- What is your real name? Vanessa Rubalcava
- User name: rubalcava.vanessa
- What is your email address that you use for this class? rubalcava.vanessa@yahoo.com
- Can you please send me my final grade to my alternative email address? It's vanangel14@aol.com
- Name of website: My Blog's
- Address for my website created on blogger.com is: http://noregrets29-myblogspot.com/
- Have you done all the readings for the entire class? Yes, I have done all the readings for the entire class.
- Have you watched all the films that were required? Yes, I have watched all the films that were required.
- What was your midterm grade? B
- Link to my midterm: MIDTERM EXAMINATION (January 24, 2010) Vanessa Rub...
- Please place here all of the postings you have done for this class:
Final Examination (Febuary 12, 2010) Vanessa Rubal...
Week 6: Why I Don't Eat Faces (post 3)
Week 6: Truth Lies: Mendel, Code, and Evolution (p...
Week 6: Java Philosophy: Existentialism, Kierkegaa...
Week 5: John Polkinghorne (post 5)
Week 5: Inner Visions and Running Trains: Faqir Ch...
Week 5: (BRAIN BURN: consciousness as virtual thea...
Week 5: BELIEVER vs. SKEPTIC, first episode: CROP ...
Week 5: ELECTRIC SURFING: The Secret of the Lost A...
Week 4: Beyond Belief (post 10)
Week 4: Beyond Belief (post 9)
Week 4: Truth lies (post 8)
Week 4:The Guru File (post 7)
Week 4: AN INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THINKING (post...
Week 4: AN INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THINKING (post...
Week 4: Truth Lies (post 4)
Week 4: Professor Mark Juergensmeyer, Global Studi...
Week 4: Thakar Singh and the downfalls of gurudom ...
Week 4: SAI BABA (post 1)
MIDTERM EXAMINATION (January 24, 2010) Vanessa Rub...
Week 3: THE SECRET OF FAQIR (post 5)
Week 3: To Be Agnostic (post 4)
Week 3: NICHOLAS OF CUSA film (post 3)
Week 3: Inner visions and running trains (post 2)
Week 2: Why I Am Not A Christian (post 1)
Week 2: John Maynard Smith and Evolution (post 5)...
Week 2: Should Skeptical Inquiry Be Applied to Rel...
Week 2: THE HIMALAYAN CONNECTION (post 3)
Week 2: A Field Guide to Critical Thinking (post 2...
Week 2:Winner of the OTTO AWARD: ELEVEN (post 1)
Week 1: Believer Skeptic (post 5)
Week 1: What is Cold Reading? (post 4)
Week 1: Bertrand Russell on Clear Thinking (post 3...
Week 1: THE PLEASURE OF FINDING THINGS OUT, Richar...
Week 1: Winner of the NUMINOUS AWARD: KARMA (post ...
12. Why are certain religious zealots prone to use terrorism,according to Professor Mark Juergensmsyer? What does Juergensmeyer believe we should do in the future to mitigate such attacks?
Juergensmeyer would love to have a world full of peace, and with all these wars occurring since the beginning of time he became interested in finding out why and what is behind people and wars, and why they are started. He did say that one must first understand why violence occurs in the world. He studies religions and politics all around the world.
13. Is there sufficient evidence to support the claim that Edgar Cayce was psychic? Use your critical thinking field guide to substantiate your answer.
Edgar Cayce was known as a prophet and a psychic reader. Many people considered themselves cured by Cayce, but most of his readings weren't tested, and therefore I don't believe that what he was doing was right. I believe that no one can see the future or read who we were in a past life. Yes, anyone can say "you were a wealthy king in your past life," ok, sure but that doesn't make it right by any means. I believe that the people that said they were cured by him actually just thought that they were and therefore got better as a coincidence after his readings and healing occurred. Many people may argue what I am saying, and that is ok, but how can some random person claim themselves to predict the past present and future.
