Group 2

     Hello Group 2! Things seem to be chugging along with our class discussion. Today the conversation went in the direction of the difference between faith and belief and the difference between the natural and transcendent. I had a great time listening to the class as the discussion developed. We ultimately decided that the definitions of many words would not be agreed on by everyone and then we moved on to the quiz and discussion of the reading assignment also talking about the natural and the transcendent.

Daily Quiz

Jan 28

1. Can we live fully meaningfully "off the grid"?

2. (T/F) Flanagan agrees straightforwardly that "normative questions cannot be addressed empirically."

3. What's the different between platonic and Platonic space? How does Flanagan propose to understand Plato's theory of forms? What does he say we all try to locate?

4. What's Harry Frankfurt's useful suggestion about meaning, and what three things do we naturally care about?

5. What do we display in greater degree than Thrasymachus and Hobbes recognized?

6. Name one of the High Six "virtues that are mandatory for eudaimonia."

7.  The greatest thing in the world, says Laelius in Concord I.7, is _______.


This was going to be longer but I'm reigning myself in, to make the quiz more aceably user-friendly. But here are some shadow-questions worth pondering too:

In Dennett's attitude and terminology, apparently shared by Flanagan God is a _______ and natural selection is a ________. (Crane, skyhook, concept, reality, myth)

Flourishing can't be achieved unless _______ is.(p55)

(T/F) When we die, consciousness ends along with our impact on the world. (61)

And let's collectively nominate our favorite verses from The Good Book...

Also: I've been asked if we as a class have any plans to get together on the occasion of Sean Carroll's televised debate on Feb. 21. I hadn't heard anything about it. Have any of you? Could be a good excuse for a party, no?

Joshua Moore - Introduction, Quiz and Discussion questions

I'm a fleeting, transient thought that is sure to bewilder most upon the deepest scrutiny. An identity is that which is manifest by ourselves either knowingly or unbeknownst to our conscious selves, immediately and in the moment. So, to say that I am a face with a name is not enough. Regardless, my given name is Josh. My experience here on this blue dot of a spaceship Earth has most definitely been worthy of many descriptions. However, let us just say that I am a being whom finds solace in a perpetual musing of the moment we find ourselves the recipient of.

 The only purpose for my continued existence upon this planet must surely be to awaken others to this notion that there is MORE to life than the inherited notion of a pursuit of happiness, that our consciousness is actually that of one being which is experiencing itself as a subjective entity which we call the universe, and that life is truly a dream awaiting our contention that we can manifest it as such.

Here are my questions:

QQ from GB:

Whom/what is the parent and preserver of friendship?
 A: Virtue - p.58, Ch.2, V. 13-14

Where do the past and future gather when you are sitting with your teacher?
 A: Around you.- p.56, Ch.23, V.37

True friendship can only exist between whom?
A: Good people. - p.57, Ch. 1, V. 13

Where must the monkeys always leave their hearts?
A: At home. - p. 49, Ch.17, V. 19

DQ from GB:

How do you rest and refresh your mind?
Inspiration: p. 54, Ch. 22, V. 17

Is humanity heartless?
I: p. 49, Ch. 17, V. 26

Do you actively pursue that which you desire?
I: p. 18, Ch. 9, V. 11

Have you ever pursued that which you desire only to discover that what you had initially perceived as desirable was indeed abhorrent?
I: "", "", "" 

Review Question from the Good Book

Q: What lesson(s) does the king learn from the old man who planted the fig tree in Chapter 19 (1-12)?

A: Kindness, that the reasoning/meaning of things goes deeper than what is initially thought (that was how I answered it)

Owen Flanagan on Naturalized Buddhism

I ran across this cool article and podcast involving Owen Flanagan and his thoughts on Buddhism. I thought it was pretty interesting. I thought some of you might find the same. I would skip to about the four minute mark to start it off. I wouldn't recommend listening to the whole thing, but the first part was good. hope you enjoy.

http://secularbuddhism.org/2011/09/23/episode-83-owen-flanagan-the-bodhisattvas-brain/

Review Questions

Here are just a couple of good questions I found going through our reading.

RHP (Flanagan)

1.) What does Kant say is, "that which is beyond human knowledge"?
     
       Answer: The transcendent

2.)Name two of the High six that Peterson and Seligman refer to.
     
       Answer: Justice, Humaneness, Temperance, wisdom, transcendence, courage.

The Good Book (Grayling)

1.)What does Laelius urge us to regard as the greatest thing in the world?

       Answer: Friendship

I thought this was a pretty interesting interview

I really enjoyed the discussion and I know (vaguely) about Asimov working with humanistic perspectives. Cheers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gn3MyTE80A