The Enlightenment and the Declaration of Independence Essay Example

The Enlightenment and the Declaration of Independence Essay The Enlightenment Era, also known as the Age of Reason, took place between 1685 and 1815. The Enlightenment thinkers of this time period began to look for rules of regularity and balance in the ideal of self-government. The main Enlightenment thinkers contributed to the sake of human liberty by reforming thought, society, and government. The brilliant minds of the Enlightenment thinkers Thomas Hobbes, Isaac Newton, John Locke, Francois Voltaire, Cesare Beccaria, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau brought about change that enhanced life for all people. These changes were meant to protect the people from the government, if the government should ever fail. The Enlightenment thinkers fought for the people to have the right to overthrow the government and create their own form of democracy, should this ever happen. These ideas were written in the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, who was greatly influenced by the ideas of John Locke. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson describes certain alienable rights such as Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Jefferson actually took the idea of these rights from Locke, who had originally said â€Å"Life, Liberty, and Property† are the natural rights for the people. The Enlightenment thinkers had a belief that the people were being chained down by the government, and that was unacceptable. In fact, Jean Jacques Rousseau stated that â€Å"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains†, meaning that the government has complete control over the people from the moment they are born. The people looked up to the Enlightenment thinkers as their way up and out, to a better existence through their talk of natural rights and freedom. In 1750, a French economist by the name of Anne Robert Jacques Turgot stated â€Å"as the human mind becomes more enlightened over time, the whole human race goes on advancing, although at a slow pace, towards greater perfection† We will write a custom essay sample on The Enlightenment and the Declaration of Independence specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Enlightenment and the Declaration of Independence specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Enlightenment and the Declaration of Independence specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Parental Guidence on TV essays

Parental Guidence on TV essays Television is a problem that is affecting the way children behave in many communities in our country. Parents are seeking a way to educate the problem albeit they may be the biggest contributors of the problem by not checking on what their children are watching. It is the premise of the paper to show and discuss the new ways that parents can find out what is appropriate for their children to watch by using the new TV ratings systems. There have been many things that people have tried to help this problem. Research completed by Working Woman magazine shows that, July 1 was a landmark date for parents: the first time we can walk into a store and buy a television set with the much-touted V-chip. (Elliot 22) The V-chip was a breakthrough for technology and when it was released some parents thought that all their problems would be solved. Television and its programs have many things that parents dont want their kids watching. S. Elliot of Working Woman magazine says, Not everything on television is good for kids. The V-chip is a way our family keeps you safe. TV-Y shows are the ones for you. (Elliot 22) The V-chip was a way to block anything on TV that parents didnt want their children to see. Parents have to be careful about what their children are seeing where ever they are, in fact Barbara Meltz of the Boston Globe believes that, The same parent who cares enough to buy a TV with technology capable of blocking violent programming is probably the parent who pays attention to the movies their children see. (Meltz 1) Otherwise, make sure you know what your kids are watching while over their friends house or what the see when they are at the movies. Many TV shows are just too much for your kids to handle no matter what time of the day it is. Barbara Meltz points out, If a TV-14 is accompanied by V, S, L, and/or D, expect it to be very intense. (Meltz 3) This is ju...

Flims Harry Potter and the Avengers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Flims Harry Potter and the Avengers - Essay Example ques in order to enhance the effectiveness of the films, film producers employ numerous emblements including lighting, camera movement, transitions and editing features among many others in order to portray each film as both unique and original (Nelmes, 2003). The discussion below thus analyses the difference in the structures of two films; Harry Potter and The Avengers by analyzing the difference in both the storylines and the unique film production techniques the developers of each film employs. This way, the discussion portrays the similarities and difference in the two films. As stated earlier, films have definite story lines often in a form of narration. This refers to the action and series of events that occur in the film. Just with any other type of literary construction, the film must have a definite structure and flow chronologically in a manner that provides a logical flow of ideas and stories. Film narratives thus have characters who must exhibit appropriate characteristics in order to complement the original ideas of the stories. Among the major and equally distinctive features of the two films is their genres, Harry Potter is a series of eight fantasy films and are film adaptation of J. K. Rowling’s novels of the same tittle while The Avengers is a series of comical films. Fantasy films just as the name suggests are films based on imaginary stories (Serkis, 2003). The author of the novel therefore develops imaginary stories a feature that requires effective construction of conflicts in a logical manner. Logical conflicts help validate the storyline thus enhancing the satisfaction of the audience. The avengers on the other hand is a comical film, this implies that the films main objective is to cause humor. The storyline of the two films thus differ since each strives to achieve different objectives. While The Avengers strives to humor, Harry Potter strives to convenience the audience of the logical nature of the hyperbolic narrative. The Harry

Strength of material Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strength of material - Essay Example Yet another factor that impacts the nature of loading is the stresses, deflections and strains that the structure is subjected to. One engineering component may be subjected to strains, stresses and/or torsion at the same time, forces acting at different points according to Melchers and Hough (364). When a system is subjected a myraid of loads of this nature, the system is said to be subjected to complex loads. Some systems that commonly experience complex loading include bridges, building roof structures, differential units and shafts, just to mention a few. Figure 1: showing the structure of a bridge; different components of the bridge subjected to tension, compression, strains and stresses Courtesy http://www.300thcombatengineersinwwii.com/bridges.html Engineers have always communicated through drawings to convey messages relating to the nature and design of components and structures. In the analysis of engineering structures and components, care is usually taken to avoid failure that results due to several factors including loading and corrossion. The analysis of the forces that act on engineering structures began with the use of drawings, lines and arrows representing forces that were resolved somehow to come up with solutions or results. Superpositioning as a method of analysis has also been employed in analysing engineering components and normally involves the overlapping of forces (Courses.washington p1).

Consumer Health Information Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Consumer Health Information - Coursework Example A major advantage of using the internet is its relative cheapness that allows many people to access information about their health and other medical issues they would like to know about without having to pay the high consultation fees that are charged by many doctors and other specialists. Conversely, a major disadvantage of using the internet to search for medical information pertains to the credibility of some of the web pages. This is because some of the web pages are created by people without the appropriate amount of knowledge in the topic they discuss in those web pages. The use of the internet provides empowerment to the users as they are able to get information pertaining to various health issues they seek to know quickly and cheaply. This saves them both time and money and enables them to make various decisions that better their lives. This paper provides valuable information pertaining to the use of the internet to search for medical information as well as a major advantage and disadvantage of using the internet. As noted, the internet is indeed a cheap and quick source of complex health and medical information. The disadvantage is the aspect of believing any information on the internet as it might be false. This is very important to note and users should be informed to be cautious of the information that they fond on the internet. This information relates to the course concepts and provides a basis for understanding the rise of the internet as a viable source of medical information to users. Healthcare organizations provide very important services to the patients that get treatment and other health services provided by these organizations. It is therefore very important to ensure that these organizations have effective management systems and strategies.  

