Platos Apology And Charges Against Socrates Religion Essay

Platos Apology And Charges Against Socrates Religion Essay In the Socrates Apology, the Socrates is charged against the following: First thing that Socrates is charged against by the jury is his refusal to believe in gods whom the state believes in. Second charge is being responsible for teaching people to disbelieve the gods. Socrates is thirdly charged for corrupting the young by infusing in them the spirit of criticism. Final charge which Socrates is accused of is that he does wrong by speculating about the heavens and things beneath the earth as if he is a scientist and by making weaker reasons to be stronger thus acting like sophist. He studies things in the heavens and below the earths Socrates is an accused of being an evildoer person who is curious and walking in the air searching things that are under the earth and those in the skies thus he is identified by the jury as being a natural philosopher and according to the society of the time now termed as archaic or originary societies people are able to make sense of both the world around them and even of themselves through telling of stories that relate to gods and therefore making such gods to be fashions who are responsible fro ruling the world. Therefore by Socrates undertaking curios studies of things in the heavens that may refer to gods that people worship and things on the ground probably the people themselves makes him an evildoer because what he does is in opposition to the traditional belief of the people of the land where gods were believed to be divine and no body was supposed to investigate and question on them in any way (Brickhouse Nicholas, 2004). He makes the worse argument into the stronger (better) argument In this charge Socrates is accused using his oratory skill to persuade people in there society and make them adopt and believe in his point of view despite the fact that he knows little or nothing of what they are talking about. He is very ignorant of the subject he teaches people and that makes him to be considered a sophist an individual who go from city to city training people especially the youth in order to gain political powers thus becoming un trusted by many people of the society. Therefore Socrates is liable to be charged of being a sophist an act distasted by the members of the society. Socrates claims that the oracle at Delphi is responsible for his behavior as he thinks he is the wisest man based on the fact that he recognizes that he knows little of worldly things and given the fact he knows that he knows nothing make shim the wisest a claim which most of the people knows is wrong. In his defense Socrates say that he does no consider himself an orator in any way and unless it meant speaking the truth and honestly about what he knows. He defense himself from using his oratory skill to argue out weak arguments thus making then better and hence making the youth in the city to belief in his ideas and belief which are not based in any knowledge. He is guilty of corrupting the young In addition to the above charges Socrates is also charged with corrupting the minds of the young members of the society who are easily convinced to believing in appealing things and issues. This charge is based on the idea that Socrates cunningly uses his oratory skills to persuade the young into believing in his ideas which were based on his ignorance rather than on knowledge. Socrates is accused of going around in the society telling youth why they should not belief in gods which the society belief in and regards as divine and by teaching them that sun was a hot rock instead of Apollo thus he is to be helped responsible for corrupting the minds of the young in the society. This accusation is based on his sophistic beliefs that make shim to emphasize on rhetoric and reason, become skeptical on issues regarding knowledge and morals and finally that he takes payments fro his teachings which serve to corruption the youth in the society (Reeve, 1989). In defending himself against the charge that he has corrupted the young Socrates claims that he has never been a teacher in a sense that he can impart knowledge to others therefore he can not be held responsible for citizens who becomes corrupted. He goes further to challenge the jury that if he really made any one adopt bad behaviors why is it that none of them had come out to be a witness, or equally the same why there was none of the relatives of the corrupted youth to testify against him? Socrates concluded his defense by saying that since no one has come out to accuse him of the change that the jury is accusing him he can attest to the fact that many of the relatives of the youth in the city associates with him and in fact they where in the courtroom to support him. To complement his defense against corrupting the youth Socrates claims that he is a Gadfly that constantly agitates the horse preventing it from becoming sluggish and from sleeping thus considering himself as blessin g to these youth rather than a corruptor (Hackforth,1933). He does not believe in the gods of the city Final charge which Socrates is accused of is by not believing in the gods that the city considered divine and worshiped. The people in the city derives their political powers from gods who in turn regard themselves as divine as they consider themselves empowered by these gods as they can trace themselves and their ancestry to their gods. Thus people in the society dont care what one believe in but its a mandatory requirement that everyone in the society gives due honor to the gods of the city which they lived in failure to which is considered treason as it undercuts the authority and legitimacy of the ruling regime. Therefore by Socrates having being initially accused of natural philosopher, he is also accused of refusing to believe in gods of the city thus legitimizing the acclaimed rulers of the city and all those who ruled in the past. By Socrates curiously investigating on gods and regarding the sun as a hot rock instead of regarding it as Apollo makes him an offender in the soci ety who is liable to be judged by the jury for refusing to acknowledge the city gods and the divine emperor (Brickhouse, 1989). During his defense against the charge of not believing in the gods that the city believed in he claims that people have misunderstood his true activity and relates to the Delphic oracle where he was told that he was the wisest of all men despite having known himself as an ignorant person. But after testing the Delphic oracle to find a wiser person among the politicians,poets and craftsmen he never got one making the wisest as he was aware of his ignorance unlike other who though they wise but were not and that is why he never belied in the gods that the less wise leaders believed in. He finally catches his accuser by offering contradictory explanation that he is not a person capable of believing in false gods thus becoming an atheist but also he cant allow himself to belief in divine things that will render him an atheist also. Generally Socrates argues that al the charges he is accused of are all false and that such charges were brought by his enemies who had ulterior motives and most probably such motive have nothing to do with searching for the truth or for the good neither for the Athenians nor the sate therefore the jury should not be treating him as criminal who had corrupted the minds of the youth and an atheist ,he should be accorded respect an honor of a hero who has served nothing more than helping his society (Reginald, 1980). Based on the knowledge obtained from the jurys accusation dreaded against Socrates as well as from the defense the accused has given concerning the charges he faces as well as the rule of law of the state I find Socrates not guilty. My verdict is based on the fact that the jury has heavily and solely relied on the prevailing laws which do not sufficiently find Socrates an obvious violator of the law. Fr instance his changes regarding corruption of the youth in the society does not present sufficient witnesses who can attest to his violations of the law and the he was acting upon his belief which the law does not prohibit any one from believing in what they want to. Based on his defense on refusing to belief in the gods of the city he doesnt break the law has he has the right to belief in what he wishes to therefore the implied effects of spreading his doctrines and ideas lacks a basis of argument as non of his supposed student have caused ant trouble as it regards to the authority and legitimacy of the state leaderships. Finally given that Socrates who could have otherwise fled and saved his life his decisions and actions though out his trying has shown that he is not a person guilt of what he does and therefore does portrays a citizen who expects to be charged justly and family by the states thus implying that he is probably a person of decent character and stable principle which should be respected by the state.

