Philosophy - In Search Of Absolute Beauty From Platos Symposium Essays

Philosophy - In search of Absolute Beauty From Plato's Symposium Webster defines beauty as the quality or the aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit. Is this correct? Cannot one person's definition of beauty differ from another person's definition? One person may find beauty in something another person finds repulsive. When someone says a woman is beautiful and another person says that a type of music is beautiful are he or she talking about the same kind of beauty? Everyone has a different idea about what is beautiful, so how are we to know what true beauty is? If everyone has his or her own opinion about what is beautiful is there a standard on which to base beauty (Dye 1)? Plato said that we see beauty in its simplest form, but with the right guidance we can see beauty in its purest form. He put forth the notion of ideal forms as a way for us to view the world in which we live. In Republic, Plato used a myth, the Allegory of the cave, to explain ideal forms. In the Allegory of the cave, prisoners are chained in a dark cave and facing the back wall of the cave. A fire casts shadows of the outside world on the wall of the cave and these shadows represent the real world to the prisoners. They assume that the echoes from the outside world are made by the shadows and they even gave names the shadows, just as we have names for objects in the real world. The prisoners are released and led to the surface of the earth and are very confused. They are unable to comprehend the true forms of things, which cast the shadows in the cave. And when the prisoners looked into the sun this new, foreign light, which is so brilliant, would blind them. The prisoners must grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. ?At first, he will see shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves. Last, he will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in his own proper place, and not in another, and he will contemplate him as he is.? This myth can be used to explain absolute beauty. We are like the prisoners, living in a dark cave, only seeing the shadows of what is real. If we have proper guidance, we can see the world in its true, pure form and not just a world of appearance. You cannot see the true forms at first, just as the prisoners could not see the real world at first because of the blinding sun. But they took small steps and were able to see and understand more and more as time went on. We too can see the world in its pure form if we take the right steps toward ideal forms (Plato 514a-521b). We still don't know what pure beauty is, only that we cannot see it without being enlightened. In Symposium, Diotma explained to Socrates what absolute beauty is and how to attain it. It cannot be explained in one idea, but many which described the different aspects of absolute beauty. To understand absolute beauty you must perceive beauty as itself and by itself, not as an object or idea. Human ideas, perceptions, and actions can partake of it but they cannot improve upon or lessen it. Absolute beauty is eternal. It has no start or no end. It does not come to be or cease to be and it doesn't increase or diminish. Absolute beauty is unchanging. It isn't attractive at one time, but not at another or attractive in one setting, but repulsive in another. Once absolute beauty is achieved, everything else in the world will pale in comparison. True beauty itself can make life worth living (Plato 211a-211d). Diotma says that things in the physical world can partake of absolute beauty, but nothing is absolutely beautiful itself. I find this hard to believe. I have experienced many things in my

