Basketball Essay -- essays research papers

Basketball Basketball was created a simple game. The primary objective was to place a ball, without dribbling, into a peach basket. However, like Darwin's theory of man, basketball has evolved into the most exciting exhibition of athletic ability. Basketball has seen many rule changes, because of the increasing ability of the players. Basketball is a melting pot, where black, white, and European people excel. This is a sport that is color-blind. This sport requires complete control over one's body and mind. Pure strength is required to fight through opposing teams picks, and to gain position for rebounds. Speed is necessary to create space for a shot attempt or a pass. Concentration is vital to dribbling a ball up the court, with an opposing defender harassing you. With as much physical prowess that is required for success, basketball is a mental chess match. "Thurber, make the smart play!" yelled Coach Balderama all last season.This game is only "ten percent" physical as Duke's Coach K explains it. For those who deny the mental aspects of the game, John Stockton is an ideal example. He is not the fastest, strongest, or best player on the floor. Stockton uses angles and his understanding of basketball to quietly and consistently outplay much more talented opponents. There is a growing problem in the NBA, and it is evident in the "Pop Warner" leagues also. Basketball is not the same game it was ten years ago, and ESPN's Sportcenter, the lack of fundamentals, and the influx of teenagers into the professional ranks. "Vince Carter on the baseline†¦ He raises up†¦ Boo-ya, all in Alonzo Mourning's grill!" States an exited Stuart Scott. Every day ESPN gathers the most amazing highlights from the games the night before, and creates a visually appealing collage. As a religious viewer I am fed a ste ady diet of no look passes, monstrous slam-dunks, and impossible fade-away shots that only NBA caliber players are capable of making. This, almost unknowingly, has assisted in creating a new mentality towards the sport. Last season I would find myself in situations where I was trying to execute a spectacular play, instead of completing the easy one. Why do I try to imitate the sweeping crossover dribble glorified by Allen Iverson? ESPN has made "Playground" basketball in style. Allen Iverson is the pioneer of this ghetto re... ...aliber, and he educated himself about the game and life off of the court. Many of these players who jump to the pro's after little or no college are ignorant. The NBA, these days, has a combined IQ of fifteen, and we wonder what is wrong. The NBA is in a limbo, and is tripping over it's own clumsy feet. The game will not get better until the players improve their levels of play. But improvement comes with experience, and it is difficult for players to gain experience and confidence when they are only children trying to master a complex game. In conclusion, ESPN's Sportcenter, the lack of basic basketball fundamentals, and the decreasing age of players entering into the league is a recipe for disaster. It is a cycle that is going to be hard to break. Today's kids are presented with options that are too difficult for them to comprehend. So instead of doing it the right way and going through school and listening to their coach, agents are give utter control over these exploited chil dren. However, with all of the negatives surrounding the game, basketball will survive. David Stern is a competent commissioner and there is too much money involved for people to let the NBA self destruct.

Islam: Evils of Idolatry (Surah 10:26-38) Essay

The opening verses portray Allah as a deity that invites his follows to a â€Å"Home of Peace†. Allah will guide them on a straight path, and will reward all that do good works with promises of abundant blessings. Allah will protect these followers and will treat them as â€Å"heirs of Paradise† where they will live forever. However, it is quickly established that while those who do good works will be blessed, those who do evil will be rewarded with evil. They will not be protected by Allah and will be covered in misery. The evil doers will also be heirs, but instead of Paradise they will be heirs of Hell; where they will spend eternity. Islam views idolatry as evil. According this section of the scripture, those who commit idolatry are believed to have turned their backs on Allah. The scripture asks how they can be turned from the one who â€Å"turns living from the dead, and the dead from the living? † The scriptures question their judgment, and declare that even the idols that they worship will betray them in the end. The scripture states that the idols will declare that they had no idea that the evil doer was worshiping them, and that â€Å"Allah is there all-sufficient witness. † The scripture goes on to say that these evil doers who worship idols have no faith. They pose the question, â€Å"Can your idols lead you in the truth? † Islam believes that only Allah can lead you in the truth; therefore, only Allah could have written the Koran. This portion of the scripture concludes by challenging the evil-doers to have their false idols attempt to write one chapter of the Koran. Islam sees the worshiping of idols as an ultimate evil. They believe that not only will idol worshipers be exposed, but that they will pay for their sin by being sent to live in Hell for all of time. Idol worshipers are seen as those who lack faith, and have turned from Allah

Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Ten

It worked perfectly. Almost. There were six guards blocking the exits and another four at the door, checking everyone as they left. Ten total. All in body armor and masks, explaining patiently that there had been a bomb threat and it was important to evacuate as quickly as possible. No one questioned why they were armed with the automatic weapons they kept using to push the crowd along. No one except Dr. Trope, who went up to one of them and said, â€Å"Young man, I ask you to keep your weapons away from my students,† distracting him just long enough for Miranda and Sibby to get swallowed into the middle of the crowd. They'd navigated by the first two storm troopers, with only two left when Ariel yelled, â€Å"Dr. Trope? Dr. Trope? Look, there she is, Miranda Kiss. I told you she crashed the prom. She's right there in the middle. You have to-â€Å" Four men with automatic weapons suddenly swiveled and waded into the mass of students. Miranda whispered, â€Å"Duck,† to Sibby and the two of them bobbed beneath the surface of the crowd, crawling back into the Great Hall. Behind her she heard Dr. Trope saying, â€Å"Where is she? Where did she go? I'm not leaving one of my pupils in there.† And the storm trooper saying, â€Å"Please, sir, you need to evacuate. We'll find her. Rest assured.† Miranda decided that if she got out of this alive, she'd be a lot nicer to Dr. Trope. If. She dragged Sibby over to Old Faithful and said, â€Å"In there. Now.† â€Å"Why can't I hide in the White House? Why does it have to be in the volcano?† â€Å"I might need part of the White House. Please, just do it. They won't be able to make you out if they have night goggles.† â€Å"What about you? You're wearing white.† â€Å"I match the decorations.† â€Å"Wow, you're really good at this. This planning stuff. How'd you learn how to-â€Å" Miranda was wondering the same thing. Wondering why as soon as she'd heard the announcement some part of her brain had started measuring her distance to the exits, looking around for weapons, watching the door. Her senses going into overdrive was a relief; it meant some of her powers were cooperating. But did she have the strength to take on ten armed men? The most she'd ever taken on at one time before was three, and they hadn't been toting machine guns. She'd have to be crafty rather than direct. She said to Sibby, â€Å"Give me your boots.† â€Å"For what?† â€Å"To get rid of some of our competition so we can get out of here.† â€Å"But I really like these-â€Å" â€Å"Give them to me. And also a rubber bracelet.† Miranda set her trap, then held her breath as a guard approached. She heard him say into the walkie-talkie, â€Å"Southwest pillar. I've got one,† and saw the ribbons stir as he used the butt of his gun to push them aside. Heard him say, â€Å"What the-â€Å" And fired George Washington's sugar nose at him with the slingshot she'd made out of Sibby's rubber bracelet and a fork. All her target work paid off because it hit him at exactly the right point to send him plunging forward. He went down headfirst just hard enough to be disoriented and docile while she tied his hands and feet with the ribbons from the pillar. â€Å"I'm really sorry,† she said, flipping him over to gag him with a piece of dinner roll, then smiled. â€Å"Oh, hi, Craig. Not your day, is it? I hope your head's feeling better. What? It's not? It will. Try rubbing some insta-hot on your wrists and ankles when they untie you. Bye.† She'd just grabbed the boots she'd used at the base of the column as a decoy when she heard another guard coming fast from her left. She threw a boot at him Frisbee style and heard a satisfying swack as he fell down, too. Two down, eight to go. She was apologizing to the one she'd hit with the shoe, who was out cold-it was nice to know ankle boots were good for something-when the walkie-talkie on his belt came to life. â€Å"Leon, this is the Gardener. Where are you? State your position. Copy?† Miranda picked up the unconscious guard's walkie-talkie and said into it, â€Å"I thought your name was Caleb Reynolds, Deputy. Why the Gardener stuff? Or, as my friend likes to call you, Plant Boy.† A crackle. Then Deputy Reynolds's voice through the walkie-talkie. â€Å"Miranda? Is that you? Where are you? Miranda?† â€Å"Right here,† she whispered in his ear. She'd snuck up behind him, and now as he turned, her arm came around his neck with the heel of the boot pointed at his throat. â€Å"What are you stabbing me with?† he asked. â€Å"All you need to know is that it's going to cause you a lot of pain and probably a bad infection if you don't start telling me how many people there are here and what their plan is.† â€Å"There are ten in here, five more watching the exits outside. But I'm on your side.