Relevance of Philosophy Essay Example

Relevance of Philosophy Essay In this essay the challenge is to shown the relevance of philosophy to 21st century manufacturing. As philosophy is not a new concept there is a wide and defervesce range of ideas (on everything that existed and does not yet exist). The people who study philosophy and deal with such matters must have at one stage put forward some thoughts on manufacturing and even engineering in general. Philosophy comes from the Greek for love of wisdom, giving us two important starting points: love (or passion) and wisdom (knowledge, understanding). Philosophy sometimes seems to be pursued without passion as if it were a technical subject like mathematics. Philosophy must come from some passion for the ultimate goal to be achieved: a reliable, accurate understanding ourselves and our world. Many think philosophy an idle, academic pursuit, never amounting to anything of practical value. The works of ancient Greek philosophers, ask the same questions which philosophers ask today. Doesnt this mean that philosophy never gets anywhere and never accomplishes anything? Philosophy is relevant as it makes us think about where we have come from, where we are at present and where we are going to in the future. The study of philosophy is usually conducted in one of two different ways: the systematic/ topical method and the historical/ biographical method. Both of these have their strengths and weaknesses and it is often easier to avoid focusing on one to the exclusions of the other, at least whenever possible. There are many different areas of philosophy which have relevance to manufacturing and will have relevance in the future. We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Philosophy is the study of the fundamental  nature of existence, of man, and of mans relationship to existence. Some areas of study in philosophy are logic, ethics and epistemology (knowledge, ways of knowing) to name but a few important that are relevant to manufacturing. In this essay I hope to discover the link and the importance of philosophy in relation to manufacturing in the 21st century. Main body The main areas in which manufacturing are influenced by philosophy is ethics, logic and epistemology. Logic  is the study of  reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy,  mathematics engineering, and  computer science. Logic examines general forms which  arguments  may take which forms are valid, and which are fallacies. It is a type of  critical thinking. The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behaviour. Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: met ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics Knowledge is about how things work and why they work and that’s what engineering and the sciences set out to do. Manufacturing is a by product of knowledge. These areas can be viewed from many philosophical points. And the different areas which have relevance to manufacturing can be put into three main branches and several sub branches. These main three are Epistemology, Logic and Ethics and some sub branches of the three main relevant branches to manufacturing, economic, technological mathematic, social and rational argument. The relevance of philosophy to manufacturing goes back long before the industrial revolution and even further back then the roman’s but to the first philosopher Pythagoras. These topics will be discussed in more detail later. Ethics or moral philosophy This is the branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality that is, about concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong, justice and virtue. Anyone who has read Aristotle’s Ethics and has read modern moral philosophy must realise the great contrasts between them. The concepts which are prominent among the moderns seem to be lacking, far in the background, in Aristotle. Most noticeably, the term ‘moral’ itself, which we have by direct inheritance from Aristotle, just doesn’t seem to fit in its modern sense into an account of Aristotelian ethics. Aristotle distinguishes virtues as moral and intellectual. This area of philosophy is a broad area of study and is very relevant to everybody in normal day life. We take for granted the morals we live by and the morals of others, this too can be true for ethical practices that take place in manufacturing. Ethics are used by every company and business as bases for running their organisation such as fair trade, quality of product and quality of working environment. Some examples of ethics that show how important it is to consumers that companies have morals include: Fair Trade In the case of fair trade ethics has changed the way trade is done and the way people are treated in the process. In the past number of years important social changes have occurred with ethics an example of simple ethic in fair trade would be the production of coffee beans. Companies in recent years have begun to buy fairly bought produce where the producers benefit. As most of the producers are poor farmers. But because of the moral changes that have taken place in the past twenty years things have improved before the change in attitude the companies bought the product at low prices for big plantation owners and the poor suffered because of it. Quality of Product The role of ethics in quality of product we can take a very recent example and it is very much manufacturing example that of Toyota with the stricken of the accelerator pedal. The company is calling back thousands of cars for repair; this will cost a lot of money. And why its being done well the company has a moral obligation to produce a product fit for use. The ethics behind leaving defective products in us by consumers it could cause many incidences and maybe fatalities. The ethics that Toyota will abide by. Will cost the company a lot of money but may save the company on the long run. Companies who didn’t solve their problems. i. e. the car company Lancia who had a rust problem, which crippled the company in the end. And Toyota could fall a similar fate and begun bankrupt if not carful. It can be said that it is not ethics that is making Toyota recall all these cars but money. That unfortunately that is a pessimistic view and one would hope that Toyota is doing it for the right reasons over the value of reputation and money. Quality of Working Environment Quality of working environment is the final scenario. There have been many changes in the way people work and the place in which they work in as most working environment can be very dangerous places. Since the start of the industrial revolution high fatalities have occured due to machines with little or no safety aspects, have been recorded and it was due to companies disregarding safety of workers to make high profits. It may not be as big an issue today in the western world but to poorer more undeveloped countries where workers are still being neglected-ethics will play a role to improve he working environment and show manufacturing in a better light, now and in the future. Ethics is the bases of why good judgment is made so as to maintain and improve society. In a manufacturing sense morals can be a corner stone in changing work practices in industry. It can be a tool for progress in the future. The