You Are What You Read

You Are What You Read You Are What You Read You Are What You Read By Michael Readers often ask how to improve their English writing skills when English is not their native language and they dont live in an English-speaking country. My advice? Do it the way I did. Imitate me. But Michael, you may object, English is your native language and youve lived your whole life in an English-speaking country. So okay, dont imitate me. Imitate somebody else. But its vital that you imitate somebody. You cant gain skill in a language, whether or not its your native language, without imitating those who are more skilled than you. In the case of language learning, listen to BBC Radio in English. Read English language websites. Dont worry that you cant (yet) speak or write as well as other people. In fact, at first, you shouldnt even try. You have to take in before you put out. How much did you speak during your first year? How well did you speak during your second year? A friend of mine, an expert in language learning, advises people to follow the example of little children. Listen for a year or two before you try to speak. Some writers would do well to take that advice, to read much more than they write, if they really want to learn how to write. Read the works of the best writers in English that you can find. If that doesnt leave you enough time to read low-quality popular magazines, thats even better. Read the writers who write the way you want to write someday. Read books written in a voice similar to yours. That means, of course, that you have to know yourself and your communications style well enough to recognize a similar voice when you hear it. Hopefully, it will be writing that you enjoy reading. But be true to yourself. Dont pretend to be what youre not. Many people want to dress like movie stars because they want to look like movie stars. Except that they dont. They would do better to dress like themselves. It would be more attractive. My formal education gave me only a small portion of my writing style, my grammar, my vocabulary, even my spelling. I learned most of it from reading. Theres another reason to read only the best literature: if you see a word misspelled or misused too many times, you will start to assume that its correct. What determines the meaning or spelling of a word is how it has been used or spelled over many years. Even the Oxford English Dictionary justifies its entries with quotations from literature. Two of the greatest influences on my writing style are G.K. Chesterton and Rudolf Flesch. Chesterton taught me that varying your word choice for its own sake (what my English teacher called elegant alternation when I was 14) isnt necessary, that repeating the same word may be more powerful or humorous. Flesch taught me that short sentences are easier to understand, even if some writers think that long sentences make them seem more intelligent. Other writers might consider Chesterton and Flesch too blunt or direct for them to imitate. Their own personality is more gentle and their writing must reflect that. Find your own writing models. But choose them carefully. Your writing becomes like your reading. You are what you read. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Using "a" and "an" Before WordsDeck the HallsHow Do You Pronounce "Often"?

Women too apologetic in the boardroom - Emphasis

Women too apologetic in the boardroom Women too apologetic in the boardroom The language women use in meetings could be holding them back in business, according to new research. The study, an 18-month long examination of the speaking patterns of men and women within seven major companies, was run by applied linguistics lecturer Dr Judith Baxter. The biggest difference Dr Baxter noticed between the sexes was womens tendency to use humour, self-deprecation and apologetic language, apparently to avoid conflict. Indeed, they were found to be four times more likely to employ these techniques than men, who tended to be more direct and openly confrontational. And this could be undermining their own authority and making them look weak and defensive. [Women] have to work really hard to hit the right note with their colleagues, says Dr Baxter. I have seen a woman use all the wrong linguistic strategies, and she lost the room. This problematic habit occurs most, it seems, where women feel particularly outnumbered by men in meetings. And given that only 12.5 per cent of FTSE-100 company board members are women, the issue looks to have the makings of a vicious circle.

Heat Transfer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Heat Transfer - Essay Example Distillation columns are in two categories; continuous and batch-process. The batch-process distills one batch of mixtures at a time; introduction of fresh batches only happens once the first batch is over. A continuous column feeds constantly on fresh mixture. The units deal with a continuous feed streams uninterruptedly (Nisenfeld & Seemann 1981). Distillation columns are vital in the industrial arena e.g. in distillation of crude oil. Crude oil heats to 350-400oC, and, the vapor and the liquid channeled into the distilling column. The vapor rises as it passes through the perforated plates and the liquid falls to the bottom. The hydrocarbons which are heavier condense faster and settle on the lower trays. The lighter hydrocarbons remain longer in their vapor state and later condense on the higher trays. A heat exchanger cools distillates. Distillation occurs at tremendously high temperatures. The columns use an air cooled heat exchanger for cooling. A heat exchanger is equipment built for transfer of heat from one medium to another, efficiently (Nellis & Klein, 2009). Heat exchangers find their uses in refrigeration, power plants, sewage treatment, air conditioning, and natural gas processing and petroleum refineries. The air cooled heat exchanger is a pressure vessel whose function is to cool the circulating fluid in finned tubes by forcing ambient air, by directing the heat to water or air. The radiator of a car is an example of an air cooler. The objective of using an air cooled heat exchanger is to increase the efficiency of a plant, and its environmentally friendly effect of not requiring an auxiliary supply of water and no water treatment chemicals required, compared to cooling tower counterparts. The problems of chemical and thermal pollution from cooling fluids do not exist while using the air cooled heat exchanger (Kroger, 2004). Industrial applications, which do not have a reliable water

