Outlines of the Theory of Choice
There are two distinctions of orientation or of intention of a subject toward any phenomenon: "to" or "from" it, attraction or repulsion, acceptance or rejection. The +/- acceptability or pleasantness/unpleasantness of a phenomenon to a subject is the term indicating his or her +/- orientation to the perceived phenomenon. There are six components of the stream of human consciousness: contact senses (smell, taste, tactile senses), distant senses (auditory, visual) and emotions. Only four of them (the three contact senses and emotions) possess their own acceptability or pleasantness. Pleasantness of Condition of a Subject (PCS) is a sum or an integral of acceptabilities of these four components. "Happiness" is the upper limit of the maximization of PCS; a subject is constantly striving to maximize PCS or to reach for happiness. An attitude of a subject to a phenomenon in the center of his or her attention is determined by the synchronous PCS. Belief/disbelief is a verbalized positive/negative attitude. Desire of a phenomenon x is a change of PCS (PCSx) created by the act of perceiving/imagining the phenomenon; the strength of desire is the magnitude of this change. Desire of a phenomenon characterizes power of the PCS maximization possessed by this phenomenon. Need is a periodic desire; the desire correspondent to need is a concrete form of existence of this need. Choice is determined by comparative strength of the desirabilities of the competing elements of choice; it includes choice of the phenomena to perceive or attend. The attention of a subject toward a perceived phenomenon x is proportional to the strength of its desirability: ATTx=kPCSx; the distribution of attention is a function of the desirabilities of phenomena perceived at that time. Will is an ability of the subject to influence the balance of desirabilities of elements of the subject's choice in the predetermined way. The nature of the will's effort is a self-inducement of suitable emotions through activation of memories by the concentration of the subject's attention to them.
I. The Universal Intentional or Orientational Quality of "Acceptibility"
Process of choice is vitally important for animals including humans because they are open, active, and limited systems. The term orientation is used in this work in two meanings corresponding to two main aspects of choice¡Xan appraisal of the elements of choice one by one, and their comparison resulting in the choice being made. An appraisal of a singled out element of choice is also an act of orientation of a subject to it that can be 'positive' or 'negative', 'toward' or 'away' from it.
Understanding addiction is a complicated subject that inspires controversy and debate. Not only do people want to understand addiction because of the curiosity to understand human beings and human nature, but there are factors that go into the defining of addiction such as public policy and health care coverage. There are two theories that are on the opposite spectrum when it comes to addiction which include the “disease concept” and the “choice theory”. One defines addiction as a disease, something that is out of one’s control, while the other thinks of it as a choice or a moral deficiency that resides in a person. The consequence of this gap is the delay in gaining control over drug abuse. While the people who support the choice theory see
Rowlandson, Mary. “The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 6 th ed., Nine Baym, General Editor. New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2003.
Kody Scott, later known as Shanyika Shakur, was born in Los Angeles in 1963. Before last imprisonment he committed various crimes, such as, robbery, assault, and murder. Kody’s childhood was pretty rough. He grew up as the fifth of six children in a broken home. His mother, Birdy Scott, worked odd jobs and long hours to support her children. While his father, Ernest Scott, left the family in 1970 and was completely out of Kody’s life by 1975. Shortly after completing sixth grade at Horace Mann, Kody joined a subgroup of the infamous L.A. Crips on June 15th, 1975. Kody committed his first murder on the night of his initiation. This would be the start of Kody’s descent into becoming “Monster Kody”. It was two years after his initiation that Kody first donned the name Monster. Scott had beaten a robbery victim so bad that the police said it was “The work of a
In DSM-V, bipolar 1 disorder is defined as meeting the following criteria for a manic episode, which may or may not be followed by a hypomanic or major depressive episode: There must be a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irri...
Throughout the book Tom Lewis goes back and forth between the good and bad that came about from building highways. While the paved roads connected our country, made travel time faster, provided recreation, and pushed the development of automobiles they also created more congestion and travel time, divided communities, and made us slaves to automobiles. The author is critical of the highways, but he does realize the great achievement it is in the building of America. Lewis said, “As much as we might dislike them, we cannot escape the fact that ...
