Analysis and Personal Inventory Discussion Paper

Based on the required topic study materials, write a reflection about worldview and respond to following:

1. In 250-300 words, explain the Christian perspective of the nature of spirituality and ethics in contrast to the perspective of postmodern relativism within health care.

2.In 250-300 words, explain what scientism is and describe two of the main arguments against it.

3.In 750-1,000 words, answer each of the worldview questions according to your own personal perspective and worldview:

What is ultimate reality?
What is the nature of the universe? What is a human being?
What is knowledge?
What is your basis of ethics?
What is the purpose of your existence?

Remember to support your reflection with the topic study materials.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

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Part 1: Christian perspective of the nature of spirituality and ethics in contrast to the perspective of postmodern relativism within health care

Christianity perceives spirituality as the link between religion and theology. Spirituality explains the existence of God as the All Almighty Being whose power supersedes every being in the known universe. Spirituality, as a concept in Christianity, seeks to explain the purpose, meaning and truth of human life on earth by presenting God as a transcendent being that created everything and deserves worship as the Deity with the power of creation and destruction. This awareness makes it clear that humans must always seek to please God in order to gain favor and mercies. Towards this end, humans must make the right choices in their lives based on God’s commandments and instructions as presented in the Bible.  Analysis and Personal Inventory Discussion Paper Besides that, humans are given free will although God is omnipresent and has knowledge of the past, present and future. Through an awareness of spirituality, humans (more precisely – Christians) would look at their life choices as the actualization of spirituality and following a predetermined direction already known to God. The implication is that nothing occurs without being allowed by God, so that the predetermined choices as simply the decisions allowed by God. Also, Christianity perceives ethics as simply following God’s commandments; the capacity to conform to the path that God desires based on instructions presented in the Bible. Both spirituality and ethics have implications for health care by acting as tools for decision making and determining what should and should not be done. They present the correct options in every decision (Igboin, 2015).

In contrast, postmodern relativism is more averse to the notion of spirituality and ethics. Postmodern relativism concedes that there is no absolute truth, an idea that is contrary to the notions of ethics and spirituality. The absence of absolute truth implies that there is no right or wrong. As such, the instructions presented by God are not absolute, and there may be some ambiguity as to the truth of God’s existence. The application of spirituality and ethics to health care as perceived by postmodern relativism is that there is no right decision and that circumstances can change decisions so that what appear right under some circumstances appears wrong in other circumstances with the reverse being equally true (Zavada, 2019).

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Part 2: Scientism

Scientism seeks to distinguish between the different types of sciences and their values. It presents the idea that science can either be hard or soft. Hard science is called so because it is perceived as a rules-based subject that offers superior knowledge that genuinely explains reality. Examples of hard sciences include biology, chemistry and physics. They present testable, replicable and factual data that is translated into rules. On the other hand, soft science is called so because it is perceived as based on guesses and conjecture thereby offering inferior knowledge that could easily change. By identifying science as either hard or soft, scientism gets to justify that trust assigned to the presented knowledge. It explains that hard sciences rely on experimentation, skepticism and falsification when presenting explanatory principles while soft science rely on subjectivism to present knowledge that is easily influenced by human nature. Hard sciences will typically have the same ideas and conclusions for the same principles while soft sciences offer different ideas and conclusions for the same principles (Moreland, 2018).

Scientism makes it clear that hard sciences have the intellectual authority to offer real knowledge that can be trusted not to change over time. This implies that soft sciences do not offer real knowledge. However, there are concerns that scientism offers faulty arguments. Firstly, hard sciences do not present absolute truths and facts as they are similarly subject to change as new information is acquired and more sophisticated measuring and testing equipment are presented. Rather, hard sciences offer propositional truths that are only considered as such for as long as the circumstances remain the same. This is also true for soft sciences as they similarly present refutable facts and flexible principles. Both soft and hard sciences present conclusions that can be disputed. Secondly, hard sciences apply a dangerously tyrannical approach that over relies on rationalism without regard for personal opinions. That is counterproductive for scientific advancement as willful thought is necessary for exploring new ideas and thoughts (Briggs, 2019).

Part 3.

(a) What is ultimate reality?

The ultimate reality is the idea that the environment (including culture, family, school, government, society and so on) plays an integral role in shaping the life of an individual to include choices made. Through interactions with the environment, an individual develops unique thought processes that determine how decisions are made in each situation/scenario. For instance, individuals from polygamous backgrounds may not have a problem with accepting polygamy in their lives while those from monogamous backgrounds may have a problem with accepting polygamy. Similarly, persons from democratic countries may have a problem with accepting monarchies or dictatorships with the reverse being equally true. It is evident that ultimate reality is all about decision-making and life perception being influenced by experience and reason.

(b) What is the nature of the universe?

The universe is the physical extent of known reality. It sets and observes the rules of physics to include the laws of constant motion as it is ever changing with respect to space and time. The constant change is driven by energy transformation and transfer principles such that the universe is in a constantly decaying. Energy conversion, extinction, evolution and competition are the primary principles that determine the extent and direction of the change. Energy conversion makes use of chemical reactions and gravity to keep the celestial bodies in motion, such as the planets that are in elliptical orbits. Energy extinction occurs when competition and extinction events remove an object from the universe with the energy converted to others so that the object no longer has energy to continue its motion. Energy evolution and competition occurs when objects in the universe get adapted to better compete for the available energy, such as the earth having the conditions to capture just the right amount of solar energy to enable biological life such as humans to survive.

(c) What is a human being?

A human being is a biological species divided into two genders (male and female) and able to procreate. Humans can procreate amongst themselves but cannot procreate with other species. Identified by the scientific name Homo sapiens, human beings are the most extensively distributed species on earth, with presence in virtually every part of the world. They make use of their higher thought processes, adaptability and competition to occupy the top of the food chain on earth by improving their food, developing cloths and housing, and developing faster modes of transport.

(d) What is knowledge?

Knowledge refers to the acquired set of information, facts and skills. The acquisition of knowledge occurs through practice/experience and education. The presence of knowledge is important for making the right decisions as it ensures an awareness of the prevailing situation. Through an awareness of knowledge, an individual is able to understand his/her capabilities and limitations thereby making fewer mistakes.

(e) What is your basis of ethics?

I have a public and personal basis of ethics. The public basis is what is generally considered right and wrong as determined through consensus and presented in legislation. For instance, the laws against stealing. The personal basis is what I believe to be right and wrong as determined by my interactions with the environment. For instance, I consider killing as unethical since all life is precious and a gift from God. It is God who gives life, and only God has the right to take life. The two basis interact to determine how I make decisions in every ethical situation.

(f) What is the purpose of your existence?

The purpose of my existence is to live a fulfilled life and create opportunities for my offspring. I make every effort to pursue my dreams by attending school and going to work in order to legitimately live the life I desire. By working and earning money, I am able to afford a good life for my children and live a comfortable and healthy life in old age. Other than living a fulfilled life and creating opportunities for my offspring, my other purpose is to fulfil God’s word. God has a plan for my life and making decisions based on his commandments ensures that my life is right by God.

References

Briggs, W. (2019). In Opposition to Scientism. https://wmbriggs.com/post/26885/

Igboin, B. (2015). Spirituality and Medical Practice: A Christian Perspective. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2015.054

Moreland, J. (2018). What is scientism? https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-is-scientism/

Zavada, J. (2019). Postmodernism definition. https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-postmodernism-700692 . Analysis and Personal Inventory Discussion Paper