An important component of the communication process is the channel used to send the message. For example, you would not want to deliver lengthy and complicated technical instructions in a face-to-face conversation where the listener does not have the chance to take notes. Choosing the appropriate channel can have a strong impact on both the effectiveness of and response to your message. In this Discussion, you will consider the impact of a communication channel on a message.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Consider a time in which the channel chosen for a communication had a significant impact on your participation in and response to the communication. 

BY DAY 3

• Post an evaluation of the impact of communication channels on effective messaging. In your evaluation, do the following:

Briefly describe the communication, including the primary message and your role in the communication.

Explain the channel chosen for the communication and why this channel was selected. If the reason is unknown, provide your best assumption for why it was selected.

Analyze whether this choice of channel was effective and appropriate, supporting your analysis with this week’s Learning Resources.

• Assess what you would do (or recommend be done) differently in the future regarding channel choice and “noise” elimination in similar situations.
• Refer to the Week 7 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.
• Read some of your colleagues’ postings.
• BY DAY 5

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

Respectfully pose one or two questions to your colleague about whether the choice of channel they described was effective and appropriate, which may provide them with further insight or opportunity for reflection.

Provide one or two additional recommendations regarding channel choice and/or noise reduction that could be applied to the situation your colleague outlined.

Share an insight you gained from your colleague’s evaluation, including how you can put their recommendations into practice in the future. 

Reply:

Lindsey Mwoga

RE: Discussion – Week 7

COLLAPSE

Briefly describe the communication, including the primary message and your role in the communication.

An organization I worked at was fully donor-funded. Grants were renewed every year, and as a result, employment contracts were also renewed annually. One year, we got the news that one of the projects would close, and the donors were not going to fund any other project. This meant laying off over half of the current employees at the time. The communication was received nine months before the expected close-out date. During a management meeting, he informed us that he would not immediately communicate the news to the staff. He instead instructed the grants team to work overtime and identify possible grants the organization could qualify for. Together with the technical team, the grants department was able to identify a grant that could keep everyone employed for a guaranteed two years within three months. The CEO then called a staff meeting and presented the news. He informed everyone about the soon-to-close project and the proposed way forward.

Explain the channel chosen for the communication and why this channel was selected. If the reason is unknown, provide your best assumption for why it was selected.

The CEO chose a staff meeting where he could talk to people face to face. It also allowed the team to ask any questions and have them addressed.

Analyze whether this choice of channel was effective and appropriate, supporting your analysis with this week’s Learning Resources.

This method of communication was very effective and appropriate. The team was able to ask questions they had, and answers were given in real-time. The CEO and the management team were also able to pitch in on different questions.

Assess what you would do (or recommend be done) differently in the future regarding channel choice and “noise” elimination in similar situations.

Given the issue on hand, a staff meeting was the best way to communicate the news. With everyone having a complete picture of what was happening, no one felt insecure about their jobs. “When your message is concrete, your audience has a clear picture of what you’re telling them.” Emerald Works Limited. (n.d).

ReferencesEmerald Works Limited. (n.d). The 7 Cs of communication: A checklist for clear communication. MindTools. Log In to Mind Tools”>Log In to Mind Tools

Kweshonte Mathews

RE: Discussion – Week 7

COLLAPSE

• Briefly describe the communication, including the primary message and your role in the communication.

I work in education. In my field, everything has to be intentional with communication, especially when dealing with the safety and well-being of children. I believe in using all channels of communication in my area. The most common channels of communication that I use are email, letter notifications, visible signs everywhere, and verbal communication. I use 4 different ways to get a message across. Often, we have families that state they were not aware, they did not receive notice, and no one mentioned anything to them. This, If I am not there, the communication is still getting across. I’ve been in many situations where an email was just not good enough and messages were communicated poorly, causing friction in the workplace. I believe face to face is best so that we get a feel for one another’s body language, approaches to the conversation, and a better understanding. I have shed tears over an email because of how someone perceived me but gave different vibes verbally through compliments and praise.

