World Views on Theism - Assignment Example

? Inset Quote: Live as if you are dying tomorrow; learn as if you are living forever. Mahatma Gandhi World Views On personal grounds, theism is the most plausible, among the major world views. This is because, by referring to an infinite and eternal Being as the one who created the world out of nothing, the problem of authority is directly and readily tackled. It becomes easier to understand that behind the universal law and ethics, there is an author. It is by being conscious of the authority behind the universal law that most of the ethical problems, deficiencies and inconsistencies can be abridged. The converse is that removing the divine author from human institutions and laws leaves mankind with no accountability. To be put plainly, if there is no divine author and creative designer, then there is no fear that constrains a potential swindler, pedophiliac, rapist, political insurgents and murderous buglers. Just as Hackett recounts, the absence of the divine Being immediately creates the limitations of cultural relativism. This is because, the notion that a divine Being exists and created the universe and the fullness thereof immediately gives room for moral absolutes or the universal law. Since a personal example suffices, living in America made me note that as globalization continues to render the US and the entire world a cultural melting pot because of multiculturalism, the danger of cultural relativism has certainly become inescapable. This danger has mainly manifested itself in a clash between legislative pieces and cultural values. For instance, because of the constant but radical shifting away from theism, the US government with all its constitutional maturity still remains ambivalent and unsure about the publication of literature such as Phillip R. Greaves II’s The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure, despite the risks it poses to children. Only theism can hereby strike this delicate balance between freedom of speech and conscience and that of children’s safety (3). Learning Paradigms Among the learning paradigms that exist, behaviorism is the most sellable. Founded by B.F. Skinner, John Watson, Ivan Pavlov and others, behaviorism has it that all behavior has underpinnings in operant conditioning or stimuli. The crux of the mater herein is that when stimuli are introduced, there must be a response, as a corresponding action. Personally, I readily identify with behaviorism because I have come to note that results or consequences shape individual or collective action. Action in turn develops into behavior. Particularly, I have come to note that most of my colleagues did not take their assignments seriously until lecturers set deadlines. Reflecting on my past life also reinforce my belief in behaviorism, since we worked hard in high school, mainly upon knowing that entry into college or university learning would be based only on merit. Learning Styles Personally, kinesthetic approaches to learning have proven the best and most fruitful. This is because, this approach proves to be the most practical since it involves learning by performing, and therefore incorporates hands-on approaches such as movements, observing and other physical activities. Alongside note-taking and ensuring physical comfort, joining study groups, using appropriate technology such as visual aids and reviewing information have catalyzed learning. The foregoing has especially been the case during encounters with cognitive sciences such as linguistics. Particularly, it has been virtually impossible to master phonetics, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA chart), the phonological processes and supra-segmental features thereof, without looking at the mirror to watch the movement of articulators, or feeling the movements of my articulators, or both. In courses pertaining to political science, history and sociology, I have found it most benefiting to my memory when I place the world map before me, as a reference material. Likewise, as one given over to kinesthetic approach, I have found maps very helpful in putting myself in the geopolitical or cultural environment that I am studying. Multiple Intelligences Approach Personally, on the list of seven approaches that makes up multiple intelligence approaches is the linguistic way of learning. Verbal or linguistic form of intelligence pertains to both words and language use, in spoken and written form. This form of intelligence has proven to be indispensably important in poetry, spoken word, deducing an individual’s idea, humor, literary works and also in creating key words for memorization. Throughout my schooling life, I have come to notice that I understand concepts best and clearly when the teacher in an organized manner explains it. Memory complements my learning best when the teacher uses anecdotes, humor and verbal illustrations. At the same time, by understanding the order and meaning of words, I revise my notes well after identifying certain words as key to recalling a given concept. In another wavelength, I have come to realize that throughout my school life, I have firmly grasped old and new concepts alike, when I explained or taught or made a class presentation on a concept. Not only does this verbal approach help me recollect concepts that were hidden within the deep recesses of my mind, but the same also reminds me of my firm grasp on the topic in discussion, thereby bolstering my confidence and love for the topic or concept. In the same vein, I understand concepts of international relations and international politics better when I relate supranational actors