... Question 5. Question : (TCO 5) The hau of material objects refers to: Question 6. Question : (TCO 6) What has been the result of air quality from strict emission controls? Question 7. Question : (TCO 7) According to Malthus, population grows: Question 8. Question : (TCO 7) Which of the following does Sen claim will NOT insure food availability? Question 9. Question : (TCO 3) What percentage of the world's original forests remain? Question 10. Question : (TCO 5) According to your text, what is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for individuals between the ages of 1 and 35? Grading Summary These are the automatically computed results of your exam. Grades for essay questions, and comments from your instructor, are in the "Details" section below. Date Taken: Grade Details - All Questions Page: 1 2 Question 1. Question : (TCO 1) Define...
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...They say that money makes the world go round. And indeed it does as without money, life would be very difficult as in today’s society, nothing is free. The side effect however is that people are becoming more materialistic; more concerned with making money and what money can buy. But how much money is enough? Is it ever enough? To some, it will never be enough. In my opinion, I truly believe that this statement is true and that people are becoming more materialistic in nature. In this essay, I will discuss how materialism has affected modern society’s way of life on an individual level, the country’s economy as well as our spiritual and moral beliefs. First and foremost, each individual is affected by materialism to some extent in this day and age because hedonism is becoming an uprising trend. This is because today's generation are geared towards making more and more money so that they can enjoy the carefree lifestyle that is so popular these days. Moreover, people now are striving to earn more income in order to afford things that are more expensive and branded. For example, people spend their hard earned money on material objects like genuine LV and Coach handbags, expensive gadgets like Iphones and Tablet pcs and so on which in my opinion is a waste of money when regular goods may prove to be good enough. Therefore, while individuals become more focussed on their pursuit of material wealth and improving their standard of living, they may forget that what matters most in...
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...selected an essay assignment option and brainstormed as well as researched the topic, write a paragraph in which you describe your topic, your source materials, and your main ideas Topic Choice: Read "Needs" (Chapter 6) and "Stuff is Not Salvation" (Chapter 12). Write a comparison essay in which you examine the definitions and implications of "needs" versus "wants" as described by the two authors. In today’s society, most people contribute too much money to unnecessary possessions that are not needed. The more money one earns, the more one tends to spend. This endless cycle of materialism has led many to confuse the word ‘need’ with ‘want’. In researching this topic I have read not only the source materials provided in this assignment but also other web and book sources which I have listed below. “The pursuit of material success often is the root cause of burnout at midlife. In fact, a recent study at the University of California found that people primarily motivated by the love of their work grow dissatisfied as they begin to make more money”. The first step in breaking this materialistic trap is in distinguishing the differences between wants and needs. This comparison is the underlying essence of economics and strives to comprehend how “individuals and nations behave in respond to certain material constraints”. Although the sources provided from the Sundance reader are vastly contrasting, this distinctive difference will be beneficial to my compare/contrast essay because...
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...we are faced with. We see that in the 21st century technology is another term used to represent our modern life style, thinking and behaviour. Technology is also used by people to improve their surroundings, and it involves having to have some sort of knowledge in order to use certain machines and tools to do so. Furthermore technology is used to control the world in which we live, and more specifically people use it to improve their ability to do work and improve products. This whole idea as to how we view technology is seen as the technological determinism approach. It has also been said that technology cannot work on its own, but rather it is found to work hand in hand with the environment in which we live (Lian, 2007). Therefore in my essay I will be looking at various types of technology from a technological determinist and cultural materialist perspective, and then looking at how these two approaches compare or differ from one another. This would also lead me to seeing if the cultural materialist approach does see society as being free agents and actually adapting technology to fit the culture. 1. The main ideas of technological determinism and the theoretical implications of it Technological determinism has to do with the belief that technology shapes social change. A social scientist named Veblen first came up with this concept in the 1920s, and he believed that changes in beliefs; practices and goals of a society and culture were all influenced by technology (Murphie...
