censorhf The Banning of Huckleberry Finn Essays -- Adventures Huckleb

No Justification for the Banning of Huckleberry Finn   Columnist James J. Kilpatrick wrote that Huck Finn is a play book for white boys to read. For black children, I pick out come to realize, it is a brutal slap in the face.  He condemns the book because of its use of the word nigger.  umpteen school districts have banned this book for the same reason.       Since the Civil War, racism has been a very delicate issue with the Ameri sewer public.  Whereas some people have tried to transgress this issue, pretending that race no longer plays a significant role in our country, other people still believe that in that respect are serious racial dilemmas in the United States.  I am one these people.  However, unlike some, I do not believe this problem can be solved by avoiding or sugarcoating the issue of race, as James L. Kilpatrick and several schools appear to be doing.  In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain presents an fortuity story filled with deeper meanings and controversial topics, two in particular organism slavery and racism.  Despite the usage of the word nigger and the stereotypical portrayal of African Americans, I do not think schools have any justification in banning this book from reading lists.               Mark Twain wrote Huck Finn during the reconstructive memory period in the south, at a period when most Americans wanted to forget all about the institution of slavery and its consequences.  However, Twain set the time period of this novel prior to the Civil War when slavery was at its peak.  Thus, the racist views he included in the book mirrored the attitudes of most southerners ... ...acist attitudes commonplace in South at this time.  For all those school administrators who say that the language and ideology of Twains writing is offensive, well, maybe Twain wanted to appal people with this novel.  Maybe h e wanted to offend them so much that they would come to the realization that individuals should not conform to societys standards, one of these standards being slavery.  Until someone is offended, status quo doesnt change.  Maybe its about time that we remove the blindfold from our nations youth and stop trying to be politically correct.  Maybe its about time that kids are exposed to the true horror of racism and prejudice so to detour them from repeating ignominious mistakes.  High school students are neither naïve nor stupid they can handle the contents of this novel, and hopefully, learn from Twains messages.

Union Essay -- essays research papers

Collective Bargaining a process in which representatives of Labor & Mgmt negotiate the terms & conditions of employment.StructureSingle Employer Bargaining a one employer involved w/ a single union (can also bargain w/ more than 1 unit). Boutique is a specialized Taylor agreement b/w employer & unit (usually seen in oligopolistic type market)Pattern Bargaining Pick a target firm & then form an agreement (Pay, benefits, etc.) called a manakin (i.e. 6% over 2 years). Ex The Caterpillar Company fall in Automobiles Union (DEER) the Union wanted a pattern, company did not so they went on strike, ended up going back to work w/ no agreement, and then went on strike again. They ended up accepting less than the pattern. Bridgestone & United rubber are another example. They stroke because company would not allow em to pattern bargain. Union did not survive strike, now combined w/ steel workers unions.Multi-Employer Bargaining Employer meets w/ all units & comes up w/ the same agreement ( i.e. all athletes, all grocery workers, etc.) They form an employers association & the representative of that negotiates. hold up a behavior theory of Labor Negotiations Richard Walton & Robert McKenzie. It revolutionized thinking about negotiations. This book was done in both perspectives instead of just one side.There are 4 aspects of negotiation1.Distributive Bargaining involves $ typically & how $ distributed. Fixed sum is usually how $ is distributed. Union wants a bigger put together of the pie & company wants to hold onto that piece of that pie. Labor & Mgmt view each other as adversaries. Union asks for everything & a lot of it. Mgmt says take away, loss of privileges a little more subtle approach.2. endogenic Bargaining The 2 groups get together & problem solve on ways to make the pie bigger. They get along w/ each other & essential be creative. Their view is productivity can never be high enough. In the 1980s Chrysler Corp. had a lot of problems & were setting records f or losing $. They only had big cars that were gas-guzzlers (headed for bankruptcy). tribal chief Executive, Iakoka wanted to buy a little time so that they would be ok. Company wanted Gov. to bail em out w/ working keen to get the company going again. Gov. did not lend the $, but offe... ...ucation Association, American Nurses Association, Union of American Physicians & Dentist)Law State & local about call forths1.Right to enter & bargain collectively2.Unfair labor practices for employers & unions3.Procedures for union representation elections4.Administration by a state board (i.e. California Public Employment similarity Board)5.Impasse Resolution procedures (i.e. mediation)6.Allowance for grievance arbitrationStrikesWorkers in private industries have the right to strike (Section 7 of NLRA)1.Strikes that imperil the national health or safety2.A no strike clause in the collective bargaining agreementPublic Employee StrikesLaw forbids strikes by Fed. & postal workers. Strikes by state & local Gov. employees are prohibited in most jurisdictions (State, Fed, Local, Areas)Only 12 states allow a limited right to strike Oregon, CA, Idaho, Illinois, Wisconsin, Alaska, Ohio, Vermont, Montana, Hawaii.

Of mice and me :: essays research papers

In the book of mice and men John Steinbeck writes about the idea of lonesomeness. For men like those at a California ranch, lonesomeness is about all they pay back to look forward to and for 3 men names Candy, Crooks, and George. They face loneliness at a higher rate than most.George the easy-going caretaker of lennie looks at loneliness a different way. George has been taking care of lennie always since lennies aunt Clara died a pine time ago. Moving from ranch to ranch, George finds himself unable to h out of date on a friendship. Traveling with lennie who is nowhere near the maturity level of an adult George cant hold a reasonable conversation. George finds himself yelling at lennie on a daily bias. God a mighty if I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job and work and have no problems. George is showing loneliness by saying if he wasnt so solitary(a) dealing with lennie he could maybe be happy.Another lonely person on the ranch is candy. Candy is an old man tha t really does not have a carry there. He does odd-in jobs and cant constitute any games with the younger men because of his age. The only thing candy had to call his own was his hound dog. Candy has had this dog since it was a puppy, and when they shot it because the dog is so old candy had noting to own. Candy says in the book You seen what they did to my dog tonight? That says he wasnt no nigh to himself nor anyone else. When they can me here I wish they would shot me. But they wouldnt do anything like that. I wint have a place to go, and I cant get other job. By Candy saying this he is trying to say that the dog was all he had left, and that he cant leave because he wont be able to get another job.The loneliest of them all is Crooks. Crooks were the stable buck that had his own manner and didnt really talk with anyone. Because of the time dot being black and looking for a job was hard. So Crook just had to deal with what ever he got.Of mice and me essays research pape rs In the book of mice and men John Steinbeck writes about the idea of loneliness. For men like those at a California ranch, loneliness is about all they have to look forward to and for 3 men names Candy, Crooks, and George. They face loneliness at a higher rate than most.George the easy-going caretaker of lennie looks at loneliness a different way. George has been taking care of lennie ever since lennies aunt Clara died a long time ago. Moving from ranch to ranch, George finds himself unable to keep a friendship. Traveling with lennie who is nowhere near the maturity level of an adult George cant hold a reasonable conversation. George finds himself yelling at lennie on a daily bias. God a mighty if I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job and work and have no problems. George is showing loneliness by saying if he wasnt so lonely dealing with lennie he could maybe be happy.Another lonely person on the ranch is candy. Candy is an old man that really does not have a place t here. He does odd-in jobs and cant play any games with the younger men because of his age. The only thing candy had to call his own was his dog. Candy has had this dog since it was a puppy, and when they shot it because the dog is so old candy had noting to own. Candy says in the book You seen what they did to my dog tonight? That says he wasnt no good to himself nor anyone else. When they can me here I wish they would shot me. But they wouldnt do anything like that. I wont have a place to go, and I cant get another job. By Candy saying this he is trying to say that the dog was all he had left, and that he cant leave because he wont be able to get another job.The loneliest of them all is Crooks. Crooks were the stable buck that had his own room and didnt really talk with anyone. Because of the time period being black and looking for a job was hard. So Crook just had to deal with what ever he got.

The American Civil War Essay -- History Historical Civil War Essays

The American Civil struggleIn May of 1861 five states in the upper due south United States seceded from the Union and get together the seven states already seceded and created the Confederate States of America. This was the beginning of the Civil War it was the Union against the Confederates. Many People believed that the war would be over quickly they horizon it was more(prenominal) of an uprising then a full on war. Nobody expected it to last four years and take so many lives. The Civil War was a serious test for the new democracy of the United States, it tested the strength of the government and all of the volume involved. This would be a defining split second for the United States.One of the reasons for the south secession was the fact that the north was going to abolish slain truth and the south still strongly believed in slavery. It was a very strong part of there work force, most of the income was from agriculture and the slaves worked the fields for the farmers. Then i n early 1863 capital of Nebraska passd the Emacipation Proclamation this stated that all slaves in the south were free and were welcome in the north. The north hope this would bring African American workers north and they would compete the war with the north. Another leading catch of the war was the election of president Lincoln he won the election but did not get a single electoral vote from the south. Lincoln was a strong abolishionist and he thought that if slavery was going to stay it should not be allowed in any new states joining the union. This angered the south and they felt that they had not been fairly represented in the election. This fueled many in the south to question if they should stay with the north.There were many important battles in the war but the first was the first battle at Bull Run. The Union sent a group of volunteer soldiers and they were not ready to fight them lacking training and they were disorderly on the battlefield. The confederate?s army was bett er prepared for the battle and they had a constant flow of troops climax in so they forced the Union soldiers to retreat. There were nearly 5,000 casualties, this showed that this was going to be long and drawn out. Many civilians came out to watch this battle because they thought that it would be a good form of entertainment, they soon wise to(p) that this was not true and that this war would be a bloody integrity. The Union also learned that th... ... was on of the most important points in American history is proved that our government was strong and here to stay. Through out the entire war carnal knowledge and the other branches continued to function with out problems. They showed that even under dire circumstances like war in your back yard the American people can be strong. Many people today still honor the soldiers who lost there lives by holding civil war reninactments and the sites of famous battles. The largest one is when they reninact Gettysburg they do it every summe r and include more then 3,000 people.When the Union won the war it proved a point, it showed that a sound government and square(p) leadership is best. The entire time the American people stood behind President Lincoln and General Grant. The confederates didn?t have a full government accomplished and they had problems getting descions made and problems solved quickly. America is now a stronger nation because of this war with its self.Works Cited?Civil War? www.civilwar.com Online Google 14 Jan. 2005.?Civil War? www.civil-war.netOnline Google 14 Jan. 2005.Keith D. Dickinson ?The Civil War for Dummies.?New York For Dummies press. March 2001

