Year of Living Biblically Part I

1. The author embarks on this journey to discover his spirituality and see if by doing exactly what the Bible says, he can connect with religion. I think he expects some kind of epiphany at the end, but he also keeps himself very distant from the process, seeing himself as an observer instead of being involved in the religion. The questions he is trying to answer evolve as he learns more about the Bible and each rule poses new questions for him to try to answer. For example, when he gets his clothes inspected, he asks why there are rules that do not make any sense, yet people still follow them.

2. In the introduction he says that he assembles a team of spiritual guides of rabbis, ministers, and priests. The two that he first talks to are Reverend Richards, and Rabbi Andy Bachman because he was not sure that his plan would work, and they helped to assure him that he could do this. He meets with a few other people, like the Amish man who runs the inn that he stays at, and the man who checks his clothes for mixed fibers. He enlists their help because he needs advice about what is important from people who have been following the Bible for most of their lives.

Language Assignment

1. Summarize the foundations of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis about language.

-The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that language determines the way we think and the distinctions of one language are not found in any other language. He argues that language is the only way for humans to organize concepts in their heads, so language determines the way we think. For example, if a language only has one word for things that fly, they can only think about objects that fly using that word compared to another language that uses ten words to describe objects that fly. This is also an example of linguistic relativity, or that the distinctions found in one language do not exist in any other language. For example, Eskimo has many different words for snow, while another language may only have one. The distinctions between different types in snow that are found in Eskimo would not be found in any other language.

2. Summarize 4 to 5 major ideas about Chomsky's "Universal Generative Grammar."

- The main argument of the "Universal Generative Grammar" theory is that there is a universal grammar that all humans are born with and that any language can fit into this template.

- Chomsky argues that this system of grammar is innate because there is no way that children can learn languages very easily. This also proves that the grammar system works for any language because an American child can learn chinese if he or she is raised around people who speak chinese.

- Chomsky also argues that a generative grammar is innate because there is no way that children could learn all the complexities of grammar in a language without learning them. He argues that most people cannot even understand the grammatical rules for these complexities, but children pick them up without anyone having to teach them.

-He also argues that although there are millions of different combinations of sentences, we do not need to run through a bunch of sentences to figure out the solution to an issue with grammar, we just know.

3. Describe what Einstein states about the necessity of language. Do you agree or disagree? Explain.

Einstein claims that images are required for thought and not words. He says that the physical elements of thought are images and signs, not words. I agree that humans generally think in terms of images and symbols, but to have complex thoughts they need words to elaborate on the images in their heads.

4. Summarize what Piaget states about the role of language. How similar or different is it from Einstein's view?

Piaget says that humans use symbols for thought before language develops and that the brain uses a symbolic system that can analyze symbols or images and words. He also says that language is required to exchange thought with other people, but it is not necessary for thought. His views are very similar to Einstein's, the only difference is that Einstein says that words play no role in thought, while Piaget views them as symbols as well that develop in the brain as a person grows older.

TOK Essay Outline

Introduction:

Thesis- Sense perception plays the largest role in knowledge of various topics than other ways of knowing.

-Go over all the different ways of knowing and areas of knowing.

Point 1:

For all of the other ways of knowing to exist, sense perception must exist.

-examples of emotion, reason, and language and how the correspond with sense perception.

Point 2:

Although a few areas of knowing rely on sense perception less than others, it is still the way of knowing they use the most.

mathematics, & spirituality

Point 3:

The only knowledge that can be independent of sense perception is metaphysical and synthetic knowledge.

metaphysical usually imvolves emotion although it can use sense perception.

Synthetic does not always require sense perception.

Conclusion:

-restate thesis

-go over & summarize points

-importance of sense perception in knowledge.

Man Vs. God Article

1. Write the main thesis/argument for each article and then give as many of the main supporting arguments for each.

Dawkins:

Dawkin's main argument is that God never existed, because the theory of evolution means that God did not do anything.

One of his supporting arguments is that Evolution is the greatest thing that the universe has ever accomplished, and that the Universe created life through evolution. He also says that having a superhuman intelligence like God would be impossible, because an intelligence is so complex that it had to emerge over time instead of being the thing that created the world, intelligence developed over thousands of years.

Armstrong: Armstrong argues that God is just a symbol for something that can not be described, and can only be recognized through rituals and living a moral life.

She says that God was never meant to mean an actual figure, and in the beginnings of religion, God was just supposed to act as a symbol for an Ultimate Reality that humans had no way of describing, but over time God became more than a symbol, and became a true identity in some religions. She also says that religion was not created to provide a definitive explanation of the world, but to help people creatively solve solutions in daily life and find an inner peace amidst a crazy world.

2. Give at least one example of what made you "think"

One of the points that made me think was when Karen Armstrong said that religion was not created to give a definitive explanation of the universe. This makes sense to me, but throughout the class part of our definition of religion is that it provides an explanation for why things are the way they are, and answers questions that humans can not logically answer.

Another thing that made me think was when Dawkins talks about how life does not correspond to the laws of physics, but uses them to it's advantage. I thought that was interesting because I have never really thought about how scientists do not usually consider people in Physics and most sciences. We are trying to understand everything around us, but other than in Psychology and Biology, we never really try to understand ourselves and how we relate to scientific concepts.

