The Concept Of Doubt Philosophy Essay

The Concept Of Doubt Philosophy Essay About 4th century BC when the anti-vedic Movements like Buddhism etc has started, The exponents of the vedic Philosophy and religion keenly felt the need of showing greater accommodation to rationalistic modes of thought. The rationalistic sources available for vedics religion and philosophy has to be pooled together and kept fit for defensive and offensive use. And Hence the Nyaya with epistemological exegesis and the Physics and logic of the anti- vedic vaishesika were put together. The doctrines of these two schools were systematised and redacted. Hence it was the time when the Nyaya-vasishesika had merged together, now all we are studying in nyaya is the Physics of vaishesika and Logic and epistemology of Nyaya. Though there are some differences in respect to Physical laws of in Nyaya and Vaishesika they have so many common points, hence they were merged together. The Vasihesika and Nyaya are not restricted to their scope and aim to logic in a narrow sense, With the material of the Vaishesika and its Physics along with Nyaya forms a complete system of epistemology and logic combined to some extent with psychology, Physics, ethics, ontology, religion. Such a mixed composition of Indian philosophical system is due not to any lack of appreciation of differences of value in different things, but rather to cultural outlook of India, Which is dominated by an intense desire to synthesize all the departments of knowledge in a scheme of progressive realization of truths and the universe we live in. The scheme of Nyayas external relation, its dialectic machinery, its theory of truth and error, its creationistic view of causation, its thought measuring devices and precise formulas form its ever-spread never fading foliage. Its chief boast is its Logical dialectic machinery, which the believers and the heretics, The astikas and the nastikas alike, cannot do without. In Indian Philospohy it is said that whoever knows the Nyaya, knows the pramana,is a pramanavith, i.e a philosopher in a strict sense Nyaya signifying logic is etymologically identical with Avyaya the five membered syllogisms. Nyaya defined in many ways like the Hetu-Vidya or Hetu-sastra means the science of causes, Anvikishiki The science of inquiry, Pramana sastra the science of valid knowledge, Tattva-sastra the science of categories , Tarka sastra the science of reasoning , Vaddahrta the science of discussion and Phkkika sastra the science of sophism. Nyaya is chiefly concerned with Valid Knowledge and its source.The Nyayas Realism and the Vaishesika Atomistic Pluralism when put together is called the theory of everything. Hence Nyaya combined with Vaishesika can be called as The theory of everything in one word. Beginning from the vast universe to the atoms in the matter every thing was clearly explained by two great scientist of the ancient India, They are Kannada and Gautama. These people should be identified as scientist rather than sages. These two scientists and explained the major concepts regarding man, nature, society and science.. Their works are undoubtedly greatest contributions to the Mankind. Even when I entered the field of nyaya, I was amazed to see that how, these ancient scientists has coined the definition of Gravitation and Sound. It was mentioned that sound travels in the form of waves. Not only these the famous Newton 3rd law That every action has an equal and opposite reaction and the Einsteins concept of matter,I.e matter can neither be created nor destroyed was clearly explained. The name Kannada itself suggests that Atom -eater,He had done extensive research on the atoms and had a very scientific approach towards the universe. When I came through these concepts,I was really amazed, that how these people can formulate these postulates some 2600years ago. At the same time there are many lapses and misconceptions too, we do not know whether these were in the original texts or induced in between. Here I would like to mention one quote of the Famous economist of the ancient India- Pradipaha sarva vidyanam Upayaha sarva karmanam Asrayaha sarva dharmanam anvikishiko Matha!! This is the Quote of Kautilya the Great Philosopher who proposed theory on economy famously called artha sastra This means- Nyaya has ever been esteemed as lamp of all sciences, the resource for all the actions and the shelter of all virtues Of all the Nations in the world the Indians and Greeks appear to to have developed Logic and epistemology to large extent, Independently. except the Five membered Syllogism. Indian Logic is dated back to 6th century BC and the Greek logic originated in the fourth century BC though its germs can be traced a little earlier in the controversies of the sophist and Socrates . The Aristotle can be called the Gautama of Greece. The five membered syllogism is a gift from India to the Greeks.it is written in the history that the Indians meeting some foreign person at sweetadweepa had taught this syllogism to the Greeks.