Biodiversity

Biodiversity Biodiversity Recently, the environment has been facing a lot of challenges resulting from the increased human activities such as farming and construction of the infrastructures. These activities have led to the imbalanced ecosystem. The environmentalists have continued to agitate for the need for humans to understand that the ecosystem is in a very dynamic setting, which is composed of different types and classes of living things. These living things are either directly or indirectly responsible for the survival of each other, and it is, therefore, important that they all exist. This write up addresses the various roles of people in ensuring the preservation of the areas threatened by the human encroachment. The balancing of different environmental concerns and the need for the U.S global participation in environmental conservation is also discussed. According to Narasaiah (2008), human encroachment is the inversion of part of the environment so that beneficial activities like farming and mining can be carried out. It has since threatened certain regions of the earth, thus, leading to the need for people to take up active roles in educating the rest of the human population on the importance of preserving the life of other living things. The innovation of environmental-friendly technology should also be encouraged, so that activities like mining and farming are done in a manner not likely to interfere with the ecosystem. In addition, the governments and private organizations should come up with protection programs, which can help preserve the regions threatened by human encroachment. These may include the formulation of preservation strategies such as; the creation of botanical gardens, seed banks, and zoos. Moreover, the governments should declare some human activities like cutting down of trees illegal if done without legal permission. The government should also carry out identification and protection of the biological hotspots. That is, the species rich regions to be protected so as to assist in maintaining the ecosystem at a balance. Finally, people should be advised to change their pattern of consumption and development activities so as to reduce the levels of environmental destruction (Kearns, 2010). The issue of drilling of oil in the Arctic has generated a controversial debate with a section of scholars supporting it while others have emphasized on its illegality. However, other scholars have come up with a compromising position noting the need for the consideration of both the long-term economic arguments and the habitat protection arguments. They have thus called for the need of environmental friendly methods of drilling as a compromised choice (Kearns, 2010). Narasaiah (2008) notes that many environmental conservation groups have come up to help in saving the rain forests. Some of these groups are in the United States of America though they operate internationally. Even, though, many people have questioned why the U.S is interested in the environmental conservation, in the other countries, it is important to note that every part of the worlds ecosystem contributes to the balancing of the whole earths ecosystem. In conclusion, it is important to note that a balanced ecosystem benefits the whole life forms on earth and so should be a responsibility of everyone.

The Worlds Newest Countries Since 1990

The Worlds Newest Countries Since 1990 Since the year 1990, 34 new countries have been created, many as a result of the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. and Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Others became new countries as a result of anticolonial and independence movements, including Eritrea and East Timor. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Fifteen new countries became independent when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) dissolved in 1991. Most of these countries declared independence a few months before the Soviet Union officially collapsed: ArmeniaAzerbaijanBelarusEstoniaGeorgiaKazakhstanKyrgyzstanLatviaLithuaniaMoldovaRussiaTajikistanTurkmenistanUkraineUzbekistan Former Yugoslavia Yugoslavia dissolved in the early 1990s into five independent countries: June 25, 1991:  Croatia  and SloveniaSeptember 8, 1991:  Macedonia (officially The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) declared independence on this date, but wasnt recognized by the United Nations until 1993 and the United States and Russia until February of 1994.February 29, 1992: Bosnia and HerzegovinaApril 17, 1992:  Serbia and Montenegro, also known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Other New Countries Thirteen other countries became independent through a variety of circumstances, including independence movements: March 21, 1990:  Namibia became independent of South Africa.  Previously, Namibia was known as South West Africa when the latter was officially a German territory.May 22, 1990:  North and South Yemen merged to form a unified Yemen.October 3, 1990: East Germany and West Germany merged to form a unified Germany after the fall of the Iron Curtain.September 17, 1991:  The Marshall Islands was part of the Trust Territory of Pacific Islands (administered by the United States) and gained independence as a former colony. On this date,  Micronesia, previously known as the Caroline Islands, also became independent from the United States.January 1, 1993: The Czech Republic and Slovakia became independent nations when Czechoslovakia dissolved. The peaceful separation was also known as the Velvet Divorce, after the Velvet Revolution which had led to the end of communist rule in Czechoslovakia.May 25, 1993: Eritrea, which was part of Ethiopia, seceded and gained independence. The two nat ions later became involved in a violent war over disputed territory. A peace agreement was reached in 2018. October 1, 1994: Palau was part of the Trust Territory of Pacific Islands (administered by the United States) and gained independence as a former colony.May 20, 2002: East Timor (Timor-Leste) declared independence from Portugal in 1975 but did not become independent from Indonesia until 2002.June 3, 2006: Montenegro was part of Serbia and Montenegro (also known as Yugoslavia) but gained independence after a referendum. Two days later, Serbia became its own entity after Montenegro split.February 17, 2008: Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia. The representatives of the Kosovo people unanimously agreed that the country would be independent of​ Serbia despite the objections of eleven representatives of the Serbian minority.July 9, 2011: South Sudan peacefully seceded from Sudan following a January 2011 referendum. Sudan had been the site of two civil wars, and the referendum received near unanimous approval.

