...Darren D. Pasha Professor Aron Bederson English CMP 280 10 December 2014 Confucius , Confucianism and the confused Confucius was legendary. According to Chinese tradition, when Confucius was born there were forty-nine marks of his future greatness on the his body, and on his chest were the visible words, “he will point out, he will act, he will decide, he will accomplish the times”. Confucius, whose actual name was Kong Qiu and courtesy name, was Zhongni, lived between 551 and 479 BC during the late years of China's Spring and Autumn Period (770- 476 BC). He was born in the city of Qufu, which was located in the ancient Chinese state of Lu. A great thinker, educator and statesman as well as one of the most learned people of his time; Confucius was also the founder of a school of moral doctrine that encourages "justice" and "peace," known today as Confucianism. The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and government morality, correctness, of social relationships, justice and security. Confucianism has a decisive influence on traditional Chinese culture. Later generations honored Confucius as "the sage of sages" and "the teacher of all ages." Confucius exposed the well-known principle “do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself”, an early version of the golden rule. Confucius taught more than 3,000 disciples, regardless if they were rich or poor. Those who really wanted to learn were all accepted by Confucius as his disciples and...
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...A soul is independent of the body: Plato and Feminism Plato’s claim that a person should be judged on the nature of his or her soul and not on their external appearance serves as the foundation for his favorable views on feminism. According to Plato, women should fill the jobs for which they are most talented. He says that talented women should not be withheld from any job within society just because of there sexual organs. In book 5 of the Republic, Plato engages in a conversation with Socrates’ where they discuss the notion of women making potential good guardians and philosopher-rulers of the state and that they should be educated the same way as men. (Cooper 1977, pg. 1087) Although Plato believes that women are not equal to men, his belief that the body and soul are independent of one another helps justify his reasoning that women can have just as much success as men within society. Plato’s concept of a functional society rests on the notion that there are different classes of people and that it is in the best interest of both the people and the state that people perform the functions that coincide best with their natures. According to Plato, there are natural differences between all people and these differences are amongst groups of men as well as groups of women. (Feminist perspectives on reproduction and the family, Stanford)Plato’s belief that women have different natures and not different functions helps support his idea that women and men can share similar roles...
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...their character through knowledge. The critique addresses the focus of utilitarianism as a doctrine that emphasizes immediate and animalistic pleasures and turns them into the main reason for being. Mill’s response is trying to reconcile the idea of a dual man, one that enjoys animalistic pleasures as well as, what the author calls, superior pleasures that come with knowledge and experience. The argument proposes the idea of a bifocal man, capable of both superior and inferior pleasures. The explanation offered in this quote explains the subordination relationship between the two, and how man is capable of avoiding regression into his/hers animalistic instinct without giving up the non-refined pleasure of life. Mill’s hypothesis is that a person is always going to choose the elevated, educated pleasure over the inferior one, because once taste is acquired of the first, the latter becomes unsatisfactory. However, he accepts the possibility that a person can and will revert to her “pig” nature if he/she cannot satisfy (for reasons of access or knowledge of) the need for elevated pleasure. The last part of the quote however, creates a significant deviation from the original assumption that a person prefers the superior pleasures but sometimes will...
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...A man has had a difficult time finding a job that pays enough to support his family. He has finally landed the job and has been working six months. He discovered that his manager is engaging in illegal activities on the job. Emotional intelligence could be applied to this scenario by the man in the scenario making a decision to either be fired or stay with the company, and deal with the situation of his manager engaging in illegal activities. When being faced with these sort of issues, you must take into consideration that if anyone finds out that you do know about the situation it may come and bite you later. I was once put in this situation at my place of employment. I was being sexually harassed at work for a long period of time, until the situation became dangerous for me. I then later decided to let the superiors know about the situation, and found that they were very understanding, this situation later caused my manager to be terminated, and he has not been able to find any employment in the law enforcement field thus far. I feel that if there is something going on at work that makes you uncomfortable or uneasy, it is your duty to make sure you help protect the rest of your co-workers. Successful intelligence could be used in the sense of finding a unique tactic for dealing with the situation at work. If the gentlemen involved can come up with a creative way to let a higher official know about the situation it may turn out where he would feel more comfortable. I feel...
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...Throughout his life, superiority was clearly a characteristic determined by a person’s social status, and by belonging to a certain class some people were more superior than others. Confucius challenged this idea by stating that being morally superior had nothing to do with the social class a person was born into, but with character and personal development. When asked about superiority the Master said, "The progress of the superior man is upwards; the progress of the mean man is downwards" (Stevenson). This excerpt from the Analects shows that in order to become superior, a person needs to encompass his full potential and always strive to do better. Therefore, in Confucianism, to become superior, a person had to believe in the perfectibility of man which stated that a person could achieve perfection on earth through natural means by being ambitious, loyal, righteous, and altruistic. Belief in this inherent goodness, perfectibility of man, and opposition of superiority had strong consequences for the Chinese political...
