Love in the Western World Essay Example Essay Example

Love in the Western World Essay Example Paper Love in the Western World Essay Introduction This paper will trace in general the different views on love as expressed by the different speakers in Plato’s Symposium and explore in detail the theories of Eros, Philia, Storge and Agape and the bearing it has on the notions of erotic love, filial love, sacrificial love and spiritual love. Another area that will be drawn into focus is the theory of â€Å"platonic love† based on Plato’s hypothesis. The context of the symposium is a get-together of the students of Socrates who get to talking and decide to take turns and speak in praise of Eros, the God of Love.Of the speakers Phaedrus speaks first and talks about the virtuosity Eros promotes in those who experience love. He talks about the awareness that true love can inspire in humans so that man becomes conscious of the noble qualities of honor, loyalty, courage and fidelity.Pausanius is the next to speak and dwells on the different kinds of love, from the common banal love to the higher, spiritual kind of lov e. The earthy love is not as noble as the intellectual love which is more faithful and elevates the mind and is completely devoid of desire. According to him the pursuit of higher knowledge and wisdom is the more honorable and the wantonness of physical love is shameful.Eryximachus talks about the concept of good love that helps man to be judicious and methodical. Eryximachus is a doctor and philosopher and talks about love beyond relationships, about intellectualism, the love of ideas, concepts and the fine arts like music. He speaks of the advantages love brings to humans, the most important being the ability to discern between honor and dishonor. He believes that there are opposing kinds of loves in every living being including animals and plants. However, true love is achieved through a synthesis of these opposing elements and that it can be the fountain and source of power, friendship and happiness (Plato’s Symposium).Aristophanes, the jester and humorist came up with th e concept of love as man in search of his soul mate and partner in order to feel one complete whole. He talks about man being split into half by Zeus for threatening to over run the Gods. Later Zeus modified his terrible act and allowed the two halves to marry as man and woman. It is said that ever since the two halves have been in search of the other.Socrates himself speaks last of all and talks of love as being the human desire for knowledge, wisdom and beauty. Love is the desire for what is beautiful and may not necessarily mean beauty in itself. According to Socrates love is the mere interface between what he desires and the object of his desire. When man has achieved real love he will be able to create beauty, conceptualize perfection and become wise and virtuous.In Greek mythology Eros is one of the three oldest Gods along with Cronos and Chaos and stands for love. The word ‘erotic’ is derived from the God of love, Eros, who encourages and endorses all those who s eek him to perform acts of virtue and merit. As has been mentioned before, all those present at the party or symposium have laid down their postulates and have spoken about different kinds of love and what it does for man. To further explore the concept of the various kinds of love let us consider the broad definition of these categories: Agape, Storge, Philia and Eros.Agape stands for spiritual love, the kind of love God has for his creatures and the love man strives to return. This kind of love transcends physical boundaries and is a higher form of love which finds fulfillment in just being there. It kindles spirituality and is perfection itself. Nothing can tarnish this kind of love and to most mortals seems almost impossible to attain. We can find examples of this kind of love in Christianity. In literature, I have found this kind of love being depicted in certain kinds of love lyrics that belong to the Renaissance age. In Petrarch’s poetry for instance, the poet’s object of desire, the enigmatic Laura, is continually shown as someone unreachable. Laura’s eyes are compared to stars; her face is often described as being so radiant as to make looking at her impossible. This imagery often ties up with how the apprehension of God is described in Christianity. Here, the conflict between Eros and Agape is continually present. The poet often feels helplessly tied between the demands of the earthier, physical Eros and the spiritual, the allegedly purer kind of Agape (Houston).Storge is synonymous with love that engenders sacrifice and purity. This is the kind of love parents feel for their children. This kind of love does not wait for reciprocity to grow and is there notwithstanding. The story of Abraham and Isaac is an interesting biblical instance of these two kinds of love where Storge is compelled to be sacrificed for the greater Agape. In order to prove the full extent of his Agape, his total devotion to God, Abraham is asked to sacrifice the thing he loves most. This happens to be Abraham’s son Isaac, the person for who he feels the greatest Storge. In the biblical context, Agape is undeniably higher than Storge. Abraham is therefore first made to prove the full extent of his Agape before God relents and lets him keep the object of his Storge. Other instances of pronounced Storge in literature include the love Cordelia feels for her father, King Lear in Shakespeare’s play. In this case however the