...Philosophy Essay *Revised* EDUC 200 Education is not black and white. It is a foundation. We sometimes forget how important a foundation is. The foundation is that in which a structure is built. If there is a weakness in the base (foundation) the structure will have cracks, leaks, or collapse. I believe that depending on the subject a teacher’s philosophy structure may vary. Having a personal experience with a topic or feeling a certain way from upbringing can affect the teacher’s delivery to the class. I tend to side with logic. I find myself deducing different scenarios on a daily basis. I respect the learning process when someone actively practices and methodically reasons. In an American History class you present the background on how a society has evolved, letting the students assess events and support the feedback through explaining how the events are chained. History is an intricate subject. One main obstacle is sorting events into relevance of importance or impact. When instructing with the logical philosophy, we must be clear. Jumbling several decades together without a clear division and understanding would be retroactive. Teachers are faced with a daunting task of not only conveying so many important staples of society in a clear way, but peaking interest in general. I would use personal relation tactics. For example, World War II would be personally relevant for any students of German decent. Trying to find these assimilations would be key to “striking...
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...Crystal Eastham Professor Soden EDUC 200-D04 11/23/2015 Philosophy Essay An important part of being an effective teacher is knowing what your philosophy is. Your philosophy helps to determine how you will teach and how it will impact your students. When preparing for this paper I had to learn what my philosophy is. The results showed an equal foundation in both perennialism and social reconstructionism. In this paper I will discuss what these are and how they will be applied in a classroom setting. The perennialism psychology places a lot of importance on learning through teaching that have stood the test of time such as literature or curriculum. It is important to use methods that have a high success rate in order to have a base line for teaching. If something has the same effective rate now as it used to then it would be wise to use it repeatedly. At the same time social reconstructionism is the philosophy that focusses on the social aspect of a child’s growth. This places importance on ensuring kids have a strong foundation in equality and fairness. I see the value in both of these philosophies although I feel in a way that they contradict each other. It is important to instill in children things that make the past so influential yet prepare them for the future. This being said, how can one use these philosophies in a real life scenario? Imagine you are an American History teacher, and you want your students to do more than simply memorize their way through the information...
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...Reality The similarities found between the three readings include claims that reality is not completely proofed by what our physical senses tell us. All of these perspectives view day to day living as a normal person would see it as bondage. For The Matrix, it was the Machines that were oppressing humans, for the prisoner it was the chains that kept him bound to the wall only able to see shadows, and for Descartes it was the constant struggle with his own opinions and ideas which left him with the option to only doubt everything. In both The Matrix and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Neo and the prisoner were handed the opportunity to see past their false sense of reality. Before this, they were living in a reality that they believed was real. Neo was living a regular life like everyone else, but a part of him felt like something was not right. Morpheus confronted Neo and gave him the option between two pills. In The Allegory of the Cave, the prisoner believed the shadows to be reality until forces outside his control released him to explore the real world. As observed in both stories they were motivated by outside factors which initiated them coming to terms with reality. For Descartes, he initiated his own doubt of what his senses were telling him about reality. Descartes and Plato both question reality, but never find a solution to the truth, while The Matrix creates a fictitious story in which reality is questioned and truth is found. In association with Socrates implying...
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...Ilona Apelsinov September 13th, 2015 Weekly essay #1 What is the point of music? Why do people listen to music and often tend to not understand what the lyrics are? Why do we like to listen to something we don't understand or is not inspirational? There are people in this world that like some songs for no apparent reason either because the beat is catchy or just because everyone likes it. Philosophically it is not possible to like a song for no reason because there is always a reason for our actions. For something not to have a reason, it is an action without thought. But since liking something has an idea behind it, it is impossible to like something without reasons. When you like something, it is like an emotion because emotions are caused by reasons. Everyone has reasons for liking songs, some are fond of their likings and some are not. That is why some people admit to liking the songs they listen to and some just keep it to themselves. Therefore, liking something for no reason is impossible. From my experience, I tend to listen to the songs that sound catchy. I have many reasons why I like the songs that I listen to because they are either catchy, have significant lyrics that have meanings behind them or because the words that are being sung in the song connects with the situations that I might be dealing with. People use some songs to express their emotions when they can't explain it by using their own words. For example, the song "Trap Queen"...
