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Luxury Versus Necesity in Society
The first artist came to be because society could support them. In our latest Praxis lecture, the teacher talked about how there is an economic basis for culture; because artists do not create their own means and therefore reveal a relatively sophisticated society (paraphrased, Paul A. Cantor). This lecture acknowledged that commercialization is more often than not good for the creation of art, as is capitalism. Both these force an artist to perform well to create valuable work that others are willing to sacrifice a hard-earned dollar for. A lasting thought I had concerned Paul’s quote: “The line between artists and non-artists is increasingly blurred” (Cantor). That is, as our society…
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Senior High Ministry
I know I just wrote about my time in junior high ministry last month but I am so excited to move on with many of the same kids and be there for them as high schoolers…at least for a little while. What’s unique about my situation is that I’ll be the only leader who hung out with all these graduating classes of kids that are current high schoolers, in middle school. From the moment I was done in senior high youth group I missed it, and then I loved junior high ministry, but coming back to senior high as a leader will be a new experience. I’ll be working with a…
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Politics, Innovation, and History
Part of this month is looking at history and culture. A particular video I watched talks about history and timelines and what’s usually included. Inventions and sometimes the implementation of simple ideas have changed the world, but are often not prioritized as they perhaps should be. The invention of the transatlantic telegraph was monumental to society as a whole but we’re more likely to remember that World War 2 started in 1939. The invention of the internet has changed our world, communication, and economics among other things, but we’re more likely to know the names of presidents than we are to know the name of the man that started it. Not…
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Try Something New, Even if it Seems Daunting
I’ve found myself with the opportunity to try new and unique things, as partially evidenced by my unicycling and swing dance articles. Trying new things often means going out on our own to experience something new. It often means a little investment, even if just buying a ticket to attend a unique event. It also usually means were putting ourselves in a circumstance that people in our normal circles may not know much about. Going outside of the “normal” can be truly freeing, and wonderful though, it means we feel so satisfied when we’ve followed through with our intentions because we took the step ourselves. Your parents didn’t sign you…
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Praxis Module 4 Week 1 Analysis
This month I’m in the philosophy module with Praxis that I’ve alluded to in other blog posts this month. Another part of the module is to record analysis videos each week. I’ve already learned a lot about philosophy and I’m curious to learn more and gain a better appreciation for this field. See the video link below if you’d like.
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The Truth of a Claim Doesn’t Depend on the Person Saying It.
Fallacies. Arguments tend to have at least one or two pop up, and who could blame someone if they don’t know better. It’s a fairly easy way to make it sound like you know more than you do or have more arguments for your claim than you do. From popularity claims to red herrings, and straw man arguments there’s a number of options out there as well. I thought that the concept of understanding that the truth of a claim doesn’t depend on whether or not someone lives it out or not, was a very helpful fact to learn it made me realize that my search for truth is ongoing…
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Why Good Salesmen are Not the Enemy
Ever since seeing people selling things at my door and my parent’s getting telemarketing calls on the land line ,and believe it or not, taking a sales class in college, I’ve had a sour taste in my mouth for sales, and although I don’t think I want it to be my job -because I love marketing- I think I now see the value in it, especially in business. Last night’s Praxis Wednesday was all about sales and we were joined by Jack Sayler he talked about the art and science behind the sales industry. We were encouraged to think about solutions ourselves before going to managers, this helps you be…
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Arguments Aren’t What You Think They Are
My latest Praxis lesson talked about the actual prerequisites required to develop an argument and what an argument actually is. An argument is the idea that backs up a claim which is a determined side of an issue, you need both an issue and a claim to have an arugment. I can sometimes be argumentative, and for a while I was led to believe that this was mostly bad. This isn’t true at all, in fact -one could argue- you are making a claim if you aren’t stating an explanation, question, command, phrase, or pronouncement; and if you are making a claim you should therefore have an argument to back…
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Consider the Unlikely, Sometimes.
Hypotheticals in philosophy are part of the reason I’ve been frustrated by philosophy in the past. My latest Praxis lesson was how to navigate hypotheticals, and appreciated that the article acknowledged that some hypotheticals are not helpful and do not need to be analyzed. Others, though, provide an opportunity for us as people to think about where our convictions and beliefs lie. Good hypotheticals are qualified by two very different functions. Either they devise practical contingency or the help to achieve intellectual clarity. The first helps us consider different options while the other clears up different points of view and what they might mean – in a nutshell. So now…
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So I Guess I’m a Philosopher?
Based on my latest Praxis lesson, I’ve been thinking about what philosophy is and what it means to study it. Based on the definitions I heard from others in the lesson, I came up with my own definition: The considering and thinking of all the possibilities and reasons for what happens in the world. It’s an imperfect, and incomplete definition, but I’m starting my first philosophy “class” this month so I’m giving myself breathing room on this. I plan to come up with something new at the class -er- month’s end. A different but equal definition of philosophy is a love of knowledge and learning. I believe I qualify for this but…
