THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI
THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI (1917) INTRODUCTION . The year 1917 had seen Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig; a military commander on the Western Front - launch four offensives at Arras, Messines, Ypres and Cambrai and the French one great operation on the Aisne (the Nivelle offensive). Not all had been a satisfactory result. 2. The battle of Cambrai, on November 20, 1917; for the first time in the war, a break through was to be effected by massive use of tank. The object was to break through the horrible Hindenburg Line opposite Cambrai, where the country was open and rolling and not pitted with shell-holes. Special tactics were worked out and the infantry trained and practised beforehand with the tanks. Another new feature was the decision not to open the assault with a long artillery bombardment. The artillery was to open fire when the attack began on targets worked out on maps instead of by observation from the air or ground. This would make the attack a complete surprise, for a bombardment to break the wire and destroy the Germans defences. 3. The Cambrai plan had been produced by Britain's chief tank expert, Colonel Fuller and Byng had gone along with him on idea that it could bring dramatic mobility to the static front, with its grim positional warfare. Both agreed that the country chosen was ideal for tanks. 4. The Battle of Cambrai provides a useful illustration of the
Describe and assess Locke, Berkeley and Hume's empiricist approach to knowledge and the conclusions they reach
Describe and assess Locke, Berkeley and Hume's empiricist approach to knowledge and the conclusions they reach Empiricist philosophy arose out of doubts towards rationalism, in an attempt to search for a theory of knowledge that would be consistent with ordinary human behaviour. Instead of seeking absolutely certain knowledge about an alleged real world, empiricists have tried to discover where we get our information from and what degree of reliability it actually possesses. Rather than rejecting sensory data in favour of some completely certain knowledge about a non-visible realm, these philosophers have begun with our sense experience as the source and basis of what we know, and have tried to construct an account of knowledge in terms of a posteriori evidence. Empiricism has been the major mover in Western philosophy, and its most influential peak came around the 17th and 18th centaury; a time when Locke, Berkeley and Hume, were contemporaneous. I shall assess the approaches of all three and look at the theories for knowledge that they came up with. John Locke (1632-1704), a medical doctor by profession, tried to work out an explanation of our knowledge in terms of a posteriori sense experience. He studied the work of Descartes, the rationalist, and rejected the suggestion of 'innate ideas' or a priori knowledge. He believed that humans were not born with any form
Discuss D.H Lawrence as a Religious Write
Discuss D.H Lawrence as a Religious Write "It was not for her to create, but to recognise a man created by God. The man should come from the Infinite and she should hail him...the man would come out of the Eternity to which she belonged" (The Rainbow) Discuss Lawrence as a 'religious' writer. It is tempting to think of Lawrence in universals. The ecstatic rhetoric of his prose and his evocation of hnature lend the fiction a timeless quality. Technically, the Brangwensaga (The Rainbow and Women in Love) encourages parallelism between generations and a consequent reduction in the influence of history; a movement also reinforced by the conjunction of creation and apocalypse imagery in transcendence of time. Undoubtedly, Lawrence did intend these archetypal resonances. Yet there is another side to Lawrence; that of a uncompromisingly modern writer, a powerfully modernist novelist. His sexual scenes are not only explicit, but (even more radically?) they reject the Romantic ideal of lover's union for a conflict of polarised individuals. His evocations of nature are no mere pastoral idylls, but often dark and threatening, and continually thrown into contradistinction with the reshaping of industrial development, particularly mining. The Rainbow can be analysed as a social and historical novel[1] and Women in Love's satirical treatment of café life in bohemian London is forcefully
What does the Faerie Queene, Books 1 and 2 owe to the traditions of the classical epic and medieval romance? How does Spenser transform this inheritance?
Katie Pollard What does the Faerie Queene, Books 1 and 2 owe to the traditions of the classical epic and medieval romance? How does Spenser transform this inheritance? In the latter stages of the sixteenth century when Spenser was composing The Faerie Queene, he had a rich heritage of literary tradition to draw from: not only the classical epic poets and ancient philosophers but also more recent Italian epic and the Arthurian legends, told in their fullest form by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Latin chronicles Historia Regum Brittaniae. Educated at Merchant Taylors' School by leading educationalist Richard Mulcaster, Spenser had a fantastic command of the classical languages and their literature and mythology. In order 'to pourtraict in Arthur, before he was king, the image of a brave knight,' he 'followed all the antique Poets historicall, first Homere, who in the Persons of Agememnon and Ulysses hath ensampled a good governour and a vertuous man...then Virgil, whose like intention was to do in the person of Aeneas: after him Ariosto comprised them both in his Orlando: and lately Tasso.' (Letter to Sir Walter Raleigh). It is obvious to readers of The Faerie Queene that Spenser took more than simply the character of his hero from these sources (and others), and equally obvious that he developed them further and more intricately than before. The structure and atmosphere of
Biblical Theology
Biblical Theology 5 July 2003 There are myriad themes and images that God uses throughout the whole of Scripture to communicate Himself. At first glance the significance of water may be overlooked, but the role it plays in key stories and its various symbolic and metaphorical meanings prove it to be one of the most creative ways God chooses to tell His story and the story of His people. God uses water to demonstrate His soveriegnty, power, and love for His people. IMPORTANT WATER STORIES IN SCRIPTURE creation According to the biblical story, the element of water has been in existence as long as any other created thing; it is first seen at the very beginning of the world. The creation account in Genesis states that God created the heavens and the earth, and that His Spirit was "hovering over the waters,"1 - anticipating the ensuing process of creation? The imagery here implies is the rest of creation either comes from or comes along with this primordial element of water. Once light was created, God separated the waters with an expanse of sky, then gathered water under the sky to one location to make a place for land. This fluid elemental substance figures so early and so prominently, it makes one suspect that the Creator is setting the stage for it to be a foundational and pervasive thematic metaphor throughout the story of Himself and His people. the Great Flood There
Nagarjuana's conception of reality and its implications.