( controversies are there regarding this) Although the word Logic is being used as a synonym to Nyaya, but it is not Identical with it. Logic only covers some of the subjects of Nyaya. The Indian Logic and epistemologys development can be divided into three periods namely Ancient (650BC-100AD) Medieval (100AD-1200AD) Modern (From 1200 AD) Nyaya originated in the ancient period i.e before 650BC and there are many commentaries on the Nyaya and, some thousands of commentaries are there are on the Nyaya-Sutras of Gautama and at the same time there are many commentaries which actually misinterprets the Concepts of Nyaya. During the medieval period Navya-Nyaya had came into existence which had misinterpreted the many concepts of the Nyaya Philosophy and during the modern period there were many commentaries written on the Navya Nyaya, Thus totally ignoring the original Nyaya sutras(Tenets). But the Nyaya is unapproachable to the English speaking world as the texts are in Sanskrit Language and most of the translated texts are covering only the first part of the Nyaya and even those translations arent totally based on the concepts of manuscripts. The nyaya sutra contains five Adhyayas (books); each Adhyaya consists of Anhikas (chapters); each Anhika has a number of sutras (aphorisms). According to the standard method mentioned above Gautama has discussed his categories and subcategories in different parts of his work. The commentators follow his treatment. Generally this discussion involved refutation of contrary views. Since the commentators refer not only to such views as are mentioned by Gautama but also not only development the exposition tends to become complicated. In order to highlight the basic doctrines and arguments of the Naiyayakas(people who follow Nyaya) and opponents I have classified the themes of the nyaya sutra under the following main heads: central theme Theory of Cognition Concept of proof It is well known fact that the authors of Nyaya and vasihesika are Gautama and Kannada, it is difficult to say that whether the systems started separately or and being allied in general attitude and view point became mixed up in later ages or an original fund of floating Ideas. The word Nyaya popularly signifies right or justice,Hence the Nyaya sastra is the science of Right judgment or reasoning, the Chinese can-li and the Tibetans rigs-bstan-bcos as equivalents of the Sanskrit Nyaya-sastra, expresses exact the same meaning. In fact the Nyaya(Logic) was in course of time deservedly held in very high esteem. If it were allowed to follow its original course unimpeded by religious dogmas, it would have risen to the very height of perfection, Nevertheless the principles of Nyaya entering into the different systems of Philosophy gave them each its proper compactness and cogency just as Bacons Inductive method shaped the sciences and philosophies of a later age in a different country.it is however to be regretted that during the last five hundred years the Nyaya has been mixed up with Law(Smrirti,Rheotric(alanakara),Vedanta,etc) and thereby has hampered the growth of those branches of knowledge upon which it has grown up as a sort of parasite. But the subject is an never aging queen. The Concept Of Doubt in The Great Indian Philospohy Introduction Every school of philosophy in India has attempted a theory of knowledge on which its metaphysical and axiological structures are based. The ultimate goal of philosophizing, and for that matter of all human enterprises, is to realize perfection or fullest all round efflorescence of ones potentialities (moksha or nihsreyasa) as the summum bonum of life and existence. For this realization knowledge of reality (Tattvajnana) is essential and necessary prerequisite. So, a theory of knowledge is regarded as propaedeutic to a theory of reality because before knowing the reality one has to know knowledge itself. This requirement is grounded in the fact that to philosophize is to reflect on the nature of reality given in experience. Every experience is caused by and pertains to an object. This reference to an object can be cognitive or non-cognitive like emotive, volitional etc. A cognitive reference consists in revelation of an object (pakasa) or in making a cognizer aware of it. Though every cognitive reference reveals an object, there is always a possibility of going astray in this reference and there is no guarantee that it will adequately and faithfully reveals its objects. This possibility of error and doubt in cognitive reference necessitates an enquiry in to is veracity. The entire epistemological pursuit begins and centers round this task. So along with consideration of objects of knowledge (prameya) and modes of knowing (pramana) there has to be awareness abut error and doubt as well so that they can be eliminated. Need for evidencing knowledge:- A cognitive reference is cognition of an object in terms of its existence, nature, characteristics, relations and functions etc. It may reveal its objects as it is (yathartha) or different from what it is (ayathartha) or there may be lack of determination of this (samsaya). That cognition is knowledge which reveals its objects as it is, i.e. which is non-discordant (avisamvadaka) with its object. Such cognition is technically known as Valid cognition prama (pramana in some schools where no distinction is drawn between prama and pramana). All other varieties of cognition are treated as different from knowledge. In other words, only that cognition can claim the status of knowledge the non-discordances or truth of which is well established through adequate evidences. There has to be assuredness/indubitability (asamdigdhatva) with regard