World View Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World View - Essay Example Culture is quite a flexible and fragile phenomenon, a feature which gives it extensive dynamism. Therefore, it changes easily and can be easily lost because it only exists in the minds of people. Culture determines many aspects of the lives of people. It has a strong influence on government, formal language, architecture, and a host of other products of human creativity (O’Neil, 1 – 4). Human culture occurs in three levels. The first one is the collection of cultural traditions that are unique to a society. An example of this is Japanese culture. The second level of culture is a subculture. In societies composed of groups of people who have come from a number of different parts of the world, individuals usually retain their culture, which distinguishes them from the rest of society. The third level of culture is cultural universals, which consists of behavioral patterns that people learn and collectively share all over the world. Examples of cultural traits characterist ic of cultural universals are; the use of gender and age to classify individuals within the society, and the division of labor on a gender basis (O’Neil, 4 – 7). Mythology Mythology is a body of myths possessed by a particular society. A myth is a narrative of a sacred nature that provides an explanation as to why the humankind or the world transformed to become as it is now. Myths usually contain supernatural characters and religious leaders of the society usually endorse them. Myths are part of the culture of a society and, therefore, play a decisive role in shaping that society’s behavioral patterns. This is especially because they substantially influence a society’s religious beliefs.

Euros right Essay Example for Free

Euros right Essay The radical right refers to parties with two basic characteristics. To begin with their perception of the nation is more ethnic than anything else and consequently they aim at defending the country from any possible external threats (Art, 2007, Pp 332). Right-wing parties are also populist in nature due to the fact that their political strategy involves attacking the government of the day and generally aims at tapping into the frustrations, insecurities and fears the regular citizen may have (Art, 2007 Pp 332). They are right-wing because of their opposition of socialism and more restrictive policies on immigration. They are different from the far right because they support welfare programs, rights of gay people, freedom of expression, gender equality and separation of church and state. The parties’ ideology is such that they present themselves as the guardians and protectors of liberal ideas that are traditional (Akkerman, 2005 Pp 337-354) Radical right wing populist gained its first significant successes with the appearance of the French National Front and British national party in the 1980s. James Schwarzenbach of Switzerland pioneered this trend in ideology in the beginning of the 1970s. The Front National rose in France in 1983, scoring approximately above 155 of the votes in regional elections and gaining 35 seats in the legislative election of 1986. Its support had reached a peak by 1997 at more than 14% but the support later dropped to 4% (www. stanford. edu/group/SHR/s-2/patton. html). The support of the Republicans in the European parliament decreased with a swing that favored the far right National Democratic Party of Germany. The party held a 1. 6% vote majority garnering up to an estimate 9% of the regional votes. (Jesuit and Mahler, 2004 pp25) The situation in Switzerland is slightly different. When the popularity of the Swiss Democrats and the Swiss Freedom Party grew in the 1990s they were absorbed by the Swiss People’s Party. The Swiss Party had an assertive campaign which was mainly right-wing and populist. The campaign enabled the party to acquire an estimated 28. 5% of the popular vote in 2007. The Austrian Freedom Party, another right wing party in Western Europe had great success in 1999 and formed a coalition government. The List Pim Fortuyn also formed a coalition government in 2002 and in Scandinavia the Danish People’s Party, the rightwing party has had various small successes. Jesuit and Mahler, 2004 pp26-27). The success of the right-wing political parties can be attributed to several factors. Among these are immigration, economic distress (usually levels of unemployment are used); social welfare state polices, weakening of established part systems and the proportionality of the electoral system. The support for Right wing political parties has been argued to arise from the fact that there is an increase in the multi-culturalization of the societies of west-European. In response to this, most voters have opted to support right-wing parties due to the fear of loss of a national identity as the ideology of right wing parties is against immigration. Another side to this immigration argument is that when there are high levels of immigration high unemployment levels result. This has the effect of making immigration undesirable hence increasing support for right wing parties. Another issue associated with immigration is an increase in crime which serves to make immigration even more undesirable. In effect, a high immigration rate has a favorable effect on the electoral process for the right wing parties when the economic situation is negative (Jesuit and Mahler, 2004, Pp 5). A study by Elisabeth Ivarsflaten found that the right wing parties that were successful in preceding elections; the Swiss SVP, Dutch LPF, the Front National of France had successful grievance models addressing the immigration crisis. The Austrian FPO had least success in mobilizing grievances about immigration policy and was consequently the least successful in the electoral process (Ivarsflaten, 2006, Pp17). The successful parties were more successful compared to the parties of the left which did not mobilize grievances about immigration policies. According to the study other grievance models such as economic grievance models and political elitist grievance models did not have much success in drawing voters to the right populist parties (Ivarsflaten, 2006 Pp 1-2). The radical right wing parties by focusing on a politics of resentment have capitalized on the sense of frustration by most blue-collar workers, the unemployed, less-educated and the retired and younger voters to garner support for their parties. The socially disadvantaged are more likely to blame ethnic minorities for the deterioration of conditions and to support protection of the culture while the criticizing the government (Norris, 2005, Pp 5). A five-nation comparison study found that professionals and white-collar employees have consistent under-representation in the right wing parties (Norris, 2005 Pp 6) The interaction between existing major political parties and right wing political parties facilitated by an open coalition market has contributed to the success and stability of the right wing populist parties significantly. Other political parties have had the effect of empowering the right wing populist parties by cooperating with them or being agnostic to the far right, right wing parties. Cooperation has led to increased legitimacy of the populist parties making the process of voter recruitment easier and thus increasing their support. In addition upon becoming legitimate, political entrepreneurs are drawn to the populist parties making them into a more permanent force within the party system (Art, 2005, Pp 332). This is evident from the success of the Austrian Freedom Part (FPO). The FPO formed a coalition with the conservative Austrian People’s Party (OVP) in 2000. In Austria other factors like support by the media contributed to the FPO’s support and eventually stability in the country. The Krone, Austria’s largest newspaper provided Jorg Haider with a sort of free advertising and at a time when the FPO suffered political setbacks the Krone was a significant ally. Haider received favorable commentaries and the editorials lauded him in a big way. The effect of Krone’s campaign was notable fro the state elections of 1991 which resulted in FPO winning about 22. percent of the vote. This was despite the fact that Heider had been dismissed following a comment that the Third Reich’s employment policies were better than those of the government at the time. Many thought that Heider’s political