... Firstly I will examine the argument for a fixed human nature in the form of the theory of argument from design and also determinism. Then I will proceed to examine the argument against a fixed human nature, in the theory of existentialism. Lastly I intend to show the evidence, as to why I conclude that there is no such thing as a fixed human nature, and that the theory of existentialism is the plausible argument. I will examine now, the idea that all humans have a fixed human nature. Plato and Aristotle were the first to concur on metaphysics as the first point of study. They differed to each other in so far as Plato had a dualistic approach and believed in a world outside of the changeable physical world, that we exist in. He thought this world, was just a world of appearances' another world known as the world of ideals or forms. Plato thought the only way we come to know the world of forms was through the intellect. Aristotle however was concerned only with the material world and what he could learn about through his senses. He rejected Plato's idea of an immaterial reality and was concerned only with this world as the primary reality. Aristotle, believed that each substance may be composed of matter and form, but the substances were not separate from each other. This metaphysical view rejected Plato's body – soul dualism. But although they both had different views about the status of metaphysical forms, their role in advancing the investigations of human nature were very...
Words: 2330 - Pages: 10
...1 The Bible and Myth 2 The Bible in Its World The Bible and Myth: A Problem of Definition Continuity: The Basis of Mythical Thinking Transcendence: Basis of Biblical Thinking The Bible verses Myth The Bible and History 9 The Bible and History: A Problem of Definition Is the Bible Truly Historical? The Problem of History (1) Does it Matter Whether the Bible Is Historical? The Problem of History (2) Origins of the Biblical Worldview: Alternatives Conclusion 15 Introduction “The Bible Among the Myths” begins with the author, John N. Oswalt, establishing his credibility on the topic discussed. Following his studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and Brandeis University, Oswald went on to teach courses at multiple seminaries on the subject of the Old Testament. Due to his years of teaching, he followed the current thought in the scholarly world in reference to the Bible and the subject of myth. In a sixty year gap, scholarly thought went from a popular view of the Israelite thought being completely separate and unconnected to the ancient near eastern thought to currently seeing Israelite religion as simply one more of the complex West Semitic religions. Scholars shifted to view the Israelite religion as a result of evolutionary change where the religion developed from the effects of time and a similar worldview to the world around. The introduction brings up the discovery...
Words: 4749 - Pages: 19
...What is "Perfect world"? What does this word intend to you? What might be your "Perfect world"? Consider this while it is being perused to you or while you read it and ideally when the you get to the end you to will recognize what it intends to you; and what your ideal world would be similar to. By definition from a word reference "Ideal world" means, an in a perfect world immaculate spot, particularly in its social, political, and moral perspectives. Ideal world is your ideal world or society. It is a universe of your decision, a world that meets each and every desire you have of life. An ideal world in my brain would be a world where all individuals extraordinary and little, all shapes and hues, and all animals are dealt with as one or as...
Words: 747 - Pages: 3
...Nea would be the antagonist of the story if the literary development of point of view and characterization were different. Point of view and characterization in literature is what allows us to see, hear, and feel a story the way it is designed. An author’s attention to detail is crucial. He or she may put more focus into every small element in a setting or they may emphasize more on development of plot or character. Every literary piece is different. Point of view is an essential tool in arranging the world in a story that sets itself apart. Development of character can only begin after we know from where the story is coming. Chai writes “Saving Sourdi” in a first person point of view through a naïve character. We are “restricted to the perceptions, thoughts, and feelings of [this] single character” (Meyer 138). For the rest of my analysis it is important to remember this. The narrator tells a story of the two main characters and the relationship between them. The actions of our immature main character throughout the time of this story takes place continue to fail her, creating contrast between the two of them. The reader can tell this is happening, but because the story comes to us from this first person narrative, we also know that Nea truly believes she is doing the right thing. We can always know too much or too little of what we are supposed to be reading, but the role of point of view shifts our focus without us know it. Interpretation of words or sentences...