If that is so and like Cayce could predict what will happen and what will occur to people individually, than how did he not predict his death? Yes, he stated that he wished o help people as a teenager and that he did so but maybe because he wanted to help people so badly he actually believed that he could and therefore, became a "psychic." It was all in his head in my opinion. I believe that there was no sufficient evidence that he was a psychic.
14. Why is your professor so critical of cults?
Because he is there to view and expose cults he wrote a book exposing cults and researched. From interviews of former cult members they told reporters that john rogers has a strong opinion about his cult some people view him and many followers almost like a Christ or a God and when people want to leave his cult he intimidates them into not leaving. Cults have a tendency of controlling your freedom and life and they want you to feel obligated to them only. Maybe the professor finds cults to be not healthy for families or anyone who is associated with them. Cults strip people from there will.
Its not healthy especially in the case of arianna huffington she was a member of a cult and was baptized as a cult member a long time ago ad she was denying it and her involvement and at some point she will be exposed and until then she will keep lying her involvement.
15. What do the films reveal about Sai Baba's claim for paranormal powers?
I believe that the films really do reveal that he has no powers and all his tricks are fake. It is sad to me to think that he believes that he is some amazing person when he really isn't. I can't believe that no one else caught on in the film we saw. These people were actually bowing to him as if he were a God as he passed by. It is one thing to say your a magician and one thing to say that your a miracle person who performs the unbelievable. He may have been pulling off some power to the ignorant people watching him perform, but as we are able to take a second glance at his performance we are able to catch Baba being tricky and foolish.
I believe that it is footage like this that will help everyone understand that many things in life are there to trick and fool us into believing something when the truth is right in front of us we just have to be careful and take a second look at what is there before we make any claims and decisions. He isn't powerful at all and I'm curious the people behind the scenes knew he was a fake or if he tricked them into believing non sense as well? He is a deceiver and probably didn't think of all the people involved in his acts.
16. Why did Thakar Singh believe in blindfolding children? Why do some religious followers lack critical thinking skills?
Thakar Singh was a sick man in my opinion, he believed that blindfolding the children until they were age 5 because it would help them become in touch with their spirituality, and what kid understands spirituality at the age of 5? I didn't, it wasn't until later that I understood true spirituality. His followers probably had no back bone and therefore had no opinion as to weather it was a good sensible idea or not. I believe that kids should be learning to be kids and play in the mud and find themselves at the age of 5 years old, and instead they were barley getting their blindfold taken off at that age it is sad and disgusting. I wonder if they were actually praying in the video that we saw while they were blindfolded or just doing what they were told to do, and therefore, maybe they were thinking of something else while doing so.
I believe that some religious followers lack critical thinking skills because they aren't allowed to have an opinion of there own and therefore, forget what it is like to have an opinion. They are merged so quickly and binded quickly into there followers that they don't even realize that they are not thinking for themselves anymore. Religious followers are stuck in the ways of there religion and what happens to them and there people either good or bad is ok because there follower made it ok without there consent. It is hard enough to live our lives at times and on top of that i feel bad for all of Singh's followers luckily many are now ex-disciples of his now because of who he really is and hes a bad man.
17. JOHN POLKINGHORNE believes both in religion and science. Why?
Because he believes in the whole universe as one and understands much about why the universe is the way it is, he is also an Anglican priest. He believes in both religion and science because he feels that there is a connection between the two. In his interview he talked about how there are so many things in life that are unpredictable and unknown and he even talked about the weather and how we never know what it will bring us and that there is room for openness in life even if things are planned out for us, we don't know.
He even talked about how quantum physics believes that the world is undetermined. He even talked about how we all may just be ignorant human beings and know nothing, but that there is always room for us to make some changes if so. Some things in life we can't decide and with the things that we can there is openness for us to make the decisions. He was an interesting man to hear and listen to in his interview because I was able to see someone who believes in both sides all at once and can prove why he believes in them together.
