Curious Mammal

If one is to take the ideas of postmodernism to a point then one will discover that we are dumber than we should be. Absolutisms and worldviews are all reflections of the reality "out there". They all are narratives that tell a story one way or another. Christianity, Science, Judaism, Taoism, Buddhism, Atheism, Islam, and others are all just stories trying to explain objective truth through a subjective medium, which ends up being impossible. However, these stories aren't useless, they are in fact very useful. They are based on reality and therefore reflect something "out there" even though they can't actually define what is "out there". I come to the point now that religions throughout the world are shrinking. Pluralism in America and the world abroad is getting smaller. In fact just by our being here we are standing, quite literally, on the graves of many people who practiced religion in a way that doesn't exist anymore. Early American Tribes

These are some early themes and bullet points about American Religious History. Just as American identity can be defined as an aversion to dominant power centers, relying on self-reliance and individuality, so can this be aligned with an anti-conformity to dominant religions. Whereas dissent can mean different lifestyles and goals, so can it mean different religions, sects, practices. This is a unique aspect of "Americanness" and should not be discounted. Statistics of religious activity do not measure fierce dedication. By quantifying religious activity with numbers one does not get an accurate assessment of religious activity in America. In the voluntary system competition between churches helps define goals, values, and identity, as well as differences. It also leads to a ranking within the country. Identification with religious insiders and outsiders helps define roles within society and with each other. The implementation of voluntary churches in America (not havi

Every philosophy of society begins with an idea of human nature. Are we good? Bad? Evil? Perverted? What is it? This concept is the foundation of all major philosophies that have ever existed. Lao Tzu used the metaphor that we were a glorious mountain, good in nature, but that the growth of society ( i.e. tress, buildings, etc) covered our deeper nature, made us look evil. Hobbesian thought picked us as a weak and childish race that needed to be governed by a strong father, or a strong monarchy. This thought justified the better part of our history. Only recently have we broken away from this thought and have deemed human nature to be neither good nor bad but "the best that we can get." Given enough space and left alone to our devices, we will figure it out on our own. This type of thought is what has led to our present system of Capitalism. The philosophy that underpins our present "natural" order is one that stems from John Locke and Adam Smith. Both believed that

Definitions for the West: "West is most commonly a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography." "the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America" "the region of the United States lying to the west of the Mississippi River" "a location in the western part of a country, region, or city" "the West originated in the northern and eastern Mediterranean with ancient Greece and ancient Rome . Over time, their associated empires grew first to the east and south, conquering and absorbing many older great civilizations; later, they grew to the north and west to include Western Europe ." "The exact scope of the West is somewhat subjective in nature, depending on whether cultural, economic, spiritual or political criteria are employed." In regards to the American West there really is no consensus on a place, region, state of mind, or exact end of the West. Some put

Indian Imagining It was widely thought, for a long time, that Native Americans were a static bunch. Whites viewed them as living in a permanent primitive state, not changing their culture, not advancing socially, or innovating and using their environment in any useful form, besides ancient traditions. To the contrary, Indians were some of the most ambitious and imaginative people in the West. Their adaptive ability to new technology and willingness to uproot their entire lifestyle shows how really imaginative they really are. But like all imagination there were many unseen consequences to their actions. Below are several different adaptations and their unseen consequences. Horses- Centuries before Americans would sweep through the plains, Native Americans saw the introduction of horses with great imagination and awe. They immediately saw the usefulness of such a tamed beast and went to work immediately. They were able to use the fuel source of the plains, grasses,

The discoveries of gold along the Eastern Rockies had four major impacts that would reshape the United States. Earlier settlement was sporadic and temporary at best. If someone settled it usually was a singular act and one that didn't have tremendous impact on surrounding vegetation or peoples; and it certainly didn't have any impact back east. However, when verified gold deposits were found it didn't take long to get the attention of others abroad. Those discoveries had four major consequences. One No one was going anywhere. If I put an advertisement on craigslist for free gold, found in my backyard, not only would I have half of San Diego at my house, but they wouldn't be leaving any time soon, especially if it was true. No, once gold was found whites weren't going anywhere. The belief in riches, especially during an economic downturn, ensured that whites were here to stay. Two With confirmed white settlement the nature of the operations and activities wer

