Neil Salsich's Journal: Section 3
1.One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the topic of the week.
The major idea that serves as a catylst for all the material discussed in this section is the studies of theology and philosophy.Theology, described by St. Augustine as "faith seeking understanding" (RB, pg.46), is "the exploration and examination of one's faith using reason." (RB, pg. 46) It is a way of approaching the mystery and wonder of our religion using logic and reason. The study of theology can only be approached by someone who has religous faith. Moreover, a person can only theolize about a faith that he/she practices; an atheist cannot be a Christian theologian and a Christian cannot be a Muslim theologian. Philosophy, literally meaning "love of wisdom" (RB, pg. 48), is very similar to theology. Rather than focusing on understanding human existence from a religious/faith-based standpoint, they try to discover the truth using reasoned knowledge, that is, rationally explaining experiences using knowledge in order to dicover truths or insights. Their primary focus is the reason for human existence. Philosophers usually base their conclusions on speculation of the world around them. Though both philosophers and theolgians rely on experiental and intellecutal knowledge, the primary difference between theoligians and philosophers is that while a theologian is guided in his quest for knowledge by the beliefs and doctrines of his faith, a philosopher is not.
2. List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.
What does it mean to be human? - Being human means possessing two qualities: self consciousness and abstract thought. Self consciousness means that we are aware of not only the world around us but that we are aware of ourselves as individually existing beings. Abstract thought is the "ability to think about something as if it exists by itself, when in reality it does not exist by itself." (RB, pg. 50) An example of abstract thought would be beauty; beauty does not exist alone but we talk about it as a solitary object.
The three types of knowing - The three types of knowing, or gaining knowledge, are experience, authority, and reason. Experience, the most basic form of gaining knowledge, is when we gain knowledge based on an experience that occurs. Authoritative knowldege is gained when we gain knoweldge from a trusted source-they know something that we do not, and they pass that knowledge on to us. Thirdly, reason is the most advanced and intellectual way of gaining knowledge. Reason is "the power to think in such a way that we proceed from what we know to what we don't know" (RB, pg. 58); simply put, reason means arriving at conclusions based on previous premisses.
Deduction vs. Induction - Deduction and induction are two types of reasoning. Deduction is the ability to arrive at new conclusions based on information or statements which we already know (or at least believe) to be true. It is going from the broad to the specific. Induction, on the other hand, is going from the specific to the broad. Induction means making generalizations about something based a limited number of experiences.
3. One image of that reminds you of the topic. Attribute, link, your source.
Source: Morehead State Universtity
Source: The St. Augustine Page
4. One good question you should keep with you to ponder.
Am I aware of the Five Common Thinking Errors when I make when I engage in a discussion or argument?
5. What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study.
Throughout the past few classes I have learned a great deal about the theology, philosophy, and the process of reasoning. I can take the knoweldge I have gained, particularly the information about the Five Common Thinking Errors, and try and be aware of them in my every day conversations and/or debates. I realize that many of these errors are present in my debates and arguments. Not so much non sequitor or beggin the question, but ad hominem particularly. Taking what I have learned about ad hominem, hopefully I can be more aware of it when I engage in an argument or debate.
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