† â€Å"Really, Gardener? That's not how it looked at the house.† â€Å"You didn't give me a chance to talk to the girl.† â€Å"You're going to have to do better than that. I'm not a mix tape, you can't play me.† â€Å"Do you have any idea what she is?† † What she is? Not really.† His heart rate sped up now. â€Å"She's a real-life flesh-and-blood prophet. The Cumean Sibyl. She's one of ten people who between them supposedly know and can control the whole future of the world.† â€Å"Wow. I thought she was just an annoying fourteen-year-old with wild hormones.† â€Å"The Sibyl operates through different bodies. Or that's what they think. These people I'm working with. Wack jobs. They pretend they want to protect her, keep her prophecies from being exploited by the unscrupulous, but I think they're actually into extortion. I heard one of them say they could ransom the girl for eight figures.† His heart rate slowed as he talked. â€Å"My job was to find out where she was supposed to be picked up, so they could send someone there with some trinket of hers to show we had her, and get the Overseer to pay up.† Miranda didn't like the sound of the word trinket at all. â€Å"But you weren't going to?† â€Å"They're just using this religion stuff as a cover for their greed. It's disgusting. I'm all set to stop them, and then you†-getting agitated, his heartbeat spiking-â€Å"you come along in the middle and mess it up.† Miranda knew he was genuinely angry. â€Å"Stop them how?† â€Å"I was supposed to be getting the location of her pickup place from her, right? When you crashed in, I was going to tell her what to say, a place I'd picked out with the task force, then when the wackos went there, they'd be picked up by the police. Meanwhile I'd get the Sibyl safely to the real rendezvous. But you come in and blow it. Months of police work down the tubes.† His heartbeat was slow and even again. Miranda let him go. â€Å"I'm so sorry,† she said. He turned to scowl at her, changing it to a half smile when he saw what she was wearing. â€Å"Nice look on you.† He paused for a second, then said, â€Å"You know, there's a way we could still make this work. Do you have another outfit like that?† â€Å"My skating uniform? Yeah. But it's not the same color. It's more blue.† â€Å"That doesn't matter as long as it's close. With you two dressed as twins we'll be able to fool them into thinking that you're the Sibyl, use you as a decoy while we sneak her out to safety.† Talking quickly, he outlined the rest of his plan. Miranda said, â€Å"It would be better if we wore the wigs and masks, too. To complete the disguise.† â€Å"That's right. Perfect. Go toward the employee entrance, the one you used to sneak in. There's someone guarding the outer door but there's a door on the left that is clear. It goes to an office. I'll deal with these guys and then come-â€Å" He stopped talking, lifted his gun, and fired behind her. Turning, Miranda saw he'd shot one of the guards. â€Å"He saw us together,† he told her. â€Å"I couldn't let one of those bastards get you or tell the others. I'll distract them, keep them over here. You get the Sibyl, change, and wait for me in the office.† She was already moving away when she paused and said, â€Å"How did you find us?† His heartbeat slowed. â€Å"Put out a bulletin on your car.† â€Å"I should have thought of that,† Miranda said, then took off as he radioed, â€Å"Man down-man down.† Sibby was frantic when Miranda got back to her. â€Å"What happened? Did you get shot?† â€Å"No. I got us a ride out of here.† â€Å"How?† Miranda explained as they changed, then skirted the edges of the Great Hall toward the director's office. As they moved, she heard Deputy Reynolds barking orders to the guards, keeping them busy in other parts of the room, saying at one point, â€Å"No, don't turn on the lights-that will give them an advantage!† At another, heard a grunt of pain that sounded like someone being knocked out. She was impressed. They reached the director's office without running into anyone. Sibby sat in the desk chair. Miranda was pacing, walking back and forth to the ticktock of the big clock on the director's mantelpiece, picking up and putting down objects, a crystal bowl, a box of stationery, weighing them in her hand. A family picture of a man, woman, two small boys, a dog sitting together at the edge of a pier with the sun setting behind them. The dog was wearing someone's hat, a real full member of the family. A hand came down in front of the picture. â€Å"Hello, Miranda? I was asking you something?† Miranda put the picture down. â€Å"Sorry. What?† â€Å"How do you know you're right about him?† â€Å"I just do. Trust me.† â€Å"But if you're wrong-â€Å" â€Å"I'm not.† The clock ticked. Miranda paced. Sibby said, â€Å"I hate that clock.† Tick. Pace. Sibby: â€Å"I'm not sure I can do this.† Miranda stopped and looked at her. â€Å"Of course you can.† â€Å"I'm not brave like you.† â€Å"Excuse me? The girl who got-how many guys is it now? Twenty-three?† â€Å"Twenty-four.† â€Å"Twenty-four guys to kiss her? You're brave.† Miranda hesitated. â€Å"Know how many guys I've kissed?† â€Å"How many?† â€Å"Three.† Sibby gaped at her, burst out laughing. â€Å"Gods, no wonder you're so repressed. This had better work or you'll have had one seriously sad life.† â€Å"Thanks.†

