Ways the Human Race could Destroy Itself :: Apocalypse

The End of Humanity: Could the Human Species Destroy Itself? There are lots of ways humanity could be wiped out - although I don't think any of them are particularly likely. Natural causes - An extinction-level asteroid impact would probably be sufficient, although not much else would - a disease epidemic, major climate shift, etc. would still leave many survivors to rebuild within a few hundred years. The window for such an impact is, however, extremely short, because it's extremely likely that within 300 years or so we will have the means to predict and avert all dangerous impacts. And the chance of that happening is, from historical comparison, 0.001% or less. There are a few other possibilities that would be much more catastrophic, though. One is a supernova very nearby, which would blast Earth with intense gamma radiation and most likely kill all macro-organisms. However, there aren't any stars large and old enough for this to be a risk for hundreds of thousands of years. Another is orbital destabilization of Earth (such as ejection from the Solar System) by a close-passing star - but the chance of that is extremely remote, and in addition we'd have thousands of years of warning. And the last that I can think of is alien invasion†¦ which is really out there, obviously. The eventual solar threats to life on Earth are not really relevant to humanity/posthumanity. The Sun is not large enough to supernova, but it will eventually engulf the Earth when it runs out of internal fuel and swells into a red giant. That's a good 4-5 billion years away, but well before that, though, the Sun will have become bright enough to heat Earth's surface enough to trigger a major atmospheric shift by overwhelming the "cloud effect" (which keeps temperatures on Earth stable) with a runaway greenhouse gas effect, boiling the oceans and making the planet Venus-like, uninhabitable except by micro-organisms. But even that is about 2 billion years away, plenty of time for posthumanity to rise and either avert the problem or simply head elsewhere. Accident - A scientific experiment run awry, or an unexpected side-effect of some new technology could potentially wreck some serious havoc. One possible horribly catastrophic scenario would be the unforeseen generation of a miniature black hole somewhere on Earth. If the hole did not evaporate instantaneously (and it would have to be pretty large not to, so I don't know how it would be possible to generate one accidentally) it would quickly bore a hole to the center of the Earth, absorbing more and more mass as it went, and eventually implode the planet.

Group Communication Essay

Effective group communications come in forms of verbal and non-verbal techniques. Essential parts of the entire group’s contribution are that the group contains full participating members, the group is diverse, and that the diversity is recognized and respected (Hartley, 1997). In the videos viewed, three were evaluated on the effective and ineffective communication skills of the participants and suggestions made on how they could improve. The videos are titled, â€Å"Planning a Playground†, â€Å"Helping Annie†, and â€Å"The Politics of Sociology. Planning a Playground For the impact diversity plays on group member’s communication styles, I choose the video titled â€Å"Planning a Playground†. In this video, community residents are meeting for the first time to discuss an issue pertaining to funding of new neighborhood playground. The residents belong to diversified backgrounds in regards to their ages, genders, race, and SEC (Planning a Playground, 2008). The origins of the residents differ as one member is Black; one is Asian, whereas the other three are Caucasian. The residents come from different SEC backgrounds. One member opens the discussion about funding and how much difficulty they are having in raising enough money. Another member chimes in and mentions how she is close friends with a person with a lot of resources who might help with contributions. The group members’ communication style is totally different because their diversified backgrounds. Some sit facing the other’s and makes constant eye contact. Another sits at the ‘head’ of the table able to view everyone but does not necessary look at everyone. Some members are taking detailed written notes, where another is just sitting there listening to everyone. Physical placement places a huge effect and impact on communication. People facing each other, sitting in close proximity, ensures everyone is heard and gives a feeling of comfort. Other effective communication methods could have made use of for the meeting and benefitted all members. Two of these methods are written materials and telephones (Hartley, 1997). Written material could be repared before the group met and used to make occurrences clearer to members, who have no knowledge of the subject. The other method is telephones, which can assist the members to gain better understanding of each other. In the use of telephones there