Metaphysics Is the Branch of Philosophy Essay

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that deals with abstract concepts. These abstract concepts include things like being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space. Over the years I have asked myself numerous questions pertaining to metaphysics. Things such as what is real? How do things such as our souls or even fate work? Do we determine our own fate or is it predetermined for us? Most people, including myself, ask a majority of these questions when they leave the nest. When I was graduating high school, I had no clue what the â€Å"real world† was like. My parents paid the bills, provided for me, and put the roof over my head. As we graduate, you ask who are your â€Å"real† friends? More importantly what is real in general? What’s a real job? As you grow older, you can reflect on what was real as a child, and I have come to the conclusion that everybody’s idea of real changes along with your age and lifestyle. For example when somebody passes away and you’re young, you don’t question if it’s real, but as you age you can’t believe when something so tragic happens and you question it. People do this every day, and for reasons that only they can explain. People talk about the spiritual world openly, but most have never experienced it. So, with that being the case it is hard to determine whether or not it is more or less real that the physical world. That’s one of those questions that as of right now I don’t have the answer to. I believe in the spiritual world whole heartedly, but to say it’s any more or less real is hard for me because I have only experienced the physical world. As of right now, I would say that they are equally real, but that is just my opinion. Going along with that, everyone has a soul, but does it live outside the body before we pass? I don’t believe so. As a Christian, we pray for the Lord to take our soul when we pass, and to protect it while we are alive. Our soul exits the body when we are done on Earth. Fate is a very complex subject. I believe that everyone has an idea of their ultimate fate. This doesn’t mean however that that is how it will end up, or that the step along the way will line up with your plan. For example, when someone dies, people say it must have been fate. I think that things like this are determined by Him, not us. When people say that when they fall in love that it’s fate, but that is determined by us making it free will. Therefore, I believe that our lives are determined by our own free will and fate. Epistemology is basically how we determine if something is a belief or an opinion. Some things are taught to us after they have been investigated, but other things are made up in our minds or families. If you ever look at the actual definition for knowledge it is pretty loosely written. Therefore, knowledge doesn’t have to be true. Your knowledge is determined by you. There are universal examples of knowledge in my opinion. However, since knowledge can be false it’s hard to say if others would believe the same. For example, 2+2=4 that seems like it would be true everywhere, might not be. Someone might be think 2+2=something other than 4. 1. Epistemology: * Is all knowledge subjective, or are there some universal truths? * What is the relationship between faith and reason? * What can artificial intelligence teach people about knowledge? * What are the limits of human understanding? 2. Ethics: * What is the right thing to do? * What does it mean to be a good person? * Does virtue lead to happiness? * Do the ends justify the means, or is a virtuous action virtuous in and of itself? * How does living in a society affect morality? * Is morality culturally based, individually based, or is there a universal morality? 3. Aesthetics: * What is beautiful? * Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder, or are there some things that all cultures find beautiful? * What is the purpose of art? * How can a piece of art be successful or valuable? Does beauty matter? 4. Political philosophy: * What is the best kind of government? * How much power should the government have? * What kind of people should be in power? * How involved should the common citizen be in government? 5. Social philosophy: * How should humans behave in a society? * Do people give up certain rights when they choose to live in a society? * How do social values affect individual beliefs? Do people behave differently in a crowd than they would individually? * How does society affect language and other types of communication?

