Ethnographic Research (Help please!)

[rskovride]

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Wikipedia says that ethnography is from the point of view of the subject.  So in other words you have to become a 18-26 year old atheist to actually complete the assignment..... checkmate   

Umm, anthropologists write ethnographies on all sorts of people groups. Are you saying I'd have to be Japanese to write one on Japanese people? Would I need to be Columbian to write one on Columbians? The researcher doesn't have to be biologically part of the group he writes about.

Yes, that is exactly what I meant.  I guess you didn't think it was as amusing as I did.  I'll try harder next time.

[stretch3172]

Preliminary Background:
What is your age?

My answer: Jesus
 
What is your current academic status (student, former student, alumnus, etc.)?

Jesus
 
(If applicable) How far along in your studies are you?

Jesus
 
What is (was) your major? 
 
Jesus


Why are (were) you in college?
 
Jesus


What are your future plans/goals?

Holy Crusade in the name of Jesus Christ to save rotten souls of blasphemers.

Briefly describe your family background. 

Jesus

Social Structures
Describe your current relationship with your family.

Jesus
 
Describe your social life. 

Jesus

Are close relationships with friends/family important? Why or why not?
 
Jesus

Which is more important: the personal life or the professional life?

Jesus Christ

Ontological
 
What is the source of power and success?

Jesus Christ

What is the origin of the universe? 

Jesus Christ
 
What is the origin and destiny of humanity? 

Holy Crusade.
 
Is there any form of spiritual dimension of reality? If so, briefly describe it. 

Jesus Christ
 
Do incorporeal beings exist? 

Jesus Christ
 
How do you define ‘God’? 

Jesus Christ
 
How do you define ‘truth’?
 
Jesus Christ

Epistemological 
How do you know what is true?
 
Jesus Christ

Is there an objective standard by virtue of which one can distinguish truth and falsity, and if so, why is it a reliable standard?

Jesus Christ
 
Assuming no objective truth exists, how can you correctly form and evaluate truth claims? 

Jesus Christ
 
Axiology
Are morals and ethics subjective or objective? 

Jesus Christ
 
How do you know right from wrong?

Jesus Christ
 
Can science explain the origin of moral values and concerns? How so?

Jesus Christ
 
How would you describe a “good person”? A “bad person”?

Jesus Christ
 
What would an “ideal society” look like?

Jesus Christ
 
Do people act purely out of self-interest?

Jesus Christ
 
What is the most important moral attribute (i.e. love, justice, equality, selflessness, etc.)? How do you define it?

Jesus Christ
 
What is mankind’s single biggest problem?

Jesus Christ
 
Is there a solution to this problem, and if so, what is it?

Jesus Christ

Wow, I knew I would find some sincere well-reasoned answers to some of the world's most mysterious philosophical questions on here. You sir did not disappoint.

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Sanctimony is good.

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At best you're going to be able to note trends here. There's no possible blanket statement about atheists, except that they are atheists.

The biggest trend is that these were poorly conceived and biased questions.

How so? In case you haven't studied philosophy, questions concerning the nature of truth, incorporeal existence, and ethics have been central topics of study since Thales. They also come up in other theoretical fields as well. Biased? Yes! But only because I have specific goals and want to know specific aspects of your thoughts. BTW, its a lot easier to diss a question than to answer it.

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Greetings! 

I'm a master's seminary student currently writing an ethnography focusing on the worldviews of atheists and agnostics in the 18-26 age range. I must interview a number of atheists and agnostics to complete this assignment, so I would be extremely grateful to anyone who would be willing to answer some questions for me. 

If you are interested, please respond to the following list of questions (or as many as you can!) in a single post. Thank you in advance for your time and willingness to help me out with this project! 

Preliminary Background:
What is your age? A bit older than my teeth and as old as my tongue.
 
What is your current academic status (student, former student, alumnus, etc.)? Professor.
 
(If applicable) How far along in your studies are you? PhD
 
What is (was) your major?  Mathematics
 
Why are (were) you in college? Because I wanted an education.
 
What are your future plans/goals? Retire
 
Briefly describe your family background. Can't be done: too complicated
 
Social Structures
Describe your current relationship with your family. Well, the relationship with my wife is quite good.
 
Describe your social life. Happy.
 
Are close relationships with friends/family important? Why or why not? Friendship is quite important.
 
Which is more important: the personal life or the professional life? Both are of value and need respect.
 
Ontological
 
What is the source of power and success? My brain.
 
What is the origin of the universe? I'm not sure it is a meaningful question.
 
What is the origin and destiny of humanity? Origin? We evolved. Destiny? We have to decide that.
 
Is there any form of spiritual dimension of reality? If so, briefly describe it.  NONE
 
Do incorporeal beings exist?  NO.
 
How do you define ‘God’?  I don't. I let the believers do that.
 
How do you define ‘truth’? Correspondence with observation.
 
Epistemological
How do you know what is true? By observation.
 
Is there an objective standard by virtue of which one can distinguish truth and falsity, and if so, why is it a reliable standard? No such thing.
 
Assuming no objective truth exists, how can you correctly form and evaluate truth claims?  By observation and testing.
 
Axiology
Are morals and ethics subjective or objective? Well, they are specific to humans. But most humans agree on the basics.
 
How do you know right from wrong? It is a social construct.
 
Can science explain the origin of moral values and concerns? How so? It can show how social species adopt rules of behavior.
 
