Descartes s Meditations On First Philosophy Essay

First published in Latin in 1641, Renà © Descartes philosophical study, entitled Meditations On First Philosophy, poses a question that continues to be both continously relevant, and hotly debated, in the field of philosophy. One of Descartes main queries in his meditations is as follows; how can we be fully assured that we know anything at all? Descarets theorises that, whilst not all knowledge may provide probable doubt, we can never be fully certain that there is no room for doubt, and if we cannot be certain of our knowledge, we therefore cannot truly know anything. With this lack of foundational certainty for knowledge, Descartes then states that the logical next step would be to doubt every single thing that we believe, as without certainty, nothing can constitute knowledge. Certainty plays a pivotal and yet simple role in Descartes argument for global skepticism, yet its role is one that evolves throughout his meditations. Descartes starts off saying that only one thing is tr uly certain - the fact that nothing is certain – and from there goes on to explore what we can and cannot be certain of. Descartes first meditation, subtitled, Of the things which may be brought within the sphere of the doubtful, is, as the name suggests, an exploration of what can be believed for certain – which, according to Descartes, is essentially nothing at all - in regard to our beliefs and assumed knowledge . He begins by putting forward the argument that, having believed manyShow MoreRelatedDescartes s Meditations On First Philosophy1295 Words   |  6 Pagesback for centuries, millennia even. Over the years, many great thinkers have struggled to either defend or discredit this belief, a belief that has managed to spread to every corner of the globe. One such thinker is Renà © Descartes. In his Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes attempts to provide logical reasoning to support the existence of God, both asserting his own claims and defending them against possible objections. A prevalent argument against the existence of God is the simple fact thatRead MoreDescartes s Meditati ons On First Philosophy894 Words   |  4 PagesDescartes opens Meditations on First Philosophy by telling us that in order to purify our knowledge from falsehood we must become radical skeptics, and question everything we know as we clear our minds from what we believe to be true. Descartes soon realizes that this is a major problem. Because if he is doubtful of everything, there is nothing to be known as true and he would have no foundation to build his thoughts off of. Pondering this, he came to realize that he himself must be real becauseRead MoreDescartes s Meditations On First Philosophy986 Words   |  4 Pagesinwards, or as Renà © Descartes would call it, meditation. These ‘meditations’ are moments of reflection, time spent with one’s thoughts, and time to figure out where one is placed within the world. During one of these meditations, Descartes creates the phrase, â€Å"cogito ergo sum†, I think, therefore I am, in his monumental book, Princip les of Philosophy, though it was written in another form earlier, â€Å"ego sum, ego existo†, I am, I exist, in his book Meditations on First Philosophy. This phrase, put soRead MoreDescartes s Meditations On First Philosophy917 Words   |  4 PagesIn Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes introduces the dualistic idea of a sharp split between mind and body. This mind-body split is a Western secular idea and discounts many important aspects of the human experience. Descartes argues that, â€Å"†¦a body, by its very nature, is always divisible. On the other hand, the mind is utterly indivisible† (Descartes, 56). This idea that there is a distinct difference between the mind and the body is nonsensical from both a phenomenological and a scientificRead MoreDescartes s Meditations On First Philosophy1299 Words   |  6 PagesIn the third part of his Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes makes an argument for mentally proving the existence of God. Having pr eviously established the he exists and thinking thing, he then uses his method of clear and distinct perception, combined with a number of additional ideas he introduces in the chapter, to make his case. He produces an argument with some merit in its reasoning, though it is still able to be critiqued. Descartes engages in an effort to use what he attained inRead MoreRene Descartes s Meditation On First Philosophy802 Words   |  4 PagesRenà © Descartes objective in Meditation on First Philosophy is to construct philosophy as a solid methodical study and discipline alike the sciences. To do so he must first suspend belief in all things doubtful and from their go about verifying the true concepts of the world. In meditation II he verifies that he is a thinking thing and finds that the certainty of the cogito â€Å"I think therefore I am† lies in the distinct perception of what he affirms. From this he generates a general rule of evidenceRead MoreAnalysis Of Rene Descartes s Meditations On First Philosophy 1399 Words   |  6 PagesPhilosophy Essay 1 Rene Descartes was born in in La Haye, France, in 1596 and he studied at La Fleche Jesuit College and University of Poitiers. Descartes also lived in Germany, Holland and Sweden. He then worked in the army as a private councillor and then as a court philosopher. Descartes book ‘Meditations on First Philosophy’ was first published in 1641. The edition used to write this essay was edited by John Cottingham and was published by the Cambridge University Press in 1996. Descartes wasRead MoreAnalysis Of Rene Descartes s Meditations On First Philosophy1066 Words   |  5 Pagesis reality? Among these writers were Renà ¨ Descartes and George Berkeley, who respectively argued that everything perceived must be real due to God being unable to deceive, and that the physical world only exists in one’s mind. In my view, it is not certain that the physical world is real, but one should act as if it is. Renà ¨ Descartes, in Meditations on First Philosophy, wrote each section after successive â€Å"meditations.† In Descartes’s first meditation, he claims it is unable to be proven whetherRead MoreMachiavelli s The Prince And Descartes s Meditations On First Philosophy2245 Words   |  9 Pagesphilosophers Machiavelli’s The Prince and Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy were revolutionary in terms of setting knowledge on new foundations. In the literary work The Prince Machiavelli details the guidelines that leaders should adhere to in order to maintain stability in their controlled lands by accurately summarizing the nature of humans as being ungrateful, vain, and selfish individuals. While Descartes in his work Meditations on First Philosophy ventures on a journey to decipher the relationshipRead MoreDescartes’ Cogito Argument Successfully Shows the Evil Demon Argument is Unsound888 Words   |  4 PagesDoes Descartes’ Cogito a rgument successfully show that the Evil Demon Argument is unsound? In this essay I will attempt to show that the philosopher, Renà ¨ Descartes’ Cogito Argument successfully proves the Evil Demon Argument to be unsound. By an analysis of the structure of the arguments and what they prove, I will show the evil demon argument to be unsound. An argument is unsound when the premises as false and the argument is invalid. This analysis of both structure and content will eventuate

