Technical Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Technical Writing - Essay Example Noted above, the language is used positively because it is not wordy or produced in mass. The point is simply put as its intent is to be used by a student who needs to know where he or she is going on short notice. A minute glance is all a student should need in order to find the desired location. The visual of the map along with the explanation of the symbols is both positive and negative. Positive due to the fact that it gives a student an idea of where things are, but negative because it takes a student longer to learn what the symbols mean. The design of the guide is overall effective, but there is a redundancy in the repeating telephone number at the bottom of each section. If you have any further questions about the Smithville College Campus guide please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you. Part 2 The tone of the writing changes quite dramatically from the first draft to the final draft. The wordiness amped the situation, drew attention to the negativity that was performed rather than focusing on the solution at hand. Once the extra â€Å"anger and punishment† measures were reduced, the memo became a short and sweet response to the copier situation by bringing attention to the solution. â€Å"I wish therefore to inform all concerned-those who have abused policy or will be abusing it- that their behavior cannot and will not be tolerated† is an excessively wordy sentence. Sam eliminates this by simple stating in his new draft, â€Å"In the past we have not encouraged personnel to use them for such purposes because of the costs involved.† It is clear that the informality is seen in the first draft because Sam’s tone is frustrated and bitter. He is flagging the problem, which makes it worse by making it sound informal. However, by moving past the problem to the solution, he gains formality. He also maintains a level of power by staying out of the problem, i.e. not acting biased, in his final draft when he makes it short. By pr esenting the solution (they will literally pay for their actions), he improves his tactfulness. The website URL: http://www.newyorkcity.com/ is particularly effective through visual, design and language. The pictures are small, but appealing and there aren’t too many of them. The skyline of New York is seen on the very top to indicate the correct website followed by a page to add hotel information, which is inviting. They want to make it easy for the tourists to navigate their website with links to hotels, deals, activities, restaurants, and other attractions. If the pictures do are not what the browser wants, there are links in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page to please everyone. Also, the visuals that are chosen were a design-like action because they show the hottest attractions, i.e. Broadway plays. Also, the descriptions carry no more than two-three sentences to avoid wordiness that would lose the audience. Reference Page Picket, A. N., Laster, A. A., & Staple s, K. E. (2001). Technical English: Writing, Reading, and Speaking (8th ed., pp. 45-46). New York, NY: Addison Wesley

African American Religion Essay Example for Free

African American Religion Essay Before Africans were brought to America during the slave trade, they had their own culture and society. They had their own language and dance. They also had their own religion. History tells us that the Europeans justified their abuse toward the Africans as helping them become more civilized because the Africans lifestyle appeared primal to them and not as developed and industrialized as theirs. What is often overlooked is that even though Africans were taken from Africa and Americanized and have been stripped of their religion, culture, language and even their name, the very essence of the African as a people did not go away. Some African American slaves rejected Christianity’s religion because they saw it as the â€Å"white man’s religion†. History tells us American Slave Masters abused the Africans by whipping them like animals and by treating them inhumane. The fact that these slave masters wanted the African American to worship their god was unacceptable for some because they could not fathom why they should worship a god who allowed people to be so badly treated. Some Africans accepted Christianity’s religion and faith by identifying with Jesus Christ, the son of God who according to the Bible was innocent of sin and yet he was beaten, bruised and crucified for the sins of the world. Some African Americans wanted to remain faithful to their heritage yet did not agree with the conjure practices. Seth Holly’s character is a good example of conforming to the economic prosperity of America which was founded by Christians. White Christians enforced Christian beliefs, values, and some practices based on the Euro American Christian interpretation of Christian text. Seth developed a kind of hatred for his own people proving that he has adopted the practices of white America in the early 1900s. â€Å"Niggers coming up here from that old backwoods†¦ coming up here from the country carrying Bibles and guitars looking for freedom. † Seth says. â€Å"They got a rude awakening† (6). Seth signifies the African American who resents assimilation to the white American culture. But, at the same time, he too attempts to connect with his heritage by simply allowing Bynum to live in his home and bless it with his conjures rituals. Seth also participates in an African dance ritual called the Juba. Bynum’s character is introduced by practicing conjure rituals. He cuts open pigeons and spreads its blood onto him as a type of cleansing to communicate with spirits. Bynum represents the African American who chose to remain faithful to the religion of his heritage. Others who have chosen the faith of Christianity view conjure rituals as evil, witchcraft, or demonic. Some African Americans wanted to remain faithful to their heritage yet did not agree with conjure practices anymore. Loomis walks in on the juba dance and goes into a trance after dinner at the boarding house. He had a vision of skeletons emerge from a body of water. â€Å"Loomis: I done seen bones rise up out the water. Rise up and walk across the water. Bones walking on top of the water† (53). Loomis recognizes through the vision, his state of ignorance to the knowledge that will lead him to the new way of thinking. Bynum serves as a supporting character reacting to Loomis’s trance. â€Å"Bynum: They walking around here now. Mens. Just like you and me. Come right up out the water† (56). Loomis’s trance and Bynum’s interpretation of it is a turning point in the story. The skeletons coming from the bottom of the sea in Loomis’s vision represent the slave ships, the disorientation experienced by the slaves during emancipation, and the confusion of his release from Joe Turner. Both Loomis and Bynum have tapped into their ancestral religion. The difference between the two is that Bynum represents the African who never renounced his religion and Loomis is the African-American who turned from conjure religion and converted to the faith of Christianity. After Joe turner took his life away from him, Loomis questioned his Christian faith and his identity. By walking in on the ancestral ritual of the Juba dance, Loomis literally walked into what he had actually been looking for, his religion, consequently, his ancestral identity