Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 12

Philosophy - Essay Example Thus, all knowledge of things comes to us by objects that are outside. In a way, Hobbes has put forward a mechanism of knowledge; we receive stimuli and our brain and heart interpret it and then they send us signals that help us interpret what that thing is. However, at least in Leviathan, Hobbes is not too clear on how the signals are sent from within us. Hobbes goes on to state that, thus, â€Å"when we would express the decay, and signify that the sense is fading, old and past, it is called memory† (Hobbes Chapter II). He says that memory is simply our old sensory perceptions that have faded enough for us to not be able to remember them clearly, likening it to the light of the stars which fades during daylight, but is there still. Thus, our experiences are the sum of our memories. For Hobbes, memory is at par with imagination, with one slight difference, memory must always be empirically possible, whereas imagination need not be so. However, what is interesting is that Hobbes does not lay down the condition that memory has to be true in the sense of it having actually occurred, it can be an untrue event when it comes to the veracity of its occurrence, but it will be considered a memory of it is empirically possible. So, according to Hobbes, all memory, just like our senses, are perceived from objects that are outside of us, which we interpret through our sensory perception. In turn, it is these memories that shape up our world-view and our beliefs about things that are around us. When it came to memory, Plato held the view that everything that we know, or will ever know, is actually present in our memory already, or anamnesis. Time, and its passing, are mere illusions, when what is actually happening is that our memory is unfolding, nothing more. We are not acquiring new knowledge, rather it is our old memories that are unfolding and the illusion of time makes us believe

