Christian spirituality Essay Example for Free

Christian spirituality Essay People in this realm have diverse attention to different facet of their lives. Some of which believes in a certain perception contrary to the views of the other and it all boils down to a premise that we in this universe have enormous preferences which truly makes us unique. Similarly, it has the same wavelength when we put into account the very imperative issue of faith and strong adherence to believing in God. Donald Miller in his masterpiece Blue like Jazz, he exemplifies the avenues of spirituality and how it is possible to enlighten the views of the readers as they go through the work of art. Uplifting the souls is the focal element of the author and parallel to this, the central aspiration of this paper is also to epitomize the intriguing views of the author and at the same time squeeze out the necessary lessons in life that will ultimately open the minds of the readers. By having the views of the book by means of its meaningful experiences of the author, we could have a brilliant grasp to what really is life in a spiritual way. Any occurrences that have been demonstrated in the book will truly it will shed light to our naked eye. The personal reflections of the author contribute to our understanding to the nature of God and how to respond to this indulgent. The ingredients in Donald Miller’s Blue like Jazz are driven by the perceptions towards sex, love, community, family and God. It absolutely speaks on what it feels to have an in depth connection with God and how to examine our inner self on what we truly believed in despite the challenges of our malicious environment. The point of view as regards to searching for spirituality and believers who wanted to have a strong relationship with God was the intentions of this masterpiece. It is intended in the latter part of the paper to expound in a Christian approach the impressions and attitudes in relation to the concept of Miller. Indeed, it is expected that at the end of this paper, the readers should have a strong attachment in relation to the subject matter of spirituality and the things that it entails. Donald Miller tackles the life’s spices which includes sex. The question of does love can be truly be proven by sex is at hand. It has been said that you can love with all your heart but you cannot scientifically examine it. Accordingly, it is an intense feeling which flows inside that makes your personality fortify. The feeling surely brightens our outlook even though it does not undergo several test because what proves it is our own selves per se, â€Å"love for example is a true emotion but it is not rational, what I mean is people actually feel it, I have been in love, plenty of people have been in love yet love cannot be proved scientifically† (Miller, 2003). The author makes use of the penguins as case in point in elaborating how making love can truly transform into something essential in our lives. It says the instances wherein penguins have their own way of showing their love to their partners and at the same time giving value to their siblings. The intensity of emotions in relation to their responsibilities was intact in this scenario. The male penguins take hold of the responsibility of looking after the eggs and in due time the eggs will mature. It has been demonstrated how the female penguins goes back after sometime to witness their little penguin. This was a good elaboration of a strong connection with our loved ones. We sense the right time when it is necessary for us to be there. Similarly, Miller take hold of this picture to emphasize the essentiality of faith that without even seeing it, we know that the love of God is there for us. The timing that the penguins epitomize truly connotes a strong feeling of union that is so unique in our being rational. Being a Christian entails a lot of faith to be able to have a strong grip on what we believed in. Indeed, it signify us the right usage of our intellect and free will as we chooses to have a relationship with our God. â€Å"I don’t think you can explain how Christian faith works. It is a mystery and I love this about Christian spirituality. It cannot be explained and yet it is beautiful and true. It is something you feel and it comes from the soul† ( Miller, 2003), on a brilliant concept, the secret ingredient of a happy life is no other than the healthy bond with God hand in hand with the faith that we have in our lives. In relation to the love that has been showed to us by the instances in the lives of the penguins, we can perceive how essential it is to feel the love and give it back as well. As we all knew, love is a huge topic but at the same time the most interesting subject matter of all time. It is the one wherein we could all take part into. Furthermore, it is the area where varieties of people of all ages can adapt which makes it more interesting for that matter. The reflection of Christ love for the church can emulate in the event of marriage where two souls binds together to be one. The acceptance of differences as well as giving back the love that they received towards the other are the things that makes a real and unconditional relationship. The vocation of marriage enlightens us and ultimately gives joy to our everyday lives. Giving ourselves completely to others has a very deep meaning because it