Macbeth and Free Will Essay

In Desiderius Erasmus’s Defense of Free Will, he refutes Martin Luther’s creed that God predestines everyone’s lives and instead asserts that man alone possesses the power to choose his own path to either salvation or damnation. The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, raises similar questions – did the protagonist, Macbeth, willingly choose to commit such atrocities as killing the king and his court to feed his own ambition, or did he merely play the role of a pawn, performing that which fate bade him do? Amid much controversy over this issue, evidence both in Erasmus’s critical essay and in the play itself affirms that Macbeth cognitively decides to act as he does in the play, confirming Erasmus’s perspective and suggesting that people have the ability to dictate their own fate through their thoughts, decisions, and actions. Through his interpretation of the Old and New Testaments in the Bible, Erasmus writes in favor of free will over predestination, a concept that, when applied to the character Macbeth, raises questions about the motives behind his detestable actions. In his essay, Erasmus explores the â€Å"power of the human† (46) to â€Å"turn away from what leads to eternal salvation† (46). According to this opinion, Macbeth makes a conscious choice to pursue a life of crime and sin, instead of simply following his fate. Macbeth’s plea that the â€Å"stars hide [their] fires† (1. 4. 57) so that â€Å"light [would not] see [his] black and deep desires† (1. 4. 58) indicates that Macbeth remains aware that his â€Å"wicked, rebellious will† (Erasmus, 48) lies within himself, and he fears the consequences of his sinful deeds. This very fear of punishment reflects the existence of free will in Macbeth – as Erasmus inquires, â€Å"why [should God] curse me, when I sinned through necessity? † (47). Macbeth’s clear understanding of the evil that he plans to commit and his fear of divine punishment suggest that characters in Macbeth choose their actions as opposed to following their destiny. Macbeth’s evil actions, however, are not completely driven by an inherent evil nature; although he does have free will in the play, he becomes a slave to his ruthless ambition because of his own moral weakness. As Erasmus writes, â€Å"there are certain seeds of goodness planted in men’s minds† (50), although â€Å"the will is perhaps more inclined to evil than to good† (50). In other words, everyone possesses both good and bad within them, and it is up to the individual person to â€Å"[turn themselves] towards, or away from, faith† (48-9). Macbeth’s apparently latent moral code surfaces occasionally throughout the first act in his moments of wavering in his violent resolve; he tells Lady Macbeth that they â€Å"will proceed no further in this business† (1.7. 34) in one of the scenes preceding the murder. However, the manipulative Lady Macbeth must only mention that which Macbeth desires and question his masculinity to crush Macbeth’s good side and force it to submit to his evil ambition. The ease with which Lady Macbeth extinguishes Macbeth’s doubt of the evil plan highlights Macbeth’s weakness for his ambition. Macbeth becomes a slave not to the devil, but instead to the very evil that resides within himself. Neither heaven nor hell predetermines Macbeth’s actions in the play; it is in fact his inability to compromise his ruthless ambition that ultimately forces him into crime. He chooses to sin of his own accord, and therefore faces his final punishment that sets the world back in order at the end of the tragedy. Through their individual works, Shakespeare and Erasmus imply that humans have free will to determine their own actions, and only the strongest of heart will succeed in accomplishing the work of God.

Relationship Between Savings and Investment in the Nigerian Economy

Introduction Interests in the study of economic growth and development have been on the increase especially since the middle of the present century. Economic growth results in the expansion of a country’s production possibility curve such that the potential output of the country is increased beyond the previous levels. Thus growth is often defined in terms of a sustained increase in the real per capita income of a country.Simon Kuznets in (Todaro, 1885), defined a country’s economic growth as â€Å"a long term rise in the capacity to supply increasingly diverse economic goods to its population, this growing capacity based on advanced technology and the institutional and ideological adjustments that it demands†. Growth is therefore measurable and objective. It describes expansion in capital, in the labour force, in output, income, consumption e. t. c.It should be noted that economic growth is sometimes used interchangeably with economic development. A distinction of the two was however made by (Jhingan, 1976) where he defined economic development as the ‘non-quantifiable measure of the growing economy† i. e. the economic, social and other changes that lead to growth such as changes in techniques of production, social attitudes and institutions e. t. c. No matter the distinction what is important in the words of (Iyoha, 1996) is that there is no development without growth.One point that must be mentioned however is that in practice, economic growth is used to describe the process of growth in advanced industrialized countries while economic development is used to describe the dynamics of growth in low income non-industrialized countries. This position is buttressed by (Romer, 2001), where he posited that over the past few centuries, standard of living in industrialized countries has reached levels almost unimaginable to their ancestors.He affirmed that although comparisons are difficult, the best available evidence suggests that a verage real income today in the United States and Western Europe are between 10 and 30 times larger than a century ago, and between 50 and 300 times larger than two centuries ago. Following from the above, Kuznets identified six characteristics of modern economic growth. These are:  ¦ High rate of growth of per capita output and population.  ¦ High rate of increase in total factor productivity, especially labour. High rate of structural transformation of the economy.  ¦ High rate of social and ideological transformation.  ¦ Outward expansion of the developed economies i. e. the ability to reach out to the rest of the world for raw materials and markets.  ¦ The international flow of men, goods and capita. It then follows that for all these to be achieved especially for a developing economy like Nigeria some economic variables within the context of the features of the Nigerian economy must be marked upon to achieve these status mentioned above.Statement of research problem S o many blurred visions about the projection of Nigerian economy have been seen by the operators of the Nigerian economy. In the days of Abacha administration between 1993 and 1997, it was vision 2010 as led by former Head of State, Ernest Shonekan. 2010 is around the corner and nothing seems to have changed the last 15years. Another journey is being embarked upon by Yaradua and his economic team. The mission of making Nigeria one of the biggest 20 economies in the world by 2020, vision 2020-20.Whether this is achievable or not is best left for debate for scholars of economics. But if one must follow the position of Robert Solow (1956), the Ramsey-Cass-Koopman model (1928, 1965, 1965) and the Diamond model (1965), achieving the above is a function of thorough understanding of production function of a given economy. Nigeria like most countries is blessed with abundant human and natural resources, yet the economy is still groping with problems.Evidence is palpable that apart from incom e from sales of crude oil, the nation is close to zero in terms of technological advancement. The reason for this is no other than that the much needed investment to motivate technological advancement and industrialization is not forthcoming. The position of the government immediately after independence to embark upon import substitution as an industrialization strategy did not equally help matter.If investment is a catalyst for industrialization and hence economic growth, investment is made possible by another catalyst in savings. Over the years, there has not been any synergy between savings and investment in Nigeria. This problem is because of little emphasis partakers in the running of the economy are giving financial intermediation. It is in a country like Nigeria where the borrowers reign supreme at the expense of the lender.The deposit rates to the supplier of funds from the surplus units are not only meager but pittance, while the lending rates collected from the users of fu nd in the deficit unit is astronomical. So it is the issue of cutting the depositors with knife’s edge while cutting the borrower with razor’s edge. Savings is not encouraged while investment is discouraged. Economic activities slowed down, productivity neglected while economic growth in the real sense of it is stagnant.

Audience Misdirection in Magic Acts

Audience Misdirection in Magic Acts For hundreds of years, magicians have performed acts which are perceived to be impossible, causing the viewer to question how the act was performed. The viewer would generally know that act performed by the magician will use some sort of trickery or illusion, but still viewers are usually unable to detect the change when it occurs, even when the trick is in full view of the audience. Sometimes when a magician performs a magic trick, he uses misdirection to trick the audience. The magician would usually draw your attention elsewhere while the trick is being performed to stop the audience seeing how it is done (Kuhn, Amlani lasting only 15 seconds, where the magician was to drop a lighter and cigarette into his lap without the audience seeing, causing the audience to think the items had magically disappeared. First the magician removes the cigarette from the packet and deliberately puts it in his mouth the wrong way round. He then pretends to light the cigarette, which enhances the a udience’s interest in the mouth/cigarette region. Both magician and the audience then realise the mistake, and the magician turns the cigarette around with his left hand while keeping his gaze fixed on his hand and cigarette. During this time the magician drops the lighter into his lap, which is in his right hand. He then causes attention to go to the disappearance of the lighter by attempting to light the cigarette. When he is unable to light the cigarette, he looks to his right hand, snaps his fingers and waves his hand; pulling the audiences’ attention to his right hand. While the audience are looking at the disappearance of the lighter in the right hand, the magician drops the cigarette from a height of around 15cm. He then turns his gaze to his left hand, and opens it to show that the cigarette is also disappeared. The magician uses gaze direction to disguise his actions while performing the trick (Tatler however the dropping of the cigarette was done in full vie w of the audience, from about 15cm above the table top, but this action is also not usually detected, usually due to gaze misdirection. This shows that the magician successfully misdirected the audience’s overt and covert attention at the correct time during the trick, right when the disappearance occurs.

