Response to "Relativity of Intentions" by Jenna O'Connor

In this post, I will be responding to Jenna O'Connor's post, entitled "Relativity of Intentions"
http://jennaoconnorr.blogspot.com/2013/05/relativity-of-intentions.html?showComment=1368407440883#c1126788121201147459

In regard to Jenna's post, I do not agree with the conclusions she makes. Her first conclusion is that "we as humans always think that we have good intentions when setting out to do something." I believe that this is true most of the time, but I do not believe that this is always the case. I believe that someone can do something and be completely aware that they do not have good intentions in doing the action. For example, many people often do things solely to benefit themselves, at the expense of others. I think they are fully aware that their intentions were not good.

In regard to Jenna's last question, "...do all good intentions lead to horrific consequences?" my answer is no, not all good intentions lead to horrific consequences. How could that be true? Everyday people do things with good intentions that do not lead to horrific consequences. If someone drops something, and I pick it up for them, I had good intentions, and it did not lead to any horrific consequences. I realize that there are plenty of times when good intentions do lead to horrific consequences. However, that is definitely not always the case. 

Response to "Who is your favorite?" by Deven Philbrick

In this post, I will be responding to Deven Philbrick's post, entitled "Who is your favorite?"
http://skepticalphilosophernohn.blogspot.com/2013/05/who-is-your-favorite.html

Like Deven, my favorite theorist that we have studied this semester is also Marx. Darwin is also one of my favorites. Having only read Marx's Communist Manifesto, and having read it 4 years ago, I also did not know everything about Marx and his theories. However, I learned a lot more about Marx's theories this semester. While I was forming my own theory of human nature, I found that I kept agreeing with Marx's theories more than any other theorist. Overall, like Deven, I would also probably consider myself a Marxist.

Response to "A Response to A Conglomoration of Posts and General Concepts" by Elizabeth Pitroff

In this post, I will be responding to Elizabeth Pitroff's post, entitled "A Response to A Conglomoration of Posts and General Concepts"
http://elizabethpitroff.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-response-to-conglomoration-of-posts.html

Elizabeth, I really enjoyed your post about the addition of religious figures into the theories of various philosophers. I feel like the addition of God into philosophical theories negatively affects the credence of the arguments. I also find Darwin's theory the most valid due to the lack of credit he gives to a God. I really liked your example of eating a salad and discovering the worms to describe how you feel about theories that include religious figures. I loved this example because it describes perfectly how I feel about it, too. I couldn't agree more with your post.

Response to "Discussion-based Topic" by Elizabeth Pitroff

In this post, I will be responding to Elizabeth Pitroff's post, entitled "Discussion-based Topic"
http://elizabethpitroff.blogspot.com/2013/05/discussion-based-topic.html

In regard to Elizabeth's question at the end of her post, I also, like Elizabeth, strive for academic excellence. However, I do not feel as though my goal of getting good grades is hindering my desire to gain knowledge. I do realize that some students could care less about what they are learning, they only care about getting good,  or at least decent, grades. However in my case, I care about actually gaining knowledge and enjoy my classes. I think one of the reasons why some students only care about grades is because of the way students get rewarded for them. For example, students with good grades can graduate with honors, get recognition for making the Dean's List, and receive scholarships among other benefits for their academic excellence. Although I enjoy these benefits, I care more about gaining knowledge than simply getting good grades.

Creationists' Opinion on the Fate of Humanity

Question:  Do creationists agree or disagree with the theory that the sun and planets will eventually get too cold to support life?

Although I am not positive, I am guessing that if creationists do accept this theory, they probably claim that it is God's decision to end humanity in this way. Some religious groups believe that when the world does end, they will be saved by God because they were faithful to him, and they will be spared from the dreadful fate of humanity. Overall, I think that even if creationists accept this theory, they will just twist it into something religious, and claim that it was all God's decision.

Response to "Memes to Genes?" by Corbin Brassard

In this post, I will be responding to Corbin Brassard's post, entitled "Memes to Genes?"
http://corbinbrassard.blogspot.com/2013/04/memes-to-genes.html?showComment=1367204638809#c265019588609016359

In his post, Corbin ponders whether memes facilitate natural selection. He asks, "Are those who don't follow memes weeded out?" Although I am also not positive what the answer is to this question, I do feel like memes can at least somewhat facilitate natural selection. I feel like there are some memes that could cause people to be "weeded out" if they do not follow them. For example, say there's a group of people living together in the same community. If every person in this group spoke a common language, except for one person, that one person would probably have a much harder time surviving. If the person cannot learn this language, and they cannot communicate with the rest of the group, they have a greater chance of dying, and therefore not passing on their genes to offspring. This would also be true if the group were in a life or death situation in which the group could not save everyone, because the group would be more likely to save the people who they can easily communicate with. Therefore, the people who do not speak the common language of the group, or do not follow the meme, die and do not pass on their genes. As previously stated, I  am in no way claiming to have the right answer to this question; however, I do believe that memes can, at least somewhat, facilitate natural selection.

Response to Deven Philbrick's post, "Secular Rebuttal to Existentialism"

In this post, I will be responding to Deven Philbrick's post, entitled "Secular Rebuttal to Existentialism."
http://skepticalphilosophernohn.blogspot.com/2013/04/secular-rebuttal-to-existentialism.html?showComment=1366599148724

I agree with Deven that meaning can come from within ourselves, and that subjective meaning is just as valuable as external meaning. This way of thinking, rather than suicide, seems to be the best solution, in my opinion, to an existential crisis. I also thoroughly enjoyed the video that Deven posted of A.C. Grayling discussing the topic. I loved how Grayling turned a rather depressing topic into something optimistic and inspirational. Like Deven, I also agree with the aphorism, "The meaning of life is to make life meaningful," which Grayling mentions in his discussion. Overall, I am very happy that Deven posted the video of A.C. Grayling, because I was not familiar with him before watching the video, and I loved listening to his take on the topic.