entails acceptance of other person in our life and submission of our inner self. In the circumstance that Miller shares to its readers when he had a conversation with Paul, his friend who is very happy in his married life, he got the realization how incredible it is to be in love and to be loved. Given that some of his friends give him a feedback of a wrong approach of dealing with women, upon talking to Paul he realized that marriage encompass to love your self as well. In order to protect your relationship it is essential to have a factor that will compromise the both parties. In the case of Paul and his wife, they find time to have their own privacy, in that way they’d be able to respect each other which also gives mystery to the relationship that they have, â€Å" I’m saying there are stuff I can’t tell her not because I don’t want to but because there aren’t words. It’s like we are separate people and there is no getting inside each other to read each other’s thoughts, each other’s beings† ( Miller, 2003). In accordance with this, marriage is not all about the two people that has been bind together, it is also about who is the center of their relationship which truly binds them together, â€Å"I am glad I married Danielle and I will be with her forever but there are places in our lives that only God can go† ( Miller, 2003). It is imperative to have God as the center of our relationship. He brings out the best in us when He guides us. As we consistently ask for His love and guidance, the relationship that we have will ultimately be filled with joys and abundance of love, â€Å"I mean that to be in a relationship with God is to be loved purely and furiously† ( Miller, 2003). The best exemplification of what we have learned from the undying love of God to its people was our strength to do the same with our loved one and to other people that surrounds us. As we go back to the essentiality of grace, the application of such is a contributing element in making a successful family life surrounded by blessings and guidance of our almighty. Does the connection we have with God extend a deep relationship with the people that surround us? This is an uncertainty that some of us having a hard time finding the real answer because we are in one way or the other uncertain to what we really wanted to build as relationship with the people we rarely know. Parallel to this, at some in our lives we find it hard to accept a person beyond our wavelength. We set criteria of who we are apt to build rapport to the point that sometimes neglect the importance of a person basing on his or her individuality and not in his/her spirituality. How the community that you belong really changes your outlook in life and your relationship with God? At some point in our lives, we got used to living in our own way far from other people. We live and spend our time alone that we miss the part of our lives that we get along with other people in our community, â€Å"I didn’t know what to think about living in community at first. I had lived on my own for about six years and the idea of moving in with a bunch of slobs didn’t appeal to me† ( Miller, 2003). In lieu of which the exchange of ideas that we get from other people is also essential in our existence in this realm and we could only get this by means of interacting with other people. Like that of what the author showed to us, the interaction with other people was lacking in a sense that became self centered. Some of the people that surround us might misinterpret that gestures that we convey simply because we are not used to living with other people. The lessons of life can simply be available if we look at life in a different manner – and that is to intermingle with the people in our community. On top of this, it is good to apprehend that God enlightens our perspectives in life. He usually guides us in whatever decision we come up to and in this case, God makes him realize the importance to dealing with other people and appreciate their existence, â€Å"God brought me to Graceland to rid me of this deception, to scrub it out of the gray matter of my mind† ( Miller, 2003). The capabilities that the community has could contribute to the knowledge that we have and in this manner, we can help each other grow in our own little way. Family is one of the focal points of our lives. This is where we get the strength and inspiration that we need to continue with our life. We can never deny the fact that this aspect of our life has a huge impact in our personality as well as with the attitude that we project to the people that surrounds us. It is absolutely the time of our life that we think of other people more than our selves because we prioritize our family more than anything else, â€Å"If you don’t love somebody, it gets annoying when they tell you what to do or what to feel. When you love them you get pleasure from their pleasure and it makes it easy to serve† (Miller, 2003). This instance does not necessarily mean that you wouldn’t love and serve God because you don’t love Him; you don’t love Him because you did not see Him. Ultimately, this is not the case when we talk about our faith and love for God. Our strong belief in the love of God for us and for humanity was undeniably great. We adhere to His principles and we follow His teachings which make us a better person. God’s love for this human race was