Philosophy Skepticism Essay Example for Free

Philosophy Skepticism Essay Definitely the most fascinating thing when it comes to skepticism is not that severely philosophically doubtful people are present it is the opinions that come from guiltless principles and get to amazing deductions. Rationalists like Locke argue that â€Å"all knowledge is based on reason (and the reasoned analysis of certain innate concepts and ideas that are possessed and understood by everyone). † Therefore, the inherent uncertainty of sensory experience (i. e. optical illusions and hallucinations) cannot provide a solid foundation for knowledge. Normally, a skeptic starts from several of explanations for a single situation but they will always end in wrong conclusions. Skepticism can take you to fertile results if you contemplate the following and consider the Sorites Paradox. First of all, admit these three properties. If you have two eyes and can see clearly- that means you are not blind. And if you have mostly no eyes or cannot see either, then you are not blind. Likewise, if you take off one eye, this does not make you completely blind. So keep taking your two eyes off. Agreeing with this evidence, you should not get blind . However; you would get blind (www. philosophytalk. org). In addition, if we make reference to Descartes Meditations dispute. What Descartes argument means is that â€Å"the kind of evidence we have for our beliefs underdetermines what to believe (60). † Hence, we could use Bertrand Russells example. Imagine you had some kind of hallucinations consequence from some kind of drug or substance. In this case, how could someone differentiate their dream life from their real life? Since the skeptic never accepts that we are actually having a dream in the place of living. In fact, the skeptic states that our existing evidence does not regulate the chance that it could be a dream instead of real life. Idealism is definitely a good solution for skepticism. Moreover, skepticism creates the difference among our thoughts or observations and things that provide importance to these thoughts and perceptions such as dreams or any life experience. So, demanding that the universe is part of our ideas would separate the problematic of skepticism. For example, there is nothing concluded about the existence of a chair than just the impression that the table is there. During decades, many philosophers and skeptics have always had an extremist position as a way to give strength to their opinions. Though, idealism is actually more absurd than skepticism and our commonsense should allow us to reject it (Philosophical Reporter (4:50): Polly Stryker interviews Michael Shermer, the director of Skeptic Society). I believe that many skeptical opinions do not necessarily have to be based on a strong formation of knowledge. We can believe whatever we want whether or not those beliefs are based on a complete form of knowledge? If knowledge is hypothetically that type of belief-with that kind of authority- whatever it is, that sustains skeptical opinions, then we probably do not count the privilege of having that knowledge. Nevertheless, we believe in several things and some of those beliefs are more or less acceptable by argument and/or evidence. Undoubtedly, many of the things we believe in are strong enough for this life with a list full of different and infinite purposes, even if the skeptic is right that none of them deserve the honorific label knowledge† (Stroud, 96). Whenever we believe in something, we risk more than having some kind of knowledge . When I purely believe something and do not any doubt it and actually have evidences to support it, then that is when I cannot even have the thought or idea that my belief could be wrong for a certain reason. So Knowledge is in a way stronger than that. One cannot know that p, unless p is the case (Nozick, 109). There are serious doubts about the reliability of sensory experience on human beings in the development of ideas, and the possibility of ‘certain knowledge’ is definitely questionable. So, while experiences are the foundation for knowledge and certainty, we cannot fully trust our experiences, and cannot hope to accomplish certainty in our knowledge of the world. Reasoning a bit, we can realize that knowledge would always be dependable from the passing of time, and that knowledge could change anytime as well. Different kinds of advances, transformations and variations could lead knowledge to be moldable in anyway in any area depending on what we believe now and what we will believe later based on science or the resemblance of the past. All knowledge is a product of human experience, and is not possible that people are born with innate ideas . On the other hand, beliefs will always be based on the criteria of each people that comprise a whole different world, and our beliefs would hardly change the way we see and justify things that surround us in a period of five years or less. I do not think that knowledge is as important as it seems. I tend to believe that the rational part does everything. We want all of our beliefs to be constant under the stress that the rational pressure causes. When those balanced belief are being formed, our goal is to reach those beliefs that are receptive to all the stress of rational beliefs and that even after all that force of a rational belief, they can keep themselves firm. Perhaps a belief that is privileged of having such receptiveness to reasons and could appreciate the stability of not having any pressure by any rational beliefs, and then it would gain the honor to be named knowledge. * www. Philosophytalk. org * Nozick, Robert. An Analysis of Knowledge. Philosophical Inquiry. Indianapolis. Hacket Publishing Company Inc. 2007 * Stroud, Barry. Philosophical Scepticism and Everyday Life. Philosophical Inquiry. Indianapolis. Hacket Publishing Company Inc. 2007 * Descartes, Rene. Meditations on First Philosophy. Philosophical Inquiry. Indianapolis. Hacket Publishing Company Inc. 2007.

