Rationalism and Empiricism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Rationalism and Empiricism - Essay Example It is about the psychological side that Pinker claims, "The past tense is the only case I know in which two great systems of Western thought (rationalism and empiricism) may be tested and compared on a single rich set of data, just like ordinary scientific hypotheses." But Searle argues among other things that the debate about the past tense is not a case in which "two great systems of Western thought (rationalism and empiricism) may be tested and compared on a single rich set of data." Searle argued that the features that make them "great systems of Western thought" are left unaffected by the discussion of the past tense. Their debate also included history, computation and information processing in relation to rationalism and empiricism where both thoughts oppose each other. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy which Searle (in Pinker & Searle, 2002) thinks is standard, defines rationalism as the position that reason presides over other ways of acquiring knowledge, or that it is the unique path to knowledge. It is most often encountered as a view in epistemology, where it is traditionally contrasted with empiricism, the view that the senses are primary with respect to knowledge (Audi, 1999). Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that asks the question "How do we know what we know" (Epistemology n.d.). This is a nature/nurture debate then, with Rationalists going for nature and Empiricists going for nurture. Some scientists think that people behave as they do according to genetic predispositions or even "animal instincts." This is known as the "nature" theory of human behavior. Other scientists believe that people think and behave in certain ways because they are taught to do so. This is known as the "nurture" theory of human behavior (Powell, 2006). Plato and Descartes were famous Rationalists, John Stuart Mill and David Hume were famous Empiricists. The following can be said to be the levels by which rationalism and empiricism may be differentiated. DIFFERENCES Etymology and emphasis. According to Carlo Sini (2004), the name Rationalism obviously derives from the word 'rational' which goes back to the Latin, 'ratio' meaning 'calculation'. This in turn goes back to another Latin word, 'ratus', which is the past participle of 'reor', meaning "think', 'deem', 'judge'. What runs through all of these is the emphasis on mind, an emphasis connected with the word 'rational' as well: rationalise, rationality, and similar terms. 'Empiricism' derives from another English word, 'empiric', meaning, 'derived from experience.' The term "empirical" was originally used to refer to certain ancient Greek practitioners of medicine who rejected adherence to the dogmatic doctrines of the day, preferring instead to rely on the observation of phenomena as perceived in experience (Sini, 2004). The doctrine of empiricism was first made by John Locke in the 17th century. Locke argued that the mind is a tabula rasa ("clean slate" or "blank tablet"or" white paper") on which experiences leave their marks. To Locke, the mind is like

Macroeconomics Keynesian and Classical Model Essay

Macroeconomics Keynesian and Classical Model - Essay Example Given below is the diagram showing a horizontal aggregate supply curve in Keynesian Model. If there is a decrease in income, the reasons are assigned to decrease in government spending, increase in taxes or decrease in money supply and so on. The change in income leads to changes in a number of things out of which fall in demand is one of them. Aggregate demand depends on real money supply. The real money supply is the value of money provided by the central bank and the banking system. If we write the number of dollars in the money supply as M' and the price level as P, we can write the real money supply as M'/P. When M'/P falls, interest rates increase and therefore the investment falls, leading overall aggregate demand to fall as well. When there is a fall in demand we need less output to cater the market, this is another reason for fall in investment, and an increase in unemployment as well. This was a briefing of how things would change with a decrease in income. The below given diagram shows AD as the aggregate demand before the reduction in income with E as the equi librium. Once the demand decreases due to above-mentioned reasons another line AD' is formed showing the current level of demand at the given price level. ... Now consider how wages adjust when the demand for labor decreases and firms do not need any over times. In the short run when the demand decreases workers are being paid more as compared to the output produced. The employer would want to reduce the wage expense. Change in wages is a slow process hence the employer will have to look for an alternative like looking for those employees who would be willing to work at a lower wage. This would increase some of unemployment. The employer has to be very careful in setting the wage through negotiations with the employee to consider the morale of the employee. If there is an overall decrease in demand then hiring new labor force may not be difficult, but if only one employer's demand of output has decreased then the employer may have to pay higher wage in order to keep the employees attracted to their current job. The Keynesian theory believes that, the employment offered by firms depends on the demand for their output, workers would be unemployed if the output produced exceeds the demand of the products excessively. Which would mean too much of unnecessary labor force. As such, demand-deficient unemployment is not caused by labor insisting on a wage incompatible with full employment. Since that unemployment is not the fault of the workers, but is due to factors beyond their control, it may be termed 'involuntary unemployment'. Labor market is not depended on the rate of real wages but infact on the quantity of output required. Therefore wage does not have much to do with unemployment. When the aggregate expenditure equals to AD', the equilibrium level of income is established at Y', which happens to be lower than Yf (full employment). Referring to the production function diagram [sector (b)] we see

