Week 2, Chapter 3, Post 2: Problematic

Chapter 3, Post 2: Problematic

The authors of the textbook write on page 64, "Finally, we write this chapter knowing that the story itself will be problematic: Our account asks more questions that it can answer, and the answers it does provide are based on what is currently known rather than on all that could be known."

I'm not sure why, but when I read this section on theories being problematic, I thought of "The Secret." The Secret is based on successful historical figures that were able to achieve great successes by visualizing and with positive thinking. It shows us how to apply these theories to our lives today in order to achieve our dreams and aspirations.

The DVD has inspirational messages from philosophers, lecturers, etc. recounting their own personal account with utilizing the theories presented. Their success is inspirational and each has their own way of presenting the material but maintaining the integrity of the overall message.

One particular person on the DVD said that The Secret is like electricity. We don't know how electricity works, we just know that it does and we should view the message of The Secret in the same light. Regardless of our faith or religious belief, we can look towards the Universe to help us fulfill our dreams. We may not know how it works and may have questions that can't tangibly be answered, but we can only answer with what we know and this makes the theories presented in The Secret a problematic theory.