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Monday, February 13, 2023

Questions Feb 14

Spinoza, Locke, & Reid-LHP 13-14. HWT 16-17. Rec: FL 15-16. Happy Valentines Day!

Report presentations: #6 Raymond-Locke, Isabelle-Spinoza, Mackenzie S-Reid; #7 Angeline-Spinoza, Seth-Locke, Natalie-HWT 16-17; #10 Luke-Spinoza 

LH

1. Spinoza's view, that God and nature (or the universe) are the same thing, is called _______. What do you think of that view?

2. If god is _____, there cannot be anything that is not god; if _____, god is indifferent to human beings. Is that how you think about god?

3. Spinoza was a determinist, holding that _____ is an illusion. Do you think it is possible (and consistent) to choose to be a determinist?

4. According to John Locke, all our knowledge comes from _____; hence, the mind of a newborn is a ______.  If Locke's right, what do you think accounts for our ability to learn from our experiences?


5. Locke said _____ continuity establishes personal identity (bodily, psychological); Thomas Reid said identity relies on ______ memories, not total recall. How do you think you know that you're the same person now that you were at age 3 (for example)? If you forget much of your earlier life in old age, what reassures you that you'll still be you?

6. Locke's articulation of what natural rights influenced the U.S. Constitution? Do you think it matters if we say such rights are discovered rather than invented?

HWT
1. What are atman and anatta, and what classical western idea do they both contradict?

2. What was John Locke's concept of self or soul? What makes you you?

3. Shunning rigid essentialized identities, younger people increasingly believe what?

4. What cultural stereotype did Baggini find inaccurate when he went to Japan?

5. What important distinction did Nishida Kitaro draw?

6. What point about individuality did Monty Python make?

7. What is ubuntu?
FL
1. Who wrote a memoir of life on the Kentucky frontier that turned him into a "real-life superhero"? (He's in my family tree, btw.)

2. Who built a cabin by a lake, moved in on the 4th of July, and epitomized a perennial American pastoral fantasy? What do you think he'd say about modern suburbia?

3. What did The New York Sun announce in a week-long "news" story in 1835? Who believed it?

4. Who was P.T. Barnum, and what was his fundamental Fantasyland mindset?

5. Whose touring play marked what key milestone in America's national evolution?

6. Who was Aunt Jemima?

14 comments:

  1. Nicholas Schionning -

    LH1: Pantheism. I think it makes sense on some level, if God knows everything, it would make sense that God is everything as well.

    LH3: Free will. I don't think it's really possible to choose to be a determinist, because if you are one, that implies that free will exists, therefore you can't have choosen to be a determinist. You either always were one or were never one.

    LH6: life, freedom, happiness, and property. I think when it comes to rights, there's not much of a difference between discovering and inventing it, as rights aren't really a physical thing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Emma Essary sec 6
    If god is _____, there cannot be anything that is not god; if _____, god is indifferent to human beings. Is that how you think about god?
    infinite;fact. No, I see God as man and nature, therefore having a human perspective.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Emma Essary sec 6
    According to John Locke, all our knowledge comes from _____; hence, the mind of a newborn is a ______. experience; tabula rasa(or blank slate) If Locke's right, what do you think accounts for our ability to learn from our experiences? When we make a change in our life from an experience, that is apart of us. Although I would be different, I would still be me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Section #6
    2/14
    LHP 1: Spinoza's view, that God and nature (or the universe) are the same thing, is called pantheism. What do you think of that view? I personally think it’s an interesting way to look at the idea of god. Seeing god as an infinite, all encompassing being would in turn mean that god could be viewed as everyone and thing that there is, i.e. nature, the universe, and the people within it. It’s certainly a unique way to look at things, though that’s all I personally see it as.

    LHP 3: Spinoza was a determinist, holding that free will is an illusion. Do you think it is possible (and consistent) to choose to be a determinist? When put in that specific way, I guess it would make sense that even the act of declaring yourself as a determinist could be seen as a paradox depending on the intensity of your deterministic beliefs. If you truly believe no free will to exist, then can you declare yourself as anything truly? Or is that label/ belief already programmed within you? I feel like depending on your specific definitions and limitations of determinism, someone could choose to claim themselves as such, though it’s interesting to speculate on the paradox that idea can present

    LHP 4: According to John Locke, all our knowledge comes from our experience in life; hence, the mind of a newborn is a blank slate. If Locke's right, what do you think accounts for our ability to learn from our experiences? I personally agree in some ways that we as people are shaped and molded by the events and experiences around us (even if I personally believe there to be certain predisposed things about us due to how all of our brains work in slightly or drastically different ways), and on that train, I’d say that our ability to learn from experiences is a natural factor of human thinking. Whether it be survival instinct or some deep seeded drive to improve, I think that we as humans have not only certain predispositions towards certain ideas, but we’re all at some level programmed to take in information, internalize it, and respond to it. We’re made to grow, and the world provides the stimuli and situations that guide our courses in life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Connor Haynes Section 10 HWT 5 + 7

    He drew between absolute nothingness and relative nothingness. Relative nothingness refers to the absence of a particular thing or phenomenon, while absolute nothingness refers to a state of being that transcends all distinctions and categories, including the distinction between being and non-being.

