Why I want To Be President Essay Example for Free

Why I want To Be President Essay Hola! â€Å"Why did the chicken cross the road?† Well, according to George W. Bush, the President of the United States, a proper answer could be. â€Å"We dont really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or it is against us. There is no middle ground here.† However, I am not George Bush, and this speech is about me running for president of the Foreign Language Honour Society. But what about language? Let us consider our own language, English, which is considered by many to be one of the hardest languages in the world to learn or speak. I read an interesting quote about the English language that goes: â€Å"Lets face it: English is a terrible language. There is no egg in the eggplant, no ham in the hamburger and neither pine nor apple in the pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England, French fries were not invented in France. We sometimes take English for granted. But if we examine its paradoxes we find that Quicksand takes you down slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. If writers write, how come fingers dont fing. If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldnt the plural of phone booth be phone beeth. If the teacher taught, why didnt the preacher praught. If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what the heck does a humanitarian eat!? Why do people recite at a play, yet play at a recital? Park on driveways and drive on parkways. You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language where a house can burn up as it burns down and in which you fill in a form by filling it out. And a bell is only heard once it goes! English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which of course isnt a race at all). That is why when the stars are out they are visible, but when the lights are out they are invisible. And why it is that when I windup my watch it starts but when I wind up this story it ends?† But back to the real reason for this speech. Why I want to be president? Because I think I would be a good one! Of course, everyone would say that, wouldn’t they? But I really mean it.   Every elected official wants to make a difference, and though, not all of them do, they all want to. Yet, I know I can make a difference in this Society, a difference that will not only improve things but make being a member of this Society something to be really proud of. Language is an art and the more languages a person knows then the broader their abilities to communicate with others. Communication is the key to any problem or any situation so when true communication is achieved, then the world can only improve from the classroom to the world of nations. This always reminds me of a quote I once read by a former politican. â€Å"When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldnt change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldnt change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.† No matter how small a group is, they can always make a difference and as the president of this Society, I know that I can help this Society make a big difference in our school and in our own lives.

