Percribed Title 7

“We see and understand things not as they are but as we are.” Discuss this claim in relation to at least two ways of knowing.

The world is full of bias. There is no way to eliminate bias' either because we as humans do not have the ability to be objective. Therefore, we do not see and understand things as they are, but as we are.

We use perception and emotion to see things. When we perceive things, our own personal biases comes into play. We sometimes do not always see what really happens, but what we believe should have happened, or what we believe is happening. The initial perception we make dominates over any other perception we might later make. Sometimes we use our experiences in how we react/see things. I've had my fair share of trust issues. I've told things to people that I thought I trusted (i dont just mean that teenage he-said-she-said drama) only to have that trust betrayed. Now, when someone asks me to share personal things with them, I don't always take it they way they mean it. It shouldn't be such a hard thing to understand. Sometimes people simply want you to talk to them so that you feel better or so that they can help. I have a therapist who I have been seeing for over a year. I still have found it difficult to entrust them with things because I am so used to having things I say in confidentiality to people of authortiy in my life retold to someone else. I cannot see past my own bad experiences to understand that sometimes things are different.

Emotion also plays a role in how we understand things. I tend to keep my emotions to myself, but it doesnt mean that I'm upset or angry, as a lot of people seem to take that. They probably see people who don't express emotion as often as they do as sad because they are so used to being happy all the time that they don't understand that not everyone displays it like that. Sometimes it is difficult to see past my emotions. I'm diagnosed with bipolar disorder. My moods are unpredictable at times and can change on the drop of a dime, without real reasons. I dont understand how it works. My emotions get in my way of understanding things because I cant understand them. I am clouded by emotion to see things correctly. There are times when I'm really happy, so everything seems to be great, even if something really bad just happened. When I'm angry I take things people say in completely different ways from what they meant them. I might take somethign as rude when it was simply a curious question being asked of me.

Karadzic

The Independent refers to Karadzic as a "Monster." Think back to last year and consider: "How do they know what they know?" How have they attempted to justify their knowledge claims? Please be specific.

The Independent refers to Karadzic as a "monster." They justify their claims, through language (war speak), empircal sense, and emotion.

The language in the article brings out anger and sadness. The language used (war speak) causes readers to feel these emotions.War speak is the most prolific way in which the Independent successfully (at least, in my case) evokes anger and sadness, two primary emotions from the reader.
Words used in the article that promote the idea that Karadzic is a monster are words like "war criminal" "artillery, tanks" "nazi-style" (a major comparrison to other monsters), etc. These create the idea Karadzic is a monster.

Empirical Knowledge
The article is told from fist person point of view and states that it is about his visit. It implys that this story is true. We believe what he is saying becaues he has been there and witnessed this.

Through this readers, like myself, have been convinced that Karadzic is a monster.

Elephant Man

Please consider the David Lynch film, The Elephant Man, to answer the following questions.

1. (A) Is John Merrick a Monster? In your answer, consider how you could use the following Areas of Knowledge to justify your claims.

John Merrick is not a monster. In relation to history, his behavior is not that of the monsters we see in fairy tales. He can speak, he can think, and he has the ability to be apart of society and contribute to it, unlike monsters in fairy tales who only seem to contribute evil or bad things. John Merrick can contribute postive things to society.

He is not a monster in relation to the natural sceiences, either.He is diseased, but that doesnt mean that he is not a monster. We don't call people with the flu a monster, what makes John different? He is deformed, not a monster.

He is not a monster in the social sciences either. He is a gentleman and intelligent. He wears respectable clothing, as any other gentleman would. He's not dangerous, he has never committed a crime, and therefore not a monster.

He is not a monster in terms of art. He expresses a fascination in the theatre and has the ability to appreciate it. He can also create art, he created a replica of a Church that he could only see the steeple of. A monster would not be able to appreciate arts nor create it.

1. (B) What is the counter-claim for each Area of Knowledge?

In relation to History, the counter claim is that Mr. Bites knows the story of John Merricks deformities.  He says that the mother was beaten by an elephant, thus causing Merrick to be deformed.

Mr. Bites says that John Merrick is clearly a monster according to natural sciences. He would claim that the elephant man's looks is enouh to proove he is a monster. Humans cannot look at the elephant man because he is monstrous.

The elephant man does not speak in front of mr bites or people he is afraid of. He doesnt always act human, therefore he sometimes gives society the wrong idea and makes them think he is a monster. This applies to social sciences and the arts.


