Philosophy 224
Monday/Wednesday 10-11:15
WORD COUNT
In a small village, deep in the South American jungle of Guyana, two men overlook a massacre of over 900 people. Of these 900 people, about 300 were children. The men stand in silence, but only for a moment, they are philosophers…
HUME: “This is truly astonishing… There is no way that Jim Jones could have been a prophet…”
AQUINAS: “These people killed their children and then themselves because of their faith in Jim Jones. How could someone with no motives of credibility be followed with such devotion? How could this be possible?”
HUME: “I do not understand why they all killed themselves, but I do understand why they could follow him. I am, however, not entirely sure what you mean by Jones having no motives of credibility.”
AQUINAS: “Well you see, there exists three motives of credibility, the ability to perform miracles, the ability to fulfill and make
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They reached Guyana and Jim Jones had stated that if they did end up leaving the church, it would be a betrayal to him. This should have been a huge red flag if nothing else had worked before this, but it was not. Everyone was just extremely miserable in their lives and wanted a sense of meaning but ended up dead in the jungle instead.”
AQUINAS: “This is why faith and reason are inseparable. You must have reason to think about the five ways and you must have faith to know true motives of credibility.”
HUME: “No, this is why you must not believe anything that is not a definition. You must be skeptic of everything or you may end up just like the People’s Temple.”
About a year after the death of Jim Jones, all of the surviving members of People’s Temple stopped believing in their self-proclaimed prophet. This proves Aquinas’ argument about the organizational resilience of a true prophet because his congregation dwindled to nothing after his
When different political views and spiritual beliefs are put together, the consequences behind that mixture are often dire and it ultimately results to violence. He emphasizes the importance of learning the past as well as the most up-to-date events of these particular religions. Kimball does his best to explain why those types of problems tend to occur, but he also gives us insight as to how these problems can be corrected, which could lead to a better hope for the future. All it takes is people of good faith as well people of goodwill to come together to speak aloud against the fundamentalists.
Blindly following authority: The dangerous game that destroys lives. The Jonestown massacre of 1978 serves as a terrifying example of the consequences that can result from blind obedience. The Jonestown massacre was led by a manipulative preacher, Jim Jones, in which 900 of his followers committed suicide. His followers were heavily brainwashed and fell into his idiomatic beliefs and stood by him even when he ordered them to commit suicide and as an act of loyalty, they all drank the cyanide-laced punch that Jones had prepared. The same concept of blind obedience occurred in the texts The Crucible, The Lottery, The Milgram Experiment, The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes, and Zimbardo - Stanford Prison Experiment in which the people just blindly
On November 18, 1978, more than 900 people were led by Jim Jones to a mass murder-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. Jim Jones was as a notorious cult leader. He was the founder of the People’s Temple religious cult. To gain more followers Jones promised those people that if they followed him he would build a utopia. Jones first started to get recognition in 1952 when he joined the ministry.
In order to focus on the foundation of religions, locations and time of events are limited to the minimum. It “does not attept to give a rounded view of the religions considered.” (p.2) It tried to do reasonable justice to several perspectives instead of attempting to catalogue many types. When he decides which view to present, the guideline
The coming of age novel, Jasper Jones was first published in 2009 by Craig Silvey, the play was then adapted by both; Craig Silvey and Kate Mulvany. It was first presented by Barking Gecko Theatre Company in Perth, Western Australia, on 17 July 2014. The plot of the play is centred on protagonist Charlie Bucktin, and various obstacles he must overcome as a consequence of aiding Jasper Jones in the concealment of Laura Wishart’s body, Bucktin’s former girlfriend. Jasper Jones is perceived as a trouble maker; perhaps a major contribution to his reputation is also the colour of his skin. The story takes place in the small mining town of Corrigan, in the midst of the Vietnam War, where prejudice towards those of colour created segregation between those within the community.
In Saint Thomas Aquinas argument the second way, Aquinas argues for the existence of God, making use of efficient causes and premises to help us conclude that God exists. In the following words I would argue that Saint Thomas Aquinas’s argument formulated in the second way leads to a valid argument, which concludes that there must be a first cause and that God exists. Aquinas second way is an argument that God is the first cause and he is essential to everything on earth because nothing would have the power to fuel its self without the intermediate cause which is God. An example is a painter using a paintbrush to paint as he moves his hand, paint is applied on the wall but if he stops, the paint would not fly from the brush to the wall, stopping
In the movie 12 Angry Men it showed many examples of Hume’s ideas such as skepticism, pluralism, relativism, and reasonable doubt. First let me explain what skepticism is, skepticism doubts the validation of knowledge or particular subject. Pluralism is the position that there are many different kinds of belief—but not all just as good as any other. Relativism is when the position that each belief is just as good as any other, since all beliefs are viewpoint dependent. Reasonable doubt is lack of proof that prevents a judge or jury to convict a defendant for the charged crime.
Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple Cult “Jim Jones of the Peoples’s Temple began as a sound, fairly mainstream Christian minister” (Sects, ‘Cults’ & Alternative Religions). Before all the madness Jones seemed like a caring person, that wanted to bring peace to a town he made, Jonestown. Instead it turned into something more horrific. Jim Jones was the manipulative mastermind behind the traumatic events that happened in Jonestown, Guyana, this essay will discuss interviews by people who are survivors of the mass suicide, and dive into the crazy conspiracies that have emerged, and finally conclude with the death of the Peoples Temple.
This passage explains love and emotional significance in the war . Although the small role of women in The things they carried ,it is an importance threw out the book. Females character’s Martha ,Mary Anne and Kathleen have all effects on the men. Different women in the book have different effects on the men and affect them in different ways .For an example “Jimmy cross carried letters from a girl who named , Martha who 's an English major at Mount Sebastian College.
How does Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones change Roger? She was almost robbed by a young man named Roger. He was trying to take money. She took him home & had him clean himself up, she fed him, and gave him money for blue suede shoes.
In Lara Buchak’s essay, Can It Be Rational to Have Faith? , she asserts that everyday faith statements and religious faith statements share the same attributes. She later states that in order to truly have faith, a person ceases to search for more evidence for their claim, and that having faith can be rational. Although she makes compelling arguments in favor of faith in God, this essay is more hearsay and assumption than actual fact. In this paper, you will see that looking for further evidence would constitute not having faith, but that having faith, at least in the religious sense, is irrational.
Tom Robinson is a mockingbird in that he doesn't do one thing wrong. All he does is provide help to the people he interacts with. That is exactly how he got in trouble. Tom Robinson was helping Mayella with some chores. He was humming a melody and when he chopped up the dresser drawers.
Reverend Hale’s dialogue, stage directions, and other people’s perceptions of him reveal a man characterized by self-importance; furthermore, his enthusiasm for the witch trials in the beginning and his misguided
We notice a change in the Prophets character as he becomes more and more invested and influenced by the religious group. In fact, he manages to take complete control and convinces everyone in the airport that they will be safe. This is one example of how he manipulates people: “My people and I, “he said, “when we speak of the light, we speak of order. This place of order. People with chaos in their hearts cannot abide here.”
Hume on the other hand can only confirm what has already happened, being that is the most truthful and logical