Storge is made to complete its sacrifice in a sense because both the king’s beloved daughter and the king himself die in the end.Philia, or brotherly love, exists between friends, brothers and neighbors. This kind of love helps people to bond closely without being passionate or amorous. This kind of love prompts the feeling of camaraderie and brotherhood. A good example at hand would be the kind of love soldiers have amongst each other, where they bond intimately and share their joys and sorrows toget her without a hint of any physical attraction or manifestations. In Greek history, I have noticed the love depicted in the story of Damon and Pythias to be of this form. In the legend Damon and Pythias both survive Dionysus’ wrath because of their intense love for each other. But in another tale from the bible, the ending is not nearly as fortunate. Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve, at first loved each other in the truest sense of Philia. However, with the preference God showed for Abel’s sacrifice of animals over Cain’s agricultural offerings, Cain’s love turns to intense jealousy and he ends up killing Abel. This is possibly the best known example of Philia getting overturned.Eros is passionate love, which can in most cases be closely linked to physical attraction and sexual love. Eros is often closely associated with the animal kingdom and therefore classically considered to be a lower form. Eros can often contend with Agape as we have seen earlier. And a popular example of this is in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The love that the two young nobles feel for each other is no doubt arising from a certain attraction, or Eros. And yet the manner in which they express their love for each other in a language that is similar to that of Agape. Romeo and Juliet address each other in abject terms, making it a love not of equals but of one subservient to the other. This of course is one of the most common features of Agape.Although classically Eros is considered to be a lower form than Agape, as we have seen discussed in the Symposium, I personally feel this is not entirely fair. It is true that people often consider it nobler to love a person without wanting to possess him or her in a physical or earthly way. By implication this means that a person loves someone for more than their physicality, that is to say a love founded on something deeper than superficial beauty. This is true in theory, but not always in practice. We often find that the Agape is more often than not directed towards someone of higher social standing, or towards a woman who is unreachable, like a noblewoman or even the queen. This amounts to nothing short of sycophancy sometimes. Is it then less hypocritical than loving someone for their appearance?Eros is also equated with the animal kingdom and is therefore considered â€Å"lower.† But why should something, that takes place in the natural world, be considered lower? If animals love each other erotically, does it not make it a more natural, or even a â€Å"higher† love? After all this kind of love is based on the truth of the body’s responses to the beloved; if someone is beautiful and attractive physically, why should it be wrong to feel attraction or love for this person? Even if it is based only on appearances, Eros is more genuine. There is no verbal intrusion that allows lovers to lie to each other or praise each other in hollow terms.Philia too I think is of ten under-rated in the present generation. Friends can often feel a lot of love between them without it being the Erotic or even the Agape type of love. We have been brainwashed by popular movies and books into always expecting friendships to turn into love as that fits in with the perfect happy ending of the plot. But why should this be? Why is simple, platonic love that expects nothing physical or romantic in return be less of a love than any other kind? After all, is it not nobler for two friends to love each other in spite of the fact that they have nothing physical or romantic to gain from each other?Storge also is often under-appreciated in popular culture. Love that exists within families has become such a rare instance in the days of divorce and estrangement that perhaps more of art needs to depict it now, more than ever. People seem to forget that our families are what we are born into. We carry our parents’ genes and share them with our siblings and nothing or no on e else can ever change that. It is true that we are often unfortunate in this regard and there are many children brought into this world in an unloving family, but even so the love that exists between members of the family is something that precedes life itself. Just to think about what a pregnant mother endures for nine months and so many years following the birth, is enough to prove the argument.In conclusion, I think it is fruitless to spend hours debating on which form of love is higher than the others because each kind of love, whether borne out of devotion, lust, filial ties or friendship, is a distinct kind of love. A sort of love that is unique to itself and therefore deserving of special attention. Instead of trying to compare them it is perhaps best to be grateful to know that they all exist.Works CitedDe Rouguemont, Denis. Love in the Western World. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1940. Print.Houston, Beth. â€Å"Longing for Laura.† Able Muse. 2002. Web. 2 May 2010. Love in the Western World Essay Thank you for reading this Sample!

