Descartes on God Essay Example for Free

Descartes on God Essay Rene Descartes is a famous French philosopher and is considered as the â€Å"Father of Rationalism. † The aim of his philosophy was to arrive in a solid foundation for knowledge. In order to arrive in this, he used a method called the Methodic Doubt wherein he doubted the senses, mathematics, and even the existence of god. It was only until he arrived with a solid entity called â€Å"the cogito† was Descartes able to discover the center of his existence. Upon finding this center, he was able to use this entity as a means into explaining the existence of the things he previously doubted. In regards to proving the existence of god, we need to tackle first why Descartes needed to doubt the existence of god. This was a very important step in his philosophy because the theories in his philosophy would have a sounder foundation if he was going to use them to explain the existence of God. As what was stated above, Descartes used the Methodic Doubt in order to arrive with the cogito and say his phrase â€Å"cogito ergo sum† or I think therefore I am. This cogito exists in a metaphysical plane because Descartes believed that everything that existed in the physical world were not real. The reasons why he had to doubt the physical world include the fact that the senses deceive us. Examples of these are a pencil which gives the illusion of bending after placing it in a glass of water. Others include dreams which a person would consider to be so real until they wake up in bed. And finally, everything in this world is subject to change which he presented after burning a piece of wax and then asking if the residue of the wax is still considered as wax. After doubting the senses, he soon went to doubt the validity of the physical world. In order to do this, he asserted that there is a malevolent demon that would deceive us into believing that what we perceive is real. Now that he was able to discard god as the foundation of true knowledge, we now shifts his focus to the cogito. However, being left with the cogito could lead to solipsism, a view wherein a person believes that only the individual exists, since everything existed except the cogito. So Descartes needed to prove the existence of God in order to validate the existence of the physical world and free his philosophy from the perils of solipsism. Descartes gave some arguments that led to his proofs of the existence of god. His first proof dealt with the nature of ideas. He classified different kinds of ideas such as those that are innate in a person and those that were received through experience. Being rationalists, he considered ideas cause by the experience doubtful since they do arise from the senses, which he discarded as the means for a clear and distinct idea. So, he shifted his focus to innate ideas, or ideas that have been with a person since birth, and placed the idea of god under this classification. Now, Descartes asked from where these innate ideas came. It cannot be from nothingness since something cannot spring out of nothing. In addition, a perfect idea like that of god cannot come from a less perfect being and so he concluded that there was a first cause that placed the idea of a supreme being in my mind. This argument of Descartes can be compared with that of Saint Augustine’s first cause. However, the difference here is that the arguments of Saint Augustine dealt with motion and change within the physical world. Descartes arguments on the other had, tackle solely with ides and from where they came from. In addition to the argument of a first mover, Descartes was able to prove the existence of god through his own mortality. He asked himself how a person could think of an infinite being, such as god, if there is nothing to compare this form of existence with anything. It is from his own finite existence that he is able to create a distinction between the two modes of existence and prove the existence of an infinite and perfect being that is outside him. His next argument was derived from Saint Anselm’s ontological argument. Here, Descartes tries to justify his argument through describing a triangle. Whenever we would think of a triangle, the first thing that would enter our minds are its attributes, i. e. that it has three sides, all its angles have a total of 180 degrees, etc. Just like whenever we would think of the idea of god, we would usually first think of his attributes which are being omniscient, all-knowing, etc. The difference here is hat although we are able to think of a triangle, thinking about one does not necessarily entail it’s existence. On the other hand, to think of god as a perfect and infinite being must entail that he does exists for to say that a perfect being does not exists would mean that we are depriving god of one attribute and thus making him less perfect. So given this argument, Descartes asserts that existence is needed for perfection for there would be a major contradiction within the assertion of a perfect being that is lacking of any attribute. Finally, Descartes finally says that this god cannot be a deceiving god which he assumed in the beginning. This god cannot be a deceiver for this attribute cannot be found in a perfect being such as god because the act of deceiving someone arises from a certain defect. Upon proving the existence of god, Descartes was able to expand this philosophy by proving the existence of a separate world. He was able to do this by stating that the physical world exists since man was given a certain inclination in order to perceive the world. This inclination was given to us by god and we must believe that the world is true for god would not deceive us with this special inclination that he has given. After reading the proofs of Descartes, I would have to say that his arguments are very solid and logical that it would be hard to think otherwise. However, my only problem with Descartes philosophy is that he used the cogito as a scapegoat to all the problems that he encountered. What Descartes would do is that from the cogito he would begin to explain certain things such as god and the physical world. He would then explore these ideas but when he begins to run of way to explain his arguments he would go back to the cogito. AN example here would be when he tried to explain the existence of the physical world. He simply had to rely on the existence of god and that the inclination he gave man to believe that this world is true. This explanation, to me, seems more as a matter of faith in god as a non-deceiving being rather than a rational explanation.

