Promoting autonomy of oneself and others Essay Example for Free

Promoting autonomy of oneself and others Essay Introduction                     Autonomy is the ability to have the capacity for self-governance or have self- determination. This is a concept which comes out through various arenas. For example, the moral autonomy is usually governed by the moral laws ( Deci, 2010). Therefore, personal autonomy can be said to be the capacity of a person to pursue actions based on moral content. This paper will compare the philosophical work by Nietzsche and MacIntyre and determine who offers the best tool of promoting autonomy. Over the past centuries, the teachings of Friedrich Nietzsche have transformed and penetrated every realm of social culture in the Western world. In his essays, he examines the significance of people’s ability to make promises. He states that to hold to the promises made requires both confidence about the future and very powerful memory that will ensure that certain issues are not forgotten. According to Nietzsche confidence requires one to be predictable or calculable and, therefore, he or she must share common sets of customs and laws that govern his or her behaviour (Risse, 2001). The society and morality play an important part of making a person predictable, therefore, giving the person ability to make promises. This process according to Nietzsche is complicated as it ends up in the ‘sovereign person’ who can make decisions, not only because the person in question is bounded by social mores but because he or she is the master of his or her own free will. The sovereign of an individual is characterised by tremendous responsibilities of one being free to make claims in regard to his or her future. This sense of responsibility according to Nietzsche is called conscience (Risse, 2001). Nietzsche defines the concept of ‘bad conscience and guiltiness using German words for ‘debt’ and ‘guilt. He suggested that, originally, there were no relationship between guilt and accountability or immorality. Punishments were meted on the basis of reprisal and not on the basis of guilt. If a person failed to honour promises, then they were considered to be in debt the person they failed. The debt could then be balanced by punishing or torturing the person. This happened to a person say the creditor who had no interest of getting his money back from the debtor. Thus, the memory of making promises during this time was burdened and the punishments and cruelty ensured that the debtor does not forget his promises next time (Risse, 2001). Macintyre’s in his book, ‘After Virtue (1981)’ explains his long ethical project. The book diagnoses the rising issues in the society such as ‘culture of emotivism’ where the moral language pragmatically manipulates decisions, attitude and decision. According to the book, those moral cultures are said to be a theatre of illusion where the objectives of moral rhetoric masks the decisions. The books examine the part of the community in making the judgments about the truth or falsity. The work by MacIntyre also examines the reasons why human beings need virtues through investigating the social debts and needs of human agents and the part which they were playing in the formation of an independent practical person who can reason (Borden, 2007). The philosophy by Maclntyre’s is very important especially to the fields of communitarian politics and the virtues of ethics. He points out the insignificance of conventional business ethic as an application of the modern moral concepts in decision making. His work in philosophy has lead tremendous renewal of values over the last decades. For example, in his works his discusses the moral condemnation of Stalinism. His presentation of this concept draws two important conclusions related to morality, one is the fact of the people’s solidarity in discovering what people want in their moral life (Borden, 2007).. According to MacIntyre morality organises life of the community. As he concludes his book, he says that the concepts of morality are neither historical nor timeless and, therefore, the understanding the developments of historical, ethical concepts can liberate people from any falsity claims (Borden, 2007). MacIntyre’s Aristotelian offers the best tool of promoting autonomy of one self and others compared to Nietzsche because he examines the habits that humans should develop in order to make judgement and act efficiently in the pursuit of the true choices which have a worthy end. His examination has a very rich account on the deliberate activities by human that encompass moral formation and society life. He also accounts why humans have practical wisdom to do what is right based on the freedom of morality. References Borden, S. L. (2007). Journalism as practice: MacIntyre, virtue ethics and the press. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M. (2010). The support of autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of personality and social psychology, 53(6), 1024.Risse, M. (2001). The Second Treatise in In the Genealogy of Morality: Nietzsche on the Origin of the Bad Conscience. European Journal of Philosophy, 9(1), 55-81. Source document

