..... um. what.
Feb. 26th, 2011 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luciazephyrLJ/DW. Guize. Help me out here.
What the fuck does this mean?
I... I don't know what do say back to him. Halp? Please?
:jaw drop:
ETA: I think I'm going to ask to meet up with him because I'm so lost right now. Keep in mind at the top of every assignment is instruction to relate the reading back to our own beliefs. I don't have religious beliefs, so I always related the reading to philosophical beliefs I follow(ed) and to religious ideas I've heard of. That's the only way I know how to interact. Now I feel like I'm being told not to do that.
I'm so confused.
What the fuck does this mean?
We will have to disagree. Compassion is absolutely related to faith. I find it curious that anyone would challenge that idea. Now granted, faith doesn't have an exclusive connection with compassion, but nevertheless, faith and compassion are related.
Help me out. For the reminder of the semester put less emphasis on what you don't believe and start sharing more about what you do believe. Then, whatever it is that you do believe, try to find a way to relate it to what we are studying that particular week. Your perspective, shared in a positive light, can be informative for the class.
I... I don't know what do say back to him. Halp? Please?
:jaw drop:
ETA: I think I'm going to ask to meet up with him because I'm so lost right now. Keep in mind at the top of every assignment is instruction to relate the reading back to our own beliefs. I don't have religious beliefs, so I always related the reading to philosophical beliefs I follow(ed) and to religious ideas I've heard of. That's the only way I know how to interact. Now I feel like I'm being told not to do that.
I'm so confused.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 04:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 04:29 am (UTC)Can I borrow this to explain to him with?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 04:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 04:27 am (UTC)That having been said, I think meeting with your professor is a great idea if you can do so without alienating him further -- in other words, if you think you can stomach going in there and saying, "Oh, professor, I'm so lost I just don't know what to do, please help guide me with your great wisdom" rather than the truth, which is "You are an intolerant asshole, and your instructions and your reactions are not consistent, so just tell me what you want so I can pass this class."
Sorry you got a crappy, intolerant professor -- although I will candidly admit that I've never met a religious studies professor who didn't let their own views influence their teaching and grading (and I'm not even sure it's possible to avoid that, given that most people tend to go into this field because they have strong beliefs in this area), this seems particularly egregious.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 04:28 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 04:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 04:55 am (UTC)Maybe he's actually really intrigued by you, then, and is challenging you to ~think more deeply~ (to quote a shirt I once bought in japan) about the issues, but.... also wants you to do so in a positive light?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 04:56 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 05:56 am (UTC)Your stance may be especially puzzling for your professor because you then go on to espouse beliefs that he clearly views as strongly linked (or caused by) faith in God. From his point of view, it may be as-if you were saying you've "decided" not to believe in gravity, but then continued to behave in such a way that indicates that you're aware of gravity and its consequences.
So. Anyway, you're inherently making a logic-based argument, and he's inherently making a feelings-based argument, which is probably frustrating for both of you.
Prior to you saying that your grades weren't suffering, I had been reading this as though he were singling you out and being discriminatory -- do you feel that that's true? The fact that he is giving you good grades seems to indicate otherwise. Is it possible he just finds you interesting, and wants to explore the area with you (I mean, it is the topic of his class, so obviously he's interested in exploring it), and yeah, it's clear from the quote you posted above that he could definitely stand to stick "I believe that" on the front of quite a few of those sentences, instead of presenting them as though they were cold hard facts, but... it doesn't seem like he's behaving too badly?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 06:05 am (UTC)IDK. I asked to meet with him. Hopefully we can talk and suss this out.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 06:10 am (UTC)All of that having been said, if he really does strongly disagree with you but still gives you good grades because you make well supported arguments -- then keep in mind that that's the sign of a good professor, even if you think he's full of the crazy.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 06:12 am (UTC)Having been on both sides of the <strike>death</strike>desk.
Date: 2011-02-27 05:24 am (UTC)2. When you meet with him, strongly consider having a third-party mediator from the department there. This may have devolved to the point that y'all need a translator.
3. I don't understand how compassion (etymologically identical to empathy) is dependent on faith or belief. I can understand how faith can derive compassion, but it's not first principles.
