Friedrich Nietzsche Essay Example for Free

Friedrich Nietzsche Essay Existentialism provides a moving account of the agony of being in the world. The spirit of existen- tialism has a long history in philosophy. But it be- came a major movement in the second half of the 20th century. Existentialism is not a systematic body of thought like Marxism or psychoanalysis. Instead, it is more like an umbrella under which a very wide range of thinkers struggled with ques- tions about the meaning of life. Much of the appeal and popularity of Existential- ism is due to the sense of confusion, the crisis, and the feeling of rejection and rootlessness that Euro- peans felt during World War II and its aftermath. Existentialism’s focus on each person’s role in cre- ating meaning in their life was a major influence on the Phenomenological and Humanistic traditions in psychology and on the â€Å"human potential† move- ment that emerged from them. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) said, â€Å"Conquer your- self rather than the world. †. To modern existential- ists this means that the World itself has no real meaning or purpose. It is not the unfolding expres- sion of Human Destiny or a Divine plan, or even a set of natural laws. The only meaning is that which we create by acts of will. To have a meaningful life we have to act. But we should act without hope. Acting is meaningful but it doesn’t create meaning that lasts beyond the acts themselves or beyond our own lifetime. You are what you do – while you are doing it – and then nothing. (Very depressing. ) In The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus (pronounced â€Å"Kam-moo†) (1913-1960) describes life as a kind of hopeless, endless, uphill labor. Hence, the only true problem is that of suicide. Yet, he rejects nihilism; for the human being must fight and never accept defeat. The problem is to be a saint without a God. The last judgment takes place everyday. The human being must do his best, try for what he can within the confinements of his situation. Camus describes Sisyphus condemned by the gods to push a stone up a hill over and over, only to have it roll back down each time he reaches the top. A task that can never be completed. But he finds meaning in the fact that Sisyphus at least gets to decide each time whether to carry on or end it all. Camus says, The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a mans heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy. Although there can never be any meaning in Sisy- phus’ task, there is meaning is choosing each time to continue. Despite encompassing a staggering range of phi- losophical, religious, and political ideologies, the underlying concepts of existentialism are simple: Mankind has free will. Life is a series of choices, creating stress. Few decisions are without any negative conse- quences. Some things are irrational or absurd, without explanation. If one makes a decision, he or she must follow through. Notes on Existentialism by Tanweer Akram. The fundamental problem of existentialism is con- cerned with the study of being. The human beings existence is the first and basic fact; the human be- ing has no essence that comes before his existence. The human being, as a being, is nothing. This nothingness and the non-existence of an essence is the central source of the freedom the human being faces in each and every moment. The human being Notes on Existentialism Compiled for PSY 345 (Fall 2004) Existentialism Notes 2 has liberty in view of his situation, in decisions which makes himself and sets himself to solves his problems and live in the world. Thrown into the world, the human being is con- demned to be free. The human being must take this freedom of being and the responsibility and guilt of his actions. Each action negates the other possible courses of action and their consequences; so the human being must be accountable without excuse. The human being must not slip away from his re- sponsibilities. The human being must take deci- sions and assume responsibilities. There is no sig- nificance in this world, this universe. The human being cannot find any purpose in life; his existence is only a contingent fact. His being does not emerge from necessity. If a human being rejects the false pretensions, the illusions of his existence hav- ing a meaning, he encounters the absurdity, the fu- tility of life. The human beings role in the world is not predetermined or fixed; every person is com- pelled to make a choice. Choice is one thing the human being must make. The trouble is that most often the human being refuses to choose. Hence, he cannot realize his freedom and the futility of his existence. Basically existence is of two types: authentic and inauthentic forms of existence. Authentic existence is contrasted with dynamic and is the being-for- itself, rising from the human beings bad faith, by which the human being moves away from the bur- den of responsibility, through this beliefs in dogma and by regarding himself as subject to outside in- fluences and his actions to be predetermined. There is a striking contrast between the authentic and the inauthentic forms of being; the authentic being is the being of the human being and the inau- thentic being is the being for things. Yet, authentic being is only rarely attained by the human being; still it is what the human being must strive to gain. The inauthentic being-in-itself is characteristically distinctive of things; it is what the human being is diseased with for his failure to see himself as and act according as a free agent and his impotency to reject bad faith. Things are only what they are. But the human being is what can be. Things are deter- mined, fixed, and rigid; the human being is free; he can add essence to his