Comparison Of Identity In The Bell Jar Selected Poems English Literature Essay

Comparison Of Identity In The Bell Jar Selected Poems English Literature Essay Sylvia Plath is primarily known for her poetry and her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar, written under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. Both her poetry in Sylvia Plath Selected Poems and her novel The Bell Jar underline many key issues within Plaths own life, and both emphasize many different themes. One of the key and strongest themes running throughout both of these texts is the theme of identity. Through Plaths confessional poetry style and her semi-autobiographical novel the reader is able to pick up on Plaths own struggles regarding identity, linking back to her battles with mental illness. Many of the key ideas addressed in The Bell Jar are also picked upon within some of her poems. The novel is, as bitter and remorseless as her last poems written before her suicide on 11th February 1963. The novel The Bell Jar was originally published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, only to be published in Plaths name in 1971, years after her death; Sylvia Plath Selected Poems was published in 1985, after being put together by her former husband Ted Hughes. Here Esther is parodying herself, thinking that she is something different from what she actually is, thus distorting reality. She is also making fun of herself through her appearance, through harsh misinterpretations. She does this through the use of a mirror, by seeing something that isnt really there- changing reality into her own view of the distorted image, further showing her inability to comprehend her own features and identity. Plath uses colloquial language throughout the novel, which is apparent through the use of words such as a big, smudgy eyes, the use of informal language is also apparent in some of her poetry. She also refers to herself in the first person a lot, through the use of the word I and myself (herself in the novel is the protagonist Esther Greenwood). The same idea can be seen through Plaths poem Mirror written in 1961. Even though this poem was written in 1961, 2 years before her death, Plaths deterioration is apparent to the reader. In this poem, Plath foc uses on the mirror and the idea behind it, depicting what its purpose is and what it sees; I am sliver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see I swallow immediately, just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. Here, Plath is saying that the mirror reflects reality, this contrasts with the ideas put forth in The Bell Jar, as within the novel Esther doesnt see what is exactly in the mirror, she perceives herself differently to how others see her, unlike the mirror in the poem, which has no preconceptions, it says how it shows things for how they are, doesnt change reality in any way in the first stanza. Although the tone changes in the second stanza, as it can be linked to Esther in the novel, as it is about the woman and what she perceives; Now I am a lake. The image of the lake can be interpreted as the idea of water, this idea can be linked the theme of distorted images as water moves and distorts the actual image concealed underneath. This poem shows how bad Plaths state of mind was, as does the portrayal of Esther within the novel. The language in the poem differs from that of the novel, as it is less informal than that of Esther Greenwood, it has a more serious tone, once again could be linked to the unstable state of Plath herself. The tone of the poem changes from stanza one to stanza two, the first being more positive than the latter; the change occurs when the identity changes from that of the mirror to that of the woman. From these two sections of both the novel and the poem Mirror we can see that the idea of faces and perception is important when considering the idea of identity within the two. Esthers obsession with her own appearance is also shadowed later on in the novel when she says the face in the mirror looked like a s ick Indian, thus showing her constant distortion. Another identity issue addressed within both the novel and selected poems is the idea of womanhood within identity. Within The Bell Jar Esther separates herself from everybody else through the idea of womens rights. She doesnt want to conform to the rest of society by following the traditional social rules that were in place at the time; for example, marriage and children. She also wishes to lose her virginity due to the fact that promiscuity in men is acceptable but in women is frowned upon; and maybe gone out and slept with somebody myself just to even things up, and then thought no more about it. Within the novel Esther talks bluntly about sex, she doesnt talk about it romantically; it appears to her to be merely an act that must be carried out in order to be a woman, and to get back at Buddy Willard. Here the use of the words slept with somebody reimburses the idea of a lax attitude towards sex, and the casualness about it. Esther keeps up this pretence throughout the course of the novel keeping the same rigidity in views. She also presents this idea in a violent way, using violent images to portray the ideas of sex. Her rejection and failure to conform with societies ideals shows the harsh, bitter and unforgiving world that torments her mind. The violent imagery connected with sex is apparent in chapter 9 during Esthers encounter with Marco; The ground soared and stuck me with a soft shock. Mud Squirmed through my fingers. Marco waited until I half rose. Then he put both his hands on my shoulders and flung me back. Throughout this encounter of the novel lots of bloody and violent images are used to portray the possibility of a sexual encounter. The use of the word squirmed gives the impression of uncomfortable and indecent behaviour; also that Esther isnt enjoying the experience. This can be linked to one of Plaths poems Maudlin. This poem emphasises how the woman is anxious about her sexuality, as it is about a young virgin. The poem uses lots of imagery to portray painful images of sex, and womanhood. The poem uses alliteration to incorporate these images together, by using phrases such as mud mattressed, by using these as starting words for a poem, the reader already feels uncomfortable as the words themselves are unflattering and dirty; But at the price of a pin-stitched skin Fish-tailed girls purchase each white leg. This section of the poem could be linked to the idea of the little mermaid, and the fact that everything hurts, as she paid for her legs with pain, the word pin-stitched emphasises this. The idea being that you tolerate pain for no purpose, therefore linking negativity with the idea of womanhood and sexuality; the main in this instance being menstruation and childbirth. Even the title of the poem links to sadness as maudlin means to be upset or sad, thus further linking the idea of womanhood to pain and suffering, the words purchase each white leg indicate the pain in menstruation and childbirth within this poem.

