Thanksgiving Reflection

During the break, some of my family and I took the traditional trip to visit my oma (grandmother in German) for Thanksgiving. It's an interesting holiday for me in that we take both my Japanese and German influences. Rather than simply having turkey, mashed potato and gravy, etc., we have sushi and apple strudel as part of the feast also.
Also, since my oma is Catholic, another important part of this is the dinner prayer. It's funny though that every year, however, my relatives and family friends bicker over who should be the person to say it (because no one wants to do it!). I find it also amusing that among our group, we have some who are religious, but some who are atheists as well. Because everyone is close, conversation, including the topic of religion as well, is usually filled with humor and not with serious arguments like some of the readings we have had!
I have found that I have traditional and cultural influences mixed in the a holiday celebration that is probably different from many others. What is culture exactly and how does religion become intregrated in this? On looking back to my break I ask myself : What is my own culture exactly? It seems to me that culture is usually defined to a society as a whole, but not usually on an individual basis like I would think for myself. Just some random thoughts I had : D.

So..about love?

During this week, I saw this video and was amazed at the arguments the man made concerning prop 8. You should watch it!! He brings up startling points I have not even heard before (the issues of marriage and slavery). Although I think it is an extremely controversial issue, it is definitely applied to the conflicts we face in class now. Do we really have free will and what does God become if there is so much evil in the world? He makes points about God being a universal love and how it is applied in the perception of gay marriage. When you see this video, do you think he is right in his point of view? After watching this, I am wondering how the opposite view could support their own claims as well.

The Odds

I remember a certain statement from an actor (but I don't remember who!):

Depending on our faith, there are four things that can happen to us when we die. If there is a God and we believe in him we will go to heaven. If there is no God, even though we believe in him, we will not go to heaven. If there is no God and we don't believe in him, nothing will happen. However, if we don't believe in a God, and he does exist, then we will go to hell. Therefore, believing in God give us a better chance of what becomes of us after we die.

Although I think this thought may have come from a previous philosopher, I think the actor made a good point. The odds of getting into heaven are better for us if we do have a belief in God. However, does believing in God become the only factor in determining this? I think that the statement is too general because we can start to include other religions, one which follow different ideals or even more than one God. Even for people who are agnostic do not really fit into what this statement is saying. What do you think?

Justifying The Atomic Bomb

If there is a morality, then we must come to the conclusion that a person can be bad or good. But what exactly does it mean to be immoral and moral? Is it based on how many bad choices we make in comparison to the good? Surely a killer would have done a good deed once in his life, or even a devoted Christian could have committed a crime. I am having difficulty with answering this, because even "good" people have caused terrible atrocities.

In August of 1945, the United States of America made the decision to drop the first atomic bomb. Hiroshima, targeted for it's communication site, was desecrated. Over 140,000 people (mostly civilians) were incinerated and numerous others died from the effects of the bomb's radiation. There are so many terrible and sad stories out there. While learning this in high school I realized there is so much we were never told about.

How do we justify a creation of a bomb used to annihilate a part of our human race?
Sure it's intention was to end a war and show a nation's nuclear power, but look what it has done.

This is What Happens When You Don't Do Your Homework

So can we say that our lives have already been determined for us?
I would like to say that I have free will, rather than saying I have no choice in my future at all. For at least in this cartoon, I would like to think the fish hopes so too. This sort of hope, or ideal way of perceiving life makes us optimistic that there is room for change. If we believe in determinism, I feel that we are much more prone to remaining guiltless and unambitious since our actions were supposed to happen anyway.
If we were to say that determinism is what truly dictates our lives, then what good can come out of it?

So you walk into a forest...

Personality Test! Take it : D!
http://www.personalityquiz.net/relational/reflection.htm

In relating to self-identity, what is composed of our personality?? Is it something we inherent more than have an adaptation to? Or is it something more?

I think we try to define ourselves in any way we possibly can. Taking personality tests, such as this one, aim to tell us aspects of who we are: what is important to us, if we are ready for situations, etc. But this particular one only tests actions. Is that all we need to determine our personality? I think our dreams, our perspectives, our pasts, and our ideas can be more of just thoughts rather than our actions. But can these also be the influences of our behaviors?

Lady Luck

In taking this course, I find myself stumbling upon old thoughts and readings I have analyzed before. While studying for the MCAT, sadly, one of the most interesting articles still lingers in my mind (and hopefully accurate in my description here).
In the study of depressed versus non-depressed peoples, a set of experiments were created in which luck could be attributed to winning events, such as the lottery. Although winning is based on probability, the results showed that people who were not clinically depressed continued to participate in these events. The depressed, however, refused to continue further, even though they were winning consecutively.
The conclusions stated that people who were not depressed felt that they were able to influence their odds of winning, such as their luck, and, therefore, would keep trying to win. The depressed, on the other hand, saw the probability of the events without outside factors and felt they could not influence the outcomes.
Are these conclusions valid? Can we say that luck becomes a factor according to our moods, or, in this case, a certain state of mind? To me, this would suggest that we would be less likely to see a clinically depressed person gamble or depend on good luck charms, such as a rabbit's foot. What we contribute to our actions becomes influenced on how we perceive ourselves. We say that each person has their own perception, but can we say that we each have a set of perceptions, based on what we are feeling? I'm still thinking about this..haha. :)