E: Human Nature Simplified 
Traditional Rationalist View (Plato Started It) has inspired western philosophers and thinkers views the human race as a thinking being, capable of reason but not the sole part of existence Appetite, Aggression and Reason are the THREE CONTROLLING ATTRIBUTES
Appetite: Is a part of the human self, Plato used a metaphor stating it was represented by the stomach and it craves physical desires and pleasures such as sexual desires wealth, hunger, and thirst.
Aggression:  Is displayed in anger, war and in those who desire power. It is the aggressive or self-assertive part of the human self. Plato's metaphor says it is the heart/chest.
Reason: Plato's metaphor represented it as the mind. ONLY HUMANS HAVE CONCIOUS THOUGHT AND THE ABILITY TO THINK. The only true element of human nature that dominates is reason.  Appetite and aggression have absolutely no control so reason must control them. This view believes that reasoning is immaterial and can be carried over after death. Some traditional problems with this view is if a person is less rational than someone else they are less human. This creates discrimination.

Generally Men And Women Think Differently This can clearly be proven by movies. Men go see movies for fiction (kung fu, action adventure war, sci-fi).  Girls see movies for a sense of reality for example, ugly girl meets boy, boy doesn't notice her, she gets a makeover and starts a relationship with him, she gets horribly disfigured but the boy doesn't care he loves her anyway. Basic "chick flick" (no offence ladies its just an example to prove a point).

"America is a mistake, a giant mistake." Sigmund Freud.  Basically he thinks; we all do what we do for ourselves even if it seems like it is for others, that men and women think differently and that we are all initially sexually attracted to our parents.

Western View of Human Nature   Pages 81-91

F:  Human nature is the concept that there are a set of logical characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting, that all 'normal' human beings have in common. What is a "normal" human? "Frequently, people whose hearts have stopped and then started again report that at the moment of their "death" they left their body, hovered over the scene of their death, and encountered an "unimaginable, indescribable" bright white light that came for them."
Pg.81    What do we think about this? Where does human nature come into play here?  All these accounts of life and death make us ask about human nature. One of the first questions is "Do all humans have a self? - the individual person; the ego; the knower; that which persists through changes in a person. That is, this self can think, reason, and perceive. There are two main philosophies on human nature. One being the Traditional Rationalist View and two being the Traditional Western Religious View.
Traditional Rationalist View  is Based upon the beliefs of Plato. Views the human primarily as a thinker and of capable reasoning; he stated that the human was based upon three controlling desires; reason, aggression and appetite.  Says that conflict come between these three attributes and this is where you must find balance in your life. However, Plato claimed that conflict could arise in different ways.  Plato reasoned that depending on which part dominates, we get three kinds of people, whose main desires are knowledge, power and wealth. Both Plato and Aristotle, stressed that the most important feature of our human nature is reason. Reason is what makes humans unique. It is what makes us different from one another.  Our reason can and should control and  appetites and aggression which makes it more superior then the other two attributes.
Western Religious View  Foundations of the Judeo-Christian traditions states that Humans are made in the image of God, we are all equal.  Believe that God made and gave us the same qualities and attributes as him; ability to love and know, will and intellect, unique and wonderful.  The Greeks believed that only those who can exercise their reason can realize the purpose of living. Plato strongly influenced Christian philosophers who founded this view of life.  Augustine, in particular took the doctrine of Plato's that the human has two parts; the self and a physical being.  Refusing to serve and love God is the greatest evil according to these views. The human being, then, has both reason and will: the ability to tell the difference between the truth about God and loving that God.  The Judeo-Christian view does not work against the Traditional view but therefore agrees with it in respect of self-interest.

