Paul Tillich Response to Modern Criticism Essay Example for Free

Paul Tillich Response to Modern Criticism Essay This course explores the themes of Paul Tillichs philosophical theology, with special attention to his analysis of meaning and its apparent loss in modern society. The course will also evaluate Tillichs response to the problem of meaninglessness and his effort to interpret the Christian message. WHAT IS EMPIRICISM? According to John Scott Gordon Marshall, empiricism, in philosophy, is â€Å"the attitude that beliefs are to be accepted and acted upon only if they first have been confirmed by actual experience†. This broad definition accords with the derivation of the name from the Greek word empeiria, meaning â€Å"experience. † Primarily, and in its psychological application, the term signifies the theory that the phenomena of consciousness are simply the product of sensuous experience, i. e. of sensations variously associated and arranged (Andrew M. Colman: 2003:242). It is thus distinguished from Nativism or Innatism. Secondarily, and in its logical (epistemological) usage, it designates the theory that all human knowledge is derived exclusively from experience, the latter term meaning, either explicitly or implicitly, external sense-percepts and internal representations and inferences exclusive of any superorganic (immaterial) intellectual factor. Empiricism is thus opposed to the claims of authority, intuition, imaginative conjecture, and abstract, theoretical, or systematic reasoning as sources of reliable belief. Its most fundamental antithesis is with the latter (i. e. with Rationalism, also called intellectualism or apriorism). Forms of Empiricism According to Catholic Encyclopedia empiricism appears in the history of philosophy in three principal forms: (1) Materialism, (2) Sensism, and (3) Positivism. a. Materialism: Materialism in its crudest shape was taught by the ancient atomists (Democritus, Leucippus, Epicurus, Lucretius), who, reducing the sum of all reality to atoms and motion, tau ght that experience, whereof they held knowledge to be constituted, is generated by images reflected from material objects through the sensory organs into the soul. The soul, a mere complexus of the finest atoms, perceives not the objects but their effluent images. With modern materialists (Helvetius, dHolbach, Diderot, Feuerbach, Moleschott, Buchner, Vogt, etc. ), knowledge is accounted for either by cerebral secretion or by motion. b. Sensism: All materialists are of course sensists. Though the converse is not the case, nevertheless, by denying any essential difference between sensations and ideas (intellectual states), sensism logically involves materialism. Sensism, which is found with Empedocles and Protagoras amongst the ancients, was given its first systematic form by Locke (d. 1704), though Bacon (d. 1626) and Hobbes (d. 1679) had prepared the data. Locke derives all simple ideas from external experience (sensations), all compound ideas (modes, substances, relations) from internal experience (reflection). Substance and cause are simply associations of subjective phenomena; universal ideas are mere mental figments. Locke admits the existence, though he denies the demonstrability, in man of an immaterial and immortal principle, the soul. Berkeley (d. 1753), accepting the teaching of Locke that ideas are only transfigured sensations, subjectivizes not only the sensible or secondary qualities of matter as his predecessor had done, but also the primary qualities which Locke held to be objective. Berkeley denies the objective basis of universal ideas and indeed of the whole material universe. The reality of things he places in their being perceived and this perceivedness is effected in the mind by God, not by the object or subject. He still retains the substance-reality of the human soul and of spirits generally, God included. Hume (d. 1776) agrees with his two empiricist predecessors in teaching that the mind knows only its own subjective organic impressions, whereof ideas are but the images. The supersensible is therefore unknowable; the principle of causality is resolved into a mere feeling of successiveness of phenomena; its necessity is reduced to a subjective feeling resulting from uniform association experienced in consciousness, and the spiritual essence or substantial being of the soul is dissipated into a series of conscious states. Lockes sensism was taken up by Condillac (d. 780), who eliminated entirely the subjective factor (Lockes reflection) and sought to explain all cognitional states by a mere mechanical, passive transformation of external sensations. The French sensist retained the spiritual soul, but his followers disposed of it as Hume had done with the Berkeleian soul relic. The Herbartians confound the image with the idea, nor does Wundt make a clear distinction between primitive con cepts (empirische Begriffe, representations of individual objects) and the image: Denken ist Phantasieren in Begriffen und Phantasierenist Denken in Bildern. c. Positivism: Positivists, following Comte (d. 857), do not deny the supersensible; they declare it unknowable; the one source of cognition, they claim, is sense-experience, experiment, and induction from phenomena. John Stuart Mill (d. 1870), following Hume, reduces all knowledge to series of conscious states linked by empirical associations and enlarged by inductive processes. The mind has no certitude of an external world, but only of a permanent possibility of sensations and antecedent and anticipated feelings. Spencer (d. 1903) makes all knowledge relative. The actual existence of things is their persistence in consciousness. Consciousness contains only subjective feelings. The relative supposes the absolute, but the