Artists Expressing Their Feelings Through Objects English Literature Essay

Artists Expressing Their Feelings Through Objects English Literature Essay Artists express their feelings and what is in their minds through objects. Further, objects may also be used to express artists spirit or religion or orientation they have on various issues existing in their environment. Basic idea behind objects is maintained by strong symbolism incident on objects. Most of the times when a piece of art is displayed, people focus on the meaning the object is projecting rather than the description and the accuracy of the object. It is symbolism that makes work produced by artists to be interpreted in many ways. Even if everybody looks at the same piece of work, they will have varying ideas in their minds. It is only the creator of the piece of art who has the ultimate meaning of it. It is the inventor who understands his or her invention better than any other person. This implies that a mere observer of a piece of art will always have a different idea about that piece of art. Often the understanding is shallow and devoid of depth in meaning. Sometime s it requires one to study the background of the artist in order to get insight and deeper understanding of his work. Some artist may tell orally or in writing the meaning behind their work. By doing so, they allow people to have a better view of their world of thought and what their work stands for or represents. However many symbolists do not do so. They leave their work of art open giving room to varying interpretations. Such open interpretation technique also applies in dreams. No one person can understand another persons dream. Just like a piece of art, building blocks of dreams are experiences, feelings and emotions that human go through when they are awake replayed in their state of sleep. Such experiences are not universal. They are unique and experienced at different times under different circumstances. It is the wearer of the shoe who knows where it pinches. Likewise it is the owner of the dream who knows its origin and probable implications in his or her life. Symbolists may also use a piece of art or a painting to express their emotions or feelings at a particular time. Art an expression of what one has seen, experienced, tasted and felt. It is important to note that artist do not exist in a vacuum. They live in spaces in the world where lives are shaped by what people go through. These experiences allocate deep meanings on a piece a carving, a sculpture or a painting. Over time, mood, maturity and circumstances of the artist May change. These changes will have an effect on interpretation of the piece of creation in general. It is not easy to comprehend what dreams are and why people dream. Existence of dreams and their meaning has been and continues to be a curious subject within the scientific community. Sigmund Freud work attempts to classify sub conscious mind into three parts. Id, ego and the superego. He asserts that these sections are the inner desires that constitutes and complete the dreaming process. In his work, he defines ego as that part of the brain that is responsible for self awareness. He explains that this sections aids functionality of individuals. This is because it is aware of senses and perceptions of the world and how the world works. On the other hand, he considers the Id as the section inhabited by desires that are more often primal and primitive. Such cravings according to Freud include uncontrolled pursuit of pleasure and sexual desires. Finally, the superego functions as a censor of the Id.It suppresses evil desires and acts that are considered immoral by the wider society. It also turns desires of the Id into symbolic images or figures inside dreams(Sigmund,pg 67). Incontestable fact is; materials that constitute a dream can be traced back to experience the dreamer has gone through. These materials are then remembered or reproduced in the dream. However, in making assumption that connection between reality and dream content is obvious deliberate and careful effort should be applied before lying claim that connection between the two exists. Certain peculiarities within the memory faculty have so far defied explanation. Being fully aware of such peculiarities will make it easy for dreams to be understood. In a dream context, certain materials exist and cannot be traced as part of experience and knowledge in a wake state. Most of the times, an individual is able to remember having dreamt of the things but cannot recall actual experience or moment of its happenings in the dream. The source of such experience and knowledge in the dream remains elusive and one is tempted to believe in a separate independent activity. The truth is dreams can be mysterious as well as baffling. The same way people wonder what a piece of art means or represents, so is with the process of interpreting dreams. It is quite intriguing what a specific dream means to an individual. Largely, dreams still remain mysterious not only to the dreamer but also to scholars who have dedicated time and resources to study them. In spite of tremendous progress made in the field of science, a lot of ground is yet to be covered. Sigmund Freud has referred to a dream as royal roadà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.to the unconscious. This is a timeless statement that will remain relevant in psychology for a long time. He says that each and every dream is a fulfillment of hidden wishes. This is a theory he held on until he died. The idea that secret wishes are hidden in a dream is a central and very classical Freudian psychoanalysis. Other ideas on dreams exist besides Freudian theory. There are people who believe that dreams contain static or fixed meanings. If you dream about onions, it means hard work.. Others believe that. If you dream about death, death will occur in your family. Some modern scientists claim that dreams are images originating from uneven electrical activities in the human brain as it housecleans itself during sleep. Others who include Freud believe in unconscious relevance of dreams and view them as fulfillment of human wishes. The truth of the matter is, dreams are a valuable hint on how to