Journal Number Three



1) One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the topic of the section.

The key idea in this section is reason. Reason was defined in the faith book as "the power to think in such a way that we proceed from what we know to what we do not yet know."(Faith, Reason, and Revelation page 58) Reason can be broken down into inductive and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is amking universal generalizations about something based on a limited nunmber of experiences of that thing. An example would be concluding that all ice cream is bad after tasting only one flavor and not liking it. Deductive reasoning is the process of taking two premisses and drawing a conclusion from them. An example would be knowing that dairy cows produce milk, and when confronted with a dairy cow you are able to conclude that it produces milk. By using reason, a person is able to decide whether or not another person's thinking corresponds with reality, and is therefore true of false.

2) List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this section.

The Five Common Thinking Errors- These are errors in our thinking that lead us to draw irrational conclusions.

Non Sequiturs- Occurs when a conclusion does not logically follow from the premisses. Example: In the morning you see the sun, but you do not see any cats. You conclude that all cats do not like the sun and are therefore vampires.
False and Vague Premises- This occurs when what the thinker is taking as true to base his conclusion on (the premisses) are false and then the conclusion that follows is also false.
Ad Hominem-Latin for "against the man," an Ad Hominem occurs when a person attacks the other person, not the argument. An example would be if a discussion occurs about what type of soda is better, Pepsi or Coke. The person arguing for Coke would commit an Ad Hominem if he discides that he is against Pepsi because the pro-Pepsi man is of a different religion or makes more money than him.
Begging the Question- Begging the Question would occur if the person making the argument uses conclusion in the premisses. An example is if a person states that he was a magician because he performed tricks, and then answers the question, "How do I know that you perform tricks?" with the response, "Because I am a magician."
Red Herrings- A Red Herring is a point not relevant to the issue that is used just to distract from the real issue. An example is if a person is arguing for a new tax or bill and says that those who do not like it can go to Canada. This has nothing to do with the issue and has no purpose in the argument.

What it means to be human- Aristotle said that it is the human's ability to reason and think rationally that sets us apart from animals. Also, we possess self-consciousness. This means that we are aware of our surroundings and of ourselves as a person existing in our environment. Humans also possess abstract thought. This means that we can think about ideas that do not exist as if they did, such as love or hate. These qualities set us apart from animals and make us humans.

What Philosophy is- The word "philosophy" is a Greek word that means "love of wisdom." Philosophers think deeply about the major questions of human existance and attempt to explain experience using reasoned knowledge. Instead of trying to prove that a certain specualtion is correct, philosophy is much more concerned with rationally explaining it. Philosophy helps us to understand questions that we all face, but does little to prove them.


3) One image of that reminds you of the topic.


Thank you to www3.sympatico.cafor the image.


4) One good question you should keep with you to ponder.

Do I think and reason before I make a statement or argue a point? If not, how can I get into this habit?


5) What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study.

This section can teach me to be a better person if I make an attempt to reason and think in my life. Many times I find myself attacking others or saying that they are flat out wrong, instead of taking a step back and looking at their point of view because they might just have something worthwhile to say. In addition to applying some of these concepts to my daily life, I can also apply them to my spiritual life. Before I question my faith or something said in relation to God, I need to first understand what was said, and then use reason to evaluate how this affects me or my beliefs. By doing this, I will be able to convey what I believe in a more rational, reasoned mannner and this will save time and embarassment.





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