Free Essays on Instinct Or Free Will

, what they do is not explainable solely by references to factors that have influenced them. My thesis then, is that human beings are able to cause their own actions and they are therefore responsible for what they do. In a basic sense we are all original actors capable of making moves in the world. We are initiators of our own behavior. The first matter to be noted is that this view is in no way in contradiction to science. Free will is a natural phenomenon, something that emerged in nature with the emergence of human beings, with their kinds of minds, minds that can think and be aware of their own thinking. Nature is complicated. It includes many different sorts of things and one of these is human beings. Such beings exhibit one unique yet natural attribute that others things apparently do not- that is free will. A reason why some think that free will is not possible is because many believe that the only way we know about nature is from observations that we collect. Since observation can not give us a justification of free will, it is easy to think that there isn’t any such thing. Free will may not be something that we can see directly, but what best explains what we do see in human life. This may include, for example, the mistakes that human beings make in contrast to the few mistakes that other animals make. We also notice that human beings do all kinds of odd things that cannot be accounted for. We can examine a person’s background and find that some people with bad childhoods turn out to be decent, and vise versa. Free will comes as a very helpful explanation of this. Another matter that might count against free will is that the beings in nature do not exhibit free will. Dogs, lizards, fish... Free Essays on Instinct Or Free Will Free Essays on Instinct Or Free Will Free Will- A Matter of Perspective I want to argue that there is indeed free will. In order to defend the position that free will means that human beings can cause some of what they do on their own; in other words, what they do is not explainable solely by references to factors that have influenced them. My thesis then, is that human beings are able to cause their own actions and they are therefore responsible for what they do. In a basic sense we are all original actors capable of making moves in the world. We are initiators of our own behavior. The first matter to be noted is that this view is in no way in contradiction to science. Free will is a natural phenomenon, something that emerged in nature with the emergence of human beings, with their kinds of minds, minds that can think and be aware of their own thinking. Nature is complicated. It includes many different sorts of things and one of these is human beings. Such beings exhibit one unique yet natural attribute that others things apparently do not- that is free will. A reason why some think that free will is not possible is because many believe that the only way we know about nature is from observations that we collect. Since observation can not give us a justification of free will, it is easy to think that there isn’t any such thing. Free will may not be something that we can see directly, but what best explains what we do see in human life. This may include, for example, the mistakes that human beings make in contrast to the few mistakes that other animals make. We also notice that human beings do all kinds of odd things that cannot be accounted for. We can examine a person’s background and find that some people with bad childhoods turn out to be decent, and vise versa. Free will comes as a very helpful explanation of this. Another matter that might count against free will is that the beings in nature do not exhibit free will. Dogs, lizards, fish...

Joseph Winters and the Fire Escape Ladder

Joseph Winters and the Fire Escape Ladder On May 7, 1878, the fire escape ladder was patented by Joseph Winters. Joseph Winters invented a wagon-mounted fire escape ladder for the city of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. A historic marker was placed in 2005 at the Junior Hose and Truck Company #2 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania noting Winters patents for the fire escape ladder and hose conductor and his work on the Underground Railway. It lists his dates of birth and death as 1816-1916. Life of Joseph Winters There are at least three different, widely varying birth years given for Joseph Winters, from 1816 to 1830 by various sources. His mother was Shawnee and his father, James, was a black brickmaker who worked at Harpers Ferry to build the federal gun factory and arsenal. The familys tradition said that his father was also descended Powhatan chief  Opechancanough. Joseph was raised by his grandmother Betsy Cross in Waterford, Virginia, where she was known as the Indian Doctor woman, a herbalist and healer. His later knowledge of nature may have stemmed from this time. At that time there were free black families in the area and Quakers who were active abolitionists. Winters used the nickname Indian Dick in his publications. Joseph also later worked at Harpers Ferry sanding brick molds before the family moved to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. In Chambersburg, he was active in the Underground Railroad, helping enslaved people escape to freedom. In Winters  autobiography, he claimed to have arranged the meeting between Frederick Douglass and abolitionist John Brown at the quarry in Chambersburg before the historic Harpers Ferry raid. Douglasss autobiography credits a different person, local barber Henry Watson. Winters wrote a song, Ten Days After the Battle of Gettysburg, and also used that as the title for his lost autobiography. He also wrote a campaign song for presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, who lost to William McKinley. He was noted for hunting, fishing, and fly-tying. He engaged in oil prospecting in the Chambersburg area but his wells only hit the water. He died in 1916 and is buried in Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Chambersburg. Fire Ladder Inventions of Joseph Winters Buildings were being built taller and taller in American cities in the late 19th century. Fire crews at that time carried ladders on their horse-drawn fire engines. These were usually normal ladders, and they couldnt be too long or the engine wouldnt be able to turn corners into narrow streets or alleys. These ladders were used to evacuate residents from burning buildings as well as to give the firemen and their hoses access. Winters thought it would be smarter to have the ladder mounted on the fire engine and be articulated so it could be raised up from the wagon itself. He made this folding design for the city of Chambersburg and received a patent for it. He later patented improvements to this design. In 1882 he patented a fire escape that could be attached to buildings. He reportedly received much praise but little money for his inventions. Fire Ladder Patents US patent #203,517 Improvement in fire-escape ladders, granted on May 7, 1878.US patent #214,224 Improvement in fire-escape ladders, granted on April 8, 1879.US patent #258186 Fire escape, granted on May 16, 1882.

