Reason and emotions in justifying moral decision Essay Example

Reason and emotions in justifying moral decision Paper To do so, we can use reason or emotion as a way of knowledge to justify our actions. When using reason to justify a moral judgement, there may be separate reasons for people to have an argument. If it is based in fact, the argument is open to settlement by evidence, though the evidence may be very difficult to obtain and interpret. However, if it is based in principle, it is very hard to use evidence to solve the dispute as everyones principle differs from each other. Making such a distinction is important as arguments of principle and arguments of evidence are solved differently. We will write a custom essay sample on Reason and emotions in justifying moral decision specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Reason and emotions in justifying moral decision specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Reason and emotions in justifying moral decision specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Thus, morality may come down to just a personal opinion. In this case, the prospects of finding the correct form of morality are and trying to persuade someone that one course of action is morally better than the other, is like trying to convince them that apple taste better than oranges. After making a vital distinction between principle and evidence, the choice of premises when justifying a moral judgement is also equally important. In most situations involving ethics, we would usually choose to act in self-interest but there are situations [ethical egoism], there are times when we sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others. This notion is known as altruism, which is opposed to that of ethical egoism. There are many people who do sacrifice their own interest to help others. However, the root of the problem is that if we see altruism as being an excellent thing then we can be egoistic by being altruistic. It provides no guide to action and seems little use as a moral theory. Although we would certainly want to take others welfare into account, it does not seem reasonable to live totally for others. So we need to find a way of balancing our needs with those of other. Utilitarianism allows both altruists and egoists to attempt to maximise someones utility. Utilitarianism states that we are all equally valuable- that all utility are equal and it takes sheer prejudice to take ones own point of view as the standard judgement. The idea of moral duty is a choice of premises as well, which needs to be scrutinised carefully as it is dangerous to answer questions with reference to other schools of ethical thoughts. We may end up following these schools of thought rather than trying to develop fully the duty theory. Thus we must acknowledge that reason alone can never motivate actions. People who can agree how to act in specific cases, yet have no agreement on principles, prove that we have far missed something in our search for ethical truth. Emotions is necessary in justifying a moral decision as good utilitarians have to weigh the pros and cons and decide if there is a net gain of happiness and if they feel that it is right to do so. The notion that character(rather than the outcome or duty) can matter seems to be reflected in the idea of intention as an important factor in moral decisions. This approach is known as virtue ethics, which is a set of philosophies that hold moral life should be concerned with cultivating a virtuous character, as opposed to following the rules of action. This means that a decision can be moral even if the outcome is a bad one and irrespective of ideas such as duty. One situation where the use of reason and emotion may come in is when a teacher miscalculated a students test marks, giving her more than what she was supposed to get. The student realises this and the extra marks had allowed her to pass her test. However, she also knows that she should be honest and inform her teacher about the error. This is a moral decision which the student has to make. She reasons that if she tells the teacher, she will be living up to her morals, but her if she does, she will fail the test and she will be upset. In this case, reason and emotions are both factors that will contribute to her moral judgement. In the end, the student decides to tell the teacher of her error as she felt that it was logical and morally right to do so. Although she failed the test, she had a net gain of happiness as the teacher had praised her for being an honest student. Reason and emotion are both equally necessary in justifying a moral decision. Utilitarian, duty-based and virtue-based theories of ethics all rely on both reasons and emotions to differing degrees. Each system has its own flaws and despite the reams of profound books we can turn to, we will still be doubtful if any of these systems will pose severe difficulties and if a compelling theory would arise. However, theories are only guidebooks and do not make a moral decision as this is what humans do. As it is hard for a human not to have any emotions, justifying a moral decision would require both the use of reasoning and our emotions play a role in decided what we feel like doing. 1573 words 3 http://www. scu. edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework. html 1 http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/logic-inductive/#1 2 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Emotion Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge section.

The eNotes Blog Surprise of the year Franzen is being a jerkagain.

Surprise of the year Franzen is being a jerkagain. Yes, he who snubbed Oprah and her schmaltzy book club, he who lacked the capacity to laugh at the ransom of a pair of glasses kidnapped from under his nose (quite literally), has climbed back onto his high horse again. The author of The Corrections and Freedom  now declares in a new Guardian essay his disappointment in authors who turn to Twitter, lovingly casting himself as the reincarnation of Austrian satirist Karl Kraus, aka The Great Hater. Not that you would know who that is, being a techno-communicating cretin and all. I mean, #karlkrausthegreathater takes up a big chunk of 140 characters. I would explain more of Franzens essay for you, but like his other work, I didnt get through it. So, Ill just leave you with a link and some idiot friendly bullet points: Jeff Bezos of Amazon may not be the antichrist, but he surely looks like one of the four horsemen. The work of yakkers and tweeters and braggers, and of people with the money to pay somebody to churn out hundreds of five-star reviews for them, will flourish in that world. But what happens to the people who became writers because yakking and tweeting and bragging felt to them like intolerably shallow forms of social engagement? What happens to the people who want to communicate in depth, individual to individual, in the quiet and permanence of the printed word, and who were shaped by their love of writers who wrote when publication still assured some kind of quality control and literary reputations were more than a matter of self-promotional decibel levels? As fewer and fewer readers are able to find their way, amid all the noise and disappointing books and phony reviews, to the work produced by the new generation of this kind of writer, Amazon is well on its way to making writers into the kind of prospectless workers whom its contractors employ in its warehouses. And with that, I have to get back to Twitter. I think Ill be in good company, what with  Neil Gaiman,  Joyce Carol Oates,  Joanne Harris,  Ian Rankin,  Margaret Atwood,  Stephen Fry,  Salman Rushdie et al. Besides, Im kind of a sucker for the cat pictures.

