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Post by vanessamagdaleno on Jul 29, 2015 2:31:09 GMT
Week 6
1. Why is Faqir Chand’s experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles?
Faqir Chand believes in a state of complete awareness. In order to get anywhere in spirituality, “one should research his own self.” (The Unknowing Sage, 5) One has to reach a state of awareness to really know oneself. The veils of illusion or ignorance will fall once someone is really in tune with their inner self. And once that occurs they finally realize that all there is “is thy own self.” (The Unknowing Sage, 5) This can account for the nature of religious visions and miracles because those that experience the miracles are spiritual in the first place. They have worshipped and attempted to reach this ultimate truth most of their life’s so that when something along the lines of what they are expecting happens to them they project their own expectations on to it. So what they are experiencing is really their own self. Since Faqir realized that there really is only ourselves, the people or sages who experience miracles are really only projecting their own self onto the phenomena. “The light may well indeed be a transcultural phenomenon, part and parcel of higher order of awareness or merely a neurological event, but the interpretations of who resides in that light is entirely a personal affair..” (The Unknowing Sage, ii)
2. What is meant by the phrase, “philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy.”
This means that philosophy is supposed to help pave the way for future empirical study in science. Those philosophical ideas that can actually be studied end up being science. However, those other ideas that cannot yet be studied remain as philosophy. Science seeks to test as much phenomena as it can instead of succumbing to “the transcendental temptation.” (The Remainder Conjecture) It wants to have a physical explanation for everything. So philosophy that can’t be tested so far is poor philosophy since it has, up to now, no empirical basis. And the good philosophy is the one that can be tested. So in order to prove philosophy as science, science will try and test “all physical explanations.”(The Remainder Conjecture) But until then, philosophy will remain as poor philosophy.
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Post by kirvin on Jul 29, 2015 14:20:16 GMT
Week 5- Digital Philosophy
1. Do you think artificial intelligence will be a significant problem in the future?
Indeed, I think that artificial intelligence will become a significant problem in the future. The use of artificial intelligence can be very dangerous if used in the wrong hands. According to the video Ray Kurzweil: The Coming, Bioterrorist could seek the ability to reprogram a virus that is more resistant and further deadly. This suggest that artificial intelligence has the capabilities of providing excellent advances in modern medicine, but also artificial intelligence can cause mass destruction by helping create deadly viruses. This surely will pose as a significant problem in the future, because it is a great threat in modern warfare. Also, as artificial intelligence advances in the near future, so does our tendency to develop ADD as our dependency of technology increases. In fact the video titled The Codex Funeral: “The Book is Dead”, explains how humans have grown with technology, and we will not go back. For instance, the video refers to drawings on the cave in France, or the use of a typewriter these are a few things that we will not go back to. In conclusion, artificial intelligence will indeed be a significant problem in the future because of its growing dependency, its ease of storage, and its availability.
2. How has technology impacted your life?
Technology has had a huge impact on my life. Ever since I was a young kid I could remember the effect of having a Gameboy, or even how my life is impacted when we get a new phone. Technology has impacted my life in so many ways. From the video Global Positioning intelligence, we see how dependent humans have become over there phones. In fact, the video says, “If we are to leave our smart phones at home, we will turn around to get it” (GPI). This suggest that humans may be too attached to technology as many rely on it to complete simple or even complex task. I too feel the same way about always needing my phone with me whenever I go out. There have been many times that I feel naked without my phone, or even because I didn’t charge it. In my life, technology has been there every day, and will continue to do so as technology advances.