Life and work of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Essay

Life and work of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Essay Example It was amazing that Tchaikovsky was not even a professional musician. The Great Russian composer had education in a particular career as a civil servant. Pyotr was born from a family that had a long military experience. His father who was mostly of Russian ethnicity worked as an engineer in the Department of Mine. All the parents were trained in arts including music, which was very important especially considering that they lived in a very remote region. At the age of six, Tchaikovsky was already fluent in French and Germany through the help of the teacher who was hired to teach Tchaikovsky elder brother Nikolai and a niece of the family (Burt 2001, p. 410 -411). At age of four, Pyotr took piano lessons where he proved to be an intelligent pupil who could clearly read music proficiently within three years. His parents were very helpful and engaged a tutor and buying him musical instruments such orchestrion. However, the parents changed their mind in around 1850 and sent him to Imperi al School of Jurisprudence in Saint Petersburg maybe because they grew insensitive towards musical gift for their son and perhaps lack of better musical career in Russia at that time. Pyotr’s father also became broke and may have wanted Pyotr to remain independent as soon as possible. Music career was considered to be a very low career in Russia (Kavanaugh 1996, p.50-51). The fact that both Tchaikovsky’s parents schooled in Saint Petersburg, they felt it important to take their son to The School of Jurisprudence which they felt would prepare their son for a career as a civil servant at the age of 10 and this made him board for two years. It forced him to stay almost 1,300 km away from his family and later begun a seven year course of studies after his two years in preparatory school. Separation of Tchaikovsky from his mother made him have an emotional suffering that affected him for the rest of his life and was further increased by his mother’s death in 1854. Tc hikovsky mourned his mother for the rest of his life as he termed it the â€Å"crucial event† and claimed that it was vivid to him. His mother’s loss also made him to make his initial stern composition called a waltz in her memory. The father thought it wise to take his son back to school so that his mind can be occupied with academic work which later made Tchaikovsky made lifelong friendship with fellow students Aleksey Apukhtin and Vladimir Gerard. Music greatly unified them and they maintained an extracurricular activity where they habitually attended the opera. Tchaikovsky further went ahead with his piano lessons by the help of an instrument maker Franz Becker who made several trips to the school. In 1855, Tchaikovsky father employed Mr. Rudolph Kundinger as a private teacher who suggested to his father that Pyotr did not have any future as a musician but later confirmed that his decision was based on his negative experience as a musician. Tchaikovsky’s fat her remained receptive about music career and did not know what to do about it making him to advice his son to finish school and try for a post in the Ministry of Justice.

Cell Theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cell Theory - Assignment Example The paper describes all the peculiarities of the cell theory. A cell organelle is the part of a cell that has a specific function. Organelles are usually located inside the cytoplasm of a living cell, and are typically enclosed in a membrane called plasma membrane. They are called "organelles" because their importance to a cell is analogous to the importance of organs of to a body. Both prokaryotes and eukaryotes have cell organelles; however, there are some important differences between the two. The organelles in prokaryotic cells are not organized or enclosed in plasma membranes. Major cell organelles include chloroplasts, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus, mitochondria, nucleus and vacuoles. Chloroplasts have double membranes as well as their own DNA, and perform photosynthesis. They are present in plants and some algae. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has a single membrane and is responsible for transport as well as synthesis of proteins. It is of two types – rough ER, who se surface appears to be rough because of the presence of ribosomes, and smooth ER, whose surface appears to be smooth. Golgi apparatus is also singe-membraned and is responsible for protein sorting and modification.... Both prokaryotes and eukaryotes have cell organelles; however, there are some important differences between the two. The organelles in prokaryotic cells are not organized or enclosed in plasma membranes. Major cell organelles include chloroplasts, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus, mitochondria, nucleus and vacuoles. Chloroplasts have double membranes as well as their own DNA, and perform photosynthesis. They are present in plants and some algae. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has a single membrane and is responsible for transport as well as synthesis of proteins. It is of two types – rough ER, whose surface appears to be rough because of the presence of ribosomes, and smooth ER, whose surface appears to be smooth. Golgi apparatus is also singe-membraned and is responsible for protein sorting and modification. The mitochondrion is also called as the powerhouse of the cell because it is responsible for energy production, and like chloroplasts, it also has a double membrane and its own DNA. The nucleus has both Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA) and is responsible for maintenance and proper distribution of DNA during cell division. Vacuoles function as storage reservoirs of the cell. Minor organelles of the cell include autophagosomes that collect material from the cytoplasm for degradation, centrioles that enable cell division, ribosomes that help in the production of proteins, lysosomes that are responsible for processing or breakdown of large molecules into simpler ones, nucleolus that produces ribosomes, and vesicles that function as material transporters in the cell. Many other organelles exist based on the type of organism.

Beauty and The Color Purple :: essays research papers fc

â€Å"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not† -Ralph Waldo Emerson As stated by Emerson, beauty cannot be found unless carried within one’s self first. In the novel by Alice Walker, â€Å"The Color Purple†, Celie finds out that beauty is not real unless it is first found within, so that that beauty felt can reflect for others to see. [Celie went through traumatic struggles before she ever felt beautiful starting with the treatment of influential men in her life. Although she felt more connection with women in her life, her early encounters with Shug greatly accounted for her self worth at the time. However, Celie could not be beautiful to others unless she found beauty within herself, for herself.]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For the majority of the novel, Celie was never told she was or could be beautiful by men, she was told how much of nothing she was to them. Beauty was something Celie learned was for women who enjoyed having sex, something for women who had confidence, which was something she could never feel for herself. She was constantly mis treated and told what to do by men like her father and Albert. The book opens with her being raped by her father. He tells her to tell nobody but God, and she begins to be scared of saying â€Å"no† to men, she feels she needs to take the abuse, Celie would â€Å"be wood† because wood does not feel pain. Her father dominates and makes Celie feel like she was bad, like she did something to deserve this. She felt she was worth little because she should allow her father to do thing like this to her. She felt controlled, dominated and therefore subordinate to men. Her self worth had gone from little down to nothing, and she was to ld by her father how ugly she was.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not only had her father told her she was ugly, Shug Avery also took it into her own hands when attempting to make Celie feel ugly. Celie began to feel even worse when she first met Shug Avery, and the excitement she had to see Shug, was ruined as a dark shadow hovered over Celie, making her feel more ugly than she had ever thought. Shug Avery was spoken about by Albert like some kind of Goddess. She was the epitome of beauty for Celie because Albert had spoken about her so fondly.