Harry Houdini Essay

Harry Houdini (1874-1926), whose real name was Ehrich Weiss, was one of the greatest American magicians, escapologists, illusionists, and stunt performers who has influenced generations of magicians around the world for almost a century. He was also an actor and film producer, although his career in the cinema was not as successful as his magic career (Harry Houdini). However, few people know, for example, that Harry Houdini, being fascinated with aviation and airplanes, was also one of the pioneer pilots in the world and became the first aviator to successfully make a controlled flight in Australia in the presence of nine witnesses, an event that was documented on film (An Aviation Timeline). Houdini’s fascination with airplanes Houdini’s interest in aviation began in 1909, at a time that was a crucial period in the history of world’s aviation. Six years earlier the Wright brothers demonstrated to the world that flights in airplanes with humans aboard were quite possible. Houdini, being a rich person, decided to buy his own aircraft for $5,000. It was a Voisin biplane with a sixty horsepower engine which weighed 1,350 lb (Mulvany). The aircraft resembled a huge version of a box kite with which a famous Australian aviator Lawrence Hargrave had experimented a dozen of years earlier (Early Australian Aviation). The great magician had his name painted on the plane’s tail and side panels (Harry Houdini). While performing escapology shows in Germany, Houdini was reported to be trained to pilot his biplane. During that training he crashed once and then succeeded in making his first flight on November 26, 1909 in Hamburg (Harry Houdini). The Australian Aerial League organizes a contest In 1909, Australia’s Aerial League on the part of the Australian government that planned to start using planes for military purposes was ready to offer ? 5,000 for an aircraft that would be made in Australia, would be able to fly at the speed of at least twenty miles an hour, and would also take off and land safely with two people aboard. The machines presented for the contest were all â€Å"Page # 2† declared as unsuitable by the government which considered importing overseas planes (Early Australian Aviation). As Houdini announced his plans to visit Australia to perform escapology shows there, the Aerial League decided to invite him to ship his plane with him. The Voisin biplane was dismantled and then brought to Australia where Houdini came for his Melbourne Season. An interesting fact: researchers such as Sloman and Kalush believe that Houdini did not bring his biplane to Australia simply for the record books. In fact, they suggest, he had another secret mission, namely, the promotion of the use of airplanes for the country’s defense (Barrell). Houdini also had two serious competitors that came to Australia approximately at the same time as he did. One of them was Ralph Banks from the United States who brought with him a Wilbur Right machine and claimed that he would beat Houdini in the air. Another competitor was Fred Custance with his Bleriot monoplane powered by a twenty-four horsepower rotary engine. It had been purchased by a local businessman who sought publicity for these machines because he planned to sell them in Australia (Early Australian Aviation). Houdini’s competitors fail Fred Custance made his flights in Bolivar, a small town situated nearby Adelaide. As far as we know, Custance had never flown an airplane before that. On March 17, 1910, he taxied his Berliot machine around a local paddock many times. Some witnesses reported that on one occasion Custance managed to successfully take off, made a short flight, and then landed safely. However, after making another attempt his monoplane crashed and seriously damaged the wheels, undercarriage, and propeller. The Berliot machine was brought back to Adelaide to be repaired where it was completely destroyed several months later when the garage where it was stored caught fire (Early Australian Aviation). The historic event in Australian aviation took place in early spring of 1910 nearby the Diggers Rest Railway Station situated just some twenty miles north of Melbourne. Two huge tents â€Å"Page # 3† erected on a paddock owned by Mr. Cook housed Houdini’s Voisin biplane manufactured in France by the Voisin Brothers, and a Wilbur Wright airplane piloted by Mr. Banks (Mulvany). Heavy winds made any attempts to try flights impossible for almost a month. However, Banks unwisely decided not to wait for better weather conditions and on March 1, 1910 he took off in his Wilbur Wright machine. His flight did not last long because shortly after he lifted his aircraft up into the air a strong gust of wind caused his machine to dive downwards and it crashed onto the ground after doing a somersault. Miraculously, Banks survived the crash without being seriously injured, but his Wilbur Wright machine was damaged to such an extent that it could not be used for further flying (Mulvany). Houdini the flying hero Being in love with the Voisin biplane and wishing to prevent its damage or destruction, Monsieur Antonio Brassac, the magician’s engineer, was reported to curse in French all the time because of the winds. He advised Harry Houdini to wait until weather conditions improved. When high winds stopped blowing, Houdini tried taking off several times but all of these attempts turned out unsuccessful as the pilot experienced some mechanical difficulty in controlling the aircraft (Mulvany). It all happened on March 18, 1910, when early in the morning Harry Houdini made three successful flights over Mr. Cook’s paddock (Mulvany). The speed at which Houdini’s Voisin biplane took off in his first flight was tremendous and allowed the machine to rise in around a hundred yards. Shortly after that, the onlookers got shocked when they saw the aircraft rushing straight at a huge gum tree. Disaster seemed imminent. However, the great escapologist