better human lives. In psychotherapy-dream itself cannot be used. When narrating a dream to another person, dream is put into words. This is an unrealistic representation of images and symbols observed in the dream. Words can only paint a picture on somebody else mind through description. But they cannot completely be an alternative to the object or image seen during the dream. Talking about dream only gives the text of perception about it. Significance of imagery and symbolism in dreams. Since the beginning of time, dreams have been objects of mystery and fascination. A clear and vivid image during sleep seems to originate from sources outside our conscious mind. Every dream seems to be a clear message from the unconscious part of human beings that points to the conscious part and then expressed in a language that needs to be understood. Dreams have been referred to as the loyal path or road to human souls. They are composed of varying elements of human identity .According to Dreyer, On the most superficial level we can look at the dream as a commentary on some or ordinary everyday experience or situation that the dreamer is dealing with. On a deeper level we can explore the dream taking place in the dream with each image and symbol in the dream representing some psychological aspect of the dreamer. The conscious mind is always slow in allowing us to have full recollection of dreams. Since dreams deliver messages to humans in images and symbols, human conscious preconceptions are frequently disturbed and make one to wonder who people are and who they are about. Like a play with sub-plots and plots so is a dream. Numerous actions take place in a dream. Though dreams often exaggerate feelings and images in bizarre and grotesque way, these images and symbols are not to be taken lightly. Comprehending dreams is like exploring a piece of poem or a prose. They open up to a whole world of fantasy and imaginations which reveals to human the various aspects of self that are long kept secret like a hidden treasure awaiting discovery(Nicky,pg 32). Every dream is unique. Possessions and personal experiences of the dreamer are many and are different from one dream to another. Images that are also similar in a dream might possess different meaning for different people. This is because context in which dreams occur, individual experiences and lives are completely different. Rightness or correctness of a particular symbol or image is only known to the dreamer when it comes to interpretation of the dreams. However, there are some universal symbols and images that occur in a dream. Exploring possibilities the images represent can help to deepen and enrich the significance of a dream and open it up to deeper layers of meaning. Things that are dreamed about possess emotions as well as deeper psychological significance. This is more than what might appear apparent if one can consider a dream about a home or a house. You cannot escape from the fact that it may be a setting of a specific house one is aware about. A place one has dwelt in, seen or visited. A strong connection exists between the context of the dream and the reality of the house. What is happens in the mind or in the body in a waking state is invoked in the dream about the house or the home. One might be reminded about his or her experiences when young and living in the house. Feelings of alienation and belonging, harmony and conflict, insecurity and security during our stay there might appear in the dream. The house psychologically becomes an extension of the physical being and identity in the world. Some unfamiliar rooms or places in the house may stand for unexplained sections of potential resident in ones personality. Trying to explore unfamiliar house may indeed turn out to be a representation of somebodys effort or journey to dwell or interrogate further his or her own personality. This may as well have an extended meaning of effort made in exploring the psychological issues that resides in a persons emotional space. When one dreams of going back to a room in a house he or she knew when young, it may stand for a known or familiar situation but possessing different possibilities (Zygmunt, pg 38). Reactions and feelings to inhabitants and the house or its context is important in comprehending the importance or significance of the rooms or the entire house in the dream. This may as well stand for a wish to go back to a time of innocence during childhood or a desire to go on and leave the house by getting on with some unconcluded business in life. A unique view of ourselves as presented to us by dreams is always a factor that cannot be ignored. This more often than not originates from wiser and deeper sections of our psyche. It behaves in a way to moderate and counterbalance our perceptions. Sometimes, dreams comment on a wider worldwide and cultural issues. However it must be constellated within the confines of the entire community and our psyche. Conclusion. In psychology, wish fulfillment means realization of desires through thought process that includes neurotic symptoms, daydreams and dreams. Freudian psychoanalysis observes wish fulfillment as something which happens when superego and ego rejects cravings of the unconscious. This often happen due to guilt and fear as a result of constraints imposed on people by the society and the culture. He observes that origin of dreams is an attempt by the unconscious to deal with inner and outer conflicts that emanate from present or past occurrences. He suggests that bad dream let the brain learn to gain control over emotions resulting from distressing experiences (Sigmund, pg 117). Another scientist by the name Ferenczi observes in his work that dream, when told, may communicate something that is not being said outright. Hartmann on the subject of the dream says dreams may function like psychotherapy, by making connections in a safe place and allowing the dreamer to integrate thoughts that may be dissociated during waking life.. This observations made from Scholars of the authority on the subject do not point to specific danger caused by dreams. It is quite clear human will have to contend with dreams and study around the subject will continue to attract attention.

Urban Homelessness in Canada Essay -- Urban Homeless

Definition of Homelessness Homelessness can simply be defined as the lack of house or shelter. Hulchanski (n.d.) believes that homelessness is â€Å"a great unresolved political and social problem of our time.† He defines homelessness as: The absence of a place to live (a house or apartment or room - the physical structure) - which includes the absence of belonging to a place and the people living there (a home, in the social/psychological sense). [It refers to] situations in which people lack regular and customary access to adequate and appropriate conventional housing (the physical structures that are designed and intended to be permanent residential accommodation). A person who has no regular place to live stays in an overnight emergency shelter, an abandoned building, an all-night coffee shop or theatre, a car, outdoors, or other such places not meant to be living spaces† (Hulchanski, n.d.). On the other hand, Springer (2000) views homelessness as term encompassing many possible meanings. Springer suggests using the "houselessness" instead of homelessness. She also identifies Categories of Houselessness/Homelessness. According to Springer (2000), there are three categories of houselessness: Absolute houselessness refers to people who use public or private housing. â€Å"People sleeping rough, which means in the street, in public places or in any other place not meant for human habitation are those forming the core population of the "homeless"[as well as] those sleeping in shelters provided by welfare or other institutions† (Springer, 2000). Concealed houselessness refers to people who are houseless but temporarily housed with friends or family. â€Å"†¦all people living wit... ...trieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.parkdalelegal.org/Homeless.htm Pollack, G. (2001). "Who are Canada’s homeless?'. Reader's Digest (2001). Available at http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/44/244.html Raising the Roof. â€Å"Case Study: Homeless Initiatives Fund.† Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.raisingtheroof.org/ss-case-dsp.cfm?casefile=Homeless_Initiatives_Fund Raising the Roof. â€Å"Case Study: Literacy and Homelessness Project.† Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.raisingtheroof.org/ss-case dsp.cfm?casefile=Literacy_and_Homelessness_Project Springer, S. (2000). "Homelessness: A proposal for a Global Definition and Classification." Habitat International, Vol. 24,Urban Homelessness in 11 Toronto Report Card on Housing and Homelessness. (2003). Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.toronto.ca/homelessness/pdf/reportcard2003.pdf

