Enlightenment Of 18th Century Essays (1513 words) - Epistemologists

Enlightenment Of 18th Century The enlightenment was a great time of change in both Europe and America. Some of the biggest changes, however, happened in the minds of many and in the writings of many philosophers. These included some of the beliefs of David Hume, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and Francois Voltaire. Writers during this time focused on optimism, which is the opinion to do everything for the best (Chaney 119), and the best for these philosophers was to stretch the minds of the ordinary. David Hume was Scottish and was born on April 26, 1711 and died in 1776. He states that he was not born into a rich family and was born into the Calvinist Presbyterian Church. However, after being influenced by the works of Isaac Newton and John Locke he began to draw back from the Church. He writes in Enquiry, "The idea of God, as meaning an infinitely intelligent, wise and good Being, arises from reflecting on the operations of our own mind, and augmenting, without limit, those qualities of goodness and wisdom." (Pomerleau 214) The questions he brought up against religion were that concrete experiences must lead us and that we must think about the quality of the stories that were handed down to us. He wanted everyone to only believe the actions that one experienced, there has to be proof. He also believed that there were four basic problems to the stories that we hear. First of all, the facts to the stories are never the same to everyone. Second, we stretch the truth to make everything interesting. Third, people who do not understand these stories tend to make things up. Finally, not all of the religions agree. Therefore, the stories conflicted each other leaving a person to not know what to believe. He believes that "Our most holy religion is founded on Faith, not on reason; and it is a sure method of exposing it to put it to such a trial as it is, by no means, fitted to endure." (215) Hume also believed in the social contract. This is that kings are in power because of luck and citizens should have control over their own power. During Hume's lifetime a representative government was not something that countries thrived on. He also thought that the duties of men were to love children and to pity those that are less fortunate. He also thought that one should respect other's properties and keep our promises. Hume argued that we are born into our family with the knowledge passed on to us, from this point Hume says that government is only an interference in the lives of people. He uses the example of American Tribes where no one needs a government to keep peace within the group (Pomerleau 222). These are the two main points that Hume tried to make. They are the basis of what got people to think about their lives and decide that what they have now might not be the best thing that their life can accomplish. From his points of view, we can move on to another influential philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau. Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva in 1712. His first years in his life were very hard because his mother died shortly after birth and he was sent to live with his aunt. However, his life turned around and he married and began his life as a philosopher. Rousseau was involved with the social contract like Hume. His book, however, did not become popular until after the French Revolution because these were the conditions that the revolution was based on (Chambers 669). His ideal government would contain a small state, prevention of overpowering businesses, and equality in rank and fortune (Castell 419). He distrusted the aristocrats because he believed they were drawing away from traditions that were once held very high ("The Enlightenment," http). To him kings are just concerned with themselves and when one dies, another one is needed. None of these people ever take in to consideration the less fortunate. Everyone has to move to the beliefs of one man. Rousseau felt that the government should be in the hands of many, not just one. Ideally, everyone in a society needs to be in agreement with one another. Another belief that Rousseau represented was deism, which is that god created the universe and then allowed it to run according to natural law and not interfering with it anymore. Again, these questions began to be disputed and the people began to realize that

President Rutherford B Hayes - Fast Facts

President Rutherford B Hayes - Fast Facts Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893) served as Americas nineteenth president between 1877 and 1881. Many believe that he won the election due to an unwritten deal called the Compromise of 1877 that officially pulled troops out of the south thereby ending Reconstruction in exchange for his getting the presidency.   Here is a quick list of fast facts for Rutherford B Hayes. For more in depth information, you can also read the Rutherford B Hayes Biography Birth: October 4, 1822 Death: January 17, 1893 Term of Office: March 4, 1877-March 3, 1881 Number of Terms Elected: 1 Term First Lady: Lucy Ware Webb Rutherford B Hayes Quote: Abolish plutocracy if you would abolish poverty. Major Events While in Office: Compromise of 1877 (End of Reconstruction)Bland-Allison Act (1878)Pronounced the necessity of creating an American controlled canal in Panama (1880) States Entering Union While in Office: none Related Rutherford B Hayes Resources: These additional resources on Rutherford B Hayes can provide you with further information about the president and his times. Rutherford B Hayes BiographyTake a more in depth look at the nineteenth president of the United States through this biography. Youll learn about his childhood, family, early career, and the major events of his administration. Reconstruction EraAs the Civil War ended, the government was left with the job of mending the horrendous rift that had torn the nation apart. The programs of reconstruction were efforts to help achieve this goal. Top 10 Significant Presidential ElectionsRutherford B Hayes was involved in one of the top ten significant elections in American History. In 1876, he beat Samuel Tilden for the presidency when it was put into the House of Representatives. It is believed that through the Compromise of 1877, Hayes agreed to end Reconstruction and recall all troops from the South in exchange for the presidency Chart of Presidents and Vice PresidentsThis informative chart gives quick reference information on the presidents, vice-presidents, their terms of office, and their political parties. Other Presidential Fast Facts: Ulysses S GrantJames GarfieldList of American Presidents

