Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Group 2
I didn't know if we were really supposed to have a group post since we really didn't have a discussion but I'll write a little something anyways. The scorecard is going to take some time to get used to. The way the class flows is a positive and it's nice to hear the different backgrounds people come from. The daily quizzes definitely will help down the road as a study guide as well.
Group 3
I didn't see any other group posts but figured i would post anyways. In class we took our first daily quiz which I feel like will be beneficial for me, at least, since it will be something to go back & review for the tests with. Since it seems to be that we change subjects frequently and flow with the conversation.
Neil deGrasse Tyson's Cosmos
The Sagan sequel is coming in March! Here's Tyson with Bill Moyers. ("God has to mean more to you than just where science has yet to tread...If the only reason you say 'dark matter is God' is because it's a mystery, then get ready to have that undone.") Good stuff!
Also of interest:
"2014...the year we start accepting atheists" [Whattaya mean 'we'?!]
Also of interest:
"2014...the year we start accepting atheists" [Whattaya mean 'we'?!]
"...in the same way that 2013 saw a tidal shift in attitudes toward gays in America, 2014 portends a wave of acceptance for one of the few remaining groups people feel justified in disrespecting: atheists.
One of my great heroes, open-water swimmer Diana Nyad, pried open the door a few inches for nonbelievers on Oprah Winfrey’s “ Super Soul Sunday” in October, after Nyad’s historic Cuba-to-Florida swim.
Winfrey challenged Nyad’s self-proclaimed atheism after Nyad described having feelings of wonder and awe, saying: “Well, I don’t call you an atheist then. I think if you believe in the awe and the wonder and the mystery, that that is what God is. … It’s not a bearded guy in the sky.”
It’s hard to imagine Winfrey remarking to a guest who proclaimed herself gay, “Well, I don’t call you gay then.” That would be rude. But to tell an atheist she isn’t an atheist is OK somehow..."
more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/01/18/4754413/let-2014-be-the-year-we-start.html#storylink=cpy
Genesis 11:1- Random thought
Hey guys,
As I am looking back over the notes I took of our first readings I came across a passage that stuck out to me more reading through it this time. It is Genesis 11:1-"In all species, nature works to renew itself as it works to nourish itself, and to protect itself from danger." After thinking about that for a minute one thought stuck with me. Since the beginning of all life, every life form (big or small) has had the single goal of surviving. It is built into everything we do. We have so many built in survival mechanisms that we don't even have to think about. It is literally programmed into our DNA. So after realizing in a new light that our number one goal is survival, what implications do you think this has? If we have such a desire to live, yet most of the time we wonder about our purpose here on earth, how do those things mesh? It is clear that survival and continuation is our purpose, but why do some of us long for a sense of higher understanding or transcendence from our human state? Isn't the fact that we are alive in this current state miraculous enough? Just some questions for discussion. The thoughts might be a little strewn out, but I just got bombarded by my brain with all these thoughts and had to get them down before I forgot them. So what do you guys think? Is surviving and continuation of our species our most important purpose? Is it our only purpose? Also if by nature, Nature itself is constantly in the necessary process of creating new and letting old things die, why is it as humans we fear death and new beginnings so much? It seems to go against the flow of the natural course of things. I would love to hear some of your thoughts on these things.
Jamey Howell
As I am looking back over the notes I took of our first readings I came across a passage that stuck out to me more reading through it this time. It is Genesis 11:1-"In all species, nature works to renew itself as it works to nourish itself, and to protect itself from danger." After thinking about that for a minute one thought stuck with me. Since the beginning of all life, every life form (big or small) has had the single goal of surviving. It is built into everything we do. We have so many built in survival mechanisms that we don't even have to think about. It is literally programmed into our DNA. So after realizing in a new light that our number one goal is survival, what implications do you think this has? If we have such a desire to live, yet most of the time we wonder about our purpose here on earth, how do those things mesh? It is clear that survival and continuation is our purpose, but why do some of us long for a sense of higher understanding or transcendence from our human state? Isn't the fact that we are alive in this current state miraculous enough? Just some questions for discussion. The thoughts might be a little strewn out, but I just got bombarded by my brain with all these thoughts and had to get them down before I forgot them. So what do you guys think? Is surviving and continuation of our species our most important purpose? Is it our only purpose? Also if by nature, Nature itself is constantly in the necessary process of creating new and letting old things die, why is it as humans we fear death and new beginnings so much? It seems to go against the flow of the natural course of things. I would love to hear some of your thoughts on these things.