French and Indian War DBQ Revise Essay Example for Free

French and Indian War DBQ Revise Essay In the course of years through 1754-1763 the British were engaged in a war with their rival French. The conflict was known as the French and Indian War. It started when the colonies could not shift west, and the British trying to settle in the Ohio Valley and the French did not want them to expand. It was played entirely in North America with the colonials on the British side. The conflicts between French and the British would cause a drastic change in the colonial-British relationship. It would alter the political, economic, and philosophical relations. The political aspect would change when the British would start taxing the colonies to pay of debt accumulated by the war. Just like James Ottis said, â€Å"No taxation without representation,† The colonies agree with the statement and believed they had the right to be represented. If they had representation, it would have been virtual, instead of direct. With direct representation the colonies would be able to overpower the government and vote for someone with their interests. The colonists though during this time were not use to the British paying so much attention, because Salutary Neglect happened before the war. This was when they loosely enforced the laws on the colonists. Other then the British now enforcing laws, the colonists also did not appreciate when they declared the Proclamation of 1763. Canassatego, chief said, â€Å"We must insist on your removing them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  They set the proclamation to keep the Indians happy. This helped prevent another uproar like Pontiacs Rebellion, and also did not allow colonists to move westward. Also, during the war to keep the Iroquois Indians pleased, Franklin called the Albany Congress into plan. The economical piece also differed during the war. In the war, the British collected a great amount of debt. They believed that the colonials should be taxed to help pay off this debt. The British order in council said, â€Å"Not only is revenue impaired, but the commerce of colonies diverted for its natural course† (Doc F). They also believed in mercantilism, were they exported more than imported. By doing this they lost money and supplies, while benefiting the mother country. To repair money situations, the Navigation Acts were enforced to start generating revenue. After the Navigation Acts were enforced, the first act declared to raise money came to power. It was known as the Stamp Act. In Document H, â€Å"The TIMES are Dreadful, Doleful, Dismal, Dolorous, and DOLLAR-LESS† (Newspaper Masthead). This was proof of the colonies hatred to the stamp tax. The stamp act was like sales tax, where all merchandise purchased must be stamped. In the letter to John Huges from Benjamin Franklin, â€Å"Undertaking to execute it may make you unpopular for a time† (Doc G). The act by the British was unpopular with the colonist, because they did not want to help by paying the debt. Along with economics, the philosophical stance of America toward the British changed as well. At the end of the war colonists were feeling powerful and more independent minded. The French were no longer a threat and they had the desire to expand westward. The British on the other hand thought of the colonies in a whole different way. They believed they were laze and backwards. George Washington, â€Å"I wish earnestly to attain some knowledge of the military profession† (Doc C). George Washington worked with Braddock with the British and even ending the war his views started to change. With the average age being sixteen and doubling every twenty-five years the British would not allow the colonies direct vote. They could not let, because with the French out of the way the colonies could now take over with their population growing rapidly. With the population growing they wanted to expand west, but the Proclamation of 1763 would not permit it. Also now much of the land had shifted to the Spanish, with the French gone, as displayed in document A. The colonies believed they were being treated unfairly. In Massachusetts Soldier’s diary, â€Å"Who are but little better than slaves to their officers† (Doc D). The British wee cruel to them and this put an enormous impact on their relations. The political, economic, and philosophical relations of the British-colonial ship would be differed for the future to come. The relationship was strained, because of taxes needed to repay war debt, and not being represented for it. To have the claim over the river valley, but try to keep the Indians within their trust. They were there to please themselves and In the end the French lost almost all of the North American land that went to the Spanish. These conflicts led to the North American war called the French and Indian War, and later a greater conflict around the world as the seven years war.

