The Function of the Federal Reserve System in the US Economy

The Function of the Federal Reserve System in the US Economy When countries issue currency, especially fiat currency that is not specifically backed by any commodity, it is necessary to have a central bank whose job it is to monitor and regulate the supply, distribution, and transacting of currency. In the United States, the central bank is called the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve currently consists of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C., and twelve regional Federal Reserve banks located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Francisco, and St. Louis. Created in 1913, the history of the Federal Reserve represents the federal government’s   ongoing effort to achieve the goals of any central banking system - ensure a secure American financial system by maintaining a stable currency backed by the benefits of high employment and minimal inflation.   Brief History of the Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act. In crafting the landmark legislation, Congress was responding to a series of economic panics, bank failures, and credit scarcity that had plagued the nation for decades. When President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law on December 23, 1913, it stood as a classic example of an all-too-rare politically bipartisan compromise balancing the need for a consistently regulated centralized national banking system with the competing interests of established private banks backed by a strong â€Å"will of the people† populist sentiment. Over the more than 100 years since its creation, responding to economic disasters, such as the Great Depression in the 1930s and the Great Recession during the 2000s, have required the Federal Reserve to expand its roles and responsibilities. The Federal Reserve and the Great Depression As U.S. Representative Carter Glass had warned, years of speculative investments led to the disastrous â€Å"Black Thursday† stock market crash of October 29, 1929. By 1933, the resulting Great Depression had resulted in the failure of nearly 10,000 banks, leading newly inaugurated President Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare a banking holiday. Many people blamed the crash on the Federal Reserve’s failure to stop the speculative lending practices quickly enough and for its lack of an in-depth understanding of monetary economics necessary to implement regulations that might have lessened the devastating poverty resulting from the Great Depression.  Ã‚   In response to the Great Depression, Congress passed the Banking Act of 1933, better known as the Glass-Steagall Act. The Act separated commercial from investment banking and required collateral in the form of government securities for Federal Reserve notes. In addition, Glass-Steagall required the Federal Reserve to examine and certify all banking and financial holding companies. In a final financial reform, President Roosevelt effectively ended the long-standing practice of backing U.S. currency by physical precious metals by recalling all gold and paper silver certificates, effectively ending the gold standard. Over the years since the Great Depression, the duties of the Federal Reserve expanded significantly. Today, its responsibilities include supervising and regulating banks, maintaining the stability of the financial system and providing financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions. How Does the Federal Reserve System Work? The Federal Reserve system is overseen by a seven-member board of governors, with one member of this committee chosen as the chairman (commonly known as the Chairman of the Fed). The president of the United States is responsible for appointing Fed chairmen to four-year terms (with confirmation from the Senate), and the current Fed chair is Janet Yellen. (The regular members of the board of governors serve fourteen-year terms.) The presidents of the regional banks are appointed by each individual branchs board of directors. The Federal Reserve system serves a number of functions, which generally fall into a couple of categories: first, it is the Feds job to ensure that the banking system stays responsible and solvent. While this does sometimes mean that the Fed has to work with the three branches of government to think about explicit legislation and regulation, it more often means that the Fed works in a transactional sense to clear checks and to act as a lender to banks that want to borrow money themselves. (The Fed does this mainly to keep the system stable and is referred to as the lender of last resort, since the process is not really encouraged.) The other function of the Federal Reserve system is to control the money supply. The Federal Reserve can control the amount of money (highly liquid assets such as currency and checking deposits) in a number of ways. The most common way is to increase and decrease the amount of money in the economy via open-market operations. Open-Market Operations Open-market operations simply refer to the process of the Federal Reserve buying and selling U.S. government bonds. When the Federal Reserve wants to increase the money supply, it simply purchases government bonds from the public. This works to increase the money supply because, as the buyer of the bonds, the Federal Reserve is giving out dollars to the public. The Federal Reserve also keeps government bonds in its portfolio and sells them when it wants to decrease the money supply. Selling decreases the money supply because the buyers of the bonds give currency to the Federal Reserve, which takes that cash out of the hands of the