Premium Essay

Essay On Thomas Merton

Submitted By
Words 1532
Pages 7
Thoughts in Solitude Thomas Merton was a French American author, who was born in January 31, 1915 at Prades in France. Before Merton was born, Owen Merton and Ruth Jenkins met in Paris while studying art. After when Thomas Merton was born at Prades, they decided to move to America because of World War I. They settled at the Jenkins’ family house from Long Island, Douglaston and moved to Flushing, New York. In 1918, his younger brother, Jean Paul, was born. In 1921, Merton’s mother passed away due to stomach cancer. In 1922, Merton’s father left Jean Paul at Douglaston in the Jenkins house. Later, he moved with Thomas to Bermuda. Unfortunately, Merton’s father did not have a strong relationship with his sons because of money shortage. During this year, Merton was …show more content…
Merton was baptized at Corpus Christi Church and got Holy Communion. In February 1938 he heard about Danirel Walsh from his schoolmates, who were a part time teacher at his school. In 1939, Merton joined a club by his friends’ request to become a priest. He met a professor Dan Walsh whom he discussed with him about his desire of becoming a priest. Walsh complimented Merton that he was qualified to be a priest because of his spiritual and intellectual trait. They talked about the Jesuits, Cistercians and Franciscans. Walsh planed a meeting with a Fr. Edmund Murphy to introduce Merton. During the meeting, Murphy interviewed Merton if he was qualified to be a Franciscan priest. The next day, Merton was declined by Murphy because Merton was not suitable to be a priest. Walsh arranged another meeting between Merton to Jacques Maritain at a lecture on Catholic Action, which was located at a Catholic Book Club meeting in March 1939. On 25 May 1939, Merton was accepted from the Confirmation at Corpus Christi, and received the name, James as confirmation’s

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Composition Essay

...Tashionna Jones 10/10/2013 Ms. Elliot English 101 Composition Essay Outline Introduction I. Explain the authors background II. Introduce the poem Journey of the Magi III. Thesis Statement: The poem, Journey of the Magi, has many different hidden meanings but all have a connection to the Christian faith. Stanza 1 I. Explain interpretation of the poem II. Explain the interpretations throughout Stanza 1 III. Demonstrate how T.S Eliot captures the senses of the reader Stanza 2 I. Explain the interpretations throughout Stanza 2 II. Explain how the folly is resembling T.S Eliot’s own battles with finding faith Stanza 3 I. Explain the interpretations throughout Stanza 3 II. Compare how the poem relates to the Christian faith Conclusion Thomas Stearns Eliot, also known as T.S. Eliot is one of the greatest poets in the 20th century. He was a poet, critic, and a dramatist during the modernism period. T.S Eliot was born in America but later moved to the United Kingdom where he settled and became a British subject. He attended Harvard University, Merton College, and Oxford. One of T.S Eliot’s most intriguing poems is the poem Journey of the Magi is a poem written about the story of the Magi, the three wise men who traveled to Bethlehem to see baby Jesus. T.S. Eliot’s poem is referring to the story that is told in Matthew 2:1-12. The poem, Journey of the Magi, has many different hidden meanings but all have a connection to the Christian faith. Journey...

Words: 325 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Biological and Social Deviance

...Deviance in general is seen as violating social norms. Numerous researchers and individuals such as Robert Merton (1938) and William Sheldon (1949) have tried to present ways to explain deviant behaviours in the past. The two main theories that have been developed to explain deviance are biological theories and the social constructionist theories. This essay will examine social theories such as Becker’s labelling theory, and biological theories such as Sheldon’s body type theory, and contrast between the theories mentioned. Finally this essay will examine the differences between the theories and whether the biological explanation or the social constructionist explanation can be better used to explain deviance. Looking at social control can help clarify definitions of what crime and deviance are. Social control refers to both the formal and informal means by which society responds to social deviance. While there are many possible explanations for what could be the underlying causes behind deviant individuals, the social constructivist theory is that deviance is a “failure to conform to culturally expected norms of behaviour” (Llewellyn, Agu & Mercer 2008: 90). What is viewed as deviant in one particular culture or society may be considered normal practice in another. Social norms are not universal; they are contextual to the culture in which they are formed. Without deviance, society would remain the same, restricted to tradition and stagnant social norms, because no individual...

