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Post by Alex Max on Mar 1, 2015 21:27:10 GMT
Film Questions 11632 1. If we are just "stuff" and do not hold any higher importance in life other than to live so many years and just physically be apart of this world, there would be no reason for anyone to feel the need to prove themselves worthy. There would be no reason to worry about your actions as to how they may weigh out what happens to you after life, whether it be you believe in heaven and hell or reincarnation, etc. Personally, I do not think that someone telling me I am just stuff would have any major affect on me. I am not a religious person, but there is no way that we are just physical beings here meant to just live and die without some sort of metaphysical aspect to us. 2. In comparisons to Plato's Allegory of the Cave, one example is when I have been home alone late at night and i would here foot steps downstairs as is someone was in my house. I remember having a small panic and called my mother to ask her when she was going to be home since I was now scared to be home by myself. While on the phone with my mom, using the house phone, the connection died and sent me further into a panic. I finally decided to go downstairs and see what was going on, only to realize that my dogs were the ones walking around the house. Their claws on the hard would floor made it sound like there was a person walking around, I was so sure of it but am obviously thankful to have it just been my dogs. sites.google.com/site/alexandramax3/
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Post by alectaylorr on Mar 2, 2015 0:07:04 GMT
11632 Film Exam Questions: (1) If someone were to tell me that I was just a body with nothing to achieve after life, I would probably feel hopeless. I would feel that I have no purpose to serve while in this life. All dreams and aspirations would feel less and less necessary to achieve. The realization of not having a meta physical after life frightens me, because what happens in your time after death? Nothing? To imagine the lack of an after life would indefinitely cause myself and i'm sure most other people to act out and live without any morals. The set of rules I apply to myself in my everyday life is based on morality and how good I can be to the world, but if I were to learn that existing after this life is non existent, then what purpose would I have to make the world a better place. (2) An example relating to Plato's Allegory of the Cave based on my life would be the time I believed in the tooth fairy. Anytime I lost a tooth, I would receive money under money under my own pillow. A false reality in which my parents provided me with, acting as the shadow casters in Plato's Allegory of a Cave. Later, I realized that my mom and dad was acting as my tooth fairy. Another example would be when I watched a mermaid documentary and believed it was all factual. The videos and edits they supplied in this movie was pretty realistic and had me thinking there was these creatures living in our very own ocean. Along with interviews of witnesses that supposedly saw and even interacted with these so-called mermaids, were actually convincing. Even this controversial video they included in this documentary was viable and I was convinced. However, at the end of this documentary, they included in the credits that it was in fact a MOCKumentary. Meaning, it was a sham. sites.google.com/site/ataylor4130/
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Post by saifnisar on Mar 2, 2015 1:03:15 GMT
Code: 11632 Film Test 1. I come from a religious background and have a strong belief in what I believe. I am a Muslim and have been all my life and I would be torn apart if somebody told me I was just a piece of meat. Many questions would arise in my mind, for example: Why am I here? Why do I exist? What is the purpose of life? All these would be unanswered questions; there would be no right from wrong or wrong from right. What I am trying to say is regardless of my religious beliefs or not we cannot just be a piece of meat otherwise there would be no consequences and the world would just be chaotic. I believe every single person, no matter how small the belief, has the faintest of a feeling that there is a hereafter because it is ultimately the reason why every single person does what they do, no matter if it’s bad or good. 2. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave talks about how a people strongly believe in one thing but then something happens and they find out that what they believed in all they’re life wasn’t real. An example of this would be when I was a kid my older brother would tell me I was not allowed in his room because there was a monster in there that eats little kids. As I matured in age and became more intellectual and was able to think on my own I realized he only said there was a monster in there because he didn’t want me to go in his room, not because there was a monster that would actually eat me. But as a kid I didn’t know any better and just blindly believed in what he had told me. Another example of believing in the misinterpreted is the time I had an inception. One time I had this dream where I had to save my friend Nathalie, but I got there too late and she was bleeding out, so I rushed her to the hospital but it was too late so I started to cry. Although it was just a dream I woke up in tears and went to my mother’s room and she asked why I was crying so I told her I had a bad dream. My mother comforted me and gave me a hug. When I took another look at my mom I realized she didn’t have a face, so I woke up in tears again. This time it was real, this time my mother came to my room and said it was just a dream Saif it’s ok. She kept saying open your eyes and I wouldn’t, I was so fixated on the idea I was still in the dream but when I finally opened my eyes, everything was fine and back to normal. Just like Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, I believed in something that was proven not true. sites.google.com/site/saifnisarphilosphy/
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Post by apeters0829 on Mar 2, 2015 2:46:38 GMT
sites.google.com/site/apetersmsacphilo2015
11632 Question #1: If somebody told me I was just "stuff", I would probably feel as if i wasn't important, as if I didn't have a purpose or some sort of "job" to contribute to this world, but that feeling would surely pass because as a female, I believe I have the greatest gift God has given every female, the gift of giving life. So someone's opinion of me being "stuff" or a "piece of meat" is irrelevant to me, to be honest. Somebody who has the power to give life and create a soul so unique is more of a mystical creature that should be admired, whether male or female. I believe all of us were born with a unique soul and unique abilities to contribute to this mysterious universe.
Question #2: When I was young I never believed in ghosts or anything like that, but that all changed when I was ten years old. I was sitting at my desk doing homework, listening to my boombox, when all of a sudden the music stopped playing and it was nothing but "white noise". I got up to turn it off and the white noise was still playing, I unplugged my boombox and the white noise was still going. At this point I was really freaked out, I ran to the door, it was unlocked by the way, and the doorknob wouldn't turn, as if it was locked. I remember yelling "stop it!!", after that, the door opened and the boombox turned off. Since then I really do believe in the paranormal. After that incident, I started seeing and hearing my grandpa all over the house, and he even left me hints that it was him who scared me when I was ten, not cool!
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Post by dhgmustang on Mar 2, 2015 2:53:11 GMT
Week 1 Film 11632 1. If I were told I was just “stuff “ or a piece of meat I really wouldn’t mind. I wouldn’t mind for the simple fact no body really knows how we are formed for sure. Everyone has their’ own views and beliefs on how we are where we are on earth today. If we weren’t there for when we first originated, how do we really know what we are. The truth is we don’t. As the video stated how can one study the iphone grenade sound if one can not hear it. The same goes for theories of how we are and what we are today. 2. My first example would be believing in Santa Clause. I would make “Santa” cookies and always make sure milk was on the table by the tree for years and years, and then to be told one day he wasn’t real was very confusing. Everything around me as a kid caused me to have a false reality of who Santa Clause really was. My second example would be when I was sleeping and I was sure I was falling from the sky. I don’t know how but I was falling from the sky and all of a sudden before I hit the ground I woke up. I was so certain in my dream that I was going to hit the ground because I bounced up pretty high from trying to brace myself. When I woke up I didn’t even know if I was still in a dream or not so I got up and walked around and knew I wasn’t. Just being so certain that I was falling is pretty amazing to me. sites.google.com/site/ryansworkhistory/
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Post by carrillo664 on Mar 2, 2015 3:14:29 GMT
Alejandro Carrillo Quiz#1 Philosophy 5 M/W 8-9:25
Question 1: Now if someone would walk up to my house door, and told me " hey you’re just a piece of meat". i would definately feel in a sense useless but somewhat of just a tool. now that is just what would be an instant feeling by default but actually going into deep thought process i would definately keep control of my emotions and contain a high confidence i would reassure myself that i am not just a piece of meat. the interpretation that i receive from piece of meat is something just to be used and reused. now i don't know what the person meant by it but thats what i picked up from it. to them it might have a different meaning so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to clarify the statement.