Does Fake News Mislead the Public Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Does Fake News Mislead the Public - Essay Example It is distinguishable from pure rumors in that the fake news has additional hype that is unrelated to the rumor and relatively unjustified. Although this kind of news sometimes contain some factual and sometimes substantial information, the main ideas raised by the communicator are fake and undependable. The humor and the hype sometimes help to attract the viewers and a target audience, but the negative effects of fake news to the larger population should be considered. In an era when there are a variety of sources for information, both credible and not so credible, the public is at risk of being misled. It is a notion currently held by many that the news websites previously used are difficult to access and obtain relevant information from. This makes many people, especially the young turn to new sources such as the social media. In these sources, what is most likely to be available, unless it is from media houses domains is comedic information. This the kind of information in which you can hardly tell the hype from the real news. The audience for fake news often becomes the new sources of the news, which is in this case even more complicated and more hype added. The news spread and many people are made to believe in the fake news as if it was real. What then happens is that the general population lose interest in the real news and become so distracted that no new information can change the perception and point of view that the original fake news developed in them. The actual problem arises when the public depends more on the hype and fake news as the most easily accessible source of information. The negative perception developed gain roots and becomes a norm. The mass is then utterly misled and tends to believe in the rumors to a point that every new piece of information is associated with the rumors. The rumors, being more enticing and easily accessible prevail over the genuine news. It is in my

Free Speech or Blatant Cuber-terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Free Speech or Blatant Cuber-terrorism - Essay Example An organization like the New York Daily News praised this effort by Wiki Leaks, denoting it had changed the manner in which news was gathered, and disseminated. Freedom of speech is an important pillar that guides the political, social, and economic environments of United States (Beckett and Ball, 2012). All democracies promote freedom of speech, irrespective of whether the information provided is good to the government or not. It is important to explain that democratic governments normally encourage criticisms. By releasing this information, the founder of Wiki Leaks was criticizing the diplomatic and military strategies of United States (Beckett and Ball, 2012). This is because some of the information released talked about the negative perceptions that the American government had towards some world leaders, and their governments. Wiki Leaks is not cyber terrorism, and its founder is not responsible for abetting or aiding terrorism. Instead, Wiki Leaks is a media organization that aims at promoting freedom of speech, and that of the

The influence Julias Schulman had on the developement and perception Essay

The influence Julias Schulman had on the developement and perception of modern architecture - Essay Example Shulman who is perhaps best known for his work titled: â€Å"Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960†, was born in October 10, 1910 in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrants. At the age of ten, he moved with his family to a farm in California, where he developed a love of nature, something that would be reflected in most of his later on in his life. His compositions have been described as being highly seductive, and they have been hailed as being the ones that helped build the reputation of Los Angeles and Chicago as the preferred destination for people who wanted to reinvent themselves. According to Lubbell and Woods, Shulman’s works â€Å"demonstrate a profound sensitivity to and appreciation for the spaces in which people live†. Shulman was a visionary photographer who was able to see past the seeming lack of life in most of the modern buildings that came to exist in the 20th century. Many people in the photography world concur that Shulman almost single handedly was bale to transform architectural photography with his remarkable yet down to earth images that captured the attention of all and sundry. His images, as they are seen through his lens, offer visions of intrigue and beauty which can only be described as extraordinary. This is no mean achievement for a 20th century photographer. The advent of modern architecture was greeted by widespread pessimism from the general public. Architects found it hard to sell their designs since most people regarded modern buildings as a rebellion from the traditional highly ornate houses they were used to. Shulman’s photography was of much help to the careers of many young and established architects as it helped them get public recognition. Shulman’s photography was also very important in shaping public perception about modern architecture. Some of the buildings featured in Shulman’s works include: Keck and Keck’s Minsk house, 1955, the Burton Frank House, 1960, Harry Weese’s Modern house and studio, 1957, and other masterpiece buildings by the likes of Bertrand Goldberg, Edward Dart, Edward Hunrich, Ralph Rapson and Paul Schweikher (Shulman and Gossel, 1999). For more than 70 years, Shulman was able to document most of his work which featured some of the most magnificent architectural pieces o f the 20th century. Up until the time of his death on July the 15th 2009, Shulman’s work had been showcased not only all around the U.S., but also in many other cities across the world (Amelar, 2009). Shulman’s Work Many young architects actually owe their success to Julius Shulman. Most of the buildings he featured in his photography were built by young up coming architects. His photography was so good that after showcasing their work, most of thee individuals experienced unprecedented success in their work. Most of Shulman’s photography was done in black and white film. One could have expected his images to be dull due to lack of color. However, this was not the case. His architectural photographs were as real a they could be. He brought to life what many people thought to be dull architecture (Reed, 2009). He was able to open people’s eyes to the magnificence of the architecture that many had written off as being lacking in meaning. Shulman’s ca reer started by chance in 1936 when he was asked to take some shots of the Kun House in the Hollywood Hills which had just been completed by Richard Neutra. Immediately after seeing Shulman’s images, Neutra fell in love with his work and commissioned him to take and publish more shots. He also introduced the budding young photographer to other established and up coming

Select one skill from the Year 1 Essential Skill Clusters that you Essay

Select one skill from the Year 1 Essential Skill Clusters that you achieved in your first practice placement and had signed by y - Essay Example She also gave me pointers on how I could improve in my next placement. The mentor also provided feedback from the patients, and through such feedback, I found out that the patients liked me talking to them and smiling at them. In general therefore, I performed well. Part 1: Gibbs Reflective cycle Description (What happened?) The incident involved my clinical placement with a community hospital which houses 19 inpatient beds, an A & E Department, Physiotherapy, and X-Ray/Ultrasound facilities. Their services include rehabilitation for patients having gone through accidents or minor injuries with a team of professionals including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and social workers/case managers. During this placement, I was able to apply various skills and take part in various nursing interventions. One of the activities I was able to participate in is the handover during multidisciplinary team meetings. The meeting comprised of various nurses and other healt h professionals caring for different patients. To protect patients’ confidentiality in accordance with the NMC Code of Conduct, patients’ consent for care were sought before any essential nursing services were offered (NMC Code of Conduct Domain 2.8). I administered care to patients in the ward, assisting in wound cleaning and vital signs monitoring. The handover multidisciplinary meetings were done weekly with nurses bringing all the folders for the patients in the bay and giving a handover to everyone attending the meeting. I participated in giving handovers to about two patients a week. Members of the team ask questions about the patients I would be handing over, and I would explain what I can about each patient. At times, my mentor would help me explain further about each patient. The patients’ attending physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, dieticians, and social workers were present in the meeting. I reported about the patientsâ₠¬â„¢ vital signs, oftentimes indicating possible changes and unstable levels for patients. I also expressed that some patients had a low threshold for pain. The Gibbs reflection style was used for this paper because it provides an orderly and detailed process of reflection. It also allows for an in-depth assessment of details and interventions used during the incident being evaluated. Feelings (What I was thinking and feeling) I felt like my contribution to the team was an important contribution and I was also assured with the fact that the other members of the team listened and welcomed my comments and contribution to the handover meetings. I also listened to them as they shared their expertise on patient care. At times however, I found the discussion intimidating because the members of the team are experts in their field. I felt however, that I needed to be more assertive during these discussions in order to ensure that my contributions to the discussion would be heard. Evaluation (What was good and bad about the incident) What was good about the incident was that it taught me that the contributions of the team in the care of a patient are effective means by which improved patient outcomes can be gained. By attending the handover multidisciplinary meetings, I was able to endorse the patient and communicate their essential needs based on my assessment. With the assistance of my mentor, I was also able to be effective during the handover meetings. What was bad about the experience was that there were

Advanced Accounting Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Advanced Accounting - Term Paper Example The above lists are not intended to be exhaustive. Further, an indication that an asset may be impaired may be indicated by the asset’s useful life, depreciation method, or residual value, which may need to be reviewed and adjusted. If goodwill relates to a cash-generating unit, the entity must consider impairment of the goodwill. IAS 36 provides for bottom-up and top-down tests for identifying impaired goodwill. If a CGU is being tested for impairment, and there is any goodwill in the financial statements relating to that CGU, a bottom-up test is performed. This requires the enterprise to determine whether the carrying amount of the goodwill can be allocated on a reasonable and consistent basis to the CGU under review. If such an allocation is possible (for example, if the goodwill relates entirely to an acquisition that is 100% included in the CGU), the portion of goodwill related to the CGU is simply included in the carrying amount of the CGU for impairment testing purposes . No further top-down test is required. If goodwill cannot be allocated to the CGU, the carrying amount of the CGU (excluding any allocation of goodwill) is compared to its recoverable amount to ensure that any impairment of the assets included in the CGU other than goodwill is identified. Since goodwill is not included in this assessment, a top-down test is then undertaken. This requires the enterprise to identify the smallest CGU under review and to which the amount of goodwill can be allocated on a reasonable and consistent basis.

