Perspectives on conflicts and disputes Essay Example for Free

Perspectives on conflicts and disputes Essay Legal positivists postulate that individuals are intrinsically greedy, which is the main root of conflicts among them. Thomas Hobbes posits that beings are doomed to dispute because of their primeval nature, which is deduced to selfishness that causes them to struggle to maintain their social status. In this milieu, Charles Darwin furthered this stance by conjecturing that species’ selfish ways are embedded to their genes because life is nothing but a struggle for survival. To curtail this selfishness, law is of necessity because only it provides rules and restrictions to protect the interest and upholds the rights of each individual. The advancement on the epistemological aspect of conflict starts at the ontogenetic condition of the specie and continues in its phylogenetic condition. Ontogenetic state means that the being develops from the conception of its genes up to the end of its life cycle. Conversely, phylogenetic event transpires in between of the beings conception and death, meaning the individual develops throughout the time it exists. Therefore, Homo sapiens understanding of conflict’s anatomy begins at phylogenetic level and its full comprehension happens when Homo sapiens reaches the end of ontogenetic level. The epistemic acquisition of conflicts thrives in human playground or to events and settings that necessitates human actions and interactions. Conflicts undergo a succession that perpetually exists within the life-world of beings such as their surroundings, environment, politics, business, science, etc. Having drawn this conclusion, we can infer that in existing innumerable of conflicts there is a myriad of ways of resolving it. Conflict is impossible to annihilate because of the following reasons: first, it thrives at the very heart of human volition, which is the source of human selfishness, and second, it has been part of human psyche to transfer it from one generation to the other, which resulted to a vicious cycle within the epistemic system of conflict. And throughout history, individuals have learned the art of conflict, and some even mastered the usage of conflict in their everyday lives. Handling conflict is very vital to human existence because it can totally change the landscape of one’s own existence. The coming of twentieth century proved that beings are becoming more and more aware of how to comprehend the nitty-gritty details of conflict, and what are the effective means of handling conflicts. There is no panacea that will medicate continuous existence of conflict, but humans strive to find a better solution to satisfy the needs of a prominent conflict because they are challenged by the difficulty it embodies. It must be noted that conflict is getting more complicated as time passes by, which means that better solution must be concocted to counter-attack more severe problem. The vastness of the universe implies a far more serious condition because the contingency of the world can necessitate an unknown conflict, which greatly needs a novel constructs or to put it simply, man has to go out of the box to resolve a new or unknown prevailing issue. This kind of conflict serves a greater challenge to human reason because it is something that our very reason has not yet encountered. The enigmatic characteristic of such new issues demands transcendence in our rationality. Using Karl Marx philosophical stance, we can infer that conflict has a crisis-response blueprint or a thesis-antithesis pattern. Multiplicity of conflicts has evolved into a more complex manner within the continuum of time, as well as the individual effort to manage and to elucidate it. In order for a human specie to understand the mechanism of conflict, he/she must know its intrinsic values, and in doing so, he/she can decipher appropriate solution for different conflicts. The epicentre of conflict lies on the innate nature of man and its solution lies on the rules that have been drawn to curb the natural operation of human volition. Development is the life-source of conflict, ironically speaking, the more we formulate means to make life easier the more we recognize new conflicts. In the primeval condition of humanity the only existing problem is the source of food, and then it further develops into the issue of territory, and finally when men resolved these issues another conflict sprouted when they realized the significance of property. The birth of science and technology intensified the man’s struggle to annihilate conflicts. Science and technology successfully medicated the prevailing conflicts of our society but it also paved for the birth of novel conflicts, and in some condition aggravated an existing issue. As of this modern day period, science and technology provides a myriad of solutions in human crises in the field of poverty, education and medicine. But it also exacerbates war between nations because technology brings forth weaponry of mass destruction. Man by Nature is Selfish According to Richard Dawkins introduction in his book The Selfish Gene, man’s attitude is greatly affected and designed by our genetic composition. Our genes made us. We animals exist for their preservation and are nothing more than their throwaway survival machines. The world of the selfish gene is one of savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit. But what of the acts of apparent altruism found in nature the bees who commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, or the birds who warn the flock of an approaching hawk? Do they contravene the fundamental law of gene selfishness? At the onset of Dawkins book, he clearly stipulated that all species either man or animals are machines fashioned by their genetic design. As mentioned earlier, Hobbes believes that men are naturally born selfish, and it is the same in Dawkins case. According to him, the selfishness of man is deeply embedded in our genes, and due to this we must learn the virtue of generosity and altruism because if we failed to do so, men will perpetually live on catastrophic state. Dawkins stance must not be misconstrued as an ethical justification of human behaviour or a moral treatise that must be followed since his insight is loud and clear; that