Essay on Western Civilization - 1179 Words

Western Civilization In this essay I will be discussing four of the major themes in this course in terms of progress, they will be religion, humanism, individualism and secularism. I will discuss these concepts within the countries of England, France, and Russia, and show my point of view on each. Religion was very dominant throughout the early history in England, especially during the 16th and 17th centuries. This started to change during the late 17th century, when people started focusing more on human reason rather than religion. One of the reasons that people started losing their faith in the church is because of how the bishops were picked, and how the church itself was generally deteriorating; they werent changing at all†¦show more content†¦When Napoleon III was looking to maintain Catholic support in France, decided to intervene in Italian affairs in the Crimean War and in Mexico. After Napoleons collapse, the Third Republic was hostile to the influential role of the Catholic Church pla yed in French politics and introduced sharply anti-clerical legislation. In Russia religions influence was much different. There wasnt much influence at all in the period of 1815 to 1919. Czar Alexander proposed the Holy Alliance under which monarchs would pledge themselves to rule according to Christian teachings; here alot of them didnt have any sincerity, especially Alexander. Religion also intensified things as in France, Russia decided to intervene when the Greeks revolted against the Turks, claiming the need to protect fellow Christians from the Muslims. Russia has been Communist for a very long time already, and as such they are atheistic and they also persecuted organized religion as a rival for the peoples loyalty. But since the collapse of Communist for reasons other than religion, it has allowed churches to practice freely, like the Russian Orthodox, have shown a surprising amount of popular support. I believe that it was good for the religion to change because that way p eople dont rely wholly upon religion for everything and tend to think more for themselves. Not only that there were more choices of religion, which may have been a bad thingShow MoreRelatedWestern Civilization1515 Words   |  7 PagesCivilization: The West and the Rest Niall Ferguson’s thesis in his book â€Å"Civilization: The West and the Rest,† is to explain and prove why western civilization has exceeded the accomplishments of other nations throughout history up until present day. He attributes this world dominance to six â€Å"killer applications† the west had adopted and advanced beyond the means of any other civilizations. These applications were: competition, science, private property, medicine, consumption, and work. When explainingRead MoreThe Lost Truth : The Western Civilization2828 Words   |  12 PagesThe Lost Truth: The Western Civilization was built by the Catholic Church It is not unusual for an average American to possess a negative view on the Catholic Church. Indeed, historians find it difficult to convince most people that the Catholic Church did not give rise to the cultural and intellectual retrogression experienced during the Middle Ages. Dr. Thomas E. Woods, Jr. wrote a book called â€Å"How the Catholic Church built Western Civilization† to demonstrate that the Church’s contributionsRead MoreThe Influences On Western Civilization1559 Words   |  7 PagesThe Influences on Western Civilization by the Hebrew-Christian and Greco-Roman Traditions Western Civilization, as it is known today, is a coalescence of various cultures, ideologies, and practices that have been preserved over centuries of human life. Although a countless number of societies have influenced Western Civilization, Hebrew-Christian civilizations and Greco-Roman civilizations have been the two most influential. Both of these civilizations and their traditions have left equally deepRead More Western Civilization Essays991 Words   |  4 Pages Western Civilization from 1589 to 1914 had many specific changes that contributed to the structure of the western world before World War I. In the absolutism state sovereignty is embodied in the person of the ruler. Kings were absolute kings and were resposible to no none except god. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries absolute rulers had to respect the fundamental laws of their land. They had to control competing jurisdictions, institutions or groups that were interested in their territoryRead MoreThe Creation Of Western Civilization2015 Words   |  9 Pagesindividual. The contradiction in terms of Western civilization, however, was also was made obvious right from the start. The Greek’s attention on individuals arose from a slavery based society. The focus on individual rights created both a democratic system and an increase in learning, as well as scientific revolutions that would remain unique until the Renaissance. Adding onto the Greek groundwork, the Romans fu rthered another significant keystone of Western civilization; the establishment of laws. ThroughRead MoreThe Influence Of Western Civilization1673 Words   |  7 Pages The Influence of western Civilization Western Civilization has had a tremendous influence on many different cultures worldwide. From the Hispanic cultures in South and Central America, to the Caribbean islands, and also to the various exotic African countries, and even to the distinguished cultures that reside in the continent of Asia. In many ways than one, these cultures have been molded to be as westernized as they could possibly be without losing their traditional customs indefinitelyRead MoreWhat Is Western Civilization?2205 Words   |  9 Pages1. What is Western Civilization? Western civilization or the western culture that is broadly used in describing the heritage that is found