Dawes Severalty Act 1887 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dawes Severalty Act 1887 - Essay Example Those who lived in reservations were also acknowledged as Indians (Tripathy, 2006, pp.318-319). The colonial state provided rules to assess the â€Å"Indianness† of an individual for the purposes of giving grants or land allotments (Tripathy, 2006, p.318). In 1887, the government passed the Dawes Severalty Act 1887 (hereinafter called the Act), which aimed to divide Indian lands into individual or family-owned parcels of lands and this involved identifying who the Indians were, so that they could be entitled to land allotment. This essay aims to describe and to assess the Act, with respect to its impact on American Indians, specifically the Cherokees. The Dawes Severalty Act 1887, also known as the General Allotment Act, outlined procedures that aimed to divide communal Native American territories into individual or family-owned properties (Native Americas, 1997, p.20). Government agents were in charge of these allotments. This approach opened around 90% of Indian land to non- Indian settlement (Native Americas, 1997, p.20). In numerous instances, the government paid Indians a per-capita share of these lands' sales price (Native Americas, 1997, p.20). ... The Cherokees had not been greatly affected by the Act at first, although far-reaching negative results shaped their social and political organizations too. The positive effects of the policy are that it prepared families and children to think of themselves as farmers and landowners, and it also allowed proper land titling. Reformers wanted Indians to live as farmers and landowners, so that they could fit into the agricultural industry of that time (Native Americas, 1997, p.20). Unfortunately, the idea of â€Å"the Jeffersonian yeoman image† became â€Å"outdated† during the late nineteenth century, when America swiftly industrialized (Native Americas, 1997, p.20). Another positive effect of the Act is that it allowed proper land titling (Native Americas, 1997, p.20). It was easier for the government to allot lands to private owners, instead of treating large parcels of land as communal Indian territories. The Act, however, had more negative than positive effects. The A ct broke tribal governments and family relations and resulted to reduction of Indian territories. First, the Act broke traditional extended family relations, because families had to live far away from each other. Tribal leaders had to part with some of their wives and children, since their lands were divided among their children and wives (Native Americas, 1997, p.20). Second, the Act also reduced the role and power of tribal governments (Native Americas, 1997, p.20). The Bureau of Indian Affairs' publications underscored that policies like the Dawes Act aimed to curtail the functions of tribal leaders and to enhance the political power of the state over Indians. Third, the Act only opened many lands to be owned by the

HUM310 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HUM310 - Essay Example eparated from the Anglican Church and perceived the New Frontiers a place where they could put up their roots and established their own institutions of the same. Bradfords journal documented these sentiments through absorbing story telling techniques so that the reader could relate to the sense of community, the struggle of the early settlers, and the peaceful manners in which the Native Americans and the Pilgrims embraced each other. Had it not been for this peaceful integration with the Natives, specifically the Wampanoag tribe, later settlers from England would not have been able to establish towns and cities so easily. Indeed, through Bradford eyes, the challenge of "self-definition and establishment" (Parini 7), the origin of many of American traditions and culture such as Thanksgiving, could be seen to have emerged to shape the new nation. Moreover, "Of Plymouth Plantation" demonstrated the importance of compromise and peacemaking in the process of making a nation. Instead, of concentrating on "wealth and adventure" alone, Bradford encouraged understanding of the Natives and communication. He believed in embracing the value the locals had to offer to the new settlers through "sacred bonds and ties" of the "sweet communion" (Parini 10). At the same time one gets the sense of change during the 17th century. Bradford was saddened by the humiliation that the new generation brought with it by their violent behaviors and willful desecration of the locals. He believed the new colonists dissipated the foundations that were built by the early settlers particularly the Pilgrims of Plymouth that took years in the making. Although, Parini (10) sometimes believed Bradford to have veered from actual historical events, nevertheless one could relate to Bradfords experience at the time which were different from the narratives of the later colonists who were fiercer, resistant and against the Natives. Their dispositions resulted in bloody wars and waste of precious lives

Human Atrocities Essay Example for Free

Human Atrocities Essay In the age of terrorism and nuclear wars, one of the greatest challenges that the human community is facing right now is to curb human rights violations that is occurring in almost all parts of the world. Even the citizens of the most democratic of nations are not spared from a certain degree of human rights violations or atrocities. This is a fact that all citizens of the world must face and bravely address. But the bigger question is this: who is responsible to curb human atrocities? More specifically, what can the international and local community do to intervene in such atrocities? To answer these questions, I believe we must first arrive at a definition of human rights violations or atrocities. According to Wikipedia, human rights refers to the universal rights of all human beings regardless of race, color, nationality, religion gender and culture. From the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is basically based on inherent human dignity. Concurrently, human atrocities are violations of rights inherent to an individual. Normally, it is a term used when a government violates national or international law related to the protection of human rights. (Wikipedia, 2007) I am of the opinion that the international community has an inherent responsibility to stand up against any form of human rights abuse. International courts such as the International Criminal Court and international organizations such as the United Nations must be vigilant in protecting the rights of each human being. They must be the first to safeguard the interest of each person against any crime that may be done against them by either the military in their respective government or their government per se. For instance, the International Criminal Court is designed to bring into effect those peremptory norms of international law which safeguard such fundamental values as human dignity, the respect for life and limb of innocent persons, and the protection of ethnic, religious or racial groups. (Cassesse, 2007) In addition, the International Criminal Court must bring to justice any state which violates the dignity of its citizens. Doing so will uphold the most important international values, including the respect for human rights. Moreover, taking these steps will uphold and vindicate community rights. International non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch is an indication of what the international community can do in order to help curb the rise of human atrocities in any country. They have the resources to let the international community know of any wrongdoings being done in certain areas of the world. They can mobilize other local organizations to stand up against these atrocities by mobilizing public opinion. For instance, Amnesty International has worked and is further exerting its efforts for the protection of those detained because of their non-violent opinions and is seeking that Articles 18 and 19 of the UDHR be recognized globally. On the other hand, Human Rights Watch opposes basic human rights violations like death penalty and sex discrimination. It is an advocate of freedom relating to fundamental human rights like freedom of religion and the press. Another significant player in the bid to curb human atrocities is the local community. One cannot overemphasize on the power of the locals to intervene in such problems. Setting up international organizations will not solve the problems that are festering a country. Healing must come from within. The local community must always be on the look-out for any atrocities being done and must bravely report this to the authorities. As noted in the website of the Crimes of War Project, each international institution will need the support and cooperation of other institutions and, most significantly, of States themselves and local communities for that matter. For example, local community can be a source of vital information related to the patterns and mechanisms of the problems in the community that can help solve an international crisis. (Cassesse, 2007) I also believe that the power of media can be best utilized in addressing the realities of human rights violations. Since the media can effectively capture the attention of many people, the local and international media should make it their responsibility to report any news of wrongdoings or injustice. (Cassesse, 2007) This will also help in making each community –whether local or international—to be more vigilant in such cases. It must be understood that the measures to be taken by the international community will have no significant bearing without the support of the local community. No amount of intervention will be effective if the local community will not render its support. As noted by Antonio Cassesse in an article entitled â€Å"A Big Step Forward for International Justice†, the best response to atrocities lies in a prudent and well thought-out combination of various approaches both local and international. (Cassesse, 2007) He writes, â€Å"international criminal law is a branch of law that, more than any other, is about human folly, human wickedness, and human aggressiveness. It deals with the darkest side of our nature. It also deals with the way societies organize themselves to stem violence and viciousness as much as possible. Clearly, given the magnitude of the task, no single response may suffice. Instead, a broad array of responses, each tailored to specific circumstances, is needed effectively to fight international criminality. † (Cassesse, 2007) Hence, intervention of human atrocities is both a local and international responsibility –one that must be taken seriously and diligently by all societies in the world. Cited Works Cassesse, Antonio. crimesofwar. org. â€Å"A Big Step Forward for International Justice. † 7 March 2007. http://www. crimesofwar. org/icc_magazine/icc-cassese. html Wikipedia. â€Å"Human Rights. † 7 March 2007. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Human_rights#Violations_of_human_rights

