SOC 3313 University of Houston Downtown Sociology Question

Getting a terminal degree, Ph.D., has made me even more humble than ever, especially as I realize how little we know about the things we think we know. If you think about it, how do you know that what you have come to believe is true as science has no answer to all inexplicable things of this world? While many of us (Professors and Students, alike), especially in the academic arena, like to appear smart by attributing our sense of importance to scientific research and data, the truth is “science” can only use scientific methods to offer some explanations on things that are tangible or quantifiable. In order words, “science,” in many instances, completely ignores certain things for which it has no explanation, at least so far in human history. Think about it for a moment.  Why do human beings speak different languages? What is the origin of water or air – where did they come from? What is the origin of time, or better yet, when did time begin? Well for me, the more I know, the more I realize that I don’t know. That is, the things I thought I knew so well then, I now know that I did not fully understand or know. It is a state of mind that makes me want to know more about the things that I don’t know or fully understand now.  

As scholars our biggest quest of knowledge is to perpetually seek to understand why we are born into this world and our purpose here on earth? Here’s what I mean – after you achieve your highest level of incompetence – being materialism, fame, knowledge, power, prominence, or prestige, then what? The more you ask yourself these “critical-thinking” questions, the more you will know or might understand how very limited human beings are. Even our so-called scholarly philosophers and theorists are confounded by three things: time, space, and element. It is a perspective that could help you achieve your highest level of “critical thinking” skills, or perhaps, relate better to other people because what is now has already been, and what has been, will become our yesteryear. Simply put, there is nothing new under the sun because we, as human beings, only incrementally understand the world we live in. From one generation to another, all we do is add to the knowledge of past generations to better ourselves in reassembling existing matters and elements available within earth.

Throughout this semester, I have deliberately posed difficult and thought-provoking discussion topics designed to challenge your critical thinking skills and boundaries of your belief practices. My reason for such approach is to stretch your mind through the means of “uncomfortable” topics. My hopes are for you to grow scholarly, from ethnocentricism to ethnorelativism.  Ethnocentricism is the belief that our way of life is the only and best way on earth, which maybe truth if we chose to be willfully ignorant. But for us, scholars, ethnorelativism is an “acquired ability to see many values and behaviors as cultural rather than universal” (Webster, 2016). My point is, I now know that no one knows it all.  But since this class is not about me, this is your opportunity to chime in. Do you have a topic you wished we could have covered but inadvertently missed based on our class subject content?.

ANSWER 5 OF THE QUESTION BELOW AN I WILL SEND OVER THE SUDENTS RESPONSE AFTERWARDS.

Discussion Questions:

——You don’t have to answer every question below, but you do need to answer at least 5 questions. Basically, answer the ones that are most appealing to you.

1)     Did the subjects we discussed and read about in the textbook challenge your perceptions, or at best influence the way you perceive social issues, crime and social inequality?

2)     Since it is very difficult to cover everything in our class subject, and our discussion may have inadvertently omitted a related topic of your interest, perhaps, a subject matter that you would have liked to discuss, tell us about it?

3)     What subject or topic resonated with you the most after taking this class and reading the textbook?

4)     What have you learned after taking this class and reading the textbook?

5)     What would you do differently after taking this class and reading the textbook?

6)     How would you use what you learned in this class to help others, if you ever had the opportunity?

Day/Date 1: Answer some of the questions that I have presented to the class, preferably 1, 2 or 3 questions.

Day/Date 2:  Read over your classmates’ comments and chime in on their postings or reply to classmates who may have commented on your postings

Required Textbook: Levinthal, Charles F., (2016). Drugs, Behavior, and Modern Society 8ed. Pearson Publishing. ISBN:13:978-0-13-400304-7; ISBN:10: 0-13-400304-7; ISBN:9780138068332; ISBN:9780205959334; ISBN:9780205966974; ISBN:9780205959433 Drugs, Behavior, and Modern Society, 8 th Edition (Textbook May Come In Two Different Covers) Charles F. Levinthal, Charles F | Pearson Publishing | 2016 | ISBN:13:978-0-13- 400304-7; ISBN:10: 0-13-400304-7; ISBN:9780138068332; ISBN:9780205959334; ISBN:9780205966974; ISBN:9780205959433