...people tend to feel ashamed whenever we see our parents in public. This idea is clearly transparent in Kiss and Tell by Alain de Botton. Botton illustrates how teens and young adults repel from being around their former idols, especially in public settings. Botton conveys his theme of growing up through the means of exemplifying the chagrin and humiliation individuals feel in the presence of their parents....
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...Within our society there are cartoonists, stand-up comics, comedians, writers, and television hosts that say things that other people would never dare to utter in public. The purpose of the humorists, according to Alain de Botton, is “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” In Alain de Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, he argues that these humorists serve a key function in our society. I believe this statement is true because humorists have played a role in history, allowed people to reap benefits from laughter, and confronted unmentionable issues. First, comedy has long played a role in our society. In Medieval Europe the court jesters made jokes. The jester’s jokes were thought to affect...
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...In chapter two, “Equality, Expectation, and Envy,” of Alain de Botton’s novel, “Status Anxiety,” Botton argues that even though the rise of western civilization had some benefits, it was also the cause of static anxiety, increasing anxiety about how one is perceived in society. Botton articulates that people feel that they require an ever expanding amount of superficial things to be satisfied and that without those things they feel inferior to the people they deem their equals. Botton addresses many concerns related to his observation, such as: why people suffer from status anxiety, how an individual overcomes society’s high expectations and achieves a high self-esteem, how does religion or a lack thereof tie into this, and what are media’s...
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...aspects of human advancement have taken place in the past two thousand years, however, with gain there is loss and social anxiety has flourished as well according to Alain de Botton in his book, Status Anxiety (1991). In his speculation, the condition of an individual’s life, drab or pleasant, does not determine how they view their “wealth.” Instead, it is how we compare ourselves to certain other individuals that we choose, specifically and usually those that we grow up with. Botton argues that with the growth of media, wealth, and prosperity in a society comes the unfortunate social anxiety in the forms of inequality, envy, and the most unforgiving of all, expectation. Shown throughout history, it is apparent that humans will view their living conditions as normal, despite how drab or unpleasant they might be, if peers that they grew up with are in similar conditions. In his argument, Botton denotes this group as our “reference group.” How we define wealth and prosperity may not always be in the form of currency. It...
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...Alain De Botton a writer, philosopher, and television presenter, explores contemporary subjects and themes to highlight philosophy in everyday life. In De Botton’s book “The Consolations of Philosophy” he uses several philosophers to help the reader interpret everyday life. In the chapter “Consolation for Unpopularity” De Botton (2000) describes how Socrates born some 2500 years ago is one of the most influential Greek Athenian philosophers, attributing Socrates with producing one of the most inspiring gifts to western philosophy. De Botton (2000, 7) describes this gift as the logic of philosophy, the art of applying logical thinking to popular ideas to produce an informed opinion and independence of mind in the face of unpopularity. De Botton (2000) poses the key question why do we follow popular thought, especially ideas posed by influential people? De Botton asserts that it is because questioning the status quo often leads to one becoming a social pariah. De Botton’s (2000) argument is that the ability to think critically is grounded in philosophy; this allows one to confidently arrive at a logical position whilst acknowledging other arguments, which is supported by sound judgement. Thus, according to De Botton (2000, 7) the “Consolation for Unpopularity” is the self-confidence to challenge accepted norms through logical thought. The line of logic used by De Botton is that Socrates became a symbol of someone that stood up to the status quo using his intellect to challenge accepted...
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...comprehend. Alain de Botton, author of “On Habit” comes to a realization that not only he but the world have come to a conclusion that their universe seemed to be uninteresting and dull. Through the blurred vision of modern culture, as humans, what we perceive to be anything but the ordinary seems to bring about curiosity. By way of the attentions that allure the concentrations of individuals we force upon ourselves framed thinking and tolerate expectations. By Botton becoming introduced to Xavier de Maistre’s reading Journey around My Bedroom, and Nocturnal Expedition around my Bedroom, it had flipped the switch in his head like a light bulb. Xavier de Maistre was used an example in de Botton’s reading to help circumnavigate and rediscover ways to appreciate not only the travels one goes on forth, but to discover the unknown and unseen appraisals that have been disregarded. Being accustomed to a situation or ones surroundings induces habituation where acknowledgments lack. For the reason that, a person’s mind craves new experiences and endures ventures that have not been accomplished yet because they believe there is nothing left to learn in the place they are familiarized with. When De Botton returned from his trip to Barbados and back home to London he states, “That the city had stubbornly refused to change… [He] felt despair to be home. [He] felt there could be few worse places on earth than the one [he] had been fated to spend [his] existence in” (de Botton 59). De Botton’s...