18. How does Nietzsche critique religion? What are his mainarguments against a belief in God?
Nietzsche was born into the Catholic religion but was then questioning God and his true existence. He was wondering whether he really exists or not and that lead him to publish so many books during his lifetime. He was looked at as someone who was different for believing differently than most people and he was regarded as someone that people payed attention too as well, and yet he bacame much more famous after his death because people were reading his work a lot more than when he was alive and writing them.
20. Why is intelligent design regarded as "junk" science by most evolutionary biologists?
I found the definition of intelligent design online and it means that life was created by a intelligent human being rather than from chance or natural processes and that means that because of this definition evolutionary biologists don't believe in God and that he isn't a factor in life at all and he didn't create life but that scientific means created life. And when people are pro intelligent design they do believe in a God and that he did create life and the universe.
Of course the physical and biological aspects in the world will always be argued upon and I believe that there will never be a answer as to what created life, it is all up to different peoples religions! And therefore, that will be the answer to individuals so yes they can keep on arguing what they believe in and that is ok, but overall we know nothing about anything.
21. What is the underlying theme behind the movie the ZAHIR?
The Zahir film is mythical and very interesting. It is a story of a man named Jorge Borges and he stated that "The Zahir stands for beings or things which have the terrible power to be unforgettable, and whose image eventually drives people mad." He said that the Zahir appeared to him in a twenty-centavo coin dated 1929 and the N T and 2 were scratched by a knife. All he thought about was the coin and it began to take over his sense of reality and his life.He even bagan to have dreams of being in a pile of coins that was guarded by a Griffin. It was sad too because he was going to see a psychiatrist where he admitted that he was tormented by insomnia and couldn't sleep all night because he was kept awake by visions of the coin itself.
He even tried looking for a cure for this obsession because the coin became him and he became the coin. The Zahir is so strong and powerful and consuming, and anything can be a Zahir. The underlying theme behind the movie is to be careful and cautious of what you devote your time to because it can consume your sense of reality and drain the life from you in no time. I believe that people who smoke are being consumed by the Zahir because it takes a hold of them once they are hooked that all they think about is when they will get that next cigarette. It doesn't go away because it is in them now and they are tormented by cigarettes even when they try quitting. Video games are one as well because people who are obsessed with video games cant seem to get enough of it and they always wonder when they can play again, and when they are playing the game nothing else matters they even loose track of time and money too. The Zahir is a dangerous thing to come across but we all have.
22. How can little things that jiggle reveal the universe around us(hint: think of the movie of the same title).
In the film it goes over how far we have come in science and where we stand in the universe around us. It talks about gravity and the H bomb, nuclear fission, and neutrons. This film reveals the universe around us because it digs deep into what we already know about space and the universe as a whole. At the end of the film there is a quote by Abraham Pais that states, "To make a discovery is not necessarily the same as to understand a discovery." I think this quotation sums it all up in my opinion because making a discovery and actually understanding it are two different things. When someone actually makes a discovery and knows nothing about it and why it is so important looks lousy,they must have some basic knowledge of what they just discovered.
If they don't understand what they just discovered and are confused about it who else is going to understand it? The universe is so huge and there will always be questions as to what created the universe and why it was created, but overall this video helps people get a basic idea of what surrounds us and that we aren't alone in the universe. There is so much to life it is all around us and in everything we see and do. The universe is so close to us and we need to have a better grasp of what it holds and what it really is out there.
23. Why is fundamentalism a mental disease, according to the movie of the same title?
According to the movie fundamentalism is a mental disease because life will always remain a mystery and according to the book stated in this film by Daniel C. Dennett called Darwins Dangerous Idea he talks about how and when people understand the idea about evolution than life and its confusions become clear. Life is and always will be a mystery no matter how we look at it.According to evolutionists God is exempt from the equation because to them there is no God. Life is unknown and I don't understand why evolutionists don't believe in God? Why would he be exempt from the equation? Yes, it is there opinion and we are all entitled to one and Iam not going fully against them because that is how they see life, and I see life to be different, but If there is no God, who is there?
