Why do I really need knowledge?

Why do I really need knowledge? Knowledge is defined as â€Å"justified true belief†[1]. This means that knowledge is any justified belief that can be proven to be true. The question ‘The whole point of knowledge is to produce both meaning purpose in our personal lives.’ will be the basis for my essay. This statement claims that as we gain knowledge, we gain meaning and purpose that affect our personal lives, which is to say, we find the answers we were looking for and also a thirst to know more. However, I do not believe that, when we gain knowledge, it affects everyone around us. My mother is a banker, the knowledge she has gained, not only helps her, but mainly impacts on others around her, because with that knowledge she has started her own bank. Whenever we gain knowledge, we also gain answers and more questions. In the Oscar Pistorius case, police investigators wanted to establish why he killed his girlfriend (meaning) and whether it was even him that killed his girlfriend (purpose).[2] I n this case, meaning is linked to intent, because there needs to be a reason for it and purpose is linked to opportunity, because there needs to be a way. When we gain new knowledge we feel better aware and more curious about our surroundings. That is to say, we learn to give ourselves meaning and purpose and in turn affect others, there are many cases where this is proven. Isaac Newton can be an example, when he first wondered about gravity he was sitting under a tree when an apple fell on his head. It was then that he wondered what force made things fall. He sought to find meaning to why the objects always fell back to earth, so he began experimenting on different objects, using reason, he used the resulting knowledge he got from his observation to determine that anything that goes up must fall down to the ground[3]. These discover he made were later called the laws of gravity and since they have many uses. It has become common sense since people now know to be cautious when deali ng with high places. When I was little, I picked up my baby sister from her crib while she was sleeping, when my mother found me with my sister dangling by a foot, she screamed. This is because she knows the fundamentals about gravity and that if my sister fell, she would’ve been hurt. Isaac Newton also developed the laws of motion, which states that an object in motion will continue to stay in motion until and external force is acted on it[4]. The laws of motion are used in different fields like car manufacturing, car testing, aeronautics, These laws also have provided a basis for many creations, for example, parachutes, trampolines, diving boards, etc. When a person is driving and suddenly sees someone or something on the road in front of them, they immediately hit the brakes, as they know that if they kept going, they would collide with the person/thing in front of them, causing damage to the person/thing, or to themselves/their car. Also, when they hit the brakes, an opposing force is acted on the cars forward motion, which in turn stops the car from moving. Two summers ago, I was riding a bike in my cousin’s house really fast. I wanted to slow down so I could get off the bike, but I mistakenly pressed the brakes, the bike stop abruptly and I was thrown out of the seat, I flipped over the handlebars and landed on my head. This is how the laws of motion would apply, because I hit the brakes, the bike stopped, but I didn’t stop, so that was why I flew off. When Isaac Newton discovered these laws, it was not for any higher reason than just to learn the answers for the why’s and the what’s of knowledge, in this, he had gained the meaning, but he still had no intention of gaining a purpose for his life from this, it was later, that other people found the meaning and purpose in the knowledge that he had discovered. Medical professionals (doctors, dentists, veterinaries, etc.) who have learnt medicine, anatomy, biology, etc. they used the knowledge they learnt to achieve a meaning of understanding how animal and plant bodied work, and the purpose of using that knowledge to help examine, treat or cure any injuries or illnesses within the body. My sister told me that she wants to become a pediatrician; she can only gain this knowledge for the purpose of helping children. Whenever there is a terrorist attack, whether Boko Haram, ISIS, Al Qaeda, investigators