3. What is the "knowledge" presented by each of the authors?

In her article, Armstrong suggests that God is known through synthetic proposition, meaning that the symbol of God is used to simplify and abstract meaning that humans can not see or comprehend. She also uses language as a way of knowing by breaking down the meaning of the word "God" and analyzing whether or not it is a symbol or a literal meaning. Also, Dawkins uses a value judgement by stating "Evolution is the universe's greatest work."Although it is more relative to him and his opinions, he still knows it.

Ways of Knowing Assignment

Sense Perception: What is it? Why or how is it a way of knowing?

Sense perception is when you know something through seeing, touching, smelling, hearing, or tasting it. Basically, it is knowing something using your senses. It is a way of knowing because you can not know anything if you never sense it. If all of a person's senses were turned off for their entire life, they would never be able to know anything because their brain would never even recognize it.

Language: What is it? Why or how is it a way of knowing?

Language is any method of communicating between people or animals. It doesn't neccesarily have to be a spoken language, just something that can communicate what a person is trying to get across. If language did not exist, a person would not even be able to express what they know, and a lot of the things that we know are communicated to us by someone else. I think that Language is secondary to sense perception, you have to have sense perception to have language and to have a reason for using language.

Reason: What is it? Why or how is it a way of knowing?

Reason is using logic to understand or know something. I think you have to combine language and sense perception in reason and you use reason to know more about these and understand them more. For example, if you see something but you do not know what it is, you would use reason to figure it out.

Emotion: What is it? How or why is it a way of knowing?

You know something through emotion because it drives you to want to know and understand things. Also, sometimes you can only really know things through understanding how they feel emotionally, like what it feels like to be happy or sad.

Religion for Dummies Chapter 1

1. Describe the reasons why people follow (or flock) to religion.

One of the reasons that people follow religion is because it offers hope in a world that seems otherwise hopeless. It also addresses solutions to daily problems in life and large problems that all people experience and also questions that can not be answered. Also religion offers the possibility of finding long term joy in life instead of short term joy that is achieved through the material parts of life. Religion also offers a system of morals, and allows people to be happy with their lives by doing the right things and having good morals. Also, it addresses the question of suffering and most religions have a solution to end suffering. Also along with mental or spiritual health, some religions improve physical health through practices like yoga.

2. Compare and contrast religion, philosophy and spirituality.

Religion is different from philosophy because it includes rituals and philosophy does not. Also, philosophy uses reason and religion uses reason and revelations and guidance from a higher power, for example, religions believe in miracles which go beyond reason, while philosophies only use reason. Spirituality is different from religion because it is a connection to ultimate reality, but does not necessarily follow the same guidelines that religions follow like rituals and and ethics.

Ways of Being Religious

1. Describe each of the 6 ways of being religious:

The Way of Sacred Right: The process of trying to experience a Higher Power through rituals. This is usually done to achieve a feeling of support for all the things that are going on in someone's life and to get a feeling of renewal. It is usually done in groups, but can also be done alone.

The Way of Right Action: The process of trying to have everyone follow some type of moral code and so that everything is how it was intended to be. It is also trying to bring a part of a Higher Power into a person's daily life.

The Way of Devotion: Developing a personal relationship with a Higher Power. A person completely accepts it into their life and in return hopes to receive a sense of hope and a feeling of it's presence.

The Way of Shamanic Mediation: When a person goes into a different state of consciousness, hoping that they will be able to be at one with a Higher Power for a short period of time. The process is intended to bring change and solve problems in a person's life.

The Way of Mystical Quest: A journey to break free of the boundaries from life. The goal is usually to achieve unity with a higher power through some kind of process or path.

The Way of Reasoned Inquiry:The process of trying to answer questions that can't logically be explained, and trying to have a true understanding of how and why things are the way they are. This is usually done by studying holy texts and the history of the specific religion

2. What are the advantages of studying religion using this method?

One of the advantages is that it helps students get rid of generalizations that they have about different religions and any bias that someone has from being exposed to a specific religion. Also, by understanding one of the ways of being religious, it might help someone understand another way of being religious from that specific religion. Another advantage is that they provide a basis for examining the differences and similarities between religions. Also, using the framework, you can distinguish between what are really differences between religions and what are just contrasts based on whether or not you are comparing the same way of being religious. Also, you can use the framework to compare different patterns that are found in every religion but are still different to each religion. Also, it can open discussion of common problems that people who practice certain religions face and help people who belong to different faiths to have a mutual understanding of each other.

3. Explain what you think are the two greatest differences between eastern and western religions.

I think that one of the biggest differences between eastern and western religions is that western religions include the belief that there is only one higher power that is holy and should not be associated with the rest of human life generally because it is superior to the things that it created. Another important difference between western and eastern religions is that western religions have a historical element. The history of the religion usually begins with some sort of divine intervention or revelation to a historical figure in history who then finds followers and spreads the religion through converts. Most eastern religions do not focus on the history of the religion, except for small examples, and most eastern religions have not grown through conversion.