Questions And Topics We Can Help You To Answer

For this discussion, answer both of the following questions:
What myths have you heard or read about evolution and what does your textbook and the lecturer say about these myths? (For example, do evolutionists really believe that humans evolved from monkeys?)
What biological facts are there to support or disprove evolution? Are there examples of evolution other than in humans? Why do humans and chimpanzees share more biological characteristics than that of any other species?
Please note that the purpose of this discussion is to engage dialog about evolution, not religion. It does not matter whether you support or deny the theory of evolution, but your opinions expressed in this discussion room should be based on human biology and the concepts of natural selection. I highly suggest that you read the chapter and think about the material before commenting in the discussion room and avoid discussion of religion, creation myths, etc. A chance for you to discuss religion and its practices will occur in future modules in the cultural anthropology section of the course.
Understandably, this is a sensitive topic, so please keep an open mind, be polite to other classmates, use the information from the textbook and associated links to answer these questions.

Questions And Topics We Can Help You To Answer

Why be moral? If someone questions the conventional customs and laws of their culture and religion, what reason do they have to be good? You may draw on ethical theories along with your own personal reasons for being moral. 

Questions And Topics We Can Help You To Answer

There are differences and perhaps disagreements about moral questions between

Cultures and even between individual members of the same culture. What importance does this fact have for our understanding of what morality is?

Questions And Topics We Can Help You To Answer

Read Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus (http://classics.mit.edu/Epicurus/menoec.html) and then Lucretius On the Nature of the Universe, Book I, ``Nothing Exists Per Se Except Atoms and the Void'' section (http://classics.mit.edu/Carus/nature_things.1.i.html) Book III, ``Proem'' section then jump down to ``Folly of the Fear of Death'' section (http://classics.mit.edu/Carus/nature_things.3.iii.html) Epicurus offered a very different picture of the universe and the place of humans in it than did either Plato or Aristotle. Epicurus, followed by the Roman poet Lucretius centuries later, tried to offer a way for humans to be happy by teaching them how to remove the major obstacles to their happiness, superstition about the gods and the fear of death.

And then, answer the following question: Read Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus and then Lucretius On the Nature of the Universe, Book I, “Nothing Exists Per Se Except Atoms and the Void” section and Book III, “Proem” section then jump down to “Folly of the Fear of Death” section. Epicurus offered a very different picture of the universe and the place of humans in it than did either Plato or Aristotle. Epicurus, followed by the Roman poet Lucretius centuries later, tried to offer a way for humans to be happy by teaching them how to remove the major obstacles to their happiness, superstition about the gods and the fear of death. Prepare the question, “Is anyone capable of happiness according to Epicurean philosopy? Aristotle excluded women and slaves and barbarians from full happiness because they were not capable of the excellence of soul that free males in the polis were capable of. What about Epicurus? Were there similar exclusions? Is there any reason you can think of that someone who believed the soul was composed of atoms might believe that happiness was not reserved for free males only?”

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer 

reply to commentaries by two follow posting: (footnotes must from text) your responds format just look likes the following posting. Just write which argument you agree with it or disagree, why and why not. should have evidence to support your argument.


According to social psychologist, James Waller, “Evil is anything detrimental to the well-being of living things” [1]. Living things includes, people, animals, plants, and any part of the environment in general. To harm the environment is to harm any living thing because living things need the Earth and its resources to survive. This is why damaging the environment in any way is considered an evil act.
The film, Scared Sacred, discussed an immensely evil act that occurred in Bhopal, India. Many people died and the environment was destroyed due to a pipe bursting at the pesticide plant, Union Carbide India Limited, releasing a toxic gas and chemicals into the air. A woman from the film described how these chemicals turned a tree completely black [2]. This is a prime example of an environmental evil. However, it is more than just an environmental evil. Not only was the environment damaged, but people were killed and the plant clearly did not take it as seriously as it should have. Looking more closely at the aftermath of the disaster, the film discussed how people were trying to provide medical assistance to the survivors of the incident. They asked Union Carbide India Limited what their pesticides were made out of so that the doctors could know how to better treat the patients. The plant refused to say the ingredients of their pesticides because they said that it was a trade secret [3]. Anthropologist, Jordan Paper, stated “Selfish behaviour and hoarding are considered the epitome of evil.” [4]. The way Union Carbide India Limited dealt with the situation is an example of evil. Although the company knew people were dying due to their pesticides, they refused to assist the doctors in helping treat people. They selfishly wanted to keep the ingredients of their pesticides to themselves, allowing for more and more people to die as a result.
The colour black has a huge symbolic meaning. It represents darkness, death, destruction, despair, shame, evil, grief, sadness, and much more [5]. As I previously mentioned, a woman in the film described the aftermath of the incident and how she saw a tree had turned black. Before the tree had colour and therefore, it had life. Afterwards, once it became black, it represented the death and destruction that had occurred in Bhopal. The survivors were left with the horrific memories and to grieve. Just like the tree that was still there and standing but had become black, the survivors also changed. They were still alive, but were left to endure the pain and suffering of this evil act that had occurred. Philosopher, Susan Neiman, has discussed about “the experience of shattered trust in the world” [6]. This is what survivors were left with. They witnessed the evil that people can do and how the company did not care enough about these people to attempt to fix what they had done. This leads to a lack of trust in humanity.
[1] Waller, James. Becoming Evil How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing. Second ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
[2] Scared Sacred. Directed by Velcrow Ripper. National Film Board of Canada, 2004. Film.
[3] Scared Sacred. Directed by Velcrow Ripper. National Film Board of Canada, 2004. Film.
[4] Paper, Jorden. Native North American Religious Traditions: Dancing for Life. Westport, CT and London: Praeger, 2007
[5] Cooper, J. C. An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols. London: Thames and Hudson, 1978. 39.
[6] Neiman, Susan. Evil in Modern Thought: An Alternative History of Philosophy. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2002. 9.