public. There are two important things to note about open-market operations: first, the Fed itself isnt directly responsible for printing money. Printing money is handled by the Treasury, and there are multiple channels by which the money gets into circulation. (Sometimes, for example, the new money just replaces worn-out currency.) Second, the Federal Reserve doesnt actually create or issue the government bonds, it just handles them in secondary markets. (Technically, open-market operations could be conducted with a number of different assets, but it makes sense for the government to manipulate the supply and demand of an asset that was issued by the government itself.) Other Monetary Policy Tools Although not used nearly as frequently as open-market operations, there are other tools that the Federal Reserve can use to change the amount of money in the economy. One option is to change the reserve requirement for banks. Banks create money in an economy when they loan out customers deposits (since both the deposit and the loan count as money), and the reserve requirement is the percentage of deposits that banks have to keep on hand rather than lending out. An increase in the reserve requirement, therefore, restricts the amount that banks can lend out and thus reduces the money supply. Conversely, a decrease in the reserve requirement increases the number of loans that banks can make and increases the money supply. (This, of course, assumes that banks want to lend more when they are allowed to do so.) The Federal Reserve can also change the money supply by changing the interest rate that it charges banks when it acts as the lender of last resort. The process by which banks borrow from the Federal Reserve is called the discount window, and the interest rate that the Federal Reserve charges is called the discount rate. When the discount rate is increased, it is more expensive for banks to borrow in order to cover their reserve requirements. Therefore, a higher discount rate causes banks to be more careful about reserves and make fewer loans, which reduces the money supply. On the other hand, lowering the discount rate makes it cheaper for banks to rely on borrowing from the Federal Reserve and increases the number of loans they are willing to make, thus increasing the money supply. Decisions regarding monetary policy are handled by the Federal Open Market Committee, which meets approximately every six weeks in Washington in order to discuss changing the money supply and other economic issues. Updated by Robert Longley

Carthage - The Founding

Carthage - The Founding What Is Carthage? Carthage was a prosperous ancient city on the north coast of Africa (in modern Tunisia) that was founded by Phoenicians. A commercial empire, Carthage made its fortune through trade and expanded its domain across northern Africa, the area that is now Spain, and into the Mediterranean where it came into contact and conflict with the Greeks and Romans. What Does Punic Mean?PhoenicianPhoenician Traits The Legend of Carthage: Dido and the other Pygmalion The romantic legend of the founding of Carthage is that a merchant-prince or king of Tyre gave his daughter Elissa (usually called Dido in Vergils in marriage to his brother, her uncle, a priest of Melqart named Sichaeus, along with the kingdom. Elissas brother, Pygmalion [note: there is another ancient Pygmalion], had thought the kingdom would be his, and when he discovered that he had been thwarted, secretly killed his brother-in-law/uncle. Sichaeus, as a ghost, came to his widow to tell her that her brother was dangerous and that she needed to take her followers and the royal wealth that Pygmalion had appropriated, and flee. Although certainly, the supernatural element raises questions, clearly Tyre did send out colonists. The next part of the legend plays on the characterization of Phoenicians as tricky. After stopping at Cyprus, Elissa and her followers landed in north Africa where they asked the locals if they could stop to rest. When they were told that they could have the area that an ox hide would cover, Elissa had an ox hide cut into strips and lay them out end-to-end in a crescent circumscribing a sizeable area of land. Elissa had taken an area of the shoreline opposite Sicily that would allow the emigrants from the mercantile city of Tyre to continue to ply their expertise in trade. This ox-hide enclosed area was known as Carthage. Eventually, the Phoenicians of Carthage branched out into other areas and started to develop an empire. They came into conflict first with the Greeks [see: Magna Graecia] and then with the Romans. Although it took three (Punic) wars with the Romans, the Carthaginians were eventually annihilated. According to another story, the Romans sprinkled the fertile land on which they lived with salt in 146 B.C. A century later, Julius Caesar proposed the establishment of a Roman Carthage on the same spot. Points to NoteAbout the Carthage Founding Legend: The Greeks and Romans considered the Phoenicians to be treacherous. In the Odyssey, Rhys Carpenter (1958: Phoenicians in the West) says Homer calls them polypaipaloi of many tricks. The term Punic fides Punic faith means bad faith or betrayal.Cicero said of the Carthaginians that Carthage would not have held an empire for six hundred years had it not been governed with wisdom and statecraft.Cadmus (Kadmos) of Tyre was a Phoenician of legend who brought the alphabet to the Greeks when he went in search of his sister Europa whom Zeus had carried off on a white bull. Cadmus founded Thebes.The salting of Carthage is a legend. R.T. Ridley in To be Taken with a Pinch of Salt: The Destruction of Carthage, Classical Philology Vol 81, No. 2 1986 says the first reference he can find to the salting of Carthage comes from the twentieth century. Evidence for Carthage:The Romans actively set out to obliterate Carthage in 146 B.C., following the Third Punic War, and then they built a new Carthage on top of the ruins, a century later, which was itself destroyed. So there are few remains of Carthage in the original location. There are tombs and burial urns from a sanctuary to the fertility mother goddess Tanit, a stretch of the wall fortifying the city that is visible from the air, and the remains of two harbors.