CR 24. Temptations and Dilemmas

Temptations are choices between good and bad, better and worse.
Dilemmas are choices between good and good or bad and bad.
Temptations occur when you know what is best to do, and you do not want to do it.
Dilemmas occur when you genuinely can't figure out what is the better thing to do.

The key to solving dilemmas is to be the proper sort of person.
1. Living regularly in the B+/A range. Being virtuous, wanting to follow the principles.
2. Being in the position of authority to make the decision.
3. Recognizing the choice as a genuine dilemma.
4. Is as well-informed as possible.
5. Loves those affected, involved.
6. Prays.
7. Regrets whatever choice is made, which proves it was a real dilemma.

We must be extremely cautious about criticizing dilemma decisions from the outside.

CR 23. Tolerance and Judgment

You cannot tolerate good things. Tolerance requires disapproval. Far from being non-judgmental, tolerance presupposes two judgments: the judgment about whether a behavior is wrong, and then the judgment about how seriously wrong it is. Things that are moderately wrong may be ignored or merely spoken against, both of which are tolerant. Things which are seriously wrong must be opposed through law and force, which is intolerant. Slavery, murder, and sexual assault demand intolerance. Things which are less bad should be tolerated, which means criticized verbally or in writing.

CR 22. Presumptive Morality

The key to living well is knowing the general principles of morality, which establish a default moral value for every behavior. But it is also vital to know that circumstances can affect that default setting and change the value in particular, exceptional cases. All acts have circumstances, but most of the time those circumstances don't adjust away from the default (or presumptive) morality. But sometimes they do.

Four areas of morality
1. How you treat God
2. How you treat others
3. How you treat yourself
4. How you treat the world

CR 21. Liberal Flaw/Excellence Model

All behaviors fall within a scale from A to C. A is good, B is neither good nor bad, and C is bad. The key is to continually be asking, "What is the most excellent thing to do?" This will solve 95% of all ethical questions. There is more to virtue than merely avoiding vice. There is more to doing right than merely avoiding doing wrong. Even dead people do nothing wrong, and also nothing right.

HW 5 (Due 6/29 by 5:00 PM)

Part 1
For the sake of simplicity, I shall simply refer to all of modern evolutionary theory simply as Evolution. This includes Darwin’s ideas about natural selection, Mendel’s ideas about genetics, and Lyell’s ideas about the age of the Earth. Essentially, “Evolution” refers to the most commonly accepted and taught version of evolutionary theory. Do your best to answer these questions. Do not be frustrated if you do not know the answers to many of these questions.

1. What is the scientific method?
2. When someone says an idea is scientific, what does he mean?
3. What is the difference between science and history?
4. How old is the Earth according to Evolution? What evidence is used to support this belief?
5. What does the Big Bang Theory claim? What evidence is there to support this idea?
6. How was the Grand Canyon formed? Is this the only possible explanation?
7. What killed the dinosaurs? Why didn’t it kill everything else?
8. What does the phrase “survival of the fittest” mean? Can you give an example of this idea?
9. Where do improvements in biological structures come from according to Evolution?
10. What is the best evidence you know of supporting Evolution?
11. How does Evolution explain the different races of humanity?
12. What experiment or evidence would disprove Evolution?
13. When did the words “dinosaur,” “prehistoric,” and “cave man” come into the English language?

Part 2
Many people prefer to read the Bible as if it were a collection of fables and stories. However, it claims of itself to be an accurate historical account. For the purpose of comparison to the theory of Evolution, read the following passages and consider them as historical claims to see if they make any sense when read as history. Genesis 1-11, Job 41, Matthew 19:1-9, and Romans 5. Then answer the following questions. If you do not have a Bible, every library will have one you may borrow.

1. Genesis--When it says “according to its kind,” what does this mean for biology?
2. Genesis--When the Bible says that Adam lived to be 930 years old, how is that possible?
3. Genesis--Where did Cain get his wife?
4. Genesis--How does the Bible explain the races of humanity?
5. Job--What kind of a creature does Leviathan sound like to you?
6. Matthew--What opinion did Jesus seem to have about the accuracy of Genesis as history?
7. Romans--According to the Bible, is the world getting better or worse than it was originally?
8. Romans--Is the creation account in Genesis important to Paul’s concept of Christianity?