The Theory of Utility teaches that we make our decisions in life based on the basic principle of maximizing happiness – which can be measured in pleasure and pain. Morality can also be defined as that which brings about the largest amount of happiness, and the least pain. Unlike other theories, however, Utility states the happiness of all is to be considered over the happiness of one. When faced with a choice, one must choose the option that will cause the greatest pleasure and the least pain. Applying this part of the Utilitarian argument to the supplied scenario, it would seem that Utility would say stealing the ice cream and breaking the law are the morally right course of action. However, Utility continues on in its teaching stating that
Mary Rowlandson constantly quotes the Bible during her captivity narrative, as well as giving praise to God in helping her overcome trials. Since the captivity narrative was written after the captivity experience, it is not clear whether or not Mary was well versed in the Bible before the incident, though she probably was due to her husband being a Puritan Pastor. It becomes apparent that Mary was not the best or most devout Puritan before her experience with the Native Americans. Mary recounted, “I then remembered how careless I h...
“Please tell me: isn’t God the cause of evil?” (Augustine, 1). With this question to Augustine of Hippo, Evodius begins a philosophical inquiry into nature of evil. Augustine, recently baptized by Saint Ambrose in Milan, began writing his treatise On Free Choice of the Will in 387 C.E. This work laid down the foundation for the Christian doctrine regarding the will’s role in sinning and salvation. In it, Augustine and his interlocutor investigate God’s existence and his role in creating evil. They attempt not only to understand what evil is, and the possibility of doing evil, but also to ascertain why God would let humans cause evil. Central to the premise of this entire dialogue is the concept of God, as relates to Christianity; what is God, and what traits separate Him from humans? According to Christianity, God is the creator of all things, and God is good; he is omnipotent, transcendent, all-knowing, and atemporal- not subject to change over time- a concept important to the understanding of the differences between this world and the higher, spiritual realm He presides over. God’s being is eidos, the essence which forms the basis of humans. With God defined, the core problem being investigated by Augustine and Evodius becomes clear. Augustine states the key issue that must be reconciled in his inquiry; “we believe that everything that exists comes from the one God, and yet we believe that God is not the cause of sins. What is troubling is that if you admit that sins come from… God, pretty soon you’ll be tracing those sins back to God” (Augustine, 3).
?Off Welfare, Better Off.? National Center for Policy Analysis. October 1,2002. http://www.ncpa.org/iss/wel/2002/pd100102a.html. (March 26, 2003).
The objective mind takes cognizance of the objective world. Its media of observation are the five senses. It is the out growth of man’s physical nece...
When examining restricted and ultimate choice there are many differences. Restricted choices are usually the easier choice to make because they involve things like staying healthy by exercising, or deciding which cause is the most important to donate money to. Restricted choices are made from the values you have in your life. They often also benefit the person who is making the decision, while they get to sometimes avoid harmful effects. The choice is dependent on the fundamental values, and if people are willing to make the right choice. For example if your doctor told you that you should start exercising more to avoid problems that will come in the future it would help you make the right choice. Then there is ultimate choices that involves
Dr. William Glasser was a distinguished psychiatrist and author known for his distinctive views about mental illness. Glasser broke away from the traditional model of psychotherapy in the early 1960s to develop his own model of counseling. Dr. Glasser began with the development of therapy before he developed his theoretical stance. Glasser created what is known as Reality Therapy. Glasser first defined Reality Therapy as “a therapy that leads all patients toward reality, towards grappling successfully with tangible and intangible aspects of the real world” (p.6).
What is subjective expected utility (SEU)? Subjective expected utility (SEU) is the choices we make in everyday that can benefits us to a greater or positive position in life. This theory is basically saying that we do not merely become a criminal because we want to; it is the choices of everyday life we make. Criminals choose a different path and don’t think the after action or what will happen to them after the crime is committed. It’s like when a person is going to a grocery store and he does not have money to feed his children and wife he has a chose of either to let his family starve or shop lift and endure all the consequence if he gets caught. Subjective expected utility (SEU) is the choices we make or the understanding why make these bad choices just to have a more money or better life despite the consequence or the probability of being caught, as well as the cost of the expected level of penalty have to be considered.
observation, it can often allow for an understanding of individual reactions to what is happening
Organisational culture is one of the most valuable assets of an organization. Many studies states that the culture is one of the key elements that benefits the performance and affects the success of the company (Kerr & Slocum 2005). This can be measured by income of the company, and market share. Also, an appropriate culture within the society can bring advantages to the company which helps to perform with the de...