self identity

I think self identity does have a lot if not everything to do with the environments that we grow up in. I mean if i were to have grown up in another country like Korea or something I would probably see myself in an entirely different way. Since we use our surroundings and the people we know to sort of compare ourselves to, to identify, it would only make sense that if I did grow up in China I would see myself differently. Even down to my fundamental beliefs, I feel like they do depend on my experiences and the way I see myself in comparison to others. I agree with Descartes on his opinion of the matter on this subject. Self Identity is more than likely discovered by the world around us.

common sense

Today I would like to blog about some things we've gone over in class this week such as Moore's view on common sense. Moore states very clearly that he perceives everything in his reality due to "common sense" because we all in a way sense the same things together. I agree in the way that we've built civilizations and new technologies so advanced that how can this all be an illusion. I mean how else would we all still be alive today? If we were all skeptical about everything in life that we so call perceive, how can we work together and built nations. I think everyone would just go crazy and not care about the effects it could have on the world. Why would we even want to work together if this is all an illusion and doesn't really even exist. It comes down to what Moore says about common sense, basically the way we survive and thrive. So even though he doesn't really give detailed rebukes to other philosophers' statements, its still pretty clear to me that he's trying to make more sense out of things than most others try. That's all I gotta say about Moore today.

cause and effect circulation

I'm writing today a little bit about my view on Humes skeptical views about cause and effect. He talks about how we learn things by experiencing and then remembering and using them to change the future (by learning from our mistakes). Like when a person burns their hand on a stove and knows from then on out that the stove will burn their hand if they put it on it. I found it interesting when he talked about how contradicting that is because we use our memories from the past and the past futures to learn about our decisions and their effects, but what makes us so sure that the new future will hold the same results. Just because in the past there has been causes and effects that we feel like we learn from, that doesn't mean our causes in the future will produce the same results. It's kind of like circular reasoning he says. I agree with him on that, but at the same time like our professor told us, we wouldn't get hit by a car when we walk into the street, and then not remember that and just do it again like it won't happen. Just some interesting points I got from our recent readings on reality.

some core beliefs

I want to discuss briefly my personal philosophy on the values and different beliefs that I hold true to myself. I'm a member of LLU SDA Church in Loma Linda and my entire life I've grown up in an SDA environment, both at home and school. I am a strong believer in my religion but there are a few beliefs that I have that are different from what most hold. I think that 75% of my involvement in SDAism has to deal with my belief that we are saved by God's grace and that no matter how much works we do we will always fall short of being perfect. I know that no matter how many good things, community outreach, and just hands on religious things I do it won't strengthen my belief in God and what He has done for us. Don't get me wrong, I mean doing those things are wonderful and are necessary in being an active church member, but I do not take them as seriously as my belief in God's grace. God's grace deals with the fact that no matter how short we fall of being perfect we are saved because of our belief in what God and Jesus have done for us and that God has mercy on us and will always forgive us of our sins. If we ask. That doesn't mean I'm going to go around doing evil things and just because I believe in grace I won't feel a thing. I try to be a good person because joy spreads joy and it makes the world that much less harsh. So getting down to my fundamental beliefs it goes something like this. I'm not technical in what I believe in. I just try to make other people happy and feel welcomed and to be honest (to me) thats all that matters. I don't care about peoples religious, sexual, political, or any kind of affiliations, I just want everyone to feel loved because God is love and it's the most powerful thing there is. You could compare my beliefs in a way to Rastafarism, in the fact that love is all that matters and we need a world with more love. I just don't believe like Rastafaris that specific people are messiah's and live forever. But I do agree with them that Jah is all powerful, all knowing, all places, and all love. So even though I don't focus on works like I do on grace. My fundamental beliefs help promote good works naturally.