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Post by nicole on Jul 29, 2015 19:52:16 GMT
Week 6 Why are Faqir Chand’s experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles? Faqir Chand’s experiences are important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles because it leads to higher awareness. The “visions of religious personages are the products of one’s own inner development” (The Unknowing Sage). The miracles and visions that a person experiences are “products of either the devotee’s previous karma or intense faith” and through these very details Faqir found his own enlightenment (The Unknowing Sage, 11). Faqir’s experiences show that he himself does “none of these miracles” instead, “it is either fate or the faith of the person” who creates the action (The Unknowing Sage, 69). Also, “visions are individual creations” they are “internal visions…not of factual or historical human entities, but of amalgamated characters, mythic beings, and fictional heorines” (The Unknowing Sage, 19). Understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles lead to higher awareness of both the devotee’s inner self and the world around them because the visions are a reflection of one’s internal visions, and understanding the world gives more awareness. What is meant by the phrase, “philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy.” The phrase “philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy” means that when philosophy is done well it can be counted as science because it contributes to the innovation and advancement of the human race. Philosophy done poorly on the other hand means that although it doesn’t give advancement, it can still be counted as philosophy. The Remainder Conjecture “stresses that we exhaust any and all physical explanations first” before we “prematurely jump ship and opt for supermundane explanations” (The Remainder Conjecture). Philosophy done well can be counted as science because it has stressed all physical explanations first and has been tested to further the knowledge that we have. Poor philosophy has no scientific value but can still be counted as philosophy because although it has not and will not be tested, it still contributes to what we already know. Everything else that has been tested but cannot be explained after all physical explanations have been exhausted is part of the remainder conjecture. Week 6 1. Why is Faqir Chand’s experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles? Faqir Chand believes in a state of complete awareness. In order to get anywhere in spirituality, “one should research his own self.” (The Unknowing Sage, 5) One has to reach a state of awareness to really know oneself. The veils of illusion or ignorance will fall once someone is really in tune with their inner self. And once that occurs they finally realize that all there is “is thy own self.” (The Unknowing Sage, 5) This can account for the nature of religious visions and miracles because those that experience the miracles are spiritual in the first place. They have worshipped and attempted to reach this ultimate truth most of their life’s so that when something along the lines of what they are expecting happens to them they project their own expectations on to it. So what they are experiencing is really their own self. Since Faqir realized that there really is only ourselves, the people or sages who experience miracles are really only projecting their own self onto the phenomena. “The light may well indeed be a transcultural phenomenon, part and parcel of higher order of awareness or merely a neurological event, but the interpretations of who resides in that light is entirely a personal affair..” (The Unknowing Sage, ii) 2. What is meant by the phrase, “philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy.” This means that philosophy is supposed to help pave the way for future empirical study in science. Those philosophical ideas that can actually be studied end up being science. However, those other ideas that cannot yet be studied remain as philosophy. Science seeks to test as much phenomena as it can instead of succumbing to “the transcendental temptation.” (The Remainder Conjecture) It wants to have a physical explanation for everything. So philosophy that can’t be tested so far is poor philosophy since it has, up to now, no empirical basis. And the good philosophy is the one that can be tested. So in order to prove philosophy as science, science will try and test “all physical explanations.”(The Remainder Conjecture) But until then, philosophy will remain as poor philosophy. Extra Credit: In response to Vanessa, I do agree that ignorance will fall once someone becomes in tune to them self. I do not agree however with the fact that the nature of religious visions and miracles happen to those who are spiritual to begin with. I believe that some individuals happen to have a religious vision or miracle that prompts them to become religious. |
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Post by Adam Elashi on Jul 31, 2015 17:21:40 GMT
1. Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles?
Faqirs Chand’s experiences are so important and vital in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles that we must fully try comprehend his experiences to the best of his abilities. To me his teachings and experiences are really quite extraordinary, his experiences prove that anyone with right amount of patience and hard work can work hard to achieve a higher being. When using this ancient meditation technique it enables one to experience regions of light and sound beyond the normal waking state. Faqir’s technique was that he could have multiple out of body experiences when he wanted which is just amazing because people only have one or two or during a person's lifetime. He also would have glimpses of higher states of consciousness. To me Faqir Chand unlocked the brain's hidden potential which is just like a goldmine that we haven't ined full of miracles and religious visions that have been untapped. On page 48 in “The Unknowing Sage” it talks about how all religions reach the same message and concepts. “Every individual on this planet is obliged to consider himself either a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, or Christian, etc. The differences among individuals are based on religions.”