2. John Merrick claimed, "I am not an animal, I am a human being!" What does he mean? How does he know?

John Merrick meant that he is not wild, he is not a monster, he means no harm. He's trying to express to everyone that he is not dangerous, but the men do not listen. They are going after him because he looks different, hes scary and appears dangerous because of his differences. He knows he's a human because he was told that he is a human. The doctor told him he is not a monster, and knowledge by authorities gives John knowledge.

3. Dr. Treves asks, "Am I a good man, or am I a bad man?" What does he mean? How does he know?
The doctor is unsure whther or not he is a good person for caring for the Elephant man and trying to cure him. But he also wonders if he is like mr. bites who wished to show John to the rest of the world. But the Doctore knows hes good because of knowledge by authority (his wife and the other doctors) as well as introspection.

4. What role does the herd mentality play in the film? Please be specific in your answers.
The role of herd mentality plays bad and good roles. Some of the negative roles are:
Merrick is a freak in the circus.
The watchman and the drunk men attacking Merrick
The shocked/ scared reactions from the drunks.
The crowd that chases Merrick.

The good roles of the herd mentality in the film are:
Applause for the performance at the play
Merricks standing ovation.
Ms. Kendals visits.
The treatment of Merrick as an intelligent human being by the nurses and other hospital staff, after Dr. Treves presents and explains him as such, instead of an idiot.

5. How did the community react to the different Monsters in the film? Please explain your answer.
Merrick was considered a monster by the community. They reacted in shock and horror and were scared to be around him. It wouldnt be until the Doctor brought out Merrick's intelligence and personality through kindness.
The other monsters are Mr. Bites for exploiting John Merrick and the watchman for abusing him. They were looked at in two ways. There was the community that loved the shows from both men, and they were happy to cheer on Merricks abuse. Then there were those, like the doctors, who wanted the men to be gone and out of Merrick's life.

6. John Merrick claims, "We are afraid of what we don't understand." Do you agree? Does this statement apply to the modern world or have we learned to treat perceived Monsters with dignity? Please be specific in your answer.

Everyone who first saw Merrick was afraid. They didn't know anything abotu him, they ust saw his deformities. After understanding that he was just like other men, kind and smart, they liked John. They are able to see the normal side to him that others cannot.
In the monder world we are still afraid of what we do not understand. We dont always understand different religions or races or ideas, and we are afraid. We do not really understand the events of 9/11/01 and so we are scared.

Gangs

Why does Slappy committ crime?
    obligation to the gang
    in gang's eyes it is "good"
    gang acts like family
    crack, drugs, money, employment, money.
    gives home and structure
    structure: meetings ,rules, punishment, expectations, rewards
        tattoos, shaved heads

Why do gangs exist?
    need for structure
    need for belonging
    no family/ no religion
    no jobs/money
        expensive to run a business.

"we can't study human behavior"
    we have emotions, empathy ets in way
    humans cant be objective
    we cant study ourselves, we must be neutral, which is impossible.

Nacierma

After the Nacirema exercise, please answer the following:
1. What happened yesterday? Why couldn't we recognize our own culture?
Yesterday in class we read about he "Nacierma" tribe. The article we read mentioned that there was a tribe, and in not so many words, between Mexico and Canada. We read through this article and mentioned things about this tribe. We determined that this Nacirema tribe was "religious, weird, uneducated, uncivilized" and I exclaimed that "I would not want to live in this tribe because I don't want things jabbed into me." I, and a majority of the rest of the class, was oblivious to the fact that the Nacirema tribe was actually the American culture. We failed to recognized our culture for a couple of reasons. My first problem with not recognizing the fact was that there were picture up on this screen of various African tribes, with large objects in their mouths and ears. ALSO MR STEEDMAN WAS TELLING US THAT ONE OF THE PICTURES ON THE SCREEN WAS A RITUAL THE ARTICLE WAS DESCRIBING. KNOWLEDGE BY AUTHORITY. STEEDMAN TRICKED ME AND I BELIEVED HIM BECAUSE HE IS MY TEACHER AND I TRUST WHAT HE SAYS. Also, the language used was not typical american-culture language, so I did not recognize the American culture.
2. What does your answer say about the the strengths and weaknesses of the Social Sciences like Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology?
Social Sciences like Anthropology seems invalid to me. Personal biases get in the way because, as we proved, we could not look at another culture objectivley.

