Morality in Victorian and Neo-Victorian Novels Essay

Morality in Victorian and Neo-Victorian Novels An essay on Jane Eyre, The Mill on the Floss, The French Lieutenants Woman, Possession and The Dress Lodger The Victorian era is one bound to morality. Morality is also defined through the traditional and religious standards that structure the way of life for many Victorians. Morality is defined as the proper principles and standards, in respect to right and wrong, which are to be practiced by all humanity. Ideally, these include obtaining decent careers, being sexually inactive prior marriage, and being faithful when married. Who defines proper behaviour for Victorians? Mainly, the idea of what is right or wrong is based upon the traditions practiced by ones forefathers, along with†¦show more content†¦However, these issues are presented in their immoral state to display the moral right. This is furthered enhanced by the difference between the social classes and genders; what is genuinely wrong for one class or gender is not always wrong for the other. The issue of class warfare is presented through many aspects, mainly occupation and sexuality. Surprisingly, both aspects intertwine and reflect Victorian ideas about such issues. Both authors chose to demonstrate the expected morality within labour (if one is so unfortunate to possess one) through the immoral characters of prostitutes and the men who come to them. Contradicting Victorian notions, Neo Victorian novels present prostitutes as not rootless social outcasts but as poor, independent, working women - they are unfortunate females just trying to make ends meet. They are primarily young, single women, few of whom support illegitimate children. Prostitution offers young women more independence, economically and socially, than would otherwise be available to them. The only condition that seems to dispose women to prostitution is economic relocation. However, no matter the independence or money, prostitutes are seen as necessary evils because they offer their services willingly t o different men, many whom are from the higher class. The feelings commonly thought of as Victorian attitudes towardsShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Tipping The Velvet By Sarah Waters1475 Words   |  6 Pagesoften-transgressed representations. Specifically looking at this representation in Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters a Neo-Victorian fiction novel, Analysing how the performance and act of a male impersonation is created represented and how the act is received. Neo –Victorian literature is most commonly seen as contemporary fiction or culture, which is usually set between 1837 and 1901- during the Victorian era, or it is highly influenced by this period. 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Spirit Bound Chapter Twenty-Three Free Essays

string(32) " what he had done as a Strigoi\." I DIDN’T NEED THE BOND to find Lissa. The crowd tipped me off to where she–and Dimitri–were. My first thought was that some kind of stoning or medieval mobbing was going on. We will write a custom essay sample on Spirit Bound Chapter Twenty-Three or any similar topic only for you Order Now Then I realized that the people standing around were simply watching something. I pushed through them, heedless of the dirty looks I got, until I stood in the front row of the onlookers. What I found brought me to a halt. Lissa and Dimitri sat side by side on a bench while three Moroi and–yikes–Hans sat opposite them. Guardians stood scattered around them, tense and ready to jump in if things went bad, apparently. Before I even heard a word, I knew exactly what was going on. This was an interrogation, an investigation to determine what Dimitri was exactly. Under most circumstances, this would be a weird place for a formal investigation. It was, ironically, one of the courtyards Eddie and I had worked on, the one that stood in the shadow of the statue of the young queen. The Court’s church stood nearby. This grassy area wasn’t exactly holy ground, but it was close enough to the church that people could run to it in an emergency. Crucifixes didn’t hurt Strigoi, but they couldn’t cross over into a church, mosque, or any other sacred place. Between that and the morning sun, this was probably as safe a location and time as officials could muster up to question Dimitri. I recognized one of the Moroi questioners, Reece Tarus. He was related to Adrian on his mom’s side but had also spoken in favor of the age decree. So I took an instant dislike to him, particularly considering the haughty tone he used toward Dimitri. â€Å"Do you find the sun blinding?† asked Reece. He had a clipboard in front of him and appeared to be going down a checklist. â€Å"No,† said Dimitri, voice smooth and controlled. His attention was totally on his questioners. He had no clue I was there, and I kind of liked it that way. I wanted to just gaze at him for a moment and admire his features. â€Å"What if you stare into the sun?† Dimitri hesitated, and I’m not sure anyone but me caught the sudden glint in his eyes–or knew what it meant. The question was stupid, and I think Dimitri–maybe, just maybe–wanted to laugh. With his normal skill, he maintained his composure. â€Å"Anyone would go blind staring into the sun long enough,† he replied. â€Å"I’d go through what anyone else here would.† Reece didn’t seem to like the answer, but there was no fault in the logic. He pursed his lips together and moved on to the next question. â€Å"Does it scald your skin?† â€Å"Not at the moment.† Lissa glanced over at the crowd and noticed me. She couldn’t feel me the way I could through our bond, but sometimes it seemed she had an uncanny sense of when I was around. I think she sensed my aura if I was close enough, since all spirit users claimed the field of light around shadow-kissed people was very distinct. She gave me a small smile before turning back to the questioning. Dimitri, ever vigilant, noticed her tiny movement. He looked over to see what had distracted her, caught sight of me, and faltered a little on Reece’s next question, which was, â€Å"Have you noticed whether your eyes occasionally turn red?† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Dimitri stared at me for several moments and then jerked his head back toward Reece. â€Å"I haven’t been around many mirrors. But I think my guards would have noticed, and none of them have said anything.† Nearby, one of the guardians made a small noise. He barely managed to keep a straight face, but I think he too had wanted to snicker at the ridiculous line of questioning. I couldn’t recall his name, but when I’d been at Court long ago, he and Dimitri had chatted and laughed quite a bit when together. If an old friend was starting to believe Dimitri was a dhampir again, then that had to be a good sign. The Moroi next to Reece glared around, trying to figure out where the noise had come from, but discovered nothing. The questioning continued, this time having to do with whether Dimitri would step into the church if they asked him to. â€Å"I can go right now,† he told them. â€Å"I’ll go to services tomorrow if you want.† Reece made another note, no doubt wondering if he could get the priest to douse Dimitri in holy water. â€Å"This is all a distraction,† a familiar voice said in my ear. â€Å"Smoke and mirrors. That’s what Aunt Tasha says.† Christian now stood beside me. â€Å"It needs to be done,† I murmured back. â€Å"They have to see that he isn’t Strigoi anymore.† â€Å"Yeah, but they’ve barely signed the age law. The queen gave the go-ahead for this as soon as the Council’s session let out because it’s sensational and will make people pay attention to something new. It was how they finally got the hall cleared. ‘Hey, go look at the sideshow!'† I could almost hear Tasha saying that word for word. Regardless, there was truth to it. I felt conflicted. I wanted Dimitri to be free. I wanted him to be the way he used to be. Yet I didn’t appreciate Tatiana doing this for her own political gain and not because she actually cared about what was right. This was possibly the most monumental thing to happen in our history. It needed to be treated as such. Dimitri’s fate shouldn’t be a convenient â€Å"sideshow† to distract everyone from an unfair law. Reece was now asking both Lissa and Dimitri to describe exactly what they’d experienced the night of the raid. I had a feeling this was something they’d recounted quite a bit. Although Dimitri had been the picture of nonthreatening composure so far, I still sensed that gray feel to him, the guilt and torment he felt over what he had done as a Strigoi. You read "Spirit Bound Chapter Twenty-Three" in category "Essay examples" Yet, when he turned to listen to Lissa tell her version of the story, his face lit up with wonder. Awe. Worship. Jealousy flashed through me. His feelings weren’t romantic, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he had rejected me but regarded her as the greatest thing in the world. He’d told me never to talk to him again and sworn he’d do anything for her. Again I felt that petulant sense of being wronged. I refused to believe that he couldn’t love me anymore. It wasn’t possible, not after all he and I had been through together. Not after everything we’d felt for each other. â€Å"They sure seem close,† Christian noted, a suspicious note in his voice. I had no time to tell him his worries were unfounded because I wanted to hear what Dimitri had to say. The story of his change was hard for others to follow, largely because spirit was still so misunderstood. Reece got as much out of it as he could and then turned the questioning over to Hans. Hans, ever practical, had no need for extensive interrogation. He was a man of action, not words. Gripping a stake in his hand, he asked Dimitri to touch it. The standing guardians tensed, probably in case Dimitri tried to grab the stake and go on a rampage. Instead, Dimitri calmly reached out and held the top of the stake for a few moments. There was a collective intake of breath as everyone waited for him to scream in pain since Strigoi couldn’t touch charmed silver. Instead, Dimitri looked bored. Then he astonished them all. Drawing his hand back, he held out the bottom of his muscled forearm toward Hans. With the sunny weather, Dimitri was wearing a T-shirt, leaving the skin there bare. â€Å"Cut me with it,† he told Hans. Hans arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Cutting you with this will hurt no matter what you are.† â€Å"It would be unbearable if I were a Strigoi,† Dimitri pointed out. His face was hard and determined. He was the Dimitri I’d seen in battle, the Dimitri who never backed down. â€Å"Do it. Don’t go easy on me.† Hans didn’t react at first. Clearly, this was an unexpected course of action. Decision finally flashed across his features, and he struck out, swiping the stake’s point against Dimitri’s skin. As Dimitri had requested, Hans didn’t hold back. The point dug deep, and blood welled up. Several Moroi, not used to seeing blood (unless they were drinking it), gasped at the violence. As one, we all leaned forward. Dimitri’s face showed he definitely felt pain, but charmed silver on a Strigoi wouldn’t just hurt–it would burn. I’d cut a lot of Strigoi with stakes and heard them scream in agony. Dimitri grimaced and bit his lip as the blood flowed over his arm. I swear, there was pride in his eyes at his ability to stay strong through that. When it became obvious he wouldn’t start flailing, Lissa reached toward him. I sensed her intentions; she wanted to heal him. â€Å"Wait,† said Hans. â€Å"A Strigoi would heal from this in minutes.