Essays on Pragmatism

The political elements of Star Trek show that the series had more insight than what is apparent. The show started in the 1960s when the Cold War was at its height. Many authorities argue that Star Trek is an exploration based on self-interest, colonialism, collectivism and control . However, George Gonzalez takes a different approach in The Politics of Star Trek where he undertakes a critical review of the story within the context of the actual implications of the actions of the characters. This paper will review the first two chapters of the book in order to present the critical ...

Charles S. Peirce is one of the most prominent developers of pragmatism philosophy. The article by Peirce deals with concepts of different ideas. Logicians divide ideas on clear and obscure, distinct and confused. For many years, these conceptions have not changed and have not been revised, although the life and people change. Logicians used these conceptions for many years, but in fact they belong to “extinguished” philosophy. The author stresses that there is need of new formulations.

According to Peirce there 3 stages of clearness:

Familiarity Distinctness Pragmatistic exposition (Pierce) Clear idea is so understandable that it will be identified wherever it is met with, and so ...

In their article about arts and narrative research, Bochner and Ellis (2003) talk about many different ways that art can be seen as something other than just a pretty picture. Although it is strange to think about, they argue that art can be a "process and form of inquiry" where the researcher uses art as a way to ask and answer questions (Bochner and Ellis, 2003, 508). There is no specific type of methodology described in this article, because art is a complicated thing and different for everyone. But the authors say that some examples are showing data from ...

Implementing Cost Cutting in the Oil Industry

Abstract In the modern day, organizations across different industries across the globe are implementing new strategies focused towards enhancing the profitability. Cost cutting is one of the major strategies adopted by companies to enhance their profitability. In the oil and gas industry companies have been pursuing different cost cutting strategies aimed at enhancing their profitability an issue that has been of primary concern. Various strategies have been proposed towards enhancing cost cutting strategies and these include automation that facilitate a throughout system, heightened regulatory measures compliance, technical support and solutions as well as maximizing modularity and replicability. These are ...

The central thesis of Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw is that price decision making should prevail over political decision making since markets have been the driving force for world events (Yergin and Stanislaw, “Commanding Heights p3 New rules of the game”). The authors are trying to prove how the once commanding economy has lost its reputation since the desire to command and manage the top levels of the economy has shrivelled. They achieve this by interviewing different major players from different nations. Keith Joseph is portrayed as Britain’s “Minister of thought” as he worked alongside Thatcher, both of ...

Critical Analysis of the Three Main Theories of Learning and Their Relevance to Adults in Higher Education

Over the years of teaching practice, scholars and researchers from different areas of pedagogy, psychology, and philosophy have revealed the most effective theories and methods of teaching. Behaviorist, cognitive, and constructivist theories are considered to be the most efficient and productive learning approaches. The use of these theories in education helps teaching experience to gain the important ideas that fully meet the objectives of education of an active and mature personality. Hence, the selection of the optimal theory, or their mixing, aims at improving the learning process, making it more effective. This efficiency is due to the received result, ...

Ali Carkoglu ‘Voting Behavior’

Carkoglu’s article deal with the issue of the analysis of the Turkish electoral policy as well as the mentality of the voters. The author’s position consists in the statement that this matter has been always tough to be properly explored, as there were always barriers for the creation of the rational and strategic voting process. The barriers have been usually caused by the following factors: weak foundation of Turkish democracy and constant military interventions; absence of rational-choice approaches; the analysis of this issue was always limited, as the scholars often lacked appropriate data so as to deal ...

Introduction

Ever since the emergence of theatre as a form of art, it has remained on of the most popular and expressive genres of art that continue to entertain as much as it informs. This is perhaps because for many years, theatre has been used as a social mirror of sorts; one that allows the audience as well as the performers to view the society in which they live for what it is. The ability of playwrights to craft magnificent and compelling theatrical pieces that highlight the plight of the societies in which they live arguably makes playwrights one of ...

Donovan’s Charge and Fences are two plays that are written in completely different time periods—arguably, for two very different audiences. The topic of race and the discussion and discourse surrounding race are different today than they were when Wilson wrote his landmark play Fences. However, despite the fact that these plays were written in different times, there are still common themes that remain the same throughout both plays. Most notably, the conflict between pragmatism and morality runs strongly through both plays. In Fences, Wlison’s characters Troy and Rose face the world very differently. Rose is the ...