Words: 1161 - Pages: 5
...Thinking PHL/458 A situation that comes to mind that everyone can relate to is September 11. To me this is a major situation that could have turned out really different if the passengers of these planes that day use critical and creative thinking. Those planes were taken over by guys with boxes cuts, scissors, and nail clippers, from what we are told. Now the passengers of Flight 93 taken the plane back and it crashed in a Pennsylvania field instead of crashing into the Pentagon. I know the passengers of Flight 93 found out what was happening and what the terrorist had planned so for them it was easy. It’s hard know what happened on the planes before they were crashed into the Twin Towers, but once the passengers saw what was happening they could have really changed the future of the United States if they used critical and creative thinking. Nothing good could have come from the terrorists taking over those planes that day. 171 Free will is to use the ability to do whatever one wants to or has the ability to do. Truth would be a compilation of facts. Knowledge is having information that we are familiar with or have learned or at least an understanding of. Opinion is a view or belief about information or a situation that has been experienced. We usually tend to use free will in making our own decisions on what we want to do or how we act in certain situations. We have the right to make up our own minds about those situations and act upon that accordingly. If we think something...
Words: 958 - Pages: 4
...blogs have invaded our culture and left an indelible mark on society. From Politics to Journalism, blogs are reshaping our notion of how content is created and information is disseminated. Before the popularity of blogging and the internet the main sources of news were television and newspapers. The content and perspective of the news was decided by the media. It was easy for them to stretch the truth, omit important issues, portray problems as more or less serious than reality, and show the point of view that they wanted the public to see. The internet changed the way our news was delivered, and blogs in particular have affected the news industry greatly. Unlike before where some executive decided what the country should and shouldn't be told about, it is now possible for any individual to publish news on the internet. This has changed the news industry dramatically from a consumers point of view. The executives can still try to control which stories are published and which point of view to portray, but online we can find the real truths more easily. Not only can we find out what happened from various view points, we can read individual people's thoughts and feelings about the stories. We can see what various experts think about situations and events, as well as the general public opinions. Another benefit for consumers is that we can filter the types of news we choose to read. Television news often shows world events, sporting events and a weather forecast, as well as some local...
Words: 709 - Pages: 3
...Unit: Point of View Introduction In this unit we will examine point of view. The perspective from which the story is told is a key facet of narrative. “In telling a story, who tells it is of paramount importance” (Bohner and Grant 15). Narrator “Choosing a narrative point of view is perhaps the most important and most difficult decision a writer of a story makes. Point of view—like plot, character, setting, and language—is a creative decision; however, it is also a very much a technical decision” (Bohner and Grant 15). “Someone has to tell the story. That someone is called the narrator. But the question is who will that narrator be and what does the narrator know” (Bohner and Grant 15). Mediation Drama and film unfold directly before our eyes. In narrative fiction there is always something (a viewer, a speaker, both) between the reader and the action: a point of view other than our own has already been imposed. This is mediation. Point of view involves the angle of vision (the point of view from which the people, events, and other details are viewed). This view is called the focus. The words of the story lying between the reader and the story is the voice. Focus Focus acts like a camera. It chooses what we can look at, the angle at which we can view it, and how it is framed. In this case, a tv screen vs. a movie screen. Details and emphasis change depending upon the frame and the focus in both text and film. Angles in film...
Words: 1698 - Pages: 7
...moral character as well as personal reflection,wisdom is gained. The holistic approach is supported instead of a specializedconcentration on a specific targeted area. By combining experiences gainedthrough critical thinking and dealing with broader topics, the idealist creates anenvironment in which a learner can rationalize information across curriculum.Idealism as a philosophy had its greatest impact during the nineteenth century.Its influence in today’s world is less important than it has been in the past..Idealism is the conclusion that the universe is expression of intelligence and will,that the enduring substance of the world is the nature of the mind, that thematerial is explained by the mental. Idealism as a philosophy stands in contrastwith all those systems of thought that center in nature (naturalism) or in man(humanism)." According to idealism "to be" means to be experienced by aperson. Idealism holds that the order of the world is due to the manifestation inspace and time of an eternal and spiritual reality. As to knowledge, idealismholds that knowledge is man thinking the thoughts and purposes of this eternaland spiritual reality as they are embodied in our world of fact. As to ethics,idealism holds that the goodness of man's individual and social life is theconformity of the human will with the moral administration of the universe.Idealism as an educational philosophy is generally linked to the work of H.H.Horne and William Hocking. In the Forty-first Yearbook of the...
