Descartes Third Meditation :: essays research papers

Meditation III   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Descartes Third Meditation, he establishes arguments to prove the existence of God. Descartes believes in â€Å"Cogito Ergo Sum† this means I think therefore I am. The â€Å"I† in this sentence means the soul. Descartes believes the existence of the mind is better known than the existence of the body. If my soul thinks then I exist. The Cogito proves the existence of self or the mind; this is not the same for the theory of God. Descartes has two arguments in the Third meditation. The arguments are the cause of his idea of God and the cause of his existence now. In the third meditation Descartes uses his existence as an example to find out whether God exist. Descartes explanation is whatever he perceived clear and distinct is true. The idea of the existence of God could have been caused by something out side of himself. Something had to put the idea of God in his mind for him to think about the existence of God. Descartes says, â€Å"I must examine whether there is a God, and, if there is, whether he can be a deceiver. Descartes has to prove that God exists and that he is no deceiver. Descartes then explains that the idea of God is the idea of a perfect or Supreme Being. A perfect being could have set this idea in our minds. He discovers that a perfect thing exists and that perfect being is defined as God. Descartes says, â€Å"All these attributes are such that, the more carefully I concentrate on them, the less possible it seems that they could have originated from me alone. So from what has been said it must be concluded that God necessarily exists.† Descartes also reveals that God is not a deceiver. Descartes knows that a perfect being has no faults. Deception depends on some defect or fault. Therefore, if a perfect being has no faults then that perfect being can not be a deceiver.

Anger by Gender

Popular stereotypes typically do not associate females with the direct expression of anger. Brody and Hall ( 1993) reviewed research on gender and emotion and found that people very clearly see females as more expressive than males when it comes to many emotions, but not in regard to anger, which was associated with males.They cite studies that indicate the consistency of such beliefs; people from various socioeconomic and age backgrounds share the belief that anger is expressed more often and more intensely by males. Cultural norms encourage or at least allow males to respond angrily when provoked; cultural defmitions of femininity make it difficult for females to be openly hostile or angry. If women fail to restrain their anger, they tend to be viewed as emotional or hysterical (Buss, 2001).These assumptions are reflected in the research literature, which focuses primarily on male-to-male or male-to-female hostility and aggression, rather than hostility and aggression on the part o f females directed at either at men or other women.This double standard is beginning to erode. Some observers believe that women can be more aggressive and assertive today, although they are still subject to more limits than men (Averill, 1992).Francesca Cancian and Steven Gordon (1988) document a normative shift in the twentieth century, which actually encourages women today to express emotions such as anger. Their research linked marital emotion norms to political and cultural events and found that in periods of social upheaval, women are encouraged to be more open with their anger.Research presents mixed findings in regard to gender and various measures of anger and hostility.For self-reported hostility, paper-and-pencil measures such as the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory have not revealed sex differences. Barefoot. et al. ( 1991), using a large national sample, found that men outscored women on cynical hostility regardless of age. James Check and Neil Malamuth ( 1985) assessed hostility in Canadian women and men and found that the men's average score was slightly higher than the women's (8.79 versus 7.57).When men and women were asked to keep track of specific anger experiences, Campbell ( 1993) found no significant differences in the frequency of such experiences: over a oneweek period, men reported that they became angry between six and seven times, and women between five and six times. (Buss, 2001)Tavris ( 1989) examined sex differences in anger and found no differences in how anger is experienced, how it is expressed, how well it is identified, or what categories of things arouse anger. She believes, however, that although women do not feel anger any less strongly than men, they are less likely to express it because of the costs associated with their lower social status.Tavris points out that men and women become angry about the same categories of offenses, such as condescending treatment, injustice, and attacks on self-esteem, but they often disagree about what they consider to be condescending treatment, injustice, or attack.Frodi and Macaulay ( 1977) found that both women and men were angered by condescending treatment: women regardless of the provoker's sex and men by a superior attitude on the part of a female. Men were more angered than women by physical and verbal aggression on the part of another male.Brody and Hall ( 1993) reviewed studies showing that there are fairly clearcut differences in regard to positive emotions (with women experiencing and expressing them more), but in regard to negative emotions, especially anger, the findings are less consistent. Females were more likely to feel and express â€Å"intropunitive† emotions (such as shame, sadness, and guilt), and men were more likely to feel and express â€Å"outward directed† emotions (such as contempt).However, for anger, differences between the sexes are often very small or males are more angry than females. Kopper and Epperson (1991) looked at the relationship between sex and sex role identity on anger expression and found sex not to be an important factor in the expression or suppression of anger (however, sex role identity was).Some research finds more anger on the part of females. The review article by Brody and Hall ( 1993) cites research by Brody that found more anger on the part of women toward imaginary male protagonists.Mirowsky and Ross ( 1995) investigated whether women's greater distress accounts are a function of women's greater expressiveness (they are not) or whether they truly experience more distress (they do). In the process of their work they found that females experience various feelings, including anger, more often than males.Reiser ( 1994) explored respondents' feelings of anger toward the other sex using a random sample of North Carolina residents and found a significant sex difference, with female respondents reporting greater anger than male respondents. Conger et al. (1993, cited by Miroswky and R oss 1995) surveyed 451 married couples who lived in the rural Midwest and found that the women reported significantly greater levels of marital hostility than the men.