life in the course of his life and he is in a constant state of flux and is able to comprehend his situation. The human being does not live in a pre-determined world; the human be- ing is free to realize his aims, to materialize his dreams; hence, he has only the destiny he forges for himself because in this world nothing happens out of necessity. The human being hides himself from freedom by self-deception, acting like a thing, as if he is a pas- sive subject, instead of realizing the authentic be- ing for the human being; this is bad faith. In bad faith, the human being shelter himself from re- sponsibility by not noticing the dimensions of al- ternative courses of action facing him; in bad faith, the human being behaves as others demand of him by conforming to the standards of accepted values and by adopting roles designed for him; in bad faith, the human being loses the autonomy of his moral will, his freedom to decide; in bad faith, the human being imprisons himself within inauthentic- ity for he has refused to take the challenge of re- sponsibility and the anxiety that comes along with his freedom. Anxiety ascends from the human beings realiza- tion that the human beings destiny is not fixed but is open to an undetermined future of infinite possi- bilities and limitless scope: The emptiness of fu- ture destiny must be filled by making choices for which he alone will assume responsibility and blame. This anxiety is present at every moment of the human beings existence; anxiety is part and parcel of authentic existence. Anxiety leads the human being to take decisions and be committed. The human being tries to avoid this anguish through bad faith. But the free human being, in his authenticity, must be involved; for his own actions are only his, his responsibility is to himself, his being is his own. The human being must be com- mitted. To be committed means not to support this in place of that, but to attach a human beings total- ity to a cause; it is the human beings existential freedom that leads to total commitment. Existentialist thinkers begin from the human situa- tion in the world; the condition of despair, the modes of existence, the human beings tendency to avoid authentic existence, his relation to things, his own body, and to other beings, with whom he can- not come into genuine communication, and the sufferings of life. Starting from the study of being, each existentialist thinkers originate their own doc- trines, with their own emphasis on particular as- pects. Very often their viewpoints is conflicting and sometimes contradictory; yet this philosophi-cal attitude of being, as a whole, can be described as the existentialist movement, which stresses upon the being of the human being. Existentialism Notes 3 Additional Notes on Existentialism Existentialism, philosophical movement or ten- dency, emphasizing individual existence, freedom, and choice, that influenced many diverse writers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Major Themes Because of the diversity of positions associated with existentialism, the term is impossible to define precisely. Certain themes common to virtually all existentialist writers can, however, be identified. The term itself suggests one major theme: the stress on concrete individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice. Moral Individualism Most philosophers since Plato have held that the highest ethical good is the same for everyone; inso- far as one approaches moral perfection, one resem- bles other morally perfect individuals. The 19th- century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, who was the first writer to call himself existential, reacted against this tradition by insisting that the highest good for the individual is to find his or her own unique vocation. As he wrote in his journal, â€Å"I must find a truth that is true for me . . . the idea for which I can live or die. † Other existentialist writers have echoed Kierkegaards belief that one must choose ones own way without the aid of universal, objective standards. Against the traditional view that moral choice involves an objective judgment of right and wrong, existentialists have argued that no objective, rational basis can be found for moral decisions. The 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche further contended that the indi- vidual must decide which situations are to count as moral situations. SubjectivityAll existentialists have followed Kierkegaard in s tressing the importance of passionate individual action in deciding questions of both morality and truth. They have insisted, accordingly, that per- sonal experience and acting on ones own convic- tions are essential in arriving at the truth. Thus, the understanding of a situation by someone involved in that situation is superior to that of a detached, objective observer. This emphasis on the perspec- tive of the individual agent has also made existen- tialists suspicious of systematic reasoning. Kierke- gaard, Nietzsche, and other existentialist writers have been deliberately unsystematic in the exposi- tion of their philosophies, preferring to express themselves in aphorisms, dialogues, parables, and other literary forms. Despite their antirationalist position, however, most existentialists cannot be said to be irrationalists in the sense of denying all validity to rational thought. They have held that rational clarity is desirable wherever possible, but that the most important questions in life are not accessible to reason or science. Furthermore, they have argued that even science is not as rational as is commonly supposed. Nietzsche, for instance, asserted that the scientific assumption of an orderly universe is for the most part a useful fiction. Choice and Commitment Perhaps the most