Jamey Howell
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Daily Quiz
Good Book (GB) 1-24
1. (T/F) Grayling says in the epistle that this Good Book, like others of its kind, aims to compel belief.
2. What “one thing” gathers all things, according to Genesis ch1?
3. What is the motto of enlightenment? (Gen 2)
4. What’s the relation between birth and death? (Gen 5)
5. Does corporeality (“body”) belong only to what can be seen? (Gen 7)
6. By what natural process did primitive life first arise? (Gen 9)
7. What pulled each us “out of nothingness”? (Gen 11)
8. “Nature does nothing in vain” is an expression of what general principle or guiding value of inquiry? (Gen 13)
9. What is “mankind’s greatest endeavour”? (Gen 15)
10. What is success, according to the wise? (Wisdom 3)
Introduction: Escape from an Appalachian Childhood
Hello everyone,
My name is Dean Hall, and, for the most part, I consider myself a seeker of truth. My adventure filled youth in the Kentucky foothills of the Appalachian Mountains afforded me unlimited access to the world of nature.
As a barefoot boy, I seized every after-school opportunity to explore the hills, hollows, creeks, and ponds around my little patch of paradise on this pale-blue dot, with each journey teaming with new wildlife discoveries. Sometimes I can still recall the feel of mid-summer bluegrass under my feet when I would walk the mile through the fields to my grandmother’s house, wondering all the way if she would have a newly brewed pot of iced tea ready.
I think growing up with my feet (literally—my bare feet) planted firmly on that rich Kentucky soil had something to do with my initial introduction to atheism. My vivid imagination was only overshadowed by my curiosity. The phrase “doxastic closure” was not nor has ever been part of my ethos. So when my mother and grandmother started introducing me to the terms God, Jesus, demons, angels, etc., I was curious. Like any investigative child, I went looking for evidence. What I discover was—unlike the naturalistic photos and discoveries in science books and encyclopedias—questions about the existence of these entities were met with emotional wrath and shaming. I learned it was better to discuss the nature of these so-called beings than to inquire into the actual existence of them. Questioning their existence was off limits. Right then, at the tender age of 6, I knew something was up—my childhood bullshit detector was pegging in the red. If I saw a picture of a frog or a bird that was native to my area in a book, I would search until I was pretty sure I spotted one in nature. The search for gods and demons left my mind swirling in a supernatural mental vacuum—untethered from my adolescent worldview of reality.
As a result of my insatiable curiosity in the face of nonexistent evidence, I had to pretend to believe all the gods, demons, angels, and Bible stories until I got out of high school. In a way, I felt sad—not for me, but for the people I thought were being deceived at best, or at worst: delusional. I watched people pray for things that never materialized. For me, the world operated just the way it would without invoking a god. Adding a gods and demons to reality only seemed to complicate it. Doing the right thing in life because a god commands detracts from morality. But if that changes in the near future, I’m open to it—but I’m not holding my breath.
I never think about gods these days, but I consider myself an anti-theist. Not necessarily because I don’t think religious claims are true, but because many times religion is used as a shield for personal bigotry, racism, homophobia, and misogyny. Sometimes the phrase the Bible says is often followed by some hate-filled bronze-age rhetoric.
As a musician, I’ve had the opportunity to travel all over the world, and I’ve been fortunate to work with all kinds of people. And far from the trappings of tribalized, mutually-exclusive religions, I have learned one thing: I see people through the eyes of humanity, and no their skin color, sexual orientation, gender, origin of birth, or even their religion.
Religion is not always the problem (my wife’s a Christian), but false beliefs sometimes are. Here’s an example. Although the numbers are on the decline, we live in a country where over 50 percent of people (people—not just Christians) believe in an anthropomorphic or literal Devil. Education is no deterrent. In a recent interview, Justice Scalia determined that the Devil, lately, has gotten “wilier” and believes the Devil is now working through some people in this class. Here’s his direct quote: “What he’s doing now is getting people not to believe in him or in God. He’s much more successful that way.” That worries me on so many levels; I don’t have room here to go into it.
