What is Philosophy Essay Example for Free

What is Philosophy Essay Upon reading the opening chapter of Cahn’s, â€Å"Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology†, I was immediately drawn in by the opening statement from Beardsley and Beardsley: â€Å"The study of philosophy is unlike the study of any other subject†¦The only prerequisite is an inquiring mind† (Cahn, 3). For a science major, my first reaction is excitement, for there is no need to memorize â€Å"dates, formulas, or rules† (Chan, 3). As I continued reading however, I start to think to myself what I believe it means to take a philosophy course? My definition of taking a philosophy course is I would be studying the ideas of one’s thoughts, beliefs, morals, religion, and any other â€Å"stereotypical† philosophical description. However, thanks to the definition provided, when broken down, â€Å"the word philosophy is of Greek origin and literally means, â€Å"the love of wisdom† (Cahn, 3). What does that even mean? Throughout the opening chapter, both authors try to dissect, analyze, and examine these ideas of ‘philosophy’ and ‘philosophical questions’ for readers, like myself, to gain a better understanding for exploring such a concept. Still, how do I truly know that I have reached such an answer? There are three chief benefits that the authors provide, â€Å"that are to be derived from the study of philosophy†. The first being, â€Å"increased clearness in your own beliefs† (Chan 10). For me, I believe this statement to be saying that I must truly be sure that what I hold to be true is in fact true to me. The second is, â€Å"increased assurance that your beliefs are reasonable† (Cahn, 10). So to my understanding, now that I believe that such a fact is true, I must also make sure that it is reasonable. What does it mean for something to be reasonable? â€Å"’Reasonable’ has a broad, but definite, meaning here: a reasonable belief is simply a belief for which a good reason can be given. Reasonable beliefs are logically justifiable† (Cahn, 3). Okay, so if I put this in my own words, it means that this fact that I hold to be true, must also have some sort of good purpose for it to hold such meaning. The third and last benefit is, â€Å"increased consistency† (Cahn, 11). Because there are so many questions one can ask that can force us to contradict most anything, this third belief to me is saying that, with consistency, there may be a possibility of coming to an actual answer or an agreement of such facts or ideas. Not sure if I cleared up what philosophy means to me, or if I confused myself more. Hopefully I do not confuse you either. I wrote on this first reading, because it really captured my attention in that, sometimes we as humans do philosophical thinking and questioning though we may not always be aware of it. Whether we are questioning some sort of fact out loud, or internally – we are participating in â€Å"philosophical thinking† (Cahn, 7). Therefore, it is important to understand what this term ‘philosophy’ means. I am excited for this course to explore many ideas and to uncover/discover such conceptual thinking and ideas that I may not be aware of, through the readings and discussions we will be holding in class.

The Cultural Significance of The Tale of Genji Essay -- Japan Culture

The Cultural Significance of The Tale of Genji The Tale of Genji is one of the most important stories of ancient Japanese literature. Japanese scholar Sin Ohno said that there is no literature written during the Heian Era which is written in as precise language as The Tale of Genji. The author, Murasaki Shikibu, is a woman. In this tale, we can see the concept towards marriage of women during her period. During the Nara Era, and some time before, the concept of marriage was totally different from the concept we know today. It is called "Tsuma Toi Kon." "Tsuma" means wife; "Toi" means to visit; "Kon" means marriage. In order to explain the marriage during this era, I will present an example of the typical interactions between men and women. When a man meets woman, somewhere like market where many people gather, the man would ask her address and name if he is interested in her. Asking for the name also avoids misunderstanding; asking for the address is so he can visit her. Visiting her is like marriage in today's sense. If the woman is interested in the man, she would tell her address and name. The man would visit the woman's house in the evening and call her name from outside. He might play a musical instrument like a flute, or harp, or sing songs to get her attention. Men sometimes visited women without calling or playing any music. Whether the woman accepts the man is up to the woman to decide. If the woman is interested, she would invite him in. Men and women generally worked during the day time; the men visited women only at night time. In earlier eras, the family built a sub-house beside the main house and invited the men into the sub-house. However, the men did not stay in the sub-house. Men visited at night and.. . ...robably tried to create a figure who had ability to support several different women. Even though what Genji did was allowed in ancient society, it is definitely not acceptable today. In The Tale of Genji a man would sometimes play a harp or a flute to get a woman's attention. Considering the appearance of traditional marriage, those men are following the traditional ways of marriage. Marriage during the Heian Era is a little different from the Nara Era. They still pracitced what was still recognized as "visiting marriage," but the family formally accepted the man as groom. However, men still stopped visiting when they lost interest in the women. This is like Hikaru Genji, who did not like Lady Aoi very much, so he seldom visited her. "Visiting marriage" had many problems. In some cases, men visited several different women at a time. There were laws to restrict the m

