McGraw-Hill OnlineMcGraw-Hill Higher EducationLearning Center
Student Center | Instructor Center | Information Center | Home
Interactive Map
Chapter Objectives
True or False
Multiple Choice Quiz
Fill in the Blanks
Essay Quiz
Primary Sources
Topical Links
Contemporary Connections
Glossary
Feedback
Help Center


The Philosophical Journey, 2/e
William Lawhead, The University of Mississippi

Introduction to the Philosophical Journey

Contemporary Connections

Deadly 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)



()