The Law as a form of Deterrence for Drinking and Driving Research Paper

The Law as a form of Deterrence for Drinking and Driving - Research Paper Example According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in the reporting year 2009, alcohol related offenses across the US totaled 15,331 out of 71,048 traffic related offenses, and some studies have placed this estimate at as much as 60 % of all fatalities. Stated in terms of a percentage, this represents over 20 % of all traffic offenses According to the NHTSA, this is a drop overall in the past few decades which coincides with tougher sentencing, greater public awareness and higher conviction rates. However, the numbers continue to be alarming which means that something within the correlation of deterrence and public perception along with convictions and arrests has not been entirely successful. The following will argue that however much deterrence is a factor in the decline of incidents, it is not sufficient to make that much of a significant impact. Toward demonstrating this thesis, the following will look at the legal and social transformations that have taken place, and in turn, examine the nature of deterrence. Before examining the data, existing literature and arguments for and against the relative success of deterrence, a few remarks concerning methodology need to be stated or outlined. In the field of social research, and indeed, any scientific research, there is an important distinction to be made between a correlation and an association that is causal in nature. [Kothari, 2008, p. 138]. There is a common methodological problem with mistaking a correlation as a causal relationship, and this has significant bearing on the following analysis. A simple and absurd example can best illustrate the problem of mistaking a correlation for a causal relation. If we were to say that sea-gulls like eating marine life because they are white, would be a clear mistake of confusing a correlation for a cause. While it is true that sea-gulls eat or diet on seafood to speak, and it is true (mostly true for the sake of an argument) that seagulls have white coloring, it is not true that the color of a bird is going to effect the dietary practices of the bird. The prevalence of the color is being confused for a cause in this instance. While absurd, the example nonetheless highlights an important preliminary methodological consideration. The following will look at the correlations of deterrence as it pertains to lowered amounts of drunk driving offenses and fatalities, but it will do so cautiously. This common problem in social research will be kept in the foreground of the analysis, and concerning ultimate causes of the decline of offenses, this analysis will suspend making an conclusive judgments, and in turn, focus on the 'correlation' of variables that are associated with deterrence and their prevalence. STRATEGIES FOR DETERRENCE. LEGAL STRATEGIES & INTERVENTIONS: Before blood levels became the way in which DUI was determined, arrests used to be done on the basis of the officer acting as a witness and by them administering some basic road-side tests that would evaluate the co-ordina tion and response time of the individual who was suspected of DUI [Chambliss, 2011, p. 63]. Because of the relatively subjective nature of the investigating techniques, and many of the successful challenges to the enforcement of this, the measurement of blood alcohol levels, through blood, breath and urine, became the more accurate standard, and in almost all states the blood alcohol line is .08 % [Chambliss, 2011, p. 64]. Moreover, a more accurate way of measuring blood alcohol levels, impacted the conviction rate for offenders [Chambliss, 2011, p. 65]. However, it did also create a few problems regarding the administration of the test. If a police officer suspects a driver of DUI they can ask them to submit themselves to a

Investing in IT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Investing in IT - Essay Example tened that our current human resource could not operate our kind of business without the backing of a well-established information systems department. Our technical department argued that with most of our business processes and transactions being computer based we had to take care of tasks such as system administrations, computer hardware engineering and networking, management of data and software and database design. The option of external sourcing for professionals to carry out these tasks for us was expensive and not viable in the long term for our business. According to Brynjolfsson (1994, p.6), investing in information technology does pay for a number of reasons and taking that into consideration, we have been able to reduce the workload on our workers while saving on time, grow our business further and make profits, deliver quality, effective and satisfactory service to our clients due to the increased positive feedback responses, improve our overall production in terms of output from our human resource, tracing of our business courses and document storage facilitation, control our transportation and communication related activities, thus cutting down on expenses involved, attract new businesses as a result of our new web augmentations such as blogs, client support structures, merchandise catalogs and newsletters as currently we are facing increased traffic and gain a competitive edge over our customers and increase the number of our customers. As Brynjolfsson reiterated on the importance of information technology (1993, p.66-78), we too have managed to measure the impact information technology has had on our business and so far it’s a positive one. We took a number of factors into consideration: Customers - We had a look at the number of new and return customers and we realized our numbers increased and so we seem to be heading in the right direction in terms of offering solutions to our customer needs. Were we able to describe their problem correctly