to the truth of that cognition. The truth of knowledge is to be established on the basis of cogent and convincing evidence known as pramana. Indian thinkers point out three essential components of knowledge. They are cognitive reference to an object (arthavisayakatva), exactitude of reference (yatharthatva) and indubitability (asamdigdhatva) about exactitude. The object must be real and not fictitious. The exactitude of reference means true apprehension of the object and indubitability means adducing adequate and sufficient evidence (s) for its truth. In this essay an attempt will be made to analyze the phenomenon of doubt in its diverse forms and facets and with different perspectives. The treatment is not confined to any one system of thought as the chief feature of Indian thought is {bahuuidhavada and the mode of philosophizing is Vade vade jayate tattvabodhab} Importance of doubt Doubting is very important in human life to avoid credulous nature leading to blind faith and dogmatic belief. That is why Lord Buddha used to advise pariksya madvacah grahyah'(Accept what I say only after proper inquiry). This is what Pyrroh said in respect of Stoics in ancient Greece. Vatsyayana, the commentator on the Nyayasutras, opines that inquiry or logical investigation begins only in respect of samsayite arthe (doubtful object of cognition), thought of course Jayanata, another Nyaya thinker, states that samsayamantarenapi inquiry can begin apart from doubt as well. The other factor can be jijnasa (inquisitiveness), sisadhayisa (will to prove), or pariprccha (questioning attitude). That is why in Indian epistemological thinking we find different approaches to paksa'(Subject) mainly discussed in the context of anumana(Inference). Need to eliminate doubt Though doubting is useful, persistent doubting is detrimental, as Yajnavalkya rightly says about persistent questioning in the Brhadaranyakopanisad. Doubting can be a starting point for rise of knowledge or for verification of knowledge. This is what the Bhagwadgita advised (Tadviddhi pranipatenapariprasnenesavaya) or Lord Buddha advised as stated earlier. But persistent doubt is harmful to mental peace (anistanivarana prasanga). That is why the Bhagvadgita says, Samsayatma Vinasyati$. In order to have unwavering acivity (niskampapravrtti) also resolution or elimination of doubt is necessary. So doubt should be initial and not final. Here a distinction can be drawn between cessation of doubt and elimination of doubt. Cessation of doubt is psychological and elimination of doubt is logical. Psychological satisfaction may lead to cessation but doubt may crop up again. Only logically there can be final elimination. This distinction becomes significant in context of the controversy between Udayana and Sriharsa and Sriharsa and Gangesa and we shall revert to it later on. A deeper analysis of this issue is really enlightening and outstanding contribution to epistemology. Some conceptual distinctions The theorizing about doubt is known as samsayavada in Sanskrit. Samsayavada (Skepticism) is to be distinguished from Ucchedavada (Nihilism). In Ucchedavada doubting leads to denial of possibility of acquiring knowledge. It can be brought under Vitanda{Cavil}. The Tattvoplavasinha of Jayarasi Bhatta belongs to this category. Likewise, skepticism is to be distinguished from Agyeyavada (Agnositism). The Neti Neti statement of the Upanisads can be subsumed under this. In Lokayata/Carvaka philosophers and in Bhrtrhari, the author of Vakyapadyi (II.32-35), we find Limited Skepticism. In Nagarjuna (Vigrahavyavartini and Madhyamikakarika) and Sriharsa (Khandanakhandakadya) we have Methodogical Skepticism. In the western thought we find several other verities of Samsayavada like Epistemological Skepticism of Descartes and Psychological Skepticism of Hume. One can find their parallels also in Indian thought referred to in the Pali Tripitakas. It has to be noted that the Lokayata Skepticism has provided tremendous impetus for the development of Nyaya and Buddhist epistemology. Likewise Sriharsas contribution can not be minimized in respect of Gangesas philosophy. It is not the objective of this essay to go into details of these multiple approaches and their inputs. Hence landing on the point Nature of doubt Gautama in the Nyayasutras has given a very precise and comprehensive definition of samsaya which needs cognizance and analysis. He defines it is follows: Samanekadharmapapatteuipattervipatterupaladhyanupalabdhyavyauyauasthtasca visheshapekhso vimarsah samsayah. It can be split as follows: Samanadharma Anekadharma Tayorupapatti Vipratipatti Upalabdhi Anupalabhi Auyauashasca Visheashapeksah Vimarsah The above definition can be explained as below: Doubt arises due to having conflicting notions about one and the same object. Here mind oscillates (dolayate) between two or more alternative characterizations of that object arising from the cognition of common qualities of two or more objects and non-cognition of specific qualities of that object. Due to intervention of memory (Prasastapada rightly brings in the role of memory) mutually incompatible notions are suggested simultaneously and there is no fixity on any one notion resulting in absence of firm-assuredness in any one. Here there is no assertion or denial of any one and hence there is no definite judgment. It is absence of