How Sustainable Is Industrial Agriculture Environmental Sciences Essay

How Sustainable Is Industrial Agriculture Environmental Sciences Essay Agriculture may seem to be a pre-modern economic activity in which the method or the way it is carried out is old-fashioned. However, industrialization, scientific development and mechanization have affected agriculture like many aspect of life, which created a brand new term: Industrial Agriculture. Industrialized agriculture or industrial agriculture can be defined as the replacement of human labor with capital intensive tools and inputs heavily dependent on fossil fuels, the consolidation of farm land, and increasingly centralized control over the distribution of food resources.(Thu and Dunenberger 1998). The goal of industrial agriculture is to increase yield and decrease costs of production, which is why the farm is seen as a factory with inputs like pesticides or fertilizer and outputs like corn or chicken. (Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 1). Thanks to the industrial agriculture, the mass-production in agriculture came into existence. Compared to the old method, we can produce much more now. Agricultural food, including animals, can be supplied in a short time with more outcomes. Therefore, there is no doubt that in many ways industrial agriculture appears to be a beneficial development and a higher stage in agricultural method. However, it seems to be what it has brought is not as great as what it is taking away. The mechanization of agriculture and the use of chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides have caused huge problems in environment, health and the economic condition of farmers. That is why, in this paper, I will argue that industrial agriculture is unsustainable because it leads to unhealthy conditions for both workers and consumers, has negative effects on environment and causes poverty. The first aspect that makes industrial agriculture unsustainable is the health problems due to the conditions in work place, the use of pesticides, anti-biotic and fertilizers and the equipment used in the industrial agriculture. Workers are the first group of people who are exposed to the unhealthy conditions caused by the industrial agriculture. First of all, because of the equipment like farm machinery, tractors, hoes and etc., the accidents are frequent events for workers. The consequence of these kinds of accidents may be losing a hand, foot, small injuries or death. In 1946, data from all industrial groups show that the largest number of occupational deaths, 4,500, occurred in agriculture ( Axelrod 2). This data only belongs to USA so the number that includes more countries will increase the number of death also. Thus, accidents are a serious problem in industrial agriculture. Moreover, because of the high noise exposure from sources like tractors, harvesters and grain dryers, causes hearing loss among workers. According to Marvel farmers experience higher than expected rates of hearing loss starting in their teen years (Kendall 2) In addition to the accidents and noise exposure, the use of chemicals and pesticides in agriculture also creates unhealthy conditions for workers. Poisoning caused by chemical fertilizers seems to be faced by workers frequently. Pesticides used as plant sprays create a hazard to the farm worker either in the process spraying or of harvesting ( Axelrod 2). Thus, the chemicals and pesticides are serious treat to the health of farm workers and the most common illnesses because of these is poisoning. Furthermore, as Kendall points out, the dermatoses, especially skin cancer, and respiratory diseases are among the most pervasive health problems in industrial agriculture (1). Toxic exposure is the main reason for dermatoses. More specifically, exposure to pesticides, chemical solvents, engine exhaust, animal virsues and other substances commonly found in an industrialized farm operation are the reasons for dermatoses and especially skin cancer (Kendall 1). Other common health problem among farm workers is respiratory diseases. The condition in the work place and the material used for the works are again the reason for these kinds of problems. Exposure to irritant, toxic gases and dusts on the farm causes respiratory diseases. The kind of illnesses as a result from this includes chronic bronchitis, occupational asthma, organic dust toxic syndrome, farmers lung and silo filler (Kendall 2). Thus, respiratory diseases can seriously damage farm workers. In short, because of the condition of the work place, the equipment used in the work and the use of pesticides and chemicals, industrial agriculture creates an unhealthy condition that causes serious health problems for workers. In addition to the farm workers, consumers also suffer from unhealthy production and condition created by industrial agriculture. The use of chemicals and pesticides are causing some health problems for consumers as it is for workers. Statistical data provides us with information that makes it rather clear that the use of pesticides leads to serious health problems including fatal diseases. One of this data demonstrates that about 67,000 pesticide poisonings resulting in an estimated twenty-seven accidental fatalities are reported each year in the US in developing countries situation is worse (Pimental, Culliney, Bashore 2). Thus, again, the poisonings are frequent diseases resulted from the use of pesticides. More serious health problems like cancer can also occur because of pesticides. The International Agency for Research on Cancer found sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in eighteen pesticides and limited evidence in additional sixteen pesticides (Pimental, Culliney, Bashore 2). In other words, there are eighteen pesticides which we are sure that can make people cancer. Since in industrial agriculture pesticides are being used excessively, the food that is produced by industrial agriculture is a serious treat for consumers. Other than the use of pesticides, so called factory style animal agriculture also creates health problems for consumers. The term factory style animal production implies the animal production in which unnatural method like using chemicals is being held. Pathogens like salmonella, laisteria and toxoplasma cause foodborn illnesses. These kinds of bacteria occur in chickens but they transmit to humans through meat. They can cause severe diarrhea and nausea and occasionally produce fatal diseases.(Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 5). One may ask that if these bacteria transmit trough meat, why is the industrial agriculture guilty for these health problems? Horrigan, Lawrence and Walker give the answer: The crowded condition of factory farming increase the level of contamination and the high-speed, automated methods of slaughtering and processing the animals make it difficult to detect that contamination.(6) Furthermore, the other common characteristic of factory style animal agriculture that c auses health problems for consumers is the se of antibiotics. Unnatural or produced antibiotics are fed to animals. The goal is to promote growth in production. However, excessive use of such drugs in animals can enhance the development of drug resistant strain of disease, which can be transmitted to humans trough the food supply.(Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 8). In other words, the excessive use of these antibiotics may make people less resistant to disease and make them ill more easily. The last aspect that industrial agriculture causes health problems is genetically engineered food. It is easy to guess this kind food creates heath problems because they are not natural. This kind of food à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦includes organisms not previously eaten by humans.(Horrrigan, Lawrence, Walker 8), which may cause new allergens. Therefore, as there are organisms that we have not eaten before in genetically engineered food, it is likely that new allergens can emerge. The second reason why industrial agriculture is unsustainable is its negative effects on environment. Concerning environmental problems caused by industrial agriculture, the use of fertilizers and pesticides again seems to be the most important problem like it is about heath problems. It is a fair question to ask: why the use of fertilizers and pesticides is so intense, if it causes so many problems? It seems to be the answer is hidden in the definition of industrial agriculture given in the first paragraph. The industrial agriculture is a farm like a factory and it is goal is to produce more to profit more. The negative effects are not as important as the profit. Therefore, as the main goal is to earn money, health or environment are second or even third concerns. We can now continue to examine the negative effects on environment after this brief explanation. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is serious problem for the environment and their rate of use is continuing to increase. The main problem about fertilizers arises from the fact that crops absorb one-third to one-half of the nitrogen.(Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 3). Excess nitrogen creates dead zone because it diminishes the oxygen in the water. This drives off the mobile sea life and kills immobile bottom dwellers. One great example of this is Gulfs dead zone in New Jersey ( Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 3). This nitrogen runoff also affects the ecosystem balance in a negative way, which is direct danger for environment. The use of pesticides is another problem because it causes decline in bird and beneficial insect populations which disrupt the balance between predator and prey.(Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 3). As a result of this the pests are recovering faster, which can damage the agriculture directly. The reduction of biodiversity is another outcome. Syntheric chemicals reduce biodiversity in the insect world. This may not sound as a harmful result. However, the real problem is the death of the wild bees and other beneficial species by pesticides (Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 3). The creation of imbalance in nature harms the biodiversity and kills the species that are beneficial to human kind. The effects of the industrial agriculture on soil demonstrate how harmful it can be on environment. Land degradation seems to be the first negative result of industrial agriculture. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦since World War II, poor farming practices had damaged about 550 million hectares-an area equivalent to 38% of all farmland in use today.(Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 4). Because of industrial agriculture, more that one-third of the farmland had damaged. Considering world hunger, industrial agriculture had damaged all people by damaging that much of the land because the land could have been used efficiently, which could have supplied people with food or even land. The reason for why that much of land had damaged is that industrial agriculture à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦depends on heavy machinery that compacts the soil, destroying soil structure and killing beneficial organisms in the soil food web.(Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 4). Therefore, regarding soil, industrial agriculture is not sustainable. In terms of land, industrial agriculture is not very beneficial either. Land degradation has been a serious problem for a long time. The worlds supply of arable land per person has been declining steadily. (Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 4). Desertification is a rather effective kind of land degradation. It can be defined as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities. and 15% of al land surface has been experiencing land desertification. (Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 4). This means that less land is available for agriculture. How can a type of agriculture be sustainable, if it reduces the land to use for agriculture? Less land means less family that are engaging in agriculture and less food to supply people with. The reasons for land degradation and desertification are over cultivation, overgrazing and over use of water.(Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 4). Thus, the main reason is over using land and water but if the land degradation continues, in the end there will be no land to over use. The use of water is another aspect where the negative effects of industrial agriculture can be observed. The pollution of water seems to be the sources of problems that industrial agriculture causes because when farming practices pollute surface water and aquifers, they reduce the amount of water that is suitable for other uses.( Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 4). Other users may be any plant, animals or person. The main point is that some practices of industrial agriculture pollute water and this waste water damages many other potential users. The pollution in most of the times stems from runoff of chemicals, silt and animal waste. (Horrigan, Lawrence, Walker 4). Again industrial agriculture seems to be for the benefit of only a few people, while it is harmful for many other people, animals or plants. Together with the problems concerning health and environment, the poverty caused by industrial agriculture is the last aspect that makes it unsustainable. One fact may be the starting point of poverty caused by industrial agriculture, which in seventy years, although the US population has doubled, the number of American farmers has declined from seven million to two million (Kimbrell 17). There may be two reasons for this. First one is land degradation, which is mentioned above, caused by industrial agriculture. Because of land degradation, the amount of arable land is diminishing, which leads to the loss of farm communities. As the farmers who were engaged in agriculture before finds no land, the poverty seems inevitable. The second reason may be higher costs of industrial agriculture. As industrial agriculture requires mechanization, the use of pesticides and chemicals, it is hard for farmers to continue in agriculture. Capital is needed for industrial agriculture, which many farme rs do not have. Therefore, the farms concentrate on very few people that have the capital to invest, which again causes the lass of farm communities and naturally poverty. The other reason for poverty caused by industrial agriculture is the increasing price of food. Although industrial agriculture made it possible to produce more, the price of food is increasing (Kimbrell 15). However, paradoxically farmers do not earn more than they did before. The profits gained from the increasing price of food go to the corporate middlemen, not to the farmers (Kimbrell 17). Other than farmers, society as a whole is becoming poor because of industrial agriculture as well. While food pricing is increasing, we spend money to the heath and environmental problems caused by industrial agriculture. Therefore, we pay more for the food and also we spend more money on health and environment because of industrial agriculture, which makes poverty a problem for the whole society. Poverty for farmers and for the whole society again demonstrates that industrial agriculture is not sustainable. In conclusion, even though industrial agriculture is a development in agriculture as it increases production, it takes more than it gives so it is unsustainable. Negative effects of it on heath, environment and economy are the reasons for why industrial agriculture is unsustainable. Creation of health problems both for workers and consumers because of the use of pesticides, chemical and the conditions of work place causing toxic exposure and accidents is thanks to industrial agriculture. The use of pesticides, chemicals, land degradation and water pollution are the environmental problems created by industrial agriculture. The loss of farm communities and expensive food price are the results of industrial agriculture, which causes poverty. All these reasons seem to demonstrate that industrial agriculture is unsustainable. The solution to these problems may not be going back to the old fashion way of agriculture in which there is no room for mechanization, pesticides or chemicals. All this chemicals or machines should be used for human good, not to gain more profit. Therefore, the problem is not the kind of things that is used in agriculture; the real problem is the relations of production or the social form in which these kinds of things are used. Therefore, in order to achieve sustainable agriculture, we should first abolish the possibility of making profit by industrial agriculture. Then, we should collectivize the means of production and just use them for the human good. WORK CITED Axelrod, S. J. Health Problems in Industrialized Agriculture School of Public Health. September 1949: 1172-1175. Print. Horrigan, Leo, Lawrence Robert S. ,Walker, Polly. How Sustainable Can Agriculture Address the Environmental and Human Health Harms of Industrial Agriculture. Environmental Health Perspective, Vol.110 No.5 May 2002. 445-456. Print Kendall, M. Thu. The Health Consequences of Industrial Agriculture for Farmers in the United States. Human Organization. Fall 1998. Print Kimbrell, Andrew. Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2002. Print Pimentel, D., T.W. Culliney, T. Bashore. http://ipmworld.umn.edu/chapters/pimentel.htm