Kant Metaphysical Exposition of Space Essay Example for Free

Kant Metaphysical Exposition of Space Essay Kant: Explain and asses what you think to be the best argument Kant gives as his Metaphysical Exposition of Space (B37-40) that space cannot be either and actual entity (Newtonian concept) or any independent relation among real things (Leibnizian concepti be on). In other words, is he successful in arguing that space must be (at least) a form of intuition? Do any of his arguments further show that space must be ONLY a form of intuition and not ALSO something Newtonian or Leibnizian? In his Metaphysical Exposition of Space, Kant attempts to show that the experience of space is just a form of intuition. Kant defines space as that of which we sense out side of us, in comparison to our mind, which is our inner sense. This outer sense of space, he claims, is known only to us because we have a intuitive sense of there being space in the first place. Kant asserts this argument in direct response to two other claims about the nature of space. The Newtonian concept of space holds that space is an entity existing in its own right, with objects merely being in it. The Leibnizian concept of space however holds the opposite, space doesnt really exist and is just a relation created between existing objects. Kant believes both concepts are wrong and claims that to first know about objects in space, we must have some deeper knowledge of space to put them in space. He further tries to claim that space is only a form of intuition and not just the foundation to support either of the other two concepts. Kant presents some strong points showing the faults in the other concepts and provides a reason alternative to what makes the nature of space. However his concept too, that space is known only through intuition, also isnt as strong as it should be. It appears that space may be known through intuition from an individual perspective, but on closer investigation, taking in all forms of life and evolution, where did this pre wired intuition of space have its start? Kants concept of space seems to be well grounded in some areas and not in others. Kants definition of space helps him prove that the concept of space is a form of intuition. Space, he holds, is everything that is sensed outside of us. The mind is the inner sense and everything else is in space. We then represent objects in that space, where they are interpreted as having shape, magnitude and relationships to other objects in space. But then what is this space, Kant questions? Not satisfied with the current theories of the nature of time, Kant moves to show their faults through a set of arguments. The Newtonian concept of space claims that space exists as an entity in its own right. This concept is the most user friendly, and it is similar to the common sense view that most people grow up with. That is, we experience objects around us as exist in a void of space, where that void itself can exist on its own. Objects exist in this space, which is an infinite entity. The theory claims that through our sense, sight, touch extra, we learn about the world. We learn from our senses about space and how it works. We start of in the world with no idea of space and through a trial and area type system of learning, we being to understand the nature of space and of objects in it. Space exists and we lean of its existence though life experience. Kant cannot accept the Newtonian concept of space. In his first argument, Kant claims that space is not a concept that has been drawn from our experiences. His reasoning behind this is; how can we know to put the data that we gain from our senses into a world of space if we dont know of space to begin with? That is, to know to put this sensory data into a thing called space, we must first have some idea of space. Kant does not think that it is possible to stumble across the idea of space just through trial and error. Space, he claims, must be an intuitive idea that we are born with, so we know to put the data we gain into some logical order. We cant experience space without first having some idea of it being there. We must know what we are looking for, before we can find it. Kant seems to be onto something with this argument. It does seem plausible to think that the idea of space is already programmed into our brain. For we are objects ourselves that did develop in this world. But then isnt that learning about space through experience just over a few generations. So on a longer time scale we gradually learnt how to interact with space. The intuition of space is just another characteristic that we gain from our ancestors. The species, or life, learnt about space. But this is not what Kant is trying to claim. He is claiming that it is intuition that we have always had, the entire human existence has always had. This on the biological level seems rather odd. Is it just humans that have this intuition? It doesnt seem grounded to answer this question with a yes. But then back in early beings of life, do single cell organisms also have this intuition, do they even know they exist? So Kant must mean fully developed humans, or at least fairly intelligent animals. But this still suggests that having the intuition of space is something that is developed over evolution. So in turn is something that is gain from the species evolutionary experience. It is an odd claim to say that just one day a higher level animal just suddenly experience space. Perhaps now we have some basic animal instinct of how space works, Kant does not justify how this come about. The intuition of space my have evolved, which is a from of long term experience. The Leibnizian concept claims that space is just the relationship between objects and cannot exist on its own. Unlike the Newtonian concept of space, this theory claims that space does not and could not exist without the presents of objects. Space is just an attribute of objects, without them space is not present. If there was no objects there would be no need for space and it would not be present. We see objects all around us, and in order to understand the raw data presented by our senses we dream up relationships among them which we call space. Space is not an entity in its own right, it is simple the relation between existing objects. Kant can also not accept the Leibnizian concept of space. In his second argument, Kant claims that it is possible to have space without the presents of objects. Using a thought experiment Kant tries to show that we can image an empty space, a space without objects in it. He uses the experiment as a direct attack on the Leibnizian concept that space is just an attribute of objects. Kant believes that it is possible to image empty space, free of any objects. He claims that since this is possible space must be more then just an attribute of existing objects. Kants argument here doesnt seem as strong. He just seems to state that we can imagine empty, boundless space. It seems slightly more difficult to achieve then what he makes out. At first it seems sure, we can think of empty space, but is it really empty space that we are imagining here? Maybe we can think of a void, but isnt that just the space between objects? The depths of space, are just long distances from existing objects, not empty space. It seems every time we try to think of space it is in relation to objects or boundaries. Kant tries to make the thought experiment seem simple, but on closer inspection, imagining space total separate to objects is very difficult. Space might be its own existing thing, but it is not shown through this method of reasoning. It still seems plausible that space in known by our intuition, however that intuition is just knowing to see that existing objects have the attribute, and relation to other objects, space. Kant does not strongly prove that space can exist on its own. Kant claims that space is an existing thing that we are born being aware of and nothing more. It can only be this and not a combination of intuition and the Newtonian and Leibnizian concepts of space. It cant be, for example, that space is an intuition of a simple relationship between objects, or that we intuitively need to learn of its existence through experience. Kant uses further arguments to show this. In his third argument Kant further shows that to understand space we must first have the framework set out to understand that space must exist. That is it must be known by pure intuition alone. For the Leibnizian concept to be correct, it would seem possible to think of separate spaces. That is, according to the theory, space only exists with resect to objects, or every object has its own space. It seems the concept is suggesting that there is lots of little spaces everywhere, that connect, or not connect, regarding if the objects are close or near. Kant believes that is not a very reasonable way of seeing how the world or space works. Intuitively we seem to know that there is one infinite space, that maybe divided up by objects, but is still known to be part of the one big whole of space. Kant even seems to suggest that it is impossible for our minds to imagine no space at all. Our intuition of space is so strong, our minds cannot interpret the world without it. Space cannot be intuitive and a relation between objects, Kant believes it must only be known intuitively The mind experiment Kant uses here seems much more agreeable. I does seem that we see space as one big infinite entity, in which all objects exists. The Leibnizian theory does seem to infer that there are lots of little independent spaces following the object they belong to. This seems to be a very strange way of seeing the world indeed, and one very hard to imagine. Kants argument against the Leibnizian concept is strong here, but does it prove that both space is an intuition and not at all an aspect of an object? It appears we can agree with Kant that space is not just a relation between objects, that it exists in its own right. But what is not strong is that intuition is the way we can experience and not through learning from our senses. In his forth and finally argument on the nature of space, Kant tries to show that it is not something we intuitively know to look for, but that we are already born knowing of its existence. Kant believes that it is not possible to interpret the raw data given to us by our senses into any order without first knowing to put it into space. The data would simple not make any sense. And why would just having this data spore the idea of putting into an order of space. How do we know to link that sound with that vision? Yes we learn other things about the world from experience, but this only possible by having the framework of knowing how space works in our heads to being with. All other knowledge is built on the bedrock of us knowing that things outside of us work in space. Kant claims that knowing space is through intuition alone, and through a combination of intuition and learning. Kants argument here is partly agreeable. He makes a strong point that linking to very different experience, like sight and sound, into one event, would be very difficult achieve, if at all, if they werent put into space. From a person to person basis his concept of space is quiet agreeable. If each person was to learn in their life time about how space worked, wouldnt there, by numbers, be some people they never stumble across its working, or even people taking different amounts of time to achieve this knowledge. It would seem that these people would behave very strange in the world. Babies seem to develop an idea of how space works in all about the same way and time frame. If it was up to each individual to learn, or to stumble across the truth, the world would probably be a very different place. So yes, Kant seems to be on the right track that each person is pre wire to expect a world with space, this does not however explain how and when and for what level of life this pre wiring occurred. Kants theory of intuitive space needs to be more developed. Kant finally concludes that space cant be known through trial and error, it cant be an attribute of objects, and must be known through the intuition alone. The raw data that our eyes and ears gather would be useless if our mind didnt have space to make sense of it all. But would space still exist even if it wasnt an intuition? Kant would seem to answer yes to this. So is the need to have the intuition of space to understand it just a human condition? Kants reply to this one does not seem as clear. Surely before humans there were living beings interacting in space. Did these living things need an intuition of space to survive? For humans it seems necessary that we understand the nature of space, otherwise I dont think we would be able to survive. But then if we didnt understand what our senses where telling us by putting them into the concept of space, why would we evolve senses at all? Surely we wouldnt have eyes and ears ect. If we evolved not needing or using them. So does every animal that has the same sensors as us have the same intuition of space as we do? This idea seems to be begging the question ? what came first the intuition of space, or the senses and the ability to perceive it? For one seems to be seems to be surely useless with out the other. Kants concept seems to work if we just look at a snap shot of the world functioning today, however it does not satisfy how the world got to be the way it is. Perhaps this is not goal he was wanting to achieve, but for his concept to hold these questions of evolution need to be answered. Kants claims show the faults in past concepts, however his concepts is not total solid yet either. Kant resolves some issues, but then raises some more. It seems now that we cant take for granted what we all assume that we learn about space through experience, and it seems too that space exists in its own right. Kant seems to make this clear, he does not however clearly prove that space is known by intuition alone.

Communitarianism: The Best Political Ideology?

