The geographies of distinction between humans and animals, and the points at which they intersect. The WritePass Journal

The geographies of distinction between humans and animals, and the points at which they intersect. Introduction The geographies of distinction between humans and animals, and the points at which they intersect. IntroductionBIBLIOGRAPHY:Related Introduction This paper will discuss the question whether animals have rights or not. It will do so by first addressing the geographies of distinction between humans and animals, and the points at which they intersect. Using this understanding, it will develop an evaluation of the ethical need for animal rights. It will then review standpoints arguing both for and against this proposition, before offering its conclusion that society’s need for formulating a degree of anima; rights is inescapable. I Wolch et al. (2003) outline the emergence of the animal geographies in the diagram attached, noting how the development of social theory, cultural studies and environmental studies led to a rethinking of culture, subjectivity and nature respectively. These changes in human geography, and its intersection with new cultural geography led to the development of what we understand as animal geographies. Different scholars have approached this concept from several different manners. Wolch et al (2002) have written how these developments led to â€Å"geographers  from various intellectual traditions- political economy, post-structuralism, feminism, and science studies- arguing for animal subjectivity and the need to unpack the â€Å"black box† of   Nature   to enliven understandings   of   the   world.   In  particular, the focus was animals’ role in the social construction of culture  and individual human subjects, the nature  of  animal subjectivity, and agency itself.† Therefore, the concept of animal geographies, and treating animals as subjects, flows from two premises – the scientific information regarding the behaviour of animals, and from treating them as groups that have been socially created as outsiders, minorities or subalterns. (Wolch et al. 2003) Elder et al. (1998) stress the dangers of terms like dehumanization which can lead to the assumption that non-humans (i.e: animals) are therefore inferior and should be treated such. They make the disclaimer however that it is dangerous to omit the acknowledgement of the existence of a difference between humans and animals as to deny a problem leads to inability to recognise, accept and solve it. â€Å"Rather, in our view, stopping the violence requires adopting recipes for le pratique sauvage wild practice and extending them to embrace animals as well as people.† (Elder et al. 1998.) Birke (1995) summarises this position when she writes that â€Å"We need to find ways of expressing concern about what happens to the (suffering) animals that do not express some kind of cultural imperialism.† Other thinkers have also developed this idea of the suffering faced by animals leading to an application of ethics towards them. Jones (2000) for example claims that every encounter between humans and animals represents a question of ethics with regards to what sort of behaviour is undertaken. In much the same vein, Beauchamp (1997) writes that â€Å"Animals have moral standing; that is, they have properties (including the ability to feel pain) that qualify them for the protections of morality. It follows from this that humans have moral obligations toward animals, and because rights are logically correlative to obligations, animals have rights. † In fact, it can be argued that scholars have gone to great lengths to radically question the very distinction between animals and humans. Authors such as Whatmore and Thorne (1998) have used Actor Network Theory to argue that there is no inherent difference between humans and nonhumans, and furthermore that the distinctions between humans and animals are subject to both negotiation and even change. They use this inference to argue for animal agency in the consideration of their behaviours. Scholars like Patterson (2002) have taken historical cases of institutionalized violence within human societies and argued that their development and implementation has been preceded by the institutionalized violence against animals in the form of farming and rearing for human consumption. He writes that â€Å"once animals were ‘domesticated,’ herdsmen and farmers adopted mechanisms of detachment, rationalization, denial and euphemism to distance themselves emotionally from their captive†¦in slave societies, the same practices used to control animals were used to control slaves − castration, branding whipping, chaining, ear cropping.† Wadiwel (2004) coalesces this argument to explain that â€Å"Understood in this fashion, human violence represents not only a capacity for dehumanisation alone, but is tied closely to the justification of violence against the non-human. This reflects not only the capacity for humans to harm each other, but draws attention to the sustained incarceration, torture and violence that is directed towards animals in slaughterhouses, experimental laboratories and factory farms.† Patterson (2002) goes on to cite examples of how the Armenians being shuttled to genocide by Ottoman Turks and the Jews being taken to concentration camps by Germans were both referred to by their captors by animal terms. Moreover, he provides the example of an attack dog used at a concentration camp that was referred to by a human name. He correlates these ideas to argue the volatility of the idea of ‘human’ as a category. However, not all scholars have embraced this increasing blurriness between the boundaries of humans and animals. Agamben (2004) argues that â€Å"it is more urgent to work on these divisions, to ask in what way − within man − has man been separated from non-man, and the animal from the human, than it is to take positions on the great issues, on so called human rights and values.† He goes on to employ the work of Heidegger to explain the distinction he believes is inherent between humans and animals. He posits that Heidegger believed that animals maintain a sense of â€Å"captivation with their discrete environmental elements.† In this situation, the animal cannot conceptualize the act of being, which is distinctly reserved for Heidegger’s concept of the ‘Daesin.’ In contrast, humans are distinct in their ability to locate themselves in their surroundings without requiring any input or cues from their environment. He gives the example of how one would flip through a magazine while waiting for a train – an act that does not involve engagement with the environment, but rather attempts to block out the surroundings. According to Agamben (2004) this â€Å"Dasein  is simply an animal that has learned to become bored; it has awakened from its captivation to its own captivation.