China Presentation from Class

China Presentation

Laplace's Demon

 

The Cultural Revolution - Mao's famous swim

 

A History of Everything

If everything in the world is the causal consequence of everything that went before us, we need to know everything that went before us. This video explains!

The Physics that Suggests We Have No Free Will

 The physics that suggests we have no free will

Daniel Dennett - A Compatibilist Perspective

'Far from being an enemy… the evolutionary perspective is an indispensable ally. I have not sought to replace the voluminous work on ethics with some Darwinian alternative , but rather to place that work on the foundation it deserves: a realistic, naturalistic, potentially unified vision of our place in nature. Recognizing our uniqueness as reflective, communicating animals does not require any human “exceptionalism” that must shake a defiant fist at Darwin and shun the insights to be harvested from that beautifully articulated and empirically anchored system of thought. We can understand how our freedom is greater than that of other creatures, and see how this heightened capacity carries moral implications: noblesse oblige. We are in the best position to decide what to do next, because we have the broadest knowledge and hence the best perspective on the future. What that future holds in store for our planet is up to all of us, reasoning together.' - Daniel Dennett



Summarise in your own words Dennet's compatibilist perspective. How might a Hard Determinist respond to Dennet's claims? 

Modern History - Chinese Civil War MEGA POST

This post has videos, questions and readings that will get you up to speed on the background to and outcome of the Chinese Civil War.  

Long - but the best video on this post

Crash course - need I say more?

Good background on the collapse of the Qing

Research Questions for the Chinese Civil War;

What were the major differences between the Nationalist (GMD) and Communist Parties (CCP)?
Why was the GMD response to the Japanese invasion so ineffective? What did the CCP do that was effective?
How did the CCP gain support during the Japanese invasion? What was the Yanan way?
What role did the USA and USSR have in the Chinese civil war?
Why was  the CCP eventually victorious?


Written Resources:

Modern History Reader pages 118-148

Lowe - Mastering Modern World History textbook (you know, the other book) pages 420-430.

Extension reading - if you want to really dig into this there are 2 books I highly recommend. The first is Wild Swans by Jung Chang, a really amazing memoir, quite easy to read. Second is Jonathan Fenby's Penguin History of Modern China. Copies of both of these books are in the library.