Preventing School Violence

Preventing School Violence Introduction Today no special mechanism is standard for preventing school violence due to diversity in social status, economical status, and location. Schools implement various measures to prevent violence such as warning signals, checklists and, policies for zero tolerance but the dangers still persists, because some of these measures end up exacerbating the issue.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Preventing School Violence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Hypothetically, the school-based violence has a close link to poverty, which is the key factor for discontent and frustration and consequently the anger especially in developing nation. Other cases have a close link to the experiences and development. The domestic violence also has a close link to behavioural and learning problems. During development, a child may feel the need for retaliation. Other possible sources may include discrimination, the societal backgro und, the common school drug related problems, cultural imagery on the television and audio shows, materialism, competitiveness and lack of identity. A good example of the school violence is the April 16, 2007 tragedy at Virginia Tech University, which remains a big sear for the hearts of those who were directly involved as well as those affected such as the victims’ families or friends. On that terrible day, the struggling loss of lives due to one disturbed young man make many people ask what made Cho to act in a beastly manner like he did, and likewise, what can be done to prevent such kind of massacre form happening again. According to Hauser of â€Å"The New York Times† newspaper on the day of the tragedy, thirty-three people were involved in a mass murder at the university after one of the student: Cho went round the bend to a shooting rampage, in a close link to the reports made by federal law enforcement officials at the site. Many of the victims were students s hot in classrooms and dorms. In a close link to Feldman (2009), we can only stop inquiring ways of preventing such scenarios or why they occur if we realize that all the requirements for prevention are within reach. There is need for commitment over the facts and full transparency concerning logical understanding. The universities need to be on the forefront in ensuring they are well equipped with required facilities to handle health related matters. This may include the student’s counselling centres, mental health programs or support groups, procedures for making referrals and, emergency psychiatric services to encourage students to seek and share feelings before they are out of hand.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Selected Solutions to school violence There is an urgent need for the educators and parents to have the initiatives of pursuing this issue through a co ordinated procedure. It is possible to implement the violence prevention programs based on the specific school setups through solicited funds and, the government or sponsors grants. Secondly, it is promising to utilize the intelligent and well-planned campaigns to stop the violence issue and thus the need for proper and critical considerations over such crusades. This is an awareness program to fight violence especially among the teenagers. Teachers need to consider the strategy of enhancing the responsibility aspects in the minds of the learners in the effort of making them understand the importance of stopping the violence at all costs. The learners should know that the act is illegal and immoral. Today the youth have tightly embraced the extremely dynamic and advancing technology. This means that the â€Å"websites, television and radio programs, public service announcements are some vital aspects the campaigns against violence in schools ought to focus† (Prinstein and D odge, 2008). The government/sponsors also need to tighten use of technology as a teaching aid through ample sponsorship since the youth are today highly conversant with technology. Learning programs or curriculums should avail access to information on bullying prevention and support implementation of activities that support unity at school or community level. Conclusion Violence in schools is an act that erodes the learning atmosphere by impairing the teaching and learning processes. The act is very tactless to individual inner being or conscious and thus often lead to short-term and long-term consequences such as suicide and homicide as experienced at the Virginia Tech a couple of years back. For this reason, it is the responsibility of every person to work aggressively to reduce the wicked act. According to Webb and Terr (2007), healthy and productive education process cannot occur in an environment full of fear. All students have a right to a safe learning environment without the worry of attendance for the fear of unfriendly treatments or worst still abusive acts. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Preventing School Violence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The educators cannot fully depend on the government to solve all the cases or provide full protection. It would therefore be wise for everyone in the society to take initiative and commit to the issue. This can highly reduce or better still demise of the offense and the schools will thus be safe and enjoyable for everyone. References Feldman, R.S. (2009) Discovering the Life Span. (First Ed). Pearson/Prentice Hall Publishers Hauser, Christine. (2007, April 16). Virginia Tech Shooting. The New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/us/16cnd-shooting.html?_r=1 Prinstein M and Dodge K, (2008), Understanding Peer Influence in Children and Adolescents. Guilford Press publishers, P. 239 Webb N and Terr L, (2007), Play Therapy wi th Children in Crisis: Individual, Group, and Family Treatment. Guilford Press publishers, P. 251Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

