Philosophy †Free Will vs Determinism Essay

The dialogue between philosophers over the existence of free will versus the inevitability of determinism is a debate that will always exist. The discussion centers around the true freedom of humans to think and act according to their own judgment versus the concept that humans are intrinsically bound by the physical laws of the universe. Before I enter this chicken and the egg debate I need to quantify my terms: Free will is defined by the great philosopher, St. Thomas Aquinas as â€Å"vis electiva† or free choice. It is the ability of man to contemplate and judge the effects of the actions he is about to take. †¦But man acts from judgment, because by his apprehensive power he judges that something should be avoided or sought. But because this judgment, in the case of some particular act, is not from a natural instinct but from some act of comparison in the reason, therefore he acts from free judgment and retains the power of being inclined to various things. † (Aquinas. Suma Theologica) Determinism is a complex notion but is best described by David Hume as the notion that something cannot come from nothing and that all actions have causes preceding them. I conceive that nothing taketh beginning from itself, but from the action of some other immediate agent without itself. And that therefore, when first a man hath an appetite or will to something, to which immediately before he had no appetite nor will, the cause of his will, is not the will itself, but something else not in his own disposing. So that whereas it is out of controversy, that of voluntary actions the will is the necessary cause, and by this which is said, the will is also caused by other things whereof it disposeth not, it followeth, that voluntary actions have all of them necessary causes, and therefore are necessitated. (Hume. Liberty and Nessessity. ) Philosophy and world religion alike were born of the same origins. Each of the two ancient disciplines arose from the quest for the answers to life’s ominous questions. These human questions, archetypical to people of all geographic locations; where did we come from; why are we here; where do we go when we die; unite us as a race. It is no coincidence that each religion and theology from all four corners of the earth tackles these black holes of human logic. Each religion carves their own individual explanations of these unanswerable questions into their core belief systems, each one centrally different than others. However, they all share one common thought; each shares a belief in an afterlife determined by the choices made in life. Free will is the common denominator in all world religions, because all share the essential concept of morality. The widespread acceptance of the concept of morality implies that there is a choice to be had at each and every juncture or life. The choice comes from recognition of good and evil. For good and evil to exist, then there has to be the ability to decipher between the two and also decide to accept one over the other. The existence of morality alone proves that free will exists, because without the freedom to choose right or wrong in any given situation there would be no qualitative measure of the â€Å"rightness† or â€Å"wrongness† of ones actions. David Hume comments on the origin of morality and its place in our everyday decision making processes, â€Å"Only when you turn your reflexion into your own breast, and find a sentiment of disapprobation† (Hume.  Treatise of Human Nature). In other words, there are no outside stimuli that can decipher good from evil; the line can only be drawn by internal thought. Hume was a naturalist in that his vision of the world and therefore stance of philosophy was based directly through the experiences of the senses. His stance on many issues directly originated from his ability to experience it with the five senses, and on the subject of morality he takes exception. Even he recognizes the existence of morality in everyday life, even though it cannot be explained through the lens of the senses. It would seem that morality’s acceptance must therefore prove that free will exists, but there is one essential school of thought yet to weigh on this topic; science. Science was the latest bloomer of the three major disciplines of existential explanation and in the post modern era is becoming more and more popular. As the world becomes further secularized and the reaches of scientific logic continue to exceed their grasp, many of the world’s intellectuals identify â€Å"truth† on a scientific scale. Science does not support the theory of morality, because it can’t be proven to exist. The notion of â€Å"free-will†, something which world religion and philosophies alike recognize as a fundamental part of our human anatomy, is called into question in a few simple and logical ways. Science supports the theory of determinism as the only logical explanation of the unfolding of the actions of our lives. First off, science has recently developed the discipline known to us as physics, in which the laws of the universe have been defined. In the short time in which humans have been graced by the scientific understanding of the laws of the universe, human kind has yet to fully step back and contemplate the magnitude of this discovery. In generations past, humans believed that we were made special with â€Å"free will†, but now we know that like all things in the universe we are subject to the physical laws. This is a huge step forward in rational thinking because it allows us to understand that our previously God given concept of â€Å"free will† was really a result of a lack of understanding of the deterministic laws of the universe. For instance a law as simple and commonly accepted as â€Å"gravity† challenges the idea of free will. Gravitational pull determines that no matter the size of an object, once separate from the surface of the earth will be dragged back down at the same force every time. This is a simple concept that we take for granted, but it works in the free will v. determinism argument. We are ruled by gravity, and therefore all of our lives activities answer to it. We can’t choose to jump off a building and float in the air because we’ll be pulled back to the ground to our imminent deaths. We can’t choose to stay younger and keep our skin tight to our faces because gravity’s long-term effect causes our skin to droop down towards the ground. The choices I just listed may seem farfetched to some, however, if we examine the notion that we have â€Å"free will† in the empirical sense of the word we see that not all of our decisions are controlled by us, and that we fall victim to the tyrannical rule of the physical laws of the universe. We aren’t truly â€Å"free† to create our own actions in life. Albert Einstein offers a particularly apt synopsis, â€Å"Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper. † (Albert Einstein) The rule of physical law aside, which hinders us from truly being â€Å"free† to choose our own actions in life, is a much more simple scientific argument that dispels the notion of free will. For example: Say a 20 year old man murders another man in cold blood. They have no affiliation, no prior knowledge of who each other is, or reason to dislike each other. Man A walks up to random Man B and shoots and kills him. Was this action of Man A a result of â€Å"free will†? To examine the notion fully you need to look at his action coming from two sources. Either Man A was born with the moral flaw to allow himself to find killing another human acceptable, or that Man A was influenced during the course of his life by interactions and actions of others and came to that conclusion based on his own experience. There is no other explanation for Man A to willingly choose to open fire on Man B and kill him. If we look at the first option, Man A’s natural moral compass was skewed, allowing for him to conceive the notion that killing another is okay. This speaks to the determinant nature of our chemical makeup. Its possible his DNA made a mistake coding somewhere and he developed overtime and understood that killing another is â€Å"wrong† or maybe that his entire sense of â€Å"right from wrong† was skewed inside his mind. This would lead Man A to lead a life normally on the outside, and yet without regard for consequence, open fire on another man and kill him as easily as he could have held a door for him. This is the idea that he naturally had the capacity to kill, and that he could not control it. Eventually one of his animalistic impulses would finally stick and he’d be in the right place at the right time, and that it was only a matter of time until he killed someone. If you don’t subscribe to that theory and believe that he chose to kill Man B that day, try and consider that the results will still be pre-determined. If Man A killed Man B due to his choice, then his own â€Å"free will† and judgment that he finds reprehensible to kill another man can’t be attributed to truly â€Å"free† will of choice. Not every human kills others as part of their natural lifestyle, as they might kiss or mate with another. In fact a very small percentage of people in the world murder other humans, and this begs the question of why? What makes this small percentage of people â€Å"choose† to kill another person? The answer is that if they choose to do it, and they weren’t previously miswired so as said in the prior paragraph, then they must have been influenced by their surroundings. When Man A was six years old he didn’t choose to murder Man B, the events of his life led him to make this decision about whether or not murder was okay. This is yet another reason that he wasn’t truly free to choose; outside influence hinders the ability to choose freely. Whether he was abused, molested, lost a loved one, or just plain fed up with the monotony of everyday life in society, something pushed him over the edge. Something allowed for him to justify his actions; that something is outside influence. This deterministic train of thought explains why people do what they do, but not when. What makes us actually hit the point of no return, or when will the right opportunity hit the right mood leading the right action? (In our example the murder of Man B) The paradox between â€Å"free will† and â€Å"determinism† exists because of the influence of the different schools of thought. If one aligns his personal truth based on religious fervor, then an understanding of â€Å"free will† can exist logically and on the other hand if one bases his logic around science then â€Å"determinism† seems to be the only answer. So where does that leave philosophy, the great bridge between the two polarized schools of thought? It leaves philosophy somewhere in the middle, examining the validity of both sides of the argument, and helping to shed light on the debate over whether or not we truly are free to make a choice or if we are merely floating along the currents of the universe. Personally, I’m lost somewhere in the middle, hoping that the answer to this time-old question will be revealed.

Patience and Courage

At first glance, it might seem that patience and courage are dispositions that tend in different directions, reflecting different strengths. If we are asked to imagine exemplars of each of these virtues, we probably call two very different individuals to mind—the courageous person imposing, heroic, probably male, and the patient person quiet, reserved, quite likely female. (After all, Ancient Greek courage simply was the virtue of manliness (andreia), and the Victorians used to name their daughters Patience.)Some of our images of courage may even positively conflict with some of our images of patience, with the courageous person insisting upon action while the patient person implores him to wait. In his wonderful paper, â€Å"Patience and Courage† (Philosophy 68(266), 1993), Eamonn Callan begins with a sort of thought experiment intended to capture our intuitive–though he thinks mistaken–sense of the relative significance of patience and courage: Suppose y our friends had to ascribe a single vice to you in large measure, along with any virtues that could be coherently combined with that salient vice.Suppose further that the vice had to be either cowardice or impatience. Which would you choose? (p. 523) Callan suspects that â€Å"almost everyone would choose impatience without hesitation,† because a coward strikes us as an unreliable kind of person, and impatience itself might in some cases be a good thing, e. g. impatience with tyranny and injustice. Callan goes on to argue against this intuitive response, in that it underestimates the need for patience (an idea I have explored in previous posts), and also suggests that a more nuanced thinking about courage and patience shows that these virtues do not essentially conflict.This should not be so surprising if we think, as Aquinas does, of patience as a part of fortitude, and recognize fortitude itself as the core of courage (or, as synonymous with courage). Of course, when we spe ak of fortitude, we speak of endurance, and talk of courage (or bravery) may seem instead to call to mind the â€Å"courage of the charge. † But charging, as Tim O'Brien notes in his memoir on Vietnam, is only a tiny slice of bravery–once one has charged into danger, there is much to be endured. Or consider this perhaps surprising remark from Kierkegaard's Purity ofHeart: â€Å"Is patience not precisely that courage which voluntarily accepts unavoidable suffering? The unavoidable is just the thing which will shatter courage† (p. 173). Interestingly (as the translator notes), the Danish for patience taalmod contains the term for courage (mod). (Literally, taalmod is â€Å"enduring courage. â€Å") Kierkegaard connects patience to â€Å"unavoidable suffering† and thus implies that courage differs in that in courage we choose to put ourselves in the way of danger and adversity for a noble cause.And he discusses how it may seem then that there can be no vir tue in enduring adversity that is unavoidable and which, it seems, cannot be chosen. (If it's unavoidable, then there seems to be no real choice. ) Here, he imagines the mocking voice of someone who says that this â€Å"patience† is merely â€Å"making a virtue out of necessity,† and Kierkegaard replies, yes, that's exactly it! His point is that merely being saddled with unavoidable suffering or adversity does not imply that we will, as it were, shoulder that adversity in such a way that we remain committed to the Good.We may despair, or become bitter and resentful, angry at the world. Of course, it may be that since Kierkegaard is a theist, he can assume that there is some way in which any suffering thrown at us can possibly be endured well. Non-theists may not have grounds for the same hope. But let me put that, for now, to the side. (I hope to write a chapter about this issue in the future. ) Callan discusses a case that goes to Kierkegaard's point: a man loses his sight, and vacillates between despair and rage, who thinks that the possibility of a good life has vanished.It is not that he fails to learn how to get around in the world in spite of his blindness, but his life is devoid of all hope and joy because of the deep resentment he has about having become blind. He refuses to accept this unavoidable part of his life. Callan says, â€Å"The blind man in my story has no patience for the moral task his blindness has set him, and no amount of courage or fortitude can compensate for the absence of that virtue† (p. 526). Now here, there are interpretive difficulties, since I suggested above that we might see courage and patience as linked by fortitude. Here we might takeCallan to be treating fortitude as a kind of thickness of skin, the stoniness we might ascribe to the Stoic sage: he is in despair, but doesn't show it. I have argued in my essay â€Å"In Defense of Patience† (newly revised as of yesterday), that perhaps we should q uestion the idea that fortitude and patience can be pulled apart very far, that we should not reduce fortitude to the external appearance. (Otherwise, we can't distinguish genuine fortitude and endurance from mere psychic deadness. ) Callan's point–at any rate–is that the possibility of this man's seeing and seeking Good in his life depends upon his coming to accept his blindness.Why call that patience? Perhaps what I said about love and patience in a previous post provides part of an answer, especially if we can translate some of what I said about learning to love another person into talk of learning to love one's situation. (This is what Chris Cowley's â€Å"Learning to Love† is all about, in Philosophical Topics 38(1), 2010. ) Here, we come to accept the distance between our new condition and our previous one, and re-commit to living well (and not merely, as Cowley discusses, â€Å"making the best of it†).We can call this patience, but at the same time , I think we can see, pace Callan to some extent, that such a process may in any number of cases also involve the kind of strength we describe as courage. People who are seriously injured and require extensive physical rehabilitation are sometimes praised for their courage in their efforts to endure the problems caused by their injuries, and to re-learn what they can, and to learn how to compensate for the abilities they have lost. Why call this courageous? First, there is the great endurance involved.Second, in such circumstances, we may be tempted to despair, to feel sorry for ourselves, and even be afraid to face our condition, afraid of failing, afraid to learn what our new physical limitations are, and afraid to think about living our lives, or returning to our everyday lives, beset with the problems incurred through our injuries. If we think of courage primarily as the (voluntary) facing of fears and dangers, then courage is involved in facing the fears above, but the need for patience is not very far behind. This isn't peculiar to this example, since many courageous acts are extended in time.Indeed, focusing on courageous acts that happen in an instant may obscure that many of our actions are in fact chains of action, stretches of activity, oriented toward some goal. Within such a stretch of time, the difference between a courageous and a rash action may come down to one's ability to wait and endure the anticipation of setting out into â€Å"positive† action. (And so, in many sports, great athletes are praised for their ability to â€Å"wait for the game to come to them†Ã¢â‚¬â€œnot to take bad swings or shots or to throw bad punches.Consider how Kobe Bryant will sometimes bide his time for three quarters only to dominate the final twelve minutes, or Ali's notorious â€Å"rope-a-dope† strategy for fatiguing his opponents. [Not that we should exactly recommend Ali's strategy to young boxers, for unfortunately obvious reasons of long-t erm health. ]) So, courage and patience turn out not to be foes, or to show that there is disharmony amongst the virtues. And again, we see how in its quiet, unassuming way, patience reveals itself to be something of a â€Å"silent partner† as we seek to develop other virtues and strengths.Courage Every human being on this planet is given the gift of courage. However, there are very few that ever take advantage of this gift, and actually put it to good use. Courage is the ability to work one’s way through a tough situation. Be it mental, or physical. We have all faced tough challenges before. The difference, however, is that some people tend to give up when the going gets rough, while others keep on. Courage is a necessity to the evolution of our people. Without courage, African-Americans would still be stuck in slavery.There would have been no one there to fight for the rights of the people we now consider our equals. Courage can be found in various forms. An amazing example of courage can be found in a soldier. They risk their lives every day simply to protect ours. We can even see courage in a fellow classmate; one who is coping with the loss of a parent, fighting depression or even dealing with an eating disorder. As said earlier, it can be mental or physical. Courage is the only thing that gets us through the hard times, and the tempting opportunities.Without it, every one of us may have given into that cigarette in the 6th grade. Courage is vital to the evolution of the human population. It is also an essential quality to becoming a successful person. Courage is of two kinds: physical and moral. The farmer is common to both man and beast; but the latter belongs to man alone. Courage comes from the strength of mind or will. Physical courage depends on one's physical strength. A weak; and sickly person is hardly seen to be physically courageous. Because his ill health does not permit him to take an aggressive view in life, although he may be mentally bold.But a person, who is bold and strong, both in body and mind, is normally found to be courageous. The question of physical courage arises in the event of any danger or difficulty that suddenly appears, when immediate protection or security from that fear of massacre or destruction demands physical courage. If a sudden fire breaks out in a house, or a dacoit is going to take place, physical courage becomes absolutely necessary in such critical moments. Without physical resistance with indomitable courage, it becomes impossible to save the situation.But moral courage is in no way inferior to the physical courage. It is, on the contrary, more important and glorious to possess moral courage. Moral courage is very rare. It is f0undl in one in a million. There are numerous instances where people have bravely used their physical courage and saved the life of a drowning man, or a house from burning in fire, by jumping courageously into the scene of danger. But there are few cas es, where the common people are found to open their mouth against an unfair or unjust deed that they witness, because they lack moral courage. They are cowards without a backbone.Noble may be the cause in which physical courage is shown; but nobler is the cause in which moral courage is displayed. Moral courage comes from a firm conviction that the possessor has in him. Let us take the case of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar who is known for his noble character and moral courage. The man was highly educated, but hardly with any extraordinary physical strength; yet he was endowed with tremendous moral courage. He did not hesitate to raise his voice of protest or even insult the wicked Europeans who used to rule the country then with enormous  power.He had also ignored all sorts of humiliation in the hands of his own countrymen, when he was determined to get the Bill for ‘Hindu Widow Re-marriage' passed by the Government. That goes to show his wonderful determination, moral c ourage and noble character. Galileo, the great scientist, had also to suffer imprisonment in his old age for the sake of his conviction. Men of moral courage never barter away their conscience, but put it before liberty, before reputation, even before life. They think of no danger, nor of death, when the alternative is a disgrace.They hate more to live as cowards than to face prosecution, imprisonment or death. It is these men who are the true makers of history. It is they who live in honour, die in glory, and have the privileges of being adored by all Courage is summoning strength in the face of life's difficulties or, sometimes, life's horrors. It means proceeding in spite of pain, cost, or risk. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the deliberate decision that action is necessary regardless. Courage acknowledges uncertainty, but perseveres because of conviction and resolve.It offers us focus and self-possession so we can call up our competencies to meet our challenges. Courage is not necessarily an outward act of heroism; it can be purely internal, such as making the decision to be cheerful in grief, to adhere to values different from those around us, or to give something another try. hrough my own experiences in life I have been able to define the true meaning of courage. Courage is to have the ability to know wright from wrong and stand up for what you believe in even in the face of great adversity.In my lifetime I have rarely been called upon to display courage, but I clearly remember one specific situation. I was fourteen years old and at one of my friends birthday parties. There were around seventy-five teenagers at the party, along with loud music and dancing. What I thought was going to be a great night, turned out to be the night my courage would be tested. As I was talking to some of my friends I noticed something was wrong with them. Shortly after, I noticed that their behavior was different, I realized that I was smelling the scent of marijuan a.Before I knew it I was being offered some of their drugs. I thought about the consequences that were to come if I had said yes to their offer. I felt that if I had said yes, I would have let down so many people, but most importantly myself. Having courage gave me the will to say no to the drugs and walk away from the peer pressure. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, both Atticus Finch and Mrs. Dubose exemplify moral courage. Throughout the novel Atticus was portrayed as a man of great courage and integrity. Atticus had to discuss concepts with his daughter Scout when they were at Finch Landing.Scout wanted to know why Atticus was going to defend Tom Robinson if he already knew he was going to be defeated. Atticus then explained to Scout that, † simply because [Atticus and Scout] were licked a hundred years before [Atticus and Scout] started is no reason for [Atticus and Scout] not to try to win† (76). Atticus was demonstrating his courage by proving that no matter how hard things get, you should never give up, and that you should always fight for what you believe in. Atticus is shown as being courageous by demonstrating perseverance and standing up for what is right.Another example of how Atticus is courageous is when at Finch Landing, he explains to Scout that this time he knew that he was † Fighting [his] friends, and no matter how bitter things get, they are still [his] friends and this is still [his] home†(76). Atticus' explanation to Scout was important because he had to reassure her that no matter the outcome of the trial they would still have their friends and there home. Even with all the pressure to quit the case, Atticus was determined to go up against all odds to ensure that justice would prevail. Atticus was a courageous, determined, and compassionate man.Along with Atticus, Mrs. Dubose is another prime example of a courageous person. Mrs. Dubose demonstrated courage when she decided to give up her morphine addiction. Mrs. Dubose died a slow painful death and when she was on her death bed, Mrs. Dubose reminded Atticus carefully, † [Mrs. Dubose] was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody† (111). In this situation most people would not have been able to tolerate the pain and would have given in to the morphine. Mrs. Dubose could have easily chosen to take the morphine and die with out so much agonizing pain, but she was too contrary.Her moral courage helped her to overcome her addiction. Mrs. Dubose was not only a courageous but also a selfless person. Jem had to learn this about her the hard way. Atticus questioned Jem, â€Å"Son didn't you know what her fits were†(111)? Mrs. Dubose chose not to tell anyone that she had been trying to give up the morphine. The withdraw made her have anger fits. She did not want to burden anyone with her problems. Mrs. Dubose let everyone believe that she was an angry, old, mean, terrible person. Still need to finish conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. patienceHave you ever wondered why certain people succeed and do well in certain situations while others don’t? The reason is that those successful people have and have always had a certain characteristics that help them to do so. These characteristics are called virtues. A virtue is a characteristic of a person which supports individual moral excellence and collective well being. One of the most important virtues that helps individuals progress and succeed is patience. This is because patience helps one make good decisions, prevents one from giving up, and helps develop empathy and compassion.First and foremost patience helps us make good decisions. The reason for this is by being patient you have a clear mind to think through the possible results of your actions. Everyone has stress and has been in stressful situations but the way we respond to the stress is what defines our future success. In order to become successful people have had to ma ke tough decisions regarding their futures and without patience they would not have been able to do so. For example Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, made the decision to drop out of college in order to pursue his dreams of creating a software company.In its early stages he faced much adversity for his decision but he stuck with it and his patience helped him to become one of the wealthiest and most successful people ever. Along with decision making patience also prevents one from giving up. This is as a result of keeping your goals consistent regardless of how difficult or the time it takes to reach them. One of the greatest examples of success through patience Is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He is one of the most influential people that have ever lived. Dr. King’s goal which was simple but seemed impossible at the time was to end discrimination and unify our nation ï » ¿Patience and Courage At first glance, it might seem that patience and courage are dispositions that tend in different directions, reflecting different strengths. If we are asked to imagine exemplars of each of these virtues, we probably call two very different individuals to mind—the courageous person imposing, heroic, probably male, and the patient person quiet, reserved, quite likely female. (After all, Ancient Greek courage simply was the virtue of manliness (andreia), and the Victorians used to name their daughters Patience.)Some of our images of courage may even positively conflict with some of our images of patience, with the courageous person insisting upon action while the patient person implores him to wait. In his wonderful paper, â€Å"Patience and Courage† (Philosophy 68(266), 1993), Eamonn Callan begins with a sort of thought experiment intended to capture our intuitive–though he thinks mistaken–sense of the relative significance of patience and courage: Suppose y our friends had to ascribe a single vice to you in large measure, along with any virtues that could be coherently combined with that salient vice.Suppose further that the vice had to be either cowardice or impatience. Which would you choose? (p. 523) Callan suspects that â€Å"almost everyone would choose impatience without hesitation,† because a coward strikes us as an unreliable kind of person, and impatience itself might in some cases be a good thing, e. g. impatience with tyranny and injustice. Callan goes on to argue against this intuitive response, in that it underestimates the need for patience (an idea I have explored in previous posts), and also suggests that a more nuanced thinking about courage and patience shows that these virtues do not essentially conflict.This should not be so surprising if we think, as Aquinas does, of patience as a part of fortitude, and recognize fortitude itself as the core of courage (or, as synonymous with courage). Of course, when we spe ak of fortitude, we speak of endurance, and talk of courage (or bravery) may seem instead to call to mind the â€Å"courage of the charge. † But charging, as Tim O'Brien notes in his memoir on Vietnam, is only a tiny slice of bravery–once one has charged into danger, there is much to be endured. Or consider this perhaps surprising remark from Kierkegaard's Purity ofHeart: â€Å"Is patience not precisely that courage which voluntarily accepts unavoidable suffering? The unavoidable is just the thing which will shatter courage† (p. 173). Interestingly (as the translator notes), the Danish for patience taalmod contains the term for courage (mod). (Literally, taalmod is â€Å"enduring courage. â€Å") Kierkegaard connects patience to â€Å"unavoidable suffering† and thus implies that courage differs in that in courage we choose to put ourselves in the way of danger and adversity for a noble cause.And he discusses how it may seem then that there can be no vir tue in enduring adversity that is unavoidable and which, it seems, cannot be chosen. (If it's unavoidable, then there seems to be no real choice. ) Here, he imagines the mocking voice of someone who says that this â€Å"patience† is merely â€Å"making a virtue out of necessity,† and Kierkegaard replies, yes, that's exactly it! His point is that merely being saddled with unavoidable suffering or adversity does not imply that we will, as it were, shoulder that adversity in such a way that we remain committed to the Good.We may despair, or become bitter and resentful, angry at the world. Of course, it may be that since Kierkegaard is a theist, he can assume that there is some way in which any suffering thrown at us can possibly be endured well. Non-theists may not have grounds for the same hope. But let me put that, for now, to the side. (I hope to write a chapter about this issue in the future. ) Callan discusses a case that goes to Kierkegaard's point: a man loses his sight, and vacillates between despair and rage, who thinks that the possibility of a good life has vanished.It is not that he fails to learn how to get around in the world in spite of his blindness, but his life is devoid of all hope and joy because of the deep resentment he has about having become blind. He refuses to accept this unavoidable part of his life. Callan says, â€Å"The blind man in my story has no patience for the moral task his blindness has set him, and no amount of courage or fortitude can compensate for the absence of that virtue† (p. 526). Now here, there are interpretive difficulties, since I suggested above that we might see courage and patience as linked by fortitude. Here we might takeCallan to be treating fortitude as a kind of thickness of skin, the stoniness we might ascribe to the Stoic sage: he is in despair, but doesn't show it. I have argued in my essay â€Å"In Defense of Patience† (newly revised as of yesterday), that perhaps we should q uestion the idea that fortitude and patience can be pulled apart very far, that we should not reduce fortitude to the external appearance. (Otherwise, we can't distinguish genuine fortitude and endurance from mere psychic deadness. ) Callan's point–at any rate–is that the possibility of this man's seeing and seeking Good in his life depends upon his coming to accept his blindness.Why call that patience? Perhaps what I said about love and patience in a previous post provides part of an answer, especially if we can translate some of what I said about learning to love another person into talk of learning to love one's situation. (This is what Chris Cowley's â€Å"Learning to Love† is all about, in Philosophical Topics 38(1), 2010. ) Here, we come to accept the distance between our new condition and our previous one, and re-commit to living well (and not merely, as Cowley discusses, â€Å"making the best of it†).We can call this patience, but at the same time , I think we can see, pace Callan to some extent, that such a process may in any number of cases also involve the kind of strength we describe as courage. People who are seriously injured and require extensive physical rehabilitation are sometimes praised for their courage in their efforts to endure the problems caused by their injuries, and to re-learn what they can, and to learn how to compensate for the abilities they have lost. Why call this courageous? First, there is the great endurance involved.Second, in such circumstances, we may be tempted to despair, to feel sorry for ourselves, and even be afraid to face our condition, afraid of failing, afraid to learn what our new physical limitations are, and afraid to think about living our lives, or returning to our everyday lives, beset with the problems incurred through our injuries. If we think of courage primarily as the (voluntary) facing of fears and dangers, then courage is involved in facing the fears above, but the need for patience is not very far behind. This isn't peculiar to this example, since many courageous acts are extended in time.Indeed, focusing on courageous acts that happen in an instant may obscure that many of our actions are in fact chains of action, stretches of activity, oriented toward some goal. Within such a stretch of time, the difference between a courageous and a rash action may come down to one's ability to wait and endure the anticipation of setting out into â€Å"positive† action. (And so, in many sports, great athletes are praised for their ability to â€Å"wait for the game to come to them†Ã¢â‚¬â€œnot to take bad swings or shots or to throw bad punches.Consider how Kobe Bryant will sometimes bide his time for three quarters only to dominate the final twelve minutes, or Ali's notorious â€Å"rope-a-dope† strategy for fatiguing his opponents. [Not that we should exactly recommend Ali's strategy to young boxers, for unfortunately obvious reasons of long-t erm health. ]) So, courage and patience turn out not to be foes, or to show that there is disharmony amongst the virtues. And again, we see how in its quiet, unassuming way, patience reveals itself to be something of a â€Å"silent partner† as we seek to develop other virtues and strengths.Courage Every human being on this planet is given the gift of courage. However, there are very few that ever take advantage of this gift, and actually put it to good use. Courage is the ability to work one’s way through a tough situation. Be it mental, or physical. We have all faced tough challenges before. The difference, however, is that some people tend to give up when the going gets rough, while others keep on. Courage is a necessity to the evolution of our people. Without courage, African-Americans would still be stuck in slavery.There would have been no one there to fight for the rights of the people we now consider our equals. Courage can be found in various forms. An amazing example of courage can be found in a soldier. They risk their lives every day simply to protect ours. We can even see courage in a fellow classmate; one who is coping with the loss of a parent, fighting depression or even dealing with an eating disorder. As said earlier, it can be mental or physical. Courage is the only thing that gets us through the hard times, and the tempting opportunities.Without it, every one of us may have given into that cigarette in the 6th grade. Courage is vital to the evolution of the human population. It is also an essential quality to becoming a successful person. Courage is of two kinds: physical and moral. The farmer is common to both man and beast; but the latter belongs to man alone. Courage comes from the strength of mind or will. Physical courage depends on one's physical strength. A weak; and sickly person is hardly seen to be physically courageous. Because his ill health does not permit him to take an aggressive view in life, although he may be mentally bold.But a person, who is bold and strong, both in body and mind, is normally found to be courageous. The question of physical courage arises in the event of any danger or difficulty that suddenly appears, when immediate protection or security from that fear of massacre or destruction demands physical courage. If a sudden fire breaks out in a house, or a dacoit is going to take place, physical courage becomes absolutely necessary in such critical moments. Without physical resistance with indomitable courage, it becomes impossible to save the situation.But moral courage is in no way inferior to the physical courage. It is, on the contrary, more important and glorious to possess moral courage. Moral courage is very rare. It is f0undl in one in a million. There are numerous instances where people have bravely used their physical courage and saved the life of a drowning man, or a house from burning in fire, by jumping courageously into the scene of danger. But there are few cas es, where the common people are found to open their mouth against an unfair or unjust deed that they witness, because they lack moral courage. They are cowards without a backbone.Noble may be the cause in which physical courage is shown; but nobler is the cause in which moral courage is displayed. Moral courage comes from a firm conviction that the possessor has in him. Let us take the case of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar who is known for his noble character and moral courage. The man was highly educated, but hardly with any extraordinary physical strength; yet he was endowed with tremendous moral courage. He did not hesitate to raise his voice of protest or even insult the wicked Europeans who used to rule the country then with enormous  power.He had also ignored all sorts of humiliation in the hands of his own countrymen, when he was determined to get the Bill for ‘Hindu Widow Re-marriage' passed by the Government. That goes to show his wonderful determination, moral c ourage and noble character. Galileo, the great scientist, had also to suffer imprisonment in his old age for the sake of his conviction. Men of moral courage never barter away their conscience, but put it before liberty, before reputation, even before life. They think of no danger, nor of death, when the alternative is a disgrace.They hate more to live as cowards than to face prosecution, imprisonment or death. It is these men who are the true makers of history. It is they who live in honour, die in glory, and have the privileges of being adored by all Courage is summoning strength in the face of life's difficulties or, sometimes, life's horrors. It means proceeding in spite of pain, cost, or risk. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the deliberate decision that action is necessary regardless. Courage acknowledges uncertainty, but perseveres because of conviction and resolve.It offers us focus and self-possession so we can call up our competencies to meet our challenges. Courage is not necessarily an outward act of heroism; it can be purely internal, such as making the decision to be cheerful in grief, to adhere to values different from those around us, or to give something another try. hrough my own experiences in life I have been able to define the true meaning of courage. Courage is to have the ability to know wright from wrong and stand up for what you believe in even in the face of great adversity.In my lifetime I have rarely been called upon to display courage, but I clearly remember one specific situation. I was fourteen years old and at one of my friends birthday parties. There were around seventy-five teenagers at the party, along with loud music and dancing. What I thought was going to be a great night, turned out to be the night my courage would be tested. As I was talking to some of my friends I noticed something was wrong with them. Shortly after, I noticed that their behavior was different, I realized that I was smelling the scent of marijuan a.Before I knew it I was being offered some of their drugs. I thought about the consequences that were to come if I had said yes to their offer. I felt that if I had said yes, I would have let down so many people, but most importantly myself. Having courage gave me the will to say no to the drugs and walk away from the peer pressure. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, both Atticus Finch and Mrs. Dubose exemplify moral courage. Throughout the novel Atticus was portrayed as a man of great courage and integrity. Atticus had to discuss concepts with his daughter Scout when they were at Finch Landing.Scout wanted to know why Atticus was going to defend Tom Robinson if he already knew he was going to be defeated. Atticus then explained to Scout that, † simply because [Atticus and Scout] were licked a hundred years before [Atticus and Scout] started is no reason for [Atticus and Scout] not to try to win† (76). Atticus was demonstrating his courage by proving that no matter how hard things get, you should never give up, and that you should always fight for what you believe in. Atticus is shown as being courageous by demonstrating perseverance and standing up for what is right.Another example of how Atticus is courageous is when at Finch Landing, he explains to Scout that this time he knew that he was † Fighting [his] friends, and no matter how bitter things get, they are still [his] friends and this is still [his] home†(76). Atticus' explanation to Scout was important because he had to reassure her that no matter the outcome of the trial they would still have their friends and there home. Even with all the pressure to quit the case, Atticus was determined to go up against all odds to ensure that justice would prevail. Atticus was a courageous, determined, and compassionate man.Along with Atticus, Mrs. Dubose is another prime example of a courageous person. Mrs. Dubose demonstrated courage when she decided to give up her morphine addiction. Mrs. Dubose died a slow painful death and when she was on her death bed, Mrs. Dubose reminded Atticus carefully, † [Mrs. Dubose] was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody† (111). In this situation most people would not have been able to tolerate the pain and would have given in to the morphine. Mrs. Dubose could have easily chosen to take the morphine and die with out so much agonizing pain, but she was too contrary.Her moral courage helped her to overcome her addiction. Mrs. Dubose was not only a courageous but also a selfless person. Jem had to learn this about her the hard way. Atticus questioned Jem, â€Å"Son didn't you know what her fits were†(111)? Mrs. Dubose chose not to tell anyone that she had been trying to give up the morphine. The withdraw made her have anger fits. She did not want to burden anyone with her problems. Mrs. Dubose let everyone believe that she was an angry, old, mean, terrible person. Still need to finish conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. patienceHave you ever wondered why certain people succeed and do well in certain situations while others don’t? The reason is that those successful people have and have always had a certain characteristics that help them to do so. These characteristics are called virtues. A virtue is a characteristic of a person which supports individual moral excellence and collective well being. One of the most important virtues that helps individuals progress and succeed is patience. This is because patience helps one make good decisions, prevents one from giving up, and helps develop empathy and compassion.First and foremost patience helps us make good decisions. The reason for this is by being patient you have a clear mind to think through the possible results of your actions. Everyone has stress and has been in stressful situations but the way we respond to the stress is what defines our future success. In order to become successful people have had to ma ke tough decisions regarding their futures and without patience they would not have been able to do so. For example Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, made the decision to drop out of college in order to pursue his dreams of creating a software company.In its early stages he faced much adversity for his decision but he stuck with it and his patience helped him to become one of the wealthiest and most successful people ever. Along with decision making patience also prevents one from giving up. This is as a result of keeping your goals consistent regardless of how difficult or the time it takes to reach them. One of the greatest examples of success through patience Is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He is one of the most influential people that have ever lived. Dr. King’s goal which was simple but seemed impossible at the time was to end discrimination and unify our nation

