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Social Studies skills: Difference between revisions
→Certainty v. Uncertainty
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== Certainty v. Uncertainty == | == Certainty v. Uncertainty == | ||
* humans dislike change | * humans dislike change | ||
* humans fear the unknown | * humans fear the unknown | ||
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<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
<pre> | <pre> | ||
Only the present has an existence in nature; things past exist in the memory only; and future things don’t exist at all, because the future is just a fiction of the mind, arrived at by noting the consequences that have ensued from past actions and assuming that | Only the present has an existence in nature; things past exist in the memory only; and future things don’t exist at all, because the future is just a fiction of the mind, arrived at by noting the consequences that have ensued from past actions and assuming that similar present actions will have similar consequences (an assumption that pushes us forward into the supposed future). This kind of extrapolation is done the most securely by the person who has the most experience, but even then not with complete security. And though it is called ‘prudence’ when the outcome is as we expected, it is in its own nature a mere presumption.</pre> | ||
from ''Leviathan'', Chapter 3, "Train of Imaginations" | from ''Leviathan'', Chapter 3, "Train of Imaginations" | ||
and | and | ||
<pre>Anxiety regarding | <pre>Anxiety regarding the future inclines men to investigate the causes of things; because knowledge of causes enables men to make a better job of managing the present to their best advantage. Curiosity, or love of the knowledge of causes, draws a man from consideration of the effect to seek the cause, and then for the cause of that cause, and so on backwards until finally he is forced to have the thought that there is some cause that had no previous cause, but is eternal; this being what men call ‘God’.</pre> | ||
from ''Leviathan'', Chapter 11, "The Difference of Manners" | from ''Leviathan'', Chapter 11, "The Difference of Manners" | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
=== Calendar & Astrology === | === Calendar & Astrology === | ||
* tracking time, seasons, and years brought stability and predictability | * tracking time, seasons, and years brought stability and predictability | ||
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** led to advances in navigation and mathematics | ** led to advances in navigation and mathematics | ||
* see below for importance of the Winter Soltice | * see below for importance of the Winter Soltice | ||
=== Divine intervention & explanations for events === | === Divine intervention & explanations for events === | ||
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** Xerxes punishes the Hellespont for disobeying him | ** Xerxes punishes the Hellespont for disobeying him | ||
*** after a storm wrecked his boat-bridge across the Hellespont, Xerxes ordered soldiers to whip its surface in punishment for insubordination | *** after a storm wrecked his boat-bridge across the Hellespont, Xerxes ordered soldiers to whip its surface in punishment for insubordination | ||
=== Ritual === | |||
* to bring certainty to uncertain events | |||
* to bring order and predictability | |||
* rituals can: | |||
** appeal to god(s) for desired outcome | |||
** predetermine events by acting them out "ritualistically" (such as a hunt) | |||
** superstitions mitigate uncertainty | |||
== risk v. reward == | == risk v. reward == | ||