† I had to give Hans credit. He’d worked two tests into one. Dimitri shot him a grateful look, and Hans gave a small nod of acknowledgment. Hans believed, I realized. Whatever his faults, Hans truly thought Dimitri was a dhampir again. I would love him forever for that, no matter how much filing he made me do. So, we all stood there watching poor Dimitri bleed. It was kind of sick, really, but the test worked. It was obvious to everyone that the cut wasn’t going anywhere. Lissa was finally given leave to heal it, and that caused a bigger reaction among the crowd. Murmurs of wonder surrounded me, and those enraptured goddess-worshipping looks showed on people’s faces. Reece glanced at the crowd. â€Å"Does anyone have any questions to add to ours?† No one spoke. They were all dumbfounded by the sights before them. Well, someone had to step forward. Literally. â€Å"I do,† I said, striding toward them. No, Rose, begged Lissa. Dimitri wore an equally displeased look. Actually, so did almost everyone sitting near him. When Reece’s gaze fell on me, I had a feeling he was seeing me in the Council room all over again, calling Tatiana a sanctimonious bitch. I put my hands on my hips, not caring what they thought. This was my chance to force Dimitri to acknowledge me. â€Å"When you used to be Strigoi,† I began, making it clear that I believed that was in the past, â€Å"you were very well connected. You knew about the whereabouts of lots of Strigoi in Russia and the U.S., right?† Dimitri eyed me carefully, trying to figure out where I was going. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Do you still know them?† Lissa frowned. She thought I was going to inadvertently implicate Dimitri as still being in contact with other Strigoi. â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"So long as none of them have moved.† The answer came more swiftly this time. I wasn’t sure if he’d guessed my tactic or if he just trusted that my Rose-logic would go somewhere useful. â€Å"Would you share that information with the guardians?† I asked. â€Å"Would you tell us all the Strigoi hideouts so that we could strike out against them?† That got a reaction. Proactively seeking Strigoi was as hotly debated as the other issues going around right now, with strong opinions on all sides. I heard those opinions reiterated behind me in the crowd, some people saying I was suggesting suicide while others acknowledged we had a valuable tool. Dimitri’s eyes lit up. It wasn’t the adoring look he often gave Lissa, but I didn’t care. It was similar to the ones we used to share, in those moments where we understood each other so perfectly, we didn’t even need to vocalize what we were thinking. That connection flashed between us, as did his approval–and gratitude. â€Å"Yes,† he replied, voice strong and loud. â€Å"I can tell you everything I know about Strigoi plans and locations. I’d face them with you or stay behind–whichever you wanted.† Hans leaned forward in his chair, expression eager. â€Å"That could be invaluable.† More points for Hans. He was on the side of hitting out at Strigoi before they came to us. Reece flushed–or maybe he was just feeling the sun. In their efforts to see if Dimitri would burn up in the light, the Moroi were exposing themselves to discomfort. â€Å"Now hold on,† Reece exclaimed over the increasing noise. â€Å"That has never been a tactic we endorse. Besides, he could always lie–â€Å" His protests were cut off by a feminine scream. A small Moroi boy, no more than six, had suddenly broken from the crowd and run toward us. It was his mother who had screamed. I moved in to stop him, grabbing his arm. I wasn’t afraid that Dimitri would hurt him, only that the boy’s mother would have a heart attack. She came forward, face grateful. â€Å"I have questions,† the boy, obviously trying to be brave, said in a small voice. His mother reached for him, but I held up my hand. â€Å"Hang on a sec.† I smiled down at him. â€Å"What do you want to ask? Go ahead.† Behind him, fear flashed over his mother’s face, and she cast an anxious look at Dimitri. â€Å"I won’t let anything happen to him,† I whispered, though she had no way of knowing I could back that up. Nonetheless, she stayed where she was. Reece rolled his eyes. â€Å"This is ridic–â€Å" â€Å"If you’re Strigoi,† the boy interrupted loudly, â€Å"then why don’t you have horns? My friend Jeffrey said Strigoi have horns.† Dimitri’s eyes fell not on the boy but on me for a moment. Again, that spark of knowing shot between us. Then, face smooth and serious, Dimitri turned to the boy and answered, â€Å"Strigoi don’t have horns. And even if they did, it wouldn’t matter because I’m not Strigoi.† â€Å"Strigoi have red eyes,† I explained. â€Å"Do his eyes look red?† The boy leaned forward. â€Å"No. They’re brown.† â€Å"What else do you know about Strigoi?† I asked. â€Å"They have fangs like us,† the boy replied. â€Å"Do you have fangs?† I asked Dimitri in a singsong voice. I had a feeling this was already-covered territory, but it took on a new feel when asked from a child’s perspective. Dimitri smiled–a full, wonderful smile that caught me off guard. Those kinds of smiles were so rare from him. Even when happy or amused, he usually only gave half smiles. This was genuine, showing all his teeth, which were as flat as those of any human or dhampir. No fangs. The boy looked impressed. â€Å"Okay, Jonathan,† said his mother anxiously. â€Å"You asked. Let’s go now.† â€Å"Strigoi are super strong,† continued Jonathan, who possibly aspired to be a future lawyer. â€Å"Nothing can hurt them.† I didn’t bother correcting him, for fear he’d want to see a stake shoved through Dimitri’s heart. In fact, it was kind of amazing that Reece hadn’t already requested that. Jonathan fixed Dimitri with a piercing gaze. â€Å"Are you super strong? Can you be hurt?† â€Å"Of course I can,† replied Dimitri. â€Å"I’m strong, but all sorts of things can still hurt me.† And then, being Rose Hathaway, I said something I really shouldn’t have to the boy. â€Å"You should go punch him and find out.† Jonathan’s mother screamed again, but he was a fast little bastard, eluding her grasp. He ran up to Dimitri before anyone could stop him–well, I could have–and pounded his tiny fist against Dimitri’s knee. Then, with the same reflexes that allowed him to dodge enemy attacks, Dimitri immediately feinted falling backward, as though Jonathan had knocked him over. Clutching his knee, Dimitri groaned as though he were in terrible pain. Several people laughed, and by then, one of the other guardians had caught hold of Jonathan and returned him to his near-hysterical mother. As he was being dragged away, Jonathan glanced over his shoulder at Dimitri. â€Å"He doesn’t seem very strong to me. I don’t think he’s a Strigoi.† This caused more laughter, and the third Moroi interrogator, who’d been quiet, snorted and rose from his seat. â€Å"I’ve seen all I need to. I don’t think he should walk around unguarded, but he’s no Strigoi. Give him a real place to stay and just keep guards on him until further decisions are made.† Reece shot up. â€Å"But–â€Å" The other man waved him off. â€Å"Don’t waste any more time. It’s hot, and I want to go to bed. I’m not saying I understand what happened, but this is the least of our problems right now, not with half the Council wanting to rip the other half’s heads off over the age decree. If anything, what we’ve seen today is a good thing–miraculous, even. It could alter the way we’ve lived. I’ll report back to Her Majesty.† And like that, the group began dispersing, but there was wonder on some of their faces. They too were beginning to realize that if what had happened to Dimitri was real, then everything we’d ever known about Strigoi was about to change. The guardians stayed with Dimitri, of course, as he and Lissa rose. I immediately moved toward them, eager to bask in our victory. When he’d been â€Å"knocked over† by Jonathan’s tiny punch, Dimitri had given me a small smile, and my heart had leapt. I’d known then that I’d been right. He did still have feelings for me. But now, in the blink of an eye, that rapport was gone. Seeing me walk toward them, Dimitri’s face grew cold and guarded again. Rose, said Lissa through the bond. Go away now. Leave him alone. â€Å"The hell I will,† I said, both answering her aloud and addressing him. â€Å"I just furthered your case.† â€Å"We were doing fine without you,† said Dimitri stiffly. â€Å"Oh yeah?† I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. â€Å"You seemed pretty grateful a couple minutes ago when I thought up the idea of you helping us against Strigoi.† Dimitri turned to Lissa. His voice was low, but it carried to me. â€Å"I don’t want to see her.† â€Å"You have to!† I exclaimed. A few of the departing people paused to see what the racket was about. â€Å"You can’t ignore me.† â€Å"Make her go away,† Dimitri growled. â€Å"I’m not–â€Å" ROSE! Lissa shouted in my head, shutting me up. Those piercing jade eyes stared me down. Do you want to help him or not? Standing here and yelling at him is going to make him even more upset! Is that what you want? Do you want people to see that? See him get mad and yell back at you just so you don’t feel invisible? They need to see him calm. They need to see him†¦ normal. It’s true–you did just help. But if you don’t walk away right now, you could ruin everything. I stared at them both aghast, my heart pounding. Her words had all been in my mind, but Lissa might as well have strode up to me and chewed me out aloud. My temper shot up even more. I wanted to go rant at both of them, but the truth of her words penetrated through my anger. Starting a scene would not help Dimitri. Was it fair that they were sending me away? Was it fair that the two of them were teaming up and ignoring what I’d just done? No. But I wasn’t going to let my hurt pride screw up what I’d just achieved. People had to accept Dimitri. I shot them both looks that made my feelings clear and then stormed away. Lissa’s feelings immediately changed to sympathy through the bond, but I blocked them out. I didn’t want to hear it. I’d barely cleared the church’s grounds when I ran into Daniella Ivashkov. Sweat was starting to smudge her beautifully applied makeup, making me think she’d been out here for a while watching the Dimitri-spectacle too. She appeared to have a couple friends with her, but they kept their distance and chatted amongst themselves when she stopped in front of me. Swallowing my anger, I reminded myself she’d done nothing to piss me off. I forced a smile. â€Å"Hi, Lady Ivashkov.† â€Å"Daniella,† she said kindly. â€Å"No titles.† â€Å"Sorry. It’s still a weird thing.† She nodded toward where Dimitri and Lissa were departing with his guards. â€Å"I saw you there, just now. You helped his case, I think. Poor Reece was pretty flustered.