Questions on The Storm by Kate Chopin

The short story was first published in The Complete Works of. You can read about finding themes in Kate Chopin's stories and novels on the Themes page of this site. The Storm was written by Kate Chopin on July 19, 1898. The theme of Kate Chopin's short story, The Storm, is based on adultery. The Storm by Kate Chopin Study Guide Summary and Themes in Chopin's Short Story The Storm – What is the theme of â€Å"The Storm† by Kate Chopin? â€Å"The Storm† themes. Therese Lafirme in At Fault; at Calixta in â€Å"The Storm,† Louise Mallard in â€Å"The Story. How does Kate Chopin reveal character in â€Å"The Storm†. Scholars and critics have been writing about Kate Chopin's subjects and themes for. In the short story â€Å"The Storm† by Kate Chopin the setting supports the theme; just because you are married to someone it does not mean that you continue to love them. Set in the early 1900's with two main characters, Calixta, and Alcee. What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional) do you see in this story. Chopin uses the theme of forbidden love to tell a story that is. Socratic Seminar Questions Through her stories, Kate Chopin wrote her own autobiography. In Kate Chopin's story â€Å"The Storm,† sex is a crucial part of the story. Books By Genre, Theme & The best The Theme of love in â€Å"the Storm† – Kate Chopin Degree Essay & Coursework help including documents Marked by Lecturers and Peers. An examination of the primary themes in the famous work of fiction, The Storm by Kate Chopin. You can read about finding themes in Kate Chopin's stories and novels on the Themes page of this site. Set in the early 1900's with two main characters, Calixta, and Alcee. In Kate Chopin's story â€Å"The Storm,† sex is a crucial part of the story. Chopin uses the theme of forbidden love to tell a story that is. The Storm by Kate Chopin Study Guide Summary and Themes in Chopin's Short Story The Storm – What is the theme of â€Å"The Storm† by Kate Chopin? â€Å"At the ‘Cadian Ball† (prequel to â€Å"The Storm†). Kate Chopin The theme of Kate Chopin's short story, The Storm, is based on adultery. Sex theme analysis by Ph. D. and Masters students from. Scholars and critics have been writing about Kate Chopin's subjects and themes for over fifty years. The Storm? , Chopin not only creates the perfect setting but also. The Storm – What is the theme of â€Å"The Storm,† by Kate Chopin. Kate Chopin, â€Å"At the ‘Cadian Ball,† implied throughout. Kate Chopin JenniP on John Updike? s A & P: Analysis & Theme; Anya on The Lymphatic System. Sex theme analysis by Ph. D. and Masters students from. The Storm Study Guide > The Storm Questions > What is the theme of â€Å"The Storm,† by Kate Chopin. The Storm† time and place The story is set in the late nineteenth century at Friedheimer's store in Louisiana, and at the nearby house of Calixta and Bobinot. â€Å"The Storm† themes Unlike most of Kate Chopin's short stories and both her novels, this story was not published until the 1960s, many years after it was written. Apparently Chopin did not submit it to magazines because she understood that no editor at the time would publish a work as sexually explicit as this one. Per Seyersted, a Chopin biographer, writes that â€Å"sex in this story is a force as strong, inevitable, and natural as the Louisiana storm which ignites it. The conclusion of the story, Seyersted adds, is ambiguous, because Chopin â€Å"covers only one day and one storm and does not exclude the possibility of later misery. The emphasis is on the momentary joy of the amoral cosmic force. † In this story, Seyersted says, Kate Chopin â€Å"was not interested in the immoral in itself, but in life as it comes, in what she saw as natural–or certainly inevitable–expressions of universal Eros, inside or outside of marriage. She focuses here on sexuality as such, and to her, it is neither frantic nor base, but as ‘healthy' and beautiful as life itself. Other readers, scholars, and critics have found a host of themes, ideas, and subjects to write about in this story. There are further details in some of the questions and answers below. You can check our lists of books, articles, and dissertations about Chopin at other places on this site. And you can read about finding themes in Kate Chopin's stories and novels on our Themes page. When Kate Chopin's â€Å"The Storm† was written and published The story was composed on July 19, 1898. It was first published in The Complete Works of Kate Chopin in 1969. You can find complete composition dates and publication dates for Chopin's works on pages 1003 to 1032 of The Complete Works of Kate Chopin, edited by Per Seyersted (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969, 2006). Questions and answers about â€Å"The Storm† Q: The story's title says it is â€Å"A Sequel to ‘The ‘Cadian Ball. ‘ † Does â€Å"The Storm† stand by itself or does it need to be read with the earlier story? A: It stands by itself, but some scholars have argued that Chopin obviously intended for â€Å"The Storm† to be read with â€Å"At the ‘Cadian Ball† and that resonance is lost when they are separated (see one of the questions below). The earlier story describes how Calixta came to marry Bobinot and how Alcee came to marry his wife. Some anthologies print â€Å"The Storm† alone. Many print the two