Discussion questions.

Philosophy

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck believed that physical diversity among animals could be explained by physical stressors experienced by one generation being passed on to the next. Giraffes, therefore, have long necks because one giraffe, a long time ago, had to stretch out and reach for food, and this characteristic was passed on to its offspring.

1.What are the problems with Lamarck’s theory of evolution?

 

Class, as many times before, we are introduced to an idea that may be in direct conflict with our beliefs. However, we are not asked to discuss our beliefs in responding to the question.

Even to this day, many people prefer to reject Darwinian evolution and they may never have heard about Lamarck. For such person, it may be tempting to talk about their beliefs.

While there is a time and place to exchange ideas about beliefs, here, you need to focus on the structure of the provided argument and respond in light of premises, facts, and logic.

2. Why is it so important not to jump into an exchange of beliefs when we analyze arguments?

 

 

Many of us have not been trained to put out beliefs and opinions aside. In this class, we are learning the fundamentals of doing just that.

3.How do you think this will benefit you in future classes?

 

For centuries, astronomers could not explain the strange path by which the planet Mercury orbited the sun. Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier theorized in 1859 that Mercury’s strange orbit was the result of another planet interfering with the gravitational pull of the sun. Le Verrier named this other planet Vulcan.

4 Research the history of Vulcan to explain how its existence was tested and finally disproved.

Class, you have had previous situation where you were asked to conduct research.

Let us think about how and where you can find the facts that you need to respond to this question:

5. What requirements does a source have to meet before you can use it as support of an academic argument?
How do you evaluate sources?

 

 

Class, Stefanie leads us to a very important discussion.
The most typical web extensions are
.com
.net
.org
.gov
.edu

6. What do these extensions mean and what kind of information can we expect to find under each extension.
Which of those offer reliable information that might be suitable to support a valid argument?

 

 Sociology

1. What steps do you or your families take to lessen your impact on the environment? What items do you reduce your usage of, recycle back into other products, or reuse for another purpose?

 

2. Also, what might be some key theoretical perspectives we could apply in understanding how we impact our environment, but also, how we can go about repairing it?