Racism: Are We Better Off Colour Blind? :: essays papers

Racism: Are We Better Off Colour Blind? My background is Italian, so that makes me Italian-Canadian. The only time I have personally experienced racism was when I was called a "wop." This is how it felt: hurtful, degrading, humiliating. This is what it made me feel like as a person: worthless, inferior, powerless. Is this what goes on in the world? Is it truly fair? That is what my experience made me wonder. People who taunt others, in my opinion, are actually insecure about themselves. It might be because they are uncomfortable with who they are as a person, or how they look, but whatever the reason is, they only put down others to build themselves up. These kind of people are often very brave in front of others, but lose much of their power when on their own. This goes to show, racism isn't just caused by just one person, but many people who have had ideas put into their heads. These leaders would be powerless without their followers. A famous example of this is Adolf Hitler. Hitler was a German dictator and soldier who vocalized his extreme racist veiws to the Mien Kampf. He was appointed chancellor in 1933, and clearly expressed his opinions, which led to the policy of the extermination of Jews. He was a great leader, and once even recieved a bravery award in WWI. Hitler started a Great massacre, known as The Holocaust, in particular, the complete extermination of European Jews and others by the Nazis in Germany (1933-45). Jews, as well as others considered racially inferior by the Nazis, were killed in concentration camps. Concentration camps were detention centres for people considered racially or socially undesirable and political opponants.What went on in these camps was truely horrible: gruesome medical experiments, slave labour, discusting and brutal torture methods. Total Jewish deaths estimated at more than 6 million. It is disturbing to even think that an evil character such as Hitler was admired and respected by so many people, when his veiws were so obviously distorted and cruel. What could drive someone to do something as terrible as that is beyond me. But, sadly, even though Holocaust is over, many people still believe Jews are dirty and don't deserve to live. And the discrimanation doesn't end with Jewish people, people also discriminate against: African Americans, Asians, Caucasions, Hispanics, and Oriental people. Organizations such as the KKK or the Black Panthers are strictly black against white. They kill each other and promote extreme hate towards

