Thomas Hobbes Essays - Calvin And Hobbes, Atomists, Empiricists

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes was one of the first Western Philosophers that the world had seen. Hobbes's philosophies marked a departure in the English philosophy from religious emphasis of Scholasticism. Hobbes was born in 1588 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. His father was a vicar of the parish during Queen Elizabeth time. He valued not learning and only read the prayers of the church. Hobbes obtained his education from his uncle and moved onto Oxford at the tender age of fifteen. By the time he reached Oxford he was already a scholar in Latin and Greek. He left Oxford in 1608 and began his companionship with the eldest son of Lord Cavendish of Hardwicke, later know as Earl of Devonshire. Hobbes traveled the European continent three times in his lifetime. These trips allowed Hobbes to get most of his work down and he usually traveled with a pupil. His first trip he took was in 1610 were he visited France, Italy and Germany. This trip he took with is pupil, Lord Hardwick. He learned the French and Italian languages along the way. This first tour of the continent did not allow Hobbes to learn his life purpose, but he did gain experience that could help him along his way. His second tour of the European continent took place in 1629 and lasted for two years. In 1628 his pupil and friend Lord Hardwick passed on and Hobbes had no duties to fulfill in the house. The second trip Hobbes took he had a new pupil the young earl, who was eleven when they left for the journey. When Hobbes arrived back he took over the education of his new pupil. Around the time he was educated the young earl, his philoschical views began to take place. It was not until his third trip across the continent that he began to fit in with the other philosophers of the world. The third trip he was accomplice by the young earl, Earl of Devonshire. The trip lasted three years, 1634 to 1637. The trip began a new chapter in Hobbes life, he began to publish books and his theories were starting to be written out into books. During the trip he was an intimate of Meresenne, who at the time was at the center of the scintitific circle. That circle include the like of Descartes and Gassendi. His first publication was when he returned titled, Elements of Law and politic. This book showed the theories that he began to evovle for him during this third and final trip. Hobbes fled to France for eleven years because of the fear of getting arrested from his book. He called himself ?a man of feminine courage?. In France he taught the Prince of Whales, later known as King Charles II, mathematics. While in London he also wrote his most famous book Leviathan. This book should Hobbes views on all the theories and ethical decisions. It was published in 1651, the same year he moved back to England. He moved back because he felt safer now in England then he did in France. In actuality he moved back because his book caused him to fear arrest by the authorties in France. He felt safer in England because of his former pupil took over the throne and Hobbes came into favor with the House of Commons. In 1666 however the house passed a bill to inspect his book Leviathan of charges of atheistic tendencies. This inspection caused Hobbes to burn many of his papers and delayed three publications of future books. His philosical theories were that people could have more then one loyalty and that they could be competing with each other. Mainly he was talking about the loyalty to God. Religion was a big deal back then and he stated that God could have a competing loyalty and that people should decide what is best for them. Loyalty to a person or a king should stop when death could occur to you. He stated that loyalty is a social act and that anything a person does is self-serving. Anything a human being does come full circle and benefits them in a way. A theory that Hobbes had, that I believe was pretty big,

population genetics essays

population genetics essays Evolution could be defined as being the total of genetically inherited changes in the individuals who are members of a populations gene pool. Although the effects of evolution are felt by the individual, the population is what truly evolves. Evolution merely changes the frequency of alleles in a population. The definition of evolution, as it is known today, has been shaped largely by Godfrey hardy, a British mathematician, and his contemporary, Wilhelm Weinberg, a German physician. Through experimentation and mathematic modeling, they came to the conclusion that gene pool frequencies themselves are stable, however, evolution should be expected all the time. They concluded this seeming paradox by looking at the overall effects of some evolutionary devices (ONeal Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Model 1). Hardy and Weinberg (along with the geneticists who followed their projects) came to the understanding that evolution will not occur if seven conditions are reached by that population: 2. Natural selection is not occurring 3. The population is infinitely large 4. All members of the gene pool are capable of breeding 6. Everyone produces the same number of offspring 7. There is no migration in or out of the population To sum the above up, if none of the devices that cause evolution to occur are active in a population, it will not occur. The gene pool frequencies will remain untouched. Nevertheless, since it is nearly impossible that any one of these conditions, let alone all seven at once, are met, evolution is unavoidable (ONeal Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Model 1). Hardy and Weinberg continued to develop an equation or formula that can be utilized to figure out the genotypic frequencies and track the changes from one generation to another in a population. It has been coined the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium equation. ...

