my beliefs: epistemologies, reality, worldview & religion how do i know what i know?
TRANSCRIPT
MY BELIEFS:
Epistemologies,Reality,
Worldview & Religion
How do I know what I
know?
We aim to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. We will explore language, sense perception, emotion, reason, imagination, faith, intuition, and memory. You will be: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced and Reflective!
What do you see? Is she old or young?How do you know?
What do you see? How do you know?
How do you know what you know? Hmmmmmm?
How come we can all see the same thing, but not truly see the same thing? Where does that come from? How does that happen? Oy vey!
Why is there difference in religion, politics, culture and society?
How come the person sitting next you thinks differently than you do? Ask them!
the study or a theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity
Ways of Knowing…
Knowing by AuthorityA lot of this will be covered in English
Trusting someone in charge/authority
You believe what they say for they are older, wiser, sacred etc
You believe what they say is the TRUTH!
Knowing by intuition, insight or instinct
You trust your inner experience or revelation
“I just know it is true!
AHA! WOW!
Religious or mystical experiences
Knowing by reasoning
I use logical reasoning
Deductive reasoning: general to specific
Inductive reasoning: specific to general
Objective or scientific method
Testing by hypothesis: hunches about how things are like and related
Using observations
Varied possible hypotheses
Theories accepted by the majority after it is tested out based on facts and evidence
Other ways of knowing… Political, Economic, Social (family,
religion), Intellectual (tech/media), Environment, Culture….
Which includes:
Race
Gender
Sexual Orientation
Class
MORE TO COME ALL YEAR! We call it 4 Worlds…To be continued
What is reality?
Our own individual understandings of what makes up the totality of existence
Questioning reality Why do I exist (Existentialism)?
Is there something more than this?
Where do we come from?
Where do we go from here?
Is life random and chaotic?
Is life purposeful and meaningful?
Who made my plan?
What is the meaning of this life?
Where do we go after we die?
Will I be reincarnated?
Will I end up a cockroach?
Why is there pain?
How do I formulate my reality and worldview?
What story are you telling yourself and others? Is your life a story?
Worldview
A commitment & a fundamental way of thinking/believing that can be expressed as A STORY or in a set of presuppositions which we hold as the basic make up of reality which provides the foundation on which we live our lives…
IT’S COMPLICATED!
When we discuss anything it is usually COMPLICATED!
When studying anything, especially Worldviews, the goal is to COMPLICATE!
Why COMPLICATE things Jacobs? Ignorance is bliss.
As you study and use critical thinking, you will see that there are multiple view points and perspectives.
LIFE IS JUST DARN COMPLICATED! So we have to deal with it and see life and its beautiful depth, diversity and complexity
Worldview
Socialized by our social institutions: families, schools, religions, media etc.
It is in our subconscious and unless we think very hard about it, we are unaware
Examples of stories: The big bang, the Buddha meditating under the Bodhi tree, that huge zit you popped, first love…
These presuppositions/assumptions can be “true,” possibly true or just plain false
We have many ideas about the way things are without necessarily having proof
Western/Eastern/Indigenous Worldviews? An unfolding story this year
Like thinking about Reality, Worldviews have essential questions we can try to answer…
What is the nature of external reality: Created or independent? Chaotic or orderly? Matter or spirit? Subjective or objective?
What is a human being? Machine? God? Ape?
What happens when you die? Extinction? Higher state? Reincarnation? The other side?
Why is it possible to know anything? God? Reason/Rationality? Evolution?
Ethics? What is right or wrong (POV)? Human choice? Predestined by a God? Is it just survival?
What is the purpose of history? To find God? To leave the world better? Find my potential?
Worldview: Religion
Key Vocabulary
Animism: the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess spirits
Polytheism: the doctrine of or belief in more than one god or in many gods
Monotheism: the belief in one god
Atheism: no belief in god/gods
Agnostic: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown: questioning
Why a shift from Animism to Polytheism?
Folk societies began to believe, after settling down and using agriculture that their Gods held the spirits of nature and not necessarily just the land…TO BE CONTINUED!
What is Religion?