The Media and Violent Crime :: Media Argumentative Persuasive Argument

The Media and Violent Crime An issue that many corporate executives ignore is the possibility that aggressive people seek reinforcement for their own destructive acts. Television violence, for instance, and the widespread public concern accompanying it have led to calls for strict controls on the depiction of violent programs. In their decision making, some producers do not take responsibility for the equally important minority. Instead, they may gear their content toward the masses, who crave sexually explicit and violent action. Fortunately, this group has the ability to disseminate violent action rationally, realizing that in reality, people who commit acts of violence have to compensate for their actions by taking full responsibility for the harm they cause others. Not everyone can distinguish fact from fantasy. Not only is it the irrational people who commit the crimes in our country, but our own children who may errantly be learning from day one that nothing bad will happen to them if they shoot their brother in the head with Daddy's pistol. Studies show that in one week of content analysis of prime-time output on seven New York City channels, there were 3,421 acts and threats of violence observed. Children's fictional entertainment programs had three times the frequency of violent acts or threats recorded in adult programs. (Gunter, p.13). many of these acts were committed without any compensation for the action without responsibility, then it must be acceptable behavior. Similarly, aggressive adults are seeking reinforcement for their own anti-social behavior from seeing attractive television characters behave in the same way. Behavioral evidence has indicated that the anti-social effects of violent television portrayals are strongest and are most likely to occur among individuals who are already aggressive. (Palmer, p. 10). The ethical question is, should television submit to mass appeal or take into consideration the affects on certain members of society, including children? The consequences of televising violence are not only harmful to some viewers but concurrently affect the television stations in the form of loss of viewers and possibly gaining a bad reputation. There are many sources, including viewers' associations and popular journalism, which have been condemning the depiction of violence in television programs as a potentially dangerous and anti-social act on the part of those who make and transmit programs. (Gunter p. 2). Still, even though these associations have been condemning television violence, their efforts have had little effect on the large money-making corporations. Therefore, the decision, on the part of those in charge of the programs, should be one of social responsibility. In his article, "Sex and Violence", Joe Saltzman states, "If, as producers

