Universe Critical Thinkings Samples For Students

Introduction:

We know for sure that the universe exists. This knowledge alone is not able to satisfy the insatiable curiosity in humans. Since the existence of mankind, the quest for further understanding of the origin of the universe has been imprinted into the human genetic code. This curiosity has led to more questions than answers. It has led to us to question the significance and purpose of humans in the universe. This curiosity has also led us to question the role of man in this universe. These questions have exited through time: How was the universe created? Where did it ...

Communication:

My topic of presentation was on the expansion of the universe. The center of my discussion was on the accelerating expansion of the universe and the cosmological implications particularly that at some point in the cosmological timescale, the better part of our universe will be unobservable to us. Our planet (or at least our galaxy since the planet would be long over) will be an isolated lonely place and boring with no cosmology to study. Due to the accelerating expansion, galaxies will at some point be moving apart at a speed possibly faster than that of light, this will get ...

Compare and contrast the Stoic and Aristotelian conceptions of God as the cause of nature.

There are several conceptions devised by various people on God as the cause of nature. The world exists with several compositions including human beings, other living and non-living organisms. Various groups of people have adopted both stoic and Aristotelian conceptions. Stoics believe that nothing passes without explanation. Stoics tend to give an explanation for the existence of everything in life and nature. Stoics believe that an active force exists and that the force is everywhere with matter. The implication is that anything that occupies space and has a weight has got some special type of force. There is a belief in ...

Origins of the Bible and the Universe

Discussions with regards the bible and its capacity to present the real facts about creation and the emergence of the universe has long been questioned by both critics and selected scientists. To some, the story of the bible and how the universe has emerged is too good to be true that everything seemed rather magical than logical for existence. For instance, the six-days of creation seems rather impossible, or at least too miraculous to contain the overall grand creation of matters that have been realized through time. Science basically introduces a more logical pattern of explaining the existence of the ...

Introduction:

The proposed field of research in dark energy has the potential of creating vast amounts of clean energy for humankind. However, the proposals are still in the preliminary stages, and there are debates about the suitability of having carrying out the research. The proponents seek to expand the existing body of knowledge with the aim of opening up further applications and hence justifying the initial costs and faith put on them. The proposal, along with its implications, has some advantages and disadvantages. Research into dark matter would serve to satisfy Intellectual curiosity. People are curious about the properties of ...

(Student’s Full Name)

“A man said to the universe: ‘Sir, I exist!’ ‘However,’ replied the universe, ‘The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.’”—Stephen Crane
The above quote made by Stephen Crane highlights the personal philosophy which Crane had concerning nature or “the universe,” which may appear at have a certain detachment concerning its relationship with humans. This point is further emphasized by Harold Bloom's introduction in the critical work entitled, Stephen Crane in the following: “[Stephen Crane's] mode wasrenderedwith a meticulous nihilism, a deep sense of the meaninglessness of life except for what could be converted ...

The definition of humans in the past was greatly majored on the ape-like features that made their separation between humans and the apes difficult. In this case, human’s beings were defined as archaic humans with lower brain capacity. However, apart from the characteristics provided, there was no any single accepted definition of human beings. Therefore, there were no adequate definitions. Currently, the term human being refers to the only extant species of the genus Homo. Homo sapiens refer to the anatomically modern man who evolved from the archaic human beings. -What are the characteristics of a civilization? How do ...

The argument on whether God does exist is one that has been debated by many people for a long time; philosophers on their part have based their assertions on theistic proof on rationality and logic. Some religious groups argue that this debate cannot be decided by logic alone but rather some faith is needed to understand God’s existence. However, that is not always the case; philosophers like Descartes, who is considered the father of modern day philosophy, were able to give theistic proof using valid philosophical arguments. It is hence interesting to try and answer the question of whether ...

Philosophy is an interesting discipline as it tries to find answers to several challenging aspects of man and the processes of nature. Since time immemorial, man has been in a quest to find the self and understand the surrounding in which they reside. In the West, realism and romanticism were two competing cultural thoughts and artistic styles aimed at communicating the interactions/relationships between mankind and nature. Romantics associated with Plato emphasized on individual heroic achievement, power of emotions and mysticism dominating the European intellectual life while realists associated with Aristotle focused art and literature to more tangible matters with the ...

