Journal 2- Reason
1) One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the topic of the week.
This week we talked about reason, “the power to think in such a way that we proceed from what we know to what we do not yet know.” One of the three forms of knowledge, it is directly related to theology, or “faith seeking understanding,” as reason leads us into unknown territory, a search for understanding that requires faith. Similarly, philosophy emphasizes speculation, so reason is philosophers’ main tool in their investigations of the world.
Reason is important because it comes from humans’ two endowments, self-consciousness and abstract thought. Allowing us to be aware of ourselves as separate from the rest of the world, self-consciousness enables us to take the role of the observer who does the reasoning. We are no longer a piece of the world; rather, we watch what goes on around us and try to explain why it happens the way it does. Abstract thought, “the ability to think about something as if it exists by itself when in reality it does not,” aids us in this undertaking. We can take these concepts, detach them from their place in nature, and use them to build from a premise to a conclusion using reason.
Reason builds from experiential knowledge and knowledge from authority towards conclusions, but we must be wary of thinking errors, such as non sequiturs, false/vague premises, ad hominem, begging the question, and red herrings. In order to avoid these errors, we can follow five steps that lead to strong critical thinking: know the facts, remember the principle of contradiction, define your terms, be intellectually humble, and look for different perspectives. Additionally, it helps to understand the process of knowing to augment our critical thinking abilities. The process of knowing also consists of five steps: perception, categorization, evaluation, symbolism, and testing.
2) List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.
a. Ad Hominem (“Against the person”)- A common thinking error in which a person attacks an unrelated quality of their opponent in an argument instead of focusing on the argument itself. Ad hominems come in many forms, and although this may include calling someone a derogatory term, if the term fits the person’s behavior in the situation, it is not an ad hominem.
b. Liminal/Subliminal- The term “liminal” refers to the sensual stimuli taken in from the world by the body that the mind is consciously aware of. “Subliminal” refers to all the other sensual stimuli taken in that we are only unconsciously aware of.
c. Quantum superposition- The concept that all matter that we are not consciously aware of exists in an infinite number of possibilities. The moment we become aware of a specific object, we choose its location, eliminating all the other possibilities from our reality.
3) One image of that reminds you of the topic. Attribute, link, your source.
"Love and Gratitude" Water Crystal- What the Bleep? Official State
4) One good question you should keep with you to ponder.
What are thoughts made of and how are they stored in the brain?
5) What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study?
After viewing What the Bleed Do We Know?!, I decided that I need to work on having a more positive outlook on life. I have a habit of sinking into cynicism when I look at current world events, but cynicism doesn’t help anyone. If it is true that our emotional addictions can have a greater effect on our health than our diet, then maintaining an uplifting worldview is essential to fulfilling my potential in the world.