prominent theme in existentialist writing is that of choice. Humanitys primary dis- tinction, in the view of most existentialists, is the freedom to choose. Existentialists have held that human beings do not have a fixed nature, or es- sence, as other animals and plants do; each human being makes choices that create his or her own na- ture. In the formulation of the 20th-century French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, existence precedes essence. Choice is therefore central to human exis- tence, and it is inescapable; even the refusal to choose is a choice. Freedom of choice entails com- mitment and responsibility. Because individuals are free to choose their own path, existentialists have argued, they must accept the risk and respon- sibility of following their commitment wherever it leads. Dread and Anxiety Kierkegaard held that it is spiritually crucial to rec- ognize that one experiences not only a fear of spe- cific objects but also a feeling of general apprehen- sion, which he called dread. He interpreted it as Gods way of calling each individual to make a commitment to a personally valid way of life. The word anxiety (German Angst) has a similarly cru- cial role in the work of the 20th-century German philosopher Martin Heidegger; anxiety leads to the individuals confrontation with nothingness and with the impossibility of finding ultimate justifica- tion for the choices he or she must make. In the philosophy of Sartre, the word nausea is used for the individuals recognition of the pure contin- gency of the universe, and the word anguish is used for the recognition of the total freedom of choice that confronts the individual at every mo- ment. Existentialism Notes 4 History Existentialism as a distinct philosophical and liter- ary movement belongs to the 19th and 20th centu- ries, but elements of existentialism can be found in the thought (and life) of Socrates, in the Bible, and in the work of many premodern philosophers and writers. Pascal The first to anticipate the major concerns of mod- ern existentialism was the 17th-century French phi- losopher Blaise Pascal. Pascal rejected the rigorous rationalism of his contemporary Rene Descartes, asserting, in his Pensees (1670), that a systematic philosophy that presumes to explain God and hu- manity is a form of pride. Like later existentialist writers, he saw human life in terms of paradoxes: The human self, which combines mind and body, is itself a paradox and contradiction. Kierkegaard Kierkegaard, generally regarded as the founder of modern existentialism, reacted against the system- atic absolute idealism of the 19th-century German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel, who claimed to have worked out a total rational understanding of hu- manity and history. Kierkegaard, on the contrary, stressed the ambiguity and absurdity of the human situation. The individuals response to this situation must be to live a totally committed life, and this commitment can only be understood by the indi- vidual who has made it. The individual therefore must always be prepared to defy the norms of soci- ety for the sake of the higher authority of a person- ally valid way of life. Kierkegaard ultimately advo- cated a â€Å"leap of faith† into a Christian way of life, which, although incomprehensible and full of risk, was the only commitment he believed could save the individual from despair. Nietzsche Nietzsche, who was not acquainted with the work of Kierkegaard, influenced subsequent existential- ist thought through his criticism of traditional metaphysical and moral assumptions and through his espousal of tragic pessimism and the life- affirming individual will that opposes itself to the moral conformity of the majority. In contrast to Kierkegaard, whose attack on conventional moral- ity led him to advocate a radically individualistic Christianity, Nietzsche proclaimed the â€Å"death of God† and went on to reject the entire Judeo- Christian moral tradition in favor of a heroic pagan ideal. Heidegger Heidegger, like Pascal and Kierkegaard, reacted against an attempt to put philosophy on a conclu- sive rationalistic basis—in this case the phenome- nology of the 20th-century German philosopher Edmund Husserl. Heidegger argued that humanity finds itself in an incomprehensible, indifferent world. Human beings can never hope to under- stand why they are here; instead, each individual must choose a goal and follow it with passionate conviction, aware of the certainty of death and the ultimate meaninglessness of ones life. Heidegger contributed to existentialist thought an original em- phasis on being and ontology as well as on lan- guage. Sartre Sartre first gave the term existentialism general currency by using it for his own philosophy and by becoming the leading figure of a distinct move- ment in France that became internationally influen- tial after World War II. Sartres philosophy is ex- plicitly atheistic and pessimistic; he declared that human beings require a rational basis for their lives but are unable to achieve one, and thus human life is a â€Å"futile passion. † Sartre nevertheless insisted that his existentialism is a form of humanism, and he strongly emphasized human freedom, choice, and responsibility. He eventually tried to reconcile these existentialist concepts with a Marxist analy- sis of society and history. Existentialism and Theology Although existentialist thought encompasses the uncompromising atheism of Nietzsche and Sartre and the agnosticism of Heidegger, its origin in the intensely religious philosophies of Pascal and Kierkegaard foreshadowed its profound influence on 20th-century theology. The 20th-century Ger- man philosopher Karl Jaspers, although he rejected explicit religious doctrines, influenced contempo- rary