Try to address 2 or 3 of the following prompts. Respond to 1 or 2 of your classmates' postings. This prompt is meant to help you prepare to write your final essay about human nature.
- What is human nature?
- Which of the theories of human nature in the Stevenson book do you find most persuasive and why?
- Why is a conception of human nature of important? What does it do for us?
- What ought we to do? How ought we live?
- What kind of society should we have?
- Who is responsible for what and why?
- What kind of economic & political system is just?
- What have you learned about death & dying that is important to you? Is surprising to you? Has this helped you reflect on the meaning of life?
- What does life mean?
- Am I living a good life?
- What is death?
- What’s my legacy?
I think what i have learned in death and dying and what has surprised me is that i now know to question certain aspects of death and dying. For example: faith aspects, how do i want to do, what is the definition of death to me? This is crucial things to think about, but not something that is heavily discussed among family and friends. Now i can look at and question my faith which allows me to question my meaning of life and find reason behind my beliefs. Death and dying is mostly viewed as a scary event that no one wants to talk about, but the class discussions have showed me many opinions of others, which helped alter my perspective of events involved in death and dying.
ReplyDeleteAm i living a good life? This is a question that can be difficult to answer. I want to believe i am a good person and i am living a good and faithful life. I try to do the right thing that will help other in life, and allow less weighing on my conscience. There are definitely things i could do better in my life, but i think everyone could say that. I could be nicer to strangers, and fight less with my parents. Though i am not perfect i believe i still do good things in life and that overall i am considered a good person. i would want to know about what others around would say about me being a good person. i believe how others perceive how i live my life says a lot about if i do the right thing by the perspective of others.
Erica, i completely agree i think that i have lived a good life so far, i believe that i have fulfilled a lot, but i know that there are things that i can still improve upon, and i still have a lot to do in my life. i think we definitly think that we have the same view on what is a good life
DeleteErica, agree with you that what I am going to take away from this class is the definition of death. It is not talked about very much but I think the topic of death needs to be talked about because it is going to happen to us all one day. We can't just keep pushing the topic away think "its not going to happen to us."
DeleteErica, I also agree that there are things that everyone could do to live a better life. But in all reality it is your life and if you think that you are living a good life and doing things that are good, then shouldn't that matter the most?
DeleteWhat does life mean? Life means what you want it to mean. Each of us wake up and go to sleep, breathing throughout the days. We all have to step up and live for ourselves. Our actions and our experiences help define who we are and attitudes play a big part into the meaning of life. The meaning of life is different from person to person and helps create our unique lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteWhat is a legacy, or what is my legacy? A legacy is the memory or the thoughts of you that you leave behind. Whether one still mentions you being their family member or their friend. Ones actions and feelings toward people while they are alive on Earth affects what people will think of them for years after.
Amanda, I think that my legacy is always being the one to try to make everyone smile, i always go out of my way to make people happy. I think that everyone elves here with a legacy whether it is a family member or a friend.
DeleteAmanda, I agree that our attitude has a big effect on our meaning of life. But i also believe that faith comes into part when we talk about our meaning. Also, I liked how you talked about a persons legacy how it will affect other's perception of you years later.
DeleteAmanda, I agree with your opinion on legacy. But to me it also means what we leave behind on earth, such as our kids and grandkids not just people remembering us. Making an impact on the world while your here and after your gone
DeleteAmanda, I agree that the meaning of life may be different from person to person, but do you think there may be some common characteristics in everyone's meaning? Also, I believe there is more to ones legacy than if someone remembers you as a friend or a family member and if they still talk about you or not. What about the goals you had in life, and if there were achieved? What about anything you left behind such as kids or a family or writings.
DeleteThe characteristics humans have naturally, regardless of cultural influence, are referred to as human nature.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Plato's theory on human nature as he describes the concept of the soul being the higher element and the body being the lower. I agree with him in the thought that the soul does not dissipate at death, but continues on after the death of the body and that it is important to care for our soul. I appreciate Aristotle’s belief that we shouldn’t just latch onto the first theory we hear, he says we need to analyze things and think about them. Which is exactly how I feel about people with their politics, I think too many people are too quick to jump on board with the first person that says something they kind of agree with. Not many actually take the time to research other running candidates or further investigate certain issues being debated so when comes voting time no one person actually knows what’s fully going on.
