Maxine Kumin, who experienced many different views of the world through travel, feels the most comfortable in New Hampshire, her rural home. In any area that she travels, she always makes a similarity to her home, as expressed in her poems. In her poem, “The Long Approach”, she is driving in her Saab hatchback from…
The social contract theory of John Rawls challenges utilitarianism by pointing out the impracticality of the theory. Mainly, in a society of utilitarians, a citizen’s rights could be completely ignored if injustice to this one citizen would benefit the rest of society. Rawls believes that a social contract theory, similar those proposed by Hobbes, Locke,…
The word “humanism” has a number of meanings, and because there are so many different meanings it can be quite confusing if you don’t know what kind of humanism someone is talking about. Literary Humanism is a devotion to the humanities or literary culture. Renaissance Humanism is the spirit of learning that developed at the…
Two of the main principles of Existentialist Human Condition are: That man exists and then creates himself and what man chooses for himself he chooses for everyone else as well. Lets examine the first principle: man exists and then defines himself. What it means is that man is created on this earth and is nothing…
In explaining Hume’s critique of the belief in miracles, we must first understand the definition of a miracle. The Webster Dictionary defines a miracle as: a supernatural event regarded as to define action, one of the acts worked by Christ which revealed his divinity an extremely remarkable achievement or event, an unexpected piece of luck.…
A philosophical question faces Christians, and in fact all theists, that challenges the belief in God. To theists, God is an omnipotent, perfect God. He is good. Theists accept this, and embrace it, for how else can they worship God and give their lives to Him unless He is good? However, in this world evil…
Gandhi was one of the gentlest of men, a devout and almost mystical Hindu, but he had an iron core of determination. Nothing could change his convictions. This combination of traits made him the leader of India’s nationalist movement. Some observers called him a master politician. Others believed him a saint. To millions of Hindus…
The question is raised within the dialogue between Socrates and Crito concerning civil disobedience. Crito has the desire, the means, and many compelling reasons with which he tries to convince the condemned to acquiesce in the plan to avoid his imminent death. Though Crito’s temptation is imposing, it is in accord with reason and fidelity…
In the book Feeling Good, David Burns, MD, the author, outlines certain cognitive techniques an individual suffering from depression could use in combating the disorder. He begins the book by briefly describing the pertinence and the prevalence of depression. The author captures the audience’s attention in the first paragraph: ” In fact depression is so…
The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, is not only an example of a Medieval Romance, but also tells the story of the women who stood behind King Arthur during his infamous reign in the Middle Ages. This novel explains the reasoning and decisions that Arthur made from the women’s perspective. The Mists of…
It was May 25th 1978, Terry Marker was on his usual patrol on campus at the University of Illinois. This earmark package addressed to an engineering professor at Rensselaer from a material science professor at Northwestern, was found in a parking lot. What seemed like an insignificant misplaced parcel was about to start a reign…
In the blink of an eye, North America was informed of Susan Smith’s tragic loss of her two young boys. No one would have guessed that such a violent crime could have occurred in a small town . Throughout the ordeal , police began to see the flaws in Susan Smith’s story. This lead to…
Robert Bork’s The Right of Privacy examined the landmark case Griswald v. Conneticut. Bork’s “originalist” view proclaimed that Justice Douglas erroneously interpreted the right of privacy from the Constitution. The originalist view is that judges must strictly adhere to the language of the Constitution, thus people do not have a general right to privacy because…
Paul Bernardo’s lustful and diverted sexual desires sprouted from the influence of pornography. Pornography caused him to fixate on anal intercourse, and violent, dominant sex. Pornography also played a large role in his lust for younger virgins, and the ever apparent satomasifism as seen on tape. Paul Bernardo, during his teenage years became slowly infatuated…
Ritalin (Methylphenidate) is a mild CNS stimulant. In medicine, Ritalin’s primary use is treatment of Attention Deficit /Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). The mode of action in humans is not completely understood, but Ritalin presumably activates the arousal system of the brain stem and the cortex to produce its stimulant effect. Recently, the frequency of diagnosis for…
In 1936 when Marijuana was made illegal it was considered a medicine in good standing with the American Medical Association. At the time Marijuana could be found in twenty eight different medical products and countless other consumer products. On November 5th, 1996 California and Arizona passed propositions allowing the return of medicinal Marijuana use. The…
Throughout history marijuana has been used to serve various purposes in many different cultures. The purposes have changed over time to fit in with the current lifestyles. This pattern is also true in American history. The use of marijuana has adapted to the social climate of the time. Marijuana, whose scientific name is cannabis sativa,…
While many drugs speed up or depress the central nervous system, there is a class of drugs that distorts how we feel, hear, see, smell, taste, and think. Called hallucinogens because users often hallucinate, or experience nonexistent sensations, these drugs are also known as psychedelic, or mind-bending, drugs. Some hallucinogens come from natural sources; others…
LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide is a commonly used drug of teens. LSD is a hallucinogenic drug which affects the nervous system. The drug is ingested in many different ways, absorbed through the skin, taken orally or absorbed through the eye or ear. This drug was originally developed by the government of the United States…
The Indians were the main focus of the history of New France, and influenced the Europeans in the period before 1663. The Indians, being numerous compared with the Europeans, came into frequent contact with them. The Indians and Europeans traded items with one another, which led to various events and actions that contributed greatly to…