Other Minds? :: Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Other Minds? Bertrand Russell expressed his belief on knowing other minds, in an article based primarily around the notion of ‘analogy’, meaning similar to or likeness of. His belief is that, "We are convinced that other people have thoughts and feelings that are qualitatively fairly similar to our own. We are not content to think that we know only the space-time structure of our friends’ minds, or their capacity for initiating causal chains that end in sensations of our own" (Russell 89). Russell speaks of the inner awareness, such as being able to observe the occurrences of such things as remembering, feeling pleasure and feeling pain from within our own minds’. This would then allow us to presume that other beings that have these abilities would then be that of having minds. The term ‘analogy’ is very vague in nature, but when used in this context, we assume that the behavior of other people is in many ways analogous in reference to causes. These causes being behavior directed from sensation or thought. It is apparent and observable that people or beings other then I behave in ways in which we behave when placed in different situations. For example sadness or the nature of anger or happiness can be seen in others. Others then can and do react to different causes similar to the way in which I do as well. Another consideration is that of shared experience. Russell uses the example of two friends having a conversation in which memoirs are explored. These two individuals have shared experiences together. They eventually discover that each other’s memories aid each other in recalling information forgotten with time. (Russell 89) It can factually be said that beings in which can think, therefore have a mind, thus have causes for behavior. "As it is clear to me that the causal laws governing my behavior have to do with ‘thoughts’, it is natural to infer that the same is true of the analogous behavior of my friends" (Russell 89). Thus the aspect of inference is now the main concern when relating to analogy. Can we infer that other beings have thoughts and feelings to result such causes, as that in which is observable? Russell explains this notion with the example of mother and her thoughts. "We find ourselves believing in them when we first begin to reflect; the thought that Mother may be angry or pleased is one which rises in early infancy" (Russell 90).

Xerxes

Xerxes Debate – Prosecution Building Programs * Economic decline was related to his excessive building programs. * Even though his building programs were impressive he neglected other parts of the empire. * Olmstead: â€Å"Xerxes was more interested in completing the magnificent structures begun by his father than he was in testing the formidable military machine. † * Josef Wieshofer: Persepolis was one of his â€Å"favourite past times†, was â€Å"hardly independent† of Darius’ style, was an â€Å"imitation of standards. † * â€Å"Xerxes spent considerable time, energy and resources on massive construction programs. – Granger Foreign Policy * Failure to expand into Greece was a lack of military ability. * He sent a squadron of ships to blockade the channel before Salamis which resulted in the fleet being destroyed. * Battle of Salamis: lack of loyalty within his navy and land troops. * Regardless of how big and revolutionary the mili tary was, Xerxes still failed. * Didn’t actually get involved, sat and watched. Religious Policy * Sacrilege; destroyed temples (Egypt and Babylon), melted down the statue of Bel Marduk. â€Å"Xerxes was a religious fanatic who deviated from the religious tolerance of his predecessors†¦he has become a paradigm for religious bigotry, fanatically interfering in sacred matters where his predecessors had kept a distance. † – Granger * Wasn’t a pragmatic religious ruler; killed priests, took their land, melted down the statue of Bel Marduk resulted in the discontinuation of the New Year’s Festival. * Babylonian people resented the reign of Xerxes and did not consider him their king and archaeological evidence after this incident, Xerxes ceased calling himself the King of Babylon.Relationships * Weren’t strong with the nobility; was assassinated by a member of his nobility Character * Various ancient sources charge him with impetuosity, arrog ance, sadism, madness and gulibilty. * â€Å"small, blubbering, ruled by women and eunuchs, cruel in victory, spineless in defeat. † – Greek propaganda * â€Å"deeply flawed ruler, one to follow passion rather than reason. † – William Culican and Augustine Alletz Comparison to Other Kings * The Greeks liked to compare Xerxes with other Persian kings to highlight his faults.In their comparison with Darius and Cyrus, Xerxes is hardly the ‘hero among kings’ as he is named in Persian inscriptions. Rather, he is the bad king, the ruthless despot, not at all in the tradition of the good and just Persian kings of the past. * Xenophon: Describes Cyrus as modest, tolerant and wise and the hero of Persia. Whereas Xerxes is depicted as an ambitious, often cruel and despotic Oriental ruler, described as a courtly womaniser, concerned only with Persian expansion and greatness. Concluding Statement Greek sources agree on his bad rule, even though they are bias, this viewpoint is backed up by Roman and modern sources. * Rodgers: â€Å"as Xerxes had failed in war and in civil organization so also did Xerxes fail to surpass his great predecessor. † * His megalomaniac motives, his attempt to master nature and ignore the gods, the sacrilegious destruction of foreign temples, his apparent cold-blooded disregard for the lives of his men and his mutilation of Leonidas’ body, together with his love of luxury.

