The Soul As The Enduring Self

The Soul As The Enduring Self Furthermore, according to the passage, Stelios in Mars can feel and think exactly the same as real Stelios in the earth mean that Stelioss soul is still the same. He is able to know who he is, what he is doing and anything that related to him. Besides that, the Traditional view mentioned that wherever the mind is, the person is there because the person is the mind(Velasquez, 2008). Therefore, if the mind or soul is transferred to another body, the person still remains himself or herself. They just use body as the tool to exist. In Stelios case, assuming that the teletransporter system can destroy brain and body cell by cell, however, it can not destroy his thinking soul or thinking mind which is immaterial or spiritual in order to stop his existence or replace him by a clone. 2/ I personally believe that memory is the source of the enduring self. First of all, memory consist of our past and also changing us through the environment. In other words,the memory or the past reflects our character, attitude, thinking, mind as well as enduring self. Everyone have been through different memories, different environment, different status so that we hold different personal identity. In facts, If the person is experiencing another persons memory or past, his personal identity might be different from the present. For example, I am a very good person and I grow up in a happy environment. On my 21st birthday, I involved in a serious accident and injured my brain. The doctor have transfered a new brain to replace my damaged brain. The new brain might caused me not to be the same person like my past because I do not aware how I used to be. The new brain do not have to same memories as I used to have. According to philosopher John Locke, he suggests that what makes a person at one time the same as a personat another time is memory which is the continuity of consciousness. Memory makes awareness of our action and our responsibility. Hence, our awareness force us to be responsible for what we have done in the past. If a person does not have any responsibility or consiousness in his memory, he is considerred not a same person anymore. For instance, a guy had an accident and lost his memory, he cannot remember anything before the accident. From my point of view, I strongly believe that he is not himself anymore and he has become a new person since he cannot be responsible for what he has done in the past. Part B: What does it mean to be human? 1/According to Mullins, when we start to believe that we are merely products of evolution, we are locked away from freedom and being used as tools by people who sit at the top of the heap. In other words, if we are told to consider ourselves as the products, we are not able to decide to be who we wish to be and we cannot change who we determined to be. By doing so, it make us agree to our fate that we are not free to change our status and lack of incentive to fight for our matters. For example, citizens are used in wars for the higher authority which is government and we have no choice to deny that demand from government. We would also blindly accept any unlucky things happen to us. It will just like a destiny that is unchangeable. Furthermore, when we believe everything is fated, we are not willingly to make the progression ourselves but just let it be. For example, a person who was born in the slave family would believe that he is fated to be a slave. He will also accept the fact t o be treated as a slave and unmotivated to fight for his freedom. The statement we are forever bound up in certain genetic reigns means that we are fated to be who we have to be base on our genetic. We might be born to be smart or stupid naturally and we can not choose to be. Therefore, we are not free to choose how we are and do things that we are not smart enough to do. For example, a person is born not smart enough to do maths well base on his parents genetic. He is not free to choose to be smart to do maths well and it is not how he wants to be. 2/ His statement has shown that he believe in human freedom. Even there are things that we may not be able to change such as skin colour, hair colour, height, family and feature, but we are still able to choose our life and destiny. We have to be responsible for our freedom to choose. Therefore, the consequences we bear reflected our free choices and actions. For instance, if we want to get A for our test (consequence), we have to choose to be hard working (choice and action). Even if we are born not smart, we still can work harder and harder because practices make perfect. Besides that, we are also free to think from any perspectives that are available. For instance, if we failed to meet our goal, we can choose to continue to fight for our goal or choose to give up and accept the consequences. According to Mullins, we are not just products of evolution, we are free. We can choose to break free from the control of the authority. We can deny doing what we do not wish to do. For example, the government demand their citizens to go to wars for the country. If it was a war that will not benefit the country, the citizens can choose to protest to the authority about the issue. The citizens have the choice to decide their life. However, they have to be responsible for their decisions. Part C: Strange New World No, I could be in the perfect virtual reality machine and not know it Yes, I know I am awake No, I cannot be sure I am not inside the matrix No, it is a real possibility I believe that the idea of a reality independent of my experience which we may not know or be able to experience is a philosophical red-herring. Reality is just what I experience whether or not I am in the Matrix. You selected the anti-skeptic responses 1/ The activities and the Matrix movie has shown me the definition of the Matrix which is the computer generated dream world that built to keep us under control in order to change human beings into battery. In other words, humans are under controlled by computers through creating a visual reality to them. The movie and activities have brought me to aware of the reality that I used to know might not be true. I might not get the real picture behind of the reality because I might be controlled by the computer programme which set me to believe the reality will be just as what I see now. I think that there is a possibility that I could be living in a virtual world, being controlled by a computer and did not realize it. Nowadays, the technology is so advanced until people rely so much on computer to perform their daily tasks. Human life now is so closely connected with computer. There might be a day that computers over turn humans and rule humans. The activities and Matrix movie have acted as a person to tell me about reality I am not aware before it.