The diary of Francis Seyton Essay Example for Free

The diary of Francis Seyton Essay One year hath passed, twelve months I have endured the backstabbing treachery of these troubled times, which are strange beyond all comprehension, and I but a humble servant am trapped inside a conflict of conscience and valour. Many things, all alien to me have I seen or heard, my mind is in turmoil should I believe what I see? Merely a week ago brave king Macbeth was pronounced unwell. When attending a banquet he was suggesting the iniquitous and muttering words dictated by Satan in a disturbing manner. Who would have thought? The king himself. When Macbeth was crowned I swore allegiance to him and his cause. Am I a servant of the devil? I fear so. My fears were accentuated when the most tragic and appalling incident transpired. For many weeks a doctor had been attending to lady Macbeth after a maid requested her attention as she was worried for the ladys well being. I was not informed of the reasoning behind the calling of the doctor but rumours were rife. With my mind a drift believing was not necessarily seeing and therefore I could not confirm any of the circulating gossip, which could so easily be false but just as easily true. I chose to postulate the rumour, actually closer to conspiracy theory of Macbeth and lady Macbeths plot to replace Duncan whether through fair play or not to become of a royal stature, influenced by satanical forces, which will eventually lead them to exasperation. I noticed lady Macbeths rather mystifying ritual of rubbing her hands together religiously as if to be washing the, scrubbing them of her sins to a degree, I passed her chamber a few days ago to hear her say: Heres the smell of blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand, oh, oh, oh! Foul whisperings were abroad, unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles; infected minds to their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets. With this and other accumulating evidence I put two and two together and came to a conclusion. Later that night I could not rest. A battle was underway in the depths of my mind, a bloody uproar against my murderous master. I could imagine only one way to rid me of the turbulent dreams distracting my sleep, to confront the demonic Queen and question her righteousness. I dressed myself in my finest robes, brilliant gold buttons and glistening silver laces, if I were to die tonight I would rather depart this ominous place presentably with self respect. I approached the chamber door, breathing erratically like the waves at sea in the most ferocious storm, crashing into my hull, untameable. The door lays ahead dare I go forth? I approach the point of no return, when I must pass through the gates of hell and conquer the foul creature Cerberus, Satans servant. The carvings on the door seem alive, the writhing serpents spitting venom, intimidating, driving me away. But I must prevail, I thrust forward grinding my teeth, clenching my fists, a raging sweat takes over my body, the adrenaline driving me toward. I fight back the serpents and place my hand on the chamber door. It is locked. I hear crying from within the room, which quietens down to a feeble murmur. I draw back and knock on the door, once, no reply, twice, silence, thrice, a blood curdling scream! Terror shoots through my veins like a galloping horse. Oh suck on my chocolate salty balls! Quickly I delve deep into my pocket and grasp my keys. Nervously I struggle to search through the brace and locate the key. Finally after what seemed like hours I set my hands on the key, and inserted it into the mortise lock. The key turned, another scream echoed through the corridor further emphasising my trepidation. I fear what lies ahead, could this be the end of my short-lived existence. I summon the curraige from the depths of my heart and continue to open the now unlocked door, the final stand lies ahead, I worry gravely but I know I must go forth. Upon opening the door I see nothing, darkness and the only thing I fear more is the light for what it may bring. Quietness now blankets the room an eerie darkness sends fear into the roots of my soul. I reach for the torch in the corner of the room, extinguished, sharing the same fate as lady Macbeth I fear. With my flint and tinderbox I strike and send a revealing light across the room. To my surprise I see the queen sat at her mirror, staring as if in a trance, vacant of reality. Preceding forward I notice makeup scattered over the floor, in a trail all the way to her seat. Looking at the mirror I see her reflection, a ruined figure with a pathetic look and makeup smudged by tears. I stop and ask myself have I the audacity to question her, I see her hurting I have reservations of whether I am insensitive enough. No, I cannot. Hoping I am unnoticed I turn, face the door and begin to walk away, regretting every stupid thought that entered my head, who am I to dispute the Queen? A mere Ill educated servant. My stupidity astounds me. I hear a sharp slicing sound from within the room, like the edge my razor, cutting the cheek as I shave in the morning, a sound that sends shivers through my spine. I turn and run towards the queen, I hear her wheezing through a self-inflicted mortal wound, leaking air, spewing blood in her throat, I hear her life escaping and quickly grasp her hand preventing her from falling from her chair. I hear her faint gargled voice trying to break through, drowning in her own blood. Tears begin to well in my eyes and a scream bursts forth from my mouth like a wolfs cry. Slowly the life in her escapes, she lies coughing, choking and I am helpless, unable to assist, I feel so worthless, where is help? For an eternity I stand with the queen dying in my arms. Blood covers the room in a viscous sheet, dark red, shining like a sheet of silk. I see the knife glinting in the dull light, blood stained on the floor, and the makeup on the queens face is ruined, ironic, what is on the outside has become what was on the inside, a broken woman. I hear footsteps, too late. As the queen draws her last breaths servants run into the room. They stand and stare at the bloody wreck of the queen and they too begin to cry, with their hands on their hearts, looking towards the floor it is obvious they are too late. Then without warning she exhales, her whole body becomes limp from head to toe, she is dead. I lift her from the chair and place her on her bed. I cannot stand to look at her pretty face stained with blood so I lift up the white sheet covering her bed and place it over her body. One of my colleagues faints and collapses on the floor, obviously overcome by the horror that fills the room. I know that eventually I must leave and give the disparaging news to my master; I fear he will not take it kindly.

