... , specifically in the dialogue between Socrates and Diotima (Symposium, 204e ­ 209e). Plato first defines love by examining the lover, then uses this definition to build an abstract function and purpose of love which places intellectual men above childbearing women. Diotima teaches Socrates that the lover of good things ... wants to possess them so that he might be happy (204e). This definition of a lover applies to everyone, for Diotima's assumption, supported by Socrates, is that "everyone wants good things to be his own forever." (205a ... the terminology that belongs to the whole cl...

• Word Count: 1318
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... completely logical and based on common sense, he discusses our impressions and ideas and why they are believed. Hume's progression starts with his initial definition of cause, and moves on to his final conclusion in his doctrine on causality. As a result, it proves how Hume's argument on causality ... accept the epistemology and not accept his argument on causality. Hume starts by explaining definitions of causes and characteristics that make up the popular definition of cause. Contiguity is the idea that things go together, or are results of each other. Whatever objects operate togethe...

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... . The difference in innate tendencies, actions of passion and the capacity of language are what separates animals and humans and in turn causes some creatures to be excluded. With this definition Descartes manages to exclude animals but include humans that have some sort of mental capacity and sometimes would be thought of as not having linguistic capacity. Animals are excluded from ... being capable of a reasonable linguistic ability even though animals such as parrots are able to utter some words (CR, p. 36). The reason for this is because Descartes gives as a definition for the speech...

• Word Count: 1300
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... following: Everyone has a rough idea of what is meant by being conscious. For now, it is better to avoid a precise definition of consciousness because of the dangers of premature definition. Until the problem is understood much better, any attempt at a formal definition is likely to be either misleading or overly restrictive, or both. If this seems evasive, try defining the word "gene." So ... much is now known about genes that any simple definition is likely to be inadequate. How much more difficult, then, to define a biological term when rather little is known about it. (Crick and Koc...

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• Grade Level: High School

... to unpack the latter. Struggle is a key element, between being an autonomous being, or being a "consumer" of the social reality. The idea that Percy knocks on, is that of self definition and self determination, which in essence overcomes what can be termed, double-consciousness (the act of seeing oneself, through the eyes of others, and measuring oneself by the tape of ... anything else." This intellectual development is part of what Woolf commends to overcome the sociopolitical "packages" and conventions, and successfully attain the self-motivated definition, which she herself has pack...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... essential part to every being in the universe. For the purpose of this philosophical view on the soul, we will not only focus on this commonly accepted definition, but we will also focus on the definition that philosophers have clung to over the years. A philosopher states that the soul is "the vitalizing principle by which a thing is able to perform activities which ... we associate with being alive." Philosophers further narrow their definition down to describing the functions of vital activity to the "minimum powers of nutrition, growth, and reproduction." Although it is not always e...

• Word Count: 1720
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... also offers the joy of suspense. This feeling that he calls "contradictory feeling was christened or re-christened by the name of the sublime"(92). After this quasi-definition of the sublime in the first part of his paper Lyotard goes on to discuss the sublime with reference to a text on rhetoric that was written by Longinus and translated ... one feel"(97). To see the magnitude of this dichotomy one need only contrast the sculpture Portrait of Modesty by Antonio Corradini and Newman's sculpture Here I. After this continued definition of the sublime and the explanation of the way it eff...

• Word Count: 1414
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Artificial Intelligence has been debated since the term's inception. For some researchers it is important that the definition of Artificial Intelligence include only those techniques that actually reflect human cognitive processes. For others, the definition factor is that Artificial techniques are able to solve problems that would require intelligence if solved by humans, irrespective of whether the techniques employed reflect human cognition. It ... has also been suggested that for a definition of Artificial Intelligence to be applicable, the most important criterion is that the system can ...

• Word Count: 1342
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... themselves. Most preferred to choose the former (Roberts, Andrew). Those unfortunate souls in England who were commonly misunderstood were forced into the "madhouse" under the merit of a vague definition enforced by the English Common Law which said to "confine a person disordered in mind, who seems disposed to do mischief to himself or to another person". So, these "madmen ... people. As time passed, the fear of those with mental disabilities died down, at the same time, a man by the name of Richard Flavell introduced a novel definition about the way one thinks. Flavell's working defin...

• Word Count: 1724
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... only the present. Time has no history or future because it simply exists. (Humans are the ones that have an origination and termination, not time.) Regardless of the agreed upon definition of time, the philosophy involved in the comprehension of time truly does weigh heavily on the human psyche. Humans regret the past and fear the future because they are swept ... are numerous possible explanations; there are so many theories. What does the human race know about time that is absolutely fact-based? The best definition of time is that it is a "continuum that lacks spatial dimensions" ("ti...

• Word Count: 1525
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... has been deemed to come from your god is also the proof that God exists. This is the type of circular definition that Descartes is trying to avoid at all costs. Basically, it's like using a word in it's own definition, or 'the definition of an apple is an apple: The argument begins to get a little bit ambiguous when he begins discussing the uncertainty ... ...