Is Social Media Beneficial for Our Society or Not Essay

Is Social Media Beneficial for Our Society or Not - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that social media is not about the exploitation of technology but service to the community. Social media websites have captured our lives. It is not easy to imagine the times when there were no Facebook or Twitter. Almost fifteen years ago, people had to wait months just to hear from each other. However today, the scenario is totally different. Nowadays, people spend more time social networking than actually meeting them in person or doing any other activity at home. With the advent of social media integration in our lives, there is a growing concern regarding its impact on our society as a whole. Like everything else in the world, social media too have both positive and negative aspects to deal with. The biggest portion of its influence on our society is however counted more on the positive side. The world has shrunk and the possibilities to interact across boundaries have become widened. It was never so easy to communicate all around the globe within seconds. Social media has surely brought us closer to many different parts of the world, especially for those who have been doing global businesses. â€Å"By bringing together people who share interests, no matter their location or time zone, social media has the potential to transform the workplace into an environment where learning is as natural as it is powerful.†Ã‚  Among numerous social media websites available today, two names always strike our minds instantly when talking about social media interaction or integration in our society.... Proponents of websites like Facebook and Twitter, suggests that these platforms have promoted online communities to have an easy interaction with friends and family living apart. They also offer teachers, students and mentors create online assistance and distance learning which a huge benefit for our society is. It is also greatly popular in disseminating useful, important or urgent information instantly and accurately. Facebook and Twitter have also been widely used for social wellness and awareness programs. They are not only cost effective mediums of spreading the word and getting assistance, but also helped thousands and millions of people to work for the evasion from the evils of our society. Among the numerous business and marketing benefits, it has also helped tremendously in providing opportunities to empower business women (Small Business - Chron.com). Besides being highly beneficial for the business purposes, marketing, promotion, and spreading positivity to help reduce man y social stigmas, social media has definitely proven itself to be a great tool in enhancing and improving a person’s living standard and quality of lifestyle. It has enabled numerous individuals to maintain an easy, trouble free and more organized lifestyle than before. It has improved the satisfaction towards life through minimizing many threats of health issues. It has been observed on a large scale that due to the emergence and integration of social media websites into our lives, friends and family on social media now have the best way to utilize the trend impact, propagating and assisting with workout, diet controlling, and in achieving goals related to the termination of smoking or

