CLE: An Exercise in Moral Reasoning

A. 1. The behavior I chose is gay or lesbian relationships, and I consider this action to be largely neutral. I can’t consider this purely right or purely wrong because of the very thin line that separates love from lust. The Church teaches us to overcome the temptations of the flesh, which is also why it condemns premarital sex and masturbation, but the Church also teaches us to love and express such love.

2. I believe that the action would not be considered bad or sinful if the relationship is of a platonic nature. This is because such a relationship is an example of overcoming the temptations of the flesh, and, at the same time, an honest and chaste expression of love.

3. Based on my answers, I think I’m a moral rationalist leaning more towards the relativist side than the absolutist side.

B. It depends man. In our interpretation of what is right or wrong, this kind of relationship is kinda vague. Authority would say that it is wrong, and Scripture has instances of authority also saying that it is wrong. But like many actions nowadays, there is no actual evidence besides authority’s word that it is wrong, which is why I can’t say that I’m sure what to tell you. I’d like to tell you what you want to hear, and my reasoning actually leads me to believe that there is nothing wrong with a platonic relationship between you and your partner. But it’d be safer to forego it. All things considered, the safer choice is always to avoid this kind of relationship. Besides, if we assume that a platonic relationship between you and your partner is alright, can you really keep it that way? Can you assure me that your objective is love and not pleasure? Can you assure me that the reason you want this is not because you can’t control your own desires? If not, it’d probably be better to let it go.

GMO

Personally, I have no problem with GMO, even with the potential for harmful side-effects. The main problem for me is the complacency and laxness that could arise from the acceptance of GMO. I believe that the regulatory bodies monitoring GMO’s should never cease being strict and the non-government organizations should continue to exist. The quality and relative safeness of GMO’s can be greatly compromised if the practice of genetically modifying food becomes highly commercialized, especially if the unethical principles of corporations cause them to cut corners and make GMO of substandard and dangerous quality. As for the potential for harmful side-effects, I believe that as long as the scientists are heavily monitored and regulated, any problems with side-effects can be remedied with further research and development.

Role of Reason in Religion

 

Oil in Taste

Actually, in terms of taste, only butter and palm oil had a different taste. The butter had a more vivid taste than the others while the palm oil had a duller taste than the others. The rest, canola, olive, etc. had a bit of taste but all tasted the same.

BHA and BHT

BHA and BHT are synthetic compounds used to preserve food by preventing oxidative rancidity in the lipids within the the food. Currently, they are considered safe by the standards of regulatory groups. However, they have been linked to some bad effects such as allergies, rhinitis, urticaria, and being a carcinogen. 

I believe that we should not stop using BHA or BHT until it can be proven that there is a confirmed relationship between the preservatives and the ill effects. They are very effective preservatives, and natural anti-oxidants do not have the same capacity to preserve food because of their own shelf life. Thus, manufacturers should not stop using these, but the population’s diet should not consist of too much of these preserved foods.

FOOD

I think these foods are weird because it’s harder to treat these foods as different from the animal, they’re parts of animals that aren’t usually eaten, or insects.

Food is anything that can be consumed to sustain the body’s needs, namely it’s energy, vitamin, and protein needs.

Regular food is easier to accept because it looks quite different from the live animal, such as meats. Fish and other seafood is an exception to this, but people have gotten used to eating these animals.

1. Codfish Sperm
2. Live Octopus
3. Fried Tarantulas
4. Silkworm Larvae
5. Drunken Shrimp

Post-VC Reflection (South Dartmoor Community College)

In many ways, the VC with South Dartmoor Community College came as a surprise. First of all, I did not expect that there would be they would be as few as three of them only. (The time difference made it a bit too early for them.) Second of all, I did not expect them to be all girls. Last of all, the conversation took unexpected turns about every 5 minutes, making for an interesting VC indeed.

The topic of the VC was Material Wealth and Spiritual Wealth, and our coordinator was a familiar face, Mr. Ian Jamison. Although the start was admittedly more awkward than most, the conversation did gain eventually gain steam. After the first round of introductions, the VC quickly turned to the topic of most valuable possessions and wealth, and the South Dartmoor participants didn’t hesitate to share. We Xaverians took a bit more time to convince ourselves that a conversation meant that both sides needed to speak. However, when the topic again abruptly switched to material wealth, spiritual wealth, and the relationship between the two, the discussion became more profound for both sides. While it started with the usual answers, the quality of the ideas evolved to be more realistic, complex, and objective. The matter of being both materially and spiritually wealthy is no one-sided deal, and the conversation proved that instead of black and white, there is a spectrum in between. The possible relationships between the two types of wealth were also explored, i.e. how one can support the other or how one can deter the other. Examples and counter-examples of real life situations were given, such as the Catholic Church, government officials, and famous millionaires.

All in all, the VC with South Dartmoor Community College was both thought-provoking and enjoyable. Although the topic invited predictable answers and ideas taught and implied in the classroom, the VC was able to dig a bit deeper and provide new knowledge and perspective.

Chem Poster

CLE Matters

1. Epistemological World Views, Social Justice, and Action as a Function of Faith

2. Literary Appreciation of Biblical Text and Use of the AAA Model

3. A problem that is nearly impossible to solve should not prevent one from trying — and succeeding.

Of Society and Justice

Although problems of social justice are already daunting to start with, analyzing them to their ‘roots’ doesn’t lessen how intimidating they are and might even further stress how hopeless they seem. The reason they’re also frequently labeled social structures is because of how ingrained they already are in society and each other; forming a massive and inescapable chasm of interlocked problems that can’t be solved without getting rid of other similarly formidable social problems or disregarding basic human decency for a few terrible moments. Because the state of society has formed thusly, identifying effective and sustainable action to remedy the situation is more than impossible in the lone hands of an individual or small group of people. Although each person is called to take action one way or another, the effect of such action is mostly short-term or non-sustainable. The most significant thing any one person can do is lead others in the conquest for social justice, equity, and compassion. The toppling of near indestructible social structures is a task that a critical mass of people must advocate; it will never completely happen until a majority of populations truly and consciously sacrifice to decide that change is essential.