FREGIA MACROPAPER

FREGIA MACROPAPER FREGIA MACROPAPER Jennifer Fregia ECON 103 Macro Paper September 21, 2014 Immigration & the Economy Immigration has been a big subject that many politicians bring up in debates and speak about in order to get the public onboard with the idea. Immigration is essentially how this country was founded, so I don’t agree with turning people away who desire to earn a better living for themselves and their families. However, I do agree there is a right way to go about it now that we are a country, and it can do an incredible thing for our nation and our economy. US News has an article â€Å"Immigration Reform Boots Economic Recovery† that was written in October of last year. This article analyzes a report from a reform bill and shows that â€Å"during the next 20 years, immigration would bolster the country’s economic growth by 4.8 percent.† That would be an incredible increase for the nation alone, but the report also goes on to mention that the increase will reduce our deficit by $1.2 trillion. Reducing the deficit by that much wo uld be due to the fact that the immigrants will come in, be legalized, and furthermore take on jobs and with that said, pay taxes. The biggest challenge of all of this is having all of the immigrants come in and be legalized. There are a lot of illegals here that yes, they do work, however since they are illegal, they do not pay taxes. They find work that allow them to be â€Å"paid under the table† for lack of better words, and so while they are here benefiting from the freedoms our country has, they’re not contributing like the rest of us. A lot of lawmakers and politicians are not for extending legal status to a lot of undocumented illegals, and I don’t disagree with that. Yes, we are a country of freedom, of dreams and the limits here are endless, but come about it the right way. The report on US News, as mentioned before, also states that a lot of anti-reform advocates are against immigration due to the fact that it takes away jobs from Americans, and will also make wages tumble down. Yes, obviously the immigrants who come in will be looking for jobs. Also, they may take jobs away from able bodied Americans, but a lot of the immigrants that come in do work like landscaping and construction. They come here to do what they can to pay the bills and provide for their families, and also to provide a way for their children to have a chance at a better education and opportunities than what they had. There are lots of opportunities for the children of immigrants to get an education. While I do not agree with it fully, those opportunities are there for them. This is also a whole other topic that I could rant and rave about, but their children coming and getting higher educations will eventually help with the economy, as stated before to reduce the deficit by $1 .2 trillion. That number, $1.2 trillion, could even triple in years to come since immigrants usually don’t travel alone. There have been 11 million or more immigrants that have moved into the United States, and according to analysisonline.org’s article â€Å"An Economic Perspective on Immigration – both legal and illegal – and the prospects for reform†, on average about 850,000 people a year enter the country illegally. A lot of them bring their wives and children, and those children have so many opportunities that their parents never had in their other countries. If all of these people came in, were legalized, that would boost the economy incredibly. Again, just by them coming in and being legal and paying taxes would be the help our economy needs to see right now. Our country is based on diversity. We are a country that is colorful and full of different backgrounds. The title of American is so different for many people because of their ancestry. According to the analysisonline.org’s article as mentioned before, â€Å"Today, one in 8 workers [are] foreign born.† That’s incredible. Not only does it allow us to be the most diverse country in the world, and a huge

Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability and Protection Case Study

Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability and Protection - Case Study Example It also needs rail and road transport as well as pipeline to supply it with the fuel for generators, water for emotions control and cooling, finance and banking for purchases of fuel, and telecommunications for system status monitoring and e-commerce. Mat times of component failure or emergencies, other critical dependencies on the same infrastructure will be used by the electricity infrastructure, yet within the same infrastructure. A good example is petroleum fuel for the emergency generators and transportation of repair materials. In this example, the supported infrastructure is electricity which is supported by water, telecommunications, transport, and the other infrastructures (Ronaldi, Peeremboom, & Kelly, 2001). Interdependency is bidirectional relationship existing between two infrastructures whereby is correlated or influences the other one’s state. These increase complexity of the system or systems dramatically. They are characterized by infrastructural multiple connections, feed forward and feedback paths as well as intricate, branching topologies. An intricate web is created by the connections, which depending on its linkages characteristics could transmit shocks across the broad swaths of the economy as well as through multiple infrastructures (Ronaldi, Peeremboom, & Kelly, 2001). Infrastructure interconnection causes vulnerability to failure. For instance, a cascading failure will occur when a certain disrupted infrastructure will cause a component of the other infrastructure to fail creating disruption on the infrastructure. An escalating failure will occur when a disruption that is existing disruption in the first infrastructure will intensify an independent commotion in the other infrastructure, normally worsening the situation in terms of recovery time or restoration time of the second failure. A common cause failure will occur when several networks of infrastructure are at the same time disrupted: there is failure in components in each

Native Americans and US Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Native Americans and US - Term Paper Example This paper illustrates that like the African Americans, the American natives were black. When the African slaves escaped from the European colonist, the American natives would hide them. In the year 1622, Native Americans overruled the European colonialist in James town. They killed the Europeans and took the slaves captives. They gradually integrated them into their society, and the interracial relationship started to develop between African Americans and the American natives. Colonists in the fear of mixed African native and American race due to the runaways passed a law to penalize anyone bringing slaves into their communities. In the year, 1726 the British governor signed a contract with American natives to bring back the slaves but, they did not comply despite the agreement. They continued to provide refuge to the African American. They were reported to have killed whites in the protection of the African Americans. Runaway slaves were adopted into the tribe and intermarried. The Native American system of adoption was not discriminative in terms of color. Native Americans sometimes became enslaved together with the African Americans. Africans and Native Americans often worked together, lived together, and had collective food recipes, herbal medicines, shared myths, and legends. Though some Native Americans resented these African slaves like in 1752, Catawba discriminated them. Interracial marriages still increased some tribes became divided because of the intermarriage between the white men and their women increased. European cultures become adopted as well as the racial discrimination.

Of Mice and Men Discuss in detail the lives of the itinerant ranch-hands in the novel Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Discuss in detail the lives of the itinerant ranch-hands in the novel Essay Discuss in detail the lives of the itinerant ranch-hands in the novel. Why is the dream farm so important to the novel? Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is an emotional novel, set in the 1930s, where two friends try to achieve their dream in the cruel time of the great depression in California, America. The Wall Street crash was a massive set back in American industries, work was made very limited, so the men had to travel from job to job, to make a living. Lennie Small and George Milton like many men during this unprofitable time in the American economy roam from job to job. Men like these are called itinerant. As George stated, Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. This statement is true because these men never have a place called home, because they are always on the move. This also means they have no time to develop a family or friends. Real friendships are hard to come by, because most of the men that work on these ranches are secretive and try to keep their pasts private in case they reveal something that could get them canned (sacked). Meaning if they cant reveal their history because of fear, they will never be able to make true friends. On the ranch George and Lennie spend most of their spare time in the bunk house. Many of the men dont socialize they just keep themselves private, this also combines with the lack of woman company to create a lonely atmosphere on the ranch. Also the men are caught up in a never ending cycle of doing a months physical labour and spending most of their earnings releasing all their frustration at whore houses. So many men come to these ranches with this idea that they will work for a couple of months, save up money and get their own little piece of land but end up blowing all their money on drink and prostitutes. As Crooks said, I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an on the ranches, Hunderds of them an every damn one of ems got a little piece of land in his head. An never a God damn one of em ever gets it. From this you can see how common it was for men just like George and Lennie to depend on this dream, to give them this false hope that they might just escape this lifestyle one day. Crooks is so mocking of this dream farm because since he has never seen a man accomplish this feat, he doubts whether a man has enough determination to ever achieve it. In addition, ranch hands that are too old get canned. This makes Candy on edge because he feels that because he is seen as useless on the ranch since of the loss of his hand, his job is becoming more and more insecure the older he gets. On the ranch a lot of violence is shown to Crooks just because of the colour of his skin. The ranch hands also humiliate Crooks by making him sleep with the horses. George and Lennie are unlike most ranch hands as they travel together which is most unusual among ranch workers. As George says, I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That aint no good. They dont have fun. From this you can tell that they have, unlike other ranch hands, someone they can confide in. This gives them a strength that the other men do not have. It is obvious that the dream farm means a lot to George and Lennie because it gives them some hope that they might escape this endless lifestyle. Also if they lived on their own ranch they would be free to do as they please and not listen to no one else but themselves. The farm symbolises freedom to George and Lennie, as they would be able to choose when they would like to work and who they wanted to employ, An live on the fatta the lan. Also it would be their own harvest they are harvesting, not someone elses. So it would be all their own profit. This idea of freedom appeals to Crooks and Candy because both of them are alienated on the ranch, Crooks because of the colour of his skin and Candy because of his age and disability. They see the dream farm as a chance to be equal workers. The dream farm is similar to the American Dream because the American Dream is people living by their own rules to get what they want in life. The farm is a perfect example of this because George and Lennie would live by their own rules to earn a living. Curleys wife had her vision of the American Dream. Hers was to be a Hollywood star, to be in the movies. This, whilst being an appealing and glamorous life, isnt what the dream was about. The life she wanted would not be lived by her rules, she would have had to work to deadlines and always under threat from other actresses taking her job. Unfortunately George and Lennie cannot grasp their dream because of Lennies ability to get himself into bad situations. Unluckily for Lennie this time it proved to be fatal for him. You cant keep a job and you lose me ever job I get. Jus keep me shovin all over the country all the time. An that aint the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out. Lennie, as George states has always preventing him from advancing upwards in the world, because he has always been too much of a responsibility for George who can never have faith that Lennie wont get in trouble again.