career was over but the Krone came to the rescue with the editorial staff defending his comments so much that Krone received letters from the public defending Heider or lauding the editor’s (Nimmerichter) commentaries on the issues (Art, 2005, Pp 342-343). The media thus has large political might as far as shaping the attitude of readers is concerned. By bombarding readers with unambiguous messages, the direction that voters take can be influenced especially by those papers that have large circulation rats such as the Krone in Austria. Radical right-wing involvement in coalition governments is one of the factors that are sustaining most right wing political parties. Many right wing parties are now participating in government leading to a sort of convergence towards the middle and also altering the policies of various main politic parties. Following the legislative election of 2004 the Danish People’s part helped to form a coalition government in which it got recognition as a support party for the Liberal-Conservative government. This has led to the party functioning as the main coalition partner for the government in daily politics. The Danish People’s Party received five chairmanships and six vice-chairmanships of committees in parliament. In addition, reform packages that made immigration policy were part of the benefits for the Danish People’s party (Rydgren, 2006, pp8). The political discourse between rights wing political parties and the center-right is increasing in many countries with the aim of securing wins and ensuring that office is not lost to the left. Participation of right wing political parties is exemplified in the case of Austria where the FPO ahs made deals with both the SPO and the OVP. The strategy of the main central right parties is to tame the right wing by including them in government. The Grand coalition of the OVP and SPO actually started implementing some of the FPO policies before the party (FPO) began to participate in the coalition government. This was an attempt by the OVP and SPO to reduce the attraction of the FPO by taking the initiative to act before FPO could do so. This however worked against them because Heider continued to increase his demands whenever the government came close to meeting them. For instance, the government implemented a policy that focused on integration of the already existing immigrants by Heider, put in new demands of repatriation (Bale, Pp 76-77). In Italy, the right wing populist party, the Lega Nord was also involved in a coalition government with Forza Italia. The Movement Sociale Italiano (MSI) was successfully turned into the Alleanza Nationale (AN) as Gianfranco Fini made an attempt at convergence so that the far right could be brought in from the cold. (Bale, 2003 pp 78). Again, Fini’s attempt was supported with the aim of making the coalition party more likely to win the elections. There is also the element of taming the right-wing political party as claimed by Silvio Berlusconi. The effect this had on Fini’s party is that the party moved beyond fascism leaving the Lega Nord as the main party concerned with immigrant- bashing (bale, Pp 78). It should also be noted that the coalition had the effect of influencing Berlusconi’s statements on immigration for example he suggested that police could be allowed to shoot ‘scafisti’ and speedboats that provided transportation means for illegal immigrants. This shows that to some degree the coalition influenced immigration policy or the thoughts on immigration policy of politicians in other parties. The Netherlands has had a continued cross-consensus among central-right parties and the right wing populist parties. This has led to the tightening of immigration and asylum regime of Netherlands over the years. This however may not be attributed to the effect of right populist parties because the Dutch centre-right has not been very encouraging of discussion with the right wing parties. This however, can be explained by the fact that the far-right parties were not as isolated as implied by moist international media sources hence heir views were not entirely unwelcome or seen as extreme. In addition, the politicians in the centre-right were not as tolerant of immigrants and progressive as presented by the foreign media. As such tightening immigration rules was acceptable to both the centre-right and populist parties. To avoid loss of support from following economic and social policies that reflect a centrist image most coalition governments are lived up to their campaign pledges and promises. In Denmark, the immigration laws were made tighter by putting stricter criteria for acceptance, increasing the period of waiting for the residency, making it more difficult for a foreigner to bring in a spouse and making it easier for the spouse to leave following a divorce. The benefits for those waiting were also reduced. The support by the public though not unanimous was high. The changes were also accompanied by reductions in public spending on the budgets leading to increased criticism from the centrist voters. (Bale, 2003 pp 79-80) In Austria, the FPO integration contract was unopposed by OVP. The contracts made integration harder, it basically required nationals of other countries (except European Union nationals) to pay for language courses and citizenship failure to which would lead to fines and deportation. This reform agenda also had on its list privatization, reduction of expenditure on welfare, education and health with an increase of expenditure on law and order budgets. The Italian right wing government has kept its promise of immigration policy but was met with much criticism from businesses due to decrease in availability of labor. Consequently Berlusconi allowed his right-wing partners to take the credit for the decline in crime apparently attributed to stricter laws on foreigners, so they could also take the rap for the market-labor issues brought about by the tougher laws on immigration. The effect of the short-lived coalition government of the CDA with the right-wing LPF also resulted in tougher laws on foreigners with requirements for payment for language classes and laws that made it difficult for the foreigners to be united with their spouses. A coalition agreement of June 2002 also announced the plans of the government to pursue illegal immigrants with the aim of damping down on businesses that employed them (Bale, 2003, pp 79-81). Generally the ride and stay of the right wing parties to power has led to a revision of immigration policies in those countries where the populist parties have been successful. The populist parties by their participation and activities in government have lead to increase in the legitimacy of the ideology of these right wing parties. In addition the center-right has given greater salience to the issues campaigned for by the far-right. This is because of the effect the mainstream center-right has on the media; their capacity at agenda-setting contributes to bringing the issues to the forefront. The center-right inclusion of right-wing parties in government has led to wins against the far-left. Voters who would have voted for the far-left are attracted to the ideology of the right wing populists. Though the right-wing has made much progress, their future is bleak. This is because of the fact that the programs of these parties is not in line with capitalism which is the main force behind globalization. For the economy of European countries to grow labor has to be exported because the continent generally has an aging population. This means that immigration is necessary and because the right wing parties do not oppose capitalism, they are likely to agree to demands of the business community concerning immigration causing them to implement policies that they were against, leading to loss of their populist appeal. Globalization is a greater force to deal with which cannot be challenged by nationalistic politics. The pressure of opposition to right wing politics is evidence that politics is not moving to the right only. When Le pen was successful in France, many youth took to the streets to protest against the National Front: far left candidates won about 10 percent of the popular vote in the first round of the elections and also in countries like Sweden and Germany the right-wing movement has been mainly unsuccessful. These factors will serve to temper the progress and prevalence of right-wing politics.

