Categorical Imperative Example Essay Example

Categorical Imperative Example Paper Kant is an 18th century German philosopher who wrote the book Groundwork for metaphysics. The book deals with his theory that morality is a priori synthetic (a priori is a statement that is knowable without reference to any experience and synthetic means having truth or falsity can be tested using experience or the senses) and that moral decisions should be taken with a universal view to one’s duty to mankind as a whole. He laid out his ideas about the categorical imperative in this book. An imperative is a statement of what should be done. The philosopher Hume said that you can’t get a ‘should’ statement out of an ‘if’ statement. This means that experience can only give us hypothetical imperatives (not moral commands to the will – they are ‘if’ statements and do not apply to everyone and you only need obey them if you want to achieve a certain goal, for example, ‘if’ you want to be healthy then you should exercise and eat a balanced diet). A categorical imperative is a ‘should’ statement, but it is not based on experience, and doesn’t rely on a particular outcome. According to Kant, categorical imperatives apply to everyone because they are based on an objective a priori law of reason (an objective law is something that is factually true). We will write a custom essay sample on Categorical Imperative Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Categorical Imperative Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Categorical Imperative Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The categorical imperative is one principle with three formulations: The Universal Law, treat humans as ends in themselves and act as if you live in a Kingdom of Ends. The natural law is to â€Å"act according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law† and what it says is that everyone should universalise their maxims without contradiction – for an imperative to be categorical or deontological it must consist of principles that can be applied in any situation. This basically means that before you do something you should ask yourself if you would like everyone in the same situation. If not, then you are involved in a contradiction and what you are thinking of doing is wrong because it is against reason. Kant uses the example of a suicidal man as an example: A man feels sick of life and wants to commit suicide. His maxim is that from self-love I want to shorten my life if its continuance threatens more evil than it promises pleasure. He asks himself whether he would universalise this law, his answer is no because it is humans’ duty to stimulate the furtherance of life and to destroy life would contradict itself and therefore is entirely opposed to the supreme principle of duty. The second principle is to treat humans as ends in themselves: â€Å"so act as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of any other, never solely as a means but always as an end†. Kant argues that all humans are searching for the summam bonum (a state in which human virtue and happiness are united). Kant believes that we all have an immortal soul and because of this immortal soul, humans deserve special treatment and that we should seek happiness as long as this happiness does not infringe on other humans ability to seek happiness and this means that we should not exploit others or treat them as things to achieve an end, as they are as rational as we are. To treat another person as a means is to deny that person the right to be rational and independent judge of their actions. It is to make oneself in some way superior and different. An example could be having a sexual relationship with someone – if you have only have sex with someone because you want something from them and not because you love them. The final principle is to act as if you live in a Kingdom of Ends; Kant said â€Å"act as a legislating member in the universal Kingdom of Ends†. This means that everyone should act as every other person were an ‘end’ – a free, independent agent. Kant believed that each person is independent and moral judgements should not be based on any empirical consideration about human nature, human flourishing or human destiny. What this means is that every individual has the ability to understand the principles of pure practical reason and follow them. Pure practical reason must be impartial and so its principles must apply equally to everyone. An example of this is if you’re trying to decide if it would be justified to kill someone who was threatening your family – using Kantian principles – you should not kill them. Acting according to the third principle (and taking the first and second into account) murder can obviously not be universalised or humanity would be wiped out, and killing the man threatening your family is treating him as a means (to saving your family) rather than an end: a human seeking summum bonum. In conclusion, there are three different formulations for Kant’s categorical imperative: The Universal Law, treat humans as ends in themselves and act as if you live in a Kingdom of Ends. Together these three formulations seek to allow humans to make moral decisions which do not infringe the happiness of others but also allow us to progress to perfection.

All Quite On The Western Front essays

All Quite On The Western Front essays The novel, All Quiet on the Western Front depicts the lives of a group of German soldiers during the 1st World War. It is told from the perspective of a young German soldier called Paul Bamer whose very experience shows the changes brought about in his life and the world around him. During the course of the war, Paul develops broadly, changing from a young, innocent boy into a rather ironic veteran of war. The story compromises of three main themes that Paul portrays from his perspective. Brothers in Arms, the True Horror in War and the Lost Generation. The theme of Brothers in Arms is about the relationship of soldiers with one another. Their closeness to each other and being around for one another whenever one is in need. Early on in the novel, Paul describes as comradeship being the best thing to ever have aroused from the war and the novel portrays this theme pretty much in all the chapters right through to the end until Kat dies. When Paul kills Gerard Duval, he is shocked with what he has done and begins to lose himself in his thoughts. He empathizes towards him and says. Forgive me, comrade, how could you be my enemy? If we threw these uniforms and weapons away you could be just as much my brother as Kat and Albert." (Chapter 9). This shows Pauls feelings towards the enemy as Paul was even ready to call them brothers. When Paul and his comrades are sent to the artillery lines for the wiring fatigue, an incident occurs in which Paul writes, Beside us lies a fair-headed recruit in utter terror. He has buried his face in his hands, his helmet has fallen off. I fish hold of it and try to put it back on his head. He looks up, pushes the helmet off and like a child creeps under my arm, his head close to my breast. The little shoulders heave. Shoulders just like Kemmerichs. I let him be. So that the helmet should be of some use I sti...

