The Free Will in Meditations on First Philosophy by Descartes Essay

The Free Will in Meditations on First Philosophy by Descartes I In Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes takes the reader through a methodological exercise in philosophical enquiry. After stripping the intellect of all doubtful and false beliefs, he re-examines the nature and structure of being in an attempt to secure a universally valid epistemology free from skepticism. Hoping for the successful reconciliation of science and theology, Descartes works to reconstruct a new foundation of absolute and certain truth to act as a catalyst for future scientific research by â€Å"showing that a mathematical [rational-objective] physics of the world is attainable by creatures with our intellectual capacities and faculties† (Shand 1994, p. 84). Descartes’ conception of absolute and limitless â€Å"freedom,† which he ascribed to humanity, is every bit as unique and radical as the existential notion of freedom present to the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre. However, the claim of boundless freedom within the writings of Descartes seems even more remarkable in light of the fact that he proposed the philosophical method within the theological strictures of Catholicism. With Cartesian study primarily focused on the significance of human consciousness and the sum res cogitans, rarely does one find exclusive attention devoted to the paramount importance of the free will in Descartes’ overall project. This essay investigates the theory of the free will as expressed in the Fourth Meditation and analyzes Descartes’ contention that we are â€Å"infinitely† free and ultimately responsible for the choices we make. In arguing that the use of the free will is essential in determining the veracity of all ideas one comes upon, clear and distinct or othe... ...ilosophy is somewhat problematic and often referred to as the Cartesian Circle. â€Å"We cannot, without certainty,† declares John Shand, â€Å"prove God’s existence by means of propositions and arguments whose truth and validity depend upon assuming God’s existence† (Shand :1994, p 87). 4 Although Descartes states explicitly in the Synopsis of the Six Meditations that he is not concerned with judging things which pertain to faith or the conduct of life, and is instead focused exclusively on errors that occur when judging the true and the false; he is nonetheless doing theodicy. Descartes is asking in essence: â€Å"How could God, who is in possession of all perfection, including omni-benevolence, allow humans to fall into error (do evil) so readily?† Descartes’ reply: â€Å"Error (evil) has nothing to do with God and everything to do with us.†

Knowledge vs. Experience Essay

The famous Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurti once said, â€Å"There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.† (whale.to/a/krishnamurti) Krishnamurti is addressing learning as a process in which an individual tries to gain certain knowledge for predestined purposes. He clearly believes that rote memorization is inferior to learning from experiences. Academic knowledge through textbooks can teach individuals theories about life. Life, however, deviates from theory frequently. The only way individuals are going to know about these deviations is when they experience the struggles and fruits of life on their own. [Similarly, in this compelling novel by Herman Hesse, Siddhartha learns that enlightenment cannot be reached through his 7 teachers because it cannot be instilled in an individual’s mind -enlightenment comes from the inner self and through the experiences in which one must obtain wisdom from.] he said it can be a little better In the opening of the novel, Siddhartha is influenced by outside teachings in his search for enlightment. His father and his associated community ideally want him to become a successful Brahmin, instead of joining the Samanas. Everyone else around him still has not reached enlightenment, and Siddhartha feels that residing with them will increase his curiosity regarding his presence in life.(Siddhartha to himself) [â€Å"He had begun to suspect that his worthy father and his other teachers, the wise Brahmins, had already passed on to him the bulk of their wisdom†¦ his soul was not at peace.