Words: 2254 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Poetry Essay

...Poetry Essay COURSE # and TITLE _ENGL 102: Literature and Composition SEMESTER OF ENROLLMENT ___Fall B 2011 NAME _Stephanie WRITING STYLE USED ____APA__________ Outline Introduction I. Explain the authors background II. Introduce the poem Journey of the Magi III. Thesis Statement: The poem, Journey of the Magi, has many different hidden meanings but all have a connection to the Christian faith. Stanza 1 I. Explain interpretation of the poem II. Explain the interpretations throughout Stanza 1 III. Demonstrate how T.S Eliot captures the senses of the reader Stanza 2 I. Explain the interpretations throughout Stanza 2 II. Explain how the folly is resembling T.S Eliot’s own battles with finding faith Stanza 3 I. Explain the interpretations throughout Stanza 3 II. Compare how the poem relates to the Christian faith Conclusion Thomas Stearns Eliot, also known as T.S. Eliot is one of the greatest poets in the 20th century. He was a poet, critic, and a dramatist during the modernism period. T.S Eliot was born in America but later moved to the United Kingdom where he settled and became a British subject. He attended Harvard University, Merton College, and Oxford. One of T.S Eliot’s most intriguing poems is the poem Journey of the Magi is a poem written about the story of the Magi, the three wise men who traveled to Bethlehem to see baby Jesus. T.S. Eliot’s poem is referring to the story that is told in Matthew 2:1-12...

Words: 948 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Transcendentalism at Walden Pond

...Michael Lichtenwalner Father Samway Texts and Contexts 11 April 2012 In What Ways Does Thoreau's Walden Embody the Concept of Transcendentalism? Social networking, a craze sweeping across America, allows people to become connected with their friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Users of social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter are periodically updated with happenings and insight into the lives of others. This would likely seem meaningless and idiotic to Henry David Thoreau, a prominent transcendentalist American author. He encourages his readers to live lives “simple and well as Nature”, independent from those of others and society (Thoreau 53). He therefore moved to Walden Pond on July 4, 1845 for two years and two months in order to live a simple and independent life. Thoreau claims that “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived” (61). In Walden, Thoreau upholds beliefs that he shares with transcendental authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson. These beliefs include solitude, self-reliance, immersion in nature, and spiritual rebirth. Transcendentalism, a philosophical movement in the 19th century, stood against the individual’s conformity to societies and institutions. Instead, transcendentalism encouraged individuals to rise above society and...

Words: 1980 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Curriculum Source References

...Curriculum Source References The following references were used in the CFA Institute-produced publications Quantitative Methods for Investment Analysis, Analysis of Equity Investments: Valuation, and Managing Investment Portfolios: A Dynamic Process. Ackerman, Carl, Richard McEnally, and David Ravenscraft. 1999. “The Performance of Hedge Funds: Risk, Return, and Incentives.” Journal of Finance. Vol. 54, No. 3: 833–874. ACLI Survey. 2003. The American Council of Life Insurers. Agarwal, Vikas and Narayan Naik. 2000. “Performance Evaluation of Hedge Funds with OptionBased and Buy-and-Hold Strategies.” Working Paper, London Business School. Ali, Paul Usman and Martin Gold. 2002. “An Appraisal of Socially Responsible Investments and Implications for Trustees and Other Investment Fiduciaries.” Working Paper, University of Melbourne. Almgren, Robert and Neil Chriss. 2000/2001. “Optimal Execution of Portfolio Transactions.” Journal of Risk. Vol. 3: 5–39. Altman, Edward I. 1968. “Financial Ratios, Discriminant Analysis and the Prediction of Corporate Bankruptcy.” Journal of Finance. Vol. 23: 589–699. Altman, Edward I. and Vellore M. Kishore. 1996. “Almost Everything You Wanted to Know about Recoveries on Defaulted Bonds.” Financial Analysts Journal. Vol. 52, No. 6: 57−63. Altman, Edward I., R. Haldeman, and P. Narayanan. 1977. “Zeta Analysis: A New Model to Identify Bankruptcy Risk of Corporations.” Journal of Banking and Finance. Vol. 1: 29−54. Ambachtsheer, Keith, Ronald Capelle, and...

