Our next class will be Sunday, January 5.
(No class the next two weeks. Enjoy your Christmas break!)
Last time:
We began with a brief discussion of the question the students were asked to consider for last time's homework.
We then continued to the main topic, Truth -- what it is, why it matters, and how we can arrive at it. In the P&C class, we will be considering arguments from a philosophical point of view, i.e. looking at evidence in a logical way to arrive at the truth, rather than using opinions or beliefs.
Truth means agreement with reality: to say of what is, that it is, and of what is not, that it is not. There are two kinds of truth: subjective (changes with the person perceiving) and objective (independent of the perceiver). Objective truths can further be classified as either self-evident or factual truths.
Relativism holds that there is no objective truth; however, it is self-defeating since it is essentially the claim that: The objective truth is that there is no objective truth. Nevertheless, relativism remains very popular in today's secular culture, especially in regard to ethical or moral truths.
Four tools for discovering objective moral truths are: common understanding, reason, conscience, and revelation. Students filled in the "Truth Notes" worksheet with more details on these.
We then went to the "Triple Entry Journal - Euthanasia" handout and brainstormed good responses to common pro-euthanasia / pro-assisted suicide arguments based on the 6 Principles of Happiness. One key point is to always distinguish that we are not talking about whether it should be legal to kill oneself but about whether it should be legal for other people to decide that someone's life is no longer worth protecting and help him commit suicide or actively kill him.
During our discussion, two students shared about a video they had watched, in which a man tells his story of instant regret after jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Suicide prevention expert Robert Olson writes that, "It is chilling and illuminating when the attempt survivors all state during separate interviews that they regretted their suicidal decision." In the resources post for this class, I've linked the video as well as an article with more details.
Homework:
- Read through the Truth Quotes on the back of the Truth Notes class handout. Mark the ones you like the best, and explain why you like them.
- Consider our responses to the pro-euthansia arguments on the Triple Entry Journal worksheet, and write your thoughts in the "My Thoughts" column.
If you missed the class or want to review, please use the resources post at the class blog to flesh out the summary above. Since we are beginning a long break, I'm emailing the class worksheets for those who missed class. I do have answer keys if you get stuck. :-)
Class schedule:
The complete schedule is pinned at the top of the class blog.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
A blessed Advent and a very merry Christmas to you all!
Suchi / Mrs. Myjak