The Meaning Of Life Philosophy Essay

The Meaning Of Life Philosophy Essay The universal question What is the meaning of life? has been asked since the start of civilization. The answer from people in todays society may differ greatly from the answers of those from Roman and Greek civilizations thousand years back. The great philosophers, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the Roman Stoics have contributed what we believe gives our life value. Each philosopher gives their own perspective of life which raises many questions by many for years. Through the writings of Xenophon and Plato we learn what Socrates visions he had of life. One principle notion from Socrates is that the Meaning of life is through thought. What we can acquire from Socrates is he believed that humans will do what is good to achieve happiness. However it is finding what is the true human good? Through Socrates teachings he wanted those to learn that there was a difference between opinion and knowledge. He believed that through questioning others opinion and showing others their opposition correct began the truth of knowledge. This leads to that truth can be acquired through dialect. Ultimately, Socrates focus is on ones ethics. It is our morals that make life what it is meant to be. He believes that if one does wrong then they do not clearly understand or have not experiences the good of life. There is no clarity to them on the virtues of love, morality, or anything else ethical. However if one never does anything wrong and is always good then they will never have reason to do wrong. Given that Plato was a student of Socrates his teachings and writing intertwine with Socrates. The importance of life to Plate would be best represented in his sixth book the Republic. Plato looks for answers about what is the ideal government, fair individuality, and what is good for the human soul. The Republic looks towards answer of government being based on justice, wisdom, courage, and temperance. Plato believed happiness would be achieved this ideal government which had an abolitions of families and private property. Platos visible and intelligible worlds is the concept of the continuation of discovering truth and knowledge which leads to lifes happiness. In the visible world we can only have an opinion and with the intelligible world we find the knowledge. When that ultimate knowledge is discovered then that one can have good and meaning in their life. Plato wants people to discover the truth beyond their existence. Aristotle thoughts differ greatly from those of Plato and Socrates. His ideas form a naturalist view. The value of life to Aristotle shapes around the thought of the bodys soul, thinking, and ones perception. The individual can take properly take in what they see from the outside world and as well what they seem in themselves. Aristotle disagrees with Platos the Republic in which plurality is what is needed. He claims that Platos theories would not allow happiness do too many flaws. Aristotle believed that the good life was the city-state and it cannot be done alone but only as a community. To Aristotle the worth of life begins with human activity. Happiness can be obtained first though personal experiences. He describes that it is not one thing alone that leads to happiness but multiple things such pleasure and work. However pleasure and work in moderation and not excess. Aristotle emphasizes that lifes meaning lies in our friendship and lovers. Humans are also able to have emotions in their souls like other animals but human differ from that they can control emotions. Since human can control their emotions and desires properly it lead one to moral virtues. The Roman Stoics philosophy revolved around concept of the logos. Everything that surrounded one on earth including God was materialism according to Stoics. Virtus was well respected by Romans and with virtus being acknowledged one could fully accept their lifes situation. There was also no discrimination between male, female, salve, and free as opposed to Plato. The main goal for the Stoic was happiness. Nevertheless this happiness could only be achieved through the quest of virtue. This ideal of living with virtue meant living with reason within logos. It described by the Stoics to preserve happiness if to avoid emotion and passion. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the Roman Stoics philosophies vary but in many ways conform to each other. Aristotle philosophies of life and writings are most appealing to me. Although I do not agree entirely with everything Aristotle has stated I find he is the most leveled headed philosopher to my standards. Aristotles belief that the individual and the community need to come together in the city-state is a philosophy that I strongly agree with. However, I do not agree with Aristotles soul and body relations. I find that Plato and Socrates to be too extreme especially with Platos the Republic. The philosophers may have shaped many ideals of what is thought to be meaning of life. Theories from Plato to Aristotle to The Stoics have given the individuals over the past thousands years to today food for thought.

