Misc.

Cosmology: Science vs Religion - A 3 PAGE OPINION PAPER! Well written, Just a short piece for those small opinion papers that you have to write - "In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Christian belief encountered significant opposition. Until then, most of the world shared the belief of the "Medieval world view" that not only was the earth positioned at the center of the universe, but that God was all knowing, all powerful and all good. God was thought to have created and sustained the wondrous workings of the universe. This belief told the people all they needed to know about the meaning and purpose of life. Then, scientific discovery and methods began to undermine religious beliefs."

Are Religion and Science One? - A short 2 page, 2 source paper discussing the debate over whether religion and science are to be considered as one aspect. A great essay for a quick assignment. - "Is it possible that in our search for some basic reality, we humans may discover that although religion and science have always seemed to be in different places, the conclusion they will ultimately reach will be the same thing? What is God? Energy, Spirit, Universal Consciousness, Singular, Unilateral?"

Islamic Religion - A 4 PAGE 4 RESOURCE PAPER! Written about the Islamic religion and the stereotypes that people of this religion often receive as opposed to the gentle nature of the basic fundamental ideas of Islam.- "Todays Muslims are branded as terrorists or fudamentalist. But their religion is a gentle religion. On the Arabian Penninsula, home of the Arabs, was isolated and they were able to develop their civilization without outside influences. It is about 1 million miles square, that is located between the Red sea and the Persian Gulf. There are two distinctive regions. The first has well-watered valleys between mountains and the second is arid plains and desert. Grass grows quickly during the showes of the rainy season. In ancient times the Arabs were bedouin (nomads that hersed sheep, goats, and camels. and lived in tents made made of felt from camel or goat hair.) They ate fresh or dried dates and drank milk from their herds."

Artificial Intelligence - A 13 PAGE PAPER WITH A PAGE OF RESOURCES! A comprehensive paper discussing the odea of artificial intelligence and the philosophy behind it. - " Artificial Intelligence is based in the view that the only way to prove you know the mind's causal properties is to build it. In its purest form, AI research seeks to create an automaton possessing human intellectual capabilities and eventually, consciousness. There is no current theory of human consciousness which is widely accepted, yet AI pioneers like Hans Moravec enthusiastically postulate that in the next century, machines will either surpass human intelligence, or human beings will become machines themselves (through a process of scanning the brain into a computer). Those such as Moravec, who see the eventual result as "the universe extending to a single thinking entity" as the post-biological human race expands to the stars, base their views in the idea that the key to human consciousness is contained entirely in the physical entity of the brain. While Moravec (who is head of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University) often sounds like a New Age psychedelic guru professing the next stage of evolution, most AI (that which will concern this paper) is expressed by Roger Schank, in that "the question is not 'can machines think?' but rather, can people think well enough about how people think to be able to explain that process to machines?" "

Hinduism - A 5 PAGE 3 RESOURCE PAPER discussing the Hindu religion and people. This paper includes the major foundations of Hindu religion and compares them to the basic tenets of other religions. - "While examining different religious paths within Hinduism from the perspective of four patterns of transcendence (ancestral, cultural, mythical and experiential) it is interesting to see how each pattern found its dominance over four segments of Hinduism: Vedic sacrifice, the way of action, the way of devotion and the way of knowledge. When Hinduism originated as a religion it was mainly concerned with sacrifices for ancestors. The sacred texts - called the Vedas - on which Hinduism was based were the main root of the many different branches of Hindu philosophy. "

Sikhism -A 4 PAGE 4 RESOURCE PAPER about the religion of Sikhism, a seldom focussed on topic. This paper is not only interesting but also informative and a great paper for a religions of the world class! - "Sikhism is a Religion of uniqueness. It has beliefs from two other religions; Hinduism and Islam (Borak 53). This religion is very scarce in the United States. The main area for Sikhs is in the Northwest India (Borak 53). I had never heard of this religion before, so that is the main reason why I chose to study this religion. I have found it very interesting and different. The Sikhs have many unique qualities. Sikhism dates back to a long time ago. Making it more modern, it was introduced near the closing of the 15th Century (Borak 53). Guru Nanak Dev originated it, now making it a minority group. The Sikhs are found generally around northwest India, or Punjab, but can also be found anywhere in the world (Borak 53). "

Communism - A 9 page paper with over a page of resources included. A very comprehensive paper on the controversial subject of communism. - "Communism has long been heralded in capitalist countries as the root of all evil. However, as with all phobias, this intrinsic fear of communism comes from a lack of knowledge rather than sound reasoning. It is that same fear that gave the world the Cold War and McCarthy's Red Scare. The purpose of this paper is neither to support communism over capitalism nor the reverse of that. Rather, it is to inform the reader of communism's migration through time and hopefully assist the regression of such fear. "

Calvinism and the Religious Wars - A 4 page single resource paper referring to one book which discusses the history of Calvinism and it's effect upon holy wars of its time. - "This book is about pretty much the beginning of Calvinism and how it played a major role in the reforming of mid to late fifteenth century Europe. Franklin Charles Palm tries to exam the role in which John Calvin used his love for the sacred scriptures and religion to reform the way he lived, and the rest of the world. Concentrating mostly on Europe at that time period. Palm breaks down the life of Calvin at first, and then as he proceeds through this book he leads up to actual formation of the religion."

Hobbes & Rousseau on good - A 7 page 3 resource paper written comparing and contrasting the views of Hobbes and Rousseau on the idea of Good. - "For one to be a good citizen, there are certain expectations a person must follow to achieve this goal. While many people have their own ideas of what makes a good citizen, there is little consensus to exactly what this would be. Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in their books The Leviathan and The Social Contract, create a system of political governing where the citizen plays a certain role and has certain expectations to carry out this role for the governmental system to work properly. "

Hindu Revivalism - An 11 page 7 resource paper discussing the revivalism of Hinduism in India today. A well written paper compiling a lot of interesting information. - "Hindu revivalism remains a growing force in India today. It is also a concern among the millions of displaced Hindus scattered around the world. Its roots lie in the belief that Hinduism is an endangered lifestyle. This notion is fuelled by the political assertiveness of minority groups, efforts to convert Hindus to other faiths, suspicions that the political authorities are sympathetic to minority groups and the belief that foreign political and religious ideologies are destroying the Hindu community. "