{"id":21,"date":"2013-07-05T21:27:08","date_gmt":"2013-07-05T21:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/?page_id=21"},"modified":"2015-09-30T15:24:01","modified_gmt":"2015-09-30T15:24:01","slug":"hell-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/hell-2\/","title":{"rendered":"THE ORIGINS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In this section, we explore the topic of <em>explanation<\/em>.\u00a0 For\u00a0social scientists, this means focusing on\u00a0c<em>ausation<\/em>. For example, if we pose the following question, \u201cHow do we account for the fact that \u2018Hell happens\u2026?\u201d we automatically have to consider possible causes.\u00a0 Since one or more causes are possible, our choice of one over another constitutes an explanation.\u00a0 This bring up a second issue. \u00a0How do issues of cause and effect become muddled as a result of different understandings of a topic like Hell?\u00a0 If I believe Hell means one thing and you believe it means something quite different, we are likely to\u00a0identify different causes.\u00a0 As we shall see later, this has implications for our actions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">IMAGE FOUR<\/h2>\n<p><strong>TYRANTS, MURDERERS, AND MADMEN:\u00a0 \u201cTHE DEVIL\u2019S DEEDS . . .\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>12. Thursday, October 3.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Discussion<\/em>:\u00a0 In this section, we discuss those explanations of Hell that focus on the role of individual human beings.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Robert Todd Carroll, \u201cSatan,\u201d in the <em>The Skeptic\u2019s Dictionary<\/em>: <a href=\"http:\/\/nd.edu\/~amcadams\/Hell2009\/Satan.html\">PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Milovan <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nndb.com\/people\/782\/000180242\/\">Djilas<\/a>, <em>Conversations with Stalin<\/em>, pp. 56-84\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nd.edu\/~amcadams\/Hell2010\/Djilas.pdf\">PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Hannah <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kirjasto.sci.fi\/arendt.htm\">Arendt<\/a>,<em> Eichmann in Jerusalem<\/em>, pp. 36-55\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/nd.edu\/~amcadams\/Hell2010\/ArendtonEichmann.pdf\">PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Narcissistic Personality Disorder&#8221;:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Narcissistic_personality_disorder\">PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Background information about various \u201cdevils\u201d:\u00a0National Public Radio\u00a0interview with Riccardo Orizio about <em>Talk about the Devil<\/em>:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/templates\/story\/story.php?storyId=1285340\">LISTEN <\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong><br \/>\nYour First Essay Assignment\u00a0is\u00a0HERE<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">IMAGE FIVE<\/h2>\n<p><strong>STALIN\u2019S TERROR: \u201cA SELF-IMPOSED HELL . . . \u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>13. Tuesday,\u00a0October 8.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>George <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kirjasto.sci.fi\/gorwell.htm\">Orwell<\/a>, \u201cDown the Mine\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.orwell.ru\/library\/essays\/mine\/english\/e_dtm\">PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/li>\n<li>George Orwell,\u00a0 <em>Homage to Catalonia<\/em>. Read Chapters 1-5, as well as the Introduction by Lionel Trilling.<\/li>\n<li>A Photo Essay on the Spanish Civil War:\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.english.illinois.edu\/maps\/scw\/photessay.htm\">LOOK<\/a><\/li>\n<li>A brief assessment of the war:\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/history-world.org\/spanish_civil_war.htm\">READ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>14. Thursday, October 10.<\/strong> We will watch the first half of a film on this date.\u00a0 Instead of\u00a0 meeting in our normal classroom, we will meet\u00a0in the lounge of\u00a0the Nanovic Institute for\u00a0European Studies, 211 Brownson.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Richard Bugajski, Director, \u201cThe Interrogation\u201d (film)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You\u00a0will find\u00a0Bugajski\u2019s depiction of Stalinist terror agonizing. In my opinion, there is no way to sugar-coat the horrors of Stalinism. Remind me to warn you beforehand about one especially disturbing scene.<\/p>\n<p>Then, on the same day. . .<\/p>\n<p><strong>15.\u00a0 Thursday evening, October 10.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We will meet at the Nanovic Institute for\u00a0European Studies at 6:00 to have dinner and watch the rest of \u201cThe\u00a0 Interrogation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>16. Tuesday, October 15.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this section, we will begin to discuss the topic of belief.\u00a0 What does it mean to say that one&#8217;s belief affects behavior?\u00a0 Why are some people inclined to make extreme sacrifices&#8211;or\u00a0 force others to make extreme sacrifices for their beliefs.\u00a0 This is a major\u00a0theme in &#8220;The Interrogation.&#8221;\u00a0 I know you found the film tough to watch, but let&#8217;s face it,\u00a0these\u00a0offenses\u00a0happened and ordinary human beings committed them.\u00a0 Should we feel depressed about all this?\u00a0 Or can we be hopeful that most, if not all people, can be persuaded to moderate such extreme beliefs?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Conclude discussion of <em>Homage to Catalonia<\/em>.\u00a0 Read Chapters 8, 12-14.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">IMAGE SIX<\/h2>\n<p><strong>TECHNOLOGY IS US:\u00a0 \u201cA HELL OF YOUR OWN MAKING . . .\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>17. Thursday, October\u00a0 17.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Begin discussion of one of the most prophetic works of modern times: \u00a0Aldous <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kirjasto.sci.fi\/ahuxley.htm\">Huxley<\/a>, <em>Brave New World<\/em>. Read chapters 1-5.