So there you have it: my brief, truncated journey through life. I wouldn't trade my childhood experience for anything, even if I were given a do-over. I’m still a kid at heart and a seeker of truth. Sometimes I can still feel those childhood moments of bliss—the warm bluegrass beneath my bare feet. And then there are times I’m motivated to write or create—not from beauty or bliss—but as Kurt Vonnegut quipped about his source of inspiration: “It was a disgust with civilization.”
A little love can go a long way.
My name is Dean Hall, and, for the most part, I consider myself a seeker of truth. My adventure filled youth in the Kentucky foothills of the Appalachian Mountains afforded me unlimited access to the world of nature.
As a barefoot boy, I seized every after-school opportunity to explore the hills, hollows, creeks, and ponds around my little patch of paradise on this pale-blue dot, with each journey teaming with new wildlife discoveries. Sometimes I can still recall the feel of mid-summer bluegrass under my feet when I would walk the mile through the fields to my grandmother’s house, wondering all the way if she would have a newly brewed pot of iced tea ready.
I think growing up with my feet (literally—my bare feet) planted firmly on that rich Kentucky soil had something to do with my initial introduction to atheism. My vivid imagination was only overshadowed by my curiosity. The phrase “doxastic closure” was not nor has ever been part of my ethos. So when my mother and grandmother started introducing me to the terms God, Jesus, demons, angels, etc., I was curious. Like any investigative child, I went looking for evidence. What I discover was—unlike the naturalistic photos and discoveries in science books and encyclopedias—questions about the existence of these entities were met with emotional wrath and shaming. I learned it was better to discuss the nature of these so-called beings than to inquire into the actual existence of them. Questioning their existence was off limits. Right then, at the tender age of 6, I knew something was up—my childhood bullshit detector was pegging in the red. If I saw a picture of a frog or a bird that was native to my area in a book, I would search until I was pretty sure I spotted one in nature. The search for gods and demons left my mind swirling in a supernatural mental vacuum—untethered from my adolescent worldview of reality.
As a result of my insatiable curiosity in the face of nonexistent evidence, I had to pretend to believe all the gods, demons, angels, and Bible stories until I got out of high school. In a way, I felt sad—not for me, but for the people I thought were being deceived at best, or at worst: delusional. I watched people pray for things that never materialized. For me, the world operated just the way it would without invoking a god. Adding a gods and demons to reality only seemed to complicate it. Doing the right thing in life because a god commands detracts from morality. But if that changes in the near future, I’m open to it—but I’m not holding my breath.
I never think about gods these days, but I consider myself an anti-theist. Not necessarily because I don’t think religious claims are true, but because many times religion is used as a shield for personal bigotry, racism, homophobia, and misogyny. Sometimes the phrase the Bible says is often followed by some hate-filled bronze-age rhetoric.
As a musician, I’ve had the opportunity to travel all over the world, and I’ve been fortunate to work with all kinds of people. And far from the trappings of tribalized, mutually-exclusive religions, I have learned one thing: I see people through the eyes of humanity, and no their skin color, sexual orientation, gender, origin of birth, or even their religion.
Religion is not always the problem (my wife’s a Christian), but false beliefs sometimes are. Here’s an example. Although the numbers are on the decline, we live in a country where over 50 percent of people (people—not just Christians) believe in an anthropomorphic or literal Devil. Education is no deterrent. In a recent interview, Justice Scalia determined that the Devil, lately, has gotten “wilier” and believes the Devil is now working through some people in this class. Here’s his direct quote: “What he’s doing now is getting people not to believe in him or in God. He’s much more successful that way.” That worries me on so many levels; I don’t have room here to go into it.
So there you have it: my brief, truncated journey through life. I wouldn't trade my childhood experience for anything, even if I were given a do-over. I’m still a kid at heart and a seeker of truth. Sometimes I can still feel those childhood moments of bliss—the warm bluegrass beneath my bare feet. And then there are times I’m motivated to write or create—not from beauty or bliss—but as Kurt Vonnegut quipped about his source of inspiration: “It was a disgust with civilization.”
A little love can go a long way.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Introductions
Let's introduce ourselves, Spring 2014 Atheism & Philosophy collaborators.
