So I'm taking a philosophy class

[Lotrgeek303]

And on the second day we were given a packet filled with questions and I’m interested to hear what you guys have to say about them. And explain why

1. Who are you?
2. Where does the world come from?
3. What does it mean to exist?
4. What is a work of art?
5. How do we “know” things? Where does this knowledge come from?
6. If you disagreed with someone about the value of a work, how would you try to change their mind?
7. What is fate? Do you believe in it?
8. Is there such thing as natural modesty?
9. What is beauty?
10. Make a list of things we know and then a list of things we can only believe. What is the fundamental difference between the two?
11. Identify and explain the factors that contribute to a person’s philosophy of life.
12. What is meant by conscience? Do you think conscience is the same for everyone? Why or why not?
13. What is meant by the “priority of values?”
14. What is the role of art in modern society?
15. What is the role of beauty in modern society
16. Does the world exist outside of the mind? How to you know this to be true?
17. And the big one: what is the meaning of life?

Have fun

 

[GEddie]

1. I am a living, breathing thinking human being (mind/body. ) My parents gave me a name; the government of my country gave me a number and a citizenship; but ultimately only God really knows me.

 

[GEddie]

1. The world came from physical processes over several megamegamillenniums, such that its physical conditions enable us to live life. How and to what extent those changes were guided is of course the unanswerable question.

 

[GEddie]

1. Tough one! Hard to define noncircularly.

Something exists if it is discoverable, even if the means to do so may not yet be available. (I know I’m gonna get hosed on this one; go ahead !!)

 

[GEddie]

1. We know through our physical senses (including the sense of motion) and by living our life; and running the results through our minds.

 

[GEddie]

1. Fate means different things to different people. The generic term refers to an impersonal will or being that directs the occurrences of our life in an unknowable way.

I for one don’t believe in such. Free-will of persons and physical randomness would seem more likely.

 

[GEddie]

1. There is a natural modesty, but it does not relate to the amount of human skin hidden by styles of clothing.

We naturally seek to guard our vulnerable bodies. Sexuality is an area in which the body is vulnerable. The handling and treatment of body in regard to sexual vulnerability is modesty, although the term has been hijacked by clothing conservatism.

(That’s all I’ve got time for presently. God Bless and ICXC NIKA).

 

[Charlemagne_II]

Questions for the most part are too generalized. That’s probably deliberate for the instructor, but not very helpful for the student.

I would have included the following question:

Is there a God? How do you know there is? How do you know there isn’t?

This is what I mean by questions with greater specificity.

 

[DaveBj]

Q: Why is there air?

A: Everyone knows why there is air. It’s to inflate volleyballs, footballs, basketballs . . .

(Thank you, Bill Cosby)

 

[edwest2]

1. A work of art is only what an art instructor, art critic, art gallery owner and art museum owner says it is, even though it is totally indecipherable to the average person.
2. Art has only two roles in modern society: A. To be totally incomprehensible or offensive. B. To convey pagan propaganda to the masses via movies, television, the radio and the internet.

Peace,
Ed

 

[AlexPetrosPio]

And on the second day we were given a packet filled with questions and I’m interested to hear what you guys have to say about them. And explain why

1. Who are you?

I am Alex ********* R********, son of William **** R********.

1. Where does the world come from?

The world, and all of Creation, heaven and earth, seen and unseen, comes from God, the Father Almighty.

1. What does it mean to exist?

To exist:

c.1600, from French exister (17c.), from Latin existere/exsistere “to step out, stand forth, emerge, appear; exist, be” (see existence). “The late appearance of the word is remarkable” [OED]. Related: Existed; existing.

source
*

to have actual being : to be real

source

Therefore, to exist is to have being, to partake within Creation, and to give glory to outside Creation (ie, the Creator).

1. What is a work of art?

Art is a symbol that depicts a reality of above, if even depicting metaphysical realities such as love or justice.

1. How do we “know” things? Where does this knowledge come from?

All knowledge comes from partaking in Creation, and therefore comes from the Uncaused Cause, the First Mover, the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

1. If you disagreed with someone about the value of a work, how would you try to change their mind?

Work as in force times displacement? (W=Fd) If anyone argued with me, I would simply show the math.
Joking aside…really, what do you mean by “value of a work”?

1. What is fate? Do you believe in it?

Fate is the knowledge God has in His eternal knowledge of us. Though we have free will, God knows before we do, and therefore of course I believe in it, but in the sense that we partake in God’s plan for Creation but have the choice to deviate in that plan, not in the New Age or Calvinistic view of fate, free will, or predestination.

1. Is there such thing as natural modesty?

What is this meaning?

1. What is beauty?

Beauty is a partaking of the order and love of the Trinity.

1. Make a list of things we know and then a list of things we can only believe. What is the fundamental difference between the two?

Nonsensical. We know what we believe and believe what we know. This question is circular.

1. Identify and explain the factors that contribute to a person’s philosophy of life.

Philosophy? The love of wisdom? As long as a person loves wisdom, his view of life will reflect that.

