Sunday, May 24, 2020

Epicurus His Philosophy of Pleasure

Wisdom hasnt come a step further since Epicurus but has often gone many thousands of steps backwards.​Friedrich Nietzsche About Epicurus Epicurus (341-270 B.C.) was born in Samos and died in Athens. He studied at Platos Academy when it was run by Xenocrates. Later, when he joined his family on Colophon, Epicurus studied under Nausiphanes, who introduced him to the philosophy of Democritus. In 306/7 Epicurus bought a house in Athens. It was in its garden that he taught his philosophy. Epicurus and his followers, who included slaves and women, secluded themselves from the life of the city. The Virtue of Pleasure Epicurus and his philosophy of pleasure have been controversial for over 2000 years. One reason is our tendency to reject pleasure as a moral good. We usually think of charity, compassion, humility, wisdom, honor, justice, and other virtues as morally good, while pleasure is, at best, morally neutral, but for Epicurus, behavior in pursuit of pleasure assured an upright life. It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and honorably and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and honorably and justly without living pleasantly. Whenever any one of these is lacking, when, for instance, the man is not able to live wisely, though he lives honorably and justly, it is impossible for him to live a pleasant life.Epicurus, from Principal Doctrines Hedonism and Ataraxia Hedonism (a life devoted to pleasure) is what many of us think of when we hear Epicurus name, but ataraxia, the experience of optimal, enduring pleasure, is what we should associate with the atomist philosopher. Epicurus says we should not try to increase our pleasure beyond the point of maximum intensity. Think of it in terms of eating. If youre hungry, theres pain. If you eat to fill the hunger, you feel good and are behaving in accordance with Epicureanism. In contrast, if you gorge yourself, you experience pain, again. The magnitude of pleasure reaches its limit in the removal of all pain. When such pleasure is present, so long as it is uninterrupted, there is no pain either of body or of mind or of both together. Satiation According to Dr. J. Chander*, in his course notes on Stoicism and Epicureanism, for Epicurus, extravagance leads to pain, not pleasure. Therefore we should avoid extravagance. Sensual pleasures move us towards ataraxia, which is pleasing in itself. We should not pursue endless stimulation, but rather seek out enduring satiation. All desires that do not lead to pain when they remain unsatisfied are unnecessary, but the desire is easily got rid of, when the thing desired is difficult to obtain or the desires seem likely to produce harm. The Spread of Epicureanism According to The Intellectual Development and Spread of Epicureanism, Epicurus guaranteed the survival of his school (The Garden) in his will. Challenges from competing for Hellenistic philosophies, notably, Stoicism and Skepticism, spurred Epicureans to develop some of their doctrines in much greater detail, notably their epistemology and some of their ethical theories, especially their theories concerning friendship and virtue. Stranger, here you will do well to tarry; here our highest good is pleasure. The caretaker of that abode, a kindly host, will be ready for you; he will welcome you with bread, and serve you water also in abundance, with these words: Have you not been well entertained? This garden does not whet your appetite; but quenches it. Anti-Epicurean Cato In 155 B.C., Athens exported some of its leading philosophers to Rome, where Epicureanism, in particular, offended conservatives like Marcus Porcius Cato. Eventually, however, Epicureanism took root in Rome and can be found in the poets, Vergil (Virgil), Horace, and Lucretius. Pro-Epicurean Thomas Jefferson More recently, Thomas Jefferson was an Epicurean. In his 1819 Letter to William Short, Jefferson points up the shortcomings of other philosophies and the virtues of Epicureanism. The letter also contains a short Syllabus of the doctrines of Epicurus. Ancient Writers on the Topic of Epicureanism EpicurusDiogenes LaertiusLucretiusCiceroHoraceLucianCornelius NeposPlutarchSenecaLactantiusOrigen Sources David John Furley Epicurus Whos Who in the Classical World. Ed. Simon Hornblower and Tony Spawforth. Oxford University Press, 2000. Hedonism and the Happy Life: The Epicurean Theory of Pleasure, www.epicureans.org/intro.html Stoicism and Epicureanism, moon.pepperdine.edu/gsep/ class/ethics/stoicism/default.html