moral obligation to all is to be just and right, the phrase â€Å"Do no harm† can be an important to manufacturing and life in ge neral. Thomas Hobbes had stresses the importance of peace and security. With ethics in mind he said; there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society† And then follows the description of life under such conditions made so by repeated quotation that I refrain from quoting it still again. Where morals prevail peace can be seen. Peace and security, however, including secure property rights and the attendant opportunities to create and accumulate wealth, permit â€Å"commodious living†, which is Hobbes’s term for economic development. In the three examples it can be seen where ethics has played a part in changing the mind set of people and companies in the past few decades. It may not be ethics which was the catalyst for these changes but it is the way things are changing for the better. Hobbes had a point even if it was a bit extreme; there is room for good if people give it a chance and do the right thing. Logic Logic is the study of reasoning. And reasoning typically focuses on what makes reasoning efficient or inefficient, appropriate or inappropriate. Logic is the corner stone of science and mathematics which in turn play a vital role in engineering. It is one of the oldest areas of philosophy going back to Aristotle. Along with Aristotle some key figures in the study of logic were Bertrand Russell, Charles Sanders Peirce and Immanuel Kant. These men made many points on the area of logic As like ethics, logic is a wide area of study. This is important to us in our every day existence. Logic is what we use to solve from our most basic problems to the kind of problems that change the world socially, economically, technologically and mathematically to name but a few ways. Logic can be broken down into two parts inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is where a set of facts are given and from those facts a conclusion can be got from it an example of this in is a jigsaw puzzle all the parts are there but the pieces must be put together to see the full picture. On the other hand deductive reasoning is quiet different while inductive reasoning all the pieces are to be seen at once deductive reasoning gets it answer on a logical sequence of events, example of deductive reasoning is where a problem is set out but there is only one piece of information to work on and from that another piece of information is discovered until a logical sequence is established and an answer is reached like a detective solves a crime. Logic is the tool to solve any problem or argument which may arise by using the types of reasoning. And with this in mind logic will play a part in the future of manufacturing because without the use of logic the problems of the future won’t be solved and manufacturing will not progress. Epistemology Philosophy is largely based on known knowledge and epistemology is a study of knowledge. Descartes defines knowledge in terms of doubt. While distinguishing rigorous knowledge and lesser grades of conviction, Descartes writes: â€Å"I distinguish the two as follows: there is conviction when there remains some reason which might lead us to doubt, but knowledge is conviction based on a reason so strong that it can never be shaken by any stronger reason. † [Stanford, 2010] According to Bertrand Russell in regards to Epistemology, he says â€Å"we could be familiar with objects in two ways: knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. He also thought that we could only be acquainted with our own sense data and that everything else we had to know through reasoning. It set out to answer â€Å"what distinguishes true (adequate)  knowledge  from false (inadequate) knowledge? This question translates into issues of scientific methodology: how can one develop theories or models that are better than competing theories. There is many areas which knowledge can be broken down into these main areas are Ratio nalism, Scepticism Rational Knowledge Rationalism Mathematics and geometry are examples of abstract truths which are known with certainty, even though the physical illustrations of these truths may vary. An early example was the Greek philosopher Plato who stated that ideas have an existence independent of human minds. These independently-existing ideas are the only reality in the universe since they are absolute and unchanging. Valid knowledge comes then when the mind grasps these ideas. Another famous philosopher was the Frenchman Rene Descartes who went through a period of scepticism in his life and then came to the conclusion that only ideas which were clear and distinct to the mind represented valid knowledge â€Å"Objections to Rationalism: . There is no agreement among philosophers or cultures about so-called self-evident ideas. Supposedly self-evident ideas have often been rejected at later times in history. 2. Self-evident ideas provide no knowledge about the world. Though sense experience may not be certain, it provides us with information which is as reliable as we need. The fact that a belief is not absolutely certain should not disqualify it for knowledge. Why not say t hat something is  known  as long as there is no good reason to doubt it? Of course, that might mean that occasionally we would have to admit that what we thought we knew was something that we really didnt know. So what? † [tamu, 2010] Scepticism This is the view that questions whether valid or reliable knowledge is ever attainable by a human being. Some sceptics stated that nothing can be known. Other sceptics stated that they did not know whether knowledge was possible; they suspended judgment on the issue. Some of the common examples used by sceptics are the illusions and deceptions of our senses. Others point to the complexity of any experience and ask how you can know what is the essence or real nature of the things you are experiencing. Empiricism This is the view that valid knowledge comes only through the five senses. Aristotle held the view that whatever was in the mind was first in the senses. Rene Descartes  (1596-1650) He claims, unless we know first whether our belief itself is justified. To determine whether our beliefs are justified, we have to be able to trace them back to a statement, belief, or proposition that cannot be doubted. Such a proposition could provide the firm foundation on which all subsequent beliefs could be grounded; it would guarantee that all subsequent claims based on it would be true. In order to identify an ultimate principle of truth on which all other knowledge can be based, Descartes develops a method that suspends our confidence in what we have been taught, what our senses tell us, what we think is obviousin short, in regard to everything we know. In order to determine whether there is anything we can know with certainty, he says that we first have to doubt everything we know. Such a radical doubt might not seem reasonable, and Descartes certainly does not mean that we  really  should doubt everything. What he suggests is that, in order to see if there is some belief that cannot be doubted, we should temporarily pretend that everything we know is questionable. Since sense experience is sometimes deceiving, it is obvious