Not just children Essay

The essay is effective in that it provides some convincing examples of potential internet dangers that can be experienced, with emphasis on how these â€Å"bad guys† can get away with their deeds with no law to control their actions. I must agree that â€Å"people who use the internet should not be exempt from many of the rules and regulations that govern their conduct elsewhere. † Its arguments about general online business holds much merit. I do agree that there should be laws against copyright violation, fraud, child pornography, trust violation, and child-stalking. However, the essay’s great failing is that it does not address the issue of freedom of expression as much as I think it needed to in the context of the topic, especially concerning pornography. Internet pornography is certainly a complicated topic, considering that many children have internet access. The essay contends that pornography must be controlled, particularly because of these children. Although the welfare of children should indeed be of concern to us, I subscribe to the idea that â€Å"if you don’t want to see, don’t look. † Encountering pornographic sites (or going anywhere on the internet for that matter) generally requires an active decision by a person. I take the view that sites on the internet are public only in the sense that they are accessible when a person chooses to access them; but that these sites are not publicly displayed in the sense that a billboard on the street is. Since seeing content generally involves the decision of a person to visit, making whatever information accessible to whomever chooses to access it seems to be reasonable. There have been times when a search using a seemingly innocuous phrase turns up results with nudity or pornographic content, especially when I’m using a search engine with filters turned off. It seems to me that encountering sites with offensive or objectionable content is unavoidable, even if one does not want to come across them. I feel that children’s access to pornographic sites should be restricted. I recognize that total censorship would be very difficult to impose, but still, measures should be enacted to deter or hinder young children from accessing such sites. One solution that has been proposed to solve this problem advocates a change in the domain naming system that will easily identify sites that are â€Å"for adults only† (i. e. , pornographic sites). For example, if sites with adult content ends in â€Å". xxx† rather than the usual domain identifiers, users will know that the site contains adult content, and therefore, can steer clear from it. Using this system, it will also be easier to filter out those kinds of websites. However, if there is any censorship, it will affect everyone, not just children. I still subscribe to the notion that it should be the parent’s/elder’s responsibility to protect children from the darker side of the internet. History has shown that anything that is suppressed by the government does not really disappear, but goes underground. Censorship in any form is a blow to the whole notion of the freedom of expression of the public. With this freedom comes responsibility, and it might actually be better to allow the public to take care of themselves (on the internet) in this regard.