Postcolonial Theory & Feminism Essay

Postcolonial theory is actually a growing as well as a controversial field. Some of the critics understand postcolonial theory as hypothetically and incoherent not worth mentioning at its best and political harmful at its worst. Post colonial theory is however superficial as an uncritical condemnation of the Western nations, cultures as well as values. For some reasons, these wrong interpretations materialize from a lack of intellectual commitment with the topics in that same field. These critics are actually motivated by a political desire which is out to sustain and legitimize the power of Western values, nations together with the cultures. This paper will respond to these types of distortions. The paper will identify how philosophical reflections might assist people to understand the nature of connections between dissimilar cultures. After the introduction together with the main problems in the field of postcolonial theory, the paper will talk so much about the early theorists of anti-colonialism. However, postcolonial theory must be conceptualized as an extension of the aforementioned anti colonial struggles. In this situation one is able to understand fully the connections between colonialism and the western philosophy. At times when the West tends to control as well as shaping different cultures and the way of their thinking, the study of the way different cultures interacted during the past seems tremendously necessary. As a result, feminist theory is the expansion of feminism into philosophical or theoretical position. It tends to encompass the work done in a very broad variety of disciplines, importantly including the approaches towards women’s roles and lives together with the feminist politics in sociology and anthropology. Feminist theory always aims at understanding the natural history of inequality and it actually focuses on power relations, femininity politics as well as sexuality (Tiffin, 9). Postcolonial feminism is the main form of feminist philosophy which tends to criticize the Western forms of feminism, particularly liberal feminism as well as fundamental feminism plus their universalism of female experience. The postcolonial feminists argue that the cultures that are impacted by the colonialism are often vastly different and it should be treated that way. Colonial oppression might result in glorification of pre-colonial culture in which in cultures with traditions of stratification of power along the lines of gender, could somehow mean the acceptance or refusal to deal with, inherent matters of gender inequality. Postcolonial feminists does not present a united front on feminist issues, but it can be described as the feminists who have always reacted against both universalizing tendencies in the Western feminist thought as well as a lack of attention to gender issues in mainstream postcolonial thought (Tiffin, 9). A lot of postcolonial feminists tend to argue that the oppressions connecting to the colonial experience, more especially class, radical together with ethnic oppressions, have marginalized women in postcolonial societies. In one way or the other, they tend to challenge the assumption whereby the gender domination is the most important force of patriarchy. Furthermore, postcolonial feminists point to the superficial interpretation of women of non-Western societies just like the passive and people who don’t have a voice, as opposed to the depiction of Western women as educated, modern as well as empowered. At the same time as demanding gender oppression contained by their individual cultures, postcolonial feminists in addition tends to fight the charges of being â€Å"Western†, just the way some would contend within their cultures (Reina, 46). As a result, feminism is the conviction in the social, political as well as the economic equality of women. It involves a variety of movements, philosophies and theories which are concerned with the idea of gender dissimilarities as well as campaigning for the rights of women together with their interests. Feminist theory came as a result of these particular feminist movements. The idea of postcolonial feminism arose right from the gender history of colonialism. The regal powers regularly imposed Westernized norms on top of colonized areas. In the year 1940 to 1950, immediately after the creation of the United Nations, previous colonies were being supervised for what was deemed as social development by Western principles. The progression of women, in the middle of other variables, has always been supervised by questionably Western organizations for example the United Nations. Consequently, customary practices together with the roles taken up by women from time to time is regarded as objectionable by Western standards which could sometimes considered as a type of rebellion in opposition to colonial oppression. Postcolonial feminists, they really work so hard in order to fight femininity oppression in their individual cultural models of the social order relatively than from those of the Western. The fundamental theoretical principle of postcolonial feminism is that the concept of freedom, equality as well as rights stems right from the enlightenment together with privilege European and Western norms, instead of representing a universal ethical system (Boniface, 14). Postcolonial feminist writing tends to overlap a great deal with transnational feminism together with the third world feminism. Postcolonial feminism is somehow connected with post colonialism. However, there is an essential alliance among black feminists plus the postcolonial feminists because both of them have really struggled for identification by the Western feminists as well as men in their own individual ethnicity. As a result, feminist discourse actually shares a lot of similarities with post colonial theory and consequently both fields have always been thinking of being associative. They are both predominantly political and they are concerned with the struggle against injustice and oppression. However, both of them tend to refuse the established patriarchal, hierarchical system which is actually conquered by the hegemonic white men as well as passionately denying the hypothetical supremacy of mannish power together with the authority. The demoralized women are in this sense of the same kind with the colonized subject matter. Basically, exponents of post colonialism are very much reacting in opposition to colonialism in both the political and economical sense. The feminist theorists on the other hand are refusing colonialism of a sexual environment. In one way or the other, colonialism is the biggest iniquity for the reason that it mechanically entails the danger of misogynistic. Colonial oppression do affect the lives of women both socially and economically whereby it has forced postcolonial critics to take on a keener awareness of gender roles during the time when they are discussing imperialist exploits. In the same way, feminism has become very much aware of the post colonial counterparts in the latest period of time. The failure to acknowledge the historical specificity is actually damaging like any other assumptions which are based in chauvinism as well as ignorance. Feminists also tried to apply the intolerance of blanket terms towards post colonialism and they as well have subsequently been so much critical of post colonialists’ tendencies to construct one category of the colonized, hence ignoring the essential issues of gender differences (Reina, 29). There are quite a number of significant literary texts which are written both from post-colonial and feminist stand point. The texts usually share views about individuality and disparity of the subject and agreements on shared strategies of resistance against the external forces that are doctorial. Bill Ashcroft in his book, â€Å"Key Concepts in Post Colonial Studies† compares â€Å"writing place† in post-colonial theory to â€Å"writing the body† in feminism. This clearly indicates that colonized space in the discourse of feminist is the highly vulnerable body of the female. This therefore reflects the fertile and productive nature of the place and body that has got the power to yield crop and also to destroy it. They are both capable of ruthlessness when forced to it. Caryl Churchill’s controversial play â€Å"Cloud Nine† written in 1979 deals in a broader length with ‘double colonization’ towards women by their male counterparts and the colonial powers. Consequently, there is a critic of gender of familial and sexual duties in the ‘Victorian colonial society’. The play utilizes both cross-dressing and role-doubling in a comical way to fully explore the association between colonial and sexual oppression throughout history. The first act takes place in a British colony within Africa whereby Clive, one of the racist and sexist colonial administrator brings forth his stringent ideals both to his family and the natives of Africa. Being the superior white male, he identifies the roles that women and the natives must play. His doting and self effacing female counterpart is Betty. She says she is a man’s creation and what men want is what she wants to be. The boundaries of gender are fully closed as Betty is played by a man. This foregrounds her gender as a fiction that is constructed by a â€Å"male gaze†. The patriarchal society of Clive can not be able to envision the identity of women. Betty therefore, must just be played by a male actor and through Betty’s character; Churchill satirizes the traditional role of women who are subordinate in history. This forces us to recognize that the female identity is both a historical and a cultural construction. There are also some constructions of the pre-colonial that are strongly influenced by phallocentrice prejudice which defines a native woman as passive and subsidiary inferior. There are also more representations of female native figures in Western Art and Literature which perpetuate the myth of the female that is charged erotically. For instance, the primitive exotism danger of Ayesha in H. Rider Haggard’s novel â€Å"She† which is full of prejudice. And truly much of the 19th century, the black skin depicted sexual promiscuity and bad behavior It has been made clear that during the time the artists were attempting to make an ultimate change and the oppressive power connections encoded in the sense of nation, race and empire, together with those of class, gender and sexuality in tracing a path of feminist postcolonial concerns. The present feminist postcolonial theory goes on exerts a pressure on mainstream postcolonial theory on its constant iteration of the necessity to consider gender issues. Some time ago, feminist postcolonial theorists tent to criticize male theorists because of assuming the behavior of British men might take a stand for the behavior of imperial subjects in general or to symbolize the empire as a whole. The feminist postcolonial theories always engage the two fold project, to racialise mainstream feminist theory as well as to insert feminist concerns into conceptualizations of colonialism and post colonialism. Feminist postcolonial theory is concerned, among other things, to analyze the relationship among the western women and that is indigenous women (Tiffin, 9). Feminist is at present abandoned in a good number of feminist theories. The acknowledgment of subjectivity which tends to ground the feminist practice apparently doesn’t ground it for others. People don’t think the same way. However, ant-liberal feminist theory as well demonstrated and enacted its own failure to resolve the conflicts it debates so energetically. The conflicts are not going to be resolved by the theory. They cannot be resolved for the reason that women are human beings in spite of everything. Finally, that unbearable reality makes feminist theory important.

