Gods or God?

1. Mary Lefkowitz responds to the charges by some secular commentators that religion â€Å"‘poisons’ human life and causes endless violence and suffering† by stating that the â€Å"poison isn't religion; it's monotheism. † 2. â€Å"Openness to discussion and inquiry† and â€Å"[r]espect for a diversity of viewpoints† are some attitudes that contributed to the Athenian idea of â€Å"the cooperative system of government †¦ called democracy. †3. The existence of many different gods offers a more reasonable explanation than monotheism of â€Å"the presence of evil and confusion in the world. † A mortal â€Å"may have had the support of one god but incur the enmity of another, who could attack when the patron god was away†; however in the monotheistic traditions, â€Å"God is omnipresent and always good† and â€Å"mortals must take the blame for whatever goes wrong,† even though God permits evil to exist in t he world he created. 4.The separation between humankind and the gods made it possible for humans â€Å"to speculate about the character and intentions of the gods. † Greek theology allowed people to ask hard questions and encouraged others to learn and to seek all the possible causes of events. Such questions brought philosophy and science to the world. 5. Lefkowitz writes, â€Å"Ancient Greek religion gives an account of the world that in many respects is more plausible than that offered by the monotheistic traditions.† In this context, â€Å"plausible† seems to mean â€Å"reasonable. † The Greek account may be more â€Å"plausible† because â€Å"Greek theology openly discourages blind confidence based on unrealistic hopes that everything will work out in the end. † 6. Lefkowitz certainly makes an excellent point and I definitely agree with her. Religion today seems to be focused too much on blind belief. Thinking seems to create a healthie r environment and some â€Å"healthy skepticism† would definitely be helpful currently in such a stubborn world.

Theodore De Bry and John White Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Theodore De Bry and John White - Essay Example In many of De Bry’s engravings, the facial structure of most of the characters were altered where they ended up looking more like Europeans rather than Native Americans. For instance, in the Indian Woman and Young Girl painting, there is a striking difference between White’s and De Bry’s art works. The girl in De Bry’s engraving is far from the woman and seems to be holding something in the air, which is not similar to White’s painting. The girl also appears to be older in De Bry’s engraving as compared to the girl in White’s painting, which is an obvious difference. Audiences might view this as a subtle change that is not quite noticeable, but it was a significant change that distinguished the engravings from the White’s original paintings. Another element that De Bry applied to the engravings was color in which he was successful at distorting the original images through the introduction of a pale color pigment. De Bry also dis torted the vegetation by coloring them in his engravings, which was quite contrary to what the actual surroundings were during that time. He also gave blonde hair to some of the people in his engravings, which was quite different from the hair color that White had used on his paintings. The important aspect that De Bry failed to capture in his engravings was the difference between Europeans and Native Americans, which was a distinctive feature that should have come out clearly as White intended. De Bry also illustrated his failure to acknowledge, appreciate, and understand.

Educational Philosophy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Educational Philosophy - Research Paper Example From all of the theories presented about pre-service teacher, the most common and well known theories are that of Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934). Lev Vygotsky was an educational theorist, who has presented numerous theories about the impact of culture on child’s mental and behavioural development. He also presented ideas about pre-service teachers. According to him, students should be inspired and motivated enough to present their own creativity and knowledge in their writings. He further states that the person who is interacting with child has most of the responsibility for problem solving but slowly and gradually his responsibilities transfer to the child. Example: If the theory of Lev Vygotsky is implemented in the premises of today’s classrooms, then it can bring profound changes. Children must be allowed to utilize their own thoughts and creativity, be it in art work, writing or any other intellectual activity. In extra-curricular activities, children should be encouraged to bring those projects which reflect any notion of their immediate culture or background in order to value diversity in classroom. Kolb (1984) stated that effective pre-service teachers need to have ability in four different areas; observation, experience, conceptualization and experimentation. Kolb (1984) states that teachers need to openly and fully involve themselves in providing new experiences to the students. Teachers need to present and reflect these experiences from several different perspectives, in other words, teachers should provide reflective observation. They must also conceptualize those observations with supportive logics and facts. At the end, they should use these concepts for problem solving and decision making which is the fourth component, namely experimentation. Example: After the students bring in projects or related material about their respective culture, the duty of teachers start. Teachers should acknowledge other students about each student’s culture.

How is Soviet montage is revolutionary With the reference to the work Essay

How is Soviet montage is revolutionary With the reference to the work of Soviet Russian film directors Sergei Esienstein and - Essay Example The creation of expression with culture and politics as well as the understanding of how to use specific techniques in this time period were all associated with the construction of the film. While both directors had specific styles, there were more associations with the new creation of film and the experimentation of how one could communicate specific messages to the viewers. Defining the Soviet Montage The concept of the Soviet montage began in the 1920s with the focus on editing specific scenes within movies and combining this with other scenes to create fractured images for the overall plot line. This specific concept emerged out of the Russian Revolution of 1917, which was based on the objection to socialism. The propaganda of socialism was the main component; however, many began to overlook this and believe that the values of socialism were a detriment to society and would lead to strict rules and regulations within society, as opposed to building a stronger ability for citizens to work within society1. The symbolic objective which was established was based on having a free flowing thought of narrative, as opposed to a strict establishment, such as many believed was a component of socialism. This was followed by combining the plotline into one which didn’t require techniques to be consistent or for the plot line to have the established, chronological order that was expected within cinema2. The concept of revolution in the montage was one of the most important factors in using this technique. While this was based on methodologies and techniques for the arts, film producers considered it a way of getting a message across based on the Russian Revolution as well as the politics and economy of the time. The meanings which were established through the broken edits created a political and intellectual agenda that those in the Soviet region could look at and change their understanding about. The narrative and content that was used became important in establ ishing a sense of a political and intellectual revolution, specifically which was believed to be a vehicle for social change. Most of the content which was used in this form was able to take place in an abstract way. However, the meaning which was established allowed for the meaning to relate to the political and economic difficulties of the time, specifically which linked to the voice that was based on the revolution of Russia3. The first historical presence of the montage began with editing between scenes, specifically which would move from long shots that would be followed by a cut in black. This would then lead to a narrative flow that would link specific types of vocabulary and philosophies that were within a specific film area. The main ideal was to create a sense of space, which then held some connections but was able to move into a different narrative direction within the film. As this evolved, it moved into specialized techniques, such as mise-en-scene, where movements were the main component linking together the edits, while the narrative was able to continue in the same direction4. The rules which were established included an established shot in a specific scene, followed by a long shot to create a sense of orientation of where one was as well as to position the performers and objects. This was known

