Reductionism

The Connectionism Theory of Learning was introduced by a prominent psychologist, Edward Thorndike. His theory was based on creating stimuli that would generate responses, and called these bonds the stimuli-response connections. Thorndike wanted to apply his laws to mathematics and other fields for humans, but he began with his puzzle-box studies. Around 1900, he conducted a series of experiments where he placed a hungry cat in puzzle box with food outside the cage. The cage could be opened by a…

A notable number of modern thinkers specifically reprimanded the "human-centric" perspective that people are extraordinary, moreover, made in the image of God. In the nineteenth and mid twentieth century the popular German Darwinist Ernst Haeckel, for instance, impacted Christianity by advancing an "anthropocentric" and dualistic perspective of humanity. Today the acclaimed bioethicist Peter Singer, alongside the agnostic Darwinian scientist Richard Dawkins, contend that, in view of the…

Religion is not a word that could be defined by one strict meaning. It is, in a sense, limitless. The terminology can be applied to sports, “Football is my religion”. It can be something someone does routinely, “I religiously go to visit my parents”. Yet the most common practice of the word religion typically deals with a set of beliefs, regarding after life, gods, and how your time on earth should be spent. People desperately try to define religion. Reason being, simply because people want…

If the ‘history from below’ of subaltern studies aims at this rereading ‘against the grain’ of the colonial (and postcolonial) history of India by highlighting the ‘daily forms of resistance’, it suggests above all a ‘redefinition’ of the archive itself: wherever the traditional archive is insufficient (particularly concerning women’s history), recourse to ‘different’ sources in which the ‘subaltern voice’ can be heard is necessary. It is through the alternative that feminist history is…

After reading Edward Said’s Orientalism, I understand why his piece has created such a visible legacy not only at Columbia but across academia. His ideas are revolutionary, striking at the foundations of academic institutions all over the world. As an individual, studying Islam and the Middle East of which my interests include Sufism, Sectarianism, and Fundamentalism, I am the product of orientalism, no doubt. As a member of this new generation of orientalists, however, what exactly is my…

Medical conditions are scary and the conditions are even more devastating when it is your loved one that is given the diagnosis. Several emotions flood the mind at the exact moment the news is disclosed to the family. Recently, a 48 year old, female that was considered to be a beloved mother, wife, and daughter, was diagnosed with a rare medical condition known as Pulmonary Hypertension which affects the pressures in the heart and lungs. The disease had been misdiagnosed over a year before a…

PHIL 226 Final Part A: Utilitarianism Utilitarianism judges the moral worth of an action in the amount of utility the action will create. Utility is an abstract measure which is hard to pin down. Some branches consider the utility of an act to be the amount of pleasure that act will create whereas others use terms such as “happiness” or “benefit”. Mill allowed for a personal definition of utility to attempt to introduce flexibility that was not present in the previous more Hedonic iterations…

In this ever changing world it is not uncommon to see so many worldviews on religion. It's stated in Hebrews 13:8 "that Jesus is the same yesterday today and for ever more". This cannot be said for many that claim to be Christian. In saying this take a look at Postmodemism, which has become a way of denying the absolute truth. As such this way of thinking cause great concern as it denies ultimate reality, at the same time it fails to honor God as the ultimate source of creation. Everyone…

Piaget and Vygotsky: Similar Differences People recognize that Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are two of the most influential thinkers in the world of developmental psychology. These two theorists are similar in several ways, but are also different in at least one key area that may not be obvious when generally studied (Lourenço, 2012, p. 282). It is important for educators to compare the philosophies of both Piaget and Vygotsky in order to become familiar with how children develop so that their…

In a way, framing is what constructs social reality. However, some people believe it neglects systematic empirical studies, has descriptive bias, reductionism, and monolithic tendencies (Benford, 1997). Regardless, this theory is useful to public relations professionals for multiple reasons. An article titled “Framing Political Public Relations: Measuring of Political Communication Strategies in Germany”…