Equal opportunities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Equal opportunities - Essay Example The proportion of women working in essentially male staffed sectors, the informal sector, or in various forms of contract labour, is often high, just as the proportional participation of women in the formal sector are often lower and they tend to suffer from occupational segregation and disadvantage in terms of their conditions of employment (those who receive unequal pay for work of equal value). Gender equality in GLA has been clearly set out from the start, with important issues of the process already in motion. It is exceptional in that the organization doesn't suffer the history of disadvantage found in the many of public sector bodies, and can therefore work on gender equality can go ahead without the traditional constraints. The public duty on gender equality in GLA makes required arrangements with regard to the principle that there should be equality for all. Its strategy for equality for women attempts that the organisation reflects the entire local community at all strata. The mainstreaming of gender equality has been found to be considerably easier in a newly created public body with equalities as a dimension of officer responsibilities. This is visible in The GLA advocates: A common approach for performance indicators on equalities Clear equalities targets to measure performance Equalities indicators integrated into the best value process These recommendations have streamlined the policies and practices that have helped the GLA become an exemplary employer that reflects the equalities programme for the population of London. This is visible in all functional bodies that include the Metropolitan Police, London Transport, the Fire Service and the London Development Agency. However, the still existing problem sectors, such as, employment of fewer women at particular grades in the Metropolitan Police and the lack of women transport planners are being addressed with the agility it deserves. The GLA is aiming to analyse the results of its current policies on: Outcomes of the best value review of equalities Improving the performance of managerial performance, particularly around serving of functional bodies Learning from the experience of the first two years The overall impact of the recent directives of the GLA on equality have been appreciated in the work of the London Development Agency, though there are critics too, still two years of operation is early enough to conduct a detailed assessment of the success or otherwise of particular strategies. Critics have stated that the new policies and programmes have failed to satisfy the equality issues. The special appointment of the Director (Equality

Learning to critique by critiquing critiques Essay

Learning to critique by critiquing critiques - Essay Example This author brings out her illustrations through a destruction, which took place at the Murrah Federal Building. It is after this devastating event that several developments taka place in the architectural field in the city. Krinke employs significant use of symbols for the purpose of communicating some of her ideas. For instance, she elaborates the elements that are associated with a sacred space. There is a lot of symbolism, which is applied for the purpose of bringing to light what the elements represent. The stone is the first element that is used. The stone elements in the city are tailored to serve as permanent markers for a given phenomenon. This is majorly due to the durability, which is associated with them. For example, on the concrete floor of the Murrah Building there are names of those individuals who survived the ordeal. Near the epicenter of the pool, there has been a development of a reflective pool. The changes that take place in the atmosphere are noted or brought out by the water. This also represents the changes, which took place at the city after the blast. The trees represent the ability of an entity to remain unscathed in the course of its existence. The tree, which stands out in the city, is the Survivor Tree. This tree is a representation of the survival and endurance, which has characterized the city together with its inhabitants through the years since the explosion. Krinkle significantly applies the approach, which entails imagery and symbolism. This elaborates the significant developments, which have been taking place. The imagery and symbols also point out that the explosion seems to have had a significant effect on the residents of the town. The approach, which is taken by Melcher in her article, is one, which is rather critical of the happenings in the city. For example, she points out that the names, which are embossed on the wall, may not be significant to a person

A conversation with my father by grace paley Essay

A conversation with my father by grace paley - Essay Example The entire story is based on the relationship of the two main characters in the story, the writer daughter and her father. The story begins with the father in the center stage and the daughter a mere follower of his directions. As the story progresses, the limelight slowly shifts on to the daughter who creates a story that is impactful and apparently tragic. All through the story, the father and daughter duo share a healthy, communicative, expressive, and genuine relationship as two admirers of life, society, writing, and literature. The father has the air of superiority in his voice since he is considers himself more knowledgeable and a well read fan of literature in Russian and English. This is evident from his tone at: â€Å"With you it’s all a joke,† (Paley, 1994, p.233) The daughter has a more kind and considerate outlook towards the father as her affection towards him forces her to write the same story twice. It is evident from her tone at, â€Å"His heart, that bloody motor, is equally old and will not do certain jobs anymore†¦..†Yes, Why not? That’s possible.† I want to please him.† (Paley, 1994, p.232) She however, dons a corrective role when her father gets cynical about the tragic ending that men and women in society face. She defines her confidence, free-spirited nature and positivity by turning the story into a happy and well meant ending. Overall, it is a good and healthy relationship that the two main protagonists in this story share. To achieve these goals, she has used two stories in between the main story. Her conversation with her father is one story, her simple depiction of a neighbor woman another, and her detailed depiction of the same woman is the third story. While the second and third stories are the same, they are created with an emphasis on writing styles which in the first one was tragic and negative and in the second one was humorous and

