Today in class we discussed the 6-areas of philosophy. We then began our lecture discussing the famous Western Philosopher-Socrates. We learned that as a result of his ideas, Socrates was punished by the State (Athens, Greece) for corrupting the minds of the young. Question: What makes an idea dangerous? When you answer the question provide specific examples to suport your view. Watch the following video by Dr. Kaku to energize your ideas and opinions. You can comment on Dr. Kaku's views but come up with additional examples of dangerous ideas (Hint: you may have to do a google search).
http://bigthink.com/ideas/38469
Ideas can present a potential threat if there is no balance. It can become dangerous when a person is lost in the concept of finding reason while losing their sense of reality. Such an example of losing their grip on their surroundings would be the professor who lived life full of ideas while living in a house falling apart around him. However, the threat can grow to a greater extent when the ideas begins affects other, whether from another persons actions or their influential words.
ReplyDeleteA dangerous idea would be the brainwashing of others to think a certain way. It can sometimes by used to lead them to grow against a certain person or country. As Michio Kaku said, the CIA tried to stimulate a monsoon season against Veitcong due to existing tension. It can relate to the events of 9-11 when al-Queda hijacked planes to target the United States. It all started from a dangerous idea where only negative thoughts was received about the so called "enemies." Socrates was punished by the state of Athens for corrupting young minds. Groups such as al-Queda brainwash others (who most likely are part of the younger generation) to think a certain way that can not be swayed otherwise. Dangerous ideas grow when it is use against other people. It poses a threat when it is influential to people who are not thought otherwise. From a young age they lose their sense of reality and ability to identify consequences that come along from the actions that were formed by dangerous ideas.
Great job. You made some insightful connections between socrates and al-queda-in terms of affecting the minds of the youth with a particular ideology.
DeleteI also agreed with the discussion in class that ideas also become dangerous when it conflicts with existing beliefs and ideas. It forces people to question what they were brought up to believe which is something they would feel uncomfortable dismissing. It may make them feel as if everything they stand for is meaningless.
DeleteWhat are some examples of dangerous ideas?
DeleteAll ideas can effect diffenret people differently. There are the good ideas, and then there are the bad ones. However, there are also ideas that can be destructive to the human mind. As soon as an idea has been planted in someones brain, especially a young mind, it will stay there. That idea then can consume that persons mind and life and could effect the lives of others. These types of ideas are the dangerous ideas. The ideas could be anything from trying or succeeding in kidnapping a person, or maybe crashing an airplaine into the side of the world trade center eleven years ago yesterday. Kidnapping a single person may affect the lives of a hand full of people, but the events of 9-11 affected pretty much an entire country of people. A dangerous idea is only dangerous when that single idea takes over a persons mind and that person takes it upon themself so carryout that idea in real life. So therefore a dangerous idea is not dangerous until it affects human beings in the real world, not in some fantasy that the idealist creates in their mind.
ReplyDeleteIn Dr. Kaku's video, it says that the CIA tried to stimulat a monsoon against Vietcong due to exsisting tension, which obviously was a very bad and dangerous idea. Another dangerous idea was 9-11 and you could also put Hitler trying to create the "perfect race" back in the 1940's, which started the second world war. I also believe that segregation during the mid twentieth century was an absoluetly terrible and dangerous idea.
Excellent! Your point about people being consumed with a particular idea, in this case negative,is profound and helpful is explaining why some people do some really harmful things to others.
DeleteThanks
Deletea idea can be dangerouse if somebody interpets the idea differently some ideas people can have the wrong attetions to certain people. Thats why a idea is very senstive. That idea then can consume that persons mind and life and could effect the lives of others. These types of ideas are the dangerous ideas. a human brain is like a sponge so any idea you put in it can stay there have a huge effect on somebody.
ReplyDeleteIn Dr. Kaku's video, it says thatevents of 9-11 when al-Queda hijacked planes aiming for the United State. this idea was enforsed in young minds in oder to belive we the unitied states were the enemy.