Scarlet Letter Essays -- essays research papers fc

Similarities in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne The Ambitious Guest is a short story bye Nathaniel Hawthorne that presents deadly irony. Residing in a notch in the mountains of New Hampshire, a cottage sits on the side of a steep mountain. In the house lives a family whose contacts with the rest of the world are from the travelers that pass by. One night when the family was huddled by the fire, a traveler stopped by. The family was happy to have a guest and the guest was happy to have people to talk to. The stranger, normally a quiet person, revealed his desires about life and death. The stranger wanted to be known and to have someone to love him and grieve of his death. The family agreed with him and they all talked about how nice it would be to live in a small town and get to know all the people living in the town. They then started talking about death and how they want to die with people remembering them when suddenly there is an avalanche. They all run out of the house and get killed by the falling rocks. The rocks completely missed the house but the people were never found in the rubble around the house. Most writers have a style in which they write and they follow this style through all their works. Nathaniel Hawthorne is no exception to this. In the Scarlet Letter and in The Ambitious Guest Hawthorne uses the same writing style for both so they have many similarities. Some of these similarities include references to symbols such as the forest, death, solitude and li...

They Call Me Anti-American :: essays research papers

Every time I have returned from Honduras I have gone into severe culture shock. It takes me many months to adjust to my native country. This may sound strange to many and others must surely think me insane for saying this thing. They probably wonder how one can experience culture shock in their homeland. To understand it one would have to open their eyes to some basic truths. Most do not want to admit to these truths. They exhibit all of the classic signs of those who have been indoctrinated into to the more controversial cults even down to the classic syndrome which CIA experts in the thought modification business term the â€Å"slide response.† In this response the person being confronted with the truth, or with the wrongness of their actions will attack desperately with illogical arguments. In severe cases they completely â€Å"shut down† mentally rather than face what their subconscious mind tells them to be true. One of the greatest ironies of today is the USA touting itself as the land of the free while individuals in many other nations – particularly some developing nations – enjoy more liberty than many Americans. The US is saturated with federal, state and local laws seeking to regulate and control individuals. That is not the case in many of the so-called third world nations I have visited. Politicians in this country would like for us to believe that the people would be like little lost children without their guidance and, more importantly, their protection. The latest tactics being used are trumped-up threats of terrorist bogeymen to frighten people into even greater submission.   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‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps they are right and we have lost the ability to care for ourselves. Americans have been softened by consumerism. Generations of children have been dumbed down through entertainment and the educational system. The latest generation of children is being raised in an environment of tight security. Schools are heavily monitored with cameras, metal detectors, frequent locker searches, police presence and even the new RFID tags. When they become adults, this will all seem normal to them. They will not even remember a time when it was not this way. The essence of liberty is the lack of restraint on the individual. Freedom thrives when individual liberty is unbound. In America, the gospel of security is preached as the defense of freedom but it is a false gospel. In the context of the so-called War on Terror, this new security is actually the greatest threat against our freedom.

Descriptive Essay - The Woods in Autumn -- Descriptive Essay, Descripti

The Woods in Autumn      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not true that the close of a life which ends in a natural fashion- --life which is permitted to put on the display of death and to go out in glory- --inclines the mind to rest.   It is not true of a day ending nor the passing of the year, nor of the fall of leaves.   Whatever permanent, uneasy question is native to men, comes forward most insistent and most loud at such times.   There are still places where one can feel and describe the spirit of the falling of leaves.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At Fall, the sky which is of so delicate and faint a blue as to contain something of gentle mockery, and certain more of tenderness, presides at the fall of leaves.   There is no air, no breath at all.   The leaves are so light that they sidle on their going downward, hesitating in that which is not void to them, and touching at last so intangible to the earth with which they are to merge, that the gesture is much gentler than a greeting, and even more discr...