Essay One Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

One - Essay Example One can connect the relationship between faith and reason to a couple’s relationship. There would be sides of stories but for a relationship to work, one party should make an effort to recompense if both parties would want the relationship to succeed. This is very relatable to faith and reason, throughout the centuries; the worlds of religion and science have collided without any signs of slowing down. Yet both John Locke and St. Thomas Aquinas believe that faith is a kind of reason. Reading through the works of both Lock and St. Aquinas, both have seemed to suggest that faith can be considered as reason. Even for some from the religious sect, they are using faith in giving reasons as far as miracles or unexplainable occurrences (Tavani, 2-4; Nash, 58). Religion often uses the faith of their most loyal devotees in reasoning about the existence of things which are intangible and cannot be justified by any scientific methods. With such statement being said there is an aspect of religion that is also a part of a feature of science. One point that can be considered by the belief of both Locke and Aquinas is that it can also be reversible. Reason can also be a species of faith. It is not just a one-way relationship. Just what has been stated earlier, faith and reason can be compared to a relationship where one party can complement the other. One party may not always be correct but the other would complement its shortcomings to make the relationship work. Reason may not always have concrete values and scientific explanations yet people who have heard the reason could believe in it and therefore result in having faith in the reason whether or not it has intangible supporting facts which may or may not be resolved any further (Tavani, 3-5) . Locke believes that the scriptures have no role in divine right but rather deep thoughts on the absence of

Attend and Analyze a Speech - Delivery Aspects Essay

Attend and Analyze a Speech - Delivery Aspects - Essay Example His speech was quick, probably because he had a lot to cover in a short time. However, he took momentary pauses in between, especially after conveying something important to give us time to ponder over what he just said. He spoke animatedly with many facial expressions. His pronunciation was perfect although his speech lacked lucidity. The speaker appeared very confident in his speech. His appearance was very pleasing to the eye. He had a certain dignity in the way he spoke and moved about during the speech. He would hammer the fist of his right hand onto his left hand whenever he had to stress on the obligations that we should follow in daily life. I found this particular act of his to be very articulate and effective. He maintained eye contact with all the listeners, but most of the time, he would focus on the central part of the audience. He sometimes glanced in the book he carried, but that was less frequent. Most of his facial expressions conveyed more than words could. Whenever he spoke of kindness and compassion, piety and righteousness, his eyes shone with warmth and tears would appear in his eyes. His nonverbal communication was very effective and demanded both attention and admiration. Most of the time, he would point his index finger at the audience as if he was condemning them for something.

An Argument for the Rights of Chimpanzees Essay

An Argument for the Rights of Chimpanzees - Essay Example Women, ethnic and sexual minorities lobby for recognition of their rights as individuals of no lesser stature than any other. Indeed, very few of us would consider them unjust arguments: the days in which women were not allowed to vote, or when ethnic groups were segregated from one another are remembered with a sense of regret. Thus, that men, and women, have sacrosanct and equal rights is rarely disputed, even though in practice work remains to be done to see that these rights are respected. However, the argument for equal rights is limited entirely to the realms of one species of the animal kingdom: Homo sapiens. A review of the scientific evidence regarding the ape, pan troglodytes, known more popularly as chimpanzee, provides a compelling argument for the extension of a number of rights to those apes and demonstrates that past and contemporary ethical discussions of rights have been severely limited and need to be revised. Ethical philosophy draws a distinction between 'animals' and 'man', excluding all other life forms on this planet from its discussions. An example of this can be found in John Rawls' 'A Theory of Justice', where Rawls states that "we should recall here the limits of a theory of justice. Not only are many aspects of morality left aside, but no account is given of right conduct in regard to animals and the rest of nature" (488). Thus Rawls considers 'rights' to be limited in their application to human beings, distinguishing humans as something entirely distinct from the animal kingdom. Rawls does not just exclude other animals from a discussion of rights, but considers any arguments related to the duties of man towards animals to be "outside the scope of the theory of justice" (448). However, as Copernicus removed the earth from the center of the universe, knocking man off his pedestal for the further enrichment of the science of astronomy, so must ethical philosophy abandon all thoug ht of man as occupying a reserved and elitist place above the animal kingdom. Ethical philosophy is still grounded in concepts from the Enlightenment era, before the discoveries of Charles Darwin which revealed that human beings and all other animals shared a common ancestor. Rather than man being something distinct from, and overlord to, other species, humans are in fact close relatives to all other life on the planet. Rawls thus commits a fallacy in distinguishing humans from animals and limiting his discussion of rights to humans. Professor Richard Dawkins, a leading evolutionary biologist, observes that "legal and moral systems are deeply species-bound" (262). Unjustly and irrationally so, considering our evolutionary history. Chimpanzees have the greatest claim to enjoying equal rights to the rest of humanity due to their close evolutionary proximity to Homo sapiens. Dawkins notes that "the last common ancestor of humans and chimps lived perhaps as recently as five million years ago" and that "chimpanzees and we share more than 99 per cent of our genes" (263). In the preceding five million years a number of intermediates between ourselves and chimpanzees have lived, some closer to the chimpanzee, some closer to the human (Dawkins, 263). The chimpanzee is just a short step away along the evolutionary tree of life from human beings. Thus, they surely have the rights to enjoy freedom, security and

