Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 122

Assignment Example Firstly, I would like to express my satisfaction with the writing of this play. Indeed, by composing it, Euripides was out to demonstrate his literary prowess. In his writing, the author effectively used the element of characterization. He made a good choice of characters that would make it much easier for him to deliver his intended message to the audience. Each of the characters was given a name and role that perfectly suits them. They include Medea, Jason, Children, Glauce, Creon, Aegeus, Messenger, Nurse and the Tutor. Each of these played a very significant role in promoting the continuity of the play and developing its themes. The interaction between the protagonist and other characters was quite impressive. The role played by characters like Medea and Jason helped in demonstrating how the Ancient Greek society was discriminative and bias towards the womenfolk. All these were clearly brought out by the manner in which the author empowered his characters. If it were not for them , the play would not have enjoyed an uninterrupted continuity. Besides, the play has adequately utilized the aspect of theme. In his composition, the author was very much concerned about a particular message he was intending to pass to his target audience. Apart from using appropriate characters to help in doing this, he chose a good setting that suits the play. Essentially, Corinth is one of the historical Greek cities that can be used to understand the Ancient Greek history by shedding more light on how the Greeks interacted amongst themselves and with their gods on the day to day basis. With characters like Medea as a protagonist, the author would not struggle to explore the themes of position of women in the society, love, pride and revenge. The theme of love was produced as a result of the love affair between Medea and Jason and later Jason and

Data protection in online banking

Data protection in online banking Introduction Online banking is the practice of performing bank transactions over the internet. Due to the advanced nature of technology, most people use the internet to fulfil most of their personal needs, for instance; e-mails, internet calls, and video conferencing. Information technology is now being used to develop more supple and easy to use banking services (Nadim and Noorjahan, 2007). Online banking which can also be called internet banking is now being used and adopted by most people. Online banking can be useful in so many ways to both the customer and the banking institution, although the degree of its usefulness varies depending on whose point of view you look at it from. Online banking activities involves not only banks and customers but includes third parties too (Guptar, 2006). This essay would be looking at the privacy issues relating to the use of customers data and transactions in online banking. This essay would also be looking at the privacy concerns about how the customers per sonal data is used by the bank and what amount of control a customer has over the use of his/her data, how the bank shares customers personal data with third party or affiliated businesses and the rights and control customers have over the distribution of their data. And also what rights the government have over the monitoring of customers bank details and information, the ethical, social, professional and legal issues related to online banking services and the application of ethical/professional principles in the use of online banking services. Privacy issues in Online Banking Internationally, customers of several organisations can now pay their bills, transfer money to multiple accounts, make deposits, withdrawals or payments with online checks, view transactions on their account, trade bonds and securities, and all this can be done conveniently with just the click of the mouse and in the comfort of the customers home. The physical presence of customers are no longer needed for most transactions in the bank, as long queues witnessed in crowded banking halls can now be avoided which saves the bank the overhead cost of managing a crowded bank hall. But still, so many customers are concerned about the security of their personal information while operating the online banking service. According to Duquenoy et al (2005, p. 1), privacy is one of the main concerns associated with the use of online banking. I believe privacy is the most fundamental and relevant issue in online banking. Although there is not a specific privacy law in respect to online banking, ther e is an abundance of privacy laws that exist and this essay would be looking at a few of them as they are too many to write on all of them here. As noted by a few authors, Nadim and Noorjahan (2007) believed that privacy is one of the key factors amongst other issues which have an effect on a customers adoption of online banking technology. Most customers are concerned about how their personal data would be used when registering for an online banking account. What happens to their data after giving out their personal information? They are not sure and convinced about how secure and safe their data would be and how the data would be stored, manipulated, retrieved and updated. Mason (1986) stated that privacy concerns in online banking where raised by a few questions like; what information do customers require to reveal about themselves?; on what conditions?; what information can the customer can keep to themselves? According to Earp and Payton (2006) some major privacy concerns about the use of online banking technology are collection (enormous amount of personal information data collected and stored in databases), unauthorize d secondary use of data (personal data used for purposes other than they were primarily collected for), improper access (personal information viewed by unauthorized personnel), errors (unintended or intentional), and what level of protection could be put in place against them in personal information data. For example, there was a breach of information in which there was an identity theft of 3.3 million people with student loans in the weekend of March 20 21, 2010. Information such as name, addresses and social security numbers were stolen from a portable media device from the headquarters of Educational Credit Management Corporation, although the company claims it was a simple old-fashioned theft and not a hacker incident (WSJ, 2010). Howcroft et al (2003) noted that customers have confidence in their banks but their trust in the technology infrastructure of online banking was frail. Therefore privacy issues have proved to be an obstacle to the adoption of online banking technology (Nadim and Noorjahan, 2007). Most customers are worried about their personal data and financial information being revealed online. According to a study by Paul (2005), 94% of the banks customers express their concern about their personal information being exposed online. Privacy in online banking can be said to be the protection of the customers personal and financial information. It is the duty of IT professionals to secure and protect all customers personal information, they should conform to privacy legislation, professional codes of conduct and ethical principles to gain customers confidence in the technology and guard their reputation. Although Dewan and Seidmann (2001) argue that the success of online banking is expected to come w ith a growing price to personal privacy. They also stated that All online interactions leave detailed audit trails that continually depict a larger portion of our lives. Furthermore, privacy standards associated with the use of online banking technology in the banking industry (industry principles) currently exist. For example the American Bankers Association, Bankers Roundtable, Consumers Bank Association to name a few, have all approved equally to a set of privacy principles to portray a wide and united industry. They all have obligations to the similar set of guiding principles like; recognizing an individuals expectation of privacy; using, collecting and retaining personal information only if it produces the greatest benefit to such person; maintaining an up-to-date and accurate information; making individuals aware of the privacy policies; confine exposure of customers personal information; established security measures to protect information and maintaining an individuals privacy in business relationships with third parties (Earp and Payton, 2006). How can personal data be protected? Technological solutions that can give customers direct control over their personal information on their computer like cookie manager, encryption software, ad blocker to mention a few, give customers an amount of control over intrusions by hackers, spam and cookies. Also customer activism creating a policy taking direct action in online or offline environments to achieve desired enhancements in privacy policy, for example the American civil liberties Unions Take Back Your Data Campaign (Ashworth Free, 2006). Also privacy codes of practice like the BCS and ACM guide professionals on how to create and implement systems that protects the privacy of third parties. Privacy laws have been mostly controversial when viewing the laws relating to how much control customers have in the sharing of their personal information with third party organisations or affiliated business. Personal information in the control of banks about their customers data and transactions passes through different hands numerous times (Gupta, 2006).It is almost not possible for banks to retain customer data within their computer network let alone their jurisdiction. The risks of tampering of information, blockage and leakage are high and therefore needs an adequate legal and technical protection (Gupta, 2006). Most banks tend to use the personal data of their customers while advertising some of their other products and services. Third parties could use this data for marketing purposes, advertisements and customers usually view this as spam or unwanted information or some could also use it for illegitimate reasons like identity theft. The sale and distribution of customer pers onal data to third parties is a very lucrative business and generates a lot of revenue for companies. Duquenoy (2005) found out that the industry was valued at two billion pounds as at 2003. But how ethical is the sale or distribution of customer data to third parties? How does the third party make use of this information? These are some of the questions most banks have failed to look into in the use of personal data to make other products in online banking. Most customers find it a bit complicated controlling their personal information given out and collected by the bank, and its other businesses or government agencies that they could be shared with or sold to. It is required by the law that customers have to be given an option in order to decide what personal data can be collected and given out to third party or affiliated businesses, such options include the opt-in and opt-out methods. The UK follows the opt-in scheme under the provisions of the privacy and Electronics Communications Regulations 2003. The provision of an opt-out method gives the customer the choice of preventing personal information being disclosed to affiliated or non-affiliated businesses and third parties, while providing an opt-in option is the reverse which allows for the sharing of information for purposes specified by the bank (Giglio, 2005). Further, research discovered that customers must clearly inform companies of their wishes to opt-in or opt-out when registering or filling