It is well documented, and has been recklessly portrayed, that Americans clashed with violent Native Americans and triumphed. Though recent scholarship has painted the American- Indian encounters more truthfully (i.e. Indian slaughter, misleading peace accords, etc) they still fail to point out the events that led to such encounters. The initial story, however mundane, is one of a failing culture, unable to adapt to quickly changing conditions, losing a way of life that served them well for many centuries. With no good options to resort to Native Americans, whether violent or passive in later years, met the same end eventually. Native Americans adopted the use of horses when they were first introduced to them by Europeans. Immediately seeing the potential of the animals, the power they possessed and could access, Native Americans used their power to conquer the plains. Using horses allowed Indians to cover greater distances, see approaching enemies and game in the tall plains grass

"Where a new invention promises to be useful, it ought to be tried." - Thomas Jefferson I don't think anything exemplifies our culture's belief (mania) in progress, modernization, and innovation than new inventions. We have become war-torn veterans of innovation, each of us with a wary eye on things that work vs. things that say they work. Today, we have people selling products that making things either more complicated than they need to be or just down right useless. See video. We may see these products and laugh now, obviously we are well equipped to deal with the absurdity of their messages, but in the ea rly days of our countries inception, with a reimagining of the American landscape, it may not have been so easy to distinguish between a worthy product and, let's say, crap. Perhaps, the faith in these new inventions proves that people were optimistic and willing to view t

"Objectivity does not require taking God's perspective, which is impossible." -Mark Johnson Early scientists and social scientists thought that they could discover the world as it really was. By adhering to strict standards and methods they thought that they could unearth facts without any doubt as to the validity of the results. Today, we know that social and cultural baggage cannot be excluded or dismissed. The results that our scientists come up with are bound not only linguistically to a culture, but also the philosophy backing the pursuit of truth is culturally bound. We are in fact unable to see reality "as it really is". But this is not the end of the discussion, but rather the beginning. The realization of our limitations only gives us a clearer view of what it is we know and how it relates to us, others, and the world as it stands. It comes to this point

The frontier in North America is the consummate example of the potential of human envisioning. Though the frontier never truly existed in the sense most people view it, a clear border between wild untamed lands and civilization, it does give us an excellent view of the power of human imagination. Though ideas don't guarantee success they do spur movement and with an ocean separating thousands of years of divergent developing peoples, the effects of change were drastic on the frontier. Just as people came to dominate the plains when first arriving across the Bering land bridge, so did Europeans when traveling across the Atlantic Ocean. "The place, its resources, its alignment of peoples, and especially of timing of the frontiers' arrival made for a volatile combination." -Elliot West Forces outside of ourselves can shape our lives. Events, peoples, things outside of our perception and knowledge can shape our decisions before we even make them. The fact th

Three main metanarratives, grand schemes for interpreting and writing history, of modern history are: 1. The heroic model of progress due to scientific thinking 2. The development of America as a nation 3. The ideas of modernism. Each of these three have influenced how we learn, what we learn, and how we view ourselves and others. Postmodernists reject all three of these as fictions created by Western thinking, among all other labels including being called postmodernists. In their view, all "truth" arrived at is a mirror of the real world and cannot be seen as reality in the true sense. Though some argue whether language is at fault, due to its nature, or if simply living within the context of culture prevents us from ever dealing with reality most postmodernists see the creation of narratives as truthseeking. Practical realists look at these narratives as a reflection of the real world due to the fact that even though we are not dealing with direct reality we ar