always researches everything, not only the terrorists attacking, but the victims being attacked, this is so that they can stop more attacks from happening. This is because if they can understand why a place was attacked (meaning), then it would be easier to stop other attacks in other locations (purpose). In economics, perfect competition is described as a situation where firms in an industry are relatively small in stature, have perfect knowledge of each other and are price takers[5]. This is mainly theoretically though as it cannot be practically implemented due to a wide range of unknown and inconstant variables. Although it is proven that this situation cannot exist, economists use the theory of perfect competition to determine the effect on the economy if it were to be practiced. This example is different because there is no real life scenario to go with it, but it still boosters the main point as the economists that theorized this scenario used whatever experimentation they had to come to the conclusion that it cannot exist, that is to say that the economists gained meaning from this experiment and the purpose of proving or disproving other economic scenarios. A monopoly is a situation where by a single firm has control over an entire industry, so they enjoy economies of scale and have price setting abilities[6]. In Nigeria, there are four main telecommunications companies; MTN, Airtel, Glo Etisalat, these four are individually owned by private firm. In Ethiopia, there is only one telecommunications company that is government owned. The Nigerian companies not only offer variety, but they also have an unrestricted service plan, meaning there are no limitations or restrictions to the use of the service, this is because their main aim of these firms is to make profit. The consumer can simply switch from one service provider to another if that customer is unsatisfied with their current service plan provider. The Ethiopian company is the only provider, so there is no need for any variety of services, they do not need to offer special plans or promotions or discounts because there is no competition for the company, there will also be heavily mo nitored and restricted use of the services because the main aim of the company is not to make profit, but to promote citizen optimization as they see fit, meaning that they will not allow any misuse of the service plan. There is also the fact that even if the customers are not satisfied with the service, there is nothing that they can do because they cannot change their service plan there is only one telecommunication company in the country. Here I have given two economic scenarios, the one in Nigeria is monopolistic competition, and the other in Ethiopia is a monopoly. In the first scenario, we can tell that there will be excess consumer satisfaction by the choice of four different service plans and the unrestricted access. However, in the second scenario, there would be excess dissatisfaction by the inability of choice, and the heavily restricted access. From my perception of these two scenarios, I can reason that the Nigerian telecommunication system is better because if offers t he right of choice and other benefits as opposed to the Ethiopian telecommunication system which would only offer on choice with no special benefits and at whatever price the government sets. Here is an example of how we can gain meaning but not purpose, because if someone can gain the knowledge of the monopoly of the Ethiopian telecommunications company, they can now understand why people would want to move from Ethiopia to Nigeria, but they will have nothing to do with this knowledge. The only reason for acquiring any form of knowledge would be to gain both meaning and purpose in our lives because once we have the knowledge, we understand how it involves up, meaning, and what we set out to accomplish with it. References: google. theory+of+knowledge. n.d. website. 22 November 2014. ib-theory-of-knowledge-website. n.d. Webpage. 22 January 2015. theoryofknowledgestudents.com. n.d. webpage. 2 December 2014. Blink, Jocelyn and Ian Dorton. Economics Course Companion. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. 1 [1] The philosopher Plato’s definition of knowledge [2] Oscar Pistorius murder investigation [3] Newton’s first law of gravity [4] Isaac Newton’s first law of motion [5] Theory of perfect competition [6] Theory of monopoly