Reviewing Violence By The Dark Figure Of Crime Criminology Essay

Reviewing Violence By The Dark Figure Of Crime Criminology Essay Our society is becoming more and more violent, in recent years dark figure of crime has become a big issue. Today we hear more of criminal, offences often for no particular reason what so ever. We are living in the world of crime. Dark figure of crime affects all towns, cities and countries. Crimes are made every day, but not every crime is reported and recorded that is why the dark figure is in our vocabulary today. In this essay I would like to look into the main reasons why crime goes unreported, what are the most unreported crimes, how its effects our society and what is the best way try to deal with that. The huge amount of crime in our society gets known when it is reported to the police, through public response to victim surveys and studies of offenders who admit committing crime, and when transmitted to other agencies, such as hospital accident wards, battered womens refuge centres and similar ones. Crimes go unreported because nobody realizes that the crime was done of that they done a crime that is so miner that the victim dont care. Other reasons why they  have not been reported are because  the victim knows the criminal and promised not to tell. It was no need to record crimes until late nineteenth century in Britain, because the crimes at this time were very low, the punishment system was different from our days. The law and punishment system changed. The First time crimes were recorded in nineteenth century by British Crime Survey. It is a lot of reasons why crimes goes unreported. Newburn (2009) carried out the main points why people do not report matters to the police including: the victim considers it too trivial; the victims feels the police will not be able to do anything about it; the victim is too scared to report it; the matter is too embarrassing or the victim would prefer to deal with the matter in another way. Rape is the most unreported crime in our society, because the womens are embarrassing or too ashamed to report the matter, feel unsafe and scared and so the vicious cycle continuous. If for example women was raped by her porter she might be frighten to go to the police. Most of the womens feel embarrassing of the questions they have to answer many times in the police station while they give evidence, they are stressed and do not want get the flashbacks because they are asking the full details many times. The big per cent of Teenage girls are especially at risk for date rape. 38% of all rape cas es reported the victims range in ages fourteen to seventeen. This to me is a high percentage for such a small age range. If we look how many children are abused by their parents it is quit shocking, because it is under report. Kids sexually abused by their parents cannot report crime to the police, because they are too young to understand that are frighten and scared of their parents, thinks that police dont believe them or are embarrassed of what happened. Children sexual abused crimes are underreport in our days if we look into statistics we can see that 72 per cent of sexually abused children did not tell anyone about their abused at the time. 27 per cent of children told to somebody later. 31 per cent still had not told anyone their sexual abuse by adults. Slak J (2009) in his article The most violent country in Europe : Britain is also worse than South Africa and U.S. stated Official crime figures shows that in the United Kingdom there are 2,034 offences per 100,000 people, The United States has a violence rate of 466 crime per 100,000 residents and South Africa 1,609. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article It is a many types of violent crime: domestic violence, mugging, stranger violence, aqvouitance violence. Domestic violence includes many types of abuse from family members and relatives including psychical, psychological, sexual, financial, emotional, cultural based abuses. For example if someone making feel scared or intimidated, from pushing and bullying to more serious injuries and extremes that can cause death, forced marriage or taking away financial independence for example by not allowing to work or monitoring how spend money. Most forms of domestic violence are criminal offences these includes : putting somebody in a fair of violence, harassment, threatening to kill, attempting to choke and most of the people did not know that or know and do not want to report it by thinking police is not going to make no differences or give a support. Crimes of violence, on the other hand, are statistically assessed against the overall number of adults in England and Wales . In this case,people who are illegal immigrants and who do not appear in official registers are not included. The table published by the Home Office also contains a definitional bias. One of the most serious violence crimes is homicide. Data recorded by British Survey shows that police recorded 648 incidents of homicide a 17 per cent decrease on the 748 recorded in 2007/2008 and the lowest recorded number in the last twenty years. The number of murders recorded by the police also decreased by seven per cent from 621 in 2007/08 to 575 in 2008/09. Home office statistics shows that here has not been change in the number of violent crimes between 20 06/ 2007 and 2008/2009. It was 903,993 offences of violence against the person recorded by the police 2008/09 and it is six per cent less than 2006/07 and it is the lowers figure since 2003/04. Other issues stem from how the data is collected. Surveys conducted by household, for instance, dont include the victimization of homeless people (Kershaw et al., 2000). Furthermore, crimes in which offenders and victims are consenting parties (for example drug dealing) are largely unreported (Kershaw et al., 2000; Maguire, 1997). Majority of people who one way or the other was victims of the crimes either domestic violence abuse or other thinks that is the best way keep everything to yourself and it is not going to happened again. But and the end of the day if someone attacks in your own home weather is someone you share house with, your family member or your partner people cannot suffering in the silence. Crime affects the whole person and can impact upon the victims health, quality of life and finances. Many need help to cope with their emotions, but the report argues that specialist services for victims are not enough. If people get enough support from the police and other organizations which are supporting victims of crime in our society crimes will be reported more than it is in nowadays. Victims of crime and their families need effective support and understanding in all spheres of life such as education, housing, employment, healthcare and financial services. All public services must recognise their shared responsibility for helping people to cope with crime.

