Final Examination!!!

3b. I deserve a B at the very least because the amount of time and effort I have put into this class over the last six weeks. I have been very diligent in watching all of the videos in their entirety along having read the entire readings minus the entire book. I don’t think with the stress of this required class I could retain much of what we were required to work on. I’m not much of a writer and that is what this class seems to be composed of when it comes to our grades.

4. Jeremy Fahey
5. http://firemedicjmf.blogspot.com/
6. JMDFahey@msn.com
7. www.firemedicjmf.blogspot.com
8. Yes I have. I will finish reading the book for the final.
9. I have watched all of the required videos in their entirety for this class.

10. Homework Postings:
Winter Week 1 #1
I found both expert lectures to be very interesting. It was quite profound how Aldous Huxley thought we should base our existence on intelligence and good will (charity and good deeds) to make the world a better more EVEN society. Throughout history there has been hierarchy including the present day. The present day hierarchy is measured by our social/financial well-being. Everyone is striving to better ones self with the perception of being better than the next guy/girl. I think if everyone put all their efforts into good deeds trying to erase poverty, violence, genocide, war, and so forth. There is not enough energy or time to achieve such a goal.Now that we have so much technology the advancement of the human mind has grown astronomically. I think Francis Fukuyama might be right about religion. Adding religion makes it easier to have “Good Will.” The load is lightened up for everyone. As far as I know most religions don’t acknowledge self preservation and advancement. We are all to be united as one to whatever our GOD may be. I think for the world to be a better place we need to grow in our intelligence and through the help of religion perform our good will.
Winter Week 1 #2
I found the questions that involved religion to be a little bit of an attack against those who live according to the faithful decisions they have made. I have given myself, through my religious faith, a light at the end of the tunnel. I believe that through my faith that my soul and consciousness will exist in the after life. I agree with the philosophers who say my body will decay and decease to exist. Through my faith I’m able to live my daily life not fearing the end. I’ve accepted and I’m ready to exist in the afterlife were there is no sadness, hate, crime, death, war, hunger, thirst, and so on. In retrospect I’m not going to not abuse the time I’ve been given here on earth. So do I believe in life after death? I prefer to say I have “faith” in life after death. I can’t prove it exist, therefore, I have the faith in my resurrection.In my OPINION religion and science can work together. It just baffles me how people can think that there is not a creator out there making everything work. As science progresses so does the complexity of the inner workings of life. The more intelligent we become the more complex everything is. All answers in life don’t need to be brought into existence through science. I just can’t bring myself into believing everything just came from the “Big Bang.” I agree with the three words “I DON’T KNOW.” I can’t answer everything that is asked of me. Will I know the answers to my questions before I die? No. I believe all my questions will be answered when I meet my maker/creator.
Winter Week 1 #3
Through the philosophy films the question was raised “Who are you?” I believe we are molded into who we are by our parents, teachers, television shows, movies, our music, and many other influential environments. With the complexity of life and life experiences we develop a hard drive of reactions that affect how we react and respond in the future. In my experience most people conform to the environment that surrounds them. This could be in part from the fear of rejection. As the human race we strive to be accepted by those around us. This is all part of our subconscious whether we want to admit it or not. Through science, history, and even mathematics we are in existence. The further we dig the more complex all of it gets. We were put here without being asked. We work with everything that is around us. We believe everything that is around us is what it is because someone else told us to. If I raised my three month old son that red is actually blue and then the reverse, he would believe it until everyone else told him he was wrong. The main question is, “Is he really wrong?” There are many things that I don’t understand, but I just accept it.
Week two/ Expert Lecture
I would like to start this post with regards to the lecture by Randall Wilson. I have no idea where he was going or even what he was talking about. The most I could gather is that he was saying that nothing is random but comes together through math, physics, and biology. I couldn’t gather how they all came together through his lecture. It might be more understandable if I had the necessary education involving his lecture.I found the video lecture of Lisa and Edward more entertaining and more appealing to those with a lesser degree of education. Is there really a fifth dimension? I think that is an answer given by Edward. The utilization of Religion solves these answers. I think there are dimensions we don’t understand because we can’t see them. I feel once again that I will receive the answers I’m looking for after the resurrection described in Revelations. If we took science and religion more of an understanding could be reached. In regards to Owens lecture I find his ideas more believable. I think more understandings could be reached if we use religion to fill in the blanks. With the complexity of science through physics, astrology, biology we won’t ever have all the answers. Everyone has faith in something. An example includes have faith in the other drivers around you on the freeway. You have to trust and have faith in perfect strangers. In regards to the Big Bang it just doesn’t seem possible that such details of everything would be possible without a creator.
