Objectivist Epistemology and Ayn Rand Essay Example for Free

Objectivist Epistemology and Ayn Rand Essay The starting point of Objectivist Epistemology is the principle, presented by Rand as a direct consequence of the metaphysical axiom that Existence is Identity, that Knowledge is Identification. Objectivist epistemology[9] studies how one can translate perception, i. e. , awareness acquired through the senses, into valid concepts that actually identify the facts of reality. Objectivism states that by the method of reason man can gain knowledge (identification of the facts of reality) and rejects philosophical skepticism. Objectivism also rejects faith and feeling as means of attaining knowledge. Although Rand acknowledged the importance of emotion in humans, she maintained that the existence of emotion was part of our reality, not a separate means of achieving awareness of reality. Rand was neither a classical empiricist (like Hume or the logical positivists) nor a classical rationalist (like Plato, Descartes, or Frege). She disagreed with the empiricists mainly in that she considered perception to be simply sensation extended over time, limiting the scope of perception to automatic, pre-cognitive awareness. Thus, she categorized so-called perceptual illusions as errors in cognitive interpretation due to complexity of perceptual data. She held that objective identification of the values of attributes of existents is obtained by measurement, broadly defined as procedures whose perceptual component, the comparison of the attributes value to a standard, is so simple that an error in the resulting identification is not possible given a focused mind. Therefore, according to Rand, knowledge obtained by measurement (the fact that an entity has the measured attribute, and the value of this attribute relative to the standard) is contextually certain. Ayn Rands most distinctive contribution in epistemology is her theory that concepts are properly formed by measurement omission. Objectivism distinguishes valid concepts from poorly formed concepts, which Rand calls anti-concepts. While we can know that something exists by perception, we can only identify what exists by measurement and logic, which are necessary to turn percepts into valid concepts. Procedural logic (defined by Rand as the art of non-contradictory identification) specifies that a valid concept is formed by omitting the variable measurements of the values of corresponding attributes of a set of instances or units, but keeping the list of shared attributes a template with measurements omitted as the criterion of membership in the conceptual class. When the fact that a unit has all the attributes on this list has been verified by measurement, then that unit is known with contextual certainty to be a unit of the given concept. [9] Because a concept is only known to be valid within the range of the measurements by which it was validated, it is an error to assume that a concept is valid outside this range, which is its (contextual) scope. It is also an error to assume that a proposition is known to be valid outside the scope of its concepts, or that the conclusion of a syllogism is known to be valid outside the scope of its premises. Rand ascribed scope violation errors in logic to epistemological intrinsicism. [9][4] Rand did not consider the analytic-synthetic distinction, including the view that there are truths in virtue of meaning, or that necessary truths and mathematical truths are best understood as truths in virtue of meaning, to have merit. She similarly denied the existence of a priori knowledge. Rand also considered her ideas distinct from foundationalism, naive realism about perception like Aristotle, or representationalism (i. e. , an indirect realist who believes in a veil of ideas) like Descartes or Locke. Objectivist epistemology, like most other philosophical branches of Objectivism, was first presented by Rand in Atlas Shrugged. [5] It is more fully developed in Rands 1967 Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. [9] Rand considered her epistemology and its basis in reason so central to her philosophy that she remarked, I am not primarily an advocate of capitalism, but of egoism; and I am not primarily an advocate of egoism, but of reason. If one recognizes the supremacy of reason and applies it consistently, all the rest follows.

