... success, we feel elation empathetic to their own. By this same principle, we are drawn to the pleasures that we behold being enjoyed by others. Just as if we see someone enjoying a beer in front of a TV set with a baseball game on, we may feel inclined to open our own beer and try to appreciate a baseball game, if we observe someone deriving pleasure from ... the appreciation of a fine art, whether it's classical music, art, theater, poetry or other literature, we will feel ... more inclined to, or attracted by that medium. This improves the entire virtuous nature and utility of a soci...

• Word Count: 2303
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... have a meal. "We resolve to approve ourselves to the Lord in our particular calling" reads the Salem covenant "shunning idleness as the bane of every state." Some people even believe that puritans caused prohibition. This is completely fabricated because hard liquor was consumed by the men and "small beer" and "hard"cider by a large portion of the populace, including children(the fermentation process acted as a prophylactic against some of ... the diseases borne by poor well-water quality). Of course drunkenness was forbidden and punished. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Let...

• Word Count: 745
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is fulfilling, while in the latter, the appetite" is frustrating, causing the student's reason of "forms" to crumble against the powers of the appetite and spirit. Another example can be made of a person needing to study but peer-pressured into having pizza and beer with friends over a game of soccer on television. The appetite desires to avoid studying and please the senses instead, and neither is the spirit any different because it is ... driven by a will to please the senses - the appetite. But reason would have it that the student talk his way out of peer-pressure and do the more im...

• Word Count: 762
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... ." So what constitutes thinking? According to Descartes, thought includes doubting, understanding, affirming, denying, willing, refusing, and also imagining and sensing. This list is a substantial amount of thought which he analyzes much further. The thought that is most related to his argument is sensory perceptions. His famous concept of the evil demon is just one of his thought experiments. Here he claims that all his ... senses and thoughts are controlled by an evil demon within his mind. This is his first method of doubt ... . If we can doubt all of our senses, than how can we have ...

• Word Count: 314
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... : "We went up to the lake because everyone went there, because we wanted to snuff he rich scent of possibility on the breeze, watch a girl take off her clothes and plunge into the festering murk, drink beer, smoke pot, howl at the stars, savor the incongruous full-throated roar of rock and roll against the primeval susurrus of frogs and crickets." (129) The lake always provided a fun ... social atmosphere for my friends and I at the time, until the day it would change our lives ... forever. The night started out like any other night. I ... ...

• Word Count: 957
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... different eras. "Death of a Traveling Salesman" is set in the past probably the thirties while "Canoe" is set in more modern times. Both stories have themes dealing with man vs. man and man connecting with people. Bowman finds his end through seeing clearly for the first time. Hazlett finds his own faults that stormy night and is completely traumatized only able to say canoe. He was ... traumatized because he wanted to save the man, he longed to save him, just as Bowman wanted to ... reach out to the woman and not be lonely anymore. Bowman and Hazlett are two characters with the same f...

• Word Count: 1371
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... upon commonly forgotten historical events. Another reoccurring image, which was presented in both the beginning and end of the work, is that of fish. The reader of this work found this image to be confusing as its usage perhaps bears multiple meanings. It would appear that the image of fish, in the beginning of the work, seemed to be of Lowells' interest as a child. Lowell was described ... speaks of. In addition, the grease that was mentioned as the medium by which the vehicles slide, invoked the image of fish oil to the reader. It would seem that the image here would be of something t...

• Word Count: 532
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... that is put forward in this reading is that because animals are conscious of themselves, we should not hurt them for the purposes of testing. An experiment conducted by Derek Denton on chimpanzees proved that they could recognise their own reflection and hence are aware of themselves. Although this may prove true for chimpanzees - what of other animals? Has this type of ... be difficult to gauge whether some animals will be as easily measured than chimpanzees. This idea is also shared by Aldo Leopold who extends it to include moral consideration for the land and environment. Once again,...