Week 2/ Required Reading
In regards to the assigned reading it was a difficult task. There was a lot of terminology that I did not understand. I found it interesting how the authors were trying to describe how things came into existence. The basis of all their theories came through physics and a little bit of science. I tried real hard to understand the philosophy behind all of the reading but failed to understand it. To obtain a better understanding I felt the need for a better education on physics itself. I also failed to understand how the readings were comparative.In my opinion the quest of answers just gets more and more complex with time. Every time something new is discovered it leads to the question of something new that is more detailed than what was just discovered. With the addition of theology I feel that we can be satisfied with what we see since we know there is a greater being that is in control of everything. That includes all of physics and Mother Nature in general. I believe that there is a starting point for everything. If something exists it had to come from somewhere. Thus the need for theology.
Week two/ Philosophical Videos
In response to the philosophical videos I’m quite astonished that it can be conceived that Gods decompose. There are many gods that decompose but not all have. The Bible tells of the resurrection of Jesus Christ were he, then in turn, ascended into heaven. No body has ever been found to refute this historical documentation. The bible states that he is the only god and all others are just put together with matter and the imagination of man. In retrospect with the truthfulness and divine plan of God and his Son all other gods would and will decay. I found the short video on things that jiggle very interesting. The video seemed to show areas of great debate world wide. The progression of science and technology has made people more capable of things far greater than ever imagined. I wonder if this hunger of knowing more will ever be satisfied. We will only become more dangerous to ourselves if we keep progressing the way we have over the past few decades. We should let things occur as they were meant to be. Lets let science live the way it wants to and spend more time dealing with other areas in life such as depression, hunger, and so on.
Week Three/ Expert Lecture
I found Richard Dawkins to be very entertaining. It very interesting how he showed philosophy can just be a perception of what you want it to be. Does anything in our world really make sense? As I’ve said before the more we know the less we actually know. Nothing makes sense but we just go on living because it is what we see. Edward O. Wilson has finally hit it home for me in bringing ourselves to an understanding by trying to create an alliance between religion and science. I think you can use both to bring the world to an equal understanding. There is a sense of evolving, though I call it adaptation. I do not agree with the purposes though that he discussed. The interesting thing is that he appears to be discussing the end times discussed in Revelations of the Holy Bible. If there is such peace and cooperation world wide we are seeing the prophecies in Revelations coming true. I don’t foresee the two ever coming together. There would have to be too much compromise.
Week Three/ Assigned Readings
I found the article on Sociology to be a little interesting. It was interesting to see how the author seemed to say that evolution wasn’t only concerned with the physical appearance but included the mental statutes as well. I think the changes in psychology and social status are more of an adaptation to the said environments that everyone is raised in. I think our environment as well as the willingness to accept change is what causes the day to day adaptation we see.I found the reading on meme’s to be the most intriguing yet. It took a little while to understand what the author was talking about but it all came together in the end. I like how it describes how things would be different if we would go back to the beginning and start over. I think this would be very interesting to see but I feel, with my religious beliefs that things would end up the same unless God wanted it to be different. I actually agreed with a lot of what I read that those with faith are blind and use it to justify anything. I don’t think that we will ever find all the answers people are looking for. Every new discovery will just create more questions. Through my religious faith I don’t have to worry about finding the answers. I have already found them even though I have no proof of most of them. I can see how that seems like a copout from the persons of debate. I just see philosophy as a way to debate on anything that you wish and that there will never be a consensus on one solid answer.
Week Three/ Philosophy Videos
I found the videos from this week to be a direct attack on theology (mostly Christianity). The video “Truth Lies” said that to have belief in God means you are unable to carry on speaking. Darwinism is the best defense scientist use to refute creation. Didn’t Darwin himself say that his ideas were just theories and that he was wrong? Just because we can’t prove creation besides what is written in the bible doesn’t mean we aren’t good enough to be included in these philosophical debates. I can agree with the “Survival of the Sufficient” video that everything around us molds us into who we are. Life experience has proved that time and time again. I think more than our parents, teachers and preachers have a big role in molding us. The video did state our environment plays a role too but found that to be a little lacking in the full truth. The books, magazines, music, movies, television, commercials, billboards, ads, newspapers and other forms of entertainment also play a large role. In essence I guess you could say that everything we come into contact with from the time we are born to the time that we die we are being constantly changed. I look at this change as adaptation to our environment and not as evolving.