Very good. I think there is something to say about this idea of interpretation that you mentioned. How a person interprets a particular idea is essential in understanding why some people do things with ideas when others do not.
DeleteThnk you I mean it's all depends howbu see a idea in ur mind
DeleteEveryone has ideas and they can all become dangerous. I think ideas become dangerous when you decide to go beyond your intial plan and push the limit of the idea being a good safe idea and a dangerous one A simple idea like going to the mall can become dangerous. I'm going to the mall and my mother told to go straight there and come straight back. But I, expanding on my idea of going to the mall, decided to go to the mall, then go to a restaurant, then my friend's house without letting my mother know. I got myself in trouble when I did the opposite of my intial plan.
ReplyDeleteDr. Kaku talks about the 9/11 attacks on the world trade center, but that idea was dangerous to begin with. It didn't build and then become dangerous.
Great example. I did not fully agree with you at first, but I was convinced by your mall example. I guess anything good can, with the wrong motive, be twisted into something bad or harmful.
DeleteIdeas can become dangerous when they make others and themselves lose track of reality. You can always think about something, linger in that thought, however you can't linger in that thought forever. This is what you mentioned when you talked about balance and Aristotle. Essentially, ideas become dangerous when they tilt the "balance" or equilibrium of life or thought.
ReplyDeleteFrequently, many ideas are dangerous and can be even more destructive when they are implemented. Dr.Kaku talked of the idea of controlling weather. If humans do control the weather, many, many deplorable things can happen. Humans are imperfect beings that can always act on the intention of harming each other. That's why war and disputes exist among people. This is creating an imbalance of human control. Another example are the Nazis and Fascists. The leaders of these ideologies implemented their views into the younger generations and the children of that generation. The leaders were focused on one idea and brainwashed the populations. This is another example of imbalance by humans. A third example, is the dystopian society in the book, 1984. Every citizen of that book had to follow the Communist principles of Big Brother and these principles were instilled in the younger generation even to the point where the children were telling the authorities that their parents were traitors. This is a dangerous idea because it tips off the balance of the society by controlling every aspect of life. Just like the weather controllers, fascists, and Nazis, humans are essentially trying to control something that will lead to harm.
Well said!! This idea of control is what people seem to fear when confronted with certain ideas. This is what happened in Athens when the parents believed that Socrates was corrupting the minds of their children and in essence teaching rebellion against them but loyalty to him.
DeleteYes, this idea landed Socrates in trouble. This is what happens when a person is too attached to abstract ideas. They never really think about the practical consequences. Socrates, in the beginning, was very poor and ended up walking barefoot. He should have thought practically of how he could make a living. Survival is about think abstractly but also practical. One cannot be too practical or too abstract. This mistake of his led to his downfall though I don't think he should be poisoned and killed.
DeleteHowever, the second accusation on him was teaching about different gods and goddesses that the Greeks believed in. I do not believe that was something wrong though. Again, he shouldn't have been killed for doing that. People can hold different beliefs about religion. But it is only to that extent. I am not sure if Socrates did anything beyond that though.
Ideas come in all “shapes and sizes.” Some ideas can be big while others very small. There are the bad ideas, the good ideas, the bold ideas, the old ideas that are modified just enough to become the new improved idea and sometimes there are the crazy ideas that are some of the times absolutly ridiculous. However, regardless of the range of types of ideas someone may have they all share one major aspect which is that they have the potential to influence and cahnge the way that people think, sometimes in a positive way but negatively as well. Ideas can cause anyone to lose there sense of reality . I also belive that the creation of ideas comes in a process. Ideas usually come to mind mostly when someone is not occupied with anything and the mind is free, which I think is a leading factor that cointributes to making an idea dangerous.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are bored that is the time when ideas begin to flow in ones minds the most because we are constantly searching for something to do. For instance, currently teens using drugs is a major issue and concern throughout society. If one day a teen wakes up and had absolutely nothing to do and they were completely bored out of their minds and they have never tried drugs before they might think, well I should try it, my parents arent home and won’t be for a couple of hours, I have heard of people who have done it and it was a new good experience and it may be as much as a good one for me as it was for them. The teen knowing of the concequences of doing drugs based on the commercials of people who have suffered greatly from doing drugs in the past, baseed on videos, the news and the knowledge aquired during health class about the negative effects of doing drugs, the teen would tend to consider blocking out the reality just to satisfy the feeling of no longer being bored.