Brave New World Chapter 4

Part 1
1. What puzzles Lenina about Bernard Marx's behavior?

Lenina is puzzled because Bernard is shy about the idea of sex despite the fact that they are in a world that is so publicly accepting of the idea and does not consider it to be a private matter.

2. Please provide examples of Lenina using what she learned from hypnopaedia.
When Lenina flies over the Gamma workers she exclaims that khaki is an ugly color and she says how happy she is that she is not a Gamma.

3. Where are Lenina and Henry going?
Lenina and Henry were going off to play Obstacle Golf.

Part 2:
1. What makes Bernard Marx distressed? Why?
Bernard Marx is distressed because he has the appearance of a Gamma but the mind of an Alpha. This causes him to be alienated from his colleges and feel alone and inadequate.

2. Where does Helmholtz Watson work? What is his job?
Helmholtz works at the center for propaganda. His job is to write witty phrases about everyday things.

3. What does Bernard have in common with Helmholtz Watson?

They are both more aware of the world around them. They are different from other humans because they have more in their minds.

4. What is troubling Helmholtz?
Helmholtz wants to write something more meaningful than propaganda but he does not know what he wants to say.

Brave New World Chapters 1-3

Chapter 1

1. What is the World State's Motto?

The World State's Motto is : "Community, Identity, Stability."

2. Please describe Bokanovsky's Process. Why does The Director call it the "major instrument of social stability?"

Eggs are x-rayed for 8 minutes and then are shocked to multiply into 96 identical embryos. The Director calls it the "major instrument of social stability" because everyone is standard or average. Instead of one human coming from the egg, 96 are produced and are the same. Everyone is so alike that there was no "different."

3. Why did the doctor wish to keep the Epsilon "embryo below par?"

4. What does Mr. Foster mean when he says: "We condition them to thrive in heat...that is the secret of happiness of virtue - liking what you've got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their unescapable social destiny."? How does this connect to what is happening in Rack 10?

The embryos that are created are conditioned to be able to handle what they are going to face in life. They make them like what they are destined so that they do it without question. The embryos don't like to be cold, so are happy to be in heat. Thus, heat is going to make them happy later in life to do their duty. Each embryo is classified differently and then conditioned to love what their "social destiny" is going to be.

Chapter 2

1. How do babies sent to the Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning Rooms develop an "instinctive hatred of books and flowers?" Why were Deltas exposed to such treatment?

In the Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning Rooms, babies are taught to fear books and flowers. They are shown the flowers and the books, and when they begin to crawl towards them in happiness they are shocked. Deltas were exposed to this treatment because if the "lower class" hated nature, then they were much more likely to work efficiently in the factories.

2. What is a State Conditioning Center? Does it remind you of anything from Plato's Republic?

A State Conditioning Center is the place where the babies are conditioned for the society. They are not with the people their parents. In Plato's Republic children of different metals were taken from their parents to make sure metals were not tainted. 

3. What is hypnopaedia? Why wasn't it used for Science? What was it used for? Does it remind you of anything from Plato's Republic?

Hypnopaedia is "sleep teaching." It wasn't used for Science because "you can't learn a science unless you know what it's all about." In hypnopaedia, each person is taught facts, but they do not know what those facts mean. Instead of teaching facts, hypnopaedia was used for moral teaching.


3. How does the Caste system work in the World State? What are the similarities and differences between this and the Hindu Caste system?
In the World State, the Caste system is organized into levels, like the Hindu Caste system. Each level is given a Greek Letter name. The highest level is Alpha, then Beta, Gamma, Delta and Episilion. The Alphas are the most clever and smartest, the most enlightened are are allowed to receive the most knowledge. This is similar to the Hindu Caste system, in that those on the highest level, the Brahmin (priests), are the most enlightened, and are preparing for moksha. In the Wolrld State, however, Alphas did the most work, while Brahmins did the least. In the World State Caste system people born into one level of the Caste system do not come from those in the same level, nor do they ever reach a higher level, which is different than in the Hindu Caste system. There was no reincarnation in the World State, you were one class, and could never change. In the World State and in the Hindue Castes there was a social obligation to be fulfilled.
4. What does the Director mean when he says, "Not so much like drops of water....rather, drops of liquid sealing wax."?  
The things that the children are taught are done so that the cannot forget anything. They constantly repeat information to be sure it stays with them. 


