Non-Existence of God and Critiques of Religious Belief Essay Example

Non Non-Existence of God and Critiques of Religious Belief Essay Non-Existence of God and Critiques of Religious Belief Essay Essay Topic: Religion a) Durkheim believed that God does not exist, but is an invention of society. By worshiping God, people are really worshipping society. By worshipping society all its members are controlled, as they have the same set of beliefs and values that gives society order and power, and the ability to control everyone. With out these beliefs and values that people have there would be no society. Religion gives people a reason to keep order, and abide by the laws given to them, however these rules are given by society, not God. By believing there is a God and worshipping him, people keep order and abide by the laws that are set down for them. By using religion, the collective conscience is reinforced. Durkheim used Totemism as an example for a society. This society is divided into clans and each member is totally devoted to its clan. Each clan has a totem, a statue that they use to represent each clan. When they worship this, it represents God and society. It is like a flag or an emblem that represents our country. Therefore by worshipping the totem, Durkheim concluded that they are worshipping their God but they are really worshipping their society. However some say that Totemism is not a real religion. The idea that Durkheim portrays is only relevant to smaller, non-literate societies. Therefore they are not relevant to modern societies such as ours and cannot be generalised. Also people do not set out to become part of a society, they believe in the god and then they are brought into the society by their beliefs. Even thought this argument is interesting, it is not a proof. Durkheim has failed in attempting to prove the non-existence of God. Freud suggested later that religious beliefs are nothing more than illusions, fulfilments of the oldest strongest and most insistent wishes of mankind. In foreign societies, people use religion as a sort of protection against their fears, e.g. flood, fire, death etc and religious beliefs help them stay controlled. By worshipping gods they feel they can control the forces. They give them names, so they can talk to them and worship them. This is an attempt to control the rain and the thunder. Therefore Freud suggested that God is an invention of the human mind. Associated with Freud is the Oedipus complex, where sons banded together to attempt to kill their fathers to gain the love of their mothers. They feel guilty and they realise they cannot all succeed their father. By feeling guilt they have the urge to worship an all-powerful father figure, known as God. They also feel love and awe, as well as guilt before this all-powerful God. Freud has suggested we need to rid ourselves of this psychological crutch. And see the world as it really is. There are many rejections of Freuds description of pre-history, which he took from Darwin. Even though the Oedipus complex is interesting it does seem to be the reason for our actions. In relation to this point there is no empirical evidence that this is the case, it is just Freuds interpretation. This again is not a proof, but again interesting. b) Freud presents an interesting argument however it is greatly flawed. First and foremost, it lacks any empirical evidence. So straight away it cannot be a proof as there is no indication that it is a factual theory. However many do agree with Freud when he has made some claims. The Oedipus complex does seem a little too simplistic and many believe that this is not a substantial verification that this is why men behave the way they do. There is no factual evidence that this is the basis for our behaviour. It is just one interpretation of the information. John Hick Has suggested that inadvertently Freud has compiled an argument as evidence for Gods existence with his idea of this all-powerful father figure. It is a possibility that God has wanted to create this idea in the human mind. He wanted us to think of him as an all-powerful father figure. Hick argues that it is not surprising that humans should think of God as being a powerful, loving father figure who has a wonderful relationship with his children. However many have agreed with Freud when he has suggested Religion has the quality of fantasy thinking. So it is our minds that have created this wonderful being. In conclusion The Freudian theory may be true however it has not yet been shown to be so.

