Reflection 3
My writing seems to come from a mysterious compartment some where in my brain. I myself have not figured out the mysteries of this little room, but I know it is there. Thoughts reside there that seem to be sometimes distinctively different from what I would normally say, from what I would casually write. They hover around bouncing off each other, until one is allowed to slip beneath the crack in the door when a thought provoking assignment is given or when I feel all bottled up and I just can’t quite get my tongue to form the right words, nor get my mind to concentrate. I then find that is when I’m able to do my best writing, when my mind is bubbling over like boiling water, when the pressure is on and I’m all filled up with emotions, enticed by many different reasons to get my ideas on paper. Be it is out of frustration, pure pleasure, a school assignment, or me simply critiquing a good book that I just finished. The words eventually come, some days slower than others but they usually wind up taking my thoughts down a path I may not have ordinarily visited. When I write, I like to have complete quiet, minimal interruptions, so it’s me and my thoughts playing tug of war. I usually grab my laptop and sit on my bed in my room for what it seems like hours at times writing and rewriting what I’ve wrote taking frequent breaks. I do find that it is a superb way to get to better understand yourself, and evaluate your convictions.
Add comment May 7, 2009 lashannon2402
Bucket List-Extra Credit
The Bucket List, a movie that debuted in 2007 is an absolutely must see! Directed by Rob Reiner, with famous actors like Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman it keeps you locked in, whether you are crying or laughing. The movie is about two incurably ill men escaping from a cancer ward and heading off on a road trip to accomplish everything on their list before they “kick the bucket.” The unlikely duo wind up becoming close friends and helping each other understand the full measure of a true happiness. While traveling from place to place and tackling old fears head on by attempting feats they would have never ordinarily done, they discover to their own surprise immense joy. The movie is very witty, touching, and laced with numerous valuable lessons for all of us.
I consider Bucket List as one of my all time favorites; you are pulled in from the very beginning. You feel as if you have gone on this journey with them, because death will eventually touch all our lives. We all know someone who is battling a deadly disease or who has lost the fight to one. And even if we have not, we still can imagine what a blow it would be to know we may never get the chance to see an Olympic game, cruise around the world, square an argument with a friend, or watch our grandchildren grow up. All we have is right now, and even that is gone in a blink of an eye. The movie does a marvelous job at taking us through the different stages when confronted with a dire prognosis. The denial, the anger, the depression, all the what ifs, flood through our brains. The memories of pastimes and the wave of so many things left undone occupy our thoughts. This movie reminds us of what is too often forgotten, the measure of true happiness, let it not be confused with money, material items, or educational degrees, rather with the love in a man’s heart for those he loves and those that love him.
Add comment May 6, 2009 lashannon2402
Catch 22-Extra Credit
Catch 22-The Relativity of Freedom
The novel, Catch 22, was written by Joseph Heller and published in 1961. It has been acclaimed as one of the best literary works of its time. The story revolved around a young man, Yossarian, who is a bombardier in the United States Army Air Force during the latter part of World War II. Consequently, the morale of the regiment begins to deteriorate and the narrative shows the comical, yet serious lengths Yossarian and some of his friends will go to stop flying incursions over enemy territory. In the meantime, he tries to persuade Doc Daneeka to declare him crazy. His efforts continued to be futile because Doc Daneeka informed him of the contradictory Catch 22, which stated that if a soldier insisted on being grounded because he feared for his safety, he possessed a rational mind, and therefore could not be sent home, nonetheless, if he in fact flew missions he was crazed. (Catch 22 p40-41) Therefore, Yossarian was completely confounded on what to do.
I first chose the novel, Catch 22, because of my propensity for using the phrase. My simplified interpretation of this recurring saying was “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” Intrigued about the origination of the phrase, I decided to read this novel about a year ago. I was completely unaware of the historical popularity of the book or the fictionalized story surrounding the popular expression. Upon completion, I came away with more than a philosophical standpoint to analyze; I was better equipped to recognize my own internal constraints.
The essence of Catch 22 is that it illuminates the fallacy of decisions being merited completely on free will, and that to a degree our motives and reactions are relative to the situations we find ourselves in at the time. (Philosopher’s Way p166) Freedom and free will cannot be used interchangeably, however the terms are complementary, their definition varying depending on who is asked. Personally, when I think of freedom I envision the statue of liberty, a biased newspaper article, the election process. Would an American’s idea of freedom be equivocal to a Chinese or an African native? Is it practical to believe that we can set aside our teachings as a child, our experiences as an adult to make a purely detached decision? We are told repeatedly from childhood forward that experience is the best teacher. Do humans even possess the capacity to be unattached, to not look for provocations? It seems to me, pinpointing causation is as automatic as the breaths we take. Our primitive nature to be inquisitive demonstrates our fascination to know why. So it seems that determinism plays a profound role in our lives.