Perceived: Everything that an animal is aware of in its environment. Effective: Everything that actually influences that animal and everything the animal affects. These two terms help us understand many things about our world and our view of the world. It gives us insight into what is real and what is imaginary. It showcases what we may think is really happening and what is actually happening in any given situation. A discussion on these two terms and how they interrelate with one another is important in regards to understanding why people act as they do, how they may be misinformed, how that may lead to false conclusions, and what consequences arise out of action. Most of us perceive what we hope is reality. We see the sky and the ground, other people around us, night and day and we see how these things affect us. This is the perceived world. Sometimes we see things that are not there. Just turn on any sporting match and you will see a clear example of what this means. The refer

-On the plains people of America "In the heart and centre of this great and powerful republic, and in the middle of the Nineteenth Century, there exists a nation of barbarians, living in the hunter state, among whom the use of the plough and hoe is unknown, and to whom the word of God is not preached. Why?" - Thomas Twiss (1856) In reading about the roots of our culture and the ideas of progress and innovation as a mainstay in our mindset, I thought it would be advantageous to highlight the other side of the coin. Early historians and some people today still feel that Americans are unique and special. Our history proves that as we formed a unique and vibrant nation on the ideals of the Enlightenment. But our culture of progress, heroic science, and democracy is just one culture among many. It goes unnoticed and taken for granted that the ideas of self-reliance, innovation, and progress are not universal and that they are in fact fallible. In reading about the frontier

Besides being interesting fodder for the 24 hour news cycle, why are we so intrigued with American born cults? An opposing culture within our society, cults obviously stand out in our communities, but what is really at issue here, and what does it say not about them, but about us? The major values and tenets of our CULTure are the ideas of self-reliance, liberty, freedom, equality, and individualism. We all know the American dream or some story related to it. We see it in our daily news, our sports, our politics. These values, supposedly shaped our nation at its outset, breaking free from tyranny and oppression. It shaped our industrial base and our "wild west". It shapes our entrepreneurship today and is a major force in our daily lives and decision-making. It is the philosophical underpinning on which this nation views itself as savior, not foe. Progress drives this nation forward. In the case of cults, within America, why don't these ideals apply to them? If we s

The legacy of the Scientific Revolution has had a tremendous impact on our culture, perhaps even greater than that of Europe. In creating a national identity out of the ideals of the Enlightenment we deemed ourselves the bearers of those ideals. Our founders, early historians, and others shaped public opinion and sentiment to convince ourselves of our own self-righteousness. Our declarations and constitutions reflect the desire to put the ideals of the Enlightenment into action; in order to form a cohesive union we needed to convince ourselves of our connection, even among many different religions, cultures, and backgrounds. To date, the ideas of progress, liberty and equality, both more in conflict that in cooperation, and those of self-reliance, and innovation have led us to believe in another absolutism. The ideals and ideas of the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution, respectively, have taken the place of the absolute belief in God and religion, we have traded the beliefs of the

First check out this video on the Kindle 2 to get an idea for what it is capable of: Now I know most people aren't too hot on the idea of giving up on their books for an electronic book, but lets consider a couple of things. As an educator I am well aware of the disconnect between the classroom and the world outside. Not only are our social structures outdated but they are woefully under prepared to meet the needs of a dynamic student body. I remember once watching a video on the French Revolution with a class and watched as they and I both lamented at the prospect of watching a video for 45 minutes with information that they could just have easily accessed on the internet and in a fraction of the time. Our schools need to reflect the changing world around us. With the advent of technology we can imagine a classroom that includes students connecting to different sources of information instantly, posing and answering questions immediately, cross-checking different sources wire

This post was originally going to touch on the differences between Teaching History vs. Practicing History. But as I began writing I realized that there is very little to distinguish between the two as both require the elements below to be considered good History. Teaching History only differs in that the Professor is not employing literary skill but, and perhaps more difficult, verbal and organizational skill. Adding this social element to presenting History in an interesting manner while maintaining the interest of your student body is a worthy subject for another post, especially in light of our present battle with shortened attention spans and a spectacular media. The art of teaching History is one that needs to treat the subject with reverence and caution in light of overstatement of truth and boring students to death with seemingly useless facts. In light of the social aspect of History a teacher must accentuate the lessons of History, adding insight and relevance, while cautioni