Comparing Dada to Pop Art

In this essay I will compare the Dada and Pop Art movements by depicting the characteristics of each art period, their style and social conditions that may have influenced the creation of each movement. The essay will describe the relationship between the Dada and Pop Art movements. The essay will show their similarities, differences, and the reason why Pop Art did not continue with the Dada tradition although Pop Art also utilized everyday objects as subjects to create art just like the Dada. Lastly, the essay will show how Pop Art is still very much part of today’s art world.Dada or Daism was an informal international art movement, with artists and followers in Europe and North America. The beginnings of this movement coincided with the outbreak of World War I. This artistic and literary movement started in 1916 and ended around 1923. Dada was born out of negative reaction to the World War I and as a way to protest against the conventional middle-class which the artists beli eved were the cause of the war. Dada excluded reason and logic, valuing nonsense, irrationality, irony and humor. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature, poetry, manifestoes, art theory, theatre and graphic design. Art in the traditional sense was all about aesthetics, Dada represented the opposite. Dada’s intention was to offend and shock common sense. (â€Å"Pop art/dada†, 2013)Dada artists developed the collage, photomontage, assemblage and readymade techniques. The collage, which imitated the techniques used during cubism through the pasting of cut pieces of paper items to include items such as transportation tickets, maps, plastic wrappers in order to represent features of life instead of still life. Photomontage – this technique used scissors and glue rather than paintbrushes and paints to express views of modern life from images represented by the media.The assemblage technique – is a three-dimensional variations of a collage; whic h again used everyday objects to produce meaningful or meaningless (relating to the war) pieces of work. Lastly, the â€Å"readymades† – these were everyday objects found or  purchased and declared art by an artist. These objects would sometimes have titles and/or the artist’s signature to provoke deeper thinking on the viewer. During this period there was no predominant medium to Dadaist art. (â€Å"Dada†, 2013)Pop Art (short for Popular Art) emerged in England in the early 1950s and late 1950s in the United States lasting through the early 1970s. Pop Art origins developed for different reasons in Great Britain and the United States. In the United States, it was a response to impersonal, mundane reality, irony and parody. In Britain, the origin of post-World War II also included irony and parody but its main focus was on the images of American popular culture.Pop art was also a form of rebellion against abstract expressionism whose audience was a greed y middle class, according to the artists. Pop Art understood popular culture or so called material culture which was focused on the post-World War II generation who rebelled against the mysterious undertone of the abstract art. Pop artists wanted to express their hopefulness after so much poverty had been experienced during the World War II. (â€Å"Pop art-†, 2013)Pop Art was rooted in urban environment – London and New York. Pop Art used pieces of familiar images like advertising, labels, comic books, ordinary cultural objects, film, and television, to express conceptual formal relationships. In addition, the artist also duplicated common mass production images such as beer bottles, soup cans, comic strips, road sign paintings, collages and sculptures either by incorporating these objects into their paintings, collages and sculptures. Artists usually used very bright colors, and flat images. Pop art is symbolic and realistic. Lastly, Pop Art’s subjects are non- traditional which involves the viewer on the subject unlike the traditional still life motif which engaged the viewer on the formal qualities of the painting ignoring the subject. (â€Å"Pop art-†, 2013)Dada and Pop Art developed in part to oppose the status quo, standing up in opposition to the established elite art of their respective times. Pop Art and the Dadaist thought that the traditional artist was a prop of the elite and the powerful; hence, both movements created art that was anti aesthetic. Pop Art and Dadaism both used everyday objects to create art that was symbolic, realistic, and descriptive. Both movements used what was considered non-traditional motifs. Dadaism and Pop Art used their movement as a means of criticism for their respective times in which they lived. Lastly, Dada and Pop Art movements – to some degree – were influenced by a war. (â€Å"Pop art-† 2013)Pop Art was somewhat an extension of Dadaism. Pop Art also delved into some of the same subjects as Dadaism; however, Pop Art substituted