Abduction by Paloma Sapien Essay - 1273 Words

Abduction by Paloma Sapien Crunch. Heidi looked up, glancing from side to side. Crunch. She had thought she was alone. Crunch. Her heart beat faster and her hand clenched the heart on her necklace. Crunch. She quickened her pace as she heard footsteps coming from behind her. Her hand started to cramp up from holding the necklace so hard. Crunch. Heidi turned slowly. A dark figure stood about ten feet away from her. She panicked as she heard the footsteps behind her getting quicker. â€Å"Who’s there?† she said, still walking. The figure was silent. Only the sounds of heavy breathing came from its mouth. â€Å"What do you want?† The breathing got louder as the figure moved closer. Heidi let go of her necklace, and turned her head one†¦show more content†¦With a shaky hand, she went to grab for the necklace but before she reached it, everything went black. Her head throbbing with pain, Heidi regained her consciousness, startled. She was in the back of a van, speeding down a bumpy road. They took a sharp turn and Heidi flew against the side of the car. She started to cry, and curled up on the floor, wishing this was all a dream. Heidi was woken up by the van making a sudden jolt, throwing her against the car once again. It was pitch black and Heidi couldn’t see at all. She heard movement and realized she wasn’t alone. â€Å"H-Hello?† she said, her voice shaking with fear. The man grabbed her hand, wrapping it around a plastic bottle. â€Å"Drink. It’s water.† The voice was deep and slow. Thirsty and delirious, Heidi unscrewed the cap and downed the contents of the bottle. A weird feeling in her stomach immediately followed, and her vision started to fade. â€Å"Did you just poison me?† Heidi threw the bottle and grabbed the wall of the van, bracing herself. â€Å"Sleep tight.† the man said. Heidi woke up hours later to a huge slap in the face. Her face stinging, she sat up and saw the man in front of her. â€Å"Can I help you?† she mumbled. â€Å"We’re leaving,† the man put a black sack over her head and threw her out of the car. Heidi’s knees buckled from under her. She was still weak from the poison. â€Å"Walk!† the man shouted. Heidi tried hard, putting one foot in front of the other,

