Can Religion Make You Happy? Essay -- Happiness Essays

â€Å"If Religion Makes People Happy, Why Are So Many Dropping Out?† -- Louis Tay and David G. Meyers. Throughout history, religion has helped form the basic fabric of society. From an early age, religion provided the answers to any unexplainable natural phenomena. The question of why the world worked in a particular way was easily answered with â€Å"because [name of deity] made it that way.† Religion was everywhere; everyone had their own ideas about how the world worked and what their role was in the universe. Each likeminded group held that their religious beliefs were the root cause of their happiness and general satisfaction with life. Centuries of religious dominance eventually gave birth to a widespread idea that strong religious beliefs are essential to living a happy and fulfilling life. Even today, in a society dominated by scientific advances, religion finds a niche in catering to people’s spiritual needs. Indeed, despite the societal changes that have occurred in modern times, religion has remained largely unchanged since its early days. The belief t hat religion factors heavily into one’s life satisfaction and happiness has also remained much the same, despite today’s complex and ever-changing society. The problem lies where religion is viewed as a major way to achieve happiness, and this perspective can lead to blind acceptance of religion solely on the basis of its supposed universal benefits. Basically, a new way of looking at religion is needed: seeing it not as the end-all happiness tool, but as a small factor in a complex web of happiness and well-being. Traditionally, organized religion in the Western world encouraged a melancholy outlook on life. Today, however, religion represents an image of happi... ...tz, Hans-Georg; Lewis, Christopher Alan. â€Å"The Relationship Between Religion and Happiness Among German Students.† Pastoral Psychology. 51.4 (2003): 273-281. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 19 June 2015. Madigan, Timothy J. â€Å"Godless Happiness.† Free Inquiry Summer 1998: 32+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 19 June 2015. Moeller, Philip. â€Å"Religion Makes People Happier--But Why?† Chicago Tribune. N.p., 13 Apr. 2012. Web. 15 June 2015. Myers, David G. â€Å"Who’s Happy? Who’s Not?† Christianity Today. 23 Nov. 1992: 23+. Gale Power Search. Web. 19 June 2015. Schumaker, John F. â€Å"Can Religion Make You Happy?† Free Inquiry Summer 1998: 28+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 19 June 2015. Stearns, Peter N. â€Å"The History of Happiness. (Cover Story).† Harvard Business Review 90.1/2 (2012): 104-109. Business Source Complete. Web. 6 June 2015.