• Word Count: 429
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... be some initiative action taken here. Also our government says certain things cannot be done, for example, the rusted pipes were supposedly "unfixable". One entrepreneur changed that. He fixed the grungy old pipes to shiny new ones. People like these really stand out and make a difference in the world. My attitudes toward competition are positive. We should not let government have a monopoly over our ... innocent lives. Even the construction workers that were hired by government and went on to working for private companies say it ... has more of an advantage. They work harder and are n...

• Word Count: 347
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... of physical contact (Alan Goldman, "Plain Sex"). "Pleasures of physical contact" might not specify sexual pleasure accurately enough. An additional complication is that a gender difference in the experience and conceptualization of sexual pleasure might exist. Also, someone might experience sexual desire yet have no idea what to do as a result of having it, no idea that physical contact, or ... we should see it as a source of a distinct pleasure. What else could it be? What else is there when we put aside all the biological aspects and its romanticism Goldman rejects all instrumental a...

• Word Count: 254
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... range of negative emotions. These emotions include frustration, shame, and resentment. Bradstreet chooses to compare her piece of work to a child, because so many comparisons are befitting to a living thing. The first line in the poem shows her discontent toward the book she created. She reflects on the "ill-formed offspring of [her] feeble brain" and continues with her thoughts. Her book is then taken away ... from her and shown to everyone, which she does not want. Her displease with those "less wise ... more lines down. Bradstreet describes her editing process. To her, it seems that...

• Word Count: 351
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... but I was able to understand that Descartes was using his methods of doubt and analysis. He talks about certainty, earth, the sky, and his senses. His meditation contains a very difficult proof of God's existence. He claims that things, which are "clearly and distinctly perceived", are completely true. Descartes also discusses the truths of mathematics (2+3=5). He could not bring himself to doubt mathematics, any ... powerful evil genius is not possible. Descartes certainties include him, this thought process, and that the essence of matter is flexible, changeable, and extended. He class...

• Word Count: 292
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... me to this is " I been silent so long now it's going roar out of me like floodwaters and you think the guy telling this is ranting and raving my God; you think this is too horrible to have really happened, this is too awful to be the truth! But, please. It's still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it ... 's the truth even if it didn't happen." I think that the last line of the quote is Bromden's request that the reader keep an open mind. His hallucinations provide metaphorical insight into the hidden realities of the hospital and should not be overlooked simply because...

• Word Count: 321
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... wrote other successful plays, "The Glass Menagerie" was his first hit. It is a story of mother, her son and daughter, who are living a confusing life and who keeps on clinging "to a dream world that can so easily be shattered into jagged pieces, as illusion is destroyed by reality". Living your past during the present, might be troubling and confusing. Amanda, the mother, keeps on talking about ... her past and she keeps on thinking that everything should be like her past. She wants Laura, especially, to be like her. Amanda keeps giving her lecture ... about how she had many gentleman ...

• Word Count: 300
• Approx Pages: 1
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... she should, there are several instances which Anna makes a poor judgment when it came to her daughter. One good example of this is when she and Leo are making love while Molly is in the bed with them. Most parents would never even think of doing this. She should have stopped until Molly had calmed down ... and was back in her room sleeping. I am sure that many parents get "caught in the act," but would never think to continue making love while the child is still in the same room as them. What would she have done if Molly woke up? I ... really don't think this thought crosses her mind. ...

• Word Count: 502
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... indirect way. I believe that questioning things around us, even though we many never find a real answer, makes us smarter and brighter people. Living in a box will get you nowhere in life, but opening your eyes to the things around you, and constantly analyzing and questioning things opens a whole new world to you. Russell also points out that philosophy is unlike any other study. All ... interpreted differently by different people. Russell also points out that part of a philosopher's job is to question and examine things around him, in order to keep his interest alive. Russell says tha...

• Word Count: 313
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... phenomenon. It has always been a mystery to us. It is only now that we are manipulating love. This is since our minds and hearts are changing along with the times. Because people's concepts of what love is and ideas of what lovers do are greatly degrading over the years, the downfall of love is roughly at hand. Most people back then believe that love is ... is only now that a person tries to manipulate someone he/she likes to make her/him fall in love with him/her. The individual chooses strategically where to take the person and what to do in every place they go to. The most embarrassi...