I: Materialism & Behaviourism
Materialism is the metaphysical position that reality is ultimately composed of matter.  Materialism is the simplest explanation of what is reality. It is the belief that everything in existence is physical. Not only are the objects that we see physical in that
respect but emotions and thought are physical as well. This is because they result from chemical reactions in the brain.
Materialists don't believe that an immaterial mind controls a material body but there has to be a material mind in order to
control a material body. Thomas Hobbes was the "father" of materialism and a famous quote by him is the following: "For seeing Life is but a motion of limbs, why may we not say that all automata (engines that move themselves by springs and wheels as does a watch) have an artificial life? For what is the heart, but a spring, and the nerves, but so many strings; and the joints, but so many wheels, giving motion to the whole body?" - Thomas Hobbes
Reductionism: Is the idea that we can completely understand one type of reality in terms of another kind. The idea that of type of thing can be defined as, another type of thing. You take what seems to be one thing and then proceed to argue that actually it is really something else.  Ex. That the mind might seem to be an immaterial thing, in fact it actually is nothing more than a physical, material thing.
This leads us to "The Identity Theory" which dictates that states of consciousness are the same as brain states, a tangible and physical organ. Thought is just the result or by-product of our mechanical brains at work. Everything in the Universe can be broken down and described purely as a physical reaction of some kind. This sums up the root of what materialism is.
Behaviourism: a school of psychology that restricts the study of human nature to what can be observed rather than to states of consciousness.
Behaviourist view of human nature is where the mind doesn't exist.  The study of humans is restricted to only what can be observed visually, mainly human behaviour thus behaviourism. Mental brain states can be explained in terms of people's behaviours. States such as thinking, feeling, knowing, loving, hating, desiring or imagining. Example: "John knows what chairs are." means something like, "When a chair is present, and given certain other conditions, John will engage in certain specific behaviours with the chair."
In other words, to say that a person is aware what a chair is is to imply that the person does certain things with the chair when it is near. Ex. To sit on the chair.

J: What is Functionalism?
.Theory of the mind that Accounts for mental states by focusing on things like beliefs and emotions.It believes that all types of mental states are really functional states. Everything that has to do with the body, is essentially material. Claims that humans should be thought of as complicated computers. This theory also doesn't believe in the idea of consciousness. It states that everyone's mental state is not in any way restricted to their human biological systems and that there is more potential if you look within. The nature of a mental state is made up of relations to other states of inputs and outputs. Inputs of the mind can be described as stimulations that affect the nervous system, so basically our five senses: what we see, hear, touch and taste. Outputs are the behaviors that result from the instruction of the input, such as things like walking, running, and standing.
Functionalism has potential to offer solutions to problems of the body and mind. It can answer the question, what makes a thought really a thought? Functionalism says that the mental state is altered by the relation of states and to sensory inputs and behavioral outputs.
The founders & their Theories 
D.M Armstrong- he believed that all mental activities and states are mainly just series of inputs and outputs. He also made a connection with mental activities and states, he said that they were just representatives of the connections that the brain makes between the sense inputs and behavioral outputs our body has.
Alan Turing- invented the Turning test, designed to test a machines ability to demonstrate intelligence. How it works is one human speaks to a computer and another human, each appearing to act perfectly normal and human.  If the person can't tell which is which, then the computer/machine passes the test.
There are a few different types of Functionalism:
1)Turing machine functionalism- founded by Hilary Putnam, the machine firsts receives input, then carries out the instructions of the input, then it changes its internal state, and lastly it produces an appropriate output based on the input and instructions.
2)Casual theory of mind- defended by David Armstrong, mental states are  defined by a sense of understanding of the situation there in or the behavior that is shown.
3)Teleological functionalism- studied by William G. Lycan, concept of putting mental states into a hierarchy, like that of a large company.

L: Independent and Self-Sufficient Individuals?
Atomisitic View of Self is a philosophical view that sees a certain view of self as being autonomous and independent of others,this belief makes the assumption that parents raise their children to achieve independence and become self-sufficient. Goal-independence of thought and action.How: parents teach their children to value self-reliance(doing thigns by yourself),think and make judgements on their own. Examples:"be true to self"-don’t change yourself, to please others,be in touch with inner feelings and needs. "Don't  conform"- Don’t blindly follow others, think,judge and evaluate situations by self. Supporting Evidence: society values individual privacy, Individual creativity.

