Up@dawn 2.0

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Section 13 Group 1 Discussion

Group 1
  Even though we spent most of our time on the questions during our last visit we did discuss lightly on the Machiavellian ways.  This was definitely a very totalitarianistic way of ruling.  I dont suppose we would get very far in this country ruling in that way. 
What are your thoughts on how we would turn out if Machiavelli was around us in this time?
Pascal and his thoughts on rationalizing the existance of god.
Have you or has anyone else tried to present to you the reasoning of one side versus the other on whether god actually existed and made a valid point.  I think Pascals point of view is strong and deductive but may not be the best way.

Michael Lucas

3 comments:

  1. William Casher Brown 1030-13(1)8:13 PM CDT

    Pascal has a very interesting outlook to say the least. Being a pessimist, he still seemed to look at the brighter side of his wager. Even though most would say he was being rational, I would say his bias towards the subject made him slightly contradict himself because he already had that pre notion to believe.

    F?-In 1670, what was the name of the book that pascal wrote?A-Pensees(Thoughts)
    D?-Due to human nature, we instinctively let our bias on things make choices for us. Should we try to sit back and try to see both sides and weigh our options or go with what we know?

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  2. Anonymous10:34 AM CDT

    Place Your Bets - Blaise Pascal

    So personally I am not a fan of 'Pascal's Wager'. The second paragraph on page 74 of A little History of Philosophy explains exactly how I felt and what was going through my mind as I read this chapter. The whole idea of "That's your best chance of winning eternal life and avoiding the risk of eternal torture" defeats the purpose of faith entirely. It's not faith. Faith exceeds logic in that it requires a degree of dependance with the coherent knowledge that you won't understand it all. Also, his imitation solution doesn't help his case much either; going off the argument that God does exist, he's going to see right through it anyway, so who are you fooling?

    Factual Question: At what age did Blaise Pascal die? Answer: 39
    Discussion Question: If for arguments sake we entertain the controversy of this Wager, what would be the best way, going forward from what he has already established, to rule out which god is the right God?

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  3. Pascal takes an interesting view on God, or the idea of God. I don't find myself agreeing with his "wager" or religion, however. Personally, I believe that, in any religion, devout following is not based on a wager. It is based, rather, on faith and understanding. I definitely agree with Rachel when she says, "Faith exceeds logic in that it requires a degree of dependance with the coherent knowledge that you won't understand it all. " This is absolutely true - without faith, there is nothing. Which brings me to my final point, I don't agree with Pascal's wager. But I won't pass judgement on any other viewpoints!

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