• Word Count: 305
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... different but as real humans beings we are not different. Children need to grow up learning that people are all human and people may praise a different god or indulge in a different culture, but as people we are all here for the same reason, to be successful in life. Parents need to teach their children that everyone on this planet was born for ... the same reason, to grow up, learn and improve their abilities, and live a successful and enjoyable life. Teachers also play a very important role in making children more open minded ... . In the article "Children should be Heard" by Assistan...

• Word Count: 496
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography

... to other people. We know this because we rarely laugh when we are alone. Laughter is social and contagious. We laugh at the sound of laughter itself. A whole room can erupt in laughter when actually only about a third of the people may know the joke. That is the power of laughter. Most laughter is not about humor; it is about relationships between people. When we ... . Laughter puts things into a new perspective. Everything that makes us laugh is typically something we relate to, but by laughing our brain is opened and sees everything in a different way. Laughter has the remarkable power...

• Word Count: 377
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... that every living human must have to live. However, there are some alternate states of consciousness that are voluntary. Some of these are meditation, hypnosis, and drugs. Of these two alternate states, meditation interests me the most. The concentrative form of meditation is "a group of techniques that involve focusing attention on an object, a word, one's breathing, or body movement in order to ... achieve an altered state of consciousness." Some forms of meditation originated in Eastern religions and were used to "attain a higher spiritual state". However, in the modern United State...

• Word Count: 351
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... who is hungry will do anything in order to eat. In the book, an object called a telescreen was used. These were placed in every apartment and business. These were so that the party could watch the citizens and make sure they are not performing any crimes. Whether or not the telescreens actually viewed people in the house is unknown, they could have used them just to bluff ... and show the two-minutes of hate, but the citizens had know way of knowing; therefore following ... the rules. One more tactic used by the party was Thought Police. You ... ...

• Word Count: 372
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... that had problems they had to deal with and endure no matter how difficult they became. The best example of bravery in the book would be Atticus. Everyone in the town doubted him and hated him for defending a black man, but he stood up to the pressure and did what he knew was right. "The one thing that doesn't abide by the majority rule is a person's conscience." (P. 105, ch ... what he knew he had to do, what was right in his heart. Mrs. Dubose shows us bravery throughout the book as she battles her addiction of morphine. She is misjudged by the children, they do not like her because o...

• Word Count: 317
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... that Tom "Works to much," but all he can think of is the "Money rolling in." For instance the yellow piece of paper that Tom had all his research on for marketing had flew out the open window and landed on the ledge of the balcony. Once he realized what had happened to the piece of paper he was working on, not thinking of anything else but ... getting the paper back he then climbed out of the window onto the ledge. After he had gotten the piece of paper off the ledge he looked down onto the street and lost his grip of ... the window seal, slipped and almost fell. Subsequently he then t...

• Word Count: 263
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... of his hated uncle, Hamlet exclaims "Frailty thy name is woman!" He leaps from the single example of his mother's impulsive behaviour and condemns all women for all time. This is the first of many comments by Hamlet and others, about the sometimes mysterious ways in which people change. Every thought in Hamlet's first soliloquy is painful. Hamlet reveals his own frailty when he admits ... that his despair has driven him to thoughts of suicide and that he would kill himself if ... world into "an unweeded garden / That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature / Possess it merely." ...

• Word Count: 307
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... friends how would you be able to help them? If you didn't know the skills of your work, how would you be able to work? In my eyes it all comes down to one thing, and that is knowledge. The bible says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge", and if you think about it, it's true. When I talk to people my age ... we talk about cars, videos, clothes, sporting events, and things of that nature; they know everything. I can't remember having a conversation about the government with anyone my age, because it's something they don't know about. I feel that the government doesn't mind, be...

• Word Count: 301
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School