Role of the Quakers in Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Essay

The Quakers and Uncle Toms Cabin In this paper, I will take in the choice of using the Quakers as the angelic figures that become the saviors for the cruddy execute during the slave movement in Uncle Toms Cabin. While examining this topic, Harriet Beecher Stowes compass of Puritanism becomes the focus for her motivation to interchange the world around her and her strict sort of keeping spiritual values as part of her daily existence. The next pointedness to be discussed is her conversion from conservative Calvinist views to liberal ideals of social domesticize. This reform captures the spirit of Transcendentalism, the idea of the individual as a divine being changing society to meet with those ideals. Finally, I will touch on the article of faith of the Quakers and their history and how they became the model of godliness that is portrayed in Stowes novel. In the Haggadah, beau ideal creates the world by his word, the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet travel fro m the crown of God engraved with a pen of flaming fire on the mind of Man (Barnstone 15). Many great writers strive to tap into this inhalant of divine light or intellectual genius to produce works of literary art. The written word from these writers possessed enough power to start revolutions, change public sentiment, and alter the rational thinking of the times. One such writer that changed diachronic events during the American Renaissance is Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her literary masterpiece, Uncle Toms Cabin, caused such information of the general public to push the United States into Civil War to emancipate the black race from the bonds of slavery. The main source of inspiration for her writings comes from her own personal experiences of life and the deeply... ...y in the end. Works Cited Barnstone, Willis. The Other Bible. New York Harper & Row, 1984. Drake, Thomas E. Quakers and slavery in America . Massachusetts Gloucester, 1965. Foster, Charles H. The Rungless Ladder Ha rriet Beecher Stowe and New England Puritanism. New York make Press, 1970. Miller, Perry. Errand into the Wilderness. Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1981. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Toms Cabin. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. 3rd ed. Massachusetts Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 2310-2352. Westra, Helen Petter. Confronting Antichrist The mould of Jonathan Edwards Vision The Stowe Debate Rhetorical Strategies in Uncle Toms Cabin. Ed. Mason I. Lowance, Jr., Ellen E. Westbrook, and R.C. DeProspo. 1st ed. Massachusetts University of Massachusetts Press, 1994. 141-158. Role of the Quakers in Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe EssayThe Quakers and Uncle Toms Cabin In this paper, I will examine the choice of using the Quakers as the angelic figures that become the saviors for the black race during the slave movement in Uncle Toms Cabin. While examining this topic, Harriet Beecher Stowes background of Puritanism becomes the focus fo r her motivation to change the world around her and her strict discipline of keeping spiritual values as part of her daily existence. The next stage to be discussed is her conversion from conservative Calvinist views to liberal ideals of social reform. This reform captures the spirit of Transcendentalism, the idea of the individual as a divine being changing society to meet with those ideals. Finally, I will touch on the belief of the Quakers and their history and how they became the model of godliness that is portrayed in Stowes novel. In the Haggadah, God creates the world by his word, the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet descending from the crown of God engraved with a pen of flaming fire on the mind of Man (Barnstone 15). Many great writers strive to tap into this inspiration of divine light or intellectual genius to produce works of literary art. The written word from these writers possessed enough power to start revolutions, change public sentiment, and alter the rati onal thinking of the times. One such writer that changed historical events during the American Renaissance is Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her literary masterpiece, Uncle Toms Cabin, caused such enlightenment of the general public to push the United States into Civil War to emancipate the black race from the bonds of slavery. The main source of inspiration for her writings comes from her own personal experiences of life and the deeply... ...y in the end. Works Cited Barnstone, Willis. The Other Bible. New York Harper & Row, 1984. Drake, Thomas E. Quakers and Slavery in America . Massachusetts Gloucester, 1965. Foster, Charles H. The Rungless Ladder Harriet Beecher Stowe and New England Puritanism. New York Cooper Press, 1970. Miller, Perry. Errand into the Wilderness. Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1981. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Toms Cabin. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. 3rd ed. Massachusetts Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 2310-2352. Westra, Helen Pet ter. Confronting Antichrist The Influence of Jonathan Edwards Vision The Stowe Debate Rhetorical Strategies in Uncle Toms Cabin. Ed. Mason I. Lowance, Jr., Ellen E. Westbrook, and R.C. DeProspo. 1st ed. Massachusetts University of Massachusetts Press, 1994. 141-158.

Teaching Philosophy :: Education Educating Teacher Essays

Teaching Philosophy The most important impact I wishing to have on students is that they remember me as a teacher who cares about their education. I want to leave an impact on each childs life. My motivation to teach comes from a desire to help others and see students excitements as they learn new concepts. I believe didactics is my focal point to make a positive difference for each of my students. My approach to teaching is based on the belief that my purpose at any school is to shell out the students. I leave focus on the long-term best interests of each student. Serving students begins with respecting them as an individual who can make worthwhile contributions to my learning and others learning. This example of respect also leads to taking a personal interest in my students so they know that I value them. Serving students goes beyond just teaching them the facts of economics of how to think and learn. It means challenging them to be successful and excel in a nything they accomplish. A prerequisite for good teaching is a solid intellect and thorough knowledge of the subject area. As I want my students to respect me, I desire to earn their respect by having something valuable to teach them. I will use my knowledge of real life experiences in the subject area I will teach. To me the overall purpose of education is to get come on the battle with getting the students to be motivated in doing their best in school. For the students to develop an interest in a subject to learn it well and the primal source of that interest comes from the enthusiasm of the teacher. I believe that my passion for teaching will allow me to motivate my students to learn any difficult material. I will model this attitude by learning from my students in the classroom, showing that they have things to teach me. To make the best use of my classroom time I as a teacher need to know what strategies to apply to promote good classroom management. The foll owing are the methods I would apply to my classroom. Using rewards and reinforcements . rationality my students level of learning

Review of the research paper on effect of positioning program Essay

The paper entitled The egress of positioning on spontaneous movements of pre term infants, is a well tailored research paper on the effect of positioning program in the neonatal intensive care unit on the movement patterns of the new born. The thieve of the paper include a curt sentence of the objective, a summary of methods and results and a sentence of concluding remarks. It would be bring out if this part is not having sub headings.The last line of the methods section of abstract has some problem in the sentence construction. The data was analyzed by appropriate statistical methods would be more ideal. The ledger entry clearly highlights the need for a position program by briefly explaining the drawbacks of hypotonic extension posture, which would be assumed by pre term babies normally and has compared that with the developments of a full-term infant. But the invoice is too elaborate.It could be briefed. In the second paragraph of the introduction the objective of the study is clearly expressed. But the objectives are in the question form. It would be better if it is in the form of sentences. The detailed description of the positioning mat and the different positions in which it was used would have better included under the methods section. In introduction is very long and it could be reduced a bit especially the first paragraph.The selection criteria used is not properly cited or a motive for using such a criteria is not given. In the method section the detailed description of the position mat and different positions would have been given in the beginning of the paragraph. The use of first person we in the paper is not recommended. As a whole the paper express a good shade research work with significant findings that could contribute substantially towards future studies in this line.

The Lord of the Rings in the 21st Century

Films or movies are representative of cultures and the nature of the generation from which it is spun. Films or movies seem to represent a piece of reality within them that researchs to testify its viewers, transform thoughts and ideals of its audience, influence change, and such. However, in this case, the role of the film or movie is to represent our society as it is now in the 21st century.The Lord of the ring trilogy, adapted from the books written by J. R. R. Tolkien, represents our generation in the 21st century as it illustrates the war between good and bad that we are battling at present. We comprise in a world in chaos, where nations battle for peace and harmony amidst a war-stricken world, and yet like the purpose driven by the Fellowship of the Ring, the pile struggle and hope that we may be able to withstand the turmoil to reach tranquility.The Lord of the Rings Trilogy follows the structure of a typical good versus evil movie. The theme was instigated by encompassin g feelings of fear fear from being corrupted and restricted by the malevolent and iniquitous nature of man. Moreover, the vulnerability of man to be seduced by power and authority establishes the central theme of the trilogy.The evil that entices man will lead him to destroy the peace and goodness that exists on earth and seek to annihilate eachone who dares to oppose him in his quest for supremacy. This poses the thought that man is feeble, unable to resist his surrender to wickedness for his personal vested interests.Sauron, the antagonist in the film trilogy, represents the avaritia for power. The ring, which Sauron seeks, is the symbolism of power, and with this power, the ability to rule all of earth according to his desires. Perhaps this builds on one cultural myth that illustrates the growing need of man to wee-wee power or a valuable face in society. As the world grows and deteriorates into a society that nurtures unfairness, inequality, deceit, war, value for money and status rather than life, the question set of people grows and changes along with it.This physique of society builds on competition, such that the more power you have, the more authority you gain to obtain what you want and need. Moreover, this descriptor of society has instilled in the minds of the people that they need to struggle and compete with other people no matter the cost, just to obtain power. Sauron is greed that grows inside every human being, always in search for that ring of power, believing it to be their saving grace to survive in the mess of the world.On a more mulish or technical perspective, the society that we live in at present is more of a capitalist society. The foundation of capitalism is built on the kind of competition already discussed in the previous paragraph. People compete for ownership and profit, without being controlled or restricted, which will lead them to occupy a highly worship position.Under the context of business, capitalists manipulate t he people into purchasing what they sell in order to earn profit and obtain ownership over the majority. Moreover, capitalists compete among themselves and will do everything at all costs to obtain an advantage over competitors.Like the characters of Isildur and Smeagol (Gollum) in the trilogy, capitalists have been corrupted by the greed for power (Sauron and the ring).Isildur was a great office and Smeagol was an innocent hobbit, however, their brief possession of the one ring has corrupted them. Isildur chose not to destroy the ring but keep it for himself in order to maintain his position as king, while Smeagol became fixated on the ring which hindered him from having a good and happy life.This is similar with what is happening now. Capitalists have built a world according to their harm where people are urged to earn more money in order to spend it on what capitalism has dictated as their wants and needs and this is all make by greed.Instead of thinking about equality and ju stice, capitalists chose to be in power and from there obtain more of it by relying on the weaknesses of the people who are at a disadvantage. The people too, who submit to the deceit that capitalists impose on them, are being tempted like Smeagol.People nowadays are never happy about earning a regular salary they have to earn more. People are not contented with having a roof above them it has to be a big dramatic art with large windows, a pool, overlooking the mountains, etc. The discontentment is caused by the influence of capitalists for people to have more, and by having more, they mean having more from them.

