Political Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes and Rene Descartes Essay

â€Å"Politics should be the application of the science Of man to the construction of the community† Explain this remark and discuss what reasons there might be for thinking it is not trueIn this essay I intend to examine the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes and Rene Descartes, in particular their ideas relating to the science of man, and attempt to explain why their ideas prove that it is not possible to construct a science of man. I will also briefly mention the philosophy of Donald Davidson in regards to a science of man. The theories of Hobbes and the contemporary socio-biologists attempt to recognise how man works and on that basis build a society. â€Å"Hobbes wished to be seen as the inventor of the science of politics† (Sorrell, p45) He went about this by looking at the psychology of man and discovering that man is a mechanism. Hobbes wanted to understand mechanics. He wanted to look at why men live the way that they do in society and therefore, breaks it down. By doing this he discovered that people are cogs in the social machine. Therefore he wants to examine this cogs to achieve an understanding of the social mechanism, and does this by looking at the psychology of the mind. Hobbes is both an empirist and a materialist. Empirists believe that sense gives all knowledge. Generally, they do not believe in astrology, god, electrons etc. Their philosophy is summed up by saying that all things that give true knowledge can be sensed. Materialists believe that all things in existence are physical matter. In other words, the soul and the spirit do not exist. Therefore Hobbes believes that thoughts are material, that they are caused by sense and vice versa. Tom Sorrell suggests in his essay, entitled â€Å"Hobbes’ scheme of the sciences†, that rather than have knowledge of how the mechanics of the mind’s passions work, a more successful way of gaining political knowledge is to understand what these passions cause. They cause various degrees of action, with the possessor going to various extents to achieve what they want. In chapter six of â€Å"De Corpere†, Hobbes makes a connection between the knowledge of the principles of politics and the knowledge of the motions of the average human mind. Hobbes’ account of political science is an idea of what man must do if his goal is self-preservation. These ideas are not what mankind will do but what it will have to do, in a rational way, to form a political civilisation. One would assume that as Hobbes identifies both a natural science (that of the work of nature), and a civil science – that of the common wealth – (which makes laws and wills), he would suggest that they are parallels which, in political philosophy, work together. However, there are a few problems with Hobbes’ theory. Hobbes suggests that a monarch makes a better sovereign than an assembly. Yet, surely he would not agree that a monarch who is not dedicated would be better suited than a group of thoughtful representatives. A politically secure society is built up from its people. Hobbes believes that these people all have one motivation; self-gain, or to be more precise self-preservation. Hobbes suggests that there is a link between voluntary motion and vital motion. He goes on to say that senses work together with the vital motions to produce that which is voluntary, i.e. an endeavour. These endeavours can be categorised in two ways; attractions and aversions. An example of an attraction is to pick up a piece of cake because it looks good. That of an aversion is to run away from a dog because you are scared of dogs. As it is possible to see these actions are derived from the senses, again agreeing with Hobbes empirist theory. Endeavours are the small motions within man which occur before he walks, talks, runs or carries out any other voluntary motion. These endeavours are so small that they are undetectable. By understanding why men act the way that they do, it is easier to come to a conclusion as to how society should be structured. However, the idea that the existence of a science of man can be questioned suggests that society can be constructed without it. This is due to the fact that many psychological and political theories are founded on the basis that there is a science of man. Without this â€Å"science of man† these theories are in turn questioned and therefore cannot be viably backed as reasons for the construction of the community. Another prolific philosopher whose arguments should be taken into account is Rene Descartes. Descartes thinks that we, as humans, are made up of two separate substances. The body is the physical stuff and the mind – the res cogitans (thinking thing) – purely mental stuff. The res cogitans can will your body to move. The difficulty with Descartes’ theory is that the mind and body interact; if you pour boiling water on you hand, you will feel pain. Again we have to take into account voluntary and vital motions. A voluntary motion is me moving my arm. A vital motion is my arm moving. I move my arm because I want to; but I may not necessarily want it to be moved. This can happen for a number of reasons. It may be possible that I have a muscle spasm in my arm or that somebody moves it. All of this suggests that for Descartes’ theory to be correct there must be some kind of connection between a material substance (the body) and an immaterial substance (the mind). However, we will find it impossible to understand the idea of a science of man if we cannot understand how the two substances interact. Therefore, again, we have no proof that it is possible to build a political philosophy on the basis of a science of man. On p213 of Davidson , we find an explanation of monisms and dualisms. â€Å"Theories are thus divided into four sorts: nomological monism, which affirms that there are correlating laws and that the events correlated are one (materialists belong in this category); nomological dualism, which compromises various forms of parallelism, interactionism and epiphenominalism; anomalous dualism which combines ontological dualism with the general failure of laws correlating the mental and the physical (cartesianism). And finally there is anomalous monism which shows an ontological bias only in that it allows the possibility that not all events are mental, while insisting that all events are physical. â€Å"The final position is that which Davidson himself follows. Davidson’s argument suggests that the psychology of man does not follow any causal laws. Therefore, it is impossible to impose any rationality on theories involving the mind. These anomological psychological states are defeasable. They are defeasable because it is possible that by adding another condition to the situation the expected behaviour changes. Therefore it is impossible to agree with any political philosophy that involves the necessity of a science of man. What is easily discovered is that there are many different political philosophies and many different concepts as to what is a science of man. Philosophers such as Hobbes and his counterparts, Mill and Marx, possess the shared assumption that political philosophers must accept the political opinion that they are arguing for. They all think that rational agents must accept their arguments yet they all have different arguments. They all believe that for a successful political structure human nature cannot be ignored, if the structure is to command respect. As I have shown, Descartes and Davidson on the other hand, believe that a science of man is impossible; Descartes because he believes that our minds are immaterial and Davidson because man’s behaviour follows no causal laws. All of this shows us that trying to interpret man’s actions and apply them to a science is an impossible conquest. Man is too complicated a mechanism to understand and therefore political philosophy, for a sensible and rational social structure, must be founded on another basis.