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Research has shown that nursing home abuse is prevalent all across the United States. Nursing home abuse and neglect is an issue that continues to haunt the elderly population. One third of the 1,600 nursing homes in the United States have been cited for abuse (Whitaker, 2001). According to Hooyman & Kiyak (2005) neglect is defined as caregiver not providing goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm or mental anguish. According to Pillemer (1988) elderly abuse is synonymous to maltreatment, which is defined as deviance from socially accepted standards (legal or regulatory) for management of the interpersonal process, carried out with the intent to harm the patient. This being said I still feel that it is something in which the general public is unaware. Moreover, what makes this issue even more tragic is that it is something that can be prevented. I feel that stopping the abuse from spreading lies in the hands of the family and friends of the elderly individual. The prevention begins at the first moment a nursing home is researched and visited. I think too often people do not ask the right questions and do not have enough knowledge to identify the signs related to abuse. It may be difficult to spot signs of abuse, however, because people tend to define abuse as different things. Signs are defined as the physical evidence able to be seen by others and symptoms are what the victim reports to others (not observable measures). Unfortunately, staff that are the abusers usually use excuses such as the victim is clumsy or accident prone when accused of being negligent. These same staff members have been found to be angry and rough with the residents on a regular basis (NHARC, 2006). According to Nursing Home Abuse Resource Center (2006) frequent visits to the emergency room coupled with unusual bruises in locations such as chest, abdomen, neck and thighs are hard to find yet still are important signs that the elder is being abused. I believe the best solution to this problem is for communities to make information about all nursing homes known for public consumption. Instead of people having to research many different nursing homes on the internet, or looking up phone numbers and calling each one individually, I believe it would be beneficial for the community to make some sort of brochure with information about all of the nursing homes in the area. This would obviously not give statistics on how many cases of neglect or abuse a said nursing home has had, but I do believe it would be a helping starting point. The brochure should have information such as the statistics of staff to patients, services offered, reviews and comments from past and present residents and families’, and general information about each institution. It would also be beneficial to offer the website information leading to websites which grade nursing homes, giving tips on how to read and understand the information given. The obvious drawback of my plan is that it may be unlikely nursing homes would agree to have this information printed side by side with other nursing homes for comparison. They may also not want their bad news aired for the public to know, so they may not want information pertaining to informational websites posted for people to find out about. I think the benefits of this would be that friends and families’ of people moving into nursing homes would be given ample information to get them started in the right direction. They would be given the opportunity to compare many nursing homes, and also given information showing them how to further research each place to find out more statistics. Some unanticipated consequences of this may simply be the reactions of the community and residents in said nursing homes. The community may think it is a good idea and warm up to it easily, or the community may appalled by the information they find out and cause problems for everyone. I think it is important for everyone to be aware of the problem of nursing home abuse and neglect, but giving people the power to find out such things may cause problems that never would have surfaced if they remained ignorant. Sometimes, knowledge is power; sometimes, it is fuel to the fire

