Friday, January 31, 2020

All Ideas Derive from the Sense Experience Which They Copy. Discuss Essay Example for Free

All Ideas Derive from the Sense Experience Which They Copy. Discuss Essay All ideas derive from the sense experience which they copy. DISCUSS An empiricist would be in favour of this view as they believe that knowledge is gained through experience (a posterior). For example, John Locke believes that the mind is a blank slate, or tabula rasa, which becomes populated with ideas through sense experience – in order to create ideas and knowledge, we must have sense experiences. Hume, also an empiricist, argues that ideas are copies of sense data. He has a method which states that faint ideas can become stronger through a fresh sense experience – thus implying that all ideas do derive from the sense experience which they copy. He further backs up this idea through his negative view on the imagination, which in his words is â€Å"confined within very narrow limits†. His strong stance states that no idea can be constructed without any sense experience -anything that may seem like an idea built without sense-data is simply a combination of other ideas. I can give the example of a Golden Mountain. Such a thing can never be experienced, but we can have an experience of â€Å"gold† similarly to the fact that we can also experience a â€Å"mountain†, and through these separate ideas we can construct a singular hybrid idea. Hume also talks of the concept of ‘a time when nothing happens’. The concept is easily fathomable in the human mind and seems logical. He argues that, although no sense experience was required to have an idea of this concept, such a time is actually impossible to experience thus dismissing this illusive idea as something he refers to as ‘sophistry and illusion’. A huge criticism of the Empiricist view is the fact that we only experience sense-data rather than the world itself. This is best explained through the idea of Noumena/Phenomena, in which the phenomena is our perception of the world and the noumena is the actual world itself. The only way to experience the noumena would be through a sense experience – however this experience would simply be another phenomena, thus implying that experiencing the real world is impossible. If such a thing is impossible and if all knowledge is built on things that we cannot truly reach, then how can it be possible to back up the Empiricist view that all ideas derive from sense experience? However, an Empiricist might respond with the claim that it is probably highly unlikely that we are perceiving something completely different to the noumena. Both claims have no proof and can therefore only be as unlikely or likely as each other. Descartes discussed the possibility of an ‘Evil Demon’ who could be tricking us into believing that we exist when really we do not. However, as a religious man, he concludes that God would not let this happen. Therefore, as the argument is similar, Descartes might argue that it is highly unlikely that we are perceiving completely different to the noumena as God, who wouldn’t let us be tricked by an evil demon, would not let such a thing happen. A philosopher who might argue against the Empiricist view is Wittgenstein. He argues that â€Å"experience does not direct us to derive anything from experience†. He says that learning something cannot be done on sense experience alone – it also requires teaching or applying reason to. Plato may also back up the Rationalist view that not all ideas derive from the sense experience which they copy, as he believes that some ideas are innate, such as mathematical and logical truths. An example of this can be taken from his dialogue ‘Meno’ in which Socrates encourages an uneducated slave boy to work out a mathematical truth relating to the lengths of sides of squares. The boy can successfully solve the problem without any prior knowledge of mathematics – thus proving that such knowledge is innate and only requires thought to solve. Descartes also argues against the empiricist view that all knowledge is built from sense experience – he argues that reason must also be applied to gain knowledge. This can be explained through an example in which he states the idea of a solid piece of wax. The solid wax is accidentally left to melt by the fire and become liquid. If we were to build ideas solely on sense experience, we might think that the solid wax and melted wax were TWO separate ideas. However, by applying reason we can deduce that the two forms are in fact the same thing. This idea could be opposed with the argument that if one had never experienced the melting of wax, or been taught the facts of materials changing state, then they would in fact not be able to apply such reason. In summary of all points made in this essay, we can conclude that Empiricists such as Locke and Hume would argue in favour of the claim that all ideas derive from sense experience, and that Rationalists, e.g. Descartes and Wittgenstein, would argue in opposition. This is due to a variety of beliefs but mainly due to the foundations of Empiricism (a posteriori knowledge) and Rationalism (a priori knowledge). Personally, although I believe that most knowledge is built mainly from sense experience, I sway to the Rationalist’s side as I agree that knowledge must be taught or applied reason to – however, I’m not entirely convinced by the idea of innate knowledge such as the kind Plato suggests.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

The Case for Torture :: Michael Levin Ethics