to Descartes that  a posteriori  claims (e. g. , that this milk tastes sour or that suit is dark blue) cannot be the basis for claims of knowledge. We do not know that what we experience through our senses is true; at least, we are not certain of it. So the best thing to do is to doubt our senses. Likewise, we cannot be sure that we really have bodies or that our experience of the world in general can be trusted; after all, we might be dreaming the whole thing. Next, we cannot even be sure that mathematical propositions such as 2+3=5 or that triangles always have three sides are true because some evil power might be deceiving us to think such things, when it is possible that even propositions that seem evident to us as true might themselves be really false. But even if an evil genie deceives us about all other beliefs, there is one belief that we cannot be mistaken about, and that is that we are thinking. Even to doubt this is to affirm it. Thinking proves that we exist (at least as minds or thinking things, regardless of whether we have bodies). The body is not an essential part of the self because we can doubt its existence in a way that we cannot doubt the existence of the mind. We have a great inclination to believe that there are physical objects that are external to the mind. But since only those objects known in terms of mathematical propertiesnot those imagined by use of the sensescan be known clearly and distinctly, the only knowledge we can have of such objects is in terms of mathematical, quantifiable physics. The only real knowledge we can have, then, is of things understood as functions of laws of physics. The objects we  see  are not the objects we  know, because what we know is intelligible only in terms of the clarity and precision of the formulae of physics. Information provided by the senses cannot therefore be the basis of knowledge. [tamu, 2010] Kant Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher who attempted to combine rationalism and empiricism. It is called the form and matter epistemology. A statue can have a form such as Abraham Lincoln and a matter such as marble; you need both a form and a matter to have a statue. So in knowledge you need a form, which are categories of the mind,  and matter which are the data of sensatio ns. You need both of these to have knowledge. It is similar to wearing rose-colored glasses. You have visual sensations and they are coloured by the glasses. Of course with the mind you cannot take of your glasses. Knowledge is an incredibility powerful tool which has created great nations and pushed the boundaries of science and technology to new areas. The quotation from Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) said that â€Å"knowledge is power† and that has always been the case since the dawn of civilisation, knowledge has been a part of every major advancement. Knowledge has a big part to play in manufacturing, it is an integral part of all advancement without the constant need for knowledge through research and other means it would be impossible to make major achievement. The different areas which have been discussed can be seen as different way we can go about solving difficult situation and problems. Manufacturing will need to conform to these different methods of thinking in the future. Conclusion Philosophy can be shown to have many areas some of which have been covered throughout this essay. The areas which have been covered are relevant to manufacturing in ways that show philosophy as a key component to running a lucrative and sustainable operating line. Philosophy has a lot of points to make; its relevance to manufacturing can be used as a tool for advancement in the future in areas such as Ethics * Companies treatment of small producers * Quality of products produced for consumers * The working environment Ethics has a role to play in changing these for the better and will have a maintaining a standard in future productions, especially in third world countries where companies have taken advantage of their workers yet do not pay a moral price. Logic The study of reasoning logic can be found at the core of engineering and manufacturing in general. It is a corner stone in which there are couple of ways of resolving a problem. The two main types are * Inductive * Deductive These two methods of solving apply to certain manufacturing dilemmas depending on the individual situation. A logical sequence of steps to gain the solution in which a process i. e. a production line is established by taking the correct logical sequence for the line to work effectively. Logic has a vital role in the way manufacturing process are carried out, without which there would be ciaos, void of efficiency, continuity and general order. Epistemology Epistemology is the study of knowledge and the ways of knowing. It schools of thought from which theories have sprung can be divided in the categories. * Rationalism The view of using absolute truth which is known with certainty is rationalism. Breaking knowledge down into its simplified core elements to revel the truth. * Scepticism This is seen where a theory is put forward and is then questioned. Many theorists maintain that some knowledge can never been known in its entirety or factually. It is questioning until a hypothesis or theory is validated to their satisfaction. * Empiricism Using the five senses to gain knowledge, most natural form of collection of information as we do it every day unknowingly. In the future the ideas and views of philosophy will have a significant part to play in manufacturing and engineering in general. As it has had an important role to play in the past. Manufacturing can be broken down into many different areas and this is due to philosophy and the thinking required by the different schools of thought in the related areas. As all area have a knock on effect on each other, i. e. logic can change the methodology significantly. We now realise the importance of philosophy in every day manufacturing although it might not appear obvious but under the surface of manufacturing processes is detrimental to efficient, cost effective, and ethic practices in the work place. References [Stanford, 2010] http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/ [tamu, 2010] http://philosophy. tamu. edu/~sdaniel/Notes/96class15. html Relevance of Philosophy Essay Example Relevance of Philosophy Essay In this essay the challenge is to shown the relevance of philosophy to 21st century manufacturing. As philosophy is not a new concept there is a wide and defervesce range of ideas (on everything that existed and does not yet exist). The people who study philosophy and deal with such matters must have at one stage put forward some thoughts on manufacturing and even engineering in general. Philosophy comes from the Greek for love of wisdom, giving us two important starting points: love (or passion) and wisdom (knowledge, understanding). Philosophy sometimes seems to be pursued without passion as if it were a technical subject like mathematics. Philosophy must come from some passion for the ultimate goal to be achieved: a reliable, accurate understanding ourselves and our world. Many think philosophy an idle, academic pursuit, never amounting to anything of practical value. The works