Great job! You mentioned a lot regarding the mind: An idle mind is dangerous; boredom; and blocking out reality. I assume when you say blocking out reality you mean to say truth or the facts. I think this is a big issue. When people know what to do but refuse to do it because of their emotions wants bad things can happen.
DeleteThankyou Dr. Birgeles. You were correct with your assumption, by a person blocking out reality I meant it in relation to oftentimes, people disregard the truth and the facts about the consequences that their actions can bring due to their emotions. Several times with the youth and even with adults this refusal occurs which can get them into an immense amount of trouble. With the youth community sometimes teens tell their parents that they are going over a friends house. Once they are there, after a while they might get bored of being indoors and they will decided to go out and maybe head to the mall or the park without letting their parents know that they are going to these other places, with fear that they might say no. In the world there are a lot of different people some which are good and others very bad and along the way something terrible can happen to the teen and their parents would have no knowledge about it. This is seen a lot on the news of teens getting into accidents or gone missing and the parents are left devastated and holding their childs friends parents accountable because that is where their child supposibly was. The teen acted on emotion rather than being rational. This occurs with adults as well. On the news we hear stories constantly of ex-husbands killing their ex-wife and her new husband and sometimes even their children because of jealousy . This is an objective truth. Adults know that committing a murder is wrong but they refuse to do not believe it for that split second. They act upon emotions rather than considering the facts. We are emotional and impatient human beings and there is a lot of danger associated with those qualities.
DeleteThere are consequences to every idea. A good idea, and a bad idea are all judged by each individual person differently, but going by laws and society standards, one can easily name pros and cons about all ideas.
ReplyDeleteLet us take weaponry for example. Weaponry is useful for many things. Hunting, self defense, and maybe even training. Weaponry is also bad because there are always people who are willing to challenge law and authority. For example: If a man is going to rob someone by random on the street, he will feel more confident if he has a pocket knife, or a weapon of some sort. It gives him this sense of power in which he believes he can rob someone easier, and quicker. The idea of weaponry was for uses of necessity, even if it is war, which eventually settles disputes.
That is the only example I will provide because I believe it says enough. Again, everything has a good and a bad, but you just have to understand what true "good" and "true" bad are.
Very Good George. What you seem to be saying is that MOTIVE (The reasons behind why a person does or does not do something)is a big part of what makes ideas good or bad.
DeleteAll ideas become "dangerous" when they have challenged the laws of society and its accepted norms. What is dangerous to one person might not always be dangerous to another. When people live a certain lifestyle with specific guidelines, it means they have put trust into these guidelines. When their guidelines are being questioned it also means their lifestyle is also being questioned. People do not like being told that what they have believed in for so many years, is now "wrong" or "incorrect". Hence, ideas are then interpreted as dangerous. These are consequences to social ideas and its impact on the social order.
ReplyDeleteAn idea can have a physical impact and be very dangerous, such as the Manhattan Project. Those that influenced the creation of the nuclear bomb weren't supportive of its use but still contributed to the project. Many scientists were excited because of its defining role in history. The project was a step forward in quantum physics. However, scientists such as Einstein thought of its use in Hiroshima as unnecessary. When an idea falls into powerful hands it will be used in powerful ways. If it falls into clumsy hands, it can become dangerous for the world and its successors.
Great job. I love your example of the Manhattan Project. What is interesting about that idea is that for some people it was a bad or dangerous idea that had beneficial results since it ended the U.S. war with Japan.
DeleteYes, I guess many see it as a necessary end, though I do not agree with those people. Today, the problem is the spread of WMD's. So now the question is whether it is in the right hands or not and how this will affect relations between competing countries.