Leadership & Innovation in public services Essay

Leadership & Innovation in public services - Essay Example In fact, becoming a leader of a state is not only confined with managing the affairs within the state territory, but requires cooperation and collaboration with the leaders of other nations in order to maintain peace and security. Very few leaders can be classified as selfless and made sacrifices for the people. Few individuals assume the role of the leader with no other motivation but to serve the people. True leaders recognize that the power of a leader comes from the people who can take it back. Leadership Theories The general classifications of leadership theories are the Great Man Theories, Trait Theories, Behaviorist Theories, Situational Leadership, Contingency Theory, Transactional Theory, Transformational Theory (Bolden, Gosling, & Marturano, 2003), and Servant Leadership (The Robert K. Greenleaf, 2005). Each group of theories has been developed by individuals that contribute to the enhancement of a particular theory. According to Bolden et al. (2003), the schools of thought developed under the earlier models focus more on the personal characters and behaviors of the leader. Later schools take into consideration the participation of the followers in the development of the leader (Bolden et al., 2003). The Great Man theories proposed that leaders possess some exceptional innate qualities that destined them to lead. While the Trait Theories provide a list of traits and qualities that a leader should have, the Behaviorist Theories focus on the set of behaviors of a leader. Situational Leadership provides that leadership is seen according to the situation where the leader exists and includes the tasks and goals to be accomplished, as well as the willingness of the person to attain them. Contingency Theory provides the predictive variables that would make the leadership style appropriate on certain circumstances. Transactional Theory expounds on the relationship of the leader and the governed, the benefits they derive from each other, and the reward and ben efits given by the leader in exchange for the loyalty of followers. Transformational Theory focuses on the role of the leader in envisioning the transformation of the organization (Bolden et al., 2003). Servant leadership espouses that a leader is a servant to the people, with no other motivation except to serve the people (The Robert K. Greenleaf, 2005). Participative leadership refers to the involvement of other persons in decision-making and implementation of the same (Culture and Leadership, 2006). Participative leadership, also referred to democratic leadership (Spillane, 2005; Ogbonna & Harris, 2000), is a more successful kind of leadership (Ogbonna & Harris, 2000). Distributed leadership, a recent model, is the antithesis of the â€Å"heroics of leadership† wherein the leader is seen as the sole actor in leading the organization (Spillane, 2005, p. 143). Issues in Public Leadership Many studies were conducted on private organizations but they are likewise applicable in the public sector. Leadership in the public sector is critical in the current generation amidst the complex problems and issues confronting the governments on all fronts. Leadership issues entail survival of the followers, poverty or death. Leading a group also requires the application of strategic approaches to facilitate

Defining Abnormality - Towards a definition Essay Example for Free

Defining Abnormality Towards a definition Essay The statistical approach is based on the idea that certain behaviours are statistically rare in the population. If you measure any type of human behaviour you should find that people with varying degrees of the behaviour are normally distributed around the mean. For example there are a lot of people who are of average height but few people who are very small. If we plot a graph of for example IQ scores, It is bell shaped. The majority of individuals are clustered around the mean (the curves highest point). The further you go away from the mean, the fewer people there are. Problems Desirability-some statistically infrequent behaviours, e.g. being a genius are desirable. Cut-off point-who decides at what point you are to be considered abnormal? Statistical Definitions-The Same standards or norms are not relevant to all social groups/ ages/cultures for example in terms of anxiety. Children have more irrational fears than adults. Deviation from social norms Social norms are behaviours that are desirable for both the individual and society as a whole. Deviance from social norms is both undesirable and abnormal. Most mentally Ill people do behave in a socially deviant way but this doesnt mean that you can base clinical abnormality on this theory alone. Moral standards-social norms change over time and basing mental illness on deviation from social norms is dangerous. Context-for example, wearing few items of clothing on the beach is acceptable, on the high street it is not. Sub Cultures-for example in the Mormon religion it is acceptable to have several wives. In England that is a crime called bigamy Good/Bad-in some certain circumstances being socially deviant is a good thing for example in Nazi Germany people who were opposed to Nazism were socially deviant. Collectivistic cultures-cultures which emphasise the greater good of the community rather than focusing on individual achievement would not find the first three characteristics relevant. Difficult-most people would have difficulty fitting all these criteria at most times in their lives. Cultural relativism A limitation to all ways of defining abnormality is that no definition is relevant to all cultures. Also cultures definitions change over time. For example Homosexuality was considered to be a mental disease till the 80s.

