ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction In the first meditation, Descartes is baffled after realizing that, many things that he holds as true and real are false and imaginary. He questions whether his existence is real or imaginary. Convinced that everything is imaginary in life, Descartes begins to doubt the knowledge that he has acquired over many years. His thoughts convince him that, the only way to be certain about his existence is to demolish every form of knowledge he has acquired and start a new foundation of knowledge; however, this task is too burdening to undertake. Descartes confesses that, whatever he accepts as true and real deceives him because he acquires them through senses. Thus, Descartes starts to live in confusion and doubt and consequently concludes that one cannot distinguish things that happen in reality from those that happen in sleep. He holds that, science disciplines emerge from complex structures that are imaginary and doubtful. Comparatively, in the allegory of the cave, Socrates depicts how humans grope in darkness of ignorance, yet they believe to have attained reality and real meaning in life. Thus, how is knowledge of ignorance, in Descartes’ meditation and Socrates’ the allegory of cave, fruitful in understanding the existence and real meaning of life? Descartes Meditation In meditation, Descartes finds that he has been living in deception because his senses and nature conspire to deceive him into believing illusion as reality. He wonders if he can differentiate his dreams and realities because he discovers that he has been living in the world of ignorance. Realizing that he has been all along ignorant, Descartes decides to withhold all beliefs and knowledge that he acquires and treats them with doubt so that he can ascertain their truth lest he continues living in deception. In attempts to define his identity, Descartes realizes that there is complex association of mind and body that enables him to achieve reality and understand his environment. He argues that since he has the capacity to think and doubt his existence, it obviously follows that he exists as a mind trying to comprehend the body. In order to ascertain his existence, Descartes comes up with method of systemic doubt where he argues that he will
John Stuart’s theory of utilitarianism John Stuart Mill developed a theory of happiness based on his belief. He was an economic, political, and social philosopher. Stuart analyzed the issue of happiness from the perspective of utilitarian theory. In his book, utilitarianism, Stuart advocated for the definite course of action that resulted in the most desired result. The theory put a condition that for a human being to achieve the highest level of happiness, then every achievement has to be a result of the use of an appropriate means. For an individual to achieve full happiness, the course of action in every matter has to be analyzed such that the projected outcome is the most desirable of all. Consequently, the outcome of a course of action that is on the course of being undertaken or is to be undertaken lies in the value of the outcome. One can conclude that conforming to those actions that give the greatest satisfaction to the individual will result in overall happiness (Mill & Crisp, 1998). Conflict of Stuart’s theory Stuart’s theory contrasts with other theories that dictate that the action itself must be pleasant, or must elicit happiness for the person executing the particular action to be happy. Certain principles have to be adhered to in the course of action in order to achieve the desired outcome. The effect of utilitarian rules on the individual is not taken into consideration. In that essence, the conflict in Stuart’s theory is that the contribution of the action or the means in realizing an achievement is nullified. Societies around the world have cultures that are analogous to each other in many aspects. Most cultures advocate that in the quest for achievement by an individual, the means of achievement are considered. The value of achievement is not critical to many cultures, and the sanctity of the means is paramount. However, in some cultures, the most important aspect of actions is the outcome of the action to the individual. However, this theory does not take into account the effect of the actions on the individual (Mathews & Izquierdo, 2009). Comparison with the trend of contemporary society Stuart views the issue of ethics from the perspective of the results of an action. Any action that results in a pleasant feeling for an individual then justifies the means. On the other hand, the word, happiness, is relative according to other sociologists. The opinion of what happiness is to an individual influences nature of the outcome to an individual. An individual may spend time and effort using an unpleasant method of trying to achieve an outcome that will make him or her happy. Moderation of utilitarianism doctrine Stuart’s theory has an effect on the society we live in since the communities in it exhibit the characteristics of adoption of Stuart’s propositions. In today’s society, the course of action that generates the most desired outcome for an individual is more important to a particular person. Traditional cultures, which advocate for observation of norms and ethical