Leonardo Davinci The Greatest Genius History Essay

Leonardo Davinci The Greatest Genius History Essay Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Anchiano, near Vinci in the Republic of Florence, which is now Italy. He died on May 2, 1519 in Cloux (now Clos-Luce) France. Leonardo da Vinci is believed to be the greatest genius that ever lived. Leonardo had become a master in more fields of any other before or since him. Most geniuses such as Albert Einstein or Alfred Hitchcock were masters only in a single field. It was not the case with Leonardo. He believed that all subject matter was interconnected in one way or another. Leonardo expressed a great deal of his other works in his works of art. He was an Italian painter, draftsman, sculpture, architect, engineer, mathematician, musician, scientist, a writer, and a well-known inventor. Da Vinci, the Artist Leonardo started his career as an artist in about 1469 in Verrocchios fabled workshop. Leonardo, a youth at the time was Verrocchios assistant. One of their famous masterpieces was the Baptism of Christ. This painting was started in 1472 and took roughly 3 years to complete. It is currently being housed at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. A great deal of the detail of this painting was believed to be done by Leonardo himself. X-rays of the painting and comparing them to the original sketches shows that Leonardo had done the painting entirely different that the way Verrocchio had intended it to be in finished form. This may be the earliest indication that Leonardo was trying to free himself from his masters coaching to follow his own path. Verrocchio had felt threatened by the fact that da Vincis angel in the painting had seemed to be a great deal better than the other three which were painted by Verrocchio (John the Baptist) and other students) After this Verrocchio had lost in terest in painting and concentrated on his other talents such as sculpture and metal working. Suffice to say, this was Verrocchios last well-known painting and the start of Leonardos career as a famous artist. Another of his more famous works, the Mona Lisa, has brought forth much controversy over the years since its completion in 1506. It was painted in Florence, Italy on wood with oil paints and now currently resides at the Musee du Louvre, Paris. Some of this controversy includes such questioning as follows: Why is she smiling (was she secretly pregnant at the time of the painting), is this really a woman or a cleverly disguised self-portrait of Leonardo himself? If Mona Lisa was actually a self portrait of Leonardo, then the smile couldnt have been of a secret pregnancy, but most-likely of a secret that the painting is actually based on the artist. The Last Supper is another one of Leonardos great works of art. It is a mural that measures 30 feet by 14 feet. This great size mad it a great challenge for the very talented Leonardo. The work was started in 1495 and after 3 years of many sketches and preparatory drawings, the work was finally completed in 1498. This painting was done at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie on the north refectory. This job focused on a scene at the moment of the announcement Judas betrayal. Instead of seating them in a traditional seating arrangement for that time, he seated them so that one could see each of the apostles faces and facial expressions as they hear the announcement of the betrayal of Jesus. This job couldnt have come at a more perfect time for Leonardo, for he was in his time of depression. This job not only brought him out of his depression, but it also won back the Duke Lodovicos patronage and through this he acquired a vineyard and a piece of property of 16 rods located near San Vittore. Other paintings by Leonardo include St. John in the Wilderness, Benois Madonna, Sala delle Asse, St. Jermome, Adoration of the Magi, and many others. Da Vinci and his sculptures Leonardo not only had a talent for art, which he seems the most famous for, but also he had a flare for sculpture. Some of his more well-known sculptures are the Horse in Bronze and the Il Cavallo. The Bronze horse was started in 1482 when the Duke of Milan had commissioned Leonardo to build the worlds biggest horse in honor of his father to guard over the Dukes castle. It stood 24 feet high upon its completion. The sculpture started out as a full size cay model and was eventually later cast in Bronze, thus the name the Bronze Horse. Leonardos other well known sculpture, Il Cavallo, was another horse sculpture that he would not see completed. This only exists in the form of the multitude of drawings that were left behind by da Vinci. Also left behind were two issues da Vinci had with his sculpture. The first was the fact that he needed to fill the space where the horses belly was to be and the second issue was settling on the position of the rider. Unfortunately for Leonardo, this wa s one sculpture he could not complete. Da Vinci, the Inventor Leonardo had many great inventions for his time period and a great deal of them was ahead of their time. These inventions can be put into a number of categories according to the invention and the intended purpose of the invention. The first category would be flight. This category includes the parachute, the helicopter, and the glider. The second category is forgeries. In this category would be the Turin Shroud. The reason for this as being in the forgery category is the fact that people question whether it is authentic or it was one of da Vincis illusions of making it look authentic by using his many artistic talents. The third category of his inventions is maps. Leonardo had made great improvements in the area of map making in his time period. The fifth category is the military. This category includes the plans he had drawn up for an automobile (re-invention), the invention of a three-tiered machine gun, a scaling ladder (improvement), and a military tank. Even his paintings, which are the sixth category, can be considered as inventions for Leonardo in the fact that he had made improvements in the art and also in his creative techniques. The seventh category for inventions for da Vinci is statues in the fact that, just as in paintings he had made improvements and used different techniques and also invention. The last but not least category in the inventions for da Vinci is a category that I would have never even thought or known about is robots. Leonardo was experimenting with this concept in 1495. The robot is a knight in appearance and is wearing the traditional armor for the time which was Italian-German. It had realistic features as well. For instance if one were to look into the mouth of the robot one would find it looked as a real humans mouth would. Leonardo had done this to prove to himself how easily a human beings body could be imitated. This to me in itself shows pure genius. I could go basically on and on forever about the great deal of accomplishments of the great Leonardo da Vinci. He had made great improvements to the art world, helped science a great deal, made inventions and plans for inventions that would be a great help to society. He was also a great mathematician, musician and writer as well. I believe that for one to be considered the greatest genius to ever live they need to have a vast knowledge of a multitude of different subjects. Leonardo da Vinci is the only person thus far has come to mind as that such person who greatly qualifies for such an honor.