in a normal society i.e. the ethical values, social norms, beliefs, political, specific artefacts, the technologies used and the political systems found in that society, that have some resemblance with that from European countries. This effect was felt because it was carried either through colonization or modern day immigration, hence the culture is transferredRead MoreAcient and Medieval Western Civilization766 Words   |  3 PagesAncient Medieval Western Civilization At the point when Alexander the Great died in Babylon on June 11 323 BC, few could have known the prospects for the Macedonians and the Greeks. In the last twelve years they had fulfilled wonderful victories that brought under their influence more than ten times the domain Alexander had started with in Greece. It was to be the start of the Hellenistic Age, a period of one of a kind social and political advancements, that achieved an amalgamation of old andRead MoreThe Transition Of Medieval Western Civilization970 Words   |  4 Pages#1 The transition from medieval western civilization to the Modern Age placed Western Europe in a position of global, political, and technological dominance and most importantly gave rise to the core of western thought: humanism and individualism. This hallmark thought however, would be nonexistent without the arts. The arts and artists of the Renaissance period and the Enlightenment reflect the prevailing values of not only Western Europe but in fact the Western world as a whole. Prior to the RenaissanceRead MoreEffects Of The Crusades On Western Civilizations915 Words   |  4 Pagesnegative impact to western civilization, however, that may not be the case. On the contrary, the Crusades provided a positive short-term and long-term economic, religious, and cultural development to western civilization. These wars caused a change in the economy and with politics. Though the crusades caused some negative consequences, it also provided some positive short-term consequences as well. These positive short-term consequences aided in the development of western civilizations. Some of these

Critical Analysis on Sonnet 12, Shakespeares Sonnets,...

William Shakespeare wrote a group of 154 sonnets between 1592 and 1597, which were compiled and published under the title Shakespeares Sonnets in 1609. Our attention will focus on sonnet 12, a remarkable and poignant poem about the relentless passing of time, the fading beauty, immortality, death and Old Age, these subjects being typical of all Shakespeares Sonnets. Time is omnipresent in everyones life, just passing and passing inexorably, relentlessly, so unstoppable. It is a universal problem : people have always been very worried about time, trying to gain some, or angry they have lost this precious element. Moreover, Time is Money, maxim born in the business sector, is now an adage applied in all matter. But still, it is not†¦show more content†¦In the same way, the day looks already defeated, but it tries, unlike the I, to fight, as suggest the adjective brave, introducing a notion of combat. However, this is not the only meaning of this word, brave being polysemic : it has almost a visual significance, evoking brightness and gallantry. Thus, Shakespeare joins an attracting adjective to the day, to finally make it appear even more vulnerable and pathetic, thanks to hideous night. This opposition between brave day and hideous night emphasizes the days weakness against the night, literally sinking in the night. This verb, sink, repr esents a long action and gives us the idea that we cannot discern the limits between day and night, we cannot point out this is day, this is night. It is something we are not aware of, we cannot see happening, until night has completely taken the place. This domination and hopeless fight could imply, by extension, that any struggle in life is a useless task. The violet is also under time control : it is once at its prime state, at springtime best, being emblematic of Spring and new growth, but then soon fades and dies. Here is presented the decaying of nature and furthermore of human, as violet is like a human being : once at its prime, then dying. Shakespeare presents us the same kind of image in the next line, describing sable curls, namely dark hair, having turned white due to the age. This wordShow MoreRelated Midlife Crisis in William Shakespeares Sonnet 138 Essay1954 Words   |  8 PagesMidlife Crisis in William Shakespeares Sonnet 138 William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Sonnet 138† presents an aging man’s rationalization for deceit in an affair with a younger woman. The speaker of the sonnet realizes his mistress lies to him about being faithful. He in turn, portrays himself as younger than he actually is: â€Å"When my love swears that she is made of truth / I do believe her though I know she lies, / That she might think me some untutored youth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1-3). â€Å"Sonnet 138† allows the reader aRead MoreEssay on A Midsummer Nights Dream: Critical Analysis3103 Words   |  13 PagesMandy Conway Mrs. Guynes English 12 16 March 2000 A Critical Analysis of quot;A Midsummer Nights Dreamquot; William Shakespeare, born in 1594, is one of the greatest writers in literature. He dies in 1616 after completing many sonnets and plays. One of which is quot;A Midsummer Nights Dream.quot; They say that this play is the most purely romantic of Shakespeares comedies. The themes of the play are dream s and reality, love and magic. This extraordinary play is a play-with-in-a-play, whichRead MoreGp Essay Mainpoints24643 Words   |  99 Pagesa. How effective is Foreign Aid? 9. Migration a. Is migration/having foreigners good? 10. Subjects a. Literature b. History c. Mathematics d. Universal language 11. Businesses a. Business morality b. Charities as businesses 12. Democracy a. Good vs. Bad 13. Social Issues (only stats provided) a. Gender b. Family c. Equality 14. Governance a. World Governance 15. Others a. Cooperation b. Education c. Crime d. Liberty or Security e. Consumerism