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...1. Introduction Genetic profiling for the public has been around for a few decades but it has already changed many people’s lives. However, though it has many benefits an ethical issue arises should someone have the duty to disclose their genetic information to someone who may be at risk. In this essay, the issue of disclosure will be discussed, it will be broken down into 3 main topics: the advantages and disadvantages of genetic profiling; disclosing genetic information to family members and finally disclosing genetic information in the work place. This essay will then prove in its conclusion that there though there are ethical objections to disclosing genetic information there is a greater moral duty to show information. 1.1. Definition of genetic profiling Genetic profiling is also called DNA and genetic finger printing. According to the glossary of the National Human Genome Research Institute (n.d., n.p) the definition is “Genetic testing is a laboratory test to look for genetic variations associated with a disease. The results of a genetic test can be used to confirm or rule out a suspected genetic disease or to decide the likelihood of a person passing on a mutation to their offspring.” 2. Genetic Profiling and Ethics 2.1 Advantages of genetic profiling and ethics Even though genetic profiling is still relatively new, its positive outcomes can already be seen in the world around us. A layman’s example would be the use of genetic testing to discover the...
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...Explain Descartes Ontological Argument (25 Marks) René Descartes was a French philosopher who developed contemporary approaches to philosophy. In his writings the Meditations of Philosophy he examines the nature and reality of god featuring his Ontological approach to the existence of God. This argument is a priori and is featured heavily in the fifth Meditation. It is a deductive approach to the existence of God. Descartes ontological argument is a development of Anslem argument to which he continues to define God as ‘supremely perfect being’. He argued that a being which is the most perfect is necessary. He argued that God is the ‘supremely perfect being’ he must possess attributes associated with perfection such as beauty, existence, goodness and being eternal. In his writings Descartes argues that the existence of God cannot be doubted and is similar to the truths of mathematics which can also not be doubted and used his ontological argument to demonstrate this He uses an example of a triangle to do this. A triangle by nature has three sides, three interior angles which add up to 180 degrees. Descartes refers to this as being ‘immutable’ meaning being unable to change. Similar to a triangle, God has an ‘immutable’ nature and his existence is a part of this. He argues that the interior angles of a triangle equating to 180 degrees is a fundamental part of its nature such as the existence of God. This demonstrates that existence according to Descartes us a predicate...
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...A potential response is that one may proceed in Trolley but not in Transplant. The key difference can be explained by the Kantian idea of using people as an end in itself, rather than a means. In essence, for an agent to proceed in Transplant, he physically needs the body of a healthy man in order to save the five; whereas in Trolley the bystander does not use his victim in any sense (Thompson, Reading B). While this idea explains Trolley and Transplant in its vanilla form, it fails to explain the permissibility of pulling the lever in the loop variant (Thompson, Reading B) where one must be used or the five will die. The doctrine of double effect is a principle which states that an action which is morally impermissible if done intentionally, may be permissible if it only brought about as a foreseen consequence of promoting an ultimate good end (Study Guide p. 42). In the case of Transplant, the doctrine may explain the outcome of saving the five but fails to explain the means of doing so. If the organs were obtained by a means where the agent did not intentionally kill a person, then the doctrine may be able explain this. However in order to save the five, an agent must kill the one, and therefore it is implausible to state that the intentional murder of an innocent to achieve an end can be passed off as a foreseen consequence. Thompson’s explanation on the permissibility of proceeding in Trolley relates to the histories of how each person came to be where they are on each...