† Wadiwel (2004) articulates Agamben’s position by writing that â€Å"For Agamben the animal is found within the very core of humanity, and thus, the human subject is only achieved through the continual rearticulation of a space beyond animal.† This idea is similar to those developed by classical scholars, such as Aristotle (1952) who famously proclaimed â€Å"Man is by nature a rational animal,† a statement that simultaneously places humans as distinct from animals as well as acknowledging that both categories emerge from a shared conceptual space. However, there is a general convergence amongst scholars that articulating a difference amongst humans and animals does not necessitate a suspension of the discussion on animal rights. What is crucial is how the articulation of these distinctions (or lack thereof) influences the development of the level of rights afforded to animals. II The arguments for the extension of rights to animals can be divided into three general categories, which are determined by their philosophical approach. These three are utilitarian, rights-based and abolitionist approaches. Tom Regan (1985) outlines the utilitarian principles with regards to morality as thus:   â€Å"A utilitarian accepts two moral principles. The first is that of equality: everyones interests count, and similar interests must be counted as having similar weight or importance†¦ everyones pain or frustration matter, and matter just as much as the equivalent pain or frustration of anyone else. The second principle a utilitarian accepts is that of utility: do the act that will bring about the best balance between satisfaction and frustration for everyone affected by the outcome.† Peter Singer (1975), one of the earliest proponents of animal rights, based his appeal not on the basis of the capacity for intelligence or the ability to moralize, but rather the ability to experience suffering. As mentioned before, other scholars have developed this line of reasoning as well. What is noteworthy here is to understand why Singer and his adherents chose to focus on suffering as the criteria for animal exclusion in to the rights debate. Singer posits that the basis for a contractual concept for morality should be the ability to suffer because that immediately creates a consideration against abuse or discrimination that is not bound by exceptions or obligations. Consequently, to exclude animals from such a moral contract would be to engage in what he describes as â€Å"speciesism.† (1975) Regan (1985) however argues that although suffering is deplorable, it is not the fundamental reason for extending rights to animals. He goes on to develop the idea that the exclusion of animals from our moral considerations resides in viewing them as resources. â€Å"The fundamental wrong is the system that allows us to view animals as our resources, here for us - to be eaten, or surgically manipulated, or exploited for sport or money. Once we accept this view of animals as our resources the rest is as predictable as it is regrettable. Why worry about their loneliness, their pain, their death? Since animals exist for us, to benefit us in one way or another, what harms them really doesnt matter.† Regan (1985) claims that rather than utilitarianism, the basis for extending rights to animals lies in the idea of inherent value, which he believes is possessed by each and every individual. â€Å"we are each of us the experiencing subject of a life, a conscious creature having an individual welfare that has importance to us whatever our usefulness to others †¦ As the same is true of those animals that concern us (the ones that are eaten and trapped, for example), they too must be viewed as the experiencing subjects of a life, with inherent value of their own.† The rights-based approach thus seeks to place the calculus of rights extension onto all beings that are a ‘subject of life’ a term which Regan personally bestows to most mammals above the age of one year, but not all sentient animals. However, the abolitionist approach severely critiques both these ideas, as well as other programs by claiming that they extend practices of animal welfare rather than animal rights. Gary Francione (2011), a principal advocate of this approach, writes that compassion extended to animals on the basis of their ability to suffer implies that it is acceptable to use animals for consumption as long as the process which does so is not inhumane. He claims that were the same principles extended to humans, the act would be defined as torture. In Francione’s (2011) mind, the principal problem is the treatment of animals not as resources alone, but as property. â€Å"Animals are  property. They are things. And the whole point of being a thing is that you don’t have an inherent or intrinsic value. Animals are economic commodities; they have a market value. As a general matter, we spend money to protect animal interests only when it is justified as an economic matter- only when we derive an economic benefit from doing so†¦ Virtually all animal welfare laws fit this paradigm. They protect selected animal interests and the effect of protecting these interests is to make the production process more efficient.† Thus if the extension of rights is based not on the ability to suffer pain nor being a subject of life, but rather on the right not to be treated as property, then the foundation of those rights lies in the idea of sentience – that is any sentient being deserves the extension of those rights upon itself. (Francione, 2000) III The arguments against the extension of rights to animals are largely based around the semantics of rights and obligations, and the relationship between the two concepts. A large number of the critiques of animal-rights campaigners have focused on whether the provision of rights to a group can be made if the group has no comprehension of how these rights apply to them, and what duties and obligations are owed by them if these provisions are extended to them. Carl Cohen (1986), one of the primary opponents to the animal rights movement, writes that   â€Å"the holders of rights must have the capacity to comprehend rules of duty governing all, including themselves. In applying such rules, the holders of rights must recognize possible conflicts between what is in their own interest and what is just. Only in a community of beings capable of self-restricting moral judgments can the concept of a right be correctly invoked.