irrevocably unconditional that he continuously accepts us despite our shortcomings in life. Enormously, God did a magical thing in our lives as he consistently touches our souls and guides our ways. As we scrutinize the importance of the author’s portrayal of what magic truly is, we might get fascinated with the allure of the thought of magic alone. It is true that when we were younger, our attention was easily derailed with the magical world but in fact everything is just a trick. In fact, there is a loop hole in every magic that has been showed to us it’s just that we are too young to recognize it. As a kid, we just focus on the elements that will satisfy our fascination neglecting the truth that magic is just a form of entertainment. â€Å"I got frustrated because everything that was magic was only a trick, meaning it wasn’t really magic, it was an illusion† (Miller, 2003), same with our lives, the figment of our imagination lies on what our naked eyes can reach but we miss the part that the reality of life is always at hand. God provides us with wonderful environment where we could exhaust all our efforts to achieve what is really beautiful beyond the temporary magic that we acquire for a moment. â€Å"Everybody wants to be fancy and new. Nobody wants to be themselves but they want to be different† (Miller, 2003), it is extremely important to pause for a while and contemplate on what we really needed in our lives. We project a gesture that we are different but what is more important is to have a closer look of what magical feeling God is providing us. Indeed, where we lived at a moment is the result of the brilliant love of God for us. What we are in this universe is the output of God’s goodness to this humanity. There are instances in our lives that at some point we have to be rigid with our faith and by doing so, one has to be profoundly knowledgeable on what really comprises his persona and what he truly believes. Having a strong faith is undeniably one of the greatest discoveries in our lives. The very essence of our trust in God is to know the principles of His words, in lieu of which we are apt to follow His commands that are very important in the foundation of our dogmatic belief in God. It is ultimately important for the people to know God and His wonderful deeds. It is beyond doubt that behind God’s creation lays an astonishing message of building ourselves completely. God is all knowing that He provides all the things that we need in continuing the path of our lives. We obey God, we follow His will and we become a better person is what truly matters in this masterpiece. In view of the great knowledge that has been embarked on us making available the work of art of Donald Miller, it gives us the enlightenment that we seek as we go along with the pages of this book. The manner in which the author presents his perception was incontestably comprehensible. It gives his reader the time to contemplate and grasp what he really wanted to go halves. Giving examples as well in the context of his elaboration of his insights truly adds to the substance of his subject matter. It really doles out the purpose of the author to stretch the faith of his readers. The values that we got from Blue like Jazz truly define the voice of God. Beneath the pages of this work of art lies the realization that life is full of magical thought, it is just in our hands to explore these things to make it visible. Our capacity to look at things in a different way is beneficial as we continue to battle with the challenges of life, like that of the book, its mysterious titles expounds what it really wanted to convey in its readers and this is what God wanted to happen, we define our selves in a manner that is reachable and at the same time life worth turning the pages.

michael jordan Essay -- essays research papers fc

Michael Jordan was one of five children born to James and Delores Jordan. He was born February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn. His parents felt that the streets of Brooklyn were unsafe to raise a young family. So instead of trying to endure the streets of Brooklyn, the Jordan family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. Michael’s father, James, got a job in Wilmington as a mechanic and his mother Delores got a job as a teller at United Carolina Bank. Michael always had an eye for baseball. He played as an outfielder and as a pitcher. When he was twelve, he was the top player in his league. By the age of fifteen, he wasn't the star in baseball as he once was. He was still very good, but he had lost some of his focus. Later, in his high school career, he dropped baseball to pursue another interest. Soon Michael adopted the game of basketball. When Michael reached the ninth grade, he tried out for the basketball team. Coach Lynch, Michael's coach, cut Michael, which in turn may have made the best player alive today. Michael then took practicing basketball to another level. He played his brother Larry whenever he could. Michael never expected what would come in the near future. Michael Jordan went to the University of North Carolina as a basketball recruit. Even though Jordan at 6'5" was a man with potential, he still studied very hard in an attempt to get a good education, while competing in sports. Mike wasn't expected to be a star of the Tar Heels, since they had players such as ...

