Mother Courage Essay -- essays research papers

Mother Courage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s always important to be touched. Writers know and understand this idea. Whether the audience feels good or bad about whom or what you present is not as important as the fact that they feel something. Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children is a perfect example of a work that doesn’t leave us in very high spirits but touches us in such a way that it becomes even more powerful than if it had.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the play the title character, Mother Courage, is presented to us in such a way that the reader is usually left not knowing how to feel. We have with two choices. On the one hand she can be a money grubbing, self concerned woman who only cares about herself and those directly related to her money. On the other hand she can be considerate and caring mother who only wants to protect her children. It’s an issue the reader wrestles with many times over the course of the play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If you take everything at face value it seems that all Mother Courage is driven by is profit. But then one has to think . . . What’s is her motive? Is it her children? Are we completely misinterpreting Mother Courage’s intentions? Consider this: Mother Courage throughout the war does what she can to keep her daughter Kattrin â€Å"innocent.† Now as awful as it sounds prostitution is a pretty lucrative business. If Mother Courage was only driven by profit wouldn’t she decide that maybe selling Kattrin...

Philosophy Final Essay

In the Philosophy, Determinism has many different categories. Actually according to the textbook, the Determinism is the view that every event, including human actions, are brought about by previous events in accordance with the natural laws that govern the world. Human freedom is an illusion. Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza does not deny that people’s wishes and desires will lead to the soul, and he said, â€Å"but neglected one important factor†, that is, in Baruch's view, â€Å"the will† or we could call it the freedom of choice, is also determined by another factor.Meanwhile, this factor is again determined by another factor, â€Å"and then another, then another, and thus infinite persistence. † Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher, who has the same opinion with Baruch, wrote that, â€Å"We all believe that we are born to be free†, â€Å"But afterwards, we will be surprised to find ourselves that we are not free at all, but subject to th e necessities†. In other words, Baruch gives the view that man is not free, and Schopenhauer finds the reasons of why man is not free. While considering the strengths of the Determinism, the Determinism can be said to be the pioneer of the science.The Determinism argues that everything in the world is in some kinds of causal relationships; all the movements of the world are determined by natural laws. Once we know the causes, we will definitely know the results. Because of this, science experienced a huge development. For instance, Newton’s calculation of planet motions makes it possible for us to accurately predict the foreseeable future. Under this circumstance, the world is like a clock, and it seems like man could know everything in the future. However, it is not quite like this.I think the Determinism ignores a very important factor, which is human’s role in this process. Human factors are involved wildly in human behaviors and various social systems, includ ing social laws and religion doctrines. Just like what I mentioned previously, scientists believe that the human life is pre-determined and human’s behavior is inevitable. They consider that if someone has all the information of one person, he or she may get to know how he or she is going to change in advance. But from the point of view throughout the history of human society people often turn to emphasize personal responsibility.Law and legal penalties for criminals act based entirely on the idea of individual â€Å"free will†. Most Jewish and Christian also believed that individuals should be responsible for the crime and suspects should be punished. We can imagine a psychology professor who believes determinism would say to a student: â€Å"You have to concentrate to your study, otherwise you will get nothing! † You can see the contradiction of human behaviors from this typical and ironic statement above, and notice that there exists a deviation between theor etical knowledge and actual human behaviors.At the same time, the Libertarians believe that people have â€Å"free will†, and there are no such inevitable results of those behaviors that are controlled by â€Å"free will†. Libertarianism has different meanings in different academic fields. From the general level, the libertarianism refers to people’s ability to decide whether or not to do something according to their conditions. Or in other words, according to the text book, it is the view that humans are able to make authentically free choices that are not determined by previous events in accordance with the natural laws that govern the world.In other words, given a choice, â€Å"we could have done otherwise. † There is a â€Å"Brake theory† that belongs to the Libertarianism argues that the actions under â€Å"free will† are cases of â€Å"actors causal relationship†, that is, from an actor leads to a result. In other words, a liber tarian is likely to emphasis more on subjective randomly selected without external oppression, and any random selection reflects a kind of chance. However, once the people make choices under their â€Å"free will†, relative to the present results, the past is always a choice determinant.Just as the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle's â€Å"Battle of the problem†, although in the â€Å"Today† perspective, whether the naval battle will occur â€Å"Tomorrow â€Å"cannot be determined, but if we guess that â€Å"Tomorrow † the naval battle will occur, and the naval battle actually took place the next day, then we look from â€Å"Tomorrow † to â€Å"today†, the result is inevitable established. John Locke, a British philosopher, even thinks that, â€Å"If a man describes the will as ‘free', that person is guilty of a ‘category  mistake',† and he also believes that the freedom is a power belongs only to the actors.Thomas H obbs, another British philosopher, also considers the â€Å"free will† as an â€Å"absurd language†. He believes that the freedom is defined by the will. As a result, the freedom cannot be used to describe the will, and I think this is the biggest weakness of the Libertarianism. For Compatibilism, according to our textbook, it is the view that all events, including human actions are caused.However, we can consider human actions free if they are a result of internal motivations, not the product of external influences or constraints. I think, first of all, we should be clear that there is no absolute freedom. Any freedom should be based on a pre-determined range. As far as I am concerned, reality problem is made of all the options provided in some choices, and the so-called freedom is to provide more options for those choices, or we can say it expands the scope for choice.So based on this fact, we could summarized that, any freedom has the will as its boundary, in other words, the freedom is limited by the will, and definitely it cannot describe the will itself. Furthermore, the freedom of choice exists only in a moment, and it is a property of action’s initiation process. Once a choice is made, there is no meaning for the freedom at this moment. For each choice it provides, determinism is there. In fact, each of these options we have at the choosing moment is associated with one or few past factors, and even we can say that those factors determine the existence of this option.But for the selection process contains all those options, the concept of the â€Å"free will† can also exist because every option is inside the range of choice, and each choice is the result of chance. For example, if life is seen as a string of pearls, each â€Å"free will† can be expressed as the choice of each pearl and all those pearls could form the causal chain, which reflects the Determinism. Overall, I think the Determinism and the â€Å"free wil l† cannot be separated.Determinism offers countless possibilities, and the â€Å"free will† can be expressed in those choices under such possibilities. Personally, I would say the Compatibilism the one I like the most and I think it ought to be correct in the real world. The reason is that, first, just like I said, there is no absolute freedom. Everything can be interpreted differently by using different perspectives. Second, please don’t forget or underestimate the power of humans inside these decision making process. Human have learning  skills and we could get experiences from the past and use those to guide the future decisions.This is a reflection of the Determinism. However, things are always changing. The problem you faced last time may or may not be the problem you have at this moment. Just like Heraclitus said, â€Å"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man. † That’s why the â€Å"f ree will† also exists and it might lead you to another new option you have at this moment. This is a reflection of the Libertarianism.