Book Report & Stephen R. Essay

Stephen R. Covey is a well-known writer of many self-help books. He is one of the leading writers in this genre of writing. His book, ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,’ was published over twenty years ago. Its fifteenth anniversary edition was released in the year 2004 to mark its amazing success. Apart from being a writer, Stephen R. Covey is also a humanist, an academician and a renowned speaker. His clarity of thought and his ability to convey the same to his readers is seen in this book too. This ability if his has also made him a highly influential guru in the field of business management. He has a flair for writing in a style that helps the readers not only understand the intensity and gravity of his ideologies and thought processes, but also helps them apply the same principles and logic to their own lives, sooner or later. This goal of truly helping people attain what they want and need is perfectly achieved in Stephen R. Covey’s books. Stephen R. Covey’s book, ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ begins with a quote by David Starr Jordan’ There is no real excellence in all this world which can be separated from right living. ’ One of the main reasons the world has loved this book all these years is that Stephen R. Covey has written about the key elements like integrity, honesty and self-management in a very simple, clear and precise manner. A few key points that will remain memorable forever include the fifth habit of highly effective people where he writes the need for people to first develop the ability to understand others before wanting to be understood. According to Covey (1989), â€Å"You don’t have much confidence in someone who doesn’t diagnose before he or she prescribes. But how often do we diagnose before we prescribe in communication? † (p. 120). Stephen R. Covey touches a different chord with the readers because in this book he also gives a lot of examples from his own life, be it the problems with his son that he was concerned about and the methodology he sought to adopt to help his son out as a devoted father or the fact that his marriage has reached a dead end. Not because his wife and he had fights or difference of opinion. But, due to the reason that they couldn’t love each other anymore and they felt they would never be able t rekindle that same kind of love and affection they felt for each other earlier. When an author of his stature chooses to tell the readers stories of his life to use it effectively as point of reference to better their own, it translates itself into a genuine self-help book. Before introducing the readers to the seven habits, he prepares them mentally by helping them understand that the bottom line is we need to understand our own â€Å"paradigms† and how to make a â€Å"A Paradigm Shift TM. † According to Covey (1998),† A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step. † (p. 18). Stephen R. Covey has seamlessly integrated all the seven habits as highly essential and necessary elements. Not a single word seems repetitive or out of place as Stephen C. Covey has given this book a very practical and pragmatic outlook. The book is a beautiful amalgamation of the basic instincts and reaction patterns humans have to every situation in their life and what needs to be done in order to receive the most suitable results either at home or at the workplace. A few principles that I have been able to introduce successfully into my life are Stephen R. Covey’s very first habit of being proactive, the third habit that clearly lists how to prioritize objectives in a given time frame and the sixth habit that refers to synergy. My ability to be more proactive has helped me at my work place and has also allowed better and more optimal utilization of my hours at work. I’ve understood the best way to prioritize my meeting at works and my tasks at home, so I never feel stressed out and at the same time I get a lot more time with my family, friends, my loved ones and myself. Stephen R. Covey’s concept of synergy aids the process of developing and establishing better human rapport and interaction. When you think about a particular situation from another person’s or party’s point of view, you in turn, gain a lot insight to turn it into a win-win situation. Stephen R. Covey’s fourth habit is tough as he asks us to think like a winner to ultimately be a winner. He clearly explains the six paradigms of human interaction and stresses on the importance of integrity, honesty, maturity and special term coined by him called ‘Abundance Mentality. ’ According to Stephen R. Covey (1989)† It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making. It opens possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity. † (p. 110). References Covey, R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster

Compare how feelings are presented in two of the poems Harmonium and Brothers Essay

Everyone experiences feelings; they cannot be ignored as we have no control over them. In ‘Harmonium’, Simon Armitage explores the feelings of the relationship between himself and his father, using the extended metaphor he presents the instrument ‘harmonium’ to test his feelings that exists between the father and son. The name itself ‘harmonium’ immediately highlights the connection or ‘harmony’ between them. Armitage also underlines the feeling of regret throughout the poem, as the harmonium is â€Å"gathering dust†, which means by protecting the instrument, he can retain memories from his life. In ‘Brothers’ feelings are also explored by Andrew Forster, the poem underlines the childhood experiences, and the unbalanced relationship with siblings. Forster presents a nostalgic part of a childhood memory, which consists of emotional significance, where relationships change between two brothers. The little brother is considered inferior, as the older brother does not enjoy his â€Å"spouting† conversation, he takes advantage to neglect his little brother so that he can be with his friend doing â€Å"what grown-ups do†. In similar, this poem also identifies regret, the older brother expresses guilt that the ‘distance’ he has created between them, and the little boy with his ‘hand holding out’ showing desire for connection with his older brother. Feelings are presented differently throughout the poems. In ‘harmonium’, Armitage uses colloquialisms which shape the speech patterns of Yorkshire dialect, and also showing discomfort between the feelings of father and son. At the start of the poem, Armitage begins with ‘for a song’, which explores the idea of memories of the past ‘struck a chord’. Armitage also highlights his father’s vulnerability, as he is a ‘dead weight’ which may suggest that he is a burden to his son as he gets older, where they have formed feelings of regret. Similarly, in ‘Brothers’, Forster also uses colloquialisms ‘saddled with you’ or ‘me and Paul’ to represent the speaker’s voice as more realistic. Forster explores the feelings through using monosyllabic language such as ‘said you should go and ask Mum’ which is clearly suggesting childhood and an emotional tone, also showing regret in their feelings. In ‘Harmonium’, Armitage uses personification to identify the metaphorical link between his father and the harmonium, such as ‘the case is ‘aged’, its keys are ‘yellowed the fingernails’, it has ‘lost its tongue’. These suggest that Armitage is describing his father as old, no longer needed. Contrastingly, in ‘Brothers’, Forster uses verb forms to underline the feelings of the two brothers, as the older brothers are considered ‘ambled’ and ‘strolled’, whereas the younger brother ‘skipped’ and ‘windmilled’ which suggests that he is at ease. However, his brothers fear unassertiveness due to being in their teens. This suggests that they hold feelings for each other, but don’t want to expose them in front of their friends. Imagery is used to express the uselessness and vulnerability of the father in ‘Harmonium’. As the instrument itself is ‘gathering dust’, old and is rusty, the father is also ‘aged’, showing that he is no longer needed and is a burden. ‘Bundled off to the skip’ and ‘laid on its back’ suggest his uselessness. However, Armitage also emulates on the harmonium’s positive past, by describing it as ‘under the sunlight, through stained glass’, and the voices to be singing like ‘glided finches’. This positivity of his father’s is shown as the last words in the final stanza, where the use of sibilance, imagery and strong rhyme suggests whispering of the ‘phrase’ contained in rhyming couplet which creates regretful tone and feeling, which could suggest that Armitage cannot bring himself to speak. On the other hand, in ‘Brothers’, the tone becomes regretful as he describes his little brother from a distance when ‘holding out a coin’. This suggests that the brother is regretful for neglecting and abandoning his little brother for being with his friends and ignoring his existence, and this is shown at the end of the poem where the older brother realises the ‘distance’ he created between them both. Hence, the love for his little brother is a realisation of guilt through the description of his carefree playfulness and him ‘holding hand out’ for a coin. The repentance makes his feelings for his little brother come across and their relationship alter over time. Both poems present strong, feelings of emotional pain and regret. Harmonium’ where Armitage discovers the vulnerability of his father at the end and through the instrument itself, where he feels something has been lost which is unable to recapture. Which suggest that he later wanted his father to be a part of his life. ‘Brothers’ where the poet underlines the difficult relationships between siblings and how they chan ge overtime, as for the older brother feeling regretful for neglecting his younger brother who was ‘holding up a coin’. Both poems suggest and express regret for a missed opportunity to communicate the feelings with the close ones.