theology through his preoccupation with tran- scendence and the limits of human experience. The German Protestant theologians Paul Tillich and Rudolf Bultmann, the French Roman Catholic theologian Gabriel Marcel, the Russian Orthodox philosopher Nikolay Berdyayev, and the German Jewish philosopher Martin Buber inherited many Existentialism Notes 5 of Kierkegaards concerns, especially that a per- sonal sense of authenticity and commitment is es- sential to religious faith. Existentialism and Literature A number of existentialist philosophers used liter- ary forms to convey their thought, and existential- ism has been as vital and as extensive a movement in literature as in philosophy. The 19th-century Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky is probably the greatest existentialist literary figure. In Notes from the Underground (1864), the alienated anti- hero rages against the optimistic assumptions of rationalist humanism. The view of human nature that emerges in this and other novels of Dostoyevsky is that it is unpredictable and per- versely self-destructive; only Christian love can save humanity from itself, but such love cannot be understood philosophically. As the character Alyo- sha says in The Brothers Karamazov (1879-80), â€Å"We must love life more than the meaning of it. † In the 20th century, the novels of the Austrian Jew- ish writer Franz Kafka, such as The Trial (1925; trans. 1937) and The Castle (1926; trans. 1930), present isolated men confronting vast, elusive, menacing bureaucracies; Kafkas themes of anxi- ety, guilt, and solitude reflect the influence of Kierkegaard, Dostoyevsky, and Nietzsche. The in- fluence of Nietzsche is also discernible in the nov- els of the French writers Andre Malraux and in the plays of Sartre. The work of the French writer Al- bert Camus is usually associated with existential- ism because of the prominence in it of such themes as the apparent absurdity and futility of life, the indifference of the universe, and the necessity of engagement in a just cause. Existentialist themes are also reflected in the theater of the absurd, nota- bly in the plays of Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco. In the United States, the influence of exis- tentialism on literature has been more indirect and diffuse, but traces of Kierkegaards thought can be found in the novels of Walker Percy and John Up- dike, and various existentialist themes are apparent in the work of such diverse writers as Norman Mailer, John Barth, and Arthur Miller. Conclusion Existentialists make endless claims. They never bother to show how they reached their claims or if these are, indeed, true. The existentialists when he pretends to present a representation of reality pro- vides no cognition; unverifiable assertions may well express powerful and even necessary emo- tions and passions, but thats best left to the arts and literature. Existentialism is a highly passionate philosophy and, from the outset, seems to aim at a dynamic and fashionable life-style. Also it is mostly unsys- tematic and pays little attention to logic or science. Whatever one makes of its metaphysical claims, one cannot deny that existentialism was able to provide a moving account of the spirit of the con- temporary world and the nausea and frustration of survival. Indeed, it is basically for its richness in psychological insight and its impact on culture that existentialist philosophy will continued to be stud- ied.

World War II Essay Example for Free

World War II Essay For this assignment, you will complete the chart below that details the post-World War II gains and struggles of veterans, women, and African Americans. You will also use what you know to make predictions for each group. What struggles do you predict these groups will face in the decades to come? VeteransWomen African Americans What did they gain in World War II? Veterans were given a bill called the GI Bill of Rights, which guaranteed returning veterans a year’s worth of unemployment compensation and medical coverage for their deeds. the GI Bill paid for veterans’ job training and education too. Also, the GI Bill offered low-interest loans for buying a home or starting a business. For women, after their husbands returned home from the war, many of them had children. After having children, they had houses built and started families(baby boom). Lastly, for African Americans, although African American Veterans knew they were returning home to discrimination, it still didn’t stop many from entering the mainstream of sports and music. As the decades went on, African Americans gained the rights they deserved. What challenges did they face at the end of the war? At the end of the war, lots of veterans were out of jobs. Because of this, veterans struggled to give their families the necessities they needed. Women faced not working as a struggle because their husbands were off fighting abroad. After the war women went back to being treated as house mothers and men took over the job community. African Americans have always faced discrimination, so it was no surprise that they did even after the war. They were treated the same even after they fought for the same country that the white people did. What progress did they make in the postwar period? Post war Veterans began to work again to support their families. As they worked, they became normal Americans again. Women began working along with men and they found their places in society. They were no longer adressed as just house moms, they finally made a place for themselves in society. Lastly, African Americans began to be involved in sports . As people realized they were just like anyone else, they became more welcomed in society. What struggles might this group have in the decades to come?