Critical thinking skills

Critical thinking skills According to Loving and Wilson (2000), its challenging task to making sure the students have the critical thinking skills. To Novak, learning requires 5 components which are the teacher, learner, knowledge, evaluation and context to present. Novak also mentioned that students should be guided by a good teacher through actual learning and not just by just memorizing it. A concept map is taught to the students in order to improve their cognitive skills related to critical thinking skills which are useful in various fields. The concepts map is able to improve the students performance in the subjects requiring critical thinking skills (Daley et al, 1999). Hence, Ausubels (1968) assimilation theory is used together with Novaks (1998) concept map in order to promote critical thinking skills among the students because the characteristics of critical thinking such as analysis, interpretation, inference, explanation and self regulation are involved in the concept development. (Vacek, 2009) 5 steps of learning process such as concept formation, subsumption, progressive differentiation, integrative reconciliation and conlidation are described in the Ausubel assimilation theory. These steps are combined to make complicated critical thinking process so much easier through the building of a concept map (Novak, 1998). The formation of concept is divided into the primary concept and secondary concept. According to Ausubel (1968), the young children begin to recognize and label something that is regular using the language symbols and the concept formation is first occurring in them. Through observation, the young children shaped their intellectual activity and this makes up the primary concept which the example of primary concept include chair, table and cat (Novak 1998). The secondary concept is when upon having recognized much regularity, their cognitive structures are built, and many new concepts without any visible objects are taken by the children through children. The examples are love, anger and sadness. According to Novak (1998), the learning process of adults constructing the new concepts is similar with the process learnt by a child to create meaning for words. The formation of concept is also similar with interpretation of critical thinking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Ausubel (1968), the integration of the newly acquired knowledge with the previous knowledge is what known as the subsumption, a phase of learning process and meaningful learning. New content and old knowledge are linked together and this forms the assimilation theory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In progressive differentiation, Ausubel (1998) stated that the natural sequence in which human beings cognitively organize and store knowledge is hierarchal from general to specific. It is rarely used in the education which causes many students to memorize the information than having a meaningful learning process. Human mind works by taking the whole with the assimilated parts than the vice versa process. Ausubel (1998) also mention that it can be achieved by arranging the information in a hierarchal series which its from the general to the details parts in a descending manner by having subset points branching from the main points.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Integrated reconciliation is a form of analysis which it will occur when a person understands a given concept which is different but also similar to another concept. Misconceptions will happens when integrated reconciliation is not done. Newly acquired ideas are integrated and related with the previously learned subjects. With integrated reconciliation, students will know how to interconnect his new learning and old learning through making full use of the previous learnt knowledge to support the new knowledge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ausubel (1968) mentioned that consolidation is done through correction and clarification and it is important to master one lesson before learning the next lesson as learning might be interrupted if a student did not master the current lesson. Its a part of critical thinking as consolidation will create opportunity for the student to self-regulate their lesson.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The combination of Ausubels theory of assimilation and Novaks concept maps is used to promote and master the critical thinking skills. According to Novak(1998), a concept is defined as a perceived regularity in events or objects, or records of events or objected designated by label. A concept map can help people to decode, interpret and categorize the problems. A concept map is started by identifying and addresses the problems on maps and later presenting it from the general into more specific concepts in a descending hierarchal manner with cross-links that portrays a connection of knowledge. Barriers to Critical Thinking The integration of critical thinking skills to education are often hindered by barriers or obstacles. These barriers are lack of training, lack of information, preconceptions and time constraints. According to Broadbear(2003), the lack of training among the teachers in critical thinking methodology cause the poor the critical thinking skills among the students. The teachers dont know how to teach critical thinking skills although they have received the training methods and knowing the contents of the critical thinking skills. Next, Scriven and Paul (2007) mention that the lack of additional critical thinking resources in the instructional materials as only a few instructional materials provide it. Although, certain textbooks provide chapter-based critical thinking discussion questions but however it lacks additional information. Often, preconceptions such as personal bias about the instructional materials often inhibit and blocks the ability of the teachers and students to think critically as one of the characteristics of critical thinking skills is analytical skills which is being fair, open-minded and inclined to ask questions regarding the topics. (Kang Howren, 2004). Lastly, instructors have to cover a wide content within a short time period and hence, shortcuts are taken by these instructors in order to finish the syllabus. Lectures, tips or objective tests are given to the students instead of testing their analytical abilities through problem based questions. The instructors tend to focus on the content rather giving opportunities to the students to solve questions. Objective tests are given to the students as it is faster to grade than short answer questions and according to the research done, objective tests and lecturing are not the best assessment and instruction methods (Broadbear, 2003; Brodie Irving 2007). Critical Thinking Development: A Stage Theory   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are 6 stages in the critical thinking development. The stages start with the unreflective thinker stage followed by the challenged thinker, the beginning thinker, the practicing thinker, the advanced thinker and lastly, the master thinker stage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first stage, the unreflective thinker stage, which the thinker lacks the awareness regarding their thinking are affecting their lives and they dont know how to apply