Discussion Question:
Would we be happier as human beings if we regard the universe and existence itself as mysteries?
A: As a group, we briefly discussed and shared our opinions on how JMH presented that there are generally two kinds of people: Believers and Skeptics. Believers being those who ardently follow their belief based upon feeling, forming their life philosophies around that faith, and Skeptics being those who dismiss human emotion and feelings as not being supporting evidence of whatever it is the Believers have faith in. Taking her point further, we posed to ourselves the question of whether or not either group of people are doing themselves an injustice, the Believers by choosing to follow something without fact to back them up, or the Skeptics, who won't believe in anything unless there is concrete evidence to support that belief, and whether or not both would just be happier if some of the unanswerable questions in life were left as mysteries. Perhaps if both parties met somewhere in the middle, both could agree that agreeing to disagree, and leaving those unanswerable questions as just that - questions - we would somehow be closer to the truth.
Factual Question:
What are the seven categories of doubt?
A:
- Materialism
- Rationalism
- Cosmopolitanism
- Secularism
- Nontheistic Religion
- Philosophical Skepticism
- The "doubt of the ardent believer"
Group Members:
Kenya
Sarah
D'Juan
Cameron
Nayeli
Alexa
Also, Dr. Oliver -
I just want to clarify for myself (and for everyone else too), the rest of the group needs to respond to this post and with a possible discussion question and factual question NOT for this reading assignment, but for what we need to have read by Wednesday (Preface & p. 3-18 in A Passion for Wisdom). Is that right? We were confused today!
Thank you.
I think that the other group members are also supposed to answer the discussion question under the comments.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we should do our best to understand the universe and discover the answer to whatever questions we can come up with. Existence itself is one of the greatest mysteries. We cannot currently come up with a definitive answer as to the beginning of creation and the meaning of our existence, but there are theories out there such as the big bang theory. To answer life's mysteries, in my opinion, is a respectable way to live one's life, because you will always be learning and thinking till the day you die.
Being happier as human beings if we regard the universe and existence itself as mysteries I believe is based on the person and their personality. I myself like stability and knowing things. Though there are certain things that bring doubt being able to have a central understanding is better than not knowing anyhting at all. Myself as a believer in Christ, regards the universe and its existence based off those taught in the bible. However, if I wasn't a believer I would either believe in what man says, or form my thoughts on the creation. Therefore, I believe its based on the person.
ReplyDeleteI agree with D'Juan in that it does depend on each person, but for the most part I do think it is better to have a broad idea of the world and who we are as oppose to leaving everything as a mystery. Also, I believe there are certain aspects of life that we will never understand and it will remain as a mystery, regardless of how hard we try to discover its origin or how it came to be. Personally, I like to know and have the certainty of why things are the way they are, but I also understand that there are things in life that we just cannot know. For example, how did the universe begin, how or from what did everything get started? Thus, I think that I could not be happy by leaving everything as a mystery, but I could be happy with having knowledge of many aspects of life and leaving other things to mystery.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you too, D'Juan, "to each their own" right? While one can have their own opinion, they still need to respect other views, too. I think having the closed mindedness that society has, is really the downfall to everything. I regard myself as a Christian, and even in Christianity there are different answers to different mysteries. Alexa said in the main post, "[if] the Believers by choosing to follow something without fact to back them up, or the Skeptics, who won't believe in anything unless there is concrete evidence to support that belief, and whether or not both would just be happier if some of the unanswerable questions in life were left as mysteries". The nature of human beings is to never be satisfied, we are a selfish being. With that said, it would be really nice if as a culture we could be content with accepting other thoughts and views, but I think that even IF the "two" sides could agree to disagree, it might last a little while, but as a second nature to us, we have to be right. Therefore, trying to prove our "side" is an endless process. I have babbled a lot, I'm not sure if I even answered the question. :)
ReplyDeleteWIth the questions to discuss in A Passion for Wisdom. We were supposed to discuss the Hebrew Philosophy correct?
Q: What were the three key concepts in Hebrew Philosophy?
A: the belief in a single God, the snese of being favored or "chosen" by that God, and the importance of the God-given law.