TOK E5 Essays - Philosophical Logic, Reality, Justification

TOK E5 True and False seem to be such clear and simple terms, opposites and mutually exclusive. In reality, however we may inhabit, in much or even most of our knowledge the fuzzy area in between the two. Discuss the difficulties of attempts to draw a clear line between the two categories in at least two areas of knowledge. The question of the definition of true and false has for centuries of western civilization baffled the greatest of philosophers. The question being not just simply the definition of True and false, but rather where one can draw the line which delineates/segregates the two. In order to extrapolate an answer for this question an investigation into at least two areas of knowledge must be conducted for contrasting purposes. For this particular essay these areas are Mathematics and Psychology. The difference in relation to the above question between the two areas of knowledge is that they are nearly exact opposites. There exists an intrinsic truth to proper mathematics (proper mathematics example 7+5=12) because it is based upon and interconnected with Kant's synthetic judgments and a priori knowledge, whilst Psychology claims its base with a posteriori knowledge and analytic judgments. In addition Plato contends in direct contrast to Protagoras that truth isn't relative and is objective and absolute. Hence proper mathematics with its basis in a priori knowledge (universally and necessarily True) is the essence of "unfuzziness," whilst Psychology is because of its basis/support of a posteriori/experience knowledge is the opposite, the epitome of "fuzziness." Immanuel Kant contends that inside of our mind exists what he calls a priori, or before experience knowledge, which is universally and necessarily True. Kant states that this a priori knowledge, of which time and space is an integral part, is the basis for our edifice of knowledge which we strive to build higher and higher, larger and larger metaphorically. In order to justify the existence of a priori take for example the human form. If one was to make void the human form of all perceptual characteristics (a posteriori) the only thing left is the space which it occupies, therefore the space must exist else the object does not exist. This is also true of time, causality, and other a priori, which lie outside the realm phenomena or experience. So these a priori are universally and necessarily True, and all knowledge adheres to these the inborn constructs of the mind. Plato made a statement about the nature of truth, a rational view that truth is not relative, but rather objective and absolute. This view upon the nature of truth is displayed through the following composed dialogue created by Dr. Sahakian between Plato and Protagoras. Protagoras: Plato, what is true for you, is true for you, and what is true for me, is true for me. Plato: Do you mean to say that my personal opinion is true? Protagoras: Indeed, that is precisely what I mean. Plato: But my dear Protagoras, my opinion is that truth is not relative; truth is not a matter of opinion, but objective and absolute. Furthermore, my opinion is that you belief in the relativity of true is absolutely false and should be abandoned. Do you still hold that my opinion is true? Protagoras: Yes, you are quite right. By stating that truth is not relative, Plato is essentially alluding to its' objective and absolute characteristics. These characteristics in turn lend that there exists within the frame work of the human mind all truth which is solely objective, limited, and unchanging. How then are these perspectives applicable to the areas of Mathematics and Psychology? Let us take for example mathematics, which is part of the "exact sciences," coupled with geometry and logic. Take for example the proper Mathematics statement "7+5=12", called a synthetic judgment by Kant. This statement/synthetic judgment although symbols are used to identify the number is universally true because its basis/support lies in a priori knowledge. If someone was however to state that "7+5=12", then we would declare the statement to be false, because it contradicts the proper Mathematics statement of "7+5=12." According to Plato truth is absolute and unchanging as is the statement "7+5=12." Also as a general rule proper Mathematics works in perfect harmony with nature, and can accurately describe