How would you describe a “good person”? A “bad person”? Good: thoughtful and caring. Bad: unthoughtful and uncaring.
 
What would an “ideal society” look like? One where the maximum number of people are healthy, happy, and fulfilled.
 
Do people act purely out of self-interest? No. There is altruism.
 
What is the most important moral attribute (i.e. love, justice, equality, selflessness, etc.)? How do you define it? Morality: Think and Care. Both crucial.
 
What is mankind’s single biggest problem? Religion.
 
Is there a solution to this problem, and if so, what is it? Education and elimination of the superstitious mindset.

Ooops, outside of your age range. You might still want to read the responses.

Thanks for your time! This is great!

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I got a few questions in and the questions started getting a little too thinky and I quit.

Admittedly they are a bit headache-inducing.

[brewer]

Sanctimony is good.

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The biggest trend is that these were poorly conceived and biased questions.

How so? In case you haven't studied philosophy, questions concerning the nature of truth, incorporeal existence, and ethics have been central topics of study since Thales. They also come up in other theoretical fields as well. Biased? Yes! But only because I have specific goals and want to know specific aspects of your thoughts. BTW, its a lot easier to diss a question than to answer it.

What specific goals other than finger pointing? I believe you want to actually know very little about atheists, besides these snippets, that you can then use to prop up your belief/agenda. Why should I assist you in this endeavor?
BTW, it's easier to ask a bad question than a thought filled one.

[rskovride]

How so? In case you haven't studied philosophy, questions concerning the nature of truth, incorporeal existence, and ethics have been central topics of study since Thales. They also come up in other theoretical fields as well. Biased? Yes! But only because I have specific goals and want to know specific aspects of your thoughts. BTW, its a lot easier to diss a question than to answer it.

What specific goals other than finger pointing? I believe you want to actually know very little about atheists, besides these snippets, that you can then use to prop up your belief/agenda. Why should I assist you in this endeavor?
BTW, it's easier to ask a bad question than a thought filled one.

Why should he assist?  

The purpose of this particular project is to describe the worldview of atheists and agnostics in their own words, such that any atheist or agnostic could read it for themselves and honestly say that it does their view justice.

You are attempting to consolidate a vast range of world views into one document and label it atheist and agnostic. That is just bad scholarship and misrepresentation of a group of people.  I for one will not be complicit in anything that advances this purpose.  What could it be used for by theists other than to attack?

To get a degree and move on with my life

Its not too late to get out, don't waste your life in ministry.

[stretch3172]

How so? In case you haven't studied philosophy, questions concerning the nature of truth, incorporeal existence, and ethics have been central topics of study since Thales. They also come up in other theoretical fields as well. Biased? Yes! But only because I have specific goals and want to know specific aspects of your thoughts. BTW, its a lot easier to diss a question than to answer it.

What specific goals other than finger pointing? I believe you want to actually know very little about atheists, besides these snippets, that you can then use to prop up your belief/agenda. Why should I assist you in this endeavor?
BTW, it's easier to ask a bad question than a thought filled one.

Hmmm, so questions about what truth is or how we should understand morality are "bad?" Fascinating. In what way exactly?

[DLJ]

...

Thanks! I appreciate your time.

And you don't appreciate mine? That hurts.

[stretch3172]

The purpose of this particular project is to describe the worldview of atheists and agnostics in their own words, such that any atheist or agnostic could read it for themselves and honestly say that it does their view justice.

You are attempting to consolidate a vast range of world views into one document and label it atheist and agnostic. That is just bad scholarship and misrepresentation of a group of people.  I for one will not be complicit in anything that advances this purpose.  What could it be used for by theists other than to attack?

To get a degree and move on with my life

Its not too late to get out, don't waste your life in ministry.

As hard as it is to believe, I'm actually not a complete idiot. I fully understand that this is an extremely broad group, and it would be impossible to represent it accurately without a much larger body of evidence than this project requires. Nevertheless, I think I will learn enough useful information to put together a good product for the purposes of the class.

[rskovride]

You are attempting to consolidate a vast range of world views into one document and label it atheist and agnostic. That is just bad scholarship and misrepresentation of a group of people.  I for one will not be complicit in anything that advances this purpose.  What could it be used for by theists other than to attack?



Its not too late to get out, don't waste your life in ministry.

As hard as it is to believe, I'm actually not a complete idiot. I fully understand that this is an extremely broad group, and it would be impossible to represent it accurately without a much larger body of evidence than this project requires. Nevertheless, I think I will learn enough useful information to put together a good product for the purposes of the class.

Whether it is a good product or not is up to you. But, an honest product would be something like:


Athiest Ethnography

They don't accept theism.

                                     -Seminary Student

[Mister Agenda]

People doing real research usually give real names, credentials,  and the name of the institution they are working for.

This is not going to be published. It is simply a "practice" project required by my program at Columbia International University.

I live in this area. Years ago, we had a group of students from Columbia International attend some of our Freethought Society of the Midlands meetings. They were polite and engaging.

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The purpose of this particular project is to describe the worldview of atheists and agnostics in their own words, such that any atheist or agnostic could read it for themselves and honestly say that it does their view justice.

But what's the point?

Hopefully, it's to demonstrate that they really understand our point of view. That doesn't seem to come easy for a lot of folks. We've had theists who have interacted with us for years who can't seem to do what stretch is attempting.

[downbeatplumb]

How do I describe god?

I don't. Its your imaginary friend you tell us what it looks like.