Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Homework - Essay Example Recording the information of the transaction in a journal: After recording data chronologically in the source document, it is transferred to the general journal, which may have other specific journals such as sales and cash journals as suggested by Simplestudies LLC (2012). The journal information is transmitted relevant accounts in the ledger hence posting: The information from the general journal is transferred to ledger where information of all accounts in a business is maintained. Posting in accounting is the process of transmitting the details of financial transaction to the ledger. These transactions are initially found in the business journals. Posting is important in double entry accounts as it transfers the debit and credit aspects of a financial to relevant accounts. A trial balance in accounting refers to a statement, which has a conventional format of its own. It is not necessarily a ledger account. It provides a summary report used to check whether all financial transactions in the accounting system follow the double entry rules as suggested by Simplestudies LLC (2012). The trail balance is the sixth step in the accounting process and it can be prepared at anytime. However, it is mostly prepared before financial statements are prepared. The trial balance as opposed to the financial statement is prepared and applied by the internal accounting team. A trial balance is usually prepared in order to check the accuracy calculations used in accounting process. In accounting a trial balance is also used to ensure that the rules of double entry are followed during the recording of financial transactions done at a specific time. This is usually done by summing all debit balances found in the general ledger. It is also done by ensuring that the sum of debit balances is equal to the sum of all credit balances of the general ledger according to Simplestudies LLC (2012). A trial balance usually provides a list of all the accounts found in the

Spaceflight (Commentary Paper Essay) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Spaceflight (Commentary Paper ) - Essay Example r, 2014 on the website of Al-Jazeera America deal with the UK entrepreneur Richard Branson’s response to the crash of the suborbital vehicle SpaceShipTwo developed by his company to conduct tourist flights into space. The focus of the article is Richard Branson’s intention to find out what exactly went wrong during the test flight of the spaceship and what caused the death of the co-polite and severe injuries of the pilot. In addition to this, the article highlights Branson’s plan to continue testing and improving the spaceship as well as his optimistic attitude towards the future of the project. To render Richard Branson’s stance and attitude towards the discussed issue, the author of the article widely quotes Branson’s speech delivered on the press conference on the crash of the suborbital vehicle SpaceShipTwo. More specifically, with the aim to show the audience the UK entrepreneur’s optimism, the author quotes Branson’s statements in which he draws a parallel between the development of aviation and the possible bright future of the sphere of space tourism. Also, the fact that Branson himself is going to flight travel into space on the first flight is used as reasoning. In addition to this, to prove that Branson is actually determined to define the reasons of the crash, the author of the article mentions the fact of the beginning of the investigation. The possible audience of the article is not only the common readers of the periodical but also those who are actually interested in the development of the sphere of space tourism and possible tourist flights into space, such as potential tourists. It is so because the author of the article seems to try to reassure people that space tourism does have a future, especially if the head of Virgin Galactic does not give up on further attempts to improve the spaceship. In other words, the purpose of the article is to reassure the audience that the crash will not happen again as the specialists are working

The Metaphysics of John Stuart Mill in Relation to Philippine Government Essay Example for Free

The Metaphysics of John Stuart Mill in Relation to Philippine Government Essay This is a discourse that is made for metaphysical study that brought enlightenment with the two different paradigms that explicate the essential attribution to the implication of the self to the Filipino. I would like to acknowledge the help of some people who made this research possible Dr. Segundo Sim for his direction, assistance, and guidance particularly in his recommendations and suggestions have been invaluable for the research. I also wish to thank Sir Garnace, who has taught me techniques of writing. Special thanks should be given to my classmates and colleagues who helped me in many ways. Finally, words alone cannot express the thanks I owe to my family for their encouragement and assistance. Abstract Although philosophical inquiries regarding the notion of the self bombarded through different elucidation of philosophers still encompasses the internal aspect of within as a metaphysical commitment which regard to the notion of the East and West paradigm. This paper aims to elucidate in comparative way the essential contribution of the philosophies of two different paradigms with the essential thought of metaphysical assertion. It entails the significance towards metaphysical endowment as a very profound distinction and similarities thru a bi polar elucidation regarding the concept of David Hume’s commencement of the self as no self at all, that everything underlies within the notion of impression, and that the self is no self at all. In Nishida Kitaro’s commencement he explicitly determined the stance of the self in the pure experience towards a nihilistic point of view which he determined that a self is a Basho or place, as an empty self. Towards the two philosophies of the self as a metaphysical genealogy intertwine the metaphysical through ethical relation of the centripetal morality of the actuality and the potentiality of the being ness of the Filipinos. Chapter 2 Introduction This paper aims to expose in a comparative way the ideas of Scottish philosopher David Hume and Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro both studies talks about the metaphysical understanding a propos notion of the Self and the repercussion to the centripetal morality of the Filipinos. A comparative way of explicating not leading to a chauvinistic elucidation but an affirmative thought between the two. Both thoughts consider the metaphysical attribution of the Self in a necessary relation determining the pursuit of the self or a person and the extraordinary conception of causation of beings. The unravel spirit of formulating thoughts regarding the diversity of the concept is a view of exhilarating the close door in a new light of horizon. The ideas of two different paradigms, the East and West have in a way the same conception that will elucidate their affinity and even the diversity will be serve somehow as an enlightenment, a determinant factor of a fascinating point of view of life in the meadow of philosophizing in a prolific manner. This will somehow shows a connection that will outpour the transcendental understanding of the self of an individual and the intertwining part towards morality. Thou, it implied denotes the bond within the necessary connection of the two paradigm will surely enlighten the reader in the spirit signification of a merely self of a person into a selfhood act to forsake what is the reality of the inter connection that purports the two representation and the metaphysical connection of the self and the pure experience as a notion that is necessarily for the convenience essentiality of this paper. The relationship of the self to metaphysics is the being of man that constitutes the whole embedded part of the ontological and transcendental aspect of one’s own essential attribute in the world. Man is a Self determining being, the place of the self to reality serve as a teleological concept, thou not genuine still emerge the possibility of the impossibility that takes place in the being ness capable of living. The teleological character of the unity we ascribe to the self is further illustrated by the puzzles suggested by the â€Å"alternate and multiple† personalities a connection of the past life to a new life as being the expression of aims and interests which were at least implicitly and as tendencies already present though concealed