The Philosophical Journey, 2/e William Lawhead,
The University of Mississippi
Introduction to the Philosophical Journey
Contemporary ConnectionsDeadly Ideas A jury of 501 Athenian citizens convicted Socrates of impiety and corrupting
the youth and sentenced him to death. What made Socrates seem so dangerous
to the authorities? Certainly his philosophical inquiries earned him numerous
enemies. In his search for wisdom Socrates questioned many of the political
and cultural elite of Athens and forced them to display their ignorance and
hypocrisy. Since the time of Socrates many others have also been imprisoned
or executed because people in power have found their ideas dangerous. In addition,
censorship continues to be a policy advocated by some as an important means
for preserving the social order. How much have things changed since Socrates’
death? What should society do about the dissemination of threatening ideas?
The links below can help you begin exploring such questions. Dissidents and Political Prisoners Amnesty International On-line
Extensive site devoted to worldwide human rights concerns, including the issue
of political prisoners Opportunism
in the Face of Tragedy: Repression in the name of anti-terrorism Links
relating to possible human rights violations in worldwide crackdowns on political
opponents since 9/11 (Human Rights Watch) Political Prisoners and POW's in
the U.S. Information about various particular political prisoners in this
country (Prison Activist Resource Center) Dissidents
Collection of links to sites focusing on political prisoners worldwide (Argus)
Censorship Freedom of speechEncarta article Electronic Privacy Information Center:
Free Speech Summary of recent court cases and regulations regarding speech,
including online speech National Coalition Against Censorship Site offering
links to current censorship issues across the country Index on Censorship Site with numerous
up-to-date articles on global censorship issues Free Expression on the Internet
Collection of links about speech restrictions on the Internet across the world
(Human Rights Watch) Censorship and Intellectual
Freedom Page Useful annotated listing of sites dealing with censorship,
including regulation of online speech; maintained by Frank Quinn (Indiana University)
Climbing out of the Cave In the Allegory of the Cave Plato describes
prisoners who are chained in the dark and capable of seeing only shadows on
the wall in front of them. Unaware of the figures whose puppets cast the
shadows, the prisoners take the images for reality. Only when one of the
prisoners breaks free does he come to understand his former situation and recognize
the distinction between appearance and reality. In our media driven culture
today we, too, confront numerous images on a daily basis. How much do
you think your opinions and feelings are shaped by the way information is presented
in advertisements, in the news, or on the Internet? What are the puppet
strings behind the scenes? Use the links below to start thinking critically
about the media. Advertising Advertising World Extensive site with information particularly
on advertisement production Political Media Buying:
A Brief Guide Discussion of how political commercials are created; Tobe
Berkovitz (Boston University) Advertising
Law Ethics Useful site for exploring issues relating to deception
in advertising, ads directed toward children, political campaigning, etc.
The News Basic News PowerPoint
presentation on the basic structure of a news story (Michigan State University)
Thinking
Critically about News Stories Brief overview of ways in which news stories
may be misleading (New Zealand Ministry of Education) What's Wrong with the News?
Critique of the role of for-profit conglomerates in the media (Fairness and
Accuracy in Reporting) The Internet Evaluating Internet Resources
Guidelines for thinking critically about websites; Trudi Jacobson and Laura
Cohen (University of Albany) Thinking Critically about Web
Page Content Useful questions for reflecting on the reliability of Internet
information (Michigan State University) Checklist
for an Advocacy Web Page Questions to consider when making use of sites
designed to take a strong particular stand (Widener University)
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