The theory that is involved in science and history is not the type where they are set in stone, but rather that which are open to refutation, verifica tion, and modification. All hypotheses are subject to revision in light of this thinking. The question whether History can be considered akin to science as a legitimate pursuit of knowledge must be addressed in order to truly understand the discipline of history, its methods, flaws, and complexities. This five part blog will focus on the issues surrounding this discussion. 2. History has no lessons The argument that History can provide no verifiable lessons or generalizations about the world has been the cornerstone of any argument in favor of denouncing History as a scientific discipline. Of course, it is correct that History and the humble historian cannot predict the future. We do not know when the next revolution will occur. We do not know when the financial collapse will hit rock bottom. This realization does not, however, st

One: The Scientific This aspect deals with the collecting and weighing of facts. We are talking about what happened in an individual manner. This is the necessary function of History. Without this we are shooting in the dark. Though the historian chooses the facts, interprets the stories, and comes to a conclusion based on comparative and regressive methods, one can be assured, to a high degree, that these chosen facts and events are valid. Two: The Speculative It is impossible not to separate things when discussing matters of the world and material universe. In doing so we create a cosmos that is intelligible to us. History is no different. Upon creating the framework of a history one differentiates and classifies certain aspects of the world (i.e. classes, nations, time periods, revolutions, political movements, land masses, elements, etc). These constructs help us navigate and come to a greater understanding of the world around us. Just as words help us explain the greater tru

Historiography, or the history of History and it methods, is an essential piece of a great puzzle. If one is to take a page from the relativists notebook, History is an ever changing animal, one that is not objective but subjective to both the historian and the present. Given this point of view, the student of History must understand their particular point in time. Historiography is the light that illuminates this aspect of the art. In a more direct matter, students can learn that the fact that they are even privy to History as a subject matter has not always been the case in history. History, for the better part of its existence was a grooming tool for kings, politicians, and despots. It never penetrated through the walls of governance to the masses. More so, its subject matter reflected the patrons it serviced and dealt mainly with political and constitutional maneuverings. Only after the Enlightenment and "Age of Reason" did the laymen become interested in historical stu

"A society without memory, recollection, and self-knowledge would be set adrift." - Arthur Marwick I often had this question posed to me many times while teaching... "I don't care about History why should I care?" In all my pleadings that it is important to know where you came from, that one can learn more about the world around them, and that one can live many lives through books and histories, I never thought of the societal answer, or the social function of History. I should have included the aspect that we are a complex race of beings and in that complexity we want to learn just exactly what we are, what we are doing, and how do we manifest those thoughts and emotions in our world. Because without it, we are just like the society postulated above: without memory, recollection and self-knowledge. What a scary thing that is.

The theory that is involved in science and history is not the type where they are set in stone, but rather that which are open to refutation, verifica tion, and modification. All hypotheses are subject to revision in light of this thinking. The question whether History can be considered akin to science as a legitimate pursuit of knowledge must be addressed in order to truly understand the discipline of history, its methods, flaws, and complexities. This five part blog will focus on the issues surrounding this discussion. 1. History deals with the unique, Science deals with the general History has changed over time. The way we learn history today and the aspects we focus on differ from those long ago. In its inception history was a form of record-keeping, an annalistic tool used to chronicle one war after another; during the 19th century history was preoccupied with Kings and Kingdoms and the rule of leaders. During these periods history would fit the prescription above, dealing w

"If History is worth studying at all, such study should be firmly integrated with teaching in the nature, methods, and purposes of History, regarded not simply as a set of background assumptions, but as something fundamental to any intelligent discussion of History at any level." - Arthur Marwick I think there is this assumption that anyone can DO History. That since it is feasible for someone to simply read a couple of books about a subject they can say that they know what it means to teach and practice the discipline. Especially in our classrooms, the student must first learn the methods, practices, and complexities involved in approaching History, just as one does before starting any serious chemistry or physics class. This approach must be infused into teaching the subject matter, else we run the risk of provoking the question: Who Cares?!? Students should learn the basic principals of History along with any specific subject matter. Historiography should not be re