in the old connotation that will lead to uplift the individual self. The self implies and has no existence apart from a not self and it is only the contrast with the not self that’s aware of it self as a self. The feeling of self is certainly not an inseparable concomitant of all our experience. Self consciousnesses are source of weakness and moral failure. While we are steadily engaged in the progressive execution of a purpose we lose ourselves in the work, it is only upon a check that we become self conscious. Self consciousness in the bad sense always arises from a sense of an incongruity between the self and some contrasted object or environment. This paper will elucidate the two philosophies of the great philosophers which regard to self Theoretical Framework. The researcher uses a theoretical framework to explain the concept of Nishida Kitaro and David Hume’s notion of the Self and its relation to the Centripetal Morality of Filipinos. The researcher will elucidate the two paradigm enable to have a grasp in the two different philosophies of the East and West and how they are connected to the centripetal morality of Filipinos. And through discussing what are the two diverse fields of a metaphysical philosophy the researcher will explicate the essential correlation towards the moral aspect in effect to the morality of Filipinos. Statement of the problem 1. What is the problem of the Self according to Nishida Kitaro? 2. What is David Hume’s concept of the Self? 3. What is the implication of their Metaphysical philosophies of the Self to the centripetal morality of the Filipinos? Thesis Statement The Metaphysical philosophy of Hume and Nishida is a manifestation of a life, a life that embedded a direct way of viewing the external exemplification to substantiate the discourse between the two, through the ordinary. An internal co relation to the external out view of the self towards the life of the Filipinos will surely afflict the individual of a person towards the being ness as an uninfringeable essential factor of one’s own self. There is no definite line of demarcation between self and not-self the self on its side consisting of me and the not self is social, the self on its side consisting of me and the not-self of other men. The self is essentially a thing of development and as such has its being in the time process. The nature of the experience is the concept of the self is based. The self is never identical with anything that could be found completely existing at any one moment in the mental life. Self is essentially an ideal and an ideal which is apprehended as contrasted with present actuality. They ought and the must also know nothing of the feeling of self. Review of Related Literature Kant’s concept of the self Kant’s concept of the self is a response to Hume in part. Kant wished to justify a conviction in physics as a body of universal truth. The other being to insulate religion, especially a belief in immortality and free will (Brooks 2004). In the Inaugural Dissertation of 1770, Kant corrected earlier problems of a non-material soul having localization in space. Kant used inner sense to defend the heterogeneity of body and soul: â€Å"bodies are objects of outer sense; souls are objects of inner sense† (Carpenter 2004). In Kant’s thought there are two components of the self: 1. inner-self 2. Outer-self (Brooks 2004). There are two kinds of consciousness of self: consciousness of oneself and ones psychological states in inner sense and consciousness of oneself and ones states via performing acts of apperception. Empirical self-consciousness is the term Kant used to describe the inner self. Transcendental apperception or (TA) is used in two manners by Kant for the term. The first being a synthetic faculty and a second as the â€Å"I† as subject. One will note that logically this function would occur in inner sense (Brooks 2004). Kant states that all representational states are in inner sense include all spatially localized outer objects. The origin or our representations regardless if they are the product of a priori or outer objects as modifications of the mind belong to inner sense. Kant presents apperception as a means to consciousness to one’s self. Inner sense is not pure apperception. It is an awareness of what we are experiencing as we are affected by thought (Brooks 2004). Brooks cites three types of synthesis. Kant claimed, there are three types of synthesis required to organize information, namely apprehending in intuition, reproducing in imagination, and recognizing in concepts (A97-A105). â€Å"Synthesis of apprehension concerns raw perceptual input, synthesis of recognition concerns concepts, and synthesis of reproduction in imagination allows the mind to go from the one to the other. † (Brooks 2004). Unity of experience and consciousness are integral to the concept of the self. Transcendental apperception has function to unite all appearances into one experience. This is a unity based on causal laws. There is a synthesis according to concepts that subordinates all to transcendental unity. According to Kant the contents of consciousness must have causal connections to be unified (Brooks 2004). Kant argues that in the present progressive one can be aware of oneself by an act of representing (Kant 1789). Representation is not intuitive but a spontaneous act of performing or doing things. Man knows that by doing and fulfilling activities that these impressions cannot be simply sensations resulting from the senses. Representation fulfills three acts. An act of representing can make one conscious of its object, itself and oneself as its subject; the representational base of consciousness of these three items. Becoming conscious of our selves is simply an act of representation and nothing more (Brooks 2004). Kant postulates that there is a plurality of representations that gives rise to our view of self as a â€Å"single common subject†. This concept requires a constant undivided self. This concept is a continuation of global unity that spans many representations, one does not have to be conscious of the global object but of oneself as subject of all representations (Kant 1787). Kant’s self has a unity of self reference, â€Å"When we are conscious of ourselves as subject, we are conscious of ourselves as the â€Å"single common subject† [CPR, A350] of a number of representations. † (Kant 1787). Here Kant confirms that the impressions we perceive have one single common aim and that is the self as subject of these experiences. Kant postulates both senses as empirical but with the object of inner self being the soul. Transcendental apperception is a priori. Kant maintains the use of intuitive faculties of intuition and synthesis in inner self where innate material unites the spatially located objects from the outer self. Here, this permits a downward deductive operation to act from Kant’s theology while preserving an inductive operation from the sense world of our experience. The Essential Self through the Essence and Existence With the concept of rationality, we found ourselves moving from questions about pure reality and back to questions about ourselves and our own activities. In deed with the concept of subjective truth, we found a renewed emphasis on personal questions, questions about self rather than questions about the world. What is the self? What is to be a person? What do you know when you ‘know your self? What is someone telling you to be when he or she tells you ‘just to be yourself†? Real self, a self that does not vary from context. Philosophers have called the real self the essential self that is the set of characteristics that defines a particular person. The experience of our real, or essential, self is familiar to us in a great many circumstances. Self as Consciousness What am I? A thing which thinks. What is a thing which thinks? It is a thing which doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, which also imagines and feels. The theory that the essential self of self identity is the mind or self consciousness can be traced back to ancient times, but its best known defender is the philosopher Descartes, who presented a simple but elegant argument that the individual self is the first thing that each of us can know for certain and that this self, which is indubitable is nothings else but the thinking self, the self that is aware of itself. Kierkegaard: The Passionate Self It is impossible to exist without passion, unless we understand the world exist in the loose sense of a so called existence. Eternity is the winged horse, infinitely fast and time is a worn out nag; the existing individual