Business, Ethical and Legal issues

Business, Ethical and Legal issues

Rob's situation with Dusty puts him in a dilemma. The community, customers and board members of the firearms company exert pressure on him to relieve Dusty of his duties owing to his past as a criminal record after the exposure by a local publication following a tip from Dusty's former crime mate T-rex. On the other hand, Dusty has been exemplary in his job and has even been an important figure in the community owing to his voluntary service. Furthermore, Rob is aware that he has reformed and has already atoned for his crime ...

China is undergoing dramatic transformations socially and culturally, and the speed change scenario asks for engaging architectural thoughts with the booming economy to define a contemporary Chinese architecture.1.1 A Framework1.1.1 An urban overview of Hong KongThis is an extremely short account of what can hardly be considered and recent Hong Kong’s

Hong Kong is ideally positioned, situated at the southeastern tip of China.

The ex–British colony has evolved into a unique scenario 1.1.2 Population and density

Hong Kong, with a land territory of 1.075 square kilometers has a total population of more than 7M

The median age has risen to 36 and the median monthly household income is HK$15.000 The population forecast for 2030 is 9 Million The density of public housing at times crosses twice ...

Despite having the trappings of a hard sci-fi adventure story, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar is a deeply humanist and spiritual film exploring philosophical and emotional issues in a complex way (Dean, 2015). Central to this are the concepts of bravery and sacrifice: as Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and the rest of his crew take great risks and travel vast distances to save humanity from a dying Earth, the characters all display varying aspects of the human condition, especially related to these very big, complex ideas. As the characters of Interstellar go about their mission and weigh the risks and rewards ...

Main themes, concepts and arguments

The main theme involves the practical application of the pragmatic method in addressing controversies. How to apply pragmatism in understanding practical consequences and truth as it relates to pragmatism are discussed. William James argues that truth can be established by attending to practical consequences of ideas. He adds that just agreeing with ideas does not necessarily constitute the truth. The author argues that application of pragmatism helps to clarify meaning of concepts and does not intend to advance any specific theory.

How the author structures his/her argument and the author's method

However, from the pragmatic point of view these words on their own apply as tools to or instruments ...

Progressivism philosophy education is based on the belief that the education should put concentration and focus on the child as a whole rather than focusing on the teacher or content. This philosophy of education proposes that the ideas of the children should be tested through active experimentation. The learning activity is mainly based on the questions raised by the learners that arise as they experience the world. This is an active philosophy of education as opposed to the other passive theories of education.in this philosophy of education the learner is the problem solver and a thinker in the learning process. The ...

Introduction

In the 19th century, there were many problems faced in the society such as economic depression, corruption in businesses, and labor crisis . Added to these problems, the legalized segregation, and racial violence wherein local law enforcements never exercise their responsibility intended for the issues in the society. Both Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were frontrunners in the presidential election in 1912 with progressive philosophies, attitudes, and theories.

A Republic means nothing unless there is triumph of a real democracy. The triumph of a popular government, and economic system with guaranteed opportunity to every person. The success is great when the nation ...

Pragmatism and Public Policy Research

Pragmatic policy making refers to policy makers making decisions based on real incidents and practicality of an idea rather than relying upon theories or ideologies. The basic aim of entrepreneurial policy makers is to encourage more people to take risks and start businesses. If people believe in the experience of these policy makers there could be several benefits for the entire system. Entrepreneurial policy makers are going to better understand the business scenarios compared to people who just create policies without having any first-hand knowledge. Consequently, the policies are going to be effective and up-to-date. The experience of entrepreneurial ...

Virtue Ethics highlight the principle of a person’s character rather than some other factors when it comes to determining his moral value and philosophy. Basically, virtue ethics is a person-based ethics. It focuses on what type of person one should become and what kind of life a person should live with. According to virtue ethics, certain ideals that are only discovered through reflection, such as dedication and excellence, must be attained to whole-heartedly experience humanity. A person chooses to be morally good solely because it is innate in his character.

Virtue ethics speaks of an individual’s character but it is ...

