Week 2 Blog Reviews

Peer Group 5

Hilary Cummings:

"Without God"

Your arguments are backed up well. You make many good points using your source. You used facts to lure the reader onto your side and it works quite well. I believe if you are trying to convince people that religion is a positive aspect on the world, you shouldn't point out counter-arguments to your own. For example, you explain how they used 700 people from the same town and that is not accurate enough to call the world or general population. If you would have left that out, it wold make your argument about religion being positive stronger. Overall, you did a great job proving your points and used the source to your advantage.

"Concept of 'self'"

You make great arguments throughout your essay. You explain your opinion well, using your own examples and analogies. Have you thought about classes that consist of only around 15 people? I understand in a large lecture room, you will not get your say on most matters. In a small class of less than 20, you can have personal relationships with your classates and even teacher. I believe this may be what Cooley was talking about. I do agree with you that online classes can allow people to be more open with their classmates. An example of this, is that you are not going to put someone down in front of their face. Online, we can hide behind the internet and say what we want without thinking about the consequences. Your post is well done, explaining your reasons completely.

Jessica Chee:

"Can we be good without god?"

You did a great job of answering the questions you posed. When you state opinions, you need to back them up. You actually argue against your own opinion when you talk about the ten commandments and how people should not kill. It is hard to peer review when I disagree with the main point. I don't believe people religion governs what is right and wrong. Religion cannot punish us for doing something wrong. Society, on the other hand, can punish us. That is why there are rules and amendments we follow to keep our society civilized. I do believ you that the America was originally founded on religion. That is why the words "In God we trust," is in the pledge of allegiance. Also it is on our currency. We have broken away from that over time. There are some people who decline to say those words when pledging allegiance. You use the sources well throughout and explain the meanings they state.

"The Individual Self Essay"

"Everyone is a stranger because the concept of self in the present day has nearly ceased to exist..." This quote is very true and is really well-written. With the whole social networks, now-a-days, we have lost the cocept of self. We are not a status or a tweet.  How many facebook friends do you actually know in person still? Like most people, you may have high school alumni, ex-employees, etc. as friends but are they actually your friend? Do you converse with them and talk about your lives? For me, I don't and with most people I know, they don't either. You may be one of those few people who do. I do not mean to be offensive, but we have lost what we actually are. I am sorry about that ramble, but I agree with you completely. We only tell people what we want them to hear. Overall, your blog is almost exactly what I believe and you did a great job explaining it.

Armando Teran, Jr.:

"Religion and Moral Identity"

I enjoy how you started with a summary of your source's ideas. Again, it is not easy to peer review something I disagree with. When you say "It would be difficult to live a life without God because there would not be a sense of guidance pertaining to how someone should live their life," I cannot agree. I believe we are guided by our goals in our lifetime. You writing is well-done and you state your opinions clearly. I do not mean to be offensive in this review. You writing style is also done nicely and hopefully I can review something that I agree with you on.

"Social Psychology-The individual self"

I need to agree with you completely. You make great points with first impressions. If I were to send you a friend request on facebook and you accept it, does that mean we are friends? I certainly do not believe so. Your essay is well-written with a great conclusion that sums everything you explained in the earlier paragraphs. I understand this is short (and this is a way to make it longer) but I agree with all your points, especially with online classes being safe and the dangers of talking down to someone in person as opposed to through a social network.

Directed Freewrite

What is an idea? What is a thought? These two questions are harder than a Final Jeopardy question. They cannot be answered using science or psychology. It is purely what a person believs themself. Idea is a very general word. I believe it can mean a plan, a thought, a thing, etc. An idea forms from a trigger that causes you to create it. This trigger can be something you see or hear. An idea can come from seeing a movie or television show; or from seeing a magician show. My point is that it can come from almost anywhere. A thought is an idea that has not fully formed within someone's conscious. An idea is something that a person comes up with by collaborating with their conscious and sub-conscious to form a coherent solution to a problem. Both of these form within the mind of a person and over time, will become something useful. The time can vary from seconds to years. Because I keep repeating myself, I will end my post. An idea and thought are unique to the individual's mind and using the same trigger, two people will come up with different ideas and thoughts.

Can We Be Good Without God?

I believe we can. I am a very liberal person when it comes to religion. I believe religion is common misconceptions gathered over time. We are all born equal and take after our parents or parent figures. We all make decisions that cause us to be unique. For example, if someone finds a wallet on the ground, they may return it to the owner, as someone else may take the money for themselves. We are essentially a spawn of our decisions and God doesn't have anything to do with it.