Women in Ancient Civilizations Essays -- essays research papers

The role of women in different civilizations, even though on different spectrums of the world, had many similarities and only a few differences. Women in these four civilizations: Greece, Egypt, China, and India faced many of the same hardships, struggles, and prejudices. Some of this treatment of women didn’t even end until present day (1920’s). In some of these civilizations women were able to rise up somewhat in their communities but it didn’t come without some kind of interference. When it came to the rights of these women, they really didn’t have any at all. In Greece women were considered to be second class citizens at best. All women were forbidden to own property, inherit their own name, vote, or attend political debate. Men viewed them as nothing of real importance. To them they were irrational, fearful, and only to be used for their physical desires. They were considered to be the ward of a man (Sacks 263). Women in Egypt were treated fairly well compared to the others. They shared the same legal and economic rights as men they were capable of owning land, slaves, and could acquire possessions for themselves in many ways. Elite women did have more rights and opportunities than the nonelite but they were both very fortunate. Regardless of class though, all women had only a few main concerns and expectations. They were all expected to get married and raise a family, maintain the management of the household, and bearing and rearing children (Harrison 510). The rights of women in China and India were similar as well. In India the rights of women have barley changed since ancient times. Women in this country are not allowed to own property, show their faces in public, and are the complete property of a man (www.geocities.com/hinduism/hindu_women.html). The women of china were also inferior to men. For around two thousand years they lived under the rules and laws set by Confucius. The Confucius doctrine said that women weren’t equal to men because they were unworthy and incapable of an education. These women were the property of men from birth till death (Andrea and Overfield 82-90). Their rights were not only limited to their families though in some cases there were actual laws passed that limited the rights of women. In ancient times The Code of Hammurabi for example had several laws that restricted women when it had to do with marriage and what a hus... ...ng their own property, they were encouraged to join athletics such as gymnastics, and some rose to be estate managers. They were even capable of participating in religion and could leave the house during holy days. During the Hellenistic age the treatment of women started to lighten up. Many started to realize that they have a greater value including their intelligence (Sacks 264). Chinese women didn’t start to rise up until the 20th century when communism began. Communists believed that women were equal to men; they felt that it would help the population of china to thrive (Dillion 346). The women of Egypt were treated well and did have a say in many of the things that involved them so they didn’t rise up too much more. Unfortunately for the women in India they have never truly risen up. They are still victims of being very subservient to men. In conclusion, women in all of these cultures have faced many hard times. Either from their community, husbands, fathers, or any man they were put down and restricted but though it all many women found a way to rise up through it all. There is still a long way for women of other culture to go but times are changing and anything is possible.

How occupational stress affects mental health Essay

Stress is a normal condition that affects many people. However too much stress leads to both mental and physical health. When a person has, too much stress there is a high probability that a person will stop functioning normally. Severe stress also can also lead to breakdown. This can be observed through the behavior that a person exposes. This means that a person changes the set of patterns of behaviors. Their performance in day to day duties are also affected and become worse as days pass. A person tends to lose interest and the ability of functioning as a normal person. These are obvious signs of nervous breakdown. Severe stress cause mental disorders in people. This happens especially if the stress becomes severe. It is good for one to deal with stress because of the effects it has on the mental health. This is because some of the factors that lead to stress are complicated for the mind to handle. Stress compels one part of the body against another part of the mind. This leads to pulling and pushing against the positive forces. This then leads to compression of emotions and thoughts. This makes a person to have feelings of loss of control of life. If a person dwells on the negative feelings this makes the person to have high possibilities of being subject to mental illness. The mental health is affected as stress leads to change of the equilibrium in the brain, which applies pressure to the mind. Lack of reinstatement of the equilibrium leads to chemical imbalances and diseases. In case the mind has some faulty areas, this makes a person have difficulty in coping with stress. This leads to more negative thinking including suicidal thoughts (The British Psychological Society, 1993). There are several symptoms of stress and anxiety caused at work. Stress at work is caused by work pressure, relationships, at6 work or issues related to finances. The nature of work has changed over the last century and is still undergoing change drastically. With these drastic change, stress is inevitable as workers try to cope with the changes. Stress by the workers is dangerous as it affects not only their health but also the health of the organization. The symptoms of work stress vary from person to person depending on the situation or how ling a person is subjected to the stress and the stress intensity. Some of the typical symptoms of work stress include lack of concent6tartion in one responsibility, frequent absenteeism without valid excuses, some workers turn to substance abuse and one show some signs of frustrations and extreme anger, which is usually directed to fellow workers (Tetrick, 1987). Workers who are at high risk of getting stress and anxiety are the ones who are experiencing job insecurity as a result of the metamorphic changes that may be occurring in the work place. Reorganizations, downsizing and takeovers are some of the changes that occur in organizations that lead employees to have stress and become anxious, as sometimes they do not understand where future in the organization lies. High demand for performance also leads to stress and anxiety for instance increased workload, long hours of working and intense pressure to perform at peak levels but without increase of the pay. Workers who are faced with these kinds of p-pressures have possibility of getting anxious and stressed. People who their believes conflict and those who are unable to cope with workplace culture also have high possibilities of getting stress and anxiety (Tetrick, 1987). Example of workplace cultures that may lead to stress include adapting to dress code, communication pattern, hierarchy and the behavioral patterns. If a person experiences stress and anxiety as a result of the above and does not seek help the stress and anxiety may be worse leading to mental and physical problem. There are various ways in which individual can deal with stress. It is necessary for one to be able to change with time so that to prevent stress. Being able to change with time makes a person feel more secure. Foe example, in work places it is important for an individual to be continually prepared for any change that might arise so that to survive and avoid stress. It is also good for one to find emotional and moral support from friends and family members. It is good to find time to remotivate and reenergize whenever one feels down. This prevents the stress from escalating to more severe problem. Individuals who turn to substance abuse, as a way of relieving stress should also avoid this because substance abuse acts as way of increasing the stress. It important to develop positive attitude towards every situation in life including stressful situations. This is done to prevent situations such as fear anger and negative thinking, which leads to stress. This can be done by employing personal growth techniques such as exercises, breathing and meditation. Work place stress can also be reduced by celebration of accomplishment of other people’s accomplishment. In case of stress that is chronic, it is advisable to seek assistance from a health profession (Koeske, Kirk & Koeske, 1993). This knowledge regarding stress and anxiety and the ways to handle them is important as it help me understand that in some cases they may not be inevitable in the workplace. By understanding this, it is important to understand the way to prevent them from occurring and way I can do to stop them from affecting my performance. The knowledge is also helpful as it make me understand ways I can help my colleagues whom I find with the problem in the future.