Foundation Broad Cost Leader Essay

This practice exercise will help you understand the relationships between business strategy, tactics, functional alignment, and the Foundation ® simulation. We will use the Chester Company for this example. (During the practice rounds, each company is assigned a different strategy.) You will execute your plan by inputting the decisions described below. At the same time, your competitors will execute their assigned plans. The practice exercise will take three rounds As each round is processed, you will evaluate the results and then input the next round’s assigned decisions. Upon completion of the practice rounds, the simulation will be reset to the beginning. You can then create and implement your own strategic plan for the actual competition. Executive Summary The Chester team will adopt a Broad Cost Leader strategy, maintaining a presence in both segments. We will gain a competitive advantage by keeping R&D costs, production costs, and raw material costs to a minimum, enabling us to compete on the basis of price. Our Cost Leader orientation will allow us gain a competitive advantage based upon low prices. We will increase automation levels to improve our margins and to make it acceptable to run overtime (which we can also view as a second shift). Vision Statement Low priced products for the industry: Chester brands offer solid value. Our primary stakeholders are bondholders, customers, stockholders and management. Research and Development (R&D) We will keep our existing product line and launch one new product in order to maintain a presence in both the Low Tech and High Tech segments. We will work to keep our products up to date (i.e. Size and Performance) in each segment despite high automation levels. Marketing We will maintain awareness and accessibility. After we establish our cost leadership position we will revisit our situation to decide whether sales and promotion budgets should be reduced or if we should keep pace with our competitors. Our prices will be lower than average. Production We will significantly increase automation levels on all products. However, because automation sets limits upon our ability to reposition products with R&D, we automate more in the slower moving Low Tech segment than in the fast moving High Tech segment. We will prefer overtime to capacity expansions. Finance We will finance our investments primarily through long-term bond issues, supplementing with stock offerings on an as needed basis. When our cash position allows, we will establish a dividend policy and begin to retire stock. We are not adverse to leverage, and expect to keep debt/equity between 2.0 and 3.0. PRACTICE ROUND 1 Follow the decisions below. After the practice rounds are complete and the competition rounds begin, you are free to choose a different strategy; you are not obligated to continue as a Broad Cost Leader. R & D Round 1 Cake – Reduce reliability (MTBF) to reduce material cost. Example: Reduce MTBF from 21000 to 18000. Do not reduce MTBF below 17000 hours, because that is the lower limit of acceptable reliability (MTBF) for High Tech customers. New Product – Launch a new High Tech product, with a project length less than 2 years (no later than December of next year). Example: Name: Cedar (replace the first NA in the list), performance 9.0, size 11.0 and a reliability (MTBF) 20000. 1 Important: Under the rules of the simulation, the names of all new products must have the same first letter as the name of the company. Important: With the exception of the new product, make certain that the projects complete during this year before December 31st. Under the rules, a new project can only begin on January 1st. If these projects do not complete before the end of this year, you cannot begin follow-up projects next year. Perceptual Map from the Research & Development Spreadsheet: Product names in black indicate the product’s current location, names in magenta indicate the product’s revised position (with slight revisions, the names will overlap). Names of newly invented products appear in magenta. Marketing Round 1 Cake – Make moderate price cuts and decrease promotion and sales budgets. Forecast unit sales near last year’s level. Example: Price $33.50, promotion budget $800, sales budget $800. Forecast sales of 1300 units. New Product – Marketing decisions will be made next year when the new product is ready to begin production. Production Round 1 Production schedules will plan for eight weeks of inventory. That is, have enough inventory on hand to meet demand eight weeks beyond the sales forecast. This requires a 15% inventory cushion (8/52 = 0.15). For example, suppose Marketing forecasts demand at 1000, and you have 100 units in inventory. You want 1000 x 115% = 1150 available for sale. Since you have 100 on hand, you would schedule 1050 for production. If you cannot meet demand, sales go to competitors. Therefore, you want to plan for the upside as well as the downside. Your proforma balance sheet will forecast about eight weeks of inventory. You hope that your actual sales will fall between your sales forecast and the number of units available for sale. Schedule production for your existing product using this formula: (Unit Sales Forecast X 1.15) – Inventory On Hand. Cake – Increase automation level by 1.0 point. New Product – Buy 300,000 units of capacity by entering 300 in the Buy Sell Capacity cell. Set an automation level of 3.0. Important: There is a one year lag between purchase and use of new capacity and automation for both new and existing products. 2 Important: Make certain the Cake project completes during this year, before December 31st. Under the rules, a new project can only begin on January 1st. If a project does not complete before the end of this year, you cannot begin follow-up project next year. Finance Round 1 Your fiscal policies should maintain adequate working capital reserves to avoid a liquidity crisis. Working capital can be thought of as the money that you need to operate day-to-day. In Foundation ® working capital is current assets (cash + accounts receivable + inventory) – current liabilities (accounts payable + current debt). If you run out of cash because your sales are unexpectedly weak, an Emergency Loan will be issued. Here are some guidelines to help you avoid an Emergency Loan. Your proforma balance sheet predicts your financial condition at the end of this year. Make conservative sales forecasts. Do not rely on the computer prediction. Override it with a forecast of your own. If you are conservative, it is unlikely that your worst expectations will be exceeded. Next, build additional inventory beyond your conservative expectations. This forces your proforma balance sheet to predict a future where your sales forecast comes true and you are left with inventory. (If you sell the inventory, that’s wonderful.) On the Finance spreadsheet, issue stock, bonds or current debt until the December 31 Cash Position for the upcoming year equals at least five percent of your assets, as displayed on the proforma balance sheet. This creates an additional reserve for those times when your worst expectations are exceeded and disaster strikes. As you gain experience with managing your working capital, you will observe that the guidelines above make you somewhat â€Å"liquid,† and you may wish to tighten your policy by reducing cash and inventory projections. That is fine. The better your marketing forecasts, the less working capital you will require. Match your plant investment with a long-term bond. If you do not have sufficient new bond debt capacity, issue stock to cover the shortfall. Do not pay a dividend. Save decisions (select â€Å"directly to the website†). PRACTICE ROUND 2 R & D Round 2 Cake – Improve positioning and reduce age. Reduce reliability (MTBF) to reduce material cost. Example: Increase Cake’s performance to 6.7, reduce size by 13.0, and reduce MTBF to 17000. New Product – Note that the new product’s row is yellow instead of green, and that you cannot change these cells. This is because your product will not emerge from R&D until its current project completes. Under the rules of the simulation, new R&D projects cannot begin until the old one completes. 3 Marketing Round 2 Cake – Offer a price cut to $32.50. Hold promotion and sales budgets near current levels. Cake will still sell to both Low Tech and High Tech customers. Enter a forecast of 1100. New Product – Price at $44.00, Promotion at $1000, Sales at $1000. Since Cedar won’t be ready to enter production until well into this year, so enter 200 for sales forecast. Production Round 2 Schedule production using the formula: (Unit Sales Forecast X 1.15) – Inventory On Hand Important: As your new product is coming out sometime during the year, you might not be able to use the above formula – new products cannot begin production prior to their revision (release) date. Should the number you enter into the production schedule turn red, reduce the schedule until the red number turns black. Cake – Increase automation by 1.0 or 2.0 points. New Product – Increase automation level, but only by 1.0 points. We will want to begin repositioning it next year in order to keep it fresh for High Tech customers. The higher the automation rating, the more difficult it is to reposition. We must strike a balance between our cost pressure requirements vs. our need to reposition often. FINANCE ROUND 2 Match your plant investment with a long term debt (bond). If you do not have sufficient new bond debt capacity, issue stock to cover the shortfall. Look at the proforma balance sheet, and add together your Cash and Inventory accounts. Apply the following rule of thumb. Keep between 15% and 20% of your balance sheet assets in Cash plus Inventory. You do not care about the mix, but you do want to have adequate reserves to cover unexpected swings in inventory.