• Explain the channel chosen for the communication and why this channel was selected. If the reason is unknown, provide your best assumption for why it was selected.

The channels I presented above were best selected due to the feedback I was receiving. Too many families were complaining about not getting notifications. For the email, I was in tears, This person was never on-site to have a verbal conversation. My initial assumption was that it was a brief update email on what was completed as I was resigning, and it turned into a virtual warzone instead.

• Analyze whether this choice of the channel was effective and appropriate, supporting your analysis with this week’s Learning sources.

This choice could have very well be effective, and I would not have changed it if I had a do-over. It was supposed to be a brief and quick email. The returned message turned into an insult. Communication is the best way of building great relationships (Mindtools,2021), so we are told, but when a slight change happens in the way we communicate, it can cause long-term communication damage. I lost all respect for this person just based on one statement.

• Assess what you would do (or recommend be done) differently in the future regarding channel choice and “noise” elimination in similar situations.

Most meetings should be done face to face. In my case, my email was simply stating the work I completed and the extra work I completed to make the transition easier for a new person filling my spot. The person responded by stating he noticed a minor error and that I needed to correct it. His approach was so aggressive and rude and he had never spoken to me that way.

Reference

Communications Planning: Getting the Right Message Across in the Right Way. Management Training and Leadership Training-Online.

Week 13 Discussion Board Post

Watch the video above.

The video discusses the effort and challenge that  France is encountering in creating a replica of the Chauvet caves for visitors. The reporters acknowledges that while the experience isn’t authentic, that the hope is the new space could still possibly evoke a sense of wonder.

1. What kind of “wonder” is evoked by these cave paintings?

2. If you were in the space, how would you feel or interpret these images made by prehistoric people?

3. Would it matter to you, if the space you were exploring was a replica? How does this connect back to our previous discussion of the concept of “aura”?