perfectly controlled his machine and by moving the elevating lever he flew over the obstacle like a bird. He performed a circle over the paddock at the speed of fifty miles per hour and then descended and landed gracefully and with apparent ease. After that followed another successful and quite confident flight (Mulvany; Wacks). â€Å"Page # 4† In the process of making the third flight which was the longest one, Houdini covered a distance of around two miles. Brassac started the Voisin by twisting the eight foot propeller behind the pilot. Houdini left boldly the paddock and succeeded in achieving an altitude of approximately a hundred feet, and then flew away over the neighboring stone fences and rocky areas. He performed a great circle moving in curves and leaning over from time to time, and then by confidently straightening his plane, Houdini descended faultlessly and landed safely. His machine came to rest not far away from the place where he had taken off. That faultless flight lasted for around three and a half minutes (Mulvany). Houdini made his first three flights in the presence of a small group of witnesses who signed and issued a short statement to the press in which they testified to the magician’s successful flights, their heights and duration (Mulvany). Houdini made a much longer flight on March 20, 1910, during which he covered approximately four miles in the presence of a larger group of witnesses which included around 120 persons. On the next day, a large photograph showing Houdini’s Voisin biplane up in the air and spectators beneath was published in â€Å"The Argus†, a local newspaper, making the aviator more popular in Australia. Among the spectators that witnessed Houdini’s flights at the Diggers Rest Railway Station, was Harry Hawker who rose to prominence just a few years later and was one of the greatest figures in the history of world’s aviation (Mulvany). On March 21, 1910, Houdini added to his records another successful flight in his Voisin biplane at Diggers Rest which lasted seven and a half minutes. During that flight he reached an altitude of about a hundred feet and covered around six miles. Made in the presence of thirty witnesses, this flight excelled the magician’s previous flying performances and constituted the Australia record (Harry Houdini). Houdini the newsmaker In an interview that he gave in Melbourne after his flights, Harry Houdini, not hiding his fascination with airplanes, compared his Voisin with a gracious swan calling it a dandy. He also â€Å"Page # 5† said that as an aviator he was quite confident of his control of the machine and felt relaxed, free, and exhilarated while making the flights. When asked why he had not disclosed his plans about making the flights before his performances, Houdini replied that he did not like to be compared with a parrot which â€Å"talks best and flies worst†, but wanted performances first and fame later (Mulvany). Harry Houdini was aware of the importance of publicity which was integral to his success. Before making his famous flights, he was already known thanks to his fantastic escapology shows. While Custance’s attempts at flying received little publicity, Houdini’s achievements at the Diggers Rest Railway Station were widely reported in local newspapers. Houdini received good training in Germany and, without a doubt, was able to pilot an airplane in controlled flight. Although his Voisin biplane was not as advanced and complex as Custance’s Bleriot machine, it flew a considerable number of hours in Europe and was capable of flying steadily when piloted by an experienced aviator (Early Australian Aviation). Interesting facts In Australia the great magician decided to teach himself how to drive a motor car which he used to go to and from the airfield. After his extended tour there he never flew a plane nor drove a car again (The life and times of America’s greatest magician). Houdini admitted the Bleriot monoplane’s technical superiority over his Voisin biplane and on one occasion he emphasized that in these matters a lot depended on a pilot’s experience and skills. He confessed that it was possible to do much more with the Bleriot machine than with his own aircraft on condition that an aviator had learned enough how to handle it. Did Houdini mean by that remark that Custance might have been able to beat him if he had been better prepared for flights? Perhaps, but we do not know it for sure (Mulvany). Some researchers and aviation experts still debate about whether it is Harry Houdini who should be considered as the first aviator to have successfully flied an aircraft over Australia or Custance who made his first flight in the Bleriot monoplane a day earlier in Adelaide (Mulvany). BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. An Aviation Timeline. Retrieved March 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ctie. monash. edu. au/hargrave/timeline5. html 2. Barrell, T. (2006, July 30). And For My Last Trick. The Sunday Times. Retrieved March 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www. timesonline. co. uk/tol/life_and_style/article690366. ece? token=null&offset=0 3. Early Australian Aviation. Retrieved March 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www. aarg. com. au/Aviation-EarlyAustralian. htm 4. Harry Houdini. Retrieved March 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Harry_Houdini 5. Mulvany, M. Harry Houdini Flies near Melbourne. Retrieved March 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://member. melbpc. org. au/~mulvany/mulv2. html 6. The life and times of America’s greatest magician. Retrieved March 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www. magictricks. com/houdini/bio. htm 7. Wacks, M. Aviation Centennial Coin Series Honors Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Houdini. Retrieved March 27, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www. pandaamerica. com/NEWS_aviation_centennial_12_16_03. ASP