DeleteIdeas are dangerous because of their intrinsic ability to manipulate and change ones perception on something through coercion. They in essence are able to impose a radically new way of thinking which enables the ability for ideas to be used for malicious purposes as you now possess the ability to bend one's thinking in favor of your own. Prominent examples of this are Hitler during his control over Nazi Germany and Stalin and the Soviet Russian Regime. Stalin was even quoted as saying "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas."
ReplyDeleteFabulous use of Stalin's quote. What Stalin knew is that an idea could undermine his Communist experiment. So to hold onto power he knew that you had to expose people to the ideas you wanted them to have-As a result, in many communist countries there is a modified "free press."
DeleteAn idea being dangerous or not depends on a personal opinion. One might think Socrates ideas were great, while another person can argue that the ideas bring more harm and can affect society negatively. I think an idea becomes "dangerous", when it tries to bring change or question someones beliefs or lifestyle. No one likes to hear from someone that what they or their families have been doing for a few years or many centuries is wrong. This infuriates many people and instead of thinking about it rationally, they act upon it emotionally and demand for the person spreading the ideas to be punished.
ReplyDeleteA great example of this is Martin Luther King Jr. When he started spreading ideas of equality and how everyone deserves it, no matter what race they belong to, people were enraged. MLK Jr. was trying to change these peoples lifestyles, which caused his ideas to be viewed as "dangerous" by the ones who supported salavary. On the other hand many thought his ideas were great and can help the society. This is why I think it depends on personal opinion, to label an idea "dangerous" or not.
The video you put a link for was not working on my computer, so i can not comment on that.
Insightful. You made an interesting point that what is deemed as a dangerous idea is determined by the person receiving it.
DeleteIdeas possess the most danger when you know how to use it. If someone can understand themselves and what they are thinking, ideas would become extremely dangerous as you can use it to manipulate others. Also ideas can get dangerous if you lose your balance in the equilibrium as discussed in class. We should always have a balance instead of just thinking all the time and not acting upon it. Additionally, ideas can be dangerous when they are too extreme and question many moralities in life. Examples supporting this include, these ideas I found on google from the same website you linked us to. That includes taxing fat people and allowing pro athletes to use steroids. Now that is extremely prejudice and extreme. The idea of taxing fat people is EXTREMELY prejudice and should never be an idea or be used. That is insulting and can personally affect the persons self esteem and damage their mental health. I am extremely against that idea because it is too extreme. Additionally, the pro athletes being allowed to use steroids can be extreme as well. Steroids and multiple side affects and can certainly ruin one's mental state increasing aggression. This could essentially destroy a game if a flagrant is called, possibly starting a fight. Furthermore, the idea of manipulation through ideas is found in Socrates himself. He was able to prove someone's statements contradictory to himself through further questioning. He was able to do this because he understood his ignorance as he knew nothing. Moreover, the video included how the CIA wanted to manipulate the weather in order to create a monsoon amongst the jungle Vietnamese. They were in complete failure. But to think, this is an extremely dangerous idea. We can possibly alter the weather patterns of this world, which is extremely dangerous because we won't know the repercussions it holds. As Socrates had said everything has a pleasure and a price. Therefore, this idea seems to be too extreme, sure it can possibly stop global warming but who knows what would happen. For example, those pollutants they would shoot into the air to radiate the sunlight back into the atmosphere, what that would cause. Possibly, a new air chemical? Or perhaps something worse to inhale. Regardless, all ideas can be dangerous if going to an extreme or if one learns to mend it in way to make it dangerous.
ReplyDeleteFantastic job! You used some wonderful examples from the website. I think you are focusing your attention on the importance of motive and the implications/consequences of one's ideas. For example, in the movie Jurassic Park there is this great statement made that just people we can do something does not mean we should do it.