Pascal And The Meaning Of Life Book Review Religion Essay

Pascal And The Meaning Of Life Book Review Religion Essay This is a religious text book based on the facts existing on Christianity, it was written by Thomas Morris who was the most gifted writer and philosopher of the time. The book is titled, Making Sense of It All: Pascal and the Meaning of Life. was published in 1992 by, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. The book has addressed several issues such as; need for a guide, folly which arise due to indifferences, dangers which are caused by diversion, understand the meaning of life, how one can live a good life, how God is hidden to human beings, mysteries of human beings, how truth assist in human beings coexistence, how faith is related to heart and how one can be able to love God and life. Thomas Morris amplifies Pascal in the ways that someone may not have a clue about before; this clearly has an intriguing effect on the critical mind that is about the possibility of the Truth hidden behind Christianity. The leap associated with the link between the mind and the faith does not seem to be strange especially after reading this book. The title, Making Sense of It All. is one of the best volumes that expound the topic of Christianity and its philosophy and the apologetics. There is uniqueness in this book based on its organization and the content. Morris has utilized the scientific, some of the philosophical, and at some point, the apologetic sentiments of the great creative Christian thinker called Blaise Pascal from his titles, the Pascals book Pensees. and he shows how having faith in Jesus Christ is the only unique answer given to mankinds longtime and deepest yearnings for the meaning, the purpose, his significance, and the eternal life. This book has skillfully and in the most successive manner answered most of the existential objections of which people have given as the reasons for not believing. Morris has achieved this by weaving together many of the Pascals brilliant insights specifically into a significant and most powerful Christian apologetic writings. Though the content has been covered a lot in terms of the philosophical and the theological grounds, the book has remarks that are readable and at some places quite humorous. The philosophical, theological, and the apologetic concerns have been extensively addressed in a tremendously clear and the engaging style. Therefore, in this volume Thomas Morris has provided a very deep insight as to why people who live in todays world tend to avoid the urge to think about the ultimate issues. Thomas V. Morris due to his enticing works has been recognized as one of the Christianitys finest contemporary philosophers. This book is intended to address the Christian believes who in most cases have been having thoughts on their faith, it explains to them the facts as they are linked to the religion and the general human philosophy. This book suits with the needs of its audience who in this case, the Christian. As Morris tries to captures the essence of the Pascals thought. He deftly weaves it with some of the insights of the other thinkers and he shows this in a practical application for the believers lives. This book enriches the believers mind and the spirit, thereby deepening their walk with God. Pascal is just an example of a very brilliant and scientific mind who found it to be very reasonable to have very strong beliefs in God, or to be more specific, A Christian God. Therefore, Morris, through Pascal, has showed that faith and reasoning can take a believer farther than anything can alone. This is a great thought provoking book which is meant for the person who is always seeking to understand some of those hard questions. The author articulated on how most of the time we shall be in need of urgently providing guidance which is needed by most people, it is informative on how its readers would understand how the indifferences would be solved. The author emphasized on how diversions provide a risky environment and how it would be taken care of and how one can live a better life by being skeptical and the role which research does in improving someone life. Morris makes the reader to understand the nature of God being hidden from human beings who would not even know the intentions of God and how truth is importance in promotion of self development and relation with others. As Morris wrote about need to guide which he argues that, When you stop to think about it, life can be very confusing (p. 1). Having been given this reality, there is the need for a good guide that shows us how we are supposed to live. Morris insists, that Blaise Pascal is partly one of the best guides, who attunes to our concerns although he existed 350 years ago. Pascal was one of the great thinkers in the human history. He made the original contributions in the mathematics; he became the fixture of the French intelligentsia, on the night of November 23, 1654, at the age of thirty-one, Pascal had a profound and deeply moving mystical experience that dramatically turned him around, reorienting all his priorities (p. 9). He was able meet God. He emphasized that he met the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob . . . God , who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. As he Immersed himself in the spiritual concerns, Pascal, during the following eight years, wrote down notes meant for a theological treatise that he tirelessly planned to write, this was an explanation and the defense based on the Christian faith that he highly hoped would make an appeal to non-believers. Unfortunately at the age of 39, he died, leaving us only with the loosely organized collection of the thoughts, which were his Pensees, According to Morris thinks, these thoughts, may possibly guide us towards our own discovery of what life means. In the next Chapter 2 The foolish indifference, due to our bored indifference towards ultimate realities, the timeless truths, makes our greatest flaw. According to his views, This negligence in a matter where they themselves, their eternity, their all are at stake, fills me more with irritation than pity; it astounds and appalls me; it seems quite monstrous to me (p. 23). This is like hoarding the pennies while using thousands of dollar bills for then cooking fuel! Those who are charged with teaching philosophy together with theology, of course, almost on a daily basis face almost the same apparent indifference that Pascal condemned. Thomas was mystified by the interests that his students showed in some trivial campus events as compared to their frequently and bored response to questions that are concerned with the heaven and hell, or death and immortality. Therefore if we as human beings dont just ignore the ultimate issues, then, we find the ways to keep our minds on other things. These Diversions always fill our waking hours and tend to dull our minds away from the possibilities of most important things. Analyzing chapter 3: Risk of diversion there is no writer, in my experience, who can better dissects this malaise. Being unable to cure death, wretchedness and ignorance, he wrote, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things' (p. 31). This is contrary to our media-dominated culture, where as there is constant amusement by ourselves to death. Therefore, one can easily and only imagine, However, it is very clear that many of us tend to seek the shelter from the reality by making sure that we are always immersed in a state of noise and activity. In his efforts in trying to makes us think in a more seriously manner, Pascal tried to set forth some ways to do so. He struggled very hard in order to discern what makes life to be meaningful? And what makes life to be good? Such like questions could not be reduced to a scientific inquiry with the empirical data and the logical proofs. The Thinkers who tend to make metaphysics or theology to be purely rational, with the endeavor to prove the existence of God, will always fail because they tend to take the wrong approach, by failing to remember Aristotles wise advice to using the right methodology while approaching a given realm of the reality. Morris wrote about skepticism, research and a better life, the Christians use reason. Pascal was able to do it with the best, However they know that there is more to the reality than the reason, that some of the realms of reality just need to be encountered through some other means. Pascal said that, We know the truth not only through our reason but also through our heart. It is through the latter that we know first principles, and reason, which has nothing to do with it, tries in vain to refute them' (p. 82). In the write-ups of the hidden God, he shows the emphasis that we all know God, who has constantly hidden from us, more so through the heart than it is to the head.: What can be seen on earth indicates neither the total absence, nor the manifest presence of divinity, but the presence of a hidden God. Everything bears this stamp' (p. 94).Therefore God, and the lifes meaning, tend to reveal themselves to those who truly and honestly seek Him (God). Therefore God does not necessarily reveal himself to those who are intellectually able and those who demand that He conforms to their established standards. Indeed, he re-marked that, Pius scholars rare' (p. 37). While in Tokens of truth  he wrote that Truly religious people must humble themselves in the worship and obedience of a creator they do not see (p. 146). God comes only to those who are very much willing to bet their lives on the truth of His Being. In his comparison to Pascals philosophy he challenges human beings to risk to believe in God, and to dare commit ourselves to the living truth that God unveils reality and assures the humans of immortality. For one to able to find meaning in our lives, we must be in a position to understand not only the truth about God but also the truth about ourselves. Evaluation Morriss focus of the, Making Sense of It All. is much more than the scissors-and-paste technique of collage that is normally done the quotations with the transitional comments and the explanations of the famous French genius (Pascal). In showing how contemporary some the issues Pascal raised are, Morris injects the illustrations that range from the Tolstoys novels to Woodie Allens movies. Therefore this book is an illustration of a gifted religious teacher at work: The audience is introduced to one of the most famous and greatest philosophers, This makes the authors ideas to be very clear and most relevant without the compromise of the essence of his views on the title, I like the book very much because it has greatly motivated me as a believer in Christian faith.