2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
The phrase "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy." means that philosophy is seen as a means to improve our lives at every aspect it can explaining the questions that other subjects and teachings turn their head too. Philosophy goes beyond what is taught at school that is why when it is done well it’s a science for it can have real life teachings that can be implemented in daily practices that will affect each other. The earliest philosophers who we studied showed us that through philosophy we were able to use it as it as a science. Philosophy done poorly remains to be philosophy because I've learned through this course is that philosophy is open to interpretation, you can't be wrong for everyone has their belief and ideals; you can be wrong about facts but you can't be wrong about aspects and fundamentals that occur in your life.
Extra Credit: Nicole
What is meant by the phrase, “philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy.”
The phrase “philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy” means that when philosophy is done well it can be counted as science because it contributes to the innovation and advancement of the human race. Philosophy done poorly on the other hand means that although it doesn’t give advancement, it can still be counted as philosophy. The Remainder Conjecture “stresses that we exhaust any and all physical explanations first” before we “prematurely jump ship and opt for supermundane explanations” (The Remainder Conjecture). Philosophy done well can be counted as science because it has stressed all physical explanations first and has been tested to further the knowledge that we have. Poor philosophy has no scientific value but can still be counted as philosophy because although it has not and will not be tested, it still contributes to what we already know. Everything else that has been tested but cannot be explained after all physical explanations have been exhausted is part of the remainder conjecture.
Extra Credit Response:
I really like your post i found it very insightful and helpful in understanding the question better than I had read it before. If you really think about it philosophy breaks down the barrier that other sciences put up. The way I look at it is philosophy really doesn't have a rough rubric that you have to follow rather you can gather all the necessary information and make your own judgments and conclusions.
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Post by kevinhuo on Jul 31, 2015 20:19:48 GMT
TWO REQUIRED ESSAY QUESTIONS: 1. Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles? 2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
Faqir Chand’s experiences enables a proper level of understanding surrounding religious visions and miracles. Religious visions can be substantiated by acknowledging that supporters or religious followers are subconsciously creating the images of their respective religious gurus and sages within the mind. These supposed visions are simply a potential conjuring of the mind. This is referred to as the Chandian Effect as Faqir Chand was the first to discuss the “aspects of visionary manifestations.” Continuing the Chandian Effect, Chand would continue to develop the idea of “ignorance.” Ignorance potentially addressed the unrealized reasoning behind certain premonitions or religious visions. Miracles could be fabricated by religious leaders so that followers may create inclined emotions and self-created dreams toward the religious movement. The phrase “philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy” illustrates the flexibility as well as versatile nature surrounding the development and understanding of philosophy. Philosophy that is progressive and beneficial acts as advancements in the field of philosophy and the overall intellect and consciousness of mankind. WIth such growth, this form of philosophy can be described as science. This form of science strengthens our knowledge of the universe as it also enables the individual to progress within the mind. However, philosophy done poorly exists to only help the self as it exists only as a thought. Without being tested or examined and developed then the poor philosophy remains as just a small component for the self.