I believe that evolutionists are trying to take the easy way out in believing not to believe. They have there own set of beliefs as do fundamentalists. Beliefs aren't a disease it is what makes everyone who they are no matter what they believe in. They believe that Fundamentalism is a mental disease because they have no set beliefs and therefore anyone who does is different and diseased by there set of strong beliefs.
24. Name eight common fallacies when arguing for a position. Be sure to give examples, perhaps drawn from your own life, for each of them.
1.) Trying to convert people to religious cults: When trying to convert people to become apart of a certain cult, many cult leaders will lie to you so that you feel that they are some sort of a God or that they are all knowing and without them in your life as a guide you will not prosper in life on your own.
2.) Thakar Singh on blindfolding children: When he said that by blindfolding children until the ripe age of 5 years old I felt sick inside because that isn't right, why would a child be intouch with their spirituality at the age of 5? I is wrong and he was using his followers to get his way and to step all over them as an insult.
3.) Sai Baba's "paranormal power" claim: Sai Baba was a fake and he was probably laughing inside when he was being bowed to and appreciated for something that he didn't posess at all. He had no powers and his tricks were easily caught on tape as all fake it was a set up to decieve all the people who looked up to him, he was a common fallacy.
4.) Saying that one religion is better than another: This happened to me and I was told that Catholics don't know anything and that they aren't up to date with anything new. And that if I don't change my opinion on God that I'm crazy for believing that he is real. Everyone has there own arguments on whether God exists and that is up to them to feel and think that way, they shouldn't pressure others like me to think otherwise because it isn't going to happen.
5.) The media: The media is a huge factor among many Americans and the choices that they amke as a whole. When the media says that Black is the new color to wear this season and maybe it isnt but they want to play with our minds and see what we do, then all of a sudden you start to see more people wearing black, because it was told that it was the new in thing and that all the celebrities are doing it.
6.) Drugs are cool: People will state that drugs are cool when in reality they arent. I have had so many people since high school tell me that drugs are the cool thing to do, well I was smart enough to know that it was all peer pressure and I didn't want to be involved in it anyways. People want attention and they will do anything to make you apart of there crowd no matter what it takes to do so, and they will let you know that your not cool if you don't follow them. Drugs are a fallacy.
7.) Love is a Fallacy: Many people will say thai if you aren't in love with someone than something is wrong with you. I have had friens whose parents think that there is something wrong with them because they aren't "in love" with their current boyfriend when in actuality love takes time and they were being pressured into falling too quick in love. It all happens at ones pace and shouldn't be rushed. Pressure is a huge factor in pushing people into something that they aren't fully ready to commit to.
8.) Convincing people that Hypnosis really works: I don't believe in hypnosis and that it is all a fake to get money and attention drawn to themselves. People who go see a hypnotist are hpoing for results and to maybe figure out what is wrong. But it is sad that they are dragged into seomething that is fake and unnatural. Maybe people psych themselves out and really do believe that it works when it doesnt work at all its just for the fun of it in my opinion.
25. Provide your own critical analysis (using the terminology learned in this class, etc.) of the current "war on terrorism" as waged by the USA. Your argument can be either pro or con or both, provided that you substantiate your reasoning.
On the current war on terrorism as waged by the USA I believe that it is a pro/con I honestly don't have a side that I feel is the best. I like the fact that soldiers are oversees protecting there families back here at home and of course there country. I like that many countries are working as allied countries and helping the USA to help this was act from Alcida. It is sad that our prople and innocent peoples lives are taken everyday because of this war.
I don't like war on the other hand but there is always a reason behind why wars are started and in this case and many other cases it is all religion based, they don't like that we have a different religion and different belief systems so therefore, the Middle East feels that it is ok to kill us and kill there own people at that as well. Yes, they have a different view on why they are doing what they believe is the right thing to do, but in my opinion there will always be religious conflicts and this war will never end! and that makes me sad, yet on my pro side I like that we are keeping them distracted by war and that keeps them in there country, if there was no war going on with our soldiers out in Iraq than they would be out here in the USA and our fellow allied countries plotting terrorist attacks just like the one on 9/11.
