ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction In ancient times, multiple philosophical schools may be observed. However, one of the most prominent is the Stoics. Once the concept was born, it became an extremely influential branch of the philosophical thought. Nowadays, it is still in use and rather popular among both thinkers and scientists. Why is it so? Not many of the old philosophical schools had means to resist the progress and survive through the development of science. Philosophy tries to explain the essence of the world and existence, but natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) cope with this task much better. Some physicists say that nature speaks the language of mathematics, not philosophy. In the age of the scientific knowledge’s triumph, it may be of wonder that philosophy still exists at all. However, Stoicism does not contradict the physicists’ opinion. One needs to explain how it happens that it is still actual and referred to. In this work, it will be discussed how the Stoic branch was born and who created it. Its main concepts and their connection with the present day reality will be revealed. Who, Where, and When: The Roots of Stoicism What is called Stoicism? That is what the explanation should start with. Firstly, it is necessary to consider the common meaning of the word. Dictionaries explain stoical attitude to life as restraining one’s feelings and emotions. A stoic holds emotions at bay and always stays calm. This word was borrowed from the Ancient Greek language when outstanding thinkers of the Renaissance got acquainted with the works by Plutarch, Cicero, and Seneca. i The latter three were the most prominent representatives of the original Stoical school. However, it was founded not by them but by Zeno of Citium in about 300 BC. Zeno and his disciples gathered in their special place in Athens and developed their thoughts into a solid philosophical conception. The period around 300 BC in Greece is characterized by the blossom and thriving of the philosophical thought. Plato founded his famous Academy while Aristotle started his Lyceum. ii At the time, philosophy was closely connected with science to the extent that sometimes they became inseparable: philosophers practiced scientific studies while scientists philosophized. No wonder that the above-mentioned figures were engaged both in philosophy and science, natural and social. Zeno’s concepts were so attractive that he managed to collect large audiences in his lectures. When he died, his ‘throne’ was taken by his loyal disciple Cleanthes and then, from the latter to Chrysippus. Later, the baton was passed on to the Romans, whose most significant representative of the Stoic philosophy was Cicero. iii In the next century, Stoicism found its highest peak in the work Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. The Essence of Stoicism This branch in its first two centuries of existence attracted lots of people from different society layers. It was so because the philosophy implied not only musings on nature and life: it was also a way of living. According to Sellars, the Stoics’ attitude to existence was grounded
This is an article by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It entails a crime of assault where the victim is seriously injured. The crime involves a man instilling pain on his then lover or girlfriend whom they were living together with. The crime was committed after they had both consumed alcohol and the man got angry with his girlfriend. Instead of trying to control his anger in an appropriate manner for instance through solving the particular problem issue, he decided to hit the girlfriend very hard and she fell on the floor where she hurt her head too much causing some bleeding. To worsen the situation, the culprit, Evanston, left the victim only to come back after some hours. This is negligence and lack of sense for life. It is after he came back that he called the police stating that he got the girlfriend in that condition and did not know of what had happened. The Federal Bureau of investigation in conjunction with the Colorado River Indian Tribes Police Department investigated the case and according to law, the offender was to be charged a fine of $250,000 or a maximum of 10 years imprisonment or both (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2010). The victim sustained stern injuries and had to go through some operation and rehabilitation processes to get back to a normal state. Looking at this case critically, it is evident that the offender committed an extremely serious offence which could have even led to the death of the victim if action was not taken immediately. The crime was committed due to anger as well as influence of alcohol. This crime follows under the kinds of people theories. This is because it involves aspects such as what makes an individual to engage in criminal activities for instance why Evanston decided to injure his girlfriend. The theories also entail the motives, situational aspects as well as subjective feelings that could be involved in a particular case. The crime could have been prevented by both the offender as well as the victim. Were they on a sober mode, free from alcoholism, they would have reasoned straight and solved their difference rather than reacting in such an awkward manner. The victim could also have run for safety rather than letting the boyfriend hit him. Although the culprit could have been considered to be under the influence of alcohol, it is not a justification to assault his girlfriend and cause that much pain. Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for First Degree Murder: Mexican Government Extradites Defendant Found Guilt
