Journal 3

Rory Faust

10/11/05

1.) One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the major idea of the section.

     This past week in theology class, we have been studying Reason. Reason is "the power to think in such a way that we proceed from what we know to what we do not yet know." (RB p.58) We have studied inductive and deductive reasoning, thinking errors, steps to critical thinking, philosophy and theology. Philosophy is the love of wisdom. Theology is the exploration of faith using reason. We covered a wide range of subjects yet they were all united under Reason. Humans can reason and that is what sets us apart from other organisms.

2.) List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.

  1. First of all, I want to remember the Five Common Thinking Errors. If we are open and accepting of these ideas, we will try to avoid them.

    Non sequitor- A conclusion does not follow logically from the premises that support it.

    False and/or Vague Premises- A conclusion follows logically from the premises, but is false because the premises used to support it are false or vague.

    Ad Hominem- We attack the person presenting the argument and not the argument itself. We are not judging the argument, but the person.

    Begging the Question- This is when we try to demonstrate that a point is true, but in the process already assume our point is true.

    Red Herring- A person losing an argument might use this to pull attention away from the argument and distract people from what they were initially arguing about.

  2. Secondly, I want to remember the three types of knowledge. Experiential knowledge enters our mind through the five senses. We gain knowledge of certain things by how they come about to us. For example, we know that concrete is hard because we have felt it. Knowledge from authority comes from sources that we believe have knowledge that we do not. Much of this knowledge from authority is acquired in schooling. Reason is the last type of knowledge and perhaps the most important in our lives. We use our reasoning power every day to make conclusions by evaluating the facts that we do know. There are also types of reasoning. Deductive reasoning is using already believed facts to come upon a new fact. An example would be a>b and b>c thus a>c. Inductive reasoning is making a universal statement based on limited experiences. For example, "all men die" is an inductive statement.

  3. Lastly, I want to remember the difference between "wants" and "needs" as Aristotle pointed out. There is a huge difference. We often want things that make us happy or even things that do us harm. Contrastingly, the things we need are always good for us. We need things such as food and water. We are often unaware of our needs which makes our wants more appealing and stimulating. Most of us only want things is life. We need to come to realize that our "wants" are not always a good choice.

    3.) Images that remind you of key ideas.


    This photograph is a sculpture by Auguste Rodin appropriatley entitled "The Thinker". It is known by many around the world and reminds me of this section on reason, the human mind, and thinking in general.
    Image from "Morehead State College"

    4.) One good question you should keep with you to ponder.

        Am I a Philosopher? Am I a Theologian? If so, can I become better at both?

    5.) What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study?

         In order to be a more faithful person, I will try to make myself more aware of the reasoning that goes on in my mind. I may need to step back and take more time to ponder the subject. Also, I need to be aware of my perspectives and biases I have in life. Similar to reasoning, I will try to step back and look at things from other peoples' perspectives and views.

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