Sociological Theories of Language and Power

Sociological Theories of Language and Power Given that sociological theories are just that- theories, it is impossible to say that they can sufficiently explain or define any aspect of our lives. However, sociological theories can help us to understand the way in we interact with each other and society thereby broadening our knowledge and perspectives. In the following discussion we will look briefly at some of the main sociological perspectives. We will then look at language as a means of communication and social interaction. Finally we will examine the relationship between language and power by exploring mass communication and its effect on social life. Sociology is concerned with society, with individuals in society, with institutions and with its norms and values. As Bilton et al state, social life is a puzzle and sociologists spend their professional lives trying to make sense of it. (2002 p4) Within sociology, there are several different influences which affect how theorists explain or attempt to explain social phenomena. These include functionalism, conflict theory and Marxism among others. Functionalism views the various parts of society as interrelated parts of a complete system. It sees behaviour as being structured and social relationships as being patterned and recurrent. It also emphasizes the role of value consensus within society. For example from a functionalist perspective, the family structure as a recurring social unit plays an important role in society. The family is the main socialising agency for young people and acts as a stabilising influence in society by propagating the shared norms and values of society (Har alambos and Holborn 1995, p8-9). In direct contrast, conflict theory is concerned with social structure as a cause and reflection of social inequality. Wallace and Wolf outline three basic assumptions of conflict theory. Firstly it assumes all people have basic common interests. Secondly that power is central to all relationships and thirdly it assumes that values and ideas are seen as weapons used by groups in their own interests rather than a way of defining society as a whole (1999, p68). It is similar to the Marxist perspective of society as operating through the fundamental conflicts of interests between the social groups involved in the production process (1995, p12). Another sociological perspective is structuralism, which was strongly influenced by the work of Sauserre in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Sauserre developed the study of linguistics by looking at language as it is structured. According to Sauserre, analysing the structures of language means looking for the rules which underlie our speech. He argued that the meaning of words is derived from the structures of language, not the objects to which they refer. In this way, meaning is created by the differences between related concepts which the rules of a language recognise (Giddens 1989, p698-699). The field of semiotics is largely derived from Sauserres work on linguistics. The semiotic approach that meaning is located in the sign, has important consequences for how we view culture and language and through these, power. Sauserre described semiotics as a science that studies the life of signs within a society. It is concerned with meaning as something which is socially produced and proposes that the decoding process of communication is as important as the encoding process. In semiotics, meaning is derived from signs through their structural organisation. Sauserre conceived of signs as being made up of the sound image, termed the signifier and the mental concept, termed the signified. In this way signs can differ between individuals. For example when one person in a group refers to a car, everyone would conceptualise a car but each persons car would be very different. According to Mulholland (1991, p17), language is the instrument by which meaning is realised and by which effective social interaction can be created and sustained. She adds, language is not a neutral toolwhenever one encodes something of the world into language one is fitting it into a systematic code which works to produce meaning both paradigmatically (by choice of one item from a similar set of items) and syntygmatically (by arranging choices into sentence patterns).This can influence how it works to represent both propositional content (the happenings of the world when they become the subject matter of speech) and interpersonal content (the attitudes, role, tone and so on of relationships) (Mulholland 1991, p18). Therefore language is much more than a set of words and phrases which we use to communicate. And aside from spoken or written language, communication is also achieved through body language, a look or a gesture can say all that needs to be said. Much of our communication is based on shared codes and cultures. Day to day conversations are based on a knowledge of ourselves and the people we are communicating with. However, there are many factors which influence how we communicate. For example, our audience, the context, the desired outcomes of the communication and shared terms of reference. For example teenagers may be comfortable talking together about the latest rap artists and may even adopt some of their lingo whilst their parents may have no idea what they are talking about. This is because the parents are not familiar with the context (rap) of the conversation. Another factor which affects communication is the power and relative status of the speakers. Consider for example being told to step aside on a pavement by a police officer. Most people would comply with the request since the police (generally speaking) have an authority bestowed on them by their uniform. Similarly, we are inclined to give credibility to news broadcasts because we believe that the newsreader has authority and therefore what he or she is telling us must be true. Although Eldridge (1993) and others have argued that news is just a social construction anyway and as such cannot be considered unique or impartial, it is not reality which is constructed but a semblance of it. (1993 p33) However many argue that the media and the language it uses is manipulated by those who are in power in order to reinforce and legitimate that power. According to Adorno and Horkheimer (1979) the media is a technological system which is grounded in economic power. They argue that through the m edia, power and social systems are reproduced which in turn reproduce forms of social inequality in which political and economic spheres are inextricably mixed (cited Eldridge 1993, p34). They argue that news as such is just the result of what is considered important or proper between a select and unrepresentative group of business people, reporters and officials. In contrast to this a pluralist conception of mass communication is that there is such an enormous flow of messages and images that we can choose among them which to believe and which to discard. The Marxist response to this is that whilst it is true that the media occupies a contested space which has economic, cultural and political constraints as well as commercial pressures, these merely lead to different patterns of domination and agenda setting. (Eldridge, p36) For example, Williams has stated the commercial character of television has then to be seen at several levels: as the making of programmes for profit in a known market; as a channel for advertising; and as a cultural and political form directly shaped by and dependent on the norms of a capitalist society, selling both consumer goods and a way of life based on them in an ethos that is at once locally generated, by domestic capital interests and authorities and internationally organised by the dominant capitalist power. (ci ted in Fairclough 1995, p43) Mass communication is frequently discussed in terms of its effect on listeners/ viewers/ readers. In this way, it can be said to be a powerful force in our everyday lives. Therefore the language it employs also has a certain power. The formal language of the newsreader for example implies knowledge and authority and we are inclined to trust this voice. Likewise, the more commercial an image becomes, the less we are likely to trust it. Conclusion Sociological theories such as structuralism are very useful in enhancing our understanding of language and power in society. By comparing differing theories of language and of power we may not come up with definitive answers but we are certainly more knowledgeable about the processes. Power is exerted through many different means and language is just one of these. However it is potentially a very influential source of power and one which is exploited wherever possible. This can be seen in many facets of social life from politics, economics even religion and popular culture.