Week Four/ Expert Lectures
Steven Pinker had very interesting views on Evolutionary Psychology. I like how he didn’t intend for his theories to be used to commit acts one would not normally commit. The idea of evolution of psychology is admissible by me. I agree that the mind had evolved through the history of man kind in the ways we react to different situations, for example, were Pinker was talking about punishment for crimes. We have become more cognizant of what are neighbors and others are thinking that we put all our emphasis on “Human Rights”. Pinker also appeared more appealing to me because he thinks philosophy doesn’t prove itself by being answered through religion.Gerald Edelman on Neural Darwinism was very interesting in the sense of giving a brief lesson on neurology to explain how the conscience works. It is a great lesson on how the brain along with the neurons with the neural synapses works as quickly as they do. It is amazing how much complexity there is in how the brain works and I still can’t fathom how this all happened from a Big Bang. It just goes to show that our consciousness has a lot to do with our environment and how we interact with it.
Week Four/ Assigned Readings
I found the reading by Ken Wilber to be very insightful and purposeful. He was able combine the theories of consciousness into four quadrants that all interact with each other and can’t work justifiably if one of them is missing. He was able to describe to me that the four principals are derived from; intentional, behavioral, cultural and social backgrounds. It is also amazing how holons are individual and community oriented. I like how they are also divided into internal vs. external and intersubjective vs. interobjective. It all comes together and provides a good understanding for me. He hit it home for me when he was describing how one can’t give a good argument if one isn’t well studied in the matter being discussed. He showed me that you have to be open minded to different theories and be willing to accept them, partially or fully, to better your own knowledge.I found the two readings about the Vegan and Hypothesis similar in context. It appears as though the author of “Why I Don’t Eat Faces” was a fan of the work of Francis Crick. They both described how neurons can interpret touch and pain. They describe how we interact with our environments and how we should react accordingly. They are similar in Cricks philosophy on how the mind works through this sense of sensory touch. We are conscious through our well being and everything that we interact with. I found them both be intriguing but I don’t see myself becoming a vegetarian anytime soon. I contribute this to the movie by Disney, “The Lion King.” We are all part of a circle of life and it comes full circle.
Week Four/ Philosophical Video
I found this video to be thought provoking. It was interesting how Francis Crick believes that our souls are nothing other than a complex network of neurons. It was an interesting component that Patricia Churchland considers our brains to be nothing but pieces of meat. The brain is essential in maintaining life. It is what allows us to digest our food, beat out hearts, breath, and interact with our environment. There is so many functions of the brain that scientist are currently trying to discover their meanings and purpose. The unique ability of humans is the ability to think and react accordingly.Consciences are what allow us to understand our awareness. Without neurons we would not have a conscience. What we see we have faith in being real. Is there really no such thing as faith? You can’t see gravity but you have faith that it is there. The reality is that without religion or the hope of afterlife we are animals all alike and just part of the circle of life.
Week 5/ Expert Lecture
I found the lecture by Sam Harris to be very interesting. He had some interesting points on religion not being compatible. I agree that all religions aren’t compatible with each other. There are a lot of discrepancies when comparing one religion to another. I think the religion of choice depends on the person involved. I think the Harris said it correctly when people will follow good reasoning no matter what the subject. I don’t think that all this will be resolved until there is substantial physical evidence proving that there is a God. The title of his lecture was on the End of Faith. The end of faith will only exist when the physical evidence of God is found. This will eliminate any need for faith and what faith exists for.The video on why we should become vegetarians was a little disturbing. One of the reasons is so that we can use the feed to feed the poverty stricken people of other countries. If everyone were to become vegetarians wouldn’t we need to use that feed to feed ourselves? I know that eating meat can lead to heart disease but that is why it should be eaten in moderation. I know the animals feel pain too but that is all part of the circle of life. Cricks said in one of our earlier readings that they don’t feel as much pain as we do it slowly. I know that there are ways we could kill the animals that we eat if we used methods that killed them instantly. It might be a little more humane and would remove the condescending sayings by the vegetarians that we meat eaters are less than they are because we eat animals that are smaller than we are.
Week 5/Required Readings
I found the philosophy of nonviolence by Gandhi to be very interesting. I had a lot of respect for Gandhi and his nonviolent revolts. He had many good ideas concerning the multiplying numbers to bring people to the nonviolent mentality. I agree with him in the sense that you can’t have just a couple people in a community become nonviolent; the whole community needs to be nonviolent. The use of nonviolence to defend ones community from violence was a little bit confusing for me. I think if it were very large numbers, like the nation of India, then it might have an affect on the men who are attacking. I don’t know how well this will work today because much of the wars are fought from a distance instead of face to face. The back ground he has did have a large appearance of Christianity. The religion behind his goals and inspirations was very edifying. I don’t think his vision of nonviolence will ever be achieved. That would require too many changes in ideas and would require a major personal change for the better.The reading on genealogy of morals was overwhelming. It was hard to keep track of what the author was talking about. It is too overwhelming to accomplish reading and having an understanding of this BOOK in a one week period. It was interesting though to see how it all was just a play on words and by whom they were being developed by.
