Concept of freedom Essay Example for Free

Concept of freedom Essay 1. Is it possible to measure if anyone is free to any degree? Can freedom be proven? Freedom can hardly be measure as freedom is a controversial abstract concept which people have different interpretations over it. We do not have an absolute definition over the term freedom and thereby there is no absolute operationalization used to measure freedom up to these days. Still, it is commonly agreed by the sociologists that freedom is bounded by many social forces including culture, social institutions, social positions and the like; and under all these social forces, the control over choices and directions that one can enjoy is freedom. By this commonly agreed definition, it is obviously that there is no absolute freedom because of the social constraints; whats more, the definition of freedom is always changing according to the unceasing change of social forces. Therefore, we can never measure the extremity of freedom. Be that as it may, freedom can still be proved and measured in relative terms by comparing the indicators of political rights, economic rights, and civil liberties of different societies as they shows the controls over choices and directions that one can have under social constraints. The more control one has, the more freedom one gets in general. Lets take China and Hong Kong as example. China has a relatively stricter norm in terms of freedom of speech when comparing to Hong Kong, hence we can say that people in China have less freedom of expression compared to those in Hong Kong. By comparison using different indicators, we may measure the relative freedom of different societies. 2. Do you agree that free thought is necessary for free action? I absolutely agree with such saying. Our actions are bounded by social positions and social institutions that have long been constructed no matter whether such practices are genuine or not. These social forces have been parts of the social construction of reality which shape our thinking from the day we are born and control the way we act and live. However, such socially constructed reality is not always legitimate as it seems and in occasions it limits the actions that we may enjoy. Free thoughts in such sense allow critical evaluation over the existing socially constructed reality and may bring changes to the social institutions, structures or positions to allow freer action that people previously cannot enjoy. However, we should also noted that sometimes though social forces have already been mended because of new ideas generated through free thoughts of some people, actions are still being limited because of the deeply rooted old belief in society as a whole and it is always hard for people to have free thoughts. For instance, though the caste system has been legally abolished since 1950, the lower class especially the Dalit people are still seriously discriminated against by the other classes of the society and their actions, such as receiving education and having political rights, are greatly constrained because the thoughts of people in general are still controlled by old social position system that Dalit are outcasts and thus fail to think freely. 3. How would you define freedom? Is it different from this chapters definition? I totally agree with the definition of this chapter that freedom, which refers to the ability to control oneself, ones thinking and ones actions, are restrained by external factors mainly the society and different social forces. Rather than being imprisoned by the existing social constructed reality, free thoughts and free actions are what we should practice. Thinking out of the box and acting according to ones own thought is the only way to truly take control of our lives. 4. Based on the piece by Weber, come up and illustrate with your own examples instances of traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal authority that your are familiar with. Explain why you classify these instances the way you do. Traditional authority: In some indigenous communities which still have a extended family structure such as the communities in walled villages of Hong Kong, the first born male child enjoy the privilege of inheritance. He is also the authority figure of the community. It is legitimated by the sanctity of tradition handed down from the past and is through heredity under patriarchy system. Charismatic authority: Mother Teresa, a very well-respected Catholic religious figure who is regarded as one of the real servants of God because of her morality and contribution to charity in the third world countries. Her exemplary character, faith and spirit inspire Catholics around the world to live truly as a Catholic following Gods will. Her heroism of ministering the poor and needies of the third world countries impresses Catholics and greatly influence their attitudes. Rational-legal authority: Any bureaucratic officials or political leaders. Their authorities are empowered by legal rationality, legal legitimacy and bureaucracy. They implement policies without any interference of people but based on law with legitimacy to govern people.