I seek to provide an analysis on Michael Levin's article on "The Case for Torture." This article mainly articulates that the use of torture is necessary in order to safeguard the lives of the many innocents and is justifiable. In his given example, he argues that the mass murder of millions of innocent people by a terrorist justifies the use of torture to stop such an extreme barbaric act. Indeed this is a question of moral on the action of inflicting pain. Take a look at the scenario of a war. We will never say that it is immoral to let out soldiers kill or inflict pain on the enemies in a war because we know that it is the only way to safeguard our nation's sovereignty and the lives of our people. The motives are very clear as mentioned. Thus it is justifiable to let our soldiers kill those who intended to harm the lives of our citizens. When a terrorist has clearly intended to harm the lives of millions, why is it not justified then, to inflict pain on the terrorist, with the mot ive of wanting to protect the lives of many more innocent people? Surely it is! Take a look at this argument: Constitution seeks to protect the interest of one's rights. To torture a person is to breach that protection of interest. Therefore, Torture is unconstitutional. Torturing is however, unconstitutional only when the motives behind it are deemed reasonably immoral. We should then of course not inflict pain mainly just to force the other party to confess the truth to a matter if he does not wish to. But what if the truth will then lead to the location of say, a timed-bomb, which will then be diffused in time to prevent an entire office block to collapse, bringing with it a thousand or more lives? Should the constitution then continue to protect the terrorist against such torture? The author said that millions of lives outweigh constitutionality. Surely it is not justiable for a constitution to uphold the rights of a terrorist, but at the expense of the thousands that, t oo, holds the right to live never asked to be placed in such danger. Again, the moral of one's action must be reviewed in such cases. On a personal note, I feel that to sacrifice one that is convicted, in exchanged for the many innocents, is a permissible one.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Nick’s View That Gatsby Essay

How far do you agree with Nick’s view that Gatsby is â€Å"worth the whole damn bunch put together†? The title character of The Great Gatsby is a young man, around thirty years old, who rose from an impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota to become fabulously wealthy. Indeed, Gatsby has become famous around New York for the elaborate parties held every weekend at his mansion, ostentatious spectacles to which people long to be invited. And yet, Nick Carraway’s description of the protagonist asserts that Gatsby seems curiously out of place among the ‘whole damn bunch’ which inhabit this lavish, showy world. Indeed, despite the aura of criminality surrounding his occupation, his love and loyalty to Daisy Buchanan and ultimately his capacity to dream, set him apart from the inhabitants of East Egg and West Egg. A key criticism made in Nick’s first person, self-aware and retrospective narration is that the ‘whole damn bunch’ entertained by Gatsby lives in extravagance. In Chapter Three, comparative adjectives and adverbs allude to the idea that the parties they attend grow ever increasingly lavish; the narrator expresses how ‘laughter is easier’, an ‘opera of voices pitches a key higher’ and ‘groups change more quickly’. In fact, the sheer scale of the operation required to keep them excited is emphasised by details that Nick gives, including ‘a machine in the kitchen which could extract the juice of two hundred oranges in half an hour if a little button was pressed two hundred times by a butler’s thumb.’ But the ‘vacuous bursts of laughter’ and the dancing ‘in eternal graceless circles’ lend a degree of artificiality to the proceedings. Indeed, the tone of the narration reveals another major shortcoming, suggesting that this outward show of opulence by the inhabitants of West Egg and East Egg is used to cover up their inner corruption and moral decay. This decadence is first exemplified by the length of festivities. Nick states that after ‘the first supper’, ‘there would be another one after midnight.’ Society’s moral compass seems to invert completely, Nick ironically asserting that there were ‘two deplorably sober men’. Being drunk appears to be proper behaviour at such a party. Moreover, Fitzgerald’s comical use of voice suggests that being sober is more than just frowned upon, ‘their highly indignant wives’ exclaiming that they ‘have never heard anything so selfish in my life.’ But other guests contribute to this air of corruption; for example, the predatory nature of ‘Young Englishmen’ selling bonds is stressed by anaphora: ‘all well-dressed, all looking a little bit hungry, and all talking in low, earnest voices to solid and prosperous Americans.’ Such obsession with money is further emphasised by musical language and assonance; they were ‘agonizingly aware of the easy money and convinced that it was theirs for a few words in the right key.’ And as time passes, such vices become ever more apparent. Increasingly ‘women were now having fights with men said to be their husbands’, ‘said to be’ suggesting that some may have brought mistresses rather than partners. Nick observes one man philandering with ‘a young actress’, with his wife present. Her anger is humorously emphasised by simile, the narrator comparing her to ‘an angry diamond’. She ‘broke down entirely and resorted to flank attacks’, reduced to hissing into his ear, ‘You promised!’ By the end, the function had turned into ‘violent confusion’. Fitzgerald’s use of characterisation also emphasises the flaws of those immediately around Gatsby, Tom Buchanan in particular. Tom is Daisy’s husband, an extremely wealthy man, a brute, and an athlete. And his vices become apparent from the beginning of the book. His ignorance is brought out when he praises the ridiculous notions of ‘The Rise of the Coloured Empires’ that ‘the white race’, which is ‘the dominant race’ has to ‘watch out or other races will have control of things.’ The way he refers to it as ‘science and art, and all that’ and ‘scientific stuff’ only undermines his racist viewpoints even further. But more importantly, Tom is deeply immoral, Jordan Baker informing the narrator that ‘Tom’s got some woman in New York’. Nick is so incensed by Tom’s affair that his ‘own instinct was to telephone immediately for the police’. In fact, only a few months after their wedding, he appears to have had a fling with ‘one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel’. This series of affairs must have caused his wife some emotional damage. He does not even turn up to the birth of their daughter, Daisy casually informing Nick that ‘Tom was God knows where.’ In this way, Tom is neither attentive nor sensitive towards Daisy, especially in contrast with Gatsby. But Tom is not just unscrupulous but abusive. When Nick meets him in Chapter One, he asserts that he had ‘a cruel body’ which was ‘always leaning aggressively forward.’ And though Carraway never sees him being violent with his wife, there are hints of his unbridled physicality when Daisy reveals a bruise on her finger that, although accidental, was caused by that ‘brute of a man’. She says ‘accusingly’ that ‘you did it, Tom’. But the brutal streak really comes across when Tom is with his mistress. ‘With a short, deft movement’ he ‘broke her nose with his open hand.’ But the title character too has his flaws. Like ‘the whole damn bunch’, Gatsby lives extravagantly, replacing a guest’s damaged dress with one costing ‘two hundred and sixty-five dollars’. And like ‘the whole damn bunch’, he has made unethical choices, in his case in acquiring his fortune. Speculation among his guests first alludes to such decisions, Fitzgerald using the method of choric voices. Although various theories that ‘he killed a man once’ or that ‘he was a German spy during the war’ may appear unrealistic, later speculation, from Tom Buchanan in particular, does start to blemish Nick’s idealised conception of Gatsby. When they first meet, Tom presumes that Gatsby is ‘some big bootlegger’. This assumption may not be wrong, the antagonist discovering that Gatsby ‘and Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter’. In this way, though Nick never quite finds out what Gatsby did for a living, his greatest vice appears to be the source of his income. But while Tom’s report would never be objective, Fitzgerald’s characterisation of Wolfsheim also hints at the aura of criminality surrounding Gatsby. The author’s use of voice emphasises the gambler’s sleaze, pronouncing ‘connection’ as ‘gonnegtion’ and ‘Oxford’ as ‘Oggsford’. But he also appears sinister, wearing ‘cuff’ buttons made of ‘human molars’. Wolfsheim’s criminality is confirmed when Gatsby informs Nick that ‘he’s the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919.’ But the gambler may be involved in more dangerous activities than simply fixing baseball matches. Wolfsheim’s own dialogue suggests that he has experience in activities where men end up dead, explaining to Nick that ‘when a man gets killed I never like to get mixed up in it in any way. I keep out.’ The mysterious phone calls which Gatsby receives in no way vindicate him either. His reunion with Daisy is interrupted by one such call, the use of ellipses adding a sense of secrecy to his subsequent conversation: ‘Yes †¦ Well, I can’t talk now †¦ I can’t talk now, old sport †¦ I said a small town †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The confidential nature of the suggested business dealing may imply that Gatsby’s work is not legitimate. In fact, only after Gatsby’s death does he find out what would be said on the other end of the line. When Nick is mistaken for the title character, ‘Slagle’ rapidly explains that ‘Young Parke’s in trouble’ and that ‘they picked him up when he handed the bonds over the counter.’ Words such as ‘trouble’ and ‘picked him up’ suggest that one of Gatsby’s subordinates may have landed himself on the wrong side of the law. Furthermore, the ‘frightened’ nature of Gatsby’s so-called ‘friend’ Klipspringer again alludes to the criminality of Gatsby’s business acquaintances. Over the telephone, Klipspringer even ‘demanded to know who I was before he would give his name.’ For such reasons, when Wolfsheim recalls how close he and Gatsby were, ‘thick like that in everything’, the narrator ‘wondered if this partnership had included the World’s Series transaction in 1919.’ Such implications about the way Gatsby has accrued his fortune also expose his deceit. In fact, early in the plot the title character lies to Carraway by saying that his wealth was inherited, that he is ‘the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West – all dead now.’ He also states that he was ‘brought up in America but educated at Oxford, because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years.’ In reality Gatsby rose from an impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota. His dishonesty is closely linked to his lack of authenticity. Indeed, Nick notices the manufactured aspects of his personality, put on to promote the image of the ‘Oxford’ man which he claims to be. The writer’s use of voice underlines his slightly forced characteristics. These include his affected accent – ‘an elaborate formality of speech’ which ‘just missed being absurd’ and his habit of calling people ‘old sport’. Moreover, Fitzgerald’s use of scene and place, his library specifically, alludes to the idea that he is not genuine. Owl-Eyes, one of his invited guests, is surprised that the millionaire’s books are ‘absolutely real – have pages and everything’, rather than being made out of ‘nice durable cardboard.’ This reaction implies a belief that so much about him is fake. Even when he realises its authenticity, Owl-Eyes compares him to ‘a regular Belasco’, a Broadway producer known for the realism of his sets. Thus, though he is putting on act, this theatrical persona which he has mastered is still a very convincing act. Indeed, The novel’s title itself – ‘The Great Gatsby’ – is suggestive of the sort of vaudeville billing for a performer or magician like ‘The Great Houdini’, again subtly emphasising the showy and perhaps illusory quality of Gatsby’s life. But despite both the nature of his work and this theatrical quality, Nick still suggests that Gatsby does not share the same level of moral decadence as the ‘whole damn bunch’ in his circle. Chapter Three serves to separate his personality from that of his guests. Anaphora underlines how he remains an outsider at his own function, Nick asserting that ‘no one swooned backward on Gatsby, and no French bob touched Gatsby’s shoulder, and no singing quartets were formed with Gatsby’s head for one link.’ Antithesis also contrasts Gatsby from the company he entertains; while ‘no one swooned backward on Gatsby’, girls were ‘swooning backward playfully into men’s arms’ Indeed, unlike the decadents he entertains, ‘he grew more correct as fraternal hilarity increased’. Gatsby’s acquaintances also reveal his merits. Meyer Wolfsheim stresses the basic nobility which defines his character, telling Carraway that he is ‘a man of fine breeding’, ‘the kind of man you’d like to take home and introduce to your mother and sister.’ Moreover, before the funeral, Gatsby’s father also underlines his son’s good nature by stating that ‘ever since he made a success he was very generous with me’. But he also reveals Gatsby’s great ambition and desire for self-improvement. Mr Gatz tells Nick that ‘Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something’ and that he placed great emphasis on ‘improving his mind’. Indeed, the ‘schedule’ – including activities such as ‘dumbell exercise and wall-scaling’, ‘study electricity’, ‘practise elocution, poise and how to attain it‘ and ‘study n eeded inventions’ – which he made ‘when he was a boy’ reveals that even before he knew what he wanted to be, Gatsby always desired to make something of himself. Furthermore, Chapter Five serves to explain that his method of acquiring millions of dollars, his lavish weekly parties and lifestyle and his manufactured persona are all merely means to a more worthy end. This end is winning back Daisy Buchanan. Indeed, in contrast with Tom’s cruel and unthoughtful treatment of his wife, Nick characterises Gatsby most of all with the admirable qualities of love for and loyalty to her. The title character’s speech alludes to his attempts to ensure that the reunion is perfect, the man asking Nick whether he has ‘got everything you need’. He specifically checks the day’s forecast in the hope that sunshine will emerge during the reunion, informing Nick that ‘they thought the rain would stop about four.’ The writer also uses scenes and places to enhance Gatsby’s need for perfection. For example, the reunion takes place at Nick’s house, perhaps reflecting how Gatsby wanted to meet the love of his life in a more secluded and romantic environment than his gaudy mansion. But Gatsby may also have organised the reunion at Nick’s house to impress Daisy, to give her a view of his ‘huge place’. He himself proclaims that his ‘house looks well’. However, the use of a first-person, self-conscious and retrospective narrator emphasises his efforts most of all. Gatsby almost redecorates Nick’s place, not only sending a man ‘over to cut my grass’ – to make sure the lawn outside was smart – but also adorning the interior with flowers, ‘with innumerable receptacles’. Hyperbole emphasises the extent of this renovation, as if a whole ‘greenhouse arrived.’ Further in the chapter, the author underlines the intensity of his love by presenting Nick’s speculation about Gatsby’s intentions as Gatsby’s actual thoughts. When Daisy goes from Nick’s place to her lover’s, Nick states: ‘I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes’, as if everything he has ever bought or owned has been simply to please her. Moreover, Gatsby’s decision to take the blame for Daisy over the death of Myrtle Wilson – telling Nick that ‘I’ll say I was’ driving – demonstrates the deep love he still feels for her and illustrates the basic nobility that defines his character. The image of a pitiable Gatsby keeping watch outside her house while she and Tom sit comfortably within is an indelible image that allows the reader to look past Gatsby’s criminality. Indeed, the fact that he wants ‘to wait here till Daisy goes to bed’, to protect her even after it appears that Daisy is not going to leave Tom, is a final testament to his undying love for her. Nick leaves Gatsby to watch over Daisy, as if his ‘presence marred the sacredness of the vigil’, the last statement suggesting that his devotion has moved to the extremes of religious worship. And yet, Nick’s final criticism of Gatsby questions the realism of such deep and uncompromising devotion. The parallels between his love for Daisy and religious worship – the title character ‘consumed with wonder at her presence’ – suggest that Gatsby, a man who stakes everything on his ‘dreams’, now appears to have dreamed too big. Even at the beginning of their reunion, Nick recognises the unrealistic nature of his ‘dream’. The way Fitzgerald presents Nick’s speculation about Gatsby’s intentions as Gatsby’s actual thoughts helps demonstrate that ‘there must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams’. Although Daisy possesses a number of virtues, although it is ‘not her own fault’, even she cannot match Gatsby’s ‘dream’. The narrator suggests that his ‘dream’ was so alive, that ‘his illusion’ had such a ‘colossal vitality’, that ‘it had gone beyond her, beyond everything.’ The repetition of ‘beyond’ emphasises that she cannot live up to Gatsby’s idealised expectations. The author’s use of poetic prose further emphasises how much the man has romanticized her. Indeed, metaphor likens Gatsby to an artist who decks his image ‘with every bright feather that drifted his way’, with every possible virtue. The alliteration of ‘f’ in the narration emphasises how permanent this idealised image has become, Nick asserting that ‘no amount of fire or freshness can challenge it’. Indeed, he expects too much, wanting ‘nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’ Tragically such expectations lead Daisy to change her mind, breaking down under his own pressure in Chapter Seven, exclaiming to Gatsby that ‘you want too much!’ But in Chapter Eight, Nick goes a step further, suggesting that Daisy, the object of his ‘dream’ is unworthy of his power of dreaming. Fitzgerald’s use of time and sequence, the narrative switching to Gatsby’s ‘story of his youth’, emphasises the influence of Daisy’s wealth and privilege on Gatsby. The narrator states that ‘her porch was bright with the bought luxury of star-shine’, and that she ‘vanished into her rich house, into her rich, full life’, the repetition of ‘rich’ reflecting the aura of affluence which Gatsby is drawn to. Indeed, it becomes clear that Gatsby idolises both wealth and Daisy, the title character almost quantifying her, the fact that many men already loved Daisy increasing ‘her value in his eyes’. Indeed, his attraction to Daisy may be caused in part because of what she represents, the exclusive upper class which he aspires to be a part of. Daisy thus appears almost shallow and fickle, and because she is the focus of Gatsby’s life, his dream is simply reduced to a motivation for material gain. After Gatsby’s death, Nick writes that Gatsby must have realized â€Å"what a grotesque thing a rose is.† The rose has been a conventional symbol of beauty. Nick suggests that roses aren’t inherently beautiful, and that people only view them that way because they choose to do so. Daisy is â€Å"grotesque† in the same way: Gatsby has invested her with beauty and meaning by making her the object of his dream. Had Gatsby not imbued her with such value, Daisy would be simply an idle, bored, rich young woman with no particular moral strength or loyalty. But this capacity to ‘dream’, this ceaseless effort to recreate the past, reflects the vitality and optimism which Nick most respects about Gatsby. The active narrator first notices this quality when they meet in Chapter Three. Fitzgerald’s use of first person, self-aware and narration reveals Gatsby’s rare ability to make anyone he smiles at feel as though he has chosen that person out of ‘the whole external world’; it reflects that person’s most optimistic conception of him or herself. His smile ‘believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself’ and ‘assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.’ And because of such ability to hope, when Gatsby waves goodbye to his guests, Nick emphasises the contrast between the immorality of his work and the virtue of his motivation. While ‘they guessed at his corruption’, ‘he had stood on those st eps, concealing his incorruptible dream’. Nick alludes to such undying hope in the last lines of the novel, the narrator strolling along Gatbsy’s lawn one final time, just as the title character had done when Nick first sees him in Chapter One. And as he sprawls out on the beach behind Gatsby’s house, he muses that Gatsby had failed to realize that even before his reunion with Daisy, his dream had already ended, ‘that it was already behind him’, and that his goals had become hollow and empty. But though this dream had ‘eluded us then’, Nick envisions that people everywhere are motivated by similar dreams and that ‘tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further’. In this way, though there is an ambiguity over whether men such as Gatsby will ever reach their ‘dream’ – Fitzgerald leaving the phrase, ‘and one fine morning -’, open-ended – Nick Carraway recognises that the importance lies not in reaching the ‘dreamâ€℠¢ but in refusing to lose heart. In the same way, Gatsby’s own audacity and nobility of spirit to dream of creating a radically different future for himself, to dream of a life with Daisy, never let up. This is why one can agree with Nick’s viewpoint to a great extent. Even though his dream ends in failure – because his methods are criminal, because he can never gain acceptance into the American aristocracy, and because his new identity is largely a theatrical act – his deep-rooted ambition, his loyalty to Daisy and, uniting the two together, the strength of his capacity to dream, are what set him above the members of West Egg and East Egg. Gatsby is a visionary. This is why he is â€Å"worth the whole damn bunch put together†.

