Public Intellectual Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public Intellectual - Essay Example His immense contribution in religious, economic, social and political matters was outstanding. Nelson Mandela like many other intellectuals was a statesman whose credibility can never be left out when writing the history of South Africa and Africa as a whole. His leadership, humility and perseverance, dedication and courage, love for humanity and fair-mindedness are exemplary traits that gives him credit as one of the world’s greatest public intellects. Mandela’s leadership traits rank him among the world greatest. His political wit and economic vision equate him with Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Winston Churchill. Mandela was a leader dedicated to his countrymen and prioritized their freedom and welfare than his own life (Maanga, 97). In the struggle for South Africa’s independence, he led the ANC as a young man to liberate his country from the hands of the colonial powers. Even after independence and his five year term as the president of South Africa, he still showed the characteristics that made him standout as a leader and father of the nation. According to some famous leaders in South Africa such as Oliver Tambo, Mandela was an inspiration leader who would sacrifice his life for his people. He was a symbol of unity among the Africans in the fight for freedom and against apartheid (Maanga, 98). Mandela possessed the humility and perseverance traits necessary for a leader. Like Martin Luther King in the fight against racism in America, Mandela’s humility in fight against apartheid is appreciated. He endured difficult situations including twenty-seven years imprisonment seeking the freedom of his South African brothers and sisters (Maanga, 97). The imprisonment played an important role of strengthening his call for the eradication of apartheid and freedom of the black people. It is such characters of humility and commitment to his course