Communitarianism: The Best Political Ideology? Political ideologies have developed over the decades and new political ideologies have been introduced into political theory and philosophy. Communitarianism is a recent development in political ideology that is viewed by many as a criticism of liberalism. It draws on ideas from previous schools of thought. It revolves around the community and the individuals comprising it, rather than the individual being at the center, which is what liberalism emphasizes. Although communitarianism is mainly viewed as a critique of liberalism, it draws similarities from other schools of thought such as conservatism and feminism. This paper will argue that communitarianism is the most suitable ideology for individuals due to its examination of individuals and their freedom through the sense of community in the society. To better show how communitarianism is more suitable, I will examine the context of individuals and communities presented in the communitarian thought and how it differs from the liber al and libertarian sense sense. I will then focus on the libertarian idea of distributive justice and the communitarian critique of it. Lastly, I will examine how communitarianism emphasizes the importance of social responsibility, which other ideologies lack, and how that responsibility achieves freedom and justice for individuals. Lastly, I will show how environmentalism can be advocated through communitarian ideologies. Thus, communitarianism coffers a better and a more improved ideology for individuals compared to other ideologies. First, it is important to address the issue of communitarianism being a school of thought. Communitarianism developed as a criticism to liberalism. Just like conservatism, it deals and identifies itself more through criticisms than with its own established ideals. Several people have argued that this is considered a weakness for communitarianism; that communitarianism fails as an alternative to liberalism, and that it doesnt define itself clearly or sufficiently.  [1]  However, as this paper will show, this is not true. Communitarianism is an ideology on its own, since it offers new ideas through its criticisms of liberalism. Furthermore, Mariam seems to draw from the liberal perspective in saying that there are many forms of communities and it is unclear what form communitarianism promotes.  [2]  This is also similar to a dilemma of communitarianism, which Kenny mentions, of whether communitarianism is an anti-liberal force or not.  [3]  But, unlike liberalism, it does n ot promote a universal ideal that predominates over all. It recognizes the differences in communities and thus depends on a particular society. It is an ideology which depends on particularity, rather than universality. Thus, communitarianism differentiates itself more on what it disagrees with in liberalism rather than proposing a new theory of political philosophy.  [4]   Communitarianism is defined as a philosophy that emphasizes the importance of community in the functioning of political life, in the analysis and evaluation of political institutions, and in understanding human identity and well-being.  [5]  It integrates individuals into political life through a sense of belonging and commitment to their community and the individuals within this community. Individuals are thus considered to be a part of a wider community and not an independent entity existing by themselves. Liberalism, on the other hand, is a doctrine that takes protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individual to be the central problem of politics.  [6]  Liberals believe that governments should exist for the sole purpose of protecting the individuals from harm by other individuals. That should be the sole purpose for the existence of governments, since liberals are skeptic about any forms of government. This is due to the belief that governments of any sort are in them selves a threat to the people and their freedom, which can only be achieved if intervention was kept to a bare minimum and only for fundamental matters that would help promote and maintain individual freedom. From this stems a fundamental difference which is subject to debate: individuals and the government. Liberalism detaches the individual from the government and only considers individuals and how they can maintain their freedom. However, communitarianism criticizes this detachment and instead focuses on a sense of community amongst the people. This community allows for the people and the government to interact in a broader sense. Communitarianism not only criticizes this, but it criticizes the fact that Liberalism, in basing itself on the rights of the individual, has fundamentally misunderstood social life and has produced a political philosophy that is itself the cause of the problems with which we are beset.  [7]  Thus, Liberalism does not create any social order or any sense of a society by basing itself solely on the individual. Liberals and Libertarians have mostly argued for this need to look only at the individual. Right Libertarians (and Nozick in particular) have argued that the government should only use its power to maintain self-ownership rights and to protect individuals property. In The Entitlement Theory of Justice, Nozick argues in his theory of justice, that the holdings of a person are just if he is entitled to them by the principles of justice in acquisition and transfer, or by just rectification of justice.  [8]  Hence, he is critical of Rawlss idea of the redistribution of justice and wealth.  [9]  Nozick believes that anyone who earns something justly should not be held responsible for other individuals. Thus, if all property, for example, ends up with one person, then that does not call for taxation or any action. Furthermore, by using the Wilt Chamberlain example, Nozick shows how equality results into inequality through freedom. This means that people originally start by having complete freedom to make their own choices, but then they choose to give up that freedom. Th us, to redistribute Chamberlains or any justly earned wealth is a violation of peoples rights.  [10]   However, what Nozick is implying is injustice to the individuals themselves. If one person owns everything, then people will be reduced to slaves and work for that one person who owns all the resources, and they will not be free. Communitarians have criticized this libertarian idea of distributive justice and individual rights [because it] works to divide the citizens of the modern state against one another, thereby fostering isolation, alienation, and apathy rather than commitment to a common civic enterprise.  [11]  Thus, the sense of community and the freedom that it entails for the individuals of the society disappears. Libertarianism only focuses on individual rights as being the most important ones, which does not work, especially in pluralistic societies today, which need both individuals and the government to have responsibilities and rights, and not just a focus on one individual who claims they obtained something justly. It is difficult to assess what is just, which is another limitation to Nozicks argument. People can easily claim that they obtained something justly, even if they did not. Thus, a community needs to exist where all individual freedoms are guaranteed, instead of questionable individual rights. Communitarians draw heavily on conservative ideas about the importance of tradition [and society] in providing a coherent framework of values within which we can live.  [12]  Liberalism tends to focus on the individual for the individual and their right, but this is contingent upon cultural factors.  [13]  The society and culture in which individuals are raised in [are] important when determining their autonomy.  [14]  Consequently, Individuals cannot detach themselves from the society, because their individual rights are contingent upon their society and their surroundings. People are bound to society just as they are bound to family. As Finlayson notes of Oakeshott, conservative individuals prefer the familiar to the unknown;  [15]  a society with traditions where people are bound is more familiar than an individualistic society which seeks universalism. Yet, these traditions and values are not always concrete for people to attach themselves to. One evident criticism of conservatism is the fact that people do not always follow their traditions. People can just as easily detach themselves from certain traditions, which themselves are always changing and never remain the same. Fahad criticizes Scrutons argument by stating that one is born with the capacity to run ones own life, and with free will and volition to choose from an ethical or political framework to adhere to.  [16]  The fact that Scruton emphasizes the need for people to follow their society and the traditions as given, leave Scruton unable to even question the very liberalism that serves as the foundation for his ability to construct a philosophy in the first place.  [17]   Scrutons arguments for following the norms of the society are extreme. People are not just programmed to accept everything without questioning it or improving it. However, Fahad seems to argue that people can make their own choices and decisions based on their own free will, which is unlikely. As communitarians argue, people are influenced by their societies, and this influence plays greatly onto the choices that people believe they are making out of their own free will. People can have a freedom of choice, as he points out, however this will not emerge out of nothing. Even though people might think that they are making a purely objective decision, there is always some subjectivity that will come into play. Communitarians draw from the conservative thought the importance of traditions; however, people are not obliged to follow these traditions. They exist to unify the people and create a sense of belonging in the society. Furthermore, they affect the way people make decisions and how they essentially live their lives, as some traditions cannot be eliminated from peoples lives. This draws on Rawlss use of the veil of ignorance. This is an imaginary veil where people are in an original position where they know nothing about anything that defines who they are  [18]  . People are supposed to ignore these ideals and values and focus on remaining neutral and objective in order to make decisions that would benefit all the people. These decisions are supposedly right in that people reach them through rational and selfless thinking. Besides it being a difficult practical concept, it is also flawed. People cannot just assume that they know nothing about their lives and forget everything they are connected to. Their society and ideals will come into play at some point and it will influence their decisions. It is false to assume that a rational decision is a right decision just because it is rational. People cannot be fully rational, they will always have something affecting the way they think, no matter how insignificant it might seem. Therefore, communitarianism stresses on the importance of the society in individuals lives because the society shapes people and many things within the society can easily have an impact on them. Rawlss theory of justice through the veil of ignorance is thus inaccurate, because, as communitarians argue, the standards of justice must be found in forms of life and traditions of particular societies and hence can vary from context to context.  [19]  Furthermore, communitarians see the moral agency of making decisions always existing within the context of a particular structure of traditions and practices, manifested in the life of a community.  [20]   What communitarianism advocates (and conservatism lacks), is open discourse and an emphasis on social responsibility (which liberalism lacks). One way of emphasizing the importance of society for individuals is through the recognition of individuals roles towards their society. For communitarians, the preservation of individual liberty depends on the active maintenance of the institutions of civil society where citizens learn respect for others as well as self-respect.  [21]  This respect would lead to an appreciation of our own rights and the rights of others. Individuals will also obtain civic responsibilities and the development of self-government skills, as well as the habit of governing ourselves, and learn to serve others not just self.  [22]  Governments, too, will have obligationsincluding the duty to be responsive to their members and to foster participation and deliberation in social and political life.  [23]   The communitarian perspective, in a sense, mandates attention to what is often ignored in contemporary policy debates: the social side of human nature.  [24]  This social side shows how individuals and governments both have responsibilities towards each other. It does not only assume that individual rights are important, because as Scruton points out, by enlarging the space around one person it diminishes the space enjoyed by his neighbor.  [25]  It can be seen that communitarianism goes further than the conservative idea of following traditions; it emphasizes on the social aspect of the people and what the people want. It also criticizes the narrowness of liberalism by just assuming that only the individual matter and that the government is there to protect it from injustice only. However, it is not only a one way street; individuals have rights and responsibilities, which is important to realize. A focus is made on individual liberty, but that liberty is achieved with the s ociety, not as liberalism promotes it of being just a focus on one individual.  [26]   One could argue that the notion of civic responsibilities and virtue is that of republicanism. As Kenny points out, communitarianism has some distinctly non-liberal antecedents as well.  [27]  Also, writers of classical republicanism emphasize ideas such as the importance of civic virtue and political participation,  [28]  amongst other ideas. However, civic republicanism stresses the importance of independence from arbitrary power. Ideologies stress on the importance of the individuals being at the center, and the relationship with the polity in terms of rights and responsibilities between the two. However, republicanism draws on more liberal ideas of civic virtue and a polity made by the people. Communitarianism, on the other hand, focuses more on the importance of traditions and values in order to have civic virtue. It focuses more on individuals and their individual and social responsibility, whereas republicanism focuses on individuals responsibility towards other indivi duals only. However, both communitarianism and republicanism stem from an uneasiness with liberalism.  [29]  Both ideologies criticize liberalism for being guilty of an excessive or misguided emphasis on the rights and liberties of the individual that nurtures a socially corrosive form of individualism.'  [30]  Yet, as Dagger points out, how liberalism is flawed and how it should be fixed is what communitarians and republicans disagree not only with each other, but among themselves.  [31]   According to Kenny, Rawlss defines the self through the original position as imagined as the subject of social contract where the original position would serve to strip it from social and cultural attributes.  [32]  Communitarians question this individualistic self and how it can be said to exist prior to or outside social settings and communal attachments.  [33]  The existence of these settings leads to the development of the individual and his objectives. It is only a socially and intersubjectively constituted self [that] can plausibly be said to possess goals.  [34]  What liberals promote is a political society in which there are contracts made by sovereign individuals who are accorded a number of basic rights as well as the right of exit.  [35]  This just separates the individual and the state, with all the benefits going to individuals with nothing to the government. But, individuals, according to liberals, are not free if they do not have the free will to make their own choices, without any effects from the outside. According to Gaus and Courtland, Green mentions that individual is only free if they are self-directed or autonomous.  [36]  Their actions must be their own and not influenced by anything else. That is why Rawls stresses the importance of not including anything in the original position. This is a negative notion of freedom  [37]  , where people can pursue their own ends, and thus do not follow custom.  [38]  Another form of liberal freedom is what Vallentyne echoes of Berlin as negative freedom, to pursue ones interests without harming others through ones fundamental purposes.  [39]  Thus, it can be argued, that if the self was influenced by society, then this influence can limit if from being free. It can for example, constrain someone through certain traditions which might be false. People will thus be shaped by tho se traditions and unable, or unwilling, to break free from them and develop their own. Yet, liberalisms view of freedom, whether positive or negative, is both problematic. In the negative sense, people are allowed to do anything without any consequences or constraints to their actions. Likewise, in the positive sense, people are expected to know when to limit themselves and it is hard to assume all individuals are able to control infividuals. In the communitarian sense, people would have to include some part of their traditions and values to pursue their goals. Sometimes it is even helpful to have some guidance when making decisions. The self is thus, in the communitarian sense, both pluralistic and particularistic: many of the features of persons are shaped by the intersubjective values and traditions of the communities into which they are born.  [40]  Moreover, if traditions are false, people would draw from the surroundings of their environment to develop new beliefs that they believe is right; their own beliefs do not just exist. To illustrate, a community can exist where everyone smokes as a rule. A person who thinks that this tradition is false would refer to the harm it causes to people to develop his own belief. The issue of freedom is also related to multiculturalism. It deals with pluralistic societies, where the population may come from many different cultural backgrounds; and peoples are increasingly asserting their need for a state that recognizes this differentiation.  [41]  Although the self is pluralistic in the communitarian thought, it is hard to claim that these traditions in the community are pluralistic. As Young explains, seeking equality and ignoring differences would allow for the development of cultural imperialism by allowing norms expressing the point of view and experience of privileged groups to appear neutral and universal.  [42]  A view of a group as the other would develop. Although this is a critique towards the liberal idea of universalism and its claim of neutrality, it can also be critically examined through a communitarian perspective. Since communitarians emphasize the importance of traditions and values in a society, it can be difficult to agree on thes e traditions. Besides them being right or wrong, a society is at risk of having the traditions of on group to dominate over it. If, for instance, one community mainly practices one religion, it would be difficult to be neutral or to have the acceptance of the people if the laws and regulations rely on that religion. Thus, there would be no sense of community between the people and the government, but rather a responsibility to abide by laws that were set by a majority. Whether this is intentional by the people or not, it still entails that some would better be able to achieve their capacities than others. Even though communitarianism criticizes the liberal idea of a universalism and neutrality, Youngs argument entails that some groups in society might not be able to fully participate in the public sphere without abiding by the dominant thought. Since communitarianism does not in itself address the issue of multiculturalism and dominance, I believe that this idea of roles by the people and the society would entail that equality would be considered. As Caney would point out, one critique that communitarians make is that there is a meta-ethical claim emphasizing political principles should mirror shared understandings.  [43]  People should take into account the social responsibilities that they have, since it is not a one-way responsibility from the government, which would ensure that there should be some equality. However, Youngs argument is a valid one and is a worry to any political ideology, since in any society; there can always be a majority, regardless of whether it follows liberal or conservative ideologies. However, it is very hard to assess how this should be addressed. She argues that there should be a positive discrimination towards the minority groups. Yet, this is difficult in itself for two reasons. The first is that it is hard to choose which group is a minority. There are many factors like numerical and cultural, for example, that can be taken into account. Thus, there are more minority groups than those which exist today because there are people advocating for those minorities. The second is that where should we stop in giving these minorities rights, or to create one public sphere where are differences are recognizes. In the communitarian sense, some accommodations can be made to try and limit differences between groups. Lastly, the communitarian ideology can offer an argument for environmentalism. As Hayward discusses, environmentalism refers to the belief that environmental protection is a significant ethical, social and political value.  [44]  However, it is often ignored because it is viewed as a discrete [issue] for policy-makers to deal with.  [45]  Yet, from a communitarian perspective, it can be integrated as part of the social responsibility of individuals in relation to ecologism. The ecological argument of humans as a part of nature  [46]  shows how there can be a social responsibility from individuals towards nature because that would ensure that the society they live in is a safe one. However, from a liberal point of view, this responsibility would not exist as individuals would only consider what is best for them, even if that comes at the cost of nature and the environment. In conclusion, communitarianism was originally a critique of liberalism, but it quickly developed to be an ideology with its own unique ideas that are best towards individuals. It looks at individuals as being at the center, but at the same time, it also looks at the community being in that center. Although many of its critiques are towards liberalism and the idea of the individualistic self existing with universal ideals, communitarianism can be critically examined through different ideologies. It focuses on how Individuals and the government coexist together with both having responsibilities and rights that are preserved through the community. It draws on conservative ideas of having a sense of traditions and values that are maintained through the community. These traditions and what shapes people are important to how individuals make decisions in life, which is not done through the liberal objective sense. It also includes individuals into the political life, like republicanism, b ut this involvement is through the sense of the community and what is best for the whole community. Communitarianism also focuses on how individuals can obtain freedom through this interaction with the society, and not just by limiting themselves to their individualistic goals. Hence, communitarianism is the most suitable ideology for individuals because it preserves their freedom and offers a sense of community between all individuals in the society. Word Count: 3730 (with footnotes: 3924).

