Alexei’s love for Polina Essay

Symposium is one of those rare works, in which the debate on what Love is becomes the central subject. Symposium is the written version of the discussion between the principal philosophers of Plato’s time, as for what Love is. According to the Greek mythology, and as Plato puts it, there were supposed to be the two different types of Love – common Love and Noble Love. What is the difference then? ‘What then is Love? ‘ I asked; ‘Is he mortal? ‘ ‘No’. ‘What then? ‘ [†¦] ‘He is a great spirit (daimon) and like all spirits he is intermediate between the divine and the mortal’. ‘And what is his power? ‘ ‘He interprets between gods and men, conveying and taking across to the gods and prayers and sacrifices to men; [†¦] for God mingles not with man; but through Love, all the intercourse and converse of God with man, whether awake or asleep, is carried on’. (Plato, Symposium) Thus, this is the citation in relation to the so-called heavenly love. This love, according to Plato is an honorable feeling and has honorable implications; this love is absolutely derived of any sexual attitudes. However, the philosophers accept the idea that there is another kind of love – earthly (common) love, which is the Love between a man and a woman, and thus includes the signs of sexual attraction, lust, etc. Pausanias in Symposium is the supporter of the idea that common love, despite its earthy character, is still to be driven by virtues; otherwise it is ugly common love. On the other hand, it is also possible to assume that the more virtue the Love has, the more heavenly it becomes. However, there is another interesting thought which we meet reading Symposium: ‘†¦love, Socrates, is not, as you imagine, the love of beautiful only. [†¦] love of generation and birth is in beauty†¦ to the mortal creature generation is a sort of eternity and immortality†¦ and if as has been already admitted, love is of the everlasting possession of good, all men necessarily desire immortality together with good: Wherefore love is of immortality’. (Plato, Symposium) What is meant here is that sexual desire and physical love is part of common love, when it is sincere, for the wish to leave the descendants and make them continue your business and teach them life is what love is meant to do. Thus, lust and sexual desire is not denied in this work; on the opposite, it is accepted as a part of common love, but when it is sincere and is driven by virtues; otherwise, love is deception and ugly. Plato appears to be wise enough to put the talk about Love in the form of debate, coming to the conclusion, that Love can be both common (earthly) and noble (of virtue). In addition, Plato writes that no matter whether Love is Noble or Common, it should be defined by virtues, as love without virtue, or based on deception, is ugly. Plato was one of the first authors to speak about the love between rich and poor, thus including the social aspect into romantic feeling. Alexey’s feeling for Polina in â€Å"The Gambler† by Dostoevsky is rather interesting and worth-analyzing. The girl has higher position in the society than his and he has no hope to win her heart without money. He wins the game, got money and brought it to her. After Polina spends a night with him Alexei forgets about her. What does it mean? Does it mean that he had only a passion for Polina? No, if I was so, he would never have left her after one night. Here the passion to the game appeared to be stronger for the young man. So it was not only a passion, the common Love, that Plato calls it. So what was it? After Alexey’s leaving Polina it seems that he just wanted to win the heart of the rich girl for one night and this was not Love with virtue. However, when Polina found him, young man seemed to wake up, understand everything and wants to recover with love for her. Here we see that Alexey’s love for is really Noble Love full of virtue as he believed that he would be able to change his life and his soul for better being together with his beloved.

