A Critique on the Blank Slate Essay Example for Free

A Critique on the Blank Slate Essay There are three doctrines which have attained sacred status in modern intellectual life. The Blank Slate, a loose translation of the medieval Latin term tabula rasa, scraped tablet, commonly attributed to John Locke which delves into the opposing of political status quos and social arrangements, stating mainly that the mind is like a sheet of white paper void of all characters and ideas, furnished with words through experience; it denounced the differences seen among races, including the institution of slavery as slaves could no longer be thought of as innately inferior, ethnic groups, sexes and individuals for the differences come not from the innate constitution but from the differences in the experiences. It is indeed fitting to think of the mind that way as the mind is like a blank sheet of paper filled only through experience. Yet it is safe to say that not only experience that can fill it but also preconceptions and expectations of the society. Another doctrine is The Noble Savage, commonly attributed to philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, inspired by the European colonists’ discovery of the indigenous in the New World; it stated the belief that savages were solitary, without ties of love or loyalty and without any industry or art. It also captures the belief that humans in their natural state are selfless, peaceable and untroubled and that negative emotions such as greed and jealousy are products of civilization, a concept which debased Thomas Hobbes’ belief that man is naturally cruel and requires a regular system of police to be resolved. Looking at it from a personal angle, I would say that I quite agree with Hobbes only on one aspect: man is naturally cruel; if he isn’t, then how is it that our history has been tainted with the blood of millions of people who have died because of a single man who could not rein his malice, i.e. Hitler. Even in our everyday life, we manage to impress upon other peopl e our evil nature, even if in a simple way. But that does not mean that we need to surrender our lives to leviathan control for I believe that we can change our nature, no matter how far back we may seem. As the last doctrine states, we are not merely machines with gears and springs, we are our minds and thus we have the ability to think and choose our own decisions. The last doctrine, attributed to Rene Descartes, is perhaps the most ingenious of all: The Ghost in the Machine. Our mind exists because we know how to think and the very act of doing so proves it. Our bodies’ existence however may be doubted for we may simply be immaterial spirits who merely daydream that we are incarnate. Add to that a moral bonus: the belief that the mind is a different kind of thing from the body. And what makes it truly intriguing is the fact that philosophers argue as to when the ghost enters the body, during the start of the fertilization when the sperm cell fertilizes the egg cell and creates the zygote or when it has become a fetus ready to be borne into the world. Certainly it is an argument comparable to the question, â€Å"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?† Philosophically answering the question would pertain to another question, â€Å"what is meant by ‘came first’?† as all philosophical questions go. These doctrines have so shaped the world that it has left fingerprints, from Walt Disney to the former president of the United States, George W. Bush. And even for a simple student like me who has recently come across the subject, I can say that I have already thought of such concepts even without reading it before, or at least I have thought about the idea of the Noble Savage and the Blank Slate. Yet as I read the concept of the Ghost in the Machine, I was very much in awe for I have never, in my whole sixteen years of existence, thought of such a thing. And what really appeals to me is the fact that Descartes claims that we are our minds and that our body may merely be an image we have formed as immaterial b eings. Even Buddha thought so, stating that â€Å"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I have long doubted the ideas of ghosts and reading of such a concept, especially in a subject such as this, makes me wonder how the philosopher conceived such an idea. Thinking of it gives me shivers as it implies that we are beings far greater than we imagined. And as good as it may sound, I think it appeals to man’s egotistic nature; we as humans who have done things, good and evil, try to look for a sound explanation to ease our consciences. I cannot say that the idea does not appeal to me yet I cannot also say that I do agree with it; on the other hand, of the three doctrines, I agree the most with the doctrine of The Noble Savage. I do believe that in our true nature, we are savages but that does not mean that we did not know how to control ourselves; indeed it would seem that the Native Americans, the specific race of people that the Europeans based the doctrine of The Noble Savage on, had a better society than we did: they were less barbaric, no employment problems and substance abuse, even crime was nearly nonexistent. And even if there were hard times, life was definitely stable and predictable. And yet that in itself was the reason why man chose to come out of his â€Å"savage† nature; he wanted adventure, twist and turns in his life; he wanted to feel the thrill of living. There is nothing wrong with that but for every choice there is a price to pay and the price we paid was high even if it remains to be seen whether it was worth it or not. However that is not enough reason to turn over our free will to an autonomous control; doing so would merely undermine the choices we have made for our civilization. Besides, our lives are meant to be lived fully and whatever choices we make, we must stand by it and see it to the end. Our mind, no matter how it started or whatever way it really is, is a tool for us to live our lives as we see fit. We must learn to harness our true potential to make sure that whatever choices we make would produce positive ripples that would be felt in the distant future to help the coming generations. As Plutarch said, â€Å"The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.†

