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About Me
- dsm
- Biostatistician, Biology and Philosophy Faculty, Lacrosse Addict
Posts
16 comments:
Nabilah Keys
Of course there will be a debate on what exactly the world is made of; only because we didnt make the universe so we have to say what fits. Thus far it has been proven that the world isnt made up of one thing. Even so, somethings we thought was made of a substance has actually been made up of another substance. Because the human being must know everything we take the impossible in search for any answer that may explain what we do not know. "We yearn for what we can understand and we cry out for what we cannot"(Nabilah H. Keys). The "stuff" of the universe we can only try to understand but with the way things change learning will always be a continuous process so how will we ever be sure that the "stuff" of the universe" is really "The Stuff". Whether we want to believe it or not but maybe everything really doesnt have a name or an explaination to it. So maybe we should stop trying ot make things fit!
I think that philosophers tried so hard to find the basic “stuff” of the universe because they are trying to impose order in a fashion that a human can understand in a universe that is unexplainable. I think that they feel that people need the satisfaction of knowing what everything is in order to function. For example, if we didn’t know what rain was, would we be scared to see it fall from the sky? We wouldn’t know that clouds are simply ice being held until the air reaches saturation and that rain is simply evaporated water from large bodies of water. Finding the reasons of matter and existence are the basic things that a philosopher does and finding the basic stuff of the universe is a very complicated but necessary investigation to make for the sanity of humans. They need a unifying force to create an explanation of something universal and if they tried saying that everything is just what it is than there wouldn’t be any kind of universal understanding.
When asked in class “What is real,” after thinking for a while I thought if it could be proven than it is real but now I think of many things that I consider real without knowing any proof. I can’t say that I am persuaded that we do not know what something is if we cannot define it. I believe that everything doesn’t need an exact definition or a scientific explanation to be accepted as something “real.” We just accept it for what it is whether we have an exact definition or not. Just because we do not know the matter of the universe doesn’t mean that we don’t know what it is. We know that the universe is composed of many different elements such as planets, stars, space and time. These are unexplainable elements but we all follow them and know their existence in this world. We just need to understand that some things are unexplainable and have to accept it or become a philosopher or scientist to explain it, but I will accept things for what they are without knowing the exact ingredients of everything.
That last comment "September 21, 2008 8:03 PM" was posted by Liz Stern (Sorry)
Ryan Keene
Human nature has always been and always will be to search for the unknown. Whether it is already defined, or broken down, there will always be a lower form for people to seek. It seems that our mechanics and cognition depend on always questioning everything. In addition, there will always be a clash between scientists and philosophers due to the fact that they have different thinking patterns on different viewpoints. There is also the theory that mankind strives for general knowledge. We as humans are not an ignorant species, we have a lot of brain and mind power, and these cause us to always want to know. This is one of the things that distinguishes us from other animals who seem to accept things for the way they are.
As for defining what is real, to me what is real is what you define as being real. It is all a matter of perception and persuasion. As in the movie The Matrix, Morpheus was able to convince Neo that he could be faster, smarter and better than what he was. This is a perfect example. It is not correct in my opinion to tell someone something is not real if you cannot identify it by one or more of the 5 senses. If this were the case then things like religion would not exist, and if you wanted to take it further, oxygen. We are told that we breathe oxygen, however do not smell it or taste it, or feel it. You can tell that you are breathing, but if someone were raised to believe that you were really breathing carbon or methane, then that is what they would believe. This to me is one of the most fascinating aspects of human nature. We have the ability to believe whatever we want no matter what we are told.
I believe that philosophers and scientists have tried so hard to find the basic “stuff” of the universe because they don’t like the idea of not knowing something. I find that many people fear what they can’t figure out or simply need an answer to be comfortable. It seems as if it is just in our nature to search for truth and the unknown. You can see evidence of this in Greek Mythology. Many things the Greeks could not explain would be blamed on the gods. Even Thales views of the “Stuff” of the universe being water were founded on very little experiment but surely helped him to sleep better at night. When you just say everything is what it is you really haven’t answered any questions. You’ve settled on the fact that you can’t really figure anything out, so why try. Philosophers and scientists obviously aren’t okay with that simple conclusion and strive to wrap their heads around something more complex and more complete. I have two definitions that I believe are “know”. One is that your own reality is the things that you know. The other is reserved for theories, of which you cannot prove, so therefore, don’t know. I believe that you know things like if you step in front of a moving vehicle, you will be harmed. Or, that you know when you are hungry you need to eat. Whether truth or illusion, you know these things and you live your life around them. I also believe that morals and values are for the most part known, whether you just know them or are taught them by parental figures and/or society. When it comes to questions like “What is reality?” or “What is the stuff of the universe?”, I don’t believe that it is anything you know or can wrap your mind around. These things are only speculation or theory at best. There is no way to prove or experiment to show others that your beliefs are true or correct.