Social Media Academic Essay Free Essays

string(32) " and resources for the company\." English 1020 October 31 2011 Menial Media: Employees Waste Hours of Time on the Internet Many people agree that social networking in the workplace is just asking for disaster and loss of productivity. Having different types of social networks in the workplace could also lead to uncomfortable situations between coworkers that could be bad for business. However, some disagree and believe that these sites can bring coworkers closer together. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Media Academic Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Not only do they believe it would bring coworkers together, they also say that this could increase business due to the ‘family-like’ style that the given office has. Although this may be true in some cases, studies show that the majority of the time, social networking is one of the downfalls of a company because of websites such as Wiki Links, Facebook and Twitter that cause disturbances in the workplace and may even cause some of the company’s private information to be leaked. Because social networking sites are such a distraction and cause time to be taken away from productivity, they should be banned from the workplace for employees. Bringing social networking into the workplace is sometimes risky for one who is applying to get a job. Employers can research future prospects and see what their online life is like. Although a person may not be able to be completely understood solely by their social networking site, an employer might judge them based off of it. For example, had someone had a picture of themselves tagged online for the public to see, an employer might deem that bad publicity for the company and decide not to hire this person. However, those who apply for jobs have options to set their accounts on private and social networking companies are not held responsible for the material posted. When joining either MySpace or Facebook [or Twitter], the user must agree to the terms of service and to the Web sites privacy policies† (Elzweig and Peeples â€Å"Using Social†). If anything negative happens in the line of a person not being hired for a job due to a social networking site, that site will not be held accountable. In a few cases this does work out to the benefit of the applier. â€Å"A Caree rBuilder survey of more than 2,500 employers, released in August of this year, indicated 35 percent of respondents use social media to promote their companies†(Hunt â€Å"Finders Keepers†). This means that there are endless opportunities for people to find jobs on advertisements of social networking sites. However, a company can also use these sites to see past jobs and responsibilities and check up on their background. Again, this is good for some people, but for others it is a nightmare having to go through their networking site and clear up their information. It is absurd for businesses to meddle in affairs that do not concern them. As long as an employee is doing his job right, then employers should mind their own. Employers who use social networking sites to ‘check up’ or ‘review’ their employees are not being considerate to the personal lives of their workers. If, perhaps, an applier has made it past the stage of being handpicked and selected through the unfair means of social networking, he should not be allowed to access his personal networking site during work hours. This is a major distraction that could cause hours of work and productivity to be put off so that employees can update statuses, tweet, and check personal emails. Most business workers admit to spending at least one hour of their work time on a social networking site. Should companies be responsible for paying employees for this hour of free time? Only 10% of business allow their workers to be on social networking sites whenever they please (Schiller â€Å"Employers Crack†). Some argue that these sites are simply ‘mind refreshers’ for employees. However, many others make an even more valid point that if a worker really needed a ‘mind refresher’, then he should go on a ten minute walk outside: less productivity lost, and much more healthy. Social networking sites cause too much distraction in the workplace and should not be allowed. If the distraction of checking the website a few times a day is not enough, then consider the possibility of cyberfights. Employees upsetting each other over these sites is begging for disaster. Disgruntled employees lead to an unhappy workplace, so why allow the possibility of that to happen? Yes, it could be said that these social networks could lead to a ‘family-like environment’, however the possibility for the latter is much more probable. Coworkers disagreeing with each others’ personal lives is a major hazard to the stability of the workplace and could potentially lead to an employee being fired or suspended. Embarrassing, childish, and shameful arguments happen over the internet every day. One lawyer speaks,†I don’t need the world knowing every time I make a comment [. . . ] there’s a lot that you can do to tweak your settings† (Schaffer â€Å"Online Networking†). What would stop these arguments from happening between coworkers in a workplace? Even ‘friending’ coworkers is a potential problem, especially if the operator of the account does not like work or does not like the people at work and forgets the fact that they have been ‘friends’. This occupational hazard could easily be avoided by not allowing social networking sites in the workplace. Social networks are meant for ones personal