Do People Learn Who They Are Only When They Are Forced

Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest leaders in American history who has votes himself entirely into the great reformation of the country, was not as dutiful as in his presidency before he become the leader Of United States. During his early political career, his opinion on controversy of slavery had always been neutral in front of public. Nevertheless, he showed his firmness and fortitude on reforming the social structure of the country after he had won his election. The difference between early and late politic career of Abraham Lincoln perfectly demonstrate that people need external force to achieve a new level in their career.Another person who depicts brand new self after tremendous life change would be Kimberly Ghana, the Chinese girl from â€Å"Girl in Translation†. In the book, the girl and her family have immigrated to the great united States. The cruel reality she was living in made her become strong and brave when facing others who bully and disdain her. Despite all the pressure, she managed to study hard and gained scholarship in new private school. The headmaster admired her resilience and talents. Eventually, the saying â€Å"chance favors only the prepared mind† has proven on Kimberly. Her outstanding academic impressed Yale University.

The Procrastination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Procrastination - Essay Example I pulled myself together, stopped crying, and asked my counselor what it was that I could do. She told me that this late in the school year, it was almost impossible to do anything to earn that extra credit and that I must come during the summer and do an elective of some sort. Upon hearing this, I felt a couple of things simultaneously; anger, I was angry at my counselor for giving me this news so late in the school year, I mean, I had already bought my graduation dress. Furthermore, I felt frustrated and helpless that I would be spending the summer in school while my friends traveled and visited their universities and had final parties and farewells, this thought depressed me immensely. Just as I was about to get up and leave, I remembered my second cousin who had a similar dilemma before her graduation, 3 years ago. I immediately talked it out with my counselor and we decided that I would stay after school for some History classes and teach my peers who needed help. I happily taug ht my friends Ashley and Chelsea for the next 4 weeks and redeemed my counselor’s confidence and that one stubborn credit. Right now, when I look back at that time, I realize that it has made me who I am today. It influenced me in ways I did not understand them. Today, as the owner of a successful company, I still carry that lesson with me to this day. In addition, every time I get complacent or am tempted to procrastinate some work, I remind myself that this same procrastination almost cost me my education and career.