Philosophy of Art Essay

Introduction This paper attempts to establish what practitioners of philosophy can learn from practitioners of Art. In doing so, the paper first looks into art and philosophy so as to offer a clear understanding of the subjects, before turning into the main theme. What is Art?   Ã‚  Ã‚   Even though the above question appears simple, it is interesting and can, and is answered by reverting to the philosophy of art. In addition, art embraces descriptions of beauty, taste, symbolism as well as representation. Philosophy of art also explores the association existing between the individual artist (ideas), and the bigger congregation (audiences, culture, and universe) (Carroll N, 1998). That being the case, what does philosophy of art tell us about art? Some versions assert that art is a creative activity, expression or process of humans. According to Leo Tolstoy ‘Art is that human activity which consists in one human consciously conveying to others, by certain external signs, the feelings he has experienced and in others being affected by those feelings and also experiencing them.’ (Carroll N, 1998). On the other hand, when something is done perfectly or acquainted by study and practice; it is referred to as an art (Carroll N, 1998). For instance, driving a car, dressing in a nice dress, laying a child to sleep or even the art of conversion. In essence, art includes objects developed by humans that have aesthetic value or present symbolic meaning encompassing drawings, paintings as well as sculpture. Thus from the above observations, art can be said to be a symbolic representation of peoples association with nature (reality/environments). It is able to offer the concealed relations between things. It is beauty, it is truth. However, what does truth and beauty imply? This is where philosophy comes in as philosophy is the art of establishing the truth such that this truth is applied to life. In the same manner, art can be based on established truth that express the wonder and beauty of a relationship to the universe as it is acknowledged in the works of Marcel Proust and Henry Mattisse (Diffey T, 1995). ‘Art is a selective recreation of reality according to an artist’s metaphysical value judgments. An artist recreates those aspects of reality which represent his fundamental view of man’s natures.’   Ã‚  (Marcell Proust)( Diffey T, 1995), while Henry Mattisse writes ‘when we speak of nature, it is wrong to forget that we are ourselves a part of nature. We ought to view ourselves with the same curiosity and openness with which we study a tree, the sky or a thought because we too are linked to the entire universe (Diffey T, 1995).’ The different forms of art are visual arts which involve aspects such as painting, photography and sculpture among others, and fine arts which embrace music, dance, theatre, literature, poetry, etc. What is philosophy? As William Thomas points out, ‘Philosophy studies the fundamental nature of existence of man and man’s relationship to existence†¦in the realm of cognition, the special sciences are the trees but philosophy is the soil which makes the forest possible’ (Bender J, 1993). A philosophy is an all inclusive organization of ideas concerning human nature as well as the nature of the truth we live in. it is a guide of living since the subjects it deals with are crucial and enveloping, establishing the course we take in life and how we treat other people. Among the most important field that philosopher’s deal with fall into a number of separate fields. Among them, the most imperatives ones are; metaphysics which deals with the theory of reality, epistemology that connotes the theory of knowledge, ethics which is theory of moral values, politics which is theory of legal rights and government and aesthetics which refers to theory of nature of art (Carroll N, 1998). The vehicle for philosophical guidance is religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism as well as Islam. Religions vary from philosophers not in the issues they deal with but in the ways they employ to address them. Religions are based on mythic stories that existed earlier before discovery of unequivocally cogent methods of inquiry (Bender J, 1993). The present day religion (majority of) appeal to mystical faith as well as revelation sort of belief that claim legitimacy independent of logic, and the scientific method, at least made for the biggest subjects. However, majority of religions are in their commencement pre-rational as opposed to anti-rational, a story teller’s account of philosophic issues as opposed to scientists (Bender J, 1993). Philosophy in Greek connotes ‘love of wisdom’. Philosophy is founded on rational arguments and appeal to facts (Bender J, 1993). Modern science history began with philosophical enquiries and the scientific method of research and proof is an aspect of the general approach that a philosopher attempts to bring to a question; one that is coherent and vigorous. Philosophy is known to offer deep and wide questions presently. Dealing with the issues in each branch of philosophy calls for integration of everything one knows concerning reality (metaphysics) or humanity (epistemology, ethics, politics and aesthetics) recommending reasonable inclination in philosophy therefore is not a simple job. Frankly, philosophers more often than not disagree about principle subject; some slipping their own positions in the mix as well (Diffey T, 1995). Thus, there is no particular philosophy world wide as is the case with physics, chemistry among other disciplines.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Having clearly distinguished the two disciplines, then we can embark on the issue of what a philosopher can learn from an artist. This calls us to explore the subfield of philosophy. It relates to nature of art, in addition to performing of arts as well as painting, sculpture and literature (Diffey T, 1995). Major concerns in aesthetic comprise of how artistic creations should be construed as well as assessed and how the arts are linked to one another, to natural beauty, morality, religious science as well as other crucial aspects of human life. The association between art and epistemology has been everlastingly tenuous and burdened with a lot of arguments (Diffey T, 1995). It is acknowledged that there is something meaningful from experiences as well as interactions with works of arts. However, it is not considered as obvious that whether or not the experiences one has with art can produce propositional understanding that is represented by true vindicated belief (Diffey T, 1995).