Causes of Obesity Essay Example for Free

Causes of Obesity Essay In fact, obesity is usually caused by unhealthy eating combined with sustained lack of activity. When the amount of calories intake is larger than the amount you need for your daily activities, it will be stored as fat in your body. And the problem of obesity will gradually develop. You may wonder what the main reason of obesity is. As a matter of fact, disorder in eating habits is the main cause of the problem. If you do not try to control the amount and kind of food you eat, you may develop obesity easily. To this end you may know that your lifestyle will certainly have effect on your body weight. Your genetic makeup may also play an important role. The probability for you to develop obesity will certainly be higher if your family members have the history of obesity. As a result, you should be very careful if you family has such history. It is very common for us to eat junk food these days. We are so busy that we tend to have all our meals in our local fast food shops. As a matter of fact, a lot of people love eating burgers. However, they are usually of too much fact and it will not be good to your health if you eat burgers too much. The main problem of eating burgers is that you will not feel full with one burger. Yet a burger can already be enough for your meal. This is really a mismatch and there will certainly be a problem if you eat two burgers in one meal. There are a lot of ways to combat the problem of obesity. Of course you will need to change your lifestyle if you have the problem of obesity. You will need to start eat healthy. You should eat less junk food. Of course at the same time you should not skip any meal. It is also important for you to do more exercises. This will help you to burn more calories so that they will not be stored as fat in your body. If the problem is very serious, you may even need to take a weight loss surgery. However, you should take the option of surgery the last resort.