(1) Date of the Founding of Carthage: According to Polybius (born c. 204 B.C.), the Greek historian Timaeus of Tauromenion (c. 357-260 B.C.), dated the founding of Carthage to 814 or 813 B.C.Other ancient authors who wrote about Punic Carthage were: Appian,Diodorus,Justin,Polybius andStrabo. Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Antiq. Roman. 1.4), basing his opinion on Timaeus, said that Carthage was founded 38 years before the First Olympiad (776 B.C.).Velleius Paterculus (c. 19 B.C. to  c. A.D. 30) said Carthage lasted 667 years.Recent carbon-14 dating confirms the late part of the ninth century B.C. as the date of the founding of Carthage.(2) References: (1)Scullard: Carthage,  Greece Rome  Vol. 2, No. 3. (Oct. 1955), pp. 98-107. (2)The Topography of Punic Carthage, by D.B. Harden,  Greece Rome  Vol. 9, No. 25, p.1.

Florence Nightingale...To pledge or Not to Pledge Research Paper

Florence Nightingale...To pledge or Not to Pledge - Research Paper Example Lystra Gretter first wrote the Nightingale Pledge in the year 1893. Lyster was a nursing instructor at the old Harper Hospital in Detroit. The Nightingale Pledge was first used by graduating class of Harper hospital in 1893 (Nightingale & McDonald, 2005). It is an adaptation of the Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians.it is a way of nurses expressing their intentions of fulfilling their responsibilities. Every graduating student nurse must recite this oath.   Gretter  named the pledge after Florence Nightingale as a sign of respect because she is the mother of nursing. This pledge is still the symbol of nursing and it represents the nurses’ values (American Nurses Association, 2006). By reciting, a nurse pledges to be faithful in her practice her profession and to exercise proper ethical values (Nightingale & McDonald, 2007). However, the nursing community still debates on this oath about its importance to nursing as a profession. Its relationship to the old oath of medicine is quite plain. The pledge has undergone some changes over a period. This pledge states that nurses are health missionaries who take full responsibility for the health of their patients. It has also brought to light a new direction to healthcare provision (ANA, 2012).   Mrs. Cadwalader Jones, who is member of the Board of Managers of the City Hospital in New York, is the author of another version of the Hippocratic Oath. The oath is as follows: the nurse swears to be loyal to the doctors under whom they serve, as a soldier is loyal to his or her seniors, the nurse swears to be fair and liberal to all other members of the medical profession be helping them where necessary( Wolf,2014). The nurse swears to lead the nursing profession in honor. The nurse swears to resist any form of temptations whatsoever in any field during nursing practice to ensure the sick receive proper care. Lastly, the nurse

Iranian Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Iranian Women - Essay Example This system denounced the equal participation of women in any social or political activity. Women got expected to carry out their duties and roles according to their biological predisposition, which entitled them to bear children, take care of them, and provide comfort and satisfaction to their husbands (Ali, 2010). Over the last 20 years, changes have become effected in regards to women in the Iranian society. These changes have both freed and place restriction on women in the Iranian society. The proclamation of the Iranian constitution after the revolution served to change the view of women in the society. The constitution in its treaty of women’s rights and responsibilities recognizes women’s rights to high standards of learning. The constitution promotes the rights of women to attain higher education to the very highest academic levels. Women are encouraged through the constitution to seek the highest quantitative and qualitative levels of specialist skills. During the last 20 years, the Islamic revolution has managed to attain significant levels of equality in eradicating illiteracy among the Iranian population. The percentage of literate women in Iran has risen over the last 20 years (Ali, 2010). ... Women also face restrictions in pursuing higher education in various fields of study in the country. Some fields of study get taught in segregated classrooms. Culturally, women have also become viewed with much dignity with a special emphasis on not letting them become viewed as sexual objects. Leaders and managers have placed emphasis on the notion of not letting women get exploited as sexual objects in the country. A law that got enacted in 1988 prohibits the abuse of individuals, which includes disrespecting women or abusing a woman’s body through text or image. The revolution also resulted to the imposition of various cultural restrictions on women in Iran (Afshar, 2012). The revolution emphasized on the need for women to wear hijabs to in all public places to avoid receiving unwanted attention. According to the Islamic council of Iran, it is vital for women to wear hijabs to maintain their purest forms. Women are expected to cover their body and hair except for their hand s and faces. Women are also not encouraged to use cosmetics. Punishment for not wearing hijabs may range from verbal reprimands, whip lashing, and even imprisonment. The legal marriage age for a girl in Iran is 9 years, which got reduced from the initial 18years. Polygamy is very much legal in the country with men allowed to marry various wives. Women are not allowed to travel without the approval in writing of their husbands (Povey & Rostemi-Povey, 2013). Women do not get allowed to get in the company of other men who are not their husbands or male relatives. Women also get restricted to participate in sporting activities that may allow them to get seen by men. They are also not allowed to watch men’s