Introduction Immaterial labor refers to the two aspects of labor: informational content and cultural content. Informational content are the skillful changes utilized by workers in the labor processes that occurring in the industrial and tertiary sectors while cultural content refers to all the activities that cannot be categorized normally as work but determines the cultural artistic standards, fashions, tastes and consumer traditions that shape quality of service or product. Mass intellectuality Empirical research and theoretical reflection of the new forms of work organization led to the radical modification of the management, composition and control of the work force that have profoundly influenced the roles of intellectuals within the society. Manual labor has undergone great transformation into intellectual labor due to the demands of capitalists and self-valorization as factors of production. Intellectual labor requires workers to be subjective to the organization as the aim of modern management strategies is to make workers’ soul be part of the organization. The subjectivity of workers to the organization is the basis of achieving quality and quantity immaterial labor in production given that work is the ability to activate and manage a team of workers productively. In addition to subjectivity of workers, activity is another attribute required for optimum productivity in an organization since the heart of productivity is collective learning and innovation of new organizational functions. Subjectivity has a disadvantage of generating conflicts between various social classes within the organization because capitalist demands absolute subjectivity, which is practically impossible in the view of the competencies of the workers. The management concept of subjectivity seems to be an autocratic management as capitalist seeks to have a communicative process that totally involves and emanates from their subjects. Immaterial Labor Immaterial labor activities entail forms of networks and flows characterized by the precariousness, hyper-exploitation, mobility and hierarchy hence its power depends on the professional and management capacities. The challenge of immaterial labor is its interface position between production and consumption, which compels it to promote both productive and social relationship through the process of subjective though it seemed to be autocratic. The big question revolves around the independence and ability of immaterial labor to develop organizational capacities and corporate relationship. According to the economists, industries do not create new power but takes an on-board power by adaption. On contrast, immaterial labor requires new forms of work organization to be innovated through activity. The two differing views arise; one is the neoclassical analysis that tries to redefine the market problem by introducing cooperation and intensity of labor to optimize production. The other view is the system theory that conceives organization factors such as material or immaterial, individual or collective in eliminating market constrains. The immaterial labor leads t
During the 1960s, Vatican II and Liberation Theology arrived. Their twin emphasis was upon liberating people from material evil as well as spiritual evil on religious grounds. A weighty social, economic, and political–a “worldly”–dimension was thereby added to religion. The clarification of this additive required social analysis for which Marxism offered one obvious instrument. Thesis In Latin America, liberation theology becomes very popular because of the unique economic, social, and political conditions that affected the countries of this region. The consequence was the confirmation of findings by pre-Marx theologians, that poverty derived from evil people and their social structures. Its amelioration required their change, and social change meant political action. Liberation turned into a politically explosive issue (Bentley 1982). The explosion was defused because the idea of the welfare state had already been widely accepted. Nevertheless, to the discomfort of the official church, the poverty issue was now fully in the political arena. Its politicization was enhanced because changing sinful structures was acknowledging the possibility of collective sin. Purification from sin was an individual’s private affair. Donating to charity was insufficient. Those benefitting from these structures considered their change a threat to vested interests. Individually, they could do nothing about it. Collectively, they welcomed a loosening of the bonds which had hitherto tied church and oligarchies together. The result has been that dealing with poverty by the church, and the role Liberation Theology was to play in it, has created much controversy over ecclesiastic and secular politics (Braaten 1989). Liberation Theology has most of its protagonists in Latin America can be substantiated by all the conditions in that subcontinent. Contemporary Latin America is therefore also an area excellently qualified for an examination of politics as they are practiced within and by the church, states, and private groups about a social issue and its wider implications (Braaten 1989). This is all the more the case as the situation regarding poverty in mid-and late-twentieth-century Latin America replicates in many respects the conditions of the early industrial revolution in Europe (Bentley 1982). Then and now their concern was to keep religion relevant when contemporary conditions were rapidly changing. The nineteenth-century theologians were predominantly dealing with the sociological aspects of the social problem of poverty. The Liberation theologians are, in addition, attempting to reinforce the temporal aspects of their solution to the poverty problem with a new interpretation of an underlying theo