Examining Alternatives to Globalization Research Paper

Examining Alternatives to Globalization - Research Paper Example It is a fact that the people who are against globalization would actually accept anything that has an opposite tilt to what globalization has to offer. This would mean that the globalization ranks would simply be deemed as unacceptable as they do not bring forward any benefits for their entirety. When it comes to consumerism, they opine that the phenomenon of globalization undertakes measures to make sure that the most deserving individuals within the society do not get what is theirs. Also the element of consumerism has come about with the advent of time and globalization is one such facet which has made headlines due to a number of factors, most significant of which is the premise of bringing the world together, yet this hardly takes place as is suggested by the ones who detest globalization in letter and spirit. Thus globalization is by their standards a very difficult phenomenon which has no advantages so to speak. These people believe that immigration and nutrition are affected due to the advent of globalization in this day and age. There are individuals who do not believe in the dictum of globalization because it hurts the cause of the society from a collective growth and development stance.

Paper for international study class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Paper for international study class - Essay Example Due to these many problems of war and terrorism, the United States of America has severally made interventions in countries like Iran and Iraq. These interventions have been to restore peace and tranquility in the economic resource endowed region that accounts for about 50% of all the oil consumed globally. It should be remembered that the United States foreign policy in the Mid-East dates back to the Barbary Wars in the early years of US existence. The system became more pronounced after the Second World War and has since then affected many ways in the affairs of Middle East and their relations with the West. During the cold war, the American policy aimed at curbing the influence of the Communist USSR through support to anti-communist countries in the region (Toaldo 23). In particular, US supported Israel against the Arab states that were majorly sponsored by the Soviet Union. To ensure the Western access to the Gulf oil in the 1960s and 1970s, the US became the major security patron of the Persian Gulf replacing the UK. The activities of the US in the Middle East intensified after 2001 9/11 attacks. An emphasis on counter-terrorism was declared and included in the US foreign policy. Although the relations between the US and the countries in the Middle East may be misconceived, the US has had Diplomatic relations with these countries except Iran. In 1979, the Iranian Revolution brought into power a regime that was completely anti-American derailing the relations between these two nations. The efforts of US activities in the Middle East including the most recent endeavour have been aimed at resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict and preventing the regional spread of weapons of mass destruction. These goals have been in line with the objectives of the UN Security Council that actively discourages the making and use of nuclear weapons.

Americans Bias Against Muslims Essay Example for Free

Americans Bias Against Muslims Essay Orientalism, simply put, is the perception the West has of the East. The concept was mapped out by Edward Said in his book Orientalism, where he explores the concept, its origin, and how it functions. Said states that Orientalism is the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, [and] ruling over it (3). However, Said points out that even if Orientalism from the beginning was not a creation with no corresponding reality the concept he studies in the book is that of the internal consistency of Orientalism and its ideas about the Orient despite or beyond any correspondence with the real Orient (5). What Said is saying is that the characteristics drawn up about the Orient within Orientalism ar not necessarily compatible with reality. The Western eagerness to characterize the Oriental came from the desire to put a face to the unknown, becoming a political vision of reality whose structure promoted the difference between East and West, them and us, the familiar and the strange (43). Orientalism became a dictionary displaying the characteristics of the Oriental subject, characteristics that were fixed and unchangeable (42, 70). The attributes given to the Oriental helped strengthen the image of Western superiority and justified colonialism. The West was seen as superior to the East, meaning that it had the right to dominate the subject race, since it did not know what was good for it (Said 35). Irrational, depraved (fallen), childlike, [and] different,,4 (40) were words used to describe Orientals. Europeans then became rational, virtuous, mature, [and] normal (40), and the line between the two parts of the world was set; Europe (or the West) as the strong one and Asia (or the East) as the weak one (57). The Orientals were given the role of the Other, ruled by their emotions rather than sense, which made them crueller than the enlightened Western man (Barry 186). The role of the Other made ruling over them justified. The same method is still used by Orientalists today (Said 60), so the hegemony that makes the West believe itself to be superior to the East stays alive in both Western and Eastern cultures. Orientalism is written to explore how and why these ideas have such a central and fixed part in the mentality of the West (and East). In the preface to the 2003 issue of the book Said writes about 9111 and the following War on Terror in this way: Without a well-organized sense that these people over there were not like us and didnt appreciate our values the very core of Orientalism there would have been no war (xv). In this quote it is evident that the Oriental stereotype is still very much present in todays society and is affecting events in the world; Said even argues that the war in Afghanistan and Iraq would not be a fact if it was not for this stereotype. Although the role of the suppressed was given to the East, it was still, and is still, surrounded by mystery and exoticism because it was/is something so different from the West. Its exoticism made it hard to grasp and understand for Western society (Barry 186). It could be suggest that the contrasting images of the exotic Orient and the dangerous Orient are both images that exist in an attempt to make the ungraspable graspable. Even if these images are different they are sticking around because they provide an explanation. Said also points out that Orientalism is a three-way force that affects both the Orient, the Orientalists and the Western consumer of Orientalism (Said 67). Since the ideas of the Orient within Orientalism affect all three stages it makes it almost impossible to erase the stereotype that has been erected. The only way would be to embrace hybridity, which means accepting each others differences and looking beyond the man-made distinction between East and West (Said 5). After the 9/11 attacks it became even more evident that the stereotype evoked in Orientalism was not about to disappear, despite the new global society. Said gives an example of how an Arab is typically portrayed as a bloodthirsty, deceiving slave trader, who is a sadist and so on, in movies and on television (287). This image was not far away when the media, and politicians for that matter, started portraying all Easterners as bloodthirsty terrorists driven by non-rational thoughts (Scanlan 274). The fear of the unknown, of the suppressed rising and gaining power, of the Other speaking up, is as scary today as it was hundreds of years ago. These images of the East are what The Reluctant Fundamentalist explores, showing how deeply rooted they are in society and how they blossomed after 9/11. The novel tries to make the reader reflect upon this stereotype, how it might be wrong and why it exists.