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...Shawna Potratz 08/04/2013 PHI-103 Richard Mohline What is Mind? To believe that seeing and touching is the only real truth is to believe that there is no such thing as an idea. For some people this is possible, but in order to make something real it must exist as an idea or a thought first. There are many arguments to picking a side of either Physicalism or Dualism and many people only have one opinion and then close their mind to other options. Only by understanding both sides can someone make a decision as to whether they are a physicalist or dualist. However, Dualism is the only real truth, for without an idea or thought; there can be no physical object to obtain. Some would say that everything started with a thought. It is clear that truth in reality is often something you can see or touch or taste, but what about feelings? How can someone feel love or have admiration for one’s beauty if none of those emotions can be touched or tasted. As humans we are built to feel and think. Some might say that religion plays a big role in one’s decision, if so then what of Atheism. They are human to; they feel pain and emotion all the same. They also think and idealize the same as someone of religious belief; therefore, religion cannot apply in such arguments because some great philosophers’ had none. As a child we are taught what things are and what to call them. The name of an object started as an idea. If your mother was to teach you that a pen was the only writing...
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...Marvin Harris: Cultural Materialism perspective Theory: A model of human behavior. Model involving a logical explanation of some phenomenon Model tries to generalize about social behavior A theory in social sciences must be empirically testable or supported by evidence Materialist versus Idealist views of Culture Food as Feed (required for physical existence/survival) Food as symbolic: as Status/prestige, Health, class, group identity, sexuality, gender, power, ritual, protest Why don=t Hindus eat beef? Or, why don’t Jews and Muslims eat Pork? MATERIALIST: ABecause it is more profitable to preserve the cow=s for other uses” IDEALIST : ABecause they consider the cow sacred, and will not kill it for food” Theories are based on Assumptions Materialist View: Humans are rational beings. They will weigh the costs and benefits of actions. Biological needs such as food, sex are more important than other needs. Work is less desirable than leisure. Behaviors influence ideas. Idealist View: Human seek meaning in action. Symbolic understanding orients all human action, including the satisfaction of biological needs. We cannot understand human behavior without understanding the system of meanings that govern behavior from the actor’s point of view. Ideas influence action. Harris= materialist explanation of the Asacred cow@ in India Beef was consumed in the past...
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...FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OYE-EKITI, EKITI STATE, NIGERIA. A TERM PAPER TITLE:- “THE ESSENCE/SUBSTANCE OF MAN” BY FACULTY: SCIENCE DEPARTMENT: MICROBIOLOGY COURSE TITLE: PHILOSOPHY AND LOGIC COURSE CODE: GST 205 CONTENT * Introduction * What is man * Philosophically * Scientifically * The essence and substance of man * What constitute man * Man as a dualist * Man as a monad * Man as a socialist * Man as a spiritual entity * Man as a physical entity * Intrinsic characteristics that man have in common * Illustration of the mental essence(when man is abnormal is he still half or full) INTRODUCTION The essence of man is the constituent of man which goes beyond his body alone but extends to his mind, soul, spirit and other attributes of man. But we cannot talk about the essence of man without the existence of man because without an existence of man, man’s essence is of no use and nothing to talk about. This brings about the proposition ‘existence precedes essence’. The proposition that existence precedes essence is a central claim of existentialism, which reverses the traditional philosophical view that the essence (the nature) of a thing is more fundamental and immutable than its existence (the mere fact of its being). To existentialists, human beings—through their consciousness—create their own values and determine a meaning for their life because the human being does not possess any inherent identity or value. By posing the acts that constitute...
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...Contemporary theories in cognitive science and the philosophy of mind lend support for the materialist position regarding the mind-body problem. A few of these theories: naturalism, and behaviourism form the basis of why I am a materialist. Dualist approaches offer counter-arguments to Materialism, such as Spiritualism and Interactionism but both empirically fall short. Current research materialistically concludes that mental states are nothing but physical states. As a materialist I would say: There are no souls, the mind is just the brain, everything can by expressed or explained physically. The naturalist in me would more thoroughly assert that nothing exists beyond the natural world, that natural laws are the rules that govern the structure and behavior of the natural universe. That the changing universe at every stage is a product of these laws and this is what forms the basis of my material beliefs. I do not believe in the supernatural, or souls. I believe that biology, neurology and psychology fulfill the soul's supposed function and that the universe developed naturally, without any "creator". inversely, a popular rebuttal to Naturalism is Spiritualism. The Spiritualist would assert we do indeed have souls, and that when we die our soul’s survive the death’s of our bodies by ascending into a spirit existence. While this can be argued for theoretically and rationally, there is no empirical evidence to support such a belief. That leads me to doubt in the validity of...
