Locke Essays (2480 words) - Empiricists, Empiricism, Epistemologists

Locke I. General Notions Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes were not truly conscious of the phenomenalistic consequences of their theory of knowledge, which was based on empiricism. Both considered sensation as phenomenal presentations and also as representations of reality. Thus they still had something upon which to build an absolute metaphysics. With Locke gnosiological phenomenalism enters its critical phase. By considering sensations merely as subjective presentations, Locke gives us a theory of knowledge of subjective data devoid of any relation with external objects. Hence Locke is the first to give us a logic for Empiricism, that is, for sensations considered as phenomena of knowledge. Such an attitude excludes any consistent metaphysics of objective reality. Locke, however, overlooking everything he has established in his solution to the problem of knowledge, gives us a metaphysics which is not greatly different from the scholastic. He even appeals to the familiar principles of Scholasticism, showing how difficult it is for man to withdraw from the philosophy of being. Berkeley, first, and then David Hume went all the way and reduced being to the status of a subjective phenomenon. In so doing, these two philosophers merely drew the logical conclusions of the gnosiological phenomenalism proposed by John Locke. II. Life and Works John Locke was born in 1632 at Wrington, Somersetshire, England. He studied philosophy and the natural sciences at Oxford, and received his doctorate in medicine. Having entered into the graces of Lord Ashley, who later became the Earl of Shaftesbury, Locke held several political offices. Thus he had the opportunity to visit France, where he made the acquaintance of the most representative men of culture. In 1683 he went into exile in Holland; there he participated in the political movement that placed William of Orange upon the throne of England. After the accession of William of Orange, he returned to England, retired to private life, and dedicated himself to his studies. He died in 1704. Locke is a representative of the English culture of his time. With a mind open to the most varied problems, Locke was a philosopher, a doctor of medicine, and educator, a politician and a man of action. Locke's principal works, in chronological order, are: Treatises on Government; Essay Concerning Human Understanding (his masterpiece); Thoughts on Education. III. Epistemology: Origin of Knowledge Descartes had admitted that some some ideas are innate in the intellect. Locke dedicated the first book of his Essay Concerning Human Understanding to a refutation of Descartes' innatism. If we had innate ideas, says Locke, we would be conscious of having them. But it is an undeniable fact that children, savages, the unlearned, are not conscious of having innate ideas; they acquire knowledge during the course of a lifetime. It is impossible that anyone should have knowledge of something of which he is not conscious. Furthermore, experience teaches that certain moral principles and the notion of God, far from being innate, vary with different people and at different times. Hence there exists no innate idea; our intellect, at the first moment of its being, is a tabula rasa, a clean sheet of paper on which nothing has yet been written. All impressions we later find thereon (which for Locke are ideas) come from experience. Locke's ideas are not to be confused with Aristotle ideas, but are to be taken in the sense of representations, or better, of presentations. Locke explains that experience is twofold: external and internal. ? External experience, called sensation, gives us ideas of supposed external objects, such as color, sound, extension, motion. etc. Locke says supposed objects, since their existence has not been proved. (In a theory of knowledge limited to the experience of mental content, such as that of Locke, it is utterly impossible to prove the actual existence of these supposed objects.) ? Internal experience, called reflection, makes us understand the operation of the spirit on the objects of sensation, such as knowing, doubting, believing and so forth. In regard to the ideas furnished by sensation, it is necessary to distinguish the primary qualities (solidity, extension, figure, number, motion, etc.), which are objective, from the secondary qualities (color, sounds, etc.), which are subjective in their effect and objective in their cause. In other words the secondary qualities are powers for producing various sensations in