Laertes and Horatio as Foils for Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- The Trag

Laertes and Horatio as Foils for Hamlet In the play, Hamlet , Shakespeare uses a cast of characters that have many roles. Of this cast, Shakespeare uses two characters, Laertes and Horatio, as foils for Hamlet’s character. Through similarities and differences these characters, accentuate Hamlet’s pretense of being crazy, emphasize how Hamlet is an improper son by standards of the time and cause him to be a tragic hero. A foil is a minor character that helps develop a major character by sharing similarities and differences with the main character. This is a common practice Shakespeare uses within many of his plays. The use of foils in Hamlet, is especially effective in affirming Hamlet’s anguish. Laertes and Hamlet share two basic similarities. Both Laertes and Hamlet want revenge for their father’s deaths. Hamlet wants revenge against his uncle and Laertes wants revenge against Hamlet. Both want to protect their family name. The revenge Hamlet wants is what starts him pretending he is crazy. He is attempting to use his dementedness as a ploy to get his uncle to confess to the murder. Laertes and Hamlet are both thought to be acting improperly by their parents. Laertes’ father sends two spies to Paris to watch his son and to report back their findings because, " in his worldliness and cynicism, he is absolutely sure that he knows how young men behave when away from parental control." [Source?] This outlook hints at the way Hamlet is behaving without his parental control. Hamlet is presumed mad because he claims to see his dead father[' H-50]s ghost and is obsessing ab... ...cumstantial causes (reasons) of Hamlet's behavior are shown, then is he not being shown as acting reasonably, and not insanely?] By using similarities and differences to contrast them to Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the minor characters to help the reader learn or understand Hamlet better. This is why Laertes and Horatio are foils for Hamlet. Both of these minor characters interact with Hamlet throughout the play and they constantly set him off as a tragic hero. [ Teachers Note: The primary point discussed in relation to Laertes could have been better made using Fortinbras, and the evidence provided in the discussion of Horatio appears to prove just the opposite of what the writer claims. On the other hand, this writer started with a very good thesis and attempted, throughout the entire essay to support that thesis. ]

