What is an Idea? What is a Thought?

What is an idea? An idea, I believe is based on others ideas. A good idea is almost never some light bulb moment that occurs, when you realize some insight that no one else knows. I think that great ideas are really a collection of smaller ideas, that are weaved together in a way that creates something useful and unique. I also feel that ideas can be developed from a person's experiences, imagination and fundamental comprehension. Everyone has ideas about something, but the ability to grow that idea to perform in such a way that would serve as beneficial to one's own self, community or mankind is special. I think that real ideas that involve real thought and effort, in creativity are very valuable as well.

But what exactly is a thought? Where do they come from? A thought is a way of communicating to others and allows a person the means to think within one's mind or dealing with an experience. We have an infinite pool of thoughts, but where are those thoughts? Well, thoughts are literally everywhere, right here, right now. If thoughts were not here, we would not be able to access them. Every idea from the world's greatest composer, writers, and thinkers are available to us. We all have the ability to access those thoughts, ideas and knowledge of the world. There are definitely two-forms of thoughts, random and natural thoughts. I believe that when we are attuned to ourselves, those instinctive or natural thoughts come more easily. When the mind is quiet, we are unmistakably open to our thoughts. I image that all thoughts exits everywhere and that they are readily available to every person. But I also believe that not every person necessarily is readily available to all thoughts. That would depend more upon an individuals level of awareness and their openness to natural ideas. 

Week 2 Blog Reviews

Lauren Spencer

I really enjoyed reading your posts, they were well thought out and amazing to read. I agreed with a lot of your thoughts in Your Good without God post. Especially your comments on how you do not have to have the same belief system as someone, to be considered a good person. I also liked reading your self post because it bring up some good and interesting points, I never thought of and I enjoy reading things like that. 

Katie Kosturik

I liked your Good without Good post. I liked that you started the post with a question, to grab my attention. I also loved the way you structured your paragraphs, they had nice transitions and good word usage. You had a nice voice throughout your post, I really enjoyed them. 

Tasha Cerimeli

I also liked that you opened up your Good without God post, with questions they definitely grabbed my attention. I really enjoyed reading your self-identity post, you brought up some good points and views. I loved reading your posts, they were nice, clear and easy to read. Nice Job. 

Can We Be Good Without God?

Of course there could be people who could be good without God. There could be people who could be good who believe that extra- terrestrials visit them nightly. You can be good if you think that the earth stands on the back of a turtle. There were good pagans. There were good people who worshipped animals. In theory, you can be good and believe in anything, it is even very possible to be evil with God. "Research suggests that a religious person is more likely to commit a crime than a non-religious person" (63).

I am not a religious person but I do believe in God, and I am under no elution that God does play a role in our lives when it comes to ethics. But I am the first to acknowledge that there are quite a number of religious people who are disgusting. God is not the source of morality, man is. Man is a learning animal. Man is capable of learning from his mistakes, "The human race is divided roughly between good people, who possess the infinite worth we attribute to individuals, and bad people, who do not" (75). For example, there was a time when slavery was acceptable and anti-semitism was tolerated. But because of mans ability to learn these views are no longer excepted in society today. The fact that humans are naturally moral beings doesn't tell us what our morality should be. It is true that we are aggressive at times, and it is even more true that thanks to our technology we can and sometimes do wreak the most terrible consequences on our fellow humans. Unfortunately man only learns when faced with a grim situation where he finds no option but to change. It takes war and thousands and even millions of deaths to give up slavery, and anti-semitism. It takes climate change to really consider cutting greenhouse gas emissions. It takes recession to make people think twice of living beyond their means. I think man ultimately chooses to be good and change his or her way of life for the better. 

Works Cited

Conyers, Lisa and Harvey, Philip D.. “Religion and Crime: Do They Go Together.” Academic Communities/Disciplinary Conventions. Ed. Bonnie Beedles and Michael Petracca. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001. 62-67.

Tinder,Glen. "On the Political Meaning of Christianity." Academic Communities/Disciplinary Conventions. Ed. Bonnie Beedles and Michael Petracca. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001. 68-88.

Getting to Know You?

Online and in-person education are the two-forms of education today, and many are wondering if the relationships we develop with these students and professors the same. Many believe that we're not getting to know other students and professors as well as you would if you took in-person classes.

When dealing with online classes the main ways for communicate are through e-mail, chat rooms and forums/blogs. Within these classes professors and peers may respond through e-mails but sometimes these forms of communication may feel impersonal. In a traditional format class there is only one way to communicate with your peers and often times, it's not a good representation of oneself. I know that when I am put on the spot, I don't think clearly and just say generic or boring thing about myself to get the situation over with. The other students and the professors are only getting to know the "watered down" version of myself. I personally find it easier to express myself online because I don't get the anxiety I would get from an in-person course.

I do not agree with Gergen statement that online interactions can lead to a sort of "dissolution of the self"? I think online courses allows us to get to know each other better. In my previous, traditional classes most of the time there is little not no communication between students. It is usually the class listening to a lecture and taking notes, and from time to time there are questions being asked and answered. But, there is really no time to get to know the people sitting around you. With online classes I feel that people are getting a better representation of a person because they're not as guarded and would be more open to express themselves, whether its through their writing, photos, personal blogs, etc. I think online interaction is a fun and harmless way to connect with peers and professors. 

With modern inventions like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and blogsites people are finding it easier to communicate online then in-person. Online interaction is starting to become the only interaction for many people around the world. So it would make sense that many are preferring to attend online courses to the traditional in-person schooling. Students that do attend traditional classes like the face-to-face interaction they get from an actual professor and their peers. Online students, I think, like interacting through forms because its an easier and stress free way to express themselves.