is the driver, that is to say he is such a driver when his mode of existence is not an existence loosely so called; for then he is no driver but a drunken peasant who lies asleep in the wagon and lets the horses take care of themselves. To be sure he also drives and is a driver; and so there are perhaps many who also exist. The Self as an Open Question If self identity is defined by our answer to the question who am i? One possible answer is nothing yet, nothing definite. If one sees the self not as an inner soul which is in us from birth, but rather as a product of our actions and thought, then self identity is something to be earned, not an already existing fact to be discovered. The existentialist Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980) would say that all of those theories which take the self to be found in consciousness are misconceived, the self is not simply thinking, not is it memory of past. The self lies always in the future; it is what we aim toward as we try to make ourselves into something. But this means that as long as we are alive there is no self at least, no fixes and finished self. The self is an open question. What this means is that there is no real self other than the self that we make for ourselves. Kierkegaard’s language all choices are subjective truths, true for the person who makes them but not necessarily true for anyone else. The self is what each of us chooses for ourselves, our protection into our future, our intentions to become a particular kind of person. But as we never wholly achieve this for even when our ambitions are fulfilled we can always change our mind, formulate new ambitions, and so on the self never really exists in full. It is always at best. Alternative Conceptions of Self as Consciousness Plato has defined self in terms of rational thought as opposed to mere thinking, which can be rational or irrational. The Self in Contextualized Action (Shaun Gallagher and Anthony J. Marcel) We identify two forms of self-consciousness, ecological self-awareness and embedded reflection, that (1) function within the kinds of contextualized activity we have indicated, and (2) can be the basis for a theoretical account of the self. Both forms of consciousness are closely tied to action and promise to provide a less abstract basis for developing a theoretical approach to the self. To get clear about philosophical problems, it is useful to become conscious of the apparently unimportant details of the particular situation in which we are inclined to make a certain metaphysical assertion. (Wittgenstein) The self that we are does not possess itself; one could say that it happens' (Gadamer) Overt action is indivisible . . . . It is the whole individual who acts in the real environment (Neisser) Surprising and seemingly counter-intuitive results are not uncommon when philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists, employing a variety of first- and third-person approaches, search for an adequate model of the self. At least one philosopher equates the self with a momentary existence so that we are said to live through a large number of consecutive momentary selves (Strawson 1997). Other philosophers, introspectively exploring the stream of consciousness, fail to find anything at all that resembles a self (Hume 1739). When faced with a range of questions about self (questions pertaining to identity, experience of self, nature of self, and so forth) most theorists approach the topic in a manner that is abstract or detached from behavior and/or action normally embedded in contextualized situations. We also want to suggest that most of the controversies, problems, and paradoxes concerning the notion of self are the result of searching for the self within these abstract perspectives. We suggest a different starting point and strategy for developing models of a self which is more contextualized within the realm of action. First, we want to be clear that although this paper is centrally concerned with the nature of the self, there is a necessarily related issue that we address, namely, the question of access to the self, and whether there can be certain forms of self-consciousness that are not abstractions from contextualized situations. The promise of a sound basis for the development of a theoretical conception of a contextualized self is only good if in fact there are reliable forms of contextualized self-consciousness since the primary method for getting a grasp on the self is through first-person self-experience. Beyond this, however, the question of access is essentially linked with the question of the nature of the self. Access (self-consciousness) is constitutive of self. Second, we wish to be clear that in sketching an approach to a conception of a self in contextualized action, we do not assume that there is only one kind of self or that an explanation of the contextualized self will be an explanation of every sense of self. Other approaches, such as the Meadian analysis of a socially constituted self, or the notion of an autobiographical self, can reveal important and valid conceptions of self. The Ethical Self What we want to call embedded reflection is not the same as the hyper reflective or introspective consciousness we identified in previous sections as a form of abstract, de contextualized behavior. We may state the difference in this way. Embedded reflection is a first-person reflective consciousness that is embedded in a pragmatically or socially contextualized situation. It involves the type of activity that I engage in when someone asks me what I am doing or what I plan to do. In such reflection I do not take consciousness or the self as a direct or introspective object of my reflection; I do not suddenly take on the role of a phenomenologist or theorist for the sake of answering the question. Rather I start to think matters through in terms of possible actions. I treat myself (I discover myself) as an agent. In such situations, my attention is directed not in a reflective inspection of consciousness as consciousness, but toward my own activities in the world where my intentions are already directed. Often my aim in such reflection is not to represent my self to myself, as if it were a piece of furniture in my mind, but to continue certain actions or to explain myself in terms of my action. What is the Self? The Numerical Self (Claro R. Ceniza) Two dimensions of identity of things; their generic and specific identities, on the one hand, and their numerical identities on the other. The generic and specific identities of object refer to their identities as classes, the generic identity having references to the larger class to which an entity belongs, and the specific identity referring to the lowest class to which the individuals belongs and this for our purposes could be the individuals itself. Generics identities may be arrange in a hierarchy of higher and higher classes, the highest class to which an individual belongs being called its SUMMUM GENUS that is in highest class. We may speak of identity in the sense of numerical identity. The numerical identity refers to the identity of individuals with itself. Numerical identity refers to the identity of an individual neither in terms of the classes to which it could belong nor to its properties, but to its history’s individual. For things, spatio- temporal continuities the general criterion although there are exception to this. For humans, memory is perhaps the ultimate criterion, although for ordinary cases. Spatio-temporal continuity is often regarded as adequate. Numerically one and the same. Another example is dotted lines obviously. These are not spatio-temporally continuous, but dotted lines may often be numerically distinguished from each other. With human the continuity of memory is more important than spatio-temporal continuity. When a person writes his bio-data, he more often than not to refer to his numerical identity and recounts his personal history and achievements as an individual. The greater importance of a continuous memory train as the more significant criterion for the numerical identity o persons is shown by the fact that, whether ones believes in it or not, the concept of reincarnation would be impossible, if not for the fact that the possible continuity of memory could be taken as more basic for The numerical identification of an individual, than spatio-temporal continuity, since clearly there is no spatio-temporal continuity between death of a previous embodiment and the birth of the next, spatio –temporal continuity is often considered adequate for the numerical identification of