† I recalled that Reece was related to her. â€Å"Oh†¦ I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–â€Å" â€Å"Don’t apologize. Reece is my uncle, but in this case, I believe in what Vasilisa and Mr. Belikov are saying.† Despite how angry Dimitri had just made me, my gut instinct resented the dropping of his â€Å"guardian† title. Yet I could forgive her, considering her attitude. â€Å"You†¦ you believe Lissa healed him? That Strigoi can be restored?† I was realizing there were lots of people who believed. The crowd had just demonstrated as much, and Lissa was still building her following of devotees. Somehow, my line of thinking always tended to assume all royals were against me. Daniella’s smile turned wry. â€Å"My own son is a spirit user. Since accepting that, I’ve had to accept a lot of other things I didn’t believe were possible.† â€Å"I suppose you would,† I admitted. Beyond her, I noticed a Moroi man standing near some trees. His eyes occasionally fell on us, and I could have sworn I’d seen him before. Daniella’s next words turned my attention back to her. â€Å"Speaking of Adrian†¦ he was looking for you earlier. It’s short notice now, but some of Nathan’s relatives are having a late cocktail party in about an hour, and Adrian wanted you to go.† Another party. Was that all anyone ever did here at Court? Massacres, miracles†¦ it didn’t matter. Everything was cause for a party, I thought bitterly. I’d probably been with Ambrose and Rhonda when Adrian went searching. It was interesting. In passing on the invitation, Daniella was also saying that she wanted me to go. Unfortunately, I had a hard time being as open to it. Nathan’s family meant the Ivashkovs, and they wouldn’t be so friendly. â€Å"Will the queen be there?† I asked suspiciously. â€Å"No, she has other engagements.† â€Å"Are you sure? No unexpected visits?† She laughed. â€Å"No, I’m certain of it. Rumor has it that you two being in the same room together†¦ isn’t such a good idea.† I could only imagine the stories going around about my Council performance, particularly since Adrian’s father had been there to witness it. â€Å"No, not after that ruling. What she did†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The anger I’d felt earlier began to blaze again. â€Å"It was unforgivable.† That weird guy by the tree was still waiting around. Why? Daniella didn’t confirm or deny my statement, and I wondered where she stood on the issue. â€Å"She’s still quite fond of you.† I scoffed. â€Å"I have a hard time believing that.† Usually, people who yelled at you in public weren’t too â€Å"fond† of you, and even Tatiana’s cool composure had cracked near the end of our spat. â€Å"It’s true. This will blow over, and there might even be a chance for you to be assigned to Vasilisa.† â€Å"You can’t be serious,† I exclaimed. I should have known better. Daniella Ivashkov didn’t really seem like the joking type, but I really did believe I’d crossed the line with Tatiana. â€Å"After everything that’s happened, they don’t want to waste good guardians. Besides, she doesn’t want there to be animosity between you.† â€Å"Yeah? Well, I don’t want her bribery! If she thinks putting Dimitri out there and dangling a royal job is going to change my mind, she’s wrong. She’s a lying, scheming–â€Å" I stopped abruptly. My voice had gone loud enough that Daniella’s nearby friends were now staring. And I really didn’t want to say the names I thought Tatiana deserved in front of Daniella. â€Å"Sorry,† I said. I attempted civility. â€Å"Tell Adrian I’ll come to the party†¦ but do you really want me to go? After I crashed the ceremony the other night? And after, um, other things I’ve done?† She shook her head. â€Å"What happened at the ceremony is as much Adrian’s fault as it is yours. It’s done, and Tatiana let it go. This party’s a much more lighthearted event, and if he wants you there, then I want him to be happy.† â€Å"I’ll go shower and change now and meet him at your place in an hour.† She was tactful enough to ignore my earlier outburst. â€Å"Wonderful. I know he’ll be happy to hear that.† I declined to tell her that I was actually happy about the thought of flaunting myself in front of some Ivashkovs in the hopes that it would get back to Tatiana. I no longer believed for an instant that she accepted what was going on with Adrian and me or that she would let my outburst blow over. And truthfully, I did want to see him. We hadn’t had much time to talk recently. After Daniella and her friends left, I figured it was time to get to the bottom of things. I headed straight over to the Moroi who’d been lurking around, hands on my hips. â€Å"Okay,† I demanded. â€Å"Who are you, and what do you want?† He was only a few years older than me and didn’t seem at all fazed by my tough-girl attitude. He crooked me a smile, and I again pondered where I’d seen him. â€Å"I’ve got a message for you,† he said. â€Å"And some gifts.† He handed over a tote bag. I looked inside and found a laptop, some cords, and several pieces of paper. I stared up at him in disbelief. â€Å"What’s this?† â€Å"Something you need to get a move on–and not let anyone else know about. The note will explain everything.† â€Å"Don’t play spy movie with me! I’m not doing anything until you–† His face clicked. I’d seen him back at St. Vladimir’s, around the time of my graduation–always hovering in the background. I groaned, suddenly understanding the secretive nature–and cocky attitude. â€Å"You work for Abe.† How to cite Spirit Bound Chapter Twenty-Three, Essay examples

Percentage of completion method vs completed

Percentage of completion method vs completed-contract method Essay â€Å"Is it more appropriate to use the percentage-of-completion method or the completed-contract method for acknowledging gross of long-run building contracts? † Draft Paper for DFST3341 Fiscal Accounting Bachelor of Applied Business Administration – Accounting Bachelor of Applied Business Administration – Accounting February 4, 2014 Executive Summary Many concerns are concerned with how to enter their grosss and disbursals in order to maximising their benefits while minimising their revenue enhancements lawfully. The inquiry associating to revenue enhancements is frequently asked by many little businesses’ proprietors. However, another every bit of import issue that little concern proprietors might frequently bury is their accounting income which can be every bit of import. Many little concerns might be invariably looking for the extra loans to fund their ongoing undertakings. Therefore, fiscal establishments and prospected investors might be inquiring if the concern can manage excess loans or take on the new proposed undertakings. For the intent of this paper, we will be analyzing little place builders who have been entering their contracted undertakings by utilizing the completed method to find if it is more appropriate to utilize the per centum of the completed method. The immediate impact of the different methods of gross acknowledgment will hold direct impact on the fiscal statements. Therefore, we will be utilizing the illustration from John-of-all-trades edifice corporation to establish our findings if the company should be taking one method over the other. We may happen that depending on the assorted demands of the concern, one method might be more appropriate than the other depending on the coveted Numberss that a concern proprietor wants to hold on the fiscal statement that will be fulfilling the alone demands of a company. The Percentage of completion method versus the Completed contract method A comparing of the two different accounting methods will enable us to hold a better apprehension of the advantages and disadvantages in term of fiscal and non-financial factors. The per centum of completion method The percentage-of-completion method recognizes income as work on a contract ( or a group of closely related contracts ) progresses. The acknowledgment of grosss and net incomes is by and large related to costs incurred in supplying the services required under the contract. Under this method, work-in-progress ( WIP ) is accumulated in the accounting records. At any point in clip if the cumulative Billingss to day of the month under the contract exceed the sum of the WIP plus the part of the contract’s estimated gross net income attributable to that WIP, so the contractor recognizes a current liability captioned â€Å"billing in surplus of costs and estimated earnings† . The liability recognizes the staying duty of the contractor to finish extra work prior to acknowledging the extra charge as gross. If the contrary is true, that is, the accrued WIP and gross net income earned exceed Billingss to day of the month, so the contractor recognizes a current assets captioned â€Å"cost and estimated net incomes in surplus of billings.† This plus represents the part of the contractor’s grosss under the contract that have been earned but non yet billed under the contract commissariats. The percentage-of-completion method recognizes the gross over clip as building progresses to capture the ‘earned’ gross and fit it with the incurred disbursal. The contractor has the duty to execute the work and the purchaser has the duty to pay the contractor throughout different completed phases of the undertaking. Harmonizing to the article Overview of the Percentage of Completion method, this method works best when it is moderately possible to gauge the phases of undertaking completion and the staying costs. This method will non be favorable when there are excessively much uncertainnesss about the per centum of completion and the contractor is unable to gauge the minimal entire gross and maximal entire cost to get at the contract command. .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a , .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a .postImageUrl , .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a , .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a:hover , .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a:visited , .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a:active { border:0!important; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a:active , .