The Foundations Of Rationalism By Plato - 1762 Words

Faith, like prejudice, is an enemy of reason, yet if the power of reason to enquire important answers to fundamental questions has been demonstrated in the western tradition since Plato, faith, which remains today a prominent global force manifested in religion, too, holds a function in logical enquiry. Faith is to hold a conviction void of actual evidence, yet Reason needs faith in order to function, it is faith that is linked to the imagination and hypothesis for enquiry. Humans are not machines, which can function on reason alone, and thus, to eradicate faith would be to eradicate a evolutionary flaw in the human makeup. Faith, akin to love in this way, makes individuals happy. In Plato’s dialogues, the foundations of rationalism are†¦show more content†¦Plato’s dualism is articulated Plato’s Republic (trans Lee 1974 IV,436a-442d) to account for inner conflicts in decision making. An individual can be thirsty yet not quench his thirst (Republic, 437b) , and â€Å"anger at times goes to war with desire, as if they were two distinct things†(Republic, 440a-b). Reason is like the driver of a chariot, steering the two horses of spirit and desire in the correct direction. The chariot is able to function as â€Å"the one ruling principle of reason, and the two subject ones of spirit and desire are equally agreed that reason ought to rule† (Republic, 442c). Such a struggle articulates the struggle that Dawkins un-impartially describes, between faith and reason, where reason ought to be the driving force. Aristotle states that man is distinct from animals as he has the capacity to reason as a â€Å"rational animal† (Marc 2014, web). For Aristotle, the goal of science is to know why things necessarily are as they are (Shields 2014, 129). Dawkins’ statement infers this goal is hindered through faith, â€Å"one of the world’s greatest evils†. In Plato’s dialogue Memo, Socrates refers to the theory of the forms, where people have eternal immortal souls, the world is particulars of pure forms. The theory of the forms expresses the power of reason (81d), as feeling like something pure, perfect, and other worldly. Socrates demonstrates to Memo that, by asking a

