Up@dawn 2.0

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

More on Religion, Morality, and Diversity

Hello everybody!

I have traffic court tomorrow morning and will not be in class, but I figured I should go ahead and post some thoughts for you guys to think about for discussion tomorrow.

I have always said that a person did not need to go to church in order to be saved; salvation was acquired by establishing a personal, intimate relationship with God.  Jean Jacques Rousseau and I would have been good friends.  He too, believed that "true religion came from the heart." (LH) Rousseau was quite optimistic about human beings.  Rousseau's idea of a tradeoff between freedom and protection still exists today. Where is the line drawn?  When are human's freedoms diminishing to nothing?  How much of our freedom is worth our security?

I believe that the society Rousseau imagines, the one that practices the General Will, could never be established because who is to say what is good for society as a whole? Do you, unlike Rousseau, think that humans are inherently selfish?

Like Kant, I believe that no one knows what true absolute reality is.  When have you been in a situation in which a prior experience has colored your perception of something or someone?

Do you think there are limits on human knowledge?

 Q: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KANT'S NOUMENAL WORLD AND HIS PHENOMENAL WORLD?

It is interesting to view the world as something perceived differently than it really is--something way beyond the limits of our knowledge.  Do you think humans are born with knowledge, or do you think humans are born with a "blank slate" in which experience builds ones knowledge?

Kant's moral values were based entirely on reason.  If I donated money to a charity because I wanted recognition, I would not be carrying out a moral action.  A moral person would donate to charity because it is the right thing to do.  People should not make choices based on what they will return in exchange for their good deeds.

I disagree with Kant's argument that it is absolutely, positively never okay to tell a lie.  Do you think there are any situations in which it would be okay to tell a lie?

Jeremy Bentham's ideas are attractive at first--do whatever makes you happiest.  But what if all of the immoral people did what made them happy?  Chaos and madness would break out.  Although everyone may feel the reward of happiness the same way, they all obtain this pleasure in unique ways.  I think his ideas were extreme, as were Kant's.

What do you think makes an action moral?

Wendy Brown sounded to me like a racist.  What do you think? However, if I am understanding correctly, Brown believes that it is a social injustice to those being tolerated.  Tolerating individuals is boldly pointing out that the group is actually undesirable.  I liked how she pointed out the U.S. boasting about their level of tolerance against the Middle Eastern countries, despite their infamous past of racism, brutality, and intolerance. Who are we to boast about such a thing?

Q: ACCORDING TO WENDY BROWN, TOLERANCE HAS TO DO WITH EQUALITY AND FREEDOM.  TRUE OR FALSE?

A: FALSE.

Keep me posted on discussion tomorrow and I will see everybody Tuesday!

Arielle Roides

1 comment:

  1. Natalie Ricketts7:40 PM CDT

    I apologize for missing last class yesterday; had a big exam! So I cannot speak to what was talked about in class, however I am excited to be moving on to the topics that we are. ‘Metaphysics and Mind’ sounds very interesting and our first topic is infinity. I took Calculus last semester and can identify with what Moore says about using the infinite in mathematics. It is a harder concept to grasp at times for obvious reasons. Moore states that it seems to be even more mind-boggling when applied philosophically. I thought it was interesting how Moore describes how people want to try to use the finite to define the infinite and how that doesn’t work. What he is saying makes sense to me. I think the more you try to define the infinite by using the finite, the more circles you go in. I think that process is very cyclical.
    Moore says the infinite embraces everything - true or false? (True)
    What is your definition of infinity?
    Do you agree with Moore that we, as humans, are finite and limited?

    --Natalie Ricketts

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