Physical Activity and Body Weight vs Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseas

Cardiovascular Disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most common and well known afflictions in modern society. It kills and hospitalizes many people every year. CVD is actually a rather broad category of affliction. It encompasses any disease or condition that affects the heart. These conditions have effects that range from mild to surgical repair and even to death in extreme cases. The causes of CVD are fairly well known. It is directly linked to both physical activity (and the obesity that it prevents) and body mass index (BMI) in the research that we have studied. The BMI is a measure of the proportion of the body that is made up of fat. The higher a person's BMI number is, the more body fat they have. The combination of these two conditions creates a persons risk for CVD. The problem lies in the fact that the exact reasons that these factors create risk of CVD and how much risk they create is not fully understood. It is well known that obesity and physical activity play large roles in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Obesity has become even more significant since obesity is on the rise in the United States. Obesity is strongly associated with physical activity, meaning that people who exercise will also lose weight as well as increase their physical fitness. However there are many people who remain obese even with strong levels of physical activity. This sets up the question of what roles weight and physical activity have on lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease independently. Recent studies have shown that increasing physical fitness reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease regardless of body weight, and that increasing physical activity reduces the risk more that losing weight alone. T... ... way, the benefits of being fit were found not to totally alleviate the risk of being fat or that being slender totally alleviated the health risks of being unfit. From this it is clear that the best way to avoid both all-cause and cardiovascular disease death is to be both fit and have a normal body weight. Works Cited: Stevens, June, et al. "Fitness and Fatness as Predictors of Mortality from All Causes and from Cardiovascular Disease in Men and Women in the Lipid Research Clinics Study." American Journal of Epidemiology 19 June 2002: 832-41. Oxford Journals. 7 Nov. 2006 . Weinstein, Amy R., and Howard D. Sesso. "Joint Effects of Physical Activity and Body Weight on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease." Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews Vol.34 2006: 10-15. American College of Sports Medicine.