Postmodern Characteristics Works Of Young British Artists Cultural Studies Essay

Postmodern Characteristics Works Of Young British Artists Cultural Studies Essay Got their fame in the early 1990s, the Young British Artists (YBAs) is known as a group of highly publicized British avant-garde artists active from the late 1980s (Chilvers, 1999). In this research essay, the works of two leading artists of the YBAs, Marcus Harvey and Damien Hirst, will be mentioned and analyzed within the context of postmodern theories. The evident postmodern characteristics being discussed in the four art pieces is pluralism. Marcus Harvey (1963-now) is an English artist and painter and a leading member of YBAs; his pieces cited and analyzed in this essay are Myra (Fig. 1) and Toilet Roll (Fig. 2). Both of the two paintings are the representation of an object with blurred lines and pieces, seemingly as if the macro images are composed by tiny units and sections. The composition of the paintings and the fuzzy impressions has largely corresponded to the meaning of pluralism in postmodern theories. Damien Hirst (1965-now) is a close friend of Marcus Harvey, he is the most prominent member of YBAs and most of his works focus on the theme of Death (National Galleries of Scotland n.d.). In this essay, two of his works being analyzed are the painting LSD (Fig. 3) and the sculpture For the Love of God (Fig.4). In these two art pieces, LSD is constructed using a grid of dots of different colors while For the Love of God is consisted of human skull, platinum, and diamond. These pieces illustrate how single elements can produce new meanings when being composed together or re-arranged, similar as Harveys works, these art pieces are also a reflection of pluralism in postmodern viewpoint. In postmodernism, the word pluralism is generally used to describe the multiplicity of meaning and the status of a mixture and disorder (Bohman 1999) of culture, identities, ideologies, worldviews, religions etc. in postmodern era, it embraces the idea of fragmentation or incoherence in contemporary world. Body Pluralism is literally defined as the quality or state of being plural (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2010), which is in contrary of dualism. As we learned from the course, pluralism within postmodern practice is not only apparent within its political content but also in the strategies, processes and the styles within the works themselves. Looking back to all the theories and argumentations on postmodernism, it is easily observed that the common ground among all the discourses is to admit the chaos, disorder, fragmentation, and even meaningless of any subject from my perspective, the balance of disorder and order is a representation of what we called pluralism. Doubtlessly, pluralism has become a dominant tendency in every aspect of modern life in the backdrop of globalization and commercialization tide. According to Milbrandt (2003), the characteristics of postmodern world have directly triggered the emergence of popular culture and postmodern art forms such as visual art, on the other hand, conceptual barriers between so-called high and low culture have broken down due to the evolution of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). In one word, to study todays artistic creations in turns of different postmodern characteristics, such as pluralism, will provide us a comprehensive understanding of postmodernism theories as well as postmodern lives/practices. Speaking of the arena of art, more specifically, the YBAs, those conceptual artists, painters, sculptors and installation artists are noted for their shocking and creative tactics in making art; and as reported by The Guardian (14 June 2000), they dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. By analyzing the four works I cited in this essay, I hold the viewpoint that as typical Young British Artists works, those art pieces from Marcus Harvey and Damien Hirst have notably demonstrated and reflected the qualities of pluralism. Myra (Fig. 1) is one of the most famous and disputed works by Marcus Harvey, it is the portrait of a child killer Myra Hindley recreated from multiple copies of childrens handprints. In this artwork, numerous childrens handprints seem to cover and claw at Hindleys face and shape a unique situation: on the one hand, the image of her face is composed by those handprints; while on the other hand, those tiny palms also obliterate her features. It is commended by The Guardian Weekend (Burn, 1997) that this artwork brings the chill of horror we feel but can rarely express and suggests the coolness that is, the affectless-ness; the loss of sensation; the stray; the cold stoniness in the work itself. Connecting it with postmodern theories, one can easily catch the smell of pluralism in Myra. As Hughes (2004) and Knoper (2008) summarized (though the idea is originated from Lyotard), postmodern art represents the death of so-called meta-narratives maintained in modern society and adopts plur alism to replace dualism, thus create a sense of chaos and disorder in meanings. Such is what we read from the controversial artwork Myra, in which the tiny units are both creating and destroying the whole iconic image, based on this, varied and more in-depth meanings are conveyed. Toilet Roll (Fig. 2) is another artwork by Marcus Harvey and from which we can also find evidence of pluralism. Ang (2006) points out that, the status of pluralism and the imitation of an existed style lead to things like pastiche (an empty copy), which is an idea that suggests little of the implied depth. Toilet Roll the painting is a reflection of such death of depth I personally dont think the image in this artwork conveys much aesthetic delight, nor it is as meaningful and thought provoking as Myra. However, when we look at the fuzzy images and small blocks in the picture, a sense of meaningless and confusion is generated in readers mind. In other words, from my perspective, no/little value or meaning is the meaning of this work. LSD (Fig. 3) by Damien Hirst might be the one among the four artworks that represents pluralism most apparently and directly: a grid of dots of different colors, a simple mixture of plural elements. Similar to many postmodern paintings, one cannot easily grasp what the artist wants to express in this painting. Villeneuve Erickson (2008) point out that contemporary art cannot be judged simply by whether they are representational or attractive, and contemporary artists tend to use unconventional materials and touch difficult topics (such as sexuality, patriotism, and religion), which all present obstacles in understanding. So as to LSD, readers can have numerous interpretations to the grid of dots from varied perspectives. Those perceptions express the complex and different cultural backgrounds and social identities of the appreciators as well create the multi-dimensionality in interpretation (Song, 2009), which reveals a broader pluralism beyond the painting format itself. Besides, t he interdisciplinary mediations and analysis (Trafà ­-Prats, 2009) of contemporary art also reflects the spirit of pluralism (i.e. the interpretation of LSD may touch upon the field of music, political science, cultural studies, religious studies, etc.). For the Love of God (Fig.4) is a sculpture by Damien Hirst produced in 2007, it consists of human skull, platinum cast, and 8,601 diamonds (Hirst unveils  £50m diamond skull, 2007). Besides the value of the material itself, the artistic value of this sculpture is also precious. George Steiner (2001) claimed in his book Grammars of Creation, the age such as ours is an age of ugliness the violence, oppression, economic enslavement and social irrationality. And this artwork For the Love of God shows a hope for beauty in this age of ugliness and death and is a restoration of respect for God (Moore, 2004). The materials used in this sculpture are shock, contrasting and creative, and when Hirst constitutes the skull, the platinum, and the diamonds together, they successfully create new meanings with sharp impacts such is an aspect of pluralism, that the single distinct elements can produce an organic whole. Conclusion In conclusion, all these four art pieces analyzed in this essay is a good demonstration of pluralism in postmodern context. As artistic works created by British avant-garde artists in the post-1990s era, they successfully used some tactics and gimmicks to produce and convey what I would call a sense of nonsense and a sense of confusion and shock to the audience. It is not surprising that all the works can easily find a niche in postmodern interpretations, not only because they were produced in the context and with the idea of postmodern thoughts, but also because we are trying to read them from a postmodern perspective. Nonetheless, although it is hard to elaborate in details what aesthetic feelings or experiences they create to audience, because each individual has his/her own judgment on artistic (especially postmodern artistic) works and also because postmodern fine art is often anti-aesthetic, it is still possible to reach a better understanding of them besides the sense of nonsense, confusion and shock. From my perspective, those works in general expressed the artists concern on the spurt of modern technology, industrialization and commercialization, as well as the loss of meaning and depth in postmodern way of life, which are the eternal focuses of all forms of postmodern fine art.