26 (very important question, don't skip it): In the Beyond Belief conference there was much heated discussion about religion and its place. Provide a 750 word or more review of the entire series. Whose arguments were most persuasive? Whose arguments were less so? BE SPECIFIC.
In the Beyond Belief session number 6 they were talking about religions and moralities and with or without religion and what one individual does with it or without it instead. I believe that this brings uo a great point because there are so many peole out there that believe in something that maybe theyw erent born into or baptized under. I like thinking that people will always have an opinion no matter what because it is fact and that is it nothing more nothing less. If someone wants to keep a religion that they were born into than that is what they will always support no matter what and they will deny other belief systems and fundamenatalists becuase they are set in there ways. I liked listening to this speech session because it makes me realize that there will never be a peace between people because they will always defend what they believe in and nothing else, just like i have heard before all people are Athiest to other religions that they arent apart of but they only have belief in the one that they are apart of and support fully with no questions. She then went on to talk about God and if we are alright without him? It will of course bother some people just like it did in the conference room where I noticed many people ignoring her when she read a biblical statement and people wereignoring her and what she had tosay they were in there own worlds at thta point of her speech. The biblical statement was talking about Abraham and how he spoke up to God to save and leave the innocent people bein the cities where he was going to deatroy and he was brave for speaking his mind without being banished for good. Abraham risked God's wrath to stand up for all the innocent lives that would have been ended if he didn't choose too do so. I believe that God is present in all that we do as individuals and his presence influences us to be who we want to be and of course the presense ofthose around us. I dont really think that this conference session made me believe in what she was trying to tell us. Yes, I saw her point but everyone will always have an argument to speak up about in their defences. I would say that she wasn't truly persuasive in my own opinion.
In the Beyond Belief conference session number 7 I liked how Mahzarin Banaji studied people and religion and the way that she presente dherself you already knew that sheknows her stuff and she was easy to understand so I found what she had tosay tobe very persuasive and knowledgeable. She studies people from a psychology and sociology perspective to figure them out and do research studies with them. Banaji discussed how there areoutside influences in the way people do things and how they see things from their side. She is a social scientist and likes to study behavior and why people believe in the religions that they do. She had a slideshow up showing different studies that she has conducted and there were questions asking what one would be more likely to cause death and the choices were tornados or lightening and most people would say tornados in reality the highest killer among the two is lightening. She had another one and the possible answers of which one is the highest killer was between diabetes and homicide and most would say homicide when diabetes is the highest killer between the two of them. I like how she brought that up and made us think about which one we would choose in a matter of seconds and I got all three of them wrong I sided with the ones that most people choose instead of the right answer. Now i know the right answers though. She pointed out many errors that many people make even with answering questions back to back and how theone before always has an effect and influence on what the next answer will be and it can be wrong. There will always be outsideinfluences in all that we do. I like that people like Banaji will always be doing studies on human behavior and religion because it interesting to see how we allinfluence eachother without even realizing it at themoment because we are all stuck in our own little worlds and it is sadbut at the sametime crazyto see how many errors can be pointed out without our own conscious letting us know first hand.
27. How does the book, Darwin's DNA, explain the evolution of consciousness?
It explains how people look the way they do act they way they act and think they ways that they do think as individuals, people come from all overthe would but no matter what they are joined by chromosomes and different families and parents who are a part of why they do look the way that they do in contrast to their parents. Some genetics are stronger than others so maybe if a mom has black hair and the father has blond hair well maybe their first child will have black hari and their second child will have dirty blond hair because of what components are stronger than the others all together.