Foundation and Empire 12. Captain And Mayor

Captain Han Pritcher was unused to the luxury of his surroundings and by no means impressed. As a general thing, he discouraged self-analysis and all forms of philosophy and metaphysics not directly connected with his work. It helped. His work consisted largely of what the War Department called â€Å"intelligence,† the sophisticates, â€Å"espionage,† and the romanticists, â€Å"spy stuff.† And, unfortunately, despite the frothy shrillness of the televisors, â€Å"intelligence,† â€Å"espionage,† and â€Å"spy stuff† are at best a sordid business of routine betrayal and bad faith. It is excused by society since it is in the â€Å"interest of the State,† but since philosophy seemed always to lead Captain Pritcher to the conclusion that even in that holy interest, society is much more easily soothed than one's own conscience – he discouraged philosophy. And now, in the luxury of the mayor's anteroom, his thoughts turned inward despite himself. Men had been promoted over his head continuously, though of lesser ability – that much was admitted. He had withstood an eternal rain of black marks and official reprimands, and survived it. And stubbornly he had held to his own way in the firm belief that insubordination in that same holy â€Å"interest of the State† would yet be recognized for the service it was. So here he was in the anteroom of the mayor-with five soldiers as a respectful guard, and probably a court-martial awaiting him. The heavy, marble doors rolled apart smoothly, silently, revealing satiny walls, a red plastic carpeting, and two more marble doors, metal-inlaid, within. Two officials in the straight-lined costume of three centuries back, stepped out, and called: â€Å"An audience to Captain Han Pritcher of Information.† They stepped back with a ceremonious bow as the captain started forward. His escort stopped at the outer door, and he entered the inner alone. On the other side of the doors, in a large room strangely simple, behind a large desk strangely angular, sat a small man, almost lost in the immensity, Mayor Indbur – successively the third of that name – was the grandson of the first Indbur, who had been brutal and capable; and who had exhibited the first quality in spectacular fashion by his manner of seizing power, and the latter by the skill with which he put an end to the last farcical remnants of free election and the even greater skill with which he maintained a relatively peaceful rule. Mayor Indbur was also the son of the second Indbur, who was the first Mayor of the Foundation to succeed to his post by right of birth – and who was only half his father, for he was merely brutal. So Mayor Indbur was the third of the name and the second to succeed by right of birth, and he was the least of the three, for he was neither brutal nor capable – but merely an excellent bookkeeper born wrong. Indbur the Third was a peculiar combination of ersatz characteristics to all but himself. To him, a stilted geometric love of arrangement was â€Å"system,† an indefatigable and feverish interest in the pettiest facets of day-to-day bureaucracy was â€Å"industry,† indecision when right was â€Å"caution,† and blind stubbornness when wrong, â€Å"determination.† And withal he wasted no money, killed no man needlessly, and meant extremely well. If Captain Pritcher's gloomy thoughts ran along these lines as he remained respectfully in place before the large desk, the wooden arrangement of his features yielded no insight into the fact. He neither coughed, shifted weight, nor shuffled his feet until the thin face of the mayor lifted slowly as the busy stylus ceased in its task of marginal notations, and a sheet of close-printed paper was lifted from one neat stack and placed upon another neat stack. Mayor Indbur clasped his hands carefully before him, deliberately refraining from disturbing the careful arrangement of desk accessories. He said, in acknowledgment, â€Å"Captain Han Pritcher of Information.† And Captain Pritcher in strict obedience to protocol bent one knee nearly to the ground and bowed his head until he heard the words of release. â€Å"Arise, Captain Pritcher!† The mayor said with an air of warm sympathy, â€Å"You are here, Captain Pritcher, because of certain disciplinary action taken against yourself by your superior officer. The papers concerning such action have come, in the ordinary course of events, to my notice, and since no event in the Foundation is of disinterest to me, I took the trouble to ask for further information on your case. You are not, I hope, surprised.† Captain Pritcher said unemotionally, â€Å"Excellence, no. Your justice is proverbial.† â€Å"Is it? Is it?† His tone was pleased, and the tinted contact lenses he wore caught the light in a manner that imparted a hard, dry gleam to his eyes. Meticulously, he fanned out a series of metal-bound folders before him. The parchment sheets within crackled sharply as he turned them, his long finger following down the line as he spoke. â€Å"I have your record here, captain – complete. You are forty-three and have been an Officer of the Armed Forces for seventeen years. You were born in Loris, of Anacreonian parents, no serious childhood diseases, an attack of myo†¦ well, that's of no importance†¦ education, premilitary, at the Academy of Sciences, major, hyper-engines, academic standing†¦ hm-m-m, very good, you are to be congratulated†¦ entered the Army as Under-Officer on the one hundred second day of the 293rd year of the Foundation Era.