I invite you all to hit "comment" and reply by posting your own introductions telling us who you are and why you're here, and to ruminate as well in response to any or all of these questions:
I invite you all to hit "comment" and reply by posting your own introductions telling us who you are and why you're here, and to ruminate as well in response to any or all of these questions:
What problems of "meaning" do you and your fellow humans encounter? Do you think they're harder problems for atheists, humanists, secularists and other god-deniers? Do atheists (etc.) miss out on something valuable? (As Steve Martin and his bluegrass band sing, "Atheists Ain't Got No Hymns"...) Is "reality" an objective phenomenon? What is "religious experience"? What is "scientific experience"? Are either, or both, legitimate and respectable instances of human experience? Can an atheist live a good life AND die a good death?Our first class meeting will consist mainly of introductions. We'll not spend much time going over the syllabus or talking course mechanics, there's plenty of time for that later. But I do invite you to peruse the Quick Start Guide, Daily Participation Scorecard, and Syllabus page links on our course blogsite (in the right margin). Let me know what's especially unclear.
I'm Dr. Oliver, aka James P., aka Phil, aka (despite my best efforts to discourage it) "Dr. Phil." I live in Nashville with my wife, younger daughter, two dogs (Angel and Lilli), and a cat named Zeus. Older Daughter is a college freshman a couple hundred miles away.
My office is in James Union Building 307-B. Office hours are MW 1-2,TTh 4-5, & by appointment.. On nice days, office hours will be outdoors (my door will direct you).
I've been at MTSU for over a decade, teaching philosophy courses on diverse subjects including atheism, childhood, happiness, the environment, the future, and bioethics.
My birthday is Feb.14, we'll observe it on the 13th: bring cake and candy to class that day. Also a cure for aging if you've got it. (Last year someone brought biscuits and jam from the Loveless. That helped.)
My Ph.D. is from Vanderbilt. I'm originally from Missouri, near St. Louis. I was indoctrinated as a Cardinals fan in early childhood. My undergrad degree is from Mizzou, in Columbia MO. (I wish my schools weren't in the SEC-I don't approve of major collegiate sports culture or of violence in football, but don't get me started.)
My philosophical expertise, such as it is, centers on the American philosophical tradition of William James. Last year a student asked me to respond to a questionnaire. I did, and have continued to reflect on its excellent questions. "It was an honor..."
I post my thoughts regularly to my blogs Up@dawn and Delight Springs, among others, and toTwitter. Follow me if you want to. But of course, as Brian Cohen said, you don't have to follow anyone. (Extra credit if you get that reference... and real extra credit if you realize that my "extra credit" is usually rhetorical.)
Enough about me. Who are you? (Where are you from, where have you been, what do you like, who do you want to become,...?) Why are you here? (On Earth, in Tennessee, at MTSU, in philosophy class)? What intrinsic or voluntary meaning does your existence entail or imply? What are your thoughts on the other questions posed at the beginning of this post?
Hit "comments" below and post your introduction, then read your classmates'... and bear in mind that this is an open site. The world can read it. (The world's probably busy with other stuff, of course.)
My birthday is Feb.14, we'll observe it on the 13th: bring cake and candy to class that day. Also a cure for aging if you've got it. (Last year someone brought biscuits and jam from the Loveless. That helped.)
My Ph.D. is from Vanderbilt. I'm originally from Missouri, near St. Louis. I was indoctrinated as a Cardinals fan in early childhood. My undergrad degree is from Mizzou, in Columbia MO. (I wish my schools weren't in the SEC-I don't approve of major collegiate sports culture or of violence in football, but don't get me started.)
My philosophical expertise, such as it is, centers on the American philosophical tradition of William James. Last year a student asked me to respond to a questionnaire. I did, and have continued to reflect on its excellent questions. "It was an honor..."
I post my thoughts regularly to my blogs Up@dawn and Delight Springs, among others, and toTwitter. Follow me if you want to. But of course, as Brian Cohen said, you don't have to follow anyone. (Extra credit if you get that reference... and real extra credit if you realize that my "extra credit" is usually rhetorical.)
Enough about me. Who are you? (Where are you from, where have you been, what do you like, who do you want to become,...?) Why are you here? (On Earth, in Tennessee, at MTSU, in philosophy class)? What intrinsic or voluntary meaning does your existence entail or imply? What are your thoughts on the other questions posed at the beginning of this post?
Hit "comments" below and post your introduction, then read your classmates'... and bear in mind that this is an open site. The world can read it. (The world's probably busy with other stuff, of course.)
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