† (3)] Siddhartha craves to better acknowledge the innermost essence of self and its connection to the world in a society. The knowledge passed on to him however does not explain this, which is why Siddhartha speculates the origins of the world and his place in it. When Siddhartha departs on his journey to achieve nirvana, he joins the Samanas and accustoms quickly to their lifestyle because of the endurance and discipline he learned in the Brahmin rituals. He learns how to free himself from the materialistic world he was living in, losing his desire for ownership and apparel. However Siddhartha is still unsatisfied. The path of self-denial does not provide an established solution for Siddhartha. He comes to the realization which is this: the Samanas have been just as unsuccessful as the previous guidance he has encountered. Siddhartha’s thirst for knowledge has only increased, as he tells his good friend, â€Å"I suffer thirst, Govinda, and on this long Samana path my thirst has not grown less†¦I have always thirsted for knowledge.† (15) Siddhartha is still curious, thus Govinda convinces him that they both should leave the Samanas and seek out the Buddha. During Siddhartha’s quest for enlightment, he and Govinda are looking for Gotama’s whereabouts. As they are taken in, Siddhartha is informed about a teaching called the Eightfold Path and the four main points in order to achieve the permanent solution of abstaining from the pleasures of the world. However, while Govinda is entirely influenced by these teachings, Siddhartha is still not satisfied. (Gotama to Sid dhartha) [â€Å"The teaching which you have heard†¦is not to explain the world to those who are thirsty for knowledge†¦its goal is salvation from the suffering.†(27)] Siddhartha is still unsatisfied, and desires to comprehend the meaning of life’s purpose in the world in an accomplished way. Like the Samanas, Buddha’s followers escape from reality without connecting to it. Most importantly, Siddhartha feels that he cannot achieve enlightment from an external source such as a teacher. He reasons that in order to reach enlightenment, one must learn only through experience and teachings by other mentors. Wisdom is gained through experience, while knowledge is taught. This is the reason he cannot accept Buddha’s teachings. At this point of the novel, Siddhartha knows he will have to depart his good friend behind to begin a search for the meaning of life which will be based on experience, rather than religious teachings. Siddhartha determines to set out on a life abstaining from meditation and to instead enter the material world to explore the physical pleasures of his body. In this new world of his, Siddhartha encounters a friendly ferryman, living his free life to its fullest. After crossing the ferryman’s river, he arrives to a city where a beautiful m istress named Kamala mesmerizes him. He believes she would be the most worthy one to teach him about the physical aspects of love, but Kamala will only instruct him until he proves he can fit into the materialistic world. With her guidance, Siddhartha takes up the path of the merchant and engages in business with a man named Kamaswami who taught him how to trade. While Siddhartha achieves the wisdom of the business world and experiences how to do business in the material world, Kamala becomes his lover and teaches him about every physical aspect of love. [â€Å"She taught him that lovers should not separate from each other after making love†¦so that no feeling of desolation arise nor the horrid feeling of misusing† (54)] Siddhartha renounces the spiritual path and exchanges the search for Atman to experience physical pleasures. However, Siddhartha and Kamala are both incapable to give and receive real love at this stage in the novel. Siddhartha has eliminated himself from the world completely and is not influenced by what the world has to offer him. Since both these external guides are unable to teach him wisdom, he knows he must now achieve wisdom on his own. This consciousness itself comes from his inner self. Siddhartha starts his path to seek enlightenment leaving the Brahmins, the Samanas, Gotama, and the material world becau se he feels unhappy with himself. As Siddhartha leaves the corrupted material world, he approaches a river and considers what direction his life has taken him. Ironically, the same ferryman whom he met years before introduces himself with the identity as Vasudeva. Siddhartha senses inner peace and wisdom within this man, and motivates him to obtain it as well. Eventually Siddhartha resides and works with Vasudeva until he comes to know his son was born. With his son, Siddhartha finally experiences love, but since love is a connection to the world, it threatens to distract Siddhartha from his search for enlightenment. It’s not until now when Siddhartha has gained wisdom on his own without any materialistic influences, therefore the love he expresses for his son becomes a test of this wisdom. (Siddhartha to himself) [â€Å"It is a good thing to experience everything oneself†¦as a child I learned that pleasures of the world and riches were not good†¦ but I have only just experienced it now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (80) ]Siddhartha implies that the Buddha’s