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Post by sara cardenas on Aug 1, 2015 0:57:26 GMT
WEEK Five: Digital Philosophy 1. Do you think artificial intelligence will be a significant problem in the future? I do think it will be a significant problem in the future, but people won't truly be aware of it. As it said in Digital Philosophy, "we are going to let us ourselves be controlled because we are going to entertain ourselves to death" (2). We are already being controlled by iPhones and many other technology. Creating something that can think for itself seems very dangerous. One of the many problems that we are dealing with is that "so much of our private life is turning public. What was hidden is now being exposed (by hacking, by hidden digital cameras, by innumerable information data banks, etc.)" (7). Creating artificial intelligence is something that will happen, "We will do it to ourselves, just like we are doing now" (34). 2. How has technology impacted your life? Technology has impacted my life in many different ways. I personally never had a cell phone until the age of 18. Using my iPhone has taken up so much of my time and even though I'm not really addicted to it, I do believe my brother is. My mother also spends a large amount of time on her iPad. It has become somewhat harder to communicate with people and it's especially hard for someone like me, who doesn't even like to text. I've also seen the change in the use of books, just like how the book/pdf (Digital Philosophy) explained, that now there's no real point in printing something that can be sent quickly through the web. There is this constant need to know what the others are doing. The increase of technology has impacted my life in a negative way more than a positive one. EXTRA Credit Response: I do agree that technology has been helpful in many different ways, but I think we've all reached a point in which there is a greater harm occurring than the help that it brings. I feel like our relationship with technology has changed very rapidly and drastically. We have become dependent on technology instead of having it as assistance. I also agree with technology has become part of my life and it's something that I do enjoy, but I still remember how differently life was before technology became so prominent as it is today. Do you think artificial intelligence will be a significant problem in the future? I think artificial intelligence can be a significant problem to us in the future. By far, technology has been more helpful than harmful to us. We have access to a wealth of information with devices such as the computer or the Iphone. Where we used to need access to the dictionary or the encyclopedia, we can now simply ask Google or Siri for the answers to questions. We have GPS rather than needing the Rand McNally. However, with the advancement of technology there is a threat of abuse of biotechnology. “The same technologies that are empowering us to reprogram biology away from cancer and heart disease could also be used by a bioterrorist to reprogram a biological virus to be more deadly or more communicable.” (Ray Kurzweil: The Coming Singularity) How has technology impacted your life? Technology has become a way of life, it is everything and everywhere. Everything we do and use is some form of technology. That being said, technology has impacted my life profoundly. My Iphone is my #1 source of communication with the world, whether it is by voice, text, email, facetime or the use of my calendar. It is also my source of direction by way of GPS. I am able to take this online course because of computers, my Iphone and/or my tablet. Everything I use in my house is impacted by technology; shower, microwave, air conditioning, refrigerator, etc. Every new advancement in technology will continue to impact all of our lives.
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Post by sara cardenas on Aug 1, 2015 2:59:12 GMT
Week Six: Mystical Philosophy and Transcendence 1. Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles? "Faqir's startling insights show that most religious visions are, in fact, products of one's own mind"(Unknowing Sage 19). In his autobiography he shares a story of himself having a vision that leads him to being safe from an attack from an army and furthermore saving others. This caused the other people to start "worshipping" him and he realized that they didn't even know anything. He came to the conclusion "that all phenomena are transitory, are illusionary, are unreal, and non-existent save in the sangsaric mind perceiving them. . . That in reality there are no such beings anywhere as gods, or demons, or spirits, or sentient creatures" (96). Faqir shared that " no saint or guru or mystic--however enlightened, however revered, and however popular--truly knows the secret of human existence" (105). This was a big thing to say since many others said otherwise. "Faqir Chand, unlike most of humankind, dove daily into the very mystery of his being, and each time he emerged he came out with the same message: "I don't know." But instead of finding that discovery to be useless, he found it, along with Socrates, Lao Tzu and others, to be the greatest wisdom of all" (106). 