Week 5/Philosophical Videos
The video Flame On was a little discerning for me. I find homosexuality to be a sin. I don’t believe that it is a sin that condemns the soul into eternal damnation. It was interesting to see how homosexuality has played different roles in society as time has gone by. You can see from the video that homosexuality was considered to be a law breaking offense leading to severe punishments for the sexual choices that the individuals had made. Today they have their own special days at amusement parks and their own special parade. The morality comes down to the theological issues involved. Religion is what plays the major role in homosexuality being unaccepted. Do I think it is natural? No I do not. It is something that just doesn’t make sense to me. They say it is a choice. I agree. Choices always have there consequences in the end.The Myth of Eternal Recurrence was thought provoking. I would not want to get caught in a “Ground Hog Day” movie theme. It would be horrible to live the same thing over and over again. I think Nietzsche had an interesting thought. I think he is saying we are all just a part of a circle of life. We will return to the dust in which we came from and will return again to try life again. I don’t believe in reincarnation except for when Christ himself did it. I believe that when I die my earthly body dies but my soul belongs to Christ. I have offered it to him and it is his for the keeping. I don’t see how we are caught up in a vicious cycle that we can’t get out of. We are in charge of the choices we make and where we want ourselves to go.
Week Six/ Expert Lecture
The discussion with Daniel Dennet was intriguing. His ideas of philosophy on consciousness were within the realms that I could agree with. I liked how he was saying that we could not possibly comprehend our own consciousness as well as someone who was observing us from the outside. I also liked how we can’t possibly understand consciousness even though we keep trying to. The concept of consciousness and its definition needs to come a common meaning between the science and philosophical studies. The idea of us being able to understand it is obviously unattainable at this time because we do not have the technology to visualize consciousness in multiple organisms if it exists.The video on Ramana Maharshi was stimulating in the sense of self absorption into ones environment. The fact that he gave up in the sense of taking care of himself and letting himself go was absurd. You can be one with the environment around you but you should take care of yourself in the process. It was interesting to see how people that were in his presence found a sense of tranquility because of his profound oneness with his environment and that nothing around him affected his spiritualistic being of the world around him. I give him props for telling his crying mother that what is destined to be can’t be affected in any way of form from what is to be. I think that this is a little absurd because we are in control of our destiny and we make our own conscious decisions.
Week Six/ Required Reading
I found the reading by Nicholas of Cusa to be very helpful in defending my religious beliefs of the Trinity. Through the use of math analogies and diagrams I obtained a better understanding in the basis of the trinity. I know there is one god and one son and one holy spirit but had no way of explaining how they are all one person even though they are individuals. This reading gives me a better answer than you can’t have one egg without all three parts (yoke, whites, and shell).The reading of Chand was enlightening to think that you could actually reach a point of thought in which you are not thinking of anything. Many people are constantly on the move and never take a moment to stop and relax. We are in control of our destiny, happiness, and even our sorrows. We need to take time to let life lead us where we are supposed to be.
Week Six/ Philosophical Videos
The two videos on Guru’s were quite the opposite of each other. Baba Faqir came up with the Guru as an inner God that is able to help you through troubling times. He had a vision that protected him and several other people. The followers then decided that Baba was a God like figure and began to worship him because of his inner Guru’s insight during the war. The need for people to belong to a form of religion comes from what ever makes sense to them and fulfills their current needs. This goes to show in “The Digital Baba” how people began to use the Guru philosophy to their personal advantages. It looked liked people were just flinging themselves at whoever they thought to be the most religious. I didn’t recognize any of them as a repeat throughout the whole thing. It seemed as though the Guru identified itself through whoever wanted to be part of the Guru. It is a shame how something can become over utilized by who ever interprets it in their personal fashion/will.The psychology behind the Zahir was profoundly confusing. I did not understand the purpose of the Zahir. What I did figure out was that it has to do with creating what you want to believe by forgetting everything else. I’m not sure that was what was intended but after watching the video three times that is all I could get out of it. The conscience will believe what you want to make it believe.
11. The grade for mid term was a B-. Mid term link:
http://firemedicjmf.blogspot.com/2007/01/mid-term.html