and this is why he fell into the trance. Throughout the play conjures is encompasses four generations; Bynum’s father, Bynum, Loomis, and the neighbor boy Reuben. Reuben’s vision is of Seth’s mother by the pigeon coop, she encourages Reuben to release the caged pigeons. Wilson writes in a way that leads the reader to believe that Loomis needs to find his missing wife. Martha Pentecost is not the one who was lost; Loomis was the one who was lost, wondering around from town to town, searching. Loomis came into the state of belief when Bynum helped him translate his vision. That vision represented Loomis going back to his ancestral conjure religion. Loomis needed to find Martha Pentecost simply to say good-bye to her and their life former together. Up until this point of the story, I believed that Loomis needed to find his wife so they could live out the rest of their lives as a happy free family with their daughter. However, it is made pretty obvious this was never Loomis’s intentions. â€Å"That goodbye kept me out on the road searching,† Loomis says, â€Å"now that I see your face I can say my goodbye and make my own world† (90). Martha Pentecost, a woman of Christian faith, represents the African who assimilated into white America’s culture and Loomis needed to find her to say good-bye to her and the Christian faith. Martha stands by her Christian faith by accusing Loomis â€Å"you done gone over to the devil† (91). White man’s religion believed that conjure was evil or the way of the devil. Loomis finds it easier to reject her for her Christian beliefs. â€Å"Loomis: Great big old white man†¦your Mr. Jesus Christ. Standing there with a whip in one hand and a tote board in another, them niggers swimming in a sea of cotton† (92). Loomis proves with his statement, his version of a bible story that differed from other African Americans but was similar to that of the white man who believed that they were on a level below God and the African’s were beneath them, African’s were one third of a person. Loomis now believes that if African’s are going to be free then they have to take charge of their own destiny. Martha Pentecost represents the African American’s religion, she identifies that Loomis needs to â€Å"be washed in the blood of the lamb† (92) and â€Å"you done gone over to the devil. (91) Through class lessons I learned that African American slaves compared themselves with stories in the bible to instill hope of a life free from oppression, violence, and bondage. Jesus according to the bible was innocent of sin and yet he was beaten, bruised and crucified for the sins of the world. The hope of reigning in heave with Jesus is considered the ultimate reward for suffering life’s trials and tribulations. It is the faith of the African Americans who accepted Christianity religion. Blacks trusted in the Lord instead of man. America was Egypt in the exodus story and as long as the enslaving and oppressing took place America would face the same wrath as Egypt. â€Å"Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. † The bible was depended on in justifying and motivation rebellion for the blacks and used as a tool to keep blacks enslaved by the whites. African Americans used sermons, song, and prayer to convey and teach their message of travail and triumph of Israel. Some African Americans could not get past the treatment from the white people that called themselves Christians and as a result they rejected Christianity. Selig’s role suggests that the link between characters is the acquisition of material goods. Selig admits that his ancestors have always made their living pursuing African Americas; his great grandfather transported slaves from Africa, his father captured runaway slaves and returned them to their masters for a reward, and Selig locates displaced people for a fee. Selig attains his ecstasy through consumer capitalism, through the selling of material goods. African Americans are objects for exploitation and exchange in the new economy. He binds African Americans to the economic system, demanding payment of his services and products which necessitates subsistence labor by taking them from one construction site or work site to another, similar to a temporary employment agency today. You pay for an employee to work for some time, but Selig is getting paid by the person looking for work or a ride to a chance of freedom. Selig cannot find a person that has not purchased a dustpan from him because he keeps the names of his customers. Seth is determined to achieve material success, he has very little patience for African Americans migrating north looking for the same prosperity that he desires. Seth is very demanding of his patrons, insisting on advance payment in full, and is preoccupied with maintaining a respectable house. â€Å"It’s hard enough now without all that ignorant kind of acting. Ever since slavery got over with there ain’t been nothing but foolish-acting niggers. Word get out they need men to work in the mill and put in these roads†¦ and niggers drop everything and head north looking for freedom. †(5, 6) Seth wants to blend in with the white man’s world; therefore he keeps a link with Selig by negotiating the manufacturing and sale of dustpans. Seth does not have any idea of what it would be like to be a slave, as he was born free in the North and was educated. He demonstrates his education with his math calculation when dealing with the boarding house patrons and the quick notation of him letting Selig know that he is trying to overcharge him for the dust pan materials. Educational differences played a role in tension with Southern blacks, most of who were forbidden from learning to read, saw religion as a matter of oral tradition and immediate experience and emotion. Northerner blacks, stressed that one could not truly be Christian unless they was able to read the Bible and understand it. This play denies individual worth and identity for some of Wilson’s characters. To be defrauded of the products of one’s labor or to see that creation diminished, like with Jeremy and the guitar contest, is to be denied a reflection of individual worth and identity. If people have been separated from this truth of individual worth and identity through oppression their capacity to bond with one another, form friendships, or couples, families are undermined. Social alienation in Wilson’s characters are expressed in their stores of broken relationships, uncertainty, or suspicion that they feel toward one another. â€Å"Seth: Something ain’t setting right with that fellow, Bynum. He’s one of them mean-looking niggers look like he done killed somebody gambling over a quarter. †(20) Connection between oppression, alienation from self and inability to form bonds with others is displayed in the character of Loomis. Joe Turner’s ability to oppress Loomis carried a judgment of non-worth. â€Å"Loomis: He told me I was worthless. Worthless is something you throw away. Something you don’t bother with† (73) Turners judgment of worthlessness forced Loomis to accept the reality of the white man’s power; he was marked as â€Å"one of Joe Turners niggers and forced to forget his song. †(71) Being alienated from himself and displaced with his relation to the world, Loomis is unable to establish bonds with people around him. The oppression encountered by Wilson’s characters is material or economic, that oppression is spiritual as well in the capacity to deprive the individual of a sense of