Week 3

Week 3
1. Richard Dawkins and the strangeness of science states that “there are more things in heaven and earth that are dreamed of or can be dreamed of in any philosophy.” He opens up his expert lecture with this quote and I really liked it because I think it encompasses what philosophy is. He adds that quantum theory is so vast and adds so much to philosophy that it is really impossible to know all there is to know about quantum theory.

Dawkins adds that if you think you really know about quantum theory, then “you don’t really know quantum physics at all.” I am kind of lost on this whole thing though. I don’t have a good grasp on what quantum theory is, but I think it connects to what was talked about in week 2 with the different dimensions in space.
2. One thing I liked that Dawkins points out is that science helps philosophy. He said something that as we learn more about science and can explain why things are they way they are, it causes a domino effect in asking questions.

These discoveries cause our brains to formulate new questions and increases our ability to increase our “middle world” and the middle-sized world we have to navigate.
3. I remember sitting through an anthropology class where the professor was lecturing on evolution and focused on the evolution of man. However, I remember feeling a little lost because the lecture lacked some background information as fundamental of defining evolution.

I liked that this reading compared evolution and phylogenies to family trees. It’s a concept that is familiar and makes evolution easier to understand by showing lineage through shared ancestry. The diagrams and examples made it easier to follow.
4. “Sociobiology has been less successful in its application to human behavior than in its application to non-human systems. According to many critics of human sociobiology, standard sociobiological models are inadequate to account for human behavior, because they ignore the contributions of the mind and culture.”

This quote stood out because in reading the first few paragraphs, I was intrigued by the ability to study animals and their behavior and relating the observed behavior to people. This passage however reminded me of something I heard about the difference between man and animals.

Critics of human sociobiology remind us that standard sociobiological models cannot account for human behavior because humans have a mind and the mind gives us the ability to choose, the ability to show regret, and fully comprehend the result of our actions. In other words, humans can feel guilty and that guilt is shaped by cultural values and way of life.
5. The philosophy film that stood out the most was “Survival of the Sufficient.” I liked the metaphor that was made about how we are who we are because of editing. We have been edited by our parents, teachers, friends, experiences, etc. This makes a lot of sense in that everything we do and have done has shaped us into the person we are—we have learned from our experiences.

I would have liked to hear more about the role that deception plays in editing our existence.