The belief in an opinion, conviction or confidence in the existence of something not immediately provable by knowledge, by subjectively experiencing a particular “truth” by a person
Helps us answer the BIG QUESTIONS
Something greater than us that cannot be explain
A relationship between humans and the sacred
Reasons for Religion
Religions explain: Existence, how the world came to be, natural species/forces, death, our potential as humans
Religions validate: Sustain the moral and social order, meaning to humans, ancestors, spirits, gods reinforce rules and structures
Religions help us cope with reality: illness, death, famine, natural phenomena, failure, gives us security in an unpredictable world (Mexica)
Religious shared experiences: intensity of shared experience and social communion
Ways to Study Religion Theology: Study of God, attributes,
universe, the divine, “truths”
History of Religion: systematic narrative of past events and their meaning
Comparative Religions: compare and contrast religions
Sociology of Religion: how religion relates to societies
Anthropology of Religion: how religions and culture coincide; rites, beliefs, actions, ceremonies and behavioral patterns
Psychology of Religion: body, emotions, mind and consciousness as it relates to religion
What is Faith?
Confidence and trust
To give over one’s heart
To see the unknown as a adventure
Belief clings, faith lets go. -Alan Watts
Verifying Faith
Validating for ourselves only what we have heard from others
Examination
Experience
Trusting our own experience rather than abstract tradition or authority
Bright Faith Versus Blind Faith
Bright Faith
A state of love-filled delight
Infinite possibility
Eager joy
Enthusiasm, energy and courage
To step out and away
The potential to end our suffering and live in a different way
Blind Faith
Heavily inspired by a person
Negative connotations
Unthinking devotion to a teacher
Passive and dependent
Afraid to question
Afraid to feel left out
Subvert reason and intellect
Cannot trust any thing or anyone else
Belief versus Faith
Beliefs try to make a known out of the unknown
Predictions about what is to come
Faith doesn’t carve out this reality; it is the ability to move forward even without knowing
Faith makes us want to explore and is not a defined reality
Faith comes from within and beliefs tend to come from the outside
Faith is a process of participatory discovery
What is Magic? Magic may have come before religion
The Belief humans control the forces of nature and the universe to serve our purposes
Things can be manipulated and controlled to get desired results
Forces can be repelled by an opposite force
Magic includes: incantations, formulas, reading signs, imitating sounds/gestures
Magic has shamans, sorcerers, medicine doctors and possibly witches
Indigenous cultures sometimes believe it is used to heal or change the environment
Can be used for both good and bad
What is Spirit? Spiritual life may be the most
important expression of one’s humanity
Spirit is usually viewed with awe and respect
The spirit is in your heart and all around
It is a force that is unseen, intangible and gives life to everything
Many cultures have their own way to explain origins and spirits to face the unknown and help explain natural phenomena
Most human beings share in the use of symbols and teaching to express spirit
What is the Sacred according to many Indigenous? The indigenous are the original native
people of a particular land and believe all is sacred (Animism)
A belief in unseen powers
All things are dependent on each other
Worshiping is a bond between the individual, the community and the great powers which is a commitment to all sources of life
Teaching morals and ethics which set limits and boundaries and how to act
Priests, medicine folk & shamans are usually in charge of sacred knowledge and help pass on traditions
Humor shows us our human frailty and reminds us we are not gods
Western Worldview Western civilizations usually separate
knowledge from the sacred
We want to KNOW! Westerners tend to know through science, psychology and other forms of education
Mystical experiences are often left out
In the West we tend to believe humans can control nature (dams etc), we exploit natural resources and all mysteries can be conquered (Science?)
History has proved people suffer under this dominance (GOD,GOLD,GLORY)
Indigenous have more of a relationship WITH the land and do not want to dominate the land (Animism)
Compare and Contrast
Some (Western) religions use the fear of the unknown spirit to dominate and control people and nature (Manifest Destiny, GOD,GOLD,GLORY) which have upset the balance in the world which makes it more difficult for people to change, adapt and deal with crisis and the unexpected
Most indigenous cultures do not try to control phenomena or the universe; respect for nature
How are worldviews expressed? Symbolism
Symbols communicate or present those ideas, concepts and emotions that are often intangible or invisible
They convey an abstract idea in a concrete way
What is abstract? What is concrete?
Symbols help the spiritual and physical world be seen and understood
Oral Traditions express Worldview Oral traditions tell origins: things,
places and people
Oral means by mouth and are usually repetitious…why?
Help explain boundaries and the supernatural that people associate with their culture
People understand their genesis, territory and sense of place in the universe
Orality helps explain supernatural origins, time (usually timeless) and migration
Orality is usually symbolic
These traditions ensure survival (What if they are destroyed?)
TIME
Calendars are important to many cultures
They are usually used for remembering when religious observations are and when to perform activities
Calendars usually use dieties (gods)
It can be also used to express natural phenomena and seasons
Western culture usually sees time in a linear fashion with a present and future; whereas indigenous usually see time as always and connected to spiritual life (Animism)
Any Questions?
THE END?!?!?!?!