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

How to Help Australians in Poverty - 654 Words

Do any of you wake up one morning and not know if you’re going to be able to have a decent meal for the whole day? or not being able to have a shower and brush your teeth? What even being able to drink clean water? These questions may seem extreme or over the top, but it is a complete reality to those living under extreme poverty. According to research of the oxford dictionary , poverty is the state of being extremely poor. My goal here is to inform you about the main causes of poverty and what we can do here in Australia to help those in need. What are the causes of poverty? There is no one cause for poverty across the world. However, there are many components that contribute to poverty. One of those includes overpopulation, imagine living in the same house with 20 other people. There wouldn’t be much space to do anything, countries such as China and India have such an incredibly high population density that they don’t have the necessities to look after everyone. Overpopulation has a large impact to poverty, as it gives a rise to unemployment as there are fewer jobs to support such a large amount of people. This then results in a rise in crime as people are resorted to steal to simply feed for their family and the basic needs. Another contribution to poverty is inadequate education and employment. Something we take for granted in a developed country is the ability to have access to education. Many children in third world counties have diminutive knowledge aboutShow MoreRelatedSocial And Economical Concepts Of Sole Parent Families Essay1519 Words   |  7 PagesAustralian society face solidarity and Division: Sole Parent Families are living on the edge of poverty, with predictions of a 65% increase of sole parent families by 2036, Why are so many Australian sole parent families living so close to or below the calculated poverty line? 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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Individual General Profile City of Kelsey Eth/316 Free Essays

Individual General Profile Angel Pacheco 7/22/12 ETH/316 The City of Kelsey boasts a rich and diverse culture with residents ranging from African American, Caucasian, Asian American, and other ethnicities. The occupations that these residents are associated with range from logistics, information technologies, medical personnel, and blue collar occupations. Interaction within a community as tight knit as the City of Kelsey occurs throughout the region. We will write a custom essay sample on Individual General Profile City of Kelsey Eth/316 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Shops in the downtown area offer a place for residents to hang out and relieve stress, as well as aid in spurring the regions economy. The Kelsey Library is a great place for residents of all ages to research the internet, as well as read recreationally. Community events in the City of Kelsey include an annual 10K Marathon, various sports tournaments, an annual balloon festival, a monthly farmers market, and an annual St. Patricks Day Parade. These events offer a wide variety of events to enable community interaction. With over 71,000 students in the Kelsey School system, all regional schools are used to educate students in a group setting. This group setting is paramount in interaction between students. With over 4,500 educators, the school system offers a place for staff members to interact as well. With a history embedded in agriculture, combined with an organic way of life, the community believes in being responsible for the community on an individual basis. With the use of public transportation, and alternative means such as bicycles the community is showing how they are giving back. With the community offering many opportunities for activity such as arts and crafts center, aquatic center, Lake Lora, and the city park it is the responsibility of the community to reciprocate this through careful preservation of these resources. The City of Kelsey has a foundation of preservation of natural resources, but with the rise of population in the last few years the efforts must be dramatically increased. Being socially responsible would be to recognize this problem and allocate funds to maintain the problem with the Sanitation Department and their digester problem. Many of the problems that arise with their greatest resource water, derived from Lake Lora or regional aquifers, may be caused by leeching from a poorly kept solid waste digester. Allocation of funds for this problem is imperative in determining the ability of reversing the degradation of the water quality available to the City of Kelsey. How to cite Individual General Profile City of Kelsey Eth/316, Papers

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Mexico and its Importance to US Bilateral relations free essay sample