*I read the book while taking a philosophy class, it was a difficult read; however, definitely worth the time.
Works Cited
Chaffee, John. The Philosopher’s Way: Thinking Critically About Profound Ideas . New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 2005.
Heller, Joseph. Catch-22. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961.
Add comment May 6, 2009 lashannon2402
Weblog 5
Peter Singer strikes a cord with many readers on his belief that we should not only feel inclined to give to the poor but do this unceasingly. His long spill of how Americans are morally inept if we do not contribute to worldwide charities was nonsensical at the very least. Then to top it off he says we should faithfully give a minimum of 33% of our household incomes to charities. I’m not too certain of what reality Mr. Singer resides in but I haven’t met many people that can afford to give away a third of their income, myself included. I’m doing well to be able to contribute 10% to tithes and I thought that was a little much at first. In summarization, Singer’s perspective is use your own money to purchase only necessities and donate the rest to those in need. I applaud the philanthropic idea, in a perfect-balanced word this may be achievable, but we live in a capitalistic reality and money “makes the world go round.” So on the miniscule chances that citizens can afford to give a portion of their income; his theory is we should be content surviving from paycheck to paycheck. What about the big picture here? Our economic system would eventually be like pulp before it is processed into paper. Eventually spreading internationally, an utter collapse that would affect every continent and what then? Who will help us all? What good are we to anyone when all of us are broke, sick, and dying? It seems extremes, yes, but wasn’t Singer’s excerpt of the little child and the train far fetched as well?
Singer, unfortunately believes life is only black and white, you’re either morally virtuous because you live a meager life or morally incompetent because you like to enjoy the rewards of your hard earned money. If that is the taut line we have to walk to be unlike “Bob” I guess we’re all narcissistic individuals. As for myself, I will continue to do what I’ve been doing as long as I can remember and that is help those who I come in contact with from day to day and pray for those who are out of my reach. And if the chance presents itself where I can give someone 200 or 20,000 dollars, it will first be to my fellow Americans who are struggling daily at home. Personally, I feel that God didn’t put us here to save the world, only he can accomplish this feat, all he expects us to do is the best we can for our fellow brothers and sisters; and when we “love our neighbors as we love ourselves” no price tag or accolades are necessary.
Singer, Peter. “The Singer Solution to World Poverty.” The New York Times Magazine. 5 Sept. 1999: 60-63.
Add comment May 6, 2009 lashannon2402
The Circle of Life-Extra Credit
How scary it is for a family when death stares them right in the face. You know it is there, like a ticking time bomb. All you can do is wait for the that second of the hour when it shows you that you are not imagining the tick tock, you are not worrying over a silly old thing. the cycle of life has caught up with you and now you must return to your maker. you blindly live believing you will you be able to grow old and grey, praying for a fruitful, long life. how harsh and disheartening for a family that has doted over you since birth, for coworkers that have been accustomed to you sitting in that chair, for church members who’ve seen you go through many trials and come through victorious. but even more devastating for a child who has so much wisdom left to learn from their mother. now, here comes death. it’s unconquerable, it’s undeniably inevitable. but when does it hurt more? when we know that we’re dying, and we’re helpless to it all, we can feel the sand running out every minute of every second. When the md says your chances of making it through this year are pretty slim or when we are suddenly taken from this earth as in a car accident, plane crash, a drive by shooting, a fatal heart attack. Who is it the most painful for? Is it easier to leave this world unexpectedly, with no goodbyes, no chance to make amends or say I love you once more? On the other hand, is it better for you or everyone who loves you when you’re on a countdown. 12 months, 11, 10,…. Well, I guess my family and I will discover the latter of the two. The big “C” has invaded our placid world of intactness, it was stumbled upon while hoping/looking for something else. It came with swiftness and fury, it metastasized without ever letting us know it was there until the very last minute. How horribly unfair, it’s already progressed to stage 4, how sorrowful when the diagnosis is incurable. how utterly agonizing for the patient when they hear the only options you have is chemotherapy which may slow the agression of the disease down but the sideeffects will drain your energy. how can such inhumane suffering happen to those who have so much living to do? I suppose this question is unanswerable, we must somehow figure out how to mourn quietly, without anger, never quite understanding why. my mother-in-law whose only 51 years old has been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
Add comment May 6, 2009 lashannon2402
Reflection 2
My experiences with teamwork have been wide and varied. I’m a licensed pharmacy technician, I work in an small enclosed environment with a few other colleagues. For the most part, we work together pretty well. I have one person in particular who I’m more fond of than others. We call her Jen. She is very knowledgeable and helpful when needed. If she sees I have stepped away from my work station to attend to something else, by the time I’ve returned she’s already wrapping up the task I was working on. Always moving at speeds lke she is behind, she has been a joy to work with and one of the most memorable coworkers I’ve been around. Slacker is definitely not one of her traits, it’s good to work around people of that caliber; efficient and cordial. I’ll make sure I let her now how appreciated she is when I see her tomorrow.