I believe that scientists have tried so hard to find out what “stuff” is for their own benefit to fulfill their own curiosity and beliefs. For the simply fact that if they have all these results from their experiments then maybe someone other than themselves will believe it. The whole process of trying to find what the “stuff” in the universe is will never end no matter what conclusion some scientist or philosopher presents not everyone is going to believe it. It is a never ending cycle that I believe will go on forever. Our minds are to perplexed by the thought that everything is something. The thought process of thinking that everything is something starts at a very young age, for example a small child will ask his parents or a teacher why is the sky blue? And most children will not accept the answer of well because that is what it is, they want to know details they want to know specifics. Yes, you may be able to tell them some off the wall answer, but we as humans are more satisfied with an actual explanation no matter how ridiculous it is than a simple it is what is because what seems ridiculous to me might not be ridiculous to others so I believe that we do have the ability to believe what we want.
Everyday something new is discovered and with every discovery there is an explanation that goes with every new “thing” that was discovered usually is introduced with a name and has some ideas with it to explain what it is, and it is are choice whether we believe it or not. So I don't believe we have the ability to know what something is if is not defined. It is just human nature to know why it is what it is.
S.Q. Hall
Jessica Meza
Philosophers and scientists have tried to find the basic “stuff” of the universe since the beginning of time. Even though it is clear that views that were shared such a long time ago are still present today as well as the lack of certainty to which one vital element really is completely definable. Many reasons have motivated people to seek answers to questions not commonly asked. Some needs bring about enlightenment however; others may believe that self gratification and recognition may be a stronger motivator. Society is for the most part unable to recognize things as they really are and at face value, the desire to know what something is and place a label on it is how we have created the world we call our own. I am convinced that without defining everything possible we can not place a face on it and that makes society uncomfortable and it becomes viewed as strange and unacceptable. All in all the questions of how, what and why are in our human nature. Could the ability to achieve higher levels of thought be a gift or a curse?
Susan McCliment
Philosophers and scientists have always tried to find the basic "stuff" of the universe because we as people are inherently curious. People have a desire to exert control over their environment and situation. We cannot understand how to exert control unless we know more about something. The more we know, the more control we can exert. This has led to every major advancement in science, from finding out that the earth revolves around the sun to vaccines for viral diseases. We thrive to search out the unknown and try to figure it out.
zabrina ybarra
In my opinion, Philosophers and scientists are always curious about how the world works and why. As they come across many things that are new or that they are unfamiliar with, I could imagine the nerves that get them while not being able to understand many things. This is the cause of their search. Not knowing something as a philosopher or scientist would give them purpose to figure what is unknown. Whether it is getting closer to the meaning of that ‘stuff’ to let them at ease and better understanding, or to get closer to solving any mysteries to draw a better conclusion, philosophers and scientists are constantly in search for the unknown.
By saying everything is, what it is, we would not make sense of what they are. For example, without defining what an atom is or its purpose, experimentation as scientist have done, though we can never see an atom, it is a form of imagination that allow our brains to understand the concept that we are made of ‘something’. The same thing goes for elements. It gives us a better understanding of the purpose of our surroundings to make sense of our world we live in. This gives everyone the chance to build their sense closer to what we are, what we are made of, and how the world works around us.
I am not at all persuaded that if we don’t know what something is, we cannot define. Because at times our human instincts give us a sense just as our intuition does. We know something unconsciously without being able to define it. As in the movie the Matrix, Neo knew he had an intuition and he followed what he felt was true. It was some sort of drive that kept him going in the direction he felt he was meant to. In this same case, Philosophers don’t just chase any kind of undiscovered thought or concept; they know that they are needed to find understanding of whatever society cannot define.
Also to include, an example of defining something we don’t really understand would be cancer. It is something that we define although we do not clearly understand it enough to find a cure. However, we define this concept of cancer without knowing everything about it and know that it exists.
The unknown is what fuels scientists experimentation, and philosopher’s curiosity.