Draconian Implies Cruelty

Draconian Implies Cruelty Draconian Implies Cruelty Draconian Implies Cruelty By Maeve Maddox During the recent Congressional gridlock regarding the federal budget, the word draconian has become a common epithet used to preface the words budget cuts, in the way the epithet powerful usually precedes Ways and Means Committee. How appropriate is the use of draconian to describe budget cuts? It depends. Asking the Pentagon to cut some of its $463 billion non-war related expenditures is not the same as cutting off a thiefs hand for stealing. Eliminating programs that are keeping people alive, on the other hand, might appropriately be called draconian. Apart from budget cuts, draconian is often used in contexts in which official procedures are seen as unnecessarily cruel or tyrannical: Over the past week, the unrest in the Middle East deepened, with growing protests in Bahrain and Libya, and more draconian measures by the countries’ leaders to quash the opposition. A new report this week from Human Rights Watch peers into Chinas Draconian and ineffective incarceration of people struggling with drug addiction. We are not going to take the draconian police measures necessary to deport 11 million people. Draconian new measure requires police to arrest anybody who cant prove they are a US citizen. Since 2005, a rather draconian law has been adopted to deal with offenders. Failure to pay a ticket results in the revocation of driving privileges in Quebec. Somali women complain of draconian Sharia restrictions. Draconian [drÄ -kÃ… nÄ“-É™n ] is an eponym, a word derived from a persons name: draconian (or draconic) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Draco, archon at Athens in 621 B.C., or the severe code of laws said to have been established by him; rigorous, harsh, severe, cruel. OED Although draconian has come to mean unreasonably harsh, Dracos written code in which punishments were spelled out was seen at the time as being more just than arbitrary punishments inflicted by the local authority figure. According to legend, Dracos code prescribed death for most offenses. Plutarch passed along this much-quoted anecdote: It is said that Drakon himself, when asked why he had fixed the punishment of death for most offenses, answered that he considered these lesser crimes to deserve it, and he had no greater punishment for more important ones. I say according to legend because Ive read that in the only fragment of Dracos code that survives, exile (not death) is the punishment for homicide. Dracos name could have something to do with the fact that his code of laws entered Greek memory as being really really cruel: Greek dracon means dragon or serpent. Bottom line: draconian is a strong word that conveys disregard for the humane treatment of others. Its wasted as a mere synonym for extreme. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 English Grammar Rules You Should KnowWhat is the Difference Between Metaphor and Simile?Preposition Mistakes #1: Accused and Excited

Eugenic Sterilization Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eugenic Sterilization Law - Essay Example In 1924, Carrie Buck a teenager mother was accused in a court of law for bearing a child outside of wedlock and that her child would probably be socially inadequate. Ms. Buck, whose feeble-minded mother had been admitted in the state colony of epileptics and feeble-minded, was the first American to face eugenic sterilization law. Harry Laughlin’s authentication about Ms. Buck and her child and Eugenic Record Office testimony about her child’s disorder made the court rule in favor of the states. She appealed for a review of the case but the Supreme Court also ruled in favor of the state. Basing his argument on the fact that Ms. Buck was feeble-minded, chief justice Oliver W. Holmes ordered Superintendent Bell to go ahead and perform salpingectomy operation on Carrie Buck. He concluded that it was better for the entire world if unfit human breeds were wiped from the society instead of waiting for them, to bear offspring and execute them for crimes.Later, Paul Lombardo a h istorian at the University of Virginia found out that, apart from Miss Buck’s child turning out to be a very bright student at 7 years old, Buck had been raped. Following this, Eugenics Record Office was forced to close and with time eugenicists’ claims were disapproved by other scientists. This decision had also contributed to more than 65,000 inferiors being forcefully sterilized between 1927 and 1979. United States government has since then been holding annual anniversaries to apologize for the shameful Buck decision.

CIS375 Human Computer questions 1-3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CIS375 Human Computer questions 1-3 - Assignment Example Why would you produce an expensive device when there’s a cheaper one which can do the job with more efficiency? B. Using small touch screen devices is easier than lager devices due to their portability. It’s easier to move them from place to place rather than larger devices that you have to move to where the device is to use it. Large devices also provide a larger and bigger display surface hence its more accurate to operate on individual spots on the screen while touching. A. Functionality- As the price of devices reduce due to increasing technology level, most people consider the functionality of a device very useful. Some basic and important functionalities include internet provision(fast internet from 3G and beyond), Wi-Fi support, Camera, Music, Video playing etc. These are very common uses among people and anyone who needs them will highly consider the device they purchase. Ease of use-Touch screen devices have proved to be efficient especially when scrolling on screens. Unlike button based devices where one has to scroll through several icons to get to the target, touch screens allows direct selection so long as the icon is appearing on the display area. B. Using the bottom stove is easier than using the top stove. The problem with the top stove is that it is difficult to tell which control goes with which burner.  The solution is to arrange the controls in the same configuration as the burners. It is quite easy to tell which burner goes with which control. A. The three interfaces provide a form of interaction involving manipulating of objects presented as icons on the display. The interface of the 1987 Mac is too plain and offers very little aesthetic value to the user. Compared to the 2005 Mac Os X and the 2010 Ipad, the two offer better interface as the user can easily tell the meaning of an icon without even reading its label. For example on the ipad interface, the user can easily identify a calendar icon and a music player