Torture: Morality and Terrorist

In the article â€Å"The Truth about Torture†, Charles Krauthammer considers the ticking time bomb problem and argues that torture is sometimes not only morally permissible, but morally necessary. Krauthammer uses the example of terrorists in his example, what if we captured a terrorist with knowledge of an attack and the knowledge of future attacks; do we torture him for his information? Or simply just have him locked up? (Krauthammer 2). Utilitarian considerations are sufficient to justify using cruel actions against terrorists to extract confessions.Even though is cruel to torture one to extract information, it is our duty as citizens to maintain the happiness as a whole and do what is necessary to save lives. Utilitarianism is a consequential normative moral theory, which state the moral value of an action is determined by the most happiness or utility it creates (Mill 461). If we use this definition to analyze the case, then yes it is sufficient to use cruel actions such as waterboarding and sodium pentathol injections on terrorists to extract information.Waterboarding is a terrifying and deeply shocking torture technique in which the prisoner has his face exposed to water in a way that gives the feeling of drowning (Krauthammer 3). Sodium pentathol injection is a sedative drug; its purpose is to disinhibit the higher brain centres to make someone more likely to share their information (Krauthammer 3). In parts of Asia, torture is embedded in the criminal justice system (Wong 1). So there is no concern as to why torture can’t be used in the example of the terrorist. By torturing the terrorist, we are able to extract information from him, thus doing what is morally right and save lives.Maintaining and creating happiness among the whole is more important just the happiness of a person. If that is the case then wouldn’t torturing the terrorist be the right thing to do? Torturing him would make the world a more peaceful place and also lett ing terrorists know that we are not scared of them and we’ll do whatever it takes to spoil their well-thought-out plans. Utilitarianism allows for violations of justice. This is one of those violations because we’re torturing for the good of humankind and fighting off evil at the same time.Some might argue torturing someone is morally wrong, even though is for a good cause. The example of waterboarding and sodium pentathol injection is cruel and non-humane. This is because both these examples violate basic human rights. Injecting sodium pentathol into another human is usually against their own will, let alone extracting information from them without their consent. Utilitarianism holds that actions tend to help promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness (Mill 462). In this case, wouldn’t we create unhappiness for the terrorist because he is suffering?Saving lives is one thing, but there must be better ways of extracting information than to tortu re another human. With regards to torture on the terrorist, is important to note that utilitarian maintain that each person’s happiness is to be weighted equally and that happiness is pleasure and the absence of pain (Mill 469). Torturing then would be the right thing to do because happiness out-weight unhappiness. More people will be upset and devastated if a terrorist attack did happen and we choose not to torture the terrorist to extract information. If the terrorist attack did not go as planned, so what?The terrorist wouldn’t be devastated and be sad as much as we would have to deal with the death of innocent people. The terrorist will probably just think of a better plan and hope it’ll execute to perfection the next time. Is necessary to be cruel and torture a terrorist to get information, but on one condition, if happiness out-weight unhappiness. This is the case when we know lives can be saved by means of torture. Torture is cruel, with examples such as i njections of sodium pentathol and waterboarding, but sometimes is needed to help do what’s best for humankind.Bibliography -Wong Kai-shing. â€Å"The Problem of Torture in China's Criminal Justice System† http://www. hrsolidarity. net/mainfile. php/2005vol15no05/2451/ – Krauthammer, Charles. â€Å"The Truth about Torture† http://www. weeklystandard. com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/400rhqav. asp? page=3 -Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. In Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fifth Edition. Eds JohnPerry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer. New York, NY: Oxford University press, 2010. Pp. 457-476.

Assignment

For this assignment, you will be locating articles and texts from a variety of databases that are all commonly used in anthropological research. In addition to being able to locate articles, it is very important to be able to identify the thesis statements of the articles or texts to make sure they will be useful in your research. To begin, click on the Article Selector quiz in the left navigation menu of your online classroom. This will randomly assign you three articles, and roved you with the proper PAP citation.After you have been assigned the articles, make sure to acknowledge that you have received each of these articles and click submit. You may want to write these down in a separate document, but you can also view these in your Graduated at any time. You will not be able to access the Assignment until you have used the Article Selector. Memorize the number of campus security. All universities have programs and resources in place to keep students safe, so familiarize yourself with the best ethos to reach the police or security office.