assured cognition and oscillation between conflicting notions. Symbolically it can be put as It may be this or that or It may be this or that or none or something else. Now let us Know the difference between the Nyayas philosophical terms like Prama,Viparyaya,samsaya and anadhyvasaya Difference among prama, viparyaya, samsaya and anadhyvasaya: It may be useful to draw brief distinctions among some cognate epistemic terms stated above. Prama stands for a true cognition which carries certitude in its truth. It is uni-judgmental and well-evidenced. Viparyaya means a false judgment which was earlier taken to be true and later on its falsity is exposed on valid grounds and assuredness in its truth is withdrawn. It is also uni-judgmental. Samsaya is multi-judgmental and here there is no fixity on one single judgment. It is indecisive (anavadharanaka) Anadhyavasaya is incipient cognition. It is vague sensation. It is unripe cognition and non-judgmental. We may not call it as cognition at all. That is way in the Nyaya system it is not given cognizance. It is also different from pre-judgmental cognition known as nirvikalpaka pratyaksa in sanskrit. Samsaya is also to be distinguished from Iha accepted in the Jain tradition. {Likewise Pt. Badarinath Shukla in his Hindi Commentary on the Tarkabhasa of Kesavamisra has differentiated samsaya from samuccaya. But he regards sambhauana (probability) as a variety of samsaya. } Typology of doubt On different grounds there can be different classifications of doubt. One classification can be as follows: About the existence or absence of an object, e.g. whether a tumor is cancerous or not, or whether God exists or not etc. About properties of a substantive e.g, sound is eternal or not, or whether light traverses in the form of waves or corpuscles. About the presence of this or that object, e.g. whether it post or human. Here the alternatives can be two or more. The alternatives may all be false and this may necessitate further investigation. The alternatives may all be true in different contexts or from different perspectives. Or, only one alternative may be true and the rest false. It will be an interesting as well as rewarding exercise to work this out. The other typology is on the basis of type of pramana(valid knowledge. For example in the Nyaya system four types of pramanas are accepted and hence there can be four types of doubt pertaining to perceptual, inferential, testimonial and analogy-based identificational cognitions. Generating conditions of doubt Doubt may be generated by any defect in the causal collocation (karana samagri) of knowledge as follows Defective functioning of cognitive senses due to various reasons. Epistemological thinkers have discussed these factors in great depth. Doubt may be generated due to faulty intervention of memory Mental delusion or disturbance may cause doubt And finally absence of conclusive evidence may result in doubt. Role of Tarka in removal of doubt. We may now revent to the problem of elimination of doubt. Just as doubting is helpful in arriving at truth, removal of doubt is also equally needed. Doubt arises due to presentation of conflicting alternatives (kotis) which may be contrary or contradictory each one claiming truth. This leads to oscillation and indecision in mind. So doubt has to be overcome to remove the deadlock and unless this is done, knowledge cannot be arrived at. In the case of different pramanas there are different modus operandi. For example , in the case of perceptual and analogical cognitions repeated observation, controlled experiment, crucial evidence (vinigamaka) etc. are helpful. In testimonial cognition conscience may be helpful but it cannot provide logical elimination. The Purva Mimamsa system accept Codana for this purpose which is regarded as infallible. But this problem of elimination of doubt has been discussed threadbare in the context of anumana(Inference) and this needs some analysis. The Carvaka/Lokayata thinkers raised serious objection for accepting validity of anumana(inference). Bhartrhari gave a classical formulation to their objections. This was extended by Nagarjuna and Sriharsa in their own way. Though Udayana in Nyayakusumanjali (Chapter III) and Santaraksita in Tattvasamgraha (1481-3) try their best to answer Carvaka/Lokayata objections, their replies have not been logically satisfactory. Any recourse to tarka or kalpana does not satisfy logical requirements. Udayanas arguments have been responded be Sriharsa and Gangesas replies to Sriharsa have been infirm. One may even refer to Raghunathas commentary on Khandanakhadyakhadya for this . Tarka rests on contradiction and contradiction itself rests on tarka. This involves the fallacy of pititio principi. In fact no human experience is immune from doubt and Sahara, the Purva Mimamsa thinkers, are right in this. For empirical purposes epistemology works well ultimately it falls down. That is why Adi Samkara has put all pramanavyavahara under avidya following the Upanisads. The point is that only on psychological grounds doubt can be resolved and there can not be logical elimination of doubt. The devil of doubt will always haunt human cognitive enterprises and we have to put up with that. But this is not pessimism but a warning to be vigilant. We do need epistemological inquiries but we have to be cautious and on the guard.