Notes on 5 Different Short Story

Notes on Short Story THE GIFT OF THE MAGI By O. Henry Date 26 September 2012 Title The Gift of the Magi source William Sydney Porter also known as O. Henry Background of the O. Henry O. Henry was natural on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Both his begin and father died before O. Henry turned 20. As a teenager, he worked as a pharmacists assistant in his uncles pharmaceutics to help support his family. At age 19, he moved to Texas to take advantage of its warmth and dry climate. There he worked at a upraise that belonged to a friend of his familys. Vocabulary * Instigates To cause by incitement Subsiding To sink to a low or lower level * Coax To effort to influence by gentle persuasion * Faltered To hesitate or waver in action, purpose, intent, etc. * Ravages To work havoc upon * Assertion A positive recital or declaration, often without reason or support * Tresses A plait or braid of hair * Ardent Having, expressive of, or characterized by acute feeling * D andy A man who is excessively concerned about his clothes and appearance * Manger A box or trough in a stable or barn from which horses or cattle eat Setting Christmas Eve, New York City Characters Delia Young * James Dillingham Young * Madame Sofronie Literary Devices * Allusion The magi, as you know, were wise menwonderfully wise menwho brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. * Anadiplosis And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two * Polysyndeton a period by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher. * Personification The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent soul. * Repetition looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. * Simile about her rippling and gleaming like a cascade of brown waters. * Metaphor Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. * Situational Irony Della receives combs for her hair that is no longer there. * Synecdoche tweed fingers and nimble tore the string and paper * head rhyme that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles. Symbolism The symbolism in The Gift of the Magi is based upon the gifts given by Jim and Della. Both Jim and Della gave up a possession the forfeited the importance of the gift they would receive from their spouse.The gifts showing the importance of giving everything of themselves. Theme * Love * Sacrifice * wealth * Women and Feminity Point of View Third Person THE NECKLACE BY GUY DE MAUPASSANT Date 10 October 2012 Title The Necklace Author Henri Rene Albert Guy De Maupassant Background of the Author Henri Rene Albert Guy De Maupassant was born on August 5th, 1850 and was declared deceased on July 6th, 1893. He was a French writer known for his short stories, which painted the life of people in the 19th Century of France.He was prolific, published 300 short stories and 6 novels, but he died at a very young age receivable to corporal and mental illness. Vocabulary * Blundered A gr oss, or stupid mistake * Wit The keen perception and cleverly apt expression of those connections between ideas that awaken amusement and pleasure. * Antechambers A chamber or room that serves as a waiting room and entrance to a larger room or an apartment * Peopling indefinitely or Collectively * Trifled An article or thing of very little value Setting Paris, 1880 Character * Mathilde Loisel * Monsieur Loisel Madame Forestier Literary Devices * Situational Irony * Authorial Intrusion * anaphora * Alliteration Symbolism The Necklace The necklace, beautiful but worthless, represents the power of perception and the split between appearances and reality. Mathilde wants to borrow the necklace from Madame Forestier, but she did not tell Mathilde that it was a fake. Mathilde never underestimated Madame Forestier due to her wealth. Themes * Wealth * Women and Feminity * Pride * Suffering A Very over-the-hill Man with Enormous Wings By Gabriel Garcia Marquez Date 31 October 2012Title A V ery Old Man with Enormous Wings Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez Background of the Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born on March 6th, 1928. He was a writer who grew up listening to family tales. His novels and cook drawn worldwide audiences. He won the Nobel Prize in 1982. After College, he became a journalist who introduced readers to magical realism. Vocabulary * Stupor Suspension or great diminution of sensibility as in disease or as caused by narcotics, intoxicants, etc. Grandeur The quality or state of beingness impressive * Dialect A variety of language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially. * Bailiff An officer, similar to a sheriff or a sheriffs deputy, employed to execute writs and processes, make arrests, forestall order in the court, etc. * Reverence A feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with aw e * Frivolous Characterize by leave out of seriousness or sense * Robust Strong and Healthy Impertinences Unmannerly intrusion or presumption Setting Characters * The Old Man * Pelayo * Elisenda * Father Gonzaga * The inhabit Woman * The roamer Woman Literary Devices * Verbal Irony * Synesthesia * Magical Realism * Onomatopoeia * Allusion Symbolism * Wings Wings represent power, speed and unlimited freedom in motion. Ironically, the wings of the angel in the story convey only a sense of age and disease. When the village doctor examines the old man, he notices how naturally the wings fit in with the rest of his body.The ultimate effect is to suggest that the old man is both natural and supernatural at once. * The Spider Woman The spider woman represents the fickleness with which many self-interested people approach their own faith. Not surprisingly, the old mans reputation wanes when he proves surefooted of performing only minor consolation miracles. Themes * Family * Moral * Re ligion * Magical Realism The baby-walker By Ray Bradbury Date 7 November 2012 Title The Pedestrian Author Ray Bradbury Background of the Author Ray Bradbury was born on August 22nd, 1920, Waukegan, Illinois.He was an American fantasy and horror author who rejected being categorise as a sci-fi author, claiming that his work was based on the fantastical and unreal. His best known novel is Fahrenheit 451. He is also remembered for other of his popular plant including and . He was declared deceased just recently, June 5th, 2012 at the age of 91. Vocabulary * Seams The line formed by sewing together pieces of cloth, leather, or the like. * Intermittent tenia or ceasing for a time * Wintry Of or characteristic of winter * Doot N/ASetting November, 2053 A. D. Characters * Leonard Mead Literary Devices * Personification * Imagery * Symbolism * Simile * Metaphor * Alliteration * Irony Symbolism On their way to the psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies, they pass Meads house. It is ablaze with lights in contrast to the downcast city. It is a symbol of hope of vibrant life light is a universal symbol of hope, but the car is swallowed up once more into the darkness, literally and figuratively. Themes * Technology * Society loses its humanity * Mankind cease to exist * Distrust and Ultimate Destruction * Propaganda * Pessimistic