Waiting with Bated Breath

Waiting with Bated Breath Waiting with Bated Breath Waiting with Bated Breath By Maeve Maddox I laughed when I read the following in a film review: Richard M. Nixon granted British playboy presenter turned journalist David Frost a series of twelve television interviews. This was the first time Nixon had spoken since his resignation in the midst of the Watergate scandal and Americans waited with baited breath, longing for the trial they’d been denied by newly president Gerald Ford’s blanket pardon. What, I wondered, did those Americans use for bait on their breath? I’m no longer laughing. Apparently a lot of people don’t know that the word is spelled bated in the expression bated breath. Journalists tend to spell it correctly: China’s three astronauts are preparing for the nations first ever space walk as the country waited with bated breath to see if the manoeuvre, deemed highly risky, would be successful. With global automotive CEOs and leaders like Mr Carlos Ghosn saying that his company too would like to explore the possibility of manufacturing a similar car, the world’s media too has been waiting with bated breath for the Tata ultra-low cost car. Shoppers waited with bated breath in November to see what the future of Santas beady, winking eye was after he received a makeover. Many bloggers, on the other hand, tend to go with â€Å"baited† We waited with baited breath, turned our lonely eyes 2 U It was now Rome who waited with baited breath for the day when an army would sweep down.. â€Å"I was waiting with baited breath until I could order my prints. I was then waiting with baited breath until the order was confirmed. I then waited with baited breath until they arrived here in Melbourne, Australia. Now I am waiting with baited breath until they are back from the framing shop and I can hang all three in my house and gaze at them adoringly each time I pass them. The expression bated breath is another that we owe to Shakespeare: Shall I bend low and in a bondmans key, With bated breath and whispering humbleness, Say this; Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last; You spurnd me such a day; another time You calld me dog; and for these courtesies Ill lend you thus much moneys? Shylock is speaking, with heavy sarcasm, to Antonio in the Merchant of Venice (I,iii). A bondman is a slave or an indentured servant who could be expected to speak in a quiet voice to his masters and betters. The bated in the expression is from a shortening of the verb abate and, in the form bate, means â€Å"to reduce, to lessen in intensity.† The expression under discussion is the only survival of the word in modern English. The person who â€Å"speaks with bated breath† is not using full lung power. The person who â€Å"waits with bated breath† is holding his breath, or barely breathing. Abate comes from Old French abattre, â€Å"to beat down, cast down. from a Latin origin meaning â€Å"to beat.† The word abattoir, a place where cattle are slaughtered, derives from the same source. In modern usage, abate is used most frequently in a legal context. For example, â€Å"noise abatement laws† seek to control sources of excessive noise. The noun bait, food put on a hook or trap to lure prey,† is from an Old Norse word. As a verb it means â€Å"to put food on a hook or in a trap.† And yes, there is one context in which â€Å"baited breath† would be correct: Cruel Clever Cat Sally, having swallowed cheese, Directs down holes the scented breeze, Enticing thus with baited breath Nice mice to an untimely death. Geoffrey Taylor, Argosy 1940 Otherwise, it’s bated breath. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in SYay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations20 Classic Novels You Can Read in One Sitting

Strategy management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Strategy management - Essay Example This can only be achieved if there is coordination of activities in the organization. As a result, organizational power plays a critical role of giving some employees powers to oversee the activities of the rest of the subordinates (Schermerhorn 2013). As a result, they are able to make critical decisions that ensure that the employees remain committed towards the organizational goals and objectives. Many organizations have diversified their products and services in order to reduce the risks and uncertainties associated with concentrating on a single product or service. However, in order for different department to work together as a common unit, organizations have divided power to different employees who are at different levels of governance. This has made it easier for the top-level managers to monitor and control the operations of the organizations and its subsidiaries (Witcher & Chau 2010). This has been critical in ensuring that even the organizations’ branches which are located in different parts of the world are well managed in order to record growth and development. Organizations are expanding their operations in different parts of the world. With the increasing levels of competition in the local market, organizations are looking to segment less competitive markets. However, in some of these markets, the organizations are facing a major challenge of overcoming the barrier or entry which has been put by the competitors in order for them to dominate the market. However, overcoming this challenge without losing focus on the market is a major step towards the growth and development of the business. Therefore, power in the organization ensures that the top management are dealing with external challenges while at the same time, supervisors are working hard to ensure that external challenges do not affect the performance of the employees (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson 2005). Organizations are made