Question 2: Using my life as a template I was always told as a child many things, one was of which i realized now are not true and were never true, mostly make believe things for example i was told by my parents and older siblings that santa claus was real, i believed them of course. later as i got older my siblings told me santa was not real and it was just a fantasy to fool kids into behaving year round. until this day i still dont understand why parents do that to their kids, parents tell the first lie and the first heartbreak to their sweet loving children. why ? what do the parents get out of lying through their teeth about santa claus? i wonder........Another time i believed something was real was when i realized not all people are nice and real, the world is a cruel place and they're only interested in what benefits themselves. this took the longest to realize because i had to do it with time and self experience with lifes challenges.
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Post by tjhartwig on Mar 2, 2015 3:25:47 GMT
Week 1 Film Questions 11632 Question 1 I would feel rather small and worthless if all I was was a fleshly body. I would have no hopes for an afterlife. I would have no hopes to chase a divine destiny. I would simply be a 3D object in a 4D world. I would be inclined to follow my fleshly and native desires in a society built on the principle of natural selection. Yes, the simple stuff of this world has more than one layer and is not meaningless. However, without a spiritual realm and creator, the meaning of life is greatly reduced. Question 2 Moments in my life can lend relevance to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. For example, at a young age I had the illusion that most older people, my parents, or just adults in general were almost perfect and never messed up. This opinion obviously changes as I grew older as I realized that wisdom and being perfect did not directly correlate with age. Eventually it becomes obvious that no one is perfect and that even very old people can mess up here and there. Just like Plato's prisoners of the cave, I saw the older generations for something they were not because of what they projected. Another example from my life that can relate to Plato's story is the satisfaction money grants. Personally, I haven't ever had a huge amount of money but I know people who do and have heard about its effects. Many people think money is the key to happiness and success and that it will fix all of their problems. Often times, the goal of becoming rich can take over one’s life. However, I have seen people who accomplish this and become very wealthy that still aren’t satisfied. In fact, many rich people are still very dissatisfied and left wanting more. I have heard of lottery ticket winners that commit suicide because of their newfound discomfort. This relates to The Allegory of the Cave in the sense that money gives off the illusion that it is the solver of all problems and grants one happiness. This is not always the truth though, and it is not realized by many because they never have that abundance of money they long to have. For those that do end up with it find that it is indeed not all it has seemed before. sites.google.com/site/tuckerhartwig/
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Post by melissasalazar on Mar 2, 2015 4:08:17 GMT
11632 February 25, 2015
1. How would you feel if you realized that you were just “stuff”, just this body, and that there was nothing “meta” physical about you? Be sure to use your “I” voice and present your reaction in an autobiographical framework. Also make pertinent references (when possible) to the film on mysterium tremendum.
If I were to find out that I was just “stuff”, I would be in denial. I would also have one question, “Why?” If we are just our body and nothing else, why must we experience pain? We are just “stuff”, okay fine. However, why must we live in a world that consists of suffering and negativity? If I am just my body and nothing more, why do I have to feel the pain of loved ones passing away or see people suffering? Saying that we are just “stuff” is like saying that we are robots. If we are robots, we should not have any emotions at all good or bad. However we do, so I find it difficult to believe that I was put on this earth to be just “stuff”.
2. Using your own life as a template, provide two or more examples of Plato’s Allegory of the cave. Hint: think of those times in your life when you mistakenly believed something to be true or real but you later realized wasn’t. Be sure to think within the context of the movie.
First: I grew up going to many Christian Churches. In every single one I always saw something wrong, flaws that sometimes my mom did not see. Since I grew up in church I was brought up to believe that in order to be a good person, you must go to church. However, in the churches that I have been to is were I have met and seen the most hypocritical people. I now know that I can be a good person with or with out going to church. Second: When my parents divorced I slowly became distanced from my father. Whether it was because of actual distance between us or because of something that happened, my dad just did not seem to try to get close. Again, I was brought up to believe that a parent always knows more and should always be given priority and respect. Since having experienced things, I now think and firmly believe that regardless if someone is your parent they have to earn a form of respect and that you can distance yourself if you are not receiving anything in return.
