Thursday, January 30, 2020
Mans Existence Defined by Being and Nothing Essay Example for Free
Mans Existence Defined by Being and Nothing Essay I. Introduction What makes a person alive? Should existence be defined simply by a persons biological and physical ability to move and breathe? Is existence proven by the mere physical presence of a living person? Philosophers down the ages have advanced many theories of how human existence is defined. Some have advance theories based on the establishment of being after the fulfillment of a lifes purpose. Others opined that a persons fear or experience of dread and nothingness defines existence. Some however believe that it is a combination of these yin/yang forces that define human existence. II. Discussions on Existence, Being and Nothingness People are defined as human beings in Biology. It is what separates humans as a specie from animals. But shouldn’t the word â€Å"human†be enough? What is the significance of the verb â€Å"be?† Several theories have been advanced to define the tangible things one sees in life but as philosopher Martin Heidegger noticed, they have forgotten to ask what to â€Å"be†really is (Philipse. 1998. p18). The question of what defines human existence has intrigued philosophers over the ages. Theories have gone beyond the basic qualification of life as the simple and obvious ability to move and breathe. Existentialism however, puts forward the more abstract concepts of defining one’s being as influenced by boredom, freedom, commitment and alienation (Warnock.1970.p.4). It separates the human existence into â€Å"being†and â€Å"nothing.†What makes a human a â€Å"being†? According to Heidegger, a de-constructional view of existence is necessary to include the essence of humans being as opposed to the classical thought of the obvious and therefore unexplored being (Philipse, 1998.p.3). One of Heidegger’s main influences, Edmund Huserll (Grimsley.1960.p.37) said that philosophy should be described in the context of human experience and goals. People do and live in accordance with one â€Å"plan†or goal. Heidegger modified this with his theory of â€Å"care,†(Cochrane. 1956. p112) which, simply stated means that a person’s priorities or what he or she considers important defines their existence.  For him, it is the motivation and the individual needs that define a person’s existence and thus shapes them into what they are. In his work â€Å"Being and Time,†Heidegger created the representation â€Å"Dasein†of the individual that seeks to answer the question as to why he exists. He states the Dasein is â€Å"thrown†into a world of possibilities and responsibilities, and to account for his existence, the Dasein must take responsibility for all these possibilities (Cochrane, 1956 p. 136). Another philosopher who advances the notion of a reality governed by consciousness, Rene Descartes in his â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy†states that in human existence, the only thing that cannot be doubted is consciousness. Reality can have many illusions, but a human being’s consciousness is constant which therefore makes it the only truth (Snooks, 1998.p 26). The famed German philosopher George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (Stace,1955. p. 44) summed it up in the statement â€Å"the rational alone is real†which presented the idea that everything can and will only be expressed in rational categories His various works reflected methods predominantly rooted in logic According to Hegel, the degree of comprehension of concepts is only limited or expanded by the standards of knowledge a person possesses and the level of society he belongs to (Stace,1955. p. 46)  . The ideas of existentialism contradict this. The definition of a person’s existence is not dependent on rational thinking but rather their individual â€Å"beings†in the world they were born in. Reality in reference to one’s existence is subjective. In Sartre’s â€Å"Being and Nothingness,†he defines the actuality of man’s ideal of completion as the fulfillment of state of â€Å"Being†while nothingness is the failure or lack of this actuality (Schilpp. 1997.p.48) Like Hegel, Sartre also used the concepts of â€Å"Being†in terms of â€Å" in itself†, â€Å"for others†, and â€Å"for and in itself.