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc4d980403d80d5c5e2464f15facc5a4a:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Criminology EssayThe advantages for the contractor would be a lessening in bad debt, gross received sooner which improves the hard currency flow for the concern which could take to a possible decrease in involvement disbursal, and an addition in motive to finish the undertaking harmonizing to the jutting clip frame. The disadvantage for the contractor would be an addition in administrating cost to publish estimations of completed phases of the undertaking, an addition in labor for publishing bills and roll uping grosss. The disadvantage for the purchaser would be an addition in hard currency out flow than the completed accounting method. The completed-contract method The completed-contract method recognizes incomes merely when the contract is complete, or well complete. Under this method, contract costs and related Billingss are accumulated in the accounting records and reported as recesss points on the statement of fiscal place until the undertaking is complete or well complete. A contract is regarded as well complete if staying costs of completion are immaterial. When the accumulated costs ( WIP ) exceed the related Billingss, the surplus is presented as a current plus ( inventory history ) . If Billingss exceed related costs, the difference is presented by current liability. The finding is besides made on a project-by-project footing with the accrued assets and liabilities being individually stated on the statement of fiscal place. An surplus of accrued Billingss over related costs is presented in most instances as a current liability. The completed contract method is a deferral method of acknowledging the ‘earned’ gross and ‘realized’ disbursals. The completed contract method will acknowledge the WIP as a current plus point while the surplus of charge will be categorized as current liability. The disadvantages for the contractor would be a lessening in hard currency flow due to concluding payment will be received one time the whole undertaking is completed. Therefore, an addition in involvement disbursal would be realized due to the limited of hard currency influxs. Is it more appropriate to use the per centum of completion than the completed contract method? These undermentioned factors that should be considered before choosing the accounting method for acknowledging the gross of the building undertakings: The possibility of uncertainnesss that associated with the staying costs of the undertakings Are there possible conditions that might forestall the enforcement of a undertaking due to related belongingss being expropriated? When contracts are short-run in nature that the consequences reported differ between the two methods are immaterial. The delaying in acknowledging grosss will let a concern to postpone the acknowledgment of related income revenue enhancements. There is a demand for obtaining extra support as working capital for enlargement in the following few old ages There is an outlook of loss before the undertaking is completed Harmonizing to the article of Overview of the Completed Contract method and the Percentage of completion method, the writer identifies the appropriate state of affairss that will promote the choice of one method over the other. By traveling through each factor, a company can find the demands of the presentation of the fiscal statements to reflect the gross recognized. Because of the different intervention of the earned gross, one company may take the per centum of completion because of the demands in more frequent hard currency flows to cover disbursals that the company does non hold adequate hard currency to cover. Besides, another cardinal factor that will promote a concern to take the per centum of completion is the ability to anticipate the instability in the economic system ; hence, enabling the estimations of concluding costs for the undertaking prior to the company’s rivals. Decision Mentions: 1 ) www.accounting tools.com/percentage-of-completion-method 2 ) Lamoreaux, M. G. ( 2012 ) . A new system for acknowledging gross: larn how the new theoretical account in FASB s revised proposal could impact your concern.Journal of Accountability, 1-30. .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 , .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 .postImageUrl , .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 , .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164:hover , .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164:visited , .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164:active { border:0!important; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164:active , .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164 .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .udc2d68da30198636d83a3aa2dab5c164:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Walmart Essay3 ) McKee, T. E. ( 2013 ) . Using larning curves for Revenue Recognition: how to use a different attack under FA SB s proposed criterion.The CPA Journal, 1-60. 4 ) Spector, S. ( 2012 ) . Revenue Recognition: Take Three.CGA Magazines, 44-45. 5 ) Spector, S. ( 2013 ) . A joint IASB/FASB gross theoretical account is on the skyline.CGA Magazine, 42-43. 6 ) Rashty, J. , A ; OShaughnessy, J. ( 2011 ) . Accounting for Deferred Revenue Liabilities in Post-Business Combination Statements. CPA Journal, 81 ( 4 ) , 30-33. 7 ) Culp, William R. , ,Jr, A ; Richardson, M. L. ( 2006 ) . CAN COMPLETED CONTRACT ACCOUNTING METHOD BE USED BY LOT DEVELOPERS WHO DO NOT BUILD HOMES?Journal of Taxation,105( 6 ) , 342-348. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //search.proquest.com.libezproxy.nait.ca/docview/198106842? accountid=12654 8 ) Brady, R. , A ; Triplett, L. ( 2011, October ) . Revenue acknowledgment: remark letters help determine future counsel.Financial Executive,27( 8 ) , 30+ . Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //go.galegroup.com.libezproxy.nait.ca/ps/i.do? id=GALE|A270733460 A ; v=2.1 A ; u=naitl_main A ; it=r A ; p=AONE A ; sw=w A ; asid=c3da09f0219b502c098e26ad463dce28 9 ) www.irs.gov./small-businesses- % 26-self-emloyed/accounting-for-construction-contracts-construction-tax-tips 10 ) Wiley GAAP 2012 pages 359

Spinozas Theory of Emotions Essay Example

Spinozas Theory of Emotions Paper Christian Scherrer, student number: 013851259 Analysing and synthesizing passions Aspects of Cartesian and Spinozist method It has often been noted that in the third part of his „Ethicsâ€Å" Spinoza follows in his list of definitions of affects to a great extent the one of passions given by Descartes in his â€Å"Passions de lAme† (apart from divergent evaluations of some of the passions1, like Spinoza? s refusal to include admiratio among them). It also appears that both of them are building a taxonomy of passions that introduces some kind of hierarchical order among these. We find both in Descartes as well as in Spinoza a set of passions2 out or by means of which further, in some sense more complex or specific passions are being developed from. What will be my guiding interest in this essay, is to compare and distinguish the two theories of passion according to the sense in which basic or primary passions are named thus and the way they are being discovered or identified and thereby hinting at a difference on the more general level of methodology. I want to begin with what is a starting point in Descartes? and Spinoza? s defining the passions in a general manner. We will write a custom essay sample on Spinozas Theory of Emotions specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Spinozas Theory of Emotions specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Spinozas Theory of Emotions specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It is very interesting and insightful to compare the procedures through which they arrive at their different conceptions of passions and at identifying and defining the basic ones. It is true that they both operate with the notion of causa as a starting point for their distinction between action and passion, but we should draw our attention to what follows and what comes in between their principles of causality and the definitions of the basic affects to rightly appreciate the differ ence in their approaches. In reality, though, we already find important differences in the relational structure between the notions of action, passion and cause. In the very first paragraph of the â€Å"Passions de lAme†, Descartes starts with a very general principle, adopted from other philosophers, which consists in distinguishing within the components of a causal event between two things: an 1 As Spinoza, like Descartes, names several of the defined entities in part III of the „Ethicsâ€Å" „passionsâ€Å", except from those actions whose „adaequata possimus esse causaâ€Å" (see EIIID3), I will subsequently continue to talk about pas sions, without differentiation between their being cartesian or spinozist, where this distinction by Spinoza can be applied. The references in my quotations from Spinozas â€Å"Ethics† I will always abbreviate with â€Å"E†, followed by roman num bers for the respective part, then the letters â€Å"D† for â€Å"definitione†, â€Å"P† for â€Å"propositio† plus the respective arabic numbers, â€Å"Sch† for â€Å"scholium†, â€Å"Cor† for â€Å"corollarium† etc. References to the â€Å"Passion de lAme† will be abbrevi ated by â€Å"P† plus â€Å" §Ã¢â‚¬  and the respective number of the paragraph. Also here it is adequate to speak only of passions in Spinoza`s use or the term because indeed in part 3 of the Ethics we find such affects that are derived from tristitia (which is always a passion) and laetitia only as far as „in nobis aliquid fit vel ex nostra natura aliquid sequitur, cujus nos non nisi partialis sumus causaâ€Å" (EIIID2), which means being passive. Whether kinds of active joy or even such with compon ents of passive joy can be derived from the basic affects is another question and we will shortly come back on this again. Christian Scherrer, student number: 013851259 active and a passive part in relation to which one and the same event may be called either an action or a passion. So in every single case that falls under this kind of structure we necessarily have one active and one passive component that will determine the perspective on the event relating them and decide whether it is an action or a passion. In Spinoza, on the other hand, we find a completely different structure in the relational field among these notions and we may suppose that this will have consequences on his further proceeding. First we have to consider that for Spinoza it is not enough or even wrong to say of a thing that it is active or acting insofar as it is producing an effect on some other thing. Instead, he is connecting the property of being active to self causality, when he writes in part I that God alone, as a free cause, exists and acts solely out of the necessity of his own nature 3. As God is not only causing all the finite modes but unlike these and primarily himself, it would be absurd to say that he is therefore active and passive at once. Thus, we somehow find the paradigm for activity in God? s self-causation. This also means that we can only define action and passion in their meaning for human beings in a different, more specific sense, namely, characterized as affections (and their ideas) that either augment or diminish some body? s potentia agendi. Compared to Descartes then, we also get a different idea of cause and effect, as they are not in every case identifiable as one active and one passive component connected through some affection that is always action and passion at the same time; rather, insofar as we are the adequate cause of this affection in us it is an action and we can be called active, whereas insofar as we are only an inadequate and partial cause of some affection in us we suffer a passion and are passive 4. So, what is a passion and what an action is less seen in relation to a cause and it? s effect as the one acting on the other, but rather in relation to a contextual or local conception of cause. It seems