What is the relationship between philosophy and the good life Essay

What is the relationship between philosophy and the good life - Essay Example Such a life cares for values like honesty, integrity, independence and justice, over personal comforts or wealth. Thus a human being can understand the values of life only through philosophy; and therefore it becomes apparent that philosophy is the path to good life. Thus when a good life is the end, philosophy is the means to attain that end. Philosophy has developed and evolved as a most significant branch of learning because humans always pursue a better understanding of the meaning of life. Ancient philosophers like Socrates has seen the purpose of human life as serving for the common good of all as is evident from the way he lived his life. Rather than being blinded by materialistic pursuits he has lived his whole life in learning and teaching philosophy. Thus his life inspired many people, especially Plato who took up the call and embarked upon a journey similar to that of his teacher, seeking a good life by pursuing and teaching philosophy. Their search for the true meaning revealed to others that a good life is a life that gets closest to the realities, eschewing the delusions that veil the face of truth. It is through philosophy that their lives became meaningful by which they still retain their validity in the modern world. Philosophy’s relation to good life is emphasized by many experts in the field. â€Å"It is the task of philosophy to determine the central values pertaining to conscious life, which provides guidance in the choice of those concrete values, thereby enabling the achievement and enjoyment of life.† (Philosophical Reflections: Values). This theory confirms the role of philosophy in attaining the objective of a good life and establishes that to reach the actual goal of life one must follow the path of philosophy. This is further evidenced in the lives of great thinkers like Socrates and Plato whose philosophical ways we emulate even the

Human resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Human resource - Essay Example ndergoing rapid changes characterised by the emergence of new enterprises, intensification of global competition and the growth of the diverse workforce.2 These pressures are compelling companies to reposition themselves strategically to attract and retain the competent workforce. Management of human resources is intricate and challenging because workers have personal needs, objectives, motivations, interests and desires that conflict with business goals. HR management and planning is a useful tool for reconciling these conflicts and ensuring that organizations resources are utilized effectively.3 Today, human resource managers are faced with issues such as management of diversity, globalisation and work life balance. HR practitioners play a critical role in an organisation to ensure effective acquisition and utilisation of HR. They are tasked with creating and implementing policies for guiding human resource in an organization, controlling HR programmes and guidelines, offering advice and counsel to the workers, and perform other functions that can assist line managers to execute their duties.4 However, in the execution of their duties the HR practitioners encounter innumerable challenges in the modern world. In the modern society, most families in developed countries such as UK have joined the labour force. In circumstances when husband and wife are both in the working class, the human resource managers are faced with a challenge of helping such parents with work-life balance programs to increase their productivity.5 Therefore, it makes sense for the company’s human resource to come up with programmes to assist workers establish a balance between work and family responsibilities. The HR can implement programmes to assist workers achieve their family obligations. For example, programmes such as child care at the workplace, sick leave policies, job sharing education policies, picking or dropping their children at school, etc. For example, Unilever company offer

Soya-bean Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Soya-bean - Essay Example However, now doubts have been raised by scientists, doctors and nutritionists that soy is not that healthy after all and that soy poses special health risk A very interesting account of the historical travel of the soy plant in the Western world has been documented by Hymowitz (1990). While his idea that the soy plant was a saviour, or manna from heaven itself, for many people can be and is subjected to much debate, the historical account of the origin of the plant is well worth a read. Soya bean is a gift to the new world from the ancient oriental (Chinese , Japanese civilization). Before we take up the issue of the actual debate of the nutrient value and the positive and negative effects of this miracle plant, it would be worthwhile to have a brief glimpse into the origin and historical path travelled by it. Recorded history traces of its origin dates back to 2838 BC in China and to 6th century in Japan. Ibn Europe the records show an introduction of the plant as late as the 17th century , with America eventually catching up. Nonetheless, the USA produces one-third of the world's supply and indeed has seen a rise in the actual sales of soy product by nearly 3 times in the past decade. Like most legumes and beans, soy bean... Interestingly they also contain a high proportion of fat, however since this is mostly unsaturated fat, the effects of such lipid forms are mostly beneficial for an individual. However it is important to address that this nutrient content profile is applicable to Whole Foods and not Supplements. Much of the research to date has examined dietary soy in the form of whole foods such as tofu, "soymilk," or as soy protein added to foods, and the public health community mostly concurs that these whole foods can be worthwhile additions to a healthy diet. The recently raised concerns, however, focus on specific components of soy, such as the soy isoflavones daidzein and genistein, not the whole food or intact soy protein. In this respct we need to understand the nutrient content of soy been at the micronutrient level. This is also important since there has been an increase in chemicals, available over the counter in pills and powders, which are both, advertised and marketed as dietary supplements for use by women to help lessen menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. While it may be possible that soy bean, in whole food has some efficacy for improving a lot of diseased condition, it is imperative to understand that teasing out individual chemicals would not be a good practice. This problem has been very accurately summarised by Wood; "There are probably hundreds of protective compounds in soy [foods]. It's just too big a leap to assume that a pill could do the same thing" (Woods, 2000). The need to exercise caution hence is clear and care must be taken in hailing soy as the food that can do only good. Nonetheless, there is much effect in the literature which supports the increased prevalence of soy bean as a health food. C Soybean as Food While not every form