The Service Department At Marley s For The First Time

had used the service department in the past. This question was selected because it is believed that returning customers have a higher satisfaction level than customers visiting Marley’s for the first time. Before we test for equality of means we must conduct the Levene’s Test for equality of variances. The null hypothesis states that there is no statistically significant difference in the variance of satisfaction level with how well the staff kept you informed between first time and repeat customers. A critical alpha of .05 was used as it has been used for all previous tests. If the significance level is less than or equal to .05 we will reject the null hypothesis. Based on Levene’s Test of equal variances, we accept the null†¦show more content†¦Bob knows that his customers want prompt service and his service department will provide the customer with an estimated time for repairs. He believes his staff should always demonstrate a willingness to help the customer and should be responsive to the changing needs and situations of the customer. That being said he believes it should be necessary to update the customer on the progress of their service. While it was found that all three of the attributes in the reliability dimension had relatively high levels of satisfaction, there is always room for improvements. It was found that the staff’s ability to keep the customer informed had the lowest relative satisfaction and the highest relative importance within the reliability dimension. It is important for the customer to be informed because it ensures their confidence in the staff member’s ability to complete the work (Cu stomer Service and Complaints). When the customer is provided with updates on the progress of the work that needs completing, it is believed that higher levels of customer satisfaction will be achieved. As stated before, all of the attributes within the reliability dimension have relatively high levels of satisfaction; it is recommended that Marley’s continue to improve on their responsiveness. While being responsive to customers was found to be relatively important,