Marijuana: The Science and The Law Essay -- Illicit Drugs

Marijuana was first discovered in China in 4000 BC, and was used to make ropes. It was grown for hemp, and the hemp fiber was twisted to make the rope. In 3000 BC, marijuana was first smoke. Then it began to be used as a medicine in China for the treatment of malaria, beriberi, constipation, rheumatic pain, and absent-mindedness. Furthermore, in ancient India, they used it to relieve headaches, whooping-cough, prolong life, improve judgment, lower fevers, induce sleep, cure dysentery, and control dandruff (Think quest, n.d). Marijuana also known as pot, weed, and ganja is reported by the Office of National Drugs Control Policy as the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. Although, people view the drug as harmless, the use of marijuana has adverse health, safety, social, academic, economic, and behavioral consequences. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse), 95 million Americans age 12 and older have tried marijuana at least once (The office of the Drugs Control Policy, n.d). According to the New York City Health Department, marijuana is the most common illegal drug used by nearly 730,000 New Yorkers (12%) annually. The use is highest among 18- to 25-year-olds (30%). Since 2004, the rate of emergency department visits from the use of marijuana is reported to have more than doubled to 173 marijuana-related visits for every 100,000 New Yorkers in 2007 (New York City Department of Health and Hygiene 2010). Marijuana is extracted from the flowers and leaves of the hemp plant, which is dried and shredded. The scientific name for marijuana is cannabis. This plant can grow in nearly any environment. The average rate of growth is one to tw... ...ealth and Hygiene (2010). Illicit drugs in New York City. Retrieved from: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/survey/survey-2009drugod.pdf New York State DOH (2012). New York State health commissioner warns against the danger of synthetic marijuana. Retrieved from: http://www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2012/2012-03-23_dangers_of_synthetic_marijiana.htm Random Facts (2012). Marijuana. Retrieved from http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/02/27_marijuana.html Scott, E.M. (2010). Marijuana decriminalization. Retrieved from: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/rpt/2010-R-0204.htm The Office of the Drugs Control Policy (n.d). Marijuana. Retrieved from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/pdf/marijuana_myths_facts.pdf Thinkquest Education Foundation (n.d). The history of marijuana. Retrieved from: http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01474/history.htm