of ancient Greek philosophers, ask the same questions which philosophers ask today. Doesnt this mean that philosophy never gets anywhere and never accomplishes anything? Philosophy is relevant as it makes us think about where we have come from, where we are at present and where we are going to in the future. The study of philosophy is usually conducted in one of two different ways: the systematic/ topical method and the historical/ biographical method. Both of these have their strengths and weaknesses and it is often easier to avoid focusing on one to the exclusions of the other, at least whenever possible. There are many different areas of philosophy which have relevance to manufacturing and will have relevance in the future. We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Philosophy is the study of the fundamental  nature of existence, of man, and of mans relationship to existence. Some areas of study in philosophy are logic, ethics and epistemology (knowledge, ways of knowing) to name but a few important that are relevant to manufacturing. In this essay I hope to discover the link and the importance of philosophy in relation to manufacturing in the 21st century. Main body The main areas in which manufacturing are influenced by philosophy is ethics, logic and epistemology. Logic  is the study of  reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy,  mathematics engineering, and  computer science. Logic examines general forms which  arguments  may take which forms are valid, and which are fallacies. It is a type of  critical thinking. The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behaviour. Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: met ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics Knowledge is about how things work and why they work and that’s what engineering and the sciences set out to do. Manufacturing is a by product of knowledge. These areas can be viewed from many philosophical points. And the different areas which have relevance to manufacturing can be put into three main branches and several sub branches. These main three are Epistemology, Logic and Ethics and some sub branches of the three main relevant branches to manufacturing, economic, technological mathematic, social and rational argument. The relevance of philosophy to manufacturing goes back long before the industrial revolution and even further back then the roman’s but to the first philosopher Pythagoras. These topics will be discussed in more detail later. Ethics or moral philosophy This is the branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality that is, about concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong, justice and virtue. Anyone who has read Aristotle’s Ethics and has read modern moral philosophy must realise the great contrasts between them. The concepts which are prominent among the moderns seem to be lacking, far in the background, in Aristotle. Most noticeably, the term ‘moral’ itself, which we have by direct inheritance from Aristotle, just doesn’t seem to fit in its modern sense into an account of Aristotelian ethics. Aristotle distinguishes virtues as moral and intellectual. This area of philosophy is a broad area of study and is very relevant to everybody in normal day life. We take for granted the morals we live by and the morals of others, this too can be true for ethical practices that take place in manufacturing. Ethics are used by every company and business as bases for running their organisation such as fair trade, quality of product and quality of working environment. Some examples of ethics that show how important it is to consumers that companies have morals include: Fair Trade In the case of fair trade ethics has changed the way trade is done and the way people are treated in the process. In the past number of years important social changes have occurred with ethics an example of simple ethic in fair trade would be the production of coffee beans. Companies in recent years have begun to buy fairly bought produce where the producers benefit. As most of the producers are poor farmers. But because of the moral changes that have taken place in the past twenty years things have improved before the change in attitude the companies bought the product at low prices for big plantation owners and the poor suffered because of it. Quality of Product The role of ethics in quality of product we can take a very recent example and it is very much manufacturing example that of Toyota with the stricken of the accelerator pedal. The company is calling back thousands of cars for repair; this will cost a lot of money. And why its being done well the company has a moral obligation to produce a product fit for use. The ethics behind leaving defective products in us by consumers it could cause many incidences and maybe fatalities. The ethics that Toyota will abide by. Will cost the company a lot of money but may save the company on the long run. Companies who didn’t solve their problems. i. e. the car company Lancia who had a rust problem, which crippled the company in the end. And Toyota could fall a similar fate and begun bankrupt if not carful. It can be said that it is not ethics that is making Toyota recall all these cars but money. That unfortunately that is a pessimistic view and one would hope that Toyota is doing it for the right reasons over the value of reputation and money. Quality of Working Environment Quality of working environment is the final scenario. There have been many changes in the way people work and the place in which they work in as most working environment can be very dangerous places. Since the start of the industrial revolution high fatalities have occured due to machines with little or no safety aspects, have been recorded and it was due to companies disregarding safety of workers to make high profits. It may not be as big an issue today in the western world but to poorer more undeveloped countries where workers are still being neglected-ethics will play a role to improve he working environment and show manufacturing in a better light, now and in the future. Ethics is the bases of why good judgment is made so as to maintain and improve society. In a manufacturing sense morals can be a corner stone in changing work practices in industry. It can be a tool for progress in the future. The moral obligation to all is to be just and right, the phrase â€Å"Do no harm† can be an important to manufacturing and life in ge neral. Thomas Hobbes had stresses the importance of peace and security. With ethics in mind he said; there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society† And then follows the description of life under such conditions made so by repeated quotation that I refrain from quoting it still again. Where morals prevail peace can be seen. Peace and security, however, including secure property rights and the attendant opportunities to create and accumulate wealth, permit â€Å"commodious living†, which is Hobbes’s term for economic development. In the three examples it can be seen where ethics has played a part in changing the mind set of people and companies in the past few decades. It may not be ethics which was the catalyst for these changes but it is the way things are changing for the better. Hobbes had a point