I believe that the only reason we try to explain things is because it is how it has bin for ever. Why did the explorers explore? Why are we trying to re-create the big bang theory with the atom smasher? Even tho there is a chance the world can collapse in on it self, we still try and find out what we don't know. The human mind is always being fed information, thus when you keep repeating the same old information it gets dull and boring. So there is people that try to find out why and how we got to be on this planet. But in-reality it does not matter. We are here and just live your life to the fullest. You will never know what happens when you die and if you worry about that your whole life, then what have you really lived for? In conclusion the only reason that the human race wants to be fed new information is because it is what drives us and keeps us going. If you knew that when u died you would go to a perfect world with no crime and beer flowing everywhere, would you really wana live in this one? All it is, is HUMAN NATURE.
I think philosophers and scientist tried so hard to find the basic "stuff" of the universe because it's part of reality to what some believe in. You can't just say it is what is because with them just giving up in what they believe in then they might just not care about anything at all. It gives them a meaning to their life I think. I think if you can't define something than maybe someone might deinfe it for you someday or it might just stay unsolved. It's as simple as that I think.
Stephanie S.
I think philosophers and scientist tried so hard to find the basic "stuff" of the universe because it's part of reality to what some believe in. You can't just say it is what is because with them just giving up in what they believe in then they might just not care about anything at all. It gives them a meaning to their life I think. I think if you can't define something than maybe someone might deinfe it for you someday or it might just stay unsolved. It's as simple as that I think.
Stephanie S.
Peter Ngor.
The Stuff of the Universe.
We the human always wonder trying to find out everything we see and touch and that lead to Scientists research and philosophers giving the words of wisdom on every thing. After learning a lot things in this class it even make ponder sometime whether what I believe to be true is true. What I thought is fact might not facts, because it could be some one else opinion or it could be true that time and might be true the other time. To talks about the stuffs of the universe we might say this thing is made of the substance, but the matter of fact is what is a substance anyway. Our minds are too small to understand every thing we have around us and we always try to come up with what might make sense to us and say this is this and this that. However nobody really know what the universe is made of, we do know that there is universe and that there is a being who made all these things. Scientist might give things some names so they can make sense to us, but we are not sure they give name like atom, molecule but if some asks us why this molecule we might not go so far on our defend for that thing though. Therefore my conclusion is that nobody knows any thing and we just pretend to think that we know some thing.
Nicole Hahlen
I feel the main reason that scientists will not just be ok with saying it is what it is, is because everybody has their own stand points, and views of what and how they believe.If a sceintist was to say it is what it is, than there would be tons of riots and disagreements, because than everybody would believe differently and we would have no for sure answer. We try to understand the universe as much as we can to certain extents, although not everything is explainable. The universe has always been considered unknown and will be considred unknown for the rest of eternity. We as the people can try as hard as possible to explain why and how certain things happen, but we will never truly know. In order to get better understandings of certain ideas and concepts we try to match reasonings and occurances together. This in the end just gives us better understanding as to why things happen the way they do.
Be careful of the concept of "proof". Can we ever truly prove anything beyond all doubt (think about David Hume and skepticism). If we can't ever explain certain things, why do so many keep trying? Is there value in the search as well as the answer? Why or why not? When considering how many ways one can think through problems, what is really different: the thinking patterns or just the process used...... Must we be able to define things to really understand them? Or can we know something without being able to define what it is exactly? Does it matter if other believe as we do? Even if most agree with a position, does that automatically make it true? When discussing human nature - are intuition and instinct the same or different? Why or why not? Must everything have a purpose or can some things just exist as they are, with no direction, purpose, or plan?
First of all it would be to simple to just say that things are what they are;do
to the fact that we as humans need proof. I believe that scientists and philosophers
alike would like to belief that there is basic "stuff" of the universe,
but will trying to find that basic "stuff" they have discovered much more.
It is hard for anybody today to believe anything unless we have proof, I mean we
can believe what somebody says, but when it comes down to it we need to see it to
believe it, Seeing it gives us reasurence. For Example: when we were moving into
the year 2000 everybody was under the impression that the computers were going to
crash an that the bad things were going to happen. People when stir crazy, buying
supplies, water, anything that was broad casted that they would need. Personally
I didn't pay any mind to this because I had to see it to believe it , and sure
enough nothing happened. We listen to scientist because they have done alot of work
to prove there outcomes,even though sometimes they don't have proof; but nothing is what it seems even with the "proof."
Jessica Southland
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