Energy and States of Matter Essay Example for Free

Energy and States of Matter Essay Everything changes, that is a fact. We can find changes, even in simple things that we use. Have you ever asked why does an ice cube turn back onto water when you let it stand outside the freezer? Or do you know why an ice cream melts? We knew about the three basic phases of matter – solid, liquid and gas. From our basic chemistry, we taught about the change of state or phase of matter wherein soli becomes liquid and liquid turns to gas and vice versa. The question is, why do they change phase? To really understand those phenomena, we should look onto the two different graphical illustrations of the changes of states of a substance, cooling curve and heating curve and thereby understand what is really happening on the molecular structure of a substance. Heat is very crucial in these changes on the form of certain substances. This is the energy transformed between two objects brought about by the difference on both temperatures. It means, when you let an ice cube in a plate, after a day, you will find it gone already. The heat causes the ice to melt and eventually turn it into gas and disperse it onto the air. Two types of energy involved are the Kinetic Energy (KE), the motion energy which is dependent on the mass and velocity of an object and the Potential Energy (PE), the resting energy or energy due to position and composition. Heat affects KE and said to be directly proportional to each other. As you increase the heat, the temperature increases resulting to an increase on KE. Heat, Temperature, KE and PE are the main factors why do changes on state of matter occur. Changes are due to evaporation (liquid to gas), freezing (liquid to solid), condensation (gas to liquid), melting (solid to liquid), sublimation (solid to gas) and deposition (gas to solid). All of these processes are result of the changes on the amount of heat added or removed from a certain substance, thereby increasing or decreasing the temperature thru time. Cooling Curve Cooling curve is a graphical representation of the changes of states of substances as heat is uniformly removed from it. At t0 – t1 heat is removed from the gaseous state. The average KE of the gas particles decreases as the temperature drops until it is reached at t1 where gas starts to liquefy. The temperature at which gas and liquid coexist is called liquefaction or condensation point of the substance, which is just equivalent to boiling point of the heating curve. At this time, the average PE remains constant because there is no change yet on the composition of the gas. At t ¬1 – t2 (liquefaction point) there is no change on the average KE of the particles and temperature stays at constant level. Heat is still being removed causing the decrease on Average PE. Since there is decreasing amount of heat, there is a failure to overcome forces of attraction between particles of the liquid forming gas. The gas particles are compressed and converted into liquid wherein stored PE is released. At this time, the amount of gas decreases while the amount of liquid increases, until reaching t2 where all the gases have been converted to liquid. At t2 – t3, the average KE of the liquid particles decreases and the temperature reaches low level until t3 where the liquid starts to solidify. Freezing or crystallization of substances occurs at the temperature where liquid and solid coexist. At this point, liquid is no longer a liquid but already turned onto solid state. The molecules of the liquid have been compressed as result of continuous removal of heat from the substance. This time, the average PE continues to decrease because of the amount of heat being removed. Freezing point is just equivalent to melting point in the heating curve. At t3 – t4, there is no change on the average KE and the temperature of the substance stays constant. Heat is still being removed causing a decrease on average PE of the substance. This time, the amount of liquid decreases and the amount of solid increases until reaching t4 when sufficient heat has been removed thus converting all the liquid into solid. The particles of the substance are oriented properly to form the crystalline lattice at the freezing point. Sometimes, it happens that the heat is continuously removed from the substance without crystallization. At this point, the temperature drops below its freezing point and errors in orienting the particles occur. This phenomenon is learned as Supercooling. We can reduce supercooling by introduction of a seed crystal for the crystallization to occur and thereby initiating the proper structure. Heating Curve Heating curve is just the opposite of cooling curve. The curve illustrates changes of states of a substance with uniform addition of heat to it. At t0 – t1 heat is added to the solid causing the increase on average KE of its particles. The particles are agitated making them disoriented and result into a slightly less ordered solid state. Temperature rises and at t1, solid starts to melt. T1 is termed as melting point of the substance on which solid and liquid coexist. At t1 – t2, there is no change on the average KE and the temperature stays constant. Since KE doesn’t change, average PE must increase as heat is continuously added. Now, forces of attraction between particles have been overcome because of high amount of heat. The amount of heat is being stored as potential energy. At this time, amount of solid decreases while the amount of liquid increases. Eventually at t2, sufficient heat has been added to convert the entire solid to liquid. At t2 ¬ – t3 the average KE and temperature increases. When the increasing temperature reaches t3, the liquid starts to evaporate. At this temperature (t2), liquid and gas coexist and is termed as boiling point of the substance. At t3 – t4, there is no change in the average KE and temperature remains constant. The force of attraction between liquid particles has been overcome due to addition of more heat. The amount of heat added is still being stored in form of PE. PE increases and the amount of liquid decreases while the amount of gas increases. At t4, sufficient heat has been added to convert all the liquid to gas. As oppose to supercooling, superheating also occurs where liquid is heated to a temperature above its boiling point without evaporation.