that one and the same affection can be seen in Spinoza? s thinking as action and passion at once just in case that it can be achieved to conceive of the cause in question (an idea for example) as at the same time adequate and inadequate concerning the scope that the idea of this cause comprises 5. As God can never be conceived of as 3 See EIP17Cor I and II. There is of course a very delicate aspect about the use of the words „inâ€Å" and „extraâ€Å" when Spinoza for example writes: „Nos tum agere dico, cum aliquid in nobis aut extra nos fit, cujus adaequata sumus causa ( )â€Å" (EIIID2). One might ask in what sense there can be effects outside of us insofar as we (our ideas, the affections of our body) have to be seen as their adequate causes without which the effect can not be conceived of nor exist (see EIID2, where „es senceâ€Å" is defined which is not easy to distinguish from an adequate cause). What one can follow along such considerations is a certain expansive trait in Spinoza? s theories of body and mind. 5 Therefor Spinoza writes in EIIIP1: „Further, whatever necessarily follows from an idea which in God is adequate, not insofar as He not only comprises the mind of a single man, but also the minds of other things together with the mind of this man, of this [†¦] the mind of this man is not the adequate, but the partial cause, and therefor (according to definition 2 of this part), insofar as the mind has inadequate ideas, it necessarily suffers some things. (Mind that all the English quotations from primary literature will be my translations from the original language (in this case Latin) with support drawn from the respective German translation, which is due to my lack of English edition at the time of writing this essay. ) 2 Christian Scherrer, student number: 013851259 partial cause of himself, he can only be thought of as active. A changing from passion to action in a mode is not being accomplished then by changing the direction in the relation between cause and effect, but by changing the affective condition of the mode by expanding it and transforming it to an adequate cause of the affect that has been a passion. I would like now to concentrate on the two philosophers proceeding in establishing the basic passions; and here I think we can observe some important features that can help us to recognize the pe culiarities of their methodologies which are commonly referred to as analytic in Descartes? ase and geometrical or synthetic in Spinoza? s. Unlike Spinoza, who gives us a ready definition of affects that already includes the two possible versions of them (actions and passions) in the beginning of part III after not even having mentioned them in the preceding text 6, Descartes first has to go through a long process by employing his general principle of action and passion to the relationship between body and soul to arrive at a defini tion of passions. After distinguishing what we can find as the soul? s and the body? proper functions and he makes us realize that there is a number of mental functions that could rightly be called passions of the soul; namely all those perceptions or cognitions (P §17: â€Å"toutes les sortes de perceptions ou connoissances†) which have the body as their cause and not the soul itself (see P §19). Then he goes on to distinguish different sorts of such perceptions among themselves, relying in every step of analysis on criteria of how their formation dependence from soul or body or if they show a relation to a notable and determinate perceptual cause that has been transmitted to the soul by nerves 7. Among the latter sort of perceptions, he again distinguishes and at last finds to which the name â€Å"passions of the soul†, following an ordinary restriction in the use of the expression, can be applied8, defining them in a general manner as follows: â€Å"After having considered in what the passions of the soul differ from all the other thoughts, it seems to me that one can generally define them as perceptions or sentiments or emotions of the soul which particularly referred to her, and which are caused, maintained and fortified by some movement of the animal spirits. (P §27) 6 Apart from one rather nontechnical occurrence in part one and one very general reference to affects as â€Å"modi cogit andi† in the third axiom of part two. 7 See P §21: â€Å"Or encore que quelques unes de ces imaginations soient des passions de lame, en prenant ce mot en sa plus propre plus particuliere signification; quelles puissent estre toutes ainsi nommees, si on le prend en un e signification plus generale: toutefois, pource quelles nont pas une cause si notable si determinee, que les perceptions que lame recoit par lentremise des nerves (†¦), il faut considerer la difference qui est entre ces autres. 8 See P §25: â€Å"Or encore que toutes nos perceptions (†¦) soient veritablement des passions au regard de nostre ame, lors quon prend ce mot sa plus generale signification: toutefois on a coustume de le restreindre a signifier seulement celles qui se rapportent a lame mesme. Et ce ne sont que ces dernieres, que jai entrepris icy dexpliquer sous le nom de passions de lame. † 3 Christian Scherrer, student number: 013851259 We can already see in this process that, what Descartes does, is a systematic and methodical analysis of notions that we usually do not understand properly. We are aware that there is something in each of us that we commonly call passions. But we do not, until now, really understand what they are, in what they consist, how they come about, etc. So if we want to understand our passions, just like with all the other phenomena that our scientific mind can be concerned with, we in the end need to understand their causes. In his monography â€Å"Expressionism in Philosophy, Spinoza†, Gilles Deleuze characterizes Descartes? analytic method as a process of rendering on the basis of clear and distinct ideas of effects the initially confused ideas of their causes clear and distinct. One can even say that the clear and distinct knowledge of a cause depends on the clear and distinct knowledge of its effect9. Spinoza, opposing these basic ideas in Descartes method, conceives of the right way to attain to real knowledge in an entirely different way in thinking that we always have to proceed from adequate ideas of some causes to adequate ideas of their effects and that the former consist in definitions that are appropriate for expressing the essence of this cause and also involve already the essence of its effects. So we can see how from Spinoza? s point of view the whole procedure of Descartes tries to go in a wrong direction. What has to be done first in Descartes method is not to elaborate a definition that adequately expresses the essence of the cause of the things that we want to explain and get to know, but to attain to clear and distinct ideas of those things whose causes we subsequently want to discover, â€Å"and thence show that the effect would not be what we know it to be, did it not have such a cause on which it necessarily depends†10. In Descartes? iew, the synthetic method is nothing more than a way of demonstrating a proof what has been found by means of the analytic method that has the disadvantage of not demonstrating the concrete way in which we really attained to the demonstrated knowledge, how effects really depend on their causes (which can only be achieved by analytic demonstration) and only has the merit of expositing the strict dependency of the propositions befo re discovered11. So, if Descartes demands starting with elaborating a clear and distinct idea of the effect that we want to examine, we can see now how he attains to this in the first part of the â€Å"Passions de lAme†. Descartes speaks of the causes of our perceptions with a different interest before in part two he starts to develop the particular definitions of the single passions. First his aim appears to be exactly to form a clear and distinct idea of the passions in a general sense concerning which the main prob9 See Deleuze, Gilles: â€Å"Expressionism in Philosophy, Spinoza†, pp. 155-156 10 Ibid. , p. 156. In a footnote to this sentence, Deleuze quotes Descartes third meditation to give an example that is apt to show the extreme difference to Spinoza? method: â€Å"I recognize that it would not be possible for my nature to be as it is, that is, that I should have in myself the idea of God, did not God really exist. † 11 See Deleuze, Gilles: â€Å"Expressionism in Philosophy, Spinoza†, p. 159; Roth, Leon: â€Å"Spinoza and Cartesianism (II)†, p. 161 4 Christian Scherrer, student number: 013851259 lem seems to be that we usually feel our passions like effects in our soul itself, without seeing any proximate (physical or nervous) cause 12. Only by distinguishing them from the other (passive) perceptions we can have a clear and distinct idea of our passions in general. But in part two Descartes explains that for gaining knowledge of the particular passions this knowledge of the proximate physical cause (some particular movement in the pineal gland) will not suffice and that instead we have to ask for their first cause in order to distinguish the single passions. But, having in mind that Descartes wants to proceed from clear and distinct ideas to their causes and render them clear and distinct as well, the question seems to be again: How can we find the causes of the single passions, if we dont have a clear and distinct idea of them yet? And: Do we not need first the causes of the single passions in order to be able to distinguish them and see them clearly? How do we, so to say, fill the gap which is lurking here? But, as we can see in  §51, there is really a priority of the knowledge of effects over the knowledge of their causes, as Descartes writes: â€Å"( ) still it can be inferred from what has been said that all of these passions can be aroused by the objects that move the senses, and that these objects are their most common and principal causes: from this it follows that, for finding them all, it is sufficient to consider all the effects of these objects. In the next paragraph Descartes specifies that we have to consider, in enumerating and ordering the effects (the passions) in the soul, nothing than the different manners in which their causes have importance or are useful for us, and these manners we can find in the effects themselves before we can know their exact (physical) causes. After having distingu ished the single passions we then can go on to infer their exact causes and define them in a precise way. It is important to notice that the â€Å"passions principales† that Descartes enumerates in the beginning of the second part correlate to the clear and distinct ideas of the effects through which we want to infer their necessary causes, but that there is an additional step in between. It is actually the conclusion from a reduction along these preliminary characterizations to the six passions that are recurring in these everywhere to the reduction to physical causes through which we will be able to explain especially those â€Å"simple primitives† passions, which gives us the sense in which they are conceived as simple and primitive. According to Descartes, we do not