Essay --

Literature Of The 1990's Culture – The Definition The word culture is a very broad-based term. Different people define culture in different aspects. People learn culture. That is culture's essential feature. The term culture is used to refer collectively to a society and its way of life or in reference to human culture as a whole. The Modern technical definition of culture, as socially patterned human thought and behavior, was originally proposed by the nineteenth-century British anthropologist, Edward Tylor. This definition is an open-ended list, which has been extended considerably since Tylor first proposed it. Some researchers have attempted to create exhaustive universal lists of the content of culture, usually as guides for further research. Others have listed and mapped all the culture traits of particular geographic areas. Barbarism Barbarism on the other hand, can be, or in fact is the exact opposite of culture. It is brutality and extremism, which definitely is not a part of culture in any sense at all. Lexically we define barbarism as, a brutal barbarous savage act, that is something not allowed by any culture. Barbarism is all about morals or rather no morals at all. Therefore, barbarism can rightly be termed as the devil in the cultured society. Relationship Between Culture And Barbarism It might not be very difficult to draw a relation between culture and barbarism. Barbarism starts right from where culture ends. It is the root cause of an uncultured society. Where culture is the strength of a healthy society, barbarism proves to be its destruction. Culture, as a body of learned behaviors common to a given human society, acts rather like a template (i.e. it has predictable form and content), shaping behavior and c... ... and physical being, this is the conception that now governs civilized humanity. It is, in essence, a return to and a larger development of the old Hellenic ideal, with a greater stress on capacity and utility and a very diminished stress on beauty and refinement; We may suppose, however, that this is only a passing phase; the last elements are bound to recover their importance as soon as the commercial period of modern progress has been over passed, and with that recovery, not yet in sight but inevitable, we shall have all the proper elements for the development of man as a mental being. References BOOKS Fugitive pieces - by Anne Michaels The God of Small Things – by Arundhati Roy WEBSITES http://sai.aros.net/aurobindo/barbarism.html http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vcwsu/commons/topics/culture/culture-definition.html http://www.princeton.edu/plasweb/courses/fall_2002.htm

Julia Ward Howe: More than the Battle Hymn :: Poet Julia Ward Howe Papers

Julia Ward Howe: More than the Battle Hymn "Mine Eyes have seen the coming of the Glory of the Lord†¦." Almost effortlessly the rest of the familiar tune comes rolling off the tongue. The battle Hymn of the Republic, a traditional and powerful patriotic hymn, will undoubtedly remain that way for years to come. However is the average American able to place a face with that tune? Julia Ward Howe was the bright mind behind the Battle Hymn, but she did not stop there. Howe's life and poetry succeeded in meshing contrasting religions and beliefs, as well as strengthen and challenge the freedoms of women during her time. In New York City, in the year 1819, Julia Ward was born into a strict Episcopalian Calvinist Family. Loosing her mother at a young age, Julia was raised by her father and an aunt. Not long after her mothers death Julia's father, a successful banker in the city, passed away, leaving Julia in the sole custody of her uncle. During her childhood she had been brought up believing in the strict and conservative views of Calvinism. Julia's mind was filled with the ideas and principles behind predestination and ramus logic, always encouraged to look for the hand of God first and then base everything else in society off of the premises she was taught (30). After the death of her father, Julia began searching for deeper meaning. She went through an intense period of revival as she attended church and became more and more involved with religious activities in the city. She soon began to notice, however, that men dominated this new conviction. Men wrote the sermons, men published the books, and men told her what she needed to do to become closer to God. Soon Julia's strict Calvinist kick would end (48). Prompted by Mary Ward, Julia took a winter "off" from any outside influences to get her thoughts in order. After this time she began to read and research Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson's introduction into Transcendentalism offered Julia the presence of God without the dominating male authority. Transcendentalism theory stressed the immanence of God and his active presence in everyone's life. She agreed with the idea that the bible was not meant to be taken literally, but that one's own intuition could lead to an understanding of God. These new and radical views for her time, coupled with her Calvinist upbringing, seems like it would be the recipe for disaster.