Descartes Traditional View of Self: The real me life within myself. the qualities of oneself by withdrawing from others,one can discover one self by withdrawing from others,one self is the only judge of what the truth is about. Summary: Descartes gives the image of self as being "Independent and Self-Sufficient",we do not need others to be who we really are.The alternative Approach to Self -Apart of a larger order. Aristotle Traditional View of Self. Stated that humans are social animals who are not self-sufficient, believed we need relationships with others to become the individuals we are.there is a social instinct implanted in all men by nature; argued that what a human being is,the person i am and the qualities i have, arise from my relationships with others.  Without these relationships,which make me the human that i am, i would be an anmial or a god.Charles Taylor View of Self. believed it was important to understand one self by getting a clear view of the desires, aversions, fears, hopes, aspirations that are within us by introspection (withdrawing into self)also felt it was important to try  and understand one self as part of a larger order. Suggested: there is another way of understanding who the real me is beside that of getting in touch with what is within me apart from others this other way is to see that who I am depends on my relationship to others. 
Hegel's Philosophical View of Self:  he argued that our own identity - who we really are depends on our relationships with others and that we cannot be who we are apart from our relationships with others.claimed that each of us can know we have certain human qualities only when others recognize those qualities in us. To be free and independent others need to recognize us as being free and independent persons. Definition: a free and independent person is one who is able to choose for himself what course his life will take. A person cannot be or become an independent free person unless others respect him as a free and independent person; the core feature of the independent and self-sufficient self- its ability to choose for itself- depends completely on others.Beliefs: we are  continually involved in a struggle to get recognition from others that we need to be truly independent, free and competent persons; there is a "life and death struggle" you hear some people emerge as dominant and others as submissive or powerful and powerless and or smart and dumb;dominant, powerful, smart people get the respect they demand where as the submissive, powerless dumb people give up the struggle for respect and settle for merely being allowed to live; the key idea is that who you are ultimately depends on your relationships to others and the recognition they give you.