City of Glass Essay

At the close of the world’s first international conflict, society grappled for understanding in a world that no longer made sense. This desire for order and reason, led to the development of the detective fiction genre and the transformation of â€Å"dime novels† into true literary works. Paul Auster takes the conventional elements of the mystery genre, and inverts them completely in his post-modern novel, City of Glass. In this way, Auster uses his work to satirize the conventions of the past and draw attention to the ever-increasing chaos of the modern day. Daniel Quinn, is simply a hermit in a vibrant city, trying to erase all aspects of his previous life. He writes mystery novels for the same reason they were written in the 20’s, because they represent a figment of order that is lacking in the world. Especially in a world that takes the life a young boy who hasn’t seen much. Quinn’s desire to separate himself from who he was before he lost his family, leads him to adopt fragments of his character Max Work into his own personality. The detective is one who looks, who listens, who moves through the morass of objects and evens in search of the thought, the idea that will pull all these things together and make sense of them. In effect, the writer and the detective are interchangeable† (8). This connection to the fictional world he created, entraps Quinn in the world of the private investigator, as if he willed himself onto the ontological level Work inhabits. His inability to separate his personal life from his â€Å"Work† fostered the parasite that sucked the very life out of Quinn, forcing him to find host in a new identity. The traditional private eye embodied in Work is the hard-boiled â€Å"tough guy† who has all the keys to solving our problems. Leaving Quinn to be the ultimate puzzle that needs solving. By distorting the traditional convention of the problem solver and turning him into the problem, Auster begins to suggest that nothing in this world is actually certain or concrete. And that identity is really just a figment of imagination, and the more your indulge your mind, the more your body begins to give way until, â€Å" the more Quinn seemed to vanish, the more persistent Work’s presence in that world became† (9). The mystery novel represents a world where the truth always conquers, Quinn’s attachment to this genre stems from his loss, and the more he re-focalizes his life, the less he has to deal with the reality of grief. Auster depicts mystery this way because it demonstrates the grand delusion of the human race, the belief that there is reason in this world. Quinn as a detective does not represent order as many of his predecessors did, instead he embodies the chaos that is this world, and the lack of understanding that heightens with every new discovery and every interaction. By inverting the traditional private eye, Auster successfully shows the plight of man, the struggle to piece together the puzzle that creates ones identity. Quinn is not a detective trying to finding meaning in the Stillman case, rather he is searching for understanding in his own life, a search that has no answers and leads no where, but to insanity. Legendary crime writer, Richard Knox, established a set of parameters for the detective genre, stating that such a novel â€Å"must have as its main interest the unraveling of a mystery; a mystery whose elements are clearly presented to the reader at an early stage in the proceedings, and whose nature is such as to arouse curiosity, a curiosity which is gratified at the end. † In every way, City of Glass contradicts this statement, and yet it is still considered to be a mystery fiction, which begs the question: what are the post-modern parameters for this genre? City of Glass is a novel that opens with a mystery; however, the more that is discovered and uncovered, the more the endpoint is obscured, until the conclusion is even more perplexing than any other part of the story. Auster uses uncertainty and chance to disrupt the conventional ways of detective fiction. When Quinn is caught between the two potential Stillman’s in station, there was no way to know for certain which one was the right one, and it is not until late in the story that the question is answered, but by that time, its not even a question. Quinn had accepted what he saw and did as fact, which goes against the key detail he expresses in a detective story. â€Å"In a good mystery there is nothing wasted, no sentence, no word that is not significant† (9). This type of detail-orientated thinking is the first thing that goes in Auster’s novel. Although every sentence may hold the key to the mystery, Quinn and the reader begin to overlook these minor details, accepting that nothing in life is ever certain, and that the traditional fluidity of this genre no longer holds stock in this story. Auster is constantly using his own plot twists and minor details to prove that in the end, nothing exists but chance. Auster purposefully leaves pieces of the story open, to contradict Knox’s definition of mystery. The lack of conclusion with regards to how the Stillman’s got Quinn’s number, what happened to Peter and Virginia, the connection to Auster (character and author), and the narrator’s role in the whole novel, is unsatisfactory and rather uncharacteristic of a mystery. There were moments when the text was difficult to decipher, but I have done my best with it and have refrained from any interpretation. The red notebook, of course, is only half the story, as any sensitive reader will understand† (158). We never get the other half of the story though, which leaves the possibility that Quinn/Wilson/Work/Auster/Dark is just a crazy man who loses himself in a quest to find rational explaination, but for the sake for faith in the narrative, its better to believe that the story is not just some random man’s mumblings. However taking into account Quinn’s role in the novel, and the role his notebook plays, the inability to separate the informational source from this deluded main character unravels the reliability that should be present in a crime fiction. Auster’s intentions were to challenge convention, to prove that no world is as open and shut as a Phillip Marlowe case, to prove that in reality, life is a series of chance happenings that shape identity and action, down to the very last word. Auster’s depictions of the neo-detective fiction are all in an attempt to change the perception of the need for a restoring order. He uses a character that contradicts the traditional private eye, to demonstrate how the search for understanding is one that leads to insanity. The human world is naturally in state of entropy and Auster’s novel uses the conventions of mystery writing to satirize the search for greater reason.