Primitive people believed in various sorts of deities to help them in their daily tasks; the ancient Hittites, Egyptians, Greeks, and the Babylonians worshipped many gods and goddesses to help them win wars, good harvest, as well as to ensure the safety of the whole empire. Because these societies lack the modern knowledge regarding scientific beliefs, religion played a very important role in shaping the society. Even today, interesting artifacts gathered from recent excavations were discovered by archaeologists of the modern times. These reliefs from the past told scholars about the power and influence of the priests (in Hittite, kings ...

Introduction

Knowledge is defined as the accurate understanding or acquaintance with areas of human survival. The more advanced understandings we have with on environment represent our improved survival. Humans traditionally gain knowledge through two sources. The first is through books. Books have always been the elementary source of knowledge from a very tender age. Children are not the only a group that use books or other written sources to gain knowledge but also adults.
Despite the fact that books are very informative, experience is also another vital source of knowledge for humans. Experience is very vital as it uses real situations ...

As exposed by Sagan, the traditional solipsism that humans are used to exhibit when describing themselves and their position in the universe, is not sustainable . Humans have gradually stopped believing they were the center of the universe and the summit of all creation, and started being displaced until becoming just inhabitants of an insignificant part of the periphery of the galactic neighborhood.
Apparition of life on earth appears to be miraculous, but in fact is more common and resilient than most like to think it is. Most of the species that have existed on earth have become extinct , ...

Critiquing the paper analyzing impact of Orff’s musical learning approach on spatial-temporal reasoning in children

The soothing effect of music on the human mind is by now well established. Music, from ancient times, has been accorded a high degree of respect in the socio-cultural context of human existence, being seen alternatively as a link that binds humanity to the divine or as‘food of love’ in literature and so on. The claim that music instruction has an impact on the cognitive abilities of human beings, since early childhood, is more recent and is still being analyzed by various researchers.
According to French researcher Alfred Tomatis, listening to music helped healing and development of the brain. ...

Philosophy:

Introduction
In the contexts of the three highlighted articles, they all focus on the various societal norms that should be followed by the individuals and the general relationship with the divine creature who is god. Robert c. Mortimer’s article on “the divine command theory and relativism” and “morality is based on god's commands” highlights the individual moral ethics in relation to god divine interventions to the matter. “A defense of ethical relativism” by Ruth Benedict argues that morality is ultimately tied up to the socially approved customs. And “morality without God” by john Arthur argues that morality ...

Indigenous ways of knowing (epistemology) refer to the contextualization of knowledge that has over the years been adhered to by indigenous people (Shawn, 2008). Various aspects in the universe such as reflection, listening, experience and protocol as they concern relations of beings (ontology) formed the basis of knowledge building. Though at times dismissed as childlike and primitive, indigenous ways of knowing are complex systems vital to the sustenance of humankind. This epistemology fostered harmony in the community by nurturing synergy of key universal elements such as land, kin, place, law, language and story. Indigenous ways of learning continue to ...

Task:

In the Carl Sagan novel, Contact, we encounter a young woman character by the name, Ellie Arroway. In the beginning, of the novel we find Ellie questioning whether there was a possibility of teaching the ants about the alphabet. This became the genesis about discussion on the Great Chain of Beijing. This gives an opportunity for the introduction to the role of a young human as a learner and one who utilize knowledge and experiences (Sagan 30). Ellie does not consider herself as a theist and or atheist. She is agnostic. As the main character with another character prepares the audience for Sagan’s ...

Mid Term Exam

Discuss the impact of the theories of Immanuel Kant, Charles Darwin and Jean-Paul Sartre on modernity.

Jean-Paul Sartre was flourished in Existentialism. He believed that a man acts in his free will in the society and time in which he lives. This philosophy inspired others to acknowledge their own free thinking and live the life they believed in. It broke the cookie cutter of what people were otherwise programmed to be and motivated others to break free in essence of their true self. It’s the true quest to fine a purpose in life. Because Jean Paul Sartre wrote and published many of his writings on Existentialism, his readers began to think ...