Foreshadowing in Oedipus the King and The Marriage of Figaro :: comparison compare contrast essays

Foreshadowing in Oedipus the King and The Marriage of Figaro      Ã‚   `You are the curse, the corruption of the land!'.   With these words, Tiresias, a blind prophet in `Oedipus The King' set the actions in play that would turn king to beggar within the day.   Prophecy and foreshadowing is an important part of playwriting, and adds an element of suspense that is not possible any other way.   Whether it be the witches of MacBeth, the ramblings of Tiresias in Oedipus the King, and Antigone, or whether it is the unrealized foreshadowing by Figaro in `The Marriage of Figaro', foreshadowing gives the reader or the audience something to puzzle themselves over, until the play or novel is actually over.   It would not be a stretch of the imagination to say that some of the greatest plays ever written would be impotent if their elements of foreshadowing was removed.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Foreshadowing is defined, in Webster's dictionary, as `to give a hint or suggestion of beforehand'.   In drama, foreshadowing is generally used for several purposes, including the creation of tension, creation of atmosphere, and adds an element of credibility to a character.   All of these are important elements of a play.   However it is not hard to imagine a play in which more then half of the elements of a plot, namely exposition, discovery, point of attack, complication and crisis all be caused by an act of foreshadowing or prophecy.   Indeed, "Oedipus the King", which was considered the greatest play in history by Aristotle, was one such play.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "Oedipus the King" was the story of the King of Thebes, Oedipus, and his dark past history which no one, including himself to a point, was aware of, one that involved abandonment, patricide and incest.   Thebes was beset by a plague, and a delegation was sent to Apollo, the Greek God of healing, where they received instructions to find the murderer of the previous king of Thebes, King Laius.   This form of foreshadowing was necessary for the storyline to have a starting place, and acts not only as foreshadowing, but also as discovery, because it gave new information that moved the plot forwards.   A problem with this is the fact that it requires an act of God, something that Aristotle frowned upon in his definitive text

Life Is a Game Essay

â€Å"Each player must accept the cards life deals them: but once they are in hand, they alone must decide how to play in order to win the game. † – Voltaire â€Å"For when the One Great Scorer comes To write against your name, He marks – not that you won or lost – But how you played the game. † – Grantland Rice â€Å"My work is a game, a very serious game. † – M. C. Escher â€Å"A game is not won until it is lost. † – David Pleat â€Å"Play the game for more than you can afford to lose†¦ only then will you learn the game. † – Winston Churchill. â€Å"Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game. † – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe â€Å"Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown. † – Ross Perot â€Å"It’s the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they’re gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it’s my turn to leave. † – Tupac Shakur. â€Å"If you’re willing to put two thoughts into a picture then you’re already ahead of the game. † – Sean Penn † We know that we’re supposed to win all the games, but if we don’t, we just have to take the next game and focus on what we did wrong in the game before and just try to do better at the next game. † – Shaquille O’Neal â€Å"If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians. † – Warren Buffett â€Å"At this stage of the game, I am not sure what’s going to happen. † – Bobby Rahal. â€Å"We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time. † – Vince Lombardi â€Å"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else. † – Albert Einstein â€Å"People have always doubted whether I was good enough to play this game at this level. I thought I was, and I thought I could be. What other people thought was really always irrelevant to me. † – Steve Nash â€Å"The goals made such a difference to the way this game went. † – John Motson â€Å"No coach has ever won a game by what he knows; it’s what his players know that counts. † – Paul Bryant â€Å"It’s more than a game. It’s an institution. † – Thomas Hughes â€Å"If life doesn’t offer a game worth playing, then invent a new one. † – Anthony J. D’Angelo â€Å"If you have the opportunity to play this game of life you need to appreciate every moment. a lot of people don’t appreciate the moment until it’s passed. † – Kanye West â€Å"I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. † – Michael Jordan â€Å"I think it’s wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly. † – Steven Wright â€Å"So if you want to have a great video game-based movie you have to keep the mood of the game, use the normal character setup – but you have to flesh out the story and provide more background for the characters. † – Uwe Boll â€Å"If you make every game a life and death proposition, you’re going to have problems. For one thing, you’ll be dead a lot. † – Dean Smith. â€Å"Winning that first game was so important; my mother always said that the first game of the second set was the chance to keep it going if you were ahead or change things if you were behind. † – Tracy Austin â€Å"Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will. † – Jawaharlal Nehru â€Å"We play fair and we play hard. If we win the game we win, if we lose the game, we lose. † – Jason Williams â€Å"The person that turns over the most rocks wins the game. And that’s always been my philosophy. † – Peter Lynch â€Å"Never change a winning game; always change a losing one. † – Bill Tilden.