himself or his unique song. The reawakening of Loomis after his encounter with cultural wisdom is not the self discovery of an average African American but creation of a new source of cultural wisdom, a new African holy man. Wilson uses many metaphors throughout the play. The song is a metaphor for Loomis’s identity and the African American cultural identity. Music is a large part of African American identity, so it makes since that in search of one’s identity they are searching for their song. The boarding house serves as an inn for traveling folk, but the tenants actually receive a form of healing during their stay. Tenants get direction and guidance from Bertha and Bynum. The shiny man that Bynum is in search for signifies African American independence. The man that Bynum met on the road was an independent African American, just as Loomis was freed by his past when he cleansed himself in his own blood. â€Å"Bynum: Herald Loomis, you shining! You shining like new money! †(94) Loomis has dismissed that the blood of Christ can wash away his sins and make him the man he used to be, but by washing himself in his own blood he has sacrificed the old life to begin his new journey on his terms. Bynum’s shining man has been found, meaning his work is complete; he has passed his powers on to the next generation, Loomis. â€Å"They tell me Joe Turner’s come and Gone† is a song that is sung by Bynum, when I first read the story I thought that the meaning was came and now he is dead however, the second time I read the play I realized that it meant that Joe Turner has come and snatched the men and now he is now gone. August Wilson uses symbolism in the play as a very important part in conveying the meaning of the story. Wilsons use of symbolism is demonstrated through Mr. Wilsons use of the road, Martha Pentecost, and Herald Loomis. Symbolic importance is give to the word freedom. The word freedom has instilled hope into the lives of African Americans: during slavery, hope for the release from bondage; after emancipation, the right to be educated, employed, and to move about freely; twentieth century, social, political, and economic justice. Freedom has always stood for the absence of any restraint, because God made all men from his image. There are a number of characters that travel around searching for their place in the world. Mattie, mentions that she keeps on looking, seems like she just keeps starting over, I ain’t never found no place for me to fit. † (76) Reuben tells Zonia, when he finds out that she is leaving the boarding house in search of her mom, â€Å"when I get grown, I come looking for you. †(84) Jeremy does not seem to care much when he loses his job because, â€Å"don’t make me no difference. There’s a big road out there, I can always get my guitar and find me a place to stay. I ain’t planning on staying in one place for too long noway. † (64) Martha Reverend Tolliver moved the Church up north because of the trouble the church was having. When the Civil War finally brought freedom to previously enslaved African Americans, the task of organizing religious communities was only one element of the larger need to create new lives, to reunite families, to find jobs, and to figure out what it would mean to live in the United States as citizens rather than property. August Wilson’s play, Joe Turner’s come and Gone, examines African Americans search for their cultural identity following slavery. Bibliography Murphy, L. G. (2000). Down By the Riverside. New York: New Yourk University Press. Wilson, A. (1988). Joe Turner Come and Gone. New York: Penguin Group.

Mixed Martial Arts Essay -- Sports Mixed Martial Arts History Essays

Mixed Martial Arts   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First off mixed martial arts is what it sounds like. It is a session between two opponents who have trained or cross trained in martial arts. Although mixed martial arts in not a mainstream sport, there is no reason why it should be banned in any state here in the United States. Like most, if not all sports, there are rules that one most abide by , the fights are sanctioned, so rules must apply. There are regulations and weight classes much like other sports. Mixed martial arts is considered to be the ultimate fighting method. To be considered an accomplished fighter you have to have skills in striking, take downs, submissions, stamina, but most of all you need heart.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mixed martial arts, or MMA, started back in the United States in 1993, and over 70 year ago in other countries. â€Å"The first mixed martial arts organization in the United States was the Ultimate Fighting Champion or UFC. Japan's biggest mixed martial arts organization is PrideFC, which started back in 1997,† (Doty 13). These may be the two largest mixed martial arts companies in the world. Back then and still today mixed martial arts have been the subject of arguable political debate. The people against mixed martial arts have had many arguments against the sport in the early to mid 90s. It even convinced several states to ban the sport. This was because when mixed martial arts first started there was little to no rules. This was a one-event night tournament, where any fighters that signed up would fight numerous matches in one night, in a single elimination style tournament until one champion was named. Two men entered an octagon arena and did whatever they had to do to knock out, or tap out their opponent. Mixed martial arts fighters could not bite, eye gouge, or fish hook, and fights could only end with a referee's stoppage, a knock out, or submission (Royce 6). Basically it was a street fight without weapons. In 2001 a major factor in the comeback of the sport, and the return of the sport to pay-per-view was the employ of a new set of rules. The unified rules of mixed martial arts combat, as drafted in New Jersey, and later adopted in Nevada 2001 were a welcome change to the sport. â€Å"The new rules featured five weight classes, rounds, time limits, a list of over 31 fouls, and eight possible ways for the fight to end,†(Walter, grapplearts.com). The unified ... ... Its fans and fighters can be found all over the country. They represent every race and class of people in the United States. They are teachers, student, attorneys, truck drivers, accountants, ministers, soldiers, doctors, police officers, and family members. They are as much American as the fans and athletes involved in any other sport that is popularly and culturally accepted by the people of the United States of America. They are not savages, barbarians or criminals, or are they a collection of social deviants and miscreants as people like John McCain would have the voting public believe. They are simply people who enjoy a sport that is misunderstood and as a result, feared and hated. With this stated, MMA should be completely legalized in the United States. Work Cited Doty, Edward. Life in The Cage. New York, NY: EZboard Inc, 1998. Hester, Todd. "Wanderlei Silva." Grappling May 2004 36-40, 91,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  92, 97, 98. Royce, Gracie. "What it Takes to be a Fighter." Grappling. May   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2004 6-7. Walter, Donald. Mixed Martial Arts: Ultimate Sport, or Ultimately   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Illegal? . 8 Dec. 2003. . 21 Apr. 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  .