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

The problem of Hick’s soul-making solution

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer

Representations of Indigenous Amazonians and their Consequences:

During the course of the semester we have examined various ways that indigenous Amazonians have been represented by outsiders, as well as ways that they have strategically represented themselves.  Each of these representations has had its consequences, whether intentional or unexpected.  

Write an essay in which you discuss various historical representations of indigenous Amazonians and the resulting consequences.  Your essay should cover representations from the time of first contact with Europeans to contemporary times.

Your essay must be written as an argument.  In other words, your task is to persuade your reader to accept your position by using evidence from course readings, discussions, and films to support it.  

It would be wise to refer to your previous writing assignments for the course, both for content, and guidance.  Try not to make the same mistakes that you have in the past!  

You must use appropriate citation conventions.  That is, if you present a fact about an indigenous tribe, or a proposition by an author, you must cite the source.  Similarly, if you are presenting an opinion or analysis of an author other than yourself, clearly indicate this.  In other words, you must provide sources for statements not made by you.  Use the social science citation form, with citations in parentheses at the end of a sentence, e.g., (Smith 1949:203-247) rather than in footnotes as in the humanities form.

Your essay should by typed, double-spaced, with the page number and your name on every page.  I expect the essay to be between 1,500 – 2,000 words (+/- 250), but this is neither a lower nor upper limit.  Your essay should also have a title and date.

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer

One major theme of philosophy class has been the relationship between religion and violence. If we agree on the definition of religion as the primordial human response to the not-fairness of human existence (disease, work, and death), can you explain why religion so frequently seems to be tied up with violent actions, including warfare? How could it ever happen that death's unfairness could lead people to inflict death on other people?

Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer

Does the existence of phenomenal properties (i.e. subjective experiences) refute physicalism? Why or why not.

Questions We Can Help You To Answer

For the past three weeks we have considered two key thinkers whose ideas have transformed the way we understand the modern social world and our place in it. While there have been drastic technological and political changes since these texts were published, the insights of Freud and Marx remain central to the development of scholarship on human behavior and social change. Clearly, both have strengths and weaknesses as a result of their approaches and due to the limitations of the context in which their work was produced. Nevertheless, your task in this short essay is to pick a side and argue which of these authors you think makes for a more convincing argument for the persistence of contemporary conflicts. Or to put it another way, which of these authors deserves more of our attention today and why? This paper should adopt a scholarly tone (as opposed to reflective writing) and include citations from the text to support your points. Please use a proper citation style (APA or Chicago). And one final note, the way to do well on this type of assignment is to present both sides. While your paper ultimately aims to champion one author over the other, a good argument recognizes that there at least two points of view and that the side you disagree with often makes valid points from time to time.

Questions We Can Help You To Answer

  Reflection paper should address the following:

1.What do you see as the most important idea or claim this text pursuit.

2. How does the author go about supporting this idea or claim.

3. What connection does this idea or claim have to your personal or professional life.

4. What do you find personally attractive, challenging, or disagreeable about this idea.

5. How has this reading contributed to your knowledge of yourself and your understanding of philanthropy and community.

Questions We Can Help You To Answer

Final Paper Topic: What is Environmentalism?

The Nature Conservancy and the Foundation for Deep Ecology both take themselves to be leading environmentalist organizations. The mission statements of these organizations are importantly different, however: The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. (One of its slogans is, “Protecting nature, for people today and future generations.”) http://www.nature.org/about-us/vision-mission/index.htm
 (Links to an external site.)
 

The mission of the Foundation for Deep Ecology (FDE) is to support education and advocacy on behalf of wild Nature. http://www.deepecology.org/mission.htm
 (Links to an external site.)
 

You must defend the mission statement of either the Nature Conservancy or the Foundation for Deep Ecology and explain why this mission statement captures the true essence of environmentalism. Alternatively, you may defend the position that neither of these organizations captures the true mission of environmentalism. Whatever position you choose to defend, you must provide an argument in support of your position that explicitly draws on the work of at least one of the authors we have read in this class (examples below). You should clearly articulate your thesis statement in your introduction, which is the conclusion of your argument (i.e., the position you defend in your paper).