welfare reform :: essays research papers

divorced, deserted, and minority mothers and their children. Few private and government retirement pensions existed in the United States before the Great Depression. The prevailing view was that individuals should save for their old age or be supported by their children. About 30 states provided some welfare aid to poor elderly persons without any source of income. Local officials generally decided who deserved old-age assistance in their community. The emphasis during the first two years of President Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" was to provide work relief for the millions of unemployed Americans. Federal money came to the states pay for public works projects, which employed the jobless. Some federal aid also directly assisted needy victims of the Depression. The states, however, remained mainly responsible for taking care of the unemployables (widows, poor children, the elderly poor, and the disabled). But states and private charities, too, were unable to keep up the support of these people at a time when tax collections and personal giving were declining steeply. In his State of the Union Address before Congress on January 4, 1935, President Roosevelt said â€Å"the time has come for action by the national government" to provide "security against the major hazards and vicissitudes [uncertainties] of life." He went on to propose the creation of federal unemployment and old-age insurance programs. He also called for guaranteed benefits for poor single mothers and their children along with other dependent persons. By permanently expanding federal responsibility for the security of all Americans, Roosevelt believed that the necessity for government make-work employment and other forms of Depression relief would disappear. In his address before Congress, Roosevelt argued that the continuation of government relief programs was a bad thing for the country: â€Å"lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit . . ..† A few months later, on August 18, 1935, Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. It set up a federal retirement program for persons over 65, which was financed by a payroll tax paid jointly by employers and their workers. FDR believed that federal old-age pensions together with employer-paid unemployment insurance (also a part of the Social Security Act) would provide the economic security people needed during both good and bad times.