is the reduce chance of discrimination since the members can not see each other (if they have not met prior- in some incidences here). Annie To address the verbal and nonverbal interaction among the members of a group the video titled â€Å"Annie† best illustrates this. In the video there is clearly both listening and miscommunication going on. The setting of this video is that the title character, Annie is a high school girl, who seems to be suffering from a possible eating disorder as well as depression (Understanding Relationship- Helping Annie, 2008). A nurse from a school has called upon a meeting with a psychiatrist and a social worker to seek out a possible treatment plan for Annie. In â€Å"Annie†, again the physical setting and placement of participants play an important part in the communication style. Two of the members are sitting side-by-side on a couch while the third person sits in her desk chair across from the couch. The person in the chair is not only able to make eye contact with the other two but also is in a physical position to see their verbal and non-verbal communications. The two on the couch are at a disadvantage for reading the non-verbal language and making eye contact with each other. The school nurse, psychiatrist, and social workers are engaged in a verbal conversation. The psychiatrist is talking to the school nurse and is not all concerned or ready to take any sort of arguments from the social worker. He is engaging in various sorts of non- verbal communication with the social workers showing his disinterest. The various non- verbal communications used by the psychiatrist are body language and voice. He continues to cut the social worker off in mid-sentence, not allowing her to speak (Understanding Relationship- Helping Annie, 2008). These non- verbal communications were hindering the process of group communication. The two methods of communications, which could have facilitated the group would have been one-to-one conversation as well as written communication. Each member could have met individually to avoid interruptions and bad sitting placement (Hartley, 1997). Also since each one evaluated Annie separately the could have just submitted their findings and suggestions/recommendations to the social worker and let her develop a plan off of that- and send a copy to the nurse and psychiatrist for editing and review. The Politics of Sociology The third video, â€Å"The Politics of Sociology†, demonstrates good communication techniques from all members of the group. The various listening techniques, which have been used by the members of this group, are encouraging, paraphrasing, and reflecting feelings. The encouraging technique used, refers to the utilization of a variety of verbal and nonverbal to promote others to go ahead with their talks. Paraphrasing is restating the conversation to give an impression that the person listening has understood the conversation. Reflecting is concerned with showing empathy with the speaker. Listening is an important activity of group communication. To bring out an effective solution or conclusion to the matter discussed, it is important to listen to all the opinions. The participants are all professors at a university but still have different backgrounds (The Politics of Sociology, 2008). There are differences in the ages, races, and subjects they teach. Each person has a different communication style. Some shot ideas out right away where others waited for all to speak then evaluate and give their opinions, while staying respectful and understanding of each other’s point of view. The physical set-up of the room plays a positive part in their effective communication. Each member is facing each other and is able to see the faces of everyone. This positioning helps cut back on misunderstandings or non-verbal cues. Even though the communication techniques used in this video seem to be effective, there are always room for change and improvement. Since the group was composed of multiple people, five or six, a visual display could have been used. Either a blackboard or overhead projector could have been set up and allow each member to put up their pros and cons for change of the curriculum as well as any ideas or suggestions they had. After each member went then one person could be delegated to summarize the lists and come up with final recommendations to be voted on (Hartley, 1997). Another method could have been to break the group up into two smaller groups to work on solutions and then bring them back to the large group for discussion. Conclusion In problem solving, group discussion, or just typical dialogue it is important to have effect communication techniques. Depending on the group or topic of conversation there are several techniques that work better for discussion then others. Taking into consideration time frame or group size written, telephone, or one-on-one techniques can be utilized. Communication styles vary among groups but key essentials are universal; listening, respecting, and appropriate interaction between members.