Henrik Ibsen s A Doll House - 2348 Words

Se’Naia Simpson Dr. Asabi Final Research paper 5/6/2014 â€Å"A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view.†(Author Commentary 296) Henrik Ibsen’s A doll house reflect a general household of doll like characters with a wife , husband, three children and a nanny. Nora, wife and mother of three decides to leave her family in pursuit of self purpose and self identity after withstanding blackmail which opened her eye to how her husband and men in her society value and view women individuality. This quotation from Henrik Ibsen above reflects his awareness of the male dominance in just about every aspect of the laws and societal views during the nineteenth century. Ibsen addresses the idea of women being ridiculed and judged by men, from only a mans’ point of view by introducing his interpretation with issues of gender biases and male superiority in his wo rks, A Doll House and Hedda Gabler. During the 1800s women gradually began to gain independence and contribute to the workforce and take on more responsibility. The oppression of the 19th century Norwegian society on woman forced them to sacrifice their true identity and desires ultimately pushing them to rebel against societal standards and imposed expectations in attempts to gain self-efficiency and purpose. According to the Norwegian National Commission: â€Å"TheShow MoreRelatedHenrik Ibsen s A Doll House1563 Words   |  7 Pages In the play, A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen, the title itself symbolizes the dependent and degraded role of the wife within traditional marriages. Ibsen portrayed the generous nature root into women by society, as well as the significant action of this nature, and lastly the need for them to find their own voice in a world ruled by men. Ibsen wrote this play in 1879, this is the era where women were obedient to men, tend the children until their husband came home, and stood by the Cult of DomesticityRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1717 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"A Doll, a Partner, and a Change† Social movement of women liberation toward equal rights and independence has been a big subject in human history. It happens not only in Europe but also all over the world. Though making progress, this movement has been advancing slowly and encountered backslashes from time to time. Maybe there is something deeply hidden which the society has not figured out yet, even women themselves. What do women want, freedom or good life? Most of the time, they are notRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1291 Words   |  6 Pages A Doll s House by Henrik Ibsen, is a play that has been written to withstand all time. In this play Ibsen highlights the importance of women’s rights. During the time period of the play these rights were neglected. Ibsen depicts the role of the woman was to stay at home, raise the children and attend to her husband during the 19th century. Nora is the woman in A Doll House who plays is portrayed as a victim. Michael Meyers said of Henrik Ibsen s plays: The common denominator in many of IbsenRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1288 Words   |  6 Pages Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is based in the Victorian society of the 19th century. It assesses the many struggles and hardships that women faced because of marriage â€Å"laws† that were crucial during that time period. The society was male- dominated with no equality. Nora is the protagonist in A Doll’s House and the wife of a man named Torvald. This play is about Nora’s voyage to recognizing her self- determination and independence. She transforms from a traditional, reserved woman to a new, independentRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1298 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"There is beauty in truth, even if it s painful. Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak. But lies only strengthen our defects. They don t teach anything, help anything, fix anything or cure anything. Nor do they develop one s character, one s mind, one s heart or one s soul.† (Josà © N. Harris). Nora Helmer’s choice to lie and deceive is inappropriate and wrong for women to do to her husband during this time period; itRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1037 Words   |  5 PagesHenrik Ibsen s A Doll s House is a work of literature genius. This three-act play involves many literary technics that are undermined by the average reader such as the fact that the plot shows the main characters Torvald and his wife Nora live the perfect life. An ironic paradox based around the fact that Nora and Torvald’s relationship is the complete opposite of perfect. Also, bringing upon a conflict as well, appearance versus reality. These little hidden meanings within stories are what areRead MoreHenrik Ibsen s A Doll House Essay1501 Words   |  7 PagesHenrik Ibsen’s play â€Å"A Doll House† was set in the Victorian era, a time where women were highly respected. Women in this time period did not work, they had nannies to take care of their children and maids to take care of their homes. Many women had no real responsibilities, they spent their time having tea parties and socializing with their friends. Henrik Ibsen dared to show the realism of the Victorian era while everyone else would only focus on the romantic aspect. In the play, â€Å"A Doll House†Read MoreA Doll s House : Henrik Ibsen962 Words   |  4 PagesDrama Analysis A Doll’s House (Henrik Ibsen) And Trifles (Susan Glaspell) In comparing both dramas, the overwhelming aspect of convergence between both is the open discussion of gender identity. Both dramas make similar points about what it means to be a woman. Modern society in both dramas is constructed with men holding power over women. This is seen in Trifles in how men like George Henderson and Mr. Hale are myopic. The premise of the drama is how women worry over trifles, and the dismissiveRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1421 Words   |  6 PagesIn A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen examines conventional roles of men and women in the nineteenth century. In the play, Nora exemplifies the conventional feminine standard during that period. She seems to be powerless and confines herself through high standard expectations, demonstrating what the role of a women would be as a wife and mother. The protagonist of A Doll’s House is a woman named Nora Helmer. Ibsen shows how Nora’s design of perfect life gradually transforms when her sec ret unravels. InRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen876 Words   |  4 PagesA Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen A Doll’s House takes place in the home of Torvald and Nora Helmer. Through conversation with Nora’s good friend Kristine Linde it is revealed that Mr. Helmer was ill around the same time Nora’s father died. Luckily Nora’s father left her enough money that Torvald and Nora could go on a life saving trip to Italy. But the truth comes out when we find out Nora’s father did not leave her a penny. We find out that Nora got a hold of the money through a loan but she signed

