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updated: 2-18-16
TODAY'S GOALS:
CONCERNING EARTHLINGS
[2B] DIGITAL LITERACY: “students will be better able to deal with the technological revolution” by being able to
[2B1] recognize the value of multimedia for access to right brain, the whole person
[2B2] recognize the power of multimedia to change society, prime example Earthlings
[2A2] CONCERNING ETHICS
[2A2] The second goal of the required leadership/ethics flag courses -- learn to make real-life ethical choices -- is closely related to the core purpose of the University of Texas, to transform lives for the benefit of society. It is also one of the basic education requirements of U.T.: “have experience in thinking about moral and ethical problems.” Our ethics goals are
[2A2a] To experience by analogy a little of ethical dilemma presented by Anti-Semitism, especially the Holocaust.
[2A2b] To experience by analogy a little of ethical dilemma presented by racism, especially slavery.
[2A2c] To experience more directly the ethical dilemmas presented by speciesism, especially cruelty to animals.
[2A2d] To become aware of real-life ethical choices made daily by all of us involving animals.
[2A2e] To return to the traditional college goals of developing character and conscience.
[2A2f] To practice replacing fear and greed with compassion and empathy.
[X] developing emotional self-awareness and social self-awareness by watching the documentary
CONCERNING FEELINGS
Compassion is a feeling, and widening the circle of compassion is our ultimate goal as an ethics class.
EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIVENESS, or EMOTIONAL LITERACY is the first step.
The alternative is the Man Without Feelings Review pp.458 etc. Lack of empathy is a feature of sociopaths, child molesters, etc.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE is the next step. The four domains of leadership emotional intelligence are self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness, and relationship management.
EARTHLINGS: A CHANCE TO DEVELOP OUR EMOTIONAL SELF-AWARENESS (Take notes? perhaps preparing for your blog?)
Like Gloucester, we want to expand our circle of compassion. On the heath, King Lear asked Gloucester: “How do you see the world?”And Gloucester, who is blind, answered: " I see it feelingly."
EARTHLINGS: A CHANCE TO DEVELOP OUR SOCIAL AWARENESS: “Empathy, which includes listening and taking other people’s perspectives, allows leaders to tune in to the emotional channels between people that create resonance.”
One of the goals of this course is to extend empathy to other cultures and even other species.
GLOBAL CULTURES FLAG: TRYING OUT DIFFERENT WORLD VIEWS
EXPERIENTIAL METHOD: ACTING AS IF MEMBER OF THAT CULTURE FOR A DAY OR MORE,.... Recall role of acting in course description:"We are trying to learn ethics experientially. In this case, your assignment is to become an actor, acting as if . . . This "willing suspension of disbelief," as Coleridge put it, is essential to the effectiveness of all novels, plays, movies, etc. In this case, We temporarily relinguish our scepticism and disbelief in order to experience a little of" what, say, a Jain might have thought and felt about suffering
In this case, we are acting out a different Weltanchauung (worldview) of suffering, that of Jainism. It's eight basic principles are
- Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life;
- Always speak truthfully and constructively. Resist injustice even if it may threaten your own safety.
- Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, big or small, peacefully and by consensus.
- Do not make accumulation of wealth the aim of your life. Life simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.
- There is no absolute truth. No doctrine, theory, or ideology is perfect.
- Practice nonattachment to views. Remain open to receive others’ viewpoints. Do not force others to adopt your views.
- Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering.
- Do not maintain anger and hatred. As soon as they arise, concentrate on your breathing to see their nature.
OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS FREEDOM, LIBERATION: BUT FIRST YOU MUST FACE THE TRUTH
TODAY'S TOPICS: the relationship between homo sapiens and the other animals
TODAY'S ACTIVITIES:
[1] Ponder Einstein statement
"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security." Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) Source: Mathematical Circles
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[2] Dass Guided Imagery focused on sending light and love
[3] keep your focus on sending light and love to suffering beings as you watch the documentary.