Harold Lasswell Essay

Harold Lasswell. political scientist. defines political relations as a power battle about â€Å"who gets what. when. and how. † David Easton defines political relations as an allotment of resources. David Easton defines political relations as the â€Å"authoritative allotment of values or scarce resources. † These resources are divided in three general types. Describe these types. The three resources are: 1. Political resources: This resource refers to the country’s power. prestigiousness. and position. backed by their military power. They are called scarce resources because they are looked at in the hierarchal agreement in the universe order. 2. Economic resources: This resource includes the state’s fiscal resources ( wealth. one-year national income. supply of capital. and investing chances ) . industrial and agricultural production. and natural resources ( oil. coal. H2O. and mineral resources ) . These are besides scarce resources every bit good such as Oil and Water. We must see we can make without Oil but non Water. It is possible we might see H2O wars probably in the twenty-first century. 3. Social and cultural resources: This resource is related. non straight. to the planetary battle for power ( The battle to vie for and make laterality in an organisation. a province. a part of the universe. or the whole universe ) . Unlike the other two resources. these resources are scarce and unevenly distributed around the Earth. As if you were a policy determination shaper. urge to your President which of these resources the authorities should concentrate on geting. As a policy determination shaper. I would urge to my President to use all three resources. I truly believe I would state the President to be more accountable with all the resources. I would urge to our President to take the Economic resource foremost. I chose this first because of our state is confronting at this minute are enormous adversities. Because we did non acquire ourselves in this state of affairs. we are confronting what the old President’s determination and we are cleaning up now. Discourse how you can accomplish the maximal allotment for the resources you choose. I truly believe that I would hold done by taxing all like the President has. I would besides give back like he has done by giving back 5 % of his income. All the Congress would hold to give back 5 % of their income. I would cut back on the costs of entertaining that goes on within the White House. The travelling costs and the entertaining would hold to equilibrate each other out. The 2nd that I would take Education and occupations every bit good as health care is my following end. I would do certain the Veterans and the Seniors every bit good as the people who are disable.