Meet The World :: Japan Japanese Culture Cultural Essays

Meet The World Have you stayed in other countries or met the people who have different cultures from yours? Yes, I have. I stayed in England for a year, and I have been living in the U.S for seven months. I went to two different English schools when I was in England. All students were of course from outside of England. Most of them were from Europe which is Spain, Italy and so on. Others were from the Far East like Korea, Thailand and Japan. I even met a few people who are sons of millionaires from East Asia such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan. When I was in Chicago, I met people who were from Korea, China and Mexico. As you know, I met English and American people as well. I also made friends who were from other countries like Argentina, Brazil and all over the world. In addition, I experienced and learned lots of things from their cultures. Some cultures are totally different from my culture. They sometimes made me surprised, and I realize that I will never get accustomed to them. On the other hand, t he other cultures are very important for everyone to understand. To meet many people and to experience different cultures is how my life and my way of thinking have greatly changed. I think you might feel like traveling other countries! First of all, what I felt when I met people was they were very casual when communicating with other people. Their actions seemed to lazy to me though. For example, I saw them in my class in the U.S. Students eat snacks, drink juice, and put their legs on the desk during the class! They go out of a classroom without asking the teacher. It was my first culture shock. In Japan, we have to respect teachers, so we must not drink, eat, or put legs on desks. We do not learn such things. In contrast, we have already known good manners. My second example is, people especially Europeans hug, kiss cheeks and shake hands. When I first went to England, I was a high school student. I was so nervous when I had to hug and kiss men! But I got used to doing that soon. Besides, I noticed that most of Europeans kiss twice to each cheek, but Swiss people kiss three times. To shake hands became a custom among the young Japanese.

Revolutions Around the World Essay -- History, Intellectual Innovation

During the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century, the colonies of the New World, and countries of the Old World, were undergoing revolutions and reforms. In North America, the United States created an economic and political powerhouse; the modern world’s first major nation to become a democracy. The Haitian Rebellion dramatically inspired other slaves and people to rise above government and be given the rights to freedom. The French Revolution practically destroyed its earlier absolute monarchy and caused the people to fight for social and political systems that treated them fairly and gave them more voice in government. The ideas and responses to the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions illustrate political uprisings in each government, change in social autonomy and a newfound sense of pride, along with intellectual shift and innovations. An additional document that would help analyze these revolutions would be a written document about a person’ s account and emotional insight to what it was like living during a revolution. A major thought for these revolutions was that the people of these regions wanted to formulate a new government in which it would grant more people freedom and would be actually able to listen to the people. In British periodicals, illustrations display British Officials being tarred and feathered; a humiliating event for anyone (Doc 2). This represents the Americans’ public opinion towards political leaders of Britain and their demand for liberty and justice. The Declaration of Independence states that the United States wants a just government that listens to the voice of the people, and is made up of the people (Doc 3). The Declaration of Independence displays how the ideas of the p... ...people into joining the revolt and other countries thinking about rebellions and revolutions (Doc 6). The political uprisings, national pride and change in social statues, along with intellectual innovations were all ideas and responses to the revolutions. The ideas and the responses to these ideas were important factors in the outcome of these revolutions. Political up rise and search for liberty caused governments to be overthrown and fought against. A sense of equality, shift in social autonomy, and nationalism led to revolutions in France, America, and Haiti. The influences of intellectual ideas led to more people being involved in the revolutions of these regions. These revolutions change the world, causing the United States to become the world’s largest power, Haitian people to gain liberty, and absolute monarchy in France to be completely overthrown.