Thematic Unit Definition and Tips for Teachers

Thematic Unit Definition and Tips for Teachers A Thematic unit is the organization of a curriculum around a central theme. In other words, its a series of lessons that integrate subjects across the curriculum, such as math, reading, social studies, science, language arts, etc. that all tie into the main theme of the unit. Each activity should have a main focus toward the thematic idea. A thematic unit is much broader than just choosing a topic. They cover a wide range such as Australia, mammals, or the solar system. Many teachers choose a different thematic unit for their classroom each week, while others plan their teaching themes for two to nine weeks. Why Use Thematic Units It increases students interestHelps students understand connectionsExpands assessment strategiesKeeps students engagedcompacts the curriculumSaves teachers time because it incorporates all subjectsDraws on connections from the real world and life experiences Key Components of a Thematic Unit There are eight key components of a thematic unit lesson plan. Follow these guidelines when you are creating your classroom unit. Theme - Select the theme of the unit based on Common Core standards, student interests or student experience.Grade Level - Select the appropriate grade level.Objectives - Identify the specific objectives that you would like to master during the course of the unit.Materials - Determine the materials you will use throughout the unit.Activities - Develop the activities that you will use for your thematic unit. Make sure you cover activities across the curriculum.Discussion Questions - Create a variety of discussion questions to help students think about the theme of the unit.Literature Selections - Select a variety of books that correlate with the activities and the central theme of the unit.Assessment - Evaluate student progress throughout the unit. Measure student growth through rubrics or other means of assessment. Tips for Creating Thematic Units Here are three tips to help you create a thematic unit in your classroom. Find an engaging theme - Themes can be planned around books, benchmarks, skills students need to develop, or just from student interest. Find a theme that will motivate and captivate students interest. Units are typically longer than a week, so its important to find a theme that will keep the students engaged.Create fun activities - The activities you choose are the heart of the unit. These activities need to cross the curriculum and keep students interest. Learning centers are a great way for students to get hands-on experience while learning important skills.Evaluate Students Learning - While finding a central theme, and creating engaging cross-curriculum activities are important, so is evaluating what the students have learned. Portfolio-based assessment is a great way to see students progress throughout a period of time. For example, a habitat portfolio can be created to document the progress the students made throughout the unit of habitats.

Sabor Inc Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sabor Inc Analysis - Case Study Example The standardization strategy also aimed to increase inventory turnover 20 times of the present rates. According to the company’s management, standardization will help increase sales and help prevent stock-outs. In addition, the company believed that standardization of its products would provide opportunities for lowering the company’s products thereby making the company gain a competitive edge over its rivals. Sabor Inc. had, for many years, sold air humidification and filtration units alongside its heating and cooling units. Air filtration units accounted for 7% of the total company sales. However, the manufacture of Marconil significantly increased the sales of the air filtration units as a percentage of the total sales. The Marconil was a new high-tech, thin, system of filtering small particles from the air. Sabor Inc. air filtration units became very popular due to the high number of people suffering from asthma and allergic reactions. Marconil was cheaper compared to electronic cleaning methods. Marconil cleaning system was popular due to its ability to kill airborne bacteria when used with ultraviolet light units. The Marconil filtration system led to increased sales of the Sabor Inc. air filtration system. Since the launch of the Marconi air cleaning system three years ago, the company has experienced impressive sales records. The sales have often exceeded the sales forecasts by the company’s marketing department. In the first year of its launch, the marketing department projected Marconi sales at $1million but the actual sales stood at $11 million. In the second and third years,the actual sales were $29 million and $ 72 million far beyond the sales forecasts of $15 and $40 million respectively. However, the marketing department predicts that sales growth will level off for the next three years. A. The company can contract Marconi air

Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation - Essay Example This essay will critical evaluate the entrepreneur and enterprise activities to demonstrate a thorough and practical understanding of the entrepreneurial process. Lacey, born in 1968 in London, had a passion for business from a young age. At an early age, Lacey had a dream to run a business and help companies in all industries to recruit the best personnel required (Phillips and Gully, 2012). Before entrepreneurship, Lacey worked as a business develop manager in Techpartners International Company and INS for five years, and as a sales account manager in Sysdeco UK Limited for five years (Lacey, 2015). With a wealth of experience in IT sales and networking, Lacey can handle almost any challenge posed by the sales and recruitment sectors. Like all businesspeople, Lacey has experienced the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and understands the demands of entrepreneurship. Fortunately, Lacey has very understanding parents who saw such actions as part of an education and did not interfere with the expression of ideas. Together with the business partner, Darren Rosenfeld, the ambitious men started Next Ventures from 2001 and have overcome many chall enges to make it success today (Hemingway, 2013). Lacey’s story is an example of what most entrepreneurs go through when starting entrepreneurship. There are many decisions to make, which are also accompanied by a degree of uncertainty that puts most businesspeople in a dilemma. Some of the main challenges Lacey faced included branding and marketing, delegation, and health and safety (Horn, 2013). Marketing was especially challenging because it was very difficult to convince individuals and organisations that it was worth a try (Solberg, 2013). Based on own experience, Lacey recommends that prospective entrepreneurs join hands with other like-minded individuals to actualise goals and objectives. One can even engage in entrepreneurship as a part-time venture instead of putting all efforts into one business. People

