A topic of great interest to me is teleology. In case you don’t know exactly what it is, that ok…I’m not even sure I understand it exactly…(I guess that’s why it interests me). I will get around to telling my definition of it in a minute. But first, I will tell you about where I was first introduced to it. I was required to take a class in college called the “History and Philosophy of Geography.” You will probably see a lot of stuff on here in the future about that class. It was an interesting class and I really learned a lot (or at least I think I did…some of my professors may read this and think that I really missed a lot of the points). I don’t recall exactly what we were talking about when it came up but I’m pretty sure it was Darwin. Now Charles Darwin gets the name as being the father of the evolutionary theory (that is the whole thing about man coming from apes…). I won’t say that I agree with Darwin on all of his points but it would be ignorant to label him as a fanatic idiot and I think he was a fascinating person. So anyways, back to teleology. Basically, as I understand it, teleology means that everything has a purpose and that all things are not random and do not happen by chance. What fascinates me about this is that this philosophy can be applied to a multitude of situations. In contrast with teleology, is naturalism (or so says wikipedia). In fact, speaking of wikipedia, it has a lot of good information on there about teleology…but some of it is a little deep and too philosophical for me…so I will just stick to the parts that I think I have interpreted. Teleology was apparently a theory/philosophy supported and promoted by Aristotle. I like Aristotle, we agree on a lot of stuff and I particularly agree with his teachings on inductive reasoning (although it can be taken to an extreme as was the case with Alexander the Great…one of Aristotle’s pupils…probably more on this in another post).
I don’t want to spend too much time talking about what teleology means because I want to show where I think it applies today and why I believe it is extremely relevant. So if everything has a purpose and things aren’t random, how does that help explain how we live and what society is…well, the first case we can talk about is morals. Morals basically involve right and wrong…either something is right, or something is wrong (now I know that there is a grey area in there but I don’t want to go there yet). So as humans, we are born and taught with the ideas of things being right or things being wrong (do you agree???). At least this is what I think. So where does this sense of right and wrong come from. If everything is random, is there really a right and wrong. I know that some people disagree with what is right and wrong in certain situations, but most of these situations are based on beliefs that were taught or pressed upon them. But take for instance murder. I don’t think any culture in the world would support the idea of murder as being right. Now, different cultures might define murder differently, but just killing another human being for no apparent reason is never thought of as not being wrong. So what makes humans different??? Do animals kill at will???...I would argue that some do…do they have a conscience about it…probably not. So in this sense, I think that humans are different…this leads me into my next point. In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond talks another book he wrote called Why is Sex Fun? (I quote the book Collapse because I have not read Why is Sex Fun?) Diamond poses very interesting questions such as “why women (unlike females of most other animal species) undergo menopause and lack obvious signs of ovulation, why men have a relatively large penis (by animal standards), and why humans usually have sex in private (rather than in the open, as almost all other animal species do). As I was reading about these things, I couldn’t help but think about teleology and how it relates to humans being “different.” So with these things in mind and also comparing it to evolution by means of natural selection…why are humans so different. Maybe something inside of us just says that some social actions are just not right…and it also raises the question of physiology…why do women’s and men’s body’s form comparatively differently from other animal species (could this mean something to us?)???
As I read more about teleology, I have noticed that it is a philosophy adopted and sometimes even used interchangeable with the idea of “intelligent design.” (and see, I bet you know what that is!!!). I sometimes think that teleology is one of the best reasons to believe that there is an intelligent creator. If there were not, then why do we (now I am talking about Americans)…live under a constitution that guarantees our NATURAL born rights? In my opinion, if you don’t think teleology is a relevant and true philosophy, then you shouldn’t even try to support the Constitution of the United States.
I could go on and on about all of this, but I would rather get some comments and then take it from there…if I don’t stop now, I will just keep rambling on and on and on.
But I would like to illustrate one more thing. The other day, a friend asked me, “do you think two people are MEANT to be together.” I proceeded to go on my spiel about teleology with him…how I thought that nothing was random and that everything happens for a reason (or at least serves a purpose). So this is yet again another application.