Blindside Movie Analysis Essay

I am writing an essay that is analyzing the movie The Blind Side and relating it to the essay â€Å"Seeking and Making Culture: Representing the Poor† by bell hooks. The issue that is motivating me to write is to show that there is collateral learning in this movie and to show that there are contradictory and stereotypical images of poverty. A writer that has addressed the issue about poverty and the poor class is bell hooks, using her personal experiences to influence her writing in the essay. My working thesis is that there is chances in life that a person may come along that would change our life perspectives. How we approach that change and be courageous enough to do something about it may have a lifelong impact on another person and might make a huge difference. My audience is teenagers, young adults and adults to help them get rid of the stereotypical image of poor people in the world. I think my use of specific details from the movie is working best. The parts of my ess ay that I am least satisfied with are tying the article from hooks back to the movie. The kinds of feedback that I would like are to make sure I answered all of the questions of WAR and that I was specific enough in my essay. The Blind Side describes the struggle of a Black man to become part of the White society. Michael Oher, the main character in the story shows the audience how a black man experiences mistreatment and discrimination from his white community that is the common trend of American mainstream. However, the film also wants to deconstruct the traditional perceptions towards White Americans through the Tuohy family. In this movie, the  director shows how White Americans like the Tuohy family accepts Michael for who he is and what he wants to be. The Tuohys become Michael’s enduring power, armor, and salvation as he faces his new path of transformation, social acceptance, and immersion. From this sense, it can be perceived that Hancock’s film depicts the notion of popular culture as it emphasizes the different issues of the society such as race, racism, cultural differences, cultural interaction, and other ideas about culture and society. Having an extreme difference in terms o f race, lifestyle, social background, and social status, the two races are combined together under one roof to describe the possible repulsion that might occur as well as the attraction that can happen between them. However, it is not only this internal repulsion or attraction that is presented as a conflict of the film, but also the people within the Tuohys social surroundings. Since Leigh Anne and Sean are influential individuals because of their profession, people around them think that adopting Michael taints their good reputation. This is one of the major struggles of the Tuohy family along with Michael, but they stand up against their foes and prove to these people that Michael is more civilized than those who continue to criticize him. In article â€Å"Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor†, bell hooks brings to the surface issues involving people of higher classes compared to those in poverty. In addressing issues like assumptions made about the poor, how the poor are viewed in popular culture and how the poor are represented on television or in movies. One of hooks main arguments is brought into focus throughout the movie. The concept of popular culture emerges in this film in three distinct themes: racism within the football team, the lifestyle of the socialites, and when an upcoming superstar is â€Å"made,† people keep an eye on this individual. Logically, racism occurs in television, radio, movies, and other types of media. Most of the time, these industries use racism as a form of stereotyping. That is why common people utilize these ideals; they think that it is accepted in the society. This is what happened to Michael. He faces discrimination inside his own classroom. Even his teacher demonstrates the differences of how a White teacher interacts with a Black student like him. It is a form of stereotype that the media continues to express towards its audience. Another example of popular culture in this film is when Michael begins his football career. When the football coach,  Burt Cotton sees Michael’s potential, he accepts the main character as a student of Wingate Christian School. This is also the beginning of Michael’s popularity. People, even the coaches and owners of different universities, want Michael to become part of their school. That is why despite Michael’s academic records and race, they are interested in him. People begin to keep their eyes on Michael’s actions and achievements because he becomes popular and he soon becomes part of their lifestyle. In hooks article, one of her main arguments is about false assumptions made about the poor from her life experiences. She states, â€Å"That the poor class were almost always portrayed the poor as shiftless, mindless, lazy, dishonest, and unworthy†. This relates to the movie because the Tuohys community has specific sets of moral values. They believe that Black Americans are unacceptable within their community or surroundings because they are the roots of negativities. This is also an example of high culture being looked at as a superior culture. The Tuohys do not change this norm, but they create their own values by accepting Michael and believe in him and his capabilities as a person. The Blindside and hooks article helps us learn that there is more to a story then just what is put on the screen. The story line is a lot deeper and has a lot of other meanings then we think. The Tuohys’ ideology is different from the standard culture of the society, but because they are part of their community, they have to express their ideology. It is hard in the beginning to show their different point of view, but they win the battle against their foes because Michael shows that he is different from the stereotypic character of a Black American. Work Cited Greene, Stuart, and April Lidinsky. From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martins, 2008. 344-49, 358-71. Print.

The Model Minority Theory The Cause of an Overlooked...

The Model Minority theory is a concept that puts the assumption in the minds of people that all persons who are from Asian or of Asian decent are successful, smart, hard working, and model citizens who respect the authority of their country. The Model Minority theory became very apparent in 1966 when two major magazines, New York Times Magazine and U.S. New and World Report, each published articles that gave praise to the great achievements of Asian Americans (Fong 62.) While the theory might appear to give Asians praise for their hard work and success, in reality it covers up and marginalizes the real experiences Asian Americans face. For example, one of the ways the Model Minority theory harms the Asian American community is that it†¦show more content†¦The theory was initially used to describe Asians successful immigration and assimilation into the United States culture in the 1960s (Chou 220.) As time passed, however, the more modern idea of what Model Minority theory is known as today began to take shape. Model Minority theory misleads people to think that all Asian Americans have a successful job and do not face any financial troubles. Due to this Asian Americans who do not have a have a high income, a good education, and an overall good quality of life are overlooked and marginalized. In fact, contrary to common belief, many Asian Americans do not have a good education or job (Fong 68.) When looking at the actual demographics of Asian Americans it is found that many of them have working class and low-wage jobs. The Model Minority theory over looks the fact that while Asian Americans do tend to have a higher annual income than most white families, they also have the highest rates of poverty (Fong 68.) These people and families might be excluded from programs aimed at helping people in need because they are of Asian decent. This can lead to struggling families to fall further into their struggle and almost disappear from the public eye, lost a nd forgotten. From this Asian face a subtle form of racism, because they might be denied help from these programs solely because they are of Asian decent. Thus the Model Minority theory causes an unfair advantage forShow MoreRelatedThe Work Of Brenda Weber Essay1662 Words   |  7 PagesContinuing with the work of Brenda Weber, she highlights one other large factor in which can help stray from the banking model of education and thus makes students feel included and interested in participating. Weber states that when designing a course she â€Å"(f)irst, I built on my strengths. . . (s)econd, I listened to them (students)† (Weber, 135/136); these steps seem easy enough, yet in my experience as a student and as a teacher, I have hardly witnessed such an occasion. 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