Making the Right Choices Essay examples -- Literary Analysis, Alonzo M

It may take many people to realize that the decisions they make today could possibly affect the outcome tomorrow and even later in life. When we are children, our parents and guardians are responsible for properly guiding us to make the right choices, they are the people who are supposed to teach us right from wrong and in most cases they are the people who reveals the many harsh realities of the world to us. Through childhood we may not worry about how the bills will get paid, or what job we will have when we are adults because for many people the answer to those questions often change with time. As we grow older it is up to us to follow their guidance and learn from what they have taught us and live in a society as one. Life is full of choices, some larger than others but during all stages of life we are given the opportunity to shape our own futures, make a difference in our community, and try to achieve our life goals. The decisions we make today could have an adverse affect on w hat we do tomorrow. In life, we are all faced with decisions regarding numerous life choices on a day to day basis. In Alonzo Mourning’s book â€Å"Resilience,† based on his experiences Mourning gives his audience suggestions to follow in his path to succeed in life to achieve our goals. We learn as adults that some of the choices we made in the past were not to our benefit, but we may not know the decision was wrong at the time. In many points in the book Mourning talks about the importance of having faith in God and praying about situations, because he feels his belief and faith in God is what gets him through many difficult times. When Mourning spoke with a young boy and his father regarding their common illness he advised the father, â€Å"Pray for it and ev... ... with people who are going to push you to work harder and make something of yourself. Having a strong support system will bring you a long way in life, just having people there to support you through good and bad times is something many others lack and forces them to give up. Through the many peer pressures in life, stay away from people who have bad qualities and indulge in drugs just for a â€Å"thrill† in life. Life is much better sober and once a person is addicted to drugs and other illegal substances, it is hard to recover. In life, friends will come and go, but if these â€Å"friends† don’t have your best interest at heart, then many you should rethink your friendship. Being skeptical is not a bad thing if your being cautious for yourself. As long as you try to follow these suggestions made by Alonzo Mourning, it will help you to succeed in life and achieve your goals.

Child Devlopment Essay

Cognitive Development consists of imagination, sequencing, problem solving and memory, all these are featured in the boy I observed, Aaron King who was the little boy I chose to observe. He is a four year-old preschooler at the above named learning center. I started observing Aaron at the beginning of their circle time. During the circle time, Aaron amongst other fourteen kids in his classroom, sang the popular American Song: â€Å"IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS†¦. † While singing this song, the children’s voices were up and loud which indicated that they enjoyed singing songs. Aaron’s participation was great, he was so excited about the choruses, clapping & stomping of his feet. All the children in turn repeated and imitated all the actions of the teacher; as she needed the audience and focus of the kids for easy understanding of the wordings including choruses of the song. Aaron standing close to two other kids, a boy and a girl sang the song with seriousness while clapping their hands & stomping their feet at the same time. The teacher taught the Safety signs briefly. The children’s literacy is very high while learning safety signs as they were very interested in the emphasis laid in the safety signs. In order to ensure that the children understood what they were taught, the teacher asked Aaron what a particular sign stood for which he answered correctly. For example, stop sign is signified by a red color while â€Å"no bicycle† sign is signified by a cross on a bicycle, so on and so forth. The teacher taught the kids about â€Å"Me† book which described the parts of the body, however, she asked Aaron to touch his hands, elbows & cheek which he did correctly. After singing the clapping song and some other songs, the teacher changed the activity to coloring books. Meanwhile, Aaron moved from one place to another. He jumped and hopped around the classroom showing excitement. At a time, the teacher had to sit him down â€Å"Aaron sit down and do your coloring†¦ † He sat down to color while another boy watched him doing the coloring. Bryan & Joy who sat together sharing the same table with Aaron were also coloring; they also talked to one another in friendly manner while looking at each other’s work. Aaron was as excited as he was coloring his book. He finished his coloring using nice colors to color different animals indicating that he had a good taste. He also made a ship with legos, I asked him why he made a ship, and he told me that he would like to be an architect. Aaron amongst others was able to write their names and figure out pictures on the paper. For example, the letter Bb for ball and drew a line to join the letter to the picture of ball. He was able to do that for all the alphabetic letters to compliment individual pictures on the paper. Soon, Aaron stood up to go to the library; as he got to the place where the inscription of â€Å"Quiet Zone† was, another boy ran towards him and pushed him together with the book that he just picked – â€Å"Alphabet adventure†. He staggered, but he immediately got control of himself while he looked so surprised that he was pushed without doing anything. He reported the matter to the teacher â€Å"Ms. Patty, Josiah push(ed) me†¦ † then the teacher told Josiah to say sorry to Aaron which he did, then they both hugged