Life In The 20th Century As Sh Essay -- essays research papers

Life in the twentieth century is different through each decade but also much different than life in a century before. The short story â€Å"Magic†, written by Katherine Anne Porter in 1930, shows how people think they have choices in life but their future is actually already planned out for them. Ernest Hemingway’s short story â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place† which was written in 1933 shows how people feel about the well being of others and others feelings. â€Å"The Storm†, written by Kate Chopin in 1898 is an example of how views of marriage have changed. Although this wasn’t written in the twentieth century it was written right before the beginning and still paints a picture of how life is now going into the twenty-first century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the story â€Å"Magic† a young prostitute named Ninette is treated very badly in the house she lives in. This is proven by the quote â€Å"They quarreled, the madam cheated her on her checks: you know, the girl got a check, a brass one, every time, and at the week’s end she gave those back to the madam, yes, that was the way, and got her percentage, a very small little of her earnings: it is a business, you see, like any other- and the madam used to pretend the girl had given back only so many checks, you see, and really she had given many more, but after they were out of her hands, what could she do?† (Page 121) This quote shows how the woman of the house cheated Ninette out of her money. These next two quotes tell how Ninette was phy...

Critical Summary of When God Was a Woman Essay

In chapter nine of When God Was A Woman, Merlin Stone sought to explain the laws introduced by the Levite priests in Canaan that were put in place to prevent the worship of the Goddess. Members of the Hebrew religion were commanded to kill their own children if they worshipped any deity other than God. Stone argues that the laws put the men of the society in power, as it was not stated that the husband should be killed for worshiping the Goddess. The Levites demanded that every woman belong to a man, due to their distaste for any woman who was not a virgin or married, so they established the concept of sexual morality to restrict the females. Stone states that given the sexual freedom in the religion of the Goddess, the women had to be taught that sexual relations to multiple men was pure evil. Any sexually free women, or women who still worshipped the Goddess, were referred to as whores and harlots. Stone elaborates on the new laws of sexual morality, stating that a woman must only have sex with one man, her husband, while he could have sexual relations with numerous women. A woman could be stoned to death for losing her virginity or even for being raped, if she was already married. Stone says that only the husband could divorce his wife, and if so, she would be left with no material possessions. The divorce laws probably led to fearful women, forcing them to become submissive servants to men. I found this chapter of When God Was A Woman particularly interesting in comparison to the rest of the book. The more information I learned about the religion of the Goddess prior to this chapter, the more I wanted to know about the laws that governed women with the initial introduction of the male-dominated culture. Chapter nine kept my attention due to the fact that I was already curious about the sexual morality laws. The realization that I could have been killed back then for the beliefs I have today also kept my interest. Stone did an impeccable job with her organization of ideas. The chapter was easy to follow and to understand, and each idea seemed to flow with ease to the next. Looking back through the chapter, the only constant source I see her use is the Bible. Although this is a reliable source for the Hebrew laws placed upon women, I think that using other sources other than just the Bible would have helped in her overall objective of this chapter. Finding a source with the actual morality laws stated would have helped to further confirm the harsh reality of these laws. Other than this fact, I believe that Stone was very thorough in her description of the laws and the details she examined pertaining to the laws. I do think that Stone made reasonable assertions pertaining to the morality laws. Her use of bible verses seems to confirm her arguments about the laws. However, I can see partial bias in her writing. I can see how this can easily happen, seeing as she relates to the laws as she is a woman. I can sometimes feel the anger and disgust for the laws come through in her writing as certain tones are used. Despite her small amount of bias, I think Stone satisfactorily represents and defends all of her points about the morality laws. Most of what Stone exhibits in this chapter was new material for me. Although I learned a lot of information, what stands out to me is that fact that women could actually be stoned to death just for having sexual relations with men. This really grabbed my attention as I thought about how our society