Mexico is an important asset to the United States, is shares 1,954 miles of border with the United States, and has become an important economic trading partner with the United States. Relations between these two nations are paramount, but we must address a list of issues that need answers, economic reform, homeland security, drug control, migration and even the environment. Every day over one million people cross the border legally, in 2012 two way trade totaled over $500 billion dollars. Mexico has remained one of the biggest tourist destinations for American travelers, and America major source of tourism for Mexico. Cooperation between these two nations is important, it is also important for the United States to help streamline diplomacy with Mexico. In 2010 the Executive Committee for 21st Century Border Management was created to help create advancements in creating a modern, secure and efficient border. This Committee was created to spur ideas on ways to help secure the border, as well as create a better way to manage the legal crossing taking place every day. The attacks September 1 1, 2001 led to the closing of many border crossing, putting a strain on the already verworked crossings, with the implementation of this program new ways are being explored on how we should run these border crossings as well as exploring the re- opening of certain closed crossing points. Cooperative activities between the U. S. and Mexico take place under a number of arrangements such as the U. S. -Mexico Border 2012/2020 Program the North American Development Bank and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission; the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation; the Border Health Commission. These agencies help cooperate with Mexico in regards to the serious environmental issues that have risen ue to population growth and industrialization. In 2008 we began the Merida Initiative seeking to cooperate with Mexico as well as other South American countries in an attempt to curb the growing trend of drug trafficking crimes. Mexico suggested that it was a shared problem because the majority of the money flowing into Mexico was from American drug users. Although as of 2012 congress has appropriated nearly 1. 9 billion dollars to the Merida Initiative. Beginning in 2010 the Merida Initiative took a four pillar approach to break down its attempts at disrupting the drug trafficking and violence problem. The first pillar aims to disrupt the capacity of organized crime to operate and the second pillar focuses on enhancing the capacity of Mexicos government and institutions to sustain the rule of law. The Merida Initiatives third pillar aims to improve border management to facilitate legitimate trade and movement of people while thwarting the flow of drugs, arms, and cash. Finally, the fourth pillar seeks to build strong and resilient communities. Despite the major advances we have made with mexico regarding trade and the furtherance of our partnership as nations, it must be noted the major issues we still ace. The Drug Cartels in mexico currently run a 20 plus billion dollar a year industry. important area of discussion is the immigration issues that have faced the united states from mexico as immigrants attempt to flee mexico for a variety of reasons. Mexico is also a major recipient of remittances, in 2012 the state department estimated over 22 billion dollars worth was sent from relatives living in America. Immigration has become a hot point in current affairs, it is time to analise some options for the future in regards to immigration and options regarding drug rafficking issues. In may of 2013 Obama announced the formation of a bilateral forum on higher education, innovation, and research. With this forum the United States and mexico will encourage typically underprivileged students to attend college and secondary schools providing them access to these schools as well as secondary training programs in STEM fields.. This forum is our first step towards making mexico an economic power as well as a place that can welcome advancing technology. Recommendations. Increasing the funding that is appropriated for the Merida Initiative, this funding hould be sent towards furthering the security checkpoints at Mexicos borders. Updating x ray machines as well as non-invasive body scanners. Money should also be spent in an attempt to inform the Mexican community of the intentions to curb the trend of drug cartel control. The Merida initiative should focus primarily on the first pillar, of disrupting organized Criminal Groups. Scrapping all additional plans for continuing the fence on the American Mexican border. Rather Funds should be appropriated in designating a committee to explore further partnership with Mexico regarding immigration. America needs to accept that Mexican immigrants as a majority are good people looking for honest work. This should no longer be a crime, The process of obtaining a green card should be streamlined, making it accessible to anyone who seeks it out. This policy has to go hand in hand with near total elimination of drug violence. Mexico needs to be regarded as a safe place where both American and Mexican nationals can come and go across the border freely and without safety in question. Mexico should not be treated as a third world nation, we have the potential to help them become a eautiful place to visit. It Just requires some creative policy ideas to meet our goals. Drug Reform has not had much success, in part to the weak policies that have been implemented.