God and Philosophy Essay

Many philosophers will say that God plays an important role in a person’s mental being. Others will argue that he doesn’t and that we decide by our own mentality. The three thinkers that will be discussed in this paper made a large impact in the philosophical world with their theories and reasons. Descartes, Kant, and Hume are all important players in the world of philosophy, but according to other philosophers, so is God. Rene Descartes, a noted French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, coined the Latin phrase â€Å"Cogito ergo sum† (I think, therefore I am). He â€Å"refused to accept the scholastic and Aristotelian traditions that had dominated philosophical thought throughout the medieval period† (www. iep. utm. edu). He frequently contrasted his views with those of his predecessors. In his theology, he insists on the absolute freedom of God’s act of creation. In 1641, he wrote Mediations on First Philosophy, which he employed a method called methodological skepticism; where he doubts any idea that can be doubted. God, in Descartes’ metaphysics, is the bridge from the subjective world of thought to the objective world of scientific truth. â€Å"The mind, owing its existence to God, is innately programmed with certain ideas that correspond to reality; hence the importance, in Descartes’ system, of proving the existence of God, the perfect guarantor of our ideas, so that the mediator can move from isolated flashes of cognition to systematic knowledge of the nature of reality† (Cottingham, 31). In Meditations, he mentions the idea of a benevolent God. â€Å"Because God is benevolent, he can have some faith in the account of reality his senses provide with a working mind and sensory system and does not desire to deceive him; however, this is a continuous argument, as his very notion of a benevolent God from which he developed this argument is easily subject to the same kind of doubt as his perceptions† (www. wikipedia. com†). Descartes sought to retain the belief in the existence of innate ideas together with an acceptance of the values of data and ideas derived from an experience. Next up is Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher that held that there is an objective moral law. Most philosophers view morality very differently. Some think there is an objective moral law, but that it depends on God’s will. â€Å"Others thought morality was to do with reason, but that the reasoning was all about how to promote some objective, like one’s own happiness of welfare of society† (Walker, 5). Kant rejected these ideas, because morality is depending on something outside itself- God’s will. Kant inquired whether it could be possible to ground synthetic ? a priori’ knowledge for a study of metaphysics, because most of the principles of metaphysics from Plato through Kant’s immediate predecessors made assertions about the world or about God or about the soul. Kant’s works of 1755 reveal more of his originality and his enduring themes. Universal Natural History, deriving the present state of the planets from postulated initial conditions by reiterated applications of the laws of Newtonian mechanics, manifests not only Kant’s commitment to those laws, for which he was subsequently to seek philosophical foundations, but also his commitment to thoroughly naturalistic explanations in science, in which God can be the initial source of natural laws but never intervenes within the sequence of physical causes. Kant still holds that the existence of God can be proved as a condition of the possibility of any reality. Finally, Kant further develops his argument that scientific explanation cannot allow divine intervention in the sequence of events, and that God must be seen only as the original ground of the laws of nature. The existence of God is therefore to Kant a necessary assumption for what he sees to be an objectively valid morality. Lastly, David Hume, British philosopher, is considered one of the most influential religious philosophers. Hume questioned the process of inductive thinking, which had been the hallmark of science. He criticized the standard proofs for God’s existence, traditional notions of God’s nature and divine governance, the connection between morality and religion, and the rationality of belief in miracles. He also advanced theories on the origin of popular religious beliefs, grounding such notions in human psychology rather than in rational argument or divine revelation. For Hume, all objects of human reason are divided into two kinds: Relations of Ideas and Matters of fact. All reasoning of matters of fact is founded on Cause and Effect. Cause and Effect play a big role in Hume’s philosophy. Hume wrote The Natural History of Religion in 1757. Its main theme is the causes and consequences of the religious development of mankind from polytheism to monotheism. â€Å"Belief in a god or gods is not natural like belief in an external world, since there are races in which it is not to be found† (Quinton, 52). Contrary to many critiques Hume does believe that there is a God, however he does not believe that God is all greatness like society commonly assumes and accepts. Hume argues that because one sees an effect that doesn’t mean that we can automatically know or assume its cause. This argument can be used to explain the creation of the world. As influential as Hume was, he remains an academic skeptic, making the reasonable judgments of an ordinary life, regardless of lack of academic knowledge. God played an important role in every philosopher’s thinking. They either tried to provide proof that he does or does not exist, or tried to decipher why so many people followed a man whom they have never even met. Nevertheless, God played an important role in Kant’s, Descartes’, and Hume’s philosophical thinking. Works Cited Burnham, Douglas and James Fieser. â€Å"Rene Descartes (1596-1650). † The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2005. < http://www. iep. utm. edu/d/descarte. htm>. Cottingham, John. Descartes. New York, Rutledge: 1999. Quinton, Anthony. Hume. New York, Rutledge: 1999. â€Å"Rene Descartes. † http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Descartes. Walker, Ralph. Kant. New York, Rutledge: 1999.

I am going to send paper topic by attachment Essay

I am going to send paper topic by attachment - Essay Example But very few people consider learning a new language such as Japanese, French or German. Despite the fact that these languages are not as prevalent as English, they still are steeped in great linguistics and implications. Without doubt, there are as many reasons as to why one should learn a new language. But most important of all: learning a new language is considered to be a collective undertaking since it will always benefit the individual (Klass 1-2). I have learned Japanese language, and the communication pattern was business. The significant of learning this language is the stimulation that comes with it. It makes one develop a piqued curiosity as well as acquire a certain ache for knowledge eventually. Normally, common things become titillating, and the conscience is introduced to better ways of approaching and tackling the intricacies of our everyday lives (Klass 1-2). Japanese language has certain solid societal nuances that call up emotions whenever listened to or muttered. While appraising the Japanese food culture, it made me understand how to enunciate words, for instance, when ordering for sushi -after the waiter asks: go-chuumon wa okimaridesu ka you? (Have you decided on your order?) You simply reply by saying: Boku wa sushi (as for me, I will have sushi). This experience of aptitude and power made me think that it will one day definitely assuage much of the travelling, therefore making my future trip to Japan all the more relaxing and/or enjoyable. Irrespective of the motive why I choose to learn Japanese, the experience somehow permitted me to explore new linguistic fields. One thing, learning a new language can mean expanding career opportunities and certainly enjoying the beauty of an entirely alien language enabled me to understand the grammatical as well as historical, and sociocultural elements associated with it. Learning Japanese facilitated my overall learning abilities and thus far broadened