Existence of the soul

Existence of the soul Introduction There are a number of big philosophical questions that commonly interest philosophers. Chief among these questions is the existence of the soul. What will become of me when I die? Will I cease to exist or not? And if I do continue to exist will I remain in my current form or that of another life form? These are questions which are frequently discussed when talking about the soul. Platos work on life after death is regarded as one of the very first pieces of written philosophical work on the existence of the soul. Platos Phaedo is an attempt to answer these questions; an attempt to prove that the soul pre-exist the body and that it continues to live after death. Platos Phaedo must therefore be discussed if a conclusion is to be reached on whether the soul pre-exist the body. Much of Platos work, unlike many other philosophical writings, is in dialogue. Platos dialogues are named after the central character, which in this case, is Phaedo. Besides Phaedo, other important characters in t he dialogue are Echecrates with whom the dialogue begins with, Socrates who is the main character in the dialogue, Simmias of Thebes, a follower of the philosopher Pythagoras and Cebes whom also is a follower Pythagoras. Phaedo centres on the death of Socrates, who was sentenced to death in 399BC for corrupting the minds of the youth and denouncing the gods. After the trial, Socrates is in prison waiting to be condemned by drinking Hemlock and this is the point of Platos Phaedo which begins to look at life after death. It is clear that the introductory section of the dialogue takes place from (60a) whereby Socrates after massaging his leg states that pleasure and pain are closely related, despite the fact they are opposites. The point Socrates makes here seems logical as empirical experience shows that people cannot appreciate the ups of life without having the downs. Socrates then goes on to claim that anyone wise will follow him to death, as a wise person or a philosopher long to be released from the body. This is an important point of Platos dialogue as it ignites the discussion of the immortality of the soul. Why would Socrates claim that those who are wise should follow him to death shortly? For Socrates death is simply a release of the soul from the body. Socrates believes that firstly he will be entering the company of good and wise gods and secondly he expects to enter the company of dead people that are better than those still alive, thus it is good to leave life (Daniel Hill lecture notes, 2008). Furthermore the body for Socrates is a hindrance for a philosopher seeking the truth. The bodys demands such as food, drink and sex are not the concerns of a true philosopher and more so the body cannot provide reliable information, our senses constantly deceive us. (A fine examplemaybe example). The truth is the real nature of any given thing i.e. justice in itself, which has never been perceived by anybody. In order to reach the uncontaminated truth one mu st be pure and uncontaminated. Socrates goes as far to say the philosophers occupation consists precisely in the freeing and separation of the soul from body (Daniel Hill lecture notes, 2008). However by arguing this point Socrates is presuming that life exist after death, something which provokes Cebes to raise an objection questioning Socrates line of thought by highlighting that it is widely accepted that when one dies the soul may be released from the body and dispersed like smoke and so destroyed Cebes challenge is one which Socrates must respond to and he does so by producing four arguments to support his claim that the soul is immortal. First is the Argument from Opposites which aims to show the cycle of death and rebirth must go on forever. Secondly is the Theory of Recollection which aims to show that the reasoning part of the soul did exist before birth, thus making it plausible to hold that it will also exist after death. Third is the affinity argument, which concerns its elf too with the reasoning part of the soul, in particular the nature of the Forms and the control of desires. The final argument Plato introduces considers the soul as the cause of life. The Argument of Recollection is what must be discussed in detail due to as stated above it concerns itself with the pre-existence of the soul. Theory of Recollection The Theory of Recollection is introduced by Cebes, who briefly outlines the argument as follows: that all learning is just really recollection and that by recollecting it shows that we must have learned sometime before; which is impossible unless our souls existed somewhere before they entered this human shape. So it seems that the soul is immortal (Daniel Hill Lecture Notes 2008). Simmias then asks Cebes to remind him how the proof of Socrates theory