Proclamation of student concerns :: essays research papers

Proclamation To Address Student Concerns About The Medium News Letter: Preamble: Presented on this day, November the nineteenth, in the year two thousand and three, as members of the Rutgers University community who are concerned and dissatisfied with the subject material that has been printed in the magazine The Medium, a student funded organization, we collectively agree that the following measures need to be met and addressed with as much cooperation as possible to facilitate in the propagation of unity amongst Rutgers University students, faculty, and staff. Rutgers University’s mission statement, as defined through the following excerpt, is required to be applied to every Rutgers University organization. All Rutgers University organizations are asked to abide by the mission statement of the university in order to foster a community that is cohesive and indivisible: â€Å"Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is committed to the ideals of excellence in fostering an enriching learning community of students, faculty and staff from a broad spectrum of nations, cultures, and historical perspectives. Diversity is an integral component of human experience, and encompasses but is not limited to issues of race, ethnicity, culture, social class, national origin, gender, age, religious beliefs, sexual orientation mental ability, and physical ability. Our collective goal is to create an institutional consciousness of diversity reinforced with equity and excellence through our policies, practices, and programs of inclusion, non-discrimination, and pluralism for all members of the University Community.† WHERE AS:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The mission of the university is stated above, The Medium must question its current relevance to the university’s mission. While membership is not neglected on the basis of â€Å"†¦race, sex, handicap, age, sexual orientation, or political and religious affiliation (Medium Constitution)†, the publication itself does not agree with the university’s mission, nor does it provide an outlet for diversity and respect of other cultures, races, and sexual orientations. WHERE AS:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Medium has published and continues to publish ‘hate speech’, the environment in which said magazine has and is creating one of racial hostility. Community lines are drawn due to racial, religious, gender, and sexual orientation differences, causing the Rutgers University community to be disjointed and without proper unanimity and accord. WHERE AS:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Medium has fostered an atmosphere of antagonism, the safety of students, regardless of color, creed, gender, and sexual orientation are in danger. Although opinions are without credit to those they might endanger, the physical sight of such opinions places the Rutgers community in a state of alert and fear.

Nurture Influence Early Human Development

Early human development is a very important process in implicating the chain of infant’s future. Therefore, there are two most important process; first one is â€Å"Nature† i. e. Heredity and second one is â€Å"Nurture† i. e. Environment. For saying, the 17th century British Highbrow John Locke, the knowledge comes to adults who arrived in the newly world through their senses. The newborn infant are have their brain as a â€Å"Blank Slate†, that can be changed and turn into any kind in future by Locke. That’s filling for their experience on the way he/she hear, taste, identify, and sense.So I believe that human development is inherited, but it can be made more concise that nurture plays most important role then nature. Therefore these essays outline the influences of nurture on early human development that means of training, family background, society and environmental factor. It can be argued that nature influence early human development. Accordin g to Charis Darwin, he emphasised that human development is inherited and genetically program. Many researchers agree, but; not only that ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’ playing important roles in human life.Than that they combine continuously to key development. Example: The developments of every character such as poignant stability appear to be manipulating to be like heredity and upbringing. In addition, some behaviourist such as Watson and Skinner are also believed that a newborn baby can be qualified into any professional type; it might be doctors, sport persons, and pilots etc. Regardless of his/her ability and talent. The motor development is based on a fill children metro born has goes through the same cycle at the different period in a life.The recent studies by (Dennis & Dennis and Gesell & Thompson) indicate that practice can be accelerating that appearance to their behaviour. For example: The newborn baby learn to walk which is called as stepping reflex; if we keep a baby’s feet on the floor he/she will walk by placing one foot in front of the other. This is not really walking but it’s a step of learning. Where he/she can walk early in their life, by practice for a few minute every day during the first ten week they short. So they learn early than other babies who had not practice.Therefore learning, training or experience plays an important role in the early human development. The other influences are the family and society where they live and brought up in their life. The children who are living in a family or society which has a good education system. Where child gets proper care and batter livelihood and seem to be learn & speak early. The newborn baby can as well differentiate between the similar. Such as the tones this is analogous meaning (Bridger 1961). He say that the noise that infant have the sense of hearing from there foreigner language beginning their family.For example: A baby after one or two months ca n notify the difference between parallel sounds such as ‘pa’ and ‘ba’. So one year child will picked up in enough information about verbal communication. That it will have also begun to â€Å"Screen out† sound it does not use (kuhl et al. , 1992). The latter is the environmental measures to be strong-minded in the untimely human expansion. The personal characteristics are determined by the genetic structure of the work. Take it as parent’s genes, so that the infant can grow that skin, eyes, hair and general body size could be also same.This genetic outcome is expressed in development through the process of physical or mental progression changes. For example: the developing infants develop within the mother’s body. During pregnancy, such as an infant turn around and kick which also follows depend on the growth. In other hand, the environment is serious or else abnormal in some other hand, than the processes can be disrupted. That’ s like, if the fetus causes a problem during the first eight months at the pregnancy. The infant may be born. Their eyes are blind, deft or brain –damaged. It’s depending on the stage of development at the time of infection.The other physical factors such as consumption of drugs and alcohol can be affecting the fetus. These are the environmental factors that will be affected the early human development. In conclusion, nurture and nature influence early human development. That children can became kind of adult by receiving proper care, training and experience. It is also depend upon the family and society in the way to speak and learn. And at the last the environment factors that effect by mentally and physically in early life of newborn baby. So this essay outline the nurture strongly influence early human development.