Environmental Management for Sustainable Development Specialized Gra

Question: Describe about the Environmental Management for Sustainable Development for Specialized Granite. Answer: A large part of southern Nova Scotia is made up of granites (South Mountain Batholith) (375-380 million years old) exposed at surface. What plate tectonic and geological conditions were necessary to produce this large volume of granite? How could these rocks become exposed at surface? Why is the South Mountain Batholith considered to be a Specialized Granite? How did the Granite uranium vein type deposits form? What genetic relationship would the uranium occurrences in the granite have with the younger uranium roll front deposits in the Horton Group (Carboniferous, 355 million years old) sedimentary rocks? (Give references to support your answer). The granites in the Southern Nova Scotia is formed due to various geological reasons in the South Mountain Batholith region. The collisions of Armorican with the Laurentia-Baltica results in the creation of massive batholiths and are thereby responsible for forming groups of plutons. Importantly, the granite batholiths in Nova Scotia are created in two different ways; the first being continental collision and second is subduction. These rocks are exposed to surface with the process termed as erosion and that is accelerated by the uplifting of continental region over million to hundreds of years. The process removes the overlying rocks and thereby exposes the deeply buried batholiths. The South mountain batholith is considered to be as specialized granite. The granite deposits and occurrences found in the Meguma zone are created in the geochemically specialized interferences of leucomonzo granite, monzo granite and leuco granite. It has been found that the existence of 40Ar-39 and Rb-Sr proves the presence of specialized plutons as carboniferous in South mountain batholith. The same reason is further attributed to the fact that this is termed as specialized granite. The vein uranium deposits are formed as a result of the epigenetic concentrations of the uranium minerals, primarily the pitchblende and the coffinite. These uranium minerals are the only metallic constituents within the veins and are supplemented along with other minerals such as cobalt, copper, silver, nickel and bismuth. Furthermore, these deposits are presented by the intra granitic veins and the peri batholithic veins. The uranium deposits found in the granitoid rocks in the south mountain batholith of Nova Scotia is formed with the fluid migration. These are formed within the shear and fracture zones, which is genetically similar to the uranium roll. Note that these front mainly deposits in the Horton group strata as layer over layers formed through years, which are also referred as carboniferous, and are 355 million years old (Shellnutt Dostal, 2015). A company has hired you to undertake an environmental radioactivity assessment on the area surrounding the town of Tatamagouche, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia (see map 1 from assignment 2). The company wants to build a large resort near the town along the Northumberland Strait. The company has hired you assess the radioactive environmental risks in the area. What are the risks? What kind of uranium enrichment has taken place in the rocks of the area? If the resort has to depend on drilled wells to provide water, what might be some of the problems they might encounter? Given that you must locate a site in this area, what procedures would you undertake to assess the risks and recommend a location? What are the remedial steps that you would recommend at the resort during construction or after it is built? (Give references where applicable) Being an in-charge of supervising the radioactivity effect in the area of Tatamagouche, Cumberland county, I would like to evaluate the effects and will analyse the risks of the radioactivity in this region. The risks of radioactivity in Northumberland are required to be considered seriously as they can be causative towards blood cancer, known as leukaemia; and are probable to affect the community members being exposed to radioactive contents. The affected area of the body by radiation makes the cells to get divided and develop quickly, making the DNA damaged. It has been reported the existence of numerous uranium near the area of Northumberland Strait; Nova Scotia is liable to risk humanity. The uranium enrichment in these areas is mostly of two types (1) carbon and pyrite-related quartz sandstone type and (2) hematite arkosic sandstone type. The former one is dominated with a large number of quartz-rich coarse to fine grained sandstone. Moreover, in the uranium enriched sandstone beds the arkosic type have plenty of dolomitic cement and in mineralised form carbonates are found in the shape of dolomite-calcite veins within the fractures. Depending upon the drilled wells for water the resort will face trouble, as there is a water shortage in these areas of Nova Scotia as it prohibited the flowing water in the drilled wells. According to the report of OBrein et al. (2014), it is accounted that drilled wells have higher radon values than the dug wells, which further results in a shortage of water. Another suitable area for the construction of the resort in Nova Scotia is the Horton Group Strata of the Windsor area. In order to overcome the effect of the radiation, the company should take proper radiation protection measures and can even avoid deadly disease like cancer in these regions. It should prefer over dug wells and other means than drilled wells for water. Other than this, safe dumping of radioactive material and close inspection of community health is essential after the construction. You have been given the task to locate a high-level nuclear waste disposal site somewhere in Canada. What would be the criteria for locating a site? How might you test the site before proceeding with construction? What about the social aspects of the disposal site selection, how could these be overcome? What kind of monitoring would have to be done on the site after it started operation to assure health and safety? How would this site compare to a disposal for low level radioactive material? Why has there not been a permanent disposal site in Canada before now? (Give references) The radioactivity of used nuclear fuel is very high and thus it needs a site for its proper disposal. According to Canadas nuclear power program, the research mainly focussed upon the recycling of the useful and necessary parts of the used fuels and disposing of the remaining parts. It has focused on long-term management of the highly radioactive wastes using the concept of Deep Geological Disposal (DGD) (Stone, 2016). The criteria for selecting for the radioactive waste disposal must follow the Deep Geological Repository (DGR) protocols, which is being proposed by Ontario Power generation. According to the guidelines of DGR, recovered from the various nuclear generating station, will be finally received at the waste packaging area of DGR and then finally disposed into the underground repository of the selected location. Nuclear power disposal is a major issue and concern for the nuclear power generation. The company should follow certain guidelines to ensure the safety and minimum risk to life, such as using TLD batch for workers, using protective equipment during work, and providing appropriate protection as well as education to people who are working in close proximity of exposure. Notably, the social aspects faced by the companies for selecting a disposal site tends to face problems which may be due to the local residents. In order to overcome this situation, a site far away for a residential area and reach of common people should be selected. Transportation of the waste to the disposal site should be given proper care, to avoid any accident in the vicinity, it must have fencing and notification board. Note that followed by disposal, the underground water in the particular area should not be used by the residents close to the epicentre, as it is contaminated due to radioactive leakage. The health measures that are critical to being implemented in the locality include regular check-up of community members, providing proper education, and routine testing of water and soil for radioactive detection. Another significant concern in this regard are linked to low level radioactive waste generates from milling, uranium mining and mill tailings. According to AECL, these wastes should be disposed of through improved sand Trench which needs 150 years of isolation. The reason that permanent disposal of radioactive wastes is not possible for Canada because of the economic issues. On the other hand, scientifically, the half-life of a radioactive substance is in billion years and that it has the potential to risk the community member upon exposure. Hence the only possible solution is following the guidelines and making the radioactive substance dump in a location far away from residential reach. References: OBrien, K. E., Risk, D., Rainham, D., OBeirne-Ryan, A. M. (2014). Using field analogue soil column experiments to quantify radon-222 gas migration and transport through soils and bedrock of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Environmental Earth Sciences,72(7), 2607-2620. Shellnutt, J. G., Dostal, J. (2015). Granodiorites of the South Mountain Batholith (Nova Scotia, Canada) derived by partial melting of Avalonia granulite rocks beneath the Meguma terrane: Implications for the heat source of the Late Devonian granites of the Northern Appalachians.Tectonophysics,655, 206-212. Stone, W., Kroukamp, O., Moes, A., McKelvie, J., Korber, D. R., Wolfaardt, G. M. (2016). Measuring microbial metabolism in atypical environments: Bentonite in used nuclear fuel storage.Journal of microbiological methods,120, 79-90.