Chapter 3.1 The Prehistoric and Ancient MediterraneanThis chapter presents the earliest art made in the Mediterranean, a region encompassing southern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa. Prehistoric art is defined as art made prior to the advent of writing. The art of several of the most significant ancient cultures, in which vibrant cities were built and great technological advancements were made, is discussed and compared. Much ancient art was commissioned by powerful individuals who demonstrated their authority and prestige with large palace complexes, sculptures, and public architectural projects. Artworks from this period also reflect the importance of survival, and the religious beliefs of people in the early Mediterranean.Prehistoric Art in Europe and the MediterraneanWe explore the characteristic subject matter of the art of this region’s prehistoric cultures, from around 40,000 to 3,500 years ago. Animals were commonly depicted, and fertility figures were also prominent. We consider art in various media and from some of the major archaeological sites for this period. Our survey includes the earliest cave paintings, from Spain; fertility figures; minimalist sculpture from the Cycladic islands of the Aegean; painting from the sixth millennium BCE in Turkey; and sumptuous frescoes from the lavish palace civilization of Minoan Crete.Mesopotamia: The Cradle of CivilizationStudents are introduced to several of the cultures that competed for control of the region of Mesopotamia, from the founding of the first urban centers some 6,000 years ago to the height of the Babylonian Empire in the sixth century bce. These highly sophisticated ancient civilizations were responsible for such developments as the earliest known writing. We explore the art of Mesopotamia through a series of objects that encapsulate the distinctive styles of the cultures that dominated the region: the rich decorative inlay of the Sumerian Standard of Ur and bull lyre; the divine significance of a bronze cast head of an Akkadian ruler; the palace sculpture of the Assyrians; and the dramatic Ishtar Gate created by the Babylonians as a ceremonial entrance to their city.Ancient EgyptThe extraordinary art and architecture of ancient Egypt makes this culture undoubtedly the most famous of those covered in this chapter. The high level of respect rulers commanded is exemplified by the pyramids at Giza and the Portrait of Queen Tiye. We focus on perhaps the most distinctive, and fascinating, area of Egyptian culture: its elaborate funerary rituals and the wealth of objects left as offerings in royal tombs. We end with a discussion of tomb painting, and what its richly detailed depictions of people, animals, and the river Nile can tell us about the ancient Egyptian world.Art of Ancient GreeceStudents learn that the ancient Greeks prized the gifts of the human body in both its physical and its intellectual capabilities. We refer to how this translated into their art and architecture, including their use of ideal mathematical proportions both to depict the human form and to design their temples. The Parthenon temple on the Acropolis of Athens is discussed in terms of its history, design, and function. The portrayal of idealized human-looking gods and heroes is discussed through sculpture on the Parthenon and Praxiteles’s Aphrodite of Knidos. Greek vase painting is considered, and students are taught the difference in techniques between the red-figure and black-figure styles.Etruscan ArtWe introduce the Etruscans and the value they placed on joy and celebration in both life and the afterlife through a study of paintings within the Tomb of the Leopards.Roman ArtWe explain how the Romans built the last great empire of the ancient world on their ability to conquer and assimilate other cultures. We explore the surviving monuments of this powerful civilization and its emperors. The influence of the Greeks on Roman art is considered. Roman statuary is used to explain the importance of ancestry. We discuss how the eruption at Pompeii preserved an incomparable wealth of vivid evidence of Roman home life, including the fresco paintings that decorated many of their villas. The imperial and political focus of much Roman art is considered through two famous monuments, the Pantheon and the Arch of Constantine.Chapter 3.2 Art of the Middle AgesThe Middle Ages encompasses the period in European history between the decline of the Roman empire and the rise of the Renaissance. This chapter begins with early Jewish art and continues through Christian and Islamic art to the height of the Gothic period and the early fourteenth century. During the Middle Ages, people from the three largest monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) often lived together in the same regions, at times harmoniously and at times in deadly conflict, fighting for supremacy.Art of Late Antiquity and Early ChristianitySome of the earliest surviving Jewish artworks—paintings from Dura Europos in modern Syria—are analysed, and we discuss their use of narrative. Students learn how early Christian art reworked pagan symbols, figures, and motifs before developing a distinct, varied, and elaborate visual language of its own.Byzantine ArtThe art of the Byzantine empire is explored through works created under the patronage of the Emperor Justinian I, including a discussion of Hagia Sophia. An icon depicting Christ, from the monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, Egypt, and the magnificent figurative mosaics in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, are discussed in depth.Manuscripts and the Middle AgesThe painstaking process of creating decorated manuscripts is explained. Notable examples of different cultural traditions are presented: a Koran from the Islamic regions in Spain; the Lindisfarne Gospels, from Anglo-Saxon England; an Italian copy of the mystic and visionary Hildegard of Bingen’s Scivias; and a painting from a Persian manuscript showing the ascension of Muhammad to heaven.Pilgrimage in the Middle AgesStudents learn about the great journeys that were undertaken by pilgrims in the Middle Ages (and that still take place today). We describe the grand works of architecture located at these sacred destinations, and the elaborate reliquaries that housed the holy relics that were the object of the pilgrims’ veneration. Jerusalem was important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, as is exemplified by the history of the Dome of the Rock. Students also learn about Mecca, the most important pilgrimage site for Muslims, and The Prophet’s Mosque at Medina. Christian pilgrimage routes, and symbolic imagery, are discussed through a study of the church of Sainte-Foy in Conques, France. The design of Romanesque churches (including their floor plan and the significance of their orientation, and the importance of entrance portals) is discussed.The Rise of the GothicCathedrals increased dramatically in height and grandeur as a result of the architectural innovations of the Gothic period. The spectacular Gothic cathedral of Chartres is examined in terms of its design and engineering advancements, and the impact it made on worshipers.From the Gothic to Early Renaissance in ItalyWe introduce the important Italian Gothic painter Cimabue and his student, the early Renaissance artist Giotto. Through a comparison of their depictions of the Virgin and Child Enthroned, the great skill of each artist and their revolutionary contributions to painting are explained. The study of Giotto prepares the reader for the coverage of the Renaissance in chapter 3.6.