Childhood and Adulthood in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Essa

Childhood and Adulthood in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger   Ã‚  Ã‚   Holden Caulfield sees childhood as the ideal state of being. He thinks adulthood is filled with corrupt people. The only way anyone can win in the adult world is if the cards are stacked in his favor. The characters in The Catcher in the Rye play a diverse set of roles in the war between childhood and adulthood.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Children do not think of appearances very highly, but in order to be respected in the adult world you must always look your best. Holden did not care what people thought about him as long as he felt good. He would wear his red hunting cap backward (p. 18). He also would have his hair cut crew cut style, which is thought of as a kids haircut. Ackley is the absolute extreme of not just looking, bad but he also had terrible hygiene. He had mossy yellow teeth from not brushing them and bad acne(p.19). Adults always hide their imperfections to make themselves look good, but many are as Holden calls them, secret slobs (p. 27). Stradlater is a perfect example of this. He always shaves twice but never cleans his razor (p. 27). He will spend forever making sure his hair is perfect and all his clothes look just right. Sunny, the prostitute, bleaches her hair and dresses up nice to fit into the adult world (p.95). Mrs. Antolini, a married women, needs to look good when she goes out in public. The night Holden crashes there for a while, she looks terrible without her make-up and with rollers in her hair (p. 185). All that matters is she looks good by society's standards so she can be accepted into the adult world.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Children live on lasting compassionate memories, while adults go for empty sexual conquests. Holde... ... living. Mr. Antolini gets through to Holden a little better but is unable to keep his attention (p 181). Carl Luce is just a few years older than Holden and basically tells him he is immature and will always be the same (p. 136).Kids really want things to stay the same while adults want things to change and grow quicker than they should.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Holden seems to be the only one fighting this war. When he makes an adult decision he always gets sick. When someone he loves makes an adult decision Holden gets very mad. The more he tries to keep kids from turning into adults the more depressed he becomes. As he goes crazy, life will become hell for him.       Childhood prolonged, cannot remain a fairyland. It becomes a hell (Louise Bogan).       Work Cited    Salinger, J.D.   The Catcher in the Rye.   Boston: Little, Brown, 1991.