† He lifted his eyes momentarily as he shifted the first folder, and opened the second. â€Å"You see,† he said, â€Å"in my administration, nothing is left to chance. Order! System!† He lifted a pink, scented jelly-globule to his lips. It was his one vice, and but dolingly indulged in. Witness the fact that the mayor's desk lacked that almost-inevitable atom flash for the disposal of dead tobacco. For the mayor did not smoke. Nor, as a matter of course, did his visitors. The mayor's voice droned on, methodically, slurringly, mumblingly – now and then interspersed with whispered comments of equally mild and equally ineffectual commendation or reproof. Slowly, he replaced the folders as originally, in a single neat pile. â€Å"Well, captain,† he said, briskly, â€Å"your record is unusual. Your ability is outstanding, it would seem, and your services valuable beyond question. I note that you have been wounded in the line of duty twice, and that you have been awarded the Order of Merit for bravery beyond the call of duty. Those are facts not lightly to be minimized.† Captain Pritcher's expressionless face did not soften. He remained stiffly erect. Protocol required that a subject honored by an audience with the mayor may not sit down – a point perhaps needlessly reinforced by the fact that only one chair existed in the room, the one underneath the mayor. Protocol further required no statements other than those needed to answer a direct question. The mayor's eyes bore down hard upon the soldier and his voice grew pointed and heavy. â€Å"However, you have not been promoted in ten years, and your superiors report, over and over again, of the unbending stubbornness of your character. You are reported to be chronically insubordinate, incapable of maintaining a correct attitude towards superior officers, apparently uninterested in maintaining frictionless relationships with your colleagues, and an incurable troublemaker, besides. How do you explain that, captain?† â€Å"Excellence, I do what seems right to me. My deeds on behalf of the State, and my wounds in that cause bear witness that what seems fight to me is also in the interest of the State.† â€Å"A soldierly statement, captain, but a dangerous doctrine. More of that, later. Specifically, you are charged with refusing an assignment three times in the face of orders signed by my legal delegates. What have you to say to that?† â€Å"Excellence, the assignment lacks significance in a critical time, where matters of first importance are being ignored.† â€Å"Ah, and who tells you these matters you speak of are of the first importance at all, and if they are, who tells you further that they are ignored?† â€Å"Excellence, these things are quite evident to me. My experience and my knowledge of events – the value of neither of which my superiors deny – make it plain.† â€Å"But, my good captain, are you blind that you do not see that by arrogating to yourself the right to determine Intelligence policy, you usurp the duties of your superior?† â€Å"Excellence, my duty is primarily to the State, and not to my superior.† â€Å"Fallacious, for your superior has his superior, and that superior is myself, and I am the State. But come, you shall have no cause to complain of this justice of mine that you say is proverbial. State in your own words the nature of the breach in discipline that has brought all this on.† â€Å"Excellence, my duty is primarily to the State, and not to my living the life of a retired merchant mariner upon the world of Kalgan. My instructions were to direct Foundation activity upon the planet, perfect an organization to act as check upon the warlord of Kalgan, particularly as regards his foreign policy.† â€Å"This is known to me. Continue!† â€Å"Excellence, my reports have continually stressed the strategic positions of Kalgan and the systems it controls. I have reported on the ambition of the warlord, his resources, his determination to extend his domain and his essential friendliness – or, perhaps, neutrality – towards the Foundation.† â€Å"I have read your reports thoroughly. Continue!† â€Å"Excellence, I returned two months ago. At that time, there was no sign of impending war; no sign of anything but an almost superfluity of ability to repel any conceivable attack. One month ago, an unknown soldier of fortune took Kalgan without a fight. The man who was once warlord of Kalgan is apparently no longer alive. Men do not speak of treason – they speak only of the power and genius of this strange condottiere – this Mule.† â€Å"This who?† the mayor leaned forward, and looked offended. â€Å"Excellence, he is known as the Mule. He is spoken of little, in a factual sense, but I have gathered the scraps and fragments of knowledge and winnowed out the most probable of them. He is apparently a man of neither birth nor standing. His father, unknown. His mother, dead in childbirth. His upbringing, that of a vagabond. His education, that of the tramp worlds, and the backwash alleys of space. He has no name other than that of the Mule, a name reportedly applied by himself to himself, and signifying, by popular explanation, his immense physical strength, and stubbornness of purpose.† â€Å"What is his military strength, captain? Never mind his physique.