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PHI 101 Ethics OF DATA SCIENCE.
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- PHI 101 Ethics OF DATA SCIENCE
PHI 101 Ethics OF DATA SCIENCE.
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PHI 101 Ethics OF DATA SCIENCEFreedom and Determinism - correct answer-..
Overview - correct answer-Leslie is a recent college graduate with a degree in
psychology. She is struggling to decide between going to graduate school and
pursuing a teaching certification. She knows she has the power to shape her
future based on each decision she makes. Leslie is afraid of making the wrong
choice and irreparably heading down the wrong life path. Leslie believes that
she must create meaning in her own life.
We can glean from Leslie's behavior she believes in free will. Leslie believes
everything has a cause, and she can be the cause of her own actions. In that
sense, she is free to shape her own life. While the belief is liberating, it's also
a source of anxiety, anguish, and fear for Leslie. She knows if she doesn't
follow the correct path and live authentically, her life will have no meaning.
Leslie's view is only one philosophy about how our lives unfold. The theory of
determinism lies on the other side of the spectrum. It is the belief that there is
only one possible outcome for our lives, which is set in stone from the day we
are born.
The philosophy of determinism can be applied in many spheres. In Origin of
Species, English naturalist Charles Darwin proposed the philosophy of natural
selection, which uses biology to explain which animals are more likely to
survive. This question of whether our lives are predestined or pliable is one
humans have been grappling with for centuries.
Topic 01: Determinism - correct answer-Charlie dreams of one day becoming
a famous musician. As a determinist, he believes his fate is in God's hands.
Charlie only practices with his band once a month. However, he is not anxious
about making his dream a reality through actions of his own because he
believes there is nothing he can do to influence his fate. Charlie believes God
already knows how he will live his life and how he will die.
Determinism is the belief things are destined to happen in a single,
predestined way. The term is not limited to the religious sphere, either. Other
types of determinism include psychological, physical, genetic, historical, and
,economic. What is the difference between these different forms of
determinism?
All Knowing? - correct answer-In Western theology, especially as it is
practiced in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, God, as the supernatural being,
is ascribed certain attributes.
These attributes include omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience,
among others. Given that God possesses these attributes, it is argued that
God knows all of our past, present, and future actions and all actions
everywhere in the world and the universe. If God knows these actions, many
conclude that God has caused these actions.
This gives rise to the problem of predestination, for if God is all knowing, God
knows what I have done, what I am currently doing, and what I will do in the
future, and God has known these things forever.
The question follows, if God knows all of my actions - past, present, and
future—isn't my fate inevitable? If so, how could I be free?
Predestination - correct answer-The doctrine of predestination arose during
the Protestant Reformation when the question of how one is to be saved from
eternal damnation was being debated. If one is to be saved from eternal
damnation, then one must be justified, or enter into a right relation with God.
Although the Catholic Church had always stressed justification by faith, the
era prior to the Reformation was corrupt as witnessed by the sale of
indulgences. Many also believed that one could earn their salvation through
good works.
Martin Luther (1483 - 1546), a German priest, held that salvation comes
through faith alone; it is a gift of God's grace.
John Calvin (1509 - 1564) agreed with Luther, but further held that there was
nothing which one could do of one's self to merit salvation. Calvin further
argued in the Institutes of the Christian Religion for the doctrine of election,
whereby God has elected some to eternal salvation and others to eternal
damnation: "God's eternal decree, by which He compacted with himself what
he willed to become of each man. For all are not created in equal condition;
rather, eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others" (Inst.
III, 21, 5).
, Predestination Debate - correct answer-Predestination has been criticized on
several counts. The debate over predestination has persisted for centuries
and is still prevalent in some circles today. The doctrine is not widely held
among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Criticisms include:
Proof of a Supernatural Being - correct answer-The doctrine presupposes the
existence of God, or a supernatural being. It is generally agreed that the
existence of a supernatural being is beyond the realm of proof. But further,
supposing we were able to prove the existence of God, or a supernatural
being, one would still have the problem of proving that the Being possesses
the attributes of omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence, that this Being
is the creator of the universe, and that the universe has been programmed or
predestined to unfold in a given manner.
Free Will - correct answer-If God, or a supernatural being, created the
universe and everything in it, then God must also have created evil. Those
who argue against this criticism, and against predestination, maintain that God
created humankind with the ability to make choices, and that humankind
chose to disobey God's law, or commandments, and evil entered the world as
a consequence of our choices. St. Augustine (354 - 430) maintained the view
that God, out of God's goodness, created us free because free actions are
better than those which are not. Augustine further held the improper exercise
of our freedom introduced evil into the world.
The Choice to Accept Salvation - correct answer-A supernatural being that
would predestine some to eternal salvation and others to eternal damnation
appears to contradict the understanding of God held by most Jews, Christians,
and Muslims. Predestination denies, as seen in Calvin, that humans can do
anything to merit salvation. Those who argue for predestination often argue
that salvation is a gift, and God has the right to offer that gift to whomever God
may please and deny it to others. But this view contradicts the commonly held
belief that God is all-loving. If one of the attributes of God's nature is love, is it
within God's power to contradict God's nature by refusing to offer the gift of
salvation to all? On this view, some would elect to accept God's gift while
others would elect to refuse it, but the choice remains with the individual.
Science and Determinism - correct answer-Scientific determinism is the view
that every event in the universe is determined in accordance with the laws of
nature. Stated somewhat differently, every event is the inevitable
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