Unit I Review

I. Stephen Hawking Article
A. Metaphysics (why) vs. Physics (how)
B. Knowledge (Fact) vs. Wisdom (Knowledge applied to experience in the pursuit of Truth)
C. "God of the Gaps" theory - and its flaw (parent analogy)
D. The Relationship between Science & Faith

II. The Allegory of the Cave
A. Be able to name & describe the elements of the Allegory.
B. Apply the Allegory to the Christian Narrative (the story of Chrsitianity)
C. Apply the Allegory to our Society
D. Apply the Allegory to the Matrix

III. Laughter will Save the World
A. Generation of Addicts
B. Escape from Reality
C. Laughter from Despair
D. Temptation of all thinking people: Ignorance is Bliss
E. We laugh due to incongruities: we are both human, and yet divine (made in God's Image).

IV. What it Means to be Human
A. Two different perspectives
1. Materialist
2. Idealist
B. The concept of Self is unique to humanity.
C. View persons as Subjects, not Objects
D. The Devil's work is to convince us to view persons as Objects, not Subjects
E. God is Personal (God is a "self")

V. Identity
A. We are unique in our capacity to fail to achieve our potential.
B. To lose our goodness is to lose our being. (when we fail to be good, we fail to be what we are intended to be.)
C. When we possess an object it in turn possesses us.
D. To attain ourselves we must give ourselves away.
E. Every choice we make has an impact on the core of our being, the part of our being that makes choices.