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Whereas engaging objects aesthetically is both insightness and emotionally burdening practice, it is also essentially cognitive. Therefore, it can be said that aesthetic engagement is based on various epistemological concerns (Carroll N, 1998). For instance, philosophers claim to know about art. People say that they believed the play was good or bad, but the emotions it produced were called for, justified, manipulative or suitable. In most cases, people allege that they learn from art, that art alters their view of the world and that art has influence on the way they view as well as make sense of the world (Carroll N, 1998).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It also widely acknowledged that works of arts particularly good works of art, can cause view points about the world and can in turn offer knowledge concerning the world (Carroll N, 1998). However, what can exactly be known about art? Does art have any sort of propositional content that resembles the context that philosophers claim to require for other sort of knowledge claim?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The subject of whether philosophers have something to learn from artists revolves back to the period of Plato. Plato warned about the perils of making a fuss of mimetic as well as narrative demonstrations of the world and human actions. A practitioner of philosophy by his engagement with art permits certain emotions or activities that are able to facilitate or produce knowledge. It should be acknowledged that some aspects of art work that are able to produce greater understanding of the surrounding world (Carroll N, 1998).   In this case, art becomes a source of insight as well as awareness, even though it cannot be put into propositional language.   It can help people (philosophy practitioners) see the world in a new or different way (Carroll N, 1998).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They are often those who view art as being incapable of offering knowledge primarily because it does not generate any truth; they argue that since art cannot offer facts or produce arguments then there is nothing to learn from it (Diffey T, 1995).   They further argue that art cannot be acknowledged as a source of knowledge as it is not productive of knowledge, construed in the convectional sense of vindictive true belief. They assert that art is devoid of propositional content capable of being learnt the conventional way, whereas it has influences that promote knowledge and that can promote or weaken the development of understanding. Thus the net effect is to reject art as a source of knowledge as it does not offer true beliefs and furthermore because it does not as well as cannot vindicate the views that it does express (Diffey T, 1995).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, those who are for and those against concur that art is a source of knowledge, the only way that it can probably satisfy such a function be it that knowledge neglected something crucial to art’s nature as well as value (Diffey T, 1995). Plato articulates that it is possible for an artist to make a representation of a thing without having advance knowledge of his presentation.   For instance, painters represent cobblers when the painters have no idea how to make shoes, and poets write about virtue such as beauty and courage without any clear knowledge of these attributes (Carroll N, 1998). To Plato, it is only philosophers and moreover, those who struggle to intuit (feel) the forms and employ abstract reasoning are able to have know-how of these virtues.   To him, the same things exist even for the literary arts in particular.   He asserts that the more one engages in emotions brought about by representations, the more likely one is to suffer the influences of an unstable soul and finally the growth of bad attitude (Carroll N, 1998). Aristotle seems to have agreed with Plato that art influences the development of one’s moral character.   These two philosophers believed that people learn from art, however, Plato argued that the gained knowledge was harmful while Aristotle argued that it was beneficial (Carroll N, 1998). Going back to the period of renaissance and beyond it should be noted that the works of art such as poetry and fiction engages the emotions of a philosopher in a healthy way rather as opposed to detrimental manner (Bender J, 1993).   Some philosophers point out that there are there crucial types of knowledge claims that can be made concerning arts which are distinguished by objects. The first is what philosophers claim to know or believe concerning the art object itself and anything unreal or fictional worlds might be linked to that object. The second aspect of knowledge claim about art relates to what is known or believed to be appropriate emotional reaction to the art work. It is crucial to note at this point that works of art are correct, understood through having a certain kind of emotional response to them (Bender J, 1993). The only problem encountered in this course is that it is not possible to establish the kind of response that is appropriate in relation to a particular work of art (Bender J, 1993). The last kind of knowledge claim that is available as far as art is concerned relates to the nature of information art can offer about the whole world (Bender J, 1993). It is important to note that art affords imperative insight into the way philosophers order and understand the world. Art gives a certain degree of meaning to the lives of philosophers. Art, particularly literature, draws out novel views (beliefs) as well as new knowledge concerning the world (Bender J, 1993). Conclusion From the above, it is noteworthy that philosophy practitioners have a lot to learn from practitioners of art. It is important to acknowledge what constitutes knowledge so as to be able to understand how art impacts the subject. Reference Bender, John (1993).   â€Å"Art as a Source of Knowledge: Linking Analytic Aesthetics and Epistemology.† In Contemporary Philosophy of Art, ed. John Bender and Gene Blocker. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Carroll, Noel (1998). â€Å"Art, Narrative, and Moral Understanding.† In Aesthetics and Ethics: Essays at the Intersection, ed. Jerrold Levinson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Diffey, T .J (1995): â€Å"What Can We Learn From Art?† Australasian Journal of Philosophy 73 202-11.