Why ANZAC day should never be forgotten :: Australia Australian History

Anzac day is part of Australia, its history, its nationhood and its people. From the day the 1st AIF (Australian Imperial Force) was created in WW1 to now in 2008 with the war in Iraq. Australia has proved herself time and time again to the world by showing the true bravery of her people. Australia is a young nation and only underwent federation in 1901 and 14 years later faced a major crisis. The July Crisis of 1914 where a 19 year old terrorist, a member of the â€Å"black hand† a Serbian terrorist organisation, shot at point blank range Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife while they were on a visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. This ignited the fuse of one of the deadliest wars that the earth has ever seen. The Austro-Hungarian Empire took this as a chance to declare war on Serbia. Germany backed up the Austro-Hungarian’s decision and almost forced them to declare war quickly on Serbia, which Austro- Hungary did. Russia began to mobilise her army’s to aid in Serbia’s defence. Germany in fear of encirclement by allied forces began to activate â€Å"the Schiliffen Plan† in which Germany forced its way around France through Belgium. When Germany attacked Belgium, England which had a treaty signed with Belgium began to mobilis e her ships. This is when Australia received the call of duty from Europe. People began to rejoice and enlistment started immediately with a vast number of people signing up within days the 1st AIF was raised and equipment was bought. Australia gave control of the unit and its Navy over to England and it was decided after the troops were trained that they were to be deployed to Cairo where they underwent more training for harsher climates. Looking at the diary entries of these young men in the AIF you can understand that they were eager to look out for one another and ready for the attack and all were in high spirits and happy the night before the tragic landing. Some people say that here is where Australia underwent its â€Å"baptism by fire† and learnt through the harshness and hell of war about being a nation and a united people. Many were killed in the tragic landing but besides this A.N.Z.A.C troops were harsh, quick and brutal as soon as they scrambled up the beach head began to make a bold and courageous charge at the enemy bayonets sharpened and at the ready.

Essays --

After the abolition of slavery, many African Americans became extremely optimistic about their future in the United States. They figured there would be more equality, more opportunities, and overall more respect. They were given empty promises, false hopes, and sugar-coated lies, because, in all actuality, it was the exact opposite of what they imagined. Racism became even more prevalent, and it was just as hard, if not harder for African Americans. The abolition of slavery did not mean blacks were free. It did not mean we were equal. All it meant was that they had different ways to do the same thing, and they made sure that regardless of the freedom of slaves, African Americans would still be controlled in some way. On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued as the country entered the third year of the Civil War. It declared that â€Å"all persons held as slaves †¦ shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.† The Emancipation Proclamation was, and continues to be a symbol of equality and social justice. As a result, he was assassinated. After his death, Andrew Jackson became President of the United States. Jackson was an extreme racist, and made this very clear during his term of presidency. On July 9, 1886, the 14th Amendment was put into place. This law recognizes anyone born in the United States of America as a legal US citizen. It also forbids states from denying any person his life, liberty or property, without the correct means of the law. It was meant to protect the civil rights of all Americans regardless of their race or gender. The Fifteenth Amendment was established on February 26, 1869. It was the third in the Reconstruction Amendments. This amendment prohibits an... ...the Reconstruction, is that no matter what legally was done in an effort to help, there were always loopholes and other laws that would counter us from being totally free. We may not have been in slavery, but we were still enslaved, not only because of our mindsets, but because of our surroundings. The system was meant for us to fail, be dependent, and continue being submissive to the white man because no matter what laws were passed, or what changes were made, that is where they wanted us to be. Black codes, Jim Crow laws, segregation, and everything else that was legal after slavery was abolished, were all forms of slavery in a subtle way. They were meant to get in the heads of the blacks, and if you can get in a person’s head, you can control them. The reconstruction era was the beginning of a downward spiral between blacks and whites that branched after slavery.

English: Official Language Essay

â€Å"If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything. † — Confucius All of us are created individually because we have our differences to one another. We must obtain the fact that we are not made to use same knowledge in one aspect of context. Based on our personal perspectives, we have our own ideologies and culture that we need to preserve for it was the source of our identity. Language is one of our cultural differences to one another. By way of taking our mother tongue just to obtain new knowledge of English language was not a fair solution to globalization. That is why we must have our own guts to differ the policy stating that English language should the only language spoken and written in the world. From the time of language policy conception until today, the debate between whether to use English as the only language or not continued to more sensitive issues and arguments. Many organizations and individuals who are against with this concept are making their own way to inform the public about the limitations of the policy. Despite of promulgating this policy to many schools and companies, many people are still undecided to take this action because it was not a reasonable thinking. According to Leonard Kniffel in his article, â€Å"English only is English Lonely†, â€Å"we understood in those days that English was the key to success and acceptance. Kids like us embraced into exclusion of any language or custom that made as back as if we were just off the boat† (3). The main targets of the institutions behind the promulgation of English language policy are the children for they could not render opposition to what the academe or the social law would impose to them. Children could be feed any information without asking why and how things happened. Therefore, by using children as the primary way to make English as the official language, success will come into a wide variety of situation. According to Rebecca Weber in her article â€Å"Something to Talk About†, â€Å"English-only advocates say that assimilation and mastering English are crucial to success in school, the workforce, and society. But children who can speak English on playground can’t necessarily comprehend grade-level academic content in English† (25). This statement shows that by feeding a child the orientation to speak English language is a terrible problem because even if in his or her daily activities should make him or her use the Standard English language. Therefore, problem may arise within this issue because limitation of a child’s activity because of English language will be done without any good reasoning or justification. On the other way around, according to Loreta Medina in her article entitled â€Å"English Immersion has not been proven to Raise Test Scores†, Contrary to popular wisdom, systematic evaluations show bilingual education to be superior to English-only approaches on promoting English reading. But that advantage is fairly small if it is not combined with other costly efforts to improve the school leadership and instructional approaches that go far beyond the tired refrain of the language of instruction. (2) This statement shows that English is not the solution to global problem because there are more things to discuss rather than limiting people to use only one language. By promoting this policy, people will be engaged to a dictatorial situation wherein they could not use their mother tongue, which they could more express their selves rather than using English language. As a whole, policy on using English language as the only language used in the world especially in the society of America should not be promulgated because it promotes discrimination and inequality especially to different immigrants who could not obtain English language very well. English language will always be the second language of many immigrants from other countries but it should not be the reason to deploy them because we must know that they are striving hard to learn the language even if it was already in the sense of stupidity.

“Of Mice and Men”: George’s actions at the end of the novel Essay

Discuss Georges actions at the end of the novel. How shtup we rationalise what he does to Lennie? How can we condemn it?Although slaughter is morally incorrect, mercy killing can be justified as it whitethorn prevent a later necessary and racking expiry. In the novella Of Mice and manpower written by John Steinbeck, the theatrical role George tears his fighter, Lennie. Whilst Georges actions can be condemned, George had grievous intentions towards the death of his friend. Steinbeck makes it clear through tabu the novella that although horrid incidents may occur such(prenominal) as Lennies death that it was how it was during the non bad(p) Depression. However unity may like to condemn Georges actions in gibe his exclusively friend, George had forgivable intentions as to why he chose to go against Lennie.Georges murdering of his friend was with extinct malicious intent. It is clear from the start in the novella that George cargons for Lennie, as he protects and looks o ut for him. Killing Lennie was not an easy survival of the fittest.. He likewise prevented a further painful and excruciating death for Lennie, as Curley plans to shoot that big bastards gritstone right outta him. This implies that Curley intends no mercy and an torturous death awaits Lennie. By shot his friend, George gives Lennie a peaceful death. During the scene where the two hands are in the bush, George once over again recites their imagine which reminds the reference and Lennie of their friendship. He tells George, I got you an you got me. This conveys in the estimate that George truly cared for Lennie and has no vicious intent when he is to shoot Lennie. By shooting Lennie, George gave him a kind-hearted and peaceful death with no intend malicion.The murder of Lennie is justified as Steinbeck shows the audience through the novella, realistic themes that were evident in the 1930s. Steinbecks writing style has been depict as a naturalist or realist type. It is cle ar from the start, that in Of Mice and Men in that location is a predatory nature in human existence. Candy says to George, I shouldnt tolerate let no freaky shoot my dog. Having said that, it foreshadows Lennies death and what George must do. It also conveys in the predilection that Lennie willing face a connatural fate to Candys out of date dog who is weak and handicapped. Society does not tolerate the weak as at that place were limited resources during the spaciousDepression. As seen in the scene where Slim dr give births the lowest pups, it is clear that Steinbeck is attempt to send across the message that save the strongest lived during the Great Depression. John Steinbeck gave the reader a realistic view on what would invite happened during a difficult time and Lennies death is similar to what would have occurred during the 1930s.The closing reason that justifies Lennies death, is when one ponders the humanity of the men attaining the cattle ranch. As evident i n the novella, Lennie has no problem killing small animals and even people. If the reader is to imagine Lennie on a ranch with a extended group of animals, especially rabbits no subject how many times Candy deliberate the numbers, there would be no likely way for the men to make a profit off the rabbits given the centre Lennie would kill due to his brute strength. By forgetting the reality of the situation, the men forget that the ranch was not even a reachable goal in the first place. As indicated by George, I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed wed never do her. This supports the idea that there was unfeignedly no hap of the men actually getting the ranch. By killing Lennie, George puts an end to the unrealistic breathing in in which Lennie would have created problems in qualification the dream farm profitable.Georges actions are justified through realism that the end scene portrays. When George shoots Lennie, he ensures he dies a peaceful death. If Geo rge did not kill Lennie, Lennie would have faced a possible torturous death. His actions are also justified as George meant no malicious intent and only wants the best for his friend. Lennie would have made smell difficult even on their own land. Steinbeck shows the realism that people in the Great Depression would have faced in situations similar to Lennie and Georges he shows us a piece of history and the tragedies attached. Although one may condemn Georges shooting of Lennie, mercy killing was the best choice for both of the men.Loved the point rough the Depression times. (Paragraph 3) and also the unrealistic dream point in the next paragraphYou could also discuss the fact that George also loses something by killingLennie. He really believed their relationship was special. ( George tells Slim this). Killing Lennie wasnt just the easy way out for George.Once again, an original approach.I am sure your exam essay will reflect your mature approach and your unwaveringly work.