THIS IS THE FINAL EXAM ON COMPASSION: SEE QUESTIONS, PROMPTS BELOW
your notes can be cited or discussed in your Earthlings blogs. Most of the points will be awarded on the basis of your answer to these questions.
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EARTHLINGS COMPASSION TEST
Compassion: "The feeling or emotion, when a person is moved by the suffering or distress of another, and by the desire to relieve it" (OED)
Compassion Fatigue: "U.S.: apathy or indifference towards the suffering of others or to charitable causes acting on their behalf, typically attributed to numbingly frequent appeals for assistance" (OED)
On separate pieces of paper or in a notebook or ............ keep answering these questions as you watch (your notes can be cited or discussed in your Earthlings blogs).
REQUIRED: AT LEAST ONE OF THE TWO BLOGS ON EARTHLINGS OR -10. YOU CAN EARN UP TO 30 POINTS PER BLOG.Many points will be awarded on the basis of your answer to these questions. Were you able to become more aware of your own feelings? Were you able to be homo empathicus? In other words, were you able to increase your social awareness, that is, your capacity for empathy? For animals? For other humans in the room? For the humans in the documentary abusing animals? When, at what scenes, are you able to extend compassion to the suffering being? When, at what scenes, are you able to send out from the center of your chest light, love, peace, or freedom to the suffering being?
Were you able to see the beings on the screen, however briefly, as a devout Jain, Buddhist, or Hindu might?* *Remember, "We are trying to learn ethics experientially. In this case, your assignment is to become an actor, acting as if . . . This "willing suspension of disbelief," as Coleridge put it, is essential to the effectiveness of all novels, plays, movies, etc. In this case, we temporarily relinquish our scepticism and disbelief in order to experience a little of what, say, a devout Jain, Buddhist, or Hindu might have thought and felt about animal suffering. For example, were you able to act, however, briefly as a devout Jain following the admonition, "Find ways to be with those who are suffering."? Were you able to see the beings on the screen, however briefly, in terms of one or more of the four immeasurable states of Buddhism (brahmāvihāra): love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, extended to all beings throughout the cosmos." When, at what scenes, are you not able to do so? Why? What blocks your compassion (ability to be with suffering)? When, at what scenes, did you most feel the desire to alleviate the suffering, to do something about the cruelty you saw? When, at what scenes, did you feel compassion fatigue? When, at what scenes, did you feel overwhelmed, unable to comprehend, much less do anything about all the suffering? When, at what scenes, did you just feel depressed, numb, shut down? Were you able to return to feeling compassion by feeling, however briefly, that sense of the oneness with all life that generates the ultimate nonbinary emotional states of love, peace, and joie de vivre that enable you to face suffering? Were you able to return to feeling compassion by adding a kind of equanimity, awareness of the big picture, etc.? Or did that "equanimity" just help you shut down your feelings and/or your commitment to do something about the cruelty? For example, like Ram Dass, did that balance allow you to "just be at peace with what is"? Did that just help you shut down your feelings and/or your commitment to do something about the cruelty?
Did you "see the truth and did it set you free?" If so, what truth, what freedom?
REVIEW, CONNECT, HAMMER INTO UNITY: your self and the animal kingdom, your experiences of the relationship between animals and us, your relationship to the term "Earthling"
- LOOKING AHEAD:
Earthlings 1 blog due by 11:59 PM Friday Feb. 19; Earthlings 2 blog due by 11:59 PM Monday Feb. 22
blogs for the week due by 11:59 PM the previous Sunday.
2-23 Paradise Regained 1: Best and Worst, quiz, discussion of blogs
2-25 and 3-1 Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello : quiz, discussion of blogs
3-2 P1 critiques due
“Stress Recess” Stressed by papers? Tests? Relationship issues? For these and other stressors, take a few minutes to check out a new interactive website called “Stress Recess” at http://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/stressrecess, a component of the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center. This site is loaded with videos, animation, video games, body scans, quizzes, clickable charts and graphics and practical information tailored to YOU. Learn what causes stress, signs of stress and—most importantly---what you can do to manage stress in healthy ways!
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