† In a similar vein, Roger Scruton (2000) writes that â€Å"In all our dealings with the animals, the inherent mastership of the human race displays itself. And this only goes to show that we alone have the duty to look after the animals, because we alone have duties. The corollary is inescapable: we alone have rights.† It is important to note that the opponents of animal rights are not implicitly advocating the continuation of ‘inhumane’ or violent practices upon these beings. Carl Cohen for example has been amongst several voices in the opposition camp to condemn the excessive use of animals for laboratory testing for example. However, the theoretical basis for this call is not based on the equivalence of animal and human rights, but rather their relative positions. John Martin (1990) uses the concepts first articulated by Thomas Aquinas to explain why animal rights need not be the only mechanism for preventing cruelty and institutionalized violence towards animals. â€Å"The view that only man has rights in the absolute sense does not detract from the preciousness and beauty of the rest of nature, but it enhances man. In an age when mans rights are being questioned because of race or religion, enhancement of his position in nature must be beneficial. In practice Aquinass philosophy means that cruelty to animals must not be allowed by society and that caring for animals is to be encouraged. Not however, because animals have rights as man has rights, but because he who is cruel to animals will tend to be cruel to his fellowman: animals have to be protected so that man is protected.† This logic thus suggests that the prevention of cruelty towards animals is not due to the direct interest for their welfare, but rather to use it as a means of reducing violence amongst humans themselves. Once again, this position stresses the distinction between humans and animals to not only be significant, but also hierarchal so that humans are entrusted with acting in the best interests of animals. In fact, this position has been seen by some as only an extension of the apparent inviolability of nature itself. Robert Bidinitto (1992) put forth this idea when he said that â€Å"Strict observance of animal rights forbids even direct protection of people and their values against natures many predators. Losses to people are acceptable losses to animals are not. Logically then, beavers may change the flow of streams, but Man must not. Locusts may denude hundreds of miles of plant life but Man must not. Cougars may eat sheep and chickens, but Man must not.† The implication here is that the extension of animal rights serves to subvert what appears to be the traditional structure of how nature operates, and instead tries to insert its own paradigms which appear to be counter-intuitive. IV In conclusion, what we see is that the case for the extension of rights for animals is predicated upon the deconstruction of existing relationships of the distinctions between animals and humans, as well as the expansion of the understanding of how these newly deconstructed concepts should be allocated moralities and rights. In contrast, the opposition to extending rights to animals seeks to defend against these deconstructivist impulses, and to reify the position of humans at the pinnacle of both rights and obligations. While the extension of rights approach embraces contemporary ideas and seeks to cleave out new responses, the opposing camp continues to protect traditional stances, and this is where I feel that the argument suffers from a shortcoming. The following passage from Scruton (2000) offers an intriguing opportunity to deconstruct the pro-animal rights arguments themselves, by exploring how they can be guilty of using anthropomorphic concepts for animals. â€Å"It is at this point that the advocate of animal rights steps in. Like the child, he imagines the rabbit still dressed in its Beatrix Potter trousers, enjoying a quiet domestic life below ground. For him the warren is just like a human community- founded by negotiation and agreement, structured by rights, and entitled to protection from the law. To shoot such defenseless animals seems to him like a crime, and he campaigns vigorously for a law that will make it so.† I believe this is a major flaw of the pro-animal rights argument, and a primary reason why it is currently divided on qualitative differences in the decision of which animals to extend rights to, as well as the extents of those rights. At the same time, it cannot be denied that the traditional approaches to opposing animal rights suffer from propagating a bundle of values which appear outdated in contemporary society, and hence are problematic in their application. A successful resolution of this issue would thus require both a reevaluation of the ‘for’ and ‘against’ camps in light of their shortcomings, as well as placing limits on rights provision that display an affinity for scientifically verifiable criteria, rather than those based on personal values and sentiments. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Agamben,  G. The Open: Man and Animal, trans. Kevin Attell, Stanford University Press: Stanford California, 2004. Aristotle, (1952a)  On the Soul, trans. J. A. Smith, in The Works of Aristotle, Vol I, Encyclopedia Brittanica Inc: Chicago. Beauchamp, T .(1997) Opposing Views on Animal Experimentation: Do Animals Have Rights?, Ethics Behavior, Vol. 7: 2,   pp 113-120 Bidinitto, R. (1992) Environmentalism or Individualism?  EcoNOT.com Individualism, Not Environmentalism. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. econot.com/page4.html. Birke, L. (1995) Exploring the Boundaries: Feminism, Animals and Science. in Carol Adams and Josephine Donovan eds. Animals and Women Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, pp 95. Cohen, C (1986). The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research.  New England Journal of Medicine Vol.315  (14) pp 865-70. Elder, G., Wolch, J., Emel, J. (1998). Le pratique sauvage: Race, place, and the humananimal divide.   In   J. Wolch      J. Emel   (Eds.), Animal geographies: Place, politics, and identity in the nature-culture borderlands (pp. 72-90). London:   Verso Francione, G. (2000) Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog? Temple University Press Francione, G. (2011) What Michael Vick Taught Us.   Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. abolitionistapproach.com/what-michael-vick-taught-us/. Jones, O. (2000). (Un)ethical geographies of human- non-human relations: Encounters, collectives and spaces. In C. Philo C. Wilbert (Eds.), Animal spaces, beastly places: New geographies of human-animal relations (pp. 268-291). New York: Routledge. Martin, J. The rights of man and animal experimentation Journal of medical ethics, 1990, 16, 160-161 Patterson,  C. Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust, Lantern Books: New York, 2002. Philo, C. (1995). Animals, geography and the city: Notes on inclusions and exclusions. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, Vol. 13, pp 655-68 Regan, T. (1985) The Case for Animal Rights, In Singer. P (ed), In Defense of Animals, New York: Basil Blackwell, pp. 13-26 Scruton, R.  (2000) Animal rights,  City Journal, Vol. 10:3, pp 100-107. Singer, P.  Animal Liberation, 1975; second edition, New York: Avon Books Wadiwel, D.   (2004) Animal by Any Other Name? Patterson and Agamben Discuss Animal (and Human) Life, Borderlands, Vol. 3: 1, pp 13-21 Whatmore, S., Thorne, L. B. (1998). Wild(er)ness: Reconfiguring   the geographies of wildlife. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographer, Vol. 23, pp 435-454. Wilbert, C. (2000). Anti-this-against-that: Resistances along a human non-human axis. In J. Sharp et al., (Eds.), Entanglements of power (pp. 238-255). London: Routledge Wolch,   J.,   Emel,   J.,   Wilbert,   C.   (2002) Animal Geographies. Society Animals Vol. 10:4 , Leiden Wolch,   J.,   Emel,   J.,   Wilbert,   C.   (2003).   Reanimating   cultural   geography.   In K. Anderson,   M.   Domosh,   N.   Thrift,   and   S.   Pile   (Eds.),   Handbook of   cultural   geography. London:   Sage

Analysis of previously gathered individual presentation data Statistics Project

Analysis of previously gathered individual presentation data - Statistics Project Example Part of the test statistics were to compare the performance of females versus males, the correlations amongst different types of presentation. Another test of interest was to ascertain whether the score in body language and voice of presenters displayed a difference in their mean. Generally, with regard to the performance of presenters in scope and Research of presentation, there was no much difference as displayed in Figure 2. However, female presenters registered poor performance (below a score of 2) in the scope presentation. From Table 1 and Figure 3, mean scores for presentation with regard to body language, visual aids and timing parameters were 6.8, 7.1 and 7.1 respectively across gender. There were little deviations from the mean performance across the board with the highest deviation from the mean being 1.62 for the â€Å"timing† parameter. As an assessor, I registered a mean score of 6.22 on body language and 6.45, my highest mean score, on the scope of presentation. My minimum score and maximum score, as reveled in table 2 and Figure 4, on scope and research were 4 and 8 respectively. Looking at Figure 5, my performance as a presenter was not that good compared to my performance as an assessor. This because I only scored 8 points, a presenter, on the scope of presentation compared to as an assessor where I scored 8 points on several occasions: both in scope and research. With regard to the different presentations, representation on technical literature review was on the lead with 58%. It was followed closely by presentation on international business at 41%. The least presentation was on any other test presentation that come a distance at 1%. Borrowing from Boslaugh (2012), we needed to test whether there was mean difference between body language (coded as sample b) and voice (coded as sample v) across gender. As such, we needed to formulate our

Business Communication Portfolio Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Communication Portfolio - Assignment Example Although the idea of entertainment at Disney Land is typically attractive for children but it is presented in such a way that people from all over the world enjoy visiting it (Jackson, 2011, p.139). In Hong Kong, it has been built with incorporation of International Theme Parks Ltd, The Walt Disney Company and the Hong Kong Government (Hong Kong Disneyland, 2013). The organization is continuously increasing its attractive places while improving the overall entertainment experience. Huge business portfolio often generates great difficulties for Disneyland which subsequently affects customer satisfaction and long term relations with other businesses. For instance, on weekends or public holidays the parks become over crowded which causes immense difficulties for the visitors. This paper aims to present two business-business letters related to Hong Kong Disneyland. Skyline Event Management Company 26th Street, across Southern Avenue Hong Kong October 12, 2013 Mr. Robert James The Operati ons Manager Disneyland Resorts Hong Kong Subject: Complaint for poor resort services. Dear Sir, On October 10, 2013, the students of Foundation School grade 4 to 6 visited the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort along with the teachers and other staff members. It was a school trip primarily arranged to enhance the artistic sense of students while enabling them to understand different stories. Moreover, to help them visualize the classical characters they have been reading about since early childhood. Our aim was to entertain children through best possible means. However, the students did not find Disneyland as appealing as it has been marketed (Haberer, 2010, p.4). Most of the staff members complained about the misbehavior of employees especially those who have been on duties in the Toy Story Land. Hence I wish to complain about the poor services that the school has received from the renowned Walt Disney Company. The visit was arranged by Skyline Event Management Company. After visiting the theme parks, students were required to write a comprehensive review of the entire trip. This was done in order to gain inside knowledge about their perception and ideas related to different cartoon characters. Additionally, they were needed to compose stories with the help of their favorite cartoons. They were also asked by the event managers to fill the feedback forms regarding the entire trip. The feedback forms which we received were significant enough to let us know about the poor services of your staff members. Students were highly de-motivated and even some of the parents complained to the school management regarding the trip. Parents were too much concerned about their children’s safety. Most of them believed that the amusement parks and rides at Disneyland were not safe for young children. Here, I would like to add another important thing that since Disneyland is marketed primarily to the children then why the management has installed such equipment which is prominen tly dangerous for young ones? Moreover, the older people visiting Disney Land behave very rudely with the young children while on the other hand, the managing staff usually do not respond to the customer complains. Even today I had to wait for around two hours to meet you and in the end I was told that you are busy in some meeting and would not be available until next week. All these things have greatly disappointed us and hence I request you to train you staff members while ensuring that older