“Old Man at the Bridge” by Ernest Hemingway Essay

â€Å"Old Man at the Bridge† was inspired by Hemingway’s travels as a war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. Old Man at the Bridge demonstrates the power of narrative art. It takes a small, ordinary detail in a situation and by the art of story-telling transforms it into a powerful story about the tragedy of war. The old man becomes a symbol of the countless civilian victims of war– those â€Å"without politics.† The old man is going to die at the bridge–displaced, disoriented, alone. He’s not a cat, nor a dove, but a goat–who was â€Å"only taking care of animals.† The themes of the story are ‘many innocent people become victims of war’, ‘even when exposed to the atrocities of war some people do not lose their basic humanity.’ The story is laid in a war zone at a pontoon bridge across the Ebro river. The time is Easter Sunday 1938. Such geographical names as San Carlos, Ebro contr ibute to the credibility of the story. A first person narrator who tells the story through careful description, reportage of dialogue and insightful commentary about the old man. The narrator makes the reader see the old man. His engagement with him suddenly brings the old man into focus, he emerges out of the faceless, voiceless crowd. The Narrator’s consciousness of the approaching enemy â€Å"contact† is used to create the dramatic tension between the immobility of the old man and the coming destruction as he constantly observes the movement of carts across the bridge while talking. The narrator’s conversation allows the old man to have a voice. The voiceless victims speak through the old man. The story does not really go in sequence. It starts off in the present, then goes back and forth between past and present throughout the whole story. The central character is the 76 yr. old man, a war refugee who has been uprooted and displaced by the war. The old man is â€Å"without politics,† who was only taking care of his animals, but who has had his world destroyed. He is disoriented, confused and disconnected. He has retreated into his isolated world in which he can only cling to his obsessive thoughts about his animals, and is too tired to go any further. He will die at the bridge–another nameless innocent victim of war. The Scout is the narrator who creates the story of the old man at the bridge. Through his telling of the story, he gradually articulates who the old man is and what he represents. The Scout at the beginning is the impersonal narrator who sees the old man and decides to  engage him in conversation. By asking the old man questions about himself, the Scout gradually understands the situation of the old man. At the beginning he thinks the old man is just resting so he encourages him to move on. In the course of his conversation he realizes the old man is disoriented, displaced and that he will not be able to move on, but that he will likely die at the bridge. The scout who begins as a detached observer comes to the painful realization that â€Å"there was nothing to do about him.† And he ends with the bitterly ironic observation about Easter Sunday and the old man’s luck, which is no luck. The old man will soon cross that final bridge. There is one symbol of hope in the story. At the beginning of the narrator’s conversation with the old man, the birds the old man was looking after were referred to as â€Å"pigeons,† but by the end of the story, they become â€Å"doves,† symbols of peace in wartime. The narrator makes this switch as he asks, â€Å"Did you leave the dove cage unlocked?† It is unclear whether this is a slip of the tongue, because the narrator is clearly distracted by the impending arrival of the enemy, or if Hemingway is attempting to give the image of the birds flying away an even more positive tint by referring to them as symbols of peace.

Children’s Literature II: Young Adult Literature Essay

47, written by Walter Mosley, is the story of a 14 year old slave who lives on a cotton plantation in Georgia. 47 has lived in the house and barn all his life, thus giving him a clouded vision of what slave life is really like. One day he is relocated to the slave chambers where his universe is turned upside down. 47 meets a presumably runaway slave, named Tall John who in all reality is an extraterrestrial. Through their friendship Tall John teaches 47 all about freedom and his world. Through the text we are given a chance to find a new experience with the world of slave history, African American folklore, and science fiction. After researching articles the main focus of discussion is the unique combining of the slave narrative with the science fiction. Slavery is still a very touchy subject. Whites do not want to relive the horrid treatment that they put upon the slaves and slaves do not want to read and learn about the harm done to their ancestors. Walter Mosley chose to write this story to convey the story of slavery from a first person narrative but also to put a spin on it so that it wouldn’t be so depressing. The text has some amazing, out of this world gadgets and healing devices but I am even more compelled to think that the truth it brings to light is an even more powerful thing. As Hazel Rochman stated I have to fully agree, â€Å"slavery is the most unbelievable part of this whole story†. In â€Å"Conversations with Walter Mosley† by Owen Edward Brady we read that Walter Mosley’s novels are filled with â€Å"folk archetypes†. In 47 we are able to see the full l ist of archetypes being fulfilled. The archetypal seeker could be Tall John leaving his planet to come to earth to find 47. It could also be 47 leaving the big house to end up in the slave quarters. The Junex verses the Senex could be the conflict between Pritchard and 47. The Orphan could be Tall John, 47, 84’s children, or any other slaves that were torn away from their families. The Caregiver could be Mama Flore, Mud Albert, or Champ Noland. The Sage in the text is Tall John from beyond Africa. Friends are Tall John and 47. Lovers are Tall John and 84, Mama Flore and Mud Albert, 47’s parents. Warriors and Heroes are Mama Flore, Mud Albert, and Champ Noland. Villains are Mr. Stewart, Pike, and Calash. Rulers are portrayed to be Mr. Tobias and the whites. The Trickster in 47 is Tall John. He uses many different tricks be them for good or bad. The pros and cons of 47 are hard to distinguish. If you were to use this text in a secondary setting you would need to get the administrator’s and parent’s permission. The cons of using this text in a secondary setting are that the text has some brutal hardships that the slaves had to endure. Language, rape, torture, kidnapping, and slavery are some of the cons that might not be appropriate for a less mature audience. The pros of the text are astounding. The story points out so many truths about slavery, and the pains that it places upon each generation. 47 takes a huge stance against slavery and thus takes a stand against racial prejudices. â€Å"Neither master nor nigger be† are powerful words that ring true for 47, finally. 20 Minute Writing Assignment – Think about Tall John’s â€Å"yellow bag of tricks† and think back through the text. What are some items that should have been in his bag? You can create / design a new item or think of something that could have been there that could have helped them along their journey. Works Cited Mosley, Walter, and Owen Edward Brady. Conversations with Walter Mosley. Jackson: University of Mississippi, 2011. Print. Mosley, Walter. 47. New York: Little, Brown, 2006. Print. Rochman, Hazel. â€Å"Walter Mosley Literature.† Walter Mosley Literature. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2013.

Equality of opportunity Essay

This essay deals with the topic equality of opportunity by analysing Tom McAfee’s short story This is My Living Room and the historical source Traditional American Values and Beliefs. This is My Living Room is analysed with a focus upon the â€Å"I† character and Traditional American Values and Beliefs is related to this analysis by supporting these conclusions with historical facts. This is My Living Room is about a redneck living in Pine Springs, Alabama, who is telling about his life and his family. The â€Å"I† character is a stereotypical redneck; he is Christian, he does not trust the law, he is independent, he love his guns etc. He might be intelligent, but he is very one-sided, his way is the only right way, so he does not let it show. He is very determined on his way of living and has a disturbed way of thinking. He is driven by a fearless and at times illogical view of his surroundings, which makes his determined character seem arrogant and violent. He only trusts himself, which makes his relationship towards his family peculiar: â€Å"your own flesh and blood, will try to run over you, stomp you, steal from you, kill you if they can† (This is My Living Room, paragraph 29). He is dominant and the only thing he cares about is his store. He is uneducated, but still he has managed to make a living for himself. The American value of equality of opportunity is basically an ethical rule; it is about fair play and giving everybody a chance. It is not in the meaning that everybody should be equal but more like a race. Everyone has an equal chance to enter and win. You do not have a better chance because your parents are rich and you do not have a lower chance because of your race or religion. The concept of fair play is a very important aspect for the Americans. This belief was also expressed by the president Abraham Lincoln march 6, 1860 at New Haven, Connecticut: â€Å"We †¦ wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to get rich with everybody else. When one starts poor, as most do in the race of life, free society is such that he knows he can better his conditions; he knows that there is no fixed conditions of labor for his whole life.† In the short story this aspect of fair play is shown in relation to his lack of education, but as he says: â€Å"I †¦ make more profità ‚  than some people I know of† (This is My Living Room, paragraph 19). The price you pay for this equality of opportunity is completion which is a vital part of the American dream. So in order to win the race to success you must compete with others. Therefore many Americans think that it is every person’s duty to try to succeed. In the short story we see this competition, when the â€Å"I† narrator tells Ezmo: â€Å"I give you the best prices in town† (This is My Living Room, paragraph 37). But competition also leads to bad things; in the story the redneck mentions that people are jealous of him. He has gained success: â€Å"I’ve got as much business as I need† (This is My Living Room, paragraph 19), and that without an education or money. However this idea of equality of opportunity is just not possible. There will always be those with more money who gets an advantage, or those who find people of a different race worth less. This aspect is also shown in the text: â€Å"Maybe they’ve got better houses and ride in finer cars, but maybe they didn’t make all their money like I did. Honest. I ain’t earned a cent crooked. I didn’t inherit my money. I worked for it.† (This is My Living Room, paragraph 19).ained succese redneck mentions that people are jealous of him. h that he knows he can better his conditions; he knows that But it is not only equality of opportunity and competition that is shown in the text, material wealth, hard work, individual freedom and self-reliance is also seen. The American values are often connected and by gaining one of them, you often gain all six. It is what holds America together: â€Å"we all share a common set of values that make us American†¦. We are defined by the rights we have†¦. Our rights are our history, why the first European settlers came here and why millions more have come here since†.