† Unlike Hegel however who defined these as organizational thought processes and logic in the individual, Sartre stated these terms with definitions done to identify and qualify the subjective and objective facets of human existence. Regarded as the â€Å"Father of Existentialism,†and one of Hegel’s greatest critics, Soren Kierkegaard (Malantschuk, 2003.p.11 )was a Danish philosopher who proposed that it is an individual’s feelings such as dread and anxiety that lead to making choices that define a person’s life. Kierkegaard believed that the difference between an individual’s self-perception of being and nothingness stems from the â€Å"individuality†of a person and that includes emotions and passions. A persons existence therefore, is brought about by his fears. He cites a parallel of faith and atheism. In his theories that were viewed as anti-organized religion, Kierkegaard states that for a person to be able to â€Å"make a leap of faith,†one must first have doubt. Otherwise, one may not be able to differentiate faith from everyday emotions. In the same way, Being cannot exist without â€Å"Nothing†and vice-versa (Malantschuk, 2003.p.90) Kierkegaard also advanced the paradoxical theory of the Concept of Dread (Ussher, 1968.p. 52). According to Kierkegaard’s concept of Dread, it is only when one has experienced total misery that one can recognize and experience life and living. Only by being a sacrificial Isaac would he recognise himself for the beloved of Abraham: and no miracle (he knew in the end) would intervene. (Ussher, 1968.p. 27). It is not unusual in today’s times to hear the maxim â€Å"You never know what you have unless you’ve lost it.† The misery or anxiety at the thought of losing something makes one realize how much value they have truly assigned to something. The thought of this is echoed in German journalist Helmut Kuhn’s â€Å"Encounter with Nothingness: An Essay on Existentialism†(1949): The question of existence is urged upon us chiefly by our interest. We raise it when we care for the existence or the nonexistence of something. When darkness closes down, we do get excited about the existence of light (Kuhn, 1949) Immanuel Kant presented a style of inquiry that takes to consideration the physiological and empirical facets of a person’s state of Being. Kant believed that an introspective approach was necessary for one to understand and make sense of ones own being (Kant, 1965). Sartre, one of the strongest critics of Kantian theory argues that the notion that human emotions are insignificant and occasional â€Å"situations†that occur of an individual’s behavior is unacceptable. Moreover, emotion must not be considered as a set of empirical facts gained through introspection or as a corporeal phenomenon , but rather as an organized form of human existence (Schilpp, 1997.p.13) As a person’s existence and state of â€Å"Being†are subjective, so is the definition of â€Å"nothingness.†The lexicon meaning of the word â€Å"nothing†is given as â€Å"1 : not any thing : no thing; 2 : no part; 3 : one of no interest, value, or consequence†In philosophy however, despite the many theories that sought to define existence, the definition of the word nothing seems to be universal. It simply means failure to attain a state of Being through lack of fulfillment and failure at the attainment of purposes or goals. III. Summary The human being and existence is a complex and paradoxical concept. All the concepts are true in a sense, but were never really complete in describing or pinpointing the meaning of life. Different schools of thought range from describing human existence in a mathematical sense then evolving into the more abstract consideration of complex human emotions. Classical philosophy in its rational and logical basis, says it is Mind over matter. Sartre, Hegel and Heideggers philosophies are summed up in the End justifies the Means. Kierkegaards neurotic view of the existence as a result of anxiety and dread is summed up in You dont know what you have until youve lost it. IV. Conclusion Given the many points of view advanced, there remains a constant, and that is recognition of the human free will. It is the will that makes a choice that rational, experiential or pessimistic, influences the End that defines and justifies a persons existence. A persons experience of past and present in addition to his perception of what the future could be are subjective. The significance people place on certain things is also subjective. Reactions are subjective. Life is subjective. One can choose to define existence in the manner of different philosophies. However, it is important to note that these schools of thought are not rules that encompass every persons experience of life.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Robinson Crusoe And Friday :: essays research papers