Corrido and Conjunto

Re ripe each of the three medication genres that developed on the Texas-Mexican border to its cultural backdrop and the group associated with its widespread acceptance and dissemination. How did it change oer time? Corrido The corrido has roots back to Spanish descendents in the 12th century. By the 15th century, the style was much developed besides the corrido really emerged after the Mexican-American War in 1846. This style became very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Mexico, and eventually Texas.The corrido showcased the change in the role of Mexicans in relation to Americans. Songs often spoke of events, tragedies, or conflicts. The poems were very racially foc design and would often act as protest to the social prejudices that they faced. after(prenominal) World War II, the theme changed to cover the necessary changes in social structure. The reading The New Chicano Heroic Corrido by Jose Villarino discusses studies by Vicente Mendoza, the leading schol ar in studies of the corrido. Mendoza finds that the subject of the corrido has constantly changed over time.He lists many topics that hand been the focus of corrido music over the years historical, r exploitationaries, bravery, killings, political, robbers, jailing, rapes, persecutions, murders, evil, tragedies, horses, and a number of some other categories. The reading as well as states, Another category of corridos is that of focusingon women heroines instead of the traditional male heroes. maven singer who made corridos popular was Lydia Mendoza. She is given credit for over cc songs. She render and accompanied herself by biding a 12-string guitar. Corrido used to just be sung a cappella, further she helped change this part of the culture of the corrido. stem was founded by Spanish descendents in 1100-1200 AD * Well developed by 15th century * Emerged after Mex-Am War (1846-1848) * Became very popular in late 19th, early 20th century in Mexico * Documented change in role of Mexicans in relation to Americans * Very racially focused (social protest agains prejudice) * After WWII, new theme, changes in social structure Conjunto The conjunto style of music began in the late 19th century along the Mexican-American border. It was a style of music for the work carve up that was made up of the accordion and the bajo sexto.The bajo sexto was originally used as a bass, but then became more commonly used as a regular guitar. In the 1930s, it spread through the southwestern United States with the help of the father of conjunto music, Narciso Martinez. He focused his music around a fast-paced accordion. Valerio Longoria added onto what Martinez began. practically referred to as the genius of conjunto, he tweaked his accordion to make it sound a bit different, and people have been act to replicate it ever since. He alike added drums and vocals to the music, which it didnt have when the genre began.His music thrived after the Second World War. He helped rais e the music to a higher level, but not to the amphetamine class. The reading Musica Fronteriza/Border Music by Manuel Pena hinted at the causes of conjunto music. It states, It is little to an understanding of the conjuntos significance that its complex social context be taken into account. Its growth was a response to interethnic conflict of course, but it was, above all, a response to intra-ethnic class friction. This was why it did not want to be seen as a song for those of the upper class.The working class took pride in their conjunto. Eventually, a man named Flacco Jimenez, advanced the genre more, by combining tejano music with country/western music from American popularity. * Emerged in the late 19th century along the border * Bajo Sexto, first used as bass, then as guitar * Humble, rural origins * Working class dance music * In 1930s, spread through Southwest US (Arizona, Cali, etc) * Narciso Martinez, father of conjunto music, focused on fast-paced accordion * Valerio Lo ngoria, tweaked his accordion, people have been trying to replicate it ever since.Added drums. * splendour of conjunto music, added vocals, thrived in post WWII. Raised to a higher value, but not upper class. Orquesta Speaking of upper class, this was where the orquesta thrived. It was developed in the 1930s, to give the upper class Mexicans a version of American ballroom dances, such as the swing and waltz. Many orquesta bands played the popular American songs, but new songs were also made, and were a good bit more popular. Noted by Pena in an interview with a member of an orquesta band, The first hour we play nothing but American music and nobodys dancing.Then we take off with Los Laureles, El Abandonado Ranchera, everybody starts dancing. These songs are examples of orquesta dances such as Danzon, Bolero, Rumba, and Guaracha. In the 60s and 70s, orquesta is said to have fused with American jazz and rock. Pena again notes, The old fashioned orquestas disappeared soon after the a dvent of the Mexican-American Generation. They were replaced by the surging, modern-style orquestas, which were capable not only of keeping alert the Mexican-Americans musical roots, but also of catering to the new generations more modern and Americanized outlook. In the 1940s and 50s, a man named Beto Villa (the father of the Mexican-American orquesta) complex the Tex-Mex Polka style with American swing and foxtrot, creating a very new version of orquesta music. In the 60s and 70s, Little Joe Hernandez and his family became a very popular orquesta band. Compare and secernate the three styles in terms of form, lyrics, instrumentation and performance practice. Corrido (Ballad) The term Corrido described a type of song that was often very racially focused, telling a story about the prejudice that the Mexican-Americans were facing (this was especially true after World War II).The song El Corrido de Joaquin Murrieta told a story about a thief that they often referred to as the Mexica n Robin Hood. Another song, El Corrido de Kiansis detailed a cattle drive by Americans that was going very poorly. xxx American cattle drivers were failing to control the 500 cattle, but then five Mexicans showed up and had the cattle rounded up in 15 minutes. at that place were also Jarchas that told a story about the composers feelings or thoughts. They were often written in Strophic form based on copla, which had 4 puffs, 8 syllables per line, and create verbally every 2nd and 4th line.They used to be sung a cappella, but are now often accompanied by a guitar. One artist that made this very popular was Lydia Mendoza who sang and played a 12-string guitar. She had over 200 songs to her name. Corridos were usually sung in any manner that check the passing of a story, like while traveling, around a campfire, or just at home. Lyrics were passed orally and this often lead to speech being changed over the years. * Very racially focused (social protest agains prejudice) * Strophi c Form * Jarchas (songs about the composers feeling, thoughts, and ideas) * Told a story Based on copla (4 lines, 8 syllables, 2&4 rhyme) * strain A Capella, now some include guitar * El Corrido de Kiansis (Cattle Drivers failed, mexicans succeed) * El Corrido de Joaquin Murrieta (Mexican Robin Hood) * Lydia Mendoza, singer and 12 string guitar (200+ songs) * Performance Practice Passed orally, often changing words, sang while traveling, at home, etc. Telling story. Conjunto The conjunto was considered the soul of tejano music. It was a type of dance music meant for the cantina, bar, or party (eventually, it would make its way to concerts).These songs originated without lyrics, as words would cause it to become more upper-class. However, eventually the songs would develop lyrics about common life, working, and women, which kept it from becoming upper-class. The reading Musica Fronteriza/Border Music by Manuel Pena hinted at the causes of conjunto music. It states, It is critical to an understanding of the conjuntos significance that its complex social context be taken into account. Its emergence was a response to interethnic conflict of course, but it was, above all, a response to intra-ethnic class friction. They were written in strophic form. Instruments for the conjunto included the accordion and bajo sexto (which was originally used as a bass, but was eventually used as a guitar). A famous accordion was that of Valerio Longoria, the genius of conjunto music. He tweaked his accordion to sound different, and people have been trying to replicate it ever since. He also added drums to the conjunto scene. Flacco Jimenez was also very important to the advancement of conjunto music, as he combined it with Country Western music from America (most notably Johnny Cashs plangency of Fire). The soul of Tejano music * Dance music * Cantina music * Songs about women and life * For the working class * Valerio Longoria, tweaked his accordion, people have been trying to r eplicate it ever since. Added drums. * Genius of conjunto music, added vocals, thrived in post WWII. * Flacco Jimenez (Ring of Fire), combined tejano with country music, big time performer * Little Joe Hernandez, kinda orquesta, but also referenced in conjunto * Strophic form * Didnt have lyrics at first, thought lyrics were for the wealthy * Added lyrics about life, women, troubles, etc. Used to be bajo sexto and accordion, then added drums and guitar and many other simple intruments * Shows, cantinas, parties, bars * Orquesta The orquesta walks the thin line surrounded by Mexican and American culture. It combines the tejano music with the style of American ballroom varieties. The orquesta was centered around the upper-class Mexicans as their version of an American ballroom dance. It began with violin, but eventually added brass, percussion, and other big band instruments. It incorporated the likes of waltz and swing music.When learning about the orquesta in class, Leah had said t hat there was no form. Orquesta music was used in upper-class parties or balls. Unlike other tejano music, it was not passed down by ear. Since this was the upper class, sheet music was used to pass down the songs. * stop number class dance music * Started with violin * Added brass, percussion, big band instruments * Incorporated waltz, swing, etc * Leah said there was no form Compare and contrast the religious traditions of Afro Cuban Santaria and African American Christian slaves on southern plantationsThe Santaria is the largest Afro-Cuban religion, and is the Cuban mix of Yoruba odouruality with Roman Catholicism. The first thing I noticed was different between the Afro Cuban Santaria and African American slaves was the role of race. This undoubtably played a big role in their religion as well. In Cuba, it is said that race was not an issue as it was in America. Since religion was so often used by slaves as a way to stay optimistic about their situation, this was a clear diffe rence. Another difference was the worship of Orishas, which the Cubans believed to be a spirit or deity that reflects one of the manifestations of God.In a way, this can be compared to a apotheosis in the Catholic Church. The Godess of Love and Fertility in Afro-Cuban worship was called Oshun. It was said that this was one of the first Orishas that an outsider would discover. As African American slaves were not allowed to use drums with their songs, the Afro-Cubans would use Bata drums that are said to hold an indwelling deity named Ana. These were drums sacred to their religion, and used for funerals, initiations, and other important ceremonies.Contrasting from regular sacraments of the Christian faith, the Afro-Cubans had an event called the Toque de Santo. It is an day of remembrance of initiation to honor the spirits. There is singing and dancing accompanied by the Bata drums. This ceremony would create an altered state of consciousness that they believed to be involved with sp irit possession. This altered state of spirit possession was also present with African American Christian slaves. Trace the evolution and development of the Steel Band. Trace the evolution and development of the Calypso.