and dynamics to supra-segmental analysis in meta-linguistics. Student Development Theories Even as scholars such as Olafson readily agree that the science of student development helps entrench an understanding of the underpinnings of students’ development, change and behavior, the Person-Environment Interaction (PEI) theories give the most plausible and tractable postulation. Basically, PEI theories posit that the development of a student emanates from his interaction with the environment. This is so much the case that many scholars have asserted that development is a function or derivative of an individual’s interaction with his environment (250). Personally, I have come to accept that an individual’s pool of knowledge is derived largely from his environment. I realized this as lucid and defendable when as a student of history and political science, deduced the relationship between Europe’s Industrial Revolution (1750 and 1850) and the development of cognitive sciences and liberal arts. Particularly, it is after Industrial Revolution had taken place that Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5th, 1818- March 14th, 1883) and his counterparts Friedrich Engels (November 28th, 1820- August 5th, 1895) came up with their theory of Class Consciousness and Conflict. It only emerged as obvious to me that because of the environment that characterized the then industrialized Europe, Marx and Engels were able to observe and ruminate on the exploitation of the poor by rich capital owners, the untold catalogues of misery that this development visited upon the poor and the role that the Church played in consolidating this system. Even if Marx and Engels used initially taught concepts to analyze class relations in a newly industrialized Europe, yet these already existing concepts and their teachers also form part of Marx’s and Engel’s environment. Basically, almost every tool of learning such as libraries, lecturers and even the virtual world are all but a minute part of the environment. This marries perfectly well with the stand taken by Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), on phenomenology. Social phenomena take place within the auspices of the environment, and this same environment molds the worldview by which such phenomena will be interpreted. Two Epistemological Orientations Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that refers to the study of knowledge and the verification and justification of belief. Some of the concerns that saliently prevail in the field include: sufficient felicity conditions of knowledge; the source of this knowledge; the structure of this knowledge; the limits of this knowledge; and its process of verification. That there are different approaches in epistemology is a matter that is clearly exemplified by the differences between Euro-America’s axiology and Africana’s axiology on one hand. Axiology on the other hand is a branch of philosophy that studies human values. While among the Euro-Americans, the outstanding point of focus in value-orientation is pegged on the relationship between man and objects, for the Africana, the point of focus is premised on the relationship between man and his fellow man. While the Euro-Americana’s worldview and value orientation are heavily geared towards pragmatism, individualism, gaining mastery over nature and is more futuristic, Africans’ world view and value orientation are heavily predicated upon existence (being), communalism and consolidating harmony with nature, respectively. Similarly, as opposed to Euro-Americans who place emphasis on the future, the Africana believes in acting upon the “felt” times. Introspection Section Apart from the fact that this class forms part of the curriculum that is necessary for my graduation, it helped broaden the scope of my worldview. The very factor that compelled me to take this class or course is the desire to understand deeper, ideologies that have shaped the world into what it is presently, and how these ideologies shape world politics, economics and socio-cultural development. The gravity behind this intention is that I understood so well that by studying ideologies and their relationships with current political and socioeconomic development, I would be able to forecast developments that are bound to play out in 2050. The class definitely turned out to be what I expected, given that the history, development and essence of these ideologies and world affairs have left me with greater understanding of America’s, Europe’s and the world’s politics and current affairs. Not only has the understanding of the prevailing political and socioeconomic status of the world been inculcated within me, but making prognosis on the world’s affairs in the next four decades has been also made possible. After experiencing this course like this, I will approach the rest of my college experience with better interpersonal skills and tolerance, having known that each and every ethno-cultural grouping had its own political and philosophical way of life and views. These views were as a result of worldviews which had accumulated over time and also depended on how interactions with the environment were interpreted. Thus, I realize that it is very fallacious to use an ethno- cultural worldview to judge the cultural values of another. Works Cited Hackett, D. Cedric. “Supplemental Packet.” Pan African Studies 1558 Learning Paradigms in Pan African Studies. Northridge: California State University, 1969. Olafson, Lori. Et al. “Consistency and Development of a Teacher’s Epistemological and Ontological World Views.” Learning Environments Research, 13.3 (2010): 243-66. Read More