Windows NT vs Linux essays

Windows NT vs Linux essays According to the Microsoft Corporation, Windows 2000 (AKA Windows NT 5.0) is the revolutionary new operating system geared to take care of business. Advertised by Bill Gates and associates to be the best thing for business network file-systems since multi-tasking, it hosts a slew of new features. Included in these new features are innovative security settings, Internet and file-system integration, support for SMP (multi-processors), and most importantly, fewer crash scenarios than previous versions of Windows. The infamous instability of Microsoft products has long been a blemish on the company's track record. With different versions of Windows 2000 for different applications (Professional, Server, and Advanced Server), Microsoft hopes that this new implementation of Windows NT architecture will prove to be the best choice for businesses. Opposing the Microsoft machine in the battle for business computers is a lesser-known, yet increasingly popular operating system named Linux. Linux has been around for nearly 10 years now, as a less involved implementation of UNIX code. This operating system takes a dramatically different approach to computing than Windows. Programmed not by a single company, but by computer whiz groups and individuals, it is very popular among the tech savvy. Consequently these tech savvy groups have created not just one, but hundreds of versions of Linux worldwide. While all versions of Linux use the same basic kernel (core source-code, currently version 2.4) the different distributions can include any number of productivity applications, programming compilers, and other services. Depending on what version of Linux suits an administrator, he can probably get it for free. Linux has been developed under the GNU public license, which means that all Linux source code is absolutely free. While certain companies have marketed their compiled versions of Linux, they are still required to provide the original code fr...

Final Exams Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final Exams Paper - Essay Example Troy is portrayed as a hard worker. He is aware of his position as the head of the family and all the responsibilities that result with it. He thinks that certain professions do not ensure a proper income and that should be kept in mind when choosing which line of work to get a job in. He takes his role as the breadwinner quite seriously and tries to instill the same work ethics in his children as well. His father had not done so during his childhood – he had been â€Å"an unloving and quick-tempered sharecropper† – so he had been determined to be otherwise with his family (Bogumil 34 - 35). He could have followed in his father’s footsteps but he was brave and determined enough to choose another path for himself so that his children would live a better life than he did. There is an argument that takes place between the father and son in the play in which Cory calls Troy out on his dislike of him. To this, Cory does not get a direct reply except an insinuat ion when Troy says â€Å"Don’t you eat everyday...Got a roof over your head...Clothes on your back...Why you think that is† (Wilson 1. 3. 1665). ... He had been a war soldier who had been sent back home with some cash due to an injury on the battlefield. Troy had used the money to purchase a house in which Gabriel did not even reside at. Instead of being grateful, Troy acts in an indifferent manner around him because he cannot manage his emotions properly leading to Gabriel thinking that his older brother was angry with him. The play shows that even though Troy loves his wife Rose, he has a tendency of making foolish mistakes. He has a son called Lyon who he had with his first wife. He has another son Cory with Rose. He also has an affair during his marriage with a woman called Alberta who ends up conceiving his child. The woman dies during childbirth and Rose agrees to look after the child who is named Raynell even though the husband and wife have separated. The way Troy treats Rose shows the flaws of his character. He was not satisfied with his time with Rose so he went behind her back and had relations with another woman witho ut even thinking twice about all the vows that he was breaking as well as the heart of the woman whom he loved. He is described as â€Å"an egocentric, tyrannical husband† and them having a â€Å"unilateral relationship† (Shannon 183). The reader may also notice â€Å"Troy’s sexism towards his wife Rose† (Shannon 184). He treats Rose as if she is below him just because she is a woman and that she cannot compare to his – or other men’s – greatness. There is a part in the play in which Troy and his friend are lounging around in the porch having a chat. When Rose passes by, he questions him about what she was making for dinner as if all that her life revolved around was the kitchen, her sole purpose being feeding the family. Once she