Independents and Electoral Advantage

Question: Discuss about the Independents and Electoral Advantage. Answer: Introduction The proposal investigates the case of pork-barrelling used by DSS department while taking funding decisions in Australia. Because of the political bias, distribution of funds to electorates becomes uneven. A DSS system using computer software systems would have to potential to eliminate the bias and instead make funding recommendations based on transparent criteria. The paper is presented in two parts. In the first part, the need development and implementation of DSS system is identified and explained. It includes the details of problem and suggests solutions. In the next section, components of proposed DSS system are identified. The section also explores various software options available for development. Department of Social Service is a state owned body in Australia that is responsible for distributing funds for commonwealth electoral divisions. Because of the instances of the department showing bias towards candidates providing electoral advantages, the integrity of the department has been questioned. The claims have been made that DSS involved their own MPs, voter advantage seats and those coalitions marginal seats, and regional seats providing voting advantage(Denemark, 2014). A set of data on DSS Payments by Commonwealth Electoral Division was downloaded from the official website to verify the claim of pork-barrelling practice by DSS. It was found that over 16% of the funds in 2015 were only distributed to 5 regions that included Lingiari, Leichhardt, Durack, Parkes, and Kennedy while 145 other candidates received remaining funds. These 5 electoral candidates received 16% of the total funds allotted while remaining 145 candidates got remaining percentage of funds. This analysis shows that there is a bias in decision making and thus, if a DSS system would provide a potential to eliminate this bias by making the system transparent and not basing decisions on preferences of individuals (Falguera, et al., 2014). The proposed DSS system would include formation of a database of details of electoral candidates in the real time. This data would be analyzed and modelled to calculate appropriate funding figure for each electoral candidates. The recommended funding figures would then be presented to the decision makers of DSS through a used friendly interface. The proposal analyses the case of department of social service for proposed development of DSs system and comes up with a prototype for the same. The solution would be explained by identifying its functions, components, and design units. A design would be developed based on this exploration for DSS. This prototype can further be tested before an actual development of DSS takes place. Analysis and Design Department of Social Science gathers a large amount of data about electoral candidates on the basis of which decisions on funding can be taken. To be able to take the right decision, specific criteria have to be set and used for analysis that results into a statistical model for allotment of funds. A model based DSs system can thus be used for the development of data model. The system users would include the decision makers in the department and the staff members. The staff would be responsible for storing the data into the system and running the analytics queries while the resulting output of the analysis would be presented in visual format to the decision makers. This system would have to develop two types of interfaces one of which would be used by the staff including data analysts and administrators while the visual interface would be used by the managers taking decision. Managers would analyse the recommended fund values and would take appropriate decisions for fund allotment for electoral candidates (ARIAV GINZBERG, 1985). The decision structure of the DSS system would be semi-structures allowing some criteria to make automatic decisions on funding requirements but the expert views would also add to these criteria and contribute to the final decision on funding. A Model-based Decision Support System would be developed with following components(Power Sharda, 2007): Data management:The data on the options for funding, candidate details, demographics, payment types, duration, postcodes, and more such data would be stored and managed by a data management system. Model management:A statistical model would be used for analysing the data and coming up with the distribution of the funds for electoral candidates. Decisions for distribution can be taken on the basis of objectives, options and uncertainty of variables. User interface management:Multiple user interfaces developed for administrators and decision makers would be managed such that the results of the data analysis would be visually presented to user(Druzdzel Flynn, 2002). There can be several software available to consider for the development of the DSS system such as Microsoft Excel Solver, Microsoft Access, SAS, Tableau and so on. Excel has already been used by the company but the analysis is performed by the managers manually and thus, addition of bias could be very easy. SAS is data analytics software that can be suggested here for development of DSS system for the department for it provides a huge number of features and benefits like community support, rich visualization, big data capabilities and predictive analytics. Conclusions: This paper proposed development and implementation of Decision Support System for the Department of Social Services of Australia. The department was responsible for taking decisions on funding electoral candidate on some tactical criterias. However, in practice the entity was found to be guilty of showing bias towards some beneficial political candidates as was verified from the data. Thus, introduction of DSS system is expected to make things transparent and eliminating the bias with the use of computer modelling for calculation of funding figures for electoral candidates. The paper presented various DSS components of the solution and suggested SAS software for development. References ARIAV, G. GINZBERG, M. J., 1985. DSS DESIGN: A SYSTEMIC VIEW OF DECISION SUPPORT , s.l.: ACME. Denemark, D., 2014. Partisan Pork-Barrel, Independents and Electoral Advantage: Australia's Regional Partnerships Program in 2004. Australian Journal of Politics and History, 60(4), p. 564579. Druzdzel, M. J. Flynn, R. R., 2002. Decision Support Systems, s.l.: University of Pittsburgh. Falguera, E., Jones, S. Ohman, M., 2014. Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns, s.l.: IDEA. Power, D. J. Sharda, R., 2007. Model-driven decision support systems: Concepts and research directions. Decision Support Systems, Volume 43, p. 1044 1061.