teachings or any source of external guidance do not make one enlightened; they only transfer knowledge to the society around them. Siddhartha is aware enlightenment can only be reached if he will be able to accept love, and as difficult as it might be, to even achieve Nirvana. Successfully, Kamala and his son influenced him heavily and because of them, Siddhartha learned and experienced how to love the world and accept it as a whole. Siddhartha encounters many teachers of wisdom during his journey, but each fails to lead him to his goal: to seek enlightenment. The ferryman however, is successful and shows Siddhartha how to find enlightenment within him by blocking out all exterior guidance. [Vasudeva will not simply tell Siddhartha what he should know like the others, but a guide who will lead him where he wishes to go.] After leaving the material world, Siddhartha seeks for knowledge from the river he crossed and Vasudeva guides Siddhartha to listen to it for a better understanding of what the river communicates. Vasudeva does not tell Siddhartha what the river will say, but when Siddhartha discloses what the river has expressed to him, Vasudeva clearly admits that he too has received the same wisdom on his own. Now, Siddhartha realizes that he himself becomes the ferryman after reaching enlightenment. (Siddhartha speaking to himself) [ â€Å"The river is everywhere at the same time†¦ Siddhartha the boy, Siddhartha the mature man, and Siddhartha the old man [are] only separated by shadows, not through reality.† (87)] The river is compared to Siddhartha as it is considered continuous but yet always altering within, deeper below the body of water. Siddhartha now belongs to everything surrounding him instead of being classified to a particular group. At the end of the novel, Govinda returns to the river, still seeking enlightenment, and asks Siddhartha to teach him what he has learned. Siddhartha explains that neither he nor any other individual can teach the wisdom to Govinda, because spoken explanations are definite and can never communicate enlightenment as a whole. (Siddhartha to Govinda)[â€Å"When someone is seeking †¦he is unable to find anything†¦because he is obsessed with his goal.† (113) ] Govinda is confused just like he was when they met near the river after Siddhartha had considered suicide. This means he still does not understand the meaning of life because he hasn’t experienced the world, remaining a follower to Buddha. Therefore, Siddhartha’s ultimate attainment of Nirvana does not come from external guidance communicating the wisdom to him, but instead by experiencing an internal connection with the river, which encompasses the whole universe.

Documentation(Cebu-Bohol Tour)

TOUR CEBU-BOHOL TRIP A few months ago, on September 25 to 30, 2010, we, the students of the STI College of Cotabato, had an educational tour of Cebu and Bohol, both of which are major tourist spots of the country. The given activity was prepared and realized with the purpose of exposing us to two of the most visited places in the Philippines—to let us experience and see for ourselves the feel of the dynamic tourism there and to know about the current trends regarding the field of hotel and restaurant management which, as we know, consists of work that entails lodging and food service, and plays an essential role in the tourism industry. The trip is considered to be a significant part of our training as aspiring hotel and restaurant managers, owners and/or workforce in the future. The school believed that for us to be effective and efficient members of the hotel industry, we should first be involved in excursions like that in order for us to grasp fully the reality of our chosen future careers and get a clear view of its know-how as well as to learn and obtain new ideas which we could apply in the long run. Being a major tourist destination that they are, Cebu and Bohol’s hotels and restaurants are without a doubt in demand. The school did not overlook that and made a great decision of choosing the two for it is, nonetheless, one of the best places of exposure. Over the years, with the advancement of technology, new developments are also inevitable and have surface especially in the competitive world of hotel industry which has truly evolved a lot. For that reason, we are truly glad that through the activity that we had, we were able to learn something innovative which we could not do so the other way around and just by being inside the four walls of our classrooms. We did not only visited the places just for the sake of seeing its physical beauty and take pictures of it like most tourists do but we went there with the very intention of learning especially from the seminars that we attended. The trip that started on the 25th of September 2010 was