The Greek Economy Essay -- Greek History, Persian War, Marathon Men

The Greek economy was a result of the combination of slaves, citizens and Metics. The Metic, however, was the driving and most important force behind the Greek economy. The slave was used only when seen fit. The citizen saw work as below the dignity of a free man. He left to others the labors that he was unwilling to perform himself. Firstly, it must be noted that any prejudice against manual labor among the Greeks was of comparatively late origin. Certainly, in the Homeric age, to labor with one’s hands was no disgrace. The prowess of Odysseus comes to mind, who was a mighty worker and built his own house and even his own bedstead. (Hom. Od.13, 31-34) There was no prejudice against manual labor in the time of Solon either, who decreed that a father must see that his son be taught a craft. (Plut. Solon, 22) To what then must be attributed the prejudice against manual labor in the latter part of the fifth and throughout the fourth century B.C.? Before we go on, it must be noted that most of our evidence on Greek civilization comes from literary works. The majority of which comes from Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato and Aristotle. While they cover all aspects of the Greek world, they concentrate more on political, military and diplomatic history, in particular, that of Athens. This gives us a biased and prejudiced view of both the own author’s opinions and that of the Athenian society. As such, any evidence must be treated with caution, and while we cannot say with complete certainty that what they say is true, through the comparison of multiple works we are able to draw conclusions that are sound and reasonable. It arose after the Persian wars, when the â€Å"Marathon Men† were glorified, and the life of the sold... ... part of the citizens is easy to find. As the Metics were allowed no political rights whatsoever, nothing was to be feared from them and everything to be gained from having them as numerous and wealthy as possible, as a convenient source of revenue by which the life of the citizen was made easy and pleasant. It is naà ¯ve to generalize that; â€Å"Greek civilization itself was based upon and made possible by slavery.† I acknowledge the amount of slaves, if anything the prevention of a creation of a trade union due to the prevalence of slave labor is tantamount to the number of slaves. But as I have shown, Greek economy was not dependant upon them. They were a big factor, especially in the low skilled industries, but by no means were the main feature in Greek economy. If anything, the Greek economy was dependant on the existence, exercise and effluence of Metic trade. The Greek Economy Essay -- Greek History, Persian War, Marathon Men The Greek economy was a result of the combination of slaves, citizens and Metics. The Metic, however, was the driving and most important force behind the Greek economy. The slave was used only when seen fit. The citizen saw work as below the dignity of a free man. He left to others the labors that he was unwilling to perform himself. Firstly, it must be noted that any prejudice against manual labor among the Greeks was of comparatively late origin. Certainly, in the Homeric age, to labor with one’s hands was no disgrace. The prowess of Odysseus comes to mind, who was a mighty worker and built his own house and even his own bedstead. (Hom. Od.13, 31-34) There was no prejudice against manual labor in the time of Solon either, who decreed that a father must see that his son be taught a craft. (Plut. Solon, 22) To what then must be attributed the prejudice against manual labor in the latter part of the fifth and throughout the fourth century B.C.? Before we go on, it must be noted that most of our evidence on Greek civilization comes from literary works. The majority of which comes from Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato and Aristotle. While they cover all aspects of the Greek world, they concentrate more on political, military and diplomatic history, in particular, that of Athens. This gives us a biased and prejudiced view of both the own author’s opinions and that of the Athenian society. As such, any evidence must be treated with caution, and while we cannot say with complete certainty that what they say is true, through the comparison of multiple works we are able to draw conclusions that are sound and reasonable. It arose after the Persian wars, when the â€Å"Marathon Men† were glorified, and the life of the sold... ... part of the citizens is easy to find. As the Metics were allowed no political rights whatsoever, nothing was to be feared from them and everything to be gained from having them as numerous and wealthy as possible, as a convenient source of revenue by which the life of the citizen was made easy and pleasant. It is naà ¯ve to generalize that; â€Å"Greek civilization itself was based upon and made possible by slavery.† I acknowledge the amount of slaves, if anything the prevention of a creation of a trade union due to the prevalence of slave labor is tantamount to the number of slaves. But as I have shown, Greek economy was not dependant upon them. They were a big factor, especially in the low skilled industries, but by no means were the main feature in Greek economy. If anything, the Greek economy was dependant on the existence, exercise and effluence of Metic trade.