Design and Construction of the Museum of Acropolis

Since the 1970s, the Museum of Acropolis could non get by satisfactorily with the big crowds of visitants. The insufficiency of infinite caused jobs and downgraded the sense that it was achieved by the exposure of chef-d'oeuvres from the Acropolis Rock. Apart from the fact that the bing museum was deemed deficient to house and expose the celebrated findings of the Acropolis, it could non expose all the sculptures that were needfully moved from their place for the care work. For all these grounds, two architectural competitions took topographic point in 1976 and 1979, but without success. On March 12Thursday, 1989, Melina Mercouri initiated an international design competition that as Minister of Culture inextricably identified her policy with the demand for the return of the Elgin Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum. This competition was canceled after the disclosure of a big residential country at Makriyianni site, dating from Prehistoric to Byzantine times. The digging should be included in the New Museum. Bernard Tschumi faced a immense challenge, when he won the competition for the Acropolis Museum in Athens and he was called to plan a new landmark for the metropolis. Greece had been fighting to go portion of Europe in all possible ways ( politically, culturally, etc. ) since the ‘70s, and that museum would be the chief ally to back up this end. Grecian political system had since the really get downing focused its attempts on puting up a state that expresses the ideals of a European cultural heritage. The efforts to suit in the western society had started since the terminal of nineteenth century, after the declaration of independency from the Ottoman Empire, and during the period that followed there was a changeless attempt discard all the residues of East civilization. The purpose was to repossess the ancient yesteryear alternatively, and define national individuality and civilisation on that portion of history. Therefore, the remains of the Grecian antiquity became really of import in the defining of the province and society. The Museum of Acropolis is a political statement of Greece and an instrument for Grecian authorities to send on to western society a new national individuality. This is an individuality that promotes Grecian ancient heritage and preserves it in a high tech twenty-first century shell. Those elements combined, organize a clear position of how Grecian society wants to be perceived today. The purpose is to organize an substructure of equal value with Western Europe, of rich cultural civilisation and high engineering resources which are demonstrated on Tschumi ‘s museum. At this phase the writer would wish to clear up that this is an attempt to interpret and analyse the new Museum of Acropolis, non aesthetically and even more non from a personal point of position, but as a political and cultural statement of what Greek society is seeking to reflect and advance of Greece in the twenty-first century, to western Europe and globally. Significant location The site of New Acropolis Museum is the edifice block surrounded by Dionysius Areopagite, Makriyannis, Chatzichristou and Mitseon roads. As a consequence, visitants while researching the archeological sites of the environing countries are of course guided towards the museum, and unconsciously experience a connexion between the antediluvian and modern-day Greece. The land of the site has a smooth incline, about 8 % downward to the South, and portion of its surface is covered by public edifices, which due to its historical, architectural and morphological involvement have identified as monumental by the Ministry of Culture. Three architectural parametric quantities reverse the restrictions of the site, in a challenge to make a simple and precise museum uncovering the mathematical and limpid lucidity of ancient Greece the Light, the Movement and the Structure of the edifice. More than any other type of museums, the information of the new Archaeological Museum of Acropolis are based around the visible radiation. It is chiefly a museum of natural visible radiation with the cardinal intent of â€Å"the presence of sculpture† . The three chief stuffs of the museum isglass,which is used largely for frontages and some floors,concretefor the nucleus and columns andmarblefor some floors. The columns of the E and West facade and the Parthenon Gallery have been constructed from steel. There is a harmoniousness of proportion between the graduated table of the infinite that leads to the edifice and the graduated table of the edifice itself. Equivalent graduated tables of â€Å" emptiness † and of â€Å" non-emptiness † are developed in two axes, one horizontal and one vertical. If the edifice was losing the journey to the entryway, the whole feeling of the