Words: 3449 - Pages: 14
...Christ the Coming King Steven Collier Crown College Abstract In this paper I will discuss the different views on the second coming of Christ, the rapture of the church, how the second coming of Christ affects missions, and I give an exegesis of Revelation 20:1-6. I will also discuss why I believe the pre-millennial view is the correct view concerning the return of Christ. There are three schools of thought in the area of the thousand year reign of Christ. They are the amillennial view, postmillennial view, and the premillennial view. Those who believe in a amillennial view do not believe in a literal or an actual future kingdom of peace and prosperity here on earth that will last one thousand years. Those who hold this view tend to view Scripture in a more figurative way than a literal way. They believe the thousand year reign of Christ is symbolic of the church age between the resurrection of Christ and His return. Most amillennialists believe that a spiritual form of the Kingdom of God is present now. Amillennialism reject the idea of a rapture. They believe good and evil will increase in the world as God’s Kingdom parallels the kingdom of Satan. They believe Satan is bound but yet evil increases. They believe when Christ returns the end of the world will occur with a general resurrection and a judgment of all people. They believe Christ will never reign on earth in a literal way but the Kingdom of God exists on earth in the...
Words: 3332 - Pages: 14
...of these systems are drawn from human intelligence, they exhibit more intelligence than the human beings themselves. This is just the beginning in computer revolution and more improvements are likely to be seen in the near future.The computer revolution has influenced everyday matters from the way letters are written to the methods in which our banks, governments, and credit card agencies keep track of our finances. The development of artificial intelligence is just a small percentage of the computer revolution and how society deals with, learns, and incorporatesartificial intelligence. It will only be the beginning of the huge impact and achievements of the computer revolution. A standard definition of artificial intelligence, or AI, is that computers simply mimic behaviors of humans that would be regarded as intelligent if a human being did them. However, within this definition, several issues and views still conflict because of ways of interpreting the results of AI programs by scientists and critics. The most commn and natural approach to AI research is to ask of any program, what can it do? What are the actual results in comparison to human intelligence? For example, what matters about a chess-playing program is how good it is. Can it possibly beat chess grand masters? There is also a more structured approach in assessing artificial intelligence, which began opening the door of the artificial intelligence contribution into the science world. According to this theoretical...
Words: 910 - Pages: 4
...The Problem of Perception First published Tue Mar 8, 2005; substantive revision Fri Feb 4, 2011 Sense-perception—the awareness or apprehension of things by sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste—has long been a preoccupation of philosophers. One pervasive and traditional problem, sometimes called “the problem of perception”, is created by the phenomena of perceptual illusion and hallucination: if these kinds of error are possible, how can perception be what it intuitively seems to be, a direct and immediate access to reality? The present entry is about how these possibilities of error challenge the intelligibility of the phenomenon of perception, and how the major theories of perception in the last century are best understood as responses to this challenge. • 1. The Problem of Perception o 1.1 Introduction o 1.2 The Argument from Illusion o 1.3 The Argument from Hallucination • 2. The Sources of the Problem o 2.1 The Ordinary Conception of Perceptual Experience 2.1.1 The Objects of Experience 2.1.2 Perceptual Presence 2.1.3 The Transparency of Experience 2.1.4 Vision and the Other Senses o 2.2 Illusion and Hallucination • 3. Theories of Perception o 3.1 The Sense-Datum Theory 3.1.1 Indirect Realism and Phenomenalism 3.1.2 Objections to the Sense-Datum Theory o 3.2 The Adverbial Theory 3.2.1 The Adverbial Theory and Qualia 3.2.2 Objections to the Adverbial Theory o 3.3 The Intentionalist Theory 3.3.1 The Sources of the Intentionalist Theory ...