persons. We may regard the numerical identity of a person as his objective self. It is one’ self as seen by others, and as one sees himself objectively as part of a community of persons. What is the Self? The Generic Self The generic self of a person is the class or classes to which the person belongs, according to the way the custom has established these classes relative to him. Thus, a person may be classified as a father, a citizen, a teacher, husband, adult, etc. These classifications and the way he behaves accordingly are important to a person’s self-identity and self-identification and they usually determine his normal behavior, and what others expect. Confucius recognized the importance of role-playing in the society. He said that we all play roles in society- perhaps many roles for each one of us. A harmonious society is one where everyone plays his role at it should be played, according to the name given to that role. A person’s actions should be in accordance with the role or roles that he plays. A person is his roles, He may add to it the unique way he plays it well. Chapter 3 Methodology The researcher will use the comparative way of explicating the metaphysical philosophies of Nishida vis-a-vis Hume and the interrelation of the two philosophers to the centripetal morality of the Filipinos. All the materials are gathered from different libraries and internet research. A documentary abstraction guide will be used by the researcher as an instrument in gathering data. The researcher is able to come up to this topic because the essential part of being ness lies within the self, starts within the self before outpouring with the whole, a part that embedded the necessary significant towards metaphysical aspect to the paradigm of ethics. This study only discusses the definition, exposition of the comparative field of the East and West paradigm. For the philosophical metaphysics of Nishida and for Hume, the main idea regarding the two philosophers purports the essential connection imply with the centripetal morality of Filipinos. Analysis of Data. The first level of discussion will discuss the metaphysical philosophy of Nishida and Hume. The second level of discussion will discuss the comparison and contrast, difference and similarities, of the Philosophers metaphysical thought and the relationship to the centripetal morality of Filipinos. Chapter 1 introduces the study. Chapter 2 discusses the different concepts philosopher regarding the self. Chapter 3 presents some concepts of the self and Nishida’s as well as Hume’s in relation to centripetal morality of Filipinos. Presentation and Analysis of Problems 1. What is the problem of the Self according to Nishida Kitaro? Nishida practiced Zen meditation in his early years and most of his work can be seen as an attempt to explore this experience. One of the fundamental questions that is considered between subject and object. His solution to the polarities of mind body, self world, me-other is to posit an original ground of existence that goes beyond such distinctions. In his first work, Zen No Kenkyo he writes variously on his topic: When one experiences directly one’s conscious state there is as yet neither subject nor object, and knowledge and its object are completely united, this is the purest form of experience. Why is love the union of subject and object? To love something is to cast away the self unite with that other. As emphasized in basic Buddhist thought, the self and the universe share the same foundation, or rather, they are the same thing. Nishida proposed a new thesis: that of ultimate reality as mu no basho, the place of absolute nothingness. Nothingness here corresponds closely to Nagarjuna’s concept shunyata or emptiness. This nothingness is not an absence of God or the self but an absence of quality, division or concept of all of the things which we need in order to define the separate existence of the ego self. By not being anything in particular, we are everything. Nishida eliminates the psychological terminology that had characterized his earlier work. Nishida’s Basho is a radically new concept. By imagining the self as Basho or place rather than as a point, consciousness or presence we move away from all ideas of individuality. Nishida sees in the extinguishing of the ego-self in the Basho the birth of the self as Basho. The basho has the power to unify the contradictions which underlie all existence, to effect the continuity of the discontinuity. In terms of Western logic, the basho violates the principles of contradictions and identity. Nishida claimed that the contradictions at the heart of everything were what caused the constant change and motion we observe in the universe. Only in the mu no basho are these dynamic oppositions reconciled. As a Buddhist, the ultimate good for Nishida is the realization of the true self, the Buddha nature. As a Zen Buddhist, Nishida argues that this realization should take place in he active world. His concept of acting intuition illustrates this the physical world of actions is expressive of the inner creativity of the basho. Only by living fully as historical individuals will the power of the self as Basho be made manifest. Nishida reminds us that â€Å"To study oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to realize oneself as all things. † For much of Japanese philosophy, in order to know our true self we must let go of the subject-object dichotomy with which we have been taken conditioned. We must let go of the voice of intellect in our pursuit and let our intuition open us up and allow awakening. In this awakening, not only do we awaken to our self, but we awaken to all reality. Before we look more closely at some Japanese Buddhist teachings, let us review some of ideas from the Neo-Confucian school. What can be constructed as the extreme positions with regard to the nature of the self? Self is an object or some thing Self is nothing Nishida Kitaro attempted to steer a path between these two extremes. For Nishida we cannot truly know the self if we take it to be either the subject or object of our knowing process. That is to say, the self is a place, or basho, that gives rise to knowledge. The self is neither the subject of an experience nor the object of knowing. The self is the experience discussing Nishida, Nishitani described this rapport between experience and self, â€Å"of which it is said not that there is experience because there is a self, but rather that there is a self because there is experience. † This confirms the long standing Buddhist teaching of no self. The actual self is a process. To this process, Nishida assigned a term, koiteki chokkan, acting intuition. Basho literally means â€Å"place† or â€Å"field† and suggests an all embracing environment within which all activity occurs. Because it is all embracing, this place o field is without boundaries and without a center of reference. Imagine an infinite circle without a circumference and without a center. As Yuasa stated: The basho is a fundamental restriction on being’ existence; without it, no beings can exist in the world. Even though basho is without boundaries, boundaries are in practice erected. They are constructed by our empirical self, or ego. Our empirical self, however, is not our true self, but instead the self as subject, a self –referential point of view whereby all else becomes the object for the empirical self. On other words, whereas Basho is a primordial field of oneness, discrimination now results from the construction of boundaries. The discriminating self, as subject, is not the true self. The genuine self, for Nishida and in line with Buddhist teachings, is thus a â€Å"self that is not a self. † This is why Nishida claimed that the self â€Å"lives by dying. † This is also why Nishida emphasized the faculty of intuition, not in a passive but in an active sense. It is through this active intuition that self realizes itself. Discursive, analytical knowledge is sufficient. For instance, consider the example of viewing a mountain. From one perspective the â€Å"I† is imbedded in a world of subject-object and mountain is the object of my knowledge. From another perspective, I realize the essential unity of all things. In this case, there is no subject-object duality, and the mountain is no longer separate from me. This native intuition maintains both perspectives at the same time. When this secret is mastered, living is dying and vice versa. Apparent contradictions are resolved. For Nishida, the self constitutes a unity of contradictions. Living is dying and dying is living. The opposition we normally pose between life and death is