Intro to Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Intro to Philosophy Essay The word philosophy itself means â€Å"the love of wisdom. † Philosophy stands for doing the right thing or being a â€Å"just† person. Philosophy also means to see things for what they truly are and not what they may seem to be. A philosopher’s life is a lifelong quest to find the meaning of things beyond their physical appearance. The Ring of Gyges is a ring that a man puts on and becomes invisible. When he does wrong he is not blamed, he gets away with it. Once a man puts this ring on he can be unjust without punishment. In the second book of The Republic Adimantus argued that the unjust life is happier than the unjust. His argument was that a just man can go without now and enjoy heaven in the afterlife while an unjust man will go without nothing and still enjoy the benefits of the after life. Through the eyes of a philosopher there are two worlds, the visible world and the intelligible world. In the visible you can see things and judge them from what you actually see. If a person sees a flower one could judge that it is a beautiful flower. However, the person is judging this flowers beauty on its physical appearance and their claim is merely an opinion rather than true knowledge. In â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave† men are chained inside of a cave. All they can see is the shadows that are formed on the wall in front of them. The people inside of the cave believe that the shadows that are being cast on the wall is reality. When one of the men is unchained and brought to the outside world at first he is blinded by the sun and cannot see clearly. The man can only see the shadows of the objects in front of him, this can be perceived as the images of physical objects. When his eyes adjust he can see more than the shadows, he can see the physical objects themselves. When the man goes back inside of the cave to tell the others what he has seen he again cannot see clearly because his eyes have not adjusted. The others in the cave laugh claiming that the sun has ruined his eyes. For a period of time he cannot decipher what the shadows on the wall are imitating. They don’t believe what the man is telling them. In Plato’s Analogy of the Divided Line the four stages of cognition, which represent the levels of existence, are explained. The first two stages, the good and the sun, represent the visible world. The third and fourth stages, knowledge and opinion, represent the intelligible world. These stages are represented in â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave. † Without the sun’s light we would not be able to see anything at all. The sun allows us to see the flower that we perceived as beautiful. Without the suns light we would not be able to see or perceive any of the physical objects that exist. The sun is perceived as the things that we see. The sun also allows for all living life on earth. Without the sun all life on Earth would diminish. Without the sun we could not perceive anything at all. 1. A person can only understand something once they have reached the highest level of cognitive activity. One must acquire the Form of Good before they can truly understand something. Images and assumptions are not enough support to truly understand the meaning of something. The images the prisoners in the cave saw and the assumptions they made about what they thought they could be are only their opinions. Although they were able to identify the shadows on the wall as what they thought they were it is not enough to truly know what they are, the identities given to the shadows by the prisoners is merely their opinion. In â€Å"Phaedo† Socrates claims that our soul is attached to our body. Our body acts as a vessel only operating because of the soul inside. According to Socrates our body holds us back from perceiving things for what they truly are and therefore a philosopher should desire death because it enables them to continue their quest of reality. 2. Socrates viewed death as a purification of the body that allows us find pure wisdom. Socrates explained how our souls are glued to our bodies and only when they are unfastened by death is a person able to experience wisdom in its purest state. The body distracts us from finding the truth because it requires maintenance. The body allows us to feel pain and emotions like love, fear and hunger. Socrates admits that philosophers are more or less practicing for death and should embrace it when it comes for them. â€Å"And will he who is a true lover of wisdom, and is persuaded in like manner that only in the world below he can worthily enjoy her, still repine death? Will he not depart with joy? Surely, he will, my friend, if he be a true philosopher. For he will have a firm conviction that there only, and nowhere else, he can find wisdom in her purity. † (Phaedo pg. 65) Socrates believes that philosophy is good because it enlightens us to what things actually are rather than what they’re perceived to be. Philosophy is what brings the unchained man outside of the cave. It pushes us to go into the unknown, which we at one point we thought we knew. Once we realize what things actually are we also realize that we had no idea what they really were before. The man in the cave that once thought that the only reality was the shadows on the wall now realizes that the shadows weren’t reality at all. Socrates was formally charged because he didn’t worship the gods recognized by the states and for corrupting the youth of Athens. The informal charges against Socrates was asking questions that were unusual, or outside of the box. â€Å"Socrates is an evil-doer, and a curious person, who searches into things under the earth and in heaven, and he makes the worse appear the better cause; and he teaches the aforesaid doctrines to others† p. 21 Apology The oracle of Delphi told Socrates that he was the wisest man. Socrates refused to accept this statement and went searching for a wiser man than himself. In search of a wiser man than himself, Socrates talked with many people including politicians, poets and craftsmen who claimed to be wise. Socrates found them to not be wise because they thought they knew things that they did not. Socrates proclaimed himself