out online forms for the use of online banking or other internet services provided by the bank. In that case customers are to be told what, which and how their data can or may be used, they should also be given an explanation or description about what circumstances or situations by which personal information may be disclosed to third parties. The principles of rights based ethics (contractrianism) states that the cus tomer also has the right to know, the right to privacy and the right to property. Although, some customers might not mind having their personal data being shared, others might mind and tend to mind a lot. A major challenge being faced in the IT industry today is ensuring that sharing of data is secure and safe guarded (Raab, 2008). An IT professional should ensure that customer personal data is protected and is only shared with trustworthy third parties. And it is also the responsibility of the IT professional to ensure that personal data is used only for its primary or intended purpose or that which has been specified by the customer. One of the ethical principles in the BCS (British Computer Society) code of conduct states that You shall have regard to the legitimate right of third parties Third parties being referred to here could be viewed as the customer, and it is expected of an IT professional to know, understand and abide by the law and are also expected to regard and respect the rights of individuals, third parties and the society at large (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 2). There have been a lot of cases whereby personal data is used for purposes other than which they have been collected for and this is ethically wrong. It is also called the secondary use of personal information which is the use of such information other than the purpose it was supplied for (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 5). According to a research conducted through the distribution of questioners to a few people who make the use of online banking services with their banks in the UAE, 75% of customers get unsolicited mails about the banks new products and offers which they never requested for or signed up for, 8% view this as an intrusion of their privacy and specify not to be mailed about such future produ cts. The remaining 17% seem not to have been educated and informed properly about how to opt-out from the use of their personal data for distribution and marketing purposes or opt-in if they require being aware of promotions and offers the bank makes. It is essential for the bank to foster trust between itself and the customer as this is good for business and it is a known fact that it is harder to regain trust than initially gaining it. This is why it is essential that much more effort be put in place to secure customer data sharing (Raab, 2008). While conducting an interview with Suhail bin Taraff, an IT staff of Emirates NBD which is the largest bank in the UAE, it was noted that the customers that make use of the internet banking services of the bank would require to opt-in by ticking a check box in their personal online banking account if they require to be notified of products the bank offers and if they would also require their personal data passed on to third parties and affiliates of the bank producing similar or specific products or services.Online banking has two types of risk: maintaining integrity of customer information and preventing unauthorised use of such data (Gupta, 2006). The indiscriminate use of personal data is viewed as a violation of an individuals privacy right and in the UK the right to privacy is covered by the Data Protection Act. The second principle of the Data Protection Act 1998 states that the customer has the right of information about the processing of their personal data, including the rig ht to be informed either at the time the data is first processed or when that data is first disclosed to a third party, and also the right of access to their personal data (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 20). Although the law cannot keep pace with technology, under the Data Protection Act a person has to demonstrate if they have been subjected to unwarranted distress/damages through their datas exposure in order to claim any sort of compensation (Raab, 2008). Does the government have the right to monitor online banking transactions? Businesses view the use of information as a means to making more money while the government tend to view information as a means to protect security. However, in both cases individuals or groups have limited control on how their personal data is used. It is found to be known that knowledge is power and the more information the government gathers about customers bank transactions the more power they have over them and the less power the customers have. And there could be abuse of such power by the government or whoever is in charge to use such power, for selfish means or politically motivated aims. The government claims that they use the capabilities offered by IT to get the intelligence that enables them to meet their responsibilities to protect citizens. But most individuals have little confidence in the governments handling of their data and fear that there could be a misuse or misinterpretation which could lead to persecution and prosecution of innocent people in the application of law and order and also while protecting national security. There is also found to be a lack of confidence in the governments ability to protect personal data and keep it secure, most online banking customers fear that this could give the government too much power and control over them. Most customers tend to mind if the government or law enforcement agencies read their communications or view their bank transactions, even if they have not done anything wrong or have