12. Steven Pinker believes evolution in understanding human behavior is important. The reasons involve how the mind got to be. The mind/behavior came to be through the evolution of adaptation in natural selection. With the study of evolutionary psychology, it has been seen that the environment plays a role in the perceived human behavior. This is similar to adaptation and natural selection.
When it comes to kinship there is a draw between siblings because they have 50% the same DNA though there is room for each to evolve into individuals. We are closer to kin because we have more DNA that is the same than strangers. We form societies because of relationships that we develop with strangers.

13. Francis Crick doesn’t believe in a soul because he believes that everything that exists comes from matter. He stated that hearing and vision have a physical basis (The Astonishing Hypothesis, paragraph 3). He goes to argue this point identifying the thin layer ok skin that causes the world to go black when we blink and close our eyes. He thinks we have consciousness because of the chemical-electrical reaction that occurs in the neurons. He feels there is nothing more to it then that complex process of neurons doing their job.
An interesting fault in his theory of consciousness is how he contributes the number of neurons need to be able to be conscious. It is a little discerning how living things with brains have to meet a minimum number to able to be conscious. If this is all he is using to justify animal testing then he needs to reconsider his theory. We are no different that animals when it comes to being conscious. Being awake is being conscious.

14. Some of the major ethical issues behind neuro-ethical argument arise on the article “Why I Don’t Eat Faces.” The major issue involved in this controversial topic is the ethics involved when it involves pain. The idea behind this argument is that animals feel pain, as well as cry out in pain the same as humans do. We also don’t emphasize with animals the same way we do with other humans and domesticated animals. Why eat one animal one animal and not the other just because we don’t have a form of relationship with it. Eating meat is a major moral compellation in the article. The author also argues health issues.
The strengths of the article are the ones that discuss the morals of eating an animal that has been domesticated because it is warm and cuddly. I agree that it isn’t fair that we don’t eat the animals in which we give names. Another strong argument is that animals feel pain too. It makes you think twice about eating certain meats.
The weak parts of the article are when discussing a superior being coming to earth and eating us for lunch and dinner and the health issues. The analogy used to describe how we would feel if a superior being we eating us for dinner were far fetched for my imagination. Having a conscious plus what I’ve learned through life experience, is that there is a thing called the food chain! Yes technology has rocketed man kind to the top of the food list, but if we fell one back to the superior being it is our responsibility to figure a way out of it. When it comes down to the health issues I find it a little weak in the sense that it is our choice how much we indulge ourselves in the meat product world. It is only unhealthy to eat meat in the large quantities. Eating meat isn’t unhealthy as long as it is in moderation.

15. The views of John Searle differ from Ken Wilber on the lines of consciousness. The description of consciousness by John Searle is solely described as the firing of neurons within the neural synapses. Ken Wilber describes it as an interaction between four existences, they include; cultural, social, behavioral, and intentional. The idea of our consciousness is involved with only what our neurons come into contact is a little vague if you ask me.
I agree more with Ken Wilber because of his four quadrant theory. He doesn’t put down anybodies theories on consciousness but uses all of them to come to his conclusion. Some of the interpretations by Wilber that make me lean toward his theory was when he described the four factors affecting our development as exterior, interior, singular, and collective. I was further impressed how his four quadrant chart requires an interaction between the acting quadrant along with one of the two adjacent quadrants. He was able to take these down and break them into more in depth reasons that were a little harder for me to understand. He had more overall in depth theories that didn’t involve only the theory of neurology.