Employee Rights in the Workplace Worksheet Essays - Free Essays

Employee Rights in the Workplace Worksheet Essays - Free Essays University of Phoenix Material Employee Rights in the Workplace Worksheet Complete each section below. Be sure to cite your sources when necessary (including all uses of the textbook). 1.Laws affecting employee rights Identify three laws that affect employee rights. Include a description and the impact each has on a Human Resource Manager. LawDescriptionImpact it has on HRM Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)Establishes the amount of the federal minimum wage, which is revised on a periodic basis. Also require all covered employees to be paid overtime for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek.HR should constantly review the amount paid to employees. Hr managers should also ensure employees are classified appropriately for their positions, failure to comply with FLSA can lead to penalties and back pay, Americans with Disabilities ActProhibits an employee from discriminating against employees on the basis of disability or perceived disability.Hr must train managers on what information they should, or should not, require regarding an employees medical situation. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)Provides eligible employees with the ability to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for a variety of circumstances.HR managers need to be trained on the eligible reasons for leave. 2.Employee rights issues What are three current issues regarding employee rights in the workplace? Explain each and provide examples. IssueExplanationExample Age DiscriminationUnequal treatment due to his or her ageAn employee being denied a promotion or project because employee is over 40, but work shows they are equal or better than younger employees. DiversityRacial discrimination, unequal treatment due to ones ethnic background or skin colorRacial discrimination in the work place often consists of derogatory statements, unfair policies, dismissals and conditions of employment. ReligionReligious discrimination is the unequal treatment of employees based on their religious beliefs. Usually consists of unwarranted dismissals, harassment, segregation or unequal pay. An employee being forced to not actualize his religious beliefs in the workplace. 3.Employee Discipline Identify at least five factors that should be considered when disciplining an employee. 1.Seriousness of the problem 2.Duration of problem 3.Frequency and mature of the problem 4.Extenuating Factors 5.Degree of socialization Identify three best practices to use before disciplining an employee. 1.Check the handbook 2.Get the facts before taking action 3.Maintain a record 4.Personal Experience What personal experience do you have that relates to any of the above? Be specific in the situation, but do not use names or the company name. I personally have experienced age discrimination in the work place. Mostly today you hear about companies discriminating against employees over 40 because they want younger employees that are more up to date on education and technology. For me I had the opposite experience. I worked at a store that got bought out and the new owner slowly started cutting back all the employees hours that were in high school and hiring only new employees in college. He eventually one by one fired all employees that were in high school for absurd reasons. It was unprofessional and not fair to any of us that worked very hard.