The energy industry's role in influencing the United States foreign Literature review

The energy industry's role in influencing the United States foreign policy towards the Gulf region - Literature review Example However ,the organization points out that although the government may not eliminate the importation of oil, there are ways in which it can reduce cartel market control and reduce the demand for the product (www.fueleconomy.gov,2010).One of the solutions that the government has sought in reduce this problem is the passing of a legislation that will see the decrease on oil through increasing corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards on new cars. This will see a reduction in the consumption of oil by 25 billion gallons by 2030. The United States oil politics entails the need and importation of crude well plays a centre stage in the politics of the United States (Gendier, 2003). Even though the US only constitutes of 5% of the world population, it global oil consumption ids 25% greater than that of the European Union. To cushion the energy supply from experiencing rude shocks, the US has for along time developed diplomatic ties with its allies in the Middle East precisely Saudi Ara bia and Iraqi. According to Saudi Arabia, has 25 % of the world’s oil reserve and the US imports 13% of its oil imports from the country. Some of the initiatives taken by the US is to ensure that the Saudi Arabia government continues to price its oil in US dollars. The same ties have continued to exist in Iraqi in the context that it is protecting it from its enemies as well as protecting its energy. According to Gendzier (2003), the role of US in facilitating the acquisition of weapons is ignored or justified when it is in terms of Iraq-Iran war. However, there is little to talk about when it comes to the continuation of the US to remain in Iraq even after the war and the broader political agenda that has a hand in paying the US policy in the region. David and Schmitt (2002), indicates that the White House was reported to have â€Å"settled on a war plan for Iraq† this implied that the US had to take 200,000 to 250,00 troops by air ,water and land to the Iraq, the aut hors wonder why such an enormous move was justified. The US administration seldom acknowledge that the presence of its troops in the middle East is to protect the US oil companies and get access to the regions oil reserves (David and Schmitt, 2002). A report presented by the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) clearly stated that the US military intervention in the gulf region was to protect its oil supply and protect US interests â€Å"â€Å"the US presence in the Gulf is primarily intended to maintain the flow of oil by preventing a hostile power from establishing hegemony over the region...† (INSS, 2002). The long distance between the US and the Middle East has not stopped it from being felt in almost every corner of the region. According to WGBH, Educational Foundation (2002), all through the 20th century, the US has had a long trail of intervention on diplomatic and war raged overture. Some of the interventions have been triggered by the long standing compet ition between the Soviet Union and The United States of America and the two have used the Middle East as a fighting ground. More so, the American economic interest on the Middle Eastern oil has also played an important role in the American Policy

Our ideas of what it is to be British have fundamentally altered in Essay

Our ideas of what it is to be British have fundamentally altered in the last fifty years. Discuss - Essay Example British citizenship and nationality is governed by the British nationality law, which can be acquired by a descent from British nationals. In an historical context, British people refer to the ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of the Great Britain (Hall, 2004:108). In essence, this paper will delve the present assertion that the ideas of what it is to be British have fundamentally altered in the last fifty years. The English are ethnic group of people from England, a country of the United Kingdom and commonly known to speak English. They originate from the early mediaeval where old English was spoken. They are the source of English language, the parliamentary systems, the common law system, and the numerous major sports. The Irish people are the ethnic group who originate in Ireland, which is an island in the Northwestern Europe. Descendants of the Irish live in many western countries especially the English speaking countries. Their immigration was caused by politics, famine, and economic issues. The Welsh people are the ethnic group and native of Wales and speak the Welsh language. They are common in the northern and western region. They share a common cultural heritage and shared ancestral origin. The Scottish people are an ethnic group native to Scotland, amalgamation of the Picts and the Gaels. They are tied to their linguistic, culture, family ancestors, and generic nature of origin. Th eir decency in many countries with emigration is attributed to highland and lowland clearances. The notion of the Britishness was shamed during the Napoleonic Wars between the Britian and the first French Empire that later developed further during the Victorian era. Britishness became mixed in much older identities of English, Scots and the Welsh culture with a distinct that resist the notion of a homogenized British identity. Controversies of British identity arise in the Northern Ireland in Leu of the longstanding

Impact of Music Education and Issues Stopping its Implementation Essay

Impact of Music Education and Issues Stopping its Implementation - Essay Example Therefore, through this research I would like to find the answers to the following two questions:What are the effects of music on overall development of the brain including academics? Why is music education not taken seriously by educators and what are the reasons withholding them from implementing music education permanently?To answer the first question, there is a lot of secondary research available. Many experts and researchers in the field have already addressed the issue. Some researchers have conducted studies that show that there is a link between music and brain functioning. â€Å"Mozart effect† is a result of one such study. Studies have been conducted to identify specific effects such as effects of music on learning, reading skills, standardized tests, grade-point averages, etc. Therefore to answer this and prove my thesis that music has positive effects, I will depend primarily on secondary research. The sources that I will use are mentioned in the bibliography. Thi s is based on initial research and new resources will be added as after detailed research.Therefore I will concentrate more on primary research. This will involve conducting surveys and interviews of scholars in the field, both from music and education. The administration in educational institutions will be contacted and requested to take part and assist in the research so as to get to the bottom of the issue. If necessary, the participant’s privacy will be respected and their identity will be kept anonymous.