embraced in the Basho of self. We die and live at each single moment. This is the singular Buddhist truth of no substantiality; it reflects the paradox of our existence. When seem from our ordinary perspective, this paradox of life and death gives way to anxiety. When viewed from the perspective of the Basho of self, the paradox is embraced: My very existence is, therefore, an absolute contradiction, and it is this very realization that enables me to become truly self conscious. My individuality is my mortality, and my true nothingness is my immortality. I am a contradictory self, and my awareness of this is the ground of my religious awareness. Reality as Pure Experience, Nishida’s view is reminiscent of Zen Buddhism; he promotes Zen teachings using philosophical categories. Now Zen points directly to reality – what exists in its immediacy? Nishida viewed reality in much the same way; he directly pointed to pure experience as ultimate reality. Reality is that which underlies all our so called â€Å"experience. † We conventionally live in our ideas or images of the real, rather than in the real. Reality is the pure experience, which is the basis for conceptualization once conceptualization through reflection occurs, the experience becomes indirect. Reality remains the same unaffected by reflection. Reflection however gives birth to apparent modes of reality that are not in themselves truly real. When Nishida declares that reality is â€Å"pure experience† this means that reality within the present moment. Reality as Absolute Nothingness, all this is further sustained by his teaching concerning the primacy of â€Å"nothingness† over being. â€Å"Absolute nothingness† is another phrase he ascribes to this pure experience. It is crucial to be aware that this â€Å"nothingness† is not the same as nihilism. Rather absolute nothingness transcends the opposition between being and nonbeing by embracing them. The term transcend can be misleading; it can give the impression of something beyond the realm of experience. The term immanent is also to be avoided because it may lead to the impression of being immersed in our world if experience. Each of these terms implies the other. They each set up a dichotomy betwee.

Gentrification And The Effects On Urban Development Sociology Essay

Gentrification And The Effects On Urban Development Sociology Essay Today, the urban development is vulnerable to the growing impact of gentrification. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the process of gentrification emerges under the impact of multiple factors, including economic and social ones and the process of globalization, which stimulate consistent changes in urban development. At the same time, the process of urban development leads to socioeconomic and demographic changes, provoked by the gentrification. However, possible effects of gentrification are still under-researched and the debate on whether gentrification leads to positive or negative effects persists. Nevertheless, changes in the development of cities are significant and force policy makers either to support or to slow down the process of gentrification. However, any attempt of policy makers to regulate the process of gentrification and, therefore, urban development confronts the problem of the interference of state in the process of local economic development. In such a situation, policy makers should understand clearly whether gentrification has positive or negative effects and whether benefits of gentrification outweigh its disadvantages. In fact, the support of gentrification is essential only on the condition of the positive effect on the urban development but, in actuality, the risk of widening gaps between different social classes, namely between the rich and the poor, may widen that may lead to the exclusion of the poor and their marginalization. Therefore, the process of gentrification needs to be studied in details but policy makers should take into consideration the fact that gentrification has a considerable impact on the social, economic and demographic development of modern urban areas. THE ESSENCE OF GENTRIFICATION Definition of gentrification Gentrification is a relatively new trend, although specialists (De Courcy Hinds, 1987) refer the origin of gentrification to the mid-20th century and the post-World War II period, when considerable changes in communities inhabited by representatives of lower- and working class had started. In this regard, it is possible to refer to the experience of Brooklyn, New York: On November 22, 1966, a small group of city construction workers arrived at the corner of State and Nevins Street in Brooklyn with orders to raze an abandoned brownstone. Having recently gained possession of the dilapidated four-story building through non-payment of taxes, the city had become concerned that the empty townhouse was a gathering place for homeless men and drug users and decided to demolish it (Osman, 2011, 1). However, it is only by the late 20th century, the trend to gentrification had become strong and today this is one of the most significant trends in the urban development. At this point, specialists (McKenzie, 2006) define gentrification as the process of shift of the middle class population in low income and working class communities. As a rule, the native population of low-income and working class communities is steadily replaced by representatives of the upper-class and professionals, who settle in the area, whereas the share of the native population decreases substantially. The wealthier population moves to low-income and working class communities, settles their and starts developing local communities. In such a situation, the native population of these communities has to move to other areas and settle there. Nevertheless, the process of gentrification is still under-researched and needs further studies because this process is quite complicated and relatively new. This is why researchers attempt to explore the process of gentrification in the context of urban development (Sassen, 1995). In such a way, it is possible to understand its effects on urban development. However, before studying effects of gentrification on urban development, it is necessary to dwell upon basic causes of gentrification. Causes of gentrification can help to understand the essence of this process and its effects in a long-run perspective. Economic causes of gentrification On analyzing causes of gentrification, specialists (Brandes Gratz, 1989) point out economic concerns as one of the major causes of gentrification. To put it more precisely, the economic development of large cities contributes to the fast progress and growth of the population along with the growth of needs and requirements of the population concerning residential areas, conveniences and environment. In such a situation, the younger generation of professionals and representatives of the middle class often prefers to move to low-income and working class communities, where they can afford purchasing a permanent lodging at a relatively low price and, thus, start living separately from their parents, owning their own lodging. The availability of lodging and its relatively low price attracts representatives of the middle class, who look for independence and affordable lodging. In addition, many professionals are driven to low-income and working class communities by their professional concerns. For instance, if professionals work in the city, they feel more comfortable, when they live close to their work that allows them to save travel time as well as money. In such a situation, economic concerns become prior to representatives of the middle class and professionals, mainly young people, who move to low-income and working class communities from traditional areas of their living. Social causes of gentrification In actuality, social factors also play an important part in the emergence of gentrification in modern cities that affects consistently their development. In this regard, specialists (Ley, 1995) argue that artists, teachers and cultural administrators are in the avant-garde of gentrification because they seek for new place of residence, where they can settle being free of the dependence on automotive transportation and other issues emerging in the suburban areas, where representatives of the middle class normally live. In fact, young graduates, educators, artists and other representatives of the middle class prefer to settle closer to the city center to get access to basic conveniences, services and important city areas, including hospitals, trade centers and other areas. In such a way, they attempt to maintain the lifestyle they have used to while studying and get wider access to basic services they need at the moment. In addition, gentrification increases their independence from par ents and automotive transport. In such a way, representatives of the middle class move to low-income and working class communities. Economic globalization At the same time, some specialists (Ley, 1986) point out that the process of gentrification is closely intertwined and is provoked by the process of globalization. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact that the process of globalization contributes to the free and fast movement of capital along with the migration of the population. The migration of the population and movement of capital being enhanced by the free movement of capital stimulates gentrification. Representatives of the middle class purchase houses in low-income and working class communities and they can repair and improve to match their standards of living. In this regard, immigrants with a relatively high level of income can also move to low-income and working class community, where they can purchase houses at a relatively low price and repair them respectively to their standards. At the same time, globalization contributes to the emergence of banking and service activities which replace the traditional manufacturing core of the urban economy. In such a situation, professional working in the banking industry and professionals working in different industries providing services prefer to move to low-income and working class communities, where they can settle close to their workplace, whereas many professionals today work just at home that allow them to save time and money on transportation. At the same time, low-income and working class communities attract them due to the relatively low price and location close to the city center and respective conveniences and services being available to representatives of the middle class living in these communities. THE EFFECTS OF GENTRIFICATION ON URBAN DEVELOPMENT Economic effects of gentrification In actuality, the process of gentrification leads to consistent changes in urban development and affects consistently the economic development of communities vulnerable to the impact of gentrification. In this regard, many specialists warn that the obvious problem being that the low income portion of the social fold is being disregardedà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬literally and figuratively (Whatà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s Up with Gentrification, 2007, 5). What is meant here is the fact that gentrification leads to the replacement of poor, working class population by representatives of the middle class. In such a situation, low-income families and representatives of the working class have to move from their communities to other ones, where the standards of living are even lower than that of their own communities inhabited by representatives of the middle class. Representatives of the middle class, in their turn, inhabit low-income and working class communities start consistent changes in local communities, where they settle. These changes lead to consistent raise in standards of living because they repair their houses and stimulate the development of commerce and different services, which are essential for the maintenance of their high standards of living. In such a way, representatives of the middle class invest substantial funds in the development of local communities to match them to their traditional standards of living, which are naturally consistently higher than standards of living for low-income families and representatives of the working class. At the same time, the rise of standards of living, significant investments, the development of the local infrastructure, services and facilities increases substantially the price of real estate in the community as well as costs of living in the community. In such a situation, representatives of the middle class settling in low-income and working class community bring considerable investments but these investments lead to the increase of costs of living in communities making the life unaffordable for low-income and working class population. As a result, the economic development of communities vulnerable to the impact of gentrification changes consistently. Specialists (McKenzie, 2006) argue that representatives of the middle class moving to low-income and working class communities boost their economic development that leads to the increase in housing prices and overall rise of costs of living. As a result, low-income and working class communities turn from poverty stricken communities into successful and rapidly progressing communities, where business activities emerge successfully. At first glance, economic effects of gentrification are positive. However, specialists (Sassen, 1995) warn that such positive effects of gentrification can have extremely dangerous side-effects, especially in relation to low-income and working class. To put it more precisely, the low-income and working class population has to move from the communities, where people used to live before the arrival of representatives of the middle class. Often they have to move away from the areas located close to the city center and they should look for cheap lodging. However, as the process of gentrification emerges, they have substantial problems with finding cheap lodging, while they cannot afford constructing their own houses, which used to be the prerogative of representatives of the middle class. Representatives of the low-income and working class cannot afford purchasing their own homes as well. In such a situation, they are doomed to live in outskirts of large cities or other areas, where cond itions of living deteriorate and become unbearable for the population. In contrast, representatives of the middle class improve conditions of living, stimulate the development of business activities. As a result, the poor are forced to live in communities suffering from economic stagnation, whereas the rich and middle class prosper. The economic disparity between classes deteriorates the economic development of low-income and working class. The disparity in economic development of different parts of cities leads to the backwardness of the parts inhabited by low-income and working class, whereas parts of cities inhabiting by middle class prosper. The economic prosperity stimulated by gentrification improves the local infrastructure and opens new ways for the development of business activities. As a result, the wealth of the middle and upper-class increases and is accumulated in the hands of representatives of the middle and upper-class. In contrast, the poor grow poorer and cannot afford living within the city that leads to their marginalization. Social effects of gentrification At the same time, consistent economic changes affect the development of the social life of communities vulnerable to the impact of gentrification. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the deterioration of the economic situation in urban areas and the deterioration of the position of low-income and working class. Representatives of the middle class are also vulnerable to the impact of gentrification. However, the impact of gentrification is different in relation to low-income and working class and in relation to the middle class. Economic changes affect consistently the position of both classes that naturally contributes to consistent social changes. In fact, the poor are vulnerable to the negative impact of gentrification. First of all, they have to move from their traditional residential areas to new ones, where they have to start a new life and where conditions of living are worse compared to the communities they used to live in. Representatives of the low-income and working class have to live in new communities and start a new life, which naturally evokes a number of social problems, among which it is necessary to develop basic infrastructure and positive relationships within the community. Furthermore, as the poor have to move to a new residential area, they often have to change their workplace because they cannot always afford covering transportation costs or the schedule of their work makes their work impossible. As they change the workplace, they may face the problem of unemployment, especially because they have to move to areas with the poor business development and with stagnating economy. In such a situation, representatives of the low-income and working class can face another problem à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ the problem of high crime rates in areas, where they settle after they have to move from their communities under the impact of gentrification. In fact, being in a desperate position and having no means for living, the poor are forced to commit crimes to earn for living and to afford living in a new community, where they move to from communities now inhabited by representatives of the middle class mainly. Representatives of the low-income and working class slip to criminal activities that naturally increase the social tension in poverty-stricken neighborhoods, where they live. Another social problem representatives of the lower class face is the lack of access to education. In fact, as they are removed from traditional residential areas, where they used to live, the poor have to develop their life in new communities and areas, which are often underdeveloped. They cannot afford developing education organizations and education system in their new community on their own. The state and local authorities are not always capable and willing to support the population of local communities. As a result, new communities inhabiting by the poor either have insufficient capacities to provide access to education for students in these communities, or have no education organizations at all. Obviously, the lack of access to education will increase the social tension even more because without education individuals cannot get well-paid jobs and good career opportunities. In addition, children living in low-income communities with the high level of crime rates are vulnerable t o the impact of their criminal environment. Therefore, the position of the poor will deteriorate, whereas social problems will increase over and over again. In addition, it is worth mentioning the fact that health care services are not available to the poor, who have to move to new residential areas after representatives of the upper class have replaced them in their traditional residential areas. In fact, health care services are not available as education services. Today, health care services are very expensive and the poor cannot afford the development of health care organizations in their communities, whereas the state lacks funds for the provision of health care services to all people. In such a situation, the poor are deprived of basic opportunities to have access to basic health care services. In contrast to the poor, representatives of the middle class can benefit from gentrification economically but they can hardly benefit from gentrification in social terms. What is meant here is the fact that representatives of the middle class exclude representatives of the lower class from the mainstream culture and benefits associated with the fast economic development of their communities. In fact, in social terms, gentrification leads to the growing tension between representatives of different social classes. To put it in simple words, representatives of the middle class improve their conditions of living, whereas the poor become poorer and suffer from a bunch of socio-economic problems. Moreover, the gap between the rich and the poor grows wider and specialists (Sassen, 1995) forecast serious conflicts between the two classes under the impact of gentrification because the problem will aggravate and the gap between the two classes will widen. Demographic effects of gentrification Along with numerous economic and social effects of gentrification, specialists (McKenzie, 2006) distinguish demographic effects. In this respect, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the process of gentrification contributes to consistent demographic changes. In fact, representatives of the middle class purchasing houses in the low-income and working class communities tend to have a few children. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that representatives of the middle class, who move to low-income and working class communities, are young people mainly. As a rule, they are not having children, when they move to low-income and working class communities. They need substantial financial resources to start a new life in low-income and working class communities. In such a situation, representatives of the middle class prefer to invest in the repair of their new houses and the development of low-income and working class communities to transform them into prosperous co mmunities. In such a situation, the rise of taxes and costs of living decreases the capabilities of representatives of the middle class living in low-income and working class communities of having children. In a long-run perspective, gentrification leads to the aging of the population living in communities, where representatives of the middle class have moved to. The same trend can be traced in low-income and working class communities because they cannot afford maintaining large families. In such a situation, the risk of the demographic crisis emerges because both representatives of the middle and lower classes have a few children. Specialists (Brandes Gratz, 1989) argue that, in a long-run perspective, the demographic crisis provoked by gentrification can lead to the aging of the population. The latter may provoke the deterioration of the economic situation and provoke social problems. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GENTRIFICATION Advantages of gentrification Obviously, gentrification has a number of advantages. First of all, gentrification stimulates the fast economic development of low-income and working class communities because representatives of the middle class invest substantial financial resources in the development of the communities. The investment and the development of local infrastructure increase housing prices in local areas. In such a situation, the housing taxes increase as the wealth of the community increases. Therefore, the economic development of communities under the impact of gentrification is accelerated. The development of communities stimulates the development of cities at large because cities benefit from the increased revenues obtained from taxation and accelerated economic development of would be low-income and working class communities. Representatives of the middle class obtain large opportunities for the further improvement of their standards of living. As a result, they benefit from gentrification. Disadvantages of gentrification On the other hand, gentrification brings a number of problems and has substantial disadvantages. First of all, Gentrification deteriorates the position of the poor, who have to move from low-income and working class communities, which are inhabited by representatives of the middle class. Their economic position becomes even worse as they have to move to new communities. In fact, the poverty breeds poverty being expelled from low-income and working class communities by representatives of the middle class. In addition, representatives of the lower class have to move to new communities, where a bunch of socioeconomic problems emerge. Among the major problems of socioeconomic problems, it is worth mentioning unemployment, the lack of access of the poor to education and basic health care services, and other problems. However, what is more important about gentrification is widening the gap between the rich and the poor. In fact, the poor become poorer, whereas representatives of the middle class improve their position. In such a situation, gentrification can undermine the foundation of modern cities because it raises unsurpassable barriers between the rich and the poor living in the cities but this antagonism can provoke serious social conflicts, including growing crime rates, which may affect not only poverty stricken communities but also other communities, including communities inhabited by representatives of the middle class and communities emerged in terms of gentrification. CONCLUSION Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that gentrification is quite a controversial process. In actuality, it is obvious that gentrification affects consistently the urban development. However, effects of gentrification can be highly controversial. On the one hand, gentrification stimulates the economic development of communities, where representatives of the middle class move to. However, economic benefits may be short-run, whereas, in a long-run perspective, gentrification can lead to the widening gap between the rich and the poor in cities. The latter problem will lead to the deterioration of the social stability within cities. Nevertheless, the full impact of gentrification on urban development should be studied further.