even if it was a bit extreme; there is room for good if people give it a chance and do the right thing. Logic Logic is the study of reasoning. And reasoning typically focuses on what makes reasoning efficient or inefficient, appropriate or inappropriate. Logic is the corner stone of science and mathematics which in turn play a vital role in engineering. It is one of the oldest areas of philosophy going back to Aristotle. Along with Aristotle some key figures in the study of logic were Bertrand Russell, Charles Sanders Peirce and Immanuel Kant. These men made many points on the area of logic As like ethics, logic is a wide area of study. This is important to us in our every day existence. Logic is what we use to solve from our most basic problems to the kind of problems that change the world socially, economically, technologically and mathematically to name but a few ways. Logic can be broken down into two parts inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is where a set of facts are given and from those facts a conclusion can be got from it an example of this in is a jigsaw puzzle all the parts are there but the pieces must be put together to see the full picture. On the other hand deductive reasoning is quiet different while inductive reasoning all the pieces are to be seen at once deductive reasoning gets it answer on a logical sequence of events, example of deductive reasoning is where a problem is set out but there is only one piece of information to work on and from that another piece of information is discovered until a logical sequence is established and an answer is reached like a detective solves a crime. Logic is the tool to solve any problem or argument which may arise by using the types of reasoning. And with this in mind logic will play a part in the future of manufacturing because without the use of logic the problems of the future won’t be solved and manufacturing will not progress. Epistemology Philosophy is largely based on known knowledge and epistemology is a study of knowledge. Descartes defines knowledge in terms of doubt. While distinguishing rigorous knowledge and lesser grades of conviction, Descartes writes: â€Å"I distinguish the two as follows: there is conviction when there remains some reason which might lead us to doubt, but knowledge is conviction based on a reason so strong that it can never be shaken by any stronger reason. † [Stanford, 2010] According to Bertrand Russell in regards to Epistemology, he says â€Å"we could be familiar with objects in two ways: knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. He also thought that we could only be acquainted with our own sense data and that everything else we had to know through reasoning. It set out to answer â€Å"what distinguishes true (adequate)  knowledge  from false (inadequate) knowledge? This question translates into issues of scientific methodology: how can one develop theories or models that are better than competing theories. There is many areas which knowledge can be broken down into these main areas are Ratio nalism, Scepticism Rational Knowledge Rationalism Mathematics and geometry are examples of abstract truths which are known with certainty, even though the physical illustrations of these truths may vary. An early example was the Greek philosopher Plato who stated that ideas have an existence independent of human minds. These independently-existing ideas are the only reality in the universe since they are absolute and unchanging. Valid knowledge comes then when the mind grasps these ideas. Another famous philosopher was the Frenchman Rene Descartes who went through a period of scepticism in his life and then came to the conclusion that only ideas which were clear and distinct to the mind represented valid knowledge â€Å"Objections to Rationalism: . There is no agreement among philosophers or cultures about so-called self-evident ideas. Supposedly self-evident ideas have often been rejected at later times in history. 2. Self-evident ideas provide no knowledge about the world. Though sense experience may not be certain, it provides us with information which is as reliable as we need. The fact that a belief is not absolutely certain should not disqualify it for knowledge. Why not say t hat something is  known  as long as there is no good reason to doubt it? Of course, that might mean that occasionally we would have to admit that what we thought we knew was something that we really didnt know. So what? † [tamu, 2010] Scepticism This is the view that questions whether valid or reliable knowledge is ever attainable by a human being. Some sceptics stated that nothing can be known. Other sceptics stated that they did not know whether knowledge was possible; they suspended judgment on the issue. Some of the common examples used by sceptics are the illusions and deceptions of our senses. Others point to the complexity of any experience and ask how you can know what is the essence or real nature of the things you are experiencing. Empiricism This is the view that valid knowledge comes only through the five senses. Aristotle held the view that whatever was in the mind was first in the senses. Rene Descartes  (1596-1650) He claims, unless we know first whether our belief itself is justified. To determine whether our beliefs are justified, we have to be able to trace them back to a statement, belief, or proposition that cannot be doubted. Such a proposition could provide the firm foundation on which all subsequent beliefs could be grounded; it would guarantee that all subsequent claims based on it would be true. In order to identify an ultimate principle of truth on which all other knowledge can be based, Descartes develops a method that suspends our confidence in what we have been taught, what our senses tell us, what we think is obviousin short, in regard to everything we know. In order to determine whether there is anything we can know with certainty, he says that we first have to doubt everything we know. Such a radical doubt might not seem reasonable, and Descartes certainly does not mean that we  really  should doubt everything. What he suggests is that, in order to see if there is some belief that cannot be doubted, we should temporarily pretend that everything we know is questionable. Since sense experience is sometimes deceiving, it is obvious to Descartes that  a posteriori  claims (e. g. , that this milk tastes sour or that suit is dark blue) cannot be the basis for claims of knowledge. We do not know that what we experience through our senses is true; at least, we are not certain of it. So the best thing to do is to doubt our senses. Likewise, we cannot be sure that we really have bodies or that our experience of the world in general can be trusted; after all, we might be dreaming the whole thing. Next, we cannot even be sure that mathematical propositions such as 2+3=5 or that triangles always have three sides are true because some evil power might be deceiving us to think such things, when it is possible that even propositions that seem evident to us as true might themselves be really false. But even if an evil genie deceives us about all other beliefs, there is one belief that we cannot be mistaken about, and that is that we are thinking. Even to doubt this is to affirm it. Thinking