Economic Development Programs Essay

Within my community, there atomic account 18 several development plans which have been established for the purposes of do the community more directly participative in economic development. Such programs allow agricultural development programs, transaction development programs as well as high education economic development programs. These programs entrust be addressed in this paper, with specific attention to the key actors/players in the programs, the short and long marches goals of these programs, and in addition the political and economic issues they face in the process of promoting economic development in the region.Agricultural finance programs To begin with, there are special bestow programs for new ranchers and farmers in this region, the most infamous one being the Aggie Bond Beginning Farmer Loan Programs. Through Aggie Board Loan Programs, the state helps the saucily established farmers in the region to obtain loans for purchasing land and equipments, for breeding farm animals and for the construction of farm buildings (NCOSAFP, 2010).The main players/actors in Aggie Bond Program include the lending institutions (which are in collaboration with the state administration), state administration itselfplaying the role of assisting beginner farmers and ranchers to obtain low rate interest loans which are exempt from federal income taxand the ranchers/farmers who participate in the program. The federal government is also indirectly involved in these programs since it is the one that facilitates the provision of tax granting immunity on the interest income.Besides obtaining loans at reduced interest rates, the fiscal risks on loans solely rest with the lending institutions which have established for these purposes (NCOSAFP, 2010). The short terminal figure goals of Aggie Bond Programs are to act as the capital base for individuals or federations within the state who desire to engage in ranching, farming or both, only lack adequate financial res ources to do so (NCOSAFP, 2010). In so doing, they provide all the necessary financial resources to individuals and transfer the credit decisions to the lending institutions.On the former(a) hand, the long term goal of Aggie Board Programs is to facilitate economic growth and development within the state and the nation at large, by best utilization of the agricultural resources within the state and taking advantage of the tax-exempt provisions by the federal government. The program also aims at encouraging the disembodied spirit of entrepreneurship within the state through assisting potential entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector to unleash their potential (NCOSAFP, 2010).The key economic problem that the actors in these programs face is more often than not the failure of the farmers to repay loans granted due to unproductive farm activities or catastrophes which damage the farming/ ranching establishmentespecially nature catastrophes (NCOSAFP, 2010). This becomes a about-fa ce all the players involved because the farmers undergoes serious financial losses, the lender incurs bad debts, the state and the federal government loses the potential economic contribution from the entrepreneur.Political issues on the other hand arise from the Aggie bond allocations and apportionments among the lending bodies. For instance, after a serious debate on the farm bill, the maximum bond allocation was increased from $469 cc in 2009 to 470,100 this year and the actors have been involved in political discussions regarding the meager increments and how it would be equally apportioned to the lending institutions (NCOSAFP, 2010). Business financing programs The other symbol of economic development programs are the business financing development programs.These programs are so closely related to the Aggie Bond Programs in that they offer loans for many kinds of business businessmen in the state. However, there is a slight different from the one discussed above because this p rogram finances both established as well as new business-people in the industry. For the new entrants, capital is provided while for the already actual business people, the required funds for activities such as expansion and boosting for those experiencing serious financial traps is availed (OK Commerce, 2010).The actors in these programs are established lending institutions and the business community. They include Economic Development Administration, the Bureau Of Indian Affairs Loan Guaranty Fund, The Industrial finance Authority, Capital Access Program, and the Linked Deposit Loan Programs. The short term goals of these programs is to provide short term business financing to the business community to reckon short term cash problems, while the long term goals are to offer long term low interest loans to major business persons/ institutions to mold serious and long range financial issues (OK Commerce, 2010).Mostly, these programs do not face much political issues as compared to the economic issues which are tied to the unsecured loans and competition. plot of ground the unsecured loans may sometimes compel the lending institution to file cases in the legal system against errant and faulting business people, the competition from other existing lending institutions makes them too congested in the estate (OK Commerce, 2010). Higher education programs The state also has a Higher Education Economic Development Program.This program is designed in such way as to generate partnerships between businesses and high education institutions within the state in order to nurture higher learning via State Regents Economic Development Grants. Nominations are made from the institutions and assessed by State Regents staff committee. Submissions are made just once for every partnership, and a limit of twenty five recognitions can be made annually (OK Highered, 2010). The actors in this program are basically partnering institutions, which usually pay $500 set up by the stat e regents.The money provided is used for internships for students of institutions to work in the enterprises of partnering business, faculty externships with partnering businesses, tuition waivers to partnering businesses staff members, and development of partnerships with supplementary equipment, supplies and materials (OK Highered, 2010). The short term and long term a goal of this program is the same to facilitate economic development through partnering for the purposes of higher education.In so doing, the partnering members are able to assist each(prenominal) other in catering for the expenses of higher education to ensure that none is left out. In addition, they promote economic growth growth of the member businesses through materials and other kinds of supplies using the funds contributed by each partner (OK Highered, 2010). Just like the other economic development programs mentioned above, this program also faces a number of political and economical problems in its endeavors to accomplish goals and objectives.On the economic part, the program currently has a capacity of twenty two member universities and sometimes, the resources available from the partnership funds cannot meet all the needs of the partners consequently, the process of assisting members cater for higher education needs has to take longer than the members desire (OK Highered, 2010). This basically, has the result of slowing cut down the accomplishment of goals and also sometimes results to withdraw of some impatient partners.In addition, the members have too much higher education needs such that the partnership has only to cater for a small percentage of the required amounts. In so doing, the economic goals are partially and not wholly accomplished. Politically, the program is not affected by external politics, but rather by internal politics among the members which mostly results from conflicting interests amongst the members and also in the selection of the leaders who will foresee th e management of operations and finances (OK Highered, 2010).However, such issues have been solved successfully within the environs of the partnership. References NCOSAFP (2010). Types of state agricultural finance programs. Retrieved from http//www. stateagfinance. org/types. html OK Commerce (2010). Business financing programs. Retrieved from http//www. okcommerce. gov/Start-A-Business/Financing-Programs/ OK Highered (2010). Economic development grant for the partnership development program. Retrieved from http//www. okhighered. org/econ-dev/partner-recog. shtml

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt became president in September 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley devising him the most powerful person in the government. As president, Roosevelt advanced political reforms, including the heavy regulation of business. Roosevelt was the for the first time president to successfully invoke the Sherman Antitrust human action against monopolies and continued to restrict businesses throughout his presidency. His reforms greatly influenced economic, environmental, and international affairs as well.Roosevelts platform became known as the Square Deal beca recitation he vowed non to favor any group of Americans but to be fair to all. When Theodore Roosevelt went into office he made it his mission to get everyone what they deserved, a square dispense. The square deal meant that everyone had the same equal opportunities. Theodore Roosevelt became one of the most powerful presidents that attacked trusts and corporations to make them just so that everyone cou ld prosper. Methodology I took many steps in my research.First I was assigned my upshot The Square Deal. So I went and opened my history textbook and looked up my topic to get a general meaning of it. My first step was preparing for my research by brainstorming ideas and possible sources for my topic. Also I formed research questions about my focused topic. I narrowed down my topic to make it manageable and planned how I was going to do my research. Next I accessed my resources by deciding what resources would be best, choosing a few primary and alternate sources.After, I processed the information, where I looked closely at the information from my selected sources and decided if they might be helpful towards my assigned topic. For example the main concepts like setting information, certain effects from the topic, political views and perspectives. Then I organized the information in different categories, and developed my own ideas about them, which would help me form an describe f or my research paper.Results The Square Deal was President Theodore Roosevelts domestic program formed upon four basic ideas of conservation, regulating business monopolies, nforcing the anti-trust act, and supporting progressive ideas. The tether Cs of his Square Deal were control of corporations, consumer protection, and conservation of natural resources. Roosevelt was committed to addressing the problems of labor and corporate activity. Roosevelt defended the right of labor to organize, and avoid the use of federal troops to fructify down strikes. In 1902, he intervened in a United Mine Workers Strike and helped labor get management to agree to binding arbitration.The arbitrators awarded the miners a plight increase and a shortened workday. Roosevelt also worked to restrict the power of big business by breaking up a monopoly. Also responding to the muckrakers on the unhealthy conditions in food plants and the dangerous ingredients in foods and medicines, Roosevelt endorsed th e Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, both passed in 1906. The first act forbidden the sale of inaccurately labeled foods and medicines, and the second established federal regulations for meatpackers and a system of inspection.Roosevelt was at heart a preservationist, but understood the need for compromise. He achieved this compromise through his conservation program, which provided for the regulated use of the nations wilderness. Roosevelt designated 200 million acres as national forests, mineral reserves, and potential waterpower sites, and added vanadium national parks and eighteen national monuments to the list of protected lands. In 1908 Roosevelt created the National Conservation Commission to inventory the nations resources and manage their use more efficiently.Having become president shortly after the American victory in the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was confident in Americas status as a major international power and his approach on his foreign policy . Roosevelts most notable achievement in foreign policy was the building of the leghorn Canal, an artificial waterway stretching through Panama, which was then part of Colombia. Since the canal connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and vastly shortened shipping routes, Roosevelt saw its induction as important to American economic and maritime interests.These were all major parts of Roosevelts Square Deal that made a impact in restoring America. To this day the action which Roosevelt took in the matter is looked upon, by many of those extremists who cant see anything good in big business, as a deduction of his undue sympathy with the capitalist. But thirteen years later the United States Supreme Court in deciding the case against the United States Steel pot happened to be in favor of the Corporation, which completely justified Roosevelts action.

