500words

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Thought Journal 3: The Socratic Method
When having a conversation, many people seem to avoid the topic of death. It is a very controversial topic in which each individual has their own belief, idea, opinions that would prefer to keep to themselves to avoid conflict and/or arguments. This is a phase that is real, that every individual has to go through. Some face death at the most common stage of being old and aging. Some people’s lives are gone in a matter of seconds without notice. Either they are going through an illness, commuting to their next destination via any type of transportation, etc. When a loved one has passed away, people have different ways of grieving and to grope around this tragic situation.
Now in terms of the Holocaust, approximately 11 million people did not occur to them that they were going to die in the way that they did.
ANOTHER SWEEPING GENERALIZATION; DR./SR. EDITH STEIN (IN THIS WEEK’S ESSAY) KNEW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN–AND SO DID THE PRIEST FR. MAXIMILIAN KOLBY.  PEOPLE WERE AWARE OF WHAT THE NAZIS WERE DOING, AND CERTAINLY MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE CAMPS; IF THEY DIDN’T KNOW IN THE BEGINNING, THEY LEARNED QUICKY!  N. 
They were not aware that they were going to be a part of one of the deadliest and most tragic genocide that has occurred in the world’s history still until this day. They were not emotionally nor physically prepared for their last days here on Earth.
There are two different methods that will be discussed, the Scientific Method and the Socratic Method.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, they define scientific method as: “principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment and the formulation and testing of hypotheses”. This method dates back to the twelfth century, during the Renaissance era and has evolved over time with many thinkers who have modified this method. For instance, Isaac Newton, a scientist who refined the process of the scientific method, he was the first to realize that the scientific method needed both induction and deduction. This made a huge mark in the science field and drove this revolution forward.
The second being, the Socratic Method. I recall applying this method in many of the debates we had during my world history class when I was in high school. The professor assigned these type of debates in order for us to engage and critically think about the historic events that got us where we are today. This method is one of the oldest methods in terms of critical thinking and reasoning. There are five parts that make up this logical approach. First, one poses a question about the related topic. Forming an educated hypothesis comes second. The next step, is testing the hypothesis. The fourth step is accepting whether the hypothesis is valid or not. Lastly, concluding with a final statement that sums up all the information that was previously stated.
In regards to the soul’s existence approach, I support this argument in which the socratic method was used. I too, believe that humans have a soul.
CHALLENGE MY ARGUMENT; LOOK FOR HOLES IN MY REASONING; DON’T BEGIN WITH THE PRECONCEPTION THAT WE HAVE A SOUL.  N.
We are all made up of two parts, the body, being ME, the second being our soul, that is distinct from our physical bodies. We are not able to control the involuntary responses our body gives. We are not able to control our heartbeat, the bloodflow throughout our body, what gets sent to our nervous system, etc. For instance, as babies, we are not able to control when we cry or not. That is the body’s immediate reaction to wanting to be fed, changed, or we are just being fussy. Many people believe that we need to perform good deeds on Earth so when we are just a soul, we are rewarded. Every person has their own way of interpreting this. I believe we are all brought into this world for each individual to find their purpose in what makes him/her happy.

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The human body is an exquisite work of art. Nevertheless, it only accounts for a part of the individual. The exclusivity of persons makes it seem as if they are made of more than what meets the eye. What exactly lies underneath? The likeness in our internal organs does not account for this exclusivity. So, what exactly accounts for this exclusivity? The fact that most of the body activities are autonomous and not yet explained also poses a question; who controls my body?
Hypothesis:
I am a “soul.” This is the part of me that reasons and seems to control only a handful of body functions. The body is an entirely different entity enclosing “me” (the soul). Also, I do not create my body which makes me a different part of the puzzle.
Testing:
The separation of body and “Me” as different entities is seen in many instances. The fact that I possess no control over functions of the body such as aging, healing, digestion shows this separation. The process that I have no control over have some order to them indicating a that something else is in control. The mystery behind the anonymous entity pulling strings is worth examining. According to Socrates, that life would then become unworthy since there is no examining it.
The lack of possession of control and knowledge on how the body works also ascertains that the body and “me” are two different entities. Scientist adheres to the scientific method of where information and facts are ascertained by systematic observation, measurement, experimentation, testing and modification of hypothesis. I am only aware of a very small portion of how my body functions. Scientists have not yet found out how our body works the way it works; for instance, why we need sleep, what triggers aging among other questions. However, asking questions that stimulate critical thinking draws ideas of the division of an individual body into two; the physical body and the controlling entity, the “me.”