of learning as recollection goes and Cebes provides two reasons. Firstly Cebes puts forth that when people are asked questions, if the question is put in the right way they can answer everything correctly, which they could not possibly do unless they were in possession of knowledge (Daniel Hill Lecture Notes 2008); and secondly if you confront people with a diagram or anything like that, the way in which they react provides the clearest proof that the theory is correct (Daniel Hill Lecture Notes 2008). Cebes argument is very vague; howe ver the point he seems to be trying to make can be understood by using a mathematical question. For example if you were asked, what is 6+33? You would give the answer of 39, yet it is unlikely that you would have learnt that exact sum beforehand, so the fact that you recognised it shows that you must have learnt it in a previous life. Cebes answer for Simminas is allusive thus Plato introduces Socrates to give the argument in full detail. In Phaedo Socrates begins with the suggestion that one can only recollect what one has learnt at some previous point. Socrates too understands that recollection is the process of being reminded of something and uses the example of lovers who are reminded of the person they love, when they recognise a piece of clothing or any other private property owned by their lover (Plato 2003). However to have prior knowledge of all things gained from experience within the world would be absurd, thus Plato outlines what he means is that we have knowledge of abs tract entities or as Plato describes the knowledge of Forms. What does Plato mean by abstract entities or Forms? Plato means entities such as justice, beauty, goodness and holiness etc. The example he gives is equality. Plato writes in Pheado We admit, I suppose, that there is such a thing as equality not equality of stick to stick and stone to stone and so on, but something beyond all that and distinct from it absolute equality (Plato 2003). Its seems what Platos argument is trying to show is that there is a concept of equality which is recollected when we view certain objects, such as two sticks of similar length or if we feel the weight of two stones of similar weight and we know whether or not they are of equal weight because we understand the concept of equality without it ever being taught. However what must be understood is that Plato is not saying that equality is within the sticks and stones themselves, as they may appear equal to me but unequal to another; but rather by seeing the sticks and the stones that we get the idea of absolute equality.Socrates then continues to highlight that we are aware that sticks and stones do fall short of being equal, but to be conscious of the fact that they fall short means that we must have a the concept of what it is to be perfectly equal. However how do we know of this equality when Plato denies empirical knowledge as reliable? Socrates answers That we must have had some previous knowledge of equality before the time when we first realised (Plato 2003). Therefore Socrates deduces that we obtained our knowledge of equality before birth. So if this holds true with equality then it must hold true with all other abstract entities or Forms such as beauty and justice. However Socrates continues claiming that Each of us loses this knowledge at the moment of birth, but afterwards by pertinent exercise of our senses, recover the knowledge which we once had before, I suppose that we call learning (Plato 2003). Hence Socra tes concludes that all learning is recollection. Socrates then moves on to present an alternative explanation to support his argument claiming that someone who truly knows a subject ought to be able to explain it to others, yet most people cannot explain the things that he (Socrates) has been explaining to Simmias (http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/phaedo/section5.rhtml). Socrates explains that if someone can be brought to recollect knowledge of the kind he is explaining and then able to explain that knowledge to others, then it goes to show that knowledge existed in a past life and it was forgotten the at birth. Simmias raises an objection to this point stating that perhaps we gain knowledge at birth, but Socrates simply reminds him that if we possessed it at birth then surely it would be absurd to lose it at the exact same moment we gained that knowledge. Socrates then concludes that the existence of the soul before birth is as certain as the existence of beauty, goodness, and all things in themselves that the soul supplies knowledge of when we see the physical things that approximate to them Platos argument Platos argument seems to be coherent and reaches a sound conclusion that the soul pre-exist birth. However the argument has been criticised by many philosophers due to the gaps within the argument. These gaps within Platos argument must be explored in order to come to a conclusion on whether the Theory of Recollection does prove that the soul pre-exist the body. A chief criticism of Platos theory of recollection stems from the foundation of his argument. Plato discusses two different kinds of knowledge; intrinsic knowledge of the Forms (goodness, beauty and equality etc.) and the recollection of knowledge, and this is where the problem lies. In Phaedo Socrates is intent on showing that what we know was present before birth However Plato gives no explanation of when before birth we acquire this knowledge or how. Further, if we did come into this world knowing of abstract qualities such as justice, holiness and equality etc, the next thought would be that when did we first come into co ntact with these