We are completely responsible for our own actions, our thoughts, and our words. Human beings should be in conjunction with taking care of each other and the planet. We are the species with consciousness, having reasons and thoughts. Many of us take advantage of this ability and use it to hurt other people to place us on top. Everyone wants to be right but not many seem to want to understand. So we hurt each other with words and weapons for having differing opinions. Not everyone can be right, but I do not believe that makes everyone wrong by default. Everyone has their own perception of reality and everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, I believe we go wrong when we think we have to force another human being to believe what we believe.
I disagree with much of Plato’s views on government and society. The strict line between the Guardians, the Auxiliaries, and the workers is kind of alarming, not to mention the concept of poetry and artists being less important, non-rational parts of our nature. Being solely concerned with society as a whole with no concern for the individuals who make up the society I believe would lead to problems. Being unable to better your life with hard work and studies is absurd. What’s the point of having such a rigidly organized society if it’s not serving or pleasing the individuals in it? (Pg. 87) I like the idea of having philosophers in the government or in some form respected as “higher up” due to their high education, values, and specific ability to reason but I do see the problem with making them absolute. Anyone with absolute power, regardless of his or her morals or values can be easily corrupted. And anyone who believes his or her opinions are absolute truth will struggle to accept anyone whose beliefs differ from theirs. Which will cause problems if the most respected in society struggle to reach agreements or understand one another.
I understand Plato’s criticism towards democracy; I too believe too many uneducated “in-the-moment” people are given the right to vote. But at the same time I do not believe voting should only be left up to the successful moneymakers. If we could make sure each person voting is actually well educated about the matters being discussed then I think that would help society quite a bit. People wouldn’t be walking to the polls completely misled to vote ignorantly.
I believe I am living a wonderful life. I never have to worry about going hungry, I have a family and amazing friends who will help me in any way they can, I’m learning more about myself and the universe each and every day, and I’m on my way to having the career that makes me the happy. I’m more easily stressed than I would like to be but I know exactly how to fix that, it’s just a matter of doing what I need to be doing. But aside from stress, I’m living a great life.
Karen, I love what you said about our human responsibility to each other. I think it's so important that we embrace it, instead of abusing it like you mentioned. One thing that was running through my mind when I kept hearing about the Paris attacks was, "If this is how awful humans can be to one another, and I believe that good is more powerful than evil, how much power do humans have if they would decide to do good instead of evil?"
DeleteKaren loved your post and I love your optimistic view on your life. I think you are living a great life too and happy to have ment you in it.
DeleteKaren loved your post and I love your optimistic view on your life. I think you are living a great life too and happy to have ment you in it.
DeleteI think that life means living it to the fullest, take as many adventures as you can, find happiness, and travel. I think that your only living life if you are doing everything to your fullest ability. Like my senior quote said, "you only live once, but if you do it right once is enough" So far, i want to think I'm living a good life, i have done a lot and am fulfilling my dreams, but i know that there is a lot of traveling and goals that i still need to accomplish in my life. i have learned a lot in death and dying o far, it has made me question a lot on what i believe happens after death and i have learned a lot of different religious aspects which i had did not know before.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that you should live life to the fullest. If I had more money now, I would want to travel and go on many adventures. The only problem with living life to the fullest is it gets in the way of the expectations given to us by society, which many people work toward fulfilling. If there was a time in people's lives where they could take the time to find happiness, then the world could possibly by filled with less negativity and more willingness to succeed.
DeleteI love the quote, "you only live but if you do it right once is enough." I think that is a quote everyone should live by because it's telling us that we only get one shot at life but if we take all the opportunities and experiences we are offered, then once is enough. One life is enough for happiness and love and living life to the fullest. Sometimes we get scared to go out of our comfort zone and experience opportunities that are sometimes uncomfortable, but in my experience, those experiences are the ones that make me feel most alive.
DeleteI definitely agree that "we are only living life if we are doing everything to our fullest ability". I really like this idea, because it's true. We all live out our lives differently and there is nothing wrong with that. A life full of adventure and traveling the world could be the greatest thing to one person but it could be living hell to another. We are all so different from one another and that's what makes the world so unique and special. We weren't created to be clones of one another, but rather to live out our lives the way God has planned for us.
DeleteI totally agree that life is living it to the fullest but are people who cant live it to the fullest not living? Just something that comes to mind when I hear that. I believe each person has a different view on life because everybody wants to live life a different way. My idea of a dream life is completely different than somebody living Africa, so living life to the fullest isn;t the same for everybody, its very individualized
DeleteI agree that we should all live our lives to the fullest. What is the point of life if we are just going through the motions and not having fun. I believe every life has a purpose and we can not fullfill that purpose without going out into the world and finding ourselves. It's not always easy to turn a bad situation into a positive experience, but that is a challenge we all must face so that we can say we lived a blessed and fullfilling life. Life was never meant to be easy, but the challenges we face in life can sometimes be part of the fun we experience if we look at a situation the right way.