Organisms Physiology Essay

Organism Physiology is the method in which many diverse living organisms are considered to have developed from earlier forms during the history of the earth that can be defined as Evolution. Several organisms have evolved as a result of environmental changes within their habitats. Example is a diagram of a whale and details about how the whale has evolved physiologically and has become adapted to fit the environment. Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Cordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Cetacea, Sub-order: Odontoceti, Family: Delphinidae, Genus: Orcinus, Species: Orca. Whales occupy all oceans and major seas, even some are in larger river systems. They are very large animals. They can grow up to 100 ft. or more in length. They can weigh up to 200 tons or more. Whales live in families called pods. These pods vary in numbers and consist of family members and family friends. Whales live in these families their whole life. Group living is safer when other whales or sharks attack. It also makes it easier to find food. Whales are always migrating. They travel to find food, breed and have young. Whales do not have eyelids. They rely on thick oily tears to protect their eyes. Whales hear from little holes behind their eyes. They talk to each other by making high pitched sounds like whistles, clicks, squeaks, rattles, and groans. Whales inhabit all oceans and the seven seas; some also inhabit larger river systems. They are extremely social organism and use communication for the function of hunting, defense, and reproduction. In general a dolphins live pods of up to a dozen individuals. Dolphin pods can emerge temporally forming a super pod the emerging pods may exceed thousands of dolphins. Attachments in pods are not set; interchange is regular. On the other hand, whales can generate great social bonds; they will remain with wounded or individuals in poor hea lth, even assisting other whales to breathe by bringing them to the surface if required. Whales arewidely classed as predators, but their food ranges from microscopic plankton to very large fish. Males are called bulls; females, cows. The young are called calves. Because of their environment, whales are conscious breathers: they decide when to breathe. All mammals sleep, including whales, but they cannot afford to fall into an unconscious state for too long, since they need to be conscious in order to breathe. Whales also communicate with each other using lyrical sounds. Being so large and powerful these sounds are also extremely loud depending on the species. The most dangerous predator for the whale is mankind and climate change. Man slaughters whales for their meat, fat, and for being in the same location where they fish. There studies at this time being done to evaluate the influence of pollution in the water and the effects on whales. Whales are threatened by climate change and global warming. As the Antartic Ocean warms, krill populations, that are the main food source of some species of whales, reduce dramatically, being replaced by jelly like salps. . Whales give birt h to live young, and the mother nurses the calf with her milk and provides care. The calf is nursed by the mother for one and one half years to three years and a mother will stay with her young three to eight years. Whales are thought to live about 40-80years. Whales vary basis of their ecosystem and what is necessary for them to survive in their ecosystem (Getten, 2006). All whales, dolphins, and porpoises species are related. Fossil data has been discovered from the early Eocene epoch that point toward information that whales were already aquatic 45-50million years ago. It is thought that animals that spent a great amount of time hunting for food around water areas and went through a period in an amphibious stage before becoming adapted to live in the water and the animal became dedicated to the water. Records show that by in their teeth it took millions of years for true cetaceans to develop (Brakes, Simmonds 2011). The whale has adapted to the environment in many ways from the once amphibious animal it is thought to have evolved from. Fossil evidence reveals that after prehistoric whales decided to be aquatic, it did not take long for bones of the hind limbs to disappear. The front limbs evolved into flippers and the powerful tail is their most important forward motion mechanism. Anatomically, dolphins’ bodies have adapted to become more efficient to move in the water. Whales, like dolphins are m arine mammals and like all mammals they require oxygen to  survive. Unlike other sea creatures such as fish, a whale would suffocate in water if it did not have a blowhole for oxygen. The blowhole is situated on or near the top of their head and acts as an airway passage for breathing. Whales cannot breathe through their mouth because the esophagus (food passage) and trachea (oxygen passage) are completely separated from each other. Although whales must breathe oxygen they can spend up to 90% of their lives underwater. The eyes of a whale are relatively small when compared to the rest of its body. Their eyes are well adapted to aquatic life and secrete oil used to lubricate and protect their eyes from debris and other chemicals in the ocean. They are not capable of secreting tears as humans do, but their cries can be heard vocally from many miles away. They have a condensed body with a somehow a tapered head that caused the vertebrae neck to fuse together. Instead of a main blood supply to the brain on the exterior of the neck, the whale blood flows through an artery in the vertebrae that supply a continuous supply of blood, which is most vital when diving into the depths of the ocean. The skin of a whale is extremely smooth, hairless, dense, and not do have glands. Their skin is kept smooth by continuously sloughing off and being restored. On average their skin is restored at a speed nine times faster than a human. Whales have a tendency to depend on their sense of hearing to survive. Other senses have had to adapt for survival in the blackness of the ocean’s deepness. The structure of the whale’s melon (the fatty tissue in front of the blow whole) functions as a lens to direct sound when the dolphin generates high pitched clicks for echolocation. When the sound echoes back the small bone under the chin, called trepan bone, receives the sonic report and stimulates the brain by means of the inner ear. By means of echolocation, whales can estimate distance by measuring the time between releasing the clicks and the return of echoes. Through this incredible ability, whales can consider the size, shape, direction of movement, and distance of objects in the ocean water (Getten, 2006). In conclusion dolphins have adapted agreeably to survive in the depths of the ocean, seven seas and in large rivers systems. They have evolved in structure and ability to reproduce successfully and flourish. Having the intriguing ability of echolocation provides whale’s considerable advantage while feeding in the environment in which they live. They are extrem ely energetic, gentle, and intelligent. The only main threats to whales are humans through various ways and climate change. If whales are left alone in their ecosystems their species would be able to survive successfully. References Brakes, P., & Simmonds, M. P. (2011). Whales and dolphins: Cognition, culture, conservation and human perceptions. London, UK: Earthscan. Getten, M. J. (2006). Communicating with orcas: The whales’ perspective. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Pub. Co. Whales and Dolphins Website : Whales. (2011, March 11). Retrieved December 7, 2013, from http://dolphins-and-whales.zoomshare.com/11.html