El Nino Fidencio the Mythical Curandero

El Nino Fidencio The Mythical Curandero Throughout the book Curanderismo: Mexican American Folk Healing Trorrer and Chavira make mention of el Nino Fidencio in countless areas of the book. It is mentioned that one of the most important spiritualist movement is based on â€Å"the life teaching, and the spirit of a famous young folk healer (now dead) from northern Mexico el Nino Fidencio† (1997:35). Even today el Nino is an important figure in many aspects of the belief system and practice associated with the Curanderismo folk healing.History plays a major role in culture when it comes to establishing religion and medical practices, which in the case of the Mexican Curanderos many times martyrs or perhaps people with supernatural or mythical abilities lay the foundation for the belief system and its practice. Consequently, this allows such people (those with supernatural abilities) to become saints thus becoming an important part of the Catholic faith, which has become syncratic with the traditional folk healing system.What is interesting about el Nino and his legacy, is that he not only serves as an influential figure in the history of Curanderismo but also plays a large role in the spiritual practices and the contemporary culture associated with the Mexican folk healing practices. In a modern society where immigration has promoted syncretism and a separation between those who still live in or near Mexico and those who have moved to other regions causing them to lose many of their traditional beliefs and practices el Nino serves as an icon from the folk saint movement that helps draw a culture and the people back together.One of the things the turned Fidencio into a saint and a man of great power was the vision or hallucination that he had of a bearded man with a halo who came to him under a tree when he was a young man right after he had been run off by the family with which he had been living with this is what he says he was told in his hallucination. F idencio, you are called to a very high destiny. I put in your eyes a marvelous curative power, which will serve to alleviate the suffering of those with pain.I give you this divine power only for the good of humanity, only in order to that you will cure those who are deserving, never for you to enrich yourself with it, not to benefit those who do not deserve such good things (1973:91) What caused Fidencio to become so well received was not only the fact that he had a gift but the way in which he came to understand develop and use his gift for healing. Many saints receive divine intervention, which leads them on a particular path.When taking on such a role as Fidencio did he made the decision to leave the secular world behind to enter into a practice, which is often ill-defined and perceived based upon the fact that it involved dabbling in the supernatural and the lines between good and evil are thin. â€Å"The curandero is considered different from ordinary people, and this differe nce produces respect, distrust, and even fear. Sometimes it produces the accusation that the curandero is a brujo, a witch, doing antisocial magic so not everyone feels drawn to this profession† (1997: 110).However, Fidencio was not perceived in such a way; he was known to give, and share with the people. Thus using his gifts as instructed by what many refer to as â€Å"the heavenly father†, for good striving to benefit those around him as he was told to do. It is said that, â€Å"Fidencio accepted his mission and devoted the remainder of his life to curing. But from time to time intense fatigue would weaken his resolve. On these instances he would weep and say that he has been ordered to cure and had no choice but to do so† (1973:91).In doing so he inspired others and created a legacy that would be remembered and celebrated long after his death. The â€Å"fidencistas† (Fidencios followers) have built a number of temples (called centros) in Mexico as well as in the United States where Mexican immigration are prevalent. Such temples are important when it comes to the practice of spiritual curanderimo. This is because although many of the foundational aspects if folk healing stem from some of the methods used by Fidencio mediums who work in the spiritual realm have special gifts thus they look to the guidance of Fidencio’s spirit.This has created a sort of sub culture or cult in which those who have the ability to become a medium sometimes choose to spend their lives living and working in such temples. The centros are staffed by trance mediums who, often†¦ go into trance, and (in their words) let the spirit of el Nino descend on them, their bodies forming a link between the material and spiritual realms of existence. Through this linkage, the immortal spirit of el Nino performs cure, does consultations, even predicts the outcome of future events for members of his cult (1997: 35).Followers of Fidencio and other spirits tend to have much more religious beliefs due to the fact that they are wholly focused on doing their work through the guidance, protection and possession by that saint. Although it is interesting to note that people consider the curenderos to be a saints because of the connection that they have with the seen unseen realms associated with the gifts that mediums possess. Not all mediums choose to become part of a cult dedicating themselves and their work to the will of a saint who will ultimately work through them.Others might choose to work alone, some for profit and some solely for personal growth knowledge and gratification as is mentioned in chapter six of Curanderismo: Mexican American Folk Healing. Yet these Mediums might still attempt to gain guidance and protection from the saints such as Fidencio conversely; they do so with the help of a master curendero or by making a trip to a temple while making no commitment to the cult. Today although it has been more than 72 years since the death of el Nino Fidencio’s death many people still attribute their successes in both giving and receiving healing to the saint el Nino Fidencio.He serves not only as an important figure to those who practice Curanderismo but also those who receive treatment from the curandos. The saint plays such a large role in the culture in Mexico (even today) that people make pilgrimages to his burial place located outside of the small town of Espinazo on the eve of his birthday. According to the Houston Chronicle, the procession and rituals are as big a deal for many Mexicans as it is for those who have immigrated and become Mexican Americans. Thousands of Hispanics come to this high desert site in northern Mexico on the eve of the birthday of legendary healer el Nino Fidencio.Through song and ceremony, pageantry and ritual, they have come to invoke El Nino's spirit, to prostrate themselves in acts of humility and submission, to crawl up the road of penance that leads to his tomb, and to find rebirth through immersion in a muddy pool of water (1995:8). For many people the pilgrimage represents more than just going to honor the dead saint for the most determined believers, (both those who practice and those who are served) it is a quest for answers and solutions to the myriad of problems common to the human condition.Through the spirit of el Nino, they believe that they can find a way to cope with illness, business, marriage, money, the community and ultimately, with life itself. The ceremonies associated with the pilgrimage are so large that they draw the attention of newspapers, which publicize the special evens that take place in honor of the dead saint. In the National Catholic Reporter is was noted that, â€Å"During the week of Oct. 17 and again in March, to honor El Nino’s patron St.Joseph, throngs of devotees carry flowers and copal incense like ancient Aztec celebrants. They wend their way through narrow Espinazo streets to El Pirulito (which is t he little pepper tree where he had his Hallucination), where El Nino received his healing powers† (Burbank1997: 3). In participating in such ceremonies the people are celebrating and honoring not only the saint but â€Å"God† as well, thus insuring that they will have a prosperous rest of the year. The celebration is a time for people to not only honor el Nino but also the Virgin of Guadalupe.People dance in headdresses and costume near the tomb and vendors have to opportunity to make money off of the crowds by selling items like balloons and medicines. Many of the people who attend the pilgrimage are poor, marginalized, and have little to no access to health care. For many, it is about more than just honoring a saint and being a Catholic; these celebrations allow people to gather and seek healing for ailments that they could not otherwise afford to get treated.The reasons for the celebration go beyond the fact that he was a saint; he also represents the freedom that Cu randeros have to practice their craft. In 1928 Mexican President Plutarco Elias Calles suppressed the Catholic priesthood, which resulted in a revolt the following year he went to Mexico to arrest el Nino for practicing without a license. However, he and his daughter were ill and el Nino healed them both in Espainazo. This attracted much attention and caused him to not only escape a jail sentence but also made him the most famous Mexican curandero according to the National Catholic Reporter.This proved not only that he was a gifted healer but also that he was willing to help those who wished to oppress him and keep him from his craft. Thus proving to be a symbol of hope, strength, and power for the people of Mexico, and Mexican Americans who come to celebrate him. The Curanderismo folk healing of Mexico has a long legacy and although it has changed and become synchronic due to religious influence and Western medicine. Its fundamental roots have survived; the spiritual and physical h ealings that result from the craft are still received by those who live both within as well as outside of Mexico.Saints such as el Nino Fidencio help remind the people of amazing healing powers that curenderos can possess and serves a figure which causes the people of the culture to unite yearly despite the fact that some have immigrated or moved to other geographical locations. The tale of the saint El Nino and his legacy not only serves as an influential figure in the history of Curanderismo but also plays a large role in the spiritual practices and the contemporary culture associated with the Mexican folk healing practices.Works Cited Burbank, J. (1997). Catholics, too, venerate el nino fidencio. National Catholic Reporter, 33(14), 3. Macklin, B. J. , ; Crumrine, N. R. (1973). Three north mexican folk saint movements. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 15(1), 89-105. Spaulding, G. (1995, January 8). JOURNEY OF THE SPIRIT ; pilgrims by the thousands are drawn to the town where curandero el nino performed his legendary healings. The Houston Chronicle, pp. 8. Trotter, R. T. I. , ; Chavira, J. , Antonio. (1997). Curanderismo: Mexican american folk healing (Second ed. ). Athens, Georga: University of Georgia Press.