Personal price Essay

As you market yourself to employers, the salary you demand is essentially your personal price. Keeping that in mind, what pricing strategy should you follow (penetration, skimming, or competitive)? Why? Issues to consider: a. Who is your target market? My target market is the childcare industry. b. How would you position your price to this market? I would use competitive pricing strategy. I would use competitive pricing strategy. By using this concept does not necessarily mean that the company will pay me what I want but it will put a great deal of thought into the prices of the competitors. In other words, I would take into consideration the prices of my competition and use that to determine what I believe is a fair salary. c. What are the psychological pricing considerations? I would take into consideration my level of experience. Therefore, I would charge a price that may be slightly higher but that would be because I have more experience than others. I don’t want a price that is too low because employers may wonder why so low. They may question my experience or qualifications. d. What are the image considerations? I believe that the company has high standards. I would maintain that I am reliable, responsible, and able to multi-task. I am a professional and have good work ethics. e. What are the promotional considerations? I would provide degrees, and or certificates that indicate my qualifications. I would also provide references and any other documents that show my experience in the field.

Cathedrals and Religion

Cathedrals and Religion IntroductionThe Gothic Age"As the third year that followed the year on thousand grew near, there was to be seen over almost all the earth, but especially in Italy and in Gaul, a great renewal of church buildings; each Christian community was driven by a spirit of rivalry to have a more glorious church than the others. It was as if the world had shaken itself, and casting off its old garments, had dressed itself again in every part in a white robe of churches."Raoul Glaber, Historia, c.1003The Gothic Age (c. AD 1130-1530) marked the end to an age of chaos, primarily caused by the sacking and pillaging of the Vikings. After the great minds of Western Europe were freed from using their vast knowledge to defend against invaders or plagues, they now had the time and the resources needed to design any and everything in this era from bridges to city walls and castles to cathedrals.Clerestory windows (upper windows above the flying...This was also a very religious age, with plenty of money b eing pumped into the Church, some from the crusades, with all of its included looting, and a lot more from all of the tithes all of the people who were born in the population explosion gave faithfully. Another even bigger source of income for the Church came to it in the shape of power and prestige, when the power of the church peaked in AD 1277.Not only was this a good time for the Church, but this was also a very good time for all of humanity. The standard of living dramatically rose, and along with it, the population of Western Europe shot up. In 1346, the estimated population of Europe was fifty-four point four million just before the plague hit and wiped out more than a third...