Tinnitus - Have You Experienced It Yet? Essay -- Biology Essays Resear

Tinnitus - Have You Experienced It Yet? Can you ever recall hearing a strange annoying noise in your ears that remained constant for days or seemed recurrent? If you answered yes to this question then you may be one of the 50,000,000 individuals in the U.S. who suffer from tinnitus. Almost everyone at one time or another has experienced brief periods of mild ringing or other sounds in the ear and it is estimated that one out of every five people experience some degree of tinnitus (1). The presence of tinnitus is a very common and annoying occurrence that affects about 17% of the general population and 33% of the elderly (2). With such statistics, could it be that we are all most likely destined to become a victim of tinnitus? Tinnitus is the internal perception of sound when there actually is no external sound present. It is a symptom that can occur in either or both ears or can seem as if it is coming from somewhere in the head. Tinnitus can sound like a bell, whistle, roar, screech, hum, crickets, tone, something else, or any combination of the above. It can be continuous, pulsatile, or can fluctuate in character or loudness (3). Tinnitus is classified into two forms: objective and subjective. Objective tinnitus, the rarer form, consists of a sound that may be audible to people other than the sufferer. The noises are usually caused by vascular diseases or abnomalies, repetitive muscle contractions, or inner ear structural defects. The sounds are heard by the sufferer and are generally external to the auditory system. Benign causes, such as noise from the jaw joint, openings of the Eustachian tubes, or repetitive muscle contractions may be the cause of objective tinnitus. It can be an early sign of increased intracrania... ...on sufferers are so seriously debilitated that they cannot function on a day-to-day basis. The upsetting notion of tinnitus is that it can strike people of all ages and, for most, it does not go away. Tinnitus is just a nuisance for some, but for others it is a stressful, life-altering condition (7). WWW Sources 1) Tinnitus FAQ- Discovering and Understanding http://www.cccd.edu/faq/tinnitus/discover.html 2) Tinnitus Information Network http://members.aol.com/MyTinnitus/English/definition.html 3) Tinnitus & Loudness Sensitivity Center http://www.earaces.com/tinnitus.htm 4)Tinnitus Relief Center: FAQ http://www.tinnitusrelief.com/faq3.html 5) Tinnitus Relief Center: About Tinnitus http://www.tinnitusrelief.com/abouttinnitus.html 6) ASHA Brochure - Tinnitus 7) American Tinnitus Association http://home.teleport.com/~ata/FAQS~RC.HTM