Essay --

Why Is Managing Inbound Logistics Important To An Organization? Inbound logistics relates to the movement of goods or the materials from suppliers and vendors into manufacturing procedures or storeroom facilities. Inbound logistics basically comprises of two functions that are the purchase of materials and the logistics that are the procurement and planning. The management of inbound logistics is important to organizations for two major reasons, one that relates to the organization and the other that relates to the suppliers and vendors. Of course, reducing costs by effective management of inbound logistics does not mean that suppliers and vendors are effective negatively. There got to be a way where both take advantage of effective management of inbound logistics otherwise there would be costs increment at other instances (Gonzalez, 2002). Managing inbound logistics is important because managing the expenses of movement of goods all the way through the supply chain is an enormous t ask for both the shippers and deliverers.  A particular consignment comprises of both inter and the intra organizational dealings and exchanges. During this interchange and communication, data and information is required by different people in addition to customers, vendors, transporters, customer service agents, secretarial, acquisition, product management, inventory supervision, storehouse administration, and completion. Companies procure transportation services with specific carrier partners that both meet their requirements for price & service and have a solid understanding of the nuances of their business needs.   Additionally, these companies establish business processes and rules of engagement to facilitate the efficient flow of information and m... ..." References Aldrich, D. (1998) The new value chain – Today’s digital age means companies must rethink how they deliver what their customers value. Information Week, September 14, 1998. Gonzalez, Adrian (2002) Inbound logistics drives strong demand for transportation systems Warehousing Management; Radnor McGinnis, Michael A. and Cancro, J. Patrick (2003) â€Å"Logistics Basics for Purchasing and Supply Professionals†, http://www.google.com.pk/search?q=cache:bviDnM1ZSCYJ:www.ism.ws/ResourceArticles/Proceedings/2003/McGinnisHH.pdf+inbound+logistics+important+to+an+organization&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Rayport, J.F. & Sviokla, J.J. (1995) Exploiting the virtual value chain. Harvard Business Review, 73(6): 75-86. Tyran, Craig K. and James Coakley (2000) Supplemental Class Notes: The Value Chain, http://www2.bus.orst.edu/faculty/coakley/BA471_web/Lectures/Value_Chain_Class_Notes.htm

Review of Parrot in the Oven Essay

Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida is a coming of age novel written in 1996, by Victor Martinez. The story is set in California and is told from the point-of-view of a fourteen year old, Mexican American boy. Manuel Hernandez, like many young men, struggles with identity. Manny’s life is hard. He has two older siblings and a baby sister. His mother does not work. His father is unemployed and an alcoholic. The main provider and only person in his house that can keep a steady job is his older sister. His older brother cannot hold a job long. As would be expected, Manny’s family lives in the projects. Project life brings its own problems. The Garcia boys live in Manny’s neighborhood. They constantly terrorize and beat him. Manny does not fight back. He realizes that he is outnumbered and too afraid to do anything. This could be one of the reasons Manny joins a boxing club in school, and later joins a gang. Family life is not much better for Manny. Throughout the story Manny deals with an alcoholic father and a borderline obsessive compulsive mother that have both become bitter and resentful. Manny’s brother is rarely home, but when he is he is often drunk. His older sister is resentful that she must carry the family. At one point in the story she gets pregnant and soon loses the baby. Chapter nine shines light on a key aspect of Manny’s character. As the title implies, Manny is naive. He lives in a predominantly Latino community where racial discrimination is non-existent. In this section of the book, Manny’s boss urges his daughter to invite Manny to her birthday party. She reluctantly agrees. Manny tells his brother, Nardo, about the party. Nardo and their sister try to explain to Manny that white people do not usually interact with Mexicans socially; he is most likely being used. Manny does not listen. He is in lust. Needless to say, the party ends badly. A terrible home life, hormones and identity issues lead Manny to gangs. He takes the beating, as a form of initiation, so that he can kiss a girl. He is not entirely sold on the gang culture but feels that he should hang out with the members. On his first run with Eddie, a gang member, he witnesses Eddie assault a woman and steal her purse. At that moment he recognizes that Eddie is the guy that knocked up his sister. Frozen in place, Manny realizes that gang-life is not for him. He goes home and watches his sisters sleep, knowing that although life at home is rough there is nowhere else he would rather be. Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida exposes many aspects familiar to first- and second-generation Mexican American families. Many young minorities might be able to relate to Manny’s struggles. Even though the book deals with ugly issues like abuse, alcoholism, racism, teen pregnancy and gangs, the book also provides a space for discussion around identity, self-esteem and pride. I would definitely recommend this book to students.