wisely spent and was efficiently arranged to really fit all the many places that we were able to visit. On the second day, we arrived at Bohol by 6:00am and checked-in at the Bohol Plaza Mountain Resort. It was a 4-star resort built on a mountain or more appropriately, a hill, hence the name, which has a spectacular view of the mainland of Bohol and faces the city of Tagbilaran. We also went to see the mysterious Chocolate Hills and were truly awed by the beauty it possessed. When noon came, we lunched at the famous restaurant on a boat known as The Floating Restaurant via the Loboc River Cruise and were greeted by a sumptuous and delicious meal. After which, we had the Tarsier encounter at the Corella and Tarsier Visitors Center and saw the extinction-threatened smallest primate on Earth, the Tarsier. And then we got to the blood compact site, the place where the sanduguan between the Spaniards and our ancestors during the 1500s transpired and were briefly informed about the rich history of Bohol. In line with that, we were made to see some of the ancestral houses in the place that were preserved and stood the test of time. It now operates as a tourist end including the great churches that were also built ages ago, particularly the Baclayon Church which is one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. In addition to that, we had a stopover at the other resorts in Bohol and at the Bee Farm which provided us a rare experience of organic delights. Moreover, we were able to see the splendor of Cebu while on tour, including its magnificent ancestral houses and the churches of the Basilica de Sto. Nino and Cathedral Church that significantly mirrored the rich culture and history of the place. In 1521, the Spanish conqueror Ferdinand Magellan arrived there and in that same year, planted a big wooden cross at the place where the first Filipinos were baptized as Christians. Currently, this place is a big tourist attraction and is called as the Magellan’s Cross. Consequent to that, we set out to see Cebu’s Beverly Hills Subdivision where people could find the affluent gated communities of the place and the idyllic Chinese Taoist Temple that is the center of worship for Taoism open to worshipers and non-worshipers alike. After lunch, we continue to explore Cebu at its best and saw the oldest street there known as the Colon Street. We likewise went to the University of San Jose-Recoletos, a Catholic private university that is considered to be one of the excellent schools in the land and had a tour of the area. For our next destination, we went to the Mactan Shrine where the statue of our first hero, Lapu-Lapu, could be found and had a souvenir shopping. Cebu, like the other well-developed cities in Manila, is a metropolitan area and branded as the center of business and trade in the Visayas. It is identified for its many skyscrapers that has been scattered all over the place which includes our next stop, to one of Cebu’s finest commercial sites, the Ayala Center. However, though we really had fun, we were also exhausted from the day’s activity and, as explorers of the place, I think it is important that we have a comfortable place to spend the night and regain our strength for yet another busy day. The Crown Regency Hotel did not disappoint us on that and gave us what we all need after a long day around town. While there, we were able to get what I think all tourists deserve—that ‘home-away-from-home comfort’ through the superb hotel accommodation and service that they have. We spent our fourth day a little bit different from the past three days. Instead of touring the other landmark of Cebu and Bohol, we attended a seminar on bed-making, flaring and other things involving hotel and restaurant accommodations at the Crown Regency Hotel. Lessons on the hotel’s activity were given to us and before lunchtime, we were escorted up to take a look at their rooms that displayed different themes—depending on the preferences of their customers—and onto the hotel’s roof deck. Afterwards, we went into a beachfront hotel and resort, the Imperial Palace, and had one more seminar regarding the hotel’s services, the silverwares and utensils they are using and so on. When the seminar ended, we proceeded to go to SM Cebu. Along the way, we were able to pass by an outstanding and splendid hotel, considered to be among the top hotels in Asia—the Plantation Bay—which showcased a variety of fruit plantations along its entrance. Sadly, we were not able to take a look inside. All in all, it was a fun-filled learning experience, with all of us getting along and contributing to the success of the activity. The tour really left a great impact to most of us and, indeed, it was worth all the long time of preparation, expenses and fatigue. †¦Till then.