RENE DESCARTES PROOF OF GOD’S EXISTENCE: ACRITICAL EXPOSITION Essay

The question of God is a perennial subject of debate in the history of philosophical scholarship and can be located in nearly all the epochs of philosophy. The subject however occupies a central space in the medieval epoch that was characterized by religious thinkers. The debate is largely between two schools of thought. There are those who opine that there is no such entity as God. To such thinkers, the question of God does not amount to anything but is largely a product of human imagination. On the other hand, there are certain group of thinkers who insist that God is a reality that exist and must be given due consideration. Thus, the onus lies on the one who affirms the existence of God to explain who or what this God is and to prove his existence. The subject of God may have being difficult to explain because the term God does not refer to any physical entity in the universe. Rene Descartes who is widely revered as the father of modern philosophy affirmed the existence of God and proffered two arguments for the existence of God. Many scholars have bore their minds on the question of God, but our aim in this paper is to examine the various ramifications of Descartes’ proof of God’s existence. To achieve this aim, our exposition shall follow this outline: Life and works of Descartes Who is God? The historical trajectory of the problem of God The cogito: a background to the Cartesian prof of God’s existence ï  ¶Descartes’ proof of God’s existence Criticisms of the Cartesian proof of God’s existence Evaluation Conclusion Life and works of Rene Descartes Descartes is the first major philosophical thinker of the modern period and the father of modern philosophy. He was born in La Haye, a small town near Tours in France on the 3rd of March he received a Jesuit education at the Jesuit college of La fleche in Anjou, one of the best schools of his time. Upon completion of his studies, he went to Holland where he joined the army in 1618. The following year, he travelled to Germany where he began to develop his ideas concerning how knowledge should be acquired. Descartes  returned to France in 1628 but soon returned to Holland where he remained until 1649, when he went to Sweden at the request of Queen Christina to come and tutor her in philosophy and knowledge in general. He is said to have died of pneumonia on the 11th of February 1650. Descartes has many achievements to his name, he invented the analytic geometry and the Cartesian coordinate system named after him. His major works include: The Rules for the Direction of the Mind (1628), the world (1629), Discourse on Method (1637), Optics (1637), Meteorology (1637), Meditations on first Philosophy (1641), Principles of Philosophy (1644) and Passions of the soul (1649). Who is God? Much of the disagreement about â€Å"proofs† of God’s existence is due to different conceptions of God. Classical theism, for instance, characterizes God as a supreme metaphysical being. Despite extensive writing on the nature of God, these classical theists did not believe that God could be defined. They believed that it would be contradictory to the transcendent nature of God if mere humans are able to define him. By contrast, much of Eastern religious thought (chiefly pantheism) presents God as a force inherent in every accessible and conceivable experience. In modern times, the concept of God typically entails a monotheistic, supreme, ultimate, and personal being, as found in the Islamic, Christian and Hebrew traditions. A historical trajectory of the problem of God. Since the ancient epoch of philosophy, philosophers have always grappled with the problem of the existence of God. Thus we shall examine the general posture that the discourse of God assumed before and after the advent of Descartes. This would properly position us to understand the background from were Descartes emerges. The ancient Western tradition of philosophical discuss of the existence of God began with Plato and Aristotle, who made arguments that would today be categorized as cosmological. In the medieval epoch of philosophy, other arguments for the existence of God have been proposed by St. Anselm, who formulated the first ontological argument; Avicena Averroes and Thomas Aquinas, who refined the cosmological argument (the kalam argument and the first way, respectively). In the modern period, Descartes, asserts that the existence of a benevolent God is logically necessary for the evidence of the senses to be meaningful; and Immanuel Kant, also contended that the existence of God can be deduced from the existence of good. The cogito: a background to Descartes prof of God’s existence Descartes was skeptical of the knowledge he acquired over the years, because he thinks that real knowledge requires certainty. To attain certainty, we need a foundation and then, we need a way of building from that foundation to other truths. Descartes describes his foundation in the first meditation. His starting point is the collection of beliefs. Thus he looks for grounds of doubt for certain basic beliefs and having found certain grounds for doubt, all other beliefs based on the basic beliefs will tumble. He rejects beliefs acquired through sense perception on the ground that we could be dreaming. He further rejects a priori beliefs for example mathematical truths on grounds that there could be an evil deceiver who is so powerful and possibly responsible for making him conceive of these beliefs. Having doubted his beliefs, Descartes discovers that he exists, for even if there is a powerful deceiver, he must exis t. The reason for his certainty about this belief is that he is thinking, whether this thinking consists of being deceived by the evil deceiver or not. In other to be thinking, he must exist. He avers cogito ego sum-I think, therefore I exist. Thus, his existence serves as a model for acquiring other kinds of knowledge. However, Descartes has not totally extricated himself from his self-imposed doubt and to do so, he proves the existence of a God who is not a deceiver. The Cartesian proof of God’s existence. Descartes proffered two arguments for the existence of God in the meditations, neither is original. The first is a version of the cosmological argument espoused by ancient thinkers and the second is a reformulation of Anselm’s ontological argument the starting point for the two fold argument is his clear and distinct idea of God. That is, he infers the existence of God from his idea of God. The causal argument for the existence of God Descartes’ first argument can be summarized as an attempt to prove God’s existence by causal reasoning. He asserts that his idea of God could only have been caused by God. Below is a concise presentation of his causal argument: †¢All effects including ideas are caused by something. †¢There must be at least as much reality in the cause as there is in the effect. †¢I have an idea of God as an infinite and perfect being. †¢The idea of God in my mind is an effect that was caused by something †¢I am finite and imperfect and thus could not be the cause of the idea of an infinite and perfect God. †¢Only an infinite being could be the cause of such an idea. †¢Therefore, God (an infinite and perfect being) exist. The first premise of the causal argument derives from a commonly held belief that has long being a premise in other arguments for the existence of God. The logic behind Descartes’ second premise can be explained thus, he says a cold object such as a pot of water cannot become hot unless something else causes that heat. But, the cause must have a high degree as the effect. For it is impossible for one level of reality (the boiling water) to be produced by a cause that is less than the