Private Nursing Home Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Private Nursing Home - Case Study Example The nursing home derives most of the financial resources necessary for steady functioning from the funds received from the local authorities' budget (constitute around 90% of the resources structure), the rest is financed through the residents' payments. For the analysis P.E.S.T.E.L. framework has been deployed. The factors of the external environment are grouped into political, economic, social, technological, environmental (ecological) and legal. The major factors for each group are listed and the degree of influence of each particular group of factors assessed. As the issue of post-retirement personal care and medical treatment of the elderly citizens is of high importance for the developed society, unsurprisingly the political environment has been influencing the state and perspectives of both private nursing and residential care homes through the history of their development. These two types for a long time has been treated and regulated separately until in 2001 they were legally addressed with the same types of requirements and legal provision. The most obvious and important trend is the significant increase of the number and share of the private sector nursing homes and decline in the share of these type of services provided by the public sector and administrated by the NHS. Privatisation of the earlier dominated by the public sector services had also affected provision of medical and care services for the elderly residents. For the particular nursing care home this trend's consequences are two-folds. First, it means shift in attention of the regulatory bodies towards the specific conditions of the privately owned homes and development of more specified requirements and constraints for the funding, facilities, care and medical treatment level, stuff competency etc. It may also result in increased funding opportunities for the privately owned nursing homes. Second, the increased competitive pressure caused by increased number of privately owned service-providers, both with regard to the residents' demand and funding provision, can become a market threat for the nursing home. Economic factors The general state of economy, income level and distribution and lifestyle of the population, determined by savings and spending preferences through the life are the important determinant of the nursing home's environment. General state of the economy of the country influences not only directly the economic and financial state particular business, but also the conditions of the customer base and local authorities, thus causing indirect influence on the nursing home. One of the factors to be considered is the growing income of the population and increased amount of funds available for spending in the late period of life. The improved financial position of many older people means that some are making a positive choice over long-term care; housing circumstances throughout life can affect decisions about housing and care later in life. (Peace, 2003, p.9) Another economic issue that is of great importance for the privately-owned nursing home, taking into account its size and limited resources, is the

Discuss the opportunities and difficulties associated with reusing Essay

Discuss the opportunities and difficulties associated with reusing decommissioned offshore installations for generating renewable energy - Essay Example Decommissioning solutions in accordance with the UK legislation concerns about safety and security of the environment, legitimate uses of the sea and support all the economic considerations whenever required. By definition, renewable power sources are those that do not require any fuel as their energy is replenish naturally. There is no constraint on their siting, therefore, because of any requirement to transport fuel rather, the location of the power unit is usually determined by natural features (DoEn, 1988). A basic constraint underlying some of these limitations is the impracticability of storing electricity on a large scale. However the renewable sources require nuclear fusion and fission power plants for the small masses of fuel required, so they can be conveniently sited on the coast with direct cooling for their steam condensers from seawater. Coal-fired power stations, on the other hand, require the transport of very large quantities of fuel and therefore tend to be near coalfields, with air-cooling towers for steam condensation and with makeup water from rivers. Tidal and wave power schemes must of necessity be on the coast or at sea: wind systems, because of their large area requirement, may well be sited offshore. Geothermal plants will probably not be economic for power production but may supply hot water for community heating; this is unlikely to be economic over long transmission distances and so the schemes will be confined to local 'hot dry rock' regions. Solar heating wou ld probably not involve distribution, but would be constrained to direct production and use in buildings in the south of England where there are more hours of sunshine (Peak Energy, 2006) Decommissioning Standards Opportunities Reusing Decommissioned installations is an opportunity in itself that conforms with technicalities like sea-bed clearance, removing installations as and when required, dealing with wastes, observing and analysing remains and monitoring and maintaining a decommissioned site. The Decommissioning Program instead of removing or doing 'from the scratch' installation, abides to the rule of removing partial installations which not only saves time and efforts of the developer but also helps him maintaining a particular standard. In this context the Government is providing full technical support to the renewable energy installation sector by not enforcing any excessive burden onto those who have been declared liable to protect the users of sea and environment. Government provides opportunities to the renewable energy sector to support IMO (International Maritime Organisation) to get along with a standard that conforms to the Removal of offshore installation and structures the Exclusive Economic Zone. In order to protect the Marine environment, the Government is keen to provide full guidance for the offshore oil and gas installations in compliance with the OSPAR Convention (December 2006, Guidance Notes for Industry) which includes support in the form of documents on offshore wind farms. Cost Reduction Reusing decommissioned offshore renewable energy has enabled the BPEO (Best Practicable Environmental Option) to provide least damage to the environment by cutting down the excessive costs in the long and short run. In this way risk is reduced using safety standards of navigation.