After presenting and defending your argument, you must provide a strong objection to this argument and a response to this objection. You are encouraged to explicitly draw on the work of another author we have read in this class in making an objection to your argument, or you can come up with an objection that is your own. Be sure to make the strongest objection you can. After presenting this objection in as strong a light as possible, you must then give a response to this objection in light of your main argument. This response might either explain why the objection does not undermine your argument or it might explain how and why your argument needs to be altered in light of the objection. (Hint: In most cases the former strategy is best.)

Your essay should be somewhere around 850 words; you must include a word count of the body of your paper. Papers falling outside this range will be penalized.

Sample possible thesis statements (note there are many other possibilities not listed here):
* Thesis A (Biocentric Individualism Argument): The mission statement of the Nature Conservancy captures the true essence of environmentalism since it recognizes the intrinsic value of all living beings while prioritizing the importance of protecting nature for future generations.
* Thesis B (Deep Ecology Argument): The mission statement of the Foundation for Deep Ecology captures the true essence of environmentalism since its mission is to protect Nature for its own sake rather than merely for the sake of humans.
* Thesis C (Ecofeminist Argument): Both the Nature Conservancy and the Foundation for Deep Ecology capture important aspects of environmentalism, but neither of these organizations fully captures the essence of environmentalism since they are too narrow in their conceptions of what perspectives matter morally.

Basic Requirements:
1. Include your name and the word count of the body of your essay.
2. Include a title for your paper.
3. Underline your thesis statement.
4. The body of your essay should be between 820 to 850 words; answers outside of this range will be penalized. (***Follow this word count guide, not what is mentioned in the assignment video - assignment updated since video was made.***)
5. Be sure to not only state/articulate your argument, objection, and response to this objection but also defend all of the claims you make. This will require explaining WHY your reader should accept your argument, WHY the objection you identify undermines your argument, and WHY you respond to this objection in the way you do.
6. Turn in the final version of your paper on time. Late papers will not be accepted!!!
7. Cite all of the sources you refer to or draw on in your answer. I am not particular about what citation format you use, as long as you include all of the relevant information (author, title, date, page number, etc.). Adequately citing sources requires including a works cited or references list at the end of your paper. A link to the UW library's website on citation is provided on the "Links" page if you need guidance about possible citation formats.

Paper Evaluation Parameters: 
Argument(s): Your paper should contain one main line of argument in which you weigh in on the paper topic in an interesting way. You should clearly summarize your argument in a thesis statement, which you underline, somewhere on the first page of your paper (usually in the first paragraph). Every paragraph of your paper should somehow contribute to the development of your main line of argument. Try to avoid superficial or inappropriate lines of argument (e.g., making an inconsequential addition to an author’s argument or criticizing an author as a person rather than their work).
You should discuss at least one of the required readings for this course in your paper. You are welcome draw on additional sources, though this is not required. All of your sources should be clearly cited. (See the handout on philosophical writing for more information about acceptable citation formats.) Your exposition should clearly and accurately report on the relevant ideas/arguments in the paper(s) that you discuss. Your paper should not contain any extraneous exegesis that does not directly contribute to the development of your main line of argument. You should focus on trying to explain the ideas/arguments you draw on in your own words. Use quotations sparingly and only when there is no appropriate substitute for the author’s words.
Objection: You must present one objection to your main line of argument as a way of further developing your main argument. This objection should address one of the most significant challenges to your position that you can think of. Posing and then responding to superficial objections (e.g., irrelevant or inconsequential objections) will detract from your paper. Addressing too many objections superficially (rather than in depth) will also detract from your paper.
Reply to objection: After presenting an objection to your argument you must provide a reply to this objection in such a way that furthers your argument.
Writing: Your paper should be clearly and thoughtfully written. Expressing philosophical ideas requires excelling in all of the following areas: The first is simply mechanics. Philosophical thoughts are often complex and subtle. Clearly presenting such thoughts requires skillfully managing the grammaticality of sentences. The second is diction. Word choice is very important to expressing philosophical thought. It is also important that terminology is clearly defined so that is it clear how words are supposed to be interpreted. The third is clarity. Philosophical writing demands clarity. Your readers must be able to fully understand what you are saying on their own; what matters is not what you meant to say but what you actually write. Clear philosophical writing enables readers to quickly understand the content of all claims. There are many ways to write clearly, yet this is a surprisingly difficult task. Finally, good philosophical prose is subtle and well developed. While this feature is hard to qualify, prose that lacks this feature is “thin” and “sketchy.” Your writing should not merely gesture towards an idea but should fully and clearly articulate each of your ideas. “Thin” prose may contain good ideas, but it is often hard to tell exactly what these are because they are not adequately developed.