Letters in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice Essay -- Jane Austen Prid

Letters play a very important role in ‘Pride and Prejudice’. They can tie the story together because letters provide information which we would not have found out from the dialogue between the characters. We can also find out extra background information which can help with the reader’s understanding of characters, the plot and the novel in general. Letters can reveal character’s personalities and how they feel about the other characters in the novel, for example Miss Bingley’s feelings about Jane. Letters are used as a dramatic device in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ to further the plot, link the story and to inform the readers of the character’s personalities. Letters are also an extremely important part of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ because at the time when the novel was written, letters were the only way of communicating other than through word of mouth. Letters can be used to deliver good and bad news at any time. They did not have telephones so a letter would be the most appropriate way of keeping touch with friends and family. Jane and Elizabeth are two of the main characters in the novel and they write to each other frequently during their visits away from each other. The sisters share some parts of their personalities. Both are caring, loving and considerate towards other people, but Jane is extremely loving and she does not want to judge any of the other characters in the novel before she has heard the entire story. This is because she does not want to think badly of anyone. We know this from Jane’s letter to Elizabeth regarding the actions of Miss Bingley and Miss Hurst in London. ‘If I were not afraid of judging harshly, I should be almost tempted to say, that there is a strong appearance of duplicity in all thi... ...Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Norwalk: The Easton Press, 2008. Internet Sources Consulted "Psychological Growth in Pride and Prejudice | MSS Research." MSS Research. MSS Research, n.d. Web. 02 May 2015. Marcus, Mordecai. â€Å"A Major Thematic Pattern in Pride and Prejudice.† Nineteenth-Century Fiction 16.2 (Dec. 1961): 274-279. JSTOR. Web. 02 May 2015. Stovel, Bruce. ‘A Contrariety of Emotion’: Jane Austen’s Ambivalent Lovers in Pride and Prejudice.† The International Fiction Review 14.1 (Winter 1987): 27-33. Literature Resource Center. Web. 02 May 2015. Weinsheimer, Joel. â€Å"Change and the Hierarchy of Marriages in Pride and Prejudice.† ELH 39.3 (Sept. 1972): 404-419. JSTOR. Web. 02 May 2015. Wiesenfarth, Joseph. â€Å"The Case of Pride and Prejudice.† Studies in the Novel 16.3 (Fall 1984): 261–73. Literature Resource Center. Web. 02 May 2015.