Watch the video above. The author, in explaining the innovative techniques being used to study Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, describes the notion of aura.  What is your interpretation of this concept? What is it about a painting that would make someone want to travel halfway around the world to look at it, verses enjoying a reproduced image? Is there something specific that you want to see or experience in person? It doesn’t necessarily have to be art, but please explain why it is significant to you.

Read the following article “The Value of Ethnic Studies-For All Students” by Melinda Anderson and answer the Critical Analysis Questions below. 

ARTICLE

The Value of Ethnic Studies—For All Students

Despite arguments to the contrary, ethnic studies benefits all students—and research backs it up.

January 15, 2015

by Melinda Anderson (Links to an external site.)

Sandra Cisneros’ award-winning The House on Mango Street chronicles a year in the life of Esperanza, a 12-year-old Chicana girl growing up in Chicago. The novel covers familiar and frightening territory as Esperanza matures, “makes friends, grows hips, develops her first crush, endures sexual assault, and begins to write as a way of expressing herself …” (Links to an external site.)

Her story of a life poor in material possessions but rich in culture is one with which many children, including Mexican-American children, can identify. For this reason, The House on Mango Street was among a wide selection of Chicano and Latino literature taught in the Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican-American Studies program, a welcome addition to the syllabus—until a surge of anti-immigrant and anti-Latino sentiment swept across Arizona.

What started in 1998—with a few classes—as a way to bring cultural relevance to the curriculum (Links to an external site.) and boost academic achievement for Chicano students came to a crashing halt in 2010 when Tom Horne, Arizona’s state schools superintendent, accused ethnic studies classes of promoting “ethnic chauvinism.” (Links to an external site.) The Arizona State Legislature banned the courses with a hammer clause: Any school district that failed to comply with the ban would forfeit 10 percent of its state funding. Point made. In 2012, the Governing Board of the Tucson Unified School District voted to abolish the Mexican-American studies program (Links to an external site.).

Students and activists protested vigorously, and Cisneros joined a convoy of writers (Links to an external site.) to smuggle The House on Mango Street and other banned books back into Tucson. But that was not the demise of ethnic studies. As of July 2013, Tucson schools are required to offer a “culturally relevant curriculum,” as mandated by a court order in a federal desegregation lawsuit brought on behalf of Latino and Black students after decades of segregation and racial discrimination. Culturally relevant teaching resumed (Links to an external site.), with materials from Mexican-American and black perspectives.

As a discipline, ethnic studies in public schools has seen its share of highs and lows. With a great deal of organizing and hard work by students, parents and activists, the Los Angeles Unified School District now requires ethnic studies classes (Links to an external site.) as a high school graduation requirement. Just months prior to the Los Angeles decision, a move in Texas to add a Mexican-American course as a high school elective (Links to an external site.) failed—in a state where Hispanics are the largest ethnic group in public schools.

The conflict over ethnic studies is equal parts xenophobia and political ideology, with white resentment and anxiety stirring the pot. While opponents target ethnic studies courses as divisive, they disregard how classes, textbooks and materials oversaturated with European and Anglo-American viewpoints are polarizing for non-white students.

“The majority of children and teens in U.S. schools today are people of color,” says Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. “In the past, the curriculum excluded the histories, knowledge and perspectives of those who were not white, male, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied and Christian, although people from all groups contributed to the world that we know today. Ethnic studies is essential because it provides young people access to the full spectrum of human knowledge, not just parts of it.”

Providing that knowledge is not just a gesture of token diversity. It pays off academically in student performance and graduation rates. Researchers from the University of Arizona found (Links to an external site.) students who participated in Mexican-American studies classes had a 10 percent greater chance of completing high school. The value of ethnic studies was reinforced by an independent audit (Links to an external site.) that recommended the Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican-American Studies program not only be maintained, but expanded.