I always fell as if I am a spectator looking down from big windows. I do have control of some parts even though I do not handle the smallest details. The only time one see their face is in a mirror reflection. I always have an urge to protect this body as if it was a delicate vessel that was entrusted to me. Thus, the need for constant scrutiny in the mirror and the reason we only feel attached to the body when we are looking at it. Do I know that I only get one such vessel and damage to it will impair the soul’s well-being? Then this might mean that my body and “me” are quite different. The soul is the superior of the two entities.
  Nevertheless, there are instances where the body experiences severe trauma which lead to altering of the brain activity. This will often lead to the “me” entity being less efficient. 
This could dispute the fact that we are two different entities or further drive the point home. I believe the “me” entity uses the body as a way to manifest itself. The memory and experiences of the brain are merely projections of the “me” and character, the personality of an individual are the results of this manifestation. Hence if the body is damaged the manifestation of the “me” gets altered. The normal cognitive paths for me are translated differently on to the body.  
The brain is like the central system that connects the body and the soul. Since the soul is responsible for only a portion of the bodies, function the brain allocates a larger part of keeping itself in check. The brains state and function affect the “me” since it is the lifeforce and only starts functioning properly once the body is formed. The lack of control in our creation is a proof that we are essentially different. Hence, the “me” will only work with the current situation. For instance, the feeling of invincibility that a brand-new car gives the owner is what a young body gives the “me.” Hence, the situation your body is in determines the state of your soul. Hence, a good healthy body makes the “me” happy explaining our persistence in health matters et cetera. This means that our souls are responsible for most of the emotions we experience. The body is often at a constant conflict between desire and fear, and the soul is the voice of reason. It often dictates our actions based on the knowledge of the past.
What does this mean for people born with down syndrome or other mental illnesses? What condition is their “me” in? Well, the “me” for such people is still working as it should. The soul cannot be impaired. The “me” only works with the correct conditions of the body. From the above reasoning, we see that the “me” will only manifest itself differently nevertheless it will still be there. The mental functioning of the brain will, therefore, affect the soul’s manifestation on the body. The proof is seen when a person with a mental disorder still has character and a personality.
What does that mean for the patients who are in a persistent vegetative state? Well, this question is one that proves that the soul cannot leave the body without death. The vegetative patient’s body is still alive question remains whether his “me” is still there.
The ability of human beings to have thought about their thoughts is quite a phenomenon. Where do this thoughts stem from? We have already used our brain to think about the initial thought the reasoning or the ability of the thinking about our thoughts is proof that we are complex. The dynamics of thoughts are multidimensional meaning that maybe there is more than the three-dimensional world that we can perceive. The “me” might be an element of another dimension that allows us to reason more critically. The existence of the soul might not have irrefutable proof, but lack of proof does not automatically discredit an idea. It is quite clear that scientists have not discovered everything, for instance, the existence of dreams. What if dreams are our soul’s way of communicating with us? Since these dreams occur involuntarily, one might argue that they stem from the anonymous entity that controls other involuntary processes in the body.
Accept the hypothesis as provisionally true:
The hypothesis that the body and “me” are two different entities seems to be true. Basing on the facts presented this statement is true. I am a soul existing in the confines of flesh.
Act accordingly:
Human beings are essentially made up of two parts the body and the soul. I do possess a soul, and that is what drives many of my actions or lack of it.

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One of the most controversial subjects that have existed for many generations is the theme of human life, death, and immortality. Socrates is one of the pioneers of these theories, and he speaks of the existence of the soul using various arguments, and his last attempt to show that souls existed and are immortal is when he readily drank the poison and died willingly. By doing so, he tried to affirm that a person dies when the soul leaves it and, the soul continues existing eternally. In the text posted, you have posed the question that seeks to find how the body is controlled. This is an essential part to begin with for one to fully understand the soul’s existence and role in the body. Just as stated, when one thinks of this question, the things that come into mind are how the body sometimes works perfectly and involuntarily or becomes sick and eventually ages. From the question, the most valid hypothesis is to indicate that the body is only a vessel that is controlled by the soul, which actually defines a person, you or me. In this regard, I am in total agreement with the hypothesis presented that “I exist independently from my body, because I cannot control it and did not create it, to my conscious knowledge; I am a “soul.” My body is a vessel carrying ME, a “soul.”