Aspects of Darkness in Shakespeares Macbeth :: Free Macbeth Essays

Aspects of Darkness in Macbeth      Ã‚   Lady Macbeth has a fear of the darkness of hell: "Hell is murky" (5.1) What are the other aspects of darkness displayed in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth?    Roger Warren states in Shakespeare Survey 30 , regarding Trervor Nunn's direction of Macbeth at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1974-75, how the witches represented the darkness of   black magic:    Much of the approach and detail was carried over, particularly the clash between religious purity and black magic. Purity was embodied by Duncan, very infirm (in 1974 he was blind), dressed in white and accompanied by church organ music, set against the black magic of the witches, who even chanted 'Double, double to the Dies Irae. (283)    In "Macbeth as the Imitation of an Action" Francis Fergusson states the place of darkness in the action of the play:    It is the phrase "to outrun the pauser, reason [2.3]," which seems to me to describe the action, or motive, of the play as a whole. Macbeth, of course, literally means that his love for Duncan was so strong and so swift that it got ahead of his reason, which would have counseled a pause. But in the same way we have seen his greed and ambition outrun his reason when he committed the murder; and in the same way all of the characters, in the irrational darkness of Scotland's evil hour, are compelled in their action to strive beyond what they can see by reason alone. Even Malcolm and Macduff, as we shall see, are compelled to go beyond reason in the action which destroys Macbeth and ends the play. (106-7)    L.C. Knights in the essay "Macbeth" describes the moral darkness into which Macbeth lowers himself:    The main theme of the reversal of values is given out simply and clearly in the first scene - "Fair is foul, and foul is fair"; and with it are associated premonitions of the conflict, disorder and moral darkness into which Macbeth will plunge himself.   (95)    Charles Lamb in On the Tragedies of Shakespeare comments on the "images of night" and their impact on the audience:    The state of sublime emotion into which we are elevated by those images of night and horror which Macbeth is made to utter, that solemn prelude with which he entertains the time till the bell shall strike which

Alberta Tar Sands

â€Å"Only when the last tree had died and the last river has been poisoned†¦will we realize that we cannot eat money†. This is an old Cree saying that is very applicable today. Is the mining of the Alberta tar sands worthwhile, knowing its devastating effects on the environment? There are very valid points for both arguments, being them economical, political, environmental, or moral. The mining of bitumen is not something that is sustainable for the environment, or the companies involved. Although these open-pit mines produce much of the world’s oil, people should consider paying more at the pumps rather than destroying the only world we have to live in. The tar sands in Alberta essentially benefit every country but Canada, and everyone will have to pay the price of the damage caused to the environment. Pollution is caused in the production of bitumen, as well as in its consumption. The first documented European discovery of the tar sands in the Athabasca region of Northern Alberta was made by Alexander Mackenzie in 1773. Over one hundred years later in 1899, Charles Mair and a party of Dene natives explored the Athabasca area by request of the Canadian government. 1 Mair and his party stayed at the northern fur trading post of Fort Chipewan. 1 Following his visit to the region, Mair made a very prophetic statement: â€Å"That this region is stored with a substance of great economic value is beyond all doubt, and, when the hour of development comes, it will, I believe, prove to be one of the wonders of Northern Canada†. 1 Commercial development of the Alberta tar sands first began in 1967 by Suncor . The oil crisis in 1973 sparked investor’s interest in mining development in Alberta, and Herman Kahn proposed that the Canadian government begin mining the tar sands. 1 However, the Trudeau government believed that it would overheat the economy, create steel shortages, unsettle the labor market, and drive up the Canadian dollar. 1 Now, instead of Canada mining the tar sands, global companies from the United States, China, Japan, Korea, France, and Norway have invested a total of 200 billion dollars in the Alberta tar sands. These investments account for sixty percent of global oil investments. Bitumen is defined as a naturally occurring semisolid mixture of hydrocarbons. The fields of bitumen are naturally occurring all around the Athabasca water basin. Most of the Alberta tar sands lie so deep underground that it must be removed by first separating the bitumen from the sand using steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). 1 SAGD works by using water from the Athabasca River and heating it into steam. 1 The steam is then pumped into the ground using hoses. Steam melts areas of bitumen from top to bottom, and the liquid bitumen drains from to the bottom of the pit where it can be collected. This method was created by University of Alberta chemist, Dr. Karl Clark. It was first used by Suncor in 1965. Bitumen is considered one of the world’s dirtiest oils, because of its many impurities. 1 These impurities make a complex mining system necessary. Clearly, the harsh reality of having mined all of the clean oil is that we must now mine the dirtiest. Fort McMurray in Northern Alberta has changed dramatically due to the growth of the mining industry’s presence in the tar sands. 1 The growth in the area is said to be exponential, with no chance of slowing down anytime soon. This growth has completely changed the identity of the city. Housing in Fort McMurray is scarce and expensive. 1 It is nearly impossible to live in Fort McMurray unless you work in the mines. This has destroyed small business owners in the city, because they cannot get anyone to work for them at a reasonable wage. Also, the high average family income has caused high inflation rates. The mine employees who live in the city temporarily have caused the city shortfalls in roads, schools, and health care. Although shocking, these are typical problems that face cities that experience such a large econo mical boom in such a short period of time. The Canadian government has no regulations for the reclamation in the Athabasca region. 