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Chelsie Brewer

PHI 181

Test 1

03/07/2014

1) Philosophy is often confused with other disciplines, techniques, and skills.Philosophy is essentially a way of thinking about thinking or a way of evaluating logic using

reason.

Philosophy is a discipline of study; it is a collection of countless theories and

ideas about the way the world is perceived. There have been prominent philosophers, according

to Watts thinkers whose thoughts and ideas have been recorded and studied. This is a reason

why philosophy is often confused with religion, because theology is essentially a study of beliefs

and ideas of those in the past about how the world should be perceived. The key differences

between philosophy and religion are excellently expanded on by Watts, who refers to prominent

theologians as leaders. The leaders of religion put forth customs and practices that they

expect people to follow to achieve and end result. The thinkers of philosophy simply put forth

ideas that they hope will assist in the expansion of the minds of others.

Philosophy is a logical thinking method, which can often be lead awry by basing

the logic on incorrect grounds. An example of this would be a person making the logical

assumption if they love me, then they will not hurt me. Since philosophy is technically a

methodical technique of thinking, it is often compared to science, when there is a larger contrast

that should be analyzed. Science has very set and concrete procedures to be followed, and has

its largest focus on accuracy and precision.

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Philosophy is a common collection that often goes against traditional thinking, in order to

allow people to attain certain perceptions of the world. However, due to its elastic nature,

philosophy can be whatever the person wants it to be. So essentially everyone identifies with his

or her own version of philosophy. So from that reasoning, a person could deduce that philosophy

is not actually philosophy, but a giant intangible ambiance that is constantly shifting with each

new thought that is added to its atmosphere.

2) The western culture assumes that nature and humankind are separate entities. Dueto the separation, nature to us, has become a world strangely alien

1. Western culture also has a

primary need for control and direct influence on events. Western culture subconsciously pushes

against the natural order of things, instead of just letting them happen. This is a result of the need

that westerners feel to be dominant over the natural and to rule versus coexisting. Science sees

the world as a puzzle to be unraveled, a domain to be conquered.

In chapter one of Man Nature and Woman Watts discusses urbanism and paganism.

Urbanism is referred to as Christianity, in the early Roman Empire, and paganism refers to the

country-dwellers who worshipped alternatively to the Christians. Christianity first thrived in

the cities, and according to Watts, this lead to the invention of the indoor mass. This further

illustrates the separation from nature that Watts attributes to the natural world. Worship is almost

always indoors in Christianity, which is the major religion of the Western world. I agree with

Watts in the sense that mass being held indoors definitely widens the gap between the Western

man and nature. If Christians believe that God created everything, and beautifully, then

humankind should reasonably be at one with the natural world.

3) Watts states in many ways that the Western world has a distinct mental separation from

nature. He also goes into detail about how the Eastern world is much more in touch with the

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world around us. Watts uses the specific example of Eastern versus Western art. Eastern art

almost never uses straight lines; curves are more representative of nature. That is why Eastern

Christians have trouble drawing the crucifix, because the straight lines are necessary. In the

Taoist eastern culture, nature is not considered in a theoretical or logical way at all. In the Taoist

culture, nature is considered to be in unison with man as a whole.