Supporting School Uniforms Essay -- essays research papers

Socialization and You: Students in Uniform Uniforms have helped develop many children socially into the people they are today. Presented in argument form is how the role expectations, social control, and values of being in uniform have helped me succeed. Being in school uniforms at an early age has centralized me to this idea. High school was the first time without being in uniform for me. It was a culture shock. People made fun of what you wore some days, or would look at you wrong. You were no longer on the same level as your peers. It was difficult to fathom for me. Uniforms have their own subculture and are an excellent idea. "The uniform dress required of all students is one of the most important features of the college. It insures economy, democracy, and equality of opportunity"(Bodine) School uniforms are beneficial because students do not feel self-conscious about what they wear, feel comfortable with their financial status, and perform better academically. The school uniform is the single-most visible element of any school. Children in school uniform are walking advertisements for a school, giving an impression of the school whether it is good or for bad. Uniforms were originally thought to be an accurate reflection of a school's discipline standards and discipline. In England’s small towns, it was proof that the school had structure and could function (School Uniform). Although England originated the idea of school uniforms, America and many other places adapted to this idea very quickly. School is a second home for children and one needs to feel comfortable in that setting. â€Å"About a third of the day is spent at school and about half of a child's waking hours†(School Uniform). With a need for comfort in the schoo... ...e majority of children’s lives. This could be easily argued saying that the hundreds of dollars spent on extra curricular activities such as a basketball uniform could not be worn for anything other than basketball. Everything has its reason and purpose, a school uniform is the last thing a parent should be worried that their kid would get use out of. These are just a few of the many arguments presented by the opposing side of the argument. In any case, school uniforms, establish a resounding unity in schools and centralize a child’s focus on to what is important. The â€Å"team member† image is presented proudly and students are normally more than willing to accept the uniforms once they’ve tried them. Uniforms have helped develop me into the person I am today and clearly help academically. With all the benefits its been proven to have, uniforms are the best choice.