effect (a cold stove). Just as heated water is an effect that requires a cause, so Descartes’ idea of an infinite and perfect being is an effect or a phenomenon that needs to be accounted for. It is possible that Descartes could have produced the idea of God himself. But for him, a finite object can only produce another finite object. Hence, Descartes says ordinarily, the idea in his mind does not tell him if there is the existence of any external reality. However, the idea of perfection is unique. If he could not have manufactured it himself, then it will necessarily follow that he is not alone in the world, but that some other thing which is the cause of this idea exist. That thing can only be God therefore, God exists. Descartes further corroborated his argument by demonstrating that his sustained existence requires an adequate cause. Using a variation of his causal argument, he argues that a being such as himself who contains the idea of perfection cannot come from an imperfect cause. In the cause of searching for an explanation for his own sustained existence, he introduces the principle that there cannot be an infinite regress of causes therefore; these causes must culminate in an ultimate cause and that cause is God. He conceives God as an infinite substance who is Omniscient, omnipotent, everlasting, unchanging, perfect, and the creator of all things. The ontological argument. In the meditation, Descartes employed a version of Anselm’s ontological argument to buttress the existence of God. Descartes begins by stating that the essence of a thing is different from its existence. The essence of a thing is that property without which it cannot be what it is. He argues that, to be a perfect being, a being must include in itself all perfection. Existence is perfection, therefore a perfect being (God) necessarily exist. The main outline of Descartes’ version of the ontological argument is as follows: †¢I have the idea of a God that possess all perfection, †¢Existence is a kind of perfection †¢If the God I am thinking of lacked existence, then he will not be perfect †¢Hence, if I can have the idea of a perfect God, I must conclude that existence is one of God’s essential attributes. †¢If existence is one of God’s essential attributes, he must exist †¢Therefore God exist. Descartes’ bases his argument on the notion that when one clearly understands the nature of something, one would be lead to conceive of all its essential properties. The idea of God according to Descartes is always thought to be the idea of a perfect being. As such, such a being cannot lack perfection of any kind, including existence. And no other being has existence as a part of its essence. Thus Descartes says, it would be contradictory to say, I think of a perfect being who necessarily has existence as its property but who does not exist. Having proved the existence of God, Descartes uses the existence of God to explain his existence. He now sees God as the source of his existence and sustenance. Prior to his discovery of God, he had no idea of why he existed, for he could find no power within him that could bring about his existence. He now realizes that he is imperfect finite and dependent on God. Criticisms of the Cartesian proof of God’s existence. There are many problems with Descartes’ argument. Perhaps, the most obvious are his reliance on the causal principles, his acceptance of his previous scholastic beliefs about the degrees of reality of ideas and of things and his claim that his idea of God is clear and distinct. Descartes posits that the light of nature teaches us how to distinguish what is clear and distinct from what is not. One problem that still remains a puzzle concerns how we  can know when the infallible light of nature is guiding us and when our natural impulses are leading us since we do not have any means of detecting when our natural impulses are leading us from those instances where we are led by the light of nature. Several theologians of Descartes’s time challenged the claim that infinity and perfection must precede all thoughts of finitude and imperfection. One of such critics puts it thus, â€Å"I can surely take a given degree of being, which I perceive within myself, and add on a further degree of being, and thus construct the idea of a perfect being from all the degrees which are capable of being added on.† If finite minds can construct the idea of infinity or perfection in this manner, we do not need to look outside of ourselves in an attempt to account for the origin of our idea of infinity.’ Though many theologians who used this argument agree that there is the existence of God, they simply think that Descartes provided an inadequate argument for the existence of God. Many philosophers have also objected that existence is not a property at all, hence cannot be derived from the concept of God in the same way as God’s benevolence or omnipotence. We can also question Descartes’ claim that his idea of God is clear and distinct. Perhaps, the idea of a supremely perfect being contains a contradiction. Even i f we were to grant Descartes that reality or existence is a property, why must we think that there is a most perfect being-that is, that there is a top to the scale, at which actuality is reached? From our exposition, it is apparent that Descartes’ rationalistic method has led him out of the slit of doubt. He is now certain of the existence of himself and God. The existence of God for him is particularly important because it released him from the prison of his mind. He now knows that something exists outside his own mind and its ideas. Thus, he uses his certainty of the existence of God as a bridge to the external world. It is important to note however that Descartes aim is to show that all knowledge can be derived from reason. He begins with the ‘cogito’ which shows him that he exists as a thinking thing. From the cogito, he knows that what he clearly and distinctly perceives by the ‘light of nature’ must be true. Then he discovers certain clear and distinct principles which together with a clear and distinct idea of God enable him to derive God’s existence. And  ones he has done this, he is able to remove the evil demon as a ground o f doubt since an even more powerful benevolent perfect deity exist. We have successfully examined the issue of the existence of God. We began by examining the ambiguous nature of the concept of God after which we attempted to understand how the truth of the cogito led Descartes to the discovery of the existence of God and the terrestrial world. from our exposition, we can say that conclusions on the existence of God can be divided along numerous axes, producing a variety of independent classifications such as; Theism and atheism, Gnosticism and agnosticism, Ignosticism, and Apatheism. Though Descartes can be criticized and has been criticized on many fronts, his contribution to the God question cannot be over emphasized. He has inspired many after him who have also contributed their quota to the problem all in a view to proffer solution to the perennial problem of God. Bibliography Lawhead F., William, the Voyage of Discovery: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy, second edition, U.S.A: Wadsworth, 2002. Sutchile F. E., Descartes: Discourse on the Method, (trans.) London: Penguin Books, 1968. Ariscombe E. and Geach, P. T., Descartes philosophical writings (Ed.) New York: Open University Press 1971. Beardsley C. Monroe, The European Philosophers from Descartes to Nietzsche, New York: Random House Inc. 1992. Norris C., on Truth and meaning: Language, Logic and the Grounds for Belief, London and New York: Continuum, 2006. Jimoh K. A., Certitude and Doubt: A Guide in Epistemology, Ibadan: Ebony Books and Kreations, 2013.