Finding Neverland Essay

The movie Finding Neverland is about the writer J. M. Barrie and his journey of writing plays about imagination and happiness. Barrie has a close relationship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, and her sons, who give Barrie the idea of the well-known play Peter Pan. J. M. Barrie attends the reception of his latest play, ‘Little Mary’ and from this reception he meets Sylvia, who is a widow now. Barrie enjoys spending time with Sylvia and her four sons, and through this proves to be a great playmate and father-figure for the boys. Sylvia’s mother, Emma du Maurier does not like the amount of time Barrie spends with her family. Emma wants to take control of her daughter and grandsons, since Sylvia is becoming very weak from an unidentified illness. As Sylvia becomes more and more ill, she is unable to attend Barrie’s new play production. However, Barrie arranges a mini-version of his new play to be presented at her home. Finding Neverland can be interpreted using the archetypal literary criticism, as it does centre on the idea of the unconscious mind and its ability to hold and create universal symbols and patterns to which all humans can relate to. The archetypal hero character of this movie is playwright J. M. Barrie. Barrie, in the beginning of the movie, does not have any ideas of creating a new play. However, when he meets Sylvia’s four sons; George, Michael, Jack, and Peter, through their imagination, Barrie gets ideas. The imagination starts, when Barrie meets the Llewelyn family at London’s Kensington Gardens, while walking his St. Bernard dog. Ever since that day, Barrie has been spending a lot of time with Sylvia and her sons, creating imaginary worlds of pirates, castles and cowboys. For Barrie to create these imaginary worlds for the children, they cheer up and enjoy the time, since they do not have a father anymore. Apart from all this fun and enjoyment, there is a femme fatale character who is Emma du Maurier, the mother of Sylvia. Emma does not want Sylvia and her sons to be spending so much time with Barrie, because she thinks that he is corrupting their minds. By this, Emma tries to manipulate Sylvia into stopping the amount of time she and her sons spend with Barrie, and more time with the family. However, through all this manipulation and control from the mother, Sylvia and Barrie can be seen as two star-crossed lover, since they both love and care for each other in a close relationship. In Finding Neverland, the archetypal situation is for Barrie to create a new play. Barrie has a quest to complete, which is to get ideas about the next play he should write. For Barrie to meet Sylvia’s four sons, he got his whole idea of writing his next play, from these four boys imagination. Barrie’s has now reached his task, and that is to create a play using the imagination of kids and put it on stage to show to the public. Along with the quest Barrie has to undertake, there is an archetypal symbol of light and dark. The symbol of light in this movie, are the four boys and Sylvia. Without them, Barrie would be in a loss of ideas, since he gets the idea for his new play from his experience with the Llewelyn family. The symbol of darkness in this movie is the mother of Sylvia, Emma du Maurier. Emma, talks behind Barrie’s back and tries to tell Sylvia things about Barrie that are not true. Besides all the back talk, Barrie still is persistent in completing his task and showing the public his new play. Through further analysis of the movie Finding Neverland, Northrop Frye’s Four Story Model can be used to analyze this movie. The movie Finding Neverland can be analyzed as a romance story, since there is a world of innocence. In this world of innocence, the four boys are the ones who joyfully imagine with Barrie all the wonderful stories of pirates and kings and fulfill the desire for order and meaning. The hero, Barrie has an adversary who is Emma, the mother of Sylvia. She tries and stops Sylvia and her sons from playing with Barrie. The theme of this movie, makes use of visions and revelations, by the fact that Barrie gets the visions of his new play from all the imagination that the four kids show. Through these imaginations, Barrie shows a progress toward fulfillment in creating his new play. The basic plot, is Barrie goes on a perilous journey, a struggle follows in which he proves himself in the doing the task. When Barrie completes the quest of creating the new play, which is known as Peter Pan, there is triumph and exaltation of the hero Barrie. The basic imagery seen in this film, are trees and animals that come to life and assist Barrie in completing his quest, from all the imagination and creativity the four kids show to Barrie. To conclude, Barrie has accomplished his main goal, through all the creativity and imagination that was offered with the help of Sylvia’s four sons. Finding Neverland is a story that really emphasizes the importance of imagination and how it can really help someone in times of tragedy and loss. Humans need that creativity to imagine things in another world and use it for the benefit for oneself and other, just as Barrie did for Sylvia and her family.