Assessment and management of Barrett's disease Essay

Assessment and management of Barrett's disease - Essay Example This condition is seen more commonly in later age. Barrett’s esophagus is a pre malignant condition in which changes of dysplasia and carcinoma reported. Patients having Barrett’s disease have 30-40 fold increase risk of developing carcinoma- esophagus. To critically understand the disease, first we have to learn normal esophageal defence mechanism because most of the cases this disease is result of failure of esophageal defense mechanism. The lower esophageal sphincter, which is a localized area of specialized smooth muscles cited at distal end of the esophagus, is the main barrier to reflex. This sphincter is normally contracted thus creating a zone of high pressure so preventing the passage of gastric contents into the esophagus. In normal subjects the esophageal sphincter relaxes during swallowing but at other times there are spontaneous transient relaxations. In those with reflex esophagitis, reflex is increased because the normal or resting pressure of the sphincter is reduced and number of transient relaxations is increased because the sphincter is situated below the diaphragm, its high pressure is reinforced by intra abdominal pressure, moreover the oblique entry of esophagus into the stomach ensures that the intra abdominal esophagus is closed when the stomach is distended. These mechanisms are lost when the lower esophageal sphincter moves proximally to be situated above the diaphragm. Once reflex has occurred, rapid clearance of acid from the esophagus into stomach limits its contact with esophageal mucosa and this effective clearance depends upon secondary peristalsis and the presence of saliva and is enhanced by the erect position. It is impaired in supine position. Barrett’s disease is commonly seen in later age groups. It is divided into short ( 3 cm), according to the length of

Shoud Smoking in Public Areas be Banned Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Shoud Smoking in Public Areas be Banned - Essay Example Public health is serious social concern that cannot be left to the discretion of those who are endangering personal health relentlessly. Smoking is a personal choice and despite its known negative effects on human health there is no restrictive legislation to ensure this personal freedom of choice. However, equally important are the liberties to of a non-smoker who does not want to put his health at risk. Everyone has a right to make choices that he likes baring those choices that can affect the same right of others. Smoking in public areas is a sort of abusing non-smokers’ right to safeguard their health and this is something that should not be permissible legally and morally. Smoking in open public areas is often defended by the argument that in first place it does not harm others because of open and fresh air, secondly they are free to move away from smoking site. It is rather a ridiculous argument to support smoking. Smokers cannot be allowed to pollute air at a public pla ce only because there is a lot of fresh air and people can move around. Smoking in open and enclosed public area should not be treated separately because open public areas are mostly used to get fresh air and soothing environment. However, we can introduce separation areas for smoker at public places to ensure they have equal right to enjoy themselves. â€Å"Recent research conducted by the Office of the National Statistics (ONS) found that 63% of respondents considered that there should be smoking and non-smoking areas in pubs and bars† (Health Committee, 2006) It should be clear that the ban we are talking about is not absolute in nature and we have to have exceptions in this ban. Public areas are either open or enclosed and the ban should introduce exceptions in both cases separately. Most of the countries have implemented a strict ban in enclosed public area whereas a lenient approach is adopted for open public areas. Various states have their own perception in this regar d and have implemented the ban with varying depth and exceptions. Molyneaux (2006) has pointed out this approach, â€Å"Smoking is banned in all or most enclosed public places in South Africa, New Zealand, Italy and the Republic of Ireland. There are similar bans in the American states of California and New York. Smoking in enclosed public places was recently banned in Scotland. It will become illegal in the rest of the UK in 2007. In England and Wales, pubs that do not serve food can continue to choose to allow smoking.† Though smoking is equally dangerous and hazardous for all nations but the realization at public and state level is not same. International organizations like WHO are working extensively on issues pertaining to public health and can play an important role in educating masses on the issue. The argument that secondhand smoke does not have clear links to the diseases attributed to smokers is not a valid argument because World health Organization has rejected thi s argument. Chen (2007) has pointed out this clearly, "The evidence is clear there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke." This underlines the importance of the issue and we need persuade and convince public and authorities that the legislation to ban smoking in public areas is an imperative requirement to ensure public health and safety at large. We need to focus our attentions in this area of public health because lack of awareness in this area is alarming as WHO (2009) pointed out

My Funeral Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

My Funeral Plan - Assignment Example Wakes are overnight stays held at funerals especially on the eve of the burial day. This is a practice that is only common among Christians, Muslims bury their dead immediately after they are pronounced dead. Wakes were initially meant to be moments when the friends and family came together and commemorated their lives with the dead. With the spread of Christianity, Christians started using these moments to have services in which they prayed for the souls of the late and to pray for guidance for those they left behind by them. The services have become so common that others carry them out in churches while others carry them out in homes and places designated for them by the families of the late. Egyptians believed that the bodies of their dead were to be used again by the very dead in their eternal rest. This way, they thus devised a way, of preserving the bodies; mummification. They drained the bodies of all possible liquid and air then covered them tightly in strips of sheets. The b odies survived for millions of years in good shape and this was the origin of body preservation. Given the differing funeral schedules, some people may have their programming running for weeks, a time within which the body of the dead should still be fresh and in good shape. The modern societies came up with ways of preserving their dead with such chemicals as formalin being used to keep the bodies fresh for longer. Electrocuting the dead drains all moisture and air from the bodies thus making them to last remarkably long.

To what extent are class, racial and gender inequalities inter-related Essay

To what extent are class, racial and gender inequalities inter-related (in the UK) - Essay Example Researching wealth enables us to move beyond the snapshot picture of short-term gendered economic inequality that we obtain when we analyze wages and onto exploring the longer term buildup of gendered economic inequities. In this way, the intensity of the economic disadvantage women face can be better revealed and its implications better analyzed. Gender is a key variable in the analysis of inequalities in wealth and is the focus of this article. Yet the sociological and economic literatures on womens and mens economic positions reveal an increasing focus on other, non-gendered, social differences. Paying more attention to these other social divisions’ means that we are able to develop a fuller understanding of the picture of economic advantage and disadvantage in contemporary society. In the 2002 special issue of Feminist Economics devoted to theorizing gender, caste, race, and class, Rose M. Brewer, Cecilia A. Conrad, and Mary C. King (2002, 6) lamented the fact that much of the research published in the journal has centered purely on gender and, in so doing, has neglected the ways in which gender is shaped by other divisions. Examining only what unites women and separates them from men passes over major, significant divisions such as race and class that have ramifications for understanding the experiences of different groups of women and men in society. Put simply, as bell hooks (2000: 19) asked in her well-known critique of the feminist call for equality with men: [S]ince men are not equal in a white, supremacist, patriarchal class structure, which men do women want to be equal to? The attention that is now being paid to class, race, and other divisions, alongside gender, reflects the impact of an increasingly sophisticated theorizing of social divisions that has raised two pertinent issues for our understanding of inequalities in society. First, one of the core characteristics of a

Cultural Food - Tomatoes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cultural Food - Tomatoes - Essay Example There is further speculation as to how the tomato became more widely available. The most popular school of thought is that Cortez, who was a Spanish explorer who took over the now called Mexico City in 1521 took the yellow fruit to Europe where it gained popularity. Another school of thought is that Christopher Columbus was the first to introduce the tomato. Regardless of this, there was mention of the tomato in European literature in 1544 where it was referred to as a golden apple. The modern-day name tomato is derived from the Nahuatl language but the name Lycopersicum literally translated means ‘wolf-peach’. This was thought to be a reflection of the widely held view, particularly in Europe that the fruit was poisonous and could, therefore, be used to protect against wolves. From a very early stage, tomatoes have been seen as a perfect fruit for cooking in many cultures. Culturally they were very important to those in Southern Mexico region of Pueblo thinking that anyone who saw another individual eating a tomato would gain divination powers. Culturally the tomato had a bit of a slower introduction within Europe. Whilst the Mediterranean climate was perfect for tomato growing there was no immediate evidence that it was used as food. There is evidence that the Spanish used the tomato as fruit from the early 1600s although it is possible that it was recognized as a food before then. Clear recipes including tomatoes were published in 1692 but it was also evident that the main role of the tomato across much of Europe was as a table decoration and not as a food. By contrast in England, the tomato did not get cultivated until the late 16th, early 17th century. There is no denying that the tomato has become a critically important element of modern society and recognized on a global level as an important food item. In modern society, there is a positive attitude towards the fruit although deeply rooted historical perceptions have now shaped the symbolic influence of this widely accepted fruit, be it negative or positive.

Educational Issues and Special Education Needs Essay

Educational Issues and Special Education Needs - Essay Example This was replaced by a revised version which was issued in 2001, coming into effect in January 2002 (DFES 2001). The nature of provision for special educational needs has changed drastically over the last few years following the Warnock Report and the 1981 Education Act, with an increased awareness of educational needs and a consonant focus on improving the quality of provision for much larger numbers of children (Griffiths, 1998, 95 in Quicke, 2007, 2-15). This implies improvement of education of all and specially of those with special needs that would impart knowledge and power to all (QCA/DfEE, 2001). Department of Health has recently published a White Paper for people with learning disabilities in 2001 (Department of Health, 2001, 1-10). The United Kingdom has separate educational systems for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. As far as education is concerned, the countries are split up into so-called local education authorities that carry a large part of the responsibility for organising education at local level. Historically, for a long time, England and Wales had separate systems for regular and special education. Since the Warnock Report in 1978, it has been assumed in the UK that about 20 per cent of school-aged children will have special educational needs requiring additional help at some point in their school careers. Furthermore, approximately 2 per cent of children will have severe physical, sensory, intellectual or emotional difficulties, some of which will remain with them throughout their lives. Historically this 2 per cent of children have been exclud ed from mainstream schools, receiving their education in special schools instead. In recent years, a growing sense of injustice regarding the idea of segregated special schooling for these pupils has led to calls for more inclusive educational opportunities as a matter of human right and equal opportunity (Amatea, 1988, 174-183). By the Education Acts 1981 and 1993, which latter consolidated into the Education Act 1996, the policy of parental choice in the field of special educational needs has in most respects been merely built on key recommendations in the Warnock Report in 1978, namely that the education system should pay heed to parental knowledge about their child's needs and respect parental wishes regarding the child's education (Farrell, 2001, 3-9). Warnock's other recommendation was to integrate the education, meaning pupils with special educational needs should, as far as possible, be educated alongside other children in mainstream schools (Lewis, 2004, 3-9). In relation to this, this process must acknowledge the diversity of needs of all students creating opportunity to support learning of all students inclusive of those who have impairments or needs for special educations. While the White Paper was explicitly a response of the authorities from the concerns to promote better life chances for people with special needs for education, it identifies the many barriers that such children and their families face in fully participating in their communities. This paper promotes the benefits to be

Pot Holes Everywhere Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Pot Holes Everywhere - Essay Example This is because they have the infrastructure and the capacity. However, the benefits and cost implications for this company is not stated. The relationship between the companies DelDot the Ministry of Transport is not explicit. The proposed solution is an ideal solution to the problem according to how it has been presented in the executive summary. However, it has not stated how the app will be picking up new potholes and updates them to the system. This may be a great danger because users may not be keen on potholes as they depend on the app. The other challenge is what if there are many potholes at a given location that cannot be captured in the system. This project is not feasible because of the technology involved. It is not also feasible because weather patterns changes and results into potholes frequently; capturing each and every pothole is a challenge. There are areas that there is poor internet reception. How will they resolve the problem? The market aspect is also a challenge, if the transport department does not approve the app by DelDot will not have the market. They may also design their own app. Generally, this executive summary desires a lot. The summary is well written but the technology is not well written. Carabello, Blase A., and FAHA Kanu Chatterjee. "ACC/AHA 2006 practice guidelines for the management of patients with valvular heart disease: executive summary."  Journal of the American College of Cardiology  48.3

Why I Love Art Essay Example for Free

Why I Love Art Essay For a work of art to be considered a portrait, the artist must have intent to portray a specific, actual person. This can be communicated through such techniques as naming a specific person in the title of the work or creating an image in which the physical likeness leads to an emotional individuality unique to a specific person. While these criteria are not the only ways of connoting a portrait, they are just two examples of how Sherman carefully communicates to the viewer that these works are not meant to depict Cindy Sherman the person. By titling each of the photographs Untitled, as well as numbering them, Sherman depersonalizes the images. There are also very few clues as to Shermans personality in the photographs each one is so unique and ambiguous that the viewer is left with more confusion than clarity over Shermans true nature. Sherman completed the project three years later, in 1980, when she ran out of cliches with which to work. This series gave Sherman much publicity and critical acclaim; she had her first solo show at the nonprofit space, the Kitchen, in New York City. In 1980 Sherman also created a series of what she called Rear-Screen Projections in which, similarly to the Film Stills, Sherman dressed up and paraded against a projected slide background. Shermans life began in 1954, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City. Her family having moved shortly after her birth, Sherman grew up as the youngest of five children in the town of Huntington, Long Island. Unlike some budding artists, Sherman was not particularly involved in the arts as a young person. Shermans parents were not involved in the arts; her father made a living as an engineer and her mother worked as a reading teacher. Born relatively late in her parents lives, Shermans father was retired by the time she was in fifth grade. Sherman has said that, It wasnt until college that I had any concept of what was going on in the art world. My idea of being an artist as a kid was a courtroom artist or one of those boardwalk artists who do caricatures. My parents had a book of, like, the one hundred one beautiful paintings, which included Dali and Picasso among the most recent artists. Despite her parents lack of artistic interest, they were supportive of her choice to enter art school after finishing high school, though, according to Sherman, her mother did caution her to take a few teaching courses just in case. Thus, Shermans exploration of art began at the State University College at Buffalo. This photograph is part of a group of images made between 2000 and 2002 which depict character-types from suburban American life. Moving away from her earlier references to cinema and art history, the images are influenced by more traditional ideas of portraiture. Sherman has described the photographs as showing ‘very ordinary, older women the type you’d spot in a supermarket. ’ They suggest the pretensions and delusions of the characters depicted and lead the viewer to consider the narrative behind the character this woman could be an ageing socialite or a once-glamorous film star. Her face has been defined and exaggerated with heavy make-up, making her into a caricature based on stereotypes rather than a specific person. In the early 1970s, a new kind of music, attitude, and style was introduced in England. The Sex Pistols and The Clash were the first in England, and the Ramones were one of the first in the US. With edgy guitar sounds, angry lyrics, and occasional screaming, punk rock began to play ahuge part in millions of teenagers lives. this was the next step for letting teens have a voice in the next generation. Some say that punk is dead, and punk was already dead when it started, but thankfully, punk will never die. Over generations, people have proved that punk will never die. Punk now is just as main stream as any other type of music. Over the years, there have been some pretty sad fads. Some of them were good, and some of them were bad. The biggest thing right now, whether or not anyone will admit it, is punk. Some people call themselves punk and everyone knows what it is. Some dress punk, some act punk, and some listen to punk. Some do all three. Every person probably has their own definition of punk. Punk can mean running over garbage cans and causing trouble, or it could mean dressing or acting a certain way, and listening to a certain type of music. Almost every day there is an argument over the definition. The first successful punk band originated in the mid seventies. They were called the Sex Pistols. The first American punk started in a New York club called CBGB’s. They held punk rock shows for the hardcore kids.

Problem Behavior Syndrome Essay Example for Free

Problem Behavior Syndrome Essay Problem Behavior Syndrome Sandra Schaumleffel Everest University The life course view is that criminality may be best understood as one of many social problems faced by at-risk youth, referred to as problem behavior syndrome (PBS). In this view, crime is one among a group of interrelated antisocial behaviors that cluster together and typically involve family dysfunction, sexual and physical abuse, substance abuse, smoking, precocious sexuality and early pregnancy, educational underachievement, suicide attempts, sensation seeking, and unemployment. People who suffer from one of these conditions typically exhibit many symptoms of the rest. All varieties of criminal behavior, including violence, theft, and drug offences, may be part of a generalized PBS, indicating that all forms of antisocial behavior have similar developmental patterns. (Siegel, p. 228) I knew a girl whom I was best friends with for almost 10 years. During year 6 of our friendship, I moved out of state. We still kept in contact. As the years went by, we slowly stopped talking. When I finally moved back to our hometown, I found out that this friend had turned to drugs, violence, and had a very long criminal record. I wanted nothing to do with that because I was trying to better myself. Unfortunately, she is still running down that wrong path, in and out of jail, on various different types of drugs, and even losing custody of her three children. This friend of mine possesses many of antisocial behaviors. Some would include substance abuse, early pregnancy, educational underachievement, and unemployment. I’m not sure how she got into drugs, but I have tried multiple times to get her into rehab. She objects. When it came time to graduate from high school, her wrong ways and drug abuse prevented her from doing so. With being unemployed, having no education, and always on some kind of drug, I see this friend having problem behavior syndrome. References: Criminology: The Core, Fourth Edition (Larry J. Siegel)

The Fundamental Arguments Of Nature Versus Nurture Philosophy Essay

The Fundamental Arguments Of Nature Versus Nurture Philosophy Essay Nature is generally considered the part of a person that is a genetic inheritance, the fundamental identity that determines the choices someone will make. Nurture is the environmental factor to someones development: his or her socioeconomic standing, privileges, disadvantages, opportunity, access, etc. The blank slate, or tabula rasa, theory presented by John Locke during the 17th century states that everyone is born with nothing and is shaped by his or her environment; in other words, Lockes theory supports the nurture side of the nature versus nurture debate. On the other hand, ones genetic disposition to intelligence determines how one will interact with the environment. These two sides propose that they each hold the ultimate verdict to a persons personality and all of the psychological aspects that go along with it. Of course, both the idea of nature and the idea of nurture contribute to the human psyche but they do so at varying degrees in each individual: that is to say, one m ay feel the effects of nature more persistently than the effects of nurture and vice versa. Because of the inconsistent nature of clinical psychology, there is no absolute value for ones percentage of influence being that of nature or nurture but there are instances in which there is no denying that each theory plays a role in human development. A study of leadership suggested that varying degrees of socioeconomic status, perceived parental support, and perceived conflict support determined how much genetic or environmental influence affected someones leadership position; these findings are consistent with the conceptual argument proposing that the presence of adversity and conflict allows for a greater influence of genetic differences in capabilities related to leadership (Zhang et al.). That is to say, depending on the environmental stresses involved, the genetic aspect of the debate took more or less control. A study dealing with low-income mothers perception of their childrens obesity revealed that most of the mothers believed that because of their childrens genetic heritage, no matter what diet, the children could not lose weight; on the other hand, the mothers, with equal force, blamed themselves and/ or other environmental factors on their childrens weight problems (Hughes et al.). Despite the fact that the mothers fi rst argument logically disproves their second argument, the mothers have a vested interest in both aspects of the nature versus nurture debate. They are very unsure as to what degree they have made mistakes and to what degree genetics has influenced their childrens weights. The science is not all there but, for now, it is safe to assume that both sides of the debate carry different percentages of the weight. We all know of cases of people brought up in horrendous circumstances who somehow transcend these to display compassion and tendernessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Conversely, people brought up in seemingly balanced households may be capable of the most horrific crimes (Gaba). Without delving too deeply into clinical psychology, Gaba has made a sizable case for the nature aspect of the debate. Oprah Winfrey stands to be a great example of the rags to riches fable. She was not only a poor, black Mississippian but she had also been sexually abused in addition to getting into trouble as a teen (Walker). Oprah is now one of the most prominent figures in todays society, easily reaching the millions, if not billions, with her successful television and business career. In his autobiography, Stephen Fry describes his stealing compulsion despite coming from an upper-middle class family. At boarding school he would take money from other students even though his parents set up a deal with a local shop owner where Stephen could take as much money as he liked (Fry). His environment provided him with non-thieved money yet Frys nature caused him to develop kleptomania. Psychological studies veer off into the impact of environment. The increasing recognition of genetic propensity to mental health disorder suggests that the advent of genetic therapies in the not-too-distant future may eventually provide alternative biological means of treatment (McVicar, Clancy). In other words, because mental health is a part of the nature piece of the debate, the drugs used to facilitate the mental illness are the environmental aspect. In this case, nurture controls nature. The relationship between an individual and his or her environment is a cause towards that persons mental stability and there are many instances of environmental influences on physical as well as psychological health (McVicar, Clancy). On the other hand, some environments bring forth mental instability for some people. Homelessness tends to wreak havoc on the mind and may bring about a psychological disorder that could have been at bay under a different environment. Mental illness is a source of complication for the nature versus nurture debate because certain peoples genetic dispositions will cause them to develop psychological disorders no matter what the circumstance while others experience trauma which causes them to develop mental disorders while still others inherit genetics that will see them through any difficult episode. There was a study that addressed the environmental and genetic impacts on alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine dependency: the control was Vietnam-era twins from the United States and the researchers concluded that alcohol and nicotine dependency were based primarily on genetic factors but that cannabis dependency was a mixture of genetic and environmental influence (Xian et al.) The contributors of this study fully recognized that their findings do not cross over to different cultures or different time periods within the history of the United States. They do, however, mention that they had a large sample that was pretty much consistent throughout their observations. This simply shows that human science and understanding of the mind is so very complex that it will take an indefinite amount of time to fully understand the human condition on a scientific level. On the issue of drug abuse, the government likes to bombard the television with antidrug campaigns that endorse the environmental influence as the main perpetrator in the case of evil drug use. Conversely, alcohol advertisements are out there on full display, usually showing that drinking is a very natural state of socialization. The study of nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis dependency would support alcohol and discourage the use of drugs. If drugs are an environmental cause, they can therefore be more easily combated because ones environment is more easily controlled than ones genetic inheritance. If drinking and smoking, i.e. nicotine use, are genetically controlled, they are much more difficult to wane out of society. Those in favor of the legalization of marijuana, or, at the very least, comedians, like to argue that drug use is generally less harmful to other people because alcohol is major factor of death by car. Both alcohol and drug abuse are harmful to the individual, most ca n agree to that, but if drug abuse is, indeed, less harmful to the outside world, alcohol is the more harmful of the two substances. Here is the problem with the nature versus nurture debate: if humans are genetically predisposed to like alcohol but they are environmentally enticed to take pleasure in drugs, which is the lesser of two evils? Nature cannot be controlled; people are stuck with the hereditary cards they have been dealt. On the same note, nurture is around at all times, it will have an influence no matter what the case. People who are introverts will stay introverts if they keep to their cabins millions of miles away from human contact. If some introverts are introduced into society at as quiet intellectuals, some will choose to stay, some will choose to go. There are two different paths and which path one will take is dependent on ones emotions which are directly connected to genetics. This argument likes to runs circles around itself until there is no telling which wa y is up. Environment pressure cannot be overlooked simply because genetic bias is the basic groundwork for ones behavior. Environmental experiences come into contact with, and influence individualsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ some individuals may possess genetic risk and protective factors that exacerbate, or partially insulate them from, the effect of negative environmental experiences (Petrill). The key word here is experience. At the first touch of experience, ones genetic impulses take control. Babies do not automatically latch on to their mothers breast for milk but through genetic imperative and experience do they become more accustomed to their environment and learn different techniques by which they may derive their food. Some would argue that music is a genetic inheritance but because of time and effort involved in mastering scales, finger patterns, rhythmic beats, and all of the other skills required to be a master of music, the environmental concept of experience definitely outweighs the geneti c basis for music inheritance. It takes roughly 10,000 hours, or 10 years, to truly be an expert in any given field (Gladwell). Wisdom is the fundamental basis for knowledge. Young people who endlessly fill their heads with historical, scientific, philosophical, theological, and other types of knowledge do not have the experience to back up their findings whereas the older someone ages, the more likelihood there is that his or her wisdom will be deemed more valid simply because he or she possesses more experience. Masters teach pupils for a reason; there will be a day when the student usurps the master but that is because the student has enough experience to do so. Reinforcement theory is the process of shaping behavior by controlling the consequences of the behavior (Cengage). Instead of using physical punishment as a form of reinforcement, parents will try to encourage their children to stop throwing large jars of liquid pickles at the local grocery store in return for an ice cream sandwich. The child is genetically predisposed to throwing a temper tantrum, looks around his environment, sees jars of pickles, and throws them to the ground screaming in sordid agony about not being able to finish watching his favorite television show three times over that day. The mother then introduces another environmental factor, in this case the ice cream bar, to stop the effects of the double-teaming of the effects of nature and nurture. She is unable to control his demented wailing and so chooses to try even further reinforcement therapy by offering a life-time supply of ice cream for the next seven days. He accepts because now the environmental stimulus h e is now receiving is stronger than his genetic malfunction earlier that minute. This just goes to show that for each individual, that nature versus nurture debate is extraordinarily inconsistent within the span of a human life but also inconsistent within just a few seconds. There is no scientific way to determine how much influence nature or nurture has within one human mind but there is evidence to suggest that both exist in their metamorphic forms.

The Exchange of Information Essay -- Internet Communication Technology

The Exchange of Information The Internet is a telecommunications superhighway, a collective data of information for corporations, government institutions, private individuals, and universities. This branch of roads leads into nearly every corner of the globe. The superhighway, picks up potential travelers from far away places, exotic destinations, and interesting people. The internet can transport you from one major destination to another quickly, then it also can detour you into a leisurely exploration. Like a superhighway, the internet carries holiday and family traffic. Also traveling are both people who know precisely where they are going and those who are wandering. Government, educational, and business institution are also frequent travelers of the internet. In brief, the internet is an open road for anyone interested in a journey or for users who need a quick shortcut across the country. Information and communication are the main resource pools for the internet. The internet provides information, the raw data for which we need knowledge to decode or understand. Looking at the internet as a source of information leads us to ask if this information is a commodity. According to Webster's Dictionary, a commodity is an article of trade or commerce which holds a value and use, especially a product distinguished from a service, like the internet. The internet provides wide variety of information to enhance our knowledge. This information matches this description of commodity because of the benefits being exchanged through this modern technology. Therefore, the internet represents the commodification of information through the commercial, private, and government sector of our economy. To fully understand the significan... ... and government sectors, in some way or another. Individuals can profit through this trade of information on the internet, too, by increasing their knowledge and offering personal benefits. Information is a commercial product is as tradable as the precious metals(GOLD). Works Cited 1.) Canter, Laurence, and Martha Siegel. How to Make a Fortune on the Information Superhighway. New York: Harper Collins Publishers,1994 2.) Cook,William. The Joy of Computer Communication. Chicago: Dell Publishing Co., Inc.. 1984 3.) Gilster, Paul. The Internet Navigator. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1993 4.) Mandel, Michael. "The Digital Juggernaut." Business Week June. 1994: 22+. 5.) Moore, Dinty. The Emperor's Virtual Clothes. N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel of Hill, 1995 6.) Verity, John. "The Information Revolution." Business Week June. 1994: 10+.