Australia and the Vietnam War essays

Australia and the Vietnam War essays The reasons for the Australian involvement in the Vietnam conflict are not difficult to understand. Australia's foreign policy in the 1950s and 1960s responded to what appeared to be the downward push of aggressive communism in South-East Asia and the need to meet these threats away from Australia. It was clear also that because the United States was involved in this war, Australia would support its great ally and friend. As Australia had assisted the United States in the Korean War so, too, it was prepared to become involved in the Vietnam War. The Menzies government, fearful of communism in Asia, saw any communist victory in South Vietnam as a threat to Australia. Given Australia's military weakness and the potential danger from our nearest neighbor, the very unstable Indonesia, it was in Australia's interests to commit the United States to Asia and the fight against communism. As Britain withdrew from its world commitments, the Australian government saw the United States as the powerful Western nation to take its place. It was in Australia's best interest for this to happen, and Australia's role in Vietnam was motivated by this determination to keep the United States involved in Asia. Through diplomatic channels the Australian government encouraged the United States' involvement in Vietnam and showed its good faith by sending troops as well. Compared with the size of the US force, the size of the Australian force was never great, and its military significance was slight. At the height of Australia's involvement in Vietna m, its troop level numbered only 8300, while the US troop level reached 720 000. What was important was Australia's political support as an ally. It fitted in with the concept of forward defence, and once again Australia had the support of a great and powerful ally. This time, however, the great and powerful friend was not Australia's traditional ally Britain but a new ally, the United St ...