Mid-term essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mid-term - Essay Example It was a time of religious intolerance when a strict theocratic rule existed in most of Europe. An example of the extreme power of the Papacy at around this period was its ability to wage wars against other countries. This powerful papacy launched the Crusades which fought for a period of two centuries against the Muslims who conquered and occupied the Near East, especially Jerusalem. It also fought against other perceived enemies of the faith such as those pagans in the Slavic region, the Jews, the Mongols and other peoples it considered as heretics. In the real sense, the papacy was a power unto itself and exercised both religious and temporal powers. It concerned itself with matters of the state and even kings bowed to it. It was against this backdrop that the Reformation movement begun that was started by a simple act of Martin Luther. He questioned some of the questionable practices of the clergy during his time. He saw how the clerical powers had been abused at the expense of o rdinary people and how it strayed so far away from its original religious mandate of saving the souls. It is necessary to give a brief background in order to understand the context in which Martin Luther challenged the papal authority and the manifest abuses of the system (Jacobs 7). Discussion The Catholic Church at around this time can be characterized, to put it mildly, as very corrupt. Candidates for the papacy outmaneuvered each other, engaged in political intrigues, some popes and priests were married and had families (before celibacy was imposed) and the general atmosphere within the Catholic hierarchy was far removed from religious matters. The main protest of Martin Luther was centered on the granting of indulgences. It was the practice of the Catholic Church at that time to give full or partial remissions for those sins committed and their accompanying or corresponding temporal punishment. Indulgences were replacements for severe penances imposed by the early church for si ns committed drawn from the supposed accumulated goodwill in the Treasury of Merit. Because the Church was very corrupt and engaged more in temporal matters than what was necessary, it was constantly in need of funds to finance its various projects like building massive cathedrals and to finance its religious wars. Due to this scarcity of funds, the Church decided to raise money through the sale of these so-called indulgences (Somervill 43). It was not originally intended by Martin Luther to split the Church itself but his intentions were just to point out the sheer error in selling indulgences when these were supposed to be free. A very important point raised by Luther was that indulgences cannot save sinners since forgiveness is a power granted by God alone and not from buying and paying for these indulgences. He saw how unfair it was for the pope at that time (Pope Leo) to finance construction of an extravagant St. Peter's Basilica when the papacy itself had so much money. Moreov er, he did not like the lavish lifestyle of the pope and the squandering of church funds through the support of extraneous things like art and culture. The pope had designated a short Dominican monk to undertake the sale of indulgences to raise funds; going from town to town, telling the people how they can save the souls of their relatives in Purgatory by buying indulgences. The Ninety-five Theses of Martin Luther –

Local Government Strategy Training Materials Essay

Local Government Strategy Training Materials - Essay Example Part 1 section 1 clearly states the major purpose of this Act as the need to provide a democratic and effective local government that clearly recognizes the important diversity realized in the country (Local Government Online, 2013). 2) Indeed, the Local Government plays a very important role in New Zealand. In Part 2 Section 10 of the Act, the Local Governments are meant to provide effective governance to the community at the local level and provide a valuable contribution to the social, economic and political wellbeing of the people. The Act further grants the local governments the relevant powers and capacity to ensure they can fulfill their mandate as specified in the Act. The powers of the local authorities are subject to other provisions of the Act and this ensures accountability and consultation of the local governments with other relevant authorities. 3 a) The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi originated from the case filed in the high court, in which the New Zealand Maori Council sought to ensure that the restructuring of the government did not interfere with the assets which had been owned by the Maori. The principles are therefore intended to ensure a maintaining of the proper working environment between the Maori and the wider community of New Zealand. In this regard, there must be a compromise from the two sides in order to meet the goals of the Principles. The focus here is to ensure partnership and mutual benefit in the context of protecting the interests of the Maori. The principles therefore stress upon good faith, partnership active protection and the importance of compromise from both parties to ensure a proper working relationship (New Zealand Legislation, 2013). b) The clause seeks to provide a framework through which the Maori can be involved in decision making in the local authorities in order to grant them the opportunities to address their challenges. In any case, the principles greatly stress upon the need for participation and cons ultation between the Maori and the wider community and this clause therefore stresses upon that important need. 4) A bylaw is essentially a form of law or rule that is established by a community or organization in order to regulate itself. The law is usually established in accordance with some higher law or authority. Bylaws are normally different with other laws since their only apply to the entity within which they are established. In commonwealth countries, bylaws are regulated by the central governments of the countries and should therefore meet specific guidelines as specified by the law. 5) The constitution of New Zealand recognizes the three branches of government and clearly stipulates their core mandates. The constitution stresses upon the â€Å"separation of powers† and the three government organs are therefore independent in terms of operations. The legislature, judiciary and executive are nevertheless expected to work in collaboration in order to ensure compliance with the law. The function of the parliament is to make laws while the executive exercises these laws. The judiciary is an independent body that is mandated to interpret and ensure compliance with the laws in the country. The executives expected to consult the Judiciary on legislative and policy proposals. In the same way, the three organs are expected to respect the functions of one another in order to promote separation of power