BIOGRAPHY ON MY HUSBAND Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

BIOGRAPHY ON MY HUSBAND - Essay Example However, his first marriage, despite all of his determination to make it work did crumble but this was not due to any fault of his own. He soon found that the marriage had been built on lies with his wife having lied about her age when they married and still being a very young and naà ¯ve girl, she left Fernando holding the dilemma of how to continue to care for the family. They had one child together which his wife left in his care since she seemingly wanted no part in motherhood. This left him with trying to figure out a way to continue to work while at the same time being a good father to the child caught in the middle of the separation and divorce. During this time Fernando was attempting to be a full-time dad and also working full-time with his landscaping company. Times were extremely hard for him as he did not have sufficient resources to depend on nor did he have any family that was near him who could have helped in taking care of his daughter while he worked during that tim e. Somehow this man did manage to make it through this period of time on his own, never once turning away from the responsibilities he had as a father to his daughter. He also did not try and prosecute his first wife for abandonment of their child so he only had his own self to rely on in order to guarantee the necessary sustenance to keep his family running smoothly. He did seek out daycare services for his daughter so that he could continue to work and this bill alone was quite substantial every month. However, his neighbors often helped him out with watching his daughter but he was very careful in this area because he did not want to come to depend on anyone or be considered a burden either so he assumed much of the work on his own. During this period of time Fernando did not seek out other relationships like a percentage of men would do. He dedicated himself to being a father and continued to work because he knew that in

Reading Responses and Replies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Reading Responses and Replies - Essay Example First, the writer does a good job of displaying why he suits for the job position. He goes ahead to demonstrate the value he would bring to the company. The writer gives excellent tips of enhancing confidence to the employer. This catches the employer’s attention to evaluate the need of recruiting a strong applicant who is ready to bring growth to the company. Secondly, while concluding, he displays his confidence by stating that he regards to meet the employer. This demonstrates confidence in his skills and abilities that he would succeed to get the job. Nevertheless, listing out his accomplishments was wrong since this suited a resume. Mostly, most employers regard a cover letter that is one page in length therefore; it would be displeasing to list out the list of accomplishment. The writer could have summarized his list of accomplishment in one or two sentences to grasp the reader’s attention. The writer failed to use the correct format of cover letter. The use of bu llets display lack of professionalism as the use of listing seemed unnecessary. Though bullet points augment easy reading, it should not be present in the formal business letter. There is a lot we can learn from this letter but few things can be improved as mentioned above. Work Cited Purdue University. Business Wring Engli

Analysis of the poem Acquainted with the Night Essay

Analysis of the poem Acquainted with the Night - Essay Example The setting of the poem is in the urban area; obviously it is crowed since it houses a big population, generally more than what the city infrastructure can accommodate; He writes, â€Å"I have looked down the saddest city lane.† He is familiar with the geography of the city; the second theme is loneliness; the third theme is the speaker’s sadness. The surroundings and situations make the poet sad. It is to be noted that the poem was written in 1928, when the world economy (especially that of U.S.) was at the threshold the Great Depression (which commenced in 1930) But the year 1928 relates to plenty and prosperity. Why then the poet should be sad? The poets have generally nothing to get elated about the materialistic prosperity. Their domain is spirituality, where such attachments have no relevance. â€Å"Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right- I have been one acquainted with the night.† -the poet has perfectly mastered the nature of the dualities of lif e, and came to the conclusion that everything happens in life, as it should! Time is a great healer, and one can never complain about Time-the nature of its functioning! It is always perfect; it is benevolent, provided an individual has the patience to understand. The wise saying goes, ‘Go placidly amidst the noise and din†¦.everything is happening as it should!’ The poet uses paradox like, â€Å"the time was neither wrong nor right.† He uses a common syntax of word order in most of the lines in his poem. This poem is a sonnet. The overall tone of the poem is sad and apathetic. â€Å"Acquainted with the Night,† means he has come to terms with the night. He is able to cope up with the night; he has mastered the art of living. The sapling of silence is steadily growing in his heart. The image of the moon as a clock and timekeeper is perfect because, the moon is one of the perfect agents of nature, unfailing as for the