Marketing 300 Notes Essay Example for Free

Marketing 300 Notes Essay In the Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas uses the philosophical method to theology and addresses the question of whether God’s existence can be demonstrated as well as the question of whether we can know God completely. For Aquinas, the question of proving the existence of God is always bound up with the question of how, and to what extent, we can know God at all. St. Thomas Aquinas believes that yes, God’s existence can be demonstrated but that no we cannot know God completely. St. Thomas believes that God’s existence can in fact be demonstrated and that it can be done so in two ways. â€Å"One is through the cause, and is called â€Å"a priori†, and this is to argue from what is prior absolutely. The other is through the effect, and is called a demonstration â€Å"a posteriori†; this is to argue from what is prior relatively only to us† (Aquinas 15). In other words, to demonstrate that God exists is done in a cause and effect manner. For the question as to whether or not we can know God completely, St. Thomas answers that no, we cannot know God completely. According to St. Thomas one can know the essence of God, but to completely know God would be impossible. The differences between these two questions are that the question as to whether or not God’s existence can be demonstrated addresses God’s existence whereas the question on whether or not we can know God completely does not question God’s existence, just the amount of knowledge one can have on God. St. Thomas Aquinas proposed five proofs in which humans can use natural reason to prove the existence of God through extrinsic evidence. Through the use of natural reason we can logically conclude in the existence of God. Yet strictly speaking, God’s existence cannot be definitively proven through laboratory tests and experimental science. Experimental science and intrinsic evidence cannot definitively prove historical events, and yet by reason we know they have occurred. And surely were science falters and extrinsic evidence fail, reason and intrinsic evidence can prove the spiritual which cannot be measured by material sciences. The first way begins observing the movement all over the world and ends up asserting the existence of God as Immovable Motor; the second way observes the existence of causes in the world and concludes the existence of an ultimate Cause. The Third Way emphasizes one of the most important features of all finite objects, the radical insufficiency of their being, their contingency: the beings of the world exist but they could equally not exist, they have specific features which they could equally not have. If they do exist but could not then we can think of a time in which they didn’t; and if they were the only beings of the world, then nothing would have existed. As this is obviously not the case, then we should conclude that along with those contingent beings there must exist a necessary being, a being which has its origin in itself instead of in another being, and that being is God. St. Thomas states, â€Å"Therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, put in motion by no other; and this everyone understands to be God† (Aquinas 16). In the next paragraph Aquinas says, â€Å"Therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name of God† (Aquinas 17). Clearly, St. Thomas Aquinas is making his point that God is the source of everything. Since God is the cause we see the effects. The effects had to have come from a cause, which is God, and therefore God must exist. St. Thomas Aquinas starts off his discussion on whether or not one can know God by discussing the senses and their role in how humans know things. â€Å"Our natural knowledge begins from sense. Hence our natural knowledge can go as far as it can be led by sensible things† (Aquinas 86). St. Thomas states, â€Å"It is impossible for God to be seen by the sense of sight, or by any other sense, or faculty of the sensitive power† (Aquinas 74). What this passage is saying is that we cannot see God and because we cannot see God, it is impossible for us to know him. As humans we can know human beings because we can see them physically, however we cannot do this with God. Aquinas says, â€Å"when any created intellect sees the essence of God, the essence of God itself becomes the intelligible form on the intellect† (Aquinas 77) and this means that for what we can see with our human eyes that is what is going to portray to us what God is like. This means that we cannot fully know God and that we can only know of him or about him. God is an infinite being and we are finite beings which mean that we can only contain so much knowledge within us. Due to the fact that we are limited with our knowledge, it is impossible for humans to ever be able to fully encompass and know God because there is too much to know about Him. God is infinite, he has always been and humans cannot understand this because there is nothing else that we know of that has forever been and always will be. For these reasons, St. Aquinas believes that humans will never be able to fully know God like how they know one another. One can also compare these two questions not just by what they are based on (existence and knowledge) but also by looking at the differences between faith and knowledge. As stated previously when discussing whether or not we can know God completely, the basis of knowledge is derived from the senses. Knowledge has factual evidence from the world around you and has to do with reason and science. â€Å"We have a more perfect knowledge of God by grace than by natural reason†¦the knowledge which we have by natural reason contains two things: images derived from the sensible objects; and the natural intelligible light, enabling us to abstract from them intelligible conceptions. Now in both of these, human knowledge is assisted by the revelation of grace. For the intellects natural light is strengthened by the infusion of gratuitous light† (Aquinas__). On the other hand, Faith (or a belief) in something you take without question or evidence. An example of this is if someone is inside of a building and cannot see outside and someone comes in from being outside and tells the person that it is raining. Since the person inside has no way of knowing that it is raining outside since they cannot see or hear it, then they must believe the person telling them that it is raining. â€Å"Faith does not involve a search by natural reason to prove what is believed. But it does involve a form of inquiry unto things by which a person is led to belief, e. g. whether they are spoken by God and confirmed by miracles† (Aquinas__). Teachings by St. Augustine and Pseudo-Dionysius agree with the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas about knowing God. All of them agree that it impossible to be able to fully and completely know God. Alternatively, the three of them believe that one can only know about and of God; knowing only the different aspects of God. Dionysius describes God as â€Å"wholly unknowable† and has as â€Å"incomprehensible presence† (Pseudo Dionysius 119) which is him saying that God cannot be understood completely. Dionysius also says that God is made up of infinite characteristics, which Dionysius combines to call the â€Å"Godlike oneness† (Pseudo Dionysius 36). He says that one can better know God through knowing that he has characteristics such as â€Å"good†, â€Å"fair†, and â€Å"existent† (Pseudo Dionysius 39-40) but that he is so much more than just these. This relates to St. Thomas Aquinas’ thoughts that through our senses, we can come to know more about God because of what he created, but it is still impossible to completely know God. Similarly with St. Augustine, he states that God is â€Å"high above all, uncontainable and immeasurable† (Augustine 32) which means that God is beyond our reach. Due to the face that we cannot see God, then it is impossible for us to know him fully. St. Augustine also states that God is â€Å"incorruptible, inviolable, and unchangeable’ (Augustine 90). The meaning of this passage states that God is perfect. If he were to be changed, he would no longer be perfect. This is a concept that humans cannot comprehend because humans are not perfect and perfection is an abstract thought. They can have an idea as to what perfection is, but it is impossible to fully understand. In conclusion, knowing that God exists and knowing God are two completely different questions. St. Thomas Aquinas states that one can know that God exists and that it can be proven philosophically through the effects. On the other hand he also states that one cannot know God, only aspects of Him. These two questions correlate with the different of faith and knowledge. Faith is associated with the question of knowing God (cannot be proven) and knowledge is associated with the question of knowing that God exists (can be proven philosophically). St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine and Pseudo Dionysius all state that it is impossible to fully know God. They all agree on the fact that it is possible to know aspects of God and know partially who he is through using our senses, yet God is still seen to be infinite so it is impossible for our human minds to fully comprehend God.