2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy." "I think many philosophical questions would ultimately get their answers from the developments that science gives us"(Circle of the Wise 10). Science has been important in helping us understand why the body and universe functions the way it does. And just like the quotes says, science has helped us obtain answers to our philosophical questions. Science helps the understanding of our universe and philosophy as well helps us with the understanding of our universe. They both have the same goal which is to be able to understand everything around us. EXTRA Credit Response: I liked the way you responses to the second question since I didn't really think about it that way. It's true that philosophy will help us come up with questions that can then be answered using science. This will lead us to having a greater knowledge. Faqir Chand changed the way he mediated and started looking into himself instead of looking for others things. This is what changed the way he saw things. Faqir is very brave for going against what many others said. Week 6 1. Why is Faqir Chand’s experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles? Faqir Chand believes in a state of complete awareness. In order to get anywhere in spirituality, “one should research his own self.” (The Unknowing Sage, 5) One has to reach a state of awareness to really know oneself. The veils of illusion or ignorance will fall once someone is really in tune with their inner self. And once that occurs they finally realize that all there is “is thy own self.” (The Unknowing Sage, 5) This can account for the nature of religious visions and miracles because those that experience the miracles are spiritual in the first place. They have worshipped and attempted to reach this ultimate truth most of their life’s so that when something along the lines of what they are expecting happens to them they project their own expectations on to it. So what they are experiencing is really their own self. Since Faqir realized that there really is only ourselves, the people or sages who experience miracles are really only projecting their own self onto the phenomena. “The light may well indeed be a transcultural phenomenon, part and parcel of higher order of awareness or merely a neurological event, but the interpretations of who resides in that light is entirely a personal affair..” (The Unknowing Sage, ii) 2. What is meant by the phrase, “philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy.” This means that philosophy is supposed to help pave the way for future empirical study in science. Those philosophical ideas that can actually be studied end up being science. However, those other ideas that cannot yet be studied remain as philosophy. Science seeks to test as much phenomena as it can instead of succumbing to “the transcendental temptation.” (The Remainder Conjecture) It wants to have a physical explanation for everything. So philosophy that can’t be tested so far is poor philosophy since it has, up to now, no empirical basis. And the good philosophy is the one that can be tested. So in order to prove philosophy as science, science will try and test “all physical explanations.”(The Remainder Conjecture) But until then, philosophy will remain as poor philosophy.
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Post by antonia on Aug 1, 2015 4:13:12 GMT
Week 6
Question #1:
Faqir Chand’s experiences are paramount in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles for many reasons, but probably the biggest factor is the fact that Chand emphasized the idea that visions and miracles are not something just made up out of the blue by brains. Instead Chand believed that these visions were a results of deep rooted information already imbedded in our brains. As a comparative aspect we can almost think of this phenomenon the same way we would examine the concept of Déjà vu. In the book The Unknown Sage, Chand says, “the visions are only because of the impressions and suggestions that a disciple has already accepted in his mind. These impressions and suggestions appear before him like a dream. Nobody comes from without (5).” What Chand was trying to explain here is that though every individual has their own faith system and belief, it is not the figure heads of their faith, like Christ or Buddha that comes and personally gives these visions to the people, but rather the visions are already rooted in them because of the practice that they follow, “whatever you gain, you gain it as per your own faith and belief (5).” In addition, Chand did not hold himself directly responsible for the “miracles” that his followers experienced. He felt that such miracles were the result of the person’s own karma, “he absolutely disclaimed himself of any miracles attributed to his spiritual work, saying quite frankly that they were products of either the devotee's previous karma or intense faith (11).” Chand’s ideas ties in with the general belief that our brains serve a bigger purpose than just meets the eye.
Question #2:
Philosophy and science tie in together and therefore philosophy done well as the ability to provide answers to any scientific inquiries or at very least opening the door for the possibilities of further research into said topics/ideas. Philosophy generally examines the nature of knowledge, reality, and existence through the observation of the real world, while science tries to use quantitative data to explain aspects of our realm and the things that occupy it. Since science more often than not backs up its theories with concrete proofs, philosophy can use it as a way to solidify its teaching. Like philosopher Paul Churchland said Circle of Wise, “I think many philosophical questions would ultimately get there answers from the developments that science gives us (1).” All in all I believe the only poorly way of doing philosophy is if philosophy does not take into consideration other ideas from other branches of teachings such as science.
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Post by jsayanath on Aug 1, 2015 4:45:11 GMT
Week 6:
1) Why is Faqir Chand's experience important in understanding the projective nature of religious vision and miracles?