M: Plato, Aristotle, and Confucius
Plato was born in Athens, Greece, around 427 B.C.  He was born into a rich and noble family, and while he was still a teenager met and became friends with Socrates, eventually becoming his informal student.  His admiration for Socrates' theories and concepts was one of the reasons he led a life of philosophical questioning and made many discoveries and theories himself. However, the main factor that turned him in this direction was the execution of Socrates by the Athenians, after many of Athens problems with Sparta were blamed upon him.  Shocked and very pset by this, Plato left society and devoted his life to philosophy until he died in 347 B.C. Plato's main theory came about when thinking about prior problems that Socrates was plagued with.  While thinking about this, he  developed his "forms" theory.  He stated that everything in this universe is an imperfect model of a perfect form.  His most widely used example was that of geometry.  We can see and imagine what a perfect triangle or square looks like in our mind, but all physical triangles and squares that we draw or create are simply imperfect models based from the perfect form in our mind.  This led him to his next thought, which was that of the existence of a soul.  He often wrote out dialogues, in which he funneled his ideas through the mouth of Socrates.  Using these dialogues, he stated that since we know of these perfect ideas, or forms, yet we haven't encountered them from the time we were born until now, we therefore retain that knowledge from some  experience  prior to life in this universe.  This definitively lead to the concept of a soul, that is immaterial, since it existed both before we were born and know, and is therefore a separate aspect of the human being from the physical body.  This then led Plato to develop his final major theory mentioned in this lesson, which were the three parts of the human soul.  These three parts are:  reason (whichresides in the brain, or mind), appetite (which resides in the abdomen), and aggression (which resides in the chest).  He used a simple yet effective short story to describe these three.   There is a charioteer, who controls two mighty steeds.  One steed is ignoble and evil, and the other is noble and good.  Reason, the charioteer, must steer the two steeds, appetite and aggression, and keep them under control and in sync with each other, for if control is lost, aggression and appetite will take over your being, and all is lost.
Aristotle: Aristotle was born in the year 384 B.C.  His father, who was a physician for the Macedonian King, sent Aristotle to Athens to study at Plato's Academy, which is now said to have been an ancient form of a university.  He became a student of Plato, and was inspired by him, and therefore stayed and taught at the "university" for twenty years  until Plato's death.  Following his, he tutored the son of King Phillip II of Macedonia, who would grow up to become Alexander the Great.  After three years of this, following Alexander's ascension to the throne, Aristotle started his own school, called the Lyceum.  After twelve years of this, following the death of Alexander, the anger of the  Greek's toward the Macedonians was released, and Aritotle fled to a Macedonian fort for safety, where he died one year later.  Aristotle's main concepts and philosophical theories were all based off of Plato's, seeing as he was Aristotle's  teacher, however, most concepts were not the same, but simply fell into the same category.  For instance, Aristotle also believed in the "forms" or perfect ideas, however, he did not believe this ideas came from a past experience or life.  He believed the perfect forms of something lay inside the imperfect objects themselves. For instance, after seeing a ball many times, we can picture its spherical shape in our head, and our mind knows what a sphere should look like, so we therefore recognize the ball as a spherical shape, although imperfect compared to our mind's aversion.  This led him to also differ on Plato's thought of the soul.  He stated that a soul is what showed the difference between someone who is alive and someone who is dead, and therefore the soul cannot exist after death.  Also, Plato's belief of the notion that true happiness was found when one knew all the perfect forms of objects was struck down by Aristotle. Aristotle said that human beings strive for true happiness, which is perfectly obtainable, on this earth, and only with things that are part of this universe, not another.  Going back to the perfect form idea, Aristotle used four different "causes" to describe the forms.  He used the story of a marble statue of Socrates to explain these four causes.  When a lump of marble is changed into a statue of Socrates by a sculptor, all four causes are present.  The first, the formal cause, is the thought that the lump of marble had the form of Socrates inside it, and therefore came to be shaped like him.  The second cause, the
material cause, explains why the marble statue has certain characteristics.  Since it is marble, we know it is hard and white, this is what the material cause shows.  Thirdly, the efficient cause explains that since the sculptor slowly chiseled away at the marble, it came to be shaped like Socrates.  The fourth and final cause, that being the final cause, identifies why the statue was made and for what purpose.  The final cause of this statue was based on the fact that the sculptor was trying to please a patron, this in effect is its purpose.
Confucius: Confucius existed about a century before either Plato or Aristotle, and was the first to set the so called "standard" for Western philosophy.  He was born around 551 B.C. and died sometime around 479 B.C.  He took a very different approach then either Plato or Aristotle, and is now known for his very unique philosophical ideas. Confucius was born into nobility during the Chou dynasty in China, and at the age of three his father died and he was brought up in poverty.  Experiencing the hardships of all the other needy people of China led him to think about how the nation could change for the better.  This brought upon his main philosophical thought, which he called jen, commonly known as virtue.  Virtue, he said, is what the nation needs to turn around for the better.  He struck down the present system of rule in China, stating that if you keep people in order by laws and punishments, they will become a product of this.  However, if you govern them by showing them you as a leader are virtuous, they will strive to become virtuous like you and always try to do what they know is good and right.  When asked how to get the people back in order after chaos erupted between China's leaders and its people, he said "Advance the upright forward, and cast the crooked aside, and the people will submit; cast the upright aside, and advance the crooked forward, and the people will never submit".  What he means by this statement is that if the government keeps  going t hings the rich and crooked and unlawful want, they will be advancing the crooked, and China's people will not obey. However, should they advance the good and righteous, and do the virtuous for the people, and cast aside the crooked and evil, China's people will willingly submit.