the harsh, sarcastic, and radical impulses of the Dada movement with an appreciation to popular culture. Pop Art artists wanted to express their optimism to a culture born during post-War World II who sought to acquire consumer goods in response to mass media advertising. Pop Art did not critique the consumerists it simply recognized it as a natural fact of the times. (â€Å"Pop art/dada†, 2013)Marcel Duchamp’s, Fountain, 1917 is considered a ‘readymade’ artwork from the Dada movement. The sculpture has become one of the most recognized modernist works from the Dada movement. With the Fountain, Duchamp took an everyday object of life, and changed its useful significance by calling it something else. By giving it a new title and point of view, Duchamp created a new thought for the urinal. Duchamp’s insight that art can be about ideas instead of things, a notion that would ring true with la ter generations of artists. (Pop art/dada, 2013) Andy Warhol’s, Campbell’s Soup Cans, 1962, consisting of 32 canvases each being a painting of a can of soup flavor being offered at the time.There is no clear explanation as to why Warhol  chose to paint the soup cans, his usual reply to interviews as to why he painted the cans – he had soup every day. One of the traits of Pop Art is creating art from popular recognizable object that most everyone could relate to. Just like the Fountain, the concept was more important than the image. The fact that he chose to ‘create’ art by painting the cans correlates to Duchamp’s Fountain by which both artists style was more anti-art; utilizing common objects as subject matter, evoking interest from the viewer on the concept rather than the object. (â€Å"Campbell’s soup cans†, 2013)Pop Art is a direct descendant of Dadaism because it mocks the art world by using everyday motifs as subjects t o create art. The Dadaist originated an irrational way of images to provoke reaction from the public on their work. Pop artists adopted the same visual method but concentrated their interest on popular culture. The Pop Art movement replaced the negative, satirical and radical elements of the Dada movement. The Dadaist concentrated on anti-war politics, rejecting the prevailing standards in art by creating anti-art cultural works. (â€Å"Pop art†, 2013)The dawn of the Pop Art movement in the 50†²s not only impressed the wealthy, it changed the culture. So iconic and profound were the motivations behind this movement that its art is still featured, studied and produced today. It is clear that Pop Art was much more than just a fad, it is still very popular and it is continued to be called a success. It is hard to not identify traits of Pop Art as some of its peculiarities like the dotted image, strong and multiple colors, series of images on one print, famous people faces, and everyday objects continue to be used today. Pop Art can be found in print design on birthday cards, T-shirts, calendars, canvases, poster, and contemporary graphic design. (â€Å"The influence of†, 2010)

Support for Imperialism Declined From 1880-1902

In the late 19th Century, following on from the ‘Scramble for Africa', Britain continued the aim of expanding her empire through the process of imperialism from the period 1880 to 1902. ‘New imperialism’ is an expression used to demote a change in attitudes to empire in the last quarter of the 19th century. However imperialism is said to mean ’the wish to maintain the unity and increase the strength of an empire which contains within its limits various more on less independent states.’The reason for new imperialism was to reinforce the idea of a white self government; as well as to increase Britain’s empire, by 1900 Britain had taken control over 1/5 of the world’s land. However, it has to be noted that there were significant fluctuations in popularity during this period such as after the outbreak of the Second Boer War. The rapid expansion or empire came of a time when the electorate had been significantly widened. It also came at the t ime of the revolution of the popular press. Now printing techniques made newspapers, magazines and books cheaper and more commonly available.90% of the population are illiterate. Since many newspaper owners were staunch imperialists, many newspapers focused on imperial issues, as so many of the population was illiterate it could be argued that the idea of imperialism was mostly for those of the upper and middle classes; this is backed up by the fact that the working class resented the concept of imperialism as it was seen as a distraction from their work and wages. Support was particularly strong in upper-class public elite groups, such as the landed aristocracy, and among middle-class businessmen.There is, however, a debate about the extent to which the mass of the working class supported imperial ideology. Teaching the values of the empire was not continued. Imperial lessons were taught in the schoolroom, pupils would learn about the supremacy of the royal navy, the name of the co lonies and trade routes, schoolboys stressed patriotic themes. Frowning literacy amongst the young ensured