Relationship-Driven Leaders Focus on People, Not Power Essay

My article talks about the behavioral theories, as the author discussed the new stream in leadership orientation. To be more specific, he believed that as the industry is now facing globalization and rapid change, leaders must adapt this changing landscape or risk losing high-potential employees. Younger employees prefer relationship-driven leaders and a sense of community. So in other words, they value relationships and leaders who respect their ideas and consult them on decisions. Bobbie (2010) took an example of a general counsel who successfully led a group for years before hiring a vice president to help manage a growing workload. Because this leader spent his career in the traditional model, he found it difficult to delegate work to the new vice president. The issue was not about power, but an Inability to let go and trust the new vice president to complete the work well. If the general counsel had formed a stronger personal connection with the vice president nd built trust based on that relationship, he could have empowered the vice president Instead of constraining her performance. Relationship-driven leaders are more empathetic, patient and tolerant. They approach decision-making subjectively, using personal values as a guide and examining how each option will impact others. Yet, while they are adept at listening and forging personal connections, they can sometimes appear too concerned about what others think or too weak to make tough decision. While leaders cant change their innate personalities, they can change their behavior. Adopting these best practice behaviors will enable leaders to be more effective in an increasingly diverse workplace 1. Open yourself to different viewpoints. 2. Balance empathy with strong decision-making. 3. Collaborate on issues management. 4. Champion employee development. 5. Don’t mistake silence for agreement. By adopting a relationship-driven approach, leaders can earn the trust and confidence of an increasingly diverse workforce and improve long-term retention.

Bionanotechnology essays

Bionanotechnology essays Recent developments in Nanotechnology (a technology that concerns structures, devices and phenomena where the critical functionality occurs on a length scale which encompasses the range between atomic distances and the limit of optical resolution 0.1nm to 250nm), and Bionanotechnology (a branch of Nanotechnology that either uses biological starting materials, biological design principles, or has biological applications) are enabling biologists to confront fundamental questions about protein functions. It is anticipated that in the future both technologies will enable scientists to construct man made devices on the molecular scale. Nano and bionanotechnologies are being devised to equip scientists and engineers with a "nano-tool kit". These tools will allow us to visualize and manipulate molecules and atoms, measure interactions between molecules and build devices on the molecular scale. We plan to use from one to millions or billions of these units in parallel or series together in complex ways. These complex machines are meant to be used in construction or analytical processes. Biological sections of Nanotechnology are a priority area of the BBSRC's (biotechnology and biological science research council) engineering and biological systems committee. Nanoscale biotechnology, which deals with analytical biotechnology, separation science, tissue engineering and, biomaterial design and drug delivery systems, is the main priority area of the BBSRC biological systems committee. These applications are particularly encouraged in these areas of study. Surface chemistry, including immobilization techniques and biomolecular patterning methods, such as imprinting and micro-contact flow, for the development of applications in sensor and biological microsystem design. Nanofabrication and molecular assembly, including the biological development of tissue and cellular scaffolds, and the preparation of two- and three-dimensional arrays ...

