https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn HON 201 ST1, Dr. Slaughter en-us 2020-09-05 17:02:06 UTC 2025-04-27 18:35:26 UTC hello@padlet.com ccotra104 https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn/wish/722962455      This meme demonstrates an existential influence, especially as described by Jean-Paul Sartre. In his "Existentialism is a Humanism," he discusses the anguish that complete freedom of choice creates in every human being. 
     Without a God or higher power to give life meaning and a moral code, man must take full responsibility for his actions. Each action he takes helps shape the ideal image of what Man should be for all of mankind. 
     The existential moral code involves asking oneself if the way one chooses to live is a desirable lifestyle for all. In other words, if everyone were to act the same as oneself, would the world be a place worth living in? 
    According to existentialism, freedom is a burden. No one can tell a man what to do, but no one will take the blame for him either. The weight of this accountability is heavy, and causes a sort of "anguish" to each person as they go about their lives. Man is "not only the individual that he chooses to be, but also a legislator choosing at the same time what humanity as a whole should be" (Sartre 25). That is quite frightening. What person believes themself worthy of making these sorts of decisions for all of mankind?

     It seems that raccoons are not exempt from this contemplation either. ]]> 2020-09-06 02:06:24 UTC https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn/wish/722962455 ccotra104 https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn/wish/760351255      This meme represents some of Freud’s ideas about religion, God, humanity, and even his personal life. His fixation on the parent-child relationship leads his audience to question his own relationship with his father, which was not exactly ideal.
     In his work, The Future of an Illusion, Freud argues that mankind created God and religion out of his own selfish desires for security. Nature was too great and lofty a force, so man personified it. This personification allowed for a God that could be understood, placated, and manipulated. 
     Freud frequently relates our idea of God to a father figure because, like God, he provides security for his child. A father also strikes fear in the heart of a child because of his strength and fortitude. “God” was convenient for man to make up because He became the moral standard, the punisher of wrong, the rewarder of right, the guide of the afterlife, and the protection against Nature that man desperately desired. The idea of God also provides an easy explanation for the questions that science cannot answer, such as “Why are we here?,” “Where did we come from?,” and “Where are we going after we die?” 

I wonder, how does this relate to the Christian idea of God as Father? We perceived Him as Father because He is also the creator and sustainer, but Freud says that we created God because it helps us cope when we act “as if” there is a higher power that orders our lives. ]]> 2020-09-18 21:05:50 UTC https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn/wish/760351255 ccotra104 https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn/wish/800066937      After reading the following article, I wonder how much Marxism has influenced modern movements. We must also consider, in light of reading the Communist Manifesto, how much of this is directly from Marx himself and how much is part of the larger "Marxist theory." The co-founders of BLM describe themselves as "trained Marxists." What do you think that means? What kind of Marxist ideals does BLM support (without saying whether you agree or disagree with BLM)? Can the type of racism we see in America today be classified as a class struggle? Is BLM economically motivated at its core (as Marx might argue), is it purely vying for social justice, or are the two purposes inextricable?

]]> 2020-10-03 20:16:54 UTC https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn/wish/800066937 ccotra104 https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn/wish/838084379 This BBC article talks about Orwellian predictions for the future of the society. If you haven't read the book, it deals with a dystopian society that deals with Marxism, surveillance, crowd manipulation, and the loss of the individual. One of the major themes that connects to the postmodern worldview we have been discussing in class is the manipulation of language. The government takes control of language, eliminating vocabulary to narrow the minds of the citizens. How does this relate to the postmodern idea that language is simply a construct? What are the dangers of the government or society manipulating the evolution of language? In what ways is this already happening? ]]> 2020-10-18 00:03:00 UTC https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn/wish/838084379 ccotra104 https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn/wish/875492937      In Thursday’s discussion on “The Poison of Subjectivism,” the class brought up the controversial topic of the justification of sins like lying and killing when done in the name of good. In other words, the end justifies the means. This immediately triggered my memory of reading The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. 
     If you are not familiar with the book, it is a Holocaust memoir of a Gentile family who helped Jews escape from the Nazis. She and her sister end up being sent to a concentration camp as a result. Corrie frequently describes her older sister, Betsie, as being more spiritually minded than she, and a contrast she draws is their different opinions on lies. Betsie is strongly convicted to not tell a lie, even to protect the Jews. When asked where they were hiding, she told them “under the table.” The Jews were hiding in a cellar under the floorboards under the table, so she was not technically telling a lie. Corrie does not share this conviction, and frequently lies and creates forgeries to save the lives of those she harbors. In both cases, God protects the Jews from the soldiers.
     This begs the question: is the lie justified? Should it be celebrated? Additionally, did God need someone to lie in order to accomplish His purposes? I think it is important to consider the theoretical implications of deciding in one’s own mind that certain sins are not sins when done in the name of justice or mercy or “goodness.” At what point are we succumbing to a more subtle form of subjectivism and playing god?
     In this article, John MacArthur gives the additional example of Rahab, the woman who hid the spies in the Old Testament. I think it tied in nicely with the story of the Ten Booms. ]]> 2020-10-30 02:57:33 UTC https://padlet.com/ccotra104/sxn9fy7e9rktd1tn/wish/875492937