Behavioral Plan

Alex is a 10th grader in a public school. He is an active boy, though too active that he finds it hard to focus on his lessons or even just listen to his teacher for an extended period. While he can cope with class most of the time, he finds it hard to excel because of the inability to focus to his lessons. Thus, intervention must be made to help Alex focus and get more out of his classes. Hypothesis Alex’s excessive liveliness is a sign of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, a condition suffered by millions of children in the United States alone.Other countries add to the statistics. It is therefore fitting for a formal research to be made in an attempt to solve the problem and help Alex along with the many children suffering the disease. Doing so will help them live normal, productive lives. Objectives of the Study The study focuses on Alex and aims to (a) help Alex behave in class, (b) help Alex participate in class, and (c) help Alex avoid teasing and disrupt ing other kids in the class. There are certain difficulties in trying to establish these objectives.First, Alex may not be expected to comply one hundred percent of the time with the teacher. Second, Alex’s attention-deficit problem is innate in him and it is not easy to stop him by just telling him to stop. Lastly, Alex finds this kinds of activity fun and comfortable, and so suddenly taking it away can pose further problems to him. These should all be considered in planning an intervention plan for Alex and with all similar cases. Data GatheringThe first step, as clinical practitioners suggest, was to gather as much information about the subject as possible. Interviews with Alex, with his parents, and with close friends have been done. Oftentimes, behavior characterizing ADHD starts from untoward occurrences in the child’s life that has affected him psychologically. The case deepens if the child finds no outlet for pouring hurt emotions or depression. Alex’s a ctivities were also observed. Charting will be done on the times of the day that he is most active, and times when he is calm and collected.It was also noted at what activities Alex is not paying attention and which ones make him stay put. These will tell pretty much how Alex’s behavior can be corrected. Considering these, Alex’s data was compared with other children. This comparison will instill or deny if Alex’s behavior is right for his age and maturity level, and if corrective actions should be made. If the data from the charts show that Alex is acting according to his age, constructive yet disciplinary actions may be given to make him behave in class.However, if the data shows that Alex is acting differently, further and more serious actions shall be made and executed. Data Analysis Alex’s data revealed important facts about his condition. The charting found that Alex’s parents both work, and he is often left to his babysitter. Alex is an only child, though he has an older sister from his father’s first marriage. The sister does not live with Alex nor is she close to him. When Alex’s activities were observed, it has been found that he would stand up and play around when Kara starts speaking.It seems that Alex does not like passive listening. Even at times that Kara was able to convince him to sit and listen, he would be fidgeting with his pencil, the pages of his workbook, or the hems of his shorts. However, when there are activities to do in the workbook, in the board, or plainly if there are activities that Kara asks the class to do Alex complies and quietly finishes his tasks. Yet when Kara starts speaking again for the purpose of discussing, Alex begins with his activity again.It should be noted, however, that only short activities keep Alex preoccupied. When activities reach more than five minutes or so, he begins fidgety again and looks for new things to do, leaving his activities unfinished. Looking at the behavior of the children similar to his level, Alex’s actions are not fitting his age and maturity level. While other children of his age are easy to talk to and direct into doing what is acceptable, no encouragement convinced Alex in doing the same. PropositionsGiven that Alex cannot stay focused in his class and because it greatly affects his participation and ultimately his grades, the following interventions were proposed. 1. At the first week, Alex was seated in the front line of the class, near the teacher’s table. This allowed the teacher to keep contact with Alex constantly throughout the class. 2. On the second week, Kara gave Alex a special role in class which allowed him to keep track of other children in class who are not behaving well.Standing and talking were among the activities that Alex kept an eye on. 3. Kara started giving the class periodic activities every ten minutes starting on the third week. Activities include lesson-related works but al so calisthenics and even breaks. 4. At the fourth week, Kara held a conference with the parents and solicited their help in the case. She stressed the importance of keeping themselves present for Alex to aid what depression there may be in Alex. 5. Alex was given short special assignments every other day to make up for his low grades in class.