Words: 12603 - Pages: 51

Premium Essay

Business Finance

...1 EFFICIENT MARKETS HYPOTHESIS Andrew W. Lo To appear in L. Blume and S. Durlauf, The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, Second Edition, 2007. New York: Palgrave McMillan. The efficient markets hypothesis (EMH) maintains that market prices fully reflect all available information. Developed independently by Paul A. Samuelson and Eugene F. Fama in the 1960s, this idea has been applied extensively to theoretical models and empirical studies of financial securities prices, generating considerable controversy as well as fundamental insights into the price-discovery process. The most enduring critique comes from psychologists and behavioural economists who argue that the EMH is based on counterfactual assumptions regarding human behaviour, that is, rationality. Recent advances in evolutionary psychology and the cognitive neurosciences may be able to reconcile the EMH with behavioural anomalies. There is an old joke, widely told among economists, about an economist strolling down the street with a companion. They come upon a $100 bill lying on the ground, and as the companion reaches down to pick it up, the economist says, ‘Don’t bother – if it were a genuine $100 bill, someone would have already picked it up’. This humorous example of economic logic gone awry is a fairly accurate rendition of the efficient markets hypothesis (EMH), one of the most hotly contested propositions in all the social sciences. It is disarmingly simple to state, has far-reaching consequences...

Words: 11295 - Pages: 46

Premium Essay

It Takes a Nation of Millions

...It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back: The War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration, and a Call to Action for America's Black Youth By Carl L. Young An Alternative Plan Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Sociology: Corrections Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota Spring 2013 Final Draft 4/20/2013 1 This Alternative Plan Paper has been examined and approved by the following members of the Examining Committee. _____________________ Dr. Leah Rogne, Advisor _____________________ Dr. William Wagner _____________________ Dr. Penny Jo Rosenthal _____________________ Dr. Nadarajan Sethuraju ________________ Date 2 Abstract This alternative plan paper examines the circumstances that have evolved as a result of the Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs and the increase of mass incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in campaign known as the “War on Drugs,” which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses the impact of the War on Drugs and the criminal justice policies that have impacted the life chances of Black youth nationwide and calls for a new social movement...

Words: 19872 - Pages: 80

Premium Essay

Soci 205

...In sociology, the iron cage is a term coined by Max Weber for the increased rationalization inherent in social life, particularly in Western capitalist societies. The "iron cage" thus traps individuals in systems based purely on teleological efficiency, rational calculation and control. Weber also described the bureaucratization of social order as "the polar night of icy darkness".[1] The original German term is stahlhartes Gehäuse; this was translated into "iron cage", an expression made familiar to English language speakers by Talcott Parsons in his 1930 translation of Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.[2] This translation has recently been questioned by certain sociologists and interpreted instead as the "shell as hard as steel".[2][3] Weber wrote: “ | In Baxter’s view the care for external goods should only lie on the shoulders of the 'saint like a light cloak, which can be thrown aside at any moment.' But fate decreed that the cloak should become an iron cage."[4] | ” | Weber became concerned with social actions and the subjective meaning that humans attach to their actions and interaction within specific social contexts. He also believed in idealism, which is the belief that we only know things because of the meanings that we apply to them. This led to his interest in power and authority in terms of bureaucracy and rationalization. Rationalization and bureaucracy[edit] Weber states, “the course of development involves… the bringing in of calculation...