Robinson Crusoe and Friday Essay      Families, in the late 17th century, played an important role in the development of children. Since Robinson Crusoe left his family at a relatively young age, he was unable to see that people cared for him on a daily basis. To be set free, a person is able to live on their own without being told what to do and when to do it, with the government being the exception in that you have to do what they tell you to do. Crusoe fails to set Friday free because, Friday is the closest thing to a brother he’s had in about thirty years.      Crusoe resembles a big brother trying to teach a younger sibling how to talk or comprehend what’s going on. He say’s â€Å"Made it my business to teach him everything that as proper to make him speak, and understand me when I spake.†Crusoe takes on the role of the big brother, and Friday takes on the role as the younger brother. Younger brothers usually look up to their big brothers and want to be just like them. I believe this is why Crusoe wants to teach Friday. It gives Crusoe the feeling of being greatly admired.      By the title character teaching Friday how to talk, this signifies that they are coming together more as a â€Å"family†and are able to be more productive and efficient together. Communication is a huge barrier, and by them developing common grounds they are able to understand where one another are coming from. This helped give complete understanding of each other.      Crusoe taught Friday to do more than just communicate, he taught him how to hunt and harvest food.           â€Å"And let me know that he thought I had much more labour upon me on his                account than I had for my self; and that he would work the harder for me,                if I would tell him what to do.†(Page 156) He taught Friday to do these things because he cared for him. He wanted Friday to be able to support himself in more than one way in case something was to happen to one of his food resources. It is an older brother’s duty to teach siblings how to be independent of others. He does this because, more than likely, there won’t always be somebody around to take care of him his whole life.          During a long lecture, Crusoe teaches Friday about God and his religion.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
How Does The World Leading Companies Interact with Society: An investigation into the performance of Louis Vuitton Essay
Founded in 1854, Louis Vuitton Moà «t Hennessy (LVMH) had become the world’s largest luxury fashion house brand group and manage to gain sales revenue of 20,320 million euros in 2010 to 23, 659 million Euro in 2011 and 28, 103 million Euro in 2012 (Jin, 2012). Nowadays in business world, the survivability of business depends on how it interact with the society. The way of a company behave toward the society and environment is the key for a company to achieve profitability and maintain good reputation as small action give a big impact (Hartman, 2005). In this case, a company good intention will frequently shadowed by it bad steps in damaging society even it is unintentionally done. In contrast for that, Louis Vuitton had practiced their good intention by launching environmental department in 1992 in order to preserve the nature thus helping Louis Vuitton to produce high quality product (LVMH launches its own Green Week, 2012). Behind the scene, Louis Vuitton also increases their carbon emission by 25% in 2012 while manage to increases their revenue by 19% in 2012 (LVMH, 2012). In the same time, Louis Vuitton keep telling the society about their policy of not allowing child labor (LVMH: Supplier’s Code Of conduct, 2014) but unfortunately, it just another spin doctoring to hide another mistake they had done. This would remark that Louis Vuitton secretly brings the negative impact to environment and to the community around them. This paper will assessed the truth about the real contribution of LVMH towards society. In spite of that, there are still other stakeholders that are not being discussed thorough this investigation. The case against Louis Vuitton For a luxury brand to be judge as very successful company, the indicator is not about how popular the company but it is decided on how timeless, modern, fast-growing and highly profitable they are (LVMH brand for success, 2002). Indeed, the way of the company interact with the society still will be take into the consideration as it such inappropriate for a company to have high profit by ‘taking down’ people who are also the customers (Hartman, 2005, 53). To conclude the performance of LVMH, it is really important to jot down their contribution in making the world a better place. In this context, it is a need to study how well is a company in reducing carbon dioxide emission in reducing dire climate change level today (Antonio, 2009, 15). Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of greenhouse gas released by human activities including the production processes of goods in LVMH. Industrial activities contribute 11% of carbon emission in the atmosphere that is a main factor of global warming (EPA 2013). Global warming should not be underestimated as it would lead to varies bad effects to world such as increase the sea level that cause by melting of the Arctic sea ice and glaciers. It was reported by The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that there was a 22cm rise in sea level in the 20th century and 22cm rise in sea level in the 20th century due to carbon emission. Year by year, Louis Vuitton is increasing its carbon emission. The paradox here is Louis Vuitton should give effort to improve the lifestyle of its stakeholders which is the society but in the same time Louis Vuitton is slowly ‘killing’ the world. What a meaning of wearing very stylish outfit but at the end people got no place as their home. The record explicitly show that LVMH was releasing 193,371 tons of (CO2) of carbon emission in 2012 which is really bad for environment (LVMH 2012). In 2011, Louis Vuitton recorded 155,362 tons of (CO2) carbon emission which is lesser than in 2012. It was believed that the carbon emission rose due to alliance of LVMH with Murakami in producing new design and pattern (Riot, 2013). Despite of that, Louis Vuitton should care about alliance of several products if they do really want to minimize the carbon emission. Louis Vuitton had declared that it is one of their policy to compensate the carbon emission but unfortunately in the production of fashion and leather goods, carbon emissions had rose by 71% in 2012 (55,978 metric tonnes) compared to 2011 (32,714 metric tonnes) which is due to this alliance (LVMH, 2012). Louis Vuitton seems to only expects their supplier to be committed in mitigate with carbon emission generated from the supply chain which is beyond their control (LVMH 2011). This would remark that it is impossible for LVMH to promote a better environment without any clear measures taken in overcome this problem. Is Louis Vuitton really aware that due to their incentives of inventing new products cause increase in carbon emission spasmodically. What can be concluded from this situation, LVMH is trying to spin doctoring by only telling their incentives in improving their stakeholders lifestyles but at the same time they are not really determined and care about their stakeholders’ future. The case for Louis Vuitton Instead of those issues that already discussed above, it is undeniable that Louis Vuitton is aware of those problem happened and do really give effort to overcome the carbon emission issue. It is true that LVMH really practicing a policy in order to support the environmental protection that illustrate them as a party that willing to reduce the negative impact of their activities to environment by limiting the carbon emission (Louis Vuitton 2012). In 2006, Louis Vuitton had carried out a few training programmes in encouraging their workers to protect the environment by carefully using natural resources, minimize the energy and water consumption and reducing waste (UNGC 2006). Louis Vuitton also had established Environment department since 1992 to preserve the nature. One of the functions of the environment department is to promotes each employees to practice the right attitudes thus ensuring their commitment in preserving the environment. In instance, Louis Vuitton was organized two seminars on â€Å"ISO 14001†and â€Å"Carbon footprint†to increase the understanding of how important of a company in ensuring the environment is safety for mankind (LVMH 2012). Consequently, in this effort, Louis Vuitton was conducting more 700 training hours in promoting awareness to their regular employee at Sainte-Florence workshop and 111 training hours at the Barbera workshop (LVMH 2012). Louis Vuitton tried to spread the importance of preserving the nature to their employee’s stakeholders and not only to their employees. Unfortunately, this storyline happened before the incidents of carbon emission happened. From what can be inferred is, Louis Vuitton probably reducing their efforts in mitigating carbon emission after their stakeholders already view Louis Vuitton as a really determined party in promoting better environment. Get down to the concept of a successful company, the effort of Louis Vuitton in perform ing the alliance with Murakami is also fair as making the company highly profitable. In simple word, it is also unfair to judge Louis Vuitton as the bad one in increasing the carbon emission as every single action have their own trade-offs. From past events, it was really shown how determine Louis Vuitton in promoting better lifestyles to their stakeholders. For example, in celebrating Lantern Festival in China, they had invented a lantern collection and a mahjong set for Chinese people (Chan, 2011, 101). In this case, it is not really a need for Louis Vuitton to do that as they already manage to make high profit from other product but due to their spirit to improve people lifestyles, they really give an effort for a part of world population in China. Furthermore, Louis Vuitton is also really aware of workers’ right. As the world was shocked by usage of child labor by Nike in 2001, Louis Vuitton never involved in such issues. It can be seen that Louis Vuitton is really determined with their policy of not using child labor in their