Monday, January 6, 2020

An Introduction to Varieties of Capitalism (Peter Hall)

Abstract: This chapter outlines the theoretical perspective behind a ‘varieties of capitalism approach to comparative political economy, emphasizing the central role of the firm as the agent of economic adjustment and the impact of the relationships it forms in the spheres of corporate governance, labor relations, skill formation, inter-corporate relations, and employerÂâ€"employee relations. It develops the distinction between liberal market economies, where firm endeavours are coordinated primarily by markets, and coordinated market economies, where coordination is more heavily strategic, and explores how the institutional complementarities in these economies give rise to distinctive forms of innovation as well as comparative institutional†¦show more content†¦As any work on this topic must be, ours is deeply indebted to prior scholarship in the field. The ‘varieties of capitalism approach developed here can be seen as an effort to go beyond three perspectives on institutional variation that have dominated the study of comparative capitalism in the preceding thirty years. 2 2 Of necessity, this summary is brief and slightly stylized. As a result, it does not do full justice to the variety of analyses found within these literatures and neglects some discussions that fall outside them. Note that some of our own prior work can be said to fall within them. For more extensive reviews, see Hall (1999, 2001). In important respects, like ours, each of these perspectives was a response to the economic problems of its time. The first of these perspectives offers a modernization approach to comparative capitalism nicely elucidated in Shonfields magisterial treatise of 1965. Devised in the post-war decades, this approach saw the principal challenge confronting the developed economies as one of modernizing industries still dominated by pre-war practices in order to secure high rates of national growth. Analysts tried to identify a set of actors with the strategic capacity to devise plans for industry and to impress them on specific sectors. Occasionally, this capacity was said to reside in the banks but more often in public officials.Show MoreRelatedComparative Critique Of Comparative Capitalism1214 Words   |  5 PagesCOMPARATIVE CAPITALISM Case Study #4: Comparative Capitalism Florence F. Messi St Thomas University Miami Gardens, Florida Abstract The Merriam-Wester dictionary defines capitalism as an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market. 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Sunday, December 29, 2019

Geography of Ecuador - Learn Information about South Americas Ecuador

Ecuador is a country located on the west coast of South America between Columbia and Peru. It is known for its position along the Earths equator and for officially controlling the Galapagos Islands, which are about 620 miles (1,000 km) from Ecuadors mainland. Ecuador is also incredibly biodiverse and it has a medium-sized economy. Fast Facts: Ecuador Official Name: Republic of EcuadorCapital: QuitoPopulation: 16,498,502 (2018)Official Language: Spanish (Castilian)Â  Currency: US dollar (USD)Form of Government: Presidential republicClimate: Tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlandsTotal Area: 109,483 square miles (283,561 square kilometers)Highest Point: Chimborazo at 20,561 feet (6,267 meters)Â  Lowest Point: Pacific Ocean at 0 feet (0 meters) History of Ecuador Ecuador has a long history of settlement by native peoples, but by the 15th century it was controlled by the Inca Empire. In 1534 however, the Spanish arrived and took the area from the Inca. Throughout the rest of the 1500s, Spain developed colonies in Ecuador and in 1563, Quito was named as an administrative district of Spain. Beginning in 1809, Ecuadorian natives began to revolt against Spain and in 1822 independence forces beat the Spanish army and Ecuador joined the Republic of Gran Colombia. In 1830 though, Ecuador became a separate republic. In its early years of independence and through the 19th century, Ecuador was unstable politically and it had a number of different rulers. By the late 1800s, Ecuadors economy was beginning to develop as it became an exporter of cocoa and its people began to practice agriculture along the coast. The early 1900s in Ecuador were also unstable politically and in the 1940s it had a short war with Peru that ended in 1942 with the Rio Protocol. According to the U.S. Department of State, the Rio Protocol led to Ecuador conceding a portion of its land that was in the Amazon area to draw the borders that it currently has today. Ecuadors economy continued to grow after World War II and bananas became a large export. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Ecuador stabilized politically and was run as a democracy, but in 1997 instability returned after Abdala Bucaram (who became president in 1996) was removed from office after claims of corruption. In 1998, Jamil Mahuad was elected president but he was unpopular with the public due to economic problems. On January 21, 2000, a junta took place and Vice President Gustavo Noboa took control. Despite some of Noboas positive policies, political stability did not return to Ecuador until 2007 with the election of Rafael Correa. In October 2008, a new constitution went into effect and several policies of reform were enacted shortly thereafter. Government of Ecuador Today, Ecuadors government is considered a republic. It has an executive branch with a chief of state and a head of government, both of which are filled by the president. Ecuador also has