DeleteConcerning the different theories of human nature:
ReplyDeleteConfuciansism has multiple concepts that reflect what I believe about human nature. A central part of Confucian thought is the idea that we should do what is right not because we can get any sort of reward, but because it is the right thing to do. This is similar to my belief of doing what is morally right. I believe there are two different reasons to do good, perfect or imperfect contrition. Perfect contrition is when one does the right thing out of love for God, and imperfect contrition is doing the right thing for fear of hell. In both cases, one is choosing what is morally right, but perfect contrition is better because it is more selfless. Another aspect of Confucian thought that I share is the idea that “all human beings have the capacity to cultivate virtue and bring themselves into harmony with the Decree of Heaven." Similarly, I believe that everyone has the ability to become saints and go to heaven; I do not believe that souls are predestined to either go to heaven or hell. There are some parts of Confucianism, specifically from the Hsun-tzu tradition that I do believe in. One main opinion of Hsun-tzu that set him apart from his opponent Mencius was his belief that “man’s nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity” (23). I believe that man’s nature is inherently good but is corrupted by sin, so my beliefs align more with Mencius.
I think I am living a good life. I think I can say this because I've never done anything that I really regret and can't make peace with, I don't have any enemies (except with with a few mean girls from 5th grade, but they don't count), and I try to do my best every day to do the most good with all that God's given me. I think it's so important to constantly reevaluate this question, or else we'll end up on our death bed with lots of regrets. As I write this, I think of the song "100 Years" by Five for Fighting. That song always makes me cry, because it makes me sad to think of how quickly time passes. I hope that I can die and be able to sing the words from OneRepublic's song "I Lived:" "I owned every second that this world could give, I saw so many places, the things that I did, With every broken bone, I swear I lived."
I agree with you that Confucianism is the theory of human nature that reflect what I believe in the most. I don't do things to be rewarded for them, but because its what I believe is right.
DeleteAccording to dictionary.com, the definition of Human Nature is the psychological and social qualities that characterize humankind, especially in contrast with other living things, or how we perceive humankind compared to other living things.
ReplyDeleteThe theory of human nature that I agree with the most is Confucianism. I agree that humans are born with a good heart that is sensitive to the suffering of others, but it depends on what type of person they are that will determine if they use their good heart in a positive way. The compassion people have for others can give you a good sense of what type of person they truly are. Everyone is born with a good soul, but the decision they make on a daily basis decides if they are a truly good person.
Do I believe that I have lived a good life? I cannot say for sure if I have, but what I do know is the decisions I have made in my life have led me to where I am now, which I believe is a good point in my life. I don't think I would change my past decisions, because my life would not be the same as it is now.
Megan, I agree with the belief that everyone is born with a good soul, and it is up to that person to make the decisions to be a good person or a bad person. But I also believe that society and our surroundings have an affect. I also believe that someone's upbringing has an affect on whether or not a person turns out to be good or bad.
DeleteI believe that everyone is born pure , but i also thing that society plays a huge role with a lot of decisions that we make also. I definitely think that out upbringing has a lot to do with the decisions that we make. In my religion we are all sinners so it is only natural that we make a few bad decisions along the way
DeleteThe question of what is life and am I living a good life really draw my attention. There is so many times that I take a second throughout the day and just ask myself the question, what is life? Then I start to wonder if I am even living a good life. According to the dictionary, life is the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death. It is the existence of an individual human being or animal. With that being said, to me life is going through different experiences and learning lessons from those experiences. In life, you can either just exist or survive or you can actually live. To actually live means to live life to the fullest. It means to fall in love, get your heart broken, and fall back in love again. Some people have to work hard to have a good life while others may just get it handed to them. For me, I think I am living a good life. I have a great family, great friends, great boyfriend and I am going to a great school. Are there times when I feel like my life sucks? Yes. But then I take the time to really analyze my life and I see how much I have to be grateful about and how lucky I am to be living the life that I am living.
ReplyDeleteMaggie i feel the exact same way, i feel like college has been so stressful and sometimes you just want to give up but i always think about my family and how blessed i am.
DeleteHuman nature seems to fall under our characteristics on how we think, feel , and act naturally without cultural influences.
