What is a good life?
What is a good life? Most believe that they only have one chance at living on this planet. With the limited amount of time that people do have, it makes for important work discovering and deciding just what to do. The quest seems filled with obstacles and bright spots. Sometimes seeming as if designed and at the next moment completely abstract. Is there some sort of blueprint or signage that can be followed? Just what exactly is a "good life"? The answer to this question may be found in one of the first great, recorded philosophers, Plato. Plato believed that in order to attain the good life, one must exemplify the ultimately real form of goodness. One may attain this through a balance of the three different sections of their personality; the mind, will and appetites. When these three sections are operating at their full moral virtue, that is ruled by reason, a good life will result. St. Augustine should be mentioned alongside Plato because he adapted Plato's theory to Christianity. St. Augustine said that the ultimate form of Plato's is actually God, the ultimate form of goodness period. If you love God and do what you will, you will do good. Plato's student Aristotle tries to bring the forms down to earth a bit. Aristotle holds that people need to try to perform their natural functions. Man's natural function is to reason. A person who reasons and holds the
What is community?
Community What is community? James M. Henslin sates that, "community is a place people identify with, where they sense that they belong and that other care about what happens to them" (601). With all its definitions and manifestations, community, may at times be a source and further enforcement or marvelous ties or enrichment, support, comfort and predictability among its members. In a religious community it's the shared meanings that come through symbols, rituals and beliefs that unite the people. I was baptized a Catholic and therefore I am a Christian. Let's say that I lived in the years following Jesus' crucifixion; I would be persecuted by the Romans for being a follower of Jesus Christ and not acknowledging Caesar as God. Christians are few and far between but we are eager to have fellowship with other believers. We couldn't speak openly about our faith, so we came up with a simple technique known today as symbols. All religions use symbols to provide identity and social solidarity for their members. For Christians like myself, the primary symbol is the cross; for Jesus and the Jews, the Star of David; and for Muhammad and the Muslims, their symbol is the crescent moon and star. These aren't just symbols to each respective religion; they are sacred emblems that evoke feelings of awe and reverence. According to Emile Durkheim, "Religions use symbols to represent what
Explain and discuss the significance of Descartes' work on Epistemology.
Explain and discuss the significance of Descartes' work on Epistemology. During the time of one of the greatest modern thinkers and philosophers - Rene Descartes (1596-1950), Philosophy and science were overlapped. Physics was known as 'Natural Philosophy.' Descartes used the word 'Philosophy,' (meaning the 'Love of Wisdom') to include science. Descartes thought of Knowledge as being represented as the 'Tree of Knowledge,' with the roots as Metaphysics, the trunk was Physics, and the branches were the other sciences. Metaphysics meant to Descartes what we call 'Epistemology' which was derived from the Greek words 'episteme' (knowledge) and 'logos' (discourse about). Hence, Epistemology means the 'Theory of Knowledge,' which is the study of nature, source, limits and validity of knowledge that includes such questions as "What is knowledge? How can knowledge be obtained? What is the difference between knowledge and belief?" There are two opposed epistemological theories, which are empiricism and rationalism. The centre areas of disagreed concern are the source of our ideas and how we know necessary truths. Empiricists, such as that of Aristotle (384-322 BCE) - argued that knowledge of the form was 'a posteriori' - we only develop knowledge of the form of, e.g. a horse, after contact with lots of horses. and also claim our ideas are derived from sense-experience. Rationalists,
Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" Speech Aug. 28, 1963
. 'There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force'. Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" Speech Aug. 28, 1963 More than 40 years ago America was captivated with Martin Luther Kings breath-taking Speech ' I have a dream' from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. His Speech portrayed a none idealised American dream, but a demand for racial justice. Through his words, the nation was given vocabulary to understand and express the turbulent social and political situation at that time, in 1963. The key message in the speech was that everyone is born equal even though that wasn't the case in America then. He strongly argued in passionate way
The debate between structuralism and deconstruction.