production. In addition of that, Louis Vuitton also stated in their policy that they will give appropriate wages to their workers and will really take care of them as the company ass ets (LVMH: Supplier’s Code Of conduct, 2014). Thus, Louis Vuitton contributions in promoting better society also should not be avoided due to their few mistakes in conducting their business as they may have no intention to make things become severely worsen. Conclusion Louis Vuitton is interacting with the society in both positive and negative ways. Louis Vuitton had gave their best to give a better products that would satisfied their stakeholders. They had inventing a lot of new design to suit with the stakeholders’ wants. This would illustrated how well Louis Vuitton response to society is. In spite of that, Louis Vuitton biggest harm to society which is carbon emission is also the main issue that should not be avoided as Louis Vuitton is manufacturing, transporting and packaging their products. It is aware that carbon emission released by Louis Vuitton would bring bad impact for global community especially the next generation of human in future. Instead of making policies, Louis Vuitton is really giving effort in practicing those policies even though sometimes they failed to do so. In conclusion, Louis Vuitton needs to have a good relationship with the society by fulfilling not only the needs of their shareholders and community but also t heir needs. References Antonio, Robert J. 2009. Climate Change, the Resource Crunch, and The Global Growth Imperative. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Chan, Priscilla Y.L. 2011. Fashion retailing in China: An examination of its development and issues. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). â€Å"Carbon Dioxide Emissions | Climate Change US EPA.†Accessed March 26, 2014. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html. Hartman, Laura P. 2005. Perspectives In Business Ethics. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education (Asia). â€Å"LVMH launches its own Green Week†. 2012. LUXURY, May 2012. http://www.2luxury2.com/lvmh-launches-its-own-green-week/ LVMH Supplier’s Code Of conduct. 2014. Louis Vuitton Moà «t Hennessy. http://www.lvmh.com/uploads/assets/Com-fi/Documents/en/Governance/LVMH-Suppliers-code-of-conduct.pdf â€Å"LVMH brand for success, thanks to know-how from the top†. 2002. Strategic Direction 18(5): 7-9. doi: 10.1108/02580540210793482 LVMH: luxury world leader, prestigious brands – Louis Vuitton Moà «t Hennessy. Accessed September 7, 2013. http://www.lvmh.com/uploads/assets/Com-fi/Documents/en/Press_release_PDF/LVMHAnnualResults2012_VA.pdf. Riot, Elen. 2013. â€Å"Murakami on the bag: Louis Vuitton’s decommoditization strategy†. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 41(11/12). doi: 10.1108/IJRDM-01-2013-0010 UNGC (United Nations Global Compact). Accessed March 27, 2014. http://www.unglobalcompact.org/system/attachments/2897/original/COP.pdf?1262614359.
Monday, January 6, 2020
International Business At The Philippines - 1888 Words
International Business in the Philippines International business in the Philippines has been a tough barrier to international investors and businesses alike. With the stories of corruption and bad business practices in the past have made international partners weary of doing business in the Philippines. However, with recent elections and a promise for a bright future, the potential gains for a rise in business and the lower risk of business failure, the Philippines is gaining recognition as one of the worlds’ fastest growing emerging markets. There are some key elements that a company needs to be aware of in the Philippines that include the allegations of corruption and some domestic policies and laws. After giving a brief background of the Philippines culture, I will discuss the political environment of the Philippines. After a giving some background information about the country in general, topics that will be discussed will be: Legalities that could affect international bus iness, geography and government economics, trading blocks and cross-national agreements. A summary will conclude this paper along with a closing statement as to why an international businesses should consider investing in the Philippines. The Philippines is an archipelago with over 7,000 islands and a population of over 100 million situated in the Southeast corner of Asia. â€Å"In 1898, the Philippines became the first and only colony of the United States. Following World War II, the Philippines regainedShow MoreRelatedThe Harvest Box Is An Australian Organic Foods Retailer1649 Words  | 7 PagesAs foreign investment and international trade continue to drive globalisation, many companies are excited by the prospect of entering international marketplaces. 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