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Post by James Furlow on Mar 2, 2015 4:30:18 GMT
1) If I were to be told that I was just a piece of meat, just a brain with a shell pretty much, I don’t really think I would feel any different. The same goes for if someone were to tell me I was a mass of light. I say this because I understand that I don’t understand everything about myself. I can’t say I’m not just a slab of meat that sees itself as a “human being”. I very well could be something other than what I believe I am. It is because this possibility exists that I can’t truthfully say how I would feel if I were to find out I was something else since I don’t fully know what I am. I could however say how I THINK I might feel, but that’s more of an opinion on a feeling rather than an actually feeling. Besides that reasoning, there’s also the fact that you can’t reasonably say how you would be in a given condition or situation if you have never experienced it first-hand. I can’t reasonably say I would feel a certain way because I don’t know what being a mass of light or just a 3 lb. piece of meat feels like. Some might think that being just a piece of meat is depressing, or that being a mass of light would be liberating, but you can’t know for sure if that would be the case. For all we know it could feel terrible to be a mass of light and completely exhilarating to just be a piece of meat. I could also feel absolutely nothing, it could be that in either of those states or any other hypothetical states for that matter, I wouldn’t have the capacity or ability to feel anything at all.
2) The main situation I can think of in which I held something to be true and then later on realized it wasn’t. Pretty much everyone in the world shares this experience in some manner. As a child I believed in Santa Claus. I believed in him because when I got presents on Christmas the tags would say they were from “Santa”. This was a very easy mistake to make since I didn’t know otherwise. All I was told by the given situation was that Santa exists, and I have no proof of, or reason to believe the contrary. This is very much so like the situation the prisoners experience in The Allegory of the Cave because like those prisoners, another party was manipulating what I saw, and I was none the wiser because I had no knowledge or information to contradict it. I basically was given just enough information to be able to fully believe that Santa did exist. This is just like the prisoners seeing the shadows of the animal cutouts. The shadows provided just enough proof for them to believe that the animals were real.
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Post by ashleynmay on Mar 2, 2015 4:54:33 GMT
Week 1 Film Test: 11632Question #1: If I were to, for some strange reason, come to the realization that I am merely “stuff” I would be utterly baffled by myself. I do not feel that referring to myself as simply “stuff” is precise enough to describe what I truly am, nor do I feel that referring to myself as solely a “being of light” is correct terminology. I personally believe that I am both; I am a soul (hence light) instilled within a physical body (hence stuff).There is something truly beautiful within that notion. Richard Feynman suggested that “a physical understanding of a flower doesn't detract from its beauty but only adds to it because he can appreciate so many other levels that usually go undetected.” The same rules apply to myself. Having an understanding of the physical parts of who, what, I am does not mean that the metaphysical parts of my being should lose meaning or could be devalued. As a human being, I strongly feel as though there is something more to who I am than just “stuff.” I do not necessarily consider myself to be religious as I constantly find myself questioning the belief that an almighty force created our universe, but I certainly do find strong faith in the fact that our metaphysical portions are purposeful. There has to be a reason why each being such as myself are gifted with such individualistic and beautiful, yet complex souls. I know that there has to be something more to us than just “stuff” in the physical sense. If there was no existing reason, if I was simply “stuff” placed on a planet, then why would I have been created so distinct from everyone else? Question #2: Being fed information and beliefs, especially as a child, seems to be something that is utterly unavoidable. At that age, you do not really think to question it, especially if it was told to you by your parents, elders, or someone you trusted because why would they lie to you, right? I can distinctly remember two instances as a child when I was taught to believe something to be true, to then later either question it or disprove it all together. The first example is the belief in God. I was baptized as a Catholic, and raised to believe that there is in fact a God. My family was not self-righteous or anything close to it, but they did teach me that good people go to “heaven” and bad people go to “hell.”As I grew older and turned into your typical adolescent who questioned everything her parents told her, I gave the subject of religion some serious thought, and I came to the conclusion that I really did not know whether there was or was not a God. I could not