Plato’s Republic

Thrasymachus takes the cynical but honest view, that there is more benefit in plainly appearing just than there is in actual being just. He does not necessarily refer to hypocritical villains, those who deliberately nurture a veneer of a socially just man in order to reap personal benefit. He could also be referring to those who have convinced themselves that they are good, apart from society recognizing them as good. As an example of the first we could take Moliere’s Tartuffe. He has entered the household of Orgon with deliberate intent to appropriate for himself the property of his landlord. He takes note of the superficial natures of Orgon and his mother, both of them who are fond of shows of piety and uttering platitudes. He tailors his conduct exactly to please these two. He makes sure that religion is always pouring from his lips. His conduct is always immaculate in the presence of them, and he is never short of advice to the others, who hold him is various degrees of suspicion, regarding the pious and just life. Tartuffe is not only a hypocrite but also a calculating villain. He is the sort that works his way to social standing and privilege by express knowledge that the larger part of society is weak to such charms. It is easy to see that anyone in Tartuffe’s position would lose out by trying to be really just to those he encounters. The counter argument to this is that villains like Tartuffe are usually found out in the end, and therefore suffer in the long run, at the hands of the same society. For example, Tartuffe overreaches himself when he tries to seduce the wife of Orgon, while at the same time courting their daughter. When he is found out he loses the favor of Orgon, after which point he resorts to outright villainy. But when Thrasymachus argues for the appearance of virtue he also has the example of Orgon in mind. For Orgon, and even more so for his mother, the appearance of virtue is the most important thing. So important is it to them that they do not realize that they a dealing with appearances. They believe themselves to be virtuous because they abide by the rules of conventional virtue and piety. Orgon is a wealthy man, and it is clear that his wealth is derived through his ability to adapt. He has no concern whether justice is really done, but only that it should appear to be done. He is so blinded by the show of virtue of Tartuffe that he does not even suspect ulterior motives in his lodger wanting to wed his daughter. When the daughter complains he signs away his property to the lodger in a show of defiance. Of course, his blindness is the cause of his ruin in the end, which is shown for dramatic purposes. But the general argument remains, which is that the likes of Orgon prosper is society. He does enquire into true justice, and any effort in this direction would disrupt his social standing from the root. The likes of Orgon happily give charity to murderers. The vanity of giving blinds them to all other considerations. The mistake of Thrasymachus is that he considers contingent benefits and fails to arrive at a comprehensive account. To provide such an account is extremely difficult, and part of the difficulty is that the listener must have an open and enquiring mind to be able to grasp the subtleties of it. This is why Socrates (Plato) provides three different explanations of why the just life is preferable to the unjust one, and the three responses are suited to the three different attitudes of the questioners. The rich Cephalus is smug in his righteousness that he repays his debts, and that he gives to charity. He is confrontational, and therefore it is only possible to contradict his smug assertions bluntly. This is why Socrates merely asks him to consider whether the returning of a weapon to its rightful owner, a murderer, is justice. Thrasymachus is more constructive. He claims that justice is merely what the powerful impose on the weak. To this Socrates argues that all constructive activity has the powerful acting in favor of the weak, not the other way round, as Thrasymachus contends. If justice be admitted to be constructive then Thrasymachus’ is plainly wrong. The more subtle argument concerning harmony is reserved for the honest enquiries of Adeimantus and Glaucon. Justice is introduced now as a harmony in a body, where the ruling part subdues and controls the rest of the body, so that no part is in discord with another. The final notion is not easy to grasp, for it seems to imply that rulers must have complete wisdom in order to rule, for only with complete wisdom will they be infused with the sense of harmony that is required to effect justice. As a first example we take a football team. The manager of the team is the ruling part of this body. If he can effect harmony here, between all the players, and each of them with himself, then the team will win consistently. But this very success is bound to bring problems. If the team is so good that it never loses, then after a point the players lose motivation, they become complacent. Only after a few bad losses are they able to regain their efficient level again. Complacency, however, is the least evil. Success brings in its train a plethora of evils, all capable of disrupting the harmony. The players begin to nurture big egos and there are personality clashes. In dire circumstances they had all stuck together; but with success even the manager is not beyond reproach anymore. Faced with all these problems the manager becomes more and more dictatorial rather than wise, and this in itself is a cause for disruption. The same is true of any organization. A company starting from scratch is fired with a zeal that is conducive to harmony amongst its employees. But we cannot call such a company absolutely harmonious before it begins to reap enormous profits, because harmony must be equated with success. We are applying the word â€Å"harmony† in the strict sense here, meaning that something in harmony cannot have discordant parts. A company that in unprofitable is not in harmony. Only when it has reached the very top of the field can we begin to harbor such notions as perfect harmony. Then again, the higher is aspires the less and less is management able to maintain harmony. Managers themselves start to look after their own instead of the interests of the business. And so we observe in real life that managers award themselves huge pay packets even when the business is floundering. The arguments of Socrates are always in favor of universals and opposed to particulars. Particular justice, or particular virtue, will not always make sense, but this is only because the all-encompassing or universal picture evades us. Socrates confesses that he does not know what justice is, or what virtue is, or what truth is. To know these would mean having a universal idea in the mind, which is not possible. If the arguments of Socrates mean anything, they are means by which one comes to believe in the universal ideal, becomes convinced that it exists. And so one must not despair if injustice or untruth appears to have the upper hand. Skeptics may easily cast doubt on the existence of universals. They might argue along the lines that we have no experience of universals. That all experience is particular and contingent, and that it is pedantic to introduce the notion of universals. They might say that all justice is merely a point of view. Different cultures evolve with different notions of justice, and this is the principle reason why nations go to war with each other, to fight for a particular notion of justice, or for certain ideas about beauty. The skeptics might argue that if there was a universal idea of justice then it would have been discovered by now and nations would live in peace. In response to such arguments Plato would emphasize existence. For example, people use the word â€Å"table† in everyday discourse. It doesn’t seem to spread confusion, but instead facilitates understanding. But this is strange, because there is no standard table in the world. All tables are different from each other. This difference is a source of confusion. And yet people from diverse cultures and diverse walks of life get away by simply mentioning the word â€Å"table†, and things are immediately clear to all parties as to what is being said. Such fluent communication would be impossible if not every mention of â€Å"table† was referring to a standard. And if this standard does not exist in the material world, then it surely exists transcendentally, something which Plato calls the world of ideals. We could not imagine the ideal table, for every effort in this direction would spring up a particular table. But it is an overwhelming certainty that we have language and communication, in the place of confusion and chaos. This is how Plato confirms the existence of universals. What is true of the word â€Å"table† is also true of the notions of justice, virtue and beauty. People hold relative notions of these, not only between cultures, but also between individuals of the same culture. The skeptics point to a cacophony in such matters, but they can never identify chaos. If difference was the norm, and no standard had ever prevailed, we must judge that there has been time enough for all structure to break down. But what we see in human society is miraculous as it is. The most miraculous structure of them all is the Republic. People can always find fault in the way the state is run. But if they could see things plainly, free from every sort of bias, they could not help marvel at the very existence of the Republic. It is a place where individuals meet with common notions of justice, virtue and beauty. So the existence of the state is a testimony that universal justice exists, as do universal virtue and universal beauty. Plato uses the existence of the Republic to prove that universal justice exists, and that the just life is preferable to the unjust