China Returns to Africa Essay

The book â€Å"China Returns to Africa: A Superpower and a Continent Embrace† provides in-depth account of Chinese-African relations. The central claim of the book is that geopolitical relations between Africa and China has provoked international interests as China remains one of the most promising and powerful states in the world. The editors have assembled 24 essays by academics that possess exceptional knowledge with the purpose to shed light on the unexpected Chinese-African operations. The chapters address diverse subjects as, for example, social influence of Chinese Diaspora in Africa, the history of Tanzanian railway, the history of Chinese medicine, the progress of Beijing in buying oil and natural resources, the breadth of African continent, etc. The book presents a balanced impressive study of the most important developments in the modern worlds, as Chinese-African relations will affect economics and politics of all countries. In 2006 China celebrated a new strategic partnership. The interest of China in African continent has raised a number of debates as researches found it interesting to reveal what China expects from Africa. However, academic and development policy circles neglect country’s re-engagement with the African continent. In contrast to Europe and America, China treats Africa equally, not as inferior country. With the help of China Africa is viewed to be able to establish business deal with Western countries. In the late 1960s China made a decisive ideological thrust into the African continent and was humiliated for that by the rest of the world’s powerful countries and Africa itself. The painful experience of Mao’s men prevented further relations with Africa for about 40 years. The economic wreck was contributed to China’s disastrous experiments with socialism. A new invasion of Africa began in the past 15 years. New effort appeared to be more pragmatic and was driven mainly by a quest for new energy sources and new raw materials. Economic invasion was backed up by country’s huge wealth and, therefore, its implication was more likely to be far-reaching than the last Maoist adventure. Western powers were prompted to corresponding alarm as they were unaware what to expect from Chinese-African relations. The book notes that more than 800 Chinese companies have invested more than ? 5 billion in economic development of African countries and there is more to come. The editors admit in introduction that â€Å"China’s expanding relations with Africa are the most important dynamic in the foreign relations and politics of the continent since the end of the cold war†. (Alden et al. , 2008, ii) In particular, China offers African continent three things – money, long-term commitment and assurance of non-inference. Money offered accounted for larger sums that offered by western competitors and assurance of non-inference means that human rights won’t be troubled by Chinese lifestyle in contrast to European and American countries to impose their beliefs and policies within the continent. Thus, local dignitaries of African continent will remain original. Further, one of the chapters addresses the important of media in Chinese-African relations as media is the fourth power in the world. It is noted that Chinese media presents future of Chinese-African relations in different way from that of western reports and prophesies. Chinese partnership has expanded in Senegal, Mauritius and Cape Verde. Chinese traders are restoring the infrastructure in Angola. China buys cobalt from Congo and South Africa; feed from Ethiopia, Tanzania and Sudan; copper from South Africa and Zambia; chemicals from Nigeria; ferrous metals from Zimbabwe; and oil from everywhere. Angola has become China’s biggest supplier. The authors assess the costs and benefits of China’s re-engagement into African continent. On the one side, the prices are boosted by the increased competition for commodities. The West seems to be troubled about the Chinese imperialism because many of the trade practices have been commonplace among the European and American companies. Many countries simply tended to get out of Africa without investing in it. In contrast, China offers new scope of economic relations through equal treatment. Nevertheless, the poorest people in Africa would hardly benefit from Chinese-African relations as reliance on capital-intensive commodity industries is not effective way to fight poverty. The problem is that Chinese money goes into the pockets of Africa’s elites and into Swiss banks. The editors cite a spokesman of the Kenyan government who argues: â€Å"You never hear the Chinese saying that they will not finish a project because the government has not done enough to tackle corruption. If they are going to build a road, it will be built†. (Alden et al. , 2008, 23) Some authors are more skeptic about the future of the Chinese-African relations. They argue that with years the issue of ‘governance’ can’t be escaped as governance is the pre-condition of stable economic relationships and economic development. China is argued to suffer from lack of spiritual dimension in the countries practicing Christianity, Islam and other indigenous systems of beliefs. Overall, the book is very informative presenting multiple perspectives on development of Chinese-African relations. The authors offer far-reaching surveys of China’s return to the African continent. The new relations are assumed to hold for diplomacy, trade and further development. The authors are surely correct in their efforts to refuse taking high morale line about what China is willing to get from Africa. The positive is that China tends to treat Africa as equal partner, whereas Europe treated Africa as inferior state. Africa should be provided with more respect, the country should be provided with opportunity to decide what it wants and what it doesn’t want. With China, Africa may be able to strengthen its economic and political position in the world. Nevertheless, the negative is that China may tend to impose its own beliefs and governance similar to European countries. Development of Chinese-African relations depends fully on country’s abilities to cooperate. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alden, Chr. , Large, D. , & de Oliviera, R. , ed. China Returns to Africa: A Superpower and a Continent Embrace. USA: Hurst & Co Publishers LTD, 2008.