- In the Book of ‘The Unknowing Sage’ I learn that since an early age Faqir had been on a Journey for a realization of god and had many experiences. He believed the inner visions he experienced were true. It wasn’t until he came back from war before he was enlightened with further insight on religious visions and miracles. During the war, Faqir experienced a vision of his guru after praying for help when his group was under enemy attack. The guidance Faqir’s guru offered him in his vision saved his and his fellow soldier’s lives. When he returned home from war, he spoke with his guru that appeared to him in his almost death experience and he learned that the guru didn’t know anything of the experience involving himself. The book said a woman who was drowning in a river had a near death experience and Faqir appeared and pulled the woman out of the river and told her out.
2) What is meant by the phrase "Philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy"
-Philosophy has to be backed up by science. If the science has no hypothesis and outcome it remains a theory. If it’s a theory then that is a poor outcome of philosophy. I have noticed in my readings and videos that philosophy is not just a thinking process. It’s an idea that they turned in to a theory, but in order to make a change and progress so much needs to go into it so people can believe and understand what you are saying. Science needs a lot of evidence and it needs to work. Philosophy is science! As long as you philosophy is backed up then is has validation. The both go hand in hand.
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Post by kirvin on Aug 1, 2015 4:49:17 GMT
Week 6-Mystical Philosophy and Transcendence
1. Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles?
Faqir Chand’s life and work is so important in understanding the illusory nature of religious visions for many reasons. According to the reading The unknowing Sage, Faqir Chand is aware that in order to obtain peace, one should research their self (TUS 5). This suggests that in order to have any understanding of nature or religious visions, it is necessary to know yourself prior to advancing in nature or religion. However, the reading goes on to write that nature and religion will never be fully understood. In fact, the book write, “Nobody is in the position to know the secrecy of nature” (TUS 18). This suggest that both religion and nature can never be fully understood. This is perhaps why it is so Faqir Chands life and work is so important, because his life and work allows us to see that religion and nature will never full be exposed.
2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
The phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy" means that science is suppose to continue to support philosophy as philosophy without science is just philosophy. The teachings of philosophy doesn't just stop in school. Many philosophical teachings can carry on throughout or lives. To some philosophers, it takes a lifetime to completely understand some things. In conclusion, good philosophy is done and supported by science while bad philosophy has poor science to support its claim.
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Post by marie ashley siy on Aug 1, 2015 4:50:02 GMT
Week 6Question #1: Faqir Chand’s experiences are paramount in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles for many reasons, but probably the biggest factor is the fact that Chand emphasized the idea that visions and miracles are not something just made up out of the blue by brains. Instead Chand believed that these visions were a results of deep rooted information already imbedded in our brains. As a comparative aspect we can almost think of this phenomenon the same way we would examine the concept of Déjà vu. In the book The Unknown Sage, Chand says, “the visions are only because of the impressions and suggestions that a disciple has already accepted in his mind. These impressions and suggestions appear before him like a dream. Nobody comes from without (5).” What Chand was trying to explain here is that though every individual has their own faith system and belief, it is not the figure heads of their faith, like Christ or Buddha that comes and personally gives these visions to the people, but rather the visions are already rooted in them because of the practice that they follow, “whatever you gain, you gain it as per your own faith and belief (5).” In addition, Chand did not hold himself directly responsible for the “miracles” that his followers experienced. He felt that such miracles were the result of the person’s own karma, “he absolutely disclaimed himself of any miracles attributed to his spiritual work, saying quite frankly that they were products of either the devotee's previous karma or intense faith (11).” Chand’s ideas ties in with the general belief that our brains serve a bigger purpose than just meets the eye. Question #2: Philosophy and science tie in together and therefore philosophy done well as the ability to provide answers to any scientific inquiries or at very least opening the door for the possibilities of further research into said topics/ideas. Philosophy generally examines the nature of knowledge, reality, and existence through the observation of the real world, while science tries to use quantitative data to explain aspects of our realm and the things that occupy it. Since science more often than not backs up its theories with concrete proofs, philosophy can use it as a way to solidify its teaching. Like philosopher Paul Churchland said Circle of Wise, “I think many philosophical questions would ultimately get there answers from the developments that science gives us (1).” All in all I believe the only poorly way of doing philosophy is if philosophy does not take into consideration other ideas from other branches of teachings such as science. Extra Credit ResponseI agree with you! Philosophy and science go well together because they do analyze and provide answers to anything scientific. Philosophy helps us ask why and by asking why, we can find a bigger picture. Philosophy when done poorly does not consider science and without science, philosophy wouldn't be so important. Philosophy helps us come up with questions and ideas altogether. |
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Post by marie ashley siy on Aug 1, 2015 5:11:28 GMT
Week 6 Questions
1. Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles?