one. Plato’s Republic Thrasymachus takes the cynical but honest view, that there is more benefit in plainly appearing just than there is in actual being just. He does not necessarily refer to hypocritical villains, those who deliberately nurture a veneer of a socially just man in order to reap personal benefit. He could also be referring to those who have convinced themselves that they are good, apart from society recognizing them as good. As an example of the first we could take Moliere’s Tartuffe. He has entered the household of Orgon with deliberate intent to appropriate for himself the property of his landlord. He takes note of the superficial natures of Orgon and his mother, both of them who are fond of shows of piety and uttering platitudes. He tailors his conduct exactly to please these two. He makes sure that religion is always pouring from his lips. His conduct is always immaculate in the presence of them, and he is never short of advice to the others, who hold him is various degrees of suspicion, regarding the pious and just life. Tartuffe is not only a hypocrite but also a calculating villain. He is the sort that works his way to social standing and privilege by express knowledge that the larger part of society is weak to such charms. It is easy to see that anyone in Tartuffe’s position would lose out by trying to be really just to those he encounters. The counter argument to this is that villains like Tartuffe are usually found out in the end, and therefore suffer in the long run, at the hands of the same society. For example, Tartuffe overreaches himself when he tries to seduce the wife of Orgon, while at the same time courting their daughter. When he is found out he loses the favor of Orgon, after which point he resorts to outright villainy. But when Thrasymachus argues for the appearance of virtue he also has the example of Orgon in mind. For Orgon, and even more so for his mother, the appearance of virtue is the most important thing. So important is it to them that they do not realize that they a dealing with appearances. They believe themselves to be virtuous because they abide by the rules of conventional virtue and piety. Orgon is a wealthy man, and it is clear that his wealth is derived through his ability to adapt. He has no concern whether justice is really done, but only that it should appear to be done. He is so blinded by the show of virtue of Tartuffe that he does not even suspect ulterior motives in his lodger wanting to wed his daughter. When the daughter complains he signs away his property to the lodger in a show of defiance. Of course, his blindness is the cause of his ruin in the end, which is shown for dramatic purposes. But the general argument remains, which is that the likes of Orgon prosper is society. He does enquire into true justice, and any effort in this direction would disrupt his social standing from the root. The likes of Orgon happily give charity to murderers. The vanity of giving blinds them to all other considerations. The mistake of Thrasymachus is that he considers contingent benefits and fails to arrive at a comprehensive account. To provide such an account is extremely difficult, and part of the difficulty is that the listener must have an open and enquiring mind to be able to grasp the subtleties of it. This is why Socrates (Plato) provides three different explanations of why the just life is preferable to the unjust one, and the three responses are suited to the three different attitudes of the questioners. The rich Cephalus is smug in his righteousness that he repays his debts, and that he gives to charity. He is confrontational, and therefore it is only possible to contradict his smug assertions bluntly. This is why Socrates merely asks him to consider whether the returning of a weapon to its rightful owner, a murderer, is justice. Thrasymachus is more constructive. He claims that justice is merely what the powerful impose on the weak. To this Socrates argues that all constructive activity has the powerful acting in favor of the weak, not the other way round, as Thrasymachus contends. If justice be admitted to be constructive then Thrasymachus’ is plainly wrong. The more subtle argument concerning harmony is reserved for the honest enquiries of Adeimantus and Glaucon. Justice is introduced now as a harmony in a body, where the ruling part subdues and controls the rest of the body, so that no part is in discord with another. The final notion is not easy to grasp, for it seems to imply that rulers must have complete wisdom in order to rule, for only with complete wisdom will they be infused with the sense of harmony that is required to effect justice. As a first example we take a football team. The manager of the team is the ruling part of this body. If he can effect harmony here, between all the players, and each of them with himself, then the team will win consistently. But this very success is bound to bring problems. If the team is so good that it never loses, then after a point the players lose motivation, they become complacent. Only after a few bad losses are they able to regain their efficient level again. Complacency, however, is the least evil. Success brings in its train a plethora of evils, all capable of disrupting the harmony. The players begin to nurture big egos and there are personality clashes. In dire circumstances they had all stuck together; but with success even the manager is not beyond reproach anymore. Faced with all these problems the manager becomes more and more dictatorial rather than wise, and this in itself is a cause for disruption. The same is true of any organization. A company starting from scratch is fired with a zeal that is conducive to harmony amongst its employees. But we cannot call such a company absolutely harmonious before it begins to reap enormous profits, because harmony must be equated with success. We are applying the word â€Å"harmony† in the strict sense here, meaning that something in harmony cannot have discordant parts. A company that in unprofitable is not in harmony. Only when it has reached the very top of the field can we begin to harbor such notions as perfect harmony. Then again, the higher is aspires the less and less is management able to maintain harmony. Managers themselves start to look after their own instead of the interests of the business. And so we observe in real life that managers award themselves huge pay packets even when the business is floundering. The arguments of Socrates are always in favor of universals and opposed to particulars. Particular justice, or particular virtue, will not always make sense, but this is only because the all-encompassing or universal picture evades us. Socrates confesses that he does not know what justice is, or what virtue is, or what truth is. To know these would mean having a universal idea in the mind, which is not possible. If the arguments of Socrates mean anything, they are means by which one comes to believe in the universal ideal, becomes convinced that it exists. And so one must not despair if injustice or untruth appears to have the upper hand. Skeptics may easily cast doubt on the existence of universals. They might argue along the lines that we have no experience of universals. That all experience is particular and contingent, and that it is pedantic to introduce the notion of universals. They might say that all justice is merely a point of view. Different cultures evolve with different notions of justice, and this is the principle reason why nations go to war with each other, to fight for a particular notion of justice, or for certain ideas about beauty. The skeptics might argue that if there was a universal idea of justice then it would have been discovered by now and nations would live in peace. In response to such arguments Plato would emphasize existence. For example, people use the word â€Å"table† in everyday discourse. It doesn’t seem to spread confusion, but instead facilitates understanding. But this is strange, because there is no standard table in the world. All tables are different from each other. This difference is a source of confusion. And yet people from diverse cultures and diverse walks of life get away by simply mentioning the word â€Å"table†, and things are immediately clear to all parties as to what is being said. Such fluent communication would be impossible if not every mention of â€Å"table† was referring to a standard. And if this standard does not exist in the material world, then it surely exists transcendentally, something which Plato calls the world of ideals. We could not imagine the ideal table, for every effort in this direction would spring up a particular table. But it is an overwhelming certainty that we have language and communication, in the place of confusion and chaos. This is how Plato confirms the existence of universals. What is true of the word â€Å"table† is also true of the notions of justice, virtue and beauty. People hold relative notions of these, not only between cultures, but also between individuals of the same culture. The skeptics point to a cacophony in such matters, but they can never identify chaos. If difference was the norm, and no standard had ever prevailed, we must judge that there has been time enough for all structure to break down. But what we see in human society is miraculous as it is. The most miraculous structure of them all is the Republic. People can always find fault in the way the state is run. But if they could see things plainly, free from every sort of bias, they could not help marvel at the very existence of the Republic. It is a place where individuals meet with common notions of justice, virtue and beauty. So the existence of the state is a testimony that universal justice exists, as do universal virtue and universal beauty. Plato uses the existence of the Republic to prove that universal justice exists, and that the just life is preferable to the unjust one.

