Music:
Member Since: 25/01/2006
Influences: Coming Soon
to a bookshelf near you.....
Interests
philosophy (ethical theory, applied ethics, biomedical ethics), psychology (developmental, cognitive, social, personality, evolutionary), writing, deep conversations, revolutionary ideas, intriguing people, magical thinking, moral dilemmas, poetry that makes me weak in the vocal cords, individuals who can become a defining moment in my life, talk radio (liberal and conservative), art that changes my definition of beauty, my awesome-cute dog Van Gogh, examining awkward situations, long phone conversations, using the interweb, the smell of desert rain, improving grammar and spelling, blogging, understanding other world views, solving puzzles, finding a balance, Central Air Conditioning, using google search, playing super cool board games like clue and cranium, Dance Dance Revolution, Tennis, black & white photography
Movies
The Shawshank Redemption, The Red Violin, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, Marnie, Rebecca, Vertigo, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window (1954 version), Saboteur, Notorious, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, The Bad Seed, American Beauty, Faris Bueller's Day Off, What the Bleep Do We Know?, All About Eve, Sorry Wrong Number, The Princess Bride, Great Expectations, Sunset Boulevard, What Dreams May Come, Mean Girls, I-Robot, Casablanca, Gattaca, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Matrix, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, I ♥ Huckabees, RENT, Closer, The Island, Clue, Vanilla Sky, Meet Joe Black, Abre los ojos, fascinating documentaries, and many more
TV
Modern Marvels, The Office, House, Malcolm in the Middle, The Cosby Show, Rome, Big Love, The Most Extreme, Hitchcock Presents, Alfred Hichcock Hour, NOVA, The Magic School Bus, 3-2-1 Contact, Will and Grace, Friends, Lost, Desperate Housewifes, Pushing Daisies, The Real World, The Hills, Grey's Anatomy, Real Time with Bill Maher, Seinfield, The View, The Pretender, Tru Calling, Dark Angel, Nova, Murder She Wrote, NOW and many other PBS shows, TCM, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, The History Channel, and many more
Books
Anything written by Jeffrey McDaniel (my poetry hero), The Fall by Camus, most anything by Nietzsche....philosophy in general, Letter to a Christian Nation & The End of Faith by Sam Harris, The Selfish Gene & The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, He's Just Not That Into You, It's Called a Brakeup Because it's Broken by Greg Behrendt, The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher by Julian Baggini, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Harry Potter, philosophy by James Rachels, Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric by Kahane & Cavender, Ethics Without God by Kai Nielsen, Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, and many many others
Morality and Ethics
I believe that there is an objective moral code, however I must admit that such a moral code is currently in the process of being discovered, and the parts of it that have been discovered (if such parts exist) cannot be proven. I do believe that certain things can be shown to be more valuable than others, by the use of reason and intellectual honesty; and in most cases this method of scrutiny is sufficient. Overall, I live my life governed by a mixture of Kantian ethics, Virtue ethics, and Utilitarianism.
The following are a list of Ethical Theories that I fully reject:
Divine Command Theory, Natural Law, Relativism (Cultural and Individual), some forms of utilitarianism, and Ethical Egoism.
Religion
I was the child of catholic parents and during part of my adult life I classified myself as Catholic, yet did not accept or fully believe everything the Catholic Church preached or commanded. Currently I do not consider myself religious by any means; I believe that religion in general is greatly flawed, corrupted by power, and often used for the agenda of injustice.
My problems with religion: In most religions there is an intolerance of questioning religion doctrine. I suppose that to a certain extent questions are permitted however such questions must be limited to questions of clarification, not questions containing strict scrutiny, or questions of justification. When many commands are examined you often find that they lack good reasons. I reject natural law, the divine command theory, divine revelation, and justification by way biblical laws or biblical revelation. I believe that there are objective moral laws, and if there is a God who is good, then that good God must be constrained by objective moral laws. Furthermore, I cannot stand it when people’s liberty is restricted due to religious beliefs (their own beliefs or the beliefs of others). I believe that one’s liberty should only be thwarted when in conflict with morality and since morality is not synonymous with religion I do not treat it as such.
My views on God: To be intellectually honest with you I must say that I am not 100% sure that there is a God, and anyone who says that they know for sure that there is a God either has not fully thought about that claim, or they are being intellectually dishonest with you and maybe even themselves. The choices I make in my life allow me to live in a manner that would satisfy the existence or nonexistence of a God. I believe that I should do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not because I am afraid that some bad ass hillbilly in the sky may shoot me down if I do something to piss him off. If there is a good God I cannot fathom that God would be all that concerned with praise or worship, but would rather people strive to flourish and desire that those around them flourish, thus I do not dedicate my life to worship or prayer.
If not God then who do I turn to in my despair: When I reveal my beliefs about God to religious individuals I often am asked, “Who do you turn to when you are in despair?†Since this question often comes up I will take this opportunity to address it. As of now, whenever I have found myself in despair, or greatly saddened I often evaluate my circumstances, examine why I am there, and make plans on how I can change my state of being. I am learning that there are some things which are beyond my control, and thus cannot be changed by me, so I must let them go. At the same time there are things which I can take control of and change to better my state of being, and so I can use my energy to change those things. I believe rational thought, reflection, and future planning brings me comfort.