life; work is not ones personal life, so one shouldn’t mix the two. It is a bit of a gray area for most people because they do not know whether they should add coworkers onto their sites or not. Workers should work during work time and play during play time. The two should never be mixed. It is simply unprofessional to have a Facebook page up while at a work desk. There is a right time for everything, and the right time for social networking and communicating is for spare time , not working. Social Networking sites waste time and resources for the company. You read "Social Media Academic Essay" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"If one employee spends one hour of company time on Facebook everyday, it potentially costs his or her employer more than $6,200 per year† (â€Å"Facebook Costs†). This time spent playing on social networking sites is losing businesses money, companies are better off just letting employees go home an hour early without pay while banning social networking sites, than allowing workers to waste this money. Another hazard of allowing personal lives to clash with work lives, is the material that is posted. It is almost too much energy to make sure that the boss cannot see when, â€Å"Called in sick to work- Fishing Day! † is posted as a status. This could end a current career. Once, I worked in a clothing store where a girl called in sick, only to post on twitter a few hours later that she and her friends were having a sleepover. This seems pretty harmless, and although I did not care, my boss was very upset. She left a memo on the board the next day saying that if people were not going to be smart about what they posted on their social networking sites, then they would be fired. It is also quite a hassle to make sure that no unflattering pictures that shouldn’t be seen by a boss, are not seen. â€Å"If an applicant or employee demonstrates a lack of discretion and judgment by posting spring break photos showing himself or herself apparently intoxicated on a [social networking] page, an employer who finds these photos online may consider the photos when deciding [. . . ] to retain the employee† (Baker â€Å"How Far†). Some say that people who are this careless should be fired anyway, but most people are completely forgetful of who they have accepted as their Facebook friend and sometimes just don’t think before they post. This scenario could be completely avoided if work and social media were not mixed. The ‘Basic Information’ section on social networking sites is a factor that could ruin many relationships at work. At work, coworkers probably do not know the entire background detail of many of their colleagues. Easy research could lead to uncalled for prejudices against others. Social networking sites are taken out of context when they are brought to the work place. That is not what they were meant for. Judgmental coworkers may read a fellow workers information and automatically decide not to like them because of the information put. The hasty generalization that is caused by these types of sites are negative because it is hard to get to know someone unless time has been spent with them. Social networking sites allow for the ‘time spent’ factor to be taken away and hasty generalization on character to be in place. Even though the benefits of networking are obvious, the process of meeting new people, establishing regular contact and building meaningful relationships, is consistently challenging† (Crappell â€Å"Preparing for Professional†). These sites make it easier to avoid face to face conversation with a person, and just assume that a person is exactly like their online profile. Accidentally talking bad about a ‘friendedâ €™ colleague on a social networking site might be one of the most horrifying things a worker could do, unless this worker was talking bad about his boss. This isn’t considered cyber-fights or cyber-bullying because it was purely an accident, and the gossiped about colleague knows that. For example, posting on Facebook that the man in the cubicle to the right smells bad is not a good idea; especially due to the face that he is bored and on Facebook as well. He sees this and does not want confrontation, so he picks the alternative: The Silent Treatment. Social networking sites cause grown adults to act like children. People argue that this can be prevented by simply paying attention. That, however, doesn’t factor in the fact that people forget names every day and could very easily forget the name of the person that sits in the cubicle to the right. Social networking sites are not the places for colleagues to mingle and these sites should definitely not be brought in the workplace if they have the potential to cause this many problems. The viruses that these networks could bring in are often overlooked. Many focus on the loss of productivity, the arguments and the mixture of the office and the home. However, not many workers realize the threats that they could be causing their companies. A recent FBI report indicates that phishing scams are becoming more common on social networking sites through a combination of viruses, hacked accounts, and decoy messages† (Schiller â€Å"Phishing Scams†). Personal information and company information may be accessed through these sights and that is a major hazard for these companies. At a local restaurant, one of the employees got on Facebook and was sharing information with a friend. Little did this employee know that the computer was being hacked. She let out way too much personal information about herself and ended up having to get a new credit card and change her Facebook password. The dangers of these sites are unbelievable and the risk factors should be left outside of the workplace. Social networking is a distraction in the workplace that hinders work and can cause dangerous