Friedrich Nietzsche Essay

Existentialism provides a moving account of the agony of being in the world. The spirit of existen- tialism has a long history in philosophy. But it be- came a major movement in the second half of the 20th century. Existentialism is not a systematic body of thought like Marxism or psychoanalysis. Instead, it is more like an umbrella under which a very wide range of thinkers struggled with ques- tions about the meaning of life. Much of the appeal and popularity of Existential- ism is due to the sense of confusion, the crisis, and the feeling of rejection and rootlessness that Euro- peans felt during World War II and its aftermath. Existentialism’s focus on each person’s role in cre- ating meaning in their life was a major influence on the Phenomenological and Humanistic traditions in psychology and on the â€Å"human potential† move- ment that emerged from them. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) said, â€Å"Conquer your- self rather than the world. †. To modern existential- ists this means that the World itself has no real meaning or purpose. It is not the unfolding expres- sion of Human Destiny or a Divine plan, or even a set of natural laws. The only meaning is that which we create by acts of will. To have a meaningful life we have to act. But we should act without hope. Acting is meaningful but it doesn’t create meaning that lasts beyond the acts themselves or beyond our own lifetime. You are what you do – while you are doing it – and then nothing. (Very depressing. ) In The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus (pronounced â€Å"Kam-moo†) (1913-1960) describes life as a kind of hopeless, endless, uphill labor. Hence, the only true problem is that of suicide. Yet, he rejects nihilism; for the human being must fight and never accept defeat. The problem is to be a saint without a God. The last judgment takes place everyday. The human being must do his best, try for what he can within the confinements of his situation. Camus describes Sisyphus condemned by the gods to push a stone up a hill over and over, only to have it roll back down each time he reaches the top. A task that can never be completed. But he finds meaning in the fact that Sisyphus at least gets to decide each time whether to carry on or end it all. Camus says, â€Å"The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy. † Although there can never be any meaning in Sisy- phus’ task, there is meaning is choosing each time to continue. Despite encompassing a staggering range of phi- losophical, religious, and political ideologies, the underlying concepts of existentialism are simple: Mankind has free will. Life is a series of choices, creating stress. Few decisions are without any negative conse- quences. Some things are irrational or absurd, without explanation. If one makes a decision, he or she must follow through. Notes on Existentialism by Tanweer Akram. The fundamental problem of existentialism is con- cerned with the study of being. The human being’s existence is the first and basic fact; the human be- ing has no essence that comes before his existence. The human being, as a being, is nothing. This nothingness and the non-existence of an essence is the central source of the freedom the human being faces in each and every moment. The human being Notes on Existentialism Compiled for PSY 345 (Fall 2004) Existentialism Notes 2 has liberty in view of his situation, in decisions which makes himself and sets himself to solves his problems and live in the world. Thrown into the world, the human being is con- demned to be free. The human being must take this freedom of being and the responsibility and guilt of his actions. Each action negates the other possible courses of action and their consequences; so the human being must be accountable without excuse. The human being must not slip away from his re- sponsibilities. The human being must take deci- sions and assume responsibilities. There is no sig- nificance in this world, this universe. The human being cannot find any purpose in life; his existence is only a contingent fact. His being does not emerge from necessity. If a human being rejects the false pretensions, the illusions of his existence hav- ing a meaning, he encounters the absurdity, the fu- tility of life. The human being’s role in the world is not predetermined or fixed; every person is com- pelled to make a choice. Choice is one thing the human being must make. The trouble is that most often the human being refuses to choose. Hence, he cannot realize his freedom and the futility of his existence. Basically existence is of two types: authentic and inauthentic forms of existence. Authentic existence is contrasted with dynamic and is the being-for- itself, rising from the human being’s bad faith, by which the human being moves away from the bur- den of responsibility, through this beliefs in dogma and by regarding himself as subject to outside in- fluences and his actions to be predetermined. There is a striking contrast between the authentic and the inauthentic forms of being; the authentic being is the being of the human being and the inau- thentic being is the being for things. Yet, authentic being is only rarely attained by the human being; still it is what the human being must strive to gain. The inauthentic being-in-itself is characteristically distinctive of things; it is what the human being is diseased with for his failure to see himself as and act according as a free agent and his impotency to reject bad faith. Things are only what they are. But the human being is what can be. Things are deter- mined, fixed, and rigid; the human being is free; he can add essence to his life in the course of his life and he is in a constant state of flux and is able to comprehend his situation. The human being does not live in a pre-determined world; the human be- ing is free to realize his aims, to materialize his dreams; hence, he has only the destiny he forges for himself because in this world nothing happens out of necessity. The human being hides himself from freedom by self-deception, acting like a thing, as if he is a pas- sive subject, instead of realizing the authentic be- ing for the human being; this is bad faith. In bad faith, the human being shelter himself from re- sponsibility by not noticing the dimensions of al- ternative courses of action facing him; in bad faith, the human being behaves as others demand of him by conforming to the standards of accepted values and by adopting roles designed for him; in bad faith, the human being loses the autonomy of his moral will, his freedom to decide; in bad faith, the human being imprisons himself within inauthentic- ity for he has refused to take the challenge of re- sponsibility and the anxiety that comes along with his freedom. Anxiety ascends from the human being’s realiza- tion that the human being’s destiny is not fixed but is open to