Challenges Faced by Muslim Women

Challenges Faced by Muslim Women Aizany Hussin Nayel Badareen Discovering Muslim Women Women play a significant role in the growth and the development of society around the world. Women perhaps are not physically or physiologically same as men, but they are much more responsible in delivering their roles for the society. However, in Islamic societies, women seem to be bound into certain roles and responsibilities. These righteous women are perplexed with the law and legal systems in their societies, which are supposed to be Islamic (al-Hibri, 37). These confusion and restrictions somehow heighten a mans status while degrading a womans position in the society. On the other hand, in the Quranic view of women, it states that both male and female were equal and they both have same responsibilities as well as benefits as a Muslim (al-Hibri, 46). Concisely, a Muslim women are more or less the same as the men in terms of rights in the Islamic societies. Considering these issues, this paper are to discuss about the challenges and obstacles faced by Muslim women in the west and the Muslim women in the Muslim world. Islam, like any other religion, had to deal with the challenges that weight the community in order to assimilate especially in the West. Not to mention about the women in the community, who always had issues within the Muslim world and also in the West. Before we go any further, it is important to understand that there are significant differences between Muslim women in the west and Muslim women in the Muslim world in terms of the obstacles and challenges they had to endure. In fact, being a Muslim women in the west is not easy as it looks. For instance, Muslim-American womens identities has been defiled after the event of 9/11 in the United States (Karasu, 2). Therefore, Muslim-American women had to encounter the stereotypes and discrimination despite of the issues in the Islamic community itself because of the event. Different from other Muslim women, they only had issues within the community rather than being stereotyped. Above all, we still going to discuss about the challenges a nd obstacles facing the Muslim women in the West and the Muslim World. One of the challenges faced by Muslim women in the Western world is the way they dress especially in wearing a Hijab (veil). Western people sees women wearing the Hijab differently as they are the minority and they are more noticeable (Ali, 2). It is easier for them to recognize these women. In addition, Wearing the Hijab acts as a clear and visual identity marker for Muslim women adhering to Islamic standards in the United States, therefore women without the Hijab are not overtly expected to carry out the same values (Karasu, 2). This illustration demonstrates that all Muslim women wearing a Hijab are the same. In fact, there are also Muslim women who does not wearing a Hijab which has the same value as a woman wearing a Hijab. There are reasons for them to not wearing a Hijab in the Western nation. Furthermore, they are not obligate to wear a Hijab in non-Muslim country (Karasu, 2). With all the stereotypes and discrimination towards the Islamic community, it makes it harder for th e Muslim women who wear a Hijab to socialize in the western community and not to mention that they are easy to identify. Often, its hard for them to decide whether to wear the Hijab for the Islamic standards or not to wear it to fit in the community without being stereotyped. After all, it is a personal decision of oneself according to their beliefs in God (Ali, 3). Furthermore, Muslim women also had issues with the Islamic community in the Western world. They had problems in showing that they are religious enough to be a Muslims whether it is outside group or inside group members. (Karasu, 2). The outside group refers to the Western community and the inside group refers to the Islamic community in the west. So basically the conflict is that these women want to fit in the Western community without being marginalized by the Islamic community. We can also say that they want to practice Islam without being discriminated by the western community. For instance, Muslim-American women who did not wear Hijab are worried about not being considered Muslim (Karasu, 3). In fact, she did that because she wants to be accepted into the western community. Therefore, it is hard for the Muslim women in the west to make choices in order to be a true Muslim. However, not all Muslim-American women judge each other (Kerasu, 3). This statement make sense because being a minority is a challenging enough and we shouldnt judge others as long as we have the same faith. Family law also one of the challenges which the Muslim women in the western world had to confront. According to Kecia Ali in her article, Rethinking Womens Issues in Muslim Communities, Muslim women in the United States can choose to follow a certain doctrines in their personal dealings (4), in their marriage. With this they eventually can set up a conditions or agreements in their marriage so they can meet expectations and claim a certain rights between them (Ali, 4). Kecia Ali states that this method are beneficial but it will alter the traditional imbalance of spousal rights in classical law (4). Means that this will change