Rising Greenhouse Gas Emissions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rising Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Coursework Example The other risks that are regarded as having more gravity include global governance failure, unsustainable population growth, and rising green house emissions (Barnett & Adger, 2003). The paper discusses the risk of increasing greenhouse emissions. Global warming comes about as result green house emissions leading to the greenhouse effect. The burning of fossil fuels and extensive clearing of forests has led to a 40% increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide from 280 to 392.6 parts per million in 2012 (CDIAC, 2012). Developing nations have been found to have higher percentages of greenhouse emissions compared to the developed countries. The increase of greenhouse gases is a result of human activities such as forest degradation and burning of fossil fuels. There is growing recognition that there are over 50 global risks are classified into five main categories: (1) geopolitical: global governance failure (2) societal: unsustainable population growth, ineffective drug policies (3) technological: critical systems failure (4) economic: chronic fiscal imbalances, major systematic financial failure (5) environmental: greenhouse gas emissions (Howel 2013:54-55). The rising green house emissions risk fall under the environmental category. The rising green house emissions are a threat to the world regarding the gravity of its consequences. Greenhouse gases consist of those gases that emit and absorb infrared radiation, excluding the radiation in near or visible spectrum (Pandey, 2007). In order of abundance they include: Water vapor, carbon (IV) oxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and chloro floro carbons (CFCs). The main source of green house gases is carbon dioxide. The following fuels natural gases, liquefied petroleum gas, automobile gasoline, kerosene, wood and wood waste, and coal if combusted produce a lot greenhouse gases too (Dijk et al. 2012:110-115). Carbon dioxide (CO2) is viewed to the most vital

Cannabis Use Policy in the USA and Netherlands and Its Implication for Essay

Cannabis Use Policy in the USA and Netherlands and Its Implication for Policy Change in the UK - Essay Example Research studies on cannabis use policies have revealed that easing up on the penalties for using cannabis does not influence the use of other drugs nor does it change people’s outlooks towards the use of drugs. The research studies go on to illustrate that removing the penalties for cannabis use do not sway overall drug use, instead, it diminishes harm on cannabis users (Institute of Medicine 1999, p. 102). As a result, more countries are liberalizing their cannabis use policies and controlling its supply by putting structures in place to monitor drug use. Several states in the USA and Netherlands have adopted such policy changes in which marijuana use has been liberalized. Individuals who use marijuana in small no longer face criminal charges for possession and use of marijuana. Those in possession of large amounts are still liable to be prosecuted. They have, however, placed caps on the maximum amount of marijuana that an individual can possess at any given time. Cannabis is a drug produced from the Cannabis sativa plant and can be used in either of three forms; flower tops; leaves; and herbs. The three forms can then be processed into forms that make them easier to use. It is the most widely used drug globally (Villatoro 2009, p. 287). Cannabis international control was discussed in the United Nations Office of Drug and Crime 1961 single convention on Narcotics Drugs in which many governments signed the convention to make cannabis an illegal drug. It is important to note that despite cannabis possession and use being liberalized in some countries, no country has ever legalized cannabis use and possession. The only respite provided for cannabis users is that formal penalties for use of small amounts of cannabis, that are used personally, have been removed (Robin et al. 2010, p. 24; Spruit 2002, pp. 119-141).

Terms comparison paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Terms comparison paper - Essay Example The subject of costs in economics is a trivial concern because as simple as it looks, costs assume many forms and applications. As conventionally defined, cost means the amount of money paid for a certain product or service. According to Encyclopedia Britannica (par. 1), cost â€Å"in common usage, (is) the monetary value of goods and services that producers and consumers purchase.† What make the concept of cost challenging in microeconomics is the diverse types or classifications attached to it. Since microeconomics encompass the study of the behavior of individuals, firms, and industries in terms of producing and consuming of economic goods and services, the concept of cost is relevant as it affects microeconomic activities of the units concerned. For consumers and individuals who are not familiar with the concepts of costs, one might have the tendency to discard this as irrelevant and immaterial. However, close examination of these underlying theories would enlighten consum ers on their effects on prices and quantities of goods which are normally offered to the public. This concept is also relevantly applicable to the health care industry. It is interesting to note that in economics, all costs are considered opportunity costs. As rationalized by Petroff (2002, par. 2), resources are usually indented for a particular purpose. When goods are produced using a definite resource, other goods could not be produced using the same raw materials. To use a practical application, for a consumer who decided to buy a television set, the opportunity cost could be the value of a trip to a nearby beach resort which was not taken due to the purchase. In health care, the concept of opportunity cost is best exemplified by the number of years in terms of lives saved and the improvement in the quality of life should monetary resources be spent on an alternative medical intervention suggested or recommended for a diagnosed health care procedure.