            From the video presented on Socrates, it can be contended that the body is different from the soul and it is just a sort of device that harbors the soul. Therefore, it is the soul that is responsible for many controls and functions, most that are beyond our understanding. In the first point (A), one does not usually have direct control over the various body functions such as healing of wounds, sickness, and growing old. This is inarguably true as nobody usually commands the body to heal faster or stop aging. Notably, scientific propositions have been presented to explain how a wound heals using calcium, white blood cells, and subsequent formation of scabs. Additionally, it has been proposed that the nervous system is the group of interconnected elements that direct such functions. Nevertheless, no scientific explanation has been given as to how these systems are governed and initiated by the body. Therefore, this strengthens the argument that there is a separate entity that controls how the other “entity,” which is the body in this case.
BUT COULD WE BE SUBCONSCIOUSLY CONTROLLING THESE MECHANISMS IN OUR BODY?  DO WE CONTROL OTHER SEEMINGLY MYSTERIOUS MECHANISMS, SUCH AS OUR DREAMS?
TRY TO FIND WAYS TO POKE HOLES IN MY ARGUMENT, OKAY?  DON’T AGREE WITH IT.
N.
Despite not being able to control the aforementioned aspects of the body functioning, it is possible that we can be subconsciously influencing them. I do not want to use the term control since it is more absolute and direct. Therefore, the word influence is more suitable in this case. For instance, dreams can be influenced subconsciously by the things that we think of or do most of the time. According to psychologists and sleep experts, it is possible to strategize a dream. It is not always that dreams occur by chance. I am sure that most people have ended up dreaming about events that have recently occurred in their lives and this is because they have put much thought into them. In the same manner, one can strategize a dream by putting thought into a certain subject. Accordingly, it can be argued that one has some degree of influence over the body’s actions that seem uncontrollable. (reply to Professor’s Argument)    
            The next point is with regards to the limited use of the body, in that it does not do what one wishes the majority of times. The human body is one of the most complex creations that contains myriad functions running every second. Surprisingly, one only has limited access to these functions and can only control a few of them. Let us take the basic example of sleep. Many at times, people may want to keep awake and finish up projects or study for some test. However, these wishes or wants may be disrupted by sleep, even if one does not want to sleep at that particular moment. The same happens when one suffers from insomnia. For instance, I have tried to force myself numerous times to sleep with no success, which makes me question how much control I have over my body functions. In order to gain some degree of control over the body, one needs years of training and resilience to adapt to that function, and this control is often very limited. To cite an illustration, many people train for activities such as marathons or runs, and yet only a few people manage to complete them fully. This does not mean that those who failed to finish the race did so intentionally. Therefore, there are numerous things that the body cannot control consciously but are directed separately with the soul.
            The third argument is about looking at the mirror to see one’s face. This is absolutely true because the only way to view my face is to look at the mirror. It should be noted that what people see in the mirrors is actually reflections of their bodies or faces. In most cases these reflections make one feel that the body is a piece of apparatus or equipment that I am operating. Perhaps, this explains why sometimes I try to do arm movements and to try and view how they act. Therefore, this further implies that the body is a separate entity that is mostly controlled involuntarily and voluntarily by ME (soul).
            As already mentioned, the soul is a separate and independent entity from the body. Therefore, when one suffers a brain injury, the soul is not remotely affected since it is essentially a spirit that resides within the body. The only thing that is affected is the channels through which the soul gives commands. When the brain is injured, the central nervous system that is responsible for receiving stimuli in the form of impulses and responding appropriately. Therefore, when one is injured in the brain, the soul does not get affected. The thing is, things like personalities can be altered willingly, and if one grows up in a dangerous environment, it is not a guarantee that they will become negative individuals. The brain does not necessarily house the soul since when one dies, the soul leaves leaving the body intact according to Socrates’s theories.
            Last but not least, people with conditions that impair their mental and physical health such as Down syndrome are only limited to those two places. This means that the ME’s are not impaired mentally, which is true. It is only that the body, including the brain, cannot be functional fully since these conditions impair certain essential pathways and avenues that aid the body to function normally. Therefore, the argument presented that the ME’s of such individuals are not actually impaired, but the brain’s situation limits its mental functionality.
            To sum up, a person is defined by their ME’s (souls), which are then harbored by a body, which acts as a separate entity. I support the argument that I indeed have a soul and a body. The body provides the bone and flesh while the soul is responsible for directing other numerous aspects and functioning that make a body to be human.  