the general rights of men or women in a marriage. For instance, like Kecia Ali said, the wife cannot put a condition to restrict the husbands rights to reject her (4) because in general, the husband are superior in terms of status in a marriage. So, this is one of obstacles for the Muslim women in western world which they have to confront. Muslim women in the Muslim world however has different set of issues. Some of them are the same as Muslim women in the western world but, differ in application. One of the biggest challenge for Muslim women in a Muslim world is customs and traditions. There are large deceiving customs and traditions that relate to the issues of womens rights. For example, in Morocco, they forbid a father to force their virgin daughter into marriage (al-Hibri, 43) and also claim this tradition are from the Maliki (al-Hibri, 43). Nonetheless, if we examine closely into the Maliki interpretation, it will result in the inconsistency with the hadith which is a daughter need a permission from her father to get married (al-Hibri, 43). A father still has a power towards his daughter in terms of marriage. There are pros and cons on this issue but, women are the one who be a victim on this matter. This is the example of issue that perplexes Muslim women in the Muslim world. However, we can still retain and pra ctice our cultural belief but, all of the customs must be consistent with the basic precept of Islam and any traditions that oppose Islamic belief must be rejected (al-Hibri, 41). Another major challenges face by Muslim women in the Muslim world is their rights in a marriage. A general view in the Islamic law is that women status in a marriage is lower than men. This law are claim to be harsh and unfair to women (Ali, 3-4). Actually, what happened is that most of women didnt know their actual rights in their marriage. It is a common thing to see that man are far more superior in a marriage because obviously, man are physically stronger than woman and it is the husbands responsibilities to protect and take care for his family. It is accepted in all marriage even in non-Muslims that the husband has the power towards his wife and family. Because of this, many people thought that women has a far lower rights than men in a marriage and simply has to obey their husband. However, women actually has a guaranteed numerous rights by Islamic law (Ali, 4) and they have to learn how to claim their rights. Some suggestions made by Kecia Ali in her article about this matter. She said that, a wife can set a condition in her marriage contract so she can maintain her status as a woman (Ali, 4). Despite of this issue, what important the most in a marriage is respect to each other. Next challenge and obstacle that Muslim women in the Muslim world has to deal with is the sexual harassment. The global definition of sexual harassment is that its a form of violence resulting in assaulting a woman through a clear behavior that is sexual in nature from a person having authority over the other, who rejects this advances which leads to limit the freedom of women (Awel El Khayt, 3:10). The harassment can be done by visual, verbal and physical means. The conflict about this issue is that, not only sexily dressed women being targeted but women who dressed modestly also being harassed. This is a big issue for the Muslim women to confront with. Furthermore, most of these harassed women are not eager complain or make a report to the police about the harassment because they are afraid, embarrass and dont have any prove that they were being harassed (Al Jazeera, 12:14). If we didnt prevent this issue, the Muslim women status will be degrading even more within the community. Based on the challenges and obstacles facing Muslim women in the Western world and the Muslim world, we can conclude that being a Muslim women are indeed challenging. The challenges related to wearing a Hijab, with the community and family law is what Muslim women in the west had to confront. Not to forget about Muslim women in the Muslim world who meet obstacles related to culture and traditions, the rights in a marriage and the sexual harassment. There is nothing I can say about these issues but what I can do is respect towards all the Muslim women. For me, it doesnt matter if one belongs to another group or not because what matters is the beliefs. In fact, most Muslims generally do not categorize themselves, yet, they prefer to call themselves simply Muslims. Works Cited Seran Karasu, Muslim American Women in the United States: What is considered Muslim  Enough? Applied Psychology OPUS. NYU Steinhardt. Print. Kecia Ali, Rethinking Womens Issues in Muslim Communities. Taking Back Islam:   American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith. M. Wolfe and Beliefnet, eds, Esmaus, PA:  Rodale Press, 2002. Print. Azizah Y. al-Hibri, Muslim Womens Rights in the Global Village: Challenges and  Opportunities, 15 J.L Religion 37(2000). Print. Awel El-Khayt, Sexual Harassment in Egypt (English Subtitles) Awel El-Khayt Program,  e3lamakTV, Jun 18, 2013. Web.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gja05symHkk Al-Jazeera, Everywoman-Sexual Harassment in Egypt, Al-Jazeera English, Oct 19, 2007.   Web. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGFZNd2jfR8