that children especially boys – war the targets of a large range of magazines and novels produced in the 1890s and early 1900s.Many of the stories produced during  this period were set in distant parts of the British empire and were designed both to excite the imagination and to reinforce a sense of patriotism and duty, stories like this appeared in magazines such as Boys Own Paper, Chums, Pluck and Union Jack. It was during the 1880s that youth organisations with military style structures and patriotic, imperialistic values were first set up (boys brigade was set up in Glasgow 1883). One of the most popular forms of entertainment in the late Victorian and Edwardian period way the shows put on by music halls.These shows were designed to appeal to a predominantly the middle/upper class audience and many had a strong imperialistic and patriotic theme (the term jingoism, meaning ‘extreme patriotism’ came from a music hall song). British people living in the late 19th century were subjected to many indirect forms of indoctrination. Towns were full of billboards advertising products and services, which often used imperial images; thus increasing the appeal for the imperial message.Some of the most enthusiastic of such working-class demonstrations came during the Boer War of 1899-1902, this method of protest was known as mafficking. When news of the relief or Mafeking reached Britain in May 1900, there were huge demonstrations throughout the country. Some historians have argued against the view that the mass of the working class was fervent imperialists. Price, for example, many members of the working class volunteered to fight in the Boer war in an effort to escape poverty rather than because they supported the cause.Similarly, Peeling, argues that, just because music hall songs were jingoistic, it does not mean the audience fully support ed the views expressed as the presence of a product does not presume its acceptance. For some liberals there was the moral issue of using force to spread British international power. It was not until the Boer war the anti-imperialism gained a significant political voice. The Boer war was a turning point regarding support for imperialism as, it was the first time the brutality of Britain had been seen so vividly.Families were herded into concentration camps and approximately 110,000 were killed; from this we can see that the support for imperialism changed due to the impact it had on other people which ultimately led to a mass of loss support by the British public and politicians. From about 1880, Britain adopted a more aggressive form of imperialism and there was extensive support for this amongst and their extensive support for this amongst the British. Support was particularly strong within the conservative party and amongst the working classes.The working class was less easily co nvinced of the benefits of patriotism. The empire may have provided some employment but it did not lead to high pay and increasing prosperity. Economic issues were particularly significant in shaping enthusiasm for imperialism. Many elements of Chamberlain’s vision of a great global empire with Britain at the centre, they were taken up through the media and popular entertainments central to his thinking was the notion that Britain was helping the uncivilised and racially inferior native people this image appealed to the majority of people in Britain.In 1880 Gladstone became Prime minister; after winning the election in 1879 and therefore replacing Disraeli, the conservative. As Gladstone travelled throughout England highlighting his policies to the public, it is evident that his ambitions were that to be supported by the public. Furthermore we must recognise that Gladstone was one of the first politicians who saw the importance of speaking to the electorate;this was not only because times were changing but also because a higher percentage of the population were getting the vote as a result of the reform acts.An example of this would be the 1832 act which enabled women to vote. The 1900 general election, (Khaki) resulted in a conservative victory and a continuance of conservative rule. It appeared as I popular support lay with the government that had taken Britain into a war against the Boers. But there was considerable media coverage of the brutality of the war. The extensive international opposition to Britain’s methods weakened support for imperialism at home. Many working-class men volunteered for military service to escape poverty not because they wanted to show their patriotism.Also, several politicians mainly from the left did not agree with the concept of imperialism as to them it was just the preservation of capitalists. In conclusion, although there was a rapid increase in the support for imperialism due to the several sources such as bo oks, schools and entertainment in facilities such as music halls, from 1880-1902 the policy’s impression on the public began to change due to other factors such as because of the Boer war’s brutality as well as because of capitalists at the time who were seen as draining the countries resources.