Culturally Poetic

Culturally Poetic Cultural identity is the collective personality of a people usually associated with a certain group or culture, or that of an individual in relation to certain behavior, thoughts, and influences. (Central Michigan University) These beliefs and shared characteristics allow a group to establish a common ground and in turn make them unique to others. A cultural identity may be national, ethnic, or even generational. Our identity is based upon our differences when compared to other groups. Cultural identity is essentially defined by differences rather than likenesses to others. The identifiable aspects of culture are historical, linguistic, and mental. These three factors may also be found in poetry and are related to the views that an author wishes to express. In my essay, I will seek to identify elements of culture in the following poems: â€Å"Bully†, â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl†, â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet†, â€Å"Rite of Passage†, and â€Å"The Panther†, In Martin Espada’s poem, â€Å"Bully† cultural identity is evident throughout the length of the poem. The poem is introduced by way of location, the time period, and the year, â€Å"In the school auditorium / the Theodore Roosevelt statue / is nostalgic for the Spanish American War† (713). The poet themes seemingly focus on change within American society. This theme is noticeably identifiable in the following stanza: But now the Roosevelt school is pronounced Hernandez. Puerto Rico has invaded Roosevelt with its army of Spanish-singing children in the hallways, brown children devouring the stockpiles of the cafeteria, children painting Taino ancestors that leap naked across murals. 714) Espada effectively provides contrast between Roosevelt’s belief of ethnocentrism and the invasion of the Spanish colonies by comparing the immigration of Puerto Rican families in a 1987 Boston, Massachusetts. At the poem’s ending we are able to envision a revenge of sorts with the children now invading Roosevelt himself. The following stanza is irony at its best and brings the ele ment of culture and change to the forefront, Roosevelt is surrounded by all the faces he ever shoved in eugenic spite and cursed as mongrels, skin of one race, hair and cheekbones of another. (714) This bit of irony is representative of the fact that change once experienced on the island of Puerto Rico now too is prevalent within America. Roosevelt is declared the â€Å"bully† by his conquest and those that were once without power are now empowered through change and assimilation. This poem uses historical factors to establish a cultural identity. Patricia Smith’s, â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl† (for Those of You Who Aren’t) approaches the idea of a black girl becoming a woman at a time when race matters were still prevalent. The author begins with a direct but conversation like tone to denote the importance of what is being imparted: First of all, it’s being 9 years old and/ feeling like you’re not finished, like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong†¦(672) The theme here is puberty based changes that takes place according to a â€Å"black girl. † The girl feels incomplete because her body is experiencing changes. Smith goes on to describe the girl’s desire to fit into society by wanting to have the physical traits of a white woman. The young girl is displeased with being black and seeks to change her appearance: †¦it’s dropping food coloring In your eyes to make them blue and suffering Their burn in silence. It’s popping a bleached White mophead over the kinks of your hair and primping in front of the mirrors that deny your reflection†¦(672) She goes on to describe the Black Power Movement and the Motown era by mentioning â€Å"it’s flame and fists and life according to Motown. † As a blossoming young girl approaching womanhood she finds it not only difficult to become a woman, but a black woman. Finally, the girl looks forward to every woman’s dream of becoming a bride. This is evidenced in the final three lines: â€Å"it’s finally having a man reach out for you/then caving in/around his fingers. The girl anticipates a completed transition when she will become married. This poem uses mental aspects to form cultural identity during a time or racial tension. Michelle Boisseau’s, â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet† focuses on the way that society views beauty, self-image, and self-confidence. Boisseau uses figurative speech, imagery, and perceived sounds throughout the poem to bring light to a poor self image. The theme of this poem is equated to as the poem states self-pity. What seemingly appears as others judging us blinds us to the fact that we judge ourselves far worse than others would. The closet so to speak is within the individual feelings of: â€Å"Depression, loneliness, anger, shame, envy† (999) are the basis of self-pity. Feelings of self-loathing and self-hurt are evident in the following lines: after your vast and painful declarations subtle humiliations creeping up like the smell of wet upholstery, dial tone in the brain, the conviction that your friends never really loved you†¦(1000) The author seeks to express an inner fight a person struggles with when worried about the way others perceive them. The narrator uses the words, â€Å"dial tone in the brain† to describe a continuous mode of embarrassment within herself. She is unable to part with a feeling of inadequacy and is therefore trapped by her very own self pity. This poem uses mental aspects by associating self-pity with not being able to identify with the status quo of our cultural identity. In Sharon Olds’s, â€Å"Rite of Passage† a mother examines the behavior of her son and his friend during his birthday party. The title of the poem allows the reader to relate the â€Å"rite of passage† being the journey that her son will take toward manhood. Male maturity is the theme of the poem. What makes the poem ironic is her ability to view them as men though they are but six and seven years old. The following lines are quite imaginable to any mother noticing the machismo nature of young boys: As the guests arrive at my son’s party they gather in the living room— short men, men in first grade with smooth jaws and chins. Hands in pockets, they stand around jostling, jockeying for place, small fights breaking out and calming. One says to another How old are you? Six. I’m seven. So? (811) In the last line we experience a typical conversation between two boys that are likely â€Å"sizing† each other up; the six year old responds to the seven year old â€Å"So? The mother then goes onto visualizing the boys as men with careers by stating, â€Å"They clear their/throats a lot, a room of small bankers/they fold their arms and frown†¦Ã¢â‚¬  One cannot help but to envision the boys as men at a table matching wits at an older age. The birthday boy as if chairman of the bank settles the dispute between his friends in the following lines: â€Å"speaks up as a host/for the sake of the group. /We could easily kill a two-year old,/he says in his clear voice. † The group agrees and the children return to playing or as the mother describes, â€Å"†¦they relax and get down to playing war, celebrating my son’s life. Just as Smith’s â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl† focused on a girl approaching maturity so did Olds’ â€Å"Rite of Passage. † Olds uses mature language and terms to equate the behavior expressed by the boys as being their way of coming into manhood. The boys feel a need to intimidate each other with physical threats which showcases their immaturity on their way to adulthood. This poem identifies with the culturally defined behavior of a male having to prove he is a â€Å"man. † In Rainier Rilke’s poem â€Å"The Panther† the poet uses the panther a wild animal to express personification and similes to express confinement. An obvious reason for the panther being the subject is because its color represents a seemingly dark nature and contributes to the poem’s tone. A panther is also known to be a solitary creature that stakes out its prey. The use of the panther represents a theme of entrapment that most readers are able to identify with. The panther’s discontentment and longing to be free from his troubles is expressed as the cage’s bars. He has become so accustomed to seeing the bars that he no longer sees anything but what appears directly in front of him it is as if he has lost himself. The panther’s desperation in a sense mirrors human personality. Rilke’s offers her interpretation of this poetically by saying, His vision, from the constantly passing bars, has grown so weary that it cannot hold anything else. It seems to him there are a thousand bars and behind the bars, no world. (674) Rilke’s makes us aware that although the panther is confined we are still able to see its power and its beauty. Though caged he is still himself though he feels â€Å"paralyzed† by the cage; this feeling is interpreted in the following lines, â€Å"As he paces in cramped circles, over and over/the movement of his powerful soft strides/is like a ritual dance around a center/in which a mighty will stands paralyzed. The idea of confinement is relatable to a prisoner or anyone trapped in a situation with seemingly no way out. The panther yearns for more and this is evidenced by his pacing and boredom with his life. In the end the panther has lost his soul and his excitement is reduced to the opening of his eyes ever so slightly . It seems that the panther takes his final glance that touches him inwardly to the point his body becomes tense and his heart is excited for a split second until he realizes his situation and no longer bothers to react. This idea is well expressed in the final stanza. Only at times, the curtain of the pupils lifts, quietly—. An image enters in, rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles, plunges into the heart and is gone. Rilke in â€Å"The Panther† and Boisseau in her â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet† both convey the message of an inner struggle within their subjects. The poems are able to speak to the reader on a personal level and make the connection of human emotion with their dark but personal nature. â€Å"The Panther† embodied a feeling of weariness and surrender that human often time encounter in not one but within all societies and cultures. Often times we find ourselves staying within the box or the status quo instead of stepping outside of the box-in this case the cage. In comparison, the five poems that I have chosen to review are full of impact and take on a deeper meaning. They touch on outward appearances as well as inner feelings. They were all able to bring out identifiable aspects that we are all able to connect with through either personal or secondary experiences. In contrast, â€Å"Bully† came from a historical standpoint, while â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl† and â€Å"Rite of Passage† focused on what is accepted by society. Lastly, â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet† and â€Å"The Panther† dealt with inner struggles and the way that we tend to view ourselves when we take an inner look. Works Cited Central Michigan University. Cultural Identity as an Instrument. 8 May 2006. 3 November 2009 . Boisseau, Michelle. â€Å"Self Pity's Closet. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 999-1000. Espada, Martin. â€Å"Bully. Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 713-714. Olds, Sharon. â€Å"Rite of Passage. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 811-812. Rilke, Rainier Maria. â€Å"The Panther. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 674. Smith, Patricia. â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literat ure. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 672-73