ReplyDeleteWe have studied so many cultural people and religions this semester I enjoyed learning about each one of them. Even though some to me were a little coo coo I still enjoyed learning about there beliefs. Confucius and Plato I believe I could relate with the most. Confucius even though shovanstic toward woman I still like a lot of his beliefs and still see why he thought the way he did even all these years later. We still see his belief in distress very true and if we would have more of a moral goal of benevolence this works be much more peaceful. Plato's belief on Reason, Spirit and Appetite I can completely grasp. The fact that he thought reason should rule but how we allow our Appetite to dominate is causing us to be unhappy is dead on in my book. Of course I agree with his third element theory on "Spirit".
Am I living a good life? This question is a little heart wrenching to me right now. I have had to do a lot of self reflection lately with so much trama that has occurred in my life in the last 6 months. Lately all I have been doing is looking at my faults. I have come to the conclusion that I could of lived a life filled with better choices but have let anger play to big of a part in my decision making in my early years which have led to a life that is a little harder to manage at times.
I do have much to work on starting with my attitude towards situations that our out of my control. I believe that I can live a good life by practicing many things that I have learned in this class.
I agree with you that human nature has a lot to do with culture in the world. I love the study of different cultures and i am often amazed by what i can learn by studying others. We are all different, but we all connect through human interaction. We have our differences that make us unique and they also help to give us our human nature. Humans are imperfect creatures, but when we look at other cultures in the world it is difficult, for me at least, to see much beyond the beauty of our differences and how we turn those differences into connections with each other.
DeleteI agree with you that human nature has a lot to do with culture in the world. I love the study of different cultures and i am often amazed by what i can learn by studying others. We are all different, but we all connect through human interaction. We have our differences that make us unique and they also help to give us our human nature. Humans are imperfect creatures, but when we look at other cultures in the world it is difficult, for me at least, to see much beyond the beauty of our differences and how we turn those differences into connections with each other.
Deletei also agree that human nature has to do with culture. I love being around different cultures and learning about what they believe, same goes for religions i love learning different beliefs.
DeleteThe most important thing I learned in death and dying is the definition of death, knowing our own values and beliefs, and what it truly means to have a healthy family. I was really excited to take this class and I had heard great things about it. Talking about death never bothered me and I was always excited to come to class to see what great discussions would occur. I especially liked the day when we had a priest, pastor, and a rabbi come to class. The class allowed me to reflect on my own life because it allowed me to question my own values and whether they are truly mine. Life is about the people you spend it with and how we leave an impact in this world. Life is being alive and living in the present and enjoying each moment instead of trying to rush the next phase in our lives. Life is also love because we need love to survive. Being loved means we have purpose in the world.
ReplyDeleteI know that death and dying has opened my eyes to what death really is. I love Dr. Cate's classes because i always come into class with a set opinion but after i am in the class and listening to discussions my opinion always seems to change.
DeleteI love the many points you make Marisa. Life certainly is about love and living in the present, enjoying each moment without rushing into the next phase of our lives. I too thoroughly enjoyed this class and I like how it really got me thinking about my own beliefs and it helped me reevaluate what I truly value and live by.
DeleteI have learned a lot about death and dying, but one of the most important things is the importance of life in death. It is important to live a good life before you die. Previously, when I thought about death, it was usually with a negative connotation. Death is inevitable for everyone, but what is most important is that we live the life we desire, so that when death comes, we do not have as many regrets. I also learned that it is very important to talk to your family and friends about death before it is too late. This creates less confusion and helps loved ones cope with death.
ReplyDeleteThe question about living a good life is somewhat difficult for me to answer. I think I am living a good life, but there are so many things that I have not had the opportunity to do yet. If I were to die tomorrow, I would have regrets. I think I get too worried about little things that, in the end, are not very important. I do think that I am living a good life, but I think there are always ways to make life better.
Jenna, i completely agree. i try to live my life to the fullest but i know that if i died tomorrow i know that i would have many regrets and would not have been able to accomplish a lot of things that i still plan to do in life, like get married and start a family.
DeleteDeath for me is not the end stop for me but rather, an continuation life not visible to us. It is heartwarming to think what people would say what is my legacy. I would want people to say (God willingly) I was a holy, God fearing priest that was kind and merciful.
ReplyDeleteDeath is accepting that we are no longer living the way God intends or the way we view as living. Some people view death as being strung along on life support. Others view death as being buried in the ground and laid to rest. There are so many definitions of death that it is almost impossible to define death with one particular example. We all view death, life, happiness, sadness and so many dimensions of life so differently that it is hard to pinpoint a universal meaning of death.