an undetermined future of infinite possi- bilities and limitless scope: The emptiness of fu- ture destiny must be filled by making choices for which he alone will assume responsibility and blame. This anxiety is present at every moment of the human being’s existence; anxiety is part and parcel of authentic existence. Anxiety leads the human being to take decisions and be committed. The human being tries to avoid this anguish through bad faith. But the free human being, in his authenticity, must be involved; for his own actions are only his, his responsibility is to himself, his being is his own. The human being must be com- mitted. To be committed means not to support this in place of that, but to attach a human being’s total- ity to a cause; it is the human being’s existential freedom that leads to total commitment. Existentialist thinkers begin from the human situa- tion in the world; the condition of despair, the modes of existence, the human being’s tendency to avoid authentic existence, his relation to things, his own body, and to other beings, with whom he can- not come into genuine communication, and the sufferings of life. Starting from the study of being, each existentialist thinkers originate their own doc- trines, with their own emphasis on particular as- pects. Very often their viewpoints is conflicting and sometimes contradictory; yet this philosophi-cal attitude of being, as a whole, can be described as the existentialist movement, which stresses upon the â€Å"being† of the human being. Existentialism Notes 3 Additional Notes on Existentialism Existentialism, philosophical movement or ten- dency, emphasizing individual existence, freedom, and choice, that influenced many diverse writers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Major Themes Because of the diversity of positions associated with existentialism, the term is impossible to define precisely. Certain themes common to virtually all existentialist writers can, however, be identified. The term itself suggests one major theme: the stress on concrete individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice. Moral Individualism Most philosophers since Plato have held that the highest ethical good is the same for everyone; inso- far as one approaches moral perfection, one resem- bles other morally perfect individuals. The 19th- century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, who was the first writer to call himself existential, reacted against this tradition by insisting that the highest good for the individual is to find his or her own unique vocation. As he wrote in his journal, â€Å"I must find a truth that is true for me . . . the idea for which I can live or die. † Other existentialist writers have echoed Kierkegaard’s belief that one must choose one’s own way without the aid of universal, objective standards. Against the traditional view that moral choice involves an objective judgment of right and wrong, existentialists have argued that no objective, rational basis can be found for moral decisions. The 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche further contended that the indi- vidual must decide which situations are to count as moral situations. SubjectivityAll existentialists have followed Kierkegaard in s tressing the importance of passionate individual action in deciding questions of both morality and truth. They have insisted, accordingly, that per- sonal experience and acting on one’s own convic- tions are essential in arriving at the truth. Thus, the understanding of a situation by someone involved in that situation is superior to that of a detached, objective observer. This emphasis on the perspec- tive of the individual agent has also made existen- tialists suspicious of systematic reasoning. Kierke- gaard, Nietzsche, and other existentialist writers have been deliberately unsystematic in the exposi- tion of their philosophies, preferring to express themselves in aphorisms, dialogues, parables, and other literary forms. Despite their antirationalist position, however, most existentialists cannot be said to be irrationalists in the sense of denying all validity to rational thought. They have held that rational clarity is desirable wherever possible, but that the most important questions in life are not accessible to reason or science. Furthermore, they have argued that even science is not as rational as is commonly supposed. Nietzsche, for instance, asserted that the scientific assumption of an orderly universe is for the most part a useful fiction. Choice and Commitment Perhaps the most prominent theme in existentialist writing is that of choice. Humanity’s primary dis- tinction, in the view of most existentialists, is the freedom to choose. Existentialists have held that human beings do not have a fixed nature, or es- sence, as other animals and plants do; each human being makes choices that create his or her own na- ture. In the formulation of the 20th-century French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, existence precedes essence. Choice is therefore central to human exis- tence, and it is inescapable; even the refusal to choose is a choice. Freedom of choice entails com- mitment and responsibility. Because individuals are free to choose their own path, existentialists have argued, they must accept the risk and respon- sibility of following their commitment wherever it leads. Dread and Anxiety Kierkegaard held that it is spiritually crucial to rec- ognize that one experiences not only a fear of spe- cific objects but also a feeling of general apprehen- sion, which he called dread. He interpreted it as God’s way of calling each individual to make a commitment to a personally valid way of life. The word anxiety (German Angst) has a similarly cru- cial role in the work of the 20th-century German philosopher Martin Heidegger; anxiety leads to the individual’s confrontation with nothingness and with the impossibility of finding ultimate justifica- tion for the choices he or she must make. In the philosophy of Sartre, the word nausea is used for the individual’s recognition of the pure contin- gency of the universe, and the word anguish is used for the recognition of the total freedom of choice that confronts the individual at every mo- ment. Existentialism Notes 4 History Existentialism as a distinct philosophical and liter- ary movement belongs to the 19th and 20th centu- ries, but elements of existentialism can be found in the thought (and life) of Socrates, in the Bible, and in the work of many premodern philosophers and writers. Pascal The first to anticipate the major concerns of mod- ern existentialism was the 17th-century French phi- losopher Blaise Pascal. Pascal rejected the rigorous rationalism of his contemporary Rene Descartes, asserting, in his Pensees (1670), that a systematic philosophy that presumes to explain God and hu- manity is a form of pride. Like later existentialist