A collaborative search for wisdom, at Middle Tennessee State University and beyond...
"The pluralistic form takes for me a stronger hold on reality than any other philosophy I know of, being essentially a social philosophy, a philosophy of 'co'"-William James
My advice is, share your thoughts while they're still fresh.
Mine, in part: the comics report was a stroll down memory lane for me, I used to read all of those strips daily. A few words coupled with engaging images can be worth volumes of dry scholarship.
And on the God report: our informal after-class conversation shed even more light. I don't think it's a question of whether religious beliefs about a deity function as a theory. In the scientific sense, they don't. But they may very well serve to anchor an individual's feeling of "at-homeness" in the universe, as Charlie indicated. That's much more powerful than any merely theoretical construct.
Just notice: some of us are much more at home in a godless universe. That fact shouldn't threaten anyone, any more than non-violent, pluralistic theism.
The comics report did the same for me, as the Sunday comics insert was what I lived for as a kid. Reading them as a kid never made me think about any kind of philosophy brilliance, but rereading them today reveals am undertone I hadn't caught before. I think comic writers use some of the same strategies as movie animators, in that the content is geared toward children with it being a cartoon, but they add some content in to make it engaging for adults.
As far as the religion topic goes, I stand on the atheist side of things. The word theory gets thrown around way too much nowadays, even though it has a strict definition that it must follow. The point was brought up about science always changing, sometimes being wrong, and all around being fallible. It's true, science can be wrong, and the only way e further our discovery is to be wrong and search for the truth. The difference here is that science can admit it's wrong, religion cannot. I chose at a young age to "cut the strings" and forgo religion altogether. There were just too many things that didn't line up, and the fact that no one would admit there were many mistakes within their religion, made me realize that maybe it's all wrong. Sure, the moral stuff is great for everyone to live by, but that should be enough. If it's a personal sense of security and "at-homeness," then by all means go with it. Just don't try to push it on me so that you can feel better about yourself. (Not attacking anyone, this has just been my personal experience that I wanted to get out)
My advice is, share your thoughts while they're still fresh.
ReplyDeleteMine, in part: the comics report was a stroll down memory lane for me, I used to read all of those strips daily. A few words coupled with engaging images can be worth volumes of dry scholarship.
And on the God report: our informal after-class conversation shed even more light. I don't think it's a question of whether religious beliefs about a deity function as a theory. In the scientific sense, they don't. But they may very well serve to anchor an individual's feeling of "at-homeness" in the universe, as Charlie indicated. That's much more powerful than any merely theoretical construct.
Just notice: some of us are much more at home in a godless universe. That fact shouldn't threaten anyone, any more than non-violent, pluralistic theism.
Looking forward to more strong reports next week!
The comics report did the same for me, as the Sunday comics insert was what I lived for as a kid. Reading them as a kid never made me think about any kind of philosophy brilliance, but rereading them today reveals am undertone I hadn't caught before. I think comic writers use some of the same strategies as movie animators, in that the content is geared toward children with it being a cartoon, but they add some content in to make it engaging for adults.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the religion topic goes, I stand on the atheist side of things. The word theory gets thrown around way too much nowadays, even though it has a strict definition that it must follow. The point was brought up about science always changing, sometimes being wrong, and all around being fallible. It's true, science can be wrong, and the only way e further our discovery is to be wrong and search for the truth. The difference here is that science can admit it's wrong, religion cannot. I chose at a young age to "cut the strings" and forgo religion altogether. There were just too many things that didn't line up, and the fact that no one would admit there were many mistakes within their religion, made me realize that maybe it's all wrong. Sure, the moral stuff is great for everyone to live by, but that should be enough. If it's a personal sense of security and "at-homeness," then by all means go with it. Just don't try to push it on me so that you can feel better about yourself. (Not attacking anyone, this has just been my personal experience that I wanted to get out)