nothing to hide. Part two of article eight of the Human Rights Act, 1998 states thus: There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interest of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedom of others (Duquenoy et al 2005, pg. 11). In the United States of America, the government created a secret programme to monitor bank transactions of suspected terrorists or people having ties with them that routes through the Belgian based financial company SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), since the terrorist attack that occurred on the 11th of September 2001. The proprietary electronic network, SWIFT, then gives the US government access to financial data from institutions worldwide (Jacobs, 2007). Banks tend to view privacy matters almost completely in conditions of regulatory conformity. But the same government that claims to protect the rights and freedom of individuals seem to invade it also. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the USA Patriot Act 2001 are legislations that tend to serve the interest of the state related to issues of counter terrorism and crime detection and support the monitoring and surveillance of individuals. Professor Charles Raab (2008) said that there is a need to question the sharing of personal data to cater the needs of society other than the protection of privacy. Some may argue that the monitoring of an individuals bank account transactions without their consent violates the rights of confidentiality and anonymity of such customer. Any country that signs up to the UN Declaration of Human Rights must make sure they take steps to protect privacy. In Europe the EU includes privacy in its convention on Human Rights while the UK includes it in the Data Protection Act. In the UK the monitoring of a customers bank transactions and data can be viewed as an invasion of the customers privacy by the government and violates the privacy rights of the customer and goes against the data protection act which states that personal data can only be processed when consent has been given or necessary to contract and must be only for specified purposes, adequate, relevant and not excessive, not kept longer than necessary and processed in ac cordance with rights of data subject (ICO, 2010). According to a research conducted by the BCS, 61% of members believe that there is an inequality between the data rights of the individual and the state while only 17% believe that the present legal regulations on data are sufficient (BCS, 2010). The secure handling of a customers personal information is a legal, ethical and social requirement in online banking (Duquenoy et al, 2005). The potential for abuse is great in online banking therefore ethics plays a vital role. Ethical issues that arise in online banking gives a cause for concern, for example more than 24,000 HSBC customers were affected by a breach in the storage of their personal information in the banks data centre on the 15th of March 2010, this was as a result of data theft by one of the IT employee (BCS, 2010). This shows a disregard of the ethical principle which implies respect for other people. Unauthorised use of an individuals personal computer without their permission or knowledge could be termed as an invasion of that individuals privacy. Unauthorised access of personal information or poor security measures in Information Systems put customers (society) at risk and this could result in a loss of confidence by the general public and could have a negative effect on the use of online banking services. It is also viewed as a social issue due to the effect it has on the general public and prospective customers. This could lead to hacking or installation of spyware in the individuals computer and puts the owners personal data at risk. There are many legal issues that affect online banking like identity theft, protecting privacy, online crime and misuse of data. Using the internet has its own risk and most customers expect laws to be in place that will protect them while banking online. In the banking industry, the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act of 1999 (GLBA) was passed to augment the protection of privacy while the Data Protection Act (1998) covers the right to privacy in the UK. The law is in place to protect digitally stored personal information from being widely distributed and mismanaged. Organisations are required by the act to make sure that personal information is kept secure. Professional issues could imply how a professional should act and also their role in the design, implementation of data systems and in the manipulation, modification of data and the important role they play. The BCS is the professional body for those employed in the IT industry in the UK. One of the aims of the BCS is to maintain standards in the industry and in most cases these are translated into principles set out in a code of conduct (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 5). IT professionals are expected to know the law and abide by it. They are also expected to ensure public safety and respect the rights of third parties like the general public. Conclusion Online banking technology seems to be slowly adopted by majority of prospective customers despite being aware about the usefulness of this technology and this is due to the fact that customers are seriously concerned about the privacy of their data and do not really feel secure giving out their personal data digitally. A number of privacy issues have been analysed and discussed in this essay and the rights and control customers have of the use of their personal data, the measures and steps they can use to protect their personal information and the degree to which government agencies have access to the customers bank transactions and personal data. The professional, legal, ethical