Part 3
1. What should we teach children about human origins?
2. Does it matter what a person believes about origins? How so?
3. Can a person who does not believe in Evolution be a scientist?
4. Is there any practical discovery which could not have been made without believing in Evolution?
5. If “survival of the fittest” is the true reason we are human, what does that mean for ethics?
6. Where do our rights come from, according to the Declaration of Independence?
7. If Evolution is true, do we have any fundamental rights? From where?
8. If people arose by Evolution, then are all people created equal? Why do you say so?
9. If Evolution is true, is there any purpose to life? Why?
10. According to Evolution, is there anything which fundamentally separates humans from animals?
11. Where does the idea of marriage come from as opposed to simply living together?
12. Why does the entire world operate on a seven day week?
13. Would it be acceptable to teach children in public school history class that Jesus never lived or in science class that resurrection is impossible? Why?

CR. 20 The Principle of Association

You will be the same person you are today in five years unless you read different books and hang out with different people.

CR 19. Fruit on the Trees Principle

Only seek advice in an area from someone who already has the results you want in that area.
Expertise is demonstrated by results.
The world is full of fake experts and people who are only really qualified to tell you how to not get what you want, based on their own results.

CR 18. 95% Rule

There is a 95% chance that anything you know and any way of thinking that you have has been learned from someone in the 95% group. This is true for every major area of life.

CR 17. Faith and Realism

Uncertainty x Desire (to have a belief) --> Choice --> Faith --> Belief
Faith (or Will, if you prefer) is involved in all beliefs that incorporate trust, love, or hope.
Realism is statement D from Homework 3

CR 16. Reason and Rationalism

Idea (Premise) x Logic --> Argument --> Reason --> Belief
Rationalism is statement B from homework 3.

CR 15. Experience and Empiricism

Event x Perception --> Memory --> Experience --> Belief
Empiricism is statement C from Homework 3.

CR 14. Programming and Relativism

Input x Repetition --> Environment --> Programming --> Belief
Relativism is statement A from Homework 3

Homework 4 (Due 6/8 by 5:00 PM)

Part 1
1. For each of the following big areas of life, For each of the six categories, define what a 1 and a 10 mean to you, 10 being your ideal goal and 1 being the opposite. For example: Money 10 might mean earning 1 million dollars a year and Money 1 might mean having no money left over at the end of the month after bills are paid. But the key is it’s your definition.

Mental—Thinking ability, knowledge, mental attitude, etc.
Physical—Health, strength, agility, etc.
Spiritual—Faith, relationship with God, knowledge of scripture, etc.
Financial—Security, income, net worth, etc.
Family—Parenting, children, dating/spousal relationship, family happiness, etc.
Social—Friends, civic involvement, communication skill, etc.

2. For each category, evaluate yourself on your scale. Where are you between a 1 and a 10 right now?
3. Think of the five people you spend time with or take advice from the most. (e.g. brother, pastor, best friend.)
4. Make a chart with their names down the left side and the six categories across the top.
5. Now, for each category, evaluate each of your associates/friends/relatives on your scale of 1 to 10 based on where they are right now. How are they doing compared with what you want in your own life?

Part 2
Evaluate the morality of the following behaviors.
1=terrible 2=wrong 3=neutral 4=good 5=excellent
Note: You do not have to give reasons, just rank them.
1. Feeding a homeless person.
2. Taking a pen from work.
3. Rape.
4. Premarital sex.
5. Having an abortion.
6. Smoking marijuana.
7. Reading the Bible.
8. Drinking alcohol.
9. Smoking a cigarette.
10. Exercising.
11. Complimenting someone.
12. Providing for your family.
13. Watching television for fun.
14. Going to a baseball game.
15. Donating blood.
16. Robbing a liquor store.
17. Purchasing pornography.
18. Volunteering at a soup kitchen.
19. Being rude to a stranger.
20. Not picking up a hitch-hiker.
21. Paying your taxes.
22. Speeding.
23. Parking in a no-parking zone.
24. Letting someone pull out in front of you.
25. Eating ice cream.
26. Carrying someone’s groceries for him.

Part 3
Answer the following questions as best as you can:
1. Is it possible to be immoral to God?
2. Can something which does not hurt anyone still be immoral?
3. Is it possible to be immoral to a rock?
4. What does it mean to be tolerant?
5. Are there any people or ideas toward which you should be intolerant?
6. Should we be tolerant of intolerant people?