abstract qualities?. Plato gives no time frame and this is important as it obvious that when we, as humans get to a certain age all of us tend to know similar concepts such as those of the Forms described by Socrates in Phaedo. Further, Plato maintains that no true knowledge can come about from experience and that knowledge is innate; therefore experience from a previous life could not have given us the knowledge of the Forms, such as equality, beauty and justice etc. On the other hand in Platos defence that it could be said that our very first soul was created with such knowledge; that is our first soul was created with the knowledge of Forms. However there are those that object to this line of view claiming that Plato does not provide an answer on how the cycle of birth and death of the soul begin? And if it has a beginning how can it end? (http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/phaedo/section5.rhtml). Owen Mcleod highlights this fact stating If the soul cannot die, then the soul is indestructible. The general principle being assumed here seems to be that if x cannot die, then x is indestructible. But.If x is destructible, then x can die. This is clearly false. Inanimate objects of all sorts rocks, shoes, corporations can be destroyed, and hence are destructible, but they do not literally die upon destructionMore so is Platos meaning of equality. Plato advances equality not just as a relation to two objects but as a property in itself. Yet we wouldnt normally think of a single stick on its own of being able to have the property of equality and so forthFurther Platos knowledge as discussed above is not that of future events or empirical knowledge but that of the knowledge of the Forms. Therefore for the Argument from Recollection to work the Theory of Forms must be accepted. This is as Hackforth states: the doctrine of Forms is with that of the souls existence before its incarnation: in other words, they stand and fall together. Attempts to p rove the Theory of the Forms may succeed or fail, but what the significance here is that Platonised Socrates does not explicitly prove or justify the Theory of the Forms Another problem of Platos argument is regarding the type of judgment that Recollection of the Forms leads us to make.If as Plato states that everything we perceive in the world, including those sense perceived judgments; are sustained by the Forms, it would suggest that all human beings judgments are correct, as the Forms are pure truth. Yet this conclusion would be widely inaccurate as human beings make many incorrect judgments, the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster is a testament to this as it was human errors which resulted in destroying the lives of thousands of people. Conclusion Platos Theory of Recollection is a coherent argument and one which attempts to prove that the soul does pre-exist the body. Plato Phaedo works on many grounds due to the fact that we as human beings can relate too much of what Plato has written. It is widely accepted that when humans look at an object we can be reminded of a particular person or event. Therefore it does not seem strange to think of abstract qualities such as equality in the same way. Nonetheless, the Theory of Recollection rest upon premises which once examined shows misgivings within the argument. Plato Argument from Recollection relies heavy on his Theory of Forms which he assumes are not doubtable and due to this the Theory of Recollection automatically proves the existence of the soul. Yet the Forms are susceptible to doubt, as discussed before if humans decisions are imbued by the Forms then surely the Forms are doubtable as human beings decisions are incorrect time after time. Further modern day philosophy has simply described Phaedo as a religious doctrine supported by poets (Hackforth 1992), suggesting that Phaedo may have proved the pre-existence of the soul in Ancient Greek, yet now in the modern era it is must be seen as no more than a religious doctrine which was widely accepted at the time. Against modern philosophy Platos argument does not appear to be justified. Karl Poppers falsification theory, for example, demands that any suggestion that is put forward must be done so in terms that allows it to be falsified. If the idea requires certain assumptions that are impossible to prove, like the Theory of the Forms, then we cannot consider it as being valid Yet the context in which the dialogue was written must be considered when evaluating the Theory of Recollection. Socrates is condemned to death and his final hours are upon him, it is clear that Socrates purpose in the dialogue is to explain his views on death to his friends. Socrates lack of concern in the face of death surprises Cebes and Simminas and this prompts Socrates to convey his views on the immortality of the soul. Furthermore the period the dialogue was written, it was universally accepted that life existed after death. Thus Plato task is to link life after death to life before death. Therefore a modern reader must bare this in mind when considering Platos Theory of Recollection. Thus after examining Platos Theory of Recollection it can be concluded that though the argument is coherent, key premises are subject to criticism which undermines Platos argument. Furthermore with development of modern philosophy and developments in science the Theory of Recollection is subject to further failings, thus to a modern reader it would be difficult to accept the Theory of Recollection as golden proof for the pre-existence of the soul, yet at the time Plato wrote Phaedo the argument would have been accepted by a great number of people.