Deconstruction "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty told Alice, "it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master-that's all." (1) Deconstruction can be seen as a long commentary on this conversation between Alice and Humpty Dumpty. It represents a way of thinking about language, meaning, reading, politics, culture, institutions and the aims of scholarly endeavour. Deconstruction has the usual problems of definition. Part of the problem with defining or describing deconstruction is that one of its claims is that definitions or descriptions are never correct. They are always deceptions-constructions of truth which can be shown to be deficient at certain points. Deconstruction is a way of reading or interpreting texts which seeks not to discover what they mean, but why they can't mean what we think they mean. Deconstruction amounts to a denial that we can ever have a metaphysics. In other words, any discourse which is based upon a system (or an 'arch', in Derrida's terms) will fall short of its ambition, break down, and another system will rise out of its ruins. Deconstruction is an unusual form of rhetorical criticism which persuades the reader of the inadequacies of language to express anything true about the real
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Famine purposes a great problem to humanity. Singer explains how famine in east Bengal took a swing at humanity. (Singer, 1972 at p.1)[1] He argues that the reaction of people in relatively affluent countries is unjustified to situations similar to like t
A Response to Famine, Affluence, and Morality Due Date: April 21, 2009 Famine purposes a great problem to humanity. Singer explains how famine in east Bengal took a swing at humanity. (Singer, 1972 at p.1)1 He argues that the reaction of people in relatively affluent countries is unjustified to situations similar to like that in Bengal. The moral eye needs to be tampered with in light of these issues. (Singer, 1972 at p.1)2 The purpose of this paper is to analyze Peter Singer's argument. According to Damer's five criteria of a good argument, it would be safe to claim that peter singer has made a good argument. (Damer at p. 30)3 Though singer's argument is good and persuasive, his paper is not free from criticisms against certain points he raises while making his argument. I would like to point out two important issues with his paper. Firstly, there should not have been a criticism for not donating. Secondly, discussion over misspent aid funds should have been included in his argument, since it is a serious problem. Despite these issues, idea presented in Singer's thesis should be supported. Singer begins his argument by criticizing the public for not giving large sums to relief funds, among other criticisms. (Singer, 1972 at p.1)4 Then again, he criticizes the public for spending their money on new clothes and cars instead of giving to the relief funds. (Singer, 1972 at
Angels and Demons by Dan BrownGenre: MysterySetting:Lurking in Modern Rome is an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati. The
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown Genre: Mystery Setting: Lurking in Modern Rome is an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati. The brotherhood is a cult of early scientists who had vowed revenge against the Vatican for crimes against scientists. They were presumed extinct for nearly four hundred years. The scene is set in this particular context in which the action that we expect will presumably take place. It outlines many of the internal workings of the Vatican as a plot to blow up the Vatican. The Illuminati's traditional method of murder leaves the protagonists to decipher a trail of murder mystery. Characters: Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist, was presented discursively. Visual and verbal characteristics were used to describe his affable nature and his legendary ability to dive. 'Langdon had a body of a swimmer, a toned, six-foot physique.' He stared at Illuminati brand: "a flawless diamond...with such perfection that all those who saw it could only stare in wonder." His specialty in religious history played an important role in the quest. Our response involves liking his caring relations to others and his active responses to survival situations. Leonardo Vettra, a CERN physicist, believed that science and religion together manifests man's quest of understanding the divine. There is the opposing view of Carmelengo Carlo Ventresca. He thought the
Plato and Descartes. In the works we studied by Plato (Apology, The Idea of the Good, and On the Shadows and Realities in Education) and Descartes (Meditations on the First Philosophy), both philosophers argue that we consist of a mind, or soul, which is
Rick Serra March 6, 2012 Professor Bush CAL 105 Plato and Descartes Plato and Descartes, perhaps two of the greatest philosophers ever, have many similarities in their ways of thinking and reason but also have their differences. In the works we studied by Plato (Apology, The Idea of the Good, and On the Shadows and Realities in Education) and Descartes (Meditations on the First Philosophy), both philosophers argue that we consist of a mind, or soul, which is somehow connected with the body. Although both Descartes and Plato believe that the mind or soul can exist independently from the body, Descartes' mind-body argument, and Plato's soul-body argument, are quite different. In his third meditation Descartes comes up with the conclusion, "I am, I exist, is necessarily true each time it is expressed by me, or conceived in my mind." He comes to this conclusion from the two points within his argument that argue God exists. The first point being that we have an idea of God and the second being that the only way to have an idea of God is if God exists. "By the word God I understand a substance that is infinite, eternal, immutable, independent, supremely intelligent, supremely powerful, and which created both myself and everything else...there is more reality in the infinite substance than in the finite on" Descartes deduces that God provided us with a mind and senses that do
An Analysis of Fanon's "The Wretched of the Earth"
Zoe Lambert 201322882 Aesthetic Experience and Ideas An Analysis of Fanon's "The Wretched of the Earth" Violence affects an individual not only in a physical way, but also on an emotional level as well. In Fanon's "The Wretched of the World" On Violence, the essay presents the reasons and consequences of the presences of violence. Fanon states that decolonization thrives of the essence of violence. The colonist would not reach their goal for the colonized if it was not for the act of violence. He goes through the factors that remove individuality from the individual, such as the church and the process of decolonization. This inhibits the native's basic morals and throws him/her into a state of confusion. Fanon exhibits the relationship between the colonist and the colonized. He supplies one with all the deep emotions of both the colonist and the colonized. The tension between the two opposing "protagonist" is fabricated through his writing. (Fanon, 3) Finally, he reveals the motives behind the violence of both the colonist and the colonized. This violence comes from two polar ideas that cannot survive with the other still remaining. In Fanon's writing, one really gets to know about the perspectives of an exploited "species" (Fanon, 1). Fanon describes these factors in such detail that it justifies the use of violence amongst the colonized. In Fanon's "The Wretched
Assess Descartes Trademark Argument
"All these attributes [of God] are such that, the more carefully I concentrate on them, the less possible it seems that the idea I have of them could have originated from me alone. So from what has been said it must be concluded that God necessarily exists" (Meditation 3). Assess Descartes's argument. By Meditation three Descartes has established the following: that he cannot rely on the information obtained by his senses and that he is a thinking thing. From his finding, he can be sure of the existence of himself, or at least his mind, because as long as he thinks he exists. Using this logic to build upon, he can discover a belief in others, beginning with God. His argument uses deductive reasoning and at first, it is difficult to find flaw in. the basis of the argument, the foundations that hold it together - such as the 'idea' of God himself - does falter when studied closely, however. This essay attempts to discover whether these foundations hold strong and assess whether Descartes has found proof of God. Descartes begins by summarizing what he is certain he knows. His basis for this at this stage is anything he can perceive "clearly and distinctly" can be believed. He knows he is a thinking thing, and even if what he senses outside himself is not real, the sensations they cause - the thoughts or ideas - are enough to prove this. However, if the things Descartes knows