Biography of Gabriel Garcia Moreno - Gabriel Garcia Moreno Profile

Biography of Gabriel Garcia Moreno - Gabriel Garcia Moreno Profile Gabriel Garcia Moreno, President of Ecuador 1860-1865, 1869-1875: Gabriel Garcà ­a Moreno (1821-1875) was an Ecuadorian lawyer and politician who served as President of Ecuador from 1860 to 1865 and again from 1869 to 1875. In between, he ruled through puppet administrations. He was a staunch conservative and Catholic who believed that Ecuador would only prosper when it had strong and direct ties to the Vatican. He was assassinated in Quito during his second term. Early Life of Gabriel Garcia Moreno: Garcà ­a was born in Guayaquil but moved to Quito at a young age, studying law and theology at Quito’s Central University. By the 1840’s he was making a name for himself as an intelligent, eloquent conservative who railed against the liberalism that was sweeping South America. He almost entered the priesthood, but was talked out of it by his friends. He took a trip to Europe in the late 1840’s, which served to further convince him that Ecuador needed to resist all liberal ideas in order to prosper. He returned to Ecuador in 1850 and attacked the ruling liberals with more invective than ever. Early Political Career: By then, he was a well known speaker and writer for the conservative cause. He was exiled to Europe, but returned and was elected Mayor of Quito and appointed Rector of the Central University. He also served in the senate, where he became the leading conservative in the nation. In 1860, with the help of Independence veteran Juan Josà © Flores, Garcà ­a Moreno seized the presidency. This was ironic, as he had been a supporter of Flores’ political enemy Vicente Rocafuerte. Garcà ­a Moreno quickly pushed through a new constitution in 1861 which legitimized his rule and allowed him to start working on his pro-Catholic agenda. Garcà ­a Moreno’s Unflagging Catholicism: Garcà ­a Moreno believed that only by establishing very close ties to the church and the Vatican would Ecuador progress. Since the collapse of the Spanish colonial system, liberal politicians in Ecuador and elsewhere in South America had severely curtailed church power, taking away land and buildings, making the state responsible for education and in some cases evicting priests. Garcà ­a Moreno set out to reverse all of it: he invited Jesuits to Ecuador, put the church in charge of all education and restored ecclesiastical courts. Naturally, the 1861 constitution declared Roman Catholicism the official state religion. A Step Too Far: Had Garcà ­a Moreno stopped with a few reforms, his legacy may have been different. His religious fervor knew no bounds, however, and he did not stop there. His goal was a near-theocratic state ruled indirectly by the Vatican. He declared that only Roman Catholics were full citizens: everyone else had their rights stripped away. In 1873, he had the congress dedicate the Republic of Ecuador to â€Å"The Sacred Heart of Jesus.† He convinced Congress to send state money to the Vatican. He felt that there was a direct link between civilization and Catholicism and intended to enforce that link in his home nation. Gabriel Garcia Moreno, Dictator of Ecuador: Garcà ­a Moreno was certainly a dictator, although one whose type had been unknown in Latin America before. He severely limited free speech and the press and wrote his constitutions to suit his agenda (and he ignored their restrictions when he wished). Congress was there only to approve his edicts. His staunchest critics left the country. Still, he was atypical in that he felt that he was acting for the best of his people and taking his cues from a higher power. His personal life was austere and he was a great foe of corruption. Accomplishments of President Morenos Administration: Garcà ­a Moreno’s many accomplishments are often overshadowed by his religious fervor. He stabilized the economy by establishing an efficient treasury, introducing a new currency and improving Ecuador’s international credit. Foreign investment was encouraged. He provided good, low cost education by bringing in Jesuits. He modernized agriculture and built roads, including a decent wagon track from Quito to Guayaquil. He also added universities and increased student enrollment in higher education. Foreign Affairs: Garcà ­a Moreno was famous for meddling in the affairs of neighboring nations, with the goal of bringing them back to the church just as he had done with Ecuador. He twice went to war with neighboring Colombia, where President Toms Cipriano de Mosquera had been curtailing church privileges. Both interventions ended in failure. He was outspoken in his support of Austrian transplant Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. Death and Legacy of Gabriel Garcà ­a Moreno: In spite of his accomplishments, the liberals (most of them in exile) loathed Garcà ­a Moreno with a passion. From safety in Colombia, his harshest critic, Juan Montalvo, wrote his famous tract â€Å"The Perpetual Dictatorship† attacking Garcà ­a Moreno. When Garcà ­a Moreno declared that he would not relinquish his office after his term expired in 1875, he began to get serious death threats. Among his enemies were the Freemasons, dedicated to ending any connection between church and state. On August 6, 1875, he was killed by a small group of assassins wielding knives, machetes and revolvers. He died near the Presidential Palace in Quito: a marker can still be seen there. Upon learning the news, Pope Pius IX ordered a mass said in his memory. Garcà ­a Moreno did not have an heir who could match his intelligence, skill and fervent conservative beliefs, and the government of Ecuador fell apart for a while as a series of short-lived dictators took charge. The people of Ecuador didn’t really want to live in a religious theocracy and in the chaotic years that followed Garcà ­a Morenos death all of his favors to the church were taken away once again. When liberal firebrand Eloy Alfaro took office in 1895, he made sure to remove any and all vestiges of Garcà ­a Moreno’s administration. Modern Ecuadorians consider Garcà ­a Moreno a fascinating and important historical figure. The religious man who accepted assassination as martyrdom today continues to be a popular topic for biographers and novelists: the latest literary work on his life is Sà © que vienen a matarme (â€Å"I know they are coming to kill me†) a work that is half-biography and half-fiction written by acclaimed Ecuadorian writer Alicia Yaà ±ez Cossio. Source: Herring, Hubert. A History of Latin America From the Beginnings to the Present. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962.