ReplyDeleteWe should have a society that cares about one another and looks to help our neighbors instead of put them down. With social media having such a huge impact on society now a days, it is hard to decide if our society is out to get one another or to stand together and help one another. We all get lost in our own lives and in technology that it seems we have forgotten what it is like to be a community and to stand together as a supportive and honorable society.
Life has an entirely different meaning with each individual. We all would be living in a utopian world if we all defined life the same way. Our unique talents, minds and drive are what separate the various meanings to life. We perceive life and find meaning through the experiences of hardships, triumphs, perseverance and pain and we build a foundation for ourselves in order to strive to be better. We are only as strong as our weakest link, therefore we must build a foundation in order to continue improving and ultimately reaching our goals to only form even bigger goals for the future.
I think our society is corrupt in a way because of social media. People get confidence behind a computer to say mean things to people, but if they were face to face with them, they would never say these mean things. Its a great way to connect with people, but also a great way for people to bully and say mean things
DeleteWhat have you learned about death & dying that is important to you? Is surprising to you? Has this helped you reflect on the meaning of life?
ReplyDeleteI think what I learned about death and dying that is important to me is talking about it with loved ones. I never want to be put in a situation where a family member is in critical care and I have to make a health care decision without knowing their wishes. This allows me to have conversations with my family and hear their wishes during that time.
I think what has surprised me the most is the amount of deaths that happen. I started searching for deaths while I was in this class and sadly, they were easy to find. There were so weird and crazy deaths that have occurred during this semester.
I think this class has helped me reflect on the meaning of life. I value my life and everyone’s life so much more. Death can come across anyone at any time, so it is important to value what you have and who you have around you.
What does life mean?
Life means living and breathing. In our life we accomplish things that make us happy, we give back to the community, and we satisfy ourselves and others. Life means being able to feel emotions, feel pain, and feel love.
Am I living a good life?
I personally think I am living a good life. I have a roof to live under, food to satisfy me, water to keep me quenched, a family who love and supports me, and many other privileges. I am able to go to College pursing a dream career, I have a car to get me to places, I have a bed to sleep on, and I have clothes to keep me warm. I feel like everything I just listed are blessings that we tend to forget about every day. There are many people around the world that are not able to afford or have access to these resources. So just with those few things, I am living a good life.
What I have learned about death and dying is, number one, is that it is an incredibly complicated and moral issue that is seen by different people in completely different ways and opinions. It can be based off of moral and religious principles and also scientific. The important thing that I have learned is to speak to others about how you feel about death, especially those who will be close to you when that day comes. If you don't, they will not know how you feel about end of life care and what you personally want done.
ReplyDeleteAm I living a good life? Honestly I think I am. I know I am not nearly perfect but I try my hardest to do good and to live a life thats worth living. I am extremely fortunate in my life to have the things i do and i try not to take anything for granted.
What does life mean to me? Personally, life means not just having a functioning body but being able to think for yourself, participate in lifes activities and milestones, being able to live the way you want to live healthily. It means being able to think clearly, and take in the world around you.
Am I living a good life? I believe that I am living a full and meaningful life which is a good life. Overall, it is my life and what I believe is a good life should reflect that. I volunteer, try to personally as how one's days are going, and live unselfishly, but sometimes that doesn't work as well as everyone would wish it would. We all have our days when we may fight with our loved ones, not help out the man who needs a hand, cut someone off in traffic, ect. But I don't think that can totally define you as a person. As long as one is trying to live a meaningful life, filled with happiness and being thankful than that should constitute as a good life.
ReplyDeleteWhat is my legacy? My legacy is that I wish to leave more than just a piece of myself behind. I want to make an impact on the lives around me, I want my words to be heard and my stories to be told. I want a family who can carry on the same love and views that I have. I have many aspirations that I wish and hopefully when the day comes, those things can be left behind.
Eva i love your legacy. Thats exactly what i want mine to be. I think that a good life is living it to the fullest and having it meaningful and full of adventures.
DeleteWhat is death? So obviously we can talk about death in the scientific or medical sense so like the lack of life. But I would rather talk about it in the emotional way. So for me death means no longer being able to live your life in the way you consider living. So if this means you would no longer be able to physically or mentally do something that you love or want to do then to me you have suffered a death. This is actually dying obviously but I just couldn't imagine wanting to live any longer if I couldn't actually live.
ReplyDelete