Children Need to be Encouraged :: Teaching Education Essays

Children Need to be Encouraged As we know, children spend about thirteen years of their childhood (if they graduate) in school around their peers and teachers. Most children go home to busy households where parents do not spend quality time, such as; listening, and disciplining them like they need to. So when these children go into the school the next day, they need and adult to pat them on the back, listen to them, discipline them, and encourage them to keep on trying. Children need to be encouraged so they will try harder. I want to there to give them that extra push that they deserve because many teachers gave me that encouragement to me. These days encourageable, energetic, and determined teachers become evermore important in today’s busy society. Teaching children I would incorporate all of these philosophies such as; perennialism, progressivism, behaviorism, essentialism, existentialism, and social reconstructionism in my instructional curriculum. For example, including perennialism in which, it is necessary to teach elementary students morals, such as; sharing, not cheating, and even playing fair (like in sports). Progressivism will be used in my instruction because cooperative learning activities will take place. I will use reinforcement rewards with computers, stickers, and candy; which will display the philosophy of behaviorism reflected in my classroom. I will encourage free-will in my students by letting them make choices such as; the book they want to read or letting them decide whether or not they want to do extra credit; which would demonstrate a small part of the existentialism philosophy I support. I believe it is also necessary to educate elementary students on other cultures so they will be aware of the similarities and differences compared to their own culture; which is how I will incorporate social reconstructionism into my classroom. However, the basis to hold everything into a functional curriculum I would use the essentialist philosophy; in which I would include all of the basic subjects in every week’s lesson plan to create a structural predictive atmosphere so the students know what is happening next. Students need repetition.

The Impact of Tourism on Benidorm

Map of Benidorm Before the tourist hype Benidorm was a small fishing village, with a relatively small population – whose main income was obtained through fishing the local coast, the Costa del Sol – but quickly became Spain's biggest holiday resort for people from foreign countries, and at its peak, it was attracting four million tourists each year.Benidorm in the 1960’s Between 1930 and 1970 it became one of the most visited tourist destinations. The fact that it’s in one of the most southern regions of Spain and is faces the sun is one of the many reasons so many people were drawn to Benidorm. Another reason it became so popular is the fact that it is only a 2-3 hour flight from most places in Europe and it’s cheap and affordable for most families. For the majority of the local people tourism is their income in one way or another, with 85% of income being from tourism. Benidorm is the most affluent area of Spain due to tourism. There is loads of work for the local people and most are flexible due to their nature. There is also a sense of globalisation as people get to get a taste of a different culture for example eating in foreign food restaurants. Overcrowding in Benidorm There is however some major negative impacts of tourism in Benidorm, for example it is overcrowded, the population has increased from 700,000 to 110,000,00. A lot of the negative impacts effect the local environment such as hardly any of the beach is natural and is constantly having to be replenished due to erosion mainly due to humans. There is also too much rubbish to deal with and roads are congestion due to too many cars and too little busses. Local people who aren’t that wealthy may also struggle to fins houses as house prices have increased due to the high demand for second homes, people are also reliant on tourism and there is a loss of independence. Over the last few years Benidorm has been trying to shake of the â€Å"lager lout† reputation it became to develop mainly due to amount of British tourist go there just to party and become disorderly. Tourism officials decided they did not want that label and wanted to make it more family friendly and are determined to shake the bad reputation they have developed due to the amount of drunken people. There are plans to build more 4-5 star hotels to regain the tourist they had started to lose due to their bad reputation