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...menselijk bestaan. Duizenden bevolkingsgroepen onderscheiden zich van de rest op basis van hun manier van zingeving aan ons leven hier op aarde. Inmiddels zijn er vele wegen die we kunnen nemen in de zoektocht naar betekenisvolle verbindingen waarbij meestal een hogere macht, opperwezen of god centraal staat. Moeten we echter steeds één weg volgen? Mogen we de route niet veranderen en eens op de andere wegen gaan kijken of we deze niet aangenamer vinden? En wat als men helemaal geen nood heeft aan deze zoektocht? Soms zijn de wortels van de keuzes van onze voorouders zo diep ingenesteld dat openstaan voor verandering en een andere kijk op het leven gewoon niet aan bod komen. Sociaal psycholoog en professor Jonathan Haidt heeft zich dan ook verdiept in dit thema. Hij tracht het verschil in mentaliteit tussen de liberalen en conservatieven in Amerika te verklaren en heeft daarom de morele wortels van deze groepen eens onder de loep genomen. Waarom reageren liberalen anders op Michelangelo’s naakte David dan conservatieven? (Haidt, 00:12) Haidt verklaart dit door het verschil in openheid voor ervaring. Mensen die hier hoog op scoren hebben nood aan nieuwigheid, variëteit, diversiteit, nieuwe ideeën en reizen. Mensen die hier laag op scoren houden van het bekende, veilige en betrouwbare. Als men weet hoe zulke eigenschappen in elkaar zitten, kunnen veel van de raadsels over het menselijk gedrag begrepen worden. De graad van openheid voor ervaring vertelt ons bovendien veel over politiek...
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...Humorists Essay Alain de Botton argues that the chief aim of humorists is not only to entertain, but to state the messages that might be dangerous to say directly. Satire such as Jonathan Smith’s A Modest Proposal helps to exemplify the fact that joking about a taboo subject humorously, will allow it to become more of an acceptable thing to say. Comedians also tend to exemplify this statement by humorously discussing controversial topics through their comedy routines. Satire such as Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal uses humor to “convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly”. He talks about a world where unwanted and malnourished children can be cooked and served to the higher ranked, wealthier people. Swift suggests that this could be the solution to the overpopulation and poverty problems the country is facing. By proposing this “plan” in a humorous, satirical way, it is seen as humorous comedy and not a socially unacceptable ideal. The way the satire is effectively used evokes conversation about the topic through a humorous proposal. This thought-evoking Davis 2 satire brings to light the actual problems that are plaguing the country (in this case, poverty and the separation between the rich and the poor). Another type of comedy that brings out the actual problems being faced by the world is the television show “The Colbert Report”. This popular TV show, hosted by Stephen Colbert, is a parody of a newscast. He incorporates...
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...folk i dag burde springe ud af skabet og bekende os til materialismen og indrømme at det at have penge faktisk gør os gladere end hvis vi ingen penge havde. Ifølge Theil er vi alle en del af forbrugersamfundet og har alle en angst for hvordan andre mennesker ser på os og vores status. Theil skriver i sit debatindlæg at der selvfølgelig skal være mad på bordet og tøj til børnene, men at disse ting ikke bliver kæmpet for. I stedet kæmper vi for at få det nyeste nye. Her hentyder han til at penge faktisk gør os lykkelige. Ud fra to undersøgelser af University of Michigan og University of Pennsylvania, bliver der konkluderet at rige mennesker er mere tilfredse med tilværelserne end fattige er. Hans holdninger og forskellige eksempler på de små materialistiske ting i livet ender ud i et spørgsmål; Hvad gør dig mest glad, at iagttage støvpartiklerne danse i en solstråle eller en shopping tur i Magasin? I artiklen er der brug af flere forskellige argumentationsformer. Dog er nogle mere dominerende end andre. Nikolaj Theil bruger mange generaliseringer, f.eks. når han siger ”Hvis vi var så spirituelle, som vi gerne vil give udtryk for, hvorfor har i så ikke noget imod at være lønslaver?”. Theil taler umiddelbart for ham selv, da han ikke kan tale på alles vegne og derfor formoder han at det er sådan tingene er. Ved at sige ”vi” i stedet for ”jeg”, understreger han sin pointe og gør den mere gyldig, hvilket får os læsere til at antage det samme og derfor tro mere på hans argumenter...