The World is Flat

The World is Flat Introduction Globalization is the current issue making waves around the world. The trend towards globalization is simply awesome especially in the third world countries. Over the years, some economists have expressed their views in support of globalization while others, have criticized it. However, with due respect accorded both parties over their respective opinions, it is worthy of note here that globalization is an issue that has come to stay particularly with the trend towards it. (Duiker, 306)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The World is Flat specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In his book â€Å"The world is flat,† Thomas Friedman argues in favor of what he calls â€Å"The Dell Theory of conflict prevention.† But William Duiker, who is also a writer, thinks differently. Duiker believes the trend towards globalization may be offset by a simultaneous trend towards fragmentation. This argumentative essay is written in favor of Thomas Friedman’s hypothesis which he calls â€Å"The Dell theory of conflict prevention.† In the course of this essay, Thomas Friedman’s book â€Å"The world is flat† will be summarized and explained to support the argument. Lastly, in the concluding part of the essay, it will be shown how globalization is greatly taking over the world. In developing and developed countries respectively, the issue of globalization is of top priority as no country in the world wants to be left behind. The trend towards Globalization There is barely a country or nation in the present world which has not joined the trend towards globalization or intends to be a part of it in the nearest future. In this 21st century when the world is classified or termed as a global village, global governors, super powers of the world and international organizations like, the United Nations, (UN) European Union, (EU) and the African Union, (AU) are not resting in thei r campaigns to take globalization to the next level. (Duiker, 712) The present world is a highly technological advanced world. Virtually everything in our daily lives is connected to one technology or the other. In the health sector, highly advanced technical tools are used to perform neuron surgeries, plastic surgeries and treat diseases of different kinds. In terms of education, schools have launched websites and portals which enable students pay school fees on the internet from anywhere in the world. There is also an immense improvement in the communication sector as new devices are invented thus making communication easier and cheaper. Today, people communicate through different mediums like, phones and the internet which records a tremendous 20 million users daily. In the agricultural sector, agric products are processed into baked foods and beverages. All these and more are made possible and easy through technological advancement. (Duiker, 432)Advertising Looking for e ssay on rhetoric? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Even in farming, technological equipments enable agricultural systems like; irrigation, cross breeding and rearing of animals or live stocks. The aforementioned examples explain why there is a trend towards globalization and the reader will agree with me that, our every day lives are influenced and made easy due to the advancement in technology. As the world advances so does the need for improvement in our lives arises too thus the desire and clamor for the world to be totally globalized will continue to increase. â€Å"The world is flat† In the first part of Thomas Friedman’s book â€Å"The world is flat,† he tries to show or explain how the world became flat. Literally, Friedman tries to say there is a level playing field for everybody and this means that, there is enough room for every individual, group of people, companies, international forums and go vernments of nations to compete and gain global knowledge. (Duiker, 822) Freidman moves on to use Asian countries like, Japan, China and India as examples to illustrate his point about room created for everyone to progress. However, Friedman attributes this opportunity to what he calls world flatteners. Then he goes ahead to list ten forces which are responsible for the flattening of the world and these forces are; the steroids, the September terrorist attack on the US, (9/11) outsourcing, off shoring, uploading, Netscape’s public date, informing, uploading, in sourcing and work flow software. (Friedman, 671) Friedman tries to show that, these technological advancement which are as a result of globalization are capable of also causing disasters if in the wrong hands and this fact has changed the thinking of many nations thus creating room for anybody to compete and gain global knowledge. (Friedman, 612) Friedman talks about â€Å"America and the flat world† in the seco nd part of his book then in the third part of his book, he talks about â€Å"Developing countries and the flat world.† He shows how America is the world power and is economically at advantage due to her technological advancement. He also highlights the problems and challenges in the American society but he is adamant, optimistic and envisages what the American economy will be like in future. As for developing countries, Friedman in the third part of his book suggests the necessary steps to be taken in order to meet up the high speed of development other countries have attained. He uses Ireland as an example of a willing society and leaders with vision and how these factors helped propel Ireland from a less developed European country to an advanced one. (Duiker, 231) In part four, Friedman talks about â€Å"companies and the flat world† while in part five of his book, â€Å"Geopolitics and the flat world† is discussed. In part four, Friedman explains seven factor s which are responsible for the growth of companies and he advices other smaller companies to emulate the already advanced ones.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The World is Flat specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Then in part five, he talks about international politics of the world and envisages problems that might arise from the flattened world. Here, he suggests the application of â€Å"Dells theory of conflict prevention.† Friedman believes that if flattening is not handled properly, it might also come with its demerits and he cites terrorist and global warming as examples. (Friedman, 421) Conclusion Globalization has demerits just as anything else in life. There are always two sides to every career, scientific discovery and a new technology invented or a world trend like globalization. However, you will agree with me that, the gains or merits that are achieved from globalization greatly supersede the demer its and it is therefore, worth the risk. It can then be inferred that, the trend towards globalization is a right step in the right direction which is worth taking regardless of its disadvantages. This means it requires more than just offsetting a simultaneous trend to fragment globalization. With the constructive argument above, it can be reasonably concluded that, between William Duiker and Thomas Friedman, Friedman is correct amongst the two writers. Duiker, William. Contemporary world history: Georgetown University: Wadsworth, 2010. Print Friedman, Thomas. The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. New York: Allen, 2009. Print.