16. The theme in the short video “Glorious Piece of Meat” is that our consciousness is based on the firing of the neurons throughout our brain and body. The existence of consciousness is nonexistent with out this complex network of neurons. These neurons are responsible for everything that we do in our conscious and unconscious states. It is stated in the video that “I” am not responsible for a lot of what happens to me. “I” am not even sure that if my thoughts are created by me or if they are just directed by me. The complexity of the neurons is the big question that is being dealt with in this video.
A religious person may have a problem with this video because of the quote at the end by Francis Crick. He stated, “What we take to be the soul is nothing more than a complex network of neurons.” The religious background of the soul is beyond our physical being. It is believed that the soul lives on after the earthly (Physical) body dies. In the bible believers are to be raised form the dead in the sense that their souls will rise into heaven to be with Christ. Other religions also have their own ideas of what happens to a person after they die. The physical body decays while the spirit (soul) lives on.

17. Sam Harris is critical of religion because he feels that it is profound that a book can mean so much because the God involved states his word is all that matters. There are too many conflicting religions that will not come together. He feels that religion is a product of or imagination to give us hope in the end. He feels that religions preach whatever they want and not will actually benefit those being preached to. Religion in his opinion hinders the advancement of research in many areas hindering what we can be capable of. He is also critical of the fact that there is no physical proof of any God. He also views the Bible and Koran are just another book. He doesn’t see anything involved spiritually crosses into any of our daily existence.

18. Explain the Essence of Nietsche’s Genealogy of Morals.
A) The Preface
B) His “thoughts on the origin of our moral prejudices”
C) Written to “critique moral values”
D) First Essay: “Good and Evil, Good and Bad”
E) Shows the origins of good/evil versus good/bad
i. The good have called themselves good
ii. Locked in a struggle for thousands of years
F) The noble races
i. Called the blond beast
ii. Leave behind themselves the name barbarian
iii. Cannot be held responsible for their actions
G) The Second Essay: “Guilt, Bas Conscience and Related Matters”
H) The origin of punishment in a creditor/debtor relationship
I) Forgetfulness is active repression
i. Should be opposed to have control over the future
1. Leads to a “morality of custom” which leads to the ability to punish those that
inflict pain on an autonomous individual
2. Concept of guilt comes from the concept of debt
J) Punishment is a range of meanings that are undefinable
i. Lists eleven meanings of punishment
ii. Does not possess remorse
K) The concept of god
i. Created by a tribe when they attribute worship to ancestors
ii. Created by fear
L) The Third Essay: “What do Ascetic Ideals Mean?”
M) Multiple meanings the ascetic ideal has for different groups
i. Artist- “nothing or too many things”
ii. Philosopher- “sense and instinct for the most favorable conditions of higher
spirituality”
iii. Priest- “supreme license for power”
N) Reasons for physiological inhibition
i. The crossing of races
ii. Emigration of a race to a harsh environment
iii. The exhaustion of a race
iv. Bad diet and food
v. Various diseases
O) Reasons for numbing the pain of the weak
i. Innocent strategies
1. General deadening of the feeling of life
2. Mechanical activity
3. Minor joy
4. The shared feeling of power
ii. Guilty Strategies
P) Opponents of the ideal
i. Science
1. The “most recent and noblest form” of the ascetic ideal
ii. Historians
iii. “Comedians of the ideal”
Q) A critique of the value of truth is now needed


19. Gandhi believes in ahimsa because it would make the world a better place, especially India which was under the control of external factors. He believes that ahimsa is the opposite of himsa. Himsa is also known as violence. With the use of peacefulness and being without fear much could be achieved. It isn’t all about getting what you want but about protecting what you have. He feels that if ahimsa is practiced by a few then it would spread to those who oppose through himsa. The opposition will back down because they see the tranquility of those being slaughtered and will want to learn to be as peaceful. In my opinion his views on ahimsa are just a variation of world peace.

20. The theory of eternal reoccurrence involves reliving every pain, happy thought, all of life over again. That means nothing would change and you would live the same thing over again and again and again and so on. There would be no changes and you would be aware of it day in and day out. The implications involved depend on how they are perceived by each individual. Some would go crazy while others would view it as a blessing. Your actions would be a heavy burden knowing that you were going to live them over and over infinitely. The idea of knowing what you are going to create your future could also cause individuals to be blessed in the sense that they are able to create happy reoccurrences for themselves. There are many positives and negatives that could come of eternal-reoccurrences.