their knowledge and regularly practice in their daily lives. Clarify, accuracy, logic, or relevance are part of the standards for the assessment of thinking of which the thinkers in this stage are unaware of. Their thinking skills may have developed but they might not realize it. Besides, problems such as prejudices and misconceptions might occur in their lives due to lack of self-monitoring thoughts. Next, graduates graduating from secondary school or college can be still in the first stage and they lack the skills to assess or improve their thinking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second stage, the challenged thinker, is defined when the thinkers realized and aware that thinking is part of their lives and also problems arises due to poor thinking. They are aware that their thinking has problems but unaware in identifying the problems are. Standards for the assessment and also awareness of thinking as involving concepts, assumptions and inferences are what the thinkers in this stage are becoming aware of although their understanding might be limited. The inconsistency of applying their thinking skills are making the thinkers believed that their thinking is better than it actually is. The beginning thinker which is the third stage is when the thinkers realized the basic problems in their thinking and begin to find ways to understand and improve their thinking through modification of some of their thinking but might have lack the systematic plans and limited understanding of deeper levels of problems. In this stage, the thinkers have enough skills to self regulate their thoughts and able to accept the critique of their powers of thought. Next, they begin to realize the needs of internalizing and using the standards for the assessment of thinking and also the role of thinking in their daily life. The fourth stage is the practicing thinker which the thinker recognize the needs to address the problems existed the in their thinking through a systematic practice in thinking regularly and internalize them into habits. However, they lack the understanding of the deeper levels of understanding which leads to deeper levels of problems embedded in the thinking. They becoming more knowledgeable and regularly monitor the role in their thinking and also assessing their standards for the assessment of thinking. The key trait in this stage is intellectual perseverance which will become a driving force developing a realistic plan for systematic practice. Stage five or the advanced thinker is when the thinkers are into problems at deeper levels of thought such as egocentric and sociocentric and also actively analyzing their thinking. They are able to systematically monitor the role in their thinking and regularly assess their standards of assessment. Next, the advanced thinkers are able to develop new habits of thought through the deep and systematic internalization of critical thinking. Besides, they are able to figure the strengths and weaknesses of their own thinking and systematic plans and will try to keep improving the plan. The last stage or the master thinker stage, the thinkers are to take charge of their thinking, self monitoring, and continue to improve their own set of thinking. They are highly conscious and intuitive regarding of their own critical thinking skills through many experiences and practices. They are fairly minded and have developed new insights into problems at deeper levels of thought. To summarize, master thinkers are able to critique, consistently monitor, improving, think through complex issues with good judgment and perform effectively in everything in their lives. Critical Thinking Cognitive Skills   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Facione (1990), both cognitive skills and the disposition dimension are required for a good critical thinking. For critical thinking, cognitive skills such as interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation and self-regulation are the six 6 core skills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Facione (1990) mentioned that the panels of experts defined interpretation as to comprehend and express the meaning or significance of a wide variety of experiences, situations, data, events, judgments, conventions, beliefs, rules, procedures, or criteria. Below the interpretation are the sub-skills of categorization, decoding significance, and clarifying meaning. In categorization, it is to sort and sub-classifying information in order to understand or describe events or situations. Describing intentions, purposes and motives of a persons facial expressions, language, signs or graphs and tables are what sub-skill of decoding significance about. Lastly, clarifying meaning is about to paraphrase or finding example which helps to explain something to other person while the meaning remains the same as intended.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Analysis is defined as to identify the intended and actual inferential relationships among statements, questions, concepts, descriptions, or other forms of representation intended to express belief, judgment, experiences, reasons, information, or opinions.. The sub-skills of analysis are examining ideas, detecting arguments, and analyzing arguments. Examining ideas are about defining terms, to compare ideas or statements, and also to identify problems or issues. In detecting arguments, its to determine the claims or against a given opinion based on given paragraphs, statements or descriptions. In analyzing arguments, its about finding the main resources, background and the sub-points of the main conclusion based on given reasons intended to support some claim.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The panels of experts in Delphi study defined the evaluation as the to assess the credibility of statements or other representations which are accounts or descriptions of a persons perception, experience, situation, judgment, belief, or opinion; and to assess the logical strength of the actual or intended inferential relationships among statements, descriptions, questions or other forms of representation. The sub-skills of evaluation are assessing claims and assessing arguments. The recognizing of factor which makes a person as credible witness or to determine given claim is whether true or false are what sub-skill assessing claims are about. In assessing arguments, its about judging between two contradict statements and also judge whether the conclusion drawn have the evidence back-up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inference is defined as to identify and secure elements needed to draw reasonable conclusions; to form conjectures and hypotheses; to consider relevant information and to reduce the consequences flowing from data, statements, principles, evidence, judgments, beliefs, opinions, concepts, descriptions, questions, or other forms of representation. The sub-skills of inference are querying evidence, conjecturing alternatives and drawing conclusions. In querying evidence, the information related to theory, questions, and issues is judged before it is decided. Next, multiple alternatives are create to solve a given question with a range of possible consequences, decisions and policies in the sub skill of conjecturing alternatives. Lastly, various opinions, evidences, relevant information together