4. Jon Campbell
5. MyDreamofReality
6. jon@joncampbell.net
7. http://mentallament.blogspot.com/
8. yes
9. yes
10.
Week 1 - Philosophy Films
I have to agree with what Soren Kierkegaard said, he said "I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations--one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it--you will regret both.", the general idea here is that whether you do or do not do something you will always have regrets. My favorite sang is "It is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.".
This goes to show that most people will take your position more easily if its after the fact than before the fact, If you don't believe me try it out, its always easier to apologize than to ask for permission, and usually people are more receptive when you come to them with an apology.
Week 1 - Expert Lecture Posting
Before viewing the expert lecture on Aldous Huxley I really didn't know that much about the life and ideals of the famous Philosopher. After viewing the pseudo-documentary I have a better understanding as to what Philosophy is and where it is going. The film gave the viewer a real excitement about Philosophy and left the viewer looking for more.
There are a few comments I would like to make about the film, I did not understand why the film producer decided to produce the film in such an euphoric manner. I would think that Huxley's works would speak for themselves. The euphoric nuances of the film made it difficult to view in less than two sittings.
Week 2 - Assigned Reading Posting
Cosmic Inflation, the theory involving the rapid expansion of heavy particles that is believed to have shaped the universe as it appears today. One of the questions that people asked about the big
bang theory was "How is it possible that something so unlikely occurred in just the right place at the right time?", well thankfully this theory of inflation quenches that question with the following postulate:
The physical conditions from one moment to the next are stable, meaning the rate of expansion, called the Hubble Parameter, is nearly constant, which leads to high levels of symmetry. Hubble's law is a statement in physical cosmology which states that the redshift in light coming from distant galaxies is proportional to their distance.
Week 2 - Philosophy Films
I have two iterations and ideas are on the film "Gods too Decompose", one is the idea that this film portrays about god being a figure that one can loose or one could find around a corner, this idea that god is something that is tangible is I believe a somewhat new idea, something that the thinkers of the Renaissance era brought about in their daily contemplations of the universe and everything in it. I think this idea and many others have brought about the idea that we have outgrown god like a kid outgrows an old pair of pants or shoes, that we have killed god by loosing our naivete, our ideas of magic or wonder.
The second question or idea would be "Who or what will replace god now that he is dead?", this question is derived from the fact that all humans have ambitions and dreams, and god is one of those dreams, and what would happen to our dreams if god remains dead? I believe that god will be replaced by another form of god or religion, which will bring about the question "Was god ever dead in the first place?".
Week 2 - Expert Lecture
Lisa Randal is a leading physicist that has been building a theory of multiple dimensions, this theory is postulated on the idea that gravity as a force that is very weak in comparison to the other three forces. This theory states that there are multiple "Branes" of energy that would help explain why gravity is so weak a force in comparison of the other forces, she thinks that there is a heavy gravity Brane where all the remaining energy from gravity is located.
I would agree with this theory as one of the fundamental ideas of physics is that energy can not be destroyed, but only relocated to another form. If you work out the equations for the energy of gravity you come up sort, like the energy is disappearing, this makes no sense in the current ideas of physics.
Week 3 - Assigned Reading Posting
Meme theory is the theory that just like genes propagate through the gene pool via various methods (mainly sexual transmission), that memes (songs, fashion sense, and other ideas) propagate through society jumping from one brain to another. "When you plant a fertile meme in my mind you literally parasitize my brain, turning it into a vehicle for the meme's propagation in just the way that a virus may parasitize the genetic mechanism of a host cell." (Richard Dawkins 1989)
I find this meme theory very plausible and agree with this theory, as there has to be a vehicle of transferring ideas from one person to another. I think that the name of these "memes" should more precisely describe exactly what they do, but then again the term "gene" really doesn't describe what it is or what it means.
Sources: Richard Dawkins,1976, The Selfish Gene, 1989 edition, Oxford University PressWeek 3 - Expert Lecture Posting
The lecture I am going to retort on is the interview of Edward O. Wilson and his discussion of Consilience, Religion, and the Human Mind. The interview started off with the discussion of the Human mind and what exactly Consilience means. Consilience is the breaking down of complex problems into simpler problems and comparing these problems with the laws of physics, this is usually referred to as Reductionism (or Reductionist Projects). The interview progressed to speaking about the human mind and how the human mind works in regard to solving problems.