Defining Good Advice :: Definition Essays

Defining "Good Advice" Perhaps â€Å"good advice† is best defined as advice that fits into our lives, and produces desirable results. Luke reacted to this statement with the following, â€Å"I don’t know that I agree with this [the previous sentence]...good advice can be received and disregarded just as easily as it can be used, and then we may never know the results.† If and when I disregard advice, I must not find it to be that good. How well any advice fits into our lives and if we like the results is a harder thing to accomplish than one may think. If Kate had told me to â€Å"put my chin up and smile,† sure, Kate would be trying to help, but I was looking for something more specific that fit directly into my situation. Good advice can come from absolutely anyone. In narratives from our class, advice came from friends, relatives, colleges, experts, and enemies. However, all the advice we consider good advice was given to the advisee as an option, not a command. â€Å"Good advice should not be pushed on a person,† said Jeff Stotko. Not many people were willing to accept advice from someone who was telling them what to do. Instead, good advice was the stuff we are told and then we have to decide what to do with it. Good advice has a tendency to take us away from our own point of view and explore more options to the situation. Had Jackie’s contractor flat out told her without explanation that she couldn’t put in the window, she probably wouldn’t have listened to him. Her daughter’s room would now be in the living room, literally. When he told her about the problem and gave her the time to figure out what she wanted to do on her own, the advice became good advice. It d oes this because it makes Jackie decide for herself. We want to live our own lives, right? We don’t want others to live them for us; we just want their input sometimes. When the class looked at the three sections on contractions, it was pointed out that section A seemed to condemn contractions. We were all very wary to accept the paragraph which just stated without explanation that contractions are bad. The same goes for advice. I wouldn’t listen to someone who just says what I am doing is WRONG.

