https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi “I could not retreat, as did so many, into the church and its mysteries. My parents rejected all dogmas… And so I had no sense that any just God was on my side… My understanding of the universe was physical, and its moral arc bent toward chaos then concluded in a box” (28). How do you react to this passage, from the perspective of your own moral and/or spiritual beliefs? Do you believe that the universe has a moral arc—and if so, does it bend toward justice (as Martin Luther King famously said), or toward chaos, as Coates suggests? en-us 2020-11-01 22:02:13 UTC 2026-03-16 19:42:12 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4da.png https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886985843 I think that Coates' beliefs are justifiable. I personally don't know what to believe. If there is a moral arc I think that it will always end in a box, regardless of its bend towards chaos or justice.]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:04 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886985843 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886986209 Belief is often a complex and touchy subject with religion creating maps through history that all lead to the present. I have found that there is good and evil in this world and what causes people from one to another is unknown to me but I believe we aren't born with either. . There was once a philosophical debate over whether people where born as Good or evil and I believe it is neither. The experiences we go through and often the beliefs we hold dear to ourselves are what drives us to become who we are and what we will do in the future.  ]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:09 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886986209 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886986831 I definitely disagree with most of this passage. I come from a Christian family, and am a believer myself, so while there is a physical aspect to universe(no one can deny that) I believe that there is also a spiritual side of things. It is very difficult to argue that there is no morality or spirituality on this earth. The very concepts of right and wrong, along with the fact that laws exist proves the existence of something more than the physical. If the physical world was the only side of things that existed, there would be no reason to treat people with respect, or to bond together as families.]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:17 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886986831 marisallea https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886987242 I don't think that the universe has a moral arc in sense of someone or something like a God telling what is moral or not. But I do think that humans can have morals just that everyone has a different idea of what that is.

]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:22 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886987242 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886987771 It really depends on how you wanna look at it. In my opinion there probably is no moral arc unless you want there to be so really its just a leap of faith you gotta take for yourself. Essentially its all on you. Your perception of things is how you will interpret it.]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:29 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886987771 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988014 I was raised in a Catholic household and the importance of believing/praying to God was expected, now I believe that in terms of God and Jesus that they do not exist. I do believe in more of spiritual science-based beliefs over one specific God. In terms of spirituality, I believe in manifestation and karma. Therefore, I believe that the universe does have a moral arc that bends towards justice.]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:30 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988014 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988070 I believe that there is an overarching power. I was raised Catholic, believing that God was the creator of heaven and earth. I think that if you believe in this God, that he shapes your morals and values. I think that the universe has a backbone that started humanity and life, through morals. Humanity is shaped by weather you choose to believe and look to God or not. ]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988070 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988448 I think that the universe simply does not have a moral arc; it is entirely up to individual people whether society bends toward chaos or toward justice. Without human society, there is no such thing as objective good or evil; justice or chaos.]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:36 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988448 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988500 I believe that the universe has a moral arc and it bends towards chaos. When you look at the world today, peace and equality is so hard to come by and we turn to chaos and violence to try to solve what our personal beliefs are, not what is fair and just. I can understand what the passage is saying and believe their is a strong moral arc of chaos. ]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:37 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988500 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988548 I agree with Coates, I also have a more physical understanding of the universe as both my parents are not religious and scientists  I believe the universe bends towards chaos not only from a spiritual and moral stand point but also a physical one. Entropy of the universe is always trying to become more chaotic. ]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:38 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988548 kaylierhall https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988694 As someone who is not religious, I understand Coates' perspective of feeling god-less. Personally, I'm not sure if the universe bends towards anything, as I think at times it bends towards chaos, and others justice because that's often just how life goes for most people.]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:40 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988694 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988709 I believe that there is a range of  morals in the universe, which is influenced by perception. Each individual carries a set of their own morals based on how they grew up or what they base their lives around. Oftentimes, integrity and morals bend towards chaos because of the lack of consistency between individual morals.

]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:40 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886988709 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886989611 I have seen both sides of religion and atheism since one side of my family is very religious while the other is not, and both sides have developed moral beliefs so when I read the passage it definitely connects to me. I think the universe does have a moral arc, and that it bends towards both sides, sometimes one side more than the other. ]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:52 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886989611 vedrkenjale https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886989860 I agree with Coates. Our ideas of god and even morality are all derived from our own internal logic, which the universe had no part in creating. The world around us acts following the idea of entropy, seeking a state of disarray - or as we call it, chaos.]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:56 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886989860 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886990160 In my opinion, an atheist one in this case, there is no moral arc within the universe, things simply are as they are, in the grand universal scale, and the universe acts how it sees fit. It is no more than a large collection of matter which moves as any large collection of matter would, and has no stake in our lives, especially considering our insignificance. I think the universe, if anything, is chaotic, as it does what it does without any sort of moral compass.  ]]> 2020-11-03 17:07:59 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886990160 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886990325 I believe that there is some form of a moral arc in our universe. I believe that everyone faces good and bad in their life but it's how humanity reacts to it that either creates peace or chaos.]]> 2020-11-03 17:08:01 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886990325 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886992291 In my opinion, I dont think there is any moral arc driving the actions of humanity or the world, rather that the universe purely exists as a canvas for our existence to play over]]> 2020-11-03 17:08:27 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886992291 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886992653 I believe that the idea of a universal moral arc is dependent on the individual. Although, in a general sense, I think it leans towards chaos because peace and equality are very rarely seen in today's world. ]]> 2020-11-03 17:08:32 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886992653 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886994094 yea sure, this makes sense. Religion can be overarching and through this this the universe will balance out towards chaos or justice but as it leans towards one side, the world and universe is so vast that it will balance out in the end. ]]> 2020-11-03 17:08:51 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886994094 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886994871 I do not believe the universe has a moral arc. I think that people can assign reason to things that happen but that most things are a matter of cause and effect. ]]> 2020-11-03 17:09:02 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886994871 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886995040 Since I am not religious I understand his feelings. I do not think that the universe bends towards a particular path]]> 2020-11-03 17:09:04 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886995040 sanjaysreejith https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886995394 The universe has no moral arc at all. ]]> 2020-11-03 17:09:09 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886995394 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886995506 My understanding is that there is a moral guide that persists throughout the universe. When humans develop and grow, they tend to move towards tolerance and justice. This isn't to say that there always has been justice, but it is a slow and steady procession ]]> 2020-11-03 17:09:11 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886995506 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886997491 I believe that everything goes to what you do and say and the universe doesn't have anything to do with it.]]> 2020-11-03 17:09:38 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886997491 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886998330 I don't believe there is any moral arc at all, people just try to make sense of what happens to them by believing there is a moral arc. ]]> 2020-11-03 17:09:50 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886998330 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886999148 I don't think the universe has a moral arc. This may be due to my religious beliefs, but I feel that it is too conflicting to give a sense of what we believe to be 'moral' to have a control of how it operates.]]> 2020-11-03 17:10:00 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886999148 https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886999169 I'm not entirely sure of the state of the universe's moral arc, though I'd say it's probably more on the justice side of things than on the chaotic. My family is not heavily religious, and my parents allowed us to chose to believe whatever we wanted to, but I can see how a parental dynamic where religion is frowned upon could give a child a chaotic view of universal morals.]]> 2020-11-03 17:10:00 UTC https://padlet.com/jhawley2/a4y9bfawmkzbzsgi/wish/886999169