Thursday, November 21, 2013
Highlanders
Last class we talked about Cults. We talked about the Heaven's Gate cult which believed that a meteor was going to take them to heaven. We also discussed Jim Jones and the Jonestown massacre where he made his followers drink poison laced Kool Aid. We talked about the mindset of people who join cults and how they may not necessarily be crazy, but rather just lonely.
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FQ: Who wrote The Second Sex? Simone de Beauvoir
ReplyDeleteDQ: How do you feel about existentialism? How does it agree/disagree with your own beliefs/philosophy?
Comment: We talked about cults and how people get drawn into these groups that seem so crazy to us. But we discussed how easy it would be to get drawn in if you had nothing or no one and then this group came and accepted and “loved” you.
Link: Here is a link to the Heaven’s Gate website (a famous cult that believed that if they killed themselves while a comet was passing that they would be able to leave the earth before it was “Recycled.”)
http://heavensgate.com/
That discussion sounds very interesting. I wish I could have heard everything your group said.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have been there to listen to this conversation. I think cults are really fascinating and in my hometown a cult that was banned for some sixty years or so just gained permission to enter the town again.
ReplyDeleteI think people who join cults tend to like feeling as though they have a special insider knowledge about the universe, or like they've been let into some secret elite club, and it makes them feel important. It may have something to do with loneliness, but I think it might have to do with a sense of superiority too. I always wonder at how seemingly intelligent people get caught up into them, and whether the leaders are just crazy or outright manipulative.
ReplyDelete(16-2) I never knew much about cults, but I can see how a lonely or idle person could look to them for comfort.
ReplyDeleteThat would've been such a cool conversation! The psychology of cults has always interested me. In my opinion, it's loneliness and a need to belong somewhere. It goes back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
ReplyDeleteRight, Forgot to add my group. (H3)
DeleteFactual question: Who wrote the book tractatus logico philosophicus? A: Wittgenstein
ReplyDeleteDiscussion question: Do you think you can really learn from others mistakes?
Comment: I enjoyed our conversation as we talked about the peripatetic method last class and look forward to today! I am really shocked that we only have TWO class periods left! I am going to miss y'all!
Link: http://topictalkwalks.com/TTWalks/Peripatetic_Learning_Teaching.html
That sounds like an interesting discussion. I find this topic always draws my attention even though the nature of it is so morbid. I enjoy discussion on what motivated the people in these cults to follow their leaders so blindly. Wish I could have heard it.
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