Assess Whether Religious Experience Demonstrates the Existence of God Essay

Religious experience can be dissected into different varieties. Alvin Plantinga argued that everyday experiences such as the sun rising should constitute as a religious experience as the sun rising is so inspirational and conjures up religious belief out of awe. Some would argue that miracles or extraordinary occurrences are proof of God’s existence. If one was to view a man turning water into wine one would see it as spectacular and possible cause religious belief. Both miracles and everyday occurrences are public experiences as they can be witnessed by anyone; however there are more private/personal religious experiences. Dreams and visions, such as St. Paul on the road to Damascus (where he heard the voice of Jesus), only apply to the person visualising them. These are also used as religious experiences if you heard the voice of Jesus it would obviously be considered a religious event. There is also the ongoing feeling that God is around you, he is guiding you through life, and this again is indescribable but rational justification for the theist as it connects to the idea of God’s omnipresence. Finally there are also mystical experience as William James explained them these are ineffable (cannot be put into words) transient (very intense experience but not necessarily a long experience, the effects however can last a lifetime) passive (cannot be controlled by the recipient) experiences that are simply indescribable. Rudolf Otto described mystical experiences as â€Å"numinous† this is the feeling of awe and wonder when confronted with the divinity that is God numinous experiences are one of terrifying and compelling mystery. Should religious experiences be the basis of God’s existence or are they simply anomalous events that are meaningless. David Hume and A.J. Ayer are well known empiricists. They would argue that unless something empirically verified it should not be deemed meaningful so if I was to see God that should be seen as meaningful as it is empirically verified. If I were to see a cat walking across a street I would think to myself that is a cat, no doubt would enter my mind I would simply establish that a cat was walking across a street. When one see’s/experiences God why the same sort of logic should not be applied is ridiculous. If I were to see God I would think that is God no questions asked. Visions of God and miracles are empirically verifiable religious experiences, Hume and Ayer cannot dismiss these as that would be contradictory to their well established beliefs, thus empirically verified religious experiences can be used a sufficient justification for God’s existence. The sceptics retort to this argument is how can we trust our empirical methods of justification. One could be hallucinating, the only reason St. Paul saw God was because he was deprived of water and had social pressures from the rising Christian religion. A.J. Ayer noted that a straight stick appears bent in water, if our senses can deceive us once they will deceive us again, we cannot trust empirical evidence therefore it cannot be used as justification for a religious experience and definitely cannot be used to justify God’s existence. Also what if the subject of supposed religious experience has taken some sort of mind altering drug surely then empirical evidence cannot be used to justify any sort of vision. Finally the sceptic would note that a religious experience is not an ordinary experience, one see’s trees everyday but experiencing God is quite different. As philosophers we must view these extraordinary experiences differently and be more analytical into the causes (such as looking at the recipient of the experience). In Brian Davies book â€Å"An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion† he highlights that to reject empirical evidence without any major reason to doubt is simply absurd. He says that if one is of sound mind, has good eyesight and is of reasonable intelligence unless then there isn’t really any reason to doubt yourself, we use empirical evidence to make everyday assertions therefore it should be no different when seeing â€Å"God†, He also highlights that if it is possible to hallucinate it is also possible to see correctly, although this sounds very basic it does reject the argument from illusion (used by most sceptics to doubt sense data). Sure we can see things that aren’t really there but most of the time we are not hallucinating. Brian Davies also uses the example of a man called Fred. He states that Fred is â€Å"as mad as a hatter and as drunk as a Lord† Fred also regularly hallucinates and because of this not many people listen to what he has to say. Despite Fred perpetual hallucinations it is not right to say that everything he says is wrong, sometimes he could be telling the truth. Davies concludes that â€Å"the fact that some people are prone to get things wrong is not a sufficient reason for others to suppose that they always get things wrong† â€Å"Behold the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have his voice†¦ we have this day seen God speak with man and man still live† This was taken from the Old Testament’s book of Deuteronomy. Religious experience is not a contemporary miracle but one of great age, we all believe in gravity yet this has only been apparent for 300 years, yet something that has been around for millenniums is still questioned. These sightings of God have been continuous since early Christianity and Judaism before that. This is not an argument about the verifiability of religious experience but simply highlights the possibility of experiencing God and also its importance in justifying the existence of God. This is the argument of John Baillie; he argued that religious experience is not just justification for God’s existence but the ultimate justification. Sceptics would reply how do you know it is God? How do you know you did not simply see and old man with a beard? Unless you have seen God before you do not know what he/she looks like. Some would argue that you need an agreed method of identifying God, if no such method has been agreed then you cannot truly say you have seen God. Also if God is transcendent of humans and surpasses them in every way then surely we cannot relate to him/her. We don’t even know if God is a physical entity to be seen. Brian