Visual Artists Transmit the Values and Beliefs of Society :: Visual Arts Paintings Art

Visual Artists Transmit the Values and Beliefs of Society European artists have transmitted the values and beliefs of the society in which they worked, through the art they produced. The values of the society at that time include the establishment and development of the colonies, the exploration of the country, as well as day-to-day living and hard work. The establishment and development of the colonies was important to the people at the time, as it was crucial for their survival and the advancement of the British Empire. Paintings made by artists were often sent back no England to attract and persuade people thinking of migrating to the new land. W.S Blake's painting, entitled 'A Direct North General View of Sydney Cove à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in 1792' shows the advancement of the colony and its apparent success. The exploration of the country was greatly documented by artists of the time. Augustus Earle's painting, 'A Bivouac of Travellers in Australia in a Cabbage Tree Forest, Day Break', depicts the scene of the explorers. A group of travellers, accompanied by their native guides, presents the life of the colonial frontiersman. The painting 'Overlanders" by ST Gill, also depicts the image of the frontiersman The explorers are on their donkeys and Australia's landscape of dead timber and stunted grass trees is shown, representing the harsh and cruel land. The paintings 'Australian Landscape with Cattle' and 'My Harvest My Home', by John Glover depict the Australian rural and working scene. 'Australian Landscape with Cattle' shows the rural landscape of Australia. 'My Harvest My Home' shows the bountiful harvest that has been reaped. This painting represents a 'pioneer's paradise' and the growing prosperity of the land. The hard work that was undertaken around the gold fields is also expressed through the painting 'Gold Diggings, Ararat' by E. Roper. Roper shows the life of the people at these diggings, communities of