Latin American Literature Essay

It should be noted that Latin American Literature of the 20th century demonstrates perfect connection between the generations: the Ancient and the Modern. The most noticeable literary figures use the rich history, mythology and spiritual bound between the generations in order to demonstrate strong connection of their nation with the events and people who lived in the Ancient times and differed a lot from the present day realities. Many authors want to reveal that the spirit of the Ancient tribes living on the territory of contemporary Latin America is the most valuable heritage of contemporary people, connecting them with the past. It goes without saying that literary creations of the outstanding authors, living in the Latin American region, reflect the intentions to show deep connection of the different nations with their Ancient past, celebrating the unity of Ancient and Modern traditions within the nations of independent Latin American Countries. It is essential that the question of the Ancient heritage in Latin America is among the quite acute. That is why it is not surprising that it has found reflection in the outstanding 20th century novels, which take a significant place in Latin American Literary Heritage. They are The Storyteller by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, written in 1987 and Where the Air is Clear by outstanding Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, released in far 1958. Despite the significant difference in genre and plot structure these novels are united under the one theme. They reveal the close connection of the modern Latin American society with the past. The core idea of this research is to reveal this connection between the ancient and the modern within the pages of these books. Where the Air is Clear by Carlos Fuentes and close connection of the Modern world to the Ancient heritage. Where the Air Is Clear is the first novel, written by Carlos Fuentes and from the very beginning the author raised quite burning questions and important themes. One novel’s heroes, Ixca Cienfuegos, plays quite a significant cultural role in the novel, which is written in the form of character sketches collection in the Mexico City. Ixca Cienfuegos is connecting all separate parts within the pages of a book. Masterful combination of different techniques let the author represent the dynamical development of Mexico after the revolution at the time period of nearly a decade, 1940s and 1950s. It should be noted that the key figures of the novel is Mexico City itself and the author reveals cultural peculiarities describing the life of the city. The author takes the reader into the fascinating trip around the streets of Mexico City, dealing with some pages of its history. The novel could not be regarded as the typical analysis of the city dwellers; the author masterfully notes all the drawbacks incisively describing Mexico City inhabitants. He shows Federico Robles, who is a banker; Norma Robles, a social climber; Ovando family, who was rich before the revolution, but lost everything after; Rodrigo Polo, Mexican writer, who suffered during the revolution as his father was executed, Amerindian Gladys, who sells her body and certainly Ixca Cienfuegos, who is real critic and observer of the whole system. Carlos Fuentes, as a representative of Magic realism, could not avoid showing the reader the question of solitude and identity of Mexico, its loss in the labyrinth, understanding that there in no other country in Latin America, which obsessively seeks for it personal identity, returning again to its history and moving ahead. The country feels itself lost between the motherland (with all its cultural traditions and peculiarities) and the adopted land. With the help of different literary elements such as disjointed writing style, flashback, the stream of consciousness, non-chronological recount of events and alternation of narration forms, the author masterfully performs the surreal atmosphere of the constant search, which is one f the main themes of the novel. To find the correlation between the present and the past is very difficult for the main heroes of the novel and each of them touches the question of identity. It should be noted that the most surreal element of the novel is Mexico City, which is depicted as one of the core figures of the novel; this makes Where the Air is Clear outstanding from the other novels dealing with the question of national identity. The book itself essentially represents the quest for national identity in Mexico in the post – revolutionary times. Placing Mexico City as a central Figure, Carlos Fuentes shift the role of all the human characters to the background due to the fact that their lives and past experience correlate with the primary intention of definition the culture and history of the country. The question if perfectly revealed through the confrontation of the present day reality with its past, and the reader understand that this conflict has been lasting for already many years. The following quote perfectly illustrates the confrontation: â€Å"But does such a thing as ‘original’ blood exist? No: every pure element grows and is consumed in its own purity, does not develop; the original is the impure, the mixed, the mulatto and the mestizo, as I am, as all of Mexico is. Which is to say, originality supposes a mixing, a creation, not a purity previous to our experience. Rather than born original, we come to be original; origin is creation. Mexico must find her origin by looking ahead, not behind† (Carlos Fuentes, 1958, p. 44). The present day reality of the country could hardly correlate to the past of the Aztec Empire, its beliefs, hopes and cultural peculiarities. But the author makes a stress not on the confrontation and conflict; he tries to reveal that the Mexican identity and cultural peculiarity is the mixture of two different, even opposite cultures. The European Tradition and the Indian tradition; the history of Mexico, unites people of different origins, race and thought and every hero of the novel proves that, as every character is a certain emblem of different Mexican aspects, and if we integrate the histories of the heroes, we could reveal that it is the actual Mexican identity, in the unique integration of many different cultures. The story that seemed to be a disconnected is a surrealist approach of the Author, who makes a stress on the division of Mexico and its unwillingness to perceive itself as interracial community. Such surrealist technique of writing let Carlos Fuentes to show the reader his personal and vividly portrayal vision of Mexico: a confronting country with unclear identity It goes without saying that sharp division between the social classes in the 1950-s Mexico adds a lot in the constant quest for the national identity. If we look back in the history of Mexico, the Aztecs were on the top of social ranking, under the time of Aztec empire everything was subjected to their will; the situation in Where the Air Is Clear is quite opposite the indigenous Indians are on the lowest place in the Mexican society (good illustration is prostitute Gladys). Another conflict is also observed. The new and the past governing classes also involved in the confrontation. The impoverished Ovando family is contrasted to Nora Robles, the contemporary representative of the upper Mexican Classes. One of the most powerful scenes is her meeting with Lorenza de Ovando, bitter aristocratic matriarch. Here we could observe allusion on the Modern Mexico and the Past one. The country, which rejects her Aztec past, its Gods, myths and cultural traditions The Storyteller Mario Vargas Llosa, and close connection of the Modern world to the Ancient heritage. Mario Vargas Llosa tells us a story of two college friends: the anonymous narrator (some critics consider that the author introduced himself) and his friend, Saul Zurantas, a Peruvian Jew. They both very interesting time at college, studying ethnography, they had a number of philosophical disputes. As it usually happens the friendship was erased after graduation. The narrator was intended to find a scholarship and continue his studies abroad and his friend was seen at college seldom and finally disappeared. It was told that he either immigrated to Israel or lost somewhere in the jungle in the east of Peru within the Machiguenga people. The narrator graduated and started his career as a member of the field theme from the Institute of linguistics and further he became television documentaries producer. During this time he did not stop attempts to contact his lost friend Saul, intended to learn more about the cultural peculiarities of Machiguenga tribes, but unfortunately he failed. Only in the very beginning appears a haunting image, which narrator had at a Florentine Art Gallery. He recognized Saul Zurantas as the Machiguengas tribal storyteller on the photographs. The book unites and compares the chapters told by the narrator and the ones telling the reader of the Peruvian Indian Mythology. It makes the reading rich on the contrast. One chapter describes the discussion between Saul Zurantas and the narrator what impact provided the missionaries alongside with the business interest from the west on the unique nature of the Machiguenga tribes and culture. This chapter is prolonged with the national folklore telling about the spirit world, the animals and elements. It would be hard to reveal whether it is the voice of Saul Zurantas or the Machiguenga storyteller tells about mystical connection between the nature and the people. These two viewpoints thought provoking dialogues contrasted to the national tales is revealing the importance of keeping the unique cultures that are under the threat of westernization and loss of their identity. Saul Zurantas, of Jewish origin understands this more than the local Peruvians, that is why he is the storyteller, the one who keeps the connection between the generations, collecting the story of the legendary past. The book is not an easy to read as it has deep philosophical background. It provided a number of burning questions such as the investigation of the other cultures by the anthropologists and how these people, living outside of the civilized world could fit to the major society. The whole question civilization is raised within the pages of the book, the question of the lost heritage, where social anthropologist Saul Zurantas took the place of the story teller, to preserve unique Machiguenga culture, which is located in the depth of the rainforests of the Amazon River. â€Å"Who is purer or happier because he’s renounced his destiny†Ã¢â‚¬  The storyteller asked when he walked in the jungle with the Machiguengatribes, who should constantly roam to keep their obligation to the gods and keep save the Earth and the Sky and the Stars. â€Å"Nobody,† the storyteller replied. â€Å"We’d best be what we are. The one who gives up fulfilling his own obligation so as to fulfill that of another will lose his soul† (Mario Vargas Llosa, 1987). It is deeply spiritual novel, which deals about strong connection between the people of different times. The author tells us that the old tales could not leave anyone indifferent, as they are the part of the history and the part of the culture. Conclusion In the end I would like to make a stress on the fact that both authors reveal strong importance of the past for the present day world. It is important to keep the connection between the generations, to preserve cultural identity and the past could not be neither changes nor forgotten, as national identity of the country strongly deals with the question of the cultural heritage of the previous cultures. The Ancient Maya Tribes and Ancient Aztec have left rich cultural heritage for the Mexicans and the Peruvians and present day people should care and protect this heritage, understanding that the role of the Ancient in our present day Modern is really significant. References Fuentes, Carlos. Where the Air Is Clear. Dalkey Archive Press: orig. 1958; 2004 Llosa, Mario Vargas. The Storyteller. Picador: orig. 1987; 2001 Taube. Karl. Aztec and Maya Myths. Austin: University of Texas,1993 Gerald, Martin. Journeys through the Labyrinth: Latin American Fiction of the Twentieth Century. Verso: 1989