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...Student's name: Ozat Abildayev Student's ID: 20123361 DATE: 04.02.2013 Compare and Contrast Essay Topic: Living with family and living with friends Nowadays in our society it is too difficult to choose where to live. Some people prefer to live with their family and the others choose to live with their friends. They have to choose the best place to live, comparing advantages and disadvantages this or that living place. By selecting to live at home or with friends, they may encounter many problems such as money, safety and other life situations. The purpose of this essay is to contrast and compare the safety, the money and the independence of living with family and living with friends. Although living with family and living with friends are both very useful and pleasant, the living styles differ significantly. People's feelings and behaviors are changing depending on their living place. (Albert Ellis Institute,2008) First of all, Research by Sailee Kale (2011) showed when you live with your parents there is no need to worry, and you feel weakened. Because parents are obliged to care about their health, physical, mental, spiritual and moral development; to provide them receiving the main general education, and also to protect the rights and interests of the children (DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD, 1959) . As you are their child they are going to do everything for you to lead full-fledged life(www.dailymail.co.uk, 2011). But when you live with friends the difficulties...
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...Slice of Life A Synthesis Paper on Philosophy and Logic Jonn Denzel V. Ramos BSGE-1E Does God exist? How to build an attractive city? Does life is real or just an imagination? An average person fails to answer these questions objectively, but philosophers have this will on solving these problems. Philosophy and logic are the fundamentals in search for meaning. Philosophers have these skill set which makes them think different from others, which leads and guides them to real and unbiased answer, it is a slice of life where they embrace every single moment they put up time and effort in their search for answer. Long time ago, Ancient Greeks invented philosophy as the way of thinking and asking questions about all things through its ultimate causes. Pre-Socratic Pythagoras coined the word philosophia which means “love of wisdom” or people who are faithful to wisdom as St. Thomas Aquinas called as wise man. Philosophy began to spread throughout the rest of the world, as the knowledge and discipline that engages and sharpens our reasons. There are three components of philosophy, the material object, formal object and natural scope. The material object refers to the subject being observed and finding the root cause on how it exist is its formal object. The natural scope is simply defined as natural reason which philosophers use in search for explanations. Ordinary and profound are two types of knowledge in philosophy. Ordinary knowledge is the foundation or the simplest form...
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...Understanding Society – SOSC 1850 Notes Lecture 1 Common Question Answers 1) Britain and US highest teenage pregnancy 2) 36% of US believe in Aliens 3) Suicides highest number of deaths 4) 60% of gun related were suicides 5) False not double stress of US that results in higher rates of suicide 6) Over 65 most suicides 7) Canada and Australia have highest kidnapping rates 8) Sweden highest rape rate 9) ¾ steal in office 10) False couples live tgt more satisfied 11) True, Womens brain are smaller 12) 11 women in legco 13) Plumber is a women 14) Margaret Thatcher did Chemistry for undergraduate Lecture 2 What is Sociology? - The big picture. * The group, culture, of organization, rather than the individual. Lots of people talk about society, but are they sociologists? No they are individualistic thinkers. They talk about individual people and cases instead of the group. Individualistic thinking at Universities: Professors award individual students with grades based on their ‘individual’ merits. What would the SOCIOLOGIST ask? Do some students have to work to earn money? Do some students have to spend time commuting to campus (no dorms!)? Do some students have family responsibilities.? Do some courses/majors have more generous grading procedures than others? Why are there more A students now than there were twenty years ago??? When and Why did sociological thinking begin? SOCRATES: “An unexamined life is not worth living...