Chapter 3
Please explain how the following areas are different in the World State as compared to our world in 2009.

A) Sex, Monogamy & Romance
Sex was treated as a game and they do not believe in monogamy or romance because they believe that every person should be allowed to have who they desire withouth consequence. Most people today believe that a person should love one person. There are some religions that promote loving other people.
B) Sports
The only believed purpose of sports was that sports increase consumer production, thus the economy could further grow. Sports are for physical exercise and for entertainment in 2009. There is a large consumer production for sports, and it is taken advantage by producers, like in the World State.
C) Entertainment
All forms of entertainment served the purpose of advancing the economy by providing more products for the consumers, exactly the same idea of Sports.
D) Parenthood
Parenting does not exist in the World State. Children were not raised by any parents, rather they were conditioned by doctors. Parenting is a crucial part in our time period.
E) Materialism
Being materialistic was apart of everyday life. It was the norm for them.
F) Religion
Their only religion is worship of the founding father of their society, Ford. Religion is a part of our every-day life. Their are so many religions in our world, so many different beliefs. To those who follow religion, it is very important.
G) Intoxicants
Intoxicants were also considered normal to the life in the World State. People were expected to use intoxicants.

Finally, to the best of your ability, provide a brief history (a paragraph) of how the World State came to be. 

The State came to be because of a man known as Ford. Ford first presented his ideas for the perfect society, including the caste system, to the government in England at the time. His idea was rejected and he therefore decided to build support and start war to become the world's ruler so that he could establish his ideas. War went on for nine years until Ford realized force wasn't going to work. He decided to get rid of his rivals by completely extinguishing them through chemical warfare. After he eliminated them, Ford used different means of propaganda to become world's leader and once in power destroyed all knowledge of history in art and books and set up his own society where humans were brainwashed to be completely obedient.

ToK and History

Positivists
19th century historians
"Facts alone are wanted in life."
facts exist for historians
history as science.
empirical strain of philosophy
separation between subject and object.
common sense view of history
reception / perception is passive
focus on facts - history
opinion is not history.

History and the Cheques lab are done in the same way. You take what you are given and make the stories. Sometimes you aren't given everything when studying history. There's no way you can gather everything. You'd need to talk to every person in the world to get the full story about something.

Hinduism-Buddhism Test Notes (TBC)

Dharma

• Person's duty.
  

Karma

• Every action has a consequence. 
• Good Karma resulted in a raise in the caste system.
• Bad Karama resulted in a step down in the caste system.
  

Samsara

• --
  

Moksha

• Breaking out of the caste system.
• Done by fulfilling Dharma as a Brahmins
  

Caste System:

• Brahmins (Priests)
• Kasatrayas (Warriors/Landowners)
• Vaisyas (Merchants)
• Sudras (Farmers)
• Hrijan (Untouchables)

Darsan
Hindu Trinity

• The Dota
• Brahma 
• Creator
  
• Vishnu
• Preserver
  
• Shiva
• Destroyer
  

Mahabarata & Bhagavad Gita
Ramayana

Shiva & Parvati

• Shiva was the Destroyer.
• Parvati was Shiva's consort (lover)
• The parent Ganesh.
  

Ganesh

• Lord of all existing beings.
• Elephant - Headed God
  

Kali

• Goddess of time and death.
  

Ram & Sita

• Ram was an incarnation of Vishnu.
• Sita was a incarnation of Lakshmi.
• They were King and Queen of the Ayodhya.
  

Hanuman

• Monkey deity.
• Renowned for his courage, power, faith, and selflessness.
  

Lakshmi

• Vishnu's wife (consort.)
• Every time Vishnu was incarnated Lakshmi was as well and served as the incarnation's consort. IE. Ram to Sita.
  

Prince Siddhartha

• Grew up a Brahmin inside the castle walls.
• Ventures out of the castle upon his own wishes. His father organizes the outside to represent the inside, but Siddhartha finds out about pain and death and suffering any how. 
• He wishes to find an answer to the suffering. His goal is to break out of the cycle of life and death.
• He studies with the (WHAT ARE THEY CALLED) but realises the way to enlightenment is through the middle way.
  

Nirvana

• The Buddhist version of Moksha.
  