N: Metaphysics: What is Real?

To begin understanding metaphysics, we first must understand the meaning of the word itself. Physics is defined as the branch of science concerned with the study of properties and interactions of space, time, matter and energy. The prefix meta- comes from Greek and means after or beyond. It is used in the English language to indicate an abstraction of a concept, an addition or completion of the concept. Metaphysics, then, is a very appropriate word for denoting the purpose of metaphysics, which is to "reach  beyond nature and reality and what our simple senses tell us", or "The critical study of the nature of reality" As quoted from the textbook.

Eastern Materialism: The Charvaka philosophers of India, also called Lokyata: Those who go the worldly way, were the first to practice Eastern Materialism. They believed the world existed only according to the senses. They believed that only direct sensory experience could provide knowledge. All reasoning, to them was considered unreliable because of its general structure, Deductive and inductive reasoning both had general elements and that made them unreliable. According to their philosophy, anything unperceivable to the senses did not exist.

Western Materialism: The Greek philosopher Democritus was the first person to see  reality in terms of matter. The smallest pieces of matter he called atoms.  They were the basis of all things, solid, indivisible, indestructable, eternal, and uncreated. They were all the same, and moved through space and made up everything. The universe was very simple to him, it consisted of atoms, and empty space. The soul consisted of atoms as well and was contained within your body until the time of your death, These views were greatly rejected at the time, because of the general view of the soul as non-material. Democritus' view of the soul seemed an attempt to appease the newly Christian masses with his theory.

O: Idealism
Idealism: the belief that reality is essentially idea and mind rather than matter. Idealism in metaphysics: position that reality is ultimately nonmatter;  Idealism in epistemology: the position that all we know are our ideas. Iealists invariably emphasize the mental or spiritual, not the material, presenting it as a the creative force and active agent behind all things. 
Objective Idealism: The position that ideas exist in an objective state, associated with Plato. Accepts common sense realism (the view that material objects exists) but rejects Naturalism (that the mind and spiritual values come from spiritual objects.) 
Subjective Idealism: in epistemology, the position that all we ever know are our own ideas.  Denies that material objects exists independently of human perception and therefore is opposed to both realism and naturalism. In Western philosophy idealism goes back to as early as ancient Greek Pythagoras (about 600 B.C). 
Characteristics of Idealism
1.They believe in mind to be the ultimate reality. 2.Everything has order and purpose and there must be moral laws to control the universe. 3.There is a principle that individuals are called to realize, the presence of greater  minds.
Plato - Plato first formalized idealism. He believed that individual entities are merely shadows of reality, that behind each entity in our experience is a perfect form or ideal. Individual entities come and go where as forms are immortal and indestructible.
Saint Augustine - Plato's version of idealism fits well with St. Augustine. Preached to people that world we live in is temporary and what is real is the spiritual world. Even though we live in a world that where matter is nonexistent he believed we were meant to be part of the spiritual world of God.
George Berkeley  Founder of modern idealism. Claimed that the conscious mind and its ideas or perceptions are the only reality. Only mind and spirit can ultimately matter. The belief that our perceptions and sensations make up our reality. We determine with our five senses what we believe. Ex. Chair, if something looks like a chair, feels like a chair it must be a chair. Reality is based on our experience of sensations and ideas. Berkeley believes that we mistake the external world as reality. He also claims that we perceive things  the way God wants us to perceive them because he is creator of our minds, which
forms our reality. Believes that thing are mostly mental, "me-dependent". Everything we know has come from our experiences.
Vasubanduis an Indian philosopher who lived in the fourth century A.D. Had theories very similar to Berkeley's theories.  Believed that we do not perceive objects in the world around us, but instead, we think we perceive things when in reality they are sensations that our mind controls.  We see, smell, taste, touch and hear objects that we perceive to be external things that cause these sensations.  Our sensations are all in our mind.  If his beliefs are correct then why do objects in the external world effect us physically?  Perceptions and sensations are restricted to the mind only and therefore cannot affect our physical state. He answers these dilemmas by relating how the external world affects us to our dreams. "Although the objects we see in a dream are unreal, they nevertheless can have a physical effect on us, such as sexually arousing us." -Some then argued that how can you tell that dreams are not real? Vasubandu's answer was: ""we can in fact tell that the world is unreal. We know that a dream is not real only after we have awakened from the dream. But during the time of the dream we think the dream is real.  This is similar to St. Augustine's belief about the spiritual world.  Just like a dream, he thought the world in which we live is unreal and the spiritual world is the only  reality there is." According to Vasubandu meditation and ethical life are the
keys to waking up from our dream and seeing reality as it actually is.
Objections to Idealism -Idealism often relied on the assumption that the universe has order and purpose. But our lives experience chaotic and purposeless events such as natural disasters. Idealists commit the fallacy (something that is believed to be true but is false) of anthropomorphism ( that attributing of human qualities to nonhuman entities such as to God. Idealists believe that the universe itself have a mind which is totally different than people having minds.  We accept that both materialism and idealism can mutually exist this is called dualism. Both material and non-material exist. But if this statement is true, how can we possibly connect the two?   To believe in dualism you must believe that you can turn a non-material idea in a material object? Or you can turn a material object into a non material idea.   To me this violates the most basic law of science : the law of conservation of mass.  This law states that the total energy contained in a closed physical system can change its forms, but can neither increase or decrease in total quantity. But if an immaterial spirit somehow changed or altered some physical object in the slightest way, this would introduce additional energy into the physical universe. Therefore violating this law.