21. The real theme identified in the video “Flame On” is the message that homosexuality is ok now in today’s society. With the progression of time it has become acceptable. In the past Marcel Proust damned himself for his philosophy on homosexuality and in now considered a one of his virtues. History has shown that homosexual tendencies were punished as a crime. An example is Oscar Wilde received two years of hard labor for his homosexual behavior. The idea of homosexuality being ok is edified by the list of famous people, who are gay, at the end of the video.
The video also portrays that many things that were considered unlawful in the past are now accepted by society today. The video states that we don’t know what is best about ourselves. We are constantly changing and becoming more comfortable with ourselves.

22. Daniel Dennett favors calling himself a bright because he doesn’t believe in a supernatural God. He admits that he can’t prove there isn’t one so he is agnostic that god exist. He knows he is not a part of the majority when it comes to being a bright. He doesn’t find himself to be stupid, the former meaning of being a bright.

23. Question: Outline Bertrand Russell’s “A Free Man’s Worship”
a. God questions the pleasure in deserved worship
b. God tests man
1. Man born w/ power of thought, knowledge of good and evil, cruel thirst for worship
2. Man determines there is a hidden purpose in life
3. Man concludes that there is a God to be worshiped
4. Man denies himself joy
5. God smiles, man passes test
c. The definition of man- according to Science
1. A product of the means to an unknown end
2. The outcome of an accidental atom encounter
3. A finite being
d. The superiority of man
1. The freedom to examine, criticize, know and to create
2. Gifted with sight, knowledge of good and evil, judgment
e. The impotence of man
1. Willing to prostrate himself for Power
2. Willing to give what is precious and endure poverty to appease the gods
f. The world of ideals
1. Worship must be given if it is to continue
2. Man creates God
i. All-powerful and all-good
ii. Unity of what is and what should be
g. The world of fact
1. Exalts the dignity of man
2. Asks the question “Does God exist?”
h. Man’s true freedom
1. To worship only the God created by his love of the good
2. To respect only the heaven which inspires insight
i. The attitude of renunciation
1. Evidences the existence of evil
2. Maintains that those things which are rejected are routinely understood to be bad
J. The gate of wisdom
1. The ability to deny oneself that which is unattainable
2. Submission to power
k. The cavern of darkness
1.Gate of despair
2. Floor of gravestones and abandoned hope
3. Death of self, greed and untamed desire
l. The beauty of tragedy
1. Insight comes from the spectacle of death, the endurance of pain, and in the unchanging of a
vanished past
2. Victory over tragedy is the baptism into the company of heroes
3. Brings about enunciation, wisdom and charity
m. The power of the past
1. A magical, unchanging purity
2. Its beauty is the key to religion (for one that has conquered fate)
n. The forces of nature v. man
1. Slave doomed to worship time, fate and death
2. The free man does not bow to the inevitable
3. To abandon the struggle for private happiness, expel the eagerness of temporary desire, to burn with passion for eternal things is a free man’s worship
o. The life of man
1. A long march through the night
2. Full of weariness, pain invisible foes
3. The pursuit of an unattainable goal
p. The purpose of man’s life
1. Encouragement
2. Sympathy
3. Empathy for the suffering of others
q. A world created by ideals
1.The result of man’s life despite the trampling march of unconscious power


24. The overall theme depicted in the movie INNER VISIONS AND RUNNINGTRAINS is about the state of consciousness and the perceived gods during that consciousness. Baba Faqir Chand told his story of how he had a vision of his inner guru (what I believe to be similar to a premonition) saving the lives of many people. Upon his return from battle the people began to worship him for saving them. With there reasoning he came to the realization that we are what we create in our minds. When we are conscious we create what we want to be conscious of. There are things that we remember and forget depending on the situation that we are in. They are described as scars that are reminder of what we have been through.

25. Nicholas of Cusa means that we have found ways through our ignorance of the world to forget the proof/reasons of the divine being and the trinity. From the outside effects of philosophy the idea of theology has been construed. Through math and theology he goes on to explain the proof needed to support the idea of God and the basis of the Holy Trinity.
The implications for my own life show additional proof of the trinity other than my education of the Holy Bible. Cusa explained how the trinity is able to exist with the use of objects I’m familiar with, such as the circle, sphere, and lines. I have a back ground in math and he was able to use it to help me defend my religion against others who disagree with me when it comes to the trinity. I don’t think there is any substantial reasoning that bears any affect on my daily life. It just goes to show that there is a little more proof out there indicating that there is a God and it isn’t all about evolution and the big bang theory.