New Labour and Globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

New Labour and Globalisation - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that New Labour’s economic policies are focused on sustained economic growth for the country, emphasis on cutting down inflation and unemployment rates and use of measures to cope with globalization for the best economic interests of UK. New Labour has also focused on globalization as the best political strategy for promoting British economic growth. Whether this has been done to exploit or cope with the social and political consequences of a global economy remain a controversial issue. Barry and Patterson discuss globalization policies within the context of ecological modernization and environmental reforms suggesting that globalization has to be understood in terms of political, social and environmental issues. Barry and Patterson analyze New Labour’s approach to globalization as aimed to create opportunities for ecological modernization and in some policy areas and hinder in some others. Thus Labour’s focus on global ization has its own advantages and disadvantages as far as environmental policy measures are concerned. Some of the prime areas of development are renewable energy strategy, transport policy, and genetically modified food. The issues of environmental degradation and environmental policy measures have direct implications for globalization and thus it is important to consider environmental aspects of globalization within Labour policy measures.... and equity, Hopkin and Wincott suggest that the European states are less flexible and may have to become more open to changes for successful social and economic reforms. Considering this, the economic reforms and approach to globalisation as taken by New Labour may be considered as comparatively rigid and a more flexible policy could be recommended. Cerny and Evans (2004) argue that the state policies are always aimed at restructuring the state to stabilise national polity and promote domestic economic growth. Some state political approaches are focused on reform of political institutions, functions and processes in keeping with the needs of globalisation. Apart from adapting to internal social and political problems, national political leaders take on processes of political and social coalitions to overcome structural and even functional constraints in the form of state intervention. All of state's policies are focused on promoting, sustaining and expanding an open and liberal global economy to take full advantage of the benefits of such systems. However Cerny and Evans claim that too much emphasis on the role of individual political leaders can undermine the generic functions of the state in terms of public interest and social justice and can also lead to social conflicts. Considering the case of New Labour's policy agenda, in UK, Cerny and Evans note that the British state has been undergoing a continual transformation to adapt to global realities through state action. The fact that Blair's government is focused on adapting to the changing needs of globalisation only highlights policy issues that are established by New Labour to promote economic and social growth. The question of whether New Labour is exploiting, coping with or actively supporting globalisation

Should Animal Experimentation Be Permitted Essay

Should Animal Experimentation Be Permitted - Essay Example Experiments on the regeneration of spinal nerve endings were conducted at the University of Zurich. In test-tube testing, nerves dismembered from rats were left open to immunoglobulin that blocked regeneration. The nerves regenerated successfully though not fully. The rats were the animals of choice because there was no other suitable replacement. The use of animals in these studies is important as those involved cannot present a raw form of treatment directly to humans. Opposition of experiments conducted on animals is a threat to medical advances and the furtherance of human knowledge. In relation to medical research, since there are no suitable replacements for animals, animal experimentation should be allowed. On the hand, due to the emotions attached individuals to animals, activists call for a ban as this is a selfish act for humans. The claim also is that, â€Å"will humans keep experimenting and murdering animals for these selfish gains till they are endangered?† Moreo ver, still on medical advances, animal testing should not be permitted as the same animals do not have the complexity of the human body (Murnaghan, par 3). Thus, should the products tested on animals fail on humans; it will be a waste of animals such as rats and mice. As a replacement for animals, computer models and simulations can be used to predict the likely reactions from an experiment (Murnaghan, par 3). Animal experiments should not be permitted if at all they are carried out unnecessarily (Environment commission, p.1). This is, in cases, such as those carried out for aesthetic value where animals should not be allowed for use. Instead, they should test their products by looking for volunteers, as it is the humans to use the products. At the same time, it tests on animals should be allowed as the animals conditions are put into considerations during the tests. In this case, they are not to suffer according to the law. This is such that, when the animals acquire adverse condit ions and complications from the experiments or reach the â€Å"human endpoint† (serious respiratory problems, loss of weight and extreme tumor growth), the animal is euthanized if the case is severe (Vos, p. 1). This is to mean that as long the animals welfare is taken into account, testing should be allowed. In drug experiment, animal testing assists in ensuring the wellbeing of medication taken by human beings or stuffs that human being are uncovered to frequently. Animals are used to test the dangers of these substances on humans thus lowering the potential harm and saving lives. Animal experiments should not be allowed as there are alternatives. Despite not being the best alternatives to animals, they can be used to reduce the numbers of animals used as well as the level of their suffering during experimentation. Replacements could be; cell cultures, which reduce the, number of animals used, use of statistics, which uses comprehensive data to gauge the spread of disease, and finally the use of advanced scanning technology that allows for investigation of disease through human scans rather than performing animal testing(Paul, 7). The use of animals for experimenting increases the knowledge and understanding of the animal being used for the experiment. This means that the animal species being used is a beneficiary of the experiment in that researchers may come up with ways to help the animals survive. This is as in cases where