It asks the question of why do we think so much? and why do we as humans always ask the question of why? It drags in philosophy, science, sociology, and psychology as many factors in why we do what we do and why do people act certain ways and think certain ways as opposed to other people around them. It even talks about Darwin and his questions of evolution of consciousness and why believe in what we believe in and go accordingly to it, like religions andhowliving long enough in the world to help transmit our genetic code and procreation and how it all factors into evolution an darwinism. Theevolution of mankind isso abstract and there is so many ways to look at it and howit is evolved from one preson to another person the genetic code isso strong and very relable in predicting how the offspring will act, look, talk, and think like.
29. What was the favorite thing you learned this semester?
My most favorite thing that I learned in this semester was everything, because I didn't know much about anything I was reading about in the books and magazines and all the films were very interesting. To narrow it down to one thing would be hard, but I really liked learning about Sai Baba and his so called paranormal powers. He was such a fake and pretended that he was almighty and powerful but in actuality he was just another man in the world, no man with a presence for powers. I also liked the film on truth lies because it is true how much the truth really can lie to us without us even realizing it until it is too late. We really can't handle the truth and therefore believe in nonsense and take that as what is true when its all lies bundled up together to fool us and make us look and seem ridiculous. I would rather know the truth and deal with it than look like a fake and believe the lies that are thrown at me, and that is why critical thinking is so important, because we must learn to take a second look at what is in front of us and search for the truth that lies behind all the false hope that we have created since he beginning of time.
The whole idea about critical thinking is to have an open honest argument and opinion about something that you can fight against and it can be anything that you read, see, or have happen to you personally. I like the fact that I can go against what is told and given to me any information that I feel necessary to rebel against and prove a point that is good. It is good to be your own self and to not always go with the flow, sometimes you need to let out an opinion even if others disagree, you can prove them wrong. It's time people learned to be independent and not part of some group if they feel the need to branch out and live a little.
30. Give a review and an reaction to the three magazines that you read listed above.
I choose to read the magazine, Why I Don't Eat Faces which was a great magazine because it really helped me realize how much junk I consume on an everyday basis and that I already know that I don't like to eat chicken, but now it made me question that I shouldnt eat anyother living animal that has feelings and a heat too. I would hate it if some random person walked ion my house uninvited and killed my two dogs and my bird and ate them tight infront of me without any emotion. I would be devistated if something like that was a reality. It is sad that many animals are kiled everyday and they cant really fight it or have a say in what is happening to them. They are helpless and anyway we would be a healthies country if we ate less four legged animals and any animals. I do like shrimp but I am going to try and leave out the other animals from my newly formed diet. Thanks!
Adventure in the paranormal was another magazine that I read and I found it onteresting because it talked about astrology and all that lies within when we were born I like that astrology exists yes,many people find it to not be true but it is fun and interesting. The picture graph was also very interesting.I like how they used to incorportae your birthplace and birthday into the graph and astrologers would get the information and put it together. It could tell a person so much about who they are. At times I feel that Iwould be skeptic to these charts or even what my astrology says about me. I am an Aquarius and some of what it states about me is true and some is really off, so I guess it depends on the person, maybe another Aquarius would be in the same spot as me and believe some to betrue andthe rest to be incorrect to their peorsnality. It is a hit or miss.
Believer-Skeptic and the stay puft marshmallow man was another good magazine that I read as well because it deals with interesting questions about what we all see in our minds and if we shoukd believe in them or not. All things that we see in our heads will always be discombobulating to us no matter what and we will always question them until the day that we are gone from this earth. Like it says we can see something in our heads when we think about it like what w are going to be doing over the weekend and then we will see for instance snowboarding if we are taking a snowboarding trip, or the beach if we are going to the beach for the day, but that is because we have seen it in the past and therefore, we can see it in our heads from memories of what we have seen before. They argue about seeing God because we havent seen him before so how would we know what he looks like or what to imagine and everyone has theirown ideas of what he looks like there have been movies with Jesus and God and what people think they looked like. It is up to the imagination and faith to leave that open for what is real to them and no one else.