S. Existentialism:  Introduction to Existentialism Existentialism is a philosophy that dictates that humans have the ability to choose and are completely autonomous. Existentialists approach metaphysics, the study of reality and being, not through an objective view, but through a subjective view because they believe each individual has their own view of reality.  Existentialists believe that neither a higher power nor other people can control an individual and their life experience. Existentialists hold the belief that there is no human nature created by a higher power that defines individuals. In the existentialist view, at first a person exists and then through his actions, which are made through choice, he exists. Therefore, only a person's choices, and nothing else, can shape their life experience.
Existentialist Philosophers:   Existentialism finds its beginnings with Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard in the 19th century and then experienced resurgence after the Second World War, the most famous existentialist of that time being Jean-Paul Sartre.
Existentialist philosophers come from diverse backgrounds and points of view. Though their views are diverse, existentialists can be generally divided into three categories.
Theistic Existentialists: Theistic existentialists are existentialists that though they believe in the freedom of the individual, also believe in God or a higher being. Though there are many notable theistic existentialists including Martin Buber (1878), Karl Barth (1886-1968),Karl Jaspers(1883-1969) . However, the most notable of these existentialists, is the father of modern existentialism himself, Søren Kierkegaard.
Søren Kierkegaard:  A deeply religious man, his thoughts were focused on his faith, what it meant to be Christian and what God wanted him to do.  Subjective in his view of reality and religion. Concerned with not objective clarity, but clarity on what he should do.Felt reality and existence were not separate, but linked.  Kierkegaard felt suspending all reason and choosing to believe in God requires a "leap of faith"

Atheistic Existentialists:  Atheistic existentialists do not believe in God. They believe life is unexplainable and man defines his own life completely. Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), Albert Camus (1913-1960) and Jean-Paul Sartre pioneered atheistic existentialism.   they often met together in coffee shops on Paris' Left Bank to discuss videas. The most influential of these three existentialists (though is recognized as an existentialist, he saw himself as an absurdist) is Jean Paul Sartre.

Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980)  Atheist existentialist who found the idea that God doesn't exist disturbing, as it means we are ultimately responsible for our selves.  Thought "Existence precedes essence." This means that we first, exist, then shape our own  essence, or what makes us who we are.  "Man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world and defines himself afterwards" (Existentialism and Humanism, pg. 28)  Defined things are "being-in-itself" and "being-for-itself". "Being-in-itself" means passive (unconscious) existence and "being for itself" is active (conscious) existence through action. Humans are put in the "being for itself" category.  Denied the existence of any universal nature, felt the individual created themselves completely through  choices, and are therefore responsible through these choices.  Felt being "being-for-itself" by acting made one truly human and therefore free
Nihilistic Existentialists:  Nihilist existentialists believe that life is ultimately meaningless and lacks purpose. They do not believe in free will and feel that all thoughts are effects of things that happened before. The philosopher most associated with   nihilist existentialism is Friedrich Nietzsche.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)  Rejected theism. Shared Kierkegaard's view that  metaphysics should be viewed subjectively.  Like other existentialists, he valued the individual and felt philosophy should be focused on the individual. Felt religion and society confined individuals.  "Is man one of God's blunders? Or is God one of man's
blunders?"-Friedrich Nietzsche

U:     IS   Time Real?
Is time real?  Most people would say yes.  We all know time as a everyday thing.  We all use time for different things.  Words like today tomorrow yesterday then now they all have to do with time.  They all have to do with our perception of time.  But do we understand time? Or do we just know what we have been told many philosophers ask the same question but even they cant come up with a concrete yes or no answer.
Subjective time - noun - 1.  The perception of time being tied to experience: time flying by, time dragging slowly. 2. advertising) A system by which intervals are measured by actions or emotions in a commercial for research purposes.

Biological time has to do with wildlife migratory patterns, animal hibernation, biorhythms, jet lag, circadian (24-hour) patterns and menstrual cycles---numerous phenomena in nature that are loosely coupled to dynamical time (that is, to months and seasons). Although such biological time clocks are mysterious and still not well understood, they are probably closer to the way God keeps time, if we remember that the Jewish calendar is based on the lunar month, the cycle of harvest, and the motion of the earth, moon, planets, and stars. Seen in this light, the scientist's way of keeping time---with precision quartz clocks and atomic resonators is actually somewhat arbitrary and less "absolute" than God's heavenly clocks and calendars.  If you asked a Christian or looked at it in the view of God you would know or believe that your life is a timeline and God has things set on your timeline and there is a time for everything.  God says that time doesn't really flow at all. Saint Augustine- Founder of the subjective theory of time. Gods Theory is called objective theory of time.

W: Arguments for God's Existence - Important Terms: Theism: It is the belief of a God who is personal, who is the creator of the world, and who can intervene with the lives of its creations. Monotheism: This is the belief that there is only one GOD

Pantheism: It is the belief that God is everything, and everything is God Panentheism: It is the belief that everything is inside of God; God is beyond experience, and whose very nature remains unchanging.  Pantheism and Panentheism are the theistic alternatives to the traditional views of monotheism. These have come about because some people have felt that traditional views are inadequate, however they still believe in a God. The "Big Bang" Theory  Astronomers today say that the universe is currently expanding. This is a result of stars being pushed out and away from each other, which act as if they were propelled by some force that occurred millions of years ago. The theory states that   the universe began as a tiny point that exploded, and had continued to explode outward. This marked the beginning of the universe as we know it. Before the Big Bang there did not exist such things as space, matter or time.

St. Anselm's Ontological Argument Saint Anselm's views on God relied on reasoning alone. His is an argument for the existence of God deduced from the nature of his being. He reasoned that God was a being,  of which none greater can possibly be conceived. He thought that if God were just an idea, then we could actually conceive of something even greater - a God that actually existed! He then concluded that if God is a being of which none greater can possibly be
conceived, then he must exist.