Courses that educate on the contributions of historically underrepresented and misrepresented groups pay dividends for white students as well. A safe space for all students to explore racial and cultural experiences and differences is especially relevant today (Links to an external site.), with the dramatic shift in the national narrative on race and justice.

“While students of color must wrestle with the implications of race in their everyday lives, it’s also important for white students to understand how the exclusion of diverse perspectives and voices from the curriculum means that we do not yet have the society that we deserve,” Thomas explains. “For all of our nation’s founding rhetoric of freedom and equality under the law, all students in U.S. schools need to understand that not all groups were seen or treated as equal.”

Like Esperanza’s journey through tweendom, the ethnic studies tale continues to twist and turn. Earlier this month, Arizona’s outgoing state schools superintendent, John Huppenthal, leveled a parting shot (Links to an external site.), labeling black studies courses “objectionable.” His successor, Diane Douglas, upheld, saying Tucson “is in violation of the state’s ethnic studies ban.” (Links to an external site.) And this week (Links to an external site.) the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard testimony to reverse the decision making ethnic studies illegal in Arizona.

As the plot thickens, the surest justification for ethnic studies can be found in the sage words of noted black writer and social critic James Baldwin: “American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.”

Anderson is an education writer and activist for educational equity. Follow her on Twitter @mdawriter.

Critical Analysis Questions

1. The main purpose of this article is:

2. The key question that the author is addressing is:

3. The most important information in the article is:
(Figure out the facts, experiences, data the author is using to support her/his conclusions)

4. The main inferences/conclusions in the article are:(Identify the key conclusions the author comes to and presents)

5. The key concept(s) we need to understand in the article:
(Figure out the most important ideas you would have to understand in order to understand the

author’s line of reasoning)

6. The main assumption(s) underlying the author’s thinking is/are:
(Figure out what the author is taking for granted [that might be questioned].)

7a. If we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are:
(What consequences are likely to follow if people take the author’s line of reasoning

seriously?)

7b. If we fail to take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are:
(What consequences are likely to follow if people ignore the author’s reasoning?

Race is the categorization of humans based on observable traits. These traits usually include skin color, hair type, size, facial features, and behavior. While these traits make us unique from one another in personality and looks, it does not match different biological markers in human DNA. Basically, these superficial markers do not point to a difference in our genetic makeup or physiology. It just makes us identifiable as an individual on the outside.

Categorizing humans by race is not biologically sound. According to Chapter 13 of the Explorations book, all humans are about 99.9% genetically the same. This is the highest percentage of every other animal or species on earth. Humans have variation, but traits like skin color have continuous variation. This means that the variation happens between individuals, not groups of people, making it impossible to categorize people by them. Human variation is a spectrum. You may see different people in distinct parts of that spectrum in a small population. However, the more people you add and the larger your sampling population is, the less distance between human variation exits. The spectrum gets crowded, and two distinct people from one group may match closer to two people from another group. According to the textbook, Explorations, genetic diversity is more significant within a group of people rather than between groups of people. This means there is more diversity amongst your closest relatives as compared to you and someone from another part of the world. This would explain why two people may have more in common from another area than from their immediate population.

Race is a social construct. Our idea of race has no foundation in biology. This is pointed out in “Race: The Power of an Illusion, Ep. 1: The Difference Between Us.” The documentary points out that race is not universally defined. What is considered black in America is not the same as in Brazil or in other countries in Africa. How can we say race is biologically determined when we cannot come up with universal or concrete markers that define what each race is? For example, if we are to use skin color for race, where do we draw the lines between each color? Human variation shows that humans are born in a spectrum of colors. Siblings may have lighter or darker skin than each other and still have the exact same parents and ancestors. Moreover, a person can become lighter or darker in their lifetime due to a number of contributing factors. Does this mean they change race? Without a concrete definition supported by data, no true marker separates the races.