How to Conjugate the French Verb Rendre

How to Conjugate the French Verb Rendre The French verb  rendre  (pronounced ren-dre) means to return and is frequently used in idiomatic expressions such as to give thanks to. This chart will show you how to conjugate this regular verb in present, past, subjunctive, and other tenses. Present Future Imperfect Present participle je rends rendrai rendais rendant tu rends rendras rendais il rend rendra rendait nous rendons rendrons rendions vous rendez rendrez rendiez ils rendent rendront rendaient Pass compos Auxiliary verb avoir Past participle rendu Subjunctive Conditional Pass simple Imperfect subjunctive je rende rendrais rendis rendisse tu rendes rendrais rendis rendisses il rende rendrait rendit rendt nous rendions rendrions rendmes rendissions vous rendiez rendriez rendtes rendissiez ils rendent rendraient rendirent rendissent Imperative (tu) rends (nous) rendons (vous) rendez Verb conjugation patternRendre is a regular -RE verbExpressions with rendre

Summary of Sartres The Transcendence of the Ego

Summary of Sartres The Transcendence of the Ego The Transcendence of the Ego  is a philosophical essay published by  Jean Paul Sartre  in 1936. In it, he sets out his view that the self or ego is not itself something that one is aware of. The model of consciousness that Sartre  provides in this essay  may be outlined as follows. Consciousness is always intentional; that is, it is always and necessarily consciousness of something. The object of consciousness can be almost any kind of thing: a physical object, a proposition, a state of affairs, a recollected image or moodanything that consciousness can apprehend. This is the â€Å"principle of intentionality† that forms the starting point for Husserls phenomenology.   Sartre radicalizes this principle by asserting that consciousness is nothing but intentionality. This means conceiving of consciousness as a pure activity, and denying that there is any ego which lies within, behind or beneath consciousness as its source or necessary condition. The justification of this claim is one of Sartres main purposes in The Transcendence of the Ego. Sartre first distinguishes between two modes of consciousness: unreflecting consciousness and reflecting consciousness. Unreflecting consciousness is simply my usual consciousness of things other than consciousness itself: birds, bees, a piece of music, the meaning of a sentence, a recollected face, etc. According to Sartre consciousness simultaneously posits and grasps its objects. And he describes such consciousness as positional and as thetic. What he means by these terms is not entirely clear, but he seems to be referring to the fact that in my consciousness of anything there is both activity and passivity. Consciousness of an object is positional in that it posits the object: that is, it directs itself to the object (e.g. an apple, or a tree) and attends to it. It is â€Å"thetic† in that consciousness confronts its object as something given to it, or as something that has already been posited. Sartre also claims that consciousness, even when it is unreflecting, is always minimally conscious of itself. This mode of consciousness he describes as non-positional and non-thetic indicating that in this mode, consciousness does not posit itself as an object, nor is it confronted by itself. Rather, this irreducible self-awareness is taken to be an invariable quality of both unreflecting and reflecting consciousness. A reflecting consciousness is one that is positing itself as its object. Fundamentally, says Sartre, the reflecting consciousness and the consciousness that is the object of reflection (the reflected consciousness) are identical. Nevertheless, we can distinguish between them, at least in abstraction, and so talk about two consciousnesses here: the reflecting and the reflected.  Ã‚   His main purpose in analyzing self-consciousness is to show that self-reflection does not support the thesis that there is an ego situated within or behind consciousness. He first distinguishes two kinds of reflection: (1) reflection on an earlier state of consciousness that is recalled to mind by memory–so this earlier state now becomes an object of present consciousness; and (2) reflection in the immediate present where consciousness takes itself as it is now for its object. Retrospective reflection of the first kind, he argues, reveals only an unreflecting consciousness of objects along with the non-positional self-awareness that is an invariable feature of consciousness. It does not reveal the presence of an I within consciousness.  Reflection of the second kind, which is the kind that Descartes is engaged in when he asserts â€Å"I think, therefore I am,† might be thought more likely to reveal this I. Sartre denies this, however, arguing that the I that conscious ness is commonly thought to encounter here is, in fact, the product of reflection. In the second half of the essay, he offers his explanation of how this occurs. Brief Summary Briefly, his account runs as follows. Discrete moments of reflective consciousness are unified by being interpreted as emanating from my states, actions, and characteristics, all of which extend beyond the present moment of reflection. For example, my consciousness of detesting something now and my consciousness of detesting the same thing at some other moment are united by the idea that I hate that thinghatred being a state that persists beyond the moments of conscious detestation. Actions perform a similar function. Thus, when Descartes asserts I am now doubting his consciousness is not engaged in a pure reflection on itself as it is at the present instant. He is allowing an awareness that this present moment of doubt is part of an action that began earlier and will continue for some time to inform his reflection. The discrete moments of doubt are unified by the action, and this unity is expressed in the I which he includes in his assertion.   The ego, then, is not discovered in reflection but is created by it. It is not, however, an abstraction, or a mere idea. Rather, it is the concrete totality of my reflective states of consciousness, constituted by them in the way that a melody is constituted by discrete notes. We do, says Sartre, apprehend the ego out of the corner of our eye when we reflect; but if we try to focus on it and make it the object of consciousness it necessarily disappears, since it only comes into being through consciousness reflecting on itself (not on the ego, which is something else). The conclusion Sartre draws from his analysis of consciousness is that phenomenology has no reason to posit an ego within or behind consciousness. He claims, moreover, that his view of the ego as something that reflecting consciousness constructs, and which should, therefore, be regarded as just another object of consciousness that, like all other such objects, transcends consciousness, has marked advantages. In particular, it furnishes a refutation of solipsism (the idea that the world consists of me and the contents of my mind), helps us overcome skepticism regarding the existence of other minds, and lays down the basis for an existentialist philosophy that genuinely engages the real world of people and things.