buy custom Simon Vilensky essay

buy custom Simon Vilensky essay Till my Tale is Told; Women's Memoirs of the Gulag by Simon Vilensky gives an incredibly touchy and candid insight into the suffering at the Gulag camps during the regime of Stalin. This is enhancing the fact that Simon Vilensky is a former prisoner of the Gulag system. Till My Tale Is Told is a translated and reduced version of the Russian work published in the Soviet Union in 1989. The book intention was to be first in a series of collections, and the entire volume devotion to women's memoirs. It was offering a candid and easy-to-relate-with introduction to a horrific world. Many of the parties giving confession knew each other, at least slightly, something that gives the book a feeling of being a unique collaborative effort. Only handful contributors describe the whole experience of arrest, interrogation and, serving the sentence. Some are just about a single episode or a number, while others were in the form of poetry. There was a notable interest in the prisoners' attempts to understand the disaster that had overtaken them. Read a chapter to chapter, the content is sentimental due to the cruel did that it has. People who do research mainly want to consult the Russian version, or at a time, that has the real materials which are in Moscow or Amsterdam. They contain a vivid introduction and their translation writings are easy to understand. Moreover, this book comes in handy as an English translated version of the record of events as experienced in the Gulag camps. The book comprises of sixteen riveting life stories; all a showing the uncertainty of the spirit of a human being, show of miracles of survival and endurance in the worst conditions. This book reminds us of how vital it is to remember and give testimony about that particularly brutal phase of human history. The gulag system in the Soviet Union was to contain political prisoners. They may not have been as evil as concentration camps in the Holocaust, but they were extremely the same thing. If the authority did discover that one was saying or doing anything that was against the government, this is where they would end up. The Gulag was the government agency that administered forced labor for prisoners in the camp till 1961. Also, note that the camps nicknames were the 'Gulags', after the authority and ended up becoming a vast network of forced labor camps as years progressed. Gulag did not start as a government system but, as the Soviet forced labor penal system. Later, the concentration camps creation in the Soviet Union shortly after the 1917 revolution, but the system kept growing fast during the campaign of Stalin so as to introduce modern source of power to the industries in the Soviet Union. The entire regime outlines by experiences such as arrest, interrogation, imprisonment, trial and sentencing, labor camps, internal exile, sometimes release and transportation. The re-arrest and re-imprisonment may follow for the survivors who are later going through rehabilitation. All these are candidly records by 16 courageous Russian women who have saddening testimonies. Most of them wrote in secret and at considerable personal risk, are present here. In the Gulag History, Lynne Viola related the tales of brutality and harrowing times of the so-called kulakspeasants kidnapped up by the Soviet state in the early 1930s and exiled to horrific conditions in the geographic extremes of the Soviet Union. (Lynne Viola) All the ladies contributing to the sixteen chapters suffered severe hardships, for no good reason, t the mercy of the Soviet state. Amazingly, they never gave up their passion of writing their experiences even after their release from prison. The infamous Gulag camps existed all over the Soviet Union, but the largest camps location is in the most extreme geographical and climatic regions of the country. Political prisoners did engage in a variety of economic activities. They did manual work, which did not require skills to work for low wages. The poor work conditions and, hardships led to the spread of infections and high death rates in the camps. Despite the fact, of Stalin death, the harassment and, poor work environment did not elapse in the Gulag camps. Prisoners had to carry on with the mistreatment in the Soviet Union right up to the Gorbachev era. The level of brutality was and remained so high that anyone caught with so much as a nail in his or her possession faces jail for one year. In the columns of Izvestya and Pravda are record sentences of one years imprisonment in the following cases: A worker caught with a lump of bronze, a driver with a few pounds of candy, a woman-worker with 13 meters of burlap, another with cookies and sugar and, a worker with two English locks. Women immensely suffered in the Prisons as male employees; security personnel did rape and abuse them. At the same time, some female prisoners took on camp husbands for protection from all the violence and brutality and companionship. Some were pregnant on arrival while others did conceive while in the Gulag. Sometimes, these women would get their freedom with their children in exceptional seasons. More often, mothers had little abatement so as to deliver. Their babies in isolation from them and put in distinct children homes. Frequently, these women did not succeed in locating their children after leaving the oppression camps. (Vilensky, Till my tale is told, 1999, 1-11.) Arrival at the corrective labor camp turned out to be the culmination of the humiliation. First they were to expose their nudity then led to a seclusion place. Above their heads, the stars twinkled; below their feet that did froze due to cold temperatures. An enclosure measured 3 square feet. Each held three to four naked, shivering, and frightened men and women. Then these kennel cages' were open one after the other, and the naked people were to pass across a court yard the camp version of a foyer into a distinctive building where formulation of their documents took place.'(Vilensky, Till my tale is told, 1999, 58.) The goal of these random searches was to leave them with rags and take anything of value in their possession for themselves. The guards conducted them in groups of ten and seemed to have one goal; to fleece them of every valuable item in total disregard of their destitute and, barely-alive situation. The even more satirical part is the vocabulary used in the whole setting. Words like corrective which was to change the way they felt and feel better, labor should enable them economically and a camp should certainly not refer to a jail! (Vilensky, Till my tale is told, 1999, 12-32.) A further ordeal of the situation is that given by Zoya; The night search and, the frequent repeat was the most degrading procedure. Get up! Get undressed! Hands up! Out into the hall! Line up against the wall. Naked we were especially in fright. Our hair was shaggy. What were they looking for? What more could they take away from us? However, they were pulling out all the ties that had been holding up the nuns' skirts and our underwear. (Villensky, Till my tale is told, 1999, 7-35.) The Soviet Gulag was the symbol of the Stalin regime. As, the case in the Nazi camps the Soviet ones, started to solve a particular political problem; how to eliminate undesired elements from the society at large, and then gradually formed a life of their own, sometimes becoming the driving force of policy rather than a tool of it. The horrors found hidden underneath silence that long protected both systems from public examination are in many ways similar. The only difference that stood out all along was that the design of Nazi camps that are to exterminate whole groups of people, while the Gulag camps were a political weapon meant to extend control of one country. Under Stalin the camp population steadily increased to around two million by the time of his death. An estimate of 18 million prisoners passed through the camps during his era. The important way in which they differed from the German camps, as pointed out, is that most people left them alive, if battered and scarred both physically and mentally. The other key difference is that most of the Soviet prisoners were ordinary criminals, not political opponents. Following the death of Stalin in 1953, Beria started shutting down the camps citing their economic efficiency and this of course came as a huge relieve to the whole country. The main myth in the system of Soviet was that the camps highest percentage was the anti-communist dissidents. In the 1930s, few prisoners were "political" and most of them were guiltless, the victims of malicious denunciation. Further about this distinction is that the development of the Soviet criminal system came to define the most trivial offenses as fatal. In 1947, the State Theft Law main aim was to protect the population from hunger and, to stop exploitation of these camp prisoners. Experiences of punishment, torture, rape, enforced prostitution, self-mutilation when deranged the goners' who left to die of disease or starvation and, the madness was to leave readers with the stomach to digest such details. Even the faint-hearted should rejoice at the stories of genuine heroism that emerge from the Stygian darkness. To rise in such circumstances must, even allowing for the recklessness of despair, have to take extraordinary courage. There were men bold or mad enough to circulate pamphlets calling for uprisings and freedom. At the Kengir camp, there was a strike - led by a committee that included a common criminal as well as the usual political prisoners, which at least hastened the end of the whole foul system. Conclusion However, the women did manage to keep their hope alive that all the suffering would soon end for a number of reasons. They were extremely aware that the hate speech against each other was mere political propaganda aimed at dividing them. The leadership tried their best to break personal ties between the citizens but the suffering in the camps only served to reunite them as they underwent similar conditions. It also all heightened during Stalin's regime, and they hoped that things would become better after his exit from power. (Vilensky, Till my tale is told, 1999, 46.) All in all, the book brings out probably the easiest to relate with narration of the state of the Gulag system and camps, sufferings to the worst hit gender, female, and, their ordeals during and after the life in the camps, their pain, hope and wishes about the future. Not only does the whole story come out as authentic as one can be but also one worth reading alongside the history of the Soviet and Nazis. Buy custom Simon Vilensky essay