King of Shaves Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

King of Shaves - Assignment Example The paper outlines the challenges faced by the King of Shaves in the industry using Porter’s five force model and also assesses the generic strategies that the company applies in its operation. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 5 2.0 Findings 5 2.1 Porter’s Five Forces Model 5 2.1.1 Rivalry among Current Competitors 5 2.1.2 Threat of New Entrants 5 2.1.3 Bargaining Power of Buyers 5 2.1.4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 6 2.1.5 Threat of Substitutes 6 2.2 Analysis of the Challenges Facing King of Shaves Using Porter’s Five Forces Model 6 2.2.1 Rivalry in the Market 6 2.2.2 Threat of New Entrants 6 2.2.3 Bargaining Power of Buyers 6 2.2.4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 7 2.2.5 Threat of Substitutes 7 2.3 Opportunities and threats for King of Shaves 7 2.3.1 Opportunities 7 2.3.2 Threats 8 2.4 Strategy of King of Shaves 8 2.4.1 Cost Leadership 8 2.4.2 Differentiation Strategy 8 2.5 The Concept of Stakeholder Analysis 9 2.6 King of Shaves’ Stakeholder Framework 9 2.6.1 Stakeholder Framework 9 2.6.2 Mapping Stakeholder Power and Interest 9 3.0 Conclusion 10 1.0 Introduction The King of Shaves is a top UK manufacturer of shaving and skincare products that was founded in 1993 by Will King with a seed capital of ?15,000. King formed the company with his partner Hiten Dayal, under umbrella firm, Knowledge & Merchandising Inc. Since its establishment, the King of Shaves as grown as a brand and overtaken some of the most critical players in the industry. The company is now second to Gillette in the UK market and is picking in the U.S. market as well as other global markets such as China and India among others. However, the company faces strong opposition from its competitors in its growth focus. This report analyses The King of Shaves’ operation industry using Porter’s five force model and also proceed to identify opportunities, strategies of the company and closes stakeholder analysis. 2.0 Findings 2.1 Porter’s Five Forces M odel Michael Porter developed a framework that assists business managers in their strategic decision-making process. Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Model is crucial for exploring the structure of an industry in which an organisation operates. Consequently, managers use the model to establish competitive edge over their market rivals (Ahlstrom & Bruton 2010). Porter’s five forces that drive competition in an industry include: 2.1.1 Rivalry among Current Competitors The extent of rivalry among companies varies from one industry to another. These variations in industry competition levels are of particular interest to strategic analyst. An industry with low level of competition is perceived as disciplined. Ruthless competition may prove detrimental to firms within an industry. 2.1.2 Threat of New Entrants The likelihood of new players getting into the industry also affects the level of competition. An industry with high level of barriers discourages new market participan ts from invading the market and exhibit attractive profit levels for existing firms. On the other hand, an industry with low entry barriers or free entry encourages new entries and exhibits low profitability (Ahlstrom & Bruton 2010). 2.1.3 Bargaining Power of Buyers The bargaining power of buyers refers to the ability of buyers to influence an industry. In an industry where the buyer power is strong, the buyers have great control of pricing of products