Development of Photography in the Media

Development of Photography in the Media Kim Hwang In the incunabula or ‘swaddling stage’ of a medium, certain kinds of conventions are set that later get refined or challenged. Look at photography and/ or the cinema and discuss how these media emerged and then found stable forms. In the beginning, photography was a tough process. Getting a suitable picture required long exposures to the camera and processing time. The use of different materials shortened down the time frame substantially and made it more convenient for people to take pictures. It soon became a process many people wanted to use to capture moments of time. Soon, photographers found that they could manipulate the pictures and form illusions. A picture by an unknown photographer called â€Å"The Ghost of Milton† featured a solid human being with a transparent person standing beside him giving the illusion of the man being a ghost. Since usually pictures captured the real (making viewers felt as though they had been at the location of the picture and had seen what occurred with their own eyes) it made it seem as though ghosts are real. Cinema progressed in a similar way. It started out by simply capturing everyday events such as a baby eating a meal with its parents. It progressed to creati ng illusions by starting and stopping the recordings and adding effects. In the movie Voyage to the Moon the wizards took a trip to the moon and ran into unfriendly aliens. The wizards would hit the aliens with their wands and once hit, they would disappear into a puff of smoke. Even though that would never be able to happen in real life, the movie made viewers think it was actually possible because they were so fully invested in the movie. In these movies the camera was stuck in one location having the actors move instead of the camera. Later on the camera started moving so the viewers can see more of the scenery and feel more incorporated in the atmosphere. It also started zooming in and focusing on certain objects or people as a subtle foreshadowing. In Andre Bazin’s What is Cinema?, he talks about how the director would focus on the actor and his expression, then to food, and then on the actor moving towards the food and let the viewer figure out the storyline. There was also the example of the Kuleshov effect. There would be pictures of a blank faced actor and when paired with a coffin, the viewers would get the implication that the actor was sad. When paired with food, the viewers thought the actor was hungry, and when paired with a picture of a woman, the viewers thought the actor was portraying lust. With these techniques, the movie Triumph des Willens showed the death of a baby without using gore. There was a scene of the baby in the tram, a man with a knife, and a woman wailing with broken glasses and blood on her face. It explained to the viewer the horribly unfair death of an innocent baby without fully writing everything out for them. What does photography take from painting, and what does cinema take from photography? How do older and newer media relate, and in what ways does each new medium relate to and differ from its predecessors? Paintings, photography, and cinema are all connected to one another. Photography learned from its predecessor, paintings. Paintings always had a clear central focus. Since it was such a laborious process to paint a full painting, artists would pick an important object to focus their attention on. For example, Leonardo DeVinci’s painting The Last Supper focuses on Jesus as the center of the painting. All angles of the building in the background and the positioning of the other 12 disciples point as Jesus being the most important person. Photography also taught cinema that the audience has an imagination. Not everything needs to be perfect and realistic for the viewers to ‘see’ what the director wants them to ‘see’. In the book Film: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Wood he talks about a movie depicting a fake cardboard rock structure with a photographed sea. But, viewers still understand that the ship is out in the water and they are seeing it thro ugh a cave and still feel a part of the scenery. Photography also taught cinema the movement of still pictures. Multiple shots of a horse running showed that at one point all four hooves are off the ground, something cinema could never show. But alone, the photographs could never show a horse actually moving. But, flipping through the photos quickly easily shows the smooth gait. Cinema easily used the still shots of photos to emphasize points in the movie and to build up tension. For example, in Gone with the Wind, while Scarlett is running away, she hits an area with fire spreading through a train that was transporting explosives. The horse is frightened by the fire and does not want to move causing the viewers to be nervous, unsure if they will escape before everything blows up. The camera continuously cuts to the box of explosives and one could clearly see the fire moving dangerously closer. As the tension builds, Scarlett finally gets away and the watchers can finally â€Å"bre athe† again. We get similar feelings from just three simple pictures of still pictures of a lion statue in the movie â€Å"Battleship Potemkin†. Sergie Eisenstein used the three shots of the lion in between the footage of the opera house being leveled. The three pictures showed the lion in different positions making it look as if one lion was standing up, representing the people rising out of anger evoking â€Å"emotional and intellectual response†. The use of emotion to get a point across strongly is also taught by photography. Punctum in photos is something that, as Roland Bathes says in Camera Lucida, â€Å"pricks†¦and bruises† the viewers by having something in the photo that does not seem right and therefore it sticks with the viewer. In cinema, they use something similar such as the baby and the violence in â€Å"Battleship Potemkin† that would make the violence seem more intense, making the act of killing the baby stick with viewers. What is the photography effect? Can we discuss a similar â€Å"cinematic effect,† and if so, how would you describe it? Early on, photography was only used to capture the regular. But soon, the photographer Felix Nadar wanted to make something artistic out of the simple photos. But he had an issue, how was he going to make art when â€Å"photography was automatic and you press a button and capture the already existing perfection†? He easily solved this problem by using his signature style of switching up the positioning of the people he was photographing also changing the lighting. Shadows and angles quickly showed up and added a new dimension to each of the pictures. The photograph of Sarah Bernhardt shows clearly what can be done with the correct lighting and positioning. The light hits her from the left side adding in several shadows at the slightest curve. It adds sharper angles on her face emphasizing her already attractive features. As a result, the picture seems slightly more realistic. It feels as if she is sitting in the room, sitting right in front of you as the light comes in from th e side. With humans as the object of the photo, we, as viewers, feel more connected to the picture. Cinema does similar things creating â€Å"a gaze, a world, and an object, thereby producing an illusion† as said in Visual Pleasure by Laura Mulvey. For example, the videos of factory workers leaving the building and made the viewer feel as though they were standing in the middle of the road with swarms of people going around them. It then moves to more interesting and complicated techniques such as the positioning of the camera and the light during black and white movies. In the movie, Double Indemnity the camera moves to different locations in the room, which makes viewers feel as if they are in the room with the couple. Also, since the movie is black and white, the producers needed to make sure the lighting was perfect enough for the film to capture facial expressions. The facial expressions in film were a large part the movie-audience connection. In Gone with the Wind viewe rs watch as Scarlett schemes how to get more attention from her male companion by her facial expressions while trying on the bonnet. Viewers knew exactly what was going on in her mind without words or sound. Photography and cinema used the same techniques to include the audience by making the unreal seem real.