Canterbury Tales Essay :: essays research papers

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s â€Å"The Canterbury Tales†, many characters suffer from Dante’s â€Å"Seven Deadly Sins†. I have chosen to write about The Skipper, for his avariciousness and wrath; The Miller for his pride and avariciousness; and also The Franklin for his gluttony, avariciousness and slothfulness. I have found examples for these in â€Å"The Prologue† by Chaucer. The Skipper is avaricious and also suffers from wrath. He is avaricious because he would gain someone’s trust so they would do business with him and then he would steal from them and cheat them. In â€Å"The Prologue†(pg. 103 lines 407-408), it reads, â€Å"He’d drawn at Bordeaux, while the trader snored. The nicer rules of conscience he ignored†. He also suffered from wrath, anytime he had extra people on his ship, he would make them walk the plank. In â€Å"The Prologue†(pg.103 lines 409-410), it says, â€Å"If, when he fought, the enemy vessel sank, he sent the prisoners home: they walked the plank†. The Miller was inflicted by pride and avariciousness. He was very prideful. He would boast about anything that he could do well. In â€Å"The Prologue†(pg. 107 lines 557-558), it says, â€Å"Broad, knotty and short-shouldered, he would boast, He could heave any door off hinge and post†. He was an avaricious man. He would steal grain for himself. In â€Å"The Prologue†, it says, â€Å"His was a master-hand at stealing grain. He felt it with his thumb and thus he knew its quality and took three times his due†. (Pg. 107 lines 570-572) The Franklin suffered from gluttony, lust and slothfulness. He ate all the time. He had way too much food and it was all for himself. In â€Å"The Prologue†, it reads, â€Å"His bread, his ale were the finest of fine, and no one had a better stock of wine. His house was never short of bake-meat pies†¦..†(Pg. 101 lines 351-354). He lusted for pleasure. That is all he wanted from life. In â€Å"The Prologue†, it says, â€Å"He loved a morning sop of cake and wine, he lived for pleasure and always have done†. (Pg.

House on Mango Street Essay

Childhood: In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. Focusing on a single novel or play, explain how its representation of childhood or adolescence shapes the meaning of the work as a whole. Throughout the novel, The House on Mango Street a girl named Esperanza goes through many different changes as she tries discovering her true self. She evolves from insecure and not knowing anything about herself into confident and knowing where she wants her life to take her.That children must go through the experience of growing out of an innocent child into finding themselves as a person and finally developing self-confidence is highlighted in the book. At first, Esperanza starts out young, insecure, and immature. Her immaturity shows apparent when she talks about her mom holding her and says, â€Å"sweet to put your nose into when she is holding you and you feel safe† (6-7). This shows Esperanza’s insecurity because her mom remains a big source of comfort to her. She feels nice and safe all the time because her mom will act as a protection for her.In addition, Esperanza’s immaturity shows when she claims, â€Å"They are stupid people who are lost and got here by mistake† (28). This emphasizes how defensive and protective Esperanza reacts towards her neighborhood by calling them stupid when that’s just how they act. She does not try to understand their point of view. Though Esperanza maintains these characteristics, the reader will soon see her slight yet palpable maturity. As Esperanza develops as a person, she goes through another phase where she remains young and immature; however, she starts to show obvious signs of maturity and growing up.When Esperanza stands up for her sister she states, â€Å"That’s right, I add before Lucy of Rachel can make fun of her† she proves her maturity, because she thinks of others like her sister, Nenny (50). She does the right thing instead of caring about what her friends think about her. She takes on more and more responsibilities as she grows up. As she progresses, she shows hints of growing up physically and mentally, but not completely. When a group of her and her friends try heels, she says, â€Å"yes, it’s true. We have legs. Skinny and spotted with satin scars where scabs were picked, but legs, all our own, good to look at, and long† (40).They all realize that they finally have entered the first stage of growing up when they notice their slightly more womanly, adult figures. The long legs show their slight maturity, but their scars and scabs show that they still remain young. Even though the changes might only be slight they remain changes which continue to come as she grows older and finds her place in the world. Towards the end of the novel, Esperanza finally grows up and becomes self-confident. When Esperanza runs away from the â€Å"Monkey Garden†, she’s forced to grow up. â€Å"I looked at my feet in their white socks and ugly round shoes. They seemed far away.They didn’t seem to be my feet anymore. And the garden that had been such a good place to play didn’t seem mine either† (98). The play place that was once so innocent now, a junkyard reciprocates Esperanza’s innocence that slowly turns into reality. She is growing up. Additionally, she gains enough confidence and maturity to make her own life decisions, shown when she makes the important decision of where she wants her life to take her. She states, â€Å"I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain† showing Esperanza’s maturity to make her own life choices by herself (88).She finally becomes confident and independent enough to know where she wants her life to take her. Esperanza finally completes her evolution from young and immature to adult-like and confident. House on Mango Street allows children to see that they will have to grow up one way or another. People might try to experience being an adult then decide to take a step back to ignore it but, there remains no way to avoid it. Life won’t always be easy, but in the end people will discover who they are and what purpose they have in life.

Paul Samuelson s Erroneous Prediction Of Soviet Growth

Paul Samuelson’s Erroneous Prediction of Soviet Growth Paul Samuelson, the regarded Neo-Keynesian who among other well-received publications gifted the world it’s most popular economic textbook, which provided the world’s scholars an innovative, comprehensive catalogue of economic ideas. Millions of successful sales, and publication in various languages only cemented its dominance in the textbook and educational industry. This great success was not without some blunders, however. Starting in his 1961 edition of Economics, Samuelson first published a graph and accompanying text predicting the future growth of the Soviet Union, and comparing it to that of the United states. At the time, he gauged that the economic output of the USSR was at half that of the US, and though for this first, and several following editions, he suggested higher growth rates in the USSR, the ratio of economic output stayed relatively the same until the fall of the Soviet Union. In 1989, the year of the fall of the Berlin wall, in his 13th edition of his Economics Samuelson can be quoted, â€Å"The soviet economy is proof that, contrary to what many skeptics had earlier believed, a socialist command economy can function and even thrive.† In this paper I will examine Samuelson’s ideas regarding the Soviet Union’s economy, what the economy really way, how it matched up to economist’s expectations, and what lessons can be learned from this experience. For the static underlying ideas of this article,