need and will not find an independent, distinct cause for each of the principal passions, but as we saw that some of them are contained in the clear and distinct ideas of others and that those few together cover all of them, it will be sufficient to discover their causes alone. The explanations of the â€Å"passions particulieres† (at least in their physiological part) will depend solely on them. Even more, Descartes seems to infer that these six 12 See P §25: â€Å"Les perceptions quon raporte seulement a lame, sont celles dont on sent les effets comme en lame mesme, desquelles on ne connoist communement aucune cause prochaine, a laquelle on les puisse raporter. † 5 Christian Scherrer, student number: 013851259 basic passions are also â€Å"primitive† in a developmental psychological sense when he is tracing back the specific movements of the blood and animal spirits while feeling love, hate, joy, sadness and desire to first experiences of basic physiological processes in the soul after being connected with the body. Thus, the â€Å"primitive passions† are also more primitive as they occur first in every individuals life (see P §Ã‚ §107-111). And in a third sense they are primitive or simple as they can be conceived as simple or pure when we think of their initial occurrences in an individual and also the possibility of their being isolated from certain inclinations and dispositions or their combination/mixture with other primitive passions 13. So, we can read in  §82 about the different kinds of love that, if freed from all desires to possess, the love of a father to his children is pure, as well as can be (especially) admiratio and the other primitive passions. Thus Descartes â€Å"passions particuliers† are found to be complex, secondary passions as a result of his analytical or reductive method: First, they are explainable by means of the definitions or causes of the simple passions. Secondly, they develop in the process of experiences, in the interaction between body and soul out of the primitive passions. Thirdly, they are always mixed out of simple passions, they are their proportions in addition to certain physical inclinations and provoked by cer tain ideas. So, how does Spinoza arrive at defining primary passions and and how does he relate further ones to them? What are the principles behind his taxonomy? As we know, Spinoza does not use the concept of affect in a significant way before his definition in the beginning of the third part. This seems strange and dissatisfying from the perspective of Descartes` method. Does Spinoza just invent a definition? But as inventing does not at all appear like a methodical step in an inquiry, there seems to be a arbitrary element14. There are no conceptual analyses by means of relevant distinctions and no inferences of proximate or first causes from ideas that we can perceive clearly in our mind. What is rather the source for the general definition of affects in part three, the ground on which it rests, is Spinoza`s theory of mind and body, developed in the preceding part, whose major characteristic is its parallelism and which again has its origin in the metaphysics of substance mon 13 Indeed we find in most of the definitions of the particular passions in the third part of the â€Å"Passions de lAme† either an explanation through a certain inclination or disposition of the soul which are caused by a certain movement of the animal spirits in the brain that leave impressions which in return reinforce certain ideas that we form about an object (like in the case of esteem and disdain: see P §149). On the other hand there are those passion that are defined as mixtures of the movements that cause one or the other primitive passion (like in the case of hope and fear: see P §165) 14 See chapter 4 in Jonathan Bennett? s â€Å"A Study of Spinoza? s Ethics†, where he criticizes Spinozas geometrical method as highly self-referential or idiosyncratic and therefore not well founded. I believe that he is misinterpreting what Spinoza himself saw as the merits of his method, on which his â€Å"Tractatus de intellectus emendatione† can shed some light. 6 Christian Scherrer, student number: 013851259 ism in part one. Contrary to Descartes in the â€Å"Passions†, he therefore does not grasp an idea, like passion, action, perception and the like, to subsequently try through a process of analysis to arrive at an adequate definition of this concept by distinguishing it from other ideas; but really begins from his definition of substance, God, or Nature, from which he attempts to show that everything else follows. In the â€Å"Tractatus de intellectus emendatione†, Spinoza stresses that in attaining knowledge through a right method we can only proceed from causes to effects 15 and that we have therefore to start with the best definitions of what we take as a cause: â€Å"Quare recta inveniendi via est ex data aliqua definitione cogitationes formare: quod eo felicius et facilius procedet, quo rem aliquam melius definiverimus. †16. According to this, Spinoza`s way can be described rather like a productive process of construction (truly reminding of the geometrical sense) in which the developed figures are a posteriori given names that have already been familiar to us, like â€Å"action† and â€Å"passion†, â€Å"joy† and â€Å"sadness†. He is less looking for their appropriate content, but rather encounters or meets proceeding along the axioms, definitions and laws that he establishes by and by, and thus with a method – the true natures of those things of which we have always had only inadequate ideas. We can very well observe this procedure in how Spinoza arrives at his definitions of the basic af fects and we can also try to rightly understand the sense in which they are primitive or primary and the others composite or deduced. The crucial step in developing something that can bear the name â€Å"affect† is maybe, when in EIIIP4 first we find the proof (based on evidence) that a thing can only be destroyed by an external cause and then in EIIIP6, Spinoza concludes that, as nothing contrary to a subject? s existence can be part of it, there has to be a strive for self-perseverance in every thing according to its own nature. It is the conscious idea of this strive which explains our first basic affect: desire (cupiditas). The deduced strive for self-perseverance, named conatus, then also serves as the concept by which our two other primary affects can be understood: an alteration in our mind that conforms to our conatus will be called joy (laetitia), while an alteration opposed to it will be called sadness (tristitia). We should note here that between desire on the one hand and joy and sadness on the other there seems to be a certain difference, as Spinoza calls the latter ones in the same passage where he defines them â€Å"passiones†, whereas the former is first characterized only as affect and in 15 See the â€Å"Tractatus de intellectus emendatione†: â€Å"Nam revera cognitio effectus nihil es, quam perfectiorem causae cognitionem acquirere. (†¦) Sed optima conclusio erit depromende ab essentia aliqua particulari affirmativa, sive a vera et legitima definitione. †, p. 70; and also Deleuze, Gilles: â€Å"Expressionism in Philosophy, Spinoza†, pp. 157f. An important aspect is that Spinoza correlates a legitimate and true definition to an affirmative essence. There we can see that defining a certain thing can not consist in showing difference to another thing, be it even an essential difference, but only in affirming its positive essence. 16 Spinoza: â€Å"Tractatus de intellectus emendatione†, p. 70 7 Christian Scherrer, student number: 013851259 deed it seems difficult to conceive of how desire, as being the conscious idea of our conatus could be a passion. But Spinoza will specify (in EIIIP58 f. ) that joy as well as desire must and indeed only they can be called active insofar as their cause consists in an adequate idea. So, although desire might be taken somehow to follow from the two other basic affects, expressing rather a current condition of our mind than a transition into a different state of perfection, the guiding distinction that accounts for Spinoza? exclusive occupation with definitions of passions in part three, separates active desire and joy from passive desire, joy and sadness. Spinoza tells us in the same paragr aph in which he is introducing joy and sadness that he is acknow ledging only these along with desire as the three primary passions and that he will show how all the remaining originate in them 17. But how exactly does he achieve this? The main means which will allow him to account for a diversity of passions will be certain mechanisms or – better – dispositions of the mind by which it is urged to behave in a certain way and to proceed from one idea or one affect to another. The main enetic principles guiding the deduction of the variety of passions in part three are those of attribution of causality (through which love and hate are being defined), associ ation of affects (we can suffer a certain affect just because it has regularly accompanied another one, by which we are affected now, in the past), similarity (unknown things can cause affects in us simply because of their similarity to things we have already been affected by) and imitation (insofar as we have an idea of something similar to us suffering an affect, we will be naturally brought to suffer the same)18. Of great effectiveness are also Spinoza? s assumptions about how the mind will behave in reaction to certain ideas (for example to exclude the existence of a thing which is thought of as the cause of our sadness). These principles seem to suffice to develop the same variety of passions as have been defined by Descartes. But, as we have seen, there is obviously a significant difference between the two methods insofar as Spinoza, so to say, meets our common notions for passions on the way and annexes or almost usurps them for his purposes. The main focus about his method is on the deductive and genetic force of his concepts and definitions. This is why we often have to realize that, in spite of their relative conformity with how we would intuitively describe what our passions consist in, Spinoza is giving quite unconventional definitions that would maybe not convince us if taken out of the context of their interrelation. It is therefore not surprising that in several passages we find con 17 See EIIIP3: â€Å"( ) et praeter hos tres nullum alium agnosco affectum primarium: nam reliquos ex his tribus oriri in seqq. ostendam. † 18 See Renz, Ursula: â€Å"Spinoza: Philosophische Therapeutik der Emotionen†, pp. 322-327. 