Plutarch Describes the Assassination of Caesar

Plutarch Describes the Assassination of Caesar The Ides of March was the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in the year 44 B.C. It was one of the major epoch-changing moments in the history of the world.  The scene of the assassination of Caesar was pretty bloody, with each of the conspirators adding his own knife wound to the fallen body of their leader. Plutarchs Caesar Here are the words of Plutarch on the assassination of Caesar, from the John Dryden translation, revised by Arthur Hugh Clough in 1864, of Plutarchs Caesar, so you can see the gory details for yourself: When Caesar entered, the senate stood up to show their respect to him, and of Brutuss confederates, some came about his chair and stood behind it, others met him, pretending to add their petitions to those of Tillius Cimber, in behalf of his brother, who was in exile; and they followed him with their joint supplications till he came to his seat. When he was sat down, he refused to comply with their requests, and upon their urging him further, began to reproach them severally for their importunities, when Tillius, laying hold of his robe with both his hands, pulled it down from his neck, which was the signal for the assault. Casca gave him the first cut, in the neck, which was not mortal nor dangerous, as coming from one who at the beginning of such a bold action was probably very much disturbed. Caesar immediately turned about, and laid his hand upon the dagger and kept hold of it. And both of them at the same time cried out, he that received the blow, in Latin, Vile Casca, what does this mean? and he that gave it, in Greek, to his brother, Brother, help! Upon this first onset, those who were not privy to the design were astonished and their horror and amazement at what they saw were so great, that they durst not fly nor assist Caesar, nor so much as speak a word. But those who came prepared for the business enclosed him on every side, with their naked daggers in their hands. Which way soever he turned, he met with blows, and saw their swords leveled at his face and eyes, and was encompassed, like a wild beast in the toils, on every side. For it had been agreed they should each of them make a thrust at him, and flesh themselves with his blood; for which reason Brutus also gave him one stab in the groin. Some say that he fought and resisted all the rest, shifting his body to avoid the blows, and calling out for help, but that when he saw Brutuss sword drawn, he covered his face with his robe and submitted, letting himself fall, whether it were by chance, or that he was pushed in that direction by his murderers, at the foot of the pedestal on which Pompeys statue stood, and which was thus wetted with his blood. So that Pompey himself seemed to have presided, as it were, over the revenge done upon his adversary, who lay here at his feet, and breathed out his soul through his multitude of wounds, for they say he received three and twenty.