Consider Atwood’s portrayal of religion in Gilead Essay

All around us we see evidence of the way in which belief is institutionalised and abused. Consider Atwood’s portrayal of religion in Gilead Many modern day beliefs have been used as excuses for war, or as a way of suppressing groups of people. In ‘The Handmaid’s tale’ Atwood has taken abuse of belief and religion to the extreme, using it to create a worrying futuristic dystopia where all laws are based on extracts from the bible and the texts have been twisted to suit the more powerful members of society. It is impossible for handmaids, or many other members of Gilead to check the authenticity of the extracts that rule their life as they are forbidden from reading and the bible is kept locked up. In ‘The Handmaid’s tale’ free will is nothing more than a memory, different Christian branches are at war with each other. The bible is used to justify the regimes and practises of Gilead and sexuality has been suppressed into something shameful and dangerous. Chapter two offers the reader their first decent example of how religion is used within the society of Gilead. It is in the simple use of a name that Atwood is able to immediately establish a link between her dystopia and the bible. ‘Her usual Martha’s dress’. In the bible Martha is the sister of Mary who would devote herself to the housework while Mary went to hear Jesus speak. Marthas in ‘The Handmaids Tale’ are unmarried, infertile women who are expected to perform household duties for the high-ranking members of Gilead. This is the first time the reader is given an example of rank based on religion with Gilead, the reader is made aware of Handmaids and of the Commander earlier in the book but this is the first obvious biblical reference. Martha is not important in the bible, but the powers of Gilead has taken her role and expanded it so that they can justify having slaves within their society. This early example gives the reader an impression of what sort of society Gilead is and what they can expect further into the book as far as rank and religion are concerned. In Chapter eleven Offred is offered the opportunity to get pregnant by the doctor. Offred is worried about being caught having sex with someone who wasn’t the commander. Offred considers the doctors offer, she knows it is a risk ‘but they have to catch you in the act, with two witnesses. ‘ This method of convicting people is taken from Deuteronomy 17:6 ‘At the mouth of two witnesses†¦ shall he that is to die be put to death. ‘ The bible reference is saying that nobody can be convicted when it is just their word against someone else’s, this must be the same way people in Gilead practise law. Unfortunately it would be very easy for two people to get together and agree on the same story if they wanted to frame someone. It also further removes individuality and freethinking, people are already expected to travel in groups of at least two and the suggestion is that one person’s opinion is useless unless supported by someone else. It also makes things very difficult for handmaid’s who are often required to be on their own with the commander’s wife and if there aren’t any witnesses present then there is no crime and the handmaids are left in a very vulnerable position. Television in Gilead is censored, like everything else. It is clear that this society functions by keeping people ve for as long as possible, if they can’t read and their only visual entertainment in censored to suit the ideals of Gilead then they cannot really form their own opinions and would be entirely dependant on what others told them. However the information that comes from the television tells the reader about battles Gilead is involved in. The odd thing about the battles is that they are taking place with different branches of the same religion. ‘Angels of the Apocalypse†¦ are smoking out a pocket of Baptist guerrillas’. ‘Five members of the heretical sect of Quakers have been arrested’. It is possible to read more into the news reports than meets the eye. The Baptists are relying on guerrilla warfare that is commonly the form of warfare used by under-developed countries that aren’t looking for war. There is also a fair amount of irony in the sense that the report claims that the Quakers are heretical or sacrilegious when the reader knows that the society of Gilead is based on sacrilege. This may suggest that Gilead is fighting these other branches of Christianity to stop them from demonstrating to the world, and more importantly to the people of Gilead that their society is based on twisted truths.