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...There is no technique, or recipe, or set of guidelines for writing an essay in philosophy. — That statement might not appear very helpful. To the beginner, the very idea of a philosophy essay seems mysterious, and the prospect of having to write one quite intimidating. Any attempt to explain the nature of philosophical writing in the abstract, however, merely serves to deepen the mystery. All one can say is that once you have started to grapple with various actual examples of such writing, you will begin to form an idea of the type of approach that is needed. Then, all you can do is have a go yourself. In short, like the very first things we were taught as infants, one learns by imitation and by trial and error. But why is it necessary to write philosophy anyway? Isn't it enough just to study the works of philosophers? Writing — whether in the form of books, articles, essays, or dialogues — is, quite simply, the way one works at philosophy. Reading, thinking, talking philosophy are all parts of the process. But none of these is a satisfactory substitute for the discipline of expressing your thoughts on paper. (The lone figure of Socrates is perhaps the only recorded exception to this statement.) A student who has not yet produced his or her first piece of written work has simply not reached first base. — That is why at Pathways we encourage our students to get into the practice of writing from the start. By 'writing' one does not mean simply jotting down thoughts as they...
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...Philosophy of Religion Essay: Religious experience at Ram Mandir Hinduism is one of the oldest religions since the beginning of time and has grown from its ancient roots to become the third largest religion in the world. The majority of its followers originate in India and Nepal. Hinduism is a religion based on traditional values and philosophies that have evolved in India over period of more than a thousand years. On my visit to the Ram Mandir while I experienced a puja, “which is a name for prayers in Hinduism”. (V,2011) among the people, I noticed two different patterns that they follow, and observed that Hinduism has related the patterns to Emilie Durkheim’s and Stuart Hall’s theories of social solidarity and culture respectively through use of prayers and congregations, which is going to be the main focus of my essay in Hinduism the distinct patterns while performing the prayers. The two patterns are congregation who came together for the ritual performed by the Pundits( priests) and the book that priest themselves distributed to the people. The first pattern that was visible to me in the Ram Mandir was based on the congregation who came together for the ritual performed by the Pundits (priests). This gathering of people had a majority of Asian descendants which were mostly North Indians that spoke Hindi. Also, there were different languages that were being spoken by south Indians that are dark skinned, which were easy to distinguish. Since, Hindi is the most common...
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...Test Essay Questions Question #1 Chaerephon asked the omniscient oracle if there was anyone wiser than Socrates, and the Oracle replied there was not. Socrates becomes very perplexed by the answer for he knew the Oracle could not tell a lie & he knew he had no certain wisdom or knowledge. In order to test the claim of the Oracle, Socrates began to question Athenian men whose knowledge was highly respected such as the politicians, the poets, and craftsmen. He found that the politicians who thought they were very wise, in fact knew nothing at all. The poets were incapable of explaining their works; Socrates concluded that their genius came not from wisdom but from some sort of instinct or inspiration which was in no way connected to their intellect. Furthermore, these poets seemed to think they could speak intelligently about all sorts of matters concerning which they were quite ignorant. In the craftsmen, Socrates found men who truly did have great wisdom in their craft, but invariably, they seemed to think that their expertise in one field allowed them to speak authoritatively in many other fields, about which they knew nothing. In each case, Socrates affirmed that he would rather be as he is, knowing that he knows nothing, than to be inflated by a false sense of his own wisdom. Thus, he concludes, he truly is wiser than other men because he does not think he knows what he does not know. Though many people take Socrates to be an expert in the fields of which he questions...
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...In the world of philosophy, physicalism (materialism) states there is no other existence outside the three dimensional physical world and that everything is composed of and understood by physical properties. I dispute this claim for many reasons. Many of the changes in the physical world originate from non physical things such as abstract metaphysical thinking. Another reason is that many of the experiences of life we have cannot be grasped by physically. Lastly, we have to consider the possibility that there are dimensions and other higher intelligence that surpass the three dimensional perceptual constraints that we humans have. The physical world is composed of physical substances. With the addition of energy we have a physical world. Anything in our universe can be categorized and understood within physical terms, so the physicalist says. In this case, I disagree because some changes in the physical world are not caused by physical things but rather, by the metaphysical. There are, however, some exceptions like: an exploding star. A supernova is caused by the ceased production of fusion energy resulting in the collapse of the star under the force of its own gravity. I agree such things can be determined by physicists in terms of the physical. What I am arguing for is the potential and capabilities of the human viewpoint and its consciousness. Changes and various phenomena in our world come from strings of thought. In terms of living conscious beings, actions cannot spontaneous...