Words: 10546 - Pages: 43

Premium Essay

Revisiting Market Efficiency

...REVISITING MARKET EFFICIENCY: THE STOCK MARKET AS A COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEM by Michael J. Mauboussin, Credit Suisse First Boston t is time to shift the emphasis of the debate about market efficiency. Most academics and practitioners agree that markets are efficient by a reasonable operational criterion: there is no systematic way to exploit opportunities for superior gains. But we need to reorient the discussion to how this operational efficiency arises. The crux of the debate boils down to whether we should consider investors to be rational, well informed, and homogeneous—the backbone of standard capital markets theory—or potentially irrational, operating with incomplete information, and relying on varying decision rules. The latter characteristics are part and parcel of a relatively newly articulated phenomenon that researchers at the Santa Fe Institute and elsewhere call complex adaptive systems. Why should corporate managers care about how market efficiency arises? In truth, executives can make many corporate finance decisions independent of the means of market efficiency. But if complex adaptive systems do a better job explaining how markets work, there are critical implications for areas such as risk management and investor communications. I Take, for example, the earnings expectations game.1 In a complex adaptive system, the sum is greater than the parts. So it is not possible to understand the stock market by paying attention to individual analysts. Managers...

Words: 6002 - Pages: 25

Free Essay

Women's Right

...A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION After considering the historic page, and viewing the living world with anxious solicitude, the most melancholy emotions of sorrowful indignation have depressed my spirits, and I have sighed when obliged to confess that either Nature has made a great difference between man and man, or that the civilization which has hitherto taken place in the world has been very partial. I have turned over various books written on the subject of education, and patiently observed the conduct of parents and the management of schools; but what has been the result?--a profound conviction that the neglected education of my fellow-creatures is the grand source of the misery I deplore, and that women, in particular, are rendered weak and wretched by a variety of concurring causes, originating from one hasty conclusion. The conduct and manners of women, in fact, evidently prove that their minds are not in a healthy state; for, like the flowers which are planted in too rich a soil, strength and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty; and the flaunting leaves, after having pleased a fastidious eye, fade, disregarded on the stalk, long before the season when they ought to have arrived at maturity. One cause of this barren blooming I attribute to a false system of education, gathered from the books written on this subject by men who, considering females rather as women than human creatures, have been more anxious to make them alluring...

Words: 5561 - Pages: 23

Free Essay

Ltcm

...80R 01mackenzie (ds) Page 349 Thursday, July 24, 2003 3:04 PM Economy and Society Volume 32 Number 3 August 2003: 349–380 Long-Term Capital Management and the sociology of arbitrage Donald MacKenzie Abstract Arbitrage is a key process in the practice of financial markets and in their theoretical depiction: it allows markets to be posited as efficient without all investors being assumed to be rational. This article explores the sociology of arbitrage by means of an examination of the arbitrageurs, Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM). LTCM’s 1998 crisis is analysed using both qualitative, interview-based data and quantitative examination of price movements. It is suggested that the roots of the crisis lay in an unstable pattern of imitation that had developed in the markets within which LTCM operated. As the resulting ‘superportfolio’ began to unravel, arbitrageurs other than LTCM fled the market, even as arbitrage opportunities became more attractive, causing huge price movements against LTCM. Three features of the sociology of arbitrage are discussed: its conduct by people often personally known to each other; the possibility and consequences of imitation; and the limits on the capacity of arbitrage to close price discrepancies. It is suggested that by 1998 imitative arbitrage formed a ‘global microstructure’ in the sense of Knorr Cetina and Bruegger. Keywords: arbitrage; economic sociology; imitation; Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM); globalization;...

Words: 16475 - Pages: 66

Free Essay

History Paper

...Introduction Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1328) has been known as the father of German mysticism and the greatest of all mystics. Several authors reference him with the honour "the man from whom God hid nothing." He is known as a philosopher and a theologian but it was as a mystic that Meister Eckhart excelled. In his day Meister Eckhart enjoyed success as a popular preacher and churchman of high rank in his order, the Dominicans. However, Meister Eckhart was the only theologian of the medieval period to be formally charged with heresy. The shock of his trial for heresy and the condemnation of some of his work by Pope John XXII in Argo Dominco has cast a shadow over his reputation and a lingering suspicion over his orthodoxy that has lasted to this day. This research paper will focus on the intellectual and social history of Meister Eckhart. The development in thought of any theologian emerges from the life world of the theologian. [4] The life world is formed by the meeting of the cultural, social, and religious history of the day. Theologians are continually searching for new and meaningful ways to interpret religious experience. Meister Eckhart interpreted the religious experience of his day in a way that no others at the time did. I will explore in this paper some of the intellectual forces at work at the time and how he interpreted and connected with these. Secondly, it is important to understand the social history of the time. No theologians' thought is ever formed by simply...