The last portion of the interview was about religion and Edward O. Wilson doesn't believe that God oversaw the evolution of man, and how he believes that man will be able to duplicate evolution in the lab in a few years. He also went over the idea that an eternity of bliss to the human mind would be boring and that he is comfortable with the fact that he will cease to exist when he dies, I agree with this idea, as I can't imagine what an eternity of anything would be like, and to compare it with what I have seen I think I would at least like something else for variety.
Week 3 - Philosophical Film Posting
My retort is on the ever constant battle between Evolution and Creationism, and has to deal with a quote from Francis Crick "A knowledge of the true age of the earth and of the fossil record makes it impossible for any balanced intellect to believe in the literal truth of every part of the Bible in the way that fundamentalists do". I have always questioned the validity of the Bible or other written religious works, and based on certain scientific finds we can discount the majority or the time tables in the Bible or other religious works.
One problem with questioning the validity of the timetables in these works is that once you can disprove one element of these works it becomes much easier to question the entire work, and question if there are other parts of these books that could also be invalid. I would like to see what scientific finds occur over the next twenty years that help to correct our understand of how we came to be and what struggles our ancestors had to overcome.
Sources: Francis Crick11. Lisa Randal believes there are multiple dimensions because, the force of gravity is minimal in comparison to other forces (electromagnetism, etc...). String theory relies on the idea of multiple dimensions, this is the idea of "Branes". At present this theory is waiting for a high energy particle accelerator that will be turned on and used to collect data in 2008.
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Aldous Huxley's views on education are explained in this film as the ideas that man can be controlled by subliminal imagery and ideas as this is the way to persuade man into advancement. He believes that every man that has the ability to read has the chance to "magnify himself" and increase his chances for a better life. He believes that with increased education people will understand that political and social institutions are threatening their very being. He believes that with increased education governments will have less sway over the people, as they will not blindly submit to these governmental forces easily.
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I think that science and religion are not directly compatible, but like two sides of a coin, religion couldn't exist without science and science cannot exist without religion. Science is the set of ideas that you can produce a theory and through the scientific method answer that theory and produce a set of rules that allows anyone to follow to come up with the same answer. Religion is usually the set of ideas that we were created by a higher level being and that this higher level being created a list of rules for us to live by to achieve a higher level of being ourselves.
I have to side mostly with Cohon in his answer of religion and science, he stated the following: "Science aspires to discover truth by means of a thoroughly objective, empirical method that is repeatable and available to all, and to detect and root out erroneous beliefs by using such a method. It is not the aim of science to console people or to make them good or to bring them happiness, although its discoveries are sometimes very useful for these purposes (as well as for frightening people, corrupting them, and bringing them misery••also not the purposes of science). Religion takes many different forms, of course, but all those that I know of also aim at some truth, at least, although their method of getting it is usually not empirical and often not available to everyone. But most religions I know about also have further aims: to give people hope, or to improve them morally, or to lead them to eternal salvation (happiness, I take it), or to provide inner peace."
Sources: Rachel Cohon, Socratic Universe: Interviews with California Philosophers14.
Socrates was put on trial for the crime of impiety, and for corrupting the youths of Athens and for worshiping gods other then the gods of Athens. Anytus proposed death as his punishment for these crimes. This is a quote of one of his statements about his charges, "Some of the judges themselves may have complied with this practice on similar occasions, and he trusts that they will not be angry with him for not following their example. But he feels that such conduct brings discredit on the name of Athens: he feels too, that the judge has sworn not to give away justice; and he cannot be guilty of the impiety of asking the judge to break his oath, when he is himself being tried for impiety".
Socrates defense was that he believed what he believed and that no one would try to harm themselves knowingly, so he had not tried to harm himself with these believes. In a statement to his defense: "Socrates argues that he must believe in the gods because he believes in the sons of gods, we must remember that this is a refutation not of the original indictment, which is consistent enough--'Socrates does not receive the gods whom the city receives, and has other new divinities' --but of the interpretation put upon the words by Meletus, who has affirmed that he is a downright atheist."
