important in understanding human thought and behavior because


20.) The narrator argued that fundamentalism was a mental disease because he thought that if you can’t believe that evolution took place, and you believe that things just appeared in midair with no science behind it, there must be something wrong with you. I disagree with this. I am one of those fundamentalists that believes the earth was created in 6 days, even though I don’t believe that a day in the Bible is actually a day in our terms. I do think God just created things, just as a human in His own image. No, I can’t give scientific proof to back it up, but the Word of God, the Bible, and my faith are good enough for me.

21.) I got the feeling that Gingerich and Wilson differed in their ideas in that Gingerich believed that one could be a believer in science and religion, that the two ideas could coincide. It seemed like Wilson thought that both scientists and Christians should be able to come together to try to help the planet, but that they had totally different belief systems, one being based on logic, and the other on faith. To be one would be difficult, but to come together to help each other out would be possible. I think I liked Gingerich’s explanation for this a little better than Wilson’s, but unfortunately I don’t remember all of the points to give examples.

22.) Francis Fukuyama believes that history has a direction, and it is generally toward the good.
He also pointed out that to have a true end of history you must have:
The end of human nature
An end of science, because science constantly changes the environment that people have to adapt to
This is a very good point, because science pretty much dictates our lifestyles these days. I don’t necessarily believe this, because I am a Christian. I believe history can end whenever God wants it to end, but I will try to be nonbiased here. This does make sense, because with science, we are always inventing new things and coming up with new theories on the best way to live life. I believe that this will continue for a long time, so I’m not sure if history will end anytime soon. The capacity for learning is ridiculous. We haven’t even touched what is still out there.

23.) Nicholas Cusa’s philosophy of “unknowingness” basically meant learning that we are ignorant. We have to come to an understanding that we really don’t know anything. One thing that we think we know for certain can have so many other different false “certainties” that make up that fact, and so on. So there are so many different ways in which our so-called fact could be wrong, that there is no possible way for it to hold any truth. Therefore, we don’t have enough proof to prove that anything is really true, and we know nothing.

24.) According to Nietzsche, we don’t literally ‘kill God’, but as humans we can no longer believe in some type of a cosmic order, such as Christianity, since we really don’t even recognize it anymore. Once humans recognize death, there will be no more universal moral law, and law will be based on each individual human. So because we no longer truly recognize God, the moral code that came from believing in God no longer exists. Anything goes, if it’s the law that you desire to live by.

25.) In the video Things That Jingle, I was very confused. This video was all over the place. I do believe physics is important in the study of philosophy because it helps a philosopher to realize that not everything can be explained. That might be a goal of some philosophers, but we can never know fully how we are created. The most important thing we know is that we are created from little things that jiggle, atoms, and those combined with four different forces will give us life. We don’t know all of the little steps in between. So I think physics is important because it humbles us into an understanding that we really know very little.

26.) I like this quote. If you want to have the freedom to believe in what you think is right, it must be your own personal choice. I don’t see how being forced to worship something will ever get someone to completely buy into a religion. The choice has to be yours, or else you are only following. It is one thing to follow a religion, but a completely different thing to believe in it. A lot of Christians follow their religion. They go to church, give money to charities, pray before dinner, celebrate Christmas and Easter. But a very small percentage truly believe in the meaning behind it, and that is because they came to that decision on their own, without anyone pushing them into it.

27.) Dawkins thinks that believing God is delusional because there is no scientific proof in his mind to back up these claims. Christians are just rationalizing their beliefs in creation because of their belief in God. I guess to him, the idea of something just being created is ridiculous since the evidence isn’t there to back it up. Well, the truth is that there isn’t always evidence to back science up either.

28.) Science can definitely offer a sense of mystery comparable to what religions have to offer. So many things in science are simply speculative, we just don’t have enough proof to say they are 100% factual. Therefore there is a sense of faith that goes into believing in science, just like there is in religion. A lot more may be able to be proven on paper, but still so much is left unknown. Like the brain, which we know very little about, but we know it works. It’s working right now as I’m writing this paper.

29.)

Fundamentalism is a mental disease

I actually liked this video, mainly because I could understand it, lol. I'm still not sure what I think about being able to be an evolutionist and a Christian, but either way, the points were validated. It is hard to see how you can believe in both and still believe in Creationism. But I don't believe that every unit of time in the Bible is exact. For instance, I don't think that a day in creation is 24 hours, but some much longer period of time. I can see animals being put on this earth, and then adapting according to different environments, and changing certain characteristics about them, and having changes in DNA. But I don't believe that we evolved from monkeys, that's for sure.

Truth Lies

Interesting video, some thoughts I guess I haven't pondered in a while. I agree that humans most likely would make up some sort of God, in order to have purpose in life, and to make sense of creation and our meaning. But at the same time, I am still a Christian, and I do believe in faith, and just trusting that something is there, not needing to prove its truth scientifically. I hope that as the older I get, the deeper the thoughts I have are, due to the size of my cerebral cortex, haha. That would be awesome, because I don't really think too many deep thoughts these days.

things that jiggle

Interesting, and weird at the same time. The thing that I did like about the video is that it makes a good point for philosophers. Even with all of our knowledge of physics, we can't know everything, and we will never know exactly how we have life. We know that atoms combined with four forces are important, but not all the intermediary steps. The video needed to be more explanatory though. I'm getting tired of all these random clips and words popping up. It's freaking me out.

inflationary theory

Very interesting, I had never heard of this. I never thought that the world could still be expanding, but the evidence definitely makes sense. Its funny how much Albert Einstein was opposed to this at first, but then eventually gave into reason and accepted that he was wrong.
The question I have is, can the earth ever reach a point where it cannot expand anymore? Is this even possible, or will it keep expanding indefinitely? I mean, it has to run out of room to grow eventually right?