DeleteI'm not quite sure how to respond to this, however, I will try my best to. Thank you for saying i had wonderful examples. And yes motive and the implications/consequences are what I meant to imply. Additionally, after today's class I also agree with what Chandanie had said about the acceptance in society. As it is dangerous when someone brings about a new idea, which is true, but isn't accepted by everyone else. It has been proven with history and is bound to happen again someday. So i would just like to add that to my thoughts about ideas being dangerous.
DeleteI agree with Ishrat that an idea is usually considered dangerous when it threatens accepted truths, the very structure of societies, cultures, belief systems, and jeopardizes the power and security of those higher up. I also agree with Anil that an idea can be considered dangerous because there’s always the possibility of it being true and having actual, tangible substance.
ReplyDeleteFor example, during the Dark Ages when the church was a formidable governmental body they taught geocentrism which is the theory that the celestial bodies in the sky revolve around the Earth. Any idea not taught by the church was considered heresy and dangerous because it challenged their authority (which is given to them by the people). In the 16th century Nicolaus Copernicus presented a mathematical model on the theory of heliocentrism which was the theory that the Sun instead was the center of the solar system. Johannes Kelper elaborated upon and expanded Copernicus’s model to include elliptical orbits and supported Galileo’s telescope observations. Copernicus wasn’t the first person to propose the theory of heliocentrism, however. The notion that the Earth revolved around the Sun had been proposed as early as the 3rd century BC by Aristarchus of Samos, but had received no support from other ancient astronomers. Because Aristarchus’s idea received no support and was not paid any mind it was not considered dangerous for it did not have the chance to challenge any established norms. Centuries later Copernicus, with the same idea, started a revolution.
Another example of “dangerous” ideas that challenged the established norms of society are those of Charles Darwin. Though his theories of evolution were not originally his own he takes credit for them, and it is those theories that challenge the belief that God created everything separately; man and beast.
Ideas are greeted differently from individual to individual and it through their sense of morality, reasoning, and beliefs that determines their thoughts and views toward an idea. Ideas that are met with hostility are the ones that have the potential to bring about major change or upheaval, and humans are creatures that naturally resist change due to emotional attachments and desires (there is no balance between feelings and reason).
I really like Shahnoor’s example with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. because even though Dr. King meant well and wanted everyone to get along despite race, his idea and dream was met with hostility because it would recreate society at the time if it was accepted, and change is something people don’t like because it’s “hard” and takes them out of their comfort zone.
Here is a link to a website that has the preface and afterward from a book called “What is your Dangerous Idea?” and writers Steven Pinker and Richard Dawkins eloquently and thoughtfully express their views. http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/dangerous07/dangerous07_index.html
Great job! You used some very clear examples as evidence to support your arguments. Very Common Core of you. I find it very insightful that ideas which are correct, but not embraced by the masses, can be deemed dangerous or in the evidence you cited-Heretical, i.e., Aristarchus of Samos's early knowledge about celestial bodies.
DeleteThank you, Mr. B. I do genuinely try.
DeleteIdeas are never dangerous. It is the outcome of the idea that makes the idea dangerous. If the idea makes you lose sight of reality by brainwashing yourself and/or makes you question the natural balance of society. There are even good ideas that become dangerous such as Communism. It really does describe the closest to Utopian society where everyone shares everything. The execution of the wonderful idea resulted in a dictatorship.
ReplyDeleteLosing sight of reality is also not good because it can ruin a person. Socrates said that "an unexamined life is not worth living." But whats the point if you spend your whole life examining it?
Ideas with moderation.
Ideas don't necessarily have to start out as dangerous. Some ideas are ones with good intent, but they end up being used for the wrong purpose or in the wrong way. In Dr. Kaku's video, he had said that the CIA wanted to control the weather for the ability to create a monsoon for the Vietcong so that they could cause them to have troubles during the Vietnam war. This is a dangerous use of the idea of weather control. Its using weather as a weapon. But, if the idea was used to help global warming and to regulate temperature control so that the words temperatures weren't as unbalanced as they are now, then its a "good" idea because its for the better of the world. Ideas don't have to start out as dangerous, but depending on the way they are used they become dangerous.
ReplyDelete