men are selfish because of their genes, no more, no less. Having said this, it is a challenge for us to control it if not exterminate it because we are the only species who can desired to do it. In the furtherance of man’s selfish genes, Dawkins incorporated Darwin’s biological conjecture that man is doomed for the battle of its own survival. However, the former believes that survival is not controlled by man; rather man is machinated by genes to strive for its own survival. The genes are the building blocks of human existence, it is the one that created us, and these genes even dictates how we should reason out. Men are innately selfish for the sole reason of life preservation or prolongation. They are willing to do everything just to ensure that their interests are satisfied. Satisfaction of interest is tantamount to the validation of one existence. This is the embodiment of human existence, chaotic and full of struggle. The machination of individual is further elucidated by Dawkins through his explanation of gene mechanism. Dawkins adopted G. C. Williams’ definition of genes, which stated that gene any portion of chromosomal material that potentially last for enough generations to serve as a unit of natural selection . The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of man thrives within our body. It must be noted that DNA is not contained in a particular body parts rather it is widely disseminated within our cells. Approximately speaking, a human body is made of a thousand million cells, and each of these cells contains an exact blueprint of all DNA in our body. The significance of the ontogenetic control of genes is its capability of self-continuation and self-propagation, meaning, genes can preserve itself under the condition of numerous struggles. The survival of genes lies on the efficiency and power of our corporeal body, which they inhabit for its own development. The existence of each human species is not everlasting, it is ephemeral. Dawkins uses an analogy wherein each card in a deck represents the genes. According to him, when a deck of card are being shuffled they undergo a process of survival. And this process of survival is exactly the mechanism of genes wherein every time they are shuffled a gene only assumes the position of another gene, instead of being destroyed, and after the shuffling process genes are still genes that continue to march on. Dawkins draws a conclusion from this analogy, which stated that genes are basically the replicators and we are their machinery for survival. And when we have fulfilled our function we are automatically became useless, but gene will perpetuate its existence because it is a denizen of geological time . In view of that, Dawkins also posits that gene is the basic unit of survival because it competes for its own preservation against their alleles for a slot in the chromosome. With this picture, we can infer that genes struggle for survival of future generation in the gene pool in the expense of its own alleles. Therefore, selfishness is indeed the fundamental foundation of selfishness. The genes are the master programmers, and they are programming for their lives. They are judged according to the success of their programs in copying with all the hazards that life throws at their survival machines, and the judge is the ruthless judge of the court of survival . This phrase only strengthened Dawkins claims that man is nothing but a machinery of genes for its own survival. As pointed earlier, man is different from other specie because a human being has a will power and reason, meaning man can go against the dictate of its gene i. e. a person can choose not to reproduce. In addition, reason has its own domain wherein it has the capability to manipulate habitual operation of gene machine, to envisage what lies beyond its own future, and most significantly, to act according to its own course of nature. Because of rationality, gene machinery is able to be in command of outlining what direction individuals must follow. Rationality can curtail the dictate of gene, meaning, a person can transcend his/her selfishness and reach the condition of being generous and altruistic. The emancipation of man from his selfish nature is only possible if and only if he succumb himself to an agreement. Being established that human beings to be innately selfish also indicate that they are self-regulating. But generosity and altruism can only be actualized if the self-regulating beings surrender their self-regulating prowess. Selfishness is the anti-thesis of the said virtues but because of rationality human beings will submit to an agreement to satisfy the insufficiency of self-regulation. The universal antidote for this insufficiency is the construction of law through its rules. In the vein of Hobbes social contract theory, man must give in to an agreement to restrain his natural tendencies, but he must only surrender to a contract if and only if others will surrender to it in equal footing. But in the provision of rules it is a prerequisite to understand the intricate schema of conflict. The Role of Rules In Using Conflict Theory, Otomar Bartos and Paul Wehr claim that in the wide range of epistemic knowledge regarding conflicts there are two guiding principles that must be comprehended: one, to concentrate on general theories, and second, to carry out these theories on a simplified fashion. The former necessitate an application of theories to innumerable types of conflicts. While the latter focuses on the specific arguments or application of the former. One good example of general theories is elucidation of poverty in the third world countries using the framework of dialectical materialism by Marx. If we convert this general theory into a simplified manner, one must look at the specific causes of poverty such as shortage of natural resources, lack of capital, misallocation of funds, graft and corruption, and the likes. If one is successful in outlining the appropriate general theories in an existing conflict, then he/she translates these theories in its simplified form. And if this will be the case, then concoction of rules will be easier. Rules must embody the principle of the entire society and it must cater to the needs of its citizenry. Rules can be perceived in two ways: Kantian