Descartes and Plato Essay

Explain both of descartes Arguments for the existence of God Descartes proof of God’s existence comes from his third meditation and is based on three ideas. He argues that innate idea exists within us, the fictitious or invented ideas are a result of our own imagination and adventitious ideas result from our experiences in the world. Descartes said, the idea of God is innate and cannot be invented. Descartes presents some arguments that lead to his conclusion. The first argument is that nothing can result to something and the cause of an idea will always have a formal reality because the idea must have an objective reality. He argues that if an individual have God, then the idea has an infinite objective reality and therefore, the individual cannot be the cause of the idea, because he is not infinite or a perfect being or he doesn’t have enough formal reality. It’s only a perfect and infinite being who can be the cause of the idea. Therefore, God as an infinite reality must exist. A perfect being, is benevolent and good; implying that God is benevolent and would not deceive or allow making errors without giving a way of correcting the errors. The second argument Descartes gives is based on the premise that I exist, and my existence must have a cause. He gives the only possible causes are: my existence, existence of something less perfect than God and existence of God. Out of this Descartes argues that if I had created myself, I would have created myself perfect and that if my existence have a cause, then it doesn’t solve the problem. If I’m not an independent being, then I would need the sustenance of another being. And that the perfection in me could not originate from a less perfect being. Therefore God exists. Descartes second proof of God’s existence is based on the fifth meditation on essence of material objects and it’s called the ontological argument. Descartes identifies external objects that can either be distinct and clear or obscure and confused. Descartes argues that without any sure knowledge of existence of a supreme and perfect being it would be impossible to have any assurance of any truth. Descartes defined God as an infinitely perfect being and that perfection will include existence. Meaning therefore, God exists. Explain the Allegory of the Cave and relate it to Platos metaphysical and epistemological theory The allegory of cave is about prisoners who have spent their lives chained to the wall of a cave and facing the wall. The prisoners are watching shadows cast on the wall by objects passing in front of the fire behind them, and they start to attribute the forms of these shadows. It is a figurative show of how a man is trapped in the illusion of material existence and how he can free himself from such trappings by philosophical thoughts of personal and social awareness through constant self examination. These shadows are the close the prisoners can get to reality. When the one who actually is able to free himself from the cave, returns back to the cave to tell his fellow man about the world outside the cave he is ridiculed for his free thoughts by the ones not knowing the real truth yet. Thats how a philosopher feels, he is like the prisoner who has freed himself from the cave and realizes that shadows on the wall are not the reality of things in life but merely shadows. This allegory of the cave is related to Plato’s theory of Metaphysics and Epistemology. Seen as an epistemological account, it attempts to determine the importance of ideas which we can only comprehend through reason resulting from our experiences from the physical world. The allegory of the cave is a philosopher’s effort to enlighten the society which can be seen as prisoners, imprisoned by their dark ignorance. The cave could represent our daily experiences and how we always accept the dictates of the society without questioning them.

Nursing research paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nursing research paper - Assignment Example of this research was to determine the effect of educating diabetic school children and their parents on the various coping skills for the diabetic patients. This was due to the consideration of the fact that, more than any other group, the diabetic children, more so those in adolescents had shown poor response to diabetic medication which according to researchers was as a result of lack of coping skills (Grey 2009). As such the question guiding this research was, â€Å"does the coping skills training (CST) influence the individuals responses to type 1 diabetes (T1D)?† In this research quantative methodology was used, whereby, the researchers established two groups of school children who were diagnosed with T1D. One of the groups was trained on the coping skills while the other was just given the general diabetic education (GE). However, there were certain requirements for the participants whereby they were required to: The researchers anticipated to use one hundred diabetic children as their most effective sample. However, they only managed to use 73 participants whereby, 53 children in the CST group and 20 in the GE group. In the determination of the results of the two groups, CST and GE, a correlation was established by the use of the standard deviation method, whereby 0.5 significance level, would have 98% power to detect a variance among the 2 group means of 04. 99% power to detect a variance among the 3 time means of .051, and 80% power to detect an interaction among the 2 group levels and the 3 time levels of .022, assuming that the common standard deviation is .04. However, this methodology was used on the assumption that the participants were a hundred as earlier intended. Additionally, descriptive statistics was used, whereby it was found that the majority of those who showed significance response to CST were predominately white and of high income (ibid). CST did not have the expected effect on child and family outcomes on the sample of school-aged