as wise because he knew that he did not know. Socrates exposed the false wisdom of the men who were thought to be wise. Naturally these men held much resistance and hostility towards Socrates. These negative feelings contributed to Socrates’ trial. Socrates refutes Meletus’ statement that he doesn’t believe in any god, that he is an atheist. Socrates does this by confirming that he does in fact believe in supernatural activities, such as his inner voice that told him he was the wisest man, and therefore is not an atheist. Socrates states that wealthy young men, enjoy following him around and listening to him question people. It’s entertaining for them. These men, who think they are wise but aren’t, then go out and try to do this on their own. When the people they question get angry instead of being angry with themselves, become angry with Socrates. They accuse Socrates of filling the young men’s head with nonsense. When asked about what Socrates teaches they don’t know and then use claims already made against philosophers against Socrates. Socrates then asks Meletus who he thinks an improver of the youth is. Meletus claims that the law is an improver of the youth, such as judges and senators. Socrates then proclaims that everyone in the state is an improver of the youth except himself. Meletus agrees to this statement. Socrates states that he must either not corrupt the youth or unintentionally corrupt the youth because good do their neighbors good, and evil do them evil. If he had corrupted someone, in theory, they should have harmed him by now. In Socrates’ last defense he says, â€Å"For if you kill me you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by God; and the state is like a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life. I am that gadfly which God has given the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you. † (31-32) Socrates is attempting to demonstrate to the people of the city that there is more to their life than what meets the eye. Without philosophers such as himself they will continue to live the life they’re living with no desire to search for more. They will continue to accept the shadows on the wall as their reality. There are three parts to the soul. These three parts consist of the rational, high spirit and the appetitive. The rational portion of the soul is the part of us that seeks knowledge of wisdom. According to Plato the rational should rule the soul. The high spirit consists of the angry and prideful part of the soul that defends and aids the rational. The high spirit avoids shame. The final part of the soul, the appetitive, is the part of the soul that desires. While some desires are necessary, others are not. If not restrained by the rational, the appetitive portion of the soul can over rule all other parts. In addition to the three parts of the soul there are also three parts of the city. These three parts are the gold, silver and the bronze. The golds are the guardians, the silvers are the enforcers of the laws (helpers), and the bronzes are the merchants and tradesmen. The city virtue of wisdom resides within the gold’s, the guardians. In order to posses civic wisdom one must know how the city operates and how all parts of the city are connected. The knowledge of how the city runs and operates allows the city to operate at the highest level. The city virtue of bravery and justice resides with the silvers, the enforcers of laws. Civic bravery is the defined as the Silvers upholding their education about what things are and are not to be feared and in what order as ordered to them by the Golds. Civic justice refers to sticking to your own work whether you are a moneymaker, helper, or guardian. It’s considered unjust to work outside of your boundaries. The city virtue of temperance exists within the bronze citizens, the merchants and tradesmen, of the city. The civic temperance is the agreement (harmony) between the three sections (gold, silver and bronze) as to who should rule and who should obey. The personal virtue of wisdom is housed by ones rational portion of the soul. Personal wisdom consists of knowing all parts of the soul and how they are connected to one another. The ultimate goal of personal wisdom is keeping the soul as healthy and as balanced as possible. Personal bravery and justice is contained within the high-spirit part of the soul. The High-Spirit of the soul is to preserve the education of what is and is not to be feared. The Rational tells the High-Spirit in which order things are to be feared or not feared. The personal virtue of justice minds it’s own within each part of the soul. The appetitive portion of the soul houses the personal temperance virtue. The personal temperance works in agreement between the three portions of the soul as to who should rule and who should obey. The advantage of philosophy with respect to the state is the efficiency. Everyone has jobs that relate well to their attributes. You cannot be a gold (guardian) without first experiencing being a bronze and then a silver. In order to be a gold one must possess knowledge of all three parts of the city. This ultimately leaves the best most knowledgeable citizens in charge of the city. The advantage of philosophy in regards to the individual is the balance between all parts of the soul. All parts of the soul are important to understand and the rational helps us inherit the wisdom needed to understand these aspects of the soul. One who constantly indulges in the appetitive portion of the soul will be overcome by it. When a person posses wisdom they know when a desire is necessary rather than unnecessary. Students and states that pursue philosophy are better off than the ones who don’t because of the level of intelligence they hold. When a student or state has the knowledge of all the levels of either the civic or individual level they’re more likely to excel in their job. Without philosophy there would be no need to extend one’s boundaries and explore the unkown. Socrates was the man in the cave who managed to break free from his chains and see the world beyond the cave. His accusers, the men still chained inside of the cave, refused to accept what Socrates was trying to show them. If they accepted what Socrates was trying to prove it would be a harsh reality for all they ever knew would diminish. Life outside of the cave is unknown. It’s far less scary to continue their life believing that the shadows on the wall are all that there is. Works Cited Plato, and Benjamin Jowett. The Trial and Death of Socrates: Four Dialogues. New York: Dover Publications, 1992. Print. Plato, H. D. P. Lee, and M. S. Lane. The Republic. London: Penguin, 2007. Print.