1. What is meant by conscience? Do you think conscience is the same for everyone? Why or why not?

Conscience is the eternal spirit of a human being. The essence of conscience is individual to each human being and the experience of conscience is individual to each human being. It is part of humanity. As we are made in the image and likeness of the Trinity in our individual ways, it is simultaneously objective (there is only one Truth that is revealed to us) and subjective (our individual experiences of that one Truth). Just as our physical bodies need to work out or we become sick, and our souls need to work out or we become lukewarm, our conscience, or spirit, needs to work out or it becomes disordered and leads not towards the Trinity and theosis, but away from the Trinity and death.

1. What is meant by the “priority of values?”

The priority of values means the ordering of experiences and decisions so that the individual best grows in theosis in his current state in life.

1. What is the role of art in modern society?

Same as the role of art in any society. See answer for question 4.

1. What is the role of beauty in modern society

Same as the role of beauty in any society. See answer for question 9.

1. Does the world exist outside of the mind? How to you know this to be true?

Unless I am jacked into the Matrix and am being deceived by a supercomputer, I know my senses, and the collaboration of everyone around me sharing the same thing (when asked and discussed), tell me that the outside mind exists.

1. And the big one: what is the meaning of life?

The meaning of life is to glorify God and to grow in theosis.

Have fun

I did, thank you.

 

[AlexPetrosPio]

Questions for the most part are too generalized. That’s probably deliberate for the instructor, but not very helpful for the student.

I would have included the following question:

Is there a God? How do you know there is? How do you know there isn’t?

This is what I mean by questions with greater specificity.

I am with Charlemagne on this one.

 

[Back2Church]

The purpose of such a questionnaire is not so much about the answers you give, but to see if and/or how much you would answer differently by the end of the class. I assume the same questionnaire will be taken again at the end of the course and then the professor will hand back the originals to compare them to.

 

[livingwordunity]

I just started back to college to finish up after being away for 20 years. I’m going to a secular university. As I expected, all of the teachers are to the left. It’s only a matter of to what degree. I’m taking a philosophy class, and the instructor already let us know that she sees the Catholic Church as something that gets in the way of her relativistic beliefs. And my psychology teacher also gave the class his negative opinion of the Catholic Church. It’s very frustrating since I know what I could say but am not in a position to argue with the teacher. So, all I can do is try to make the best of it and do my best to avoid a confrontation that, because of the teacher to student circumstances, I know I can’t win. But I do like my history professor. I think he leans to the left but only slightly. And he made a strong case for why the law of God given to the Hebrews was liberating and far superior to the Code of Hammurabi of pagan Mesopotamia.

 

[Charlemagne_II]

**living

I just started back to college to finish up after being away for 20 years. I’m going to a secular university. As I expected, all of the teachers are to the left. It’s only a matter of to what degree. I’m taking a philosophy class, and the instructor already let us know that she sees the Catholic Church as something that gets in the way of her relativistic beliefs. And my psychology teacher also gave the class his negative opinion of the Catholic Church. It’s very frustrating since I know what I could say but am not in a position to argue with the teacher. So, all I can do is try to make the best of it and do my best to avoid a confrontation that, because of the teacher to student circumstances, I know I can’t win. But I do like my history professor. I think he leans to the left but only slightly. And he made a strong case for why the law of God given to the Hebrews was liberating and far superior to the Code of Hammurabi of pagan Mesopotamia. **

I’m sorry that you are having this experience. There are some colleges whose websites allow the students to anonymously rate their teachers with appropriate remarks no longer than 1 paragraph. Usually this is very helpful to students who want to advise other students about the strengths or weaknesses of their professors. Here is one such website. ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?sid=38

Sounds like your professors need to know they will be talked about in print for all the world to see if they get out of line and slam religion, the Catholic Church in particular.

 

[ventura2323]

And on the second day we were given a packet filled with questions and I’m interested to hear what you guys have to say about them. And explain why

1. Who are you?
2. Where does the world come from?
3. What does it mean to exist?
4. What is a work of art?
5. How do we “know” things? Where does this knowledge come from?
6. If you disagreed with someone about the value of a work, how would you try to change their mind?
7. What is fate? Do you believe in it?
8. Is there such thing as natural modesty?
9. What is beauty?
10. Make a list of things we know and then a list of things we can only believe. What is the fundamental difference between the two?
11. Identify and explain the factors that contribute to a person’s philosophy of life.
12. What is meant by conscience? Do you think conscience is the same for everyone? Why or why not?
13. What is meant by the “priority of values?”
14. What is the role of art in modern society?
15. What is the role of beauty in modern society
16. Does the world exist outside of the mind? How to you know this to be true?
17. And the big one: what is the meaning of life?

Have fun

The meaning of life is to find God. And all the above is the same answer

 

[adawgj]

1. An organism of the most intelligible species on Earth created in the image of God.
2. The divine power of God.
3. To be thankful and joyful in celebration of Our Creator and Savior.
4. What your imagination is that can be seen by others in a physical form.
5. We know things through learning and developing and the knowledge comes from God and has continued to develop over the years.
6. I would ask questions of why they don’t like it, and explain why I do and keep an open mind.
7. Fate is the will of God, yes
8. Yes but it takes an effort.
9. What you find to be of magnificence