proves that we exist (at least as minds or thinking things, regardless of whether we have bodies). The body is not an essential part of the self because we can doubt its existence in a way that we cannot doubt the existence of the mind. We have a great inclination to believe that there are physical objects that are external to the mind. But since only those objects known in terms of mathematical propertiesnot those imagined by use of the sensescan be known clearly and distinctly, the only knowledge we can have of such objects is in terms of mathematical, quantifiable physics. The only real knowledge we can have, then, is of things understood as functions of laws of physics. The objects we  see  are not the objects we  know, because what we know is intelligible only in terms of the clarity and precision of the formulae of physics. Information provided by the senses cannot therefore be the basis of knowledge. [tamu, 2010] Kant Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher who attempted to combine rationalism and empiricism. It is called the form and matter epistemology. A statue can have a form such as Abraham Lincoln and a matter such as marble; you need both a form and a matter to have a statue. So in knowledge you need a form, which are categories of the mind,  and matter which are the data of sensatio ns. You need both of these to have knowledge. It is similar to wearing rose-colored glasses. You have visual sensations and they are coloured by the glasses. Of course with the mind you cannot take of your glasses. Knowledge is an incredibility powerful tool which has created great nations and pushed the boundaries of science and technology to new areas. The quotation from Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) said that â€Å"knowledge is power† and that has always been the case since the dawn of civilisation, knowledge has been a part of every major advancement. Knowledge has a big part to play in manufacturing, it is an integral part of all advancement without the constant need for knowledge through research and other means it would be impossible to make major achievement. The different areas which have been discussed can be seen as different way we can go about solving difficult situation and problems. Manufacturing will need to conform to these different methods of thinking in the future. Conclusion Philosophy can be shown to have many areas some of which have been covered throughout this essay. The areas which have been covered are relevant to manufacturing in ways that show philosophy as a key component to running a lucrative and sustainable operating line. Philosophy has a lot of points to make; its relevance to manufacturing can be used as a tool for advancement in the future in areas such as Ethics * Companies treatment of small producers * Quality of products produced for consumers * The working environment Ethics has a role to play in changing these for the better and will have a maintaining a standard in future productions, especially in third world countries where companies have taken advantage of their workers yet do not pay a moral price. Logic The study of reasoning logic can be found at the core of engineering and manufacturing in general. It is a corner stone in which there are couple of ways of resolving a problem. The two main types are * Inductive * Deductive These two methods of solving apply to certain manufacturing dilemmas depending on the individual situation. A logical sequence of steps to gain the solution in which a process i. e. a production line is established by taking the correct logical sequence for the line to work effectively. Logic has a vital role in the way manufacturing process are carried out, without which there would be ciaos, void of efficiency, continuity and general order. Epistemology Epistemology is the study of knowledge and the ways of knowing. It schools of thought from which theories have sprung can be divided in the categories. * Rationalism The view of using absolute truth which is known with certainty is rationalism. Breaking knowledge down into its simplified core elements to revel the truth. * Scepticism This is seen where a theory is put forward and is then questioned. Many theorists maintain that some knowledge can never been known in its entirety or factually. It is questioning until a hypothesis or theory is validated to their satisfaction. * Empiricism Using the five senses to gain knowledge, most natural form of collection of information as we do it every day unknowingly. In the future the ideas and views of philosophy will have a significant part to play in manufacturing and engineering in general. As it has had an important role to play in the past. Manufacturing can be broken down into many different areas and this is due to philosophy and the thinking required by the different schools of thought in the related areas. As all area have a knock on effect on each other, i. e. logic can change the methodology significantly. We now realise the importance of philosophy in every day manufacturing although it might not appear obvious but under the surface of manufacturing processes is detrimental to efficient, cost effective, and ethic practices in the work place. References [Stanford, 2010] http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/ [tamu, 2010] http://philosophy. tamu. edu/~sdaniel/Notes/96class15. html

Man versus machine essays

Man versus machine essays Compare and Contrast North Indian Classical music to Western classical music Western Classical music is renowned for its perceptual grouping processes, basic standard format and easy recognition due to such musical dimensions as pitch, duration, ornamentation and timbre. Western classical music represents a chronological period, in succession to the Baroque period, and we can easily associate certain composers to that era based on their musical style and compositional techniques. The foremost concept of Indian Classical music is that of the Raag, meaning colour and passion. The focus of these Raags are not of melody and harmony, but of musical ability and the creation of a timbre appropriate to its usage- with the aim of sending its listener into a mesmerised trance. The central idea of the Raag is purity. The musician is tightly constrained within the strict boundaries of rules that ultimately define whether the piece is Classical or not. Structure is a highly regarded element of Indian Classical music. Every Raag must follow a set pattern, which determines not only the instrumentation at each point, but the regulations to how the instrument is played, the usage of improvisation, accompaniment and the texture. Each Raag is based on a Swar (the notes of that particular scale) and Jati (the number of notes used. They are played both in arohana and avarohana forms (ascending/ descending manner) dependent on the section of the Raag. An example of the typical structure of a Raag is as follows; from RAAG BHIRAV Firstly there is the Allap which is a slow meditative section in free time, used to initiate the mood and explore the notes of the chosen Raag. Each note is introduced independently, allowing the listener to appreciate their value. The Allap may span several hours dependent on the performers ability. The next two sections are the Jor...