latter is unknowable to us; it is the object of faith and religion (Agnosticism). All things, mind included, have resulted from a cosmical process of mechanical evolution wherein they are still involved; hence all concepts and principles are in a continuous flux. d. Classical Empiricism: Classical empiricism is characterised by a rejection of innate, in-born knowledge or concepts. John Locke, well known as an empiricist, wrote of the mind being a tabula rasa, a â€Å"blank slate†, when we enter the world. At birth we know nothing; it is only subsequently that the mind is furnished with information by experience. e. Radical Empiricism: This was advanced by William James, an American pragmatist philosopher and psychologist, based on the pragmatic theory of truth and the principle of pure experience, which contends that the relations between things are at least as real as the things themselves, that their function is real, and that no hidden substrata are necessary to account for the various clashes and coherences of the world. James summarized the theory as consisting of (1) a postulate: â€Å"The only things that shall be debatable among philosophers shall be things definable in terms drawn from experience†; (2) a factual statement: â€Å"The relations between things, conjunctive as well as disjunctive, are just as much matters of direct particular experience, neither more so nor less so, than the things themselves,† which serves to distinguish radical empiricism from the empiricism of the Scottish philosopher David Hume; and (3) a generalized conclusion: â€Å"The parts of experience hold together from next to next by relations that are themselves parts of experience. The directly apprehended universe needs, in short, no extraneous transempirical connective support, but possesses in its own right a concatenated or continuous structure. † The result of this theory of knowledge is a metaphysics that refutes the rationalist belief in a being that transcends experience, which gives unity to the world. According to James there is no logical connection between radical empiricism and pragmatism. One may reject radical empiricism and continue to be a pragmatist. Jamess studies in radical empiricism were published posthumously as Essays in Radical Empiricism (1912). According to him, it is only if it is possible to empirically test a claim that the claim has meaning. As all of our information comes from our senses, it is impossible for us to talk about that which we have not experienced. Statements that are not tied to our experiences are therefore meaningless. This principle, which was associated with a now unpopular position called logical positivism, renders religious and ethical claims literally nonsensical. No observations could confirm religious or ethical claims, therefore those claims are meaningless.

Break Free From the Product Life Cycle Essay -- essays research papers

Kotler, P. (2003). Positioning and Differentiating Break Free From the Product Life Cycle Youngme Moon Harvard Business Review Summary A company must differentiate itself from others during the product life cycle by creating an image that demands attention and fosters unique brand awareness. Louis Vuitton is a company that continuously rejuvenates itself and has maintained a highly coveted brand for 150 years. A $1,000 monogrammed Louis Vuitton handbag is in such demand that it has spawned a multi-million dollar market of counterfeit products, most commonly referred to as â€Å"knock-offs.† The demand is so high for these knock-off products that LVMH Moet Hennessy, owner of the brand, has a special team that works with international police organizations. Last year there were 6,000 raids by police, resulting in the arrest of nearly 1,000 counterfeiters (LV, 2005). The LV logo has become an icon in the designer luggage, handbags and accessories market. The words Louis Vuitton are the code for describing an internationally recognized and exclusive fashion empire. LVMH Moet Hennessy’s target market is aimed at women aged between 18-35 who have a love of fine design, and the taste for tradition and luxury. Louis Vuitton has maintained its lead in fashion through clever advertising in magazines like â€Å"Vogue† with print ads that focus on LV logo products as chic. In recent years the company has expanded is product line into ready-to-wear, shoes, watches and jewelry. Since 1998, Marc Jacobs has provided the artistic direction to develop and market these new collections. Tapping actress/singer Jennifer Lopez as a model was another key move in skewing younger and getting some zest in print ads. Clearly LVMH Moet Hennessy’s market strategy is its high-quality and high-priced image which is promoted via elaborate packaging, exclusive distribution, and status symbol advertising. This ability to differentiate themselves from the crowded designer marketing place is why they continue to be highly successful and have significantly extended the product life cycle. Relationship/Reference to the Text Our text discusses the product life cycle and how companies must position and differentiate their market offerings throughout the cycle. Youngme Moon points out â€Å"there’s nothing inevitable about the product life cycle. Marketers are disrupting it by rede... ...o find ways to train the next generation of consumers (2005). Branding is 100% human emotion and everything else is just dressed up as rationality to give people permission to act on their emotions. Women (or their spouses--like me) are not buying a Louis Vuitton hand bag, they are buying prestige and the ability to demonstrate to others they are different and have achieved a certain level of status. Some will call it the snob factor, others just chic taste. Regardless of your social views of designer products, Louis Vuitton continues to differentiate themselves in the designer market. It constantly looks for ways to extend the product life cycle through innovative new products and advertising strategies to keep the brand highly recognized and coveted. References Kotler, P. (2003). Positioning and Differentiating the Market Offering Through the Product Life Cycle, Marketing Management, pp. 307-343 Moon, Y. (2005). Break Free From the Product Life Cycle Marketplace   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harvard Business Review, May 2005, pp. 87-94 Vogue (2003) http://www.vogue.com.au Alexandria: FPC Living Louis Vuitton Magazine Online (2005). http://www.vuitton.com/