<\/p>\n<p>READ:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/files\/2013\/07\/We_re_living_1984_today.pdf\">We&#8217;re Living in 1984 today<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Are we living in &#8220;1984&#8221; today?<\/p>\n<p>Have a nice break. Remember to finish <em>Brave New World<\/em> while you are gone.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">MID-TERM BREAK MARCH:\u00a0 October 19 &#8211; October 27<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>18. Tuesday, October 29.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Finish discussion of Aldous Huxley, <em>Brave New World, <\/em>which you\u00a0should have\u00a0finished reading.\u00a0 Are there elements of Huxley&#8217;s argument in &#8220;Loving Donation&#8221;? Or is this just an example of the positive uses to which modern technology can be put? \u00a0What about 23andME? I would be grateful for your suggestions about other examples of technological innovation that would allow us to raise these questions?<\/p>\n<p>Also read:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Loving Donation&#8221;:\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/lovingdonation.com\/\">BROWSE THROUGH ALL OF THE PAGES ON THIS SITE<\/a><\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<li>23andMe: \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.23andme.com\/\">BROWSE THROUGH ALL THE PAGES ON THIS SITE<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jonathan Colvin, \u201cMe, my clone, and I\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/findarticles.com\/p\/articles\/mi_m1374\/is_3_60\/ai_62111885\">PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\u201cMary had a little lamb\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nd.edu\/~amcadams\/Hell2009\/Maryclone.doc\">RECITE<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>19.\u00a0 Thursday, October 31.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Discussion<\/em>:\u00a0 What are the moral implications of the way we define what counts\u00a0most in the world?\u00a0 Today, we will begin to discuss the moral implications of utilitarian judgments of human worth.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Peter Singer, \u201cTaking Life: Humans,\u201d from <em>Practical Ethics <\/em>(HAND-OUT)<\/li>\n<li>Harriet Johnson, \u201cUnspeakable Conversations\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/nd.edu\/~amcadams\/Hell2009\/OnSinger-1.html\">PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Keith Fornier, \u201cThe Dignity of the Person\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholic.org\/international\/international_story.php?id=31219&amp;cb300=vocations\">PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Abdulaziz Sachedinar, &#8220;Reflections on human personhood: an Islamic perspective&#8221;\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.nd.edu\/contendingmodernities\/2013\/08\/21\/reflections-on-human-personhood-an-islamic-perspective\/\">PRINT AND READ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For this discussion, I recommend that you surf around a bit to acquire a very general understanding of the philosophical approach known as \u201cutilitarianism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also, as you read Singer&#8217;s work, consider an alternative perspective on human worth from Jacques Maritain, the great Catholic philosopher and intellectual father of Vatican II:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\">Let us think of the human being, not in an abstract and general way,<br \/>\nbut in the most concrete possible, the most <i>personal <\/i>fashion.\u00a0 Let us<br \/>\nthink of this certain old man we have known for years in the country\u2014<br \/>\nthis old farmer with his wrinkled face, his keen eyes which have beheld<br \/>\nso many harvests and so many earthly horizons, his long habits of<br \/>\npatience and suffering, courage, poverty and noble labor, a man perhaps<br \/>\nlike those parents of a great living American statesman whose<br \/>\nphotographs appeared some months ago in a particularly moving copy<br \/>\nof a weekly magazine. Or let us of think of this certain boy or this girl<br \/>\nwho are our relatives or our friends, whose everyday life we well know,<br \/>\nand whose loved appearance, whose soft or husky voice is enough to<br \/>\nrejoice our hearts\u2026.We perceive intuitively, in an indescribable not<br \/>\ninescapable flash, that nothing in the world is more precious than<br \/>\none single human being.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\">\u2014Jacques Maritain, \u201cThe Immortality of Man\u201d (1941)<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\n20. Tuesday, November 5.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>The Second Great Debate!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Get ready to debate this topic:\u00a0 &#8220;When it comes to human dignity, Singer is far more humane than the Catholic<br \/>\nChurch&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">\u03c9<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0OMG:\u00a0 <\/strong><em>Please leave your technology at home. This includes electronic devices of any kind, such as laptops, i-Pads, cell phones, Kindles, video cameras, or other personal digital devices.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this section, we explore the topic of explanation.\u00a0 For\u00a0social scientists, this means focusing on\u00a0causation. For example, if we pose the following question, \u201cHow do we account for the fact that \u2018Hell happens\u2026?\u201d we automatically have to consider possible causes.\u00a0 Since one or more causes are possible, our choice of one over another constitutes an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-21","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":47,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":333,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions\/333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/hell-in-the-twentieth-century\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}