Plant Growth Experiments Essays

Plant Growth Experiments Essays Plant Growth Experiments Paper Plant Growth Experiments Paper They grow best in cold seasons. The group selected this study so that they can test the effects of certain mixtures or substances such as water and salt, water and sugar, water and powdered milk, against the effects of water only. The group wanted to find out if these substances would benefit or cause damage to the plants. Statement of Problem Can varying solutions enhance the growth of peachy? Hypothesis The problem under study Is whether different kinds of solutions (such as water and salt, water and sugar, water and milk) will affect the growth of plants. Their objectives are: To determine which solution will benefit peachy plants. *To make a homemade, effective fertilizer Instead of buying expensive ones Significance of the Study Since agriculture is one of the main sources of income for the people in the country, the researchers would want to determine if water mixtures would affect the growth of plants. Their study about the different mixtures, such as water with sugar, water with salt, water with oil and water with soap affecting the growth of plants is significant because this study will educate the people of the things that they do not want to water their plants with. If this study Is successful, the researchers will be able to Inform the people on how they can make their plants grow faster and the substances that would harm them. Through this experiment, we might be able to find ways of increasing the growth of the plants found in our garden. Scope and Limitations The researchers will try to determine whether different substances (water with salt, sugar, powdered milk or water only) will affect the growth of the plants. They will be allotting 2 months for us to see if the water mixtures namely water with salt, sugar, and powdered milk can affect the growth of plants. The plants in trial 1 will be receiving enough sunlight while trial 2 will not be receiving enough sunlight, watered equally and have a control set up so that we can compare the results after the time allotted for the experiment. They will not be spending as much because most of the products they will be using are found at home. They will be having a PH. 500 budget to buy materials that we will need but couldnt find them at our houses. The Independent variable will Include the plants we used In testing, water with the mixtures. The dependent variable will be the result of dealing with or experimenting nee Inaepenaenvexperlmental variable. In tens case, It will De ten amount AT sugar, salt, and powdered milk that they will mix with the water to see if these will affect the Peachy plant we will be using for our experiment. Their controlled variable will consist of the peachy plant and water. Review of Related Literature Tap Water on Plants Tap water is good for plants that need water with chlorine in it, spring water is good for carnivorous plants in order for them to grow, and bottled water is good for plants like cactuses that need mineral water to grow. Sugar on Plants Plants require three essentials, light, water and nutrients to thrive and produce optimum yield. Plants naturally produce sugars, such as glucose and sucrose. These sugars are needed to produce energy, promote growth and aide in the processes of respiration and transpiration. Sugar can also be introduced to a plant through watering to enhance growth and production. Sugar, in moderation, is not harmful to plants. If the amount of sugar in the soil becomes too high, this promotes a higher incidence of fungi and bacteria. A typical fungus that thrives on sugar is yeast. In a study at University of Southern California, here groups of bean plants were watered with different degrees of sugar water (O g, 25 g and 50 g solutions). The group of plants which had been watered with the 50 g sugar/water solution was not only the largest and strongest of the plants, they were also the healthiest and highest yielding plants. Effect of Salt Concentration on Plant Growth Many western farmers believe that soil alkali is more detrimental to crop growth during the hot weather than during the cooler seasons of the year. Other agricultural workers have noted that damage to crops due to alkali (soil salinity) is more serious in he hot interior valleys than along the coast where the climate is more moderate. It is not definitely known whether or not soil salinity concentrations are comparable between different seasons of the year or between respective areas. Yet, information on this question is pertinent to the development of management practices which would aid in ameliorating soil salinity conditions at different seasons of the year and under different climatic conditions. The results obtained in this study show that* most crops are injured by salt to a greater extent in warm than cool climates. The Effect of Water Impurities on Plant Growth The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of water impurities on the growth of plants. Each plant was put near a big window that let in a lot of sun. Two different stems from each plant were marked with bag ties. The heights of the two stems from each plant were measured. The plants were watered with 157. 6 millimeters of the solution. Each plant was watered on Thursday and Sunday. The first solution contained six millimeters of Colors bleach and 151. millimeters of water. The second solution contained 6 grams of sugar and 157. millimeters of water. The third solution contained 6 grams of salt and 157. 6 millimeters of water. On Friday and Monday the height of the stems of each plant were measured, and the height was recorder. I nerve was also a plant Tanat was watered Just Walt water, Tort ten control setup. This experiment ran for four weeks. The data was analyzed to determine which plant grew the most over that period of four weeks. The conclusions of this experiment are that the plant watered with sugar grew the most. Another conclusion is that the control (the plant watered with water) grew a little less than the plant attired with sugar. The plant watered with salt grew a little less than the control, and the plant watered with bleach grew the least amount. The reason that was discovered for why the plant watered with sugar grew the most was because when plants absorb nutrients, they turn them into some form of sugar. This plant didnt have to do that because it was already absorbing sugar. The other substances, except water, probably Just stopped the plants from growing as much. Plant Growth Experiments The instructions below outline a protocol for conducting plant growth experiments in the laboratory. You may want to make adaptations for use in a greenhouse or outdoors. Purpose: To determine the effect of compost on plant germination and growth. Materials: pots, compost, soil, seeds, light source (sunlight or artificial light) Procedure The first step is to design your own experiment. There are many possibilitiesa few ideas are listed here, but the variations are endless: 0 Test various combinations of soil and compost on plant growth. For example, you might wish to dig a soil sample from your school yard and mix it with various amounts of finished compost for planting experiments. Natural soil is better than prepackaged potting soils for experiments such as this because the potting mixes are formulated for optimal plant growth and already contain significant amounts of compost or humus. ) 0 another possibility is to mix your own potting soil by using vermiculite, sand, and compost. Creating several mixtures using the same percentages but different types of compost is a good way of comparing the influence of the various types of compost on plant growth. For example, you could compare compost at various levels of maturity, compost created using different mixtures of organic wastes, or overoptimistic versus impost created in a thermometric system. 0 if you are interested in investigating the effects of compost tea on plant growth, you could fill the pots with a sandy soil or potting medium such as vermiculite, then use compost extracts for watering. Next, whatever type of experiment you choose, make sure that you design your experiment to include replicates of the various treatments.