The Kalahari essays

The Kalahari essays The Kalahari: A Desert to be Preserved A desert is defined by Random House Websters Dictionary as an arid, sandy region capable of providing life for only a few specialized life forms. There are several different areas that fit this description; however, each of these vicinities present unique obstacles and fascinating knowledge and information within their sand. A particularly interesting desert covering approximately 450,000 square kilometers in Africa is called the Kalahari. It stretches over most of Botswana and throughout some parts of Namibia and South Africa. The simple fact that this region is considered a desert is not what the Kalahari is admired for. Besides being distinctive in its geographical features, the Kalahari houses a variety of animal species and actually provides a dwelling for a primitive human population (Allan/Warren 110). The Kalahari, which extends from the Orange River to the Congo, is the largest continuous stretch of sand in the world (Kalahari: Game Reserves in South, par. 1). Though it does receive a rainfall ranging from 6 to 20 inches a year, surface water in the area is extremely rare. Fortunately, the Kalahari Desert has pans, which allow seasonal rainfall to accumulate (Allan/Warren 110). Pans, or natural depressions in the ground, are located in other deserts as well. However, Botswana contains the greatest number in the world. The fact that pans are dominant in this country is vital to the maintenance of the Kalaharis plant and animal life. Pans are not only important due to their water accumulations; they are also considered necessary for a resource for food (Kalahari: Game Reserves in South, par. 8). The largest of these Pans are the Etosha Pan and the Makgadikgod Pan (Allan/Warren 110). It is near these sources of life where animals and humans are able to survive. The Kalah ari is also home to two Nati...