stories together. Q: Isn't the phrasing of â€Å"The Storm† sexually explicit for something written in the 1890s? A: Yes, the phrasing is way beyond what any respectable American magazine, even a comparatively advanced magazine like Vogue (in which Kate Chopin published nineteen stories), would have printed at the time. From everything we can tell, Chopin did not try to send â€Å"The Storm† out to editors. The story was not published until 1969, sixty-five years after Chopin's death. Q: So readers at the time were uptight about explicit sex in short stories? A: By the standards of most twenty-first-century American or European magazine readers, yes. But unlike today's countless magazines often selling to small, closely-focused segments of the population, American national magazines in the late nineteenth century usually appealed to broader, more heterogeneous audiences. Many, if not most, magazines of the time were viewed by children as well as adults, so editors needed to keep in mind the tastes and preferences of the people who bought their publications and, perhaps, shared them with their families. Q: What kind of relationship exists between Calixta and Alcee? What can you infer from their past? A: Much depends on whether you think of the two as characters who exist only in â€Å"The Storm† or if you see them as characters who exist also in â€Å"At The ‘Cadian Ball. Assuming you are looking at both stories: as we explain on the page for the earlier story, Alcee and his wife Clarisse are Creoles, descendants of French settlers in Louisiana. Calixta and her husband Bobinot are Acadians, descendants of French-American exiles from Acadia, Nova Scotia, who were driven from their homes by the British in 1755. Most of the Creoles in Kate Chopin's stories are comparatively wealthy, usually landowners or merchants. Most of the Acadians (or ‘Cajuns) in the stories are much poorer, living off the land, farming or fishing or working for the Creoles. So on the basis of the two stories together, you could describe Calixta as coming from a different social class than Alcee, and you could say that it's in good part because of that difference in class that Calixta and Alcee are married to other people. And you could add that, unlike anyone else in either story, Calixta comes in part also from a Spanish-speaking cultural background (her mother is Cuban) and so, as Kate Chopin presents her, she has different ways of behaving, more sensual ways of expressing her sexuality–which is partly why she is so attractive for both Alcee and Bobinot. As everyone in the earlier story understands, she's not like the other Acadian girls. In brief, Calixta is an Acadian influenced by Cuban culture who had been attracted to Alcee–and he to her–long before either of them was married (they had some passionate moments together one summer in Assumption Parish, moments that apparently scandalized some people). Calixta married Bobinot, the earlier story suggests, because Alcee was not available as a marriage partner–at least partly because his Creole family, and certainly Clarisse, think of him as coming from a comparatively higher social class. Lisa A Kirby discusses this subject at length in Kate Chopin in the Twenty-First Century. Q: I've read an article about â€Å"The Storm† that suggests Calixta has some African-American blood. Is that right? A: No. Her mother is Cuban. Everyone in the community thinks of her as Acadian with some Spanish blood. As the prequel to this story phrases it, â€Å"Any one who is white may go to a ‘Cadian ball, but he must pay for his lemonade, his coffee and chicken gumbo. And he must behave himself like a ‘Cadian. † Q: Would you describe what looks to me like an odd sort of connection between Chopin's short story â€Å"A Shameful Affair† and her stories â€Å"At The ‘Cadian Ball† and â€Å"The Storm†? A: Perhaps it's not so odd a connection. â€Å"A Shameful Affair† is an earlier Chopin story, is set in Missouri rather than in Louisiana, and does not involve Creole or Acadian society. But in some ways it's similar to Chopin's two more famous works in its focus on a man and woman attracted to each other but restrained by the sexual norms of the times. Mildred and Fred are wealthy, educated people who, because of late nineteenth-century norms, keep their sexual feelings towards others, especially others of their own class, under very tight control. It was, however, common for an upper-class man to have a â€Å"fling,† as Chopin calls it in â€Å"At the ‘Cadian Ball,† with a woman of a lower social class. An upper-class woman would not likely have a fling with a lower-class man. But Chopin in this story reverses those male/female roles. Until Mildred gets the letter from her friend (after she and Fred kiss) she does not realize that Fred is from her own class. But he's a handsome, sexually powerful guy, and it's nice–and, she thinks, safe–for her to flirt a little with him. Fred understands who Mildred is (it's not clear if he realizes that she does not know who he is), but he's on the farm precisely to get away from the norms of his class. He likes being a working-class guy at times, and he avoids contact with Mildred. But when she seeks him out him at the river, he passionately kisses her. Then, remembering himself, he flees, like Alcee Laballiere flees from Calixta in Assumption.