These Greco-Roman Curses Were the Best Form of Ancient Revenge

These Greco-Roman Curses Were the Best Form of Ancient Revenge Imagine youve just discovered the one you love has been cheating on you with the laundry girl from down the block. Furious, you want to get your vengeance. But youre not going to sink so low as to kill that young tart, are you? No, youre going to ask the gods to do your work for you! Instead, head to the marketplace and have a scribe write down a curse on a tiny scrap of lead. He asks the powers above - or, as well see, below  - to jinx her bowels. Bury that scrap of lead - pierced with a nail to fix its power- on which the scribe wrote somewhere sacred, and youve achieved your revenge! These mysteriously magical leaden texts were called  defixiones, or curse tablets. On a  defixio,  one would  invoke a god or psychopomp (spirits who carried the message to the underworld) in order to influence an individual, group, or animal against their wills; thus, they’re called binding spells. As noted in The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, the focus is not on torment or destruction ... but on laming and putting out of action. In fact, the way the text in defixiones  is set up is legal in nature, a contractual agreement between the gods invoked and the supplicant. Such formulae and phrasings were used in most of the defixiones, regardless of place of origin. These tablets appeared across the Greco-Roman world- and the places it conquered and influenced, from Syria to Britainfrom the Iron Age to the first few centuries A.D. More than 1500 of them have been discovered to date. Many of them have been at  religious locations where temples stood during Greek and Roman times. For example, at Bath in Roman Britain,  defixiones  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ were deposited in  the watery domains of Sulis Minerva, the protectress of that sanctuary; they were put there because the tablets requested for that goddess to  answer that request. The ones in Britain, especially Bath, mostly dealt with theft and were Romano-British cultural  hybridization at its finest; read more about that here. Other tablets would be placed in graves or pits, presumably because the supplicants were requesting help from infernal spirits or  powers residing in the underworld, like Persephone or Hecate; one would  imagine that, if a curse tablet requested physical harm or death on a person, a grave would be an ideal spot to put that  defixio. Perhaps most significantly, the  defixiones  proved to be some of the few examples we have of writing produced by non-elites in the Greco-Roman world.  They presented a contrast to the writings of many Roman historians that, rather than day-to-day concerns of love and life, concentrated on affairs of conquest and monumental inscriptions that only the rich could afford to set up. Just check out this insane tomb that Romes richest banker built for himself. Cursing Everyone and Everything When wishing for the gods to affect someone negatively in a  defixio, the supplicant might want any number of things, positive or negative, to happen. They could request that a rival be killed or fall sick, or that someone not fall in love with another person. As curse tablet expert Chris Faraone noted in Ancient Greek Love Magic,  these arent technically love spells, since they dont request that somebody fall head over heels for them; instead, it is designed to reduce the competition, by inhibiting the words, the actions, and even the sexual performance of a rival. Or, if a woman isnt into a guy, the supplicant requests that the beloveds movements be restricted so that shed love only him. Heres one example: Seize Euphemia and lead her to me, Theon, loving me with mad desire, and bind her with unloosable shackles, strong ones of adamantine, for the love of me, Theon, and do not allow her to eat, drink, obtain sleep, jest or laugh...Burn her limbs, live, female body, until she comes to me, and not disobeying me. If she holds another man in her embrace, let her cast him off, forget him, and  hate him; but let her feel affection for me... Another prime instance of creepy binding/erotic magic: Spirits of the underworld, I consecrate and hand over to you, if you have any power, Ticene of Carisius. Whatever she does, may it all turn out wrong. Spirits of the netherworld, I consecrate to you her limbs, her complexion, her figure, her head, her hair, her shadow, her brain, her forehead, her eyebrows, her mouth, her nose, her chin, her cheeks, her lips, her speech, her breath, her neck, her liver, her shoulders, her heart, her lungs, her intestines, her stomach, her arms, her fingers, her hands, her navel, her entrails, her thighs, her knees, her calves, her heels, her soles, her toes. Spirits of the netherworld, if I see her wasting away, I swear that I will be delighted to offer a sacrifice to you every year. People also utilized curse tablets to influence pretty much anything they wanted. In order to secure a win, a charioteer paid for inscribed tablets hat requested the gods ensure victory for their team and to destroy their enemies. Check out one that read: Bind the horses whose names and images/likeness on this implement I entrust to you: of the Red (team)... of the Blues. .. Bind their running, their power, their soul, their onrush, their speed. Take away their victory, entangle their feet, hinder them, hobble them, so that tomorrow morning in the hippodrome they are not able to run or walk about, or win or go out of the starting gates, or advance on the racecourse or track, but may they fall down with their drivers... The evidence for curse tablets isnt just archaeological. Literary sources suggest that Emperor Augustuss stepson, Germanicus, one of the most famous generals of his time, died because of poison and a curse; rumor had it that defixiones bearing his name, along evidence of other negative magics, were buried underneath his floorboards.

"Sony Pictures hacked by Russian blackhats, it now emerges Article

"Sony Pictures hacked by Russian blackhats, it now emerges - Article Example Companies require highly sensitive detectors to spot the attackers who get through their private information. The period to begin is before the attack hits: Sony could have managed well its workers well (Qamar, np). Their systems ought to have been under scrutiny of any attacker to keep their data and other third party information private. The worst private invasion in the Sony hack did not occur on to the stars or the executives, but the blameless workers who were used to daily sending and receiving of the system in the company. Consequently, they had their individual love lives, conversations, medical conditions, movie productions, and financial reports on exposure. The media may not have revealed the information but their relatives and colleagues peeked at it. Several personal tragedies unfolded during that period, all being an illustration of the compromised security systems. Information vulnerability can occur to any organization. People should not either reveal their personal details such as intimate conversations on Facebook, text or email to the company. Furthermore, they should not unleash their financial statements to their retailers. It is crucial that every person should be aware of the various crimes that do exist in the internet, and hence respond appropriately to remain safe. Most significantly, the Sony case study was quite a learning experience to both organization and their

Eastern religious traditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Eastern religious traditions - Essay Example Accordingly, the tradition belief of the Islamic religion is peculiar in numerous ways; however, its pillars are fundamental in its description and appreciation. The Islamic tradition reveals that, the God, Allah of the Muslim believers is one, ancient with nothing foregoing Him; He is everlasting without end, abiding without termination and subsisting without cessation. This explanation intends to explain the strength and respect bestowed to Allah. It is imperative to note that the tradition attributed to the Islamic religion is immensely attributed to the major distinct features of Allah. They include transcendence, life and power, knowledge, will, hearing and sight, speech and works. It is realizable that from these distinct features the character traits of Allah are manifested. Some of them include a hearer. He hears His peoples supplication; He speaks in various forms such as commanding, threatening promising and forbidding. Moreover, the Quran describes Allah as the source of l ife and power as He manifests Himself as the Almighty, powerful and all subduing. â€Å"Who is the Lord and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "It is Allah." Say: "Do ye then take (for worship) protectors other than Him such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?" Say: "Are the blind equal with those who see? Or the depths of darkness equal with Light?" Or do they assign to Allah partners who have created (anything) as He has created so that the creation seemed to them similar? Say: "Allah is the Creator of all things: He is the One the Supreme and Irresistible.† (Holy Quran Chapter 13 Surah Raad verse 16). It is evident that this tradition of the Islamic religion involves God called Allah. This study reveals that, Allah is the God of the Islamic believers and none rescinds His command nor supplements His decrees. It is notable that His attributes as described do not resemble