Add comment April 16, 2009 lashannon2402
Weblog 4
Steven Rose, a neuroscientist and professor believes that investing time and money into finding out if whites are superior intellectually to blacks is an utter waste of time and would serve purposeless. He feels that what truly drives the interests in these particular studies are outdated sexism and racism views. Additionally, the research isn’t well-founded nor can it be proven definitively if done. Rose offers several logical reasons to support his convictions. One is heritability, two is how society is conditioned to treat boys and girls differently, and broadly categorizing entire races into groups will prove fruitless and inconclusive because subpopulations of same ethnic groups have already been shown to vary based on variables that are introduced. Also, Rose brings up the validity of one test carrying such a tremendous weight when it excludes social and emotional intelligence.
Stephen Ceci and Wendy Williams’ claim is that scientific studies should be protected under the right to free speech, and when controversial studies are impeded, progress and new discoveries are halted as well. These two feel that the naysayers are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to topics dealing with race, gender and intelligence. They feel people should have the freedom to voice openly their stance on the issue without fear of undue backlash. Their article advocates open forums so both sides can be heard, so no one idea can be stifled out because it lacks popularity. They support their reasons by naming those who’ve had to resign or been ostracized because of comments that came off as being insensitive.
I agree with Rose’s argument, however, it was hard to follow. I do understand that he was writing for more scientifically inclined readers. His mentioning of the different and widely accepted ways we rear our children and his reiterating of the reason this theory is still being purported is because it allows a discriminatory class line in to be drawn. On the other end of the spectrum, Ceci and Williams’ make a convincing case on the highly volatile subject by linking it to freedom of speech. They write cautiously to avoid ruffling too many feathers and insist that they’re on quest to “understand” not classify.
Resources
Lynn, R. & Vanhanen, T. IQ and the Wealth of Nations (Praeger, 2002).
Lynn, R. & Vanhanen, T. IQ and Global Inequality (Washington Summit, 2006).
Barnett, S. M. & Williams, W. M. Contemp. Psychol. 49, 389–396 (2004).
Flynn, J. R. What is Intelligence? (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007).
Ceci, S. J., Williams, W. M. & Barnett, S. M. Psychol. Bull. 135, 218–261 (2009).
Add comment March 26, 2009 lashannon2402
Weblog 3
Writer Steven Pinker has coined the term neonaticide; which is when a mother kills their baby or allows it to die once born. Pinker holds the viewpoint that this act is not as horrendous as it sounds because it has been practiced by many cultures for millions of years. His attempts at justification are comparing this act to past civilizations when they “sacrificed” a newborn because of imperfections in the child or impoverished living conditions. His argument takes the stance that, in general, the women who result to these extreme measures are “young, poor, unmarried, and isolated,” and because of this, society should judge them less harshly. He tries to validate his argument with findings from several psychologists: Philip Resnick, Martin Daly and Margo Wilson.
Bruce Chapman writes a rebuttal to Pinker’s argument by claiming that Pinker is trying to downplay the seriousness of infanticide (baby killing) with guile persuasive tactics. Chapman believes that Pinker has tried to assuage readers by using vices such as scientific studies, reconfiguring of words, and gradualism to make society question their own beliefs. Chapman turns around and uses Pinker’s evidence to defend his own argument. In his dissection of the argument, Pinker’s perspective seems more inflammatory and illogical. Chapman uses powerful words and plenty of sarcasm to refute the solidity of the argument.
In evaluation of both arguments, I’m compelled to agree with Bruce Chapman. I must say I am a mother and the portion of Pinker’s essay that states there isn’t an instantaneous bond when the child is born was completely absurd. Personally speaking, from the time I knew I was pregnant there was a connection and a sense of obligation and protection towards this little person I’d never seen. And I must say I was young, unmarried, and struggling at the time when I conceived. So on experience alone I disagreed with Pinker’s argument. Although I must say he did pretty well at trying to support his case by using experts in that field of study and telling how “baby killers” commonly receive a slap on the wrist in court. Where he loss points with most is in the comparison of newborns to mice, and his redundant spill of how acceptable it was to hunter-gatherers and the mindset that more children could be had later on, as if to say “no big deal.” Also, the moral philosophical argument he used was quite ambiguous and thus, was a hindrance to his case. In fairness, I believe that Chapman was unfairly satirical because he failed to see that Pinker was presenting the argument not concurring with it.