lighthod The Epiphany in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

The Epiphany in Heart of Darkness   In The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Marlow experiences an epiphany, a dramatic moment in which he intuitively grasps the meaning of a situation. Marlow's epiphany begins when Marlow's helmsman was killed in an attack by savages as they were progressing up the Congo between the central station and the inner station. Marlow had a realization about the darkness within man's soul. His helmsman, whom Marlow viewed with a kind of partnership, was killed by the natives sent by Kurtz, and his body fell bleeding upon Marlow's feet. In that moment, Marlow begins thinking about the evil which is involved in the entire ivory trade operation, and which he later finds Kurtz is engulfed in. Marlow immediately removes his bloodied shoes and throws them overboard. This can be seen as an action showing how Marlow wanted to remove himself from all of the violence, bloodshed and evil of the ivory trade he was involved in. Marlow continues to grasp the essential nature of man's heart of darkness later on in the story when he is conversing with Kurtz in the woods. There, he "struggled with a soul." Marlow's mind set changes from seeing all of the glory and profit involved in the ivory trade, to also seeing the horribly evil involved, the death and destruction. Almost every other white in the ivory trade is in it for profit, as Kurtz was. When asked, one of the men who traveled into Congo said he was in it "just for the money, of course." Marlow realizes that, in Kurtz's operation especially, there is much evil involved. The darkness had "got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to it own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation." Powers of darkness had "claimed him for their own." Kurtz was reported to "preside at certain midnight dances ending with unspeakable rites, which-as far as I reluctantly gathered from what I heard at various times -were offered up to him." All of theses show how Kurtz allowed himself to become engulfed in evil and darkness. The significance of this change in Marlow is that Marlow realizes that within every man there is a heart of darkness, which can overtake a man as it did to Kurtz.

Sales Manager

In order to use the full potentials of the employees, the organization needs to motivate and encourage them. By motivating the employees, their performance level increase that results in better achieving organizational goals. However, according to Maslow’s theory, the organization needs to cater to employees five basic needs: physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem and self-actualization (Jones, George, Hill, 1998). Among them, physiological need is the most basic and important one. In this need, all employees need is an ample pay scale in which they fulfill their basic survival needs such as food, residence, clothes etc. Now analyzing the problem faced at NL&C, the management needs to find the reasons for the lethargic attitude of the employees toward their work. The most probable complaints that the employees at NL&C do is that their basic stipend is low. The employees do not feel motivated towards their job that affects to the organization’s performance. The HRM needs to review the employee policy and ask the top-management to make an increase in their salary. Besides that, the management also needs to introduce the scheme of rewarding the employees with bonus rewards in which, if the employees are able to achieve a certain sales target, they would be given additional pay. In this way not only will they get intrinsically motivated, but will also show their interest in their job tasks (Kreitner, Kinicki, 2004). In order to motivate the employees more, the top few employees of the month should also be awarded with perquisites. In this way, a sense of competition among employees will arouse and they will work harder and inclined towards their achieving the goals. Besides monetary motivation, the employees can be motivated by providing them with good job environment and ambience. The employees should also be given of certain level of delegation which triggers their decision-making power. The employees should also be given the sense of promotion on the basis of their performance. Thus the management needs to address to all those motivating factors in order to encourage them and make them work to their full capabilities. Once the NL&C management would take this initiative, there is definitely going to be a change in the employee’s attitude and will try to perform at their utmost level, which will result fruitful for NL&C for both short and long-term basis.