and social requirement in online banking technology and how an IT professional should apply ethical principles in the use and handling of a customers personal data. Reference List Ashworth, L. Free, C. (2006), Marketing Dataveillance and Digital Privacy: Using Theories of Justice to Understand Consumers Online Privacy Concerns, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 67, pp. 107-123. Duquenoy, P, Jones, S, Rahanu, H, Diaper, D, (2005) Social, Legal and Professional Issues of Computing. Middlesex University Press 2005 Stamatellos, G. (2007), Computer Ethics: A Global Perspective, Jones and Bartlett Publishers Mason, R, 0, (1986) Four Ethical Issues of the Information Age, Issues and opinions, MIS quarterly Earp, J. B. Payton, F. C. (2006), Information Privacy in the Service Sector: An Exploratory Study of Health Care and Banking Professionals, Journal of organizational computing and electronic commerce, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 105 122. Giglio, V. (2005), Privacy in the world of cyberbanking: Emerging legal issues and How You Are Protected. Ng, P. (2010), What is online banking? viewed 20 February 2010, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-online-banking.htm Roundtree, D. (2001), Taking Care of Customer Privacy, Bank Technology News, Vol.14 Issue 11, p.20. European Parliament Blocks US powers to monitor EU bank transactions, viewed 21 February 2010, http://www.out-law.com/page-10748 Nadim, J and Noorjahan, B. (2007), Effect of Perceived Usefulness, Ease of Use, Security and Privacy on Customer Attitude and Adaptation in the Context of E-Banking, Journal of Management Research, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 147 157 Howcroft, B, Hamilton, R. and Hewer, P. (2002), Consumer Attitude and the Usage and Adoption of Home-based Banking in the United Kingdom, The International Journal of Bank Marketing, 20(3): 111-121. Jamieson, P (2005), Consumers and Online Banking, Point for Credit Union Research Advice Dewan, R and Seidmann, A. (2001), Current Issues in E-BANKING, Communications of the ACM; Vol.44 Issue 6, p. 31-32 Raab, C. (2008), The privacy conundrum, viewed 13 March 2010, http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.17577 The office of the Information Commisioner, viewed 13 March 2010, http://www.ico.gov.uk British Computer Society (2010). Code of Conduct, viewed 10 March 2010, http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.6030 Gupta, A, (2006), Data Protection in Consumer E-banking, Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 11, no. 1 State has more data on citizens than necessary, say BCS members, viewed 26th March 2010, http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.34817 Jacobs, E, (2007), SWIFT Privacy: Data Processor Becomes Data Controller, Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 12, no. 1 The basics, in Information Commisioners office, viewed 9th March 2010, http://www.ico.gov.uk/what we cover/freedom of information/the basics.aspx Freedom of Information Act (2000), viewed 15th March 2010, http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/ukpga 20000036 en 1 Pilon, M, (2010), Data Theft Hits 3.3 Million Borrowers, The Wall Street Journal, viewed 29th March 2010, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304434404575150024174102954.html?KEYWORDS=data+theft+hits+33+million+borrowers

The Beach Boys :: Art

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys formed in 1961. The band members are; Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson who are all brothers, Al Jardine and Mike Love. All but Al Jardine lived in Los Angelas. They were first called the Pendletones which was a shirt brand , but a record label executive named them the Beach Boys. One of their first big hits was ‘Surfin’ that was credited for starting the ‘surfing craze.’ 1962 they released the album Surfin Safari with the song ‘Surfin Safari’ hitting the U.S Top 40. 1963 ‘Surfin U.S.A’ reached #3 on the charts. ‘Surfer Girl’ ended the the albums surfer cycle. Both the album and single made U.S top 10. Their next two albums, ‘Little Deuce Coupe,’ and ‘Shut Down’, went high on the U.S album charts. Mid 1964 the song ‘I Get Around’ off of the album ‘All Summer Long’ became their first U.S No.1 and their first UK top 10 hit. The year closed with album ‘Beach Boys Concert’ which became their first Us chart topping LP. Brian underwent the first of several nervous breakdowns and withdrew from regular touring for twelve years. He was first replaced by Glenn Campell and then later permanently replaced by Bruce Johnson. A re-recording of ‘Help Me Rhonda’ became the group’s second No.1 hit. ‘California Girls’ almost became a No.1 but never did. Free from touring Brian began to take more time writing and recording a attitude found in the album ‘Beach Boys Party.’ 1966 ‘Pet Sounds’ was one of the finest recorded by the Beach Boys. Off that album the songs: ‘Sloop John B’, ‘God Only Knows’, ‘Wouldn’t it be Nice’, and ‘Caroline, No’ all reached U.S top 40. Then they released their most famous song ‘Good Vibrations’ costing them $50,000. Mid 1967 an abandoned album ‘Smile’ was produced put was still bootlegged. Then produced ‘Smiley Smile’ which was an album which was almost identical as ‘Smile’. Off of ‘Smiley Smile’ the song ‘Heroes & Villains’ made top 20 Their Popularity was declining with the albums ‘Wild Honey’, ‘Friends’ and ‘20/20’ selling fewer and fewer copies and concert crowds thinned. 1968’s ‘Do it again’ was their last U.S Top 20 single for eight more years. 1970 their contract with Capitol Records expired and they then were offered their own record label ‘ Brother Records’ through Warner-Reprise. They produced their first album with the new management called ‘Sunflower’ it was a critical success but a commercial disaster.