museum and particularly the first reaction to it, would be diametrically opposite. Now the visitant is prepared easy and phased into a whole experience which starts before come ining the museum. Monumental graduated table There is a relationship of volume between the New Museum of Acropolis and the Parthenon which is really noticeable when reading the site program, every bit good as when populating the part. In an country where the graduated table of environing edifices is much smaller, as the site is located in a domestic zone, those are the lone two elements that stand out, which both are of monumental graduated table. The ocular relationship to the Parthenon and the landscape On the degree between the Roman period exhibition and the Parthenon ‘s Gallery there is a communal infinite which includes a bookstore and a dining country. Right in forepart of the eating house a canopy unfolds, which is supported by â€Å" powerful columns † that define the chief entryway placed right below. The canopy extends from the edifice towards the antediluvian Rock of Acropolis. The position from the eating house ‘s balcony to the Parthenon is partially blocked because of two neoclassical edifices that stand in forepart of the museum. Tchumi ‘s planning includes the destruction of those which has caused a great field of argument for designers and critics in Greece. Some argue that the canopy is â€Å" absolutely positioned as if to pound into the demolition-endangered abodes and so onto the stone of the Acropolis itself † as Dr Alexandra Stara says in the Architectural Review, no. 1348, June 2009. Any solution to this quandary will be harmful merely to architectural creative activity. If the two preserved neoclassical edifices in Aeropagitou Street are demolished, Athens will lose two great pieces of its architectural heritage. If they are non, Tschumi ‘s coveted contradictions will non take topographic point and his architecture will non be completed. The portion of the museum that contains the most obvious political and cultural statement is the Parthenon gallery. It was a vision by Melina Merkouri, Greek actress and politician ( chief female Minister for Culture of Greece ) , who was the first individual to claim back the Parthenon marbles from the British authorities. Her dream was that the most impressive room of the new museum of Acropolis should remain empty until the marbles go back to Greece. The creative activity of this gallery opens once more the conversation between United Kingdom and Greece for the return of the marbles. The Parthenon Gallery is a representation of the temple including a big rectangular infinite where the carved marble panels that decorated the original are exposed. The marbles face the issue of heterotopia ( malposition or supplanting of a bodily organ ) , and the Parthenon gallery is designed by the designer with an evident purpose to make similar fortunes between the topographic point of displaced marbles and the existent location where they used to be displayed one time. Cost The building of the undertaking started at a cost of ˆ130 million in November 2004, and it was completed within the period of three old ages. The Ministry of Culture continued its most of import work ; the exposure of valuable and invaluable exhibits. The transportation of major exhibits to the museum began in the fall of 2008 and it was completed in May 2009. On June 20th, 2009 the Museum opened its Gatess to the citizens of the universe. Within one twelvemonth from the bright gap twenty-four hours, the new Acropolis Museum has made great feeling, with the figure of visitants making two million. However, it has outstanding issues such as non secured a fiscal independency, legislative acts and assortment of merchandises in the museum store. Harmonizing to Mr. D. Pantermalis, Director of the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum and subsequently Director of the Museum itself, The Acropolis Museum as a self-funded organisation is confronting fiscal jobs which struggles to be solves. With about 5.5 million income, the museum needs to cover the wages of 90 – 95 % of the staff and functional costs such as electricity, gas etc. which is about 1 Euros. As the Director of the Museum provinces, the economic crisis requires flexibleness and thoughtful version to enable the Museum to travel in front. Due to the economic crisis and the debt â€Å"haircut† the assets of the Museum have been reduced by 3 million Euros and among other things, this caused a long hold to the digging at the base of the Museum, something that it’s pending for the hereafter. Decisions The whole museum is a statement, a changeless statement of the coexistence of antediluvian with modern-day Greece. Tshcumi ‘s design makes the visitant experience a portion of a monumental piece of architecture, of import and