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...American, a Negro; two warring souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,--this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self.” This theory states that as a black man, one has no choice but to look at oneself through the eyes of others, “others” being the rich and powerful, the superior – white people. The way the rich and powerful sees you, as a black man, is the way society views you. A black man must always take into consideration the views and perception of the superior, rich and powerful in the American world. This is not to say that he should disregard his own views, but the double conscious is this – he must think of himself through the eyes of the white man – as inferior, as below them, as uneducated, weak, unequal, and less than a man. Then he must also think of himself as a black man for himself, how he views himself – as a man, a strong black man, an intelligent black man, as an equal...
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...She was in the center of the lake, just under the surface. She was drowning yes; but, not physically. Breaking down inside, she was an emotional mess. To get degraded over and over again, she was exhausted. That was what it was like to have men superior over women, to be of a lower “status” as a woman. Women were always swept under a rug because everyone thought they were unequal. Since they were thought of differently, women were treated differently as well. So how can I tell women were treated differently than men from just reading this poem? Well women were treated differently in society overall in the early 1900s and that is when this poem was written, in 1939. In 1939, before and after The Depression, women were dehumanized all the time...
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...Cay” is a novel that I read in the 7th grade, it’s an award-winning book and it inspired me in many ways to make me the person who I am today. In my family we were raised to not be racist and that blacks and us are equal. This book taught me that racism is wrong along with my parents raising me. As a child, when I read this book, it affected me in many ways. This novel taught me that you never know what kind of challenges life will put in front of you and if your life will change suddenly. Never get in your comfort zone, maybe your life will change suddenly. “The Cay” by Theodore Taylor is a wonderful story about Phillip Enright, an eleven year old boy who lived on the island of Curacao in 1942.Curacao isn’t safe at the time because of war, Philips dad wants to stay to help defend his land while his mom wants to leave to Virginia and take Phillip with her. In the middle of the ocean while they are on their way to Virginia the ship they were on gets torpedoed and sunk. Four hours after that, Phillip wakes up with a black man on a raft. Three days after being on the raft Phillip goes blind and now not only does Phillip have to adapt to being blind now but he also needs to learn how to survive. One day when the black man named Timothy spots land, Phillip stands and falls into the water but Timothy saves him from the sharks. “The Cay” shows how a young, white boy and old, black man who have different backgrounds but start to get along and strive together for their survival. My favorite...
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...At an initial glance, humans seem so far superior to chimpanzees that the difference is at an astronomical level. The concepts, ideas, societies, relationships, technological advances that humans have brought are incomparable to what little chimpanzees have accomplished. Yet as scientists have studied and observed closely, they have noted that in reality we are made of nearly the exact same genetic structure as the chimp, varying in only a 1% difference. This miniscule 1% difference accounts for nearly everything we have considered to make us superior, and yet we are made up of nearly the same genes. This concept also applies to literature. Just because two pieces of literature seem different at first glance does not mean they do not present the same ideas. After looking closer it is evident that they simply take another approach in presenting these ideas. The Cosmic Prison by Loren Eiseley, “A Man Said to the Universe” by Stephen Crane and The Human Being and The Dinosaur by James Thurber contain these connections. An initial connection presented in these pieces of literature is the idea that mankind is above all. Man egotistically believes they are the superior being, and greater in every possible way than the next species. Thurber displays this from the primary source, with man himself saying “If there were no Man it would be necessary to create one… for God moves in mysterious but inefficient ways, and He needs help.” By this, Man is essentially claiming that requires us...
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...most powerful statements in the whole book. Privilege creates a great divide between people. This can have a negative lasting effect, if not under control. Society has divided people into two groups: superior and inferior. The superior groups are the ones that are privileged in society and the inferior ones are ones that are underprivileged; however, there is a certain complexity that comes with privilege. There are so many different combinations of race, gender, class, sexual orientation or disability status that can occur so finding a person who fits all of the above is difficult. Ideally, it would be a white, wealthy, heterosexual male who is not disabled. Majority of people in the world do not fit that description. It is much more likely that an individual would be privileged in one or two of those categories. The complexity of privilege lies in the fact that individuals who are seen as superior and therefore privileged are entitled to have more opportunities than those who are underprivileged and inferior; however, this is not guaranteed. Allan Johnson’s Privileged, Power, and Difference provides a background to the complexities of privilege. Johnson defines privilege by saying “privilege is to be allowed to move through your life without being marked in ways that identify you as an outsider, as exceptional, or “other” to be excluded or to be included but always with conditions” (33). In simple terms this is saying that a person who is...