Do Not Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch

We think that all the eggs a hen lays will hatch and become chickens, we may be wrong. Some of the eggs may be rotten. Others may get broken or damaged.So we cannot be sure that an off will become a chick until it has hatched. Do not be too optimistic or hopeful about a favorable outcome. We may have o  wait forthe results. A flower  and a bud are different things although it is the bud that blossoms into the  beautiful flower. But until that happens, we cannot say for sure that the bud will become  a flower. A naughty boy may pluck it off. Some bird might peck and damage the bud or a strong wind might blow and spoil it. So it is always wise not to lay too much hope on anything that we do until it becomes what we hope.It is good to be optimistic. But too much hoping many bring dejection. The  proverb  suggests that it is unwise today excess hopes on anything thatOne can plan one’s life as carefully as possible to get the maximum results out of his efforts. One can dream of bigger and better things too, for, to excel is a basic human urge. However, to be overambitious or to plan beyond what reality permits may be foolhardy and counterproductive. A chicken owner may place 20 eggs for incubation, but only less than half may hatch into chicks, other eggs going rotten.If the former had expected all the eggs to hatch into chicks, he was in for disappointment. Real situations hardly match expectations. If men are aware of this reality of life, it will be good for their mental health. Genuine efforts are expected to yield reasonable results, but that may not match what one desired. Remember, one can be sure of an event only after it had happened, not before. Desires or imaginary things are not realities. So do not count your chickens even before they are hatched. we do in our day to day life.

Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 17

Religion - Essay Example The experience is the troubles that people encounter and eventually abandons their old living habits and follows what their religion teaches them. In the section, â€Å"Theories of religion† (starting from page 8), Flood explains that there are three different schools of thought in how to define religion. Summarize these theories and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. These theories describe religion to be politics in the other way round, religion is a gene and defined religion to be a cultural response to life (Crockett 14). The first schools gave an illustration that based on the aesthetic reduction. The meaning of this is that religion is part of the cultural mechanism that makes sure that the transmission of genes to the other generations is successful. Explanation of how living being come into existence is specified in a range of constraint, this is the advantage of these theories. The limitation for this is that religious resources that pertain human lives in most instances went against the grain of some scholarships. Correct what Flood describes here with your own experience of religion. Does it resonate? Why or not? Basing on what Floods description, it does not resonate with my experience of religion. The reason behind this is that religions are a unifying, purifying, and holy dominion that brings people closer to God (Crockett 15). Floods highlight does not reveal the genesis of man. Instead, he relates with biological aspects that do not exist in the desired religion.