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...Materialism is a belief in matter, whereas dualism is not its opposite and "vs" has no relevance or meaing because materialism cannot vs dualism. Those who are deprived of the spiritual insights undersand dualism in a lower pedestal than the meaning it has or indicates. Dualism is a state of being or existence in two seemingly opposite entities. Dvaita (dualistic) as clearly defined in Sankhya Philosophy as opposed to Advaita (non-dualistic) monism as clearly defined by Adi Shri Shankaracharya. Though Plato did believe in Dualism and reached a stage of defining the fifth element Ether but he could not grasp the spiritual essense of it completely due to lack of spiritual progress in life. That pertains to matter is materialism. That pertains to Spirit is spiritualism. Spirit and matter are dual states of existence, like night and day, black and white, good and evil and all such seemingly opposites. But, the fact remains that the seemingly opposites cannot exist in isolation from the source and remains within or connected to the source and therefore everything in the world is one unit of undifferentiated Brahman or Sat Chit Ananda (Truth(Existance), Consciousness and Bliss). If the cosmos is a one Monistic Unit of Undifferentiated Brahman, due to the illusion of the senses, the undifferentiated brahman is seen by human beings as differentiated and having separate entitties. Here the division begins, the pattern of two is dualism, then the pattern of three, the pattern of four and...
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...Epiphenomenalism and Physicalism Physicalism, which is often, in contemporary philosophy interchangeably called Materialism, asserts that the physical world, and everything in it conforms to a certain condition, that of being Physical, either as a causal force or as material. The main argument against Physicalism, Jackson’s argument claims that there exists a contradiction between the existence of Qualia (The felt qualities of experience) and Physicalism. Jackson’s argument is given in the form of a thought experiment in which Mary, a neuroscientist, isolated in a black and white room is given all of the physical facts regarding other people, and so must therefore know everything there is to know about other people. However, it is evident in the second premise that because she learns something new about these people upon being released, she must not have known everything there is to know, though the facts she understood hold true, her experience yields new...
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...Substance Dualism vs. Materialism At the center of the debate over human nature, the existence of free will, and the validity of science are two opposing viewpoints: materialism and dualism. Dualism is the belief that a person is made up of two kinds of substances: physical matter and above all else, an immaterial force known as the mind, or soul. Materialism refutes dualism, asserting that man and matter are inseparable, and that there is no mysterious, supernatural force directing our actions. Both viewpoints were derived in an attempt to place philosophy on firmer, more scientific ground. The arguments of Descartes and Hobbes for substance dualism and materialism, respectively, are representative of this debate. Although materialism and dualism have their own internal problems and flaws, I will argue that many of the objections that have been leveled against materialism can be met and that, on the whole, materialism is a much more plausible theory than dualism. The Greek philosopher Socrates believed that nothing could be certain without divine knowledge, which no man possesses. However, René Descartes, a 16th century French philosopher believed that some things could be determined to be certain as long as they were deduced through the proper methods. This method, known as the method of doubt, led Descartes to the foundational beliefs that became the basis for Substance Dualism. Simply put, Substance Dualism is the belief that there are two types of substances:...