or Utilitarian. Immanuel Kant posits that rules must be made in the context of universal imperative, meaning it must not be used as means of advancing one’s interest rather it must be created for its own sake and for the goodness and betterment of humanity. In lieu to this, Utilitarian advocates such as J. S. Mill argues that rules must be conceptualized in the essence of achieving the goodness of the majority and resulting to the production of best consequences. Kant postulates that a rule must be encompassing and must not reside on the band wagon of majority votes because it contradicts the reason of man, and because number of votes does not imply truth. For example, killing another being is morally unjustified is a universal rule because it affirms the importance of life, which is true to all beings. Conversely, J. S. Mill believes that rules are justified if and only if the â€Å"greatest happiness for the greatest number of people† is reached. But it must be noted that utilitarian theory also entails a qualitative measurement through the intensity and duration of happiness, meaning, it must have greater impact to the society and its intensity must last for the longest time if not forever. For example, death penalty can be either permissible or impermissible depending on the context of society, but the point is, morally justifiability of death penalty lies on majority votes since it can serve the interest of more people. There are voluminous conflicting issues regarding these theories because both of them are in extreme opposition. Kant rejects utilitarianism because it does not uphold a consensual quest for universal truth and it only served the interests of the majority of population in a given social context. On the other hand, utilitarian advocates refute the Kantian theories because of its impossibility or tedious system in knowing the universal truth. But in the modern day period, utilitarian theories are more adopted than Kantian theory because it is more feasible in creating rules for present conflicts and for future conflicts. In most cases, before a rule can be ratified it must undergo an election and must meet certain number of votes to quantify its validity i. e. three-fourths of the voting population or majority votes. But it must be noted that most rules fashioned in utilitarian perspective must follow a universal precept so that it will not contradict the constitution of a specific nation. For example, murder is universally not accepted, which one of the reason why death penalty is not easy to endorse because it contradicts a universal precept, though some countries provided an reasonable exemption on the matter, killing will still be universal precept that they must consider. Rules main goal is to promote the interest of every individual as possible as it can, and to restrict the selfish ways of human beings, in order to maintain an ordered society. Because of this guideline, law has delineated the scope of public and private sphere to guarantee the possibility of generosity and altruism. Public sphere is far more superior to the private sphere because the former promotes national interest and the welfare of the entire populace. Law provides countless rules to reinforce the supremacy of public sphere, which is the apparent implication on the significance of reason. Rules are the product of our reason to rebel against the dictate of our selfish genes. In the furtherance of rules, justice must be encapsulated in its formulation to ensure an effective implementation of it.

The Chicano and The Black Power Movements Essay -- Chicano, Black Powe

The 1960’s comprised of many different movements that sought the same goal of achieving equality, equality in means of: political, economical, and social equality. Two similar movements emerged during this era that shared the same ideologies: the Chicano and the Black Power Movement. Both shared a similar ideology that outlined their movement, which was the call for self-determination. The similar experiences that they had undergone such as the maltreatment and the abuse of power that enacted was enacted by the dominant Anglo race helped to shape these ideologies. Despite their similar ideology, they differed in how they achieved this goal, by either obtaining political participation or going to the extreme as using force to achieve their goals and moving to literally governing their own selves. Although the Chicano and Black Power Movement sought for self-determination, they differed in the tactics they used to obtain this goal. The Chicano and Black Power movement’s call for self-determination emerged due to the broken promises made to them by the American Government. After the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe was supposed to provide Mexican Americans with protection of their land and certain rights such as education, citizenship and the freedom to practice religion. The government never owned up to these promises. Instead Mexican-Americans were forced to assimilate into the American culture, their land stripped away from them, and they were not recognized as citizens. Promises made to the African-American community by the American government were also left unrecognized. Prior to the era of civil rights movement African-Americans had already been struggling under the white power dating back to the years of ... ... Vol 27, No.4. Gulford Press, (1963): 415-432, http//www.jstor.org/stable/40400980 Grandjeat, Charles Yves. â€Å" Nationalism, History and Myth: The Masks of Aztlan,† Confluencia, Vol6, No. 1 (Fall 1990):19-32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27921957 McCutcheon, Priscilla. â€Å"Returning Home to Our Rightful Place: The Nation of Islam and Muhammad Farms,† Elsevier (2013): 61-70 doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.05.001 Moraga, Cherrie. â€Å"Queer Aztlan: the Reformation of Chicano Tribe,† in The Color of Privilege 1996, ed Aida Hurtado. Ann Arbor: University Michigan Press, 1996. Munoz, Carlos. Youth Identity, Power: The Chicano Movement. London: Verso, 1989. Ogbar, Jeffrey. Black Power Radical Politics and African American Identity. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP, 2004, 124. Pinon, Fernando. Myths and Realities: Dynamics of Ethnic Politics. New York: Vantage Press, 1978.

