I just wanted to use this space to say that I believe that morality is relative. The importance of morality changes from situation to situation, and I really don't think you can define it in any clear terms. Circumstances can be complex... morality, it seems, is far more complex. I won't go into all the different situations that make morality a some what grey, hazy, fuzz... we talked about a lot of situations in class. It's just interesting to think about.

I feel like I am very very set in my beliefs about freedom. I think we ALWAYS have choices for everything we do. True, there are gatekeepers who may prevent us from carrying out certain choices but the fact of the matter is the choices are THERE. Our freedom may sometimes be limited or restricted (such as a man behind bars)... but in general, humanity exists with free will. It is inherent to how we function in life. 

Maybe I don't fully understand functionalism, but so far I think I have to agree with it. If my MARS identity has a brain that carries out the same functions my EARTH identity's brain did... that doesn't mean it's the same brain. That is, not unless the teletransporter has stored my memories, personality trains, thoughts, beliefs, etc. What do you think?

I really have nothing to write this week... I'm just soaking it all in. The group presentations are very helpful to me, they act as a pretty good review of some of the things I didn't quite understand. Here's to another week! 

Last week's GPHIL class kind of blew my mind. I just have no idea what to think anymore. What's real? What's not? Can any world view be right or wrong? We all have different opinions on this and that, but... which opinion is fact? Just because the majority believes this one thing, does that one thing make more logical sense than another thing that isn't so highly believed? Just because it seems as though the majority of people in the US are Christians, does that mean Jesus is our savior? Just because Hinduism reigns in India, does that mean Vishnu, Shiva, etc should be worshipped? Because few people define themselves as atheists, does that mean they are close-minded and need to look into some other way of thinking? I hate that all I have are questions, and I hate that these posts are probably very hard to reply to... like I said, this class kind of blows my mind. 

I took GREL last year and it blew my mind too, haha. These classes aren't helping me at all... I feel more lost than I ever did. Life is completely a dream to me right now. I've got a lot of stuff goin' on in my head. 

Thanks to those of you who commented on my last post. I'm pretty bad at putting my thoughts in words so I'm sorry these posts aren't as put together as I'd like them to be. Guess I'll go off and start thinkin' about My World View, now... whatever that is. I feel like I can't really even do anything with my Brainmap because I'm just becoming more confused, and less clear on what my own world view is. What the heck! 

K not leavin' yet... on a completely different note (that I started thinking about as I skimmed other blogs).... Politics. I've always kind of followed the big elections, ya know? I'm so glad I'm now at an age that I understand a little more about the world and therefore understand a little more about the way politicians gamble with our lives. It all seems like such a huge game to me now. I have become SO SO SO skeptical of our government in recent years just because of all the dumb scandals and lies. WHY? Shouldn't our government be something of a respite for our weary minds? When I think about how things are, I'm so stressed. I mean, Hell, look at our president! WHAT?! How on earth has our democracy deteriorated so quickly? Politicians are ignoring laws left and right, doing whatever the hell they want to do, and getting paid mad $$ for it. What about us? What about my dad who works as a professor with a low salary to support my family? What about me and the fact that after college I'll be in $60K debt? It's all about who's at the top now. It really is.

 "If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then [life's] a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game."  - The Catcher in the Rye

Sometimes I think this world isn't real. The bad things that happen to us, the good things that happen, the situations we are put in... doesn't it all sometimes feel so surreal? Like, for example, love and divorce. How could two people be in absolute love for so long, and then one day decide that it's just not the same, that it's over? What then? You better hope you're an independent person, that's what. If not, you're screwed. The person that was always there, isn't there anymore. It's a kind of death. It makes me think - well, I'm not a very independent person at all. I'm scared. My roommate recently brought up the high percentage of divorce rates in the US. She said, why the hell try to commit yourself to anyone if you've only got a 50% chance of making it? That sucks. It just does. 

Wish we could go back to the olden days, when we all used to appreciate each other. WHen we weren't so distracted by all this modern age stuff. We as a society are changing into a people I don't want to know. I feel sorry for us.

What's funny is my parents are actually happily married, and I'm writing this just out of fear of what could happen to me. We talk in class about meaning in our lives, about things MATTERING. When my friend brought up the statistics, it made me think, well... WHY try? What IS the point anymore? What have things come to?

Ever since I took GREL101 last semester, I've been really contemplating about life. I've gone through many phases in my life, and I used to be very Atheist, I used to be a ..."born again?" Christian, and now I'm back to my old agnosticism... so I've always been on the search, you may say. I hate that so many of the surveys/quizzy things we've done in this class so far include questions like "is there a God?" or whether I believe that "having a personal relationship with God" is important to me or not. We live in America, so obviously the main thing we will discuss is "God" and blah blah blah... but what about other religions? Other points of view? Spirituality without "GOD" or "JESUS?" If I say that having a "personal relationship with God" is not important to me, am I automatically an atheist with no meaning in my life? I feel so tired of my constant search for some higher power... is it not okay to just be spiritual? To believe that there's something there, and to just shrug and say... I can't prove it, I can't not disprove it... but I'm going to live my life and be happy. What's wrong with that? I may not be a "Christian" like I used to be, but I believe my life has meaning.