alone, about as the Parthenon. This edifice offers Greece a new national individuality. It demonstrates and promotes what Greece is most proud of, the ancient Grecian civilisation. And all this is placed in one of the most of import technological accomplishments of our times. But the inquiry that remains is if the museum still expresses the same significances under the current economic crisis that Greece is traveling through. Mentionshypertext transfer protocol: //www.theacropolismuseum.gr/hypertext transfer protocol: //www.greekarchitects.gr/en/architectural-review/the-new-acropolis-museum-a-triumph-of-sophistry-id2431hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis_Museumhypertext transfer protocol: //tschumi.com/projects/2/hypertext transfer protocol: //www.archdaily.com/61898/new-acropolis-museum-bernard-tschumi-architects/hypertext transfer protocol: //www.arcspace.com/features/bernard-tschumi-architects/new-acropolis-museum/hypertext transfer protocol: //www.melinamercourifoundation.org.gr/index.php? option=com_content & A ; view=article & A ; id=62 & A ; Itemid=114 & A ; lang=enhypertext transfer protocol: //www.theparliament.com/latest-news/article/newsarticle/eu-funding-for-new-acropolis-museum-branded-inappropriate/ # .UxzcK_l_uRYhypertext transfer protocol: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=B6Ca21dCmhIImages

Questions - part II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Questions - part II - Essay Example In this paper, we will focus on two philosophers; Boethius and Machiavelli. Through examining the two philosophers, we will be able to understand the main tenets of the ancient modern debate. Part A The main tenets of the ancient modern debate revolve around several differences on the subject of human nature. It is clear that different philosophers have presented diverse thoughts and opinions regarding the so called human nature. Building on this point of view, there has been a developing code of ethics emerging from such theorists and what people accept as true in the present day. It is worth examining Boethius view points on the subject and compare them with Machiavelli’s accordingly. Part B From a literal point of view, Boethius’s most excellent known work is referred as the consolation of philosophy. He wrote this work whilst in prison while awaiting his execution. Boethius finds himself in jail. At first, he is profoundly upset. The cause of his suffering emerges f rom his enduring project, effort to conserve ancient classical knowledge, specifically philosophy. His work represents an imaginary conversation between himself and philosophy. In that case, philosophy is personified as a woman. The arguments in this scenario are that, in spite of the apparent disparity of the humankind, there is, within platonic fashion, a high power and everything besides is secondary to such divine providence. Despite Boethius suffering while in exile, it is recorded that philosophy appears and attempts to â€Å"cure† his suffering. Philosophy, which is personified as a woman, does this in various ways. First of all, she does this by reminding him of what he once knew about the true nature of human beings; the nature of fortune, the nature of happiness, and the limits of politics to provide happiness (Boethius 49). In Boethius’ argument of the nature of fortune, happiness, and the limits of politics to provide happiness, he agonizes over the profess ed inappropriateness between the subsistence of God and the wickedness that exists in the earth. What is more, he agonizes between the existence of God and the superficial ethical inversion of the creation. In responding to such issues, Boethius declares that God’s kindness and God’s obligation to honesty does not necessitate that God get rid of every instance of evil. Then again, Boethius presents argument that there are at least different examples of goodness that appear to have need of the likelihood of some wickedness, ethical education with regards to the free will of humans and the true nature of happiness. Moreover, Boethius presents an argument that the nature of evil as self-destructive to wrongdoers and the nature of the ultimate good as the one which, every person naturally look for, an indication that the earth is not decently inverted. As a result, Boethius would dispute the reality of premise in the modern formulation of the issue of evil (Boethius 54). I n his argument for the compatibility of the subsistence of God with the continuation of evil, he provides explanations as to why God would allow occurrences of evil and not do away with them. As a character in the Consolation, he seems to take consolation in such discoveries. Reflecting on the above discussion, it is worth contemplating that the lady philosophy brings to a n end the dialogue with both caution and encouragement, â€Å"