the greater good - Oboulo.com

4 word format

Language : english

ancient history

school essay

date published

19/10/2007

review : not yet assessed

level : Advanced

requested 0 times

Summary

Joan of Arc never lived to hear her own name; she never lived to see her own deliverance. Jeanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maid) died a heretic. Redeemed twenty-five years later at the nullification of the Rouen trial that sentenced her to the stake, Joan finally earned the honor behind the surname D’Arc, but not before cementing a dichotomy larger than the split between England and France. Was Joan of Arc truly a messenger of God, or merely a girl spawned by satanic delusions or personal vendettas? History fails Joan; it is not even known for sure her date of birth or her exact age at death. Régine Pernoud, in her book Joan of Arc: Her Story, paints a portrait of Jeanne left incomplete by lack of fact and verification. Even her accompanying collection of interviews and transcripts, Joan of Arc: By Herself and Her Witnesses, presents a one-dimensional Joan void of any emotion beyond her devotion to God. Such reckless piousness is hard to believe. Most fictional accounts of the Maid sacrifice spirituality in the name of humanity. Even William Shakespeare in his theatrical representation of King Henry VI presents Joan as the basest of villains, weak to the point of embracing Satan to save her own life. This English propaganda, common in decades following the end of the 100 Years War, presents a strikingly human Joan in comparison to the French obsession with her as icon alone: it is easier to sympathize with Joan as a lost girl torn on the eve of her death than as a devout Christian unbreakable even by the thought of fire and damnation. In his film The Messenger, Luc Besson attempts to find understanding in the story of Jeanne la Pucelle, a kind of humanity disallowed by history and Joan herself.

Table of Contents

Joan of Arc never lived to hear her own name; she never lived to see her own deliverance.
Aside from information gathered at Domrémy during both the original Rouen trial and its subsequent nullification trial, Joan the Maid's childhood is for the most part an empty slate.
Besson also introduces a sister of Jeanne, Catherine, who is killed and raped by the advancing English army while saving Joan in Domrémy.
For the most part, Joan of Arc was an onlooker.
Most attempts to view Joan of Arc beyond a simply religious context, and consequently, as a person instead of as a spiritual icon, revolve around her military campaigns.
Miracles, visions and voices are things most people do not believe in.
When asked, she admitted to the voice of God having told her to carry this sword alongside the banner He designed in greatest detail.
Simply stated, Luc Besson presents a Joan who does not even believe herself.

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2 word format

Language : english

history 1789 to present

school essay

date published

18/12/2007

review : not yet assessed

level : General public

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Summary

It has been said that love is the deepest and strongest of all human emotions. It is understood globally across all countries and continents. One of the beautiful things about love is that it can exist anywhere, in many shapes and varieties. It has the power to bring people, countries, and lifestyles together. Most importantly, it had the power to bring both Ernesto Che Guevera and Alberto Korda to their feet and ignite the revolution of Cuba.
It was not ordinary love that drove these two men to stand up for their tiny, impoverished country. It was neither sexual nor romantic. However, the love differs between the two men. Korda’s love was pride; undying pride for his community and his country. Che’s love was through power and control.

$6.95

7 word format

Language : english

literature

research papers

date published

27/05/2008

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level : General public

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Summary

Arthur Miller once wrote that the reason so few tragedies exist is because the world is in lack of heroes and the common man thinks too little of himself to be otherwise. The reluctance to be anything more than ordinary is attributed to the inherent assumption that heroes can only come from sophisticated and complex individuals superior in form who are exceptionally courageous in the face of adversity. Intimidated by such a misconception, persons fully capable of committing virtuous acts are unable to. The pedestal that heroes are put on seems impossibly and hopelessly high from a distance, but at a closer look, it is in fact within reach. Even the most laudable of heroes who during great moments of peril choose altruism and put the lives of others before their own walk on earth afterwards like everyone else. Though putting one’s life at stake is heroic, a hero is not merely defined by that one act but by his or her state of mind and admirable qualities that are put to use in matters of serving the greater good. And for the common man, because human beings are intrinsically entitled to govern their own lives, he has the choice to be more than himself and by that, choosing to fight for a just cause regardless of its outcome merits him the title of a hero in his own right.

Table of Contents

Introduction.
Hamartia.
Expectations.
Death and effect.
Conclusion.

$2.95

3 word format

Language : english

humanities/philosophy

school essay

date published

02/10/2007

review : not yet assessed

level : General public

requested 2 times

Summary

At a lecture given at our own Stony Brook University, Michael Ratner asserts that “Justice is losing its power” . What Michael Ratner, the defending lawyer for many prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay, means by this daring statement is that America is losing sight of its foundations. He can witness first hand the escalating debate about torture, so central in today’s media, and concludes that we are retreating back to the times before our very own constitution was drafted, back to the times before the Magna Carta. Even though we have established laws, people in such places as Guantanamo, as long as they are claimed as “prisoners of war” are neglected the right of due process and many other civil rights, standard for human beings. It is such accusations that fuel this very debate about the rights a government and its agencies have over their prisoners during wartime. For better answers to such an intricate question one could turn to philosophers, particularly the more contemporary ones that have ethical views on the matter. Two such philosophers are Immanuel Kant and Augustine, one from Germany the other from the Roman Empire.