First Thanksgiving essays

First Thanksgiving essays Many questions arise when we think about the story of the first Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a national holiday that is celebrated every year. How can we tell that Thanksgiving was first celebrated by the Pilgrims? The Pilgrims did have Thanksgiving after their first year in the colony. However, the tradition was not started by the Pilgrims. Native Americans were the one who celebrate their harvest by having a big feast. There are not many truthful facts about the stories of Pilgrims and their journey to America in history textbook. Textbook tend to have stories that would make the Pilgrims as the first to settle in Massachusetts. Textbooks write stories that would favor the Pilgrims. The reason is because this concept is the easiest concept for children to grasp. Another reason that all textbooks told the wrong truth stories is because of patriotism. As proud American, we all want to teach the next generation our glorious history even if it not true. We want to say that we were the first to settle in Virginia, the first to settle in Massachusetts, and that Columbus was the first to discover America. In a sense, it would be hard to teach the real history to the younger generation. For example, we cant say that Columbus sort of discover America. Columbus wasnt the first to reach America. So why did he goes down in history He was the first to represent Spain on the voyage. Spain, France, and England were the power player at the time. Every country wants to be the first to put their name down for discovery. The story of Pilgrims settle in Massachusetts in 1620 is not so true as it seem in history books. Most textbook state that Puritans come to America to enjoy religious freedom. They fail to mention the fact that they were only about 32 Puritans on board the Mayflower. The real reason for the voyage was probably greed. All the Pilgrims want ...

