The Very Idea of Humanity
Why should we believe in such a thing as humanity? Should we accept appearances or take authority as our guide? Should we point to some pragmatic advantage to be gained by believing it, or is there proof? Philosophy offers such proof, contained in the dream hypothesis of the Buddha and Plato (and, more famously, Descartes). The dream hypothesis reveals our common ground. It refers to a familiar experience in terms of which young people of every time and place can understand why routine, authority, definition and first principle, category, criterion, perception and paradigm might fail. But the dream hypothesis is about the transition from sleeping to waking. As familiar, this transition is an excellent device for teaching that similar transitions can happen to one who is already awake. The dream hypothesis is about the soul, and the capacity to choose not only one's actions but also one's contexts. On the eve of the new millennium, we face responsibility for the results of our routines. The dream hypothesis promises to awaken a taste for foresight and negotiation. When we all understand the dream hypothesis, we will no longer worship our routines, but will be better judges of their utility. We will stand together when we transcend our cultures and recognize the capacity of all citizens of every nation, tribe, and culture to grow, that is, when we awaken to the possibility of waking up.
This is a plea for the dream hypothesis-a sales pitch, if you will. We are here under the banner, "Philosophy Educating Humanity." If philosophy is to educate humanity, the dream hypothesis will help prove to people of all tribes that there is such a thing as humanity. The dream hypothesis will introduce every child to its own humanity, but it will also introduce every child to the humanity of others. The dream hypothesis will increase the number of fully-functioning souls, that is to say, beings with the capacity to decide rationally what game to play, what interpretation to accept, what routine to follow.
According to some philosophers, the dream hypothesis is at best useless. Russell said as much in Problems of Philosophy:
There is no logical impossibility in the supposition that the whole of life is a dream, in which we ourselves create all the objects that come before us. But although this is not logically impossible, there is no reason whatever to
in the process of trying to rid the child of their Indian culture and ethnicity, residential
The fall of the Western Roman Empire was the first example in history on the collapse of a constitutional system which was caused by the internal decay in political, military, economics, and sociological issues. The government was becoming corrupt with bribery. Commanders of the Roman army turned their own army inward towards their own Constitutional systems, fueled by their own ruthless ambition. This paper will talk about how the violence and internal turmoil in 133B.C.-27 B.C. was what provoked the economic stagnation in the city of Rome and to the end of the Republic and the many corrupt politicians and generals who only thought of nothing more than personal gains and glory. The senate lost control of the Roman military and the reason they rose against the senate was because the senate were no longer able to help manage the social problems or the military and administrative problems of the empire. The economics of the Roman Empire soon hit rock bottom due to the high taxation to support the army. Gold was also eroding since Rome was no longer bringing new resources through the expansion. Emperors then tried to mint coins out of silver and copper instead and the end result was inflation and dramatic rises in
This chapter takes place in the upper room in Jerusalem. This was during the Passover feast, though some scholars say otherwise. Jesus was speaking only to the disciples. The first part of the chapter is devoted to the analogy of the vineyard and it's branches. The second part is talks about the future relationship with the "world".
... dream argument. When the creator of the argument is not 100 percent behind it, it is very difficult to get behind it yourself. Even with the farfetched ideas, contradictions and inconsistencies of Rene Descartes’s dream argument it is still a very interesting outlook at the topic that has not been seen from Descartes angle from anyone before. However, due to of all these negative attributes that are attached to Descartes’s Dream Argument cause it to fail to create any claim.
Robotic Surgery is an emerging technology that utilizes purpose-built robots to perform surgical procedures on patients. At present these robots are not autonomous, they are controlled by a surgeon at all times.
The focus of robotic surgery can be very debatable for many people in this environmental community. A brief introduction is given to the definitions and history of surgical robotics. The capabilities and merits of surgical robots are then contrasted with the related field of computer assisted surgery. A classification is then given of the various types of robot system currently being investigated internationally, together with a number of examples of different applications in both soft-tissue and orthopedic surgery. The paper finishes with a discussion of the main difficulties facing robotic surgery and a prediction of future progress.