The Moral Issues of Freenet and Online File Sharing :: Internet Technology Computers Essays

The Moral Issues of Freenet and Online File Sharing The internet today is a vast network that contains nearly limitless amounts of information and media. With this immense amount of data at our fingertips, the line between right and wrong has begun to blur. The illegal downloading of copyrighted material has exploded in recent years, but a larger issue looms over the current copyrighting frenzy. It is that of the preservation of free speech in cyberspace. Should the government be allowed to limit our access to "unsuitable content"? And to what degree? These are not easy questions to answer, nor should they be. Similar questions have been raised throughout history. Freenet is a program that has been developed to provide an answer to the aforementioned question with a definite no. The following essay will explain what Freenet is and how it fits into the free speech debate and future of the internet. In this essay I will discuss the following: †¢A quick history of free speech on the Internet †¢An explanation of Freenet †¢How Freenet functions †¢Freenet's role in the future progression of the digital age †¢The illegal usage of Freenet Free Speech and the Internet The first amendment to the constitution reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." (Constitution) We as Americans have the right to speak our minds. We are able to criticize the government and voice our opinions in the form of voting and political debate. This is not only a right, it is vital for the survival of our country. The internet is no stranger to free speech debates. In early 1996 the Communications Decency Act was passed. This act prevented "indecent" and "patently offensive" content which included profanity and many works of classic literature that contained such material. No less than 6 months later, the CDA was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In 1997 the Supreme Court granted the Internet full protection under the 1" amendm ent entitling it the same freedoms of print media. Two sides are now battling on a new front: the abuse of 1" amendment in cyber space through the exchange of illegal material. I will discuss this issue in more detail later.

Aspire...To Be More Than Youre Worth Essay -- Literary Analysis

Multiple readings took place during the postmodern time period; they described ideas ranging from conceptual frameworks and ideologies to science and realism. The novel took place during the postmodernism era, yet it still strongly relates to today’s society. How humans interact with one another plays a huge role throughout this novel as; Camus exemplifies a haunting nineteenth century postmodern novel that expresses human emotions through his characters; making The Stranger one of the greatest pieces of literature for generations to come. Before writing his novel, The Stranger, Albert Camus became experienced in writing. The French novelist â€Å"†¦was born in Mondovi, Algeria, and was educated at the University of Algiers† (Olafson 1). After studying theater, Camus soon came to the realization he wanted to become a novelist. During the first few months out of college, Camus â€Å"†¦was active writing and producing plays for a theater group he had founded in Algiers. About the same time he began his career as a journalist, and in 1940 he moved to Paris† (Olafson 1). Producing plays set a respectable background for Camus; as this led him to become an improved writer and produce novels as well. Albert Camus began his literary frame â€Å"†¦in 1942 [with his first] novel, L’etranger (The Stranger)† (Olafson 1). This novel was one of Camus’s more famous pieces of work; it describes human battles as well as their aspirations. Throughout The Stranger, Camus uses worl d views of well-known philosophers; even â€Å"Though he was baptized, raised, and educated as a Catholic and invariably respectful towards the Church, Camus seems to have been a natural-born pagan†; therefore, the development of Christian literature and philosophy helped influence Cam... ...e Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2012. "Postmodernism." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 6. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 395-397. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2012. Boucher, Jean-Yves. "Camus, Albert." Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Ed. Robert Kastenbaum. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 87-88. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2012. Camus, Albert. The Stranger. United Kingdom: Vintage International Books, 1988. Print. Danesi, Marcel. "Postmodernism." Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Ed. Carl Mitcham. Vol. 3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 1462-1464. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2012. Novels for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski and Deborah A. Stanley. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale, 1999. p276-296.

Eating: Personal or Public? Essay

I am writing this essay as a rhetorical analysis of Radley Balko’s article â€Å"What You Eat is Your Business† and making a recommendation for or against publication in The Shorthorn based on the request from my editor. I believe the rhetorical appeals that Mr. Balko makes in his article will be somewhat persuasive to the readers of The Shorthorn as he makes some valid points. However, most members of the UTA community have a previous understanding about the obesity epidemic that is plaguing this country and may not completely agree with his arguments. Obesity is a major concern in the United States because of the prevalence of heart disease, liver and kidney failure, and sleep abnormalities that plague a large portion of the population. It is a hot topic and debated regularly. The main argument is whether obesity should be a personal issue or whether the government should take action to modify individual’s health choices, essentially forcing a healthier lifestyle on the population. Balko’s central claim is that the government should make the cost of obesity a private matter with incentives for individuals to maintain a healthy lifestyle as opposed to making the public pay for the poor life decisions of some of the population. He believes that â€Å"Instead of manipulating or intervening in the array of food options available to American consumers, our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in and ownership of our own health and well-being.† Balko insists that we are becoming less re sponsible for our own health and more responsible for everyone else’s. It is a trend that he believes will not foster positive changes since there is no incentive â€Å"to put down the cheeseburger† if the government is paying for the individual’s anti-cholesterol medication. Balko maintains that a society where everyone is responsible for everyone else’s well-being is a society more apt to accept government restrictions such as what McDonalds can put on its menu, what Safeway or Kroger can put on grocery shelves or holding food companies responsible for the bad habits of unhealthy consumers. He believes that a growing army of nutritionist activists and food industry foes are egging the process on and that the best way to alleviate the obesity â€Å"public health† crisis is to remove obesity from the realm of public health. He asserts that if policymakers want to fight obesity, they should halt the creeping socialization of medicine, and move to return individual Americans’ ownership of their own health and well-being back to individual Americans. His plan includes freeing insurance companies to reward healthy lifestyles, and penalize poor ones. Another idea he expresses is that Congress should increase access to medical and health sa vings accounts, which give consumers the option of rolling money reserved for health care into a retirement account. Balko believes that these accounts introduce accountability into the health care system, and encourage caution with one’s health care dollar. His assumption is that â€Å"when money we spend on health care doesn’t belong to our employer or the government, but is money we could devote to our own retirement, we’re less likely to run to the doctor at the first sign of a cold.† While readers of The Shorthorn may accept Balko’s rationale, they may not agree with his principle argument that obesity should not be part of the public sector. The readers may believe that some people need to be restricted in order for change to occur. If McDonald’s has to be regulated in order for an individual to make a healthier lifestyle choice then that is what needs to happen. If it takes government intervention to enforce changes in obesity levels of the population then so be it. I think readers of The Shorthorn would tend to agree with Balko’s suggestion t hat Congress could make available medical and health savings accounts but they would see that the realistic chance of that happening is pretty slim. The pharmaceutical and medical markets would be highly against losing revenue because of the incentive to go to the doctor less. Since there is a lot of money and influence (political support) from the pharmaceutical companies, there is less likely to be a change in the handling of obesity from the public sector to the private sector. Balko does not make any attempts to address any counterarguments. He expresses his displeasure with the current state of affairs and gives his opinion on what should be done to fix it. He does not give any mention to the positive aspects of the government’s proposed anti-obesity measures. To the readers of The Shorthorn, it would have been nice to see him address these points as it would make his argument more valid and believable. Balko attempts to establish credibility by referencing different aspects of the government’s plan to battle obesity and how he believes it is not the correct technique. He gives his own opinion but fails to demonstrate how he has come to those decisions. Throughout the article, Balko’s rationale is based on his personal biases and feelings. He does reference some minor facts in his article such as â€Å"President Bush earmarked $200 million in his budget for anti-obesity measures. State legislatures and school boards across the country have begun banning snacks and soda from school campuses and vending machines. Sen. Joe Lieberman and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, among others, have called for a â€Å"fat tax† on high-calorie foods. Congress is now considering menu-labeling legislation, which would force restaurants to send every menu item to the laboratory for nutritional testing† however for the majority of his article there is no empirical evidence demonstrated. While his ideas do make a lot of sense, some of the options he has put forward are improbable and the readers of The Shorthorn are most likely going to want to see that he can demonstrate a more mature argument (accepting and understanding of governmental involvement in obesity) before he can establish his credibility with them. Balko appeals to the emotions of his Shorthorn readers by using visual stories and explanations that help his cause. Early in the article, Balko uses imagery and strong stories to get the reader’s attention. He talks about the television show â€Å"How to Get Fat Without Really Trying† by ABC News and the outrage that show generated in him. He states the rationale for the show is to â€Å"relieve viewers of responsibility for their own condition† and he displays his displeasure with that ideal. Balko believes we should all be accountable for our own health decisions. By personally expressing his discontent with that television show, Balko is appealing to the emotions of his reader by picking a side of the argument and demonstrating strong emotions himself so that he does not appear to be lifeless. After reading this article, Balko’s argument does have some valid points that I think his readers in The Shorthorn will agree with. However they will want to see some evidence before they can truly accept his point of view. Since obesity is such a hot topic in today’s society and truly affects each and every one of us going forward, I conclude that most of The Shorthorn readers will enjoy this piece because it gives a different opinion from the mainstream view of how obesity should be handled and I suggest we should publish this article in the upcoming issue.