Faquir Chand’s experiences are so important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions because it shows how people develop their beliefs into their visions and their miracles. An example of visions is in the film “Near Death Experiences”, like the man who almost died and saw a bike, his vision of the bike made him shoot up back to life, near death experiences in visions are what try to keep people alive. What people choose to see is what really gives them their sense of importance. "Whatever you gain, you gain it as per your own faith and belief "(The Unknowing Sage 5). For all of us, all of our experience are different like the man who saw the bike and the lady who saw the light and had a frozen body, our experiences help us understand our visions. With that, they become self aware of themselves and with each belief is a step closer to achieving self realization. “That in reality there are no such beings anywhere as gods, or demons, or spirits, or sentient creatures” (96). With that said, people project their own gods, demons, spirits, really any creature into their own views of the world. We choose what to worship, what to see as a sage or not, what we chose to project and accept and understand as a visionary of beliefs are up to us.
2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
The phrase means that philosophy isn't just one thing but a combination of all kinds of ideas from all around. Philosophy is more than one idea, it requires ideas all around from unexpected places to be plausible. Philosophy isn't just a cluster of words but is a lot more like, math, science and physics. Those are all required to understand what philosophy really is. Without science, math or physics philosophy is really just.. philosophy! It is true that philosophy done well is science. Poor philosophy will not get us anywhere, without it we will not know the true nature of our knowledge. Philosophy is meant to be scientific and with science in the mix, we ask questions and those questions bring us new ideas and then lead to new discoveries. With philosophy as science we can discover and learn about new things. For philosophy we cannot just throw words out without thought, like science philosophy requires observation, evidence, facts; basically the scientific method itself. It goes without saying that yes, philosophy done well is science and when poorly, poor philosophy will always remain as philosophy.
Extra Credit Response
(Original from Antonia)
I agree with you! Philosophy and science go well together because they do analyze and provide answers to anything scientific. Philosophy helps us ask why and by asking why, we can find a bigger picture. Philosophy when done poorly does not consider science and without science, philosophy wouldn't be so important. Philosophy helps us come up with questions and ideas altogether.
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Post by Tyler Vigneault on Aug 1, 2015 6:13:05 GMT
Week 4
1.The virtual simulation theory of consciousness is a theory that states that our brains are capable of envisioning and accepting various scenarios and ideas that originate and play out within our brains. Meaning that we are capable of creating and deciphering our own reality in various situations to allow us to more easily survive the circumstances thrown at us. Within the video “Brain Burn: Consciousness As a Virtual Stimulator” it discusses the evolutionary need to use consciousness and “imagination daydreaming” to secure the four Fs (F*ck, food, flee, and fight). Consciousness allows us to contemplate and virtually experience the rewards and consequences of every action and essentially help us fulfill our evolutionary needs. “But psychoanalysis notwithstanding, the greatest difficulty we confront is that we have evolved not necessarily to understand how the universe works, but to find ways and means to survive within it”(Lane, 12). This quote gives a connection to another possible cranial limit of the human mind, we aren’t meant to understand the universe with abstract thought, simply to just survive in it.