In his writing, Mark Dowie makes a claim that people essentially are a part of nature. Moreover, he encourages people to realize that and stop labeling an interconnected Universe either as “civilized” or of “wilderness”. For the writing to be comprehensively considered, the audience is required to possess some knowledge on the topic. As the essay enumerates a number of scholars’ and tribes’ names, political statements (such as The Wilderness Act) and tackles the topic of preservation, one may conclude for whom it was written. Thus, the supposed audience are researchers (biologists, anthropologists, ecologists etc.), environmental activists, including politicians ...

The search for truth has always puzzled humanity. Since ancient times, people have sought to know the truth about the world and the many claims being made about everything in the world. For modern scholars and philosophers, the process of determining what is true is an important epistemological process through which human beings develop knowledge. However, there are several competing truth claims in the world such that it is not easy to know if something is true or false. Fortunately, the following steps can be used to determine what is true and what is not.
One of these steps ...

“In knowledge there is always a trade-off between accuracy and simplicity.”

Evaluate this Statement in Relation to Two Areas of Knowledge
In some context, simplicity is a term suggesting ignorance. It is not a way of knowing but a measure of knowledge. Simplicity can also refer to something that is basic or uncomplicated and may affect the way of knowing. Barrow argues that simplicity is a function of perspective. Based on his argument, a physicist might view the world as simple based on his understanding of particles and matter. Physics is a field based largely on reason and his interpretation of the universe as a series of simple algorithms is ...

The concept of human beings going to live on mars permanently can be termed as the colonization of mars (Zubrin, 2011, p.233). The idea was taken lightly in the past. Recently, however, the matter has been taken more seriously with more studies of life survival in mars being done. The Martian environment differs slightly with that of earth and any living organism set to live on mars will encounter these changes which will definitely affect them.
Typically, a solar day in mars is a little bit longer on mars than that of earth. In mars, a solar day lasts for 20 ...

How are Cartesian foundationalism and dualism found in Descartes’ Mediations?

Central to Descartes’ philosophy is the establishment of the philosophical view of foundationalism and dualism. Foundationalism is based on the philosophy that in investigating any ideas or thoughts, one has to go back to the fundamental principles. Descartes believe that in order to test the validity of ideas, one has to start from scratch and work his way up. As stated in Descartes in his ‘Meditations’, “And thus I realized that once in my life I had to raze everything to the ground and begin again from the original foundations, if I wanted to establish anything firm and lasting ...

In his book, Martel is trying to express his views on truth and reason. Through the two different accounts of the survival journey of Pi, Martel tries to explore the nature of truth. In his views truth is greater than reason and sensory capabilities, and sometimes to understand the truth better, one has to go beyond reason and empirical devices. He presents his readers with two stories in order to establish that truth is not all about objective rationality; it is closely linked to how one interprets reality. He unequivocally believes that truth is not always determined by the ...

For many years Socrates was an adorable teacher and a well-known philosopher in Athens. However, one of his speeches had an unexpected result on his career and life. At the age of nearly seventy years Socrates was sent to the prison by a court jury of 501 Athens’ citizens. He was accused in atheism, which was mentioned in one of his speeches. At that time the punishment for such a crime was an execution to death. So, Socrates was sent to the jail to wait for his death.
While the philosopher was in the prison at the small Aegean island of ...

. Published in 1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Experience” explores the plethora of unanswered questions and ample confusion that occurs when man attempts to walk through nature and understand it. “Experience” is directly related to human subjectivity and how people see the world, citing experience as the fundamental facet by which human experience and life itself is measured. Emerson’s primary argument in “Experience” is that we form and shape our own realities through the subjective nature of experience, even when we do not realize it; by embracing the moment, and becoming self-reliant, we can life the most ideal version ...