Aquinas Epistemology and God Essay

Introduction:The scientific developments of the renaissance were powerful and they stimulate new ways of thought that one can be tempted to disregard any role medieval thinking plays in the general development of both renaissance and post renaissance philosophy up till today. It would be a mistake to take it that Descartes, Locke achieved a total radical break from the past and inaugurated a completely new philosophical era. One cannot understand scholars like Descartes or Locke without having some real knowledge of medieval thinking. Thus, in this essay, I wish to show that Aquinas, a thinker of the middle ages, thought on knowledge is of permanent value and that it deserves respect and due consideration for today’s discourse of philosophy. Aquinas Theory on Knowledge: His philosophy is based on the premise that knowledge and being are correlates. â€Å"In so far a thing is, it is knowable and in this resides its ontological truth. † Thus, the Thomistic theory of knowledge is a realist theory. It plays an integral part in his metaphysics and philosophy of being. Aquinas is not interested in the problem of objective as we have it in modern thinking and today rather, he is much more interested in how we acquire our knowledge and put them to use. Simply put, he investigates the process of knowledge. He identified three levels of acquiring knowledge namely: sense-experience, imaginations or ideations and intellection. Aquinas thus made an important contribution to epistemology, recognising the central part played by sense perception in human cognition. It is through the senses that we first become acquainted with existent, material things. Sense experience is contact with material things through the senses which supplies materials for the formation of ideas in imagination upon which understanding climbs to contemplate. It is thus a misconception to suppose that the fundamental role of sense perception was a discovery of the classical British empiricist. It is a synthesis of Aquinas’ Aristotelian view of knowledge. As a matter of fact, Aquinas laid more stress on sense perception as the first and unique source of knowledge than the British empiricist because he identified sense perception as the initial source of knowledge than reflection and introspection. â€Å"For a man perceives that he has a soul, and lives and exists by the fact that he perceives by the senses†. This source of knowledge for Aquinas is responsible for his five ways that he uses to prove God’s existence from the material world. He did not accept Anselm’s ontological proof because, he argues that self evident truths, such as God’s existence in which its attributes belong necessarily to the subject , may not be fruits of experience but experience makes man to be conscious of them. That is another reason where he differs from radical British empiricist. He argues based on his arguments for God that â€Å"in as far as God is manifested in and through the beings of the sensible world, as the necessary source,†¦ the embodied human intellect is capable of proceeding beyond sense to know the source of a non-dependent, non-conditioned absolute being called God. † He sees the intellect as capable of penetrating through the unanalysed superficiality of sensation. Agreeing with Aristotle, he admits that knowledge is obtained through two stages of operation, sensitive and intellective, which are intimately related to one another. The intellect does attain ideas from the material that is presented to it by the senses to extend beyond the world of the senses. The two cognitive faculties, the sense and intellect, are naturally capable of acquiring knowledge proper to them. Thus, for Aquinas, it is man’s initiative to know through his makeup although such make up is sustained by God. This sustenance by God makes him to make the proper distinction between faith and reason as sources of knowledge. Truths of faith are revealed truth such as trinity and truths of the scripture. But truths of reason must be perceived and abstracted upon. St. Thomas insistently repeats â€Å"reason gathers truth on the ground of intrinsic evidence, while faith accepts truths based on the authority of the word of God. Therefore, there are two types of wisdom namely philosophical –highest activity of man’s intellect and theological- super science or revealed truth. This distinction is essential to today’s view or tension between science and religion. According to Paul Tillich, â€Å"neither scientific nor historical truth can affirm or negate the truth of faith. The truth of faith can not negate nor affirm scientific or historical truth too†. This is because, their objects are different. Truths of faith are revealed and not available to the senses while that of science is purely experiential based. Thus, they do not contradict each other. Nonetheless, both faith and reason can assist each other. According to Aquinas, faith can act as organ which helps reason to reach its final direction, the supreme truth which is God, â€Å"because God is in the highest degree of immateriality, he occupies the highest place in knowledge†. This led him to explain the value of knowledge and its truth, which is the ultimate goal of the intellect in perceiving and abstracting ideas. He noted that the intellect through a vigilant control of the senses can guarantee the formation of the sense representations. The intellect acquires truth when it gives value to the representations and ideas it forms in phantasm. â€Å"For Aquinas all the data of sense knowledge and all intelligible things are essentially true. † Truth consists in the equality of the intellect with its object, and such concordance is always found, both in sensitive cognition and in the idea. Error may exist in the judgment, since it can happen that a predicate may be attributed to a subject to which it does not really belong. Besides the faculty of judgment, Aquinas also admits the faculty of discursive reasoning, which consists in the derivation of the knowledge of particulars from the universal. Deductive, syllogistic demonstration must be carried out according to the logical relationships which exist between two