Davies response to the sceptic’s argument is despite not having an identification method that is inconsequential, something may be the case even though it does not conform to the testing method, someone can still be intelligent despite getting a U in all their exams. A religious experience can still be justification for God’s existence despite not being satisfying any a priori testing method. John Hick presented the argument that our interpretations of events all differ. This dismisses the sceptics claim that there should be some sort of testing method about justifying religious experience. A person may claim to have seen God where as another might argue they have seen the devil, as both are basing this experience on a personal a priori perception of God/Devil it means that if these predetermined perceptions are different they are obviously going to disagree. William James argued that religious experience is extremely personal therefore it means different things to different people. Richard Swinburne and William Alston put forward the argument from credulity. Swinburne argued that if one has seen God one has sufficient justification to believe in God. Unless there is something manipulating this experience there is no reason to doubt a religious experience. Until your religious experience is disproven (through suspicion of evidence such as one was on drugs) then it can and should be used as justification for God’s existence. William Alston proclaimed a similar argument to Swinburne’s arguments from credulity. He said â€Å"people sometimes do perceive God and thereby acquire justified beliefs about God†. He too believed that religious experience can be used a justification for God’s existence. He said justification about God is â€Å"prima facie† this means one is justified in supposing unless there are strong enough reasons to the contrary. Both argued the religious experience should be innocent until proven guilty. A sceptic’s retort to Alston and Swinburne would be one should always doubt. Like mentioned earlier one could be subject to hallucination, we could be seeing God when he/she is not really there, you could be of total sound mind however you have a random hallucination due to water deprivation meaning you â€Å"see† God. How can we truly know that our subconscious is not malicious concocting mad religious visions? This is why the sceptic would always argue that we should always be doubtful they argue that religious experiences are not indubitable. Richard Swinburne not only proposed arguments from credulity but also arguments from testimony. Swinburne stated that unless you have sufficient reasons to doubt someone claim of religious experience you should consider it true, if a person states they have seen God you have and you have no reason not to believe them you should consider their experience as true. Brian Davies gives the example of a group of explorers who see a cat in the Amazon rainforest; they go home and tell their explorer buddies they saw a cat in the Amazon rainforest. If a second group of explorers go to the Amazon rainforest and do not see a cat, does that mean the first group were wrong? Of course not! Swinburne would argue you should believe the first group of explorers are there is no reason to doubt their word. The sceptic’s reply would be why trust the explorers? There could be social/professional pressures meaning they lied about seeing a cat because they thought it would be beneficial or because they felt pressurised by the group around them, also there could be irregularities with their testimony, maybe all cats in the world are extinct so seeing a cat is very unlikely, or what if one of the explorers said they saw a black cat and another thought they saw a ginger cat. Brain Davies responds to this by noting that people interpret things in different ways (an argument used by the sceptics), two people may see a red Ferrari one may argue that it is an ugly car where as the other could argue it is a beautiful piece of machinery, they have both seen a car yet have different views/interpretations of what they have seen. So two people may both have seen God however one may think it was God the other might think it was the Devil. Therefore to say there are problems with a testimony because of different interpretations is absurd because the fact is God was there. One can perceive God in as many ways as they want it does not matter the only thing that matters is God was there. Religious experience can be used for religious conversion and religious belief but not necessarily for the existence of God. If one believes they have seen God and as a result of this vision they believe in the existence of God that is fine, but that doesn’t necessarily mean God exists from a philosophical perspective. As the sceptic would regularly point out there are many other factors that may have influenced the subject who viewed God (such a water deprivation or drug consumption) however on an ordinary basis I feel that a vision of God or some kind of numinous experience is sufficient justification for the existence of God and religious belief. On an ordinary level religious experience can justify the existence of God but on a philosophical level it cannot, one cannot claim religious experience to be an objective truth in philosophy, but in ordinary life it is a personal matter and provides justification for God’s existence on a personal level. This is similar to what William James said in his work â€Å"Varieties of Religious Experience† he believed that religious experience was a very personal matter and is impossible to verbalise but can be used as self justification for God’s existence. He also stated that philosophy is useless in trying to prove a religion true but can show up obvious errors. One must also note that Swinburne, Alston and Davies arguments are not really proving the credibility of religious experience but simply defending it against sceptic’s attack. Personally I feel this is fine, why should the recipient of a religious experiences have to prove themselves, however I do feel some of Swinburne’s and Davies arguments to defend religious experience are not sufficient. To conclude I feel the sceptics are right in dismissing religious experience on a philosophical level, but as many previous philosophers have highlighted (such as G.E.Moore) scepticism cannot be applied to ordinary life.