On the other hand, Chapman’s use of rhetoric at the beginning of the essay invoked a sense of superior knowledge in the subject matter and was more effective because it made you feel like he was uncovering the truth. His usage of Pinker’s own words to prove his point was brilliant. Even though, Pinker offers more evidence in his essay, his way of thinking seems too farfetched/unconscionable for most people. Chapman mentions the sensible alternatives infanticide, such as; grandparents rearing the child or adoption. The blunt and mocking manner in which he wrote was more effective than the subtle messages Pinker tried to imply with “we can try to understand what would lead a mother to kill her newborn, remembering that to understand is necessarily to forgive.”
Resources
Why They Kill Their Newborns by Steven Pinker New York Times 11/2/1997
A Modest Proposal: Should we Change our Minds About Infanticide? by Bruce Chapman Seattle 10/21/1997
Add comment March 18, 2009 lashannon2402
Writing Reflection 1
My writing has changed profoundly over the last two to three years. I’ve always been a pretty good writer but as I’ve gotten older and entered college as a woman in her mid twenties my interests and audience have changed as well as my writing style and language. I use to write just because it was part of assignments in school, however, now I write with an intended purpose. I write and edit based on how I feel others may or may not be affected by my writing. My vocabulary has expanded tremendously because I have broadened my scope of reading. I no longer just read romantic novels or scary books by R. L. Stine. I read topics that touch my heart and can impact my future and my kids. In doing so I’ve finessed my own writing by reading others. I’ve begun using what I believe that other authors are doing effectively in my own writing. I’m a bit wordy but I’m trying to improve on that. My trouble areas have been narrowing my topic down and not being redundant. I tend to have so much to say that I sometimes find myself rambling on and on. I do see huge improvements in my writing abilities and when my husband reads papers that I have a strong view about he usually seems impressed by my versatility with words. Personally, I feel my improvements have come about more so because I’ve had more practice. From writing papers for English, history, and philosophy classes you become more attuned to your audience and what components are needed to effectively get your opinion across. Progress has definitely been made, now I’m trying to work on perfecting my style.
Add comment February 26, 2009 lashannon2402
Weblog 2
Part One
I feel that our children have been let down tremendously because of state and federal education bureaucracies. We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, or we use to, and our education is suffering miserably. Many have forgotten that innovation, creativity, and great thinkers helped found our nation and that knowledge is our only certainty at continuing to carry this torch. Low standards, poor learning conditions, unqualified teacher’s, and several other factors have lead to unsatisfactory scores on standardized tests and unprepared young adults flowing into the work force. I have witnessed first hand the disparities in our schools when I was a child and I see them more profoundly since we’ve relocated to this area and my kids are in the elementary system. Sensible necessities like: heating, lighting, cleanliness, and lack of sufficient supplies are being overlooked, not to mention the more serious aspects. Money is far from being a cure all but it is a necessary component if change is expected. My views are if an environment isn’t conducive to learning the deck has already been stacked against the teacher as well as the child. More importantly, kids aren’t being pushed to their full potential. The lack of variety or advanced placement classes is stunting children’s learning abilities. It is in the primary stages of learning that it is essential to build a formidable foundation that nurtures the ideas of knowledge.
Part Two
The writer above makes a good case for her argument but I believe the blame should be shifted to parents instead. I’m a thirty year old school teacher of 4th grade students and the stories I can tell are bemoaning. Society easily points the finger at the administrations, insufficient funding, etc.; although I believe it begins and ends right in a child’s home. Sometimes cynical thoughts of what our educational system lacks should be redirected towards what it provides when record numbers of academic achievements are being recorded everyday. The unwavering ability to overcome the poverty stricken households and the crippling promise of a weakening economy is indeed visible, but the image of success is first materialized amongst the base of each household pursuing it. More and more parents are becoming involved in our school systems which affect the level of at-home participation in a child’s educational growth; however, the numbers are extremely low. Positive re-enforcement of a teacher’s lesson plan can only increase a child’s chances of grasping the assignment given which creates a higher success rate for children to pass tests on exam day thus making the child feel better about what learned and become a more confident student. In closing, I propose that guardians/parents take a closer examination of themselves and decide how much of the failing scores lie at their feet.
Add comment February 5, 2009 lashannon2402
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