Human Behavior & society Essay

One good argument in favor of natural determination of human behavior is through an experiment done with lab rats. In this case, a castrated male rat (with no testosterone) is placed with a female lab rat that has been injected with testosterone. In this case, the female acts dominant while the male is submissive. This to an extent proves that natural factors e. g. hormones play an important role in human behavior. Besides this, the moodiness experienced by humans undergoing puberty, as well as pre-menstrual syndrome, in which human behavior fluctuates, shows that natural factors do play a role in determining human behavior. On the other hand, the lab rat experiment is questionable, mainly because the biology of rats is significantly different from humans, and secondly, because humans themselves consume testosterone without such drastic swings in behavior. This suggests that what is currently seen as hormone-triggered changes in human behavior could have social undercurrents. Human behavior itself is a highly complex topic. In some instances, as seen with hormones and also genetically inherited diseases, it is completely due to natural circumstances and events. In other instances, certain types of human behavior is caused by social conditioning and socialization e. g. compliance with the law and the observance of norms and values. In some unusual cases, it is determined by nature and society, working hand-in-hand, or sometimes one after the other to cause a change in such behavior. To judge this issue in terms of absolutes would be unjustified. Exactly in what way human behavior is developed depends on both society and on nature- and in many cases either society or nature is more dominant. However, it is clear that human behavior overall is shaped by a blend of both natural and social factors and issues, from genetic inheritance to socio-economic class.

Decision Making Based on Mission and Vision of an...

Decision Making Based on Mission and Vision of an Organization In the course text, read the case study at the bottom of page 230. Write a 3-5 page paper on what could be a mission or vision of the Community Medical Center that would guide the president in his decision about the case of an operating room nurse who may have HIV/AIDS. What could be the decision and how will the decision be communicated to the physicians, employees, to the board, and the public. The thought of a healthcare worker with a positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosis sounds risk laden for someone who is undereducated on virus transmission risks. As a leader in a healthcare facility, it is imperative the president of Community Medical Center dispel†¦show more content†¦So, the president is compelled to use the garbage can model decision model to quash the confusion. Using this model, he can practice the established, documented processes provided by the state guidelines, the Center for Disease Control and the International Labor Organization. The president is required to abide by nondiscrimination laws. He will locate the current Georgia guidelines for preventing transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B virus to patients during exposure-prone invasive procedures through the Centers for Disease Control and the International Labor Organization. Within the state of Georgia guidelines, there is no definition of a healthcare worker or an invasive procedure. (Guidelines , 2008, p. 10-11) And, virus testing of a healthcare worker is voluntary. (Guidelines , 2008, p. 10-11) Also, notification of patients and staff is considered on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration whether exposure has occurred, an assessment of specific risks, and confidentiality issues. (Guidelines , 2008, p. 10-11) If documented transmission has occurred, written informed consent should be obtained from all future patients who will have exposure-prone invasive procedures performed. (Guidelines , 2008, p. 10-11) Then, upon id entification of an infected healthcare worker performing an invasive procedure, the healthcare worker will be contacted and the Director of the Division of Public Health may convene an EPR toShow MoreRelatedCase Study: Decision Making Based on Mission Vision of Organization912 Words   |  4 PagesAssignment Case Study: Decision Making Based on Mission and Vision of Organization Marie Bisano Shannon Corbett-Perez MHA601 May 4, 2013 Introduction In this case study, Community Medical Center has a strong reputation for quality of medical care. The president of CMC has the difficult position of making a crucial decision that will impact his licensed and unlicensed staff, patients and the community at large. 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