Economic Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Economic Development - Essay Example Therefore, in most developing countries, a wide gap can be seen between the rich and the poor unlike that in the developed nations. This gap widens more as long as rural development is ignored by economists and politicians. But there is a sudden change being experienced in the approach of economists and intellectuals. Those who have merely ignored the rural development in the past are now propagating for its development. Next sections of the essay will analyze the reasons behind ignoring rural development and the sudden change of approach. Reasons for Change of Approach Rural development mainly refers to the role of agriculture for the development of the nation. â€Å"Agriculture constitutes the main source of employment of the majority of the world’s poor. In total, the share of agriculture in total employment in developing countries constitutes 53% of the total workforce in 2004. In Sub-Saharan Africa 60% of the economically active population works in the agricultural secto r.† (Meijerink & Roza, 2007). This shows that agriculture or rural sector is the back bone of many developing economies. But the increased importance given to the industrialization opened up many industries and reduced the share of agriculture to the overall economic growth. Agriculture gradually became less attractive for the economies. This made the economists and intellectuals to reduce the focus on rural areas. But now economists and governments are seemed to be increasing their focus on rural development especially in developing countries. Some of the disadvantage of urbanization and industrialization helped them for this late realization. The main factors that lead to the change of approach are as follows: 1. Poverty 2. Unbalanced growth 3. Food Security 4. Lack of Infrastructure 5. Rural Marketing Poverty: Increased poverty in the rural area is the main reasons for this change of approach. Poverty is seen as a drawback for the development of a nation. Overall developmen t of an economy is not possible if there is a considerable percentage of poor among the population. Eradicating poverty became the major agenda of many countries. While looking back to the 19th century, economists realized that irrespective of the size of the nation, the sole factor that drove the economy was agriculture. But somewhere with the advent of technologies, countries reduced the focus on agriculture. This is one of the reasons that helped the economists to change their mind. Unbalanced Growth: In most developing countries, there is a wide gap between rich and the poor. Though such countries are recording tremendous economic progress, it could not be categorized as a developed nation when there is an unbalanced growth in the economy. Majority of the population should experience more or less similar growth and living conditions for a balanced growth in the economy. Food Security: Another major reason for the change of approach of the economists is food security. â€Å"At i ts June 2003 summit, the G8 group of countries recognized the need to increase investment in rural and agricultural development to achieve lasting food security. It pledged to reverse the decline in ODA for agriculture and to increase trade opportunities for developing countries.† (Bage, 2004) Food security is now a cause of concern for many countries. As a result of this, countries are increasing their respective funding to the agriculture sector in order to

Human resources system for employee self-self of royal mail Essay

Human resources system for employee self-self of royal mail - Essay Example It offers several services through these subsidiaries, which include parcel delivery system, postal mail services, general logistic system, and general services related to post (Russell, 2005 p45). Royal Mail focuses on delivering letters and packages to all part of the world. Currently, this company has 14,300 post office branches and 113,000 post boxes throughout the UK, which collect packages, letters and parcels from over 87,000 individuals and businesses. These commodities are collected through a diverse collection and transportation network that includes 33,000 bicycles and 30,000 vehicles (Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons Committee: Trade and Industry, 2006 p23). This paper provides strengths and weaknesses (internal analysis) of Royal Mail’s human resource management system for employees, and recommendation that should be adopted to improve its human resource management system and employees’ performances and efficiencies. Strengths The highly skilled and hard working employees, who are regularly motivated by the financial resources and efficient management, form the key strengths of Royal Mail. The company’s employees are offered improved new range of training and assured performance related pays (Plunkett, 2009 p76). Some of the Royal Mail’s employees are regarded as the company’s valuable assets. ... esource management system, and they include: the present contracts were renewed, and new standardized contracts were awarded to the employees; the newly introduced techniques and machinery help the employees achieve a world class standard performance, the newly revised Pension scheme plans were going to be directed to those employees in the Royal Mail pension plan (Russell, 2005 p58); the new plan for early retirement and temporary redundancy were going to be implemented with an immediate effect, and the minimum wages and working hours were also revised. The Royal Mail’s human resource management also puts employees’ safety in the forefront of the priority list. In order to motivate its staff members, this company has improved its working condition, stress relief exercise, self appraisal process, first aid facilities, and changes employees’ job duties over some time. The HRM has also included increments and promotions into the new plan. The Royal Mail has also de veloped a new method of dealing with the Trade Union. The trade union has been given a vital position in the company’s management activities. The union has also been requested to help employees to conform to the Organizational rules and regulations, and achieve sustainable competitive advantage (Chancery House, 2008 p26). An effective system of communication between the HRM and the trade union was also developed. Weaknesses There have been frequent complaints from customers regarding missing parcels and letters in some Royal Mail’s retail outlets. Careful investigation revealed that some of the company’s staff members have been involved in a series of mail theft over the past few years (Brooks, 2003 p118). This has reduced the Royal Mails reputation and prestige before it esteemed customers. This