College Students Cheating on Exams Essay

In today’s age when you look at the word â€Å"Cheating†, you may find many different definitions or meanings. Whether you cheat at work; known as fraud, cheat at home; known as dishonesty, or at school, this act of conduct can lead to many consequences made by ones choice. Cheating as a word to me means to not follow rules or standards brought up as a person. As we focus today on students cheating, the first thing that comes to my mind is cheating on an exam. As much as we hate to believe it, students in these days have followed the path of trying to do anything to get that grade. I believe many students today are driven to cheat when there is too much emphasis to ace an exam from both parents and school staff. It’s difficult to dismiss why students cheat, but I think if you eliminate pressure, students are less likely to engage in such conduct. Cheating leads to breaking the rules in many cases. Sometimes cheating can also lead to students finding someone else to help take one another’. No matter how careful teachers or programs are designed to prevent it, students will always find ways to get around obstacles and cheat at one point. Students may think cheating on an exam might seem like an easy way for a student to get a good grade and get ahead in his or her career, but the end result is when students cheat on exams, everyone is affected in many ways. When a student cheats or decides to cheat on an exam, they forget to think about the consequences that occur as a result of the decision made. Have you ever stopped and thought of the different consequences that occur? Consequences can vary depending on the student getting caught cheating. Some professors may issue a grade of a zero as a standard consequence; other professors may report the cheating to school board depending on the kind of test taken. In most cases, the student will be put on academic probation for repeat offenses which can affect the student’s career development. The student may be able to get a job with more responsibilities and more pay, but they may not be able to keep it, or might even harm people. Whether the student’s career is medical assistant, a teacher, or a lawyer, the exams are supposed to show the level of knowledge required for them to perform well and how can one show that when they are cheating on studies or exams. Another consequence of students cheating is that students, who cheat and get caught, cause other current and future students who do not cheat to become penalized for honesty. When students cheat they change the rules of education in favor of themselves. At the same time changing rules for themselves also cause changing rules for those that choose not to cheat, end result at one point or another someone will be affected. When you think of cheating, the question you should ask yourself should be; â€Å"Are you willing to take a huge risk and possibly affect your future? † The end result to cheating is obviously not a good turnout that leads to many different wrong roads. Many people say once a cheater, always a cheater meanings if you cheat once, are you bound to cheat again or will you learn from your mistakes. On the basis of predictability of human conduct, when you think of exams your first perception would be who is going to cheat on the exam. There are many different reasons why people cheat, just as there are differences in individuals who may cheat. For some, cheating is a way of life, one may cheat for some relief and in other cases others may cheat and be caught off guard causing a momentary slipup, which in end result may never happen again. Now what causes a person to act in that behavior, and determine what caused that behavior. What factors lead a person to cheat is what many ask. Eventually one can make a change and not cheat again. I believe schools should organize speakers, programs and workshops in the framework of â€Å"helping a student to cope with stress†. As part of these programs, parents should be made aware of how they often teach their children to cheat by increasing the pressure or demonstrating that success is the ultimate value in life. Students need to learn that you can cheat your way through school, graduate without learning anything, then get a profession and cause another person to get hurt due to not knowing anything in school due to cheating. Next time if you should cheat to make that extra grade, think again because it may result in hurting yourself and your future or the future of others.

A Long awaited Holiday

Gary Duckworth is the name he always was proud of. Listening to the alarm he opened his eyes, waking up to the bright sunny day ahead. He was more than happy to have the day off today as it was a business day for most of the world around. It was such an inner twist in which he was assigned to meet Miss. Siena for an interview. He has set everything ready at the office for him to be away from the desk. Gary came to the living room, his hands ached very energetic from the work out he had for his biceps last evening. Spending time at the gym was something he always longed for. He just flexed his biceps to have a look at them in the mirror and was extremely happy with the huge budges. He enjoyed the caresses of admiring curious eyes along with words and phrases of admiration as he move about in the crowed. He went to the phone and dialed the number of Siena; he needed to conform once again that she would be available at 9. 30 in the morning at parker’s office in down town Manhattan. Parker’s office is in one World Trade Centre on 95th floor. He has been there quiet few times, always with Siena. The thought of Siena made him glad and gave him a sense of fulfillment. The relationship which has started as just a friendship very soon found itself with a lot of new meanings. Very soon both couldn’t help seeing each other and started to miss each other more than anything. As their romantic life grew Siena grew towards being an organization than a person in the music industry. Gary chose the best attire he always thought was the white shirt with black pants and the suite. He took the train to down town Manhattan. The train ride was rather calm and easy. Very few souls were found seated in the train as it was already past the rush hour. In about twenty minutes he would be at John street subway station and can walk over to the world trade centre. 2 He was walking out of the John street station when he thought of the day ahead though it was an official meeting the rest of the day e is going to be with Siena, he was going to make sure that this is going to be a holiday in all its sense. He was walking up the stairs when he noticed that all the people out at the street were looking upward in shock or rather in curiosity. He came out and found one of the twine towers were on fire. The first thing came to his mind was that there might be an arsenal accident in one of the offices. He did not want to waist the time standing on the ground and watching the fire. He wanted to go fast and meet Siena as soon as possible. She might be worried. He heard some one saying ‘might have been an accident’; it made no sense again to ask what is it. As he walked, there was the big bang, the earth shook, Gary just could not realize what was it but he could recognize the roar of people following the big noise and he could make out some thing from the crowed that ‘it is on purpose’†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ‘some on is doing it’†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ‘they are targeting us’. Who are they? Gary never knew. It was not the safest and joyful downtown any more. Gary in no time found himself in a Warfield of innocent civilians running for life not knowing in the concrete jungles where to hide. Gary became one of them in number, ran for his life and stumped up on some thing soft†¦wasn’t it a girl fallen on the street †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. ho knows. Run, run and run with the crowds. The objects with fire are flowing from the towers, wind taking them all around even worse that is targeting us? What are they doing? Do they want me to be dead? Who do the want to terminate? What are they up to? Will there be yet another explosion and one of these high raisers may fall on me too? My God where is Siena? He looked up to the burning towers and saw the birds flying out from there but those black and white birds did not fly off. Rather just shot themselves down and splashed on the floor in red. He needed answers where is †¦.?