English Assignment Essay Example

English Assignment Essay Example English Assignment Paper English Assignment Paper Charles Dickens was born in 1812. Charles had a very unstable upbringing. During his turbulent childhood, he and his family lived in increasing poverty. Charles has projected this onto many of his novels and works. By 1843 his work was immensely famous and popular and he was commissioned to write a series of Christmas books, one a year for five years. The first and most popular of these is A Christmas carol. Dickens used the setting and characters to show the reality of the terrible working conditions the poor endured during the Victorian period. The opening of the novel provides the reader with some insight into the character of Ebenezer Scrooge. We begin to learn about his lifestyle, his wealth, his attitude towards his employee and his opinion of the poor. Scrooge is described as being Scrooge ! A squeezing, wretching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner ! Hard as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out a generous fire. This shows what kind of person he is; a stingy man with unreasonable and uncompromisable demands. From this quote I also get the feeling that Scrooges personality is one of a bitter, cold-hearted and short tempered old man with an unhealthy obsessive love for money e. g. Clutching emphasizes this point. Scrooge is described as being cold-hearted and unreachable No steel had ever struck out a generous fire This metaphor means that nobody has ever managed to make him genuinely smile with real joy. I also think that Scrooge is a secretive and lonely man with no friends Secret, self contained, solitary as an oyster. I think Dickens uses the simile solitary as an oyster to emphasize how much of a loner scrooge is, but through his own doing as he lets no one into his life like an oyster with its thick shelf between itself and the outside world. External had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm no. No wintry weather could chill him. This extract is used by Dickens to emphasize his cold-hearted nature. Thus it made no difference to him as he was always colder. From this opening I also believe that scrooge lives in a lifestyle where ignorance is truly bliss, he does not care what people think of him. But Scrooge care ? It was the very thing he liked. I think Scrooge believed that the rest of mankind dont matter as long as he was comfortable. The novel also indicates that his life revolved around his business and wealth Of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve old Scrooge sat busy at his counting house. I believe this shows how consumed he is by his occupation and wealth, so much so that on one of the most joyous and happiest days of the year, he is at work meticulously counting his money. The opening of the novel also tells me that not only is he wintry towards strangers but he is also harsh towards people he knows especially his clerk Bob Cratchitt who he constantly belittles But the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal, my clerk, with fifteen shillings a week, and a wife and family Bob is left to face the cold. This shows how self-centered Scrooge is, Scrooge believes that by treating Bob Cratchitt as a slave instead of an employee he is doing Bob a favour. Scrooge also likes to put cratchitt in his place and reminds him quite often of his fifteen shillings a week pay packet. I think this is used by Scrooge to show what kind of unfair power the rich had over the poor in Victorian Britain where the employee was just a faceless, worthless cog in the prejudiced social machine Victorian Britain was. From this novel I have also gathered that Scrooge also treats his only relation with contempt What right have you to be merry, your poor enough this epitomises Scrooges whole character. This rich, money obsessed man who belittles people for trying to be happy ad to make the best of their lives. He belittles his own flesh and blood, because he is poor but seemingly to Scrooge inexplicably happier than Scrooge himself. I believe Scrooge is so harsh and cynical towards his nephew because he is may be jealous of him. Although Fred may be poorer Fred has found something much more valuable than mere money, true love, something which Scrooge may have let slip through his fingers sometime in the past. This novel indicates Scrooges attitude towards the poor which is as usual harsh and right wing Are there no prisons, and the union workhouses? Nothing, I wish to be left alone, I cant afford to make idle people merry. Scrooge believes the poor are lazy. I believe these are the words of a person whos only interested in themselves, a personality whos first to ask Whats in it for me? I think Charles Dickens has added this element to Scrooges character to emphasize the dangers of greed and the plight of the poor under classes that is created by the social system of the era. As scrooge travels to his house Dickens describes his rooms in a negative tone of language to emphasize the cold and darkness. The yard was so dark that even scrooge, who knew its every stone, was fain to grope with his hands this tells me that it was so dark that he had to feel his way home like a blind man.

