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Here are those two "under the radar" ideas that I mentioned in class that will impact the future significantly

• Dark Energy
• Gene Expression

Typical Philosophy Assignment

Your Personal Philosophy

• That makes no sense, for a couple of reasons.
  1. Ask people who have not read a lot of philosophy to write out their own personal philosophy, and the result is a blathering of opinion laced with unconsciously assumed ideologies.
  2. We cannot possibly have a personal philosophy, and saying the words "personal" and "philosophy" in the same phrase suggests that the "personal" will be unique to all others. What we each have is concordance with some philosophical ideas and alterations/emendations to other philosophies; that is, we might have a different angle on others' philosophies.

Our assignment

Research paper

• 3,000-4,000 words
• Cover Seven areas of a Worldview
• Need a popular source and a peer-reviewed source for each of the seven areas (or two peer-reviewed sources).

Paper structure

• Introduction (~250 words) (write this last)
  • Discuss the differences in a "philosophy" and a "worldview"
  • Summarize/synthesize how all seven of your areas connect into a cohesive worldview.
• Method (~250 words)
  • Discuss each of the seven areas of a world viewport
  • Give brief descriptions of each of the seven areas.
• Area 1
  • Paragraph 1 (~250 words): Discuss one of the seven areas; that is, give a longer discussion of what, say, axiology is.
    • Quote from the peer-reviewed source here. [See *note below]
  • Paragraph 2 (~250 words): Discuss your position within that area.
    • Quote from a popular source (or a second peer-reviewed source) here
• Areas 2-7
  • Lather, rinse, repeat
• Conclusion
  • Own up to where your thinking needs polish/study/ more understanding, and suggest what possible avenues you have to purse that.

[NOTE: The peer reviewed article need not be focused entirely on the area you are covering; many peer-reviewed can be about some subject in some field, but be using one of the seven areas of philosophy to discuss that subject.]

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Worldview: Re-Stating the Prompt

Worldviews are contingent upon many areas of Philosophy

• Anthropology:
  • By what bio-drive (genes? environment? social groups?) do we have dasien, a sense of existence, of being?
  • Class: all-encompassing study of the origin and development of humanity, both past and present in an effort to promote cultural empathy and understanding for a better socially blended culture in the future. Anthropologists attempt to study their human subjects in a clear and unbiased way during the process of ethnography .
• Axiology
  • What are good and evil values? Are there neutral values? How can we be sure any virtue is a virtue, and any vice is a vice?
  • Class: the study of goodness or value that extends beyond money exchange. The core value of axiology is how good something is, what makes it good, and how the goodness relates to one another.
• Cosmology
  • What is the Universe constructed of and/or from. What are its laws, and in what way do these affect humans and living?
  • Class: the study of the nature, evolution, and origin of the universe. It Examines the structure of the universe, including the distribution of galaxies, clusters, and superclusters. It also studies the future of the universe.
• Epistemology
  • How do I know what I know. By what interfaces do I acquired knowledge? How can I be sure the interfaces are not distorted?
  • Class: the theory of knowledge which analyzes truth, beliefs, and reasons. With that philosophers studied epistemology already believing they had all the knowledge they needed. Epistemology explores cognitive success and failure allowing for deeper understanding of the natural world. This cognitive success and failure is what set philosophers up for failure of their own.
• Metaphysics
  • The abstract notions and conceptualizations of life the universe and everything. All the non-concrete thoughts we have about concepts, ideas, and ideals.
  • Class: the study of reality such as existence, objects and properties, time and space, change, and the relation between body and mind.
• Teleology
  • Not why was the universe created, but to what end is there a universe and life.
  • Class: a viewpoint where the focus is mostly on the “end goal” or someone/something’s purpose (what will happen in the end)
• Theology
  • Can, or in what way how does, contemplation of superior life force or forces aid or cloud our understanding of any of the above parts.
  • CLass: the study of deities, religious belief, and practices, particularly diving into the ethical, philosophical, and historical questions one might have regarding religious texts or concepts to include their historical developments through time.