Shakespeares Presentation of Love in a Midsummer Nights Dream Essay

Shakespeare's Presentation of Love in a Midsummer Nights Dream A midsummer nights dream was originally supposed to have been performed at a wedding. Therefore the theme of love would have been a suitable theme for the play. In this play, as in many of Shakespeare's plays the main theme is love. Shakespeare presents many different aspects of love in the play. He shows how love can affect your vision of reality and make you behave in irrational ways. He presents many ways in which your behavior is affected by the different types and aspects of love. The main types of love he presents are; true love, fake love, unrequited love, young and irrational love and platonic love. Shakespeare tries to show what kinds of trouble, problems and confusion, love can get you into. The different interpretations of love are aimed at showing what being in love could lead to. When you think that you are in love and not really, how easily emotions can be confused and changed. For example, Demetrius's love for Hermia is fake and easily changed in one night to Helena. Hermia and Helena share a platonic love between them; but Lysander, turning to loving Helena by a drop in his eyes, disrupts it. Helena and Hermia fight and feel betrayed by each other because of Lysander talking about loving Helena. Helena thinks that Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius are playing a practical joke on her. Lysander and Hermia share young, but true love. The both act irrationally. When Hermia's parents refuse to allow her to not marry Demetrius she and Lysander decide to run away together and then get married. Just just a drop in Lysander's eye disrupts their love easily. They are ... ...lay was written for a wedding but was not performed for that purpose. This could be because of the ideas he shows that could have gone wrong and how it could be false even if you think its true. Shakespeare also makes a point of how quickly situations where you think you are in love, or where here you are good friends, can changes around and prove otherwise. It would for the reasons that he shows how complicated and how false love can be, be an inappropriate theme for the play to be performed at a weeding. He could of upset the couple with his imagery and references to what trouble love can lead to. Shakespeare shows how he feels about love. The play demonstrates his perception of love by using imagery and language. He presents love as being irrational, blinding and obsessive. He shows that it can be very misleading.

On the Ethics of Psychological Research Essay

Potter Stewart an associate justice of the United States supreme court once said that â€Å"Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do†. He believed in doing things pragmatically instead of impractically and it made him more recognized for his realistic approach to his job. Ethics in life are very important in setting standards of morality and integrity, especially since ethics show the principles and values that one uses to govern their actions. Ethics in psychology are very similar to the ethics we follow on a day to day basis. The ethics in psychology often relate to how people are treated when put in experiments in order to complete theories and concepts that are psychology based. When psychology research began many experiments began as well, to test the many beginning theories that came about when psychology was introduced to researchers. The American Psychological Association now has a code of ethics for psychology resear ch due to the fact that many psychologists in the past have violated the safety, belief systems, needs, values, and the overall protection of their participants. The code of ethics that has been put in place by the APA holds all psychologists to the same set of standards and provides a guideline in an attempt to ensure professionalism and respect for all involved and sometimes this doesn’t occur. The APA published the first ethics code in 1953 that equals about a 16 page document today, but in 1953 it seemed so much larger back then. The reason that the ethics code was written is because ethics in research of psychologists began to be questioned by society for their safety and effectiveness. The research studies that were performed in the past often became public scandals and compromised the principle of research. Following the code of ethics is very important in research. The five reasons to adhere to the code of ethics is to promote the intent of research, promote a basic normality that helps when researchers collaborate, to ensure the liability of the experimenter, to gain more support from the general population, and to promote morality and obligation (Resnik). The overall incentive for the code of ethics according to Resnik is to constantly advocate for effective research while also being consensual. These ethics placed must be followed just to maintain the respects of t he rights of research participants, the reputation of psychology, and the dignity of research principles. Another purpose of ethics in research is for the safety of the people involved in the experiment, and the notoriety of psychologists in society. Committees of research must have a code of ethics that discuss the guidelines made by the APA and the personal ethics for the experiment. Some of the most important codes are informed consent, debrief, protection of participants, deception, confidentiality, and ability to withdraw. (Mcleod). According to the research done by Mcleod, the APA is using the code of ethics to protect their name and the reputation they have built, a so to maintain a stability of trust with their experimenters and participants. There were many unethical procedures after 1953 even though those guidelines had been set. Some of the experiments were very traumatic to patients and almost risked their lives, or could have died or killed each other. One of the many most known unethical experiments that occurred was the Stanford Prison Experiment. This experiment was conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1971, and the purpose of the experiment was to attempt to understand the development of power norms in society and specifically the effects of roles, labels, and social expectations in a prison environment. Twenty four students were chosen out of 75, half were assigned roles of prisoner and half were assigned the role of guard. In the experiment Zimbardo made it very realistic for the prisoners, having cops come and arrest them, having rules that they had to follow, but gave the guards no prior training. The end result of the experiment being guards who became consumed in power and behaved in a brutalizing way, and prisoners who became submissive and cowering (Mcleod). While Zimbardo didn’t actually go against any ethical codes while outlining his experiment and he got the experiment approved before conducting it, some believed that his place as the conductor of the experiment was to stop the simulation from getting too abusive which it did, but he didn’t stop it because he was trying to maintain the realism of the experiment, and in the end he felt as though he did what was best for the sake of research. Regardless of this, Zimbardo did go against the ethics code in multiple ways like the fact that the experiment was unpredictable, the guards were drunk, and no steps were taken to avoid harm of his volunteers. He faile d to understand that participants are people and should their dignity should be maintained because â€Å"respect in research refers to respect for people and respect for truth† (Yousef). Zimbardo’s experiment was evaluated by the APA, where they said that all ethical guidelines were followed. The overall unethicality of the experiment left the participants with long-term scarring mentally and physically, and this is just another reason why ethics are important in research. Ethics are maintained to provide structure in experiments to promote effective decision making, while also being aware of the benefits and risks of the experiment. In experiments conducted previous to the release of the code of ethics, often times there was a lack of informed consent, pressure on volunteers, risk of safety of participants, deception, and even violation of natural born rights. The whole overall purpose of ethics is to â€Å"help researchers grapple with the ethical dilemmas they are likely to encounter by introducing them to important concepts, tools, principles, and methods that can be useful in resolving these dilemmas† (Resnik). There are five general principles of ethics, which are informed consent, debrief, protection of participants, deception, and ability to withdraw. When it comes to informed consent participants must distinctively say â€Å"yes† and give permission to the researcher to be involved in the experiment. The researcher must outline the details of the experiment like the purpose, the possible risks, procedures involved if there are any and many other things. Debriefing is very important in research because it’s where the participants gets to sit down with the research and understand the research, clear up misconceptions and to make sure the participants leaves with the same sense of cognition they arrived with. Along with this goes deception, and participants should not be mislead about the resear ch and though some deception may occur, researchers must attempt to keep it at a minimum. The main thing researchers should be aware of is the protection of their subjects, and participants should not be subject to more harm than they would experience in everyday life. The very last thing is the ability for a participant to leave the experiment whenever they feel like they are in danger or in a extremely uncomfortable situation. These codes of ethics have really made research more controlled and prevent negligence and misconduct. The basics to remember about ethics is that research done by psychologists should meet the criteria for ethics before the experiment is conducted. Subjects should be informed about the dangers and basics of the experiment and provide authorization. Psychologists do many experiments just because they are unethical and it all starts with what they believe and consider to be right and wrong, and sometimes the extreme involvement in personal research make the research seem less dangerous than it is. Scientist deals with many controversial topics and often stray away from norms and rules to build their theories and strengthen their ideas and beliefs. Our natural instinct often goes against what we think and the code of ethics is put in place to mandates the things that researchers are able to do while conducting an experiment.