Educational Philosophy :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Educational Philosophy â€Å"Let’s play school?† So many times when I was growing up would I pose this question to my younger brother. I would always play the role of the teacher and he would be my somewhat enthused student. Of course, childhood never lasts forever and the unforgiving world of adolescence greets us. I was a miserable thirteen year old, wishing for those days of pretending, while I suffered the torments of a bully and had the feeling that I would never be accepted or fit in. I wondered, would my peers ever treat me equally? Would I ever be able to be what society says a young woman should be? It was during this trying time that I realized my childhood game, coupled with my desire to make kids feel good about themselves, was my destined career choice. I was destined to be an educator. As time passed and I entered college I realized that with the ideas of Progressivism and Social Reconstructionism that I was meant to be a teacher who would teach kids facts and formulas and teach them self worth in the process. To me, school is much more than a place to learn about history and math and reading, it’s a place to grow socially and emotionally. I believe it is vitally important to teach character development and self worth at an early age. This way, by the time a child hits puberty, they have a sense of self-pride, they feel they have a special gift or talent that makes them unique and important in society. Perhaps if I had had an elementary school teacher who taught me these things, then middle school wouldn’t have been such a difficult struggle for me. Many future teachers I speak with say that they want to teach out of West Virginia. They say they want to teach in a big city where they can get a high paying teachers job. But you can’t put a price tag on education; children here in the mountain state need young, dynamic teachers with fresh ways of thinking, as current teachers reach retirement age. This is why I want to teacher in West Virginia.

The Significance of Chapter 34 in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice Ess

The Significance of Chapter 34 in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice 'Pride And Prejudice' is a 19th Century romantic novel written by Jane Austen in 1813, it presents a true representation of society's expectations towards marriage and love at the time. It focuses on two central characters Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy and their love-hate relationship. Elizabeth the second eldest daughter of five sisters is an intelligent woman with a lively disposition, strong-minded determination and a woman who religiously sticks to her principles. As Mr Bennet says describing his daughter, "'Lizzy has something more of a quickness then her sisters.'" Mr Darcy on the other hand is an extremely handsome man but unfortunately very proud and detached and his character is considered rather aloof and disagreeable. "He was the proudest most disagreeable man in the whole world." In 'Pride And Prejudice' Jane Austen shows the reader how Elizabeth overcomes her prejudice of Mr Darcy's pride. Marriage at the time when the novel was written was perceived very differently to how it is thought of today. Getting married was seen as a necessity to gain financial security for the female, it was more of an arrangement, a business proposal to benefit both sides of the party. Love was not a prerequisite and nor was being in love a suitable reason to get married. As in the marriage talks with Elizabeth and her friend Charlotte Lucas, Charlotte sums up her view and every other woman's view on marriage. "'Happiness in marriage is purely a matter of chance.'" The reason for this being is that after a father died in the family the house and the land were meant to go to the oldest son, or in Mrs Bennet's case Mr Bennet's cou... ...ion is the incentive for Mr Darcy to write the letter to Elizabeth to try and change her opinion of him. "'Did it soon make you think better of me?'" Even at the end of the novel Elizabeth admits the profound effect that the letters had on her. "She explained what its effect had on her had been, and how gradually all her former prejudices had been removed." After the events of chapter 34 Mr Darcy's character changes significantly, because of Elizabeth he has overcome all his selfish and overbearing character traits which prevented her from loving him which was what he truly wanted as he was attracted to the "'liveliness'" of her mind. "'You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled.'" This lesson he would have never learnt or experienced if it weren't for her refusal in the proposal of Chapter 34.

Quote of the mind Essay

Some people think that the mind is the brain or some other part or function of the body, but this is incorrect. The brain is a physical object that can be seen with the eyes and that can be photographed or operated on in surgery. The mind, on the other hand, is not a physical object. It cannot be seen with the eyes, nor can it be photographed or repaired by surgery. The brain, therefore, is not the mind but simply part of the body. There is nothing within the body that can be identified as being our mind because our body and mind are different entities. For example, sometimes when our body is relaxed and immobile, our mind can be very busy, darting from one object to another. This indicates that our body and mind are not the same entity. In Buddhist scriptures, our body is compared to a guest house and our mind to a guest dwelling within it. When we die, our mind leaves our body and goes to the next life, just like a guest leaving a guest house and going somewhere else. If the mind is not the brain, nor any other part of the body, what is it? It is a formless continuum that functions to perceive and understand objects. Because the mind is formless, or non-physical, by nature, it is not obstructed by physical objects. It is very important to be able to distinguish disturbed states of mind from peaceful states. As explained in the previous chapter, states of mind that disturb our inner peace, such as anger, jealousy, and desirous attachment, are called ‘delusions’; and these are the principal causes of all our suffering. We may think that our suffering is caused by other people, by poor material conditions, or by society, but in reality it all comes from our own deluded states of mind. The essence of spiritual practice is to reduce and eventually to eradicate altogether our delusions, and to replace them with permanent inner peace. This is the real meaning of our human life. The essential point of understanding the mind is that liberation from  suffering cannot be found outside the mind. Permanent liberation can be found only by purifying the mind. Therefore, if we want to become free from problems and attain lasting peace and happiness we need to increase our knowledge and understanding of the mind.