Basic Cognitive Skills †A Comparison

There are three established ways to approach a task. One can either use the methods in Bloom’s Taxonomy, the Scientific Method or the Universal Troubleshooting Method. Each of these methods is systematic and hierarchical – from the least complex to the most complex, with each step as important as the next. Each method has been designed to assist individuals in undertaking tasks that are seemingly difficult.These methods have different characteristics and steps, but some of the means are parallel to the others. However, as diverse as these frameworks may seem, there are also segments connecting each method to the other.Bloom’s Taxonomy (New Version) Originally conceptualized by Benjamin Bloom, Bloom’s Taxonomy is perhaps the most popular framework describing man’s learning method. Several theorists have also discussed and provided variations of this method and recently, Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl proposed a new version of this method. (Wilson , â€Å"Beyond Bloom – A new Version of the Cognitive Taxonomy,† par. 4) In following the template of Bloom’s Taxonomy, the first step involves the acquisition of the knowledge using the senses.It often involves identification, repetition, and memorization. The second step is comprehension. Comprehension occurs when a person can already discuss a concept or idea by explanation or illustration. When an idea can be applied to concrete situations, one has already reached the third step – application. It involves being able to use the concept in more common situations that it can be related to. The fourth step – analysis – includes the ability to scrutinize the concept. The fifth step is evaluation, in which the concept can be judged and criticized based on certain standards.By the sixth step, one shall be able to take the concept apart and use it to form a new complete entity – this is called synthesis. The Scientific Method The steps in the Scientific Method take on a slightly different angle. The first step involves asking the question where the topic to be studied is identified. Next, a background research is conducted about the concept. This is where available previous studies are referred to, so it is determined whether there have been other scientists or researchers who have undertaken the project. Formulation of the hypothesis is next in the process.A good hypothesis is measurable and coherent to the question initially proposed. Tests are to be conducted to try out the validity of the hypothesis. The results of these tests are taken down and evaluated so as to draw conclusions. The results are further evaluated and connected to the previous steps. One analyzes whether there has been positive or negative results coming from the tests that have been conducted. The initial hypothesis is brought out and scrutinized on its validity. With all of the data that have been gathered, a detailed report is constructed to illustrate the details and results of the entire task.One characteristic of the Scientific Method is that one or more of the steps can be repeated if the previous strategy does not yield results or the desirable outcome. Furthermore, there are times when a certain step like â€Å"testing the hypothesis† can be repeated several times in succession until concrete and verifiable results are accomplished. On the other hand, the new model of Bloom’s Taxonomy requires fulfillment of a certain step before moving on to the next level. In fact, one cannot move on to the next level without the completion of the previous one.For example: one cannot apply knowledge which he cannot comprehend first nor one cannot try to comprehend what he does not know of. Universal Troubleshooting Method The Universal Troubleshooting Method is characterized by a five-step program. Initially, a complete description of the problem is taken into account. To prepare for the process, all necessary too ls should be present, including the best suitable environment for the project. All of the indications of the problem should be entirely noted detail by detail to ensure that the correct steps are going to be taken in the process of solving it.To check if the problem is correctly identified, one should be able to replicate the symptoms. After this step, one is tasked to narrow down the root cause of the problem. This means that all nuances are to be tested and eliminated, if proven as a secondary cause. This can be a lengthy process and may require a lot of patience, much like testing the hypothesis in the Scientific Method. Once the root cause is identified, steps are to be taken to resolve or repair it. Using the appropriate tools, the root of the problem is eliminated and/or replaced. After the work in replacing or eliminating the problem, testing needs to be made.One checks whether the problem still exists or persists. In cases when it does, then some of the steps are to be repea ted to make sure that the problem is resolved properly. There may be instances when the problem is incorrectly identified and the step must