1 There is also little known as to how the diverse ecosystem of the region can ever be returned to its natural state. The wetlands that once covered the area cannot be replaced. Also, the large oil companies have not found any way to destroy the toxic waste byproducts in the tailings ponds. 1 In an effort of reclamation, 7. 5 million tree seedlings were planted in the area, but many did not survive because of the state of the soil. Syncrude spent 0. 20% of its total budget on reclamation efforts in 2005. There is estimated to be no bitumen left in forty years. The Alberta government fears that the cost of the reclamation will fall on taxpayers when the global companies leave. This is why it is essential for hold these companies accountable for reclamation while there is still money to be made in the tar sands. Bitumen requires much more energy in production than standard crude oil. 1 Producing one barrel of bitumen takes three times as much energy as producing a barrel of crude oil, and it creates three times as many pollutants. However, bitumen only sells for half the price of crude oil. Every day, the amount of natural gas needed to heat four million homes is used to boil water into the steam needed in SAGD. 1 The mines also use as much water per year as a city of two million people. To produce one barrel of bitumen requires the excavation of two tons of earth, and three barrels of fresh water from the Athabasca River. 1 1. 3 million barrels are exported every day. 1 Because of the oil production, the region has some of the most polluted air on the planet. The three hundred tons of sulphur that is released into the air per day has caused Alberta’ s eastern neighbor, Saskatchewan, to have recurring acid rain. This is just another example of how the destruction caused by oil production will ripple throughout the country. The forests in the area of the Athabasca oil sands have experienced extensive clear-cutting to make room for open-pit mines. 1 It is estimated that the mining developments in the region will eventually destroy a forest approximately the size of Florida. 1 Because of the destruction of the soil, the spruce and pine trees that once covered the region will never be able to grow in the now salt-rich soil. 1 This will obviously have a detrimental effect on the wildlife in the region. Already, the moose, deer, beaver, waterfowl, and other animals that once lived in the region are now scarce. 1 The delicate ecosystem of the area has been destroyed. The tailings ponds along the Athabasca River are used to hold the toxic waste that is produced in the production of bitumen. 1 These ponds now cover twenty-three square miles, and 400 million gallons of this toxic waste is produced daily. 1 It contains salt, phenols, benzene, cyanide, arsenic, as well as other carcinogens. 1 The tailings ponds pose a threat to wildlife that unknowingly enters the ponds believing them to be fresh water. This reality made headlines when 500 ducks were killed in the ponds on April 28, 2008. 1 The ponds are also not properly contained. Not only to the toxins leak into the groundwater, but many of the ponds leak directly into the Athabasca River. 1 There seems to be no real solution to this problem, as not even the experts know how to properly discard the waste in the tailings ponds. Canada has no official water policy, as well as the worst record of pollution enforcement among industrialized nations. 1 The tailings ponds contaminate the water, and Suncor and Syncrude are legally allowed by the Alberta government to ump 150 pounds of arsenic into the Athabasca River per year. 1 One hundred years ago, all of the water in Alberta was potable; it must all now be chemically treated. 1 Also, twenty-three percent of Canada’s freshwater can no longer support aquatic life because of watercontamination. Already, deformed fish are being found in Lake Athabasca. 1 Fort Chipewan is downstrea m from Fort McMurray and the mining operations. As an aboriginal people, they eat fish and wild game from the area. 1 They also drink the water from the Athabasca River. Five cases of cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile duct, have been recorded in Fort Chipewan in the last five years. 1 Cholangiocarcinoma typically occurs in one in 100, 000 people. 1 In 2006, Fort Chipewan’s population was 915. 1 These statistics speak for themselves; however, the province has denied the community a thorough health study. 1 The current state of Fort McMurray is due to the exponential growth that has taken place in the city. 1 However, the city’s seemingly thriving state makes it at risk for drugs, prostitution. Nearly half of mine workers test positive in drug screening. Therefore, most companies don’t do drug testing, because they would have nobody to work if they did. 2 The city and surrounding area have high rates of people driving while impaired, and road fatalities on Highway 63. 1 As well, the province of Alberta has the lowest voter turn-out in the country. 1 Fort McMurray has a high divorce rate, and a suicide rate thirty-one percent above the provincial average. 1 The city also has a high drop-out rate for high school students. The entire city is caught up in the money, not seeming to realize that their income is based on an unpredictable and unreliable market. The people living in Fort McMurray expect the money to keep on coming, and the people from outside of the city are only there for the money; when they’ve made the money that they went there to make, they will eventually leave. Alberta women also experience the highest level of abuse in the country. The province’s premier says that this is â€Å"the price to pay f or prosperity. Unfortunately, to some degree, he’s right. ElDean Kohrs is quoted as saying that â€Å"a history of power production synonymous with boom development usually leaves behind spiritual depression, divorce, drunkenness, dissension, and death†. The people of Fort McMurray can only hope that once the bitumen is gone, the city will not end up like the Klondike City of the gold rush. Although there are many devastating environmental effects of mining bitumen in the Alberta tar sands, the mining gives way to many opportunities for economic gain. The global demand for oil is a huge factor in why it is beneficial to mine the area. The Alberta tar sands are the world’s last remaining oil field, and have attracted sixty percent of global oil investments. 