Assisted Suicide - Introduction - 1887 Words

Introduction/Rationale No person is entitled to consent to have death inflicted on him, and such consent does not affect the criminal responsibility of any person by whom death may be inflicted on the person by whom consent is given.†, this is according to the Indiana Code of Criminal Law and Procedure. In ancient days, assisted suicide was frequently seen as a way to preserve one’s honor. For the past twenty-five years, on the other hand, the practice has been viewed as a response to the progress of modern medicine. New and often expensive medical technologies have been developed that prolong life. However, the technologies also prolong the dying processes, leading some people to question whether modern medicine is forcing patients to†¦show more content†¦The difference between what Dr. Byock do from euthanasia is that palliative care does whatever is necessary to alleviate the suffering while euthanasia is focused on eliminating the sufferer. As a Catholic, being a tool to take away one’s life is a mortal sin and assisted suicide was never accepted as a legal practice here in Philippines. But for me, I disagree in the practice of assisted suicide and it will always be wrong to help in taking away people’s lives no matter what the reason it will be. St ill assisted suicide remains debatable and still a lot of cases are still on-going. Conclusion Assisted suicide brings out some of the deepest feelings amongst human beings. It is a hard decision that nobody wishes to take, and is the power over life and death. Is killing a terminally ill patient justifiable? Who determines the worth of one’s life? God or human? The answer to this question varies, as there are many points of view to this controversial issue. Thus, assisted suicide is a form of suicide, which involves a person other than the person taking his or her own life. And during which the other person assists in direct or indirect physical means in giving effect to the suicide or, in the event of a statutory definition, in a manner as set out in that statute. The right to assisted suicide is a significant topic that concerns people all over the world. The debates go back and forth, about whether a dying patient has the right to die with assistance of aShow MoreRelatedAssisted Suicide - Introduction1878 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction/Rationale No person is entitled to consent to have death inflicted on him, and such consent does not affect the criminal responsibility of any person by whom death may be inflicted on the person by whom consent is given.†, this is according to the Indiana Code of Criminal Law and Procedure. In ancient days, assisted suicide was frequently seen as a way to preserve one’s honor. 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Introduction Physician Assisted Suicide has been a very controversial topic in the recent years. P.A.S can also be known as physician assisted death or euthanasia. Many states wonder wither this practice is morally right or wrong. Physician Assisted Suicide is when a doctor administers patient lethal drugs, upon the request of the patient, with the end result being deathRead MorePhysician Assisted Death As A Person s Ethno Cultural Identity1673 Words   |  7 Pagesas physician assisted-death is, it is also one of great merit that offers an opportunity to explore a better understanding of the human experience. Physician assisted-death is often coupled with the term euthanasia and although it can be seen as a form of euthanasia, it differs in that the patient is in the control of the process through which they commit the act of suicide. In the consideration of the role of a human service professional during the procedure that is physician assisted-death (PAD)Read MorePhysician Assisted Suicide T hesis Statement1679 Words   |  7 Pagesrequests for physician-assisted suicide are now a viable possibility. Knowing the pathways to answering to those patients, as their requests for assisted death persist, is upmost importance. As of June, 9th 2016 California became the fifth state to allow physician-assisted suicide. The California’s End of Life Option Act authorizes any individual 18 years of age or older, who has been diagnosed as terminally ill and fits specific criteria, to solicit administration of assisted dying drugs at the handsRead MoreThe Need for the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide2485 Words   |  10 Pagesprevent death. Many people turn to a procedure known as Physician-Assisted suicide, a process by which a doctor aids in ending a terminally ill patient’s life. This procedure is painless and effective, allowing patients to control their death and alleviate unnecessary suffering. In spite of these benefits, Physician-Assisted suicide is illegal in many places both nationally and internationally. Despite the fact that Physician-Assisted suicide is opposed by many Americans and much of the world on ethicalRead MoreThe Bill Of Rights : The Amendment Rights2572 Words   |  11 Pages1 . Introduction In 1791, the Bill of Rights was created to specify the individual rights of every human being. Madison James is the creator of the 10 Amendments, he believed it was necessary to create the document to further explain what the Constitution will provide for each person. The Bill of Rights gives every citizen the right to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, as well as the freedom of the press, and lastly the due process rights. This document was formed when the Constitution in