If you don’t believe in intelligent design and still hold true to some of these beliefs about people being meant for each other, or say that humans are just another animal with no natural differences (other than physical appearance), then I would just have to say that I think you are wrong. After all, the constitution gives me freedom to disagree with you…
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Free Speech
Well, I have sat around and made a list of some of the things I would like to express on here. My list started out small but has now grown to around 30 different topics. I don’t plan on writing all of these at once but if I get the urge to write about something, I can just pull out my list and start typing. One thing I like to do is just ramble…by this, I don’t mean just speak mindlessly…but I do mean that I like to just write what I feel. This keeps me from having to cite whatever I write about. So if you feel that I am plagiarizing somebody’s work, feel free to let me know, but I probably won’t do anything about it because I don’t consider it plagiarism (especially if it is how I “feel”). The topic of plagiarism needs to be added to the list because I think it is something I could say a few things about…
So as I was making my list, I started thinking “should I write how I feel about this…that…etc??” Because I really don’t want to offend any of my peers/mentors and sometimes I hide my feelings just to avoid differences. And it’s kind of funny that I do that because I think of myself as a very expressive person. I guess I am just guilty of “playing politics” sometimes so that I don’t harm a relationship that I have with certain people. Sometimes I’m sure it is for the best that I just keep my mouth shut. But then I started thinking about it…what good does it do me now to hide my feelings? Sure, I still have a lot of peers and mentors that I keep in touch with, but really, what do I have to lose. I mean, I still have ambitions in life and still need help reaching my goals but I guess I have reached a point where I really don’t care about impressing/offending anybody.
What comes to mind are my college professors, I really admire them and absolutely loved college…but I’m sure I hid some of my feelings to avoid reprimand and the possibility of bias grading if I didn’t agree with something. I don’t think any of my professors would have been like that, but there was always that fear. I’m not saying all this because I think I will say something on here that will terribly offend any of them, but they are just what come to mind when I think about holding my tongue to avoid conflict.
So like I stated before I digressed to here, as I was thinking about what I should or shouldn’t write about, the idea of Free Speech came to mind. My first experience with “free speech” occurred in elementary school. I remember one time, after being discouraged for saying something, a fellow student (not me) replied with “it’s a free country, I can do (or say) whatever I want.” Throughout high school and college, I have always been taught to appreciate these freedoms that have been afforded to citizens of the US. But it did make me wonder while I was thinking tonight, what does free speech actually mean??? So I did as all internet savvy people of the 21st century do….I googled it.
It is always interesting to notice that when you google a term, wikipedia always seems to pop up. Now, wikipedia is a topic on my list of things to talk about because it is a very interesting concept…some (not all) of my professors in college heavily discouraged against using wikipedia for good citations (I hate citing stuff anyways)…but for the most part, it can make you a near expert on a subject in a matter of a few minutes (and I have NEVER found information on there that I could not verify elsewhere). So I read about free speech a little bit and didn’t get much more “enlightened.” And since I think I know the general idea behind freedom of speech, I guess I feel safer about posting stuff on here. So as I understand it, if what I say on here offends anyone, they legally cannot hold a grudge nor do anything negative to affect me. I think I already knew that but it’s a good reminder sometimes….kind of comforting (take that you government haters!!!)…that last part is just a joke…don’t get offended :)
I am proud of my rights. The First Amendment guarantees me the right to free speech. So from now on I feel comforted to know that the law protects me from any harm that could come from my postings on here… (Unless of course I violate any of the obscenity laws, which I do not plan on doing…and with all the stuff on the net today, what I have to say will be far far from obscene…I promise!!!)
Oh and by the way…if you want to see what I read, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_speech
So as I was making my list, I started thinking “should I write how I feel about this…that…etc??” Because I really don’t want to offend any of my peers/mentors and sometimes I hide my feelings just to avoid differences. And it’s kind of funny that I do that because I think of myself as a very expressive person. I guess I am just guilty of “playing politics” sometimes so that I don’t harm a relationship that I have with certain people. Sometimes I’m sure it is for the best that I just keep my mouth shut. But then I started thinking about it…what good does it do me now to hide my feelings? Sure, I still have a lot of peers and mentors that I keep in touch with, but really, what do I have to lose. I mean, I still have ambitions in life and still need help reaching my goals but I guess I have reached a point where I really don’t care about impressing/offending anybody.