Rene Descates and John Locke Essay

John Locke were both philosophers of the 17th century. Descartes was a rationalist in the way that he thought and wrote about. A rationalist used reasoning to gain knowledge. John Locke on the other hand, was an empiricist in the way he philosophized and taught. An empiricist used senses and experiences. These philosophers, being a rationalist and empiricist, were very different in the way they saw life and knowledge, but they had some similarities as well in the way that they thought. Being of two different groups of philosophers, the rationalists and empiricists, John Locke and Rene Descartes were very different in the beliefs they had; however, as different as they may be there were some similarities that were shared by both of these seventeenth century philosophers. First and most importantly, the biggest similarity that they shared was the fact that they were not skeptics. In other words, they both believed knowledge can be gained by humans. In addition, both of them separated the mind and the body to be two different things or concepts of a living being. For Descartes, mind was for thinking and reasoning and body was just matter or substance. For Locke mind was used for reflection or self-examination of oneself and the body was used for getting knowledge through its senses. For example, Locke says â€Å"it is past doubt that men have in their minds several ideas. † This is an example of how he says and believes the mind works in a human being and gives those ideas which are ultimately reflections. Descartes when he begins to write first states that he is going to doubt everything and then search for the truth. He first establishes himself. He writes â€Å"†¦I could imagine I had no body, and that there was no world nor or any place that I occupied, but that I could not imagine for a moment that I did not exist. † This is where he starts to identify his self. He goes on to say the very well-known phrase â€Å"I think therefore I am. † This is the first truth he presents. He pretty much says that he exists. Then he goes on to identify other truths that he finds. He ultimately finds the biggest truth and says that there is a God that exists. He says the God is almighty, all knowing and perfect in every way. Upon stating the existence of God he says that everything we and do are true. In his writing, he states this when he says â€Å"†¦that all those things which we conceived very clearly and very distinctly are true, is known to be true only because God exists†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and he goes on to say that this is true because everything we have comes from God and that he cannot be wrong. The reason as to why Descartes writes this is to get people to understand one thing. That people are a thinking substance and that because we are thinking we have the ability to reason. He says that â€Å"†¦we should never allow ourselves to be convinced except on the evidence of our reason. † This is how Descartes views self; it is a living substance that has the ability to reason and think and therefore it should. John Locke’s first words on his paper Of Ideas in general, and their Original is â€Å"Idea is the object of thinking. † This statement is a perfect way to summarize what Locke believes. Locke in his writing writes about how all ideas then come from experience. He then goes on to describe that there are two ways of achieving experience. One of them is reflection or self-examination and the other is through your senses. Locke uses these two concepts of experience to ultimately describe what he feels self is. He understands self not to be a reasoning body, but a blank paper. In other words, people are not born knowing anything. They acquire knowledge through the experiences that they go through in life. For example, a person when born does not know that fire is hot, but if he tries to touch it and gets burned he will have learned that it is hot. This is one example of how Locke sees people molding themselves to be who they are. He says â€Å"Men are differently furnished with these, according to the different objects they converse with. † This essentially summarizes the meaning of the fire example. In addition, he writes â€Å"These, when we have taken a full survey of them, and their several modes, combinations, and relations†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He implies that our minds start to take these experiences and make them into ideas and then combine ideas to make bigger ideas and so on. All in all, John Locke regards the self to be born and be like a blank piece of paper and when grown he expects it to be a byproduct of its experiences. In fine, both of these writers had similarities even though they were part of two very different groups of philosophers. They had similarities such as, the fact that they were skeptics and that they separated the mind and body and these were the places where they found the most disagreement. In other words, they both believed knowledge was attainable but disagreed how and they both believed mind and body were different, but had different duties for them. Both these writers, even though they are very different, have made huge impacts in the field of philosophy and in life in general.