prove nor disprove his/her/their existence; as an 18 year old adult, I still can’t. The second example falls under education. During primary school, I was always told that you needed to attend school to be educated for the life I would later lead as an adult. I found that as a child, I strongly believed that to be true. It was not until I neared the end of middle school that I realized that much of the education you need to survive through and lead a successful life you cannot obtain through schooling; a majority of it comes through living life day by day. Unfortunately, I had to learn that the hard way, but I’m utterly grateful that I did. Thinking back on these two specific instances makes me question much of what I have been told or have learned to believe on my own. In me, it raises this question: Do we or do we not know much of what we believe to be true to actually be true? sites.google.com/site/psychepathways/
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Post by cdgalbraith95 on Mar 2, 2015 5:10:21 GMT
Week 1 Film Responses (Test #11632) Question 1: I would disagree with the notion that we are simply “pieces of meat” because although it may appear that way on the surface, I feel as though it is an over-simplified perspective. In fact I believe what was presented in the second part of the film, which is that although our consciousness may just be bundles of neurons firing signals throughout our body, it is only an infinitely small cross-section of the universe that we can comprehend, which is exactly why it makes it our “consciousness.” However, that’s not to say that there isn’t more out there in the universe beyond our reach, because I definitely believe that there is. The fact that we alone only use about 10% of our brains is so mind boggling to me, that to even begin to think about the rest of the universe and it's existence is a contradiction in and of itself because it is practically the definition of unfathomable. Question 2: As for Plato’s allegory of the cave, I’ve often perceived something as being real or familiar because it appeals to me in a certain and unique way; however there are times where this is simply an experience of the phenomena we deem as “déjà vu.” I believe that this strange sensation of familiarity is actually our subconscious presenting us with information that we are unable to perceive. So I do believe that these things exist and that they mean something, it’s just that they fall into the unknown because we don’t have the mental or spiritual capacity to recognize them. I suppose you could relate Plato's allegory to the old "'if a tree falls and the forest and no one's around to hear it, does it still make a sound?" question, but I would argue that it does make a sound because regardless of you or I, the tree exists and in it's existence it fell, and according the laws of physics and the fact that the tree isn't in space, it clearly has to make a sound. sites.google.com/a/student.mtsac.edu/tsunamithoughts/?pli=1
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Post by lindareyna17 on Mar 2, 2015 5:27:19 GMT
11632 1.If I were to be informed that I'm simply just "stuff", a piece of 3 pound meat, I would feel as if I'm meaningless to this universe. That I'm simply just a reconstruction of atoms and not necessarily alive. If I'm just "stuff", how does that make me who I am, Linda. The question is raised, What is the difference between my consciousness and a piece of rock for example. Because ultimately, we both come down to being matter. As brought up in the film, a couple question come to our attention. For example, What is consciousness? and what makes our personality? Most researchers came down to the plain fact that our spirit is simply neurons in our neural complex that tells how how to think and what to believe. If that is the case, then how is each human being considered a unique individual? Besides the fact that each one of us has a uniquely coded DNA, we each have our own consciousness and spirituality. Every person has their own beliefs and ideas, but how are those created? I would assume that scientists or researchers would respond with the theory that each individual has differently organized neurons, creating original thoughts. 2. Before I even learned how to speak, I was baptized as a Christian. I've always grew up with the idea that christianity was the "right" religion and everybody else was out of their minds for having faith in religious beliefs opposed to mine. I always trusted in my parents and never even hesitated to doubt in our beliefs until I reached the point in my life where I began questioning things. Once I graduated high school and knew I was about to transition into one of the most important phases of my life, I started to take a deeper look into my life, like my religion for example. I dared to explore other beliefs and came to the realization that I didn't necessarily agree with everything a Christian is suppose to believe in. I didn't know what I had gotten into to at such a young age, and only accepted Jesus Christ well because my parents told me it was the right thing to do. I had spent the last 18 years of my life believing in something I didn't necessarily believe in. Everything that I could of sworn was real, I am now doubting it to be true. sites.google.com/site/lindareyna17/