Introduction Throughout history, art may be regarded as the most ancient method of human expression. Since carved fertility figures and cave paintings that appeared long before the invention of counting and writing, art has helped people to express their emotions, feelings, ideas, and themselves. In the present day, through art, contemporaries may perceive different historical periods through the prism of their depiction by creative individuals of those times. In this paper, through the painting and its artist’s interpretation, the Holocaust that has already become the symbol of unprecedented violence against humanity and people’s sufferings will be examined. General Background Historians define the Holocaust as “the systematic state-sponsored killing of six million Jewish men, women, and children and millions of others by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II” (Barenbaum). In Germany, the Jews were proclaimed as being “an evil race struggling for world domination” on the basis of political and religious anti-Semitism (Barenbaum). Soon after the Nazis came to power, they adopted measures to discriminate against the Jews and exclude them from the social, political, economic, and cultural life of Germany. In addition, viewed as racial polluters and German society’s cancer, the Jews were additionally blamed for values they introduced, including compassionate assistance, help to the weak, and social justice. According to Hitler, the natural order implied the belonging of unrestrained power to the strongest and most powerful individuals. Thus, social equity would inevitably lead to the master race’s weakening or even defeat. Subsequently, within the framework of “final solution to the Jewish question,” the murder of all Jews in the territory of Europe was planned (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). In addition, on the basis of seeming biological and racial inferiority and ideological, political, and behavioral grounds, Gypsies, Black people, Russian, Poles, and other Slavic peoples, Soviet war prisoners, Socialists, Communists, homosexuals, and Jehovah’s Witnesses were targeted and prosecuted as well. Art and Holocaust At the same time, the Holocaust cannot be regarded only as of the best-known genocide of the 20th century. It has already become “a household word, a “master moral paradigm,” in one scholar’s phrasing, unparalleled in its enormity and scope and, whether appropriately or not, the point of comparison for all other major disasters” (Magilow and Silverman 1). It is represented by photographs, documents, testimonies, novels, memoirs, interviews, monuments, films, artworks, dramas, and other depictions. At the same time, its interpretation cannot be a straightforward endeavor as the Holocaust is not a set of agreed-upon and recognizable facts. However, art provides an opportunity to see the Holocaust through the eyes of witnesses and perceive it through their emotions and experience. As a matter of fact, H
First Part Promotion Many organizations have a way in which their employees behave, interact and do things. These things include promotion and the need to climb the corporate ladder. It is the desire of every employee to climb the corporate ladder. This has become competitive with the advent of youthful employees, who have all that it takes to climb the corporate ladder. On the other hand, it is an almost universal culture in organizations to promote older employees. This has brought some form of collision in the work place. Generation Y, which refers to these youthful employees, want to climb the corporate ladder fast. This ambition, justified from their point of view by the fact that they have all it takes, is real. This is especially true in the ICT departments of many companies. However, most companies have a culture where employees who have experience get promoted to high-managerial positions. Managers and company owners alike are in constant balancing of the two. This is presenting the current company structure with a perplexing situation (Grusky, 2003). Academic Link The issue of promotion in companies is quite crucial to ensure continued production and the need for growth. Promotion, however, has become a vitally challenging topic in current organizations. These organizations have to grapple with the need for younger people to be factored. These young people, fresh from college, have so much knowledge that can be applied organizations to enhance growth. Having trained in many fields and technologically savvy, they want to climb the corporate ladder fast enough and retire early. Managers need these young people if they are to survive the current world of business. However, on many occasions, the managers grapple with a culture that has continually manifested itself in the majority of the organizations world wide. This culture requires that those employees who have worked for a company in along time deserve promotion and not those that managers deem to have all the qualifications (Haveman, 1993). Example as a Manager Faced by such a situation, as a manager I would look at many factors before suggesting someone for promotion. I would not choose age as a factor; rather, I would choose the input that a certain individual has compared to another in that particular organization and managerial set up. For example, if I am faced by need to have a new supply chain manager, I would mostly consider the holders ability to understand the whole process. Two factors would qualify candidates: experience and training. Experience can only win if the candidate in question demonstrates insurmountable levels of knowledge in that field. However, if the company wants to overhaul its supply chain and employ automated processes, it follows that a young person, who has fresh knowledge, will conquer. Therefore, culture should not be a factor in this case. It will automatically take a backseat and other vital factors put into consideration like company growth (Phillips, 2001). Example as an Employee As an employee in a department where a void, maybe technical assistant, is to be filled by way of promotion I would recommend clas