Lifespan Development Psychology Paper Essay

Lifespan Development Paper When studying the Lifespan Developmental stages throughout Chapter 1 of our textbook, I began to realize that I have traveled down some of the same common paths as my personal idols. Although most were dead long before I was ever conceived, I find it rather fascinating. The textbook states that Lifespan perspective is defined as lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual, and as a process that involves growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss. The human life expectancy has truly surpassed all other living animals from a house mouse that has a life span of a measly 3 years, to an Indian elephant that can live to be 70 years. Jeanne Calmet, who was the oldest living person, was born in Arles, France was born February 21, 1875 and died August 4, 1997. She was 122 years and 164 days old at the time of her death. Although most would love to live as long of life as Mrs. Calmet, that is somewhat unrealistic. The average life expectancy for people living within the United States of America is 78 years of age. That is a humungous leap from the average life expectancy of a man who lived during the Pre-historic which was the early age of 18. People go through many different changes as the world is ever changing. There are three different types of influences which include: 1) normative age-graded influences, 2) normative history-graded influences, and 3) nonnormative or highly individualized life events. Examples of normative age-graded influences are things that people of the same age go through together. Let’s take my twin sister and me as an example. At the early age of 1, we both began walking with 2 weeks of one another. Although not at the same time, we both were starting our menstrual cycles both at the age of 11 years old. In life we will experience menopause around the same time, and possibly even retirement within a short time between each other. Examples of normative history-graded influences would be people who have experienced history changing events with one another. How about two mothers who may live on the opposite sides of the United States, but both lost children as a result to fighting over in Afghanistan. They will never know one another but they will have a similar bond because they went through a similar event. Another would be the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Even I will never forget where I was and what I was doing on that fateful day. Lastly, examples of nonnormative or highly individualized life events could be anything from hitting it rich with the lottery, to an unexpected, devastating event like Hurricane Katrina. It may not have happened to all of us, but it influenced us all in different ways. When I began reading the part in Chapter 1 that was titled, â€Å"Women’s Struggle for Equality: An International Journey†, I was truly astonished by the figures. It is sad when I look around my neighborhood, and think that one in every six of these homes, a person is/was abused by their partner. Last weekend, my 10 year old son and I witnessed physical abuse as a girl was being drug as she was attempting to get into the passenger side of a vehicle while at our local Burger King. Then the teenage boyfriend began slapping her. My son and I were panicking to help this young girl whom we didn’t even know. I immediately called 9-1-1 and reported it to the authorities. The police arrived before we even left the parking lot, and I pray that this girl knows her worth in life, and realizes that she deserves better than that. The story in our textbook about Doly Akter, who is only 17 years of age and has lived her life in the slums of Bangladesh, is stepping out to do her part to help make her community a better one. She has created a club that is sponsored by UNICEF and goes door to door to monitor the hygiene and health of her neighbors. With her help, along with others that are a part of this phenomenal club, they are already seeing a major improvement in people’s health and hygiene. To make this story even better, she is talking to parents of girls to explain that arranged child marriages are not always in the best interest of these young ladies and staying in school will improve the lives of these girls. Health care in America has done amazing things for their citizens but still has a long way to go. I don’t want to imagine that when I become older, I only have a 52% chance of receiving the recommended proper care to treat something as important as heart disease. Along with the government regulated Medicare, and improper care for the millions of senior citizens in the United States, I can only hope that it gets better and fast to help these people. With the (2) factors that show that today’s senior citizens need our help more know that decades earlier, it should be our duty and privilege to help them. Going to your local Senior living facility and seeing the many, who have no spouses still living, or no family to talk to, they are forced to go through their later part of life, not really communicating with others.