a unicameral National Assembly of 124 seats that makes up its legislative branch and a judicial branch composed of the National Court of Justice and the Constitutional Court. Economics and Land Use in Ecuador Ecuador currently has a medium-sized economy that is based mainly on its petroleum resources and agricultural products. These products include bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, tapioca, plantains, sugarcane, cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products, balsa wood, fish and shrimp. In addition to petroleum, Ecuadors other industrial products include food processing, textiles, wood products, and various chemicals manufacturing. Geography, Climate, and Biodiversity of Ecuador Ecuador is unique in its geography because it is located on the Earths equator. Its capital Quito is located only 15 miles (25 km) from a latitude of 0 degrees. Ecuador has a varied topography that includes coastal plains, central highlands, and a flat eastern jungle. In addition, Ecuador has an area called Region Insular which contains the Galapagos Islands. According to Conservation International, Ecuador is one of the worlds most biodiverse countries. This is because it owns the Galapagos Islands as well as portions of the Amazon Rainforest. Ecuador has roughly 15% of the worlds known bird species, 16,000 species of plants, 106 endemic reptiles, and 138 amphibians. The Galapagos Islands also have a number of unique endemic species and is where Charles Darwin developed his Theory of Evolution. It should be noted that a large portion of Ecuadors high mountains are volcanic. The countrys highest point, Mount Chimborazo, is a stratovolcano and because of the Earths shape, it is considered as the point on the Earth that is farthest from its center at an elevation of 6,310 m. Ecuadors climate is considered humid subtropical in the rainforest areas and along its coast. The rest, however, is dependent on altitude. Quito is the capital and, with an elevation of 9,350 feet (2,850 m), is the second-highest capital city on the planet. The average July high temperature in Quito is 66 degrees (19ËšC) and its January average low is 49 degrees (9.4ËšC). Sources Central Intelligence Agency. CIA - The World Factbook - Ecuador.Infoplease.com. Ecuador: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com.United States Department of State. Ecuador.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

1.Choose One Of The Psychological Disorders Discussed In

1. Choose one of the psychological disorders discussed in Chapter 16. Explain the neurological basis of the disorder, as well as the neurological basis for treatments of the disorder. Discuss open questions and possibilities for future research. You may not choose the same topic that you chose for your midterm, short answer question, or other long essay question. Schizophrenia is a disease of the brain that can cause many different kinds of complications for the patient. Some of the most common symptoms of schizophrenia are visual hallucinations/auditory hallucinations. This neurological disorder only impacts around 1 % of the population, buy can cause major distress for the individual that has it. There are both positive and negative†¦show more content†¦This example is known as the glutamate hypothesis which theorizes the idea that the brain receives a little amount of glutamate neurotransmission and not enough dopamine neurotransmission (Eagleman Downer, 539). Olney and Farber (1995) found that this caused many of the symptoms of schizophrenia (Eagleman Downer, 539). Moreover on this idea, Corlett, Honey, and Fletcher (2007) found that a good portion of schizophrenic patients have lower glutamate levels and tend to have differences in their NMDA receptor expressions (Eagleman Downer, 539). A lot of these findings were simila r to the effects of drugs like PCP (which block NMDA glutamate receptors) which tend to have side effects like hallucinations and states of fear (Eagleman Downer, 539). A third example of a neurological cause of schizophrenia is what is known as the dopamine hypothesis. This hypothesis is the idea that irregular levels of dopamine, in the case of schizophrenia, high levels of dopamine, are linked to some of the symptoms of schizophrenia (Eagleman Downer, 539). This idea was thought of because of the findings on the use of amphetamines causing a rise in dopamine in the brain as well as the rise of the symptoms of schizophrenia (Seeman Lee, 1975)( Eagleman Downer, 538). There are a few different treatments used for schizophrenia. However, one of the most prevalent treatments for schizophrenia is the antipsychotic prescription drug. One of theShow MoreRelatedUnderstanding Emotional And Social Relationships Essay1196 Words   |  5 PagesExploring Psychological Research The studies that I chose to participate in where Emotions and Social Relationships, Psychotic-like Experiences in Borderline Personality Disorder and Exploring Personality, Violent Thoughts and Violent Behavior. Emotion Topic Area The study I chose for this category was Emotions and Social Relationships. I chose this study because there have been many times when my emotions have had an enormous impact on my social relationships. 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Friday, December 13, 2019

Moving Away Free Essays