The Tet Offensive essays

The Tet Offensive essays There are few points in the Vietnam War where monumental changes were made. One of these points was during Tet Offensive. The past must be analyzed to understand how the Tet Offensive changed the war. The Communist party in North Vietnam realized that they needed to exploit the weaknesses of South Vietnam and their American allies. The North wanted to create a rift between the American soldiers and the ARVN troops. They also wanted the American public to think that America was loosing the war. To accomplish these tasks they planned the Tet Offensive. The Tet offensive was an attack focused mostly in the province of Khe Sanh. It has been estimated that in that area alone 25,000 NVA troops attacked. Luckily though, American intelligence had expected a major attack in this area. However the NVA only had success in Hue and Saigon. Hue stayed in NVA control until the end of February, .during which time the NVA and NLF had enough time to massacre 2,500 people with another 3,500 people who have been suspected to be killed. In Saigon 5 battalions of NLF infiltrated the city and kept the fighting in Saigon to last a week. This week long struggle for the city destroyed blocks of Saigon and left the United States with the black images of the embassy being taken. Many of these events have been made out to be a major failure. However this was a military success. 35,000 North troops died from that battle while only 1,100 American troops and 2,700 ARVN were killed. This could be the first major event of defeatist media. They made this battle seem to be the horrible massacre of American troops where the North were going to crush the South. This also made the moral of the American troops head steadily downward. This was the beginning of the end of US involvement in Vietnam. The words of Ho Chi Minh echo through this incident. When he said You will kill 10 of our men, and we will kill 1 of yours, and in the end it will be you who tire...

Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic - Essay Example Prior to the transition to the Turkish Republic, the old Ottoman Empire embarked on a series of reforms to â€Å"save† the old Ottoman Empire through the efforts of Selim III, Mahmud II, Abdulaziz and Abdulhamit II that hoped to reverse its decline. These men were called the Men of Tanzimat or men of reform in their effort to reverse the decline of the old Ottoman Empire. The efforts to reform the old Ottoman Empire that hoped to reverse its decline included military reform during the time of Selim to improving the educational system and bureaucratic reform in the hope of restoring the glory of the empire. When these reform efforts still failed, the last Ottoman caliph Abdulhammit II resorted to an autocratic rule and adopted religious ideology in his hope to unify and reverse the decline of the old Ottoman Empire. But instead of reversing the decline, Abdulhammit II instead set the conditions for the inevitable fall of the old Ottoman Empire with his lavish lifestyle that dra gged the empire into bankruptcy and was eventually deposed in 1909. The final nail on the coffin of the old empire’s demise was when the old Ottoman Empire sided with Germany in the First World War where the country was divided into pieces to become Turkey that it is today. This change to a Republic political life was not a conscious choice of the old Ottoman Empire as it always struggles to maintain the caliphate political system embarking on a series of reform from rehabilitating its military to improving its educational system and bureaucracy but it was already too late. Not even the adoption of a western concept of a Constitution saved the empire from disintegration. In sum, the old Ottoman Empire was forced by both by internal (bankruptcy, ineffective bureaucracy) and external (siding with Germany who lost in the First World War I) circumstances to change and adapt with the modern world.   The strong western ideology had also influenced the old empire to adapt to moder nity and along with it, is the abandonment of caliphate political system and autocratic form of government to constitution based republic form of government.   Despite these changes in Turkey’s political life and structure, the old traces of the former Ottoman ideology can still be found in modern Turkey.   Among this Ottoman ideology that remained in Turkey and in the Middle East is the strong sense of Islamic nationalism which used to bind and unify Turkey before.   Its sense of the greatness of being a great empire did not diminish with present Turkey as it is considered as one of the progressive countries in the Middle East and in the world albeit it is only a fraction of its former might when the former Ottoman Empire was at its height.      

Why do people want to work in Bloomberg Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Why do people want to work in Bloomberg - Essay Example Firstly, as mentioned, due to the fact that Bloomberg is so diverse and represents so many different specializations, there are opportunities for a wide array of individuals that are interested in the many fields in which this firm covers. Rather than merely being a financial analyst’s tool, Bloomberg has a presence in fields as diverse as television and environmental sustainment. In short, Bloomberg has over 427 different publications, its television station reaches more than 310 million people, and the firm tracks over 1.1 million different indices on a daily basis (Bloomberg 1). In this way, it is easy to see how many diverse fields are covered by Bloomberg and how many different types of people with diverse backgrounds in finance, economics, business, investment, law, and an array of other majors. Similarly, as with many large multinational companies, the attraction of working for Bloomberg cannot always be discussed as a function of overall salary. Due to the name recognition and the power and strength that such a position holds with reference to a resume, many individuals are willing to sacrifice an even larger salary at a different firm in order to work for Bloomberg. Although this may seem short-sighted, this ias due to the fact that people often are of the opinion that such a resume builder will be worth it in terms of their overall long-term career