Sources: The Apology by Plato15. Here is a bulleted list of the History of Philosophy, complements of Wikipedia.
1. Western philosophy
1.1 Ancient philosophy
1.2 Medieval philosophy
1.3 Modern philosophy
1.4 Contemporary philosophy
2. Eastern philosophy
2.1 Indian philosophy
2.2 Persian philosophy
2.3 Chinese philosophy
2.4 Buddhist philosophy
3. Abrahamic philosophy
3.1 Jewish philosophy
3.2 Christian philosophy
3.3 Islamic philosophy
Western Philosophy can be divided into four different views, these views are: Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, and Contemporary Philosophy. Ancient Philosophy was first started in ancient Greece, and some of its noted figures are: Thales of Miletus, Anaximenes of Miletus, and Anaximander. Medieval Philosophy was mostly focused on the idea of God and Aristotle's logic and ideas on life. Modern Philosophy is a collaboration of philosophical ideas from the 17th, 18th and 19 centuries. Contemporary Philosophy is the current philosophical idea, and shares ideas from these popular thinkers and more: Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietszche, Ernst Mach, John Dewey, etc...
Eastern Philosophy can also be divided into four different views, these views are: Indian Philosophy, Persian Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy, and Buddhist Philosophy. Indian Philosophy can be broken down into two basic schools of thought, Orthodox Schools and Heterodox schools. Persian Philosophy can be seen in society as far back as the Old Iranian philosophical traditions and thoughts which originated in ancient Indo-Iranian roots. Chinese Philosophy can be traced back thousands of years, all the way to the Yi Jing (The Book of Changes).
Abrahamic Philosophy can be divided into three different views, these views are: Jewish Philosophy is can be traced back to Judeo-Islamic philosophies (800 AD - 1400 AD). Christian Philosophy is mainly based on the ideas of Plato and Aristotle, with the theological doctrines of Christianity. Islamic Philosophy mainly focuses on the harmony between philosophy (reason) and the religious teachings of Islam (faith).
16. The Big Bang is an idea that the universe and everything in it was original due to a tremendously dense and hot state of expansion (like an explosion). The Inflationary Universe Idea differs from the Big Bang idea in that "the nascent universe passed through a phase of exponential expansion that was driven by a negative-pressure vacuum energy density" Cited from Wikipedia. It is important to have a relative understand of all things to truly understand Philosophy.
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18. Meme theory is the theory that just like genes propagate through the gene pool via various methods (mainly sexual transmission), that memes (songs, fashion sense, and other ideas) propagate through society jumping from one brain to another. I find this theory very plausible and agree with this theory, as there has to be a vehicle of transferring ideas from one person to another.
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My retort is on the ever constant battle between Evolution and Creationism, and has to deal with a quote from Francis Crick "A knowledge of the true age of the earth and of the fossil record makes it impossible for any balanced intellect to believe in the literal truth of every part of the Bible in the way that fundamentalists do". I have always questioned the validity of the Bible or other written religious works, and based on certain scientific finds we can discount the majority or the time tables in the Bible or other religious works.
One problem with questioning the validity of the timetables in these works is that once you can disprove one element of these works it becomes much easier to question the entire work, and question if there are other parts of these books that could also be invalid. I would like to see what scientific finds occur over the next twenty years that help to correct our understand of how we came to be and what struggles our ancestors had to overcome.
Sources: Francis Crick21.
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Physics is very important to philosophy as it helps philosophers develop answers to the questions that they formulate. Physics just like mathematics is based entirely on facts and rules (except for theoretical physics), which allows philosophers to use a set of rules and formulas to give solidity to their theorems.
Another important role of physics is to help philosophers develop new questions about what might be from the facts that scientists develop. Usually some of the ideas and questions the theorists and philosophers come up with end up being true, but it usually takes years for proof to solidify.
26. I think that what this statement means is to truly understand religion you must look at religion from a unbiased position.
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28. As science itself is rooted in the "Here and Now" it is very unlikely the science will ever offer a sense of mystery that equals or rivals religion. As science changes with the knowledge and understanding of the current generation, logic would dictate that religious ideas would also change.
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