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...If I have one operating philosophy about life, it is this: Commit if you’re willing to make a change on poverty.These are four principles that guide my philosophy. To begin with, if you commit to something,you can make a big difference even if its a bit of money.As you know the government has a will to make a change but is undetermined in doing that even though they have the money.For instance, its like starting a hobby and not falling through it.The reason we need to commit on making a change for poverty is because researchers found that the cause of it includes changing trends in economy, lack of education, high divorce rate, environmental issues, and others.Also those in poverty have to make due of dangerous housing considering all the house prices going up.So if we do have the commitment,it will cut the number of americans living in poverty in half....
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...Question ONE (to be answered as a straight-forward philosophical essay): Silenus, the satyr, is, or perhaps pretends to be, a determinist. After all, everything about the satyr, both his nature and nurture, come directly from his creator, Hench. And certainly, at the beginning of the story, Hench accepts full responsibility for the satyr’s actions. But he eventually changes his mind. How can the satyr, all of a sudden, become morally responsible for his actions? What exactly changed in Hench’s thinking? Michael Gorr is a compatibilist. Does his position make better sense than either the determinist or the libertarian? Explain. Question TWO (to be answered as a philosophical essay but with your auto-biography as illustation): “There is little wonder that Silenus, the satyr, is a determinist because everything about him, that is, both his nature as well as his nurture, were outside his control. He had absolutely no say in the matter. But, when I think about it, this is equally true of me as well. How do I, as a human being, differ from the satyr (except for the half-goat, half-man part)? After all, I am nothing more than the causal result of my nature in combination with my nurture and therefore, just like the satyr, I too am not responsible for who I am, what I do, or even what I think. If everything about me is caused and outside my control, then I cannot really be free or morally responsible. I could not have done otherwise.” Critically assess this claim utilizing determinism...
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...In this paper, I will discuss my philosophy of what I believe an effective leader should be; and the qualities that we as leaders should possess. My leadership philosophy in my opinion, is very simple; teach, coach, mentor and lead by example. Soldiers are the Army’s largest and greatest asset. As a good leader it is our duty to shape their minds and teach to standard according to the guidelines that are set forth in regulations and publications especially in today’s ever changing military. As a Non-Commissioned Officer, it is our duty to mentor and groom our subordinates and prepare our future leaders to take our place and move up within the ranks. Soldiers need to exceed the normal standards. As our Country continually engages in conflicts...
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...explorations on selected product design masters. - critically review contemporary product design in the professional context. relate key aspects of the design masters’ design philosophies to design artefacts. Brief This assignment allows you to demonstrate your understanding of the design philosophies of the product design masters and apply critiques across theoretical and practical work. In this assignment you will be required to: research into one current or past product design master; relate key aspects of the design masters’ design philosophies to design artifact; interpret the key issues of product design from different perspectives, including social, economic and technological; critically review their contributions and effect to contemporary product design; and write an essay with a minimum of 1,500 words based on your findings. Deliverables 1,500 word essay in hard copy plus a soft copy in MS Word format uploaded into MOODLES. (MLO 2, 3, 4) 1. 2. 3. The essay should include images and text. Please take note of the color, form, materials used by the product design masters in their designs. Essay should include a title page and a bibliography of references used. Submission Date 1,500 word essay in hard copy and soft copy: Week 14 – 5th Dec 1 Assessment Criteria Essay – Explain the significance of product design in its social, economic...
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