Jorge Luis Borges and hes great love for Argentina Essay

Jorge Luis Borges and hes great love for Argentina - Essay Example The brilliance of Jorge Luis Borges the author came into existence as a result of a number of factors, including his genealogy, his early life experiences, his exposure to Spanish and English at a very young age, his family’s trips to Europe and most importantly, his paternal grandmother. All these things served to shape the man who, with his erudite creativity, created masterpieces which, till date, are read and praised by people all over the world. Although he wrote and compiled numerous short stories and poems, and received accolades for his prose, Borges started off his literary career with a collection of poems titles Fervor de Buenos Aires. The collection, literally translated to mean Passion for Buenos Aires, is an acute reflection of the love and sentiment the poet has for his homeland. The work was not only significant in its content, but had great emotional value for Borges too. In his autobiographical essay, Borges claimed that throughout his literary career, he fel t he had never moved beyond his first creation. In his own words, â€Å"I feel that all my subsequent writing has only developed themes first taken up there; I feel that all during my lifetime I have been rewriting that one book.† (Lovecraft, 199) These words aptly reveal the impact the work had on Borges. Through the analysis of Fervor de Buenos Aires, the love of Jorge Luis Borges for his country Argentina can be discovered in greater insight. Borges deep attachment to his country can be explained in the events that preceded the publishing of Fervor de Buenos Aires. Born in Buenos Aires, he was raised in a suburban district located on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. He grew up in a household that was unique for the time – both English and Spanish were spoken fluently in the family. His father had a sprawling library of English books, and Borges had read great English literary masterpieces at a very young age. As a young boy, he was not

Promotional Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Promotional Strategies - Essay Example Promotion of a product involves the achievement of two objectives, and that is to provide information of the product to the targeted market, and to effectively persuade the targeted market into purchasing the product. Advertising is extremely useful in reaching any message put to any targeted market, while its relative impact on persuading the targeted market into purchase is low. Yet, it does both, and this is true for any product and in any sector of industry making it the effective form of promotion for all products. The primary advantage of advertising is that it is the least expensive in terms of per individual cost and less time consuming in spreading consumer behavior oriented information on a product to any target market, when compared to personal selling. Such messages can be got across to the targeted markets through different forms of media and the Internet quickly, and at much lower costs than what it would take a team of sales representatives to achieve. The advent of the Internet has provided a means for advertisement at even lower costs than conventional advertisements through print and television media (1). Words and images used in advertisements can trigger consumer positive reactions in wide target markets, even spread across the globe at a relatively low cost, and in very quick time (2). The disadvantage of advertising lies in the impact that it can create in the target market. Therefore deliberate planning must go into the creation of an advertisement, with extreme care being taken in the words and images used. An advertisement is like an arrow. Once it is let loose it cannot be called back, and if the message it carries creates negative feelings of either the product or the business enterprise involved in it the consequences will be disastrous. This is particularly true when products are marketed globally, and advertisements used for their promotion. Care has to be taken see

Explore the presentation of Heathcliffs Essay Example for Free

Explore the presentation of Heathcliffs Essay Explore the presentation of Heathcliffs journey in Wuthering Heights, in the light of the Marxist Perspective. In Wuthering Heights, Bronti shows Marxist views that it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness. Bront? first published her text in the form of a novel in 1847. During this time England was influenced by Marxs ideas, socialists in England held a conference in London where they formed a new organisation called the Communist League, the aims of the organisation being to overthrow the old bourgeois society based on class antagonisms and to the establish a new society without classes and without private property. Despite England being influenced by Marx ideas at the time, Bront? created Wuthering Heights: a mix genre novel with themes such as domestic realism, tragedy and gothic love, which were very much open to critic and discussion at the time. This shows the extent to how she was much stipulated in her ideas and therefore Wuthering Heights might not have been influenced by the Marxist ideas at the time. When Heathcliff enters in chapter four with no social or domestic status, emphasised by his gibberish that nobody could understand suggesting his lack of social skills and ability to communicate; his lingual acquisition depends on his surroundings. Miles notes how rather than a dual function there is an oscillation resulting in the name never satisfactorily serving him either way, when he enters his name serves him as both his Christian name and surname immediately setting him as an outsider and determining his role because he does not embody conventions of society. Victorian Society was organised such that the base of the society determines its superstructure, everything associated with culture: education, law, religion and the arts but because Heathcliff is not an Earnshaw his status means he cannot access this cultural economy and he is ultimately rejected. His name therefore presents his inability to gain access and the extent of his exclusion, as Miles notes is a constant reminder of the unsatisfactory fit between himself and the codes of a society denying him incorporation. It is his status and his social existence that therefore does determine his consciousness. Bronti creates suggested possibilities that cannot ultimately be realised; when Heathcliff first enters he is referred to as landlord, yet is not given the opportunity to become an Earnshaw. Also, as Gilbert and Gubar note: smashing Catherines rival-brothers fiddle and making a desirable third among the children in the family so as to insulate her from the pressure of her brothers domination, this shows the possibilities that Heathcliff might have been able to integrate into the Earnshaws and therefore society in turn becoming Catherines chance for freedom from strict social structure, but because of the base structure of the Victorian Society he is rejected. Perhaps the smashing quote from Gilbert and Gubar refers to the three thrashings Heathcliff had to endure, foreshadowing the idea that the only way he can become part of Victorian Society is in a destructive way. The first reason why possibilities cannot be realised is that Heathcliff is learning his social position: Mr Earnshaw calls him poor, fatherless child, Heathcliff is constantly made to perceive himself as poor, these social circumstances determine why Heathcliff is placed into the servant quarters and therefore kept separate from social events by Hindley, who is in power after Mr Earnshaw dies. Heathcliffs access to the superstructure of Victorian society becomes limited, and even though Heathcliff bore his degradation well this heightens his perception of himself as someone in need of charity, making him susceptible to charity or abuse. Perhaps the possibilities might have been realised if Catherine hadnt accessed Thrushcross Grange: a place carpeted with crimson pure white ceiling bordered with gold, suggesting Thrushcross Granges wealth, status and a place that epitomises gentry and reflecting the Victorian connection of wealth and heaven. When Catherine is taken to Trushcross Grange she is introduced to a new social status, where she has combed her beautiful hair and pair of enormous slippers, we see how her consciousness has now changed as she has been introduced to Victorian Societies superstructure. It is only until this integration into the Heights that Catherine realises Heathcliff is not adequate for her. She is enabled access to the Heights because of her name and its association with economic position. Heathcliff is a gypsy and by putting up the shutters, curtains half closed while Heathcliffs looking through the window panes shows how the barriers symbolise Bronti presenting the strict Victorian Society which denies Heathcliffs access to culture and education. Trushcross Grange becomes somewhat of a Victorian societys ideal, a materialistic ideal. Catherines awareness of her social existence results in her new perception that she cannot marry Heathcliff because: if Heathcliff and I married, we should be beggars Even though he is her authentic love and she hints at Heathcliff and her being inseparable she does not follow through. She has already chosen to marry Edgar; and so the novel can be read from a Marxist perspective as Catherines outlook in marrying Edgar is materialist as she thinks about social reasons and survival, as opposed to the idealistic perspective. Bronti shows how Catherine is affected my material circumstances reflected when she says she will be queen of the neighbourhood and does not chose Heathcliff, who can be seen as a symbol of her freedom. However, it can be argued that she never has a choice between the two as the way she is set to think is largely conditioned by the way the economy is organised. Bront? presents through the novel how this economy determines the superstructure and therefore even though Heathcliff stands for Catherines freedom it is Victorian societys mentality that means people remain ignorant of Heathcliffs potential goodness, who is instead driven away because he does not have the capital (money) or culture (education) to support her. So, Catherine probably is right in saying they would be beggars. It is their social circumstances that have determined much of their life and results in Heathcliff running off. Bront? creates this gap in the novel where we are unaware of Heathcliffs situation which effectively creates a sense of mystery around Heathliff and and forms tension until his return, even if it be full of vengeance.