Roll vs. Role How to Choose the Right Word

The words roll and role are  homophones, which means they sound alike but have different meanings. Roll has many denotations, primarily involving spinning or moving, while role means just one thing: The part you play in a movie or a play or, by extension, your function in any other activity. How to Use Roll Roll has many senses. As a noun, it may refer to a small portion of bread or to a list of names of people belonging to a group, such as a school class. As a verb, roll can mean to move on wheels or by turning over (or simply to move at all), or to spin, wrap, or throw along the ground or floor. Roll also can be used to indicate a rising and falling noise, such as thunder; an undulating motion, such as waves; passing or elapsing time; moving in a circle or back and forth; having plenty of something, such as money; or a quarterback moving laterally. It also can mean to wrap a flat, flexible object around itself several times to form a cylinder or cone. The results of many of these actions can be a noun form of roll. The word roll came from Middle English and means a small wheel. How to Use Role Role is a noun that refers to a character played by a performer or a part that a person has in another activity, such as an argument, or in a familial, religious, governmental, civic, or military hierarchy. The word came from the French term role, meaning a part one has to play. That apparently derived from an Old French word, roll, referring to a roll of paper on which was written the text an actor had to learn for his or her part. Examples There are many uses of roll, and here are examples of some of them, along with a couple of sample sentences using role: Please pass me the dinner rolls so I can sop up some of this gravy. Here rolls is a noun, referring to small pieces of bread.Each player may roll the dice only once per turn. In this example, roll means to cause the dice to spin before coming to rest.Wow, listen to that thunder roll! Here roll refers to the sound of thunder rising and falling.Janets father asked her about her day and got the famous teenagers eye roll. In this case, roll refers to a circular or side-to-side motion.She fell asleep listening to the waves roll against the boat. This usage indicates an undulating motion.When the ex-college player signed his first professional contract, he thought he was rolling in money. In this example, rolling means to have plenty of something.As we get older, we often are surprised by how quickly the years roll by. This usage expresses time elapsing.The younger, more agile quarterbacks are more likely to roll out to the flat than the older players are. Here roll means to move laterally .Kindergartners enjoy rolling paper into a cone to make a simple megaphone. In this example, rolling means making a cone by winding paper over and over itself.Uncle James enjoys his role of spending time with his nieces without being fully responsible for them. In this example, role describes James function in his larger family.Sally worked for weeks to perfect her role as the narrator in Our Town. This usage of role refers to Sallys character in the play. How to Remember the Difference Heres one way to remember the use of role along with several tricks to recall how to use roll: Role is always a noun and has a single meaning: a function as a performer or in life.Many rolls, meaning small pieces of bread, are round, so they could roll across the table.You can remember roll  as a list of names by thinking about its  verb  form: Picture yourself writing names on a piece of paper and then rolling it into a tube, like a scroll. Idiomatic Uses of Roll Roll has even more uses as a figure of speech. Here are some of them: The expression on a roll means having a streak of success or a period of good luck.Frank has been on a roll since he took a new job at the bank.Roll around can mean to return, recur, or arrive again. When the holidays roll around, well have to get out our best linens and china.To roll back means to move back or reduce. The grocery store is planning to roll back its prices for Presidents Day.To roll with the punch means to move back from a blow to lessen its force. It also means to reduce the force of a setback by not using too much force to resist. Bill has learned to roll with the punch and not be too upset when he gets bad feedback at his job. Sources Difference Between Role and Roll. https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-role-and-vs-roll/.Role vs. Roll: What’s the Difference? https://writingexplained.org/role-vs-roll-difference.Rogers, James. The Dictionary of Cliches. Wings Books, New York.