Any truth that can exist in one can exist in the other. Because of this, there is no definite way to tell if an experience is dreamt or not. The arguments against this are purely speculative, based on personal experiences, and perhaps experiences of others, but that is not enough. Just because one person may not feel pain during a dream, signifying some sort of differentiation between the two states, does not mean another person doesn’t. Because all the evidence against this argument are purely speculative and circumstantial, it proves that we cannot prove consciousness at any given moment with Cartesian certainty. A waking state does exist, however, our ability to differentiate it from a sleeping state is impossible, leading to confusion about experiences. Having Cartesian certainty about whether or not we are dreaming at any given moment allows us to evaluate all the other aspects that might be skewed our findings. Because we may be asleep at any moment, who is to say our knowledge and experiences aren’t all dreamed? The brain, although a complex mechanism, is not complex to come up with the ideas that we have experienced within them. We may form new ideas based on our experiences, but the basis of it must have been experienced at one point or another. Our brain’s need reference for knowledge, and for us to know absolute truths, we need to understand that some truths may not be as
The average person spends over one-third of their life sleeping, and over this period of time he or she can have over 1,825 dreams (Wicklinski). By definition, dreams are mental images, thoughts, or emotions that are experienced while sleeping. In the beginning, dreams were thought to be messages sent from the gods or spirit world. Researchers now have many theories explaining why people dream. Many of these theories explain that dreams can resemble an individual’s sensory experiences or even secret wishes. All people dream, but only 42% of people can recall their dreams from the night before (“Dreams”). The study of dreams is a topic that is constantly being debated by researchers for many reasons. Dreaming is important because it can impact people’s health, provide insight into what they are feeling, and reveal information about their behavior.
A robot-assisted surgery demonstrates how far America and the whole world have come in means of technology within a particular working field. The necessity for a more superior technology within hospital settings are best supported by the development of the da Vinci Surgical System. In 1991, when the surgical system was introduced to the globe, many acknowledged that this system improved three different aspects of regular laparoscopic surgery: it gave doctor...
Domino (1976) assessed Jung’s theory that when people dream, their behavior is opposite what they usually show in an awakened state. His study included seventy-three men, ages 18-25, from a single university. They were asked to keep a dream journal for two weeks, and after the two weeks they were given multiple psychological tests. Since a majority of the participants had at least three dreams over the course of two weeks, only three dreams from each participant were used.
As Sigmund Freud’s nightmare was able to retain “it’s imperishable value…by becoming a driving force in the making of a genius,” and as Carl Jung was initiated into the secrets of the earth by a nightmare and later brought light into this realm of darkness, so too have the nightmares of others heralded some meaningful change in their lives. For those with frequent nightmares, the use of the Lucid dream state could offer a unique opportunity to begin such a change.
Kavoussi, L. R., Moore, R. G., Adams, J. B., & Partin, A. W. (1995). Comparison of robotic versus human laparoscopic camera control. Journal of Urology. doi:10.1016/S0022-5347(01)66715
Dreams are conventionally known as mental experiences during REM sleep and are very realistic for individuals while dreaming, making up an “imaginary world” subconsciously. Theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Rosalind Cartwright, J. Allan Hobson, and Michelle Carr all study different aspects of dreams and even create theories regarding them. As said before, dreams most commonly take place in the REM stage of sleep, but are also capable of occurring in other stages too. Results from these studies show that dreams are not always retained, making it hard to understand them fully. Dreams vary on cultures and societies, but people generally
“Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?” – this quote by author Alfred Lord Tennyson achieves to introduce an interrogation many have had over the years, and presumably ever since the notion of dream was invented. Indeed, the idea of dream argument questions whether it is possible for a human to be certain that he is awake or not. This quote illustrates the difficulty there is to decide was is true and what isn’t. It questions our perception, our judgment, and in a larger way the world we are surrounded by. I remember hearing my parents say “don’t worry, it was just a dream”. But isn’t it scary to imagine that the life I live presently is in fact one vast dream? And if it were the case, whose dream would it be? Do I have proofs that I am fully awake?
thoughts from people’s deep sub conscious through the use of dreams, this is the act they call