Words: 8164 - Pages: 33

Free Essay

Book Critique

...Introduction Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1328) has been known as the father of German mysticism and the greatest of all mystics. Several authors reference him with the honour "the man from whom God hid nothing." He is known as a philosopher and a theologian but it was as a mystic that Meister Eckhart excelled. In his day Meister Eckhart enjoyed success as a popular preacher and churchman of high rank in his order, the Dominicans. However, Meister Eckhart was the only theologian of the medieval period to be formally charged with heresy. The shock of his trial for heresy and the condemnation of some of his work by Pope John XXII in Argo Dominco has cast a shadow over his reputation and a lingering suspicion over his orthodoxy that has lasted to this day. This research paper will focus on the intellectual and social history of Meister Eckhart. The development in thought of any theologian emerges from the life world of the theologian. [4] The life world is formed by the meeting of the cultural, social, and religious history of the day. Theologians are continually searching for new and meaningful ways to interpret religious experience. Meister Eckhart interpreted the religious experience of his day in a way that no others at the time did. I will explore in this paper some of the intellectual forces at work at the time and how he interpreted and connected with these. Secondly, it is important to understand the social history of the time. No theologians' thought is ever formed...

Words: 8164 - Pages: 33

Premium Essay

Help

...CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER ANSWER KEY CHAPTER 1 ANSWERS FOR THE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS 1. b The sociological perspective is an approach to understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context. (4) 2 . d Sociologists consider occupation, income, education, gender, age, and race as dimensions of social location.(4) 3. d All three statements reflect ways in which the social sciences are like the natural sciences. Both attempt to study and understand their subjects objectively; both attempt to undercover the relationships that create order in their respective worlds through controlled observation; and both are divided into many specialized fields. (5-7) 4. c Generalization is one of the goals of scientific inquiry. It involves going beyond individual cases by making statements that apply to broader groups or situations. (7) 5. b The Industrial Revolution, imperialism, and the development of the scientific method all contributed to the development of sociology. The fourth influence was the political revolutions in America and France — there was no political revolution in Britain at that time. (8-9) 6. d Positivism is the application of the scientific approach to the social world. (9) 7. d Of the four statements, the one that best reflects Herbert Spencer’s views on charity is “The poor are the weakest members of society and if society intervenes to help them, it is interrupting the natural process of social evolution.” While many contemporaries of Spencer’s were...

Words: 52339 - Pages: 210

Free Essay

Up from Slavery

...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON’S UP FROM SLAVERY By VIRGINIA L. SHEPHARD, Ph.D., Florida State University S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery 2 INTRODUCTION Booker T. Washington’s commanding presence and oratory deeply moved his contemporaries. His writings continue to influence readers today. Although Washington claimed his autobiography was “a simple, straightforward story, with no attempt at embellishment,” readers for nearly a century have found it richly rewarding. Today, Up From Slavery appeals to a wide audience from early adolescence through adulthood. More important, however, is the inspiration his story of hard work and positive goals gives to all readers. His life is an example providing hope to all. The complexity and contradictions of his life make his autobiography intellectually intriguing for advanced readers. To some he was known as the Sage of Tuskegee or the Black Moses. One of his prominent biographers, Louis R. Harlan, called him the “Wizard of the Tuskegee Machine.” Others acknowledged him to be a complicated person and public figure. Students of American social and political history have come to see that Washington lived a double life. Publicly he appeased the white establishment...

Words: 13713 - Pages: 55