† â€Å"Excellence, men speak of huge fleets, but in this they may be influenced by the strange fall of Kalgan. The territory he controls is not large, though its exact limits are not capable of definite determination. Nevertheless, this man must be investigated.† â€Å"Hm-m-m. So! So!† The mayor fell into a reverie, and slowly with twenty-four strokes of his stylus drew six squares in hexagonal arrangements upon the blank top sheet of a pad, which he tore off, folded neatly in three parts and slipped into the wastepaper slot at his right hand. It slid towards a clean and silent atomic disintegration. â€Å"Now then, tell me, captain, what is the alternative? You have told me what ‘must' be investigated. What have you been ordered to investigate?† â€Å"Excellence, there is a rat hole in space that, it seems, does not pay its taxes.† â€Å"Ah, and is that all? You are not aware, and have not been told that these men who do not pay their taxes, are descendants of the wild Traders of our early days – anarchists, rebels, social maniacs who claim Foundation ancestry and deride Foundation culture. You are not aware, and have not been told, that this rat hole in space, is not one, but many; that these rat holes are in greater number than we know; that these rat holes conspire together, one with the other, and all with the criminal elements that still exist throughout Foundation territory. Even here, captain, even here!† The mayor's momentary fire subsided quickly. â€Å"You are not aware, captain?† â€Å"Excellence, I have been told all this. But as servant of the State, I must serve faithfully – and he serves most faithfully who serves Truth. Whatever the political implications of these dregs of the ancient Traders – the warlords who have inherited the splinters of the old Empire have the power. The Traders have neither arms nor resources. They have not even unity. I am not a tax collector to be sent on a child's errand.† â€Å"Captain Pritcher, you are a soldier, and count guns. It is a failing to be allowed you up to the point where it involves disobedience to myself. Take care. My justice is not simply weakness. Captain, it has already been proven that the generals of the Imperial Age and the warlords of the present age are equally impotent against us. Seldon's science which predicts the course of the Foundation is based, not on individual heroism, as you seem to believe, but on the social and economic trends of history. We have passed successfully through four crises already, have we not?† â€Å"Excellence, we have. Yet Seldon's science is known only to Seldon. We ourselves have but faith. In the first three crises, as I have been carefully taught, the Foundation was led by wise leaders who foresaw the nature of the crises and took the proper precautions. Otherwise – who can say?† â€Å"Yes, captain, but you omit the fourth crisis. Come, captain, we had no leadership worthy of the name then, and we faced the cleverest opponent, the heaviest armor, the strongest force of all. Yet we won by the inevitability of history.† â€Å"Excellence, that is true. But this history you mention became inevitable only after we had fought desperately for over a year. The inevitable victory we won cost us half a thousand ships and half a million men. Excellence, Seldon's plan helps those who help themselves.† Mayor Indbur frowned and grew suddenly tired of his patient exposition. It occurred to him that there was a fallacy in condescension, since it was mistaken for permission to argue eternally; to grow contentious; to wallow in dialectic. He said, stiffly, â€Å"Nevertheless, captain, Seldon guarantees victory over the warlords, and I can not, in these busy times, indulge in a dispersal of effort. These Traders you dismiss are Foundation-derived. A war with them would be a civil war. Seldon's plan makes no guarantee there for us – since they and we are Foundation. So they must be brought to heel. You have your orders.† â€Å"Excellence-â€Å" â€Å"You have been asked no question, captain. You have your orders. You will obey those orders. Further argument of any sort with myself or those representing myself will be considered treason. You are excused.† Captain Han Pritcher knelt once more, then left with slow, backward steps. Mayor Indbur, third of his name, and second mayor of Foundation history to be so by fight of birth, recovered his equilibrium, and lifted another sheet of paper from the neat stack at his left. It was a report on the saving of funds due to the reduction of the quantity of metal-foam edging on the uniforms of the police force. Mayor Indbur crossed out a superfluous comma, corrected a misspelling, made three marginal notations, and placed it upon the neat stack at his fight. He lifted another sheet of paper from the neat stack at his left. Captain Han Pritcher of Information found a Personal Capsule waiting for him when he returned to barracks. It contained orders, terse and redly underlined with a stamped â€Å"URGENT†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ across it, and the whole initialed with a precise, capital â€Å"I†. Captain Han Pritcher was ordered to the â€Å"rebel world called Haven† in the strongest terms. Captain Han Pritcher, alone in his light one-man speedster, set his course quietly and calmly for Kalgan. He slept that night the sleep of a successfully stubborn man.