4 Ways Parents Can Help Their Teen With College Essays

With millions of students applying to college each year, it’s necessary for colleges to streamline their methods of evaluating college applicants. For this reason, there are many ways in which the college application process reduces college applicants to a series of statistics. These numbers, from SAT scores to GPAs, become a large part of the screening process when a college reviews an application. This might seem unfair to students who aren’t naturally good test takers or who stumbled midway through high school before finding his or her feet. Some parents might wonder if there’s any way for a student to redeem him or herself if the numbers don’t quite add up. Other parents might wonder if there’s any way to stand out in a field of applicants who are otherwise very similar on paper. Luckily, there is one part of the college application that allows your teen to speak his or her truth — the college essay. In this post, we’re going to break down the purpose of the college essay, its importance in the application process, and four ways that you can help your teen as he or she tackles the college essay. The college essay, also sometimes referred to as a personal statement, is generally your teen’s opportunity to speak to his or her unique experiences, qualities, or beliefs that aren’t elsewhere represented on the application. Though prompts might vary from the specific to the vastly broad, most give applicants the opportunity to break away from the data that defines them on paper and provide a glimpse into who they really are. In short, the college essay is the admissions committee’s chance to get to know the real person behind the application. In a college essay, admissions committees are generally looking for something that sets an applicant apart. They are asking themselves, does this person write about something truly unique, or does the applicant write about something common in a new and interesting way? Does the applicant write about an aspect of his or her application that needs further explanation? All of these are great ways to maximize the potential of a college essay. Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. This of course varies from one college to another. At many large schools, a college essay won’t be reviewed unless an applicant meets specific screening requirements first. For example, applicants may have to reach a benchmark standardized test score to advance to another round of application screenings. At other colleges, particularly those at which standardized tests are optional or at which admissions committees boast of a more holistic approach to admissions, college essays are a pivotal piece of the application. The bottom line is that your teen can never know which element of his or her application will become a defining piece of it, and the college essay provides a unique opportunity to shine in ways not offered on other parts of the application. In short, the college essay doesn’t always determine whether or not a student is accepted, but it can and may and should be treated as such. For this reason, we offer four ways to help your teen as he or she tackles the college essay. One way in which you can prepare to help your teen is to read as many college essay prompts as you can get your hands on. Start with the Common Application . Anyone can open an online account to review the Common Application and doing so will allow you to read not only the essay prompts on the Common Application itself, but also the supplementary prompts required by many of the colleges that accept the Common App. You can also find examples of past prompts and of previous successful college essays, often available on college websites. Check out the websites for Vanderbilt, Connecticut College and Johns Hopkins to get a good idea of what a strong college essay looks like. Though your teen might not ever ask for you advice about his or her essay, if he or she does, you’ll be poised and ready to maximize the opportunity. And if he or she doesn’t, odds are that you’ll still be able to sneak some insights into your casual conversations. The best time for your student to write a killer college essay is over summer break before senior year. While this probably sounds like a bummer to your teen, it is ideal in a number of undeniable ways. First, it means that your teen will have plenty of time to revise and refine the essay before submitting it, and won’t have to stress about Early Decision or Early Action deadlines if he or she chooses to go that route. Second, writing the essay over the summer means that your teen won’t have the usual distractions of other school work. Odds are that he or she will be able to find some dedicated time to focus on it 100% in a way that simply isn’t possible during the school year. Lay this out for your teen during the spring of his or her junior year, and do whatever you need to do to facilitate a successful writing environment over the summer. This might mean allowing him or her a week off between summer programs or a week away from work in order to focus on the essay. This dedicated time won’t be available during the school year, so plan for it now, while the opportunity presents itself. Your teen’s college essay needs to be a reflection of who he or she truly is at this point in time. As parents, it’s our temptation to jump in and solve problems for our kids, but this is a time to step back and allow your teen to work through the challenge on his or her own. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t lend plenty of perspective and insight. Instead, it simply means that your advice should be a response to what your teen creates and thinks up on his or her own. Don’t be the one who provides essay topics and examples. Instead, ask provocative questions to get your teen thinking. Rephrase prompts to clarify their intent. Ask your teen to brainstorm times that he or she was challenged, stood up for his or her beliefs, or did something out of the ordinary. You can help your teen to find his or her own direction, but resist your temptation to take the lead. The college essay is the kind of piece that gets worked over, read, and reread so many times that it can become stale to your teen and even to you. There are only so many times that you can read something with fresh eyes and provide renewed insights. Of course, your teen should be the first to edit his or her work, keeping an eye focused on organizational details, grammar, spelling, and tone. Often, you will be the second set of eyes to review the essay, but beyond that, it’s wise to seek some outside help at some stage. Â   Encourage your teen to share his or her essay with a trusted teacher, guidance counselor, or mentor who understands the college admissions process. You might even consider enlisting the help of a professional editing service that will help your teen to polish his or her work in a way that shines brightest for college admissions committees. ’s Essay Review can return edits and revisions in as quickly as a few hours. If your teen continues to struggle with the college essay, consider the benefits of ’s Applications Guidance service. Here, students are paired with a personal admissions specialist who can provide step-by-step guidance through the entire application process, including how to optimize the college essay.