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...Truth and Brotherhood, 2003)I chose this quotation because Siddhartha Gautama’s idea was to live a life that was free of suffering and to live without worry. He went through trials to get to the point where he could find a way to help his followers deal with suffering. He did this by teach others how to live like him and how to control their destinies. The quotation that best represents Lao Tzu: Taoism to me is “Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” I chose this quotation because it reminds me of the book when Tao said that Humans cannot force change on the world without injuring themselves. All arbitrary interventions using models of the past simply lead to further disorder. Basically to me it says that enjoy what you have now and you shouldn’t force change, just let it happen naturally because nothing stays the same. The quotation that best represents Confucius: Confucianism to me is “The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the ordinary man is conversant with gain; the superior man in all things considers righteousness essential." I chose this quotation because Confucius believed that in order for someone to become superior they must understand all aspects of human life and that they should practice what they preach, not just be the teacher. The quotation that best represents Yamamoto Tsunetomo: Samurai Tradition (Zen Buddhism) is “This is...
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...September 2012 Disillusioned Anger James Joyce’s short story “Counterparts” illustrates a world filled with anger and disillusion by displaying a main character that exhibits the anger and disillusionment he is encountering in many aspects of his uninspiring life. Farrington, the main character, is portrayed as a bottom of the barrel type of man. Working as a “scrivener”, the text depicts as a trivial employee by others around him, particularly his superior Mr. Alleyne, and receives no appreciation for his work (71). Farrington reacts to this display by Mr. Alleyne of intolerance for subordinates by drinking his sorrows away, regardless the cost. Although powerless, Farrington continues to demonstrate what in his subconscious society expects of him by buying rounds of drinks at the pub, even though he has to pawn his watch to do so. He is again forced into his disappointing reality with complete disregard of his existence by societal beings outside his middle class circle. Farrington’s marriage is without deviation from every other facet of his life, with an often absent wife, whom routinely degrades the so called man of the family. The text does bring to light other notable premises such as the repression of women’s role in society at the time by belittling their role in the story, the division of cultures encountered by emphasizing the difference in Northern Irish, British, and Irish cultures, or even the paralysis of a community faced with remaining a colony or...
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...it shaped society for us today the capitalist went about it the wrong way. Industrialization was often introduced as beneficial to all, profitable even in history. In document I “John D. Rockefeller , testimony to the U.S. Industrial commission, before the house of representatives, 1899.” It says “their chief advantages are:… power to give the public improved products at less prices and still make a profit for stockholders…” this discusses the advantages that the industrial oil company has and how beneficial it was to the public. To add some reality to this there were flaws with industrialization an example is in document H “Clement Studebaker, manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles, testimony to Chicago Conference on Trusts, 1899” it says “No true monopoly is possible in this country..” The way this quote was perceived was that in this country there was no big money guaranteed. The capitalist were corrupt “Robber Barons”. Industrializing was hard work but not for the capitalists. As in many cases in the south the wealthy had it easy and the poor had it hard and now children were mistreated as well. The wealthy class was considered the superior to the poor. They were the bosses and they benefited a lot from the industrialization of the south. The wealthy had to share their “knowledge” with the poor. Document C “Andrew Carnegie gospel of wealth,1899” it says “This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of wealth:… to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply...
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...Clouds know that this will bring unwanted consequences, nevertheless, they encourage Strepsiades to enroll in Socrates school. The Clouds want Strepsiades to learn through experience, not by simply being told what is right and what is wrong. If everything went according to the Clouds’ plan, Strepsiades would suffer the consequences of his wrongdoing and, in turn, never choose the wrong path again. Similar to the Clouds emotionally harsh method of teaching is the Superior Arguments physically harsh method of teaching. When the Clouds give both the Superior and Inferior Arguments the chance to communicate what they stand for, the Superior Argument speaks of a “damned good thrashing” for those boys who are not acting respectably. The Superior Argument is also more traditional in his ways, encouraging people to think of others before themselves, and asserting that “discretion [is] the aspiration of every man.” On the other hand, the Inferior Argument contends that the Superior Argument is “archaic” in his ways, and prefers to simply use his “counterintelligence” to escape any issue that may present itself. Like the Clouds, the Inferior Argument encourages both Strepsiades and Pheidippides to choose him over the...
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...“Good satire comes from anger. It comes from a sense of injustice, that there are wrongs in the world that need to be fixed.” -Carl Hiaasen Many adolescents believe that the standards children are held to are unfair when compared to the standards adults are held to. This is their injustice. According to studystandard.com, when Samuel Clemens was asked to address youth in an instructive way he responded with the speech Advice to Youth (1882). This announcement was written in a Juvenalian satire format; the abrasiveness was directed towards the adult community in the format of six points. In an article by techdirt.com, studies show that satirical outlets are more effective in conveying arguments than other types of media. Clemens uses the...
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