    Ubuntu refers to the idea that individuals are fundamentally connected to others and that one's humanity is only fully realized through social interaction and relationships with others.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Angeline Siefring Section 7February 14, 2023 at 9:17 AM

    LH 1
    Pantheism. I like this interpretation of God. It seems plausible because it doesn’t involve another realm where the entity of God exists, he is simply the realm itself. I like that this view encourages the appreciation of nature and it’s details.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Angeline Siefring Section 7February 14, 2023 at 9:34 AM

    LH 2
    If god is ___infinite__, there cannot be anything that is not god; if ___this is true__, god is indifferent to human beings. Is that how you think about god?

    I personally don’t really think of God very much. He feels pretty foreign. But if you refer to God as simply the concept of a hypothetical creator, I suppose my question would be how and why would we know about this creator?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Angeline Siefring Section 7February 14, 2023 at 9:40 AM

    LH3
    Spinoza was a determinist, holding that _____ is an illusion. Do you think it is possible (and consistent) to choose to be a determinist?

    Free will is an illusion. Everything, including our actions and “choices” are predetermined. My understanding is that Spinoza means to say that our choices were always the choices we were going to make. The events preceding the time of choice are what contribute and lead us to the choices we make. And therefore, whatever “free will” you put in place was already what you were going to do all along. This concept can apply to idea of “choosing to be a determinist.”

    ReplyDelete
  9. Felopater Melika #7

    LHP

    1. Pantheism, it's wrong because God created nature.
    2. nature, nature, no I don't view God that way.
    3. free will, no because he was free to think that way clearly.
    experience in life.
    4. blank canvas, experience, our nature and the way our brain works.
    5. psychological, overlapping, because there is no other proof I was someone else when I was 3, maybe my personality is different now from when I was 3 but I am still the same person.
    6. no, most of the time rights are invented and earned.

    HWT

    1. Atman is the individual self or soul, Anatta is that there is no permanent unchanging soul. They contradict western philosophy in terms of that there is an existing permeant soul.
    2. that personal identity is based on consciousness, and a person's identity is determined by their ability to remember their past experiences, my; ability to remember past experiences and connect them to my present consciousness.
    3. a more fluid and flexible concept of self.
    4. that there is no cultural diversity
    5. distinction between absolute nothingness and relative nothingness.
    6. that individuality is often more of an illusion than a reality.
    Ubuntu is often translated as "humanity towards others" or "I am because we are." It emphasizes the interconnectedness of people and the importance of social relationships and community. According to this philosophy, a person's sense of self is not defined solely by individual characteristics but is shaped by their relationships with others and their place within the wider community.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Section 7.
    LHP, Q1. →Pantheism. I think this is a pretty weak characterization of a deity or supernatural being, labeling it as all natural things.

    LHP Q2. →infinite. I believe this is another weak view of God. God’s infinity doesn’t take away from his transcendence. Also the belief that God became a man and had a human life- if you believe that- takes away the notion that he is indifferent or distant.

    LHP Q3.→ he thought free will is an illusion. Even though determinism is “possible” I don’t believe it is consistent at all and it causes many problems for your worldview and how one would live under that worldview.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jordan Martin 007
    1. Spinoza's view, that God and nature (or the universe) are the same thing, is called _______. What do you think of that view?
    - Pantheism. Personally I think that is a bit of a reach, but at the same time I can't imagine some parts of christianity such as someone rising from the dead quite frankly, so I could see the reasoning behind Spinoza's logic at least since he explains it. However I don't agree with him completely.
    2. If god is _____, there cannot be anything that is not god; if _____, god is indifferent to human beings. Is that how you think about god?
    If god is infinite, there cannot be anything that is not god; if you discover something in the universe that is not god, then god can't be infinite. My own personal opinion about god is that he is indifferent to humans. I believe if an almighty powerful being could perform miracles and do things like cure sids, cancer, stop murders, natural disasters, etc... and he chose to watch us suffer on this Earth instead... that would be evil. I'm not completely sure I am convinced there is just one or a god.
    3. Spinoza was a determinist, holding that _____ is an illusion. Do you think it is possible (and consistent) to choose to be a determinist?
    He held the idea that free will is an illusion. Personally I do not think that it's possible to carry the ideals of a determinist. I would argue that we as humans have free will.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Section 7 Carter Marbry
    LH 1: Pantheism. I do not not think that this is a good characteristic or view of a god type being.
    HWT 1: Atman= Ones one self or their own soul. Anatta= There is not a single unchangeable soul that is permanent. It contradicts western philosophy in terms that western says that your soul would not change.
    HWT 3: That people are ever changing almost like a liquid taking its shape of the container.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Section 10 - Ruby
    1 Pantheism -i don’t agree with Spinoza on God and nature being the same thing because god claims he created everything in the universe, thus creating nature
    2 infinite, this is true, I believe god is similar to us but vastly different since he can comprehend everything while we continue to strive for comprehension of life

    ReplyDelete
  14. Luka Howard 7
    LH 6 Locke talked about life, freedom, happiness and property, which life liberty and the pursuit of happiness were directly put into the Declaration of Independence. Saying these were discovered gives them a sense of bestowment from a higher power, while invention makes them seem like human creations, thus lacking backing from attack.

    ReplyDelete