2.The brain can trick us both consciously and subconsciously and I believe that there is no limit to what the brain can make itself believe seeing as it is it’s own creator and judgement of itself within the realm of consciousness. “There are deceptions of the senses, deceptions of the passions, and the structural, beneficent illusions of sentiment and of the intellect”(Lane, 11). In almost everything we do or think we face the possibility of it being twisted and manipulated by our brains in order to better satisfy our evolutionary needs. For example, our eyes can be deceived by 3-D glasses because of how our eyes perceive the optical illusion. The object does not appear to be right there in front of us when the glasses are off. Environmental circumstances can cause us to perceive reality in an altered way and our brain can be unconscious to it and perceive it as reality.
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Post by Tyler Vigneault on Aug 1, 2015 6:14:19 GMT
Week 5
1.Yes, I believe artificial intelligence will be a significant problem in the future based off of the required films and readings and my own deduction. I think the problem lies within what it will be used for and marketed as, in addition to the light connotation it will most likely carry in our society. For example, few people see phones, social media, and other various media installments and virtual worlds as something that has negative consequences or addiction-potential. It is seen and marketed as something so innocent and normal that many of the peers within my generation do not realize how much of their life is being whisked away and affected by technology today. Many would rather sit and stare at a phone than focus on schoolwork or go outside and get some exercise and take advantage of the beautiful planet we live on.”We, as a people, are now getting access to the most arcane, secret corridors of companies, of religions, of organizations...of individuals”(Lane, 7). I can only imagine the type of artificial intelligence and technology that will be accessible in the future and how much more immersed and dependent we as a society will become not to mention how easy surveillance and monitoring of the masses could be.
2.In the words of Ray Kurzwell during “The Coming Singularity”, “technology has been a double-edged sword since the discovery and use of fire”. This statement rings true within my own life as I find it both a tremendous positive and negative at times. The positive is that technology has allowed me to grow and learn about unique subjects that interest me far beyond what school has allotted me. At the same time a negative consequence is that I find myself distracted when facing schoolwork or even simply when I am awake and conscious. I am drawn to the infinite amount of knowledge and information as well as the small amount of pleasure found within social media. Although this quote from “Digital Philosophy” discusses future consequences of excessive technology use and social media I feel it is relatable to our current state. “I don’t think we are even aware of how intrusive such a development will be in the long run”(Lane, 7). Here Lane thinks that we won’t understand the future consequences and intrusions technology will have in our lives but I feel that we as a society do not fully understand it right now. Our phones are almost always communicating with GPS and we agree to diminish our privacy in exchange for apps and services without even fully realizing it.
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Post by Tyler Vigneault on Aug 1, 2015 6:14:42 GMT
Week 6
1.Faqir Chand’s experiences are important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles because we get to hear the story from someone who is revered as holy and said to be the religious subject that appears in visions. When we hear many other religious visions and experiences we don’t get to see or hear the other side of it from Jesus Christ, or Allah , or any other prominent religious figure. When Faqir tells about his experiences and reactions to other people telling him that they saw him he almost seems to be nonchalant about it and seek a more rational explanation behind the mechanisms that drive it. Looking back on the experiences he claims that: “...they were the products of either the devotee’s previous karma or intense faith” (Lane, 15). He saw that not all religious experiences and visions were the same and that they were internal products created by devotion within the minds of the religious followers.
2.The phrase “philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy” refers to the hypothetical nature of many philosophical claims. Once they are proved and backed by facts and research these philosophical claims grow to become what is viewed as science. I have suspicion that this quote however was written by a slightly course scientist who found it maddening that there were things in this universe that he could not yet fully understand or prove such as string theory and so on. In “The Remainder Conjecture” it is said that “we exhaust any and all physical explanations first before succumbing to the transcendental temptation”. Meaning that we should try through eliminative materialism with every branch of knowledge that we have to prove philosophical claims and seek facts rather than leave the field of philosophy as nothing more than a giant collection of theoretical hypotheses.
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