writers, he saw human life in terms of paradoxes: The human self, which combines mind and body, is itself a paradox and contradiction. Kierkegaard Kierkegaard, generally regarded as the founder of modern existentialism, reacted against the system- atic absolute idealism of the 19th-century German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel, who claimed to have worked out a total rational understanding of hu- manity and history. Kierkegaard, on the contrary, stressed the ambiguity and absurdity of the human situation. The individual’s response to this situation must be to live a totally committed life, and this commitment can only be understood by the indi- vidual who has made it. The individual therefore must always be prepared to defy the norms of soci- ety for the sake of the higher authority of a person- ally valid way of life. Kierkegaard ultimately advo- cated a â€Å"leap of faith† into a Christian way of life, which, although incomprehensible and full of risk, was the only commitment he believed could save the individual from despair. Nietzsche Nietzsche, who was not acquainted with the work of Kierkegaard, influenced subsequent existential- ist thought through his criticism of traditional metaphysical and moral assumptions and through his espousal of tragic pessimism and the life- affirming individual will that opposes itself to the moral conformity of the majority. In contrast to Kierkegaard, whose attack on conventional moral- ity led him to advocate a radically individualistic Christianity, Nietzsche proclaimed the â€Å"death of God† and went on to reject the entire Judeo- Christian moral tradition in favor of a heroic pagan ideal. Heidegger Heidegger, like Pascal and Kierkegaard, reacted against an attempt to put philosophy on a conclu- sive rationalistic basis—in this case the phenome- nology of the 20th-century German philosopher Edmund Husserl. Heidegger argued that humanity finds itself in an incomprehensible, indifferent world. Human beings can never hope to under- stand why they are here; instead, each individual must choose a goal and follow it with passionate conviction, aware of the certainty of death and the ultimate meaninglessness of one’s life. Heidegger contributed to existentialist thought an original em- phasis on being and ontology as well as on lan- guage. Sartre Sartre first gave the term existentialism general currency by using it for his own philosophy and by becoming the leading figure of a distinct move- ment in France that became internationally influen- tial after World War II. Sartre’s philosophy is ex- plicitly atheistic and pessimistic; he declared that human beings require a rational basis for their lives but are unable to achieve one, and thus human life is a â€Å"futile passion. † Sartre nevertheless insisted that his existentialism is a form of humanism, and he strongly emphasized human freedom, choice, and responsibility. He eventually tried to reconcile these existentialist concepts with a Marxist analy- sis of society and history. Existentialism and Theology Although existentialist thought encompasses the uncompromising atheism of Nietzsche and Sartre and the agnosticism of Heidegger, its origin in the intensely religious philosophies of Pascal and Kierkegaard foreshadowed its profound influence on 20th-century theology. The 20th-century Ger- man philosopher Karl Jaspers, although he rejected explicit religious doctrines, influenced contempo- rary theology through his preoccupation with tran- scendence and the limits of human experience. The German Protestant theologians Paul Tillich and Rudolf Bultmann, the French Roman Catholic theologian Gabriel Marcel, the Russian Orthodox philosopher Nikolay Berdyayev, and the German Jewish philosopher Martin Buber inherited many Existentialism Notes 5 of Kierkegaard’s concerns, especially that a per- sonal sense of authenticity and commitment is es- sential to religious faith. Existentialism and Literature A number of existentialist philosophers used liter- ary forms to convey their thought, and existential- ism has been as vital and as extensive a movement in literature as in philosophy. The 19th-century Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky is probably the greatest existentialist literary figure. In Notes from the Underground (1864), the alienated anti- hero rages against the optimistic assumptions of rationalist humanism. The view of human nature that emerges in this and other novels of Dostoyevsky is that it is unpredictable and per- versely self-destructive; only Christian love can save humanity from itself, but such love cannot be understood philosophically. As the character Alyo- sha says in The Brothers Karamazov (1879-80), â€Å"We must love life more than the meaning of it. † In the 20th century, the novels of the Austrian Jew- ish writer Franz Kafka, such as The Trial (1925; trans. 1937) and The Castle (1926; trans. 1930), present isolated men confronting vast, elusive, menacing bureaucracies; Kafka’s themes of anxi- ety, guilt, and solitude reflect the influence of Kierkegaard, Dostoyevsky, and Nietzsche. The in- fluence of Nietzsche is also discernible in the nov- els of the French writers Andre Malraux and in the plays of Sartre. The work of the French writer Al- bert Camus is usually associated with existential- ism because of the prominence in it of such themes as the apparent absurdity and futility of life, the indifference of the universe, and the necessity of engagement in a just cause. Existentialist themes are also reflected in the theater of the absurd, nota- bly in the plays of Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco. In the United States, the influence of exis- tentialism on literature has been more indirect and diffuse, but traces of Kierkegaard’s thought can be found in the novels of Walker Percy and John Up- dike, and various existentialist themes are apparent in the work of such diverse writers as Norman Mailer, John Barth, and Arthur Miller. Conclusion Existentialists make endless claims. They never bother to show how they reached their claims or if these are, indeed, true. The existentialists when he pretends to present a representation of reality pro- vides no cognition; unverifiable assertions may well express powerful and even necessary emo- tions and passions, but that’s best left to the arts and literature. Existentialism is a highly passionate philosophy and, from the outset, seems to aim at a dynamic and fashionable life-style. Also it is mostly unsys- tematic and pays little attention to logic or science. Whatever one makes of its metaphysical claims, one cannot deny that existentialism was able to provide a moving account of the spirit of the con- temporary world and the nausea and frustration of survival. Indeed, it is basically for its richness in psychological insight and its impact on culture that existentialist philosophy will continued to be stud- ied.