St. Thomas Aquinas's Cosmological Argument There are five proofs to the cosmological argument, two of which will be explained here. These deal with the physical aspect of the universe.  1)If any object in the universe is moving, then it must have been moved by something else that was also moving. This second object must have been moved by a third object, and so on...this chain of motion has to have originated  somewhere...there must have been an original mover (this original mover, he claimed, was God). 2)Everything in the universe has been caused. It was created, and brought into existence, by other things. This chain could not simply go back forever, however...there must have been a beginning, (like the chain of motion, argument 1). This chain of causes must have been started by started by something that was uncaused (God). Some people who disagreed with these views are Immanuel Kant (Ontological) and Hume and Schopenhauer (Cosmological) and other philosophers. Will look at quotes, St. Anselm's Ontological argument in more detail (step by step, how he comes to the conclusion that he does about God) and discussion  questions. Will look at the way religion and tradition had been viewed in the past and in the present day.

X: Alternatives to Religion - Definitions:
Theism:  The belief in one God as the creator and ruler of the universe, without rejection of revelation  Belief in the existence of a god or gods (opposed to ATHEISM).
Pantheism: The doctrine that God is the transcendent reality of which the material universe and human beings are only manifestations: it involves a denial of God's personality and expresses a tendency to identify God and nature. 2. Any religious belief or philosophical doctrine that identifies God with the universe.
Panentheism: (from Greek "all";  "in"; and "God"; "all-in-God") is a belief system which posits that God exists and interpenetrates every part of nature, and timelessly extends beyond as well.   And so you're not confused. Atheism: 1. The doctrine or belief that there is no God.
Unlike Atheism, Theists do not reject the idea of God; they have just manifested the idea of a higher being in a different light.  The process all begins with Theism, which is the idea that everyone has a personal God  Pantheism is a strand of Theism that believes that God is all around us

Pan-en-theism is the modern version of Pantheism.  Pan-en-theism is the belief that God is inherent in each one of us “The most practical value of pantheism is that it recognizes the presence of God everywhere, but it does this at an enormous cost. It provides for the presence of God as the only actor; God's presence is an overriding presence that cancels the possibility of the existence of anything else, of any genuine beloved, of any loving or unloving response to God. In pantheism, human existence or any other finite existence is at best a mystery. Explanation in any satisfying sense is impossible. There can be affirmation that there is nothing but God, but where that leaves the affirmer is unclear; his or her existence is no more than appearance, and enlightenment brings recognition of one's illusory status as a unique, permanent
perspective in reality."   

Ethics: What is Ethics?
In almost every decision we make as a person, there is always ne question we ask, is it right, or wrong? When we do this we are using a philosophical subject called ethics.
Definitions:
Ethics: the study of morality;   Morality: the standards that an individual or a group has about what is right and wrong or good and evil; Ethical relativism: any view that denies the existence of a single universally applicable moral standard; Ethical absolutism: this view affirms the existence of a single correct and universally applicable moral standard
Cultural Relativism: holds that different cultures have different moralities and that what one culture believes is wrong, another culture may believe is right
Morality:  Moral standards are basically things that people create to judge whether something is right or wrong. For example: most people believe in moral standards against lying, theft rape murder etc all of which usually come from influences such as parents, school, media etc.
Ethical Absolutism: When one is an ethical absolutist, he/she believes in one universal moral standard, which everyone should believe in. For example, what an American believes to be immoral, so must an African, Asian etc. However ethical absolutists do not believe that their morals are the true ones but that there is a true morality that applies to all people.
Ethical Relativism: Ethical Relativists however do not believe that there is one true morality but rather that the correct morality is relative to one's society. For example: if in a particular society killing someone who is dying is right, then for that person in that society it truly is right.
Cultural Relativism: this is basically the belief that what one culture believes is right; another may believe it is wrong. For example: Muslim people believe killing someone is right for them but as Canadians we believe this is wrong.