Industrial Revolution Was A Major - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1063 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/05/07 Category History Essay Level High school Topics: Industrial Revolution Essay Did you like this example? The Industrial Revolution was a major turning point in the history of our world and its transformation greatly influenced society as we know it today. The great uprising of machinery brought about not only efficiency but delivered lower prices and decreased labor costs. Competition in world economies and human need sparked a revolution that would bring about great change for the goods and services. New inventions and innovations such as the patent system and the Feminism movement would change the world forever. Products could be made faster and for cheaper prices allowing all social classes to benefit. The Industrial Revolution was just that a revolution and uprising that would change the world and bring about positivity for all. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Industrial Revolution Was A Major" essay for you Create order The development of widespread mechanical industry across the world was known as the Industrial Revolution. The revolution greatly changed not only the way people lived but how businesses operated on a day to day basis. The replacement of craft methods with mechanized methods of production would cause the growth of markets (qtd. Reconceptualizing the Industrial Revolution). The industrialization put private business owners in the forefront for profit instead of the state. The modern cities of today would not have been created had it not been for the Industrial Revolution and the valuable services it brought . Efficiency in production lowered prices on goods because labor costs decreased. The first Industrial Revolution was believed to have begun in Great Britain during the early 1800s when agricultural communities became more sophisticated and goods were produced at faster rates. Later, during the 1820s, the second Industrial Revolution spread throughout America. The increase in productivity was a major turning point for American history. The increase in speed greatly impacted the way all societies would not only function but produce and provide for its people for years to come. Wealth and speed are what the world admires, and are what all are bent on (qtd. Reconceptualizing the Industrial Revolution). The Industrial Revolution brought both and with both, great change for the world. One major cause of the Industrial Revolution was the competition that took place between the countries to be considered a superpower. Britain needed desperately to keep up with its enemies therefore laborsaving devices had to be created. Britain also became more open minded about scientific inventions and the much needed help they could bring. Galileo and Newtons scientific inventions were favored and acknowledged as part of new ways to make Britain more efficient. New farming methods were developed. Farmers learned to rotate crops to help maintain soil nutrients and the invention of having closed fields came into play. Seeds were planted by devices instead of by hand therefore saving labor costs. New crops were accepted such as potato farming. Inventions allowed the population to buy products more readily and for cheaper prices. Britain was more stable during this period because of its open-mindedness to change. This improved stable standing helped them develop better policies and even a patent system as one of its new inventions. Britain began to realize that innovations in technology would be vital to their success and their future. One such invention was the steam engine of James Watt in the late 1700s. There were many pros and cons of the Industrial Revolution. Goods were produced at a faster pace and were cheaper to buy. The more products produced the more accessible they were to buy to the public. Labor saving inventions such as the telegraph and the railroad made for carrying useful information and goods more efficiently. Another pro, of the Industrial Revolution, were great advances in medicine. New medical instruments were developed as well as the invention of the microscope. This invention allowed doctors to discover cures and treatments for diseases and illnesses. Although there were many good things to come from the revolution, many bad things developed at the same time. Cities became overcrowded and housing became scarce. Pollution, from factories, became a big problem for people and the environment. Carbon dioxide, as a product, increased global warming. Factory workers were forced to endure poor working conditions and excruciating long hours of hard labor. Worker safety took a backseat along with worker health. The average work day was 14-16 hour days. The average work week was six days. Many bad habits developed because of work habits. Obesity, heart disease, and cancer began to rise in society. Great innovations, during the Industrial Revolution, also brought about what is known today as the middle class society. Goods became more readily available to society. A more efficient production line made goods cheaper to buy. These lower costs made it possible for people to buy what they needed and have money left over in the end. This extra money could be spent on other things that may have not been a necessity but something simply wanted. Clerks, retail managers, and most anyone with a decent job was considered to be in the middle class. People would no longer be labeled peasant or noble. This new class was allowed to vote and hold office in parliament. The middle class population grew very quickly and became very wealthy. It eventually became just as powerful as the noble class. Along with the rise of the middle class came the role of women in the workplace. Women joined the workforce to help support their household incomes. Women faced poor treatment and great discrimination in the workplace . One example of discrimination was inequality in pay between men and women. Women were infuriated and felt that their work should be compensated just as mans work. Historian Karl Marx stated that women were known to be little slaveys a free gift to capital ( Foster, Clark. ,monthly review.org) From this injustice the innovation known as the Feminist Movement began. With any great change with society and how it functions, negativity and cons follow. There are pros and cons to every change in life. When examining the Industrial Revolution, it is plain to see that the pros heavily outweighed the cons. The world needed change in order to provide for its people. It needed change in how products were produced and the speed at which they were produced. Goods should be available to all at competitive prices. Perhaps one of the most important things to come from the Industrial Revolution was the rise of the Middle Class and its role in society as a whole.