Family Systems Intervention Essays

Family Systems Intervention Essays Family Systems Intervention Essay Family Systems Intervention Essay Family Systems Interventions Intervention skills: Facilitating family change Change skills 1. Break maladaptive interaction patterns 2. Clarity problematic consequences 3. Alter affective blocks 4. Initiate cognitive restructuring 5. Implement new adaptive patterns 6. Mobilize external resources as required Break Maladaptive Patterns Intervene to control maladaptive patterns by restructuring family interaction verbally or physically When appropriate, facilitate the adaptive expression of anger of one family member in order to block the recurrent problematic behavior of another Clarify problematic consequences Confront family members on the problematic consequences of their own behaviors Provide verbal or nonverbal support before and after direct confrontation whenever possible Alter Affective Blocks Convey the importance of expressing and clarifying affective experience in order to better comprehend the maintenance of overt behavior patterns. Remove inappropriate affective blocks by encouraging open discussion of the emotional turmoil of family members; validate their experience, clarify the content, and provide support Initiate Cognitive Restructuring Call into question collective beliefs, values, or goals that appear to be problematic and initiate open discussion and reevaluation of relevant issues. To prevent new affect from blocking further progress, encourage the expression and discharge of emotion (especially through laughing or crying) while modifying a previous cognitive set. Provide appropriate new information or a reformulation as required to dev elop more adaptive comprehension Encourage family members to consider new ideas further and to continue to discuss specific issues at home in order to reach a reality-based consensus. : Implement New Adaptive Patterns Using behavioral principles, apply social reinforcements to strengthen appropriate behaviors at any ti me during the sessions and encourage family members to do the same. Elicit family member’s willingness to be receptive to suggestions and invite specific behavioral suggestion from other family members (or offer some). Coach the family in implementing changes that are compatible with appropriate development tasks for the whole family as well as individual family members. Introduce adaptive changes in behavior during the interview by redirecting interaction patterns and altering spatial and seating arrangements to rearrange subsystems. Mobilize External Resources as Required Openly admit to lack of progress as explore possible inhibiting factors both inside and outside the family. Effective Assessment and Intervention First, workers must develop an attitude that values the potential of families to change. Assessment and mobilization of family strengths should focus on the positives related to many areas, including Family relationships: caring for members, gender roles that are respected and valued, parental-child relationships based on the best of the child, physical and emotional self-care, the presence of positive family events and successes, supportive couple relationships, family history of previous successes in conflict management, a strong family identity Individual family member skills: cognitive and intellectual abilities, a positive attitude, competent parenting, positive role-modeling, ability to build and access supportive social environments Personal qualities: motivation, goal directedness, self-esteem and competence, an ability to laugh at oneself, inner strengths and resources, strong relational, abilities, nondefensiveness, willingness to work on issues despite challenges Availability of community resources: friends and caring other outside the family, supportive relat ives, health care, education, recreation, spiritual community, social services, the skills to navigate in these community resources Seeing and learning: the ability to recognize difficult life experiences and to learn from these experiences Key Strategies in working with strengths The strength’s perspective capitalizes on the power and will of the family to self-correct with the help of appropriate environmental supports. Words have the power to build up or tear done discourage or encourage. Pathology-based words darken the vista by imposing problems while strength-based words impose solutions and hope. Use a dictionary of helping, a dictionary that includes the use of such words as empowerment, skills, hope, support, ability, and knowledge Assessment and intervention will be more effective if the family social worker keeps the following considerations in mind: Be keenly attuned to culture and adhere to culturally sensitive practices Focus on family needs Respect client auto nomy Avoid fostering unnecessary dependency Reassess and re-interpret client resistance as avoidance of pain Keep healthy professional boundaries while remaining emotionally available Culturally Sensitive Practice We advocate for cultural competence for all workers-competence that avoids the application of stereotypical checklists to families from minority cultures. Suggesting that a single program model or intervention can meet the needs of all cultural families risks stereotyping an reducing each culture to a single entity. Not all members of a cultural group are connected in the same way to their cultural heritage placater Some groups will have blended traditional and nontraditional practices in their daily living. Acculturation can be seen as a mosaic, blending traditional native ways with dominant cultural ways. Five program structures that can be incorporated into family social worker in order to work appropriately with families from different cultures. 1. Workers must have a sincere interest in learning and accepting different cultures. 2. Workers can learn to challenge their ethnocentric beliefs as a n integral part of family social work. 3. Family social workers can be open to collaboration with traditional cultural healers and leaders and support family choices about traditional sources of help that parallel, supplement, or replace interventions that are more common. 4. Family social workers should be familiar with and be prepared ti use existing client support systems, following the appropriate cultural protocols. 5. The intervention skills used by family social workers can adapted to specific cultures 6. Family social workers can seek specific cultural knowledge, which includes awareness of communication patterns, worldviews, belief systems, and values 7. Knowing how to gain entrance into a cultural community is important if a worker were to access culturally appropriate resources for a family. Reassess Clients’ Resistance Resistance may be a message from the client that the family social worker is overstepping the boundaries of the relationship. Resistance can also signal that the issues being discussed are sensitive to the client. Set Realistic Expectations A sixth guideline for family social workers is to foster families’ feelings of competence, rather than inadequacy. Hepworth and Larsen (1993) list the following ecological interventions that family social workers can perform for families: Supplementing resources in the home environment Developing and enhancing support systems Moving and enhancing support systems Moving clients to a new environment Increasing the responsiveness of organizations to people’s needs Enhancing interactions between organizations and institutions Improving institutional environments Developing new resources The way a problem is defined often depends on How the family initially defines the problem The theoretical perspectiv e the family social worker uses The mandate of the agency and how the agency views problems. For example, some agencies embrace solution-focused counseling and define problems to fit theory How the problem is defined jointly between the family and worker in a way that both feel offers the most opportunities to create positive change. Unique ways of viewing a problem 1. A traditional analytic view is that symptomatic person in the problem. 2. The social systems assumption is that the family is the problem – problems evolving from relationship patterns within the family 3. The attempted solution is the problem. This is an interesting view that could be simplified by saying, â€Å"if what you are doing does not work, stop doing it and try something different! † Circular Patters The term patterns mean that the same behavior happens repeatedly and becomes predictable. When a family is mired in problems, it may be because their repetitive patterns have produced gridlock without providing an adequate response to the issue at hand. In this way, the solution becomes the problem. Because the patterns are habits, family members feel secure in the stability they provide. The habitual patterns might be hurtful to individuals and harmful to the family system, but because family members are unaware of or unskilled in other ways of responding, they are unable to change, and the family is described as being stuck. A pattern is a circular sequence of communication that occurs three times. Alternatively, the worker may set the stage to encourage family members to play out their usual family patterns. ? 1. Clarify with the family these patterns, pointing out the relationship between affect, or feelings, and behavior. For example, father scolds child, child feels hurt, child pouts, father feels frustrated, father scolds, and around and around the pattern goes. It is helpful for a family to see how they go around in theses maladaptive circles. 2. When this is done, help clarify any family rules or myths that perpetuate these patterns, for example, a myth that the only way a child will listen to a parent is when the parent yells at the child. 3. When clarifying a circular pattern with a family, it is necessary to explore underlying feelings and any additional behaviors. 4. Point out evidence of emotional distress and get members to label specific feelings. When feelings are out in the open. Particularly fears and hurts, they can be directly faced 5. Encourage the family to provide each member with reassurance and support 6. Help the family develop understanding of each other by bringing their circular patterns out in the open and including underlying feelings. 7. After the dysfunctional patterns have been identified, the worker should then get the family to think of helpful adaptive patterns to deal with problem situations. 8. Help the family negotiate simultaneous change 9. Reinforce family member’s constructive suggestions 10. Coach family members in trying out new adaptive behaviors and assign realistic tasks explicitly as homework. Lineal Circular, strategic and reflexive question Lineal questions ask for basic information and assume a cause-and –effect sequence. Circular questions, on the other hand, are based on circular causality and the connections among family members. Circular questions help the family social worker to learn about ongoing patterns of family interaction and the effects that family members’ behaviors have on one another. Circular questions are intended to create change, whereas lineal questions are intended to draw out information. Strategic questions are directed at change, on the basis of the family social worker’s assessment of the situation. The underlying intent of strategic questions is to correct behavior. Reflexive questions ask clients to become self-observers. Detriangulation Detriangulation involves developing strategies through which the family worker disrupts one triangle and opens up the family members to new, more functional alliances or triangles. Four possible methods of detriangulation are available for the family social worker. 1. One way of detriangulatiojn is to point the triangle out to the three people. 2. Another method of detriangulation is ensuring that family members interact as dyads. 3. Another method is through reversal, or getting one person in the triangle to do the opposite of the pattern. 4. Detriangulation also can occur by shifting alliances that is who does what with whom. If the mother is always the one trying to get a child to comply with a command, change can be accomplished by having the father gain the child’s compliance. Working with Involuntary clients Clients usually look for on of two outcomes from family social work. Some just want to eliminate the pain created by the problem, and in the process want to be nurtured. These clients may be satisfied once the initial stress has been alleviated, and they may avoid making difficult or lasting changes. Other clients want to change their lives in concrete ways. They are willing to work hard to achieve needed changes in their lives. These are the most rewarding clients for family social workers. Many involuntary clients are precontemplators. In other words, they do not believe they have a problem. Others may acknowledge they have a problem but are not prepared to work on it. Families need to know that participating in family social work is their choice. The family social worker should emphasize that freedom from unwanted agency intervention will occur when the conditions of the court order or contracted work are met. Work with involuntary clients begins by finding out what it is like for them to be ordered into family work. This question is one way of showing empathy and starting where the client is. When clients are court ordered, they should be informed that some conditions of the work are not negotiable and they need to understand the specific conditions for termination. When clients do not want work, the family social worker can print out that the family has a right not to participate but that nonparticipation involves some consequences. Motivation is the flip side of resistance. Direct confrontation about responsibility for problems during the assessment phase is likely to produce defensiveness rather that lead to change. Instead, using empathy and rolling with resistance might be most productive. The single most important skill for working with family resistance is being able to identify when it may be counterproductive to push an issue with the family.