A Conversation between Descartes and Searle - 1140 Words

Descartes: One of my greatest powers is the ability to think, considering that it is essentially the only thing that I am unable to doubt. Searle: I partly agree to your statement, but I observe that you are inclined to ignore the concept of technology and the wonders that it can perform. Furthermore, just as you are able to persuade other individuals in thinking that they make decisions for themselves, it is probable that someone else influences you and the decisions that you make without allowing you to understand that you are being manipulated. D: Oh, but Im afraid that you got the wrong impression regarding my thinking. I did not say that I cannot be manipulated, as I simply claimed that me being able to doubt everything but my ability to doubt is equivalent to me having free will. I will always be able to doubt things and this stands as proof that my mind is different from my body as a consequence of the fact that it is thinking. S: It is very likely that information that has been produced consequent to your death made it easier for me to look at things and that I am better prepared to understand how the mind works. As I said, you tend to ignore the fact that technology has advanced greatly and that the Age of Technology provides individuals with a lot of information that they can use with the purpose of developing arguments to support particular points of view. D: I did not say that I am not amazed with the way that technology advanced in the twentieth andShow MoreRelatedThe Mind And Machines, An Oxymoron?1365 Words   |  6 PagesMinds and Machines, an oxymoron? Can machines think? This question, addressed by Descartes and Turing, leads to discussion of how thought is constructed and what is the mind made of. At the heart of the debate, there is a schism between Cartesian dualism and functionalism. Language is a method considered by both sides as evidence of thought and provides the test for intelligence. This essay will look at Descartes’ objections and Turing’s arguments for whether machine can ever think. This essay willRead MoreArtificial Intelligence Is The Dominant Theory1792 Words   |  8 Pagescreature and then obviously felt by humans, aliens and the silicon processing in a robot too, it then only makes sense that a computer is able to understand this as well. To describe ones relation between the mental and physical aspects of their brain, you could consider the mind body dualism. Descartes introduced the mind body dualism in the 17th century. The mind body dualism states that the mind and body are not identical. Which proves how a computer can have a mind like a human and still functionRead More Gilbert Ryles The Concept of Mind Essay2412 Words   |  10 Pagessecond-order ontology is to take the first step in the wrong direction towards intellectual clarity. Thus, with the desire to arrive at this hypothetical locale, the following peripatetic discussion will set out with Ryle at his point of departure, viz. Descartes Myth; it will then survey the lay-of-the-land at Ryles mapped out midway point, viz. Self-Knowledge; and from there, judge whether Ryle himself is headed in the right direction, or, whether despite the ribbons and fan-fare, Ryles excursion takesRead MoreFunctionalism Vs. Cartesian Dualism2009 Words   |  9 Pagesse t of internal states, which are acted upon differently by each specific input. A ‘machine table’ dictates which operation the central processor performs, given its current internal state and the symbol it is currently accessing. The interaction between the symbol detected on the tape and the current internal state of the machine produces an observable output and/or an internal state change. When extrapolated to the mind, the Turing machine model works in a similar way, where the symbol inputs areRead MoreViolation Of The Maxims Of Cooperative Principle7912 Words   |  32 Pagesstudy of sentence structure. Both semantics and pragmatics deal with the study of meaning. The differences between the two are that semantics studies the literal meaning of the word, phrases, sentences, whereas pragmatics deals with contextual meaning. Pragmatics, which studies language in use, can be one of the most effective tools to study literature. There is a sustainable relationship betwee n literature and pragmatics, as the former is context bound and the latter studies the language in context