one another. Thereafter, he went to sit down quietly in the library corner to read his book. He opened up the book so fast as if he knew where to read, then he stirred at a page that really caught his attention and started reading quietly. In summary, Cognitive Development is a very important outcome of learning for preschoolers as they always have their brain developed through creative arts. This consists of imagination, sequencing, problem solving and memory; all these are featured in the boy I observed. Acting drama is acting another character by putting on the costumes – for example, acting as a professional doctor or a lawyer or a nurse can be an eye opener to the preschoolers on what profession they may aspire to be in the near future; Aaron wants to be an architect, he says he likes to put up beautiful buildings. A good imaginative skill is very important for preschoolers to become smart; similarly, sequencing – doing things in an orderly manner is also a good learning skill. Ultimately, Aaron Kingsland has all these qualities. Child Development 201 A Preschool Language & Literacy Development Observation Child’s Name: Aaron Kingsland (An imaginary name) Date: October 7th, 2011 Time: 9:00am – 11:30am. Observer’s Name: —————————————- Location:Early Creativity Learning Center Classroom LANGUAGE & LITERACY DEVELOPMENT OBSERVATION OF A PRESCHOOLER – 4 YEARS OLD. My observation of language and literacy in a preschool classroom for children of four and five years old was interesting. Aaron Kingsland (four years old) was the preschooler at the above named learning center whom I chose to observe. I started observing Aaron at the beginning of their circle time. The kids in the classroom were seventeen in number – eight girls and nine boys. I observed Aaron in particular in the class for two and half hours from the beginning of the circle time till the end. The primary language used by the teacher was English; Aaron also speaks same language as well as the whole class. Language is said to be a means of communicating ideas, & feelings. There are four basic developmentally appropriate practices and clear language outcomes in the preschool classroom I observed. They are Literacy Development, Intellectual, Physical, Social and Emotional Developments. Literacy is a very important developmental appropriate practice. The four basic skills which young children need are Speaking, Listening, Writing and Reading. These were ultimately displayed by Aaron in the circle time activities performed that morning. During the circle time, Aaron amongst other seventeen kids in his classroom, started to sing the popular American Song: â€Å"IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS†¦. † If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ } Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. } If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ } If you are happy and you know it, stamp your feet †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦} Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, nod your head †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ } Thrice. If you are happy and you know it, do all three †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. } Thrice. While singing this song, the children’s voices were up and loud which indicated that they enjoyed singing songs. Aaron’s participation was great, he was so excited about the choruses, clapping & stomping of his feet. All the children in turn repeated and imitated all the actions of the teacher; as she needed the audience and focus of the kids for easy understanding of the wordings including choruses of the song. Aaron standing close to two other kids, a boy and a girl sang the song with seriousness while clapping their hands & stomping their feet at the same time. The teacher taught the Safety signs briefly. The children’s literacy is very high while learning safety signs as they were very interested in the emphasis laid in the safety signs. In order to ensure that the children understood what they were taught, the teacher asked Aaron what a particular sign stood for which he answered correctly. For example, stop sign is signified by a red color while â€Å"no bicycle† sign is signified by a cross on a bicycle, so on. After singing, the teacher changed the activity to coloring books. Meanwhile, Aaron moved from one place to another. He jumped and hopped around the classroom showing excitement. At a time, the teacher had to sit him down â€Å"Aaron sit down and do your coloring†¦ † He sat down to color while another boy watched him doing the coloring. All the Children talked and cooperated with one another in friendly manner. Bryan & Joy who sat together sharing the same table with Aaron were also coloring; they also talked to one another in friendly manner while looking at each other’s work. Aaron was as excited as he was coloring his book. He finished his coloring using nice colors to color different animals indicating that he had a good taste. Soon, Aaron went to the library and sat close to the place where the inscription of â€Å"Quiet Zone† was hanging. He picked a book – â€Å"Alphabet adventure†. He went to report a boy who pushed him on his way to the library to his teacher, he said†¦ â€Å"Ms. Patty, Josiah push(ed) me†¦ † The teacher took an appropriate action by telling Josiah to say sorry to Aaron and he did, then they both hugged one another. Thereafter, he went to sit down quietly in the library corner to read his book. He opened up the book so fast as if he knew where to read, then he stirred at a page that really caught his attention and started reading quietly and studiously. In summary, Language and Literacy development is the use of words to communicate ideas, listen and comprehend others’ ideas. Reading, talking and expressing what they do and following directions go a long way for preschoolers Through reading, Aaron amongst other peers has book knowledge, comprehension and appreciation of what he read. More importantly, literacy goes a long way in our society and even in the world.