I can still remember that day. If you asked me, I thought the world was coming to a blazing end. Well, at least my world. We will write a custom essay sample on Moving Away or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was a very humid and hot summer afternoon. Unusually warm for New England, it was the type of weather found in the deep south of our country. It was quite a coincidence actually; since this was the type of weather I would have to be used to. After all here I was on my way down to the south moving to Kentucky. It was a slightly a year before when I was first told by my parents that we would be moving. At first I didn’t believe them. I thought, â€Å"What kind of sick joke is this? â€Å"But after a few minutes I realized they were serious. More serious questions came popping into my mind. Why would we move? What about my friends? Who is going to buy this junky house? These were all questions that initially ran through my jumbled mind. My parents refused to answer my questions however. This got me extremely angry. How could they force such a change in my life and ignore my questions? My parents were being cruel, not because they were making me move but because they were completely ignoring my feelings and questions. My opinions and feelings meant nothing to them because they made the choice on their own. I was a Essay on Moving Away Moving away from all of your best friends can be a real tragedy in a sixteen-year-old teenagers life. It’s hard to get up and go eight hundred miles away from everyone you know and everything you grew up around. I had this happen to me about three years ago and it is the largest change I have ever had to adjust to in my life. It wasn’t the changes around me that I was bothered by; it was that I did not know one living soul for hundreds of miles and all I wanted was a friend. Two days into the summer after sophomore year at Governor Mifflin High School in the little town of Shillington Pennsylvania I would find out the worse news that a sixteen year old could hear. I found out that in four days my family and I would be moving to a suburb outside of Chicago because of my dads recent job change. I was devastated, I ran to my room and cried for about an hour with thoughts of all my friends running through my head. It was like all the memories I had with all my friends were going through my head at the same time. It was beyond doubt one of the biggest challenges of my life. During the last few days I was there I went out with my friends every night ha Moving far away from family and friends can be tough on a child at a young age. It has its pros and cons. One learns how to deal with moving away from the people they love and also learn how to deal with adjusting to new ways of life. Everything seems so different and at a young age one feels like they have just left the whole world behind them. That was an experience that changed my life as a person. It taught me how to deal with change and how to adjust. It developed me from a young boy into a mature young man. The day I moved away, a lot of things were going through my young mind. As I took my last look at my home, I remembered all the fun times I had with my family and friends through out my life. Now I was moving 800 miles away from all of that with no insight on what lied ahead for me. As my family and I drove away from our Michigan home, I looked out the window wondering what Virginia would be, and what my friends were doing. A lot of things were going through my mind at the time. At the time my main worry was if I would make any friends, and how I would adjust to everything. During the whole drive down, my mother would often let me know that everything would be all right and I would like it. Trying to be strong and hold back my tears, I just shook my head no, wondering why we had to move so far away. Life would be different for me and I knew it would. Adjusting to an atmosphere and new people had its ups and downs. Everybody ta. The effects of moving to a new town or city Nowadays, as a result of looking for better conditions of life many people have been moving from their own city to another city or country. People in all over the world are developing the necessity of find their happiness, education and a better work. Moving to a new town or city can bring some negatives and positives effects to the person who is moving. The first effect of moving to a new town or city can be found in educational life. Since people are looking to a better education, they move to a country that can give them the possibility of be a good professional. For example, in Angola my country, if you want find a great job; you have to have an international certificate. This means that the people who are living in another country have more possibility to achieve the work. Sometimes the companies on my country prefer consider people who are from another country. In short, I am the exactly example because I moved from my country to U. S. A to look for a spectacular certificate. The second effect of moving to a new town or city can be found in psychologist state of a person. For example, when I arrived here I had some mental problems because always I was thinking about my family that I left in Angola. A person who is homesick suffers the consequences alone and thinks a lot about the family that is away from her. In my opinion, think about the family who people left causes serious problem and the person cannot concentrate on her real objective there. In addition, people have to be strong and control all their feelings when they are in another town. The third effect of moving to a new town is that people spend a lot of money. To start a new life sometimes because of work or studies when people move they spend a lot of money with car, house, and school until adjust the new life with the new city. Starting a new life is kind of complicated because at first time you don’t have where buy and find everything†¦. How to cite Moving Away, Papers