Governance is a practice that has been diverse ever since time immemorial not only among different governments but also even within the same constitutional provisions. The dynamics in governance are extensive from government to government and from regime to regime with every leader having their own governance ideologies and styles. This translates to the fact that no single regime resembles the other in terms of governance. Owing to this, every regime must be viewed as a single unit for better and thorough understanding. This paper compares the political regimes in china and Japan and the characteristics of their political institutions. Political framework One of the most distinguishing factors of the two countries is the political framework. In china, politics are played in a single-party socialist republic i.e. the communist party. The powers of the state in the country are exercised through this party and the Central People’s Government, which has provincial and local components through which the unit exercises its powers. As opposed to this system in china, the Japanese political framework is a democratic monarchy with parliamentary representation. Furthermore, unlike the Chinese framework, which is a single party system, the Japanese political system encompasses a multiparty system. In this case, the prime minister heads the government, which exercises executive power. Government The highest and most powerful body in the Chinese government is the Central People’s Government. This body stands as the only legislative organ in the republic of china. The determination of its membership falls under the Communist Party of China and its role as a policy maker is of great importance. The president’s office in china is a ceremonial office and the occupant of this office serves the role of the nominal head of state. The election of a candidate for this office is a ‘single candidate’ elections, which is the responsibility of the National People’s Congress. In another level of the government is the state council, which is appointed by the National People’s Congress and the Premier sits as its chair. The members of this council are the heads of the governmental departments and agencies, approximately fifty in total. Chief among the roles of this council is overseeing the provincial governments. At this level of governance are other bodies like the Central Military Commission, which exercise command over the people’s liberation army. The others include th
Introduction In organizations or institutions, the positions that are held by different individuals plays very important role in creating a better working environment within the organization’s community, as well as establishing a closer relationship with the surrounding community and/ or the entire community networks of its operations. For an organization to have smooth and well-organized operations, the company ensures that it carries its functions and operations in manner that yields to a greater bonding and intimate relationship with all parties involved. An organization therefore endeavors to achieve this through a number of ways, which include but not limit to employee and customer satisfactions, which is a field only constituted through the application of ethical and moral values in the undertaking of the organization functions and activities -(Muhl, 1999). This paper thus tries to reveal the moral and ethical applications as it applied to New Haven Firefighter’s case on the decision of their final recruitment results. Executive summary According to the New Havens case, it was overt that the New Havens had wanted to promote their officers in which all individuals had been given equal entry opportunities. The recruitment results showed that a number of individuals from both minority groups and the white group had passed entry mark; however, no single candidate from the minority groups had secured a chance in the first three positions which were the only positions to be awarded the available promotional opportunities by the organization in the chosen criteria. This incident of having all the minority incumbents locked out became a matter of great concern to the New Haven’s managerial team, which subsequently nullified the recruitment results, an action that raised major managerial concerns of moral and ethical applications (Ball and Haque, 2003). Core basis of the organization decision Compensation of past injustices According to the revealed information, New Haven managerial decision act had a strong basis of ethical grounds, rather than consideration of demographic of the general population. The organization managerial team not only acted from a point of ethical perspective by defying the recruitment results, but its actions were also in accordance with the legal fulfillment, that aimed at bridging the disparity gaps of employments, social and economic status, that resulted from unequal and unfair treatments on the minority groups by the white community. This means that the minority groups were highly disadvantaged in numerous ways that weakened their strengths, and such weakening effects well realized even in the today’s community. Depending on the recruitment results, it appears that the implementation of the result would ultimately make the minority group members be cut-off from participating and occupying promotional positions of higher ranks, which they could perform in more or less the same way as their white counterparts if they equally had almost similar
Colin Kaepernick is an NFL football player best known for his public protest of kneeling during national anthem performances as a manner of attracting attention to the oppression of racial minorities in the United States. He gained immediate public and media attention, which also deeply divided the country and a passionate fan base of the NFL, some supporting his actions while others demonstrated anger at what they saw as a disrespectful action towards American symbols and pride. Kaepernick became a symbol himself and one of the most influential sports personalities in the current socio-political landscape. Kaepernick surprisingly maintains a subdued public profile, mostly avoiding interviews and public appearances with an occasional staged and savvy use of social media to make his point but he is able to connect and get the message across to a large group of loyal supporters that he has garnered through his actions. The ability of Kaepernick to remain publicly relevant and a central topic in both the NFL protests that he started and the overall conversation of racial injustice stems from strategic use of social media where he has collected millions of followers across various platforms. Kaepernick made