8 Christian Scherrer, student number: 013851259 iderations concerning the relation between his definitions and our common language for emotions, an aspect that is not at all as noticeable in Descartes because of his analytic approach that allows him to use our common language already before att aining to the knowledge of those phenomena we do have words for. Most remarkably, Spinoza admits that in defining the most important passions he does not want or can not (for some reason which might be very interesting to ask for as an explana tion of this fact) detach himself completely from the usual meanings of the names he adopts: â€Å"Haec nomina ex communi usu aliud significare scio. Sed meum institutum non est verborum significationem, sed rerum naturam explicare easque iis vocabulis indicare, quorum significatio, quam ex usu habent, a significatio, qua eadem usurpare volo, non omnino abhorrent, quod semel monuisse sufficat. † (EIIIDef. XX) On the other hand there is more than one passage in which seems to be completely indifferent to wards any affinities between his definitions and common meanings, as he repeatedly asserts that we can find much more affects than we have words for: â€Å"Et ad hunc modum concipere etiam possumus odium, spem, securitatem et alios affetus admirationi junctos; atque adeo plures affectus deducere poterimus, quam qui receptis vocabularis indicari solent. Unde apparent affectuum nomina inventa esse magis ex eorum vulgari usu quam eorundem accurata cognitione. † (EIIIP52Sch) Here again, it is significant that Spinoza talks of deducing an indefinite number of affects, while Descartes talks about distinguishing (see P §68). We also find the awareness in Descartes that he uses the general and particular words for our passions in a different way than we usually do (which seems always to go along with elaborating a theory). It may as well be supposed that Descartes ex pects there to be new combinations of the primitive passions that might lack a correspondent name in our ordinary language. But my comparison should have shown that the idea about generating new passions is of completely different kind than in Spinoza`s theory. Bibliography Beaney, Michael: Analysis, in: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2009 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed. ), URL = . Bennett, Jonathan: A Study of Spinoza? s Ethics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1984. Christian Scherrer, student number: 013851259 Deleuze, Gilles: Expressionism in Philosophy: Spinoza, New York: Zone Books 1990. Descartes, Rene: Die Leidenschaften der Seele, Hamburg: Felix Meiner 1984. Renz, Ursula: Spinoza: Philosophische Therapeutik der E motionen, in: Klassische Emotionstheori en – Von Platon bis Wittgenstein, Hilge Landweer Ursula Renz (ed. ), Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter 2008. Spinoza, Baruch de: Opera/Werke, zweiter Band (Tractatus de Intellectus Emendatione/Ethica), Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft 1978. Spinoza, Baruch de: Ethik in geometrischer Ordnung dargestellt, Hamburg: Felix Meiner 2007. 10

Nian, the Chinese Spring or New Years Day Festival

Nian, the Chinese Spring or New Years Day Festival The Spring Festival is the grandest festival for the Chinese. The Spring Festival is also called Nian, but who knows the term, Nian, was once the name of a furious monster that lived on human beings in the ancient time. How the festival has some relationship with the monster lies in a story about the origin and development of the Spring Festival. The legend says, long ago, there was a monster called Nian. It was born to be very ugly and ferocious, which looked like either dragons or unicorns. On the first and the 15th of each lunar month, the monster would come down from the mountains to hunt people. So people were very much afraid of it and locked their doors early before sunset on the days of its coming. There lived an old wise man in a village. He thought it was the panic in people that made the monster so bold and furious. Thus the old man asked people to organize together and to conquer the monster by means of beating drums and gongs, burning bamboo, and lighting fireworks for the purpose of making large noises to threaten the hateful monster. When he told people about the idea, everybody agreed on it. On a moonless and freezing cold night, the monster, Nian, appeared again. The moment it opened its mouth to people, burst out the frightening noises and fire made by people, and wherever the monster went, it was forced to back off by the terrible noises. The monster couldnt stop running until he fell down with exhaustion. Then people jumped up and killed the evil monster. Savage as the monster was, he lost in the end under the efforts from the cooperation of people. Since then, people have kept the tradition by beating drums and gongs, and lighting fireworks at the coldest day in winter to drive the imagined monsters away and to celebrate the victory over it. Today, Nian refers to the New Years Day or the Spring Festival. People often say Guo Nian, which means live the festival. Furthermore, Nian also means the year. For example, the Chinese often greet each other by saying Xin Nian Hao, which means Happy New Year! Xin means new and Hao means good.

About Chloroform As An Anaesthetic Agent

About Chloroform As An Anaesthetic Agent Surgical procedures are painful, no doubt. Even with the advancement of medicine in the field of anaesthetic, certain complications are to be expected among patients who were receiving anaesthesia (regardless of types) such as bradycardia, post-puncture headache, hypotension and feeling pain despite an adequate dose of analgesia. How do we know exactly whether the patient who is being operated is in pain? Most of the indications were clinical (there is no machine which can tell you with an absolute certainty that the patient is in paint) and often judged based on the patients vital signs which can be quite suggestive of pain, for example, increase in blood pressure and heartbeat could indicate that the amount of analgesia being given to the patient was inadequate. Eventually, an anaesthetist in-charge will increase the analgesics/any other drugs dosage to achieve stabilisation which will provide a less painful experience for the patient. Being sedated during surgery is the main principle of anaesthesia (although some procedures dont require sedation; local anaesthetic for example) coupled with other agents which could alleviate pain and reduce movement to provide surgeons with optimal surgical conditions thus reducing post-operative complications. There are a lot of fine arteries, veins and nearby organs that can potentially be damaged during operation if patients were moving thus usage of muscle relaxants (either depolarising or non-depolarising) are justified to facilitate certain procedures. Even though nowadays, there are a lot of chemicals which can be used as anaesthetic agents, back in the day, the number of options to alleviate pain is quite limited. In 2250 BCE, most of the toothache cases experienced by Babylonians were treated by giving Henbane, a type of plant which is quite poisonous, often being used to treat some medical conditions such as asthma, cough, nervous system-related diseases and sure, a toot hache. If you were thinking, sedation before operative procedures are only practised after we discovered modern medicine, you were wrong. In 650 BCE, most of the priestesses utilise ethylene fumes to induce sedation among patients before any kind of procedure. In 400 BCE, Assyrians discovered that they can induce unconsciousness temporarily by compressing the carotid artery to carry out a few simple surgical procedures such as cataract surgery and circumcision without too much fuss. In the year 160, Hua Tuo performed surgery after patients have been induced with a method resembles the general anaesthesia by utilising a mixture of wine and herbs called Mafeisan. People generally understand the importance of putting patients in an unconscious state before starting an operation but as there were a lot of complications (including death) which have been documented in a lot of journals associated with certain types of anaesthetic agents, people grew restless. There are a lot of modern anaesthetic agents which are not being used anymore due to their fatal complications but people in the past dont have much choices on that matter, really. In this article, we will discuss regarding one of the anaesthetic agents which have been held in high regards in the past after it was used to ease up Queen Victoria, during her childbirth. Lets talk about @chloroform. Exploring A 170 Years Of Controversy Even though chloroform was discovered by three independent researchers in 1831, people are not aware of its anaesthetic properties until it was eventually demonstrated in 1847 by a Scottish obstetrician named Professor James Simpson. He tried to search for an ideal anaesthetic chemical that can be used to anaesthetise patients during operation while imposing minimal side effects (pain, for most of the parts). His determination stemmed from his bad experience of witnessing a breast-removal operation that was carried out in 1827 when he was a medical student. Back then, reliable anaesthetic agents were yet to be discovered thus surgical procedures were usually carried out with speed and precision to reduce patients suffering. Feeling pain was considered inevitable so patients depend heavily on surgeons skills while they were held down by devices to prevent movements. Throughout the surgery, Simpson felt traumatised as he had to witness suffering from the patient as surgical cuts were made. Her movements were restricted by both leather straps and a few other attendants, so it was pretty much messed up gores that had to be dealt with as soon as they were able. Its not a sight that you would have admired or cherished and he nearly quitted medical school because of that; fortunately, he didnt. Instead of quitting, he pledged himself to find a suitable anaesthetic agent that could alleviate suffering among patients especially in a surgical setting. Most of the answers he acquired from his professors when he was a medical student were discouraging and only when he was a full-pledged medical officer that he could experiment with a number of chemicals and procedures to test their efficacies on his patients; he ever tried mesmerism! People often used the word mesmerism and hypnosis interchangeably, but both of them induced trance (an altered state of consciousness) through different methods. Mesmerism focused on using non-verbal cues like gaze, strokes etc. while hypnotism used verbal cues. Of course, mesmerism is not a good choice when it comes to medicine, even its founder, Franz Anton Mesmer was chased out from Venice for practising it, but Simpson was willing to try anything for the sake of improving the current state of surgical protocols; still, none of it works. In 1846 he heard about a chemical called ether which can be used as an inhaled agent to alleviate pain during dental procedures. He tried to use it in his medical practice but he soon realised that there are a lot of side effects caused by that particular volatile agent, not to mention back then, a huge portion of the medical community opposed to the usage of volatile agents as anaesthesia. Despite the frustration, he learned a considerable amount of experience and knowledge regarding volatile compounds. Exposure to all kind of volatile compounds brought him to chloroform in 1847, a year after his failed attempt at using ether as an anaesthetic agent. Mind you, volatile compound is a hot topic since the discovery of chloroform in 1831, but their potential benefits were regarded