jewish :: essays research papers

Journal #13 As the communities started forming in America, American society became a strong influence on the Jewish culture. Congregations started to become americanized, thus assimilation has prevailed as usual. The American culture always had affected the different types of cultures and minorities that have culivated here. At first in America certain dietary needs and religious practices were not recognized by the governemnt. Yet the Jews remanined strong as the community was beginning to establish it's roots, such as the creation of Jewish schools. It was important for the Jewish people to have somewhere in thier new place to feel comfortable, which was the synagogue. The Jeiwsh people were limited onpower when they first immigrated to Americ, but this aspect did not deter then from establishing a community. But it is impressive how strong a how a very small community was and is in America. Another spect of the Jewidsh community that is impressive and it has been this way since the immig rants moved here is how strong the Jewish people feel about thier religion and how it has been and still is a very importnant aspect of thier lives. It seems as though the Jewish Americans may feel so disconnected from a large Jewish population , as compared to the nations' population is the reason that it is such a big deal for so many Jews to marry within thier religion and raise thier kids Jewish. Journal # 15 The whole issue of America at that time being seen as a "godless country" that would turn Charle's son into a secular person was a big concern of his parent then they agreed to send him to America. The brother actually was a prime example of the fear of many European Jews at that time. Asa, Charles' brother, in the reader's first encounter with him, proves that he had some loss of his religion because he had him and his borther work on Sabbath. But Asa's decision to no observe the Sabbath was no indication of how Charles would lead his life in terms of religion. In fact, it is funny how different the two brother's life would be when dealing with the religious aspect. Ironically though, his brother impacted Charles' future decisions and particiapotion in the community by introdcuing peddling to him. Through this profession, he met gentiles and his positive encounter with them affected his decision to educate non-Jews on his religion and teach tolerance.

What is our future going to be like if we continue

As technology advances to enhance our lives, we begin to take no heed of the environment surrounding us. There are approximately 7 billion people In the world, and due to the vast population, our resources are dramatically being depleted. Another reason why resources are being wasted Is that people don't know how to be echo-efficient due to lack of exposure to Information/awareness. It Is also cheaper to perform activities without the concern of harming the environment.For example, most petrol cars are cheaper than electric cars. Lastly, some things work better and are efficient (despite harming [depleting the environment) than echo-friendly reduces. If we ruthlessly persist to waste resources, we will face a tremendous number of problems In the future. When resources begin to run out, prices get higher as the demand increase. This eventually leads to the ultimate annihilation of the resources, thus making the human survival to gradually decrease.We then must have to look for another source to depend until we totally wipe out its presence. This cycle will continue until we have n resources left, thus leaving us vulnerable and a possibility of experiencing slow extinction, as a human race. We should first look onto ourselves and start individually by adjusting our lifestyles to as much â€Å"environmental-efficiency as we can.Simple ways include recycling, turning off lights when not in use, buying echo-friendly products, and much more. Once you've felt that you've done enough to be â€Å"green†, begin to spread your concerns and knowledge with other to show your efforts of conserving the Earth's resources. Begin a club or join an organization and help your community (planting gardens or simply picking up garbage). If everyone can make a small act of kindness, everyone's efforts can make a huge difference!

Arthur Andersen’s Legal Ethical Issues

Describe the legal and ethical issues surrounding Andersen’s auditing of companies accused of accounting improprieties The largest bankruptcy of a non-profit organization,the investors of Baptist Foundation of Arizona sued Andersen which served as the auditor for $217 million for issuing false and misleading approvals of BFA financial statements and also lost $570 million donor funds. BFA management allegedly took money from other investors to pay off the current investors which the court held that there is a Ponzi scheme going on.Here, the auditors of Arthur Andersen has clearly compromising their integrity and honesty by issuing a false information to the public. The next company up in the sacks is Sunbeam whereby Arthur Andersen audits failed to address serious accounting errors while they issued an unqualified opinion. Losses to the shareholders amounting to well over $4. 4 billion and 1,700 people was jobless. Andersen paid $110 million out of an approved $141 million for the settlement of the case which they resolve the claims without admitting fault or liability.Andersen was also named in the case of Waste Management where they could earn additional fees in some â€Å"special work† which in this case overstating nearly $1. 4 billion earnings. At first, Andersen identified those improper accounting practices and presented them but both Waste Management and Andersen went into a closed-door engagement with Andersen to write off those accumulated errors. Here there is a Self-Interest threat.In the case of Enron, Andersen admitted that they had destroyed a number documents concerning its audit on Enron which had filed bankruptcy in late 2001. The destroyed documents had led to an indictment for obstruction of justice on March 14, 2004. Further scandals surfaced and this time is WorldCom where they blame Andersen for failing to find the accounting irregularities however Andersen blame for the scandal insisting that the expense irregularities had not been disclosed to them and it had complied SEC standards in its auditing for WorldCom