In the article An Introduction to Classic American Pragmatism, the main aspects of pragmatism are examined. The author, Raymond Pfeiffer, Professor of Philosophy, argues that every person understands pragmatism differently, though in common language, the term “pragmatism” conveys the inclination for the practical. As a philosophical term, it was created by a Charles Peirce, an insurgent sage at the end of the 19th century. Peirce, the founder of pragmatism, in his studies, employed logic and the methodology of science to philosophy. However, Pierce does not go a long way to confirm that people should cease their persuasions on all the issues. ( ...

William James is considered as being one of the American pioneers in the field of philosophy and psychology. His works covered a wide range of areas including educational psychology, mysticism and psychology of religion. Two of his writings which gave him a great recognition are the Principles of Psychology and Psychology: The Briefer Course. He was part of the proponents of pragmatism philosophy and functionalism in psychology. This paper aims at analyzing the contribution of William James in epistemology. Many prominent views in the modern epistemology and pragmatist approaches to epistemology are reflected in most of the writings of James, (William, ...

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Steven Spielberg- Film Director

Contribution to Society A man who brought much name and fame to Hollywood and the United States is none other than the phenomenal and most powerful filmmakers the country hasThe biggest credit given to Spielberg for his work is his unique interest in science fiction and the spirit of which he kept alive through the dozens of films he made. Spielberg has become a role model for the youth of America as well as the entire world. He has made films like Jurassic Park, Jaws, ...

I was a voracious reader since the childhood. I believe in purposeful reading. Since my first book, I have been constantly looking for good that can inspire the hidden and creativity inside me. I like to read and analyze the subject simultaneously in the book. Apart inspirational books, I am also fond of novels and short stories. ‘House of Cars' is the book written by Michel Dobbs that inspired me a lot in my career and life. This book has served me as a mentor and a friend during the hardest time of my life. Some people might frown upon the choice ...

Pragmatism is a renowned concept of great relevance and application in the modern society. Sentiments presents by other American philosophers incline towards a reformist approach in addressing sociopolitical issues. Pragmatists are constantly motivated by a desire to find solutions through practical application. The idea of pragmatism can successfully be utilized in explaining and understanding socio-political issues and in building knowledge of about effective governance. Understanding the idea of pragmatism especially in America is essential in building knowledge of the current and history issues of social inequality. The paper focuses on establishing whether classic pragmatic have geared adequate effort to address the challenge ...

Law 4900

4:10 pm Introduction In the United States (US), the judiciary holds the authority to conduct constitutional decision-making, in which they interpret the US Constitution accordingly whenever they confront specific cases that involve its provisions. There are at least three approaches to constitutional decision-making: originalism, living constitutionalism and minimalism. Each of the three approaches of constitutional decision-making have different ideological bases – originalism deems the meaning and intent of the framers of the US Constitution as important, living constitutionalism takes into consideration the various societal changes and minimalism emphasizes the importance of case-specific interpretations, being perhaps the most moderate ...

In the case involving Snookie P and the plaintiff, the defendant was caught coming out of the plaintiff’s store, having stolen juice, cigarettes, some razors and a few other items. This was after a hurricane that had struck the locality, meaning that businesses had to remain closed. Snookies argument was that her children had gone without food and water for some time and she had been left with no alternative than to break into the store and steal these items. Notably, the defendant has been convicted of burglary on three other occasions meaning that she is a habitual offender. ...

Pragmatic inquiry refers to a process that involves inquisition into how people (communities, stakeholders and decision makers) may take action to solve a problem with the idea that it can make a practical difference around the globe (Book of reading, p. 1). In most cases physical events resulted to conflicting ideologies from scientists and philosophers hence the need to find a better way to interpret problems so as to design better ways to act in the future when such problems present themselves again (Ormerod, 2006 p. 893) . The pragmatic inquiry process is not fully scientific citing the need to design appropriate social systems ( ...

Pragmatism

Around 1870 in the United States, the philosophical tradition of pragmatism began, with the most notable early pragmatists being John Dewey, William James, and Charles Sanders Pierce. The core of the philosophy was the pragmatist maxim, which was tracing the hypotheses and their contents back to their ‘practical consequences.’ Dewey, a leader in the field of the study of education, looks at the pragmatic situation as having a pattern of inquiry which he equates to a practical method of solving problems. This system involves checking one’s surroundings, using his scientific method of inquiry to solve problems, and when first faced with a ...

Philosophy

Empiricism vs. Absolutism William James and Charles Sanders Peirce are both credited for their philosophical conceptualization of “pragmatism” in the late 19th century. (Point 304) Charles Peirce was hailed the “father of pragmatism” (“Pragmatism”) as he initiated the idea, while James propagated it (Point 304). Though the two philosophical fathers differ in the scope of their definition of pragmatism (Point 304), both agree that pragmatism is the philosophy that the truth is proven by practical means, to say in the simplest amd, perhaps, inadequate words. It is a breath of fresh air from philosophical ideas of pursuing the truth ...

A Report

Introduction This report follows the earlier work carried out on the subject of case study as a methodology of research. In the previous report questions regarding what a case study is, how a case study is carried out, what are the different forms of case studies and when best to undertake a case study were discussed. The case study is an important method adopted by many researchers in their research design. The advantages and the shortcomings of such a research design have been well documented and were also discussed in the earlier report. The report aims at recollecting the experience of researching ...

Since Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865, it is impossible to know what final form his Reconstruction policies would have followed, although his successor Andrew Johnson always asserted that in carry out a moderate Restoration of the Southern states in 1865 his was simply carrying out Abraham Lincoln’s original plan. Abolitionists and so-called Radical Republicans like Ben Wade, Frederick Douglass and Thaddeus Stevens disagreed with Johnson and finally attempted to remove him from office in 1867-68. They did not intend to restore the former Confederate states unless equal civil and voting rights had been granted to the four million ...

I. What was going on in America during this time (1865-1877) known as "the reconstruction? (1-3 Page) (Talk about Lincolns 10% plan, Charles Sumner,Preston Brooks, Lincolns death, The Reconstruction act, Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, Freedmans Bureau, Birth of the KKK, etc.) There were two Reconstructions in American history, although the first one in 1865-77 ended with restoration of home rule and white supremacy in the South, rather than equal citizenship and voting rights promised in the 14th and 15th Amendments. In fact, it ended in extreme violence, with perhaps 50,000 blacks being murdered when the Ku ...

Understanding an individual’s behavior is a complicated task, which requires a learning experience. Human behavior is unpredictable and complex and trying to understand it requires a high degree of accuracy. Different people have varying characteristic behaviors and psychologists have come up with different theories to explain why people behave in certain ways. Even when the psychologists put more effort in explaining these theories, people are still not enlightened on their behaviors. Williams James was a very excellent psychologist whose work has influenced many people in their daily lives. According to James (1950), Williams James was guided by four aspects (social self, spiritual ...

Biography of John Dewey

John Dewey is the American philosopher who can be seen as the leader of the pragmatism school of thought. This pragmatism school of thought is in essence the naturalistic view that knowledge surfaces when a human being actively adjusts to his surroundings instead of observing the world in a static, inactive manner (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). His philosophy is focused on stretching the mind in an active manner and experience. Dewey himself is evidence for the experiences, he has used theories of “modern biology, psychology, physics, and the historical sciences” (Hook, 2008, p.3). His influence from these theories and on these ...

Reflection Paper

Throughout my life, there have been many factors and influences that have led me to my current career choices; my personality has been shaped in such a way as to provide me with unique skills and interests suited for that career. In terms of career development, there are several theories that can help me link my personality to my aspirations in career counseling. In this reflection paper, several career development theories are used to evaluate my life and personality to the end of determining my suitability for the field of career counseling.

Donald's Super's theory of career development describes a 'life ...

Abstract

Higher education is guided by philosophical principles that administrators use to set curricula and establish policies that govern how institutions are run. The educational philosophy of pragmatic instrumentalism offers one such ideal, which proceeds from a belief that theory and practical application could and should be meshed in order to prepare students to impact their environment. This is a theory well-suited for a Democratic society, the well-being of which men such as Thomas Jefferson believed hinges on the participation of an informed populace. Though pragmatism in higher education seeks a practical and applicable learning outcome for students, it does not mean, and should ...

INTRODUCTION

For my forthcoming study, my research problem is thus: many educators, linguists and scholars in the field of Standard Arabic language instruction need to conduct research that identifies specific difficulties Americans encounter in learning Arabic by classroom instruction. In order to properly investigate this problem, however, I need to decide on a philosophical worldview with which to study it. The importance of the philosophical worldview revolves around the way in which I would look at the problem and the research involved in it. In this paper, we will examine four major philosophical worldviews that could potentially inform my research.

In ...