Mental Health- Young Adults and depression Essay

Mental Health- Young Adults and depression - Essay Example It is estimated that about 5.8 % of males and 9.5 % of females in the world experience a depressive episode every year (WHO 2001). Depression is a condition that should be differentiated from the normal feeling of sadness and decreased mood that is normal event in everyday’s life. There are several psychiatric conditions classified by the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM IV TR) that are characterized by depressed mood also called mood disorders. All of them can be characterized in two broader groups depending if person had manic episodes which are major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. There are many subtypes of these conditions, but they are all characterized with episodes of depressed mood, diminished sense of pleasure and interest, feelings of guilt and low self esteem, feeling of low energy and worthlessness, insomnia, changes in appetite with weight loss or weight gain and other symptoms that can be a major cause of disability in the nor mal functioning of one person and other symptoms (Sadock et al 2002). ... ity to think or concentrate; indecisiveness - Recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, or specific plan for suicide (Kendler and Gardner 1998). Major depressive disorder is a condition without exact known pathopfisiology. Based on some clinical and pre - clinical trials it is suggested that disbalance of the serotonin, norepinefrine, dopamine and other neurotransmitters is the major etiological factor for depression. These conclusions are based mainly on the efficacy of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) and other specific antidepressants in treating the symptoms of major depression (Nutt 2008). The mechanism of action of these drugs is more complex than simply elevating the levels of serotonin for example, because other substances like cocaine for example that cause only short elevation of the neurotransmitter levels are not effective in controlling the symptoms of depression on a longer terms and can even cause depressive episodes (Viggiano et al. 2004). Also it is known that several weeks of treatment with antidepressive drugs are necessary in order to achieve changes in the symptoms (Quitkin et al. 1996). This suggest that the mechanism of action of antidepressants is more complex where antidepressants after the initial effect on neurotransmission trigger subsequent neuroplstic changes in the brain that will result in a longer-term in the psychologic behavior of the individual. This only suggest that other factors than serotonin levels, like social, psychological, environmental and other are important in the development and treatment of depression (Robert and Frazer 2002). Other theory that tries to implement more integrative approach in understanding the etiology of depression is Diathesis-stress model that concludes that depression

GE coursework Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

GE coursework - Case Study Example Welch created the culture of the company in his own image. His philosophy that good leaders create a vision for the company helped him to motivate the management to put optimum performance in their operations. This culture has been made possible by uniting different cultural forces across the globe. The success of the company can also be attributed to its positive stance towards diversity. Any company that fails to take into account the values and culture of the people in the environment in which it operates is bound to fall. However, GE has managed to take a positive approach towards diversity across the whole globe. It specialises on technology based businesses such as semiconductors and radio stations. These products have high demand across the globe and it can be seen that any company that specialise in technical products is likely to attract many customers Its digitization process such as the use of the internet has also positively contributed to its success. The internet has revolutionised the business landscape during the contemporary period and this has also contributed towards the success of GE in its global and regional