Simon Bolivar is often compared with Napoleon as one of the most important and influential figures in South American history. Simon Bolivar, known as the Liberator, played a central role in making South America free from Spanish control. His life could be described as the cycle of uprisings and falls. In their video discussing Simon Bolivar’s path, Biographics (2018) highlighted the following points: He made two critical vows in his life that considerably changed the course of history. The first one was never to marry again when his wife died. During this period, he started involved in various activities associated with revolutionary ideas. So, this period could be considered the beginning of this career. Another vow was to liberate South America from the Spanish invasion. Disappointed with Napoleon’s ideas during his trip to France, Bolivar decided to free South America, avoiding unfold strategy. He accomplished both vows; however, turn in the despot with time. Bolivar fails the first time; however, the following success will not bring the desired result. After failing to liberate Venezuela from Spain, Bolivar followed a new plan known as “the admirable campaign.” Nevertheless, gradually campaign turned into a desperate campaign forcing people to join. For example, during his liberation campaign, he announced that native spaniels who would not help fight against the Spanish would be executed. Here, the transformation into despot could be observed, Bolivar appeared to be an excellent general but not a dictator. He spent money on unnecessary military campaigns ignoring public needs. Moreover, he created a mess in the economy by inducing structural reforms. He transformed from enlightening despot to a regular despot turning into the Latin version of Napoleon. At the end of his life, he was not allowed to cross Venezuela’s border. As his property in Karakas was confiscated, he died as a depressed, sad, and broken man. Works Cited “ Simon Bolivar: Today a Hero. Yesterday a Tyrant. ” YouTube , Biographics. 2018. Web.
An artifact in simple terms refers to something created by humans for practical purposes. It, therefore, refers to a simple object, could be an ornament or tool made by man to show modification and human workmanship as separated from a natural object. This paper analyses a T.V commercial in which an artifact has been incorporated. The artifact under discussion in this paper is Ford explorer, a vehicle for sport utility that was manufactured in Chicago by Ford Corporation. In this passage, I used a video from YouTube which is filmed by Devin Graham to convey an advertisement for Ford explorer (Graham, 2013). In the video, a group of people set their journey to a crazy adventure using Ford explorer. When inside Ford, one cannot miss the comfy seats at home because it offers the same relaxation. One tank of gas in the engine is enough for the explorer to cover over 1000 kilometers irrespective of the rough terrain. The video shows that Ford has a massive boot to accommodate all their cargo hauling and as soon as they are set, the adventurous ride begins. Ford has strong and durable wheels, which helps it to stand the heat and climb terrains. From the video clip, one can observe that Ford is not only luxurious, but also durable; it has comfy seats, automatic transmission, unlimited speed, spacious boot, unique wheels and grille, and its ability to economize fuel among other qualities. According to Brannon and Brock (2001), principles of persuasion influence advocacies particularly those conveyed in narrative fiction. On the other hand, Herbert (2001) contends that beyond the paradigm cases of persuasion, there are gray areas of persuasion in which the intention underlying that persuasion is mixed with other motives, combines with other forms of influence or hidden from the audience. To gauge how good an artifact is well designed, one examines the theoretical and empirical goodness (Brock & Green, 2005). The option design connects artifacts to users or practices. In theoretical terms, the best artifact must be the best. Also, if an artifact in prevalent in a given location, it means it was once popular in that location. The artifact under discussion was retrieved from Youtube. From the prevalence theoretical view, it means that the component used to make the vehicle is common in Chicago. This is because even after the discovery luxurious materials have been used was used to modify the artifact. This theory best explains the effectiveness of artifacts. However, the adaptionist theory can be used to improve the effectiveness of the artifact. According to the adaptionist theory, the more prevalent an artifact is, the more beneficial it becomes. In t