Universal Code of Software Ethics Essay -- Computers Software Technolo

Universal Code of Software Ethics Introduction Software organizations are growing along with the international businesses they service. Driven by universalism, the world is becoming a single workplace and marketplace. Like all professionals, Software professionals who work within these organizations regularly face problems of an ethical and moral nature. In making decisions, what cultural, social and ethical norms should apply - those of the professionals’ home culture or those of the culture in which they are working, and indeed, are these two choices necessarily different? [6] "Each Nation has many customs and practices which are not only unknown to another nation but barbarous and a cause of wonder," says Michel de Montaigne. The field of computing is generating many difficult ethical questions and the variation in the ethical and social norms across the globe merely adds to the level of complexity in finding answers to these questions. How can issues be answered if the "rules" are not fixed? How, for example, can an ethical or moral question about the content of a web site be considered when a hypertext link in that web page may not only take the user to a different part of that site, but to "a site in another part of the world" where different ethical values may prevail? [6] Professions have adopted ethical codes and codes of conduct. Physicians, lawyers, and engineers have moral responsibilities and know to whom they are responsible. Professionals in the information systems field need similar guidance. Unfortunately, multiple professional standards in the field are offered by individual organizations. Many of the precepts in these codes are similar, but some are not. This paper presents the principles of f... ... 15 Jun 2000, [Online], Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/world_lectures/mazrui_lect.shtml. [9] Oz, Effy Ethical Standards for Information Systems Professionals: A Case for a Unified Code 1992, [Online], Available: http://www.misq.org/archivist/vol/no16/issue4/effyoz.pdf. [10] Pohl, Karl-Heinz [1999] Beyond Universalism and Relativism – Reflections on an East-West Intercultural Dialogue. Paper to the International Conference on Universal Ethics and Asian Values, 4-6 Oct 1999, Seoul, South Korea, [Online], Available: http://www.unesco.or.kr/kor/science/project/universal_ethics/asianvalues/pohl.htm. [11] Rosenfeld, Jack [1997] IFIP Publishes Book on Ethics of Computing from an International Perspective. ACM SIGCHI Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 1, Jan 1997, [Online], Available: http://www.acm.org/sigchi/bulletin/1997.1/international.html.

Courage Essay

Every human being on this planet is unique and different but we are all born with the gift of courage. However there are very few who take advantage of that gift. Courage is the ability to work one’s way through a tough situation, be it mental or physical. We all have faced or witnessed tough challenges before. Th difference, however, is that some people tend to give up when the goings get rough, while others keep on. People commit acts of courage on a daily basis, many of them without even realizing it. Today I will talk to you about an event in particular. Imagine playing hockey with a bunch of boys and being the only girl it’s very difficult, even more then it sounds. I was the only girl on the team and most of the boys would refuse to pass the puck to me or even tell me when I did a good play. This didn’t bother me very much because I knew I would just have to work harder to prove them wrong, it was a challenge I was ready to take on. Half the season was done and everyone got to know me better and most of the team started to be friends with me, except one. His name was Aidan, he had blonde hair and blue eyes. He would always insult me before and after practice, in front of the rest of our team but they would never say anything to the coaches. Yes it was difficult to not let it get to me but I would always tell myself to just let it go. One day before our game he came up to me while I was alone and started insulting me and swearing at me. My only defence was to stand up for myself and tell him what I thought, I pinned hi m against the wall and told him how bullying people isn’t gonna make himself feel better and that he should stop immediately. After that day, he never bugged me again and that act of courage changed my life for the better. Courage is a necessity to the evolution of our people. Without courage, African-Americans would still be stuck I’m slavery. There would be no one there to fight for the rights of the people we now consider equals. Courage can be found I’m various forms. Courage is the only thing that gets us through the hard times, and the tempting opportunities. Courage is vital to the evolution of the human population. It os also an essential quality to becoming a successful person.