Socrates

After reading his apology, it really makes me thankful that I can live in a world where I don't really have to worry about being put on trial for my own personal beliefs. I like the fact that he stuck to his guns, and didn't give in to the demands of the government. He believed in what he thought to be right. A lot of this writing was very difficult to read, the words were confusing. And it was LONG. So parts were definitely skimmed. But all in all, I admire his heart and steadfast belief in what he holds true.

Wilson

I like what Wilson has to say. It doesn't really matter if he's a Christian or not, the great thing is that he is appealing to his fellow man for help in saving the earth. There is so much separation between the two parties, science and Christianity, and in reality, you can be both.
I really appreciated how he respected a Christian's devotion and emotion that they put into what they do. That's why he thought it was so necessary for evangelicals to hop on board his idea.

Lisa Randall

Very interesting what she has to say about dimensions. I had never even known that there were four! Let alone maybe more. I like her comment that we might just not be physiologically designed to recognize all of the dimensions, we are not able to picture them, but that at some point, we may be able to identify them through experimentation. Her example of the sphere was very good, because I definitely can't picture a 4-D sphere! Crazy to think that gravity could be stronger in a different dimension. This proves Cusa's point correctly that we really know nothing! I wonder how many different dimensions there could be?

Nicholas of Cusa

Haha, this was a great video. A little difficult to understand at times, but the message rang clear to me: we really don't know anything. I do agree with this to an extent. While it is true that a lot of the things we say we believe in can have a lot of holes in their credibility, a lot of different smaller facts that might not be true. I still believe that a lot of the things that I "know" are definitely true. For instance, I know that my heart is beating right now. And I know that blood is being pumped throughout my body, and that is bringing me oxygen and nutrients. I also know that I like women. I KNOW this. Now this last one is a little bit more difficult to believe, but I know that there is a God. I don't need to see him, or to prove his existence through science. Quite frankly, I can't. But I can feel Him, and I can feel His love, and the way He directs my life. And I know that it is real, even with out the physical proof.

Who are you?

Well I didn't particularly like the film, but I did like the quote by Jean Paul Sartre about how we have everything figured out except for how to live. This is pretty basic, but yet so true. Once I think I know what is going on in this life and that I have a handle on everything, my world is shaken and I all of a sudden don't know anything.
I can't even begin to count how many times I have decided to choose one philosophical outlook on life, to stick with it, and then things in my life change, and I choose to adapt to a completely different one. So I've come to the realization that I don't in fact know anything, since I always seem to be wrong.

Fukuyama

Fukuyama was kind of boring to me. I like the fact that he is hopeful, and does see history as having a direction toward good. I think he pointed out that at one point, we were more of a socialist/communist society, and now we are moving toward more of a liberal democracy, which is good. He believes that history has a direction, and it is generally toward the good.
He also pointed out that to have a true end of history you must have:
The end of human nature
An end of science, because science constantly changes the environment that people have to adapt to
This is a very good point, because science pretty much dictates our lifestyles these days.

The existence of God

I love how Griesemer, Lloyd, McCann, and Pippin kind of dodge the question on whether or not God exists. You either believe in Him, or you don't. I also like what Dumont had to say about belief in science and religion when he said that they are both a faith in the unknown. As a science major, I agree with this statement, because there are so many things science-related that we don't understand but are forced to believe in. Such as the human brain. We know it works, and we know most of the parts that make it up, yet we still don't know exactly how it works, but it obviously works.

In response to the Socratic Universe

Well as a devout believer in Jesus Christ, I would love to comment on this. The problem with what these philosophers are trying to say is that its not always about proving something. Sometimes its just about belief. People are always trying to explain everything, and have a fear of just trusting that it is there, without explanation. We don't like to think that we can't explain something that we believe in, but sometimes, thats just the case. For me, the proof is in my life, and the amazing things that I have been blessed with. The proof is also in the things that surround me: nature, friends, loved ones, etc. To me, that is God and His love that He has for me. There are also times when I feel His presence and know that He is real. So as a Christian, I have come to the understanding that not everything in this life needs to be explained. Sometimes they just need to be accepted.

Huxley 2

Gosh, I totally agree. This film was all over the place. The ideas and concepts were buried in crazy photo shots and random clips that I didn't understand. I did think Huxley's outlook on pharmacology was interesting. Especially how he thinks that eventually they will find a better substitute for alcohol. As if we need one, haha. But interesting nonetheless. And who the heck is that black guy? Who is he supposed to be? Huxley? I didn't understand that. I think I need to read more on Huxley from another source, since this video didn't really explain him and his ideas.

Huxley

I really liked the quote Huxley made about man trying to do everything, and that we can never do enough. I've noticed that it's so easy to feel in this life that we need to focus our energy on just a couple of things, such as a job and family, and we forget that there are so many options. I think we should constantly be exploring all of them.