Pre-Socratic Philosophers Essay

Pre-Socratic is the expression commonly used to describe those Hellenic thinkers who lived and wrote between 600 and 400 B.C. It was the Pre-Socratics who attempted to find universal principles which would explain the immanent arena from its origins to mans place in it. Although Socrates died in 399 B.C., the term Pre-Socratic indicates non so in truth overmuch(prenominal) a chronological limit, s manger rather an discloselook or range of interests, an outlook attacked by both(prenominal) Protagoras (a Sophist) and Socrates, be energise indwelling philosophy was worthless when compargond with the search for the good life.To give the Pre-Socratic thinkers their full due would require an term of encyclopedic scope. Given that, I view as decided to list a number of sites on unmarried Pre-Socratic thinkers.Anaximander1.Life and SourcesThe history of scripted Greek philosophy starts with Anaximander of Miletus in Asia venial, a fel number 1-citizen of Thales. He was the f irst who d bed to relieve a treatise in prose, which has been cal take customs all toldy On Nature. This book has been lost, although it probably was available in the library of the middledle school at the quantify of Aristotle and his successor Theophrastus. It is said that Apollodorus, in the second century BCE, stumbled upon a copy of it, perhaps in the far-famed library of Alexandria. Recently, evidence has appe atomic number 18d that it was part of the collection of the library of Taormina in Sicily, where a s surd of a catalogue has been rig, on which Anaximanders name faecal matter be read. Only angiotensin-converting enzyme sherd of the book has induce d possess to us, quoted by Simplicius ( subsequently Theophrastus), in the sixth century AD.It is perhaps the closely famous and most discussed phrase in the history of philosophy.We too k at present very little of Anaximanders life. He is said to watch led a mission that founded a colony called Apollonia on the coast of the grim Sea. He also probably introduced the gnomon (a perpendicular sun-dial) into Greece and erected one in Sparta. So he seems to film been a much-traveled man, which is not astonishing, as the Milesians were cognise to be audacious sailors. It is also reported that he displayed solemn courtesy and wore pompous garments.Most of the entropy on Anaximander germs from Aristotle and his pupil Theophrastus, whose book on the history of philosophy was used, excerpted, and quoted by m either an(prenominal) other authors, the so-called doxographers, before it was lost. Sometimes, in these texts words or expressions appear that can with few certainty be ascribedto Anaximander himself. Relatively many testimonies, approximately one third of them, have to do with astronomical and cosmological questions. Hermann Diels and Walter Kranz have edited the doxography (A) and the endureing texts (B) of the Presocratic philosophers in Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, Berlin 1951-1 9526. (A quotation akin DK 12A17 subject matter Diels/Kranz, Anaximander, doxographical report no.17).2. The absolute as PrincipleAccording to Aristotle and Theophrastus, the first Greek philosophers were looking for the origin or principle (the Greek word arch has both conveys) of all things. Anaximander is said to have identified it with the Boundless or the Unlimited (Greek apeiron, that is, that which has no boundaries). Already in ancient times, it is complained that Anaximander did not explain what he meant by the Boundless. More recently, authors have disputed whether the Boundless should be interpreted as spatially or temporarily without limits, or perhaps as that which has no qualifications, or as that which is inexhaustible. Some scholars have even out defended the meaning that which is not experienced, by relating the Greek word apeiron not to peras (boundary, limit), however to perao (to experience, to ap get the picture).The suggestion, however, is intimately u nresisting that Greek philosophy, by making the Boundless into the principle of all things, has started on a high level of abstraction. On the other hand, nigh have pointed out that this use of apeiron is atypical for Greek suasion, which was occupied with limit, dimension and harmony. The Pythagoreans placed the boundless (the apeiron) on the list of negative things, and for Aristotle, too, perfection became aligned with limit (Greek peras), and thus apeiron with imperfection. Therefore, roughly authors suspect eastern (Iranian) influence on Anaximanders ideas. Anaximenes (d. 528 BCE)According to the surviving sources on his life, Anaximenes flourished in the mid 6th century BCE and died around 528. He is the third philosopher of the Milesian School of philosophy, so named because like Thales and Anaximander, Anaximenes was an inhabitant of Miletus, in Ionia (ancient Greece). Theophrastus notes that Anaximenes was an associate, and possibly a student, of Anaximanders.Anaximene s is best known for his dogma that wrinkle is the source of all things. In this way, he differed with his predecessors like Thales, who held that water is the source of all things, and Anaximander, who thought that all things came from an unspecified boundless stuff.2. Doctrine of convinceGiven his doctrine that all things are composed of air, Anaximenes suggested an interesting qualitative sexual conquest of natural repositionAir differs in stub in accordance with its rarity or density. When it is thinned it becomes fire, while when it is condensed it becomes wind, then cloud, when gloss over much condensed it becomes water, then earth, then stones. Everything else comes from these. (DK13A5) Influence on later PhilosophyAnaximenes theory of successive neuter of matter by rarefaction and condensation was influential in later theories. It is developed by Heraclitus (DK22B31), and criticized by Parmenides (DK28B8.23-24, 47-48). Anaximenes world(a) theory of how the materials of the world arise is adopted by Anaxagoras(DK59B16), even though the latter has a very different theory of matter. Both Melissus (DK30B8.3) and Plato (Timaeus 49b-c) see Anaximenes theory as providing a common-sense explanation of change. Diogenes of Apollonia makes air the root word of his explicitly monistic theory. The Hippocratic treatise On Breaths uses air as the central concept in a theory of diseases. By providing cosmological accounts with a theory of change, Anaximenes separated them from the reallym of mere speculation and make them, at least in conception, scientific theories capable of testing.Thales of Miletus (c. 620 BCE c. 546 BCE)The ancient Greek philosopher Thales was born in Miletus in Greek Ionia. Aristotle, the major source for Thaless philosophy and science, identified Thales as the first mortal to canvass the basic principles, the question of the originating substances of matter and, thusly, as the founder of the school of natural philosophy. Thales wa s interested in almost everything, investigating almost all areas of knowledge, philosophy, history, science, math, engineering, geography, and politics. Heproposed theories to explain many of the events of nature, the primary substance, the support of the earth, and the cause of change. Thales was much involved in the problems of astronomy and provided a number of explanations of cosmological events which traditionally involved supernatural entities.His teasing approach to the understanding of heavenly phenomena was the fountain of Greek astronomy. Thales hypotheses were new and bold, and in freeing phenomena from godly intervention, he paved the way towards scientific endeavor. He founded the Milesian school of natural philosophy, developed the scientific method, and initiated the first westward enligh decennaryment. A number of anecdotes is closely connected to Thales investigations of the cosmos. When considered in association with his hypotheses they take on added meaning a nd are most enlightening. Thales was highly esteemed in ancient times, and a letter cited by Diogenes Laertius, and purporting to be from Anaximenes to Pythagoras, cognizant that all our discourse should begin with a reference to Thales (D.L. II.4).1. The Writings of ThalesDoubts have always existed about whether Thales wrote anything, alone a number of ancient reports credit him with writings. Simplicius (Diels, Dox. p. 475) specifically attri scarceed to Thales authorship of the so-called Nautical Star-guide. Diogenes Laertius raised doubts about authenticity, but wrote that according to others Thales wrote zipper but two treatises, one On the Solstice and one On the equinoctial point (D.L. I.23). Lobon of Argus asserted that the writings of Thales amounted to two hundred lines (D.L. I.34), and Plutarch associated Thales with opinions and accounts expressed in verse (Plutarch, De Pyth. or. 18. 402 E). Hesychius, recorded that Thales wrote on celestial matters in epic verse, on the equinox, and much else (DK, 11A2). Callimachus credited Thales with the sage advice that navigators should navigate by Ursa Minor (D.L. I.23), advice which whitethorn have been in writing.Diogenes signifys a poet, Choerilus, who declared that Thales was the first to maintain the immortality of the soul (D.L. I.24), and in De Anima, Aristotles words from what is recorded about Thales, indicate that Aristotle was working from a written source. Diogenes recorded thatThales seems by round accounts to have been the first to study astronomy, the first to predict eclipses of the sun and to fix the solstices so Eudemus in his floor of uranology. It was this which gained for him the admiration of Xenophanes and Herodotus and the notice of Heraclitus and Democritus (D.L. I.23). Eudemus who wrote a History of Astronomy, and also on geometry and theology, must be considered as a possible source for the hypotheses of Thales. The information provided by Diogenes is the sort of material w hich he would have included in his History of Astronomy, and it is possible that the titles On the Solstice, and On the Equinox were available to Eudemus.Xenophanes, Herodotus, Heraclitus and Democritus were familiar with the work of Thales, and may have had a work by Thales available to them. A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each course of instruction when the fair weather reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the North or South Pole. The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination that is, the seasonal movement of the Suns path (as seen from Earth) comes to a stop before reversing direction. The solstices, together with the equinoxes, are connected with the seasons.In many cultures the solstices mark either the beginning or the midpoint of winter and summer. The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the date (day) when this occur s. The day of the solstice is either the longest day of the socio-economic class (in summer) or the shortest day of the year (in winter) for any place on Earth, because the length of time between sunrise and sun pose on that day is the yearly maximum or minimum for that place. Proclus recorded that Thales was followed by a great wealth of geometers, most of whom remain as honoured names. They commence with Mamercus, who was a pupil of Thales, and include Hippias of Elis, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Eudoxus of Cnidus, Philippus of Mende, Euclid, and Eudemus, a friend of Aristotle, who wrote histories of arithmetic, of astronomy, and of geometry, and many lesser known names. It is possible that writings of Thales were available to some of these men.Any records which Thales may have kept would have been an advantage in his own work. This is especially true of mathematics, of the dates and times heady when fixing the solstices, the positions of stars, and infinancial transactions. It is difficult to believe that Thales would not have written down the information he had gathered in his travels, particularly the geometry he investigated in Egypt and his measuring of the height of the pyramid, his hypotheses about nature, and the cause of change.Proclus acknowledged Thales as the discoverer of a number of specific theorems (A Commentary on the First contain of Euclids Elements 65. 8-9 250. 16-17). This suggests that Eudemus, Procluss source had before him the written records of Thaless discoveries. How did Thales prove his theorems if not in written words and sketches? The works On the Solstice, On the Equinox, which were attributed to Thales (D.L. I.23), and the Nautical Star guide, to which Simplicius referred, may have been sources for the History of Astronomy of Eudemus (D.L. I.23). Pythagoras (c.570c.495 BCE)The pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Pythagoras must have been one of the worlds greatest persons, but he wrote nothing, and it is hard to say how much of the doctrine we know as Pythagorean is due to the founder of the society and how much is later development. It is also hard to say how much of what we are told about the life of Pythagoras is trustworthy for a mass of legend gathered around his name at an early date. Sometimes he is delineate as a man of science, and sometimes as a preacher of mystic doctrines, and we might be tempted to regard one or other of those characters as alone historical. The truth is that there is no contend to reject either of the traditional views.The union of mathematical genius and mysticism is common enough. Originally from Samos, Pythagoras founded at Kroton (in southern Italy) a society which was at once a religious community and a scientific school. Such a body was bound to excite jealousy and mistrust, and we hear of many struggles. Pythagoras himself had to flee from Kroton to Metapontion, where he died.It is stated that he was a disciple of Anaximander, his astronomy was the natural development o f Anaximanders. Also, the way in which the Pythagorean geometry developed also bears witness to its descent from that of Miletos. The great problem at this date was the duplication of the square, a problem which gave rise to the theorem of the square on the hypotenuse, commonlyknown still as the Pythagorean proposal of marriage (Euclid, I. 47). If we were right in assuming that Thales worked with the old 345 triangle, the connection is obvious.Pythagoras argued that there are three kinds of men, just as there are three classes of strangers who come to the Olympic Games. The lowest consists of those who come to buy and sell, and next above them are those who come to compete. Best of all are those who simply come to look on. Men may be classified accordingly as lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain. That seems to imply the doctrine of the three-way soul, which is also attributed to the early Pythagoreans on good authority, though it is common now to ascribe it to Pla to. There are, however, crystallize references to it before his time, and it agrees much better with the general outlook of the Pythagoreans.The comparison of humans life to a forum like the Games was often repeated in later days. Pythagoras also taught the doctrine of Rebirth or transmigration, which we may have learned from the contemporary Orphics. Xenophanes made fun of him for pretending to recognize the voice of a gone(a) friend in the howls of a beaten dog. Empedocles seems to be referring to him when he speaks of a man who could remember what happened ten or twenty generations before. It was on this that the doctrine of Recollection, which plays so great a part in Plato, was based. The things we perceive with the senses, Plato argues, remind us of things we knew when the soul was out of the body and could perceive reality directly.There is more than difficultness about the cosmology of Pythagoras. Hardly any school ever professed such reverence for its founders authori ty as the Pythagoreans. The Master said so was their watchword. On the other hand, few schools have shown so much capacity for progress and for adapting themselves to new conditions. Pythagoras started from the cosmical arrangement of Anaximenes. Aristotle tells us that the Pythagoreans even uped the world as inhaling air form the boundless mass outside it, and this air is identified with the unlimited. When, however, we come to the process by which things are developed out of the unlimited, we observe a great change.We hear nothing more of separating out or even of rarefaction and condensation. Instead of that we have the theory that what gives form to theUnlimited is the Limit. That is the great role of Pythagoras to philosophy, and we must try to understand it. instantaneously the function of the Limit is usually illustrated from the arts of music and medicine, and we have seen how Copernican these two arts were for Pythagoreans, so it is natural to infer that the key to its meaning is to be found in them.It may be taken as certain that Pythagoras himself discovered the numerical ratios which determine the consistent intervals of the musical scale. Similar to musical intervals, in medicine there are opposites, such as the sweltry and the cold, the wet and the dry, and it is the business of the physician to produce a proper blend of these in the human body. In a well-known tip overage of Platos Phaedo (86 b) we are told by Simmias that the Pythagoreans held the body to be st contributeg like an instrument to a certain pitch, hot and cold, wet and dry taking the place of high and low in music. Musical tuning and health are alike means arising from the application of Limit to the Unlimited. It was natural for Pythagoras to look for something of the same kind in the world at large. Briefly stated, the doctrine of Pythagoras was that all things are numbers. In certain fundamental cases, the early Pythagoreans represented numbers and explained their pro perties by means of dots arranged in certain human bodys or patterns. Zenos ParadoxesIn the fifth century B.C.E., Zeno of Elea offered arguments that led to conclusions contradicting what we all know from our bodily experiencethat branchs toy, that arrows fly, and that there are many different things in the world. The arguments were paradoxes for the ancient Greek philosophers. Because most of the arguments rescind crucially on the notion that berth and time are infinitely divisiblefor example, that for any withdrawnness there is such a thing as half that distance, and so onZeno was the first person in history to show that the concept of infinity is problematical.In his Achilles