with ones own opinion are required before making a final conclusion for a given problem for the sub-skill of drawing conclusion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The last 2 core skills can enable people to think, explain their thinking and apply the critical thinking skills in their thinking thus improving themselves. In explanation, it is defined as to state and to justify that reasoning in terms of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, and contextual considerations upon which ones results were based; and to present ones reasoning in the form of cogent arguments. The sub-skills of explanation include stating results, justifying procedures and presenting arguments. Stating results sub-skill requires a person to analyze results of which he had produced accurate statement through reasoning and state ones research findings. In justifying procedures, a person shall record, evaluate, or justify his or her processes of solving problems based on other sub-skills and by presenting the evidences and also methodological. For example, it is used to show the steps in solving mathematical problems. La stly, to give reasons for accepting some claims is what sub-skill presenting argument about.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lastly, self-regulation is defined as self-consciously to monitor ones cognitive activities, the elements used in those activities, and the results educed, particularly by applying skills in analysis, and evaluation to ones own inferential judgments with a view toward questioning, confirming, validating, or correcting either ones reasoning or ones results. The sub-skills are self-examination and self-correction. In self-examination, it is based on ones motivation, reflections, values, reasoning or attitudes to verify results produced and correcting the cognitive skills involved. In self-correction, its to create steps to corrects the problems that are arises when self-examination reveals errors. Learning Theory Behaviorism Behaviorism is when the a person is a passive learner, which the teachers mere fill the empty minds of the students with knowledge for the sake of getting better results in the examination. Its based on principle of stimulus-response which the behavior is caused by the external or environmental stimuli. The learners are extrinsically motivated by the teacher and absorb knowledge only. Correct behavior will be reinforced by the teacher through a system of rewarding and incorrect behavior by the students will be punished by the teacher. The learner is an empty vessel and the behavior is shaped through positive or negative reinforcement. Thorndike (1911)s theory of law of exercise showed that a learners behaviors and thinking can be influenced through responses from a teacher. The thinking opportunities are limited as implicit thinking is through passive process as knowledge is obtained to exposure only. Constructivism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In constructivism, the learners are an active learner, which they keen on experimenting with materials, objects and ideas in order to understand new information and often, they enjoy group work. The learners can develop their own personalized understandings of how world revolved around them by constructing their own knowledge and understanding. New knowledge which is obtained by learners is checked against existing self-existing knowledge. Disequilibrium might occur as newly obtained knowledge might conflict with existing beliefs and new knowledge have to be assimilated into the new knowledge. The teacher can support the development of the thinking in the learners by giving challenging problems and this enables the learners to have cognitive processing. There are 4 stages of cognitive development according to Piagets theory. First stage, sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 year old), the infant is able to differentiate between self from other objects and ab le to understand how things by interacting with the environment. Assimilation and accommodation helps learning to take place. Next stage, between ages 2 to 4, preoperational stage, objects are represented through images and words as the child is able to learn to use language and also be classified in simple ways through the distinct features. The child is unable to think abstractly and needs concrete situations. Examples of abstract and concrete are justice and court. Third stage, the child is between age 7 to 11, a concrete operations stage, the child is able to think logically about objects because the child to think abstractly and conceptualize and also, the modified schemata due the object cannot be assimilated is increased due to accumulation of physical experience. The last stage, the formal operations stage, ages 11 to 15, the person is able to make deductive and hypothetical reasoning as his or her cognitive ability reaches the final stage and thus, the thinking is also simi lar to an adult in this stage. The implications of thinking are implicit thinking through assumed process and thinking outcomes by task resolution. Social Constructivism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Social constructivism is based on the Vygostkian ideas which social interaction is important for the development of thinking and cognitive as well. In Vygostkian idea, the main concepts are the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). MKO is defined as a person who is more knowledgeable, better understanding, higher ability than learner regarding to a task, process and concept. The MKO can be anyone from teacher, coach, peers, younger person or computers. ZPD is defined by Vygostky (1986) as the the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers. An appropriate assistance or scaffolding which is given to learner for particular task will help the learner to achieve the task faster and once the learner mastered the task, the scaffolding can be removed as the learner is able to complete the task on his or her own. Language is important as its an important tool to put the inner thoughts and thinking into words. Vygostky also stressed that social interaction is important than development. Its a dynamic process between teachers and learners as teacher helps to meditate, scaffold and supports thinking. The thinking is explicit as the learner is actively sharing the cognitive and collective contribution to solve problems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brain aspects that promote critical thinking are divided into 5 types which are the unique brain, the problem solving brain, the maturing brain, the adaptive brain and the emotional brain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Factors that affect the uniqueness that is different in every human being are gender, exposure to abuse, specific disorders, culture and exposure to drugs, toxins or trauma. For example, a person with head trauma might have difficulty in learning compared to a person with a healthier brain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the problem solving brain, a person is not born with ability to solve skills as problem solving requires many skills and these skills have to be learnt by the brain. The brain will change every time a person learns a skill by reorganizing the brain mass, cortical organization and interregional connectivity. Next, new