Assessment of Health Perception Essay

In the Assessment of Health Perception, Spirituality and Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Within a Private College Cohort, Sandra Ramey delved deep into the heart of cardiovascular disease perception, status, and risk factors among college students. It discussed in detail the causes of cardiovascular disease in a college environment. Ramey also discussed in this article the possible solutions to the health problems. Throughout the article, Ramey used existing evidences, such as statistics and examples, in analyzing the situations faced by college students. It is written in a way that is easy to understand for college students to be aware of the growing problem involving them and the academe and some possible solutions to their problem. Furthermore, the article can also be a springboard for further research on college student health not only on CVD but other health risks as well. Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors The increased prevalence of several cardiovascular disease risk factors, specifically overweight and obesity, hypercholesterolemia and stress, among college students has gotten the attention of health practitioners across the country. These risk factors are attributed to many root factors that begin during childhood. The article discussed how these conditions worsen during college. It tries to identify how stress and emotional health affect a student’s health condition, specifically eating patterns and behavior. Ramey suggested that knowing these factors better can help diminish the development of chronic disease. Emotional Well-being and Spirituality Among the detriments to emotional well-being and impediments to academic success identified by college students, as shown in the NAPNAP’s Keep your children/yourself Safe and Secure (KySS) campaign, are the following: 1. stress; 2. sleep difficulties; 3. concern for family and friends; and, 4. relationship difficulties. The KySS survey also showed that the top worry for both teens and parents was â€Å"how to cope with stressful things in their life† (Ramey, 2005). Knowing this, Ramey continued to discuss current efforts to curb the growing risk. One of the important findings that were discussed was the effects of spirituality in perceiving emotional well-being (Ramey 2005). A study on 2003 by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California was cited to have examined the spiritual life of college students and was showing positive results, including declining levels of emotional health problems in students. This means that spirituality can be used to help prevent further complications such as CVD. Conclusion Ramey provided a content-rich article that was well-researched and provided with statistical data and research findings. It is a good read for college students to be aware of CVD and the risk factors causing it. The article is also a good source of information for health practitioners for further research about the growing health risk among college students. References Ramey, S. L. (2005). Assessment of health perception, spirituality and prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors within a private college cohort. Pediatric Nursing, May-June 2005

The Argument For The Existence Of God - 1674 Words

I do not find the three arguments I analyzed satisfactory for the existence of God. The existence of God simply cannot be proven. Regardless of how strong a person’s faith is, or how many miracles they claim to have witnessed, God can only ever be a possibility. First, I will discuss why Pascal’s wager is not a satisfying argument for the existence of God. I will then examine C.D. Broad’s â€Å"Argument for the Existence of God†, and why it is also not a satisfying argument for the existence of God. Finally, I will discuss St. Thomas Aquinas’ first cause argument, which is a more reasonable argument for the existence of God. Pascal’s wager is not as much of an argument as to why God exists; rather, it is a rationalization of why it is beneficial for people to believe in God. He gives four main options for his wager: God exists. God does not exist. I believe in God. I do not believe in God. If God exists, and you believe in God, you will go to Heaven. If God exists, and you do not believe, you will go to Hell. If God does not exist and you believe in God, you will live a happy life, because you have faith in something greater than yourself (it provides an explanation for inexplicable events). If God does not exist and you do not believe in God, nothing will happen. According to this argument, regardless of whether or not God exists, you will lead a better life believing in Him. If you do not believe in God (atheism), you will either gain nothing, because He does notShow MoreRelatedThe Argument On The Existence Of God1629 Words   |  7 PagesThe idea of God has been a part of man’s history for centuries. Since time began there has been various combination of believers, and non-believers. Individuals who believes in God, belong to many different religion. Whereas, skeptics find the existence of God somewhat baffling, and have continually sought answers to His existence through scientific methods. As the world