Engineering with ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Engineering with ethics - Essay Example My personal guidelines to becoming successful is not to abandon ethics just to get ahead of others but rather to build trust and integrity among my clientele, superior, organization and peers that I may be trusted with more responsibilities and become more successful in the long-run. My field is in engineering and my profession requires me to build things that would make people’s lives better be it bridge, houses, computers, plants or products that people use everyday. Ethics plays a significant part for me not just to do my job well but to ensure that the goodness of the end user of my profession is protected. Without ethics that would guide an engineer like me, people will surely suffer from the product of my work and I in the long term because nobody would avail of my service and worst, I may be meted with criminal liability because of poor work and negligence. I believe that science and technology must be guided by ethics and should be pursued in accordance to it. Science and technology without the guidance of ethics may become bad and used either for less than good purpose or for selfish ends. One has to remember that science and technology is neutral in terms of value. That is, it is neither good nor bad and its value depends entirely on its user on how they intend to use it – either to pursue and develop it to better mankind or to serve some selfish or distorted end. Therefore, I am not inclined to use utilitarian ethics as a guideline in my future career.

Was The Black Panther Party a successful force for change during the Essay

Was The Black Panther Party a successful force for change during the civil rights years - Essay Example its aims and policies (Wikipedia.org), rejecting armed resistance and instead focusing on tackling matters relating to social, economic and political inequality not only of African Americans, but also other minority groups in the country. The BPP efforts, however, were not only unappreciated, but also vehemently opposed by the government, Federal Bureau of Investigation {FBI} and the police, resulting in its unfortunate and untimely demise after a promising span of just 14 years. While it lasted, the BPP undoubtedly represented a successful force for change during the civil rights years. The general situation refers to the circumstances prevailing in the country since the Civil War ended. The War, hailed as the destroyer of slavery of blacks after having suffered years of oppression, did not in fact result in the anticipated assimilation of blacks into American mainstream society. Oppression of blacks continued in the form of Ku Klux Klan atrocities, widespread lynching of blacks and the de facto refusal to grant them all civil rights. Blacks responded by non-violent means, forming representative organizations to put forward their protests. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People {NAACP} was created to foster assimilation of blacks into mainstream American society. The Universal Negro Improvement Association {UNIA} headed by Marcus Garvey was established to foster independence of blacks. Not only did these associations prove ineffective, the response of white Americans – violent, suppressive and unbending – showed no signs of com promise. Blacks continued to live in oppression in the United States (Blackpanther.org). The specific situation followed the groundbreaking Civil Rights Act that the United States Congress enacted in 1964. It prohibited racial discrimination in public facilities. The Act was the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement spearheaded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – a struggle that involved nonviolent blacks being