I Had a Job I Liked Once by Guy Vanderhaeghe Essay

Guy Vanderhaegh takes us back a few decades in the retelling of a court case in small town, Saskatchewan in the play, â€Å"I Had a Job I liked. Once. † Using elements of style, staging and developing characters throughout the play Vanderhaegh portrays to the audience the theme of the biases and prejudices that come with living in a small town. The story is set in small town Saskatchewan in a police station office, on the night of August of 1957. Corporal Heasman has brought in Les Grant on the account of accused rape Tracy Tolbertson, and the play follows the questioning of Sergeant Finestad to Les, who retells his involvement with Tracy, the daughter of Mr. Tolbertson, the local crown attorney. The story has many sub conflicts; the tension between Finestad and Tolbertson being a main one. Tolbertson wants his daughter’s accused rapist behind bars, but Finestad wants to get the whole story instead of just listening to Tolbertson. Then there is the conflict of Finestad with himself; for years he has followed the law and stuck to the book, but in this case he is having a hard time sticking to the black and white because he feels that there is more to the story. All these sub conflicts underlie to the main conflict of the prejudices and biases that come from living in a small town, and the difficulties that come with dealing with that. These conflicts all lead up to the climax where Finestand goes against Tolbertson and against the prejudices of the town and lets Les Grant go, without charging him. Vanderhaegh does a very good job of developing the characters in this play. We are first introduced to Sergeant Finestad who has a very strong character-he likes being charged and doesn’t do well with being told what to do. Finestad undergoes a very big character change through the course of this play. At the beginning, Finestad is very strict to the law, strict to the rules. As he says to Heasman before Les is brought in to be questioned, â€Å"Nothing about police work is personal. We follow the law, Tom. We’re the keepers of the rules. If we don’t keep them, what right do we have to enforce them? † This comes after he writes on the chalk board in big bold letters â€Å"NOT PERSONAL†. Through questioning Les Grant and learning his story, we see him change at the end where he lets Les go, not charging him and saying, â€Å"something broke down tonight, Tom. Either the book, or me. † He realized that he couldn’t charge Les just based on what it says in the book. The other character who undergoes change in the story is Les. Les comes from a very rough family, and has had some challenges throughout his life, but he has stayed a good, hardworking kid. He now works at the town swimming pool in the pump room, which is where he is changed. At the pool Les is bullied very badly- every day when he gets to work there is something new written about him or his mother on the bathroom walls, which he has to clean up. He puts up with this for so long until he finally can’t do it anymore and snaps, which is when he allegedly raped Tracy. Les is then judged because of his family background, and almost found guilty just based on the prejudices against him. There are other characters that help to contribute to the conflict as well. Corporal Heasman who works with Finestad is constantly against him, wanting Les to be charged to make Mr. Tolbertson happy. Mr. Tolbertson, as Finestad describes him, â€Å"likes to win, so the rules get ignored or ben. The law’s a game. † He doesn’t bother with protocol, but is just used to getting what he wants, in this case being Les being charged. He is a hard nut who always gets his way and orders everyone around, especially his wife and Tracy. Because of this, Tracy rebels and brings out her anger making other people feel bad, such as Les Grant. All these characters come together into forming the main conflict. Guy Vanderhaeghe broaches a theme that can be very relatable to people growing up in small towns. After Finestad releases Les Grant, he explains to Heasman the reason. He recalls a poem from his grade three teacher that has the lines â€Å"Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright/In the forests of the night. † He always asks himself, â€Å"Who made the tiger? Who made the tiger? † He then goes on to say, â€Å"Who made Les Grant? They did. And who made that girl? More of the same. Poor, sorry, fucked up tigers. And you and me-we’re supposed to play tiger tamer. After they’ve used their teeth. I might have been up to the game-once, but all of a sudden it seems too complicated for rules-for me. † This is where the main theme of small town prejudices is revealed, and how there’s more to people that what meets the eye. Society judges people based on their first impressions of what they see and what they’ve heard about them. The question â€Å"Who made the tiger? † refers to the events and families in people’s past that shape who that young person becomes. Tracy’s dad was very strict and hard on her, which makes her rebel, leading her to writing the cruel things about Les on the wall. Les has had to deal with his rough family life growing up which automatically causes people to judge him. Heasman describes them as a â€Å"Bad bunch, the Grants. † Les has also been bullied for such a long time that it causes him to act out. He is good kid, but all these outside influences came into making him make a bad decision. As he explained to Finestad, â€Å"Taking it from them for as long as I remember, that gave me the right. † He believed that he had the right to do that to Tracy because he has had so many things happen to him in the past. This play deals with the prejudices society has against people and how that shapes them into who they are. Guy Vanderhaegh’s use of styling really emphasizes many things in the play, whether it be through the use of different language, symbolism or repetition. Finestad’s injured back is one symbol of his relationship with Les. When Finestad hurts his back, he asks for Les to help him and says, â€Å"Don’t let them see me like this. Please don’t give me away. † He is humiliated and Les helps him, keeping his promise. At the end of the story, the tables are turned and Les is now the one who needs help. Les is asking Finestad to not lay a charge. He says, â€Å"Don’t’ give me away to them. That’s what you asked when your back went out. That’s what you asked me. † His back symbolizes the debt he owed to Les. The Tiger in Finestad’s poem also symbolizes Les Grant and Tracy Tolbertson, who had many things contributing into making who they are and resulting in the actions they did. Vanderhaegh also uses Tolbertson’s appearances as a way to contribute to the rising action of the play, leading right up to the climax. At first Tolbertson is just mentioned when Heasman and Finestad are talking about them, then he calls and Finestad ignores him, and finally he shows up trying to threaten Finestad. In all three â€Å"appearances†, Finestad put Mr. Tolbertson down leading right up to the climax where he completely opposes Mr. Tolbertson and does not charge Les. The repetition of acknowledging the statute book also emphasizes Finestad’s character change. He went from following it’s  every word to forgetting about it and going against it at the end. The staging also helps in contributing to creating the mood of the play. The whole play takes place in the one office at the police station with no scene change. This set is very basic, which makes you focus on the characters and their actions instead of their surroundings. The lighting used helps to create the atmosphere for the memories Les has, such as it creating a â€Å"lattice-work effect to suggest a grill† at the pool, or the dimming of the lights suggesting a soft summer night on the day Les picks up Tracy. Instead of scene changes, characters enter and exit the scene giving the impression of a new location. Even in memories, Tracy actually enters the office as Les is describing the memory so as to give the audience a better understanding of what happened. The use of different sounds, such as splashing at a swimming pool or music in a car helps create the atmosphere as well. At the end of scenes, the characters do not leave, rather the lights blackout. The scene is different, but they are still in the same place. This gives you a sense of mood change to the scene. Finestad never leaves the office until the very end of the play, where he turns the office light off, walks out and the curtain comes down, giving you the sense of finality. Many things have to come together in a play to get the main message across. With Guy Vanderhaegh’s effective use of styling, staging and character building he efficiently gets across to the audience the idea that with small towns come prejudices and biases, and that before making judgments you need to understand a person’s background and circumstances to get the whole story. â€Å"I Had a Job I Liked. Once. † is an interesting play with a good message to take home.