a promise of silence in 2017 to counter-protest the twisted opposition and messaging that President Trump has distorted his actions into, refusing to be interviewed and that in turn gave him more power and attention. Kaepernick uses this principle in social media as well, where the majority of his posts since the 2017 pledge have been reposted, and only on rare occasions, he writes in his own words. Political figures, celebrities, activists, and other athletes that Kaepernick follows on social media commonly support him and his message. By reposting and retweeting these individuals, he constructs a narrative of his movement in support of peaceful protesting, relevant news, and highlighting racial injustice (Hoffman & Minsberg, 2018). By doing this, when Kaepernick does speak or post something, it is amplified significantly, commonly becoming a trending post or media story. Kaepernick has become a symbol of the modern Civil Rights movement, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and other activist initiatives and organizations. He is respected and admired because he has not caved to public pressure. As analyzed by a communication studies expert, “Kaep has been unapologetic about his views and his activism throughout the last year, which is visible to anyone monitoring his Twitter account or where he is going and what he is doing” (Reid, 2017). In the midst of the
Leadership is an issue that requires some requisite principles for its effective execution in regards to the lesson previously undertaken. Personal discipline and critical thinking remain the best leadership principles that can propel an individual to their greater heights. Welfare of the people takes the central place in any focused leadership and, therefore, it is imperative that the key aim of a good leader is to reach such a goal. It is a well known fact that people have various opinions which is not a curse but a blessing because diversity is the fact that enables development (Lincoln & Distinti, 2011). This means that a good leader must have tolerable traits which constitute ability to asses and analyze the role of every individual in the political, social or economic systems. Most people are driven by egocentric interests when they are in power making them become the puppets of their respective advisory councils with adverse effects of giving blind consent on irrational decisions. A critical thinker has the ability to make consultative based decisions that he or she must go through and make the best judgment that suits the interest of common man (Gupton, 2010). The actions by a leader must not be misconstrued that the leader is not supervising the actions and decisions of the assigned individuals. It is important that the leader makes any decision based on the law and the ethical standards that are acceptable to the people and are not mere personal opinions (Lincoln & Distinti, 2011). What it means is that a good leader must know when to apply deductive or inductive logic to settle down the problem under consideration. Such are the distinguishing attributes of a good leader who can propel any social, political and economic system of any organization without any collateral damage. Creative and critical skills provide the leader with the ability to use rationality and logic in the event of planning on how to meet the demands of the citizen with proper prioritization. An Independent thinking leader will always stick to the informed personal decisions free from the influence of greed driven opinions of other people (Gupton, 2010). This is an outstanding quality of a right thinking leader every nation want in order to meet its visionary targets and the millennium development goals. Inspiration is one of the greatest tools of enhancing people’s performance being an obligation of the leader. It is worth noting that actions of positive outcome and desirable expectations are the main basis of inspiration of a human being. It is, therefore, important for the leader to use and implement the best of his/her good qualities and try as much as possible to avoid displaying his
The study under analysis is called the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male and it took place in Macon County, Alabama. The main purpose of the following study was “to record the natural history of syphilis in Blacks” ( About the USPHS Syphilis Study , n.d., para. 1). However, at those times when the experiment started, there was no treatment for this disease and, moreover, people did not know that they suffer from it. There were 600 participants, besides, all of them were black people. They were divided into two parts. The first one, which consisted of 399 people, became the experimental group. Moreover, every person in this group suffered from syphilis. The rest of the participants became control subjects. ( About the USPHS Syphilis Study , n.d.). During the experiment, all black people lived under perfect conditions and had to accept all suggested procedures. However, there was no real treatment for them. Several years later the experiment was ended. However, there were several reasons for it. First of all, it was called unethical as all participants were not informed about the conditions of the experiment and their illness. Moreover, a great number of patients died in the course of the experiment. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the aftermath of untreated syphilis, which is why patients were not informed about their disease. Their family members also suffered from it. However, this experiment became rather a controversial issue which led to some serious processes in society (LeNoir – NMA Pediatric Lecture Series, 2003). First of all, participants were promised to have free medical service. Moreover, the question of the moral side of different studies appeared. Tuskegee Syphilis Study Legacy Committee was created in order to improve the situation and try to change the current state of affairs.