Biblical Counseling Essay Example for Free

Biblical Counseling Essay The term biblical counseling never appear anywhere in the Bible, thus creating the dilemma defining the term. However, the words such as counsel, wisdom, and advice do appear. Walter A. Elwell (1988) defines counsel as â€Å"advice† especially legal matters. † It was derived from the Latin word consilium from con-solere meaning to consult. Counseling therefore means consultation for an advice. The Eerdsman Bible Dictionary noted that counselors were commonly employed at the royal court. The Vines expository Dictionary of the Biblical Words stated that the Greek word sumboulion for ‘counsel’ denotes a task â€Å"given, taken, and acted upon† such as in Matthew 12: 14 where the Pharisees devised a plan after conferring with one another against Jesus Christ, and finally executed that plan. Vines Completely Expository Dictionary stated that the word counsel was used throughout the history of the Hebrew language. The Hebrew word yaas, to counsel was first used in Exodus 18:19 where Jethro says: â€Å"Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring your dispute to Him. † In the passage, the word advice was used synonymously with the word counsel. Thus, Jethro counseled Moses. Citing the works of Jay Adams, Dr. Larry Crabb and Lawrence Crabb (1997) stated that the Greek word noutheteo includes the idea of verbal, directive, instructive confrontation (p. 147). One particular case attesting to this was in 2nd Samuel chapter 12:1-13, in whom King David was confronted by Prophet Nathan over his crime of adultery and murder. Crabb noted that in Colossians 1:28 Paul mention that he nouthetically â€Å"confronts people in an effort to promote their maturity† (p. 148). However, it appears that in the Old Testament, the use of the word counsel does not primarily denote divine purpose. Indeed, most of its uses in the Old Testament were either political or military advices to kings which were meant for the destruction of their enemies. The particular case where in counseling was used for divine purpose was in exodus 18:19 when Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law advised him on how he could effectively serve the people with justice. The word ‘wisdom on the other hand, was derived from Hebrew Hokma and Greek Sophia which according to J. D. Douglas and Mirrel C. Tenney only comes from God. Douglas and Tenney stated that â€Å"God is the source of wisdom and wisdom is the infinitely comprehension of all that is or might be† as mentioned by the apostle Paul in Romans 11:33-36, (p. 1066). Job 28:28 and Proverbs 1: 7 both teach that wisdom is given by God to people through the â€Å"fear of the Lord. Exodus 28:3 states that the wisdom given by God to man is manifested by their skills. This was clearly confirmed by God in Exodus 31: 1-3 wherein God said â€Å"†¦and I have filled with him the Spirit of God with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craft†¦. † The main word hokma for wisdom (used 146 times in the Bible) means understanding. The other Greek word, Tushiyya – used only a few times meaning â€Å"sound wisdom† while the adjective hakam â€Å"wise† is used 102 times, as wise men 15 times. In the book of Ecclesiastes, wisdom is considered â€Å"in contrast to other as a possible highest goal of life but is not desirable rather it is rejected. This is clearly reflected by in the following verses in the book of Ecclesiastes. Chapter 2:16 states: â€Å"For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool the wise man too must die. † Another verse that particularly talks about the similarity of the culmination of one’s life both the wise and fool is depicted in Ecclesiastes 9:17-18; as stated: â€Å"The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than a shout of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war but one sinner destroys much good. † The Greek Sophia for wisdom is used with reference to: (a) God Romans 3:33 and I Corinthians 1:21 (b) Christ – Matthew 13:54 and Mark 6:2; (c) Human wisdom Another Greek word for wisdom is Phronesis, meaning understanding, that is, prudence. Vines Dictionary stated that â€Å"while Sophia is the insight into the true nature of things, Phronesis is the ability to discern modes of actions with the view to their results. Sophia is theoretical and Phronesis is practical. In Exodus 28: 3, God directed Moses to make sacred garment for Aaron through the men whom God had given wisdom. This was also the case in chapter 31 of the same book wherein God instructed Moses to summon Bezalel son of Ur and Oholiab, son of Ahisamach both were skilled in all crafts, to make the tent of meeting between the people and God. These passages clearly involve the concepts above. Unfortunately, the word advice and plan does not appear in any biblical reference materials so there seemed to be no way to include them in the word study. The range of situations involving these concepts Biblical counseling according to Ed Welch is â€Å"as old as the history† of mankind and will thrive through out the next generations. Welch noted