viruses to come through the computer. It causes workers to lose sight of their work while allowing them access to look at other coworkers online. It also allows room for dangers such as company secrets and personal information to be leaked. Social networking is not a good thing for the work place because of the extreme loss of productivity and money that is caused primarily by these sites. It may appear beneficial to the bonding of the company, but socializing time for coworkers should be set up at breaks from work and by voice only, not by a social networking site. Ones work and ones personal life should not be intermingled by these sites. By banning these sites from the workplace, offices will be more efficient, and businesses will be better protected from hackers and spammers. Works Cited Baker, Natasha J. â€Å"How Far is Too Far? Employers and the Use of Online Searches. † Young Lawyer. Feb. – Mar. 2008: 4+. Academic OneFile. Web. 9 Oct. 2011. Crappell, Courtney. Preparing For Professional Relationship Building. † American Music Teacher. June-July 2011: 10+. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Elzweig, Brian, and Donna K. Peeples. â€Å"Using Social Networking Web Sites in Hiring and Retention. Decisions. † SAM Advanced Management Journal Autumn 2009: 27+. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Oct. 2011. â€Å"Facebook Costs Employers More Than $5 Billion A Year; Security firms warn that Facebook use on the job could be putting a company’s network at risk. † InformationWeek 20 Aug. 2007. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Hunt, Kristin Gunderson. Finders keepers: Social Media Strategies Help Find Top Talent. † Journal of Property Management Nov. -Dec. 2010: 36+. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Schaffer, Noah. â€Å"Online Networking: Some Lawyers Sing Praises of Twitter and Facebook, WhileOthers Warn of Perils. † Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly 27 Apr. 2009. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Schiller, Kurt. â€Å"Employers Crack Down on Social Networking. † Information Today Nov. 2009: 21. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Schiller, Kurt. â€Å"Phishing Scams Edge into Social Networks. † Information Today Nov. 2009: 46. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. How to cite Social Media Academic Essay, Essay examples

Tropical Africa Food Production And The Inquiry M Essay Example For Students

Tropical Africa: Food Production And The Inquiry M Essay odel Hunger is the result of disasters such as drought, floods, the changing of the jet stream patterns and other natural disasters. They are beyond our control.It has been estimated that one third of the land in Tropical Africa is potentially cultivable, though only about 6% of it is currently cultivated. However, to change farming from a low-input, low-yield pattern to a high-input, high-yield pattern necessitates the use of more fertilizer and the planting of high-yielding varieties of crops.There are a number of environmental factors, related mostly to climate, soils and health, resisting easy developmental solutions. Hunger is the result of disasters such as drought, floods, the changing of the jet stream patterns and other natural disasters. They are beyond our control. It has been estimated that one third of the land in Tropical Africa is potentially cultivable, though only about 6% of it is currently cultivated. However, to change farming from a low-input, low-yield pattern to a high-input, high-yield pattern necessitates the use of more fertilizer and the planting of high-yielding varieties of crops. There are a number of environmental factors, related mostly to climate, soils and health, resisting easy developmental solutions. Rainfall reliability is closely connected to rainfall quantity. The rainfall in the equatorial heart is very plentiful and reliable. However, there is much less rainfall towards the outer edges of the rain belt. Periodic and unpredictable droughts are a characteristic feature of these border zones. There are three climatic zones in Tropical Africa: 1. a region of persistent rain at and near the Equator, 2. a region on each side of this of summer rain and winter drought, and 3. a region at the northern and southern edges afflicted by drought. All the climates listed in the previous paragraph are modified in the eastern parts of Tropical Africa by the mountains and monsoons. The soils of Tropical Africa pose another problem. They are unlike the soils of temperate areas. Soils are largely products of their climates, and tropical soils are different from temperate soils because the climate is different. Because of the great heat of the tropics tends to bake the soils, while on the other hand, the rainfall leaches them. The combined heat and moisture tend to produce very deep soils because the surface rock is rapidly broken down by chemical weathering. All this causes the foods rate of growth to slow down or maybe even stop and as a result food production wont even come close in catching up to the rate of population increase; therefore starvation and hunger is present. In the process of a flood and drought, the roots of trees are shallow and virtually no nutrients are obtained from the soil. The vegetation survives on its own humus waste, which is plentiful. If the vegetation is cleared, then the source of humus is removed and the natural infertility of the soils becomes obvious. As being another factor, this will cause the soil to produce wasteful and useless products which in turn will decrease the production. To conclude this essay, the climates in Tropical Africa take a big role as being factors that could endanger or destroy the process of plantation. On the other hand, it could also bring good fortune if climatic regions are fairly good. .