Journal 3 (dave emnett)

Reason is the power to think in such a way that we proceed from what we know to what we do not yet know. The ability to reason along with self consciousness and abstract thought sets us apart from animals. Reason is the ability to get from two premises to a conclusion. A premise is an affirmative or negative statement about some subject which is believed to be true. There are two kinds of reasoning: deduction and induction. Deduction is the power to draw a conclusion (new information) from two premises. Induction is the power to make universal statements based on limited experience.

experiential knowledge vs. empirical knowledge : Experiential knowledge is prior knowledge that came from personal experience. It enters the mind through the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. It is something that you know to be true because you have experienced it firsthand. Empirical knowledge is knowledge we obtain by measuring something. It is the knowledge that science emphasizes. It is a type of experiential knowledge because we use our senses to do the measuring using scales and rulers.

self-consciousness and abstract thought : These to endowments are the two that humans posses that animals do not. It is what sets humans as a scientific species apart from animals. Self-consciousness means a creature is conscious not only of the environment around it, but also of itself as an individually existing being. It is being aware of your own existence. Abstraction is the ability to think about something as if it exists by itself, when in reality it does not exist by itself. It is the ability to ponder about what it means to be human.

theology vs. philosophy : Theology is the exploration and examination of one’s faith using reason. It is faith seeking understanding. It is used to deepen their faith and to make their faith more comprehensible to others. Philosophy literally means “love of wisdom,” from Greek. It is the study of the big questions of human existence: What is the meaning of life? What does it mean to be human? Does God exist? What is truth? Can we know it? What is ultimate reality? Which political system is best for humans? What does it mean to act morally? What makes something good or bad?

The thinker: http://panda.cyberquebec.com/Pensees.htm

Is it possible to know the truth? Does truth even exist?

I now know the meaning of the Trinity of the Father as fire and the Son as its brilliance, of the Father being eternal and the Son co-eternal. I can now explain this better to people who ask be about my faith. I can also try and be my own theologian and my faith seeking understanding. I can not only seek a better understanding of my faith for myself but also for others. I can do this by asking more questions and reading more about the subjects I have questions about.

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