26. Gerald Edelman means second nature is a direct response to Neural Darwinism. Through the evolution of our brains, complex neural pathways formed. With these complexities we, humans, are capable of more things. By second nature we are able to interact with our environments and react accordingly to each individual environment. We are able through reflections to react to the environments. We remember through memory to the adaptation of the environments.
Through the advancement of technology we are able to see how the neurons are working with the use of visualization phenomenon. No to people have the same reaction to the same stimuli. The robots in the room, like the mouse, acted differently to achieve the same goal. They accustomed themselves to different visualization in the room to accustom themselves to their surroundings. The adaptation can be seen here and is used like second nature to achieve a common goal.

27. The video from PETA gives at least twenty-five reasons to become a vegetarian. Those reasons are as follows:
1) Because heart disease begins at childhood
2) Because a vegetarian diet reverses heart disease
3) Because eating dairy and meat makes you fat
4) Because you shouldn’t have to lie to your kids about the food you eat
5) Because in every package of chicken there is a little poop
6) Because meat is dirty and filthy
7) Because it isn’t fair
8) Because no creator wants to see her family slaughtered
9) Eating meat causes impotence
10) Because mad cow disease is in the U.S.
11) Because it is violence that we can stop
12) Because no one should have to make a living by killing
13) Because it takes a small person to eat a defenseless animal
14) Because no animal deserves to die for your taste buds
15) Because the grain used to feed them could feed the hungry in third
World countries
16) Because they are defenseless
17) Because they feel pain…they scream too
18) Because they don’t want to die (the animals)
19) Because they feel fear
20) Because no matter how you slice it…it’s still flesh
21) Because commerce is no excuse for murder
22) Because it’s not wings are for
23) Because eating fish doesn’t make you a vegetarian
24) Because might doesn’t make right
25) Because you know it is wrong
There are arguments against vegetarianism. They exchange blows with some of the PETA’s arguments. In argument that if we had more vegetarians we could feed the hungry. In order for a vegetarian to gain as half as much nutrition from one steak they have to eat two to three times as much food. In order for there to be this much food we would destroy even more of our rain forest, causing more pollution, increasing global warming, and causing more plant extinction. There are also several arguments that plant eaters who only eat plants are at greater risk for caner. This is because of the chemicals used in pesticides and fertilizers. There a nearly as many arguments against as there are for those for vegetarianism. (The data for this paragraph was obtained from www.i-mockery.com/meatatarian/virtues)

28. Ramana Maharshi's turning point in life was when he determined that the body dies and the spirit lives on. He was still alive and believed that he was the deathless spirit. He then absorbed the rest of his life on this new awareness within him. He no longer allowed anything to falter his connection with God and his inner spirit. He didn’t care about what he did including everything else including what he ate, played, or studied. He spent the rest of his life connecting, through meditation, with the spirit creating an inner peace were nothing outside him could affect his spirituality.
He got himself lost in the tranquility of being. He no longer cared about money either. He was forced into a cellar were he was not interrupted by people were he ignored the wrath of hell but was unmoved to the torment because he was so indulged in his meditation. He came to the point were people had to keep him alive because he cared not to be bothered by it. He was then on found to be a peaceful man and was able to spread it unto those who came into his presence.

29. My favorite lecture film was that of Sam Harris on the End of Faith. It was my favorite because he was entertaining and was speaking on a lower level. He was not about big terms that come with the degrees and knowledge that the other expert lectures involved. I understood what Sam Harris was talking about even though I disagree with some of his philosophy because of my personal religious background.

30. I found the movie “Things that jiggle” to be the most impressive and thought provoking. With the growing ability to create and destroy, the end is even nearer. We are researching and never quiting to dig deeper into every little thing. Not only that but it involved a lot about nuclear physics which is still a controversial subject world wide today. A lot of power is derived from having the ability to derive nuclear power/destruction.

31. My favorite reading was “An Integral Theory of Consciousness.” The author was able to give me a better understanding of what consciousness is and how it works. I was able to agree with most of his philosophy of consciousness. He didn’t put anyone else down for their thoughts, but was able to use of them to form his theory.

32. The most unusual thing that I learned this term was what philosophy is all about. There are a lot of controversial issues that I was not aware of. Philosophy seems to me to be the discussion between those with a lot of knowledge trying to prove everyone else is wrong. The history shows that it just changes and goes with the times depending on how society changes and accepts.