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jf
New Member
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Post by jf on Mar 2, 2015 5:48:20 GMT
Juan Flores 11632 Question 1: I personally would feel disappointed, mad and sad, but at the same time I would feel curious. First, disappointment in the way that all that religion and society have been telling me throughout my life is wrong. That we do not have a soul, and we would not find peace after passing away. Second, madness and sadness because I would not know how to react or answer that comment. Perhaps that person is right because "matter" or "stuff" is all that we are able to see. Meaning that our eyes do not have the power to see something that people call "soul." Maybe each of us feel it but cannot see it. On the other hand, I would feel curious about knowing this person's argument to justify his/her comment. I am an open-minded person, and if his/her argument makes sense and after researching, I will change my mind and believe him/her. Question 2: According to the film "Plato's Allegory of the Cave" by Dr Lane sometimes not knowing something is good, because this world is obsessed with trying to find an answer for everything. I have had many experiences throughout my life where I have being wrong, but eventually I realized that I was wrong, or someone made me realize about it. After researching about it, I felt stupid because I was wrong. However, it is good to know that I am learning constantly. For example, everyday is a challenge for me when I have to speak and write in English. Many times I am wrong, and there is nothing with being corrected. I really loved the example about hearing frequencies in class. I have seen this experiment many times before but never thought about the millions of factors around us that cannot be seen. We all have heard about them but are not trying to find an answer because it goes beyond our understanding. sites.google.com/site/phil5byjf/tests
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Post by kdot22 on Mar 2, 2015 5:51:14 GMT
11632 use this thread to post your film tests and responses Q1. If someone called me a piece of &meat& or just &stuff& I would'be been discouraged before because of the context they would put it. I use to think that the world was a place that was to big for one to understand, but I later realized that the amount of matter that surrounds us is an incredibly large spectrum. If I was just an empty shell like a hollow piece or &stuff& that means that I can be able fill that void with the variety of many topics and not be useless. Most people believe that one can not exceed their own limits but the fact is that we limit ourselves. I have noticed that i like to learn different topics just to have an idea about everything in order open my eyes to a beautiful world. A flower does not think why it is a flower, it's simply just a flower. A rose is beautiful outside but for the naked eye it is just a flower, but if we realized that each pedal can resemble something different like a different idea or a different form of knowledge we would'not just look at it as a flower. Q2. Growing up as a child I believed that education was the most important thing in the world and if you could't get the education you were dammed for life. Then I realize that many people drooped out of school and made a successful living by taking a chance. Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein took a chance to make difference in the world and had achieve that. I noticed that one does not simply need education succeed but they need the motive or the idea planted into their mind to achieve things. Also I deceived that Santa Claus was real until one day i noted that the only person i told about my Christmas gift was my father and later received that gift. That was the day i realize that Santa was not longer a guy that lived in the north pole and also had elves but a person who is willing to give something for nothing in return.
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Post by Brandon G on Mar 2, 2015 18:25:45 GMT
Throughout my life so far I have experienced many things that were either normal or crazy that made me think twice about my own life. As far as I can remember I have always seemed to think like three very important men in science fiction T.V. shows and movies. These men are Spock, Kirk, and Scotty. Spock is a very intelligent man who uses his more logical side to figure out problems. Kirk is a captain who uses more of his emotional side and will also make many of his decisions based on how emotional he might be feeling. Then there is Scotty who is usually shown as being very physical with how he thinks and solves many different problems and will use all of his physical ability to finish a job. One time in my life where I used logical thinking like Spock was when I was taking an English class and a science class together and needed to complete a twelve full page essay that was on the same day that I also had to take a major exam for my science class. So managing my time to where I can both write an essay and study for an exam was a long and difficult process and it definitely took more logical thinking and not a lot of emotional thinking.
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