Arguments about God Essays

Arguments about God Essays Arguments about God Essay Arguments about God Essay Essay Topic: Arguments In this RS coursework, I intend to write about the Christian arguments concerning god. In the first part I will describe some of the main arguments Christians put forward about their belief in God.In the second part I will explain some of the difficulties in trying to describe God, for example what gender should we use while describing him.The third part will contain a debate as to whether god exists, and if he does then whether or not we should be able to prove it. I will accomplish these tasks using different points of view, mine included.Part one: the main arguments Christians put forward about their belief in God.a) First beliefs picked up from the beliefs of parentsFirst beliefs are often taught to children from their parents, young children often assume everything their parents say is right, even if it contradicts reality, for example Father Christmas. Those who grew up in a Christian family are likely to have Christian beliefs, just as those brought up in a Hindu family are likely to have Hindu beliefs. This is because Children have no experience of the world and actuality itself; therefore they have no capability to question their parents. The beliefs of God, are often enforced through bedtime reading of the bible, or in the case of hell, told as a true horror story; purposely to scare children into believing. These beliefs, children simply accept until they get older, when they begin to question their parents and challenge them. Thus a childs belief as to whether or not God exists is influenced from the start of its life from its family and social experience.Questions about the existence of God in late childhood and when you are an adultThere are many questions human beings ask at some point in their life: the mysteries of the universe, mainly revolving around one thing, God. These questions have no specific answers and can be dwelled on for years before actually making sense, but there have been many arguments and beliefs peopl e of the past have thought and written about. Only a few of these questions are:Question 1 -How has anything come to exist rather than nothing?If in the beginning there was nothing, what was the reason for the universe to be created? For what reason did it go to all the bother of creating it/itself.The answers to this perplexing question are the arguments of St Thomas Aquinas; he was a 13th century philosopher who argued many of his beliefs. One of which was that God was the first uncaused cause. In other words; he believed in the non-believers argument of the big bang, (a huge explosion) but he sustained that something had to be behind the big bang; a will for the universe to exist; God. And thats why something came out of nothing, instead of remaining nothing.Question 2 -How has the cosmos come to be so well designed and some features purposeful?This question means how come the universe and everything in it is so well designed for its living environment? For example, evolution.Wil liam Paley imposed his idea. His example was a watch, if someone found a watch he wouldnt simply assume it had evolved, it had to have a maker the clock maker; but in the universes case, God.Similarly, the watches are often flawed; they will break eventually due to age. This is due to the flaws of the design and therefore its makers, in other words the thing that is made reflects its good and bad attributes to its maker. We can see in wildlife and ourselves how each is designed to fit its purpose magnificently. Hence their maker must also be magnificent. The answer to these questions is perfectly clear; the cosmos has come to be so well designed because of God. Simple creatures that cannot think for themselves are so perfectly adapted to their environment, they appear to be almost designed to be that way. They have no knowledge, they are constantly being guided by a higher entity, which has the spirit and thoughts they dont. If you look around outside, you would be able to see how well things seem to fit together, almost as though the world has been synchronized to the highest and most complex way.Being impossible for us humans to control creatures and scenery to this extent, we must look to a higher existence, God.However, a slight controversy to this would be, many creatures in todays world are under risk because theyre not well designed for the environment they live in. Among the animal kingdom, the cruel rule is survival of the fittest where some animals are blatantly less well designed than others are. This indicates that the universe is as a result of random chance, not clever design. And then it spirals back to the question of whether we have a malevolent or incompetent God. Then again, this point of view is flawed because if the animal kingdom were all balanced equally, none of the species would survive. This is because carnivores need to be able to catch their food, so they would have to be better than their prey wouldnt they? Besides the world cant be completely unbalanced in a bad way because then the food chain would spiral out of control.Question 3 -How did organic life come to be in the universe?How did everything natural still alive or extinct end up becoming a part of the universe.Everything in this world has a purpose. Without all the organic life on this world there would be no world, just a lifeless, insignificant piece of rock in the middle of a huge universe. Christians believe in the seven day theory where God created every organic life form within 7 days, (genesis) however these beliefs may not always be taken literally as there is significant evidence that the world must have taken millions of years to create. The world would appear to have started off full of bacteria and minerals and rocks, that is all.Then after an immense amount of time humans, plants and animals eventually were created. All this is absolutely extraordinary, because life requires a parent, or a life giver. Monkeys give birth to monkeys, zebra s give birth to zebras but who was there before there were any of these species? Who and how where they made? This is where the belief of the existence of God is important. Belief in God provides a clear explanation for a seemingly unclear event, for example, like how was the earth created? God was the original cause according to the bible, St Thomas Aquinas and many Christians today.Question 4 -How has intelligent thought emerged, enabling us to ask these questions?This uncertainty demonstrates that we are able to think freely, whereas other creatures cant and where did this originate from?The answer from Christians lies in the bible. It states in the second creation story that God gave us free will, because he didnt want little slaves following him round everywhere, doing exactly as he pleased, and not having a life for themselves. However, he didnt want us to disobey him either. He created us in his image, and he had a thinking mind, so he allowed us one too. Only to have us betr ay him. Consequently he banished us from the Garden of Eden.We ask these questions because we are a certain people, we dont like mysteries, they have to be solved. Some people spend their whole lives trying to figure out the worlds secrets and then it even passes on to their offspring. We are obsessed with logic. But logic has not solved all these questions for thousands of years!So what use is logic, we still dont actually know whether God exists, whether its the God from Christianity or Hinduism etc. But people believe it and so to them it is real. God is a simple way out of a difficult question like so many other things in todays life. For example aliens ghosts and the supernatural etc. In fact, belief in God can provide a simple explanation of things, events etcQuestion 6 -How is it we recognised awe and the numinous in a sunset, beauty and music, etc?How come we can acknowledge the supernatural in a sunset etc?The solution is that in fact not many of us often do realize the bea utiful and supernatural things in life, such as a sunset. However Christians often do as they appreciate everything in the world and to be Gods will and work. The world and solar system is all pretty amazing, many of us just never have enough time to simply think about all the marvellous things, that we take for granted everyday of our lives. For example the force that allows planets to orbit around the sun and never bump into each other, rotating the moon and the sun depending on night or day. The world is rather beautiful even in the simplest things. We sometimes recognize it and when we do, it gives us an understanding that there is something out there, making all this happen. This thing has so much power that it stuns us with awe at the thought of it, theres not a lot more powerful than humans so when something stronger strikes us its rather breathtaking to think about.Question 7 -How do we come to recognise the need for rules and morality?Why do we have rules and principles? Ho w did we comprehend it? We are a logical people who like order and clear explanations of events.The answer is there must be someone watching over us, an ethical lawgiver. Christians believe this is God and in the bible it explains the 10 commandments, which allow us to enter the kingdom of heaven when we die, but only if we follow them. There also always needs to be rules in society, or bad events will follow. Christians believe this is God testing us and these bad events are punishments. So as not to anger God again we inaugurate rules so it never happens again. This argument is called the moral argument.Question 8 -How is it we recognise the value of love e.g. from parents, friends etcWe often interrogate our understanding of love and how we can recognize it.The first love ever, to Christians was when God created humans he loved us dearly and still does. When Adam and Eve betrayed him and he banished them from the garden, he made clothes for them, to hide their nudity, which they where ashamed of. God was angry, but the clothes were symbols of his love for us. Nowadays, we recognize love as a feeling of affection towards someone. Whether theyre a friend, relation, lover or even an animal. Behind love there is an entity telling us that love is good and we feel warm inside when were around people we love. Christians believe this is a reward, and love is good.Personal experience of believers in GodSome people claim to have had a personal experience of God; sometimes such experiences can turn atheists into Christians or Christians into deeper Christians. A few examples of what a personal experience could be:* The feeling of wonder and peace, Christians get when they enter a holy building or somewhere significant to God.* Another experience is conversion this is where someone normally (not necessarily a Christian) gives her/his life to God and preaches about the Christian faith, whereas before he was just an ordinary guy.* An additional experience could be miracl es. Miracles are where something contradicts normality, with the only explanation of it being God. Like when someone is almost sure to die and then miraculously recover. Another type of miracle could be when Christians pray, and their prayers are answered. Miracles are powerful to believers in God as the cause and effect can be related in a short time period.