synapses are created whenever there is a new learning which has a challenging task. In addition, repetition is the key for learning new skills in the brain. The process of learning a skill should work from particular sub-skill, generalizing sub-skill and lastly to real-life experiences. Theres should be a limit of interval for the training of new thinking skills. Besides, the production of new cells for learning and memory are enhanced by the gross motor activity or the movements of the large muscles of the body as the physical exercise can make reading easier to students who have difficulties in learning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The environmental factors are directly affecting the maturation of the brain. Next, every parts of the brain have different maturation rates as brain frontal lobes may fully matured at the age of 25 to 30 as it is a slow process. The characteristics of the maturing brain are language and reading skills, social awareness, ability to know the cause and effect and ability to make hypotheses or inferences. Poor nutrition will cause the process of brain maturation to slow down. Lastly, past and life experience will shape the neurons in the frontal lobes of the brain which is responsible for higher order thinking skills such as critical thinking skills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The adaptive brain is when the brain is shaped through by postnatal experiences. Highly complex interaction with the environment through stimulation will help to cause the brain to be specialized and thus allowing development of thinking in the learners brain. For example, higher SAT scores are obtained by students who are actively involved in school drama performance than the students that did not participate. It is important for the parents to let the children to play and early experiences that make them to make mistakes. Next, exceptional upbringing such as unusual mentor or parents will often results children with exceptional thinking skills. Next, nutrition also plays important roles in cognitive among the children. Lastly, opportunities should be given to the children to develop talents and abilities as its important for them to developing thinking skills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The emotional brain relates to the ability to think critically. The emotions are always changeable due the brains sensitivity of responding to both internal and external stimuli and the brain are consists of cooperative neural clusters activated by chemical and electrical energy. The stable states or when neurons involved tend to coalesce into cooperative groups, self organizing in to collective behaviors are likely to occur again at another time if the stable states of that person is long. For example, a person who is frequency afraid will enter that afraid stage, the stable state of his anytime. Hence, its important for the student to be taught the ability to focus to become the stable states as the ability is not innate thus for a student to think well, the ability to control emotions is important as well. Sensations, mental state, and feelings are what make up of emotional states and only one part of emotional state is what we consciously feel at t he time. The ability to activate the state that is required to solve problems and suppresses the negative parts of the state is what make a good critical thinker.

Ancient Egypt - Land of the River :: Ancient Egypt Egyptian History

Ancient Egypt - Land of the River "All of Egypt is the gift of the Nile." It was the Greek historian Herodotus who made that observation. The remarkable benefits of the Nile are clear to everyone, but through history he was the first to talk about it and consider its fascination. Through history, the Nile played a major role in the building of civilizations. The first civilizations to appear in history started on a river valley or in a place where resources are numerous and example of these are in India where Indus river is found and Tigris where Euphrates is found and many other places (cradles of civilization). The Nile is the longest river in the world, cuts a swath of green and life through the bareness of the giant Sahara desert in northern Africa. It is almost 4160 miles long from its remotest head stream, the Lavironza river in Burundi, in central Africa to its delta on the Mediterranean sea north east of Egypt. The river flows northward and drain 1100100 square miles, about tenth the size of Africa, passing through ten African countries. It has many tributaries but there are two main ones: the White Nile fed by lake Victoria and the Blue Nile coming from Ethiopian mountains. These two main branches join near Khartoum, the capital of Sudan and they continue together as Nile proper until meeting the Mediterranean Sea and forming the Nile delta in northern Egypt. Around 5000 BC, one of the first great civilizations developed in the northern Nile river valley dependent on agriculture in a land called Egypt. Water; Fertile soil; and river's flow north while prevailing wind blows south made the Nile the best transportation way, were examples of the Nile gifts. Another gift is that every year the flood came bringing disaster and famine due to destroying the crops and their villages. The first forms of government appeared in Egypt when the Egyptians organized their efforts under one leadership to avoid the disasters of the yearly flood. On the other hand Nile flooding caused some problems in landmarks. Simple geometry had to be found to keep the boarder and a simple system metric (invention of the nilometer) to study the Nile flow and flood every year. As the state grew and more complex religious and political systems started to emerge, the need for a system to record events and rituals was growing too.

The Political Community in Guatemala Essay -- essays research papers

The Political Community The â€Å"social apartheid† that exist in Guatemala separates Guatemala into two places and does not allow the country to be united, both democratically socially. The indigenous population is separated from opportunities. Without the minimal conditions, necessary for citizens to exercise their rights in practice there is not citizenship and therefore no â€Å"true† democracy. New democratic institutions must both address the anxiety existing among Ladinos and prove to be responsive to a sizeable segment of the national community that has previously been excluded based on language and ethnicity. Authoritarian regimes which retain considerable power and the democratic transition is never fully consolidated, stable, or lasting. Dealing not only with the elimination of military control, but also addressing the country’s historical problems, including massive social inequalities. More than half of Guatemalans are descendants of indigenous Mayan peoples. Westernized Mayans and mestizos (mixed European and indigenous ancestry) are known as Ladinos. Most of Guatemala's population is rural, though urbanization is accelerating. Although the official language is Spanish, it is not universally understood among the indigenous population. According to the World Bank, Guatemala is the country with the second-greatest income disparity between rich and poor in Latin America, behind Brazil. On which sides of that divide Guatemalans sit depends largely on whether they are Indian...