be repeated to correctly identify the problem. But if the correct problem is resolved, it needs to be tested several times to ensure that it would not happen again. Additionally, one must check if there are any potential problems that are created while resolving the main problem – problems that may cause more difficulty in the future.The Universal Troubleshooting Method is aimed at solving or finding the solution to a particular predicament, while Bloom’s Taxonomy can be used in more levels like learning a new skill – in fact, it is often utilized in a learning environment. This method (Universal Troubleshooting Method) can be more likened to the Scientific Method since it is normally following a dilemma. The steps, although not entirely interchangeable, can be repeated as much as it calls for. These methods require careful planning and execution – each project done following the steps correctly will definitely yield productive results.These three approaches show how to manage a task. Each of these works based on a system that proves to be effective and, thus, valuable. Each system, each step, is geared towards the solution of the problem at hand. They are designed in such a way that each seems to be somewhat a reflection of the others, with variations or modifications devised based on necessity. But even with these distinctions, these approaches are, in the end, essentially similar to each other. Works Cited: Litt, Steve. â€Å"The Universal Troubleshooting Process†.2006. Troubleshooters. Com. 16 June 2009. . Wilson, Leslie Owen. â€Å"Beyond Bloom – A new Version of the Cognitive Taxonomy. † 2006. Dr. Leslie Owen Wilson’s Homepage. 16 June 2009. . â€Å"Steps of the Scientific Method†. Science Buddies. 2009. Kenneth Lafferty Hess Family Charitable Foundation. 16 June 2009. .

Using the Ten Principles to Analyze a Challenging Economic Issue - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 590 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2018/12/26 Category Economics Essay Type Research paper Level High school Did you like this example? Introduction The wellbeing of the economy we operate in is influenced by several factors which include: culture, infrastructure and education level among others. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine how the above factors influence the economy. However little has been done to establish how much the wealth gap between the very rich and the very poor in the society, influences the economy. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Using the Ten Principles to Analyze a Challenging Economic Issue" essay for you Create order In my discussion I will focus mainly in bringing out how the wealth gap between the rich and the poor influence a countries economy and how the government can play a role in solving the problem. (Amparo Castello, 2012), note that an imbalanced welt gap will always result into an imbalanced economy. Not many understand how this gap influences the economy and those who do, assume that the impact is so little and can be assumed. However the impact generated by the gap is quite significant and should not be in any way assumed. Poor citizens fill excluded in improving the economy of their countries. As a result of the negative attitude they engage in activities that hinder the positive growth of the economy. Reducing the gap between the rich and the poor would go a long way in making every citizen fill included in the running of the economy, thus enabling them to contribute to its positive development. The reduction of the gap will result in increased production thus killing monopolies which run the economy. Increased production will lead to improved standards of living since are shaped by the ability to produce goods and services. Resent research in America shows that the wealth gap between the wealthy citizens and the poor citizens has been on the rise in the past few years. (DePillis, 2017), in her article she indicates that resent research has shown that even though there has been a general increase in income for all Americas households the increase has not been uniform. The top earners income has increased by 40% while the bottom earners income increased by 16% resulting in to an even wider wealth gap. The article also explains how the purchasing power for both the wealthy and the poor I influenced by the wealth gap. It is clear that with an increased wealth gap the rich grow a stronger purchasing power while that of the poor grows weaker. The poor cannot access goods and services since every seller wants to make the most out of his/ her sales. The goods and services are thus only available to the rich who can comfortably afford them. As the Mankiws principles of economy would have it, a countries standard of living is dependent on its ability to produce goods and services and that the government can improve market outcomes. Consequently if the gap is reduced there will be more production and the government can step in to improve the market outcomes. (Aghion, 1999), also observes that a large wealth gap between people in the same society might be a great hindrance to economic success of a nation. Conclusion It is clear that wealth gap can be the cause of a poor economy. Wealth gap should not be taken for granted as it affects the economy in a significant way. Governments should work towards reducing this gap so that everyone in the society can fill included in growing the economy. Works Cited Aghion, P. (1999). Inequality and Economic Growth. American Economic Association. Amparo Castello, R. D. (2012). HUMAN CAPITAL INEQUALITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH:SOME NEW EVIDENC. New York: Oxford University pres. DePillis, L. (2017). Americas wealth gap is bigger than ever. New York.