Story Sharing and Female Adolescent Faith Development :: Essays Papers

Story Sharing and Female Adolescent Faith Development Adolescence: Women in Crisis According to developmental psychologist Erik Erikson, the defining psychological crisis of adolescence is identity formation versus identity confusion (Erikson 1982). This involves defining what is most important to the individual in terms of ethics, long-term goals, and especially personal and interpersonal commitments. Erikson proposes three elements necessary for this formation: an experience of â€Å"inner sameness† or consistency between values and self-determined actions, a historical continuity of such decisions, and a community of important others who serve to validate that integrated self (1968). Ideally, self-confidence is evident for both genders during this period. However, the contrast between male and female commitments indicates that many females are not successful in forming a strong identity at this phase. To examine the varying commitments adolescents make during the identity formation crisis period, a team of adolescent psychologists interviewed hundreds of middle and high school aged people of both sexes. Each participant was asked to record a few things that were most important in their lives (i.e. family, career goals, life philosophy), then the interviewers asked them to say more about these themes. While the men mentioned subjects most pertinent to their own interests (school, political issues, and their futures), women focused mainly on interpersonal relationships. This alone may or may not indicate a gap in identity development, but the study indicated that women did not exclude talk of themselves and their lives, but rather spoke negatively about both: â€Å"Many older female subjects mentioned problems and ambivalence with regard to themselves (being uncertain and so on) and difficulties in committing themselves to the different aspects of their own personalities†(B osma 100). Why are they not committed to themselves? Perhaps they cannot not commit because they do not know to what they are committing. Neither are they committed to certain life philosophies that might inform their characters. In fact, religion was ranked one of the weakest commitments for older adolescent women. Do they honestly not care, or do they not know what to care about without the immediate feedback of others? In this light, the volatile nature of a woman’s attention to her own character may not be moodiness, then, but a deeper sense of despair at choosing to commit to something that might elicit a damaging critique from others. It is much safer to focus on something highly valued in the social world, like one’s friends, than something that could be construed as selfish, like schoolwork or faith.