102 Week 6 Journal Response Professor Ramos Blog

102 Week 6 Journal Response This week we have been learning about monster theory. For the journal this week, look for something related to monsters, or the theory we have been talking about. It can be a Halloween post, or it could be related to a movie, book, show, etc. Get creative this week. Whatever text you choose, try to connect it to our monster theory. How is it connected? What reminded you of our theory? Requirements are still the same. About 250 words, summary and response to the article/post/news/etc; aka text. Comment below with a link to the text and your summary and response.

Quotes to Inspire Educators

Quotes to Inspire Educators Teaching can be a tough profession, and educators might need a little inspiration to find motivation for that next class or lesson or even just to keep going. Plenty of philosophers, writers, poets, and teachers have provided pithy sayings about this noble profession over the centuries. Peruse some of these thoughts about education and be inspired. Inspiration A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on a cold iron. - Horace Mann Mann, an early-19th-century educator, wrote numerous books on the profession, including On the Art of Teaching, which was published in 1840 but is still relevant today. A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations. - Patricia Neal Neal, an Oscar-winning actress who died in 2010, was likely referring to movie directors, who can either act like masters dictating what they want their actors to do or motivate their thespians through inspiration and teaching. The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. - William Arthur Ward One of Americas most quoted writers of inspirational maxims, according to Wikipedia, Ward offered many other thoughts about education, such as this one listed by azquotes: The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome.    Conveying Knowledge I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think. - Socrates Arguably the most famous Greek philosopher, Socrates  developed the Socratic method, where he would throw out a string of questions that sparked critical thinking. The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. - Mark Van Doren A 20th-century writer and poet, Van Doren would have known a thing or two about education: He was an English professor at Columbia University for nearly 40 years. Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it. - Samuel Johnson Its not surprising that Johnson would have commented on the value of looking up information. He wrote and published A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755, one of the first and most important English-language dictionaries. The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change. - Carl Rogers A giant in his field, Rogers was the founder of the humanistic approach to psychology, based on the principle that to grow, a person needs an environment that provides genuineness, acceptance, and empathy, according to SimplyPsychology. The Noble Profession Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of man... - Horace Mann Mann, the 19th-century educator, warrants a second quote on this list  because his thoughts are so telling. The notion of education as a social tool- an equalizer that cuts through all socioeconomic levels- is a major tenet of American public education. If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others. - Tryon Edwards Edwards, a 19th-century theologian, offered this concept that applies equally to teachers and students. If you really want your students to show they understand the material, teach it to them first, and then have them teach it back to you. A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary. - Thomas Carruthers An expert on international democracy who has taught at several universities in the United States and Europe, Carruthers is referring to one of the hardest things for a teacher to do: let go. Educating students to the point where they no longer need you is one of the highest achievements in the profession. Miscellaneous Thoughts When a teacher calls a boy by his entire name, it means trouble. - Mark Twain Of course the famous 19th-century American writer and humorist had something to say about education. After all, he was the author of classic stories about the countrys two most famous fictional mischief makers: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater. - Gail Godwin An American novelist, Godwin took her inspiration for this quote from inventor Thomas Edison, who said, Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. - Derek Bok A former president of Harvard University, where obtaining a degree can cost more than $60,000 a year, Bok makes the convincing case that forgoing education can be far more costly in the long run. â€Å"If youre not prepared to be wrong, youll never come up with anything original.† - Ken Robinson Sir Ken Robinson frequents the TED TALK circuit, discussing how schools must change if educators are to meet the needs of the future. Often funny, he  sometimes refers to education as a death valley  that we must change in order to instill a climate of possibility in our youth.

Majoritarian vs. Consensus Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Majoritarian vs. Consensus Democracy - Essay Example two, I consider the Majoritarian model to be most applicable and closer in theoretical intent to democracy than the Consensus model but I would be neglecting my prime duties if I do not say that the Consensus model is more applicable in the real world and it the system to which I would give my vote if there was ever an election between the two theories. The first thing to be noted about democracy, as it is presented by Dahl (1956) is that it is â€Å"a state of affairs† (Pg, 50). It is not considered primarily a system of government or even a way of life since democracy has several prerequisites in terms of the level of civilization which a particular group of people must have before they can implement democracy. Perhaps that is why history records an age of kings before the time of the elected philosopher kings was recommended by social scientists. A certain level of sophistication in terms of culture and the way of life is an essential requirement for the establishment of democracy. In fact, this level of social sophistication is so important that it has been suggested that â€Å"The first and crucial variables to which political scientists must direct their attention are social and not constitutional† (Dahl 1956, Pg. 31). The problem comes into play when we notice that the demands of a truly democratic system can only be met by only a few countries. Very few cultures can lay a rightful claim to a Majoritarian model since the prerequisites are so high. On the same page, Dahl makes the observation that: â€Å"To say that perfect attainment of political equality and popular sovereignty is, by definition of terms, consistent only with the majority principle is not to enunciate a wholly useless proposition, but neither is it very helpful.† (Dahl 1956, Pg. 31) The Majoritarian model depends on several things which must be present in a system before such a democracy can be established. The first requirement is a mass participation in politics by people who know how