Friday, March 26, 2010

lecture

The lecture was all about evolution. Within the lecture the statement I kept coming back to was people go to what they see to believe. Darwin was in the sciences for most of his life. He found science interesting so, from what I concluded from listening to the lecturer, Darwin did not believe in Christianity even though he was around that religion for his entire life. What we find interesting or true influences what we believe. Darwin liked order. He split up how life was formed and then made speculations on his research to form his beliefs. To some the idea of science is chaotic and makes little to no sense. Others may like the well defined structure and find it orderly.
The Native Americans use nature as a base for their beliefs. They were around nature for their entire life. Nature was in their everyday life, affecting how they lived. Their lives, some would say, were too consumed with simple survival that they did not have to time or will to spend their "free time" on learning the break down facts that Darwin did. Order and Chaos with religion is all based upon personal preference.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Blade Runner



Replicants, portrayed in the movie Blade Runner, are human-like robots. They were shown with emotions, compassion, understanding, learning capabilities, want of freedom, a will to live, and desires. They are created humans with flaws. Is that not a "normal" human. Each human has flaws. Our body deaerates. We have urges of violence. We rebel against authority, like parents, government, and teachers. For those replicants to be used as forced labor, the human tendencies of emotion, desires, and the will to live would have to be removed. They have all the human characteristics we would associate with a "normal" human being. In an essence all their human characteristics, like love, would have to be removed. After that grueling process has taken place then maybe it would be morally "okay" for them to be used as forced labor.

In Blade Runner, year 2020, the world is technologically advanced. People are able to make robots into "real" creatures. The snakes, in the movie Blade Runner, look like live snakes. They move smoothly and graphically look as though they are handling live snakes when in actuality they are only robots created to look, sound, and act like snakes. THe economy seems prosperous as long as you are healthy and are able to create types of robots or parts that could go into robots. There are the three types of classes it appears in Blade Runner the poor is the lowest class. They are the ones that are not technologically advanced. We saw this group on the streets steeling from the main character. The second class or the middle class is like the "toy maker." He was intelligent yet, because he was not healthy he was not able to advance into the third group, the high class. They were the healthy and intelligent people. The high advancement in technology cut the classes into three specific groups and putting the economy into the hands of the high class. The two lower classes just need to accept where they are and live the best life they can. It is like on an airplane. The first class, or high class, are treated with respect and special advances while the lower class are forced into close quarters with little to no say to what they receive.

second imagine taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nparker13/872538793/

first imagine taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26284978@N02/4264647812/

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Feminism


Feminists are regarded with one extreme or another most of the time. A relative of mine is an extreme feminist but not in the regards as Dr. Jesse Kabaila Kapasula. The ordered way her culture views on the abilities and freedoms of women is chaotic to many of us. They do chants to tell a message of discontent, as a group. It seemed ironic that for females in America that we must go through courts and legal systems to end a relationship from discontent or abuse. Feminists scream the message of equality for women, but shouldn't it be equality of life. When life a person's life is disturbed then the people in and around said life would also be disturbed. One should have the option of adding or eliminating relationships within their own personal life without the permission of a powering body.
Dr. Kapasula was giving examples of how their culture takes the law into their own hands. The woman take some grass from their house and lights it telling the man that she is not happy and go back to where he came from. It is simple, understandable, and upon a sole person. We have to hire a lawyer to send us papers to send to the government, which the other spouse has to sign, to be accepted so that their marriage can end. It has a specific order which must be followed to for the most part. It is ordered. We have no right to say our way is better than another without knowing about it and more than likely experiencing it. Feminists of all countries and areas have different ideas and circumstances that they fight for. None are wrong, even though they may be judged, yet they also may seem ludicrous. We as a people will not stop judging for it is in our nature, but maybe we should consider another point of view.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Professor Lemak's lecture


Each generation has a way of expressing either dislike of society. Professor Lemak commented on such ways of Patriotism and authority. One needs to stand up for what one believes is true while staying within the laws, at least at first. Antigone tried to reason with the law but soon found that her pleas were not going to be answered. In my opinion as long as one is not affecting the lives of others while attempting to express one's self then fight the oppression, let your opinions be known and do not back down. When another's life is at stake then the balance becomes very grey. One must then stand for what they believe but use their freedom with responsibility for with freedom there comes consequences.
Laws may be unjust and power might be being abused, but one must at into consideration that we are a people that are governed by rules and some form of order must be taking place or this world would never be as we know it, with the good and the bad that comes with this world. Justice of this world is like power. It may not always be true and righteous but it still needs to have some respect. Freedom and responsibility are within the same modes. Freedom is being responsible for what you believe in and having the option to choose to express your opinion. Responsibility is the force one has that is taken on when one has any form of power, especially freedom.
Power is found especially within the roles of being a leader. Take horses for example. They were beautiful creatures roaming free hurting no one. The leaders of many decided to take away their freedom and use them for what they believed was a better good. Wouldn't one say that those horses deserved better? Was it morally wrong to take a wild creature and force it away from its home, life, family, and freedom? Leadership is when one has power. Those leaders who forced the horses to become pets and Creon, from Burial at Thebes, is a leader who took away Antigone freedom to mourn her brother. Leaders shall do what they please as long as they have some backing to their decisions. That is life.
Power, responsibility, moral choices, life, freedom, and oppression are all intertwined and when one attempts to deconstruct and pull apart each from another life will not be as clear and consequences will have to be dealt with. Each generation had to deal with consequences from society, good and bad, with their music, drugs, and rebellion. Creon had to deal with his consequences for lack of compassion and today we have to deal with our ancestors choices and our choices for what we have done with our freedom and power. There are not clear cut choices. As they say in France, "C'est la vie."

image found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheeprus/3321210733/