Paradox, Achilles races to catch a slower runnerfor example, a tortoise that is crawling away from him. The tortoise has a head start, so if Achilles hopes to overtake it, he must run at least to the place where the tortoise presently is, but by the time he arrives there, it bequeath have crawled to a new place, so then Achilles must run to this new place, but thetortoise meanwhile will have crawled on, and so forth. Achilles will never catch the tortoise, says Zeno. Therefore, good reasoning shows that fast runners never can catch slow ones. So much the worse for the claim that motion really occurs, Zeno says in vindication of his mentor Parmenides who had argued that motion is an illusion.Although practically no scholars today would agree with Zenos conclusion, we can not leakage the paradox by jumping up from our seat and chasing down a tortoise, nor by saying Achilles should run to some other target place ahead of where the tortoise is at the moment. What is required is an analysis of Zenos own argument that does not get us embroiled in new paradoxes nor impoverish our mathematics and science.This condition explains his ten known paradoxes and considers the treatments that have been offered. Zeno assumed distances and durations can be divided into an actual infinity (wha t we now call a transfinite infinity) of undividable parts, and he assumed these are too many for the runner to complete. Aristotles treatment said Zeno should have assumed there are only potential infinities, and that neither places nor times divide into indivisible parts. His treatment became the generally accepted solution until the late 19th century. The current sample treatment says Zeno was right to conclude that a runners path contains an actual infinity of parts, but he was sliden to assume this is too many.This treatment employs the apparatus of calculus which has proved its indispensability for the development of modern science. In the twentieth century it finally became clear that disallowing actual infinities, as Aristotle wanted, hampers the growth of set theory and ultimately of mathematics and physics. This standard treatment took hundreds of years to perfect and was due to the flexibility of intellectuals who were uncoerced to replace old theories and their conce pts with more fruitful ones, despite the damage done to common sense and our crude intuitions. The article ends by exploring newer treatments of the paradoxesand related paradoxes such as Thomsons Lamp Paradoxthat were developed since the 1950s.Parmenides (b. 510 BCE)Parmenides was a Greek philosopher and poet, born of an illustrious family about BCE. 510, at Elea in Lower Italy, and is is the chief representative of the Eleatic philosophy. He was held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens for his excellent legislation, to which they ascribed the prosperity and wealth of the town. He was also admired for his model(a) life. A Parmenidean life was proverbial among the Greeks. He is commonly represented as a disciple of Xenophanes. Parmenides wrote after Heraclitus, and in conscious opposition to him, given the evident allusion to Hericlitus for whom it is and is not, the same and not the same, and all things travel in opposite directions (fr. 6, 8). Little more is known of his biogr aphy than that he stopped at capital of Greece on a journey in his sixty-fifth year, and there became acquainted with the youthful Socrates. That must have been in the middle of the fifth century BCE., or shortly after it.Parmenides broke with the older Ionic prose tradition by writing in hexameter verse. His didactic poem, called On Nature, survives in fragments, although the Proem (or introductory discourse) of the work has been preserved. Parmenides was a youngish man when he wrote it, for the goddess who reveals the truth to him addresses him as youth. The work is considered inartistic. Its Hesiodic style was appropriate for the cosmogony he describes in the second part, but is unsuited to the arid dialectic of the first. Parmenides was no born poet, and we must ask what led him to take this new departure. The example of Xenophanes poetic writings is not a complete explanation for the verse line of Parmenides is as unlike that of Xenophanes as it well can be, and his style is more like Hesiod and the Orphics. In the Proem Parmenides describes his raise to the home of the goddess who is supposed to speak the remainder of the verses this is a reflexion of the conventional ascents into heaven which were almost as common as descents into hell in the apocalyptic literature of those days.The Proem opens with Parmenides representing himself as borne on a transport and attended by the Sunmaidens who have quitted the Halls of Night to guide him on his journey. They pass along the highway till they come to the Gate of Night and Day, which is locked and barred. The key is in the keeping of Dike (Right), the Avenger, who is persuaded to unlock it by the Sunmaidens.They pass in through the gate and are now, of course, in the realms of Day. The goal of the journey is the palace of a goddess who welcomes Parmenides and instructs him in the two ways, that of Truth and the deceptive way of Belief, in which is no truth at all. All this is depict without inspiration and in a finely conventional manner, so it must be interpreted by the canons of the apocalyptic style. It is clearly meant to indicate that Parmenides had been converted, that he had passed from error (night) to truth (day), and the Two Ways must represent his former error and the truth which is now revealed to him.There is reason to believe that the Way of Belief is an account of Pythagorean cosmology. In any case, it is surely impossible to regard it as anything else than a description of some error. The goddess says so in words that cannot be explained away. Further, this erroneous belief is not the ordinary mans view of the world, but an elaborate system, which seems to be a natural development the Ionian cosmology on certain lines, and there is no other system but the Pythagorean that fulfils this requirement. To this it has been objected that Parmenides would not have taken the trouble to expound in detail a system he had altogether rejected, but that is to mistake the character of the apocalyptic convention. It is not Parmenides, but the goddess, that expounds the system, and it is for this reason that the beliefs described are said to be those of mortals.Now a description of the ascent of the soul would be quite incomplete without a picture of the voice from which it had thrashd. The goddess must reveal the two ways at the parting of which Parmenides stands, and bid him choose the better. The rise of mathematics in the Pythagorean school had revealed for the first time the power of thought. To the mathematician of all men it is the same thing that can be thought and that can be, and this is the principle from which Parmenides starts. It is impossible to think what is not, and it is impossible for what cannot be thought to be. The great question, Is it or is it not? is therefore equivalent to the question, Can it be thought or not?In any case, the work thus has two divisions. The first discusses the truth, and the second the world of illusion that is, the world of the senses and the erroneous opinions of mankind founded upon them. In his opinion truthlies in the perception that existence is, and error in the idea that non-existence also can be. Nothing can have real existence but what is credible therefore to be imagined and to be able to exist are the same thing, and there is no development. The essence of what is conceivable is incapable of development, imperishable, immutable, unbounded, and indivisible. What is various and mutable, all development, is a delusive phantom. Perception is thought directed to the pure essence of being the phenomenal world is a delusion, and the opinions formed concerning it can only be improbable.Parmenides goes on to consider in the light of this principle the consequences of saying that anything is. In the first place, it cannot have come into being. If it had, it must have arisen from nothing or from something. It cannot have arisen from nothing for there is no nothing. It cannot have arisen f rom something for here is nothing else than what is. Nor can anything else besides itself come into being for there can be no empty blank space in which it could do so. Is it or is it not? If it is, then it is now, all at once. In this way Parmenides refutes all accounts of the origin of the world. Ex nihilo nihil fit.Further, if it is, it simply is, and it cannot be more or less. There is, therefore, as much of it in one place as in another. (That makes rarefaction and condensation impossible.) it is straight and indivisible for there is nothing but itself which could prevent its parts being in contact with one another. It is therefore full, a continuous indivisible plenum. (That is directed against the Pythagorean theory of a discontinuous reality.) Further, it is immovable. If it moved, it must move into empty space, and empty space is nothing, and there is no nothing.Also it is finite and spherical for it cannot be in one direction any more than in another, and the sphere is t he only figure of which this can be said. What is, therefore a finite, spherical, motionless, continuous plenum, and there is nothing beyond it. Coming into being and ceasing to be are mere names, and so is motion, and still more color and the like. They are not even thoughts for a thought must be a thought of something that is, and none of these can be.Such is the conclusion to which the view of the real as a single body inevitably leads, and there is no escape from it. The matter of our animal(prenominal) text-books is just the real of Parmenides and, unless we can find room for something else than matter, we are shut up into his account of reality. No subsequent system could afford to ignore this, but of course it was impossible to acquiesce permanently in a doctrine like that of Parmenides. It deprives the world we know of all claim to existence, and reduces it to something which is hardly even an illusion. If we are to give an clear account of the world, we must certainly int roduce motion again somehow. That can never be taken for granted any more, as it was by the early cosmologists we must attempt to explain it if we are to escape from the conclusions of Parmenides. Heraclitus (fl. c.500 BCE)A Greek philosopher of the late 6th century BCE, Heraclitus criticizes his predecessors and contemporaries for their failure to see the unity in experience. He claims to announce an everlasting Word (Logos) according to which all things are one, in some sense. Opposites are necessary for life, but they are unified in a system of balanced exchanges. The world itself consists of a fair play-like interchange of elements, symbolized by fire. Thus the world is not to be identified with any particular substance, but rather with an ongoing process governed by a law of change. The underlying law of nature also manifests itself as a moral law for human beings. Heraclitus is the first Western philosopher to go beyond physical theory in search of metaphysical foundations an d moral applications. Anaxagoras (c.500428 BCE)Anaxagoras of Clazomenae was an important Presocratic natural philosopher and scientist who lived and taught in Athens for approximately thirty years. He gained notoriety for his materialistic views, particularly his contention that the sun was a blinking(a) rock. This led to charges of impiety, and he was sentenced to death by the Athenian court. He avoided this penalty by leaving Athens, and he spent his remaining years in exile. While Anaxagoras proposed theories on a variety of subjects, he is most noted for two theories. First, he speculated that in the physical world everything contains a portion of everything else. His observation of how alimentation works in animals led him to conclude that in order for the food an animal eats to develop into bone,hair, flesh, and so forth, it must already contain all of those constituents within it. The second theory of significance is Anaxagoras request of Mind (Nous) as the initiating and governing principle of the cosmos. Democritus (460370 BCE)Democritus was born at Abdera, about 460 BCE, although according to some 490. His mystify was from a noble family and of great wealth, and contributed largely towards the entertainment of the army of Xerxes on his return to Asia. As a reward for this service the Persian monarch gave and other Abderites presents and left among them several Magi. Democritus, according to Diogenes Laertius, was instructed by these Magi in astronomy and theology. later the death of his father he traveled in search of wisdom, and devoted his heritage to this purpose, amounting to one hundred talents. He is said to have visited Egypt, Ethiopia, Persia, and India. Whether, in the course of his travels, he visited Athens or studied under Anaxagoras is uncertain. During some part of his life he was instructed in Pythagoreanism, and was a disciple of Leucippus. After several years of traveling, Democritus returned to Abdera, with no means of subsist ence.His brother Damosis, however, took him in. According to the law of Abdera, whoever wasted his patrimony would be deprived of the rites of burial. Democritus, hoping to avoid this disgrace, gave public lectures. Petronius relates that he was acquainted with the virtues of herbs, plants, and stones, and that he spent his life in making experiments upon natural bodies. He acquired fame with his knowledge of natural phenomena, and predicted changes in the weather. He used this ability to make commonwealth believe that he could predict future events. They not only viewed him as something more than mortal, but even proposed to put him in control of their public affairs. He preferred a contemplative to an active life, and therefore declined these public honors and passed the remainder of his days in solitude.Credit cannot be given to the tale that Democritus spent his unoccupied hours in chemical researches after the philosophers stone the dream of a later age or to the story of hi s conversation with Hippocrates concerning Democrituss supposed madness, as based on spurious letters. Democritus has been commonly known as The Laughing Philosopher, and it is gravely relatedby Seneca that he never appeared in public with out expressing his contempt of human follies while laughing. Accordingly, we find that among his fellow-citizens he had the name of the mocker. He died at more than a hundred years of age. It is said that from then on he spent his days and nights in caverns and sepulchers, and that, in order to master his intellectual faculties, he blinded himself with burning glass. This story, however, is discredited by the writers who mention it insofar as they say he wrote books and dissected animals, neither of which could be done well without eyes.Democritus spread out the atomic theory of Leucippus. He maintained the impossibility of dividing things ad infinitum. From the difficulty of assigning a beginning of time, he argued the eternity of existing natur e, of void space, and of motion. He supposed the atoms, which are originally similar, to be thick and have a density proportionate to their volume. All motions are the result of active and passive affection. He drew a distinction between primary motion and its secondary effects, that is, impulse and reaction. This is the basis of the law of necessity, by which all things in nature are ruled. The worlds which we see with all their properties of immensity, resemblance, and dissimilitude result from the without end multiplicity of falling atoms. The human soul consists of globular atoms of fire, which impart movement to the body.Maintaining his atomic theory throughout, Democritus introduced the guesswork of images or idols (eidola), a kind of emanation from external objects, which make an impression on our senses, and from the influence of which he deduced sensation (aesthesis) and thought (noesis). He distinguished between a rude, imperfect, and therefore false perception and a true one. In the same manner, consistent with this theory, he accounted for the popular notions of Deity partly through our foolishness to understand fully the phenomena of which we are witnesses, and partly from the impressions communicated by certain beings (eidola) of enormous stature and resembling the human figure which inhabit the air. We know these from dreams and the causes of divination. He carried his theory into practical philosophy also, laying down that happiness consisted in an even temperament. From this he deduced his moral principles and prudential maxims. It was from Democritus thatEpicurus borrowed the principal features of his philosophy. Empedocles (c.492432 BCE)Empedocles (of Acagras in Sicily) was a philosopher and poet one of the most important of the philosophers working before Socrates (the Presocratics), and a poet of outstanding ability and of great influence upon later poets such as Lucretius. His works On Nature and Purifications (whether they are two poems or only one see below) exist in more than 150 fragments. He has been regarded variously as a materialist physicist, a shamanic magician, a private theologian, a healer, a democratic politician, a living god, and a fraud. To him is attributed the invention of the four-element theory of matter (earth, air, fire, and water), one of the earliest theories of particle physics, put forward seemingly to rescue the phenomenal world from the static monism of Parmenides.Empedocles world-view is of a cosmic cycle of eternal change, growth and decay, in which two personified cosmic forces, Love and Strife, engage in an eternal battle for supremacy. In psychology and ethics Empedocles was a follower of Pythagoras, hence a believer in the transmigration of souls, and hence also a vegetarian. He claims to be a daimn, a divine or potentially divine being, who, having been banished from the immortals gods for three times countless years for committing the sin of meat-eating and forced to ca use successive reincarnations in an purificatory journey through the different orders of nature and elements of the cosmos, has now achieved the most perfect of human states and will be reborn as an immortal. He also claims seemingly magical powers including the ability to relate the dead and to control the winds and rains.