Wind Energy Significance - 2547 Words

Hayley Busch Communication in the Biological Sciences Dr. Suzanna Gribble 14 October 2014 Wind Energy Significance in Global Health and Drawback in the Ecosystem Abstract Renewable energy is essential to the health of the environment. The U.S. alone puts 6.6 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere yearly. This fossil fuel output is detrimental to human health and quality of life on earth. Wind energy is an ideal renewable source of energy since it contributes trifling amounts of carbon emissions and is a cheap source of energy. However, a major disadvantage of wind power usage is the resulting death of birds and bats. These avian species are essential to the environment in the form of insectivores. Without these creatures the insect populations increase, which results in greater plant leaf damage. This is specifically imperative in agricultural settings. However, the increase in global temperature, as a consequence of fossil fuel usage and carbon emissions, is also harmful for the avian species. Just a small rise in temperature displaces many birds and bats from their prospective habitats and acts to lower habitat ranges. This is considerably more dangerous and may result in a drop in biodiversity of avian species globally. Therefore, the global initiative must be to increase the utilization of renewable energy, more specifically wind energy. Introduction It is no longer a question if excessive use of fossil fuels is harmful to the environment; overwhelmingShow MoreRelatedHow Can Alternative Sources Of Energy Be Harnessed Effectively?866 Words   |  4 PagesHow can alternative sources of energy be harnessed effectively ? In recent years , there are new different renewable sources of energy appearing due to the limit of some traditional energy such as coal and fossil oil . China is facing the severe energy situation like the unbalance of the distribution of energy and the over-dependency of importing . Wind power and Solar power are becoming two of the main new sources of energy which are drawing attention from public . There are some advantages andRead MoreReducing and Controlling The Impact Factory Production on the Environment709 Words   |  3 Pagesplant (line two) with maximum dedusting mechanisms such as filter bags with additional dedusting systems. In addition, the factory planned and starts to construct biomass as a source of energy. It decided to use 40:60 ratio of biomass to coal during clinker production. This implementing of biomass as source of energy can reduce impacts of coal dust and other coal related problem to the surrounding environment. Moreover, the factory established envir onmental regulatory body as occupational health andRead MoreWind Power And The Glebe Mountain Wind Farm Case Essay1435 Words   |  6 Pagesthis last case study, we focus on the topic of wind power, the details of the Catamount Energy and the Glebe Mountain Wind Farm Case, and the importance of wind power around the world. It was very interesting learning about the history of the wind power and how it made an impact in the world. To start it off, it is important to understand the significance of wind power and how it plays in important role in this case study. The earliest appearance of wind power was traced back to 2000 BC in ancient BabylonRead MoreFeasibility Study On Using Ress Based Electrical Energy Essay1166 Words   |  5 Pages3. Feasibility Study 3.1 Solar Feasibility RESs based electrical energy is essentially compelled by geographic variables and utility components. India is one of the best beneficiaries of sunlight-based energy because of its ideal area in the sun-powered belt (40 °S to 40 °N). Accessibility of consistent solar radiation forecasting is crucial to the fulfillment of solar PV installations in distinctive geographical locations of the nation (Ramachandra et al., 2011). The Global Horizontal IrradianceRead MoreA Report On Marine Geophysicists1081 Words   |  5 Pagesbegan to seem unlikely. Tsunamis are provoked by different phenomena than ordinary waves; mainly by earthquakes, abrupt discharges of energy that comes from the Earth ´s crust in form of seismic waves, when near or under the ocean (Helal Mehanna, 2008, p.787). The main scale used to measure an earthquake’s magnitude is the Richter scale, which quantifies its energy release on a logarithmic scale (Kearey et al. 2009, p.10). That causes a vast displaceme nt of water in the ocean, which instigates tsunamisRead MoreAnalysis of William Wordsworths The World Is Too Much with Us1297 Words   |  5 Pagesand strives to educate all about the significance of nature conservation. Unfortunately that is not normally the case, hence he snaps at people and the destruction that he witnesses around using this poem. In the poem The World is too much with us, the speaker is complaining that the world is too overwhelming for people to appreciate. He further states that people are more concerned with time and energy and this eventually takes up most of peoples energy. The speaker states that everyone shouldRead MoreThe Natural Resources Of Colorado Essay1574 Words   |  7 Pagesoil, gas and as other energy supplies. These energy resources have provided jobs along with wealth in abundance across the state in classic boom and bust fashion. Colorado’s coal, oil and gas industries have also fueled controversial topics, including coke mining and hydraulic fracking. Today the switch to sustainable measures taking place in Colorado, such as solar and wind power, continue to shape history and culture. The steps provide constructive jobs, advocate for energy efficiency and produceRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Tribute Toward The West Wind 1031 Words   |  5 Pagesbeliefs emphasize the significan ce of aestheticism and his verse unmistakably depicted the magnificence and grandness of the natural world. In the same way as other of his Romantic associates, Shelley s own particular life was short, disastrous, and brimming with hardships. Suffocated in a sailing mischance before the age of thirty, his one yearning that his words would affect and move did not turn into a reality until long after his flight. In his lyric, Tribute toward the West Wind, Shelley utilizesRead MoreHow Can The United States Lessen Its Dependence On Fossil Fuels?1302 Words   |  6 PagesHow can the United States lessen its dependence on fossil fuels? Joan Milton Western Governor’s University How can the United States lessen its dependence on fossil fuels? Introduction The U.S obtains more than 84% of its energy from fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas. This is because people rely on it to heat their homes, power industries, run vehicles, manufacturing, and provision of electricity. It is apparent that the country’s transportation industry highly depends onRead MoreShould The Usage Of Non Renewable Source Of Energy Decrease?1241 Words   |  5 Pagesof Non-Renewable Source of Energy Decrease? Energy is defined as the ability to do work that can neither be created nor be destroyed, can only be transfer from one form of energy to other. There are many kind of energy such as mechanical energy, potential energy etc. In our daily life we need different types of energy resource in each and every time to do our work such as we need electricity to run our electrical devices, gasoline to drive our vehicle and so on. Energy are produced from different