Race may not have a foundation in biology, but it has affected our view of and handling of biology. According to the article “How Race Becomes Biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality” by Clarence C. Gravlee, we cannot “reduce biology to genetics and minimize or ignore the causal influence of external, environmental factors on human biology” (p. 51). In other words, it is not accurate to talk about how biology defines race, but we cannot dismiss the impact race has played on biology. Take pollution, for example. African-Americans and other minorities have been disproportionately exposed to pollution. It has been argued that the genetics of race makes these groups of people genetically unhealthy or inferior. This is just not correct. What makes them sicker is how race as a social construct has led to their biology being tampered with. Basically, their poor health is due to their race, but not because of biology. It is due to society’s treatment of them instead.

#2

Race is a very controversial subject.  It’s something that many have a problem with because older scientists were very biased. Everything that contributed to distinguishing race was based solely on phenotypic traits (skin color, eye color, hair color, etc.) This becomes a problem because of how people are categorized. I’m chapter 13: Race and Human Variation in our book, the author explains how there are no races, just clines. A cline is a graduation in one or more characteristics within a species, especially between different populations. This would explain our skin color. Where we are located has a lot to do with what color our skin will be. When you live in a hotter environment your skin is more likely to be darker than someone that lives somewhere that is in an area that is in a colder area. This is because of the high amounts of UV radiation. So categorizing humans based on skin color is very biased because skin color is more based on clinial distribution. 

In the documentary,  “The Difference Between Us: Race- the power of an illusion” we see these groups of students that are all very different from each other. They all compare their mitochondrial DNA. They expect to all have similar results to those of the same race as them. When they receive their results they are surprised to see that they are more alike to others that aren’t exactly the same race as them. This shows that biologically we aren’t that different from each other. This film also emphasizes athleticism in different races. They explained that some people believe that African Americans are more athletic than any other culture because of something I’m their genes. This is a very big problem because this discredits any accomplishment of any African American athlete. This would mean that African American athletes are good because they were born like this and not because of their hard work. However, we now know that this is not true, and nothing has been found in our DNA that can prove that African Americans are any different than any other race. 

Lastly, in Clarence Gravelee’s article “How Race Becomes Biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality” he emphasizes on how race is more based on social construct. He gives the example of race and health. He explains health inequalities in different races. This is something that we see a lot in the United States. The lack of health insurance in low income neighborhoods is very common. Gravelee explains that evidence shows that in the United States there are racial inequalities in morbidity and mortality, especially within the African American community. However a lot of research done doesn’t take into account these differences. They only base it on the color of their skin and don’t take into account racial inequalities. For example, if everyone had the same access to health care then it is most likely that results would be different. Luckily, scientists have evolved their way of thinking so I’m sure this is something that is being worked on and social inequalities are all being taken into consideration when it comes to research. 

After reading Chapter 4 and watching the video below on the mind-body problem, do the following:

this discussion post has 2 parts 

• explain your understanding of the mind-body problem
• explain which view of the mind most agrees with your understanding of ‘mind.’ Are you a dualist? A materialist? Explain why; defend your position with reasons. In your response, make sure to explain the view you most agree with; in other words, if you say you agree with dualism, explain what the dualist view is, as well as why you agree with that view. Your response must make specific reference to the video as well as to one of the assigned readings/sections from Chapter 4 in our text.

Helpful hint: Often in this forum, students say things like ‘I am a dualist because I think the mind and body are connected’ or ‘I am a dualist because I think the mind and body work together.’ But, the mind and body ARE connected; they DO work together; we know this! Our species would not have survived if these did not work together. It is a fact that the mind and body affect each other and work together; these are not matters of debate. Also, these are not even matters that require experts or scientists for verification; each of us can test these out and verify their veracity. If I think of something terrifying, my body will react; if I stab my finger with a needle, my mind tells me I am in pain ?. There is no question that the mind and body affect each other. So, a dualist is NOT a person who thinks the mind and body work together or are connected.