Assessment of the Interactive Behavior Style

According to the DISC Platinum Rule Assessment, the â€Å"Interactive† behavior style defines people who are highly focused on other people. They love being around groups and they are fond of being involved in groups. They are generally extroverts and they do not like to be alone. They love working with other people. And they are very sociable. According to the assessment, people who are â€Å"interactive† get their motivation from being around other people. Their ultimate goal is to get other people’s recognition. They want to earn applause, acceptance, and complements.If recognition from other people is not present, they will ultimately lose their interest in whatever they are doing. Their drive to strive for their goals comes from other people. Most of the time, their ultimate goal is to earn to be appreciated. As for their decision making and their lifestyles, people categorized under the â€Å"interactive† behavior are very fast paced. They do not lik e routines. They are very spontaneous. Because of their liveliness, they usually want to do a lot of things all at the same time. Even if they are still involved with one activity, they jump to another task. That is why they often end up so disorganized.Aside from disliking everyday habitual activities, interactive people also don’t like facts. They do not like details. Instead, they generalize information. They base their conclusions on â€Å"guesstimates† than on highly objective and empirical data. That is why they often exaggerate. Interactive people also work well with others. Because they are sociable, they usually tend to attract the attention of others. They also have the ability to motivate others in order to work towards a common goal that they also pursue. They are perfect for those professions and careers that require excellent rapport with other people.They should be in the field of sales, entertainment, public relations, social welfare, and the like. Appl ication of Strengths and Weaknesses Just like what the assessment states, I am optimistic. I see life as an opportunity to do various activities. I am positive and cheerful. Everyday, my greatest accomplishment seems to stem from fulfilling one or two lively activities. Even if there is really nothing to do outside, I make it a point to go out and to look for something that I can occupy myself with. I love being around other people and that is probably why I value my friends so much.I also like going to parties and other social activities. I make it a point to form new friends despite the fact that I already have many acquaintances. Whenever I go to social gatherings, I make it a point to meet a new friend. I am one of those few people that you cannot alienate even if you expose me to groups of people that I do not know. I am also persuasive and very motivating. I can easily talk my friends into doing something I believe is terrific. In addition to that, I am very enthusiastic. I th ink it is a total waste of time to be lying around and doing nothing.I love engaging in various activities, even those which I am not very familiar with. I am passionate about living life to the fullest. However, because I do love engaging in many activities, I often become careless primarily because I am often preoccupied with so many things all at the same time. This is also probably the reason why I often end up being disorganized. My initially planned schedule for the day often gets tangled with the other activities that I usually want to slip in it. Analysis of the behavior assessment The analysis seems to be quite accurate in describing the prime motivators, strengths, and weaknesses of a person.The data yielded is very useful primarily because it was very thorough in describing the assessed person. It includes the possible conflicts associated with his set of strengths and weaknesses, as well as the possible steps that can be taken to solve such conflicts. The data provided i n the assessment can largely contribute to overall self-improvement. Understanding your tendencies and gaining insight on your personality can improve rapport and communication with other people. It can predict job performance and potential leadership skills (Kierstead, 1998). It can also be used in understanding the personalities of other people.In a personal case, it can help one concentrate on his strengths while altering his weaknesses. However, it should be noted that people should not confine their identities to the discussed test results (Carey,2004). Also, I have noticed that some characteristics of a particular behavior type often overlap some of the traits of the other types. Though the delineation between the types is often very obvious in the initial description, the question of exclusivity between the characteristics can be observed in the specific details of the subtypes of the behavior assessment.Also, although the results of the assessments are quite accurate, it sho uld be noted that people should not confine their self concept with the descriptions provided by behavioral evaluation, no matter how elaborate they are. Regardless of how complete and concise the assessment results are, people should realize that the results were based on a personality evaluation taken during a certain period of time at a certain moment in a person’s life. In simple terms, it is relatively an accurate assessment of someone’s here and now.It should be noted that people are rapidly evolving beings that can radically alter their behavior and personality over time, based on the set of experiences and challenges that come their way. A person with an interactive behavior type can transform into one who has a cautious or dominant behavior after having one of those life changing experiences or major life turn points. Basically, a technical generalization of the personalities of men should not be regarded as the sole indicator of how a person should be interpr eted.It should not be sued as a basis of what kind of people should one get along with. Confining your analysis of people into four types or sixteen subtypes can greatly promote stereotyping. As such, these should not be used as the sole basis of interaction with other people. In order to ascertain the adaptability and the efficiency of this behavior evaluation, such forms of assessments should be taken regularly in order to form comprehensive and accurate concepts of one’s self.