The Importance of Skara Brae Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Importance of Skara Brae - Research Paper Example The first professional excavations were concluded under the supervision of Gordon Childe, the Professor of Archeology from Glasgow University started excavating the site. The first houses were built about 3200 BC and people lived there for about six hundred years. Significantly, the village did not grow much since the time it was first built, even though about 8 generations of people passes through it. The area does not have many woods around, houses and furniture inside is made of stones, which also contributed to the village being well preserved, even though not all the houses were built or occupied at the same time. There are eight distinct houses in the settlement; each is a single-room. The floor space of each house is about 36 square meters and the walls were about three meters high. Early houses were built circular. The houses are built of the closely fitting flat stone slabs. The doorways and winding passages are low, which was preventing the winds from rushing in. There is a fire place in the central hearth. The houses are half in the ground, all huddled together and therefore insulated from the Atlantic weather, so it all made up for a very warm and cozy dwelling. The whole settlement is built inside the heap of decomposed vegetable matter, animal bones, stone and shells. There is furniture inside each house, all of which is â€Å"fitted† and made of stone. There are large stone dressers with two shelves supported on three stone legs, bedsteads, small water tanks set into the floor and rectangular seats, storage places made of stone boxes and cells in the floor and the walls. The dresser in each house is positioned in such a way that whoever would enter the house would see the display of items on the dresser. The houses are linked with each other by series of roofed tunnels, each has one entrance, most have bolt-securing hole cut in the stone to lock a stone slab door from inside. The other marvel of Skara Brae is sophisticated underground sewa ge disposal system made up of the stone built drainage channels which connected the houses to an outfall at the sea edge. The drains were made of stone and were lined up with the tree bark. This drainage system even may have included early form of toilet facilities. The roofs of the houses were supported either by driftwood or whalebone beams. Since the roofs are gone now, we can assume it was made of perishable materials. It is gone now and we can see inside. Since all houses are equipped similarly and are similar in size, and there is nothing that looks like a dwelling of a chief, it is thought that Skara Brae is a settlement of people of equal rights. It seems the village was abandoned suddenly for dweller left behind even some valuables. What was the reason we can only speculate. There are not many places in the world that has a virtually intact village that is 5,000 year old. This is Europe’s best preserved and most complete Neolithic village. It is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids. In 1999 as a part of â€Å"The Heart of Neolithic Orkney† Skara Brae gained a status of UNESCO World Heritage Site. Skara Brae has particularly rich remarkably preserved remains of both furniture as well as wide range of domestic and ritual artifacts, drawings and symbols. All the remains with exceptional completeness gave us the picture of domestic, cultural and ritual practices of the

Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 13

Criminal Law - Essay Example Such a duty of care arises as a result of the law. The question whether the facts of a case establish the existence of the duty of care is to be determined by the jury. If the duty’s existence is disputed, the jury ought to be directed that if certain facts are established, then in law a duty would arise. Existence of other facts would negative the duty ( Husak,1987). The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Gemma Evans against her conviction at Swansea Crown Court. The Lord Chief Justice, giving the judgment of the court, upheld the conviction of the appellant. The court found that the appellant, together with her mother, was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of her half-sister, Carly, who was aged 16, who had injected herself with heroin which was supplied by the appellant. Carly developed symptoms similar to those of heroin overdose but the appellant and the mother failed to seek medical assistance as they feared that they themselves would all get into trouble. They thus decided to put Carly to bed, hoping that she would somehow recover which she never did and was found dead the following morning due to heroin poisoning. The appellant had remained at the house from the time when her half sister injected herself, throughout the evening and night. She had also witnessed the signs of the effect of the drug injected by Carly and that she realized that her half sister’s condition was dire. The appellant and her mother also thought that they were responsible for the care of Carly after her taking heroin. The question was whether the appellant was under a duty to take reasonable steps for the safety of Carly once she realized that the drug she had procured for her was having a potentially deadly impact on her health. This was despite the fact that their relationship lacked the features of familial duty or responsibility which marked her mother’s relationship with Carly, when omission