MANSOOR MIR December 12, 1999 V7ABEP - Nagarjuana's conception of reality and its implications 'Where the reach of thought turns back, language turns back.' Nagarjuana's conception of reality, as set forth in the Mulamadhyamakakarika, is one that encompasses both extreme skepticism and radically paranormal ideas. He suggests that the limits of our language and conceptual abilities preclude any sort of accurate perception of reality. By doing this he implies that the true nature of reality is something more 'real' than the world we normally think of ourselves as inhabiting from day to day although it might be entirely inaccessible to us. The question of whether he has any firm basis for such controversial views soon arises. It is true to say that his thoughts about the fallibility of our senses and our lack of objectivity seem reasonable. We are constantly confronted with instances where the truth of a situation and our perception of it are wildly different purely because of our essentially subjective view. However the leap from skepticism and self-doubt to the conception of higher levels of reality is a large one to make and needs to be thoroughly justified. Of course, many of his views stem from his religious beliefs but it would be unfair to say that he allows theological bias entirely to cloud his logic. His assertions might contain innumerable paradoxes and
Influences on Philosophical, Theological and Scientific Inquiry.
HPSC1200 - LOGICAL POSITIVISM ESSAY Logical Positivism: Influences on Philosophical, Theological and Scientific Inquiry Vanessa Walsh #3100497 Logical Positivism: Influences on Philosophical, Theological and Scientific Inquiry Logical positivism was a movement that was officially established in the small Vienna Circle in the 1920s. The group of 11 mathematicians, scientists and philosophers met regularly to discuss and campaign for a change in philosophical discourse. Rather than the metaphysical and normative pretensions that epitomised philosophy throughout Europe, the group advocated for a systematic reduction of knowledge to logical and scientific foundations. Despite having been widely criticised for its extreme empiricism and subsequent dismissiveness of entire fields of thought, logical positivism has had a lasting impact in the way we consider epistemology and processes of inquiry. Three fields have seen paradigmatic change in their aims, methods and conclusions in acquiring knowledge, those being the study of the physical, natural & social sciences, theological inquiry and the study of philosophy itself. This essay examines through writings of logical positivists how traditional views have been challenged and changed, looking at specific issue areas within these three fields. Perhaps the best way to understand the forces behind the movement of logical
Language as Freedom in Sartre's Philosophy
Language as Freedom in Sartre's Philosophy Salam Hawa ABSTRACT: I argue that Sartre posits language as a medium of communication that is capable of safeguarding the development of subjectivity and freedom. Language does this in a twofold manner: on the one hand, it is an action that does not phenomenally alter being, but that has the capacity of altering consciousness; on the other hand, language, more particularly written text, is a mode of communication that is delayed, hence that occurs outside the present, i.e. in a different space and a deferred time. As such, it preserves the subjectivity of both writer and reader. The argument is as follows: first, I present Sartre's definition of freedom and subjectivity in terms of his definition of consciousness of the For-itself and In-itself in Being and Nothingness; second, I draw on examples from La Nausée to illustrate the link between language, consciousness and the expression of freedom and subjectivity; third, I refer to The Psychology of Imagination and What is Literature? to illustrate further the importance that Sartre places on writing and reading as means to establish a lasting impression of personal freedom and subjectivity in a manner that defies space and time. In this paper I shall argue that Sartre posits language as a medium of communication that is capable of safeguarding subjectivity and freedom. Language
Religion and Morality
Religion and Morality Religion and morality have much in common. Both arouse deep passions and are marked by personal commitment. Religious and moral claims aren't the sort of 'claims' we 'prove' by reference to our five senses. There are also differences between religion and morality. Morality, that is, in the sense of making 'moral' judgements seems unavoidable whereas religion seems to be optional. Some form of morality is an almost universal feature of human life. This is not true of religion - especially in the West since the Enlightenment - religion is no longer seen as 'compulsory'. Since then (and Kant) morality has increasingly been regarded as having an autonomous status - independent of religion. Few now quote Dostoyevsky, "If God is dead, everything is permitted". Many now think that morality exists and can be pursued independently of any religious profession. Historically, it is accepted that ethical awareness has been greatly influenced by religious beliefs. A variety of relationships between religion and morality: * For some (R.M. Hare) religion is a form of morality. Hare reduced religion to a commitment to an agapeistic way of life. Religion becomes a commitment to an ethical lifestyle. * For others, morality only makes sense if religion is true. Many think that to behave morally is pointless if there is no God to reward or punish us. * For
America's obsession with Therapy
America's obsession with Therapy Condition of Americans Obsession with Therapy A new popular health consciousness seems to be emerging constantly in the United States. We are a self-conscious nation. Since the late 1800s American has been exploring the Science of Heath and Happiness.1 Phineas Quimby was a pioneer in this field, writing the book that sparked so many people's interest. American's interest grew, but it was not until that late 1960s and 1970s that the interest developed into a full blown obsession. During this time there was a surge of interest in personal health and wellbeing, expressed in a wide variety of health-related social movements: vegetarianism, the natural health movement, the self-esteem movement. This was also a time when consumer fads like grapefruit juice, aerobics, and workout videos were rapid. A devotion to psychological health and emotional problems dominates our culture today. We see it in talk shows like Geraldo, Oprah, and Ricki Lake; in self help books such as Atkins for life, Self Matters, Before You Say, I QUIT.2 If talk shows and self-help books were all we saw the obsession manifested in, it would be significant, but still partial. Actually, it has reached far beyond the bookshelf and the media. American's world view has been deeply shaped by its obsession with therapy. It is not just our personal lives, but every part of our