What comes to mind are my college professors, I really admire them and absolutely loved college…but I’m sure I hid some of my feelings to avoid reprimand and the possibility of bias grading if I didn’t agree with something. I don’t think any of my professors would have been like that, but there was always that fear. I’m not saying all this because I think I will say something on here that will terribly offend any of them, but they are just what come to mind when I think about holding my tongue to avoid conflict.
So like I stated before I digressed to here, as I was thinking about what I should or shouldn’t write about, the idea of Free Speech came to mind. My first experience with “free speech” occurred in elementary school. I remember one time, after being discouraged for saying something, a fellow student (not me) replied with “it’s a free country, I can do (or say) whatever I want.” Throughout high school and college, I have always been taught to appreciate these freedoms that have been afforded to citizens of the US. But it did make me wonder while I was thinking tonight, what does free speech actually mean??? So I did as all internet savvy people of the 21st century do….I googled it.
It is always interesting to notice that when you google a term, wikipedia always seems to pop up. Now, wikipedia is a topic on my list of things to talk about because it is a very interesting concept…some (not all) of my professors in college heavily discouraged against using wikipedia for good citations (I hate citing stuff anyways)…but for the most part, it can make you a near expert on a subject in a matter of a few minutes (and I have NEVER found information on there that I could not verify elsewhere). So I read about free speech a little bit and didn’t get much more “enlightened.” And since I think I know the general idea behind freedom of speech, I guess I feel safer about posting stuff on here. So as I understand it, if what I say on here offends anyone, they legally cannot hold a grudge nor do anything negative to affect me. I think I already knew that but it’s a good reminder sometimes….kind of comforting (take that you government haters!!!)…that last part is just a joke…don’t get offended :)
I am proud of my rights. The First Amendment guarantees me the right to free speech. So from now on I feel comforted to know that the law protects me from any harm that could come from my postings on here… (Unless of course I violate any of the obscenity laws, which I do not plan on doing…and with all the stuff on the net today, what I have to say will be far far from obscene…I promise!!!)
Oh and by the way…if you want to see what I read, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_speech
My First Post
Ok...so as all of my friends and family know...I recently moved to California. I grew up in Alabama in a small "community." Now when I say small, I really mean it. I grew up in Belgreen, home of 0 (that's ZERO) redlights and no post office. So California is a big change. I was looking for a good way to share my pictures and thoughts with people back home (and whoever else wants to visit) so I figured a blog would be my best option. Since I don't know that many people yet with whom I can share my thoughts with, I decided to use this as an oppurtunity to share them with ALL. Now, keep in mind, things posted on here will be my opinions...so if you get offended, I'm sorry. We must simply agree to disagree. I have strong beliefs about some things and am more relaxed about others. Feel free to leave your comments because I rarely get offended...I realize that all people don't think alike. I am particularly interested in current events...such as the war in Iraq, climate change, geographic literacy, geography in general and GIS Technology...so look for these posts...I figure when I get an urge to share my opinions with the world, I will just put them here.
I also want to use this to talk about "lighter" things like stuff I enjoy doing (Hunting, Fishing, SCUBA Diving (which I am new at...), bug collections....you know, just the small stuff that makes life great!!!
Don't expect a post everyday because I don't always have time or energy to spill my mind out. Sometimes I just start typing and figure out that I don't have time to finish and will delete what I started. But also, let this be a word of warning, sometimes I start typing and just can't quit, so you may be reading book chapters on here (but I will try my best to keep it interesting).
Let me know if you have any comments about my posts!!!
I also want to use this to talk about "lighter" things like stuff I enjoy doing (Hunting, Fishing, SCUBA Diving (which I am new at...), bug collections....you know, just the small stuff that makes life great!!!
Don't expect a post everyday because I don't always have time or energy to spill my mind out. Sometimes I just start typing and figure out that I don't have time to finish and will delete what I started. But also, let this be a word of warning, sometimes I start typing and just can't quit, so you may be reading book chapters on here (but I will try my best to keep it interesting).
Let me know if you have any comments about my posts!!!
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