The Only True Wisdom Is In Knowing You Know Nothing - Essay Example

A) “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” B) Socrates did violate the legal of Athens, so while I don't believe that he deserved the death penalty I do believe that legal justice was served, and that his fellow citizens acted according to their laws. C) The charges brought against Socrates were of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates did not fear death, and drank his poison eagerly because he thought of death as something to examine, just as life. D) The allegory of the cave suggests that most people are seeing not reality but shadows of reality, much as one who is chained in a cave for their entire life. Socrates used this allegory to explain that intellectual pursuits, like stepping out of a cave and into the sunlight, eventually lead to more clear understanding of the world. I agree that there is more to perceive in the world than most people are aware of, but I disagree that it negates the validity of the “shadows” which we can all perceive. 2A) We cannot prove the existence of anything outside of our own minds. All of our knowledge of things outside of ourselves comes to us through our senses, but only our minds can be trusted to exist. B) Descartes doubts the existence of anything beyond his own mind, because he cannot prove conclusively that anything else exists. If it is possible for the existence of an object perceived to be disproved, then it may not exist. However, the fact that you can be deceived means that your mind must exist. He famously summed this argument: “Cogito, ergo sum.” C) The wax example explains that the essence of a thing might be understood in one of three ways: By sensory input, by imagination, or by rational knowledge. While the sensory information gleaned from a piece of wax can change dramatically, the wax itself remains wax, and therefore must be understood primarily by the mind. Because it is not possible to imagine all of the ways in which wax might change, Descartes dismisses the argument that he might understand wax because it is of his own invention. D) If you can have the idea of God, then God must exist. Saying that any particular object doesn't exist is automatically a contradiction, because the idea of that object clearly does exist. Imagination speaks to future possibilities; Intellect speaks to present actualities. In the example of the wax, imagination explains the perception of change and for the possibility of other changes which we can't imagine. Intellect explains the understanding of the wax as something distinct, the same thing whether it is solid or liquid. 3 A) The stakes are very high; You have a lot to lose if you make the wrong decision. According to James, believing in God is beneficial to people, and as the decision cannot be made rationally on the basis of evidence it is incumbent upon us to leave the decision to our “passionate nature”. As that nature encourages us to strive for beneficial states, it is prudent to believe in God. I disagree with James' assertion because the stakes are only high within the context of some religions, and because one can enact a different decision at any time. B) The first objection Aquinas notes is the existence of evil. If God is omnibenevolent, then why does evil exist in the world? He counters this by saying that God's goodness is so great that he causes goodness to come out of evil. Aquinas' second stated objection is that everything which we can see and understand can be accounted for by other first principles, so there is no need to believe in the existence of God. His response is that nature as well as human reason were both ultimately caused by God, as “Prime Mover”. C) A ship owner is aware that his ship needs repairs, but sets sail anyway. The ship sinks mid-ocean, and all aboard die. According to Clifford, the ship owner is morally responsible for the deaths of his crew because he made the decision to set sail based on faulty evidence. Clifford says “It is wrong in all cases to believe on insufficient evidence; and where it is presumption to doubt and to investigate, there it is worse than presumption to believe.” I agree with Clifford's assertion. While it is “worse than presumptuous” to believe anything based on insufficient evidence, that which is sufficient for one may not be for another. For example, a blog post might be sufficient evidence for one to accept the dangers of artificial sweeteners, but it is unlikely to sway a doctor. Likewise, an article in a peer reviewed medical journal might prove sufficient to a doctor, but be completely incomprehensible to a layperson. D) A Kuhnian paradigm is a set of assumptions shared by a group of scientists. A paradigm shift begins when sufficient anomalous data is accrued to throw the scientific community into crisis. During the crisis new ideas are proposed, and old ideas revisited. Eventually a new paradigm is established. The overall shift is similar to a political revolution in that new ideas eventually replace older ones, but the specifics are quite different. In the case of a political revolution, a consistent and unified paradigm in contrast to the ruling paradigm already exists before the revolution can begin. The change is sparked not by anomalous data, but by unhappy citizenry. 4 A) According to El Fadl, in Islam Allah is the only sovereign, while democracy is based on the sovereignty of the people. He addresses this by saying that Allah acts only through human agency. Human beings are responsible for setting policies on a day to day basis, and they are ultimately agents of Allah. The pursuit of justice, the establishment of a consultative method of government, and institutionalization of mercy and compassion in social interactions are of particular importance in Islam. Islamic law, or shariah, is eminently compatible with constitutional democracy which strongly supports the ideas of social justice, consultative (republican) government, and institutionalization of socially compassionate policies. B) Feminism in the context of what hooks deems “imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy” is intrinsically contradictory because the patriarchal system supports binary, “us and them” thinking. The definition of feminism as a movement which seeks equality with men fails to address the fact that men of different races have differing statuses in society. hooks compels us to ask the question, “To which men do women wish to be seen as equal?” The feminist movement has not been entirely successful because there has been a lack of awareness of patriarchy as well as a lack of redress. The discussion of racism lacks the same awareness. C) West cites three crises facing black Americans today, economic, political, and spiritual. This is undeniably true. He later cites free-market fundamentalism, aggressive militarism, and escalating authoritarianism as the greatest threats to American democracy. D) Terrorism is immoral because it is cruel. I agree that it is inherehently cruel to inflict terror on innocents. 5.A) List and explain all ten principles needed to destroy capitalism. (Can't find online.) B) Yes, I believe that humans are free to choose their own actions. If God is “First Mover,” as Descartes asserts, simply setting the system in motion is not the same as authoring all subsequent actions within that system. C) Anguish is the experience of realizing that who one chooses to be is only part of who one is. Forlornness, is found in the idea that God does not exist, and despair is realizing that ultimately, no one outside of oneself can be relied upon for anything. perfect consciousness to think it." The third and last emotion, despair, is the realization that we cannot ultimately rely on anyone else for anything. Read More