The Middle Path

• Siddhartha discovers that the way to Nirvana isn't through suffering or pleasure. It is through a healthy medium between two extremes.
  

The Buddha
4 Noble Truths
Mahayana or Greater Vehicle Buddhism

Hindu Deities

Brahma

• Creator
• Part of the Dota

Vishnu

• Preserver
• Part of the Dota

Shiva

• Destroyer
• Part of the Dota

Dota

• The Hindu trinity.

Krishna

• One of the eight incarnations of Vishnu.
• Embodiment of love and divine joy.
• Destroys pain and sin.

Ganesh

• Lord of all existing beings.
• Elephant- Headed God

Parvati

• Consort to Shiva.
• Mother to Ganesh.

Saraswati

• Goddess of knowledge, music and the creative arts.

Kali

• Goddess of time.
• Goddess of death.

Hanuman

• Monkey deity.
• Renowned for courage, power, fait, selfless services.

Ram

• Incarnation of Vishnu.
• King of Ayodhya.

Sita

• Married to Ram.
• Queen of Ayodhya.

Lakshmi

• Wife to Vishnu.
• Reborn each time Vishnu incarnated.

Maya

• "Illusion."
• Creates ignornance of the individual self.
• Bring out evolution.

Garuda

• King of birds.
• Messenger from Gods to Men.

Group 4 Reflection

• Hypothesis!
• Group 18's hypothesis was that high water flow would have lower water temperature and different soil contents than in areas with lower water flow. We (Justine, Ben Porter, Savannah and I) predicted that we would find high water flow at the beach and in deep waters, while low water flow would be in the marsh and shallow areas.
• Gaining Data!
• Getting the data was a challenge at our first site. We had to use a soil collector that was very touchy. To use it we had to drop it into the water slowly and then pull on the rope so it would clamp down. It was difficult because we would pull too soon, or the water pressure would make it clamp upon hitting the water's surface. We only had this issue at this site, but we worked it out by moving the collector to a shallower location on the opposite side of the inlet. The next location was easy to get data, as we simply took a sample from the shallow shore. But our third site was out deeper, in which I had to go deep in the water. It was cold, and I tried to rush data collection. The third site was at the ocean and we began having issues with our temperature probe. The readings were way off, and after much discussion and attempts to fix it, we finally figured out what was wrong. A button was mistakenly pressed on the LabQuest, causing the readings to be escalated. Another big equipment issue was our flow meeter. It didnt seem to pick up any water flow in the shallow areas, even though we could SEE the water flowing. ( I could also feel the current while I was in the water myself.) The flow meeter did pick up data in the ocea when the flow seemed to be highly more significant.
• Working with Group 18!
• Working with Group 18 was such an experience. I'd never worked with Ben on anything before, I've previously worked with Savannah often in Theatre class, and I worked with Justine last year all through physics. We really got along. We were open with suggestions and oppinions, we never got ourselves distracted. We were always on task and focused on what we were doing. Each of us participated equally, I think. I did a lot of data collection, along with Ben. We were the ones in the water collecting soil, getting temperature, and it was great. He and I were able to work well together, and we had fun doing so. Savannah was the one who took down a lot of the data, and she, along with Justine, worked to identify the soil type and its contents. Justine took most of the pictures and put together our powerpoint and data electronically through GoogleDocs. I really don't think there were any problems with the group and working together. We never aruged or disagreed in an unprofessional way. We listened to every idea and tried them all.
• Knowing!
• The data we collected was data I can trust. The LabQuest measured the temperatures electronically, which has its faults and errors, but it was still an accurate reading. I just completed a lab in physics in which we comparred how the electronic thermometer and an alcohol thermometer measured data and they were almost exactly the same. I trust this data because I have seen it work, I have been told it works, and I experienced using it. The soil identification was done by Savannah. I trust her because she is in Enviromental Studies, she has learned about soil and its types and what the contents mean, so I know our data for the soil id was accurate and correct.

Notes 9/11/09.

What is a monster?

• Something scary.
• Something that does evil.
• Someone who has lost sense of humanity.
• Someone without a conscious.
• Someone who doesn't use reason.
• Someone with no respect of other.
• A person who commits attrocities against another.
• Someone with no value for life.
• We are afraid of accepting that we might be a monster.

What is the role of community in the idea of monsters as humans?

• "Not like us."
• Being different makes you bad. Different faith, different ideas, different skin, different ancestry, etc.