Rhetorical Devices The Awakening Of Failure

Culminating Task 8 literary / rhetorical devices: Questions= How is Failure a negative aspect in our lives when we learn from it and isn’t learning suppose to be something positive? Parallel sentence structure= As we go through life we see up and downs through being right and joyous to wrong and secluded; as failure leads us vulnerable and exposed, success leaves us with a self worth. Amplification= I was exhausted from my volleyball the long brutal practice , exhausted from the lack of sleep, exhausted from the damp of winter in my bones, exhausted from school I and in pain from my finger. Sentence Fragment = January. Snow. Ice. Frigid temperatures. Grey skies. These are the reasons I loathe winter. The ideas of failure fall back†¦show more content†¦As the world and society put a certain image that goes along with failure people have become fearful and staggered to take risks and develop new and different ideas that aren’t always the typically in the box demean way of life. As we encounter our own journeys in life there is no wrong path that we take, everyone has their own way of going through things from the failures that set us back in life open new and different doors that could have better opportunities. Failure is not the end it is only the beginning to a new way of life, sometimes we drown in seas of relief from the knowledge that we failed our selves Failure teaches us as individuals to become more passionate and understanding towards others then encounter simpler fiats. Paragraph1 Cause and Effect : Moreover there are many causes and effects having the negative effectives that failure have been giving in comparison to success. There can be many causes to failure and how we can interoperate , Failing ultimately allows people to have a glimpse inside you like Pandora’s box. The greatest of internal mysterious can become clear and for the world to see which is why failure has been disdained as a negative aspect to our lives people don’t want to feel vulnerable and one insecurities. The situations that we are put under the causes that lead us to have certain effects on how we see and interoperateShow MoreRelatedMary Rowlandson And Transcendentalism1661 Words   |  7 Pagesreligious-inspired colony, she focused her writing on purity and godliness. Being a Puritan, she didn’t believe that the Indian attack just happened, but that God had determined it. She believed that the attack was God’s punishment for the Puritan’s failure to uphold their co venant with him. Although Rowlandson faced many horrifying experiences, she relied on faith during her captivity. She relied on bible quotes to strengthen her and get through the whole experience, especially the bad days. 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