Works Linked/Cited:

“Where Does Your Mind Reside?: Crash Course Philosophy #22.” YouTube, uploaded by Crash Course, 1 Aug. 2016. Where Does Your Mind Reside?: Crash Course Philosophy #22 – YouTube. Accessed 19 Aug. 2020.

second part: please reply to each student according to the instructions

diego

Like many things in philosophy, the mind-body problem, as I see it at least, is a philosophical question that aims to rationalize the human experience in a way that satisfies each of us or is closest to some objective truth. Specifically, the mind-body problem concerns itself with the sense of self, and how that sense of self is affected by physical or non-physical entities and influences. Several senses of self have been defined over the course of history, dating back to Descartes’ famous saying of “I think, therefore I am,” a belief that essentially asserts that identity of self has everything to do with the non-physical, an “immaterial substance” as the book states in Chapter 5, section A. However, as Hank Green states in our assigned video, there is another school of thought, reductive physicalism, which claims that the world, everything in it, and everything we as humans do boils down to a series of physical processes, and not anything immaterial. The mind-body problem, and its many proposed solutions, are ways of refuting either of these points, or attempting to merge them in a satisfactory way, in order to reach a conclusion that portrays the human experience in a rational way.

Personally, I consider myself to be an Interactionist, which is a sort of subset of the Substance Dualist school of thinking. The reason I adhere to this mentality when determining my self-identity is actually incredibly simple: its because the proposition itself is the most simple one. There is a problem-solving principle known as Occam’s Razor which, to paraphrase, posits that when thinking of a solution or answer to a problem or question, the simplest option should be given precedence, and we should not pluralize beyond necessity. When tackling the issue of self-identity, I have chosen to apply this principle of problem-solving, and that principle lead me to Interactionism. This is because both pure substance dualism and reductive physicalism require more logical leaps or steps to explain the human experience. Substance dualism claims that the sense of self is not affected by the physical, even though our physical interaction with the world is oftentimes what allows us to build the mental experience to formulate our identity, but reductive physicalism requires you to dive into much more complicated physical and medical minutiae in order to explain things like emotions. Interactionism is a simple blend that states that our sense of self is created and shaped by the ways in which our minds and bodies interact, from our mind exercising its will upon the body to the body’s experiences having effects, both positive and negative, on the mind.

Works Cited / Relevant research:

( Introducing Philosophy), Introducing Philosophy . Oxford University Press.

“Where Does Your Mind Reside?: Crash Course Philosophy #22.” YouTube, uploaded by Crash Course, 1 Aug. 2016. Where Does Your Mind Reside?: Crash Course Philosophy #22 – YouTube. Accessed 16 Apr 2022.

Duigan, Brian. “Occam’s Razor.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 July 1998, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Occams-razor.

Erick

After watching the video and reading the chapter I have understood more about the mind and body problem. The mind and body were formed to be connected with eachother. If I hit my toe with the corner of my bed i would feel the pain and my mind would tell me to scream of pain. In chapter 4 it uses the example that when our body is hungry we can feel the hunger and we know it is time to eat. If we did not feel that sensation of hunger that is a way we could know that our body and mind is not connected. The body and mind is like a team, the mind commands what the body should do and does it.

I am a duelist, I beleive in spiritual things and a materialtisic mind only beleives that the things that hold matter exist. I beleieve that their is a God and also due to that I try to live a life that would be joyful to God. I beleieve that heaven exist, its true that their is no scientific evidence that proves that it exists. I have nothing to lose if I follow Gods path but I could have a lot to lose if I were not to follow his path. Heaven could end up being real and i could be missing my opportunity to live their for eternity. I know that evil and good spirits exists and has always been evolving around us. Also when I am sad or happy my body reacts to the way im feeling. When I am sad my mind is full of negative thoughts and your body expresses the way you feel. You feel like you dont have the strength to do anything but when you are happy, your body is active, you are full of energy. These are the reasons why I beleive that I am a duelist.