Table of Contents

At a lecture given at our own Stony Brook University, Michael Ratner asserts that 'Justice is losing its power? .
Augustine, the fifth century philosopher, and a very important figure in modern Christian and western thought, gives many answers on what man should do with his god given free will. Augustine claims that evil is not derived from the moral judgments of man
At first glance it seems that Augustine is contradicting himself when he says 'justice is giving each his due' putting forth a very retributive view of punishment, and then saying that an innocent person could be tortured for the benefit of society
Thirteen centuries later, in an era of radical and daring philosophies, Immanuel Kant also concluded that torture is an unacceptable form of punishment.
Going back to Kant's idea of categorical imperative, it would become clear that if a soldier decided to torture a terrorist, he would be implying that such behavior would be acceptable as a standard in society.

$4.95

5 word format

Language : english

social sciences

presentation

date published

12/06/2008

review : not yet assessed

level : Advanced

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Summary

Introduction

John Francis Burke (2004) in his text Mestizo Democracy argues that as the diversity of the United States increases, changes will occur in the context of democracy. In particular, this author contends that as cultural diversity increases in the United States, the rise of a mestizo democracy will occur. Although the term mestizo means “mixture” Burke does not see the assimilation of cultures; rather what Burke envisions is a democracy in which the cultural identities of each group are brought together in a symbiotic manner that works toward the development of the greater good. While Burke’s conceptualization of the mestizo democracy appears to provide a novel approach to the development of democracy, it is evident that the key elements of mestizo democracy that Burke identifies appear to be commensurate with the idealistic conceptualizations of democracy developed by many of the Founding Fathers. As such, the development of a mestizo democracy in many respects represents the culmination of the republic that the Founding Fathers saw as essential for maintaining equitable social discourse.
With the realization that Burke’s mestizo democracy has many elements that represent the idealistic intentions of the Founding Fathers, it is important to consider what Burke writes in the context of the basic ideologies of the Founding Fathers

Table of Contents

Introduction
Burke's Ideas
The Extended Republic
Egalitarian Ideologies
Summary of the Data
Conclusion

$5.95

6 word format

Language : english

political science

research papers

date published

30/08/2007

review : not yet assessed

level : Expert

requested 4 times

Summary

Dr. Condoleezza Rice was sworn in as Secretary of State on January 25, 2005. She is a clear example of a leader, which possesses certain traits that have led her to where she is today. In order to evaluate her as a leader, it is necessary to look at different aspects of her leadership. It is important to examine her personality traits and values, ethical challenges she will face, her candidacy, her leadership style, and her dark-side traits.

Table of Contents

The first way to evaluate her as a leader is to look at a detail description of what her personality and values are.
Another value that Condoleezza Rice would proclaim to be her strongest is her faith.
Condoleezza's personality can also be described by her hardworking attitude.
When examining her personality traits and values, it is also important to look at what kind of ethical challenges she may face
Secretary Rice has a choice; she can be a leader or a manager.
Her qualifications that contribute to her being in office are the next factors that help us evaluate her personality and values.
Not only do her levels of intelligence and creativity help show her qualifications, but it is also shown in her behaviors and motivation.
The second characteristic of a Transformational leader is rhetorical skills. Rhetorical skills would be characterized by being a good communicator
In analyzing Condoleezza Rice as a leader, her dark-side personality traits become a factor in her leadership skills.

$3.95

4 word format

Language : english

humanities/philosophy

school essay

date published

19/10/2007

review : not yet assessed

level : Advanced

requested 1 times

Summary

In all its humor, 1984 ½ would have in actuality been a very fitting title for Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. An invisible, all-powerful government, the struggle of the individual against the state, the apparent hopelessness, there is no doubting the similarities between George Orwell’s dystopian creation and its more recent adaptation. But at some point between the opening scene and the end credits, an important difference surfaces: the motive. 1984 is the exploration of totalitarianism, a government that controls to instill fear into its citizens. The government in Brazil controls because it itself is afraid. Both Terry Gilliam and the modern world have learned that in times of terrorism and great tragedy, there is a certain pattern of extreme security taken by the state, pattern that is an exact replica of John Mill’s theory of utilitarianism.

Table of Contents

Utilitarianism survives on the premise that happiness is the only intrinsic value.
Sadly, it works. New dissenters do replace those detained, but their anti-utilitarian positions translate to immorality, and they are no longer recognized as members of society.
Utilitarianism permits the forgoing of justice in the name of morality, and so justice no longer exists.
Justice is not the only visible sacrifice made in Brazil for concern of security.
Yet it does not take a special circumstance for the disappearance of personal rights to become apparent in Brazil.
Utilitarianism comes with an obvious price, spelt out word by word by the theorist himself.
With plane flights canceled every day, with new sites of possible terrorists attacks highlighted each week, it does not take an actual bombing for individuals to react with equal fear.
Utilitarianism has been viewed as misguided for years, a good idea at heart but more harmful than beneficial in its application.

$5.95

6 word format

Language : english

international law

presentation

date published

18/04/2006

review : not yet assessed

level : General public

requested 6 times

Summary

Humanitarian intervention deals with two academic fields: political philosophy and international law. The question of intervention depends on the morality and on the legality of the intervention. Is humanitarian intervention a moral duty for states? Is humanitarian intervention a right for states? Those two questions will be the core of our argument in this essay.

Table of Contents

Traditional Approaches about humanitarian interventions
1. Theoretical objections to humanitarian interventions
2. Theoretical approaches in favour of humanitarian intervention: Solidarist international society theory
3. The ambiguous case of the United Nations
A renewal of approaches since the end of the Cold War: practice and theory
1. 'NATO's humanitarian intervention in Kosovo: making or breaking international law?'
2. The effects of globalization and the arising of non- forcible intervention

$3.95

4 word format

Language : english

biology

case study

date published

17/09/2007

review : not yet assessed

level : General public

requested 0 times