Explore the reasons why Othello orders the death of Desdemona Essay

Othello is a play about love, hatred, death and deception. Othello is partly betrayed by flaw in his own character. He orders the death of Cassio (his friend and ensign) and Desdemona (his wife) for a number of reasons. Chief among these are is that he is rash, violent and aggressive. He is an angry man who believes whatever Iago tells him with blind faith. He is confused by Iago’s tricks and does as he is told without thinking about its consequences. He is impulsive. He is acting like a true moore (or as what people consider him to be) in Shakespeare days. Othello has the tendency to believe whatever Iago tells him. Even before he is shown any evidence to prove that Desdemona is cheating on him. He starts to hate her â€Å"Now do I see ’tis true.† He turns a blind eye on the fact that he has not seen what the proof is yet. The proof could have been so insignificant that Othello would not trusted it, however in this case the evidence have been planted to mislead Othello. Othello is impulsive. He is rash as fire for numerous reasons. He doesn’t trust his wife (who he married with his happiness) or trust his friend, Iago, Who is his enemy. He believes that his wife is cheating on him and becomes enraged very easily.† I’ll tear her whole to pieces.† It tells us that his intentions aren’t very good. Rather than killing her he could â€Å"Shake he off to beggarly divorcement† and let her live her life. Furthermore, after Iago has completely misled him, Othello finds no other way other than thinking and ordering the death of Cassio. â€Å"Let me hear thee say that Cassio’s not alive.† He acts hastily without letting Cassio stand trail nor defend himself. He is sure that Desdemona and Cassio have become disloyal to him. The audience that Othello is an angry man and â€Å"rash as fire† by his behaviour towards Iago. â€Å"If thou dost slander her and torture me then thou hast, better been born a dog than answer my wak’d wrath†. This show that Othello can’t comprehend it that his wife might be cheating on him so he is taking his anger out on others. An example of that is he takes his anger out on Iago, who he believes to be his friend. However, he is not â€Å"rash† as fire because he resists the urges. He shows this when he is in conversation with Iago. â€Å"I’ll not believe it†. Here Othello is trying to imply that he doesn’t believe Iago fully until he sees the ‘evidence’ in the form of the handkerchief. This shows that he still trust s his wife. He is saying she is as pure as a goddess and if she isn’t then heaven isn’t so perfect when he says â€Å"if she be false then heaven mock itself†. He also proves he trusts his wife. â€Å"I’ll se before I doubt†. He still wants evidence before doing anything. â€Å"When I doubt, prove†. This shows that Othello doesn’t have complete faith in Iago. The audience cannot really blame Othello for being â€Å"rash as fire† as Iago keeps provoking his temper. Iago convinces Othello of Desdemona’s and Cassio’s guilt by using different techniques. To convince Othello, Iago plants circumstantial evidences in order to make Othello think that something is really going on between Cassio and Desdemona. He steals Desdemona’s handkerchief and leaves it in Cassio’s bedroom. â€Å"Such a handkerchief did I see Cassio wipe his beard with†. This helps Iago prove Desdemona’s infidelity as it will give Othello evidence. â€Å"Trifle†¦are to the jealous confirmation strong as proofs of holy writ†. Furthermore, Iago is reticence and implies he is withholding information. He acts like he doesn’t want to say anything. â€Å"Should you do so†¦speech should fall in vile success†. This entices Othello to say â€Å"I pray thee speak to me as to thy thinking†. This makes it seem like Iago is trustworthy because he seems to want to protect his friend, when really he wants to get Othello to hate him. â€Å"Oft my jealousy shapes faults that are not†. Iago start to lie outright. However he only does this after he has largely convinced Othello. He says that he heard Cassio talking to Desdemona in his sleep. â€Å"Sweet Desdemona †¦ let us hide our love†. This is a blatant lie but Othello is fooled and believes him. He falls into Iago’s trap. It works as he creates hideous images of Cassio and Desdemona. This is when Othello for the first time concludes that Desdemona is ‘gone’. His trust and faith in his marital happiness fades into the belief he has been rejected by Desdemona. A technique that works very well with Othello is when Iago implies he knows more than he does, making leading statements. He first introduces the topic by deliberately leading a question for Othello to ask rather than stating the full facts thus playing on Othello’s paranoia. â€Å"Did Michael Cassio, when you woo’d my lady know of your love?† This makes Othello wonder why he would want to know that. He later serves to make Othello think of Desdemona. Iago is clever and subtle in his tricks; Othello cannot be blamed for believing him. Later, when Othello is convinced, he reinforces his ‘honesty’ by saying â€Å"perhaps you mind might change†. He does this because he knows Othello won’t. Another skill which works well is making Othello angry on purpose. Iago uses graphical language to make Othello picture Desdemona and Cassio in compromising situation. â€Å"Would’st thou†¦ grossily grape on behold her topp’ed?† This gets Othello worked up. He uses shocking and profane language such as â€Å"prime as goat, hot as monkey† by saying this Othello believes Iago and becomes all senseless and wrathful. â€Å"Thou had’st better been born a dog than answer my wak’d rath†. This makes Othello irrational and witless. The audience may also consider the social and historical background to be a reason. During the time when the play was written, many events were taking place (we can see hints of this in the play). When Othello was convinced that Desdemona was cheating him, he decided he would kill her. Divorce was not an option for him as the pope, who was at time was the most important man in Europe, would not allow Othello to divorce Desdemona without a trial. Othello didn’t want to do this as he would have to prove Desdemona guilty of infidelity. Othello didn’t want to do this as he still loved Desdemona with all his heart and thought Desdemona cheated him. Another point we must consider is that when the play was written there was a good deal of racism and mis-trust for non-Christians. Shakespeare’s audience may have seen moors as barbarous heathens. This would explain his propensity for violence. Consequently coloured people such as Venetians were given fewer rights as they were regarded as barbarians. Such barbarians would react violently, because they were uncivilised. â€Å"O blood, blood, blood!† Othello’s Moorish heritage may also have influenced his anger at the loss of the handkerchief as he actually believed in its magic. â€Å"Tis true. There is a magic in the web of it†. Othello having been a soldier since he was 7 and then a general, meaning he spent his life in the army and therefore he didn’t know women well. He was also an outsider to the Venetian society and so it made it easier for Iago to convince Othello. â€Å"In Venice they do let god see the pranks they do not show their husbands†. A number of factors contribute to the killing of Desdemona and Cassio. One of the major reasons influencing Othello’s decision is Iago’s numerous lies and his way of manipulating and confusing Othello. These play a major part as, if Iago hadn’t lied to Othello, he wouldn’t have thought his wife betrayed him. Another factor that led to Desdemona’s and Cassio’s killing is that the fact that in his personal life he knew nothing about women. Iago took advantage of this and lies outright. Iago’s lies wouldn’t have worked if Othello had trust in him. If divorce was an option he probably would have considered it letting Desdemona live her life. Another reason that Othello was harsh was because that’s what moors were considered to be.