Thermal Coating

Among the components exposed to heat load, piston of internal combustion engine is subject to maximum thermal stress. The large temperature gradient the piston will cause structural deformation deterioration of lubricant and increase the clearance between the cylinder liner and piston there by causing more noise, vibration degrees in the engine service life, the non- uniform temperature gradient arise owing damage of piston especially crown region. Experimental study is conducted on single cylinder 5hp diesel engine in order to find the improved performance when a ceramic coating is given especially in the piston crown.Among the ceramics, Yttria partially stabilized Zirconia (YPSZ) is being favoured for diesel engines since its co efficient of thermal expansion is close to those of metals used in piston. This avoids problems relating to difference in thermal expansion between metallic and thermal parts which also increases its durability. Compared to the conventional engine (without coating over the piston crown) the modified engine (with ceramic coating over the piston crown) did not produce any observable knock in the engine, no significant wear of piston crown.Various graphs are drawn to check the improved performance of the engine when it is at with and without ceramic coating on the piston crown, and found that there is 5-6% decrease in SFC, 4-5% increase in brake thermal efficiency and 8-9% increase in mechanical efficiency. INTRODUCTION: Thermal barrier coatings were originally developed for air craft engine applications in 1940; only recently have they been modified and tested for use in diesel engines.Although diesel engines has greater compressive loads and more frequent thermal shocks, in additional, diesel TBC’s must cope with contaminants (Sodium, Vanadium, Sulphur ) often found in lower grade fuels. If these difference in engine operating conditions are ignored when choosing and applying a T. B. C premature failure of the coating can result . Diesel TBC’s are coating systems metallic bond coat and ceramic topcoat applied by the plasma thermal spray process; control of total coating thickness is critical. If not maintained within 0. 8mm, spallation of the coating can occur due to uneven heating and cooling of the process of the topcoats, Robotic thermal spraying provides the required thickness and compare values with established standards. Basically, there are three techniques of thermal spraying. The basic principle is the same for all (i. e. ) material is melted and propelled as finely atomized towards the target as the particle strike the surface they flatten and form thin platelets that conform and adhere to the irregularity of the prepared surface and to each other.The three techniques differ essentially in the fuel and the method of heating/ melting used. These differences give to the advantage and limitations which to considerable extent govern their range of applications. Thermal spraying infact is a grou p of processes i. e. , 1. Surface preparation and 2. Thermal spraying Both are basically important as far as quantity of the coating is concern. Coating of a material on a substance is made to serve in the specific environment and service conditions.It is possible only if the coating is adherent to the surface of the component, on which it is sprayed, tthroughout its useful life. If the coating flakes off or leaves the surface, the entire effort will go waste. The adhesion and other properties of the coating mainly depend on the surface condition of the substrate.

Financial and Strategic Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Financial and Strategic Planning - Assignment Example ugh this venture, the hospital’s management will establish the feasibility, stability and the expected benefits of their ambitious plans and projects. Identifying the financial trends starts with report preparations generated by ratios or financial statements’ information, plus other financial reports. The Hospital decision makers will prop up their decisions on these findings and conclusions. Hospital profitability is a sure trend that ought to be assessed by the responsible financial analysts. Assessing the facility’s profitability entails establishing its income-earning ability plus the ability to protract growth in the long-term and short-term periods (Evans, 2000). Solvency is also a trend that ought to be addressed by the hospital. Solvency is the hospital’s ability to fulfill commitments to creditors plus other variant third parties, both in the short and long-term periods. Another trend worth looking at is the liquidity aspect of the hospital. This is translates to the hospital’s capacity to maintain positive income flow, and meeting immediate obligations. Solvency and Liquidity will be derived from the entity’s balance sheet which will outline the financial state of the hospital from specific time point(s). Stability trend of the hospital ought to be drawn to portray the hospital’s capability to stay put in operation. Deriving the stability trend will unearth the hospital’s capability to remain fully functional without sustaining major losses when in full-swing operation. The hospital’s management ought to look at labor trends where forecasts on the labor needs and the anticipated production as pertains the expansion of the facility. Decrease or increase of production will translate to alterations on production-related costs and other variant support services (Evans, 2000). This is linked to administrative trends that have characterized the hospital’s management and operations. Administrative trends encompass issues such as