judgments. In this process consists the science which the human intellect can construct by itself, without recourse either to innate ideas or to any particular illumination. This error free judgment for Aquinas, is proper to the being which is the supreme fundamental and greatest perfection permeating all things and giving them consistency and reality. Thus, each thing exists in its participation in Being. The true representation is received when the intellect gathers the Being of beings. Meanwhile, some truth can be received although not perfect, when the data is abstracted by the intellect. The dilemma of knowledge search today is explained by Thomistic epistemology recourse to revealed truth. Thomas claimed that human reason is naturally led to knowledge – from sense experience through phantasm to intellection- to knowing truth and know all truths, whether it is the material world, spiritual world, speculative, practical, political, moral or educational truth etc. But it meets with difficulties which include passions, sentiments, complexity of objects etc. This obstacle is more serious in terms of religious or moral truths because of their abstract nature. Nonetheless, reason has the ability to reach higher grounds to know God – the supreme truth- his attributes, existence but these obstacles are removed by God’s assistance or intervention to furnish human reason with a clearer manifestation of his being. The ultimate threshold of knowledge alone can give light to the mind to reach him. Thus, he introduces faith in his epistemology though at the end. The ordinary organ of knowledge is reason enabled through immediate evidence of experience but faith comes in when there are obstacles to assist reason to reach quickly as possible its final threshold, supreme truth. â€Å"Faith will tell us Christ is present when our human senses fail†. Conclusion: The limitation Aquinas placed on reason due to obstacles in which it needs to be helped by God makes the whole idea of his epistemology a movement to faith. It seems to many that Aquinas argues to God and not for truth in its own sake. Hegel for instance argues that he treated philosophy according to the categories of theology. Bertrand Russell. A Thomism which limits itself to the consideration of material substance as the start of all knowledge proves itself inadequate in age where everything seems beyond our sensual grasp. Again, Thomism didn’t relinquish heritage of truth for the sake of new sides but a one way drive of reason Nonetheless, Aquinas’ epistemology is vital for us because it has consequences for philosophy generally especially in relation to theology. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. Aquinas copplestton [ 4 ]. Aquinas copleston [ 6 ]. Age of belif p 150 [ 7 ]. Baptissta mondin p. 306 [ 8 ]. Yeager Hudson p. 12 [ 9 ]. P. 73 yeager hudson [ 11 ]. Benediction hymn composed by Aquinas for the feast of corpus Christi {cf. [ 12 ]. Marin j. walsh.

Irrational Beliefs Essay

Report on some of your own irrational beliefs that have gotten you off course and lowered your self-esteem. Offer rational beliefs that you can take on to dispute your stinkin’ thinkin’. How will changing your irrational beliefs help you to achieve your academic goals? Our upsets are caused not so much by our problems as by what we think about our problems. When our thinking is full of irrational beliefs, what Ellis calls â€Å"stinkin’ thinkin'†, we feel awful even when the circumstances don’t warrant it, and how we think about the issue in our lives is the real issue. I have a few irrational beliefs myself. These include my fear of public speaking, my fear of how people perceive me, and my personal appearance. In high school I enrolled in a speech class that was required for my diploma. My problem wasn’t remembering what to say but being able to speak in front of a classroom full of people. I shouldn’t have had a problem with it at a ll, considering the classroom was full of people I’ve known my whole life, people I’ve grown up with. I got up in front of the class ready to go, I managed to spit out two sentences then my mind went blank. I was embarrassed, scared of what they would think about me if I were to mess up. Would they call me names? Would they think I wasn’t prepared? Would they think I was dumb, powerless, uncreative, and weak? The only thing I could think to do was run to the nearest exit, so out I went. My teacher had followed me but at that point I had tears in my eyes, I was shaking with sweaty palms. She managed to calm me down, she gave me the rational beliefs that I needed, and she believed in me exactly how I should have believed in myself. It all tied into how I am obsessive over what others think of me, my clothes, my hair, and my shoes. I have the irrational belief that everyone needs to look at me and think that I have everything together. In reality my life is usually a mess but I have those materialist things to hide behind. My weight has always been another irrational belief of mine, constantly calling myself fat, not wearing the clothes I want, looking in a mirror and talking myself down. I gained forty pounds in almost two years. I wasn’t the small delicate girl I used to be and I didn’t think I would ever get back to the point of being happy with my body. In order to change these irrational beliefs I need to fill my mind with rational beliefs, such as I am a great public speaker when I am prepared, I am beautiful and smart with or without materialist things, and lastly if I am unhappy with my body then  I have every right to change it. According to psychologist Ellis, a key to correcting irrational thinking is changing a â€Å"must† into a preference. I can always distract myself from negative, judgmental thoughts by simply telling myself, â€Å"STOP!† Then replace my blaming, complaining, or excusing with something positive. Wisely choosing the thoughts that occupy my mind, as well as avoiding automatic, negative thoughts that undermine my self-esteem will also help. Changing my irrational beliefs will help me achieve my academic goals by giving me the confidence to organize my schedule, and be able to speak in front of people as well as with others.

