Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Philosophical discussions - testing the waters

Here's our activity for the first part of the day:

1.      Read the set of statements below.  Choose one to respond to today.

2.      Create a new post.  The title should be “a response to statement ___” (fill in the blank with the corresponding number to the statement you selected. 

3.      In the body of the post, you may agree with the statement, disagree, or express an idea anywhere in between.  Your response will be in the form of a paragraph in which you both name your response and write a paragraph explanation, using as specific an example or set of details as you can.

a.       Note that what you are writing will be published on your blog and responded to by other people in our class.

4.      When everyone has finished with their post (5 minutes or so), I will assign you two blogs to visit. 

5.      Go to the person’s blog and find the post of their response.  At the bottom of the post, find the words “0 comments” or “1 comment” – click on that and it will open a window for you to comment on the post.

6.      Enter your response – what do you think about this topic?  Do you agree with what this person had to say?  Do you have another way to think about it?  Do you have a relevant story or experience to share?  Answer and or all of these questions as you respond to the person’s post.

7.      We will repeat this process two times.

8.      After everyone is done you can return to your blog to read the comments on your post!



Yes – No – I don’t know

1.      On bodily death, a person continues to exist in a non-physical form

2.      The ultimate goal in life is to live as pleasurably as possible.

3.      Democracy is the best form of government.

4.      God exists.

5.      I am now the same person as I was when I was 5 years old.

6.      I am always responsible for my actions.

7.      To allow an innocent child to suffer needlessly when one could easily prevent it is morally reprehensible.

8.      Ghosts exist.

9.      One day there may be computers that understand Shakespeare better than I do right now.

10.  It is wrong to impose the death penalty.

11.  There are universal moral standards that apply to all human beings regardless of where they live.

12.  The best way to treat depression is to inject chemicals into the brain.

13.  If I had been born into a different environment, I might have become a professional killer.

14.  It is impossible to know anything with absolute certainty.

15.  The future is fixed; how one’s life unfolds is a matter of destiny.

16.  The life of a young child is more valuable that the life of a 22-year-old college student.

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