Political Views
If I had to classify myself I would say that I am a liberal. I am registered as a democrat because I am more aligned with the democratic/liberal world view. I voted for Obama, but I am loyal to principles NOT politicians. I equally criticize the faulty policies of any party.
I spend some of my time listing to talk radio (both conservative and liberal stations) and if I am interested in the current topic and time permits I will call in. My favorite political talk show host is Randi Rhodes. My favorite political tv show is Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
Political beliefs:
I believe in separation of church and state. While I personally am put off by religion, I do believe that individuals should have the freedom to govern their own beliefs. I believe in the market place of ideas, and that eventually through the exchange of ideas humanity will ultimately embrace the good ideas and reject the bad ideas. It is through education and intellectually honest exploration that our ideas evolve, not through suppression. I believe that morality and reason should guide laws, and people who try to impede our government with their religious agenda are a moral abomination.
I do not approve of the idea of homosexual or heterosexual marriage. I believe that marriage is a religious affair and that the government should only sanction civil unions; however I believe that as long as the government involves itself in marriage they should treat homosexual unions in the same manner as heterosexual unions.
I do not believe that the government should completely ban the following: abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research, human cloning, or homosexuality.
I believe that living in a society such as ours bestows upon us certain moral obligations to other members of our society, one of which is adequate healthcare, not merely access to healthcare.
I am against the Iraq war.
I believe that George W. Bush may very well be the worst president in the history of our country, and it will take decades if not centuries to recover from his administration.
I believe that there needs to be better energy management, and that our government needs to focus more on policies that will prevent the further destruction of our plant. I think the government should fund a new “Manhattan Project†were we get bright minds together and start developing new technology that can combat our dependence on fossil fuels and enable individuals to reasonably obtain and use methods of clean energy.
Love and Marriage
I have come to the conclusion that I value self-understanding above most things, and if an all powerful deity appeared before me and offered me self-actualization or marriage I would choose self-actualization. I believe that I can flourish alone or with a partner, either way I will do just fine, however I believe that I would want it to be all or nothing.
I can see myself existing in two possible ways:
1) Marriage
I can see myself happy and flourishing as a married woman. I am not someone who can entertain infinite "casual" romantic intrigues, if I enter into a serious relationship it will be with someone who I believe I can marry. Now, this doesn't mean that I would actually want to stroll down the aisle with them...what I mean by the above is that they must be someone of valuable substance, so much so that I could see myself married to them- or continuously commited to them. I believe that all other romantic relationships are just a waste of time and worst of all taking time away from someone who I can achieve consummate love with. If you are with someone who you don't see a future with, why be with them?? One day, if I find myself in the approprite situation, with the right person, I would want to be married. I believe that if you really love someone, you should want to marry them, be committed to them alone, and make that commitment and love known to one and all! I think that people who say they don’t want the title of a relationship or marriage are simply saying that they cannot see themselves with the person they are saying that to, or the person they are saying that about. I simply do not have time for people who are scared of the concept of commitment, “because without it all you have is two lonely people holding each other’s hand just to see how it feels.â€
2) Single
I can see myself happy and flourishing as a single woman. I have many passions in life, and I have found that when I have been in blissful relationships I have often neglected my quest for self-actualization and self-improvement. I do my best work and learn the most about myself when I am detached from others romantically. There are very few people that I have encountered, who can be in a romantic relationship with me and at the same time allow me to maintain my desire for self-actualization and self-improvement, and if I cannot be with someone who meets the above criterion, then I would rather be alone. I have developed amazing friendships with few, and I believe that those kinds of friendships provide me with the sufficient amount of kinship with others, in order to be a successful human being.
So either with someone or single, I will be just fine.
**Note: For the purpose of this section I use the term "married" as a place holder for a better term; it can also be interchangeable with civil union.
Children
I would one day like to have children (only two children: yes my uterus does have a maximum capacity with very few exceptions); however I would only want to have children if certain criterion is met. I believe that raising a child is one of the most difficult and rewarding things to do, and it should be done with the utmost care. In order for me to want to have children, I would want to be in a flourishing marriage, financially secure, and with the adequate time and energy available. I have discovered that there are certain things in this world I can do by myself, and other things that I need a partner to accomplish. I believe that raising a child is something that I will do best at in a partnership, and if I cannot be involved in a successful partnership, with someone who also wants to have children, then I do not desire to have children. During my undergraduate study in psychology, I placed my emphasis on developmental psychology, childhood thinking, and cognition, just incase one day I desired to procreate. That is how highly I value parenting. I believe that it is the duty of each parent to instill within their child all the good things that the parent can offer to this world, and it is the duty of the child to take the good things each of their parents have to offer, and leave the bad stuff behind, so that each generation can evolve, grow, and flourish. There are far to many people in this world who pop out children like logs in a log ride, and don’t know how or what to do with them once they take them home. I believe that it is an atrocity to bring life into this world and be unable or unwilling to give that life more good than bad, thus I do not desire to be a mother unless I find myself in a situation where my child has the opportunity to flourish.
Type of Label: Major
