Unit 2 Angels On A Pin

Unit 2Angels On A Pin Activity 1:Brain Boosters Material Designer: Chen Chienchou Activity 2:Scholastic Philosophy

Activity 1:Brain Boosters Hi, everyone, I am Dr. Ace. In this activity, I have prepared some brain boosters to test your IQ and Creativity. Now, get yourself ready to take the challenge!

I . Word & Letter Play Animals in Hiding There is an animal hiding in each sentence below. Can you find the animals? Let’s begin with an easy one. Example: It's nice to do good deeds. dog

bear bee goat camel HereBegins the Real Challenge! • It will be a rainy day. • I'll be eleven next month. • We can go at six o'clock. • Sorry, I came late.

panda fish horse ostrich Here Are Some More Hiding Animals! • Take soap and a towel. • Tell me if I should start now. • Keep the watch or sell it. 4. Most rich people wear fancy clothes.

Ii. Lateral Thinking • Do You know why? • To answer these questions, you have to think in different ways from what you are used to. Now let’s see if you can let your brain switch directions to find out the answers!

Think About This… • Question: A man who was just learning to drive went down a one-way street in the wrong direction, but didn't break the law. How come? • Answer: • Actually, he didn’t drive. He walked.

Think About This… • Mystery Twins Two babies born on the same day in the same year with the same mother and father are not twins. Can you explain how this can be? That is because we are triplets. http://spot.colorado.edu/~friedmaw/images/people/triplets.jpg

Answer: • Nelly. (If there are only four dogs on the farm, the fourth one must be Nelly!) Think About This… What do you think the fourth dog’s name was? • Question: Once a dog named Nelly lived on a farm with three other dogs and they were named after their colors. Their names were Blackie, Whitey, and Brownie.

A~ha! Did you get it? • Answer: • S, S, E • T, F, S • 3. J, J, M (for six, seven eight…) (for Thursday, Friday…) (for June, July…) Think About This… • O, T, T, F, F, ? • S, M, T, W, ? • 3. D, N, O, S, A, ? • What's Next? Here are three series of letters. Each letter in each series is the first letter of a word. The words in each series are related. What are the next three letters in each series?

Answer: Three, because all you need are two of the same color. Think About This… • Socks! 12 red socks and 12 blue socks are lying in a drawer in a dark room. What is the minimum number of socks you must take out of the drawer to make sure that you have at least two socks of the same color?

III. Logic and Reasoning In this part, you have to think very carefully and find out the answer!

Pizza Party—Who Ate It? Four friends left one slice of pizza in the kitchen and went into the next room to play games. During The next half hour, Each friend left the Room for a few minutes and then returned. At the end of the hour, all four went back into the kitchen and found that the last slice of pizza was gone.

Pizza Party—Who Ate It? Use the following statements to figure out who ate it. Only one of the following statements is true. Linda: “Mike ate it.” Mike: “Olive ate it.” Ned: “Who me? Can't be.” Olive: “Mike is lying when he says I ate it.”

Pizza Party—Who Ate It? This is my reasoning: It's impossible for Linda's, Mike's, or Ned's statement to be the only one that is true, because if Linda's statement is true, then Ned's is also true. If Mike's statement is true, then Ned's is also true. If Ned's statement is true, then no one else's statement can be true. Therefore…. Ned's statement is false. He ate the last slice of pizza.

Think About This… Which Way to go? Once you get to a place where the road divided in two. One road leads to LieVille, a man-eating village where the people never tell the truth, while the other leads to TrueVille, a peace-loving village where the people never lie. Now, you see a boy walking toward you, what can you ask him to help you get to TrueVille?

Did you make it to save your life? Or, if you have different answers, be sure to share them with everyone. One Possible Answer Is… You can ask the boy, “Which way is to your town?" If the boy is from LieVille, he will point to TrueVille because he always lies; if he is from TrueVille, he'll point to TrueVille because he has to tell the truth. So whatever road the boy points to will be the road to Trueville.

How well did you do on these brain boosters? If you are looking for more challenges, log on the following websites to test your IQ! http://school.discovery.com/brainboosters/ http://www.brainbashers.com/ End of Activity I

Activity 2:A Brief Introduction to Scholasticism “I think; therefore, I am.” ~ Rene Descartes (1596-1650) Studying philosophy helps you to become a logical, creative, and open-minded thinker.

This is where the medieval philosophy began—churches. Scholasticism Scholasticism, derived from the word “scholar,” refers to a trend of philosophy that emerged in the Europe from the 5th to the 15th century, the so-called Middle Ages. Most of these “philosophers” were actually monks or priests in the churches and monasteries. http://www.worcestercitymuseums.org.uk/content/oldpics/sidbury/90009p.htm

In addition to the classic languages, we also learn logic, rhetoric, and grammar. Churches and the Study of Classics In the Middle Ages, churches were the only place where the ancient classics, such as the Greek philosophy, were kept, and the monks were among the few who could read, write, and do scholarship in Latin and Greek. www.johndclare.net/ Church2.htm

How can I use logic and reason to prove that God exists and why there is evil in the world created by God? Greek Philosophy and Christianity These “scholars” studied the thoughts of Greek philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, and with the learned concepts, they tried to give the religious ideas of Christianity a logical analysis.

Major Thinkers I: Saint Augustine( 354 – 430 ) I believe that God is perfection and the good will is God’s work. As for the evil, it is the falling away from God’s work, or the absence of God, just like darkness, which is the lack of light. St. Augustine in his study - by Botticelli

These questions may sound impractical, but the arguing process help us master the skill of analyzing and argumentation! Major Thinkers II: Saint Aquinas( 1225 –12 74 ) Philosophy, to us, is the maid of theology, the study of God. It is used to explain and enhance the ideas of Christianity. We also argue about questions like “how many angels can dance on a pin?” “Did Adam have a navel?” “Can humans really grasp the idea of God?” as an exercise of reasoning. http://users.erols.com/saintpat/ss/aqu.jpg

The School of Athens by Raphael Now, let me introduce you to two famous Greek philosophers! You can see them in the center of the famous painting by Raphael “All men by nature desire to know.” ~ Aristotle “Philosophy begins in wonder.” ~ Plato http://www.benturner.com/theirs/athens.jpg

If you are interested in the history of Western philosophy, you can take a look of Jostein Gaarder‘s “Sophie’s World.” It is a very good starter for teenagers like you! Chinese translation is also available!  End of Activity II

Unit 2 Angels On A Pin