1 Although bitumen is referred to as ‘dirty oil’ it cannot be argued that all forms of oil cause some kind of environmental damage. Canada is now the second largest exporter of oil in the world. It is without doubt that the tar sands would eventually need to be mined, knowing our growing rate of oil consumption; but the rate of the growth is what has frightened people away from the idea of mining the area. Many of the large oil companies are making large strides in making better environmental choices. Suncor has reduced its water consumption by thirty percent in the last two years, and Syncrude has reclaimed twenty-two percent of its disturbed land. The Canadian government has also spent six billion dollars on climate change projects in the last fifteen years. 1 These are positive signs showing that the ways of mining land are changing for the better. The tar sands have also prompted growth all over Alberta. All major cities in Alberta have seen substantial growth in population over the past five years, and this growth as made Alberta one of the wealthiest provinces in Canada. Bitumen mining has also had a large effect on the Canadian dollar. 1 Between 2003 and 2006, the Canadian dollar went from sixty-four cents to eighty-seven cents on the U. S. dollar. This value is nearly parallel with the price of crude oil. Canada’s main exportation priority has become providing the United States with oil. 1 Canada is now the single larger exporter of oil to the U. S. 1 The U. S. has a high demand for oil, as U. S. citizens currently consume twenty-five percent of the world’s oil. 1 However, because of our high exportation, the Free Trade agreement is under intense scrutiny. It would seem that the agreement is no longer benefitting both countries. In summarizing the arguments, you could come to several conclusions. You may believe that the devastating effects on the environment are not worth mining bitumen. You may believe that to stay economically strong, Canada must mine the Alberta tar sands and have high exportation to the Unites States. Morally, it is clear what is right; however, economic decisions are never easy to make. The mining has devastated the region, and it is easy for a person to say that is wrong. However, these same people would not be ok with walking to work, or with paying high prices at the pumps. It is an ethical dilemma that faces the people today, between what we know is right, and what we are willing to go without. It is undeniable that the argument for the thesis is much stronger, but it may not have much validity to people concerned with the economy. The mining of bitumen is not sustainable, and will eventually recreate the identity of northern Alberta. 1 We can conclude that mining the Alberta tar sands has a detrimental effect on the environment that will eventually affect the entire world. â€Å"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world†-John Muir.

Daddy Longlegs of the Evening-Hope by Salvador Dali - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 467 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/08/15 Category People Essay Level High school Topics: Salvador Dali Essay Did you like this example? Daddy Longlegs of the Evening-Hope!, created in 1940 using oil painting, falls between Salvador Dalis periods of Classicism and Surrealism. Immediately upon viewing the painting, it caught my attention due to the extreme detail and abnormal nature of it (like most Dali paintings). Each of the objects in the painting itself is done with remarkable precision. The scene is viewing an apocalyptic desert-like field, intended to review the horrors of World War II, which during that time-period was a critical topic. With that being said, Dali used a plethora symbolic references to World War II in the painting. In the upper left-hand corner of the painting is a cannon which is held up by a physical crutch, possibly symbolizing death and war. Two apparent objects spill out of the mouth of the cannon, a structureless jelly-like biplane and a ferocious whiteish-grey stallion. The airplane, along with the nearby winged figure, could be a possible representation of the saying victory born of a broken wing, as Dali explained. Dali felt that the use of air power would be a key victory factor in the war, which was proven partially true according to my knowledge of the outcome of World War II. The horse is painted in great detail, clearly in mid-gallop with its muscles and facial features created an with an obvious contortion possibly implying power, speed, and control. The white stallion symbolizes one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, tying into the Apocalyptical 1940s theme of the painting. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Daddy Longlegs of the Evening-Hope by Salvador Dali" essay for you Create order Near the center of the painting is another jelly-like figure, which Dali refers to as a soft self-portrait. The body is drooped over a dying tree with two inkwells placed on the top of its torso while holding an also soft violin. The inkwells are usually representative of the signing of legal documents, such as a treaty, although Salvador Dali tends to use them as an expression of sexuality also. Although its very hard to see in the picture, if you look closely you may see ants feasting on the soft head of the figure. Typically, Dali uses ants in his artwork to symbolize decay and decomposition, due to their nature to eat everything on/in the ground and return the decaying object to its natural chemical structure. Because of this reason, Dali often uses ants as a symbol death and decay (which is the basis of most of his artworks). I genuinely find great interest in what Salvador Dali is trying to express in his many surrealism paintings. The use of expressionism in art is vital and personally utterly effective for me since all human beings deal with unconscious thoughts. Salvador Dali is adept at bringing to light to a variation of ideas that come from dreams or real-life instances, exposing certain things that we may unconsciously repress.