Barnes and Noble Company and Amazon.com Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Barnes and Noble Company and Amazon.com - Essay Example The company branched out to sell E-books. Jeff Bezos persuaded its current and future customers to benefit from the time-saving and travel money-saving benefits of online shopping for Amazon.com products. Management Styles. Both companies implement effective management styles. The Barnes and Noble Company focuses on the consultative management style. The style includes taking into consideration all positive and unfavorable feedbacks and inputs. The inputs include the feedback from the parties. On the other hand, Amazon uses persuasive management style. Management uses persuasion to convince its current and future employees eagerly implement company policies, increasing customer service quality. Product Launch and handling of products and services. Both companies have different product launch versions. The Barnes and Noble Company offers several products in different genres. The products are sold over 800 United States stores. On the other hand, Amazon’s product launch is focus ed on website selling. The company opens its www.amazon.com website to initially sell physical books and other related products. Marketing products and services. Both companies use different marketing strategies. The Barnes and Noble Company sells various products and services in over 800 stores in the 50 states and its website. On the other Amazon.com only uses online selling. The company opens its www.amazon.com website to initially sell physical books and other related products. ... The Amazon.com’s financial statistics show that its revenues better than Barnes and Noble Company’s revenues. Amazon.com’s net income is better than the dismal net loss of Barnes and Noble Company. The sales figure prods investors to funnel their investment in Amazon.com. With more Amazon.com customers, the investors must choose Amazon.com as their investment destination. Amazon’s better implementation of the marketing aspects contributed to its being a market segment standout. Amazon.com sells quality products at reasonable prices. The company promotes its products at the easiest place to buy, the internet. Statistical Comparison                                     Barnes &             Amazon    Noble       Year    2011    2011       Sales $ 57.26 billion $ 7.16 billion       Net Income (net loss) $ 40 million $ (69.44 million)       Market Share    26%    3%       Employees    56,000.00    35,283.00       Stores    1 online    800+       Equipment    No printing Press    Printing Press                         CONCLUSION. It is very clear that Amazon.com’s financial and business performance is higher than Barnes and Noble Company’s business performance. Unquestionably, investors must pick Amazon.com as the better investment destination. MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: The following shows the financial analysis of the two competing companies. The two companies are Banes and Noble Company and Amazon.com. Background information. Barnes & Noble. The Barnes and Noble Company generates a profitable background information. Charles Barnes and Clifford Noble, separate bookstore sellers decided to joined hands during the 1800s. The company

Admission essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Admission - Essay Example My desires and success in special education did not just stop with my university education. Immediately after graduation, I accepted an opportunity for tutorial classes at Taibah University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Department of Curriculum and Instruction as a tutorial fellow for one year. Since 1996, I have accumulated a remarkable wealth of knowledge in working with students with disabilities thus impacting positively on already learnt skills while at the same time giving me an opportunity to learn new ways of understanding the complexities that surround educational attainment of learners with special needs. The desire to improve the welfare of learners with special needs has also earned me both personal and professional development enabling me to articulate the theoretical aspects of special education into the reality and an extension enabling me to redesign neoclassical educational achievement of special education that seemed non existent within the classical arena. Over time, my remarkable performance has been accompanied by outstanding progress and improvement wich attracted distinguished promotions leading up being the Director of Hope Institute in Jeddah and CV. Within the period of direct contact with an array of ideas, perspectives and philophies of work, I have built a wealth of knowledge in special education leading up to accepting to join the first group of scholars to pursue the first stage Masters Degree at King Saud University with a full eye focus on Special Education, achieving excellent results. Based on this unique and rich experience, I ask myself, why not advance to a Doctorate level which will not only give me an opportunity to polish my hard earned skills but also empower me to contribute to the evolving world of Special Education scholarship through publications, seminars and taking up a lead in the dissemination of knowledge at the University to impel a generation conscious of the needs of