Companies And Other Organizations Use Internet/web Sites For Different

Companies and other organizations use internet/web sites for different purposes. In general, a web site provides an interface while the Internet provides cost-effective communication capabilities. For this project assignment, the Nike Corporation was chosen and will be dissected for information technology analysis. The Nike Corporation is engaged in the design, development, and worldwide marketing of high quality footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessory products. It is the largest seller of athletic footwear and athletic apparel in the world. The web site that will be examined will be that of www.nike.com. This analysis will be construed into five separate sections that are chronologically as follows: Company Information, Web Site Description, Web Site Analysis, Completing A System, Web Site/Internet Expansion. Company Information: Searching and finding company information on the web-site was quite easy and user friendly (as will be discussed later). Nike's mission statement reads as follows: "Nike's mission for corporate responsibility is to lead in corporate citizenship through programs that reflect caring for the world family of Nike, our teammates, our consumers, and those who provide services to Nike." Nike has more than 500 contract factories around the world in about 45 countries. Their factories are spread across Europe, Asia, North, Central, and South America, and just recently, Australia. In fact, this area of the web site goes into very thorough detail as Nike deliberates on what exactly it is doing to further achieve its mission statement up to the current day. They address current problems such as age limits in factories, environmental health and safety, independent monitoring, education, research, and community affairs and discuss the new changes that they have implemented to further achieve their mission statement and please all of their current and potential customers. Although outside information besides the company's web site was used to obtain financial records and reports, it was discovered that the web site also had an annual report, earnings releases, historical revenue, live stock quotes, and dividend and stock information (which is another plus for the web site that will be discussed later on). Nike is in the Textile-Apparel/Footwear/Accessories Industry. As far as size, customer, and market are concerned, the 1999 and 2000 fiscal statistics need only to be glanced at and discussed in order to comprehend all of those subtitles. Nike Corporation had total revenues at about roughly 9 billion dollars last year worldwide. It did not exactly state how many customers actually purchased Nike products last year but considering that enormous revenue, it probably was a significantly large number of customers. That's a considerable amount of money considering they lost their prime endorsee, Michael Jordan, to retirement. The NBA was forced to shorten its season due to labor disputes, which also greatly affected sales. That information was also available courtesy of the web site and was located under their fiscal year in review. To further put into context the size and power of Nike Corp., one only need look at Market Cap comparisons on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). Market Cap is approximately what a company is worth to investors in the stock market. It is determined by multiplying the number of common shares outstanding by the price per share of that company. The Market Cap for Nike in million dollar increments was approximately $10, 664.63. They dwarfed most of their competition from their industry in this area. Their nearest competitor was Gucci Group, Inc. which was about one-half million below them. The rest of their industry competition was not even close. They embarrassed such well-known competitors as Timberland, Reebok, Kenneth Cole, Justin Industries, Sketchers, Wolverine, and Velcro (to name a few). Another inter esting tidbit that was provided by means of their fiscal report on their web site was their total shareholder returns data. This basically stated that one hundred dollars invested in Nike Corporation ten years ago would have been worth $1, 432 dollars on May 31 of this year. That completely usurped that of the S&P (Standard and Poor's) 500, which would have been only worth a measly $527 on the same date. After reviewing all of this financial information that was provided by the web site, it was easily determined just in fact how large the Nike Corporation actually is. Web Site Description: In a