The Psychology of Attitudes essays

The Psychology of Attitudes essays Attitudes in a psychological context are defined as "the tendency to respond in a certain way toward certain issues, products, objects, or events" (Seamon attitudes impact on how people think. However, as Seamon psychologists studying attitudes are also particularly interested in how The first interest in attitudes occurred in the 1920s. At this point, the interest in psychology was largely confined to experimental techniques, where aspects of psychology were tested and measured. Thurstone used this approach to test people's attitude toward different ethnic groups, with people asked to rate various statements about the Chinese (Jones). This method was essential a survey, with the survey a rating tool for recognizing people's attitudes. While this method identified attitudes, it did nothing to try and explain how attitudes were This focus on how attitudes are formed came later. Zimbardo and Leippe described what they termed an attitude system. This system describes four components that make up an attitude. The first component is cognition, which refers to beliefs, thoughts, or ideas. The second component is affect, which refers to feelings and emotions. The third component is behavioral intentions, which refers to decisions to act in certain ways. The fourth component is the behavior, which refers to the actual actions taken. To explain how these components combine, it is useful to offer an example. Consider the case of a person who has an attitude about saving the rainforests. This attitude would be based on some kind of cognition. For example, the person might think that the rainforests are being destroyed and that future generations will suffer because of this. This attitude would also be likely to involve emotions, such as the person feeling sad about the destruction, or ang...

Free Essays on Bids

While the practice of bid shopping is not illegal, it has the potential to produce many problems for any given construction project. Bid shopping promotes a lower standard of overall quality due to insufficient manpower, equipment/material substitutions, and other cost cutting short cuts. Bid shopping also makes it difficult to locate the party responsible for shotty system performance, which in turn hampers the problem solving process. This will affect the project deadline, and the execution of warranty work. Jobsite safety will undoubtedly take a hit, due to insufficiently sized crews being pushed to complete a task on schedule. Recent study have also shown that the bid shopping method produces higher original bid cost; from contractors and subcontractors giving themselves a cushion; the separate bid method tends to achieve the best quality for the lowest cost. However, in my opinion, the biggest downfall in the bid shopping method is the unrealistic chance of a minority/female sub contractor being awarded the contract. These businesses are generally less established and are obviously more vulnerable to being underbid early in the game.... Free Essays on Bids Free Essays on Bids While the practice of bid shopping is not illegal, it has the potential to produce many problems for any given construction project. Bid shopping promotes a lower standard of overall quality due to insufficient manpower, equipment/material substitutions, and other cost cutting short cuts. Bid shopping also makes it difficult to locate the party responsible for shotty system performance, which in turn hampers the problem solving process. This will affect the project deadline, and the execution of warranty work. Jobsite safety will undoubtedly take a hit, due to insufficiently sized crews being pushed to complete a task on schedule. Recent study have also shown that the bid shopping method produces higher original bid cost; from contractors and subcontractors giving themselves a cushion; the separate bid method tends to achieve the best quality for the lowest cost. However, in my opinion, the biggest downfall in the bid shopping method is the unrealistic chance of a minority/female sub contractor being awarded the contract. These businesses are generally less established and are obviously more vulnerable to being underbid early in the game....