Words: 15756 - Pages: 64
...Log Section 1 - Two reflective entries Reflective entry 1: New Beginnings Deciding to attend university as a mature age student was a decision I did not take lightly. I am working towards furthering my education in order to gain the necessary qualifications that will help me in my future business endeavour. I have found that after so long out of the education system it has been a difficult transition juggling study and work. The first units that were chosen for me in study period 2, I thought were difficult to understand having never written an essay before and without the knowledge or know how, I was not able to complete these units. SSK12 has given me a good understanding of what it takes at becoming a university student and in particular the skills on writing essays. As I have mentioned previously up until study period 2, I had never written an essay and did not fully comprehend how important the set out of a university essay was. Choosing an Essay Question was an important part of my learning in week 6 because this has now given me the beginning step in writing a university essay using the correct format. I am feeling a lot more confident when approaching the subject of essays as I now understand and have the knowledge on the procedure in completing an academic essay and what is required. I now know that by firstly choosing a question will then help you to with your thesis and this in turn will give you your main idea and sets the way in which to write...
Words: 4682 - Pages: 19
...There is a wide variety of categories into which all things in the world can be divided. There are natural and unnatural phenomena; things created by mankind and those we consider to be product of the Supreme Mind; there is flora and there is fauna; there are things that we can modify and things that humans have no control over. One of the many ways to differentiate and classify everything and anything in the surrounding environment and, probably, one of the most universal ways, is to classify things as being either material or immaterial. It seems fairly easy to distinguish between the two. If we cannot touch, feel or see something, then it becomes the notion of the immaterial world. The rest belongs to the material things, which we can own, trade, purchase, possess, lose or give away. When Rene Descartes, one of the founders of the modern-day western philosophical science, laid the groundwork for his epistemological perspective called Cartesian Dualism, he was coming exactly from the same universal idea. The thoughts and hypotheses that Descartes tried so hard, throughout his lifetime’s work, to develop into axioms and prove to be fundamentally true, surprisingly remain highly debatable and are still largely in question. Philosophy is very much about the question of certainty. To a great extent, from the epistemological perspective, knowledge is certainty (Harris, 2009). Just as the case is with Plato, whose quest for certainty has driven his metaphysics to take it, as a...
Words: 1704 - Pages: 7
...need to do more than rely on these notes. Use your course notes, essays and text books. 1. Key Words: Religious language is cognitive if it is thought of as conveying knowledge of what is really there. Religious language is non-cognitive it is thought as conveying feelings or expressing desires or guiding ways of behaving. Religious language is realist if it is thought of as conveying testable facts that actually pertain in reality. Religious language is non-realist it is thought of as conveying guiding ideals but with no basis in factual reality. Religious language offers a correspondence theory of truth if it is thought of as being able to point to the reality that it is trying to convey. Religious language offers a coherence theory of truth if it is thought of as conveying making sense within a network of other beliefs which people hold to be true. 2. What Religious Language is: Religious language is an outlet for emotion in special times of life. Religious language is the language of worship. It is performative, ‘I baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’, and it is prescriptive (law making – i.e. honour your father and mother). However, none these uses of religious language is our focus. Our focus is how religious language might make truth claims about the reality of God and whether it can succeed in doing this. Philosophers have suggested many different ways in which this might be done. These include: |Via Negativa ...
Words: 7343 - Pages: 30
...everyday matters from the way letters are written to the methods in which our banks, governments, and credit card agencies keep track of our finances. The development of artificial intelligence is just a small percentage of the computer revolution and how society deals with, learns, and incorporates artificial intelligence. It will only be the beginning of the huge impact and achievements of the computer revolution. A standard definition of artificial intelligence, or AI, is that computers simply mimic behaviors of humans that would be regarded as intelligent if a human being did them. However, within this definition, several issues and views still conflict because of ways of interpreting the results of AI programs by scientists and critics. The most common and natural approach to AI research is to ask of any program, what can it do? What are the actual results in comparison to human intelligence? For example, what matters about a chess-playing program is how good it is. Can it possibly beat chess grand masters? There is also a more structured approach in assessing artificial intelligence, which began opening the door of the artificial intelligence contribution into the science world. According to this theoretical approach, what matters is not the input-output relations of the computer, but also what the program can tell us about actual human cognition (Ptack, 1994). From this point of view, artificial intelligence can not only give a commercial or business world the advantage...
Words: 1106 - Pages: 5