that it started with God speaking to his people (Welch, p. 2). In the Bible times, counseling was either for good or for bad purpose. Elwell noted that the task of a counselor in the royal court was â€Å"like a United States cabinet member today. † Biblical counselors of David and Absalom such as Ahitophel and Hushai held this position and were regarded not only as very influential in the king’s decision makings, but their counsel were held as â€Å"the oracle of God by the people, as mentioned in 2nd Samuel 16:23. However, in chapter 17 verses 1 to 14 of the same Bible book, the counsel given by both Ahitophel and Hushai was meant for the destruction of both David and Absalom. Ahitophel counseled Absalom to attack the fleeing and weary David to destroy him for Absalom to be able to consolidate all people of Israel. However this advice was frustrated by Hushai and gave his version of plot against David, which in effect was meant to bring disaster on Absalom verse 14. In the Old Testament, counseling was employed by kings as a form of political and military scheme as can be noted in many occasions such in 1st Samuel chapter 28 where King Saul sought counsel from a witch at Endor because of the great armies he was about to face in war. This was also the occasion with Absalom concerning the consolidation of his kingdom after David fled from the palace to escape from Absalom. Earlier, in the book of Judges Chapter 4, Israel’s leader named Barak also sought counsel from a prophetess named Devorah on whether he should go up against his enemies. Counseling occupy prominent role both in the political and military adventures of kings in the Bible times but was seldom employed for spiritual purpose. Two situations in the Bible that use the biblical data as support The New Testament may not have many situations wherein these cases had been vividly using the biblical data above as support. Nevertheless, one particular situation perhaps, is found in I Kings 3: 16-28 concerning the wise ruling of Solomon. The passage tells about two prostitutes living in the same house and who had given both birth of a son. Unfortunately, one of the children died and each of the mothers was claiming the baby alive. The dilemma of the case was that there was no one in the house except the two of them, when the problem occurred. When the case was brought to King Solomon, he rendered a sound judgment giving the live infant to his true mother. The Wisdom of Solomon was generally held a God-given wisdom. 1st Kings Chapter 3 deals about Solomon’s wisdom which he got from the Lord. In this case, Solomon’s counseling was based on the wisdom God has given. The second situation is found in the book of Acts 23: 12-15. In this case, Paul was a prisoner in Jerusalem on account of his preaching the gospel of Christ. Verse 12 tells us that some forty men formed a conspiracy against Paul. Their intention was to kill Paul, so they went to religious authorities to consult their plan and to finalize the details in which the religious leaders will petition the commander in charge of Paul to bring him to them â€Å"on the pretext of wanting more accurate information. † These men will then ambush the party along the way. Parallel to this, it could be noted that Ahitophel’s counsel to Absalom was about David’s destruction, and Hushai’s advice was a conspiracy with David to frustrate Ahitophel’s advice to bring disaster on Absalom. Either way leads to destruction of either of David or Absalom. The scenario maybe different, but the ethics of counseling involved was just the same. It had the intention to destroy just as the counsel given by Ahitophel to destroy David or the counsel given by Hushai to bring disaster on Absalom. The ethics involved is therefore bad ethics. According to Matthew Heney’s Commentary, Ahitophel gave Absalom a wicked counsel. The commentary goes: â€Å"Ahitophel counseled him to do wickedly, and so did as effectually betrayed him as he did who was designedly false, to him for those that advice men to sin certainly advise them to their hurt and that government which is founded in sin is founded in the sand† (commentary on II Samuel chapter 18) The advice given by those fanatical men designed to kill Paul was acted upon by the religious leaders corresponding to the Greek sumbulion which implies action. Although the advises given were not meant to solve one’s problem, but given the concept of counseling above, it was quite clear that biblical counseling, or the counseling done by the biblical people were usually political and had destructive intent against the person or the people the counseling was directed. This was also true with the advice given by Balaam to King Balak in Numbers chapter 22, when he was summoned to curse Israel so he could defeat them in battle. The Bible tells us that an angel of God appeared to him and warned him not to curse Israel instead, he should pronounced blessings, or he be killed by the angel. According to commentaries, although he pronounced blessings for Israel, he also counseled Balak to entice Israel to commit sin (Numbers 31:15-16).