4. When it comes down to it, beat him at his own game - and cite your sources. We've already mentioned Kant and Sartre. Have fun doing the research to support your beliefs. I would also not relate the readings to religious beliefs you've read but do not believe in (hence the "less emphasis on what you don't believe" bit).
4a. I would be interested to see what your topics are and what your responses are to provoke this sort of response.
5. Patience, and breathe. This may just be a class to suffer through.
but that was an AWESOME typo!
Date: 2011-02-27 05:28 am (UTC)I explained on the LJ side of this post what happened. I was writing a short paper on Karma and this happened. Honest to god, what really gets me is he's the one who brought up compassion as a faith-based idea, then seems to be offended when I shot that down. IDGI, honestly.
Re: but that was an AWESOME typo!
Date: 2011-02-27 05:33 am (UTC)Re: but that was an AWESOME typo!
Date: 2011-02-27 05:35 am (UTC)But this way it just sounds like he's combating me. 8(
Re: but that was an AWESOME typo!
Date: 2011-02-27 05:37 am (UTC)Re: but that was an AWESOME typo!
Date: 2011-02-27 05:42 am (UTC)but his remark about "I do respect your beliefs as they are right now at this point in your life" has me all
Re: but that was an AWESOME typo!
Date: 2011-02-27 05:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-27 07:37 am (UTC)From his perspective; I assuming that you're pretty different to what he's used to, since you are studying religion despite not believing it; and you're not there to have a fight, which might be why he's coming off poorly since he's not used to discussing this from an opposing pov (without dismissing it completely, since he's probably more used to dealing with opposing POV's that are jackass's, devil's advocates or genuinely confused... and you seem to be pretty clearly none of that.)
Which means this is interesting to him, and new, so he doesn't have previous experience to draw upon, and use to know when to back off and he hasn't encountered what he sees as genuine reasons to question his own biases on this topic in a significant way.
I think what he means is that he does want you to emphasise what you do believe and why, but maybe pro-actively mentioning why you believe in all the good stuff religion likes to claim as it's domain, such as compassion and why, but less explicitly that religion is not a part of your beliefs.
Um basically, TL;DR at him and argue around the points you want to make, instead of simply and matter of factually stating them.
I think what he wants is for you to emphasise the human parts and why it's a decent or good thing to do, and the positive aspects of your way of life, as opposed to simplifying it to faith or not faith.
I'm not explaining this very well, but I think what he wants is instead of:
- I stopped following the idea of Karma because I have no reason to put weight in faith-based ideas.
He wants something more along the lines of:
- While I like the idea of karma, I can no longer believe in the concept as it is generally understood because of xyz, however I still think that some of the concepts it evokes are good to follow, such as compassion, because of abc.
Which in my opinion:
XYZ = "there ain't no justice, there's just us."
ABC = is the humanist parts, on why compassion is a good thing.
Um, not saying this is what you should do; since it sounds kind of exhausting to constantly think about; but I think what he wants is more positively phrased things and less explicitly stated "I don't believe in faith", even if that's what you are arguing.
I'm not sure if this is where he's coming from on faith and compassion, but it might be worth while keeping this in mind:
On the topic of faith and compassion, from a certain POV they are impossible to untangle depending on what you define as faith, because you can have faith in humanity and people, rather than say a mysterious god.
For example, my knee jerk reaction is, "it's called having a sense of empathy, by not wanting to see people in pain, I have compassion" and "by helping others, I encourage them to help me later on" or "an environment with social justice for all, means that I am guaranteed social justice".
But it also to a certain extent means having faith in other people... Even if I put it in purely selfish terms, that by being a decent person, I have faith that this will make other people more inclined to be decent to me. And by having empathy, I have faith that other people are like me / worth valuing. Or I have faith that if I help support the system, that it will work.
As opposed to propaganda where the enemy is no longer human, therefore it doesn't matter what we do to them. And the idea that well some people are jerks and will always be jerks, therefore logically people should prove themselves to me before I show them compassion.Or that despite the fact that corruption obviously exists, society is capable of improvement and ideals... x.X
Or my lack of faith in humanity, means that I see everything fairly cynically. :3
I think you should definitely have some time to think, and seeing him in person might help sort things out.
Good luck.