Reform after the Revolution essays

Reform after the Revolution essays Although the United States gained independence after the Revolution from Britain, it was not without issues that needed to be addressed in order to promote a better way of life for the people. With the approaching new age came reformers that wanted to ensure that various improvements would occur in their country in order to enhance their lives. To the people, the only way to get the problems recognized on a national level was to organize social movements. Reformers sought answers to the problems within the prison system and also for the insane. Efforts were made to take the punishment out of the prison and use rehabilitation instead. Religious reformers opposed alcohol since they believed alcohol had effects on the work force and the family. Another effort of reform was the Antimasonry movement. Since it excluded women, it was believed by the reformers to be threatening to the family by encouraging men to use alcohol while neglecting their families. Since the Masons were made up of prominent middle and upper class men, it was believed to be a secret fraternity with antirepublican views. This was a very short-lived political movement. Although these issues did not accomplish the goals of the reformers they paved the way for much larger issues such as slavery. In the 1830s, along with a small minority of white reformers, William Lloyd Garrisons morals drove him to demand immediate and complete emancipation (Norton 242) of slavery. Those who advocated immediate emancipation saw slavery as a moral issue, a sin on the American nation. Although not all reformers believed in the immediate discontinuance of slavery, others tended to favor the gradual approach. The American Colonization Society had the idea of gradual abolition along with the resettling of the former slaves in Africa. Garrison, considered an immediatist, had strong opinions about the methods that should be used to ...

US Intelligence Failure Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

US Intelligence Failure - Research Paper Example ver did not carry out any immediate action such as keeping the terrorist by the name Khalid al-Mihdhar from entering the US even though they even had his passport number. They took that action too when he was already in the country and even registered as well as taking flying lessons (Zegart 96). There were several reasons that cause this failure in intelligence as will be discussed below in detail. The CIA is a very bureaucratic agency and had been so since the era of the cold war. The policies that had been formulated then were never changed even after the cold war was over. This therefore meant that they had no policies and directives of how to handle the terrorism situation if it arose or what mandate they had in the whole issue. Even though Clinton had formed an Al Qaida taskforce, it only handled issues to do with Osama bin Laden and it was still not an active group and would not have known how to handle the terrorist intelligence information about the 9/11 attacks. The bureaucracy in the federal government also led to delay in intelligence decisions and legislations and hence the reason there was delay in taking action in regards to the Khalid situation. Other than bureaucracy, the budgetary allocation for the CIA was limited hence leading to a flat budget. They could not therefore afford to start investigations on the terrorism planning meeting or even follow up on the situation in Afghanistan because they had limited agents in the field. The airport surveillance would also require a lot of money and manpower resources which they had a shortage of considering the number of work they had to tackle in the whole nation. Majority of the funds was dedicated to the defense and the wars ongoing in other parts of the Middle East and hence little remaining for intelligence purposes. The CIA and other intelligence organizations had their own fair share of other internal intelligence issues to deal with that demanded immediate attention. Since they had not

Social Stigma and Mental Illness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Social Stigma and Mental Illness - Essay Example While such labels are applicable to a small fraction of patients, a majority of them are â€Å"normal† individuals by common standards. Their disorders and disturbances only affect their concentration, cognition and efficiency. Yet, they get ostracized for their condition. The mainstream media plays a significant role in spreading such misconceptions among the citizenry. As a matter of statistic, crime rates among the mentally disturbed are quite similar to that of the control group (Angermeyer, 2004). Yet, the media portrays them as people prone to violent and antisocial behavior. For example, â€Å"Mental illness also has not received the sensitive media coverage that other illnesses have been given. We are surrounded by stereotypes, popular movies talk about killers who are "psychos" and news coverage of mental illness only when it related to violence. We also often hear the causal use of terms like "lunatic" or "crazy," along with jokes about the mentally ill. These representations and the use of discriminatory language distort the public’s view and reinforce inaccuracies about mental illness.† (Schulze, 2003) It is not an even keel with all types of afflictions. Some of them like schizophrenia are subject to more ridicule and stigma than say depression. People affected with this condition are portrayed as â€Å"psychos†, â€Å"whackos†, â€Å"nut balls†, etc. While disorders like depression don’t attract such treatment as a result of widespread awareness about anti-depressants within the mainstream media (Kelly, 2007). There are other negative consequences to such stigma. For one thing, many people shy away from getting proper treatment for their conditions on fear of being ridiculed and disparaged. They also develop unreasonable fears of abandonment by their family and friends once the illness comes to light