Bryophyte And Pteropyte Life Cycles :: essays research papers

Although Bryophytes and Pterophytes are both plant divisions with a common ancestor, they have little in common. While Bryophytes (mosses) are generally nonvascular and very short in height, Pterophytes (ferns) are vascular plants that usually grow much taller than mosses. While the dominant generation in mosses is the gametophyte, ferns exhibit the sporophyte generation. The details of their alternations of generation vary as well, although both have diploid and haploid stages. Alteration of generations is defined as a life cycle in which there is both a multicellular diploid form, the sporophyte, and a multicellular haploid form, the gametophyte. Meiosis in mosses produces haploid spores. This process occurs in a sporangium, a capsule in fungi and plants in which meiosis takes place and haploid spores develop. After fertilization, the sporophyte zygote grows out of the parent gametophyte. At the end of this stalk is the sporangium. Meiosis occurs and the haploid spores disperse. In ferns, the mature sporophyte (2N) has small spots on the undersides of its leaves. These are clusters of the Pterophyte sporangia, called sori. As in mosses, meiosis occurs in the sporangia, which then release spores, continuing the cycle. Mitosis in Bryophytes begins germination, or growth. It directly follows meiosis. As mitotic division continues, protonemata (1N) are formed. They grow until they are mature gametophytes. In Pterophytes, mitosis occurs directly after fertilization. The zygote divides and grows until it peeks out of the parent gametophyte, then it matures until it can release its own spores. Mosses exhibit the embryophyte condition, which means their gametes develop with protective sheaths of cells. This was an adaptation that allowed plants to become hardier. Mosses have two sexes of gametangia; the male gametangium is called an antheridium, and the female is called an archegonium. Eggs are produced in the archegonium and sperm in the antheridium. In order for fertilization to take place, the sperm must swim through moisture to the archegonium. This is why mosses must live in damp environments to survive- they cannot reproduce without moisture. The zygote develops within the archegonial cavity. Ferns are usually homosporous as well (there is a single type of spore; the gametophyte is bisexual). In ferns, the archegonia and antheridia mature at different times, which means there is cross fertilization between gametophytes and thus more genetic variation. Sperm from the antheridia swim to the archegonia where the zygote develops. Like mosses, ferns also need a moist envir onment for fertilization to occur.

Extract from Frankenstein and in Cold Blood Essay

This essay will be analysing the way in which the theme of wasted lives is portrayed throughout my chosen extracts. My chosen extracts are, an extract from chapter 16 of Frankenstein (FS) by Mary Shelly a gothic novel with features of the Romantic Movement. And an extract from chapter 3 of In Cold Blood (ICB) by Truman Capote, a faction novel (a novel written based on facts). In the F.S extract we are seeing the creature’s view of his killing of William and also his framing of Justine for the murder. Much the same in the ICB extract where it is Perry’s point of view of the murder of the Clutter family. In this extract we also see Capote input thoughts from Dewey, the police officer covering the case. Although both the extracts were written in different time periods, the focus is the same showing how the lack of parental figures, can lead to the destruction of life for something petty. Throughout the chosen extract for FS the portrayal of the set theme wasted lives is portrayed in great detail. Firstly by having three characters who are seen to have wasted lives and also the murder of one of these characters. The first wasted life we see is that of the creature when we are seeing, the depths that he will sink to, to get his revenge on Frankenstein. ‘Frankenstein! you belong then to my enemy – to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim.’ He thinks that because Frankenstein disowned him that he now has to get his own revenge, cause pain to Frankenstein in a worse way he caused the creature pain. But in many ways this can be seen as the creature being as bad as Frankenstein himself, not caring about the consequences of his actions and the onslaught of pain and terror they will cause. The life of William is also seen to be wasted. The creature believes that when he first see William that he will be innocent ’unprejudiced’ allowing the creature to have a companion. But we see that this is not so. William seems to be brought up in a world where prejudice is acceptable, but by him judging the creature in this way has lead to his untimely death. The extract also shows the framing of Justine of the murder of William, the creature sees the beauty of Justine but this is not enough to stop him in passing on the blame of his action on to another. He can also be seen to be framing Justine as he realises that he will never have her love, ‘I am forever robbed of all that she could give me, she shall atone.’ Leaving him angry and bitter, towards Justine. The extract chosen for ICB, the theme of wasted lives is portrayed throughout the thoughts and point of view of Perry Smith. This extract, much like the FS extract, is showing the reader more than one wasted life. Not only are the murders of each member of the Clutter family seen as wasted lives, but also those of Perry and Dick. The police officer Dewey helps the reader to realise this. ‘-for Perry Smith’s life had been no bed of roses but pitiful, an ugly and lonely progress towards one mirage†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Capote is here referring to a previous section where Perry and the section where his father was speaking about Perry’s life were being told to Dick. Capote refers to this extract as it reminds the reader of the lives that they have been both brought up in. To give a sympathetic view of their lives and to also give the reader something to think about as reasoning for them to commit this lowly crime. Within FS we see the firm idea of The Noble Savage played throughout, but within this extract we see a large amount fixed on this idea. The Noble Savage is the idea that mad is ‘noble and good’ but becomes ‘evil and corrupted’ by civilisation. A quote form Jean Jacques Rousseau, a Geneva philosopher states ‘Man is inherently good and corrupted by society. Primitive man was a Noble Savage’. William’s perception of the creature is a key point in this extract when this idea is shown. The creature later states ‘I remembered that I was forever deprived of the delights that such beautiful creatures could bestow;’ We see the creature become angry once again that he cannot be accepted that that he cannot have what he wants, like any other human could have. This way of rejecting the creature makes us see him become more and more evil as his story progresses. A sense of terror is shown throughout the ICB extract, the tone and terror is portrayed through the way in which Capote has shown parts of the murder from the thoughts of an outsider. In this case Dewey. ‘But the voice plunges on, ejecting a fusillade of sounds and  ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬images ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬.’ Within this quote Capote uses a strong metaphor with the word fusillade. The meaning of this word is a simultaneous or continuous discharge of fire arms. But in this instance, the metaphor is there to bring the reader in to the room and experience the noises that are continuously there, appealing to their senses. The word fusillade can also be there to help the reader imagine the gun fire happening there, hitting each person. The heavy use of onomatopoeic words also is helping to appeal to the readers senses along with strong description, placing the reader there watching the action unfold in real time. This related to the theme of wasted lives in the way in which it describes the deaths of a family who were innocent in the whole ordeal. In FS we see reference to Paradise Lost, an epic poem by 17th Century poet John Milton, which focuses on the allusion of Adam and Eve. This has been referenced many times throughout FS, first when we see the creature reading this, but he seems to be unaware that it is a work of the imagination, and reads as factual history. In this extract we see what seems to be the creature echoing the words of Satan, ‘Awake, fairest, thy lover is near – he who would give his life but to obtain one look of affection from thine eyes: my beloved, awake’ This quotation is also showing a tender side to the creature, trying to get the affection of a sleeping Justine, maybe realising that tenderness is greater than affection in this circumstance. We also see him halting himself a seduction, for his fear of rejection once again. Linked to the theme of wasted lives by showing the reader the reasoning for a life lost to unfair judgement. Within the confession by Perry of the murders, we see that there has been a temporal tense shift into the present; Capote has done this to try and show the significance and importance of the confession. This can also be seen as the climax of the novel, because the reader had known who the murders were all along and of their guilt, but this is now solving the mystery of the motives and how the murder took place. Overall Mary Shelly has a very complex writing style; this can be seen is the narrative method in which she has chosen to write the novel in. Shelly uses an embedded narrative which is not only allowing the reader to hear the voices of all the characters, but it is providing the reader the multiple views on the central events of the novel. This format also brings the attention to the story being told rather than this being just a novel. We also see the complex writing style by the use of rich vocabulary used being highly descriptive, particular when Shelly is describing landscapes, or the feelings of a character. ‘But presently my rage returned: I remembered that I was forever deprived of the delights that such a beautiful creature could bestow: [†¦] have changed that air of divine benignity to one of expressive disgust and affright.’ This quotation shows the reader words that are not commonly used in everyday English now or in the writing style of Capote. These words include: ‘Bestow’, ‘Affright’, ‘Benignity’. Compared with the writing style of Capote, who although descriptive uses a less complex way. This can be because of the fact that this novel is bringing to the attention of the public the views of the crime of the century. The narrative method Capote uses is writing the story in the third person although there are times throughout where Capote brings the story into the first person allowing the reader to feel more sympathy for the characters. Capote does not involve himself in the novel in first person as he believes that you should not make an appearance in your own novel. But another reason as to why he may be doing this is hide his close relationship with Perry and Dick, and avoid the public of getting the wrong idea. In Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism, the creature is seen Frankenstein’s replacement for his mother. But this creation comprises of all the unacceptable traits of humans, those which we usually suppress. This comes from the theory of Jacques Lacan, about the ‘child’ competing with the parent of the opposite sex for the others affection. But as the creature has no other parent to compete with, we see him possibly taking his unsuppressed traits out on the loved ones of Frankenstein. In this extract William and Justine. We also see that Shelly has not made the creature monstrous but society has made him this way. This yet again refers to the extract with the previous point on The Noble Savage. In conclusion, the theme of wasted lives is portrayed as a thing that is causing murder, murderous thoughts and death seen in both extracts. Both are confessions of murder of innocent people, just to get something very little back from it. But both extract show underlying issues that arise to the murders eventually being committed. As in FS there is the underlying issue of having no father and upbringing. And in ICB we see the underlying issues of poor upbringing once again. In both extracts the use contextual information surrounding the novel helps to bring the theme across stronger.

Joy Luck Club Character Analysis - 1045 Words

The Joy Luck Club Theme Analysis The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan is an entertaining book that focuses on four Chinese American immigrant families. They face problems in their hometown which causes them to move to the United States. They end up moving to San Francisco and face many different problems with their cultural background. The theme of The Joy Luck Club is the relationship between both the mothers and their daughters. A variety of different events occur throughout the book that explains the complex relationship between the mothers and their daughters. They always have a special bond between them even though their different cultural and generational conflicts occur constantly. The mother and daughter relationship is shown†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"She never thinks anybody is good enough for anything† (Tan 183). She explains how her mother criticizes everything. There are many events that happen within the book that show the negative side of the relationship. On t he contrary, there are many events within the book that show the positive side of the relationships between the mothers and their daughters. There are many events within the book that represent the complex relationships between the mothers and their daughters. An example from the book that shows the positive side of their relationship would be in the American Translation section of the book. â€Å"She grabbed my hand and put the necklace in my palm, then shut my fingers around it† (Tan 235). Suyuan Woo gave a necklace to her daughter June. Suyuan said that she wore it and when June would wear it, she would know her mothers meaning. â€Å"This is your life’s importance† (Tan 235). Another example from the book would also be The American Translation. â€Å"I am not telling you to save your marriage, I only say you should speak up† (Tan 216). In this part of the book, An-Mei Hsu told her daughter, Rose Hsu Jordon, to speak up for herself because her husband was trying to get a divorce. 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