less than what they deserved. On November 1847, he revealed chloroform as a potential anaesthetic agent that can be used to induce patient pre-operatively. His discovery is so significant to the point that he was credited for discovering it and responsible for saving Queen Victoria during her childbirth from suffering; neither of which is true. According to the history press, although Simpsons works after the discovery of chloroform can be thought as significant or probably greater than chloroform, it received less attention by the medical community and public alike; everyone wanted to celebrate or hate him for the discovery of chloroform; so unfortunate. He recognised the fact that chloroform is a powerful agent that can be used to sedate people during surgery and at the same time, took lives if the dosage applied to an individual were excessive. There were a lot of debates, quarrels and confusion regarding the usage of such agent which requires a careful consideration of patients condition which can ultimately cause death if it was to be miscalculated. It is, however, worth noting that, the usage of chloroform has revolutionised battlefield medicine due to its quick onset of action, ease of use and high rate of success which has been documented on numerous occasions during wars. In the war in the Crimea, the British used chloroform almost universally in their operations; the French also exhibited it very extensively, and Baudens, one of their leading military surgical authorities, declares that they did not meet with one fatal accident from it, although it was given to them during the Eastern campaign, thirty thousand times at least. In America, however, chloroform was only recognised as one of the most effective anaesthetic agents after a civil war in 1861 thus being used by physicians for routine surgeries. It was kinda appropriate to start using such inhaled agent after it was documented in the records regarding the use of chloroform as a preferred agent to treat 80,000 people (through surgical methods) without too much fuss; they either used chloroform alone or mixed it up with ether to enhance its therapeutic effects. Even though the success rate seems high, there were a lot of deaths that have been documented as a part of the consequences caused by chloroform, starting with a child in 1848, a year after Simpson started using it as a preferred anaesthetic agent. Miscalculation or overextending the exposure of such chemical to patients can cause cardiac arrest and thus death within 2 minutes. When Simpson first discovered the anaesthetic property of chloroform, he tried it on himself, putting him in a deep sl eep. Fortunately, he woke up the day after or the world will be deprived of such anaesthetic agent a few decades after his announcement. Chloroform In Criminal-Related Activities I think people are quite familiar with the idea of chloroform being used by criminals to induce their victims into an unconscious state so that they can be abducted or killed with ease. Even though this idea is quite popular, most of the papers out there seem to agree with the fact that applying chloroform to a handkerchief and such is considered a poor tool to be used in abductions and any related crimes that are required unconsciousness of non-consenting individuals. There are a few cases that can be given as evidence but most of the popular press seems to hate if this fact proved wrong; they still believe that in any criminal activity which used chloroform, the chemical itself is the reason for people to be unconscious. Well, the method of inducing victims seem to resemble the act of inducing patients before an operation but there are a lot of factors that can be considered before saying chloroform is the root of all evils. In 1850, an elderly clergyman stayed in Temperance Hotel located in Kendal, Cumbria, England. He was on a mission of collecting donation for the needy and successfully collected eleven gold sovereigns which are considered a lot. Unfortunately for him, a young man who travelled alongside him planned to steal those sovereigns so he soaked a towel with some chloroform and hid inside a closet while the clergyman was busy doing something else. When the clergyman about to go to sleep, he tried to lock the door by using a chair since the lock is broken and a few seconds after, the young man attacked him while covering his face with the towel, attempted to knock him down. It will be easier for him to hit the clergymans head rather than using chloroform, the clergyman scream and fight violently and the other guests from other rooms came to see what happen. The young man was arrested and he was sentenced to 18 months of jail time. There are many cases which resemble this one but none of it was accepted as the truth by the public presses in 1865. People wanted to hear that chloroform can actually be used to commit crimes. In 1854, an ophthalmic surgeon named William Wilde began treating Mary Travers for a few years until later in 1862, she claimed, allegedly, that she was raped under the influence of chloroform by the surgeon himself. The thing that was interesting regarding this case is, although she claimed that she was raped in 1862, the report which was written by her to the presses was submitted in 1864 when William Wilde was awarded a knighthood for his contribution in Irish census. She was treated by him for those 2 years and this accusation seems suspicious. Moving on, William Wildes wife submitted a letter to Mary Travers whos at the time working as a professor of medical philosophy in Dublin. When Mary Travers found out about this, she sued Lady Wilde for defamation. Mary Travers won that case but the penalty imposed on William Wilde was so low that it wouldnt affect his reputation at all. People started to become suspicious as to why this was the case. This case was then discussed by two jo urnalists which favoured Sir William Wilde and they were sued for defamation by Mary Travers too; only this time, she lost. There are a few possibilities that could have influenced Mary Travers as of why she behaved that way. The rape accusation might be alleged but when we are talking about the truth, Mary Travers might have spoken it, I mean the truth; only it never happened in the first place. A lot of this kind of accusations have been received throughout the years and some research which are conducted much later proved that chloroform can induce sexual hallucination. This effect, however, is not specific to chloroform but also the other inhaled anaesthetic agents. Apart from making you happy, it can strengthen sexual emotions which lead to hallucinations that can be considered erotic. In 1888, a paper written by Buxton DW described a case whereby a patient achieved sexual orgasm during induction with an inhaled anaesthetic agent. Quite interesting, isnt it? Oh yeah, chloroform also is quite addictive. There is some documentation (quite old) which described patients who are addicted to inhaled anaesth etic agents to improve sexual performances. Conclusion Even though chloroform was proven to be a great anaesthetic agent in the past, it was replaced by much better gases that would be able to maintain unconsciousness with fewer side effects. If someone said they were being raped under the influence of chloroform, that case needs to be investigated first. Even though chloroform is a poor tool to be used by a criminal, people can be knocked out by it; they just need to be still for a few minutes as the concentration of the chloroform used might have been mild than what have been calibrated for surgical uses.

Research/argumentative paper about Achilles and Agamemnon Research - 1

/argumentative about Achilles and Agamemnon - Research Paper Example His conflict with Achilles begins when Agamemnon is forced to give up his captured prize, the woman Chryseis who was the daughter of the local priest to Apollo. When Agamemnon refused to ransom her to her father, Apollo sent a plague against the Greek army until the girl was returned. Agamemnon agreed to return her on condition that he got the other girl, Briseis, who had been awarded to Achilles. Its easy to see the argument that takes place after that as childish pouting on the part of Achilles, but this conflict tells us perhaps more about this society than the epic battle between Hector and Achilles. In the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon, it is possible to see the social structure of the Greek army as a collection of allies rather than an encampment of a single, unified, cohesive army. Its also clear that the insult to Achilles is not only the lack of respect toward him as also being a leader of men in the taking away of a prize, but also in the over-generosity of Agamem nons later peace offerings which would subjugate Achilles as a servant of sorts to Agamemnon. Through his behavior, Achilles allows us to understand important subtleties of Greek social life and gain insight into important concepts in our own social structure. The ancient Greeks were organized according to a very specific social structure that had many subtleties not necessarily recognized today. Rather than being written as a specific code, these subtleties were contained in various expected forms of behavior and informal codes of conflict. For example, it is often forgotten among Achilles critics that the Greek army was not the single entity we think of today when we think of the American forces. Instead, it was a collection of armies, each led by their own leader as each leader agreed to fight on the side of Agamemnon (Donlan, 2002). This meant Agamemnon owed his

Samaritan Woman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Samaritan Woman - Essay Example Jesus told her that he could offer her â€Å"living water and will never thirst again† and also told her of her life and all she had ever done. She then knew who he was. Leaving behind her jar of water, she ran back to the village and told everyone to go see a man who told her of everything she had ever done. In my opinion, this Samaritan woman seems to be one whose character is questionable and without moral, religious and even cultural standing. Previously, she had five husbands and was currently in an unlawful marriage. In the first century Samaria, such a marriage setup was not acceptable. Marriage and family were held in high esteem and with the utmost respect. Divorce then was not a very common occurrence. Within the family, each had roles. When it came to their cultural taboo, a Jewish man was not allowed to speak to a woman in public. Therefore, just like the twenty-first century, marriage involving the union of a man and woman is highly regarded. It is not to be dissolved indefinitely unless in cases of infidelity. However, despite divorce cases being rampant as compared to the first century, it is not wrong for a man to speak to a woman in public in this era. From a Christian perspective, a man and a woman are supposed to be legally married for their marriage setup to be lawful. Although the Samaritan woman was sinful, Jesus gave her another chance to repent and change her ways just as we today should hearken unto the word of God and change our sinful acts.