Nov 17th Lecture :)

In this lecture, we took a philosophical approach to the course discussions. I thought it was very interesting because it allowed us to look at course content in a new perspective. I think that it is important to look at an issue from as many angles as possible in order to get the most accurate bigger picture.

In this lecture, we discussed Plato and his idea of the forms, which are now known as Platonic forms. The forms are the class concepts; the standard for everything we see in the physical world around us. Plato states that the physical world is not in fact the real world. In the physical world, we can only see examples of these forms. For example, we can't see "roundness", but instead we see examples of roundness in everyday objects, such as in cherries. I also thought it was interesting that Plato was the first to claim the seperation of the body and the soul, which then the Christian fate pushed along and developed.

In addition, to disussing Plato in this lecture, we also discussed Descartes and his theories. I remember learning about Descartes in previous years, so it was interesting for him to be brought up in this context. Descartes' main idea of "I think, therefore I am" was brought up and expanded to enable us to see his views. Descartes goal was to refute skepticism and he went about it by denying the existence of everything, until he concluded that the only thing he can't deny the existence of was that there was an "I" doubting.

I enjoyed this philosophical lecture, even though it requires a lot more abstract thinking. I prefer using this abstract way of thinking in analyzing issues. This lecture explored many realms that have not been touched upon in previous lectures, making it a crucial one.

The Machine Stops

The movie “The Movie Stops” showed a great point of view towards technological determinism. The movie was an extremist point of view: technology controls the lives of people and when the machine stops, civilization dies along with it. The movie effectively portrayed the technology as a living organism when it showed the dependence that the humans had on it. Technology is a driving force in our society today but I do not think it is possible for it to ever to get to the point that it did in “The Machine Stops”. In the movie, it became so extreme that the humans could not even visit the surface of the Earth without the help and permission of the machines. Machine controlled the humans to the point that it made me think that the humans were not even living a life worth living anymore. It seemed more so that the machines were living the lives for the humans instead. Parent-child relationships were diminished, as well as everyday face-to-face communication. This is not a life that is natural for the human species, therefore transforming them into a type of machine as well. The human beings controlled by machines became a form of robots that could not successfully think on their own. Their thoughts seemed to be robotic and their lives programmed for them. I really enjoyed the movie because it made me think about many of these things and the “quality” of life. What makes our present day lives different from a robot? The movie raised many thought-provoking questions that make it worth watching.