Young Generation in New Era

Old batch atomic number 18 always saying that the new-made are not what they were. The same com custodyt is made from generation to generation and it is always true. It has never been truer than it is today. The new-fangled are wagerer educated. They have a lot more money to spend and enjoy more freedom. They grow up more quickly and are not so dependent on their parents. They think more for themselves and do not blindly accept the ideals of their elders. Events which the older generation remembers vividly are nothing more than early(prenominal) history. This is as it should be. Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it. Today the difference is very pronounced indeed.The old always assume that they know trounce far the simple reason that they have lieen slightly a bit longer. They dont like to feel that their values are being questioned or threatened. And this is precisely what the young are doing. They are questioning the assumptions of their elders and disturbing their complacency. They take leave to doubt that the older generation has created the best of all possible worlds. What they reject more than anything is conformity.Office hours, for instance, are nothing more than enforced slavery. Wouldnt people discipline best if they were given complete freedom and responsibility? And what about clothing? Who state that all the men in the world should wear drab grey suits and convict haircuts? If we turn our minds to more serious matters, who said that human differences can best be clobberd through conventional polities or by vehement means? Why have the older generation so often used violence to solve their problems? Why are they so unhappy and guilt-ridden in their pexsonal lives, so obsessed with mean ambitions and the swear to amass more and more material possessions? Can anything be right with the ratrace? Havent the old lost flavour with all that is important in life?These are not questions the older generation can gestur e off lightly. Their record over the past forty years or so hasn t been scarce spotless. Traditionally, the young have turned to their elders for guidance. Today, the situation might be reversed. The old if they are prepared to necessitate it-coutd learn a thing or two from their children. One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment is not extraordinary(p).Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of life. It is surely not wrong to enjoy your educate and enjoy your leisure to shed restricting inhibitions. It is surely not wrong to live in the fork over rather than in the past or future. This emphasis orr the present is only to be expected because the young have grown up under the shadow of the bomb the constant threat of complete annihilation. This is their excellent heritage. Can we be surprised that they should so often question the sanity of t.he generaiion that bequeathed it?II. Read Read the hobby passages. Underline the important viewpoi nts while reading.1. Problems of the YoungMore than 20 Chinese and American experts discovered that young people of two countries are facing the same probiems of economic and social pressures and lack of confidence. Wayne Meisel, director of the Campus Outreach Opportunity League of atomic number 25 University, said that under economic pressure American young people have to work punishing and most students have to take part-time work in order to support themselves.Young people today, ?he said, are stereotyped as apathetic, selfcentred, and concerned only with making money and getting ahead. In these circumstances, he said, young people lack confidence,whicb was not the case in the 1960s when young Americans sight themselves capable of doing anything. In spite of the different conditions in China, Li Xuequan, director of the, higher education percentage of the All-China Youth Federation, said Chinese young people are alsc facing economic pressure and are worried about iriflation and corruption. Trading has appeared in many Chinese universities as students with something to sell try to net money on campus.Moreover, Li said, college students have begun to doubt whether what they are learning in class leave alone help them find work,as many businesses totally ignore students of pure theory. So people describe students as a lost generation tired of study, regardless of the causes in society that are palpitation their confidence.