Stereotyping Is A Way For The Human Mind - 1940 Words

Stereotyping is derived from the human need to place new things into previously formed categories, based on other life experiences. The idea of stereotyping is a way for the human mind to cope with new things and attempt to understand them. However, as the human species has evolved, a society was created where stereotyping has lead to the generalization of groups of people. The problem being that people must first and foremost be recognized as individuals, instead of being defined as a group. One of the largest forms of stereotyping is based on race and is known as racial stereotyping. Media has always been used as a way to not only sell a product, but sell a lifestyle. Since the very beginning media has used stereotyping in order to†¦show more content†¦This will lead to internal damage within the race being affected, through self doubt – leading to low self esteem, which in-turn results in low expectations, and eventually low motivation. By the end, the negative stereotypes have now become true in some cases, which is then seen by society and the stereotypes continue to be enforced. The dangers of racial stereotyping reside mostly within the race that is stereotyped with outcomes such as low employment rates, low rates of education, and high rates of crime. Now, these stereotypes are not only encouraged by other races, but by the race being stereotyped as well. What all these different racial categories actually mean, is simply what we, as a society, have decided they should mean. Racial stereotyping, encouraged and promoted by the media, is a dangerous problem focusing on likeness, and ignoring individuality. Film: Akeelah and the Bee This movie tells a story about a young african american girl from south Los Angeles, who happens to be an amazing speller and the journey she embarks on in order to make it to the national spelling bee. Keke Palmer stars as eleven year old Akeelah, who is begging to fade into the background where she wont stand out. However, when the principal gives her an ultimatum, serve her punishment in detention, or compete in the school spelling bee, Akeelah has no choice. Soon it becomes clear that she is an extremely gifted