Cathedral Essay -- essays research papers

The protagonist in â€Å"Cathedral,† Bub, is a man who has several defining characteristics. Bub is insecure, insensitive, and ignorant. This is clearly shown in Bub’s relationships with his wife and Robert. Bub’s insecurities are blatantly shown when he comments on his wife’s ex-husband: Her officer-why should be have a name? He was her childhood sweetheart, and what more does he want? Bub resents the ex-husband for being his wife’s first love. He would have liked to have had that role so he negatively addresses his wife’s past relationships. Bub’s unconfident mannerisms further transpire when he comments on his wife’s relationship with Robert. He states: In time she put it all on tape and sent the tape to the blind man. Over the years she put all kinds of stuff on tapes and sent the tapes off lickety-split. Next to writing a poem every year, I think it was her chief recreation. On the tape, she told the blind man she’d decided to live away from her officer for a time. On another tape she told him about her divorce. She and I began going out, and of course she told her blind man about it. She told him everything, or so it seemed to me. This intense friendship between his wife and Robert further exacerbated his insecurities. Robert and his wife have an intimate relationship that Bub has never, and probably will never, have with his wife. He goes on to say: My wife finally took her eyes off the blind man and looked at me. I had the feelings she didn’t like what she saw. I shrugged. This relationship offers Bub only one consolation, he believes that because he can see that has an advantage. He constantly refers to Robert as â€Å"the blind man.† He never uses Robert’s name or assigns any human attributes to him. This insecurity is partially responsible for his wife’s continued involvement with Robert.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also responsible for his wife’s close relationship with Robert is Bub’s inability to feel. He exhibits a great lack of emotional depth. Bub comments on Robert’s marriage: They’d married, lived and worked together, slept together-had sex, sure- and then the blind man had to bury her. All this without having never seen what the goddamned woman looked like. He has no feelings of sympathy for the loss of Robert’s wife. Bub goes on to comment about his wife telling him exactly happened to Robert’s wife. He says, â€Å"My wife filled me in w... ...s his freedom from his sheltered and close-minded life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The overall themes of the story were alienation and loneliness. The main characters experience, and have experienced alienation and loneliness. Bub is discontented in his work, envious of his wife, and isolated from other human beings and also from himself. Because of this, Bub resents his wife’s connections with other people. Keening this in mind, Bub makes no effort to correct this problem. When Robert arrives he makes to attempt to engage him in conversation. He prefers to remain cut off and observe. As the conversation breaks, Bub turns on the television, which is not only extremely impolite, but one that offers proof of Bub’s detachment with his wife and her friend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story demonstrates an interesting sort of irony. The disability that Bub condemned and presupposed was in fact a handicap that he had himself. He was emotionally blind. Robert assisted Bub in overcoming those traits that were keeping him from experiencing the most wonderful things in life. This freed Bub from his insecurities, ignorance, and insensitivities. He was then capable of truly seeing.

Cognitive Behavioral Theory Essay

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term, problem-centered therapy that is used to address psychopathology within the individual (Beck, 1995). This model of therapy is used to address issues of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, relational problems, and drug abuse, and can be utilized when working with individuals, as well as within group and family modalities. The core aspects of this therapy include collaboration and participation by the client, a strong alliance between therapist and client, and an initial focus on current problems and functioning (Beck, 1995). The theory of CBT emphasizes the relationship between the individual’s thoughts feelings and behaviors, which is seen as being the underlying cause of psychopathology in individuals. Therefore, this theory asserts that the identification, evaluation, and modification of one’s negative thoughts will lead to an improvement in one’s mood and behaviors (Beck, 1995). It is important to understand the concepts and theory from which CBT is based in order for it to be efficiently implemented in therapeutic work with individuals, groups, or families. While CBT is used to treat psychological disorders, this theory can be examined by looking at the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individual’s with an absence of psychopathology. Beck (1979) and Beck (1995) present the cognitive model in order to explain the theory of CBT. The cognitive model demonstrates that the emotions that an individual experiences and the behaviors that they exhibit are a result of their perception of a situation or event (Beck, 1995). When in any given situation, an individual’s immediate thought response is their automatic thought (Beck, 1995). These thoughts are an immediate evaluation of the situation, which in turn directly influence the feeling that a person has about the situation. Automatic thoughts are experienced by everyone and occur in the individual’s mind prior to reasoning. These thoughts occur swiftly and often times the individual may be unaware that they have occurred, being more observant of the emotion that they are feeling in the moment (Beck, 1995). Once an automatic thought occurs within the individual, it triggers a feeling, which in turn triggers the individual’s response, such as a behavior and/or physiological response. For example, after a young child begins to pick up his blocks to be put away, his mother rubs him on the back and gives him praise for his actions. His automatic