* One more experience could be of actually seeing the God, and sensing his presence. This could happen in a near death experience, or from a flat liner brought back by the hospital staff. It could also happen through dreams or trances, these are called mystical experiencesThese experiences are often extremely hard to explain, almost as if the human language isnt enough to describe the extremity of the emotions involved. It also seems to be unique to each viewer so no one else understands. Often the onlooker describes the experience as a window to another, better world.Everyday experiences evoke ideas of GodWe experience God ever yday of our lives, whether or not we have enough time to even embrace the thought of how beautiful everything around us is. We can see Gods work in everything organic, we can smell it, touch it, hear it, and taste it. You can sense the supernatural when day changes into night and the moon and Sun swap. The sun doesnt set and rise of its own accord; the earth doesnt spin of its own accord. They are constantly upheld by God to never stop spinning and never bash into each other. There is always a day after a night and always a night after a day. Always birds singing harmoniously in the morning, do we not groan and wish some one would shoot them, shouldnt we take their song to be a compliment; exquisite life lives below our windowsill? And what about all the risks we take everyday, adults drive cars, children take buses, we cross roads, drink alcohol and there are so many other risks we take every single day. If you thought about it, doesnt it make you feel as if youre being watched ove r? Christians are thankful for those singing birds, thankful that their last cigarette didnt kill them, thankful to God for keeping their families safe for at least that one last day. Dont we take all this for granted?We thank God for our daily bread, For what we are about to receive may the Lord make us truly thankful.Crises in life, which provoke deep questions about GodIts all very well we appreciate the birds and the trees, but what about when a crises happens? Many Christians are forced to question their faith, question whether their whole lives worshipping God have been worthwhile or just completely time-consuming and pointless. A few examples of this are:* Illness* Death of family members or of loved ones* Divorce* Suffering* Depression* Rape* Struck by lightning* Car accidentsIf God looks after his believers how come he lets these bad things happen to us?Reinforced by millions of other similar believers of GodAs well as many other things that influence Christianity, Christia nity is the number 1 religion in the entire world, so there are absolutely millions of believers of God, Christians can connect with and be further influenced, to continue their religion and stand up for it until the bitter end. Christians regard their Christian friends as their family, their church as their second home. They share such friendly love for their family and true Christians go to church for fun, meetings and a little miracle that happens when they enter the church; a rush of love for God, and the friendship (fellowship) of man (people).Part two: Difficulties in trying to describe GodTraditional theological words associate unique features to GodIn Genesis it states that God created us in his own image, yet we cannot do half the things he can. For example there are many theological words associated with God, these are omniscient, which means he knows everything, what has happened to us, what will happen to us, who is important to us, what were thinking etc. However, it al so states in the bible that we have free will. If God knows whats going to happen to us, isnt that controlling us?Another word would be omnipotent, this means he can do everything but if he could do anything then he should be able to create a rock that he couldnt lift? This is logically contradictory, like so many other things that contradict each other in the bible.Another word would be omnipresent, this means he is present everywhere including every evil situation, but if this is so how can we trap a bit of God in a box?Another word for God and his apparent super-human attributes is Omni benevolent. But this is also flawed because if he was benevolent he would be incompetent; if he is competent he would be malevolent. This is because of all the suffering in the world, if hes so benevolent, why doesnt he stop it? Isnt he supposed to be omnipotent? If he is omnipotent then he must not want to stop it, which means hes not omni benevolent. What about the holocaust what are Gods reason s for not stopping it? However, it also states in the bible humans have free will, perhaps in the example of the holocaust, it was Hitlers will that the holocaust happened. So God didnt mess with Hitlers decision, until Hitler died that is. But this must have been very difficult for thousands of Jews to accept.Like humans but beyond human lifeGod is said to be like humans, but he is so much beyond human life that we simply cannot describe him in our human language. All we can say is he is completely beyond and utterly superior to the world, after all he did create it according to the bible. In fact, humans have so many different points of view of how God is, they all become entangled and confused. Brian Davies, a Philosopher of Religion in Philosophy of Religion, 2000 wrote:The word God has been understood in different ways. So you should not assume thatdiscussions as to what God is are always proceeding on a set of shared assumptionsGod is traditionally pictured as a man could he n ot be also seen as a woman? God also sometimes pictured as a ray of sunshine, or a personHuman words not enoughIn the bible, because of the language barrier of describing God, the writers can only use metaphors, symbols and analogies. A word symbol example famously used in the bible would be The Lord is my shepherd Psalm 23.1. Such stories made sense when most story telling was by word of mouth, with few people able to read. Also most people, until recent times, had little education or ability to read and write. So symbols are bigger than signs because they go beyond basic facts. However, symbols should not be interpreted factually or literally. That is why the bible is sometimes so misinterpreted, it is full of symbols, and often the reader takes those symbols literally or takes non-symbols as symbols.Since we only have the simple human languages, we cannot talk about an entity beyond humanity, so instead we use analogies for example God loves you where Gods love analogous with hum an love.Ontology: a description that leads to an argument for existence (part a)Anslem was the Arch Bishop of Canterbury in 1033 and he came up with the prospect of ontology. He based his argument on the prayer Proslogion, which uses this definition; The Ontological definition the language of perfect and full existence God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived Proslogion 1078.Anslem believed that with God there must always be existence, just as with a 3-sided triangle there must always be 3 angles. To be a triangle this is necessary, to be God this is necessary. God cannot not exist because he is the greatest possible conceivable entity. In other words, God is not the greatest conceivable entity that exists but is the greatest conceivable entity.The different between existing in reality and existing in imagination is that existing in reality is stronger. If the strongest entity ever existed in the imagination then an entity just like it would have to live in reality, therefore being better than the entity in the imagination, so the entity in the imagination couldnt be God, as God would have to be existing to be the greatest conceivable entity.God cant be made or destroyed because he is the perfection of everything, including existence. So Gods existence is unlimited, Gods non-existence is impossible. From this the concept of immortal also follows.Part 3: A debate as to whether God exists and if he did, whether or not we should be able to prove it.From arguments in part 1 summarise their strengths and weaknessesThe arguments about whether God really exists:1. The moral argument, we have so many laws in todays life there simply must be some kind of law giver at the start. If a random moral law just existed on its own, (which is actually impossible) there would be no moral foundation for people to believe in it. It may exist, but if there is no reason for it to then why should anyone follow it? Laws exist because someone wrote them, however the la ws are equal for everyone so the lawgiver must be absolutely good. Who is absolutely good? No one apart from God himself.2. The teleological argument, this is the argument of St Thomas Aquinas; He believed God was the first uncaused cause. The strengths of this argument are that as well as his own beliefs he accepts the scientific ones as well, e.g. the big bang. His argument also dates back from Plato and Aristotles unmoved mover, perhaps even before. This means the argument has a pretty solid origin. At first his first uncaused cause argument looks reasonably sturdy but do they actually prove God? We could argue against the first uncaused cause theory by questioning the fact that God is the first uncaused cause, why couldnt it simply be the universe or the big bang? In other words cant the universe of created itself instead of creating an entirely new entity? This surely makes more sense. And besides all this, what makes the first necessary cause God? It could quite easily be some thing else, in no way whatsoever must it be God or anything to do with Christianity or the bible.3. The cosmological argument, why there is something rather than nothing, why theres a universe, why did it go to all the bother. The best explanation is that we have an omnipotent God who created it. God created it and thats that. However, there are many objections to this argument. The first doubt is how this possibility matches the Principle of Sufficient Reason. This states that everything ever existing has a reason. However this is not clear, because if everything exists for a reason, and God is self-caused then we have a logical contradiction. However, this rule may not apply to God but only things existing in the universe, maybe it only applies to important things like the universe. I think its fair to say the universe does need an explanation, and the answer to that explanation is God.From language in part 2 is it possible for humans to give a conclusive answerDue to the limitati ons of the written word and language cannot give a conclusive answer nor deal fully with the possibility of God. Arguments in English probably can never be fully solved anyway because if one person actually figured out the answer to all the riddles and firmly knew it was true, either theyd never convince everyone else, or it would be too complex to actually put into words. Many of the spiritual, or religious experiences can be felt or experienced, but are really hard to think through and put down in words.So language is limited in its ability to give and explain a conclusive answer. Many new words were created (e.g. ontology, omnipotent) to try to describe feelings or spiritual things.Verification/FalsificationTrue Christians cannot easily be persuaded to change their viewpoints on their belief.John Hick the road, is a parable, and like all parables has narrow limitations. It only makes one point, which is in Christian life, they will always believe in God, and whatever happens the y will end up in either heaven or hell. The atheist protests however that this doesnt prove God exists. The road explains this point in a context of two people walking down a road, one a Christian one an atheist, the road resembled their life and they walked their journey in a separate frame of mind from each other, the atheist not understanding what will happen to him at the end of the road, the Christian knowing he will probably go to heaven, but perhaps hell.This parable explains to us that at some point during our life, we make a choice. Whether to be a Christian and follow the path God has laid out for them, or to be an atheist or a member of any other religion, unknowing what will happen. To be a Christian is to believe the bible, it would be almost impossible to convince him/her otherwise, but Christians simply believing in something, doesnt make the atheist believe it too.Basil Mitchells The Stranger is an allegory about a man and a stranger. The man meets the stranger once in intimacy and from then onwards completely trusts him and believes him to be right. No matter what people said against this stranger, the man kept believing. Though questions arouse about the strangers purpose, the man never questioned his friend. This story is like a Christians faith. From the first time they understand about God and love him, they never question their faith, no matter what anyone says. They believe it and no one can change that, the only way possible is if they think Gods betrayed them, but this rarely happens and often Christians return to their faith after theyve calmed down. This parable deeply shows the amount of passion Christians show for their religion. When theyre faced with a question they dont answer it, when something good happens they thank the lord, when something bad happens they believe God knows best.John Wisdoms The Garden is a very simple story with a great meaning behind it. The story basically consists of two people who walk into an untended garden, the first person sees the weeds the negative effects but the second person puts his belief forward and sees all the positive things about the garden, for example there could be a line of daffodils or something that would seem to suggest to him a hidden gardener had come and tended the garden. The moral of this story is that Christians believe everything happens for a reason, they look at life in a positive way because they know God is always watching over them, when something bad happens they take it as a warning.For example if a Christian was seated on a wooden chair, which had slowly been eaten away by termites for months, and finally the chair broke, while this Christian was sitting on it. The Christian would take it as a punishment from God for not clearing those termites, he would be positive about his fall and think of it as a sign from God that he should do something, whereas an atheist would simply curse and take falling off his chair as simple bad luck and possibly clear the termites. This is why you often see a lot of old ladies going back to Christianity, Christians way of life gives them hope if theyve lost their partners or something else terrible has happened to them.