Human nature in Buddhism refers to the innate or inborn character that human beings possess. It is worth noting that most philosophers and religious thinkers have debated the question of whether the human nature if evil or good. Buddhism religion has various views regarding the nature of human beings. Buddha addressed the issue of human nature directly, especially on issues related to whether humans are essentially evil or good. Buddhism religion asserts that human beings have the potential of doing good. In fact, given an opportunity human beings can lean towards being good and aspects of goodness. Buddhism teaches ...

Introduction: Social Control

Social control entails generally to both the political and societal mechanisms/ processes present, which aid in the regulation of group and individual behavior. This is often in an attempt at gaining both compliance and conformity to the prevailing rules, norms and regulations set, in a given jurisprudence, social grouping or society. In the field of sociology, this is categorized into two core avenues: informal and formal means of social control. The former, pertains to the internalization of various values and norms, through various forms of socio-cultural and religious interactions. The latter, entails the presence of external sanctions, enforceable through policies, ...

- Introduction of the topic of homosexuality
The topic of homosexuality attracts global debate with different institutions taking different stances on the matter. Homosexuality refers to the formal agreement between two people of the same sex to indulge in sexual activities and to a greater extend even live as couples. The so called liberalised institutions argue that there is nothing wrong with that and that the parties involved do it with their consent. Other institutions especially the religious groups sharply criticise this behaviour and condemned the entire act of homosexuality. This, they argue, leads to moral decadence of the ...

The behavior of bodies obeying natural laws hardly varies and particularly always turns out well. It is evident that the behavior of such bodies is not accidental, but designed to behave in such manner. For example, the solar system is such a complex system that we cannot assume to be acting so accidentally, the planets revolve on their own orbits, and at no day will any divert from its path. The theistic proponents of the idea are St. Thomas Aquinas and William Paley. Aquinas asserts that the globe is like an arrow shot from an archer’s bow. Certainly, it ...

“Man is no longer an artist; he has become a work of art: all nature’s artistic power reveals itself here, amidst shivers of intoxication, to the highest, most blissful satisfaction of the primordial unity.” Nietzche'
In reflection to Nietzsche’s existential phrase man feels himself supernatural before the animals and moves with great sublimity and ecstasy they way God appears to him in his dreams. Man can no longer be termed as an artist as he has changed to a work of art. Here Nietzsche indicates that all man’s artistic power are revealed here

When chances come to ...

Arguably, leadership and being a leader are two concepts that are very important in every organization. It does not only entail experience, but also personal attributes that are either induced or natural. The progress of every organization in the world best depend on the type of leadership used, as well as the type of leader. In order to elaborate of how leadership works, there are various theories that have been constituted. In this case, leadership entails the use of various Strategies as well as ethical practices. Moreover, there are models of leadership that are applied in executing leadership, and leaders ...

1. Davis claims that: evil is existent, God is omnipotent and that God is perfectly acceptable. He refuses to consider any other claims that suggest otherwise (Page 69).
2. Davis argues that God’s two main aims in creating the universe are that He first of all wanted to create the best universe he could. This was aimed at bringing a balance of morality and natural goodness over the moral and natural evil. Secondly, He wanted to create a world dominated by human beings who are rational agents that would love and obey Him. (Page 70).
3. In his ...

Famous Thinkers

Aristotle
Aristotle was one of the greatest thinkers in the field of philosophy and he was the first philosopher to write on systems, which he well comprehended and he could critic anything from pure judgment to literature, societal politics, and even science. He proposed that there are four basic “causes” of reality of existence: the effective cause, which is the initiator of the object; the final cause, which is the role for which an object exists; the structure of the object; and material cause, which is the composition of the object. His work was influenced by the urge ...

The concept of religious pluralism is deceptively simple; it expresses the acceptance of many different religions. However, religious pluralism happens on a spectrum - there are varying degrees by which individuals, clergy, scholars and anyone accepts the validity of other religions. Religious pluralism can be defined as considering the concept that a person's religion does not provide the exclusive truth of the universe, and that other religions are perfectly valid in terms of moral values and certain truths. This has become a very prevalent part of the twenty-first century's stance on religion: "During the last decade or so Western philosophers of religion ...