thought may be, â€Å"I am good when I put away blocks,† triggering a feeling of confidence, an increased level of physical energy, and the behavior of putting away the remaining blocks. Automatic thoughts can be neutral, positive, or negative. We all have our own automatic thoughts as we move through our day-to-day lives and interact with others. In regards to individuals with psychological disorders, the cognitive model looks at how negative thoughts influence the individual’s feelings and behaviors (Beck, 1995). From a CBT lens, it is the negative automatic thoughts that an individual has that perpetuate symptoms of psychological disorders, the occurrence of negative mood, uncomfortable physiological responses, and maladaptive or inappropriate behaviors (Beck, 1995). While we all have moments of experiencing negative automatic thoughts, for those with psychological disorders, and more pervasive difficulties in living, negative thoughts are often experienced in situations that are neutral, producing negative feelings that lead to maladaptive behaviors or responses that would not typically be expected from the neutral situation (Beck, 1995). Aaron Beck presents theory of the cognitive model of how depression is rooted and perpetuated in individuals as a result of the interaction between negative automatic thoughts, feelings, and behavioral response. In this discussion, depression is conceptualized in terms of the cognitive triad, which describes three components of negative thinking of the depressed individual: the individual’s negative view of self, their negative view of the others and the world, and their negative view of the future (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). The cognitive triad is maintained via the remaining components of Beck’s cognitive model of depression, the individual’s schemas, or core beliefs, and the utilization of faulty thinking, or cognitive errors (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). Cognitive theory asserts that our automatic thoughts are rooted in our core belief system or cognitive schemas. Core beliefs begin to be developed early in life and are based on experiences that the individual has throughout their life. Because these beliefs are so grounded in how the individual views their life, others, and the world, and begin to be cultivated so early in development, they become a fundamental aspect of the individual, who considers them to be absolute truths (Beck, 1995). Core beliefs are deeply rooted in an individual, so much so that the individual may be unaware of the belief and how it influences their thoughts about themselves and the world. Each belief can have varying levels of presence within an individual’s day to day life, with some core beliefs remaining predominately dormant and only being activated in certain situations, while others may be frequently present in an individual’s thoughts (Beck, 1995). It is the individual’s cognitive schemas that allows for the categorization and evaluation of different experiences or situations (Beck, Rush, Shaw, and Emery, 1979). The core belief system maintains the way an individual experiences and thinks about a given situation (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). While everyone conceptualizes a given situation in their own way, each individual typically conceptualizes similar situations in a similar way based on their own core beliefs (Beck, Rush, Shaw, and Emery, 1979). Within a set of similar situations, the individual’s core beliefs trigger automatic thoughts, which in turn trigger the individual’s emotional and behavioral response. Over time, the individual’s responses to similar situations become more consistent, thereby causing the development of a routine response to these types of situations. As this consistently occurs, the schema connected to particular type of event is further developed and the individual’s assertion that the belief holds absolute truth is strengthened (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). Beck’s theory underlying CBT focuses on the idea that symptoms of depression, as well as those of other psychological disorders, are developed and maintained through to the individual’s negative core beliefs and triggered negative thoughts. In addition to the individual’s negative schemas, Beck’s theory states that the cognitive triad of negative cognitions of self, others, and future is further perpetuated through patterns of faulty thinking (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). There are a variety of faulty thinking mechanisms that are used by individual’s to support their automatic thoughts and core beliefs, even in light of contradictory evidence (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). This type of thinking can be characterized as labeling, over generalizing, personalization, emotional reasoning, magnification or minimization, and all-or-nothing or impetrative thinking (Beck, 1995). These cognitive errors are often extreme and unrealistic ways in which the individual assesses and draws conclusions regarding their problems, which is then used to further support their negative belief system and automatic thoughts. CBT theory declares that the individual can learn to identify their automatic thoughts, thereby creating an avenue for changing the emotions, behaviors, and psychological responses to various situations. When utilizing CBT with a client, it is necessary for the therapist to conceptualize the individual’s presenting problems from the perspective of the cognitive model (Beck, 1995). This can be done through the work of gathering information regarding the individual’s current problems, diagnosis, and how the problems have been developed and maintained. As this information is collected, the CBT therapist begins to assess and identify the inaccurate and unhelpful thoughts connected to the problems, and the behaviors that are exhibited as a result of this thinking (Beck, 1995). As this is done, the therapist can then begin to guide the individual to identify, examine, and correct or modify the negative automatic thoughts, underlying core beliefs, and faulty thinking mechanisms that have sustained the presenting problems (Beck, 1995).