• Word Count: 1331
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... through his mistakes and shortcomings. Louisa would do anything to help her brother prosper, even if it included sacrificing her well being. For me, that is the definition of love– making her the definition of heart over mind. Sleary and Louisa both believe that living life to its full potential is crucial to lead a flourishing life. Nevertheless, Sleary does not bear ... ...

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... . Epistemology is the subfield of philosophy concerned with the concept of knowledge, how we learn, and what we have the ability to learn. The main concerns of epistemology are the definition of knowledge, the sources of knowledge, the process of acquiring knowledge,the limitations of knowledge, and the validity of knowledge. It is describing how our mind creates our reality. Epistemology ... , but by the intellect alone" (Descartes 69). He believed that this was the same for every human, that we all have innate ideas in our soul. This definitely follows the definition of a rationalist. I...

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... translation of the Latin verb "cogitare" and the French verb "penser" have wider meaning than the English "to think". They relate to any conscious state or activity. However, if Descartes" definition of thought was really this broad it would need to be possible to assert that having sensory perceptions was indubitable as the ability to think. However, as he asserts in ... first meditation, it is not the case to believe that "I have sensory perceptions" necessarily makes it a true belief. Despite this difficulty, Descartes" inclusion of, among others, imagination in the above definition ...

• Word Count: 1657
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to psychology. In the 1890's, psycholoanalysis developed from a Viennese physician named Sigmund Freud. (Grolier) Freud, along with his followers used psychoanalysis to branch off into the world of psychology. The definition of psychoanalysis can best be defined as emphasizing the roles of unconscious mental forces and conflicts in determining behavior." (Wood 27) The main branch of psychology is "normal thinking" of ... , the rational, largely conscious system of personality, which operates according to the reality principle." (Wood 432) The last and final stage in the libido Freudian t...

• Word Count: 1526
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... love (495). It is the second half of the main idea that I think Socrates is featuring resides in a pursuit of wisdom, fueled by the irrational passion. It is not the definition itself, but how and why Phaedrus/ the reader should arrive at the conclusions. The chase is what Socrates sees as the justifiable act of madness. for loftiness of mind and ... and infinite. Concerning the immortality of the soul this is enough (471). Soul is the "trump card" that presides over all aspects of life. The proof is in Socrates own definition of soul that transcends all living and non-living things in ...

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... be inclined to treat souls as an exception case. Materialism has many definitions and also many forms. Many materialists have a basic common definition of materialism, but have different view in other areas. I think it is near impossible to reach a final definition of materialism. There are many different terms needed to understand materialism, such as monism, dualism, and qualia. One issue in materialism ... ...

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... futility of consciousness. The man possesses natural beauty recognized by those around. However, when he looks in the mirror, he gains consciousness that is bound by social norms and society's definition of beauty. He consciously realizes that what he saw then in the mirror was 'beauty,' and strives to achieve it, though unable to do so. In both cases, consciousness ... ...

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... what Shelley declares in his essay "A Defence of Poetry": "Poetry, in a general sense, may be defined to be 'the expression of the imagination'" (par. 2). Shelley's definition of poetry not only presents the central thematic concern of English Romantic Poetry –imagination– but also deals with the concept of poet, as we will observe as well ... ...

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... they began to question everything that surrounded them for example; their social norms, religion and individuality. One of Descartes's main focuses was radical doubt as he aimed to reach a new definition of doubt (Ferry, 2010). He began strategically and purposely doubting anything that he could in order to find out what is certain and indubitable. This was achieved by; firstly he ... ...

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... ; she explores the cultural norms at the school which shapes their student experiences. She focuses on the young cadets being stripped off their identity and being molded into the Citadel's definition of masculinity. In today's world, every individual has their own beliefs and each person has their own personality. The beliefs and the personality of an individual is reflected on their ... ...

• Word Count: 1904
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Morality is a topic that has been debated throughout all time. Questions are asked about its origin, its definition, and its purpose. In Frankenstein, morality is a topic that is discussed in the characters actions and thoughts. The creature is one character that has morality issues and they can be ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... use the term "cognitive psychology." According to this psychologist, cognition refers to all the processes that transform, reduce, elaborate, store, recover, and use the sensory input (McLeod, 2007). From this definition, it is evident that cognition is involved in every human being's thought and actions. According to Ulric Neisser's book "Cognitive Psychology," the human mind has been viewed as performing its ... ...

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This one line quote explains more about humans than any definition, research or a detailed book. Human cognition is the subject of utmost interest and has been so for many years. Role of Cognition in Psychology The Approach to cognitive science is a ... ...

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... appears to be like any other free verse but what makes Mackowski's poem special is its unusual content, the human mind. This leads to "Consciousness" being like a "definition poem", providing different descriptions of the mind. Throughout the poem, it is like Mackowski turns the mind over and over in her hands and helps us in experiencing the ... ...

• Word Count: 1356
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate