Langer and Postman

Langer

1) Langer mentions "audible actions" in paragraph 13. What are they, and why are they important?

"Audible actions" are things people hear that shape them into the people they are to become. These are important because they involuntarily code the brain the perform in a certain way.

2) What is a phoneme, and how does it differ from lalling?

A phoneme is a sound that makes words different from one another. A lalling is the absence of phonemes in dialect, usually early staged children's. 

3) What does the term Gestalt mean in paragraph 6? 

Gestalt in paragraph 6 means it is a great achievement.

Postman

4) Postman says the metaphor is "an organ of perception" (para. 6). How can metaphor be an organ of perception?

When he says that metaphors are organs he means that they are the core being of speech in a visual sense. Without metaphors it would be difficult to express the full potential of perception in a situation.

5) Why does Postman raise the question of over and underachievers in schools?

Because he brings up the fact how a test in school doesn't determine how smart a child is. You can be smart in different ways it's just how you use it that determines if you're an over or underachiever. 

6) What territory do you map on a daily basis? What words help you map that territory?

MSU. And words that help me map that territory are the names of the buildings. 

Bacon and Darwin

Bacon:

1. Define the word idols in the sense that Bacon seems to use it. Is the word idol a good term to use for the idea that lies behind it?

Bacon defines the word "idols" as an error that develops in society. I feel like the term "idols" is both good and bad for Bacon's definition. It's a bad term because people look up to idols and they are more likely to do something good if there idol does it. But it is also a good term because if an idol dos something bad their fan will be more likely to follow in their footsteps. Having idols can also keep a fan from becoming who they really are.

2. Compare the importance of one idol with that of another. Is it possible to determine which is more likely to prevent the acquisition of true knowledge?

The tribal idol symbolizes our natural human errors and the idols of the cave represent our own errors that arise from our own minds. The theatre idols represent the false facts and learning that come from faulty education and philosophies and the idol of the marketplace represents errors that come from others. I believe the idols of the marketplace is more likely to prevent the acquisition of true knowledge because I see the marketplace idols as people who spread rumors and the quickest way information spreads in through people speaking to others.

3. Which of the idols are the results of social intercourse, and which are the results of individual reflection? Would a person be more likely to be free of the tyranny of the idols if he/she were restricted in society? Is it possible that a hermit would be completely free of the idols? Or would he become more free the more he socialized?

The idols of the marketplace and theatre are the results of social interaction and the tribal idols and the idols of the cave are the results of individual reflection. If a person were restricted in society they would be less likely to be free of the tyranny of the idols. Even if there was no false information or errors people would still have their own individual errors. A hermit would not be free of the idols, truthfully they would be more inclined to the idols and more ignorant. 

Darwin:

1. Define the phrase the survival of the fittest (the title of this chapter in a later edition of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection). Look for ways in which its implications can be fully understood. Look, also, for examples by which it can be illustrated.

Survival of the fittest means that only the strong will survive in the world. Those who are weak will be surpassed by the strong and more likely to die. For example, if in a liter of puppies the ones who will die are the ones who can't make it to the mother's milk for nourishment. 

2. Compare the breeding of animals with natural selection. Which is more directed? Which is more dominated by chance? Which is more efficient? Which is more important?

Natural selection is when organisms who are better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The breeding of animals is when breeders pick out certain traits to produce an animal to their liking. Natural selection is more dominated by chance whereas breeding is more directed. Breeding is more efficient and more important than natural selection because it creates more animals who are more adapted to their environment.

3. How does cloning affect Darwin’s views? Is cloning likely to undo the beneficial work of natural selection?

I think cloning supports Darwin's views and is beneficial to him because natural selection is about the strong and with cloning you can clone a strong person and get another strong person.

4. How does human social policy affect the survival of the fittest? Are modern medicine and modern social welfare agencies causing humans to be less fit? 

Of course people think that the survival of the fittest is wrong and cruel. Also, I think modern medicine and modern social welfare does cause humans to be less fit. You see people who would rather spend the money to make them thin then to actual go to gym. 

Plato and Freud

Plato:

1. Consider the issue of what it is we know when we rely on our senses. Is sensory knowledge as unreliable as Plato thinks it is?

~ I believe our sensory knowledge is not as unreliable as Pluto says it is. We can use our sense of smell to detect when something is burning and treat the problem before it gets out of hand. We can use our sense of hearing to listen if someone is yelling for help. We can use our sight to see a forest fire and warn others. There are many uses for our senses that not only protect our life but helps enhance the learning experience. For example, if you're an auditory learning we use our sense of hearing to listen to a video or a presentation which helps us learn better.

2. Are we materialistic when we praise sense perception? What are the alternatives to any such materialism arising from overvaluing (or solely valuing) sense experience?

~ Truthfully, I don't know if we are materialistic when we praise sense perception. But, some alternatives could be using common sense or logical reasoning.

3. If we could perceive the world beneath sense experience, what would it be like?

~If we perceived a world beneath sense experience it would be very dull. It would pretty much be a world without emotions and the people would be machines.

4. I often ask my students to choose a sense that they do not already have and add it as a sixth sense that cannot be a merger of any of the five. It has to be new—not smelling, seeing, or hearing from a great distance. If nothing else, this exercise helps them begin to realize how hemmed in we are by our senses — particularly when I point out the ultimate similarity of touch, taste, and odor, three of the five senses that constitute virtually one sense with three “flavors.”

~The ability to sense when someone is good or bad would be my sixth sense.

Freud

1. Do you feel your dreams have a significance that would be useful to understand?

~Depends on what kind of dream that I have. Sometimes I believe I have a valuable dream that would be significant to understand, but there are also times when I know my dreams are just pointless.

2. What dreams most mystify you?

~Dreams that mystify me are dreams involving the people around me. Whether I know them or not.

3. Which dreams are frightening? Describe a recent frightening dream.

~Dreams that are frightening are the ones that play on my fears. A recent frightening dream I've had involved me being in the middle of nowhere getting chased by giant spiders. I hate spiders so that was definitely a scary dream to me.

4. Why do you think most people forget their dreams?

~I think most people forget their dreams because our mind is already racing through multiple things at once and it's hard for us to remember every single detail of the dream.

5. Is dreaming a mental activity?

~I do believe dreaming is a mental activity because there are dreams that incorporate our memories of people and our fears as well.

Woolf and Mead

Virginia Woolf
1) It is useful to point out that this essay was originally delivered to women students at two Oxford colleges. Ask your students to identify what evidence there is to suggest Woolf was aware of the nature of her audience.

Woolf knew the nature of her audience because she made many references about how the condition of women was different than of men during the elizabethan time. She spoke about how women were not as successful as men even if they had the same amount of talent in order to show the women of today that they should appreciate what they have. 

2) What do the chapter headings from Trevelyan’s History of England (para. 6) reveal about historians’ concerns?

The chapter headings reveal that there was never any mention of women in major events, especially middle class women. 

3) What would Woolf propose as the most important changes in society that would alter the situation most talented women find themselves in? Why does talent make a woman’s situation especially difficult?

Woolf would propose for society to let women have more time to explore their talents. A talented woman may have more difficulty because they are caught between following society and listen to what they have been told their whole life or go against society and be judge for exploring their talent.

M. Mead

1. What are the temperamental traits of women? Of men?

The temperamental traits of men and women depend on the society they grow up in. For most women are meant to have long hair, appear feminine and do the housework. For men they are supposed to have short hair, go to work, and dress in pants.  

2. What price does a society pay for restricting the opportunities of one sex or the other?

The price society pays for restricting the opportunities of one sex and not the other is that the one that is restricted feels lesser than the one that is not. Therefore, creating problems between the two sexs.

3. Given that our culture has standardized temperamental expectations for each sex, what price does the opposite sex pay for that standardization?

The price that the opposite sex pays for the standardization is that if they go against it they are judged and excluded from society for being different from that standardization.

4. Why should our modern industrialized society be concerned about the ways of “primitive” cultures?

Our modern industrialized society should be concerned about the ways of "primitive" culture because in those cultures they might still believe women cannot play a significant role in society and so they are expected to be the house wife. It is very limiting and causes women to feel like they are below men.