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...Carvakas were ancient supporters of philosophy that assumed religious indifference and disbelief in contemporary philosophical theories, ideas and suggestions. The term Carvakas was used to denote the philosophical school of ‘Indian Materialism’. In its most basic sense, “Indian Materialism” refers to the school of thought within Indian philosophy that rejects anything surrealistic or supernatural. It rejects the existence spiritual, non worldly entities such an soul or god and the after-life. Their primary philosophical import comes from science and naturalism, thus they rejects ethical systems that are grounded in super naturalistic beliefs. The good, for the Indian materialist, is strictly associated with pleasure and the only ethical obligation forwarded by the system is the maximization of one’s own pleasure. The Carvakas were condemned and critized as this philosophical entity did not believe in contemporary view of ethics. The Cārvākas denied metaphysical concepts like reincarnation, soul, religious rites, other world (heaven and hell), fate and accumulation of merit or demerit through the performance of certain actions. The rejected the use of supernatural causes to describe natural phenomena. To them all natural phenomena was produced spontaneously from the inherent nature of things.[21] Carvakas thought that body was formed out of four elements (and that consciousness was an outcome of the mixture of these elements. Therefore, Carvakas did not believe...
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...The mind/body problem is one that consists of the inconsistent tetrad, which states that: 1. the human body is a material thing, 2. the human mind is a spiritual thing, 3. mind and body causally interact, and 4. spirit and matter do not causally interact. The Identity Theory attempts to solve this problem by denying number 2. It is a materialists’ theory which claims that the human mind is not a spiritual, but a physical thing. The theory claims that states and processes of the mind are identical to states and processes of the brain.” Smart says that experiences such as pain, seeing something, or having a mental image are not just correlated with events that take place in the brain, but that they are brain processes, and nothing more. Smart insists that at the level science is going soon even the behaviour of man will “be explicable in mechanistic terms”. To help understand this theory, one can look at and observe this example: what we know commonly in our society as water is also known as H20. The two are one in the same, just a different name for the same thing. Another example that can be used is that of lightning. When we see lightning flashing during a thunderstorm, we see it as just that, lightning. However, to a scientist, or someone knowledgeable in that area, it is also known as an electrical discharge. As in these cases, the same can be said for any emotion, sensation, or event that takes place within someone’s “mind”. If someone feels pain, for...
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...What Would I Do If I Would Have to Die in a Year? Mortality is something that binds us all. We may have different personalities, different colors, different accents, but we all are human. Sometimes death sneaks up on someone and takes him by surprise. Sometimes it lingers until the person he's visiting knows the friendship will go on a deeper level soon. First I would take a lovely first class cruise around the world for one entire year, or, maybe just use the ships as a constant base from which to explore other worlds, until the fateful day. I would try and travel to every place on Earth, and have as many deep and spiritual conversations as possible, meet the great spiritual and influential philosophical thinkers in the world today, starting with His Holiness the Dali Lama. Then, when the time of passing to the next existence comes, have those that love me, who know me, all around me, for a peaceful, calming, soul releasing experience, and to let them know, it is not a moment of emotional disaster, but one of triumph and transition, for the human spirit. However, life is beautiful and amazing, and probably for us its too early to think about death, because we have so much unfinished work to do and make our families happier,Mortality is something that binds us all. We may have different personalities, different colors, different accents, but we all are human. Sometimes death sneaks up on someone and takes him by surprise. Sometimes it lingers until the person he's...
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...Many of us have some view or idea of the afterlife – whether it is some kind of utopia or even if there is one at all. Research conducted by Douglas Davies found that around 29% of us believe that nothing happens after death, 8% think that our bodies awaits resurrection and 12% believe that we will come back as someone else. Of course there are some more religious people, 22%, who just think that we should trust in God, the remaining 34% of us believe that our souls passes on to another world. These views can all be classed into the traditional divide used when discussing the soul and life after death. There is the Monist view – the idea that the body and the soul exists as a single unity, the souls existence is dependent on the body, belief in resurrection and reincarnation falls under this idea. The Materialist view is the idea that human beings are purely physical beings and does not consist of a body and a soul – belief in there being nothing after death falls under this category. The final view is Dualism – the idea that humans consist of two elements, the body and the soul – where the body is physical the soul is immaterial. The belief of a place after death falls under this view. The first idea we will explore is dualism. Plato famously claimed that the soul is ‘imprisoned’ by the body. He put forward the Allegory of the Chariot – where there is the charioteer (which represents the soul) and two horses (one representing the mind and the other the body). The soul attempts...
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