“ … United States is the only superpower with unchallenged pre-eminence in every domain of power: economic, military, diplomatic, ideological, technological, and cultural.” (Huntington 6) Recent events, especially those in the post-9/11 era, have erupted a renewed interest in US hegemony. A major change in the US foreign policy has been observed after September 11, which arguably had been used by the then-president George W. Bush administration to use US power assertively to meet political and strategic ends. However, this is not the only impetus to the hegemonic assertions of US foreign policy as there have been instances of the US’s use of power to meet political ends in the 20 th century. The debate over US foreign policy, which emphasized greater American values and interests, has been deemed as a self-seeking foreign policy. This has been reinforced when the US attacked Iraq without formal authorization from the UN and objections from the G8 countries. How do we define such an extreme case of American arrogance and complete neglect of the responsibilities towards the rest of the world? Such policy has been said to reinforce American interest as well as formulate a hegemonic policy for the rest of the capitalist states, which was aimed at formulating possible solutions to their contradictions (Sakellaropoulos and Sotiris 208-9). The US had used its hegemonic power at least thrice in the 20 th century – first in 1919, 1945-48, and after the Cold War (Catley 157). An extensive example of US assertion of power and aggressive foreign policy to expand commercialization through other economies has been seen in the case of US-Russian and US-Chinese relations. Therefore, the assertion of US hegemony has been perpetrated through US primacy in the global political, economic, and military policy of the country. There has been positive as well as the negative impact of the same but it is inevitable to negate the existence of such occurrences. The US has enjoyed the hegemonic power status for a long time. However, how did the country attain such a position and how does it sustain the position is a question that will be answered in this essay. This essay discusses the advent or source of the hegemonic power of the US and how it has been used to control the domestic and foreign policy of foreign countries. US Hegemony The concept of hegemony had been introduced by Antonio Gramsci who believed that is comprised of “political and military repression, ideological misrecognition, and material concessions, and offers a better description both of social antagonism and of the hierarchies arising in the international plane.” (Sakellaropoulos and Sotiris 212) It is asserted that hegemony usually leads the case of interest of the ruling bloc and safeguards their interest. Therefore, antagonism towards a hegemonic power is rampant. In the case of America, its foreign policy has aimed at supremacy since 1945 and offered elements of collective strategy towards an imperialist chain, which aimed at “rapid indust
The fundamental problems with the manner in which the case was put forward by McDonalds After McDonalds thought they had somehow succeeded in coercing the London Greenpeace five to withdraw and apologize for their insinuations about the company, Dave Morris and Helen Steel were left unperturbed. Dave Morris and Helen Steel saw no sense to be victimized and resolved to fight an overarching multinational with a record of winning all cases it institutes against all dissenting voices (McLibel Trial Organization, 2009). The way McDonalds narrowed down to only five members of the Greenpeace group is highly controversial. One wonders how a bigger and reputable organization of such status could lower itself to use spies in order to target individuals who had a due course to pursue. First, this move contravened the privacy act of the United Kingdom’s laws. The multinational went a step further to hire two investigative firms to introspect into a single issue concurrently. It can be argued that this would have made the participating investigators to take their eyes off the target and investigate one another. Some experts in law see this move as a counterproductive one. There were instances which the investigators befriended some of the Greenpeace members to an extent of having relationship. This as well might have hampered their work as evidenced during the court proceedings. One of the investigators, Michelle Hooker, had an half a year relationship with one of the lobbyist. Some of the investigators went as far as breaking into the group’s offices and other malicious acts. After McDonalds failed to silence the two, it sued them for libel and wanted reparation as part of the settlement. However Morris and Steel, with no legal battle experience set out to fight to the end. The two received financial backing from within the group as well as other well wishers. In my opinion the McLibel case is a spectacular example to the extents which the world’s multinationals act with impunity. These multinationals seem even larger than life. They do not recognize foreign governments’ laws and regulations leave alone the parent country. International corporate laws are also weak to such an extent that settlements arrived at may not be binding to all parties especially if they originate from different countries. The McLibel’s case is just an example of how multinationals are perpetrators of expansionist ideals. They go about their businesses in total disregard of human rights. For instance, it is an undisputable fact that consumption of junk food eventually lead to health complications like obesity and hypertension among others. What McDonald did was to circumvent the laws by filing constitutional cases and raising as many objections as possible. It went to extreme ends by coe