Foundation Broad Cost Leader Essay

This lend angiotensin converting enzymeself exercise leave avail you understand the relationships between business strategy, tactics, functional alignment, and the existence simulation. We allow for mathematical function the Chester Company for this example. (During the practice rounds, for distri andively one company is designate a divergent strategy.) You pull up stakes execute your plan by inputting the decisions described below. At the comparable time, your competitors go away execute their assigned plans. The practice exercise result take three rounds As each round is processed, you bequeath evaluate the results and past input the next rounds assigned decisions. Upon completion of the practice rounds, the simulation will be reset to the take upning. You can then create and utilize your own strategic plan for the actual ambition. decision maker SummaryThe Chester team will adopt a Broad Cost Leader strategy, maintaining a presence in both segments. We will g ain a competitory advantage by concording R&D be, harvest-homeion costs, and raw material costs to a minimum, enabling us to compete on the basis of price. Our Cost Leader orientation will allow us gain a competitive advantage based upon low prices. We will development mechanization levels to improve our margins and to make it acceptable to break loose overtime (which we can also view as a second shift). Vision Statement down(p) priced products for the industry Chester brands offer solid value. Our primary stakeholders be connectholders, customers, stockholders and management.Research and Development (R&D)We will keep our active product line and launch one innovative product in ordain to maintain a presence in both the Low technical school and higher(prenominal)(prenominal) tech segments. We will work to keep our products up to date (i.e. Size and Performance) in each segment despite high automation levels. sellingWe will maintain aw areness and accessibility. Afte r we try our cost leadership position we will revisit our situation to decide whether gross sales and promotional material budgets should be subdued or if we should keep pace with our competitors. Our prices will be sink than average. g hagglethionWe will significantly increase automation levels on all products. However, because automation sets limits upon our ability to reposition products with R&D, we automate more in the slower moving Low technical school segment than in the fast moving utmost Tech segment. We will prefer overtime to cognitive content expansions.FinanceWe will finance our investments primarily through immense-term bond disobliges, supplementing with stock offerings on an as needed basis. When our funds position allows, we will attain a dividend policy and get off to retire stock. We are non adverse to leverage, and expect to keep debt/ lawfulness between 2.0 and 3.0. go for ROUND 1 derive the decisions below. After the practice rounds are distin guish and the competition rounds begin, you are free to choose a different strategy you are not obligated to keep as a Broad Cost Leader.R & D polish up 1 spread over rivet reliability (MTBF) to subvert material cost. recitation expurgate MTBF from 21000 to 18000. Do not reduce MTBF below 17000 hours, because that is the lower limit of acceptable reliability (MTBF) for High Tech customers. saucy Product Launch a impertinently High Tech product, with a project length less than 2 years (no later than celestial latitude of next year). Example Name Cedar (replace the original NA in the list), performance 9.0, size 11.0 and a reliability (MTBF) 20000.1 of the essence(p) under the re sieves of the simulation, the call of all clean products must pee-pee the same first letter as the name of the company.Important With the exception of the naked product, make legitimate that the projects complete during this year ahead December 31st. Under the rules, a saucily project can unaccompanied begin on January 1st. If these projects do not complete before the end of this year, you cannot begin carry through projects next year.perceptual Map from the Research & Development Spread wood operative plane Product name in black propose the products electric flowing location, names in magenta indicate the products revised position (with keen revisions, the names will overlap). Names of newly invented products reckon in magenta. selling finish out 1Cake take up moderate price cuts and decrease promotion and sales budgets. guess unit sales progress last years level. Example damage $33.50, promotion budget $800, sales budget $800. Forecast sales of 1300 units.New Product Marketing decisions will be made next year when the new product is ready to begin production. doing Round 1Production dockets will plan for eight whatsoever weeks of inventory. That is, have enough inventory on deliberate to meet demand eight weeks beyond the sales herald. This requi res a 15% inventory cushion (8/52 = 0.15). For example, suppose Marketing forecasts demand at 1000, and you have 100 units in inventory. You unavoidableness 1000 x 115% = 1150 available for sale. Since you have 100 on hand, you would schedule 1050 for production.If you cannot meet demand, sales go to competitors. Therefore, you want to plan for the upside as strong as the downside. Your proforma isotropy sheet will forecast about(predicate) eight weeks of inventory. You hope that your actual sales will fall between your sales forecast and the tot up of units available for sale. Schedule production for your existing product apply this formula (Unit Sales Forecast X 1.15) inventory On Hand.Cake Increase automation level by 1.0 point.New Product demoralise 300,000 units of capacity by entering 300 in the Buy Sell Capacity cell. Set an automation level of 3.0.Important There is a one year lag between purchase and use of new capacity and automation for both new and existing pr oducts.2Important Make certain the Cake project completes during this year, before December 31st. Under the rules, a new project can only begin on January 1st. If a project does not complete before the end of this year, you cannot begin follow-up project next year.Finance Round 1Your fiscal policies should maintain adequate working keen reserves to avoid a liquidity crisis. on the job(p) capital can be thought of as the money that you need to operate day-to-day. In keister working capital is current assets (cash + accounts receivable + inventory) current liabilities (accounts payable + current debt). If you run out of cash because your sales are unexpectedly weak, an Emergency contribute will be issued.Here are some guidelines to help you avoid an Emergency Loan. Your proforma balance sheet predicts your financial condition at the end of this year. Make ultraconservative sales forecasts. Do not assert on the computer prediction. Override it with a forecast of your own. If yo u are conservative, it is unlikely that your worst expectations will be exceeded. Next, build additional inventory beyond your conservative expectations. This forces your proforma balance sheet to predict a rising where your sales forecast comes true and you are unexpended with inventory. (If you sell the inventory, thats wonderful.) On the Finance spreadsheet, issue stock, bonds or current debt until the December 31 money Position for the upcoming year equals at least(prenominal) five percent of your assets, as displayed on the proforma balance sheet.This creates an additional reserve for those times when your worst expectations are exceeded and disaster chance ons. As you gain experience with managing your working capital, you will observe that the guidelines preceding(prenominal) make you fair liquid, and you may wish to tighten your policy by reducing cash and inventory projections. That is fine. The better your marketing forecasts, the less working capital you will requi re. check off your plant investment with a long-term bond. If you do not have fitted new bond debt capacity, issue stock to go after the shortfall.Do not pay a dividend.Save decisions (select directly to the website).PRACTICE ROUND 2R & D Round 2Cake Improve positioning and reduce age. Reduce reliability (MTBF) to reduce material cost. Example Increase Cakes performance to 6.7, reduce size by 13.0, and reduce MTBF to 17000. New Product Note that the new products row is yellow instead of green, and that you cannot change these cells. This is because your product will not emerge from R&D until its current project completes. Under the rules of the simulation, new R&D projects cannot begin until the old one completes.3Marketing Round 2Cake Offer a price cut to $32.50. Hold promotion and sales budgets near current levels. Cake will keep mum sell to both Low Tech and High Tech customers. Enter a forecast of 1100. New Product Price at $44.00, Promotion at $1000, Sales at $1000. Sin ce Cedar wont be ready to enter production until well into this year, so enter 200 for sales forecast.Production Round 2Schedule production using the formula(Unit Sales Forecast X 1.15) Inventory On HandImportant As your new product is coming out sometime during the year, you major power not be able to use the above formula new products cannot begin production forward to their revision (release) date. Should the tot you enter into the production schedule turn red, reduce the schedule until the red number turns black.Cake Increase automation by 1.0 or 2.0 points.New Product Increase automation level, but only by 1.0 points. We will want to begin repositioning it next year in order to keep it fresh for High Tech customers. The higher the automation rating, the more difficult it is to reposition. We must strike a balance between our cost insisting requirements vs. our need to reposition often.FINANCE ROUND 2Match your plant investment with a long term debt (bond). If you do not have sufficient new bond debt capacity, issue stock to cover the shortfall. Look at the proforma balance sheet, and add in concert your Cash and Inventory accounts. Apply the following rule of thumb. Keep between 15% and 20% of your balance sheet assets in Cash plus Inventory. You do not care about the mix, but you do want to have adequate reserves to cover unexpected swings in inventory.