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Do humans truly carry a soul with them? This has been one of the biggest questions that has followed mankind since higher reasoning and thought have been around. The idea of the soul is a complex one because many people do not believe that such an abstract idea can have a large impact on the physical world. Furthermore, there is the knowledge and fact that the human body is a vessel, albeit a weak one that can easily end the idea of the soul within a fatal blow. The reality of the human soul is that it is an abstract idea but one that is profound and can undeniable not be denied.  WHY CAN’T IT BE DENIED? SURELY WE CAN QUESTION ITS EXISTENCE–AND DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO DENY THIS EXISTENCE? N.  Every human has a soul that he or she nurtures or chooses to ignore. The human soul is important in making sure that a person has a concept of who they are. Every action that it taken by a person is through the soul and what they perceive to be correct and what they seek out for pleasure. The soul is indeed a real entity that exist independent from the body that aims to create its own identity away from the body.  YOU SEEM TO BE MAKING A PRECONCEPTION HERE: THE SOUL EXISTS. YOU NEED TO TEST MY ARGUMENT, TRY TO SHOOT HOLES IN IT–LOOK FOR FLAWS. N. 🙂   One of the reason that the body and soul are different is because there is a sense of ME. The technology may not exist yet, but there is perhaps the possibly that humanity can develop a device that can store the consciousness, experience and thoughts of a person. If humanity can ever create a device that acts like a cloud that can store the thoughts and consciousness of a person then it would show that the body is just a vessel and a form of transportation for the ME. The reason that this would be the case is because if a person can take their mind and download it into a CD or system and then transfer it into another body then it shows that the body is really something that does not make us who we are. The body is simply just a transport mechanism that humans have but nothing that we ever truly control. Another reason that the ME exist apart from the body is because the body is always doing things on its own that we have no control over.  STICK WITH MY ARGUMENT (ALTHOUGH I LOVE YOUR IDEAS!). N. 🙂   If we look at the human body then we can see that we are never truly in control of how our bodies are shaped and developed. This reality comes from the time the human body is conceived. When we are conceived the body of the mother can easily reject a zygote and get rid of a baby through a miscarriage. Then the zygote and later fetus can dictate what nutrients it takes and how much it grows and develops during pregnancy. The ME has no real control over how we develop and grow up. The reality of our bodies is that they do whatever they want to do and we have no control over our genes. Yet the benefit of the ME is that we can choose how we see our bodies and react to them. Many people today are conscious of their bodies and self-aware or shamed of their bodies. This is all in the head of a person because in reality we never really see our bodies unless we choose to look in a mirror and examine our flaws to death about our bodies. The ME and our souls can easily choose to look past our bodies, accept it for what the body is and work to ensure that we have a better and more complete life. Another reason that the ME is important is because the ME dictates how we perceive and feel the world around us.   The ME is influential to the human soul because the ME dictates how our actions end up impacting our soul both in a good and bad way. A reality that has come across in recent times is that the actions that we take end up impacting the way that we feel about our own souls and perceptions of ourselves. An example is the way that we can do something such as helping another person out and it will make us feel happy and good for our souls. On the other hand, we can do something that is bad such as not helping another person out or bullying them. These actions can be carried out by the body, but the body cannot take these actions without the ME direction the body to do so. The ME is important because if the ME was not around then the body cannot do many of the actions that satisfy the ME. The body and the ME are separated and the body does what it wants most of the time, but the ME does have sliver of influence on the body but only for actions. The ME is also more impacted by what it perceives and feels more than the damage that the body takes on. An example is how the loss of a family member, friend or even end of a romantic relationship can leave a person damage. This mental and abstract damage can be so impactful that it can even affect the body. This shows the manner in which the ME is really the one that is the most important aspect of the human experience. The ME is what allows humans to really experience the world around them and to make sense of what is occurring to them on a conscious basis.   All humans have a soul. This conclusion comes from the potential of human’s one day being able to transfer over their ME to another body. If this ever occurs then it will show that the body is simply something that exist to carry around the ME. A second reason is that the ME does not have much control over the body but can at least be controlled by the ME to allow the ME to do actions that it will enjoy and learn from. Finally, the ME is more impactful when it comes to directing and moving a body around. The ME is also more impactful when it comes to feeling and perceiving the world. Those that do good will feel happy and satisfied while those that choose to sit and do nothing feel unfilled and not complete.