progresses in scientific, and technological advancement, the human race still faces the question of God’s existence. Many philosophersRead MoreThe Arguments For The Existence Of God1056 Words   |  5 Pages16 November 2015 Rough Draft for The arguments for the Existence of God. The question Does God Exist? is a well-known asked question in the world. Most people believe they know the answer to it. The religious people would say, well of course he does, while the non-religious people or atheist would say no He does not exist. Because evil exist and chaos exists, God cannot be all-powerful. In the modern world, there are many different opinions as to whether a God exists or not. This has been an issueRead MoreArguments For The Existence Of God974 Words   |  4 PagesArguments for the existence of God through critical thinking and rationalization are called ontological, cosmological, teleological, or pragmeatic arguments. The most widely known of such arguments is that of St. Anselm from Proslogium of St. Anselm, which states that God is considered a perfect being unlike humans or any other world subject. The fact that he is perfect in a world of imperfection proves his existence. God is also the highest conceivable idea of perfection, and thereforeRead MoreThe Existence Of God : An Argument881 Words   |  4 PagesThe Existence of God The philosophical arguments presented in this document are not of religious text, nor scientific observation or established fact. Rather the premise of this God proof is bring together and share the various theories on which other God proofs have established foundations. I have heard it quoted that â€Å"Philosophy goes where hard science can t, or won t. Philosophers have a license to.† Therefore, with this in mind, I attest that it is more than problematic to construct anRead MoreArguments on the Existence of God602 Words   |  2 PagesGod’s existence may actually depend upon our belief in his existence but it is more plausible to believe that God exists using the different types of arguments such as the cosmological argument and ontological argument, Leibniz and the Principle of Sufficient Reason and the Problem of Evil, and the definition of basic belief as evidence. The Cosmological argument can be simplified into three reasons that everything that begins to exist has a cause; the universe began to exist, therefore the universeRead MoreArguments For The Existence Of God1137 Words   |  5 PagesArguments for the existence of God come in many different forms; some draw on history, some on science, some on personal experience, and some on philosophy. Descartes offered two arguments towards the existence of God: an informal proof in the third meditation and the ontological proof in the fifth meditation. Descartes believed that with the employment of a rational method of inquiry which applied some of the methods of analytic geometry to the study of philosophy, our ability to attain certaintyRead MoreThe Argument Of The Existence Of God1480 Words   |  6 PagesThe arguments trying to â€Å"prove† the existence of God are by far some of the most controversial philosophical arguments out there. When some of the people who created these philo sophies it was illegal or even punishable by death to even question his existence, let alone try to come up with a logical explanation to â€Å"prove† he is real. The two main arguments used today are the ontological argument and the cosmological argument. Neither one of these arguments are correct nor incorrect; moreover, theRead MoreThe Arguments For The Existence Of God940 Words   |  4 Pagesp. 209, question# 1 Among the numerous arguments for the existence of God, the argument of design stands as the most persuasive in terms of providing a logical basis for the absolute presence of God. This argument is concerned with the intricate nature of creation and existence: one must believe that there is a Supreme Being that designed the characteristics and features of every existing thing in the entire universe, both living and non-living. The precise and complicated design of the universeRead MoreThe Argument For The Existence Of God1411 Words   |  6 PagesMy paper scrutinizes numerous logical disputes for and alongside the presence of God. I shall argue that there’s no adequate evidence or inclusive arguments for the existence of God. It is grounded on the views of certain great philosophers and scientists of all of mankind. Generally speaking for myself, I would correspond to have faith that there is â€Å"God†. Regrettably, it’s awfully well-defined that the being built up on insightful faith is no longer a suitable custom to shadow. During the courseRead MoreThe Cosmological Argument For The Existence Of God Essay1556 Words   |  7 Pagesconcerning the existence of God. If God exists, we probably have to make him accountable. The universe would probably have a meaning and a purpose. Also, our very existence may not be cease after physical death. But if God does not exist, we are probably here by chance and we have no accountability to any transcendent. This life is probably all we have, so we should live as we please. The question arises - Does God exist? At first glance, it seems contradictory to prove the existence of something