Final exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Final exam - Assignment Example Efficiency generally refers to the relative ease with which one is able to perform certain task. This is term refers to the inputs used when producing goods and services. Efficient service is results in high levels of customer satisfaction and also has low levels of complains from the customers. Efficiency in technical work environments is quite key in the process of production as it results in work being done quickly and there are high levels of yield. Efficiency is when work is done with ease and there is no strain while executing the duties. Adaptability means the ability to change and try to fit in the diverse and changing work environments. Conditions at the work place keep on changing thus the need for the employees to adapt and change with the new developments. The world is not static and change is inevitable. The fastness of one to adapt is fundamental in every organization if it is to continue thriving. Flexibility remains one of the traits that employers look for in their employees as it enables one able to change and adapt with time. Effectiveness is the most important trait that each organization should have in its employees. Even if there are efficient and adaptable if there are unable to achieve the intended goals of the company it is all in vain. The key goal of every organization is to experience growth and hit the targets that they have put in place. One of the advantages of efficiency is that it ensures that work is done at a faster rate and deadlines are met on time.Efficieny is when there is smooth running during the process of production of both goods and services. Efficiency is when higher levels of output are realized when producing goods and services. It also results in higher levels of customer satisfaction with the output among the customers. Once the customer is contented with the services that he is getting, he becomes a loyal servant leading to repeat business. One

Michelangelo on the Divine, Universal truth and Beauty Research Paper

Michelangelo on the Divine, Universal truth and Beauty - Research Paper Example elangelo, a renowned artist whose works of early thirteenth century are popular, is a proper example of artists whose works illustrates philosophy behind it. This paper seeks to examine Michelangelo’s works of art on Divine, universal truth and beauty. Michelangelo’s creative work of sculpture in Rome brings about the issue of divine and beauty. We view him presenting the images of the characters in the bible and their actions. We see Adam’s image eating the apple, and besides him there is Eve (Michelangelo 56). Everything that happened in the Garden of Eden is captured by his work. He even goes to the extent of imagining the image of the angel who gave the orders in the Garden of Eden. He further decorates the chapel with beautiful images of Cain and Abel offering their sacrifices and their reactions after the sacrifice. Daniel, Zachariah and Haman are among the characters Michelangelo sculpts in the chapel thus decorating it (Condivi 24). I can imagine the scenery in the chapel accompanied by its divine significance to the ones who see them. The fact that Michelangelo chose to use the characters of the holy bible to do his work signifies some kind of divine connection. The writer of Michelangelo’s biography describes the situation under which Eve sculpted by Michelangelo acts. How she is guilty and fearful of justice and hope for divine mercy. The fact that Michelangelo’s paintings are more beautiful is not something easy. When asked, Michelangelo argue that all the work of paintings is done by his brains and not the hands (Molyneux 78). This implies that Michelangelo frequently prefer to link the philosophical art with his brain. Moreover, he lends himself fully to the source of divine things in his art; the beautiful nature. Each and every thing that is in nature should be looked at with appropriate keenness (Kool 15). It is by observing this nature keenly that Michelangelo came up with such beautiful paint ings. As the saying goes that