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...Fayette County Schools Research Paper Survival Guide June 2009 (revised November 2011) Compiled by: Jillian Bowen, Joanne Dirring, Monica Dorner, Greta Jackson, Shery Kearney, Ann Richardson, and Cheryll Thompson-Smith Based on the work of: Linda Brem, Kathy Franks, Cathy Nix, Ann Richardson, and Cynde Snider Table of Contents Plagiarism………………………………………………………………. Plagiarism Statement - Middle School……………………………..... Plagiarism Statement - High School……………………………….... English Research Requirements…………………………………….. Middle School Requirements…………………………………... 9th Grade Requirements………………………………………… 10th Grade Requirements………………………………………. 11th Grade Requirements………………………………………. 12th Grade Requirements………………………………………. Frequently Asked Questions…………………………………………. Annotated Bibliographies……………………………………….. Citation Formats…………………..……………………………... Common Mistakes………………………………………………. Documentation and Plagiarism…………..…………………….. Internet and Databases…………………………………………. MLA Manuscript Form…...……………………………………… Note Cards…..…………………………………………………… Outlines…………………………………………………………… Paraphrases and Quotations..…………………………………. Parenthetical Documentation……………………………...…... Quoting Poetry……………………………..……………………. Research Papers..………………………………………………. Research Process……………….……………………………… Research Projects……….……………………………………… Source Cards..…………………………………………………… Works Cited Page……………………………………………….. Research Glossary……………………………………………………. Online Resources……………………………………………………… Works Cited…………………………………………………………….....
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...2013B Carefully read the following excerpt from the short story “Mammita’s Garden Cove” by Cyril Dabydeen. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how Dabydeen uses literary techniques to convey Max’s complex attitudes toward place. ‘Where d’you come from?’ Max was used to the question; used to being told no as well. He walked away, feet kicking hard ground, telling himself that Line he must persevere. More than anything else he knew 5 he must find a job before long. In a way being unemployed made him feel prepared for hell itself even though he knew too that somewhere there was a sweet heaven waiting for him. How couldn’t it be? After all he was in Canada. He wanted to laugh all of 10 He continued walking along, thoughts drifting back to the far-gone past. Was it that far-gone? He wasn’t sure . . . yet his thoughts kept going back, to the time he was on the island and how he used to dream about 15 being in Canada, of starting an entirely new life. He remembered those dreams clearly now; remembered too thinking of marrying some sweet island-woman with whom he’d share his life, of having children and later buying a house. Maybe someday he’d even own 20 a cottage on the edge of the city. He wasn’t too sure where one built a cottage, but there had to be a cottage. He’d then be in the middle class; life would be different from the hand-to-mouth existence he was used to. 25 His heels pressed into the asphalt, walking on. And slowly he...
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...2013B Carefully read the following excerpt from the short story “Mammita’s Garden Cove” by Cyril Dabydeen. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how Dabydeen uses literary techniques to convey Max’s complex attitudes toward place. ‘Where d’you come from?’ Max was used to the question; used to being told no as well. He walked away, feet kicking hard ground, telling himself that Line he must persevere. More than anything else he knew 5 he must find a job before long. In a way being unemployed made him feel prepared for hell itself even though he knew too that somewhere there was a sweet heaven waiting for him. How couldn’t it be? After all he was in Canada. He wanted to laugh all of 10 He continued walking along, thoughts drifting back to the far-gone past. Was it that far-gone? He wasn’t sure . . . yet his thoughts kept going back, to the time he was on the island and how he used to dream about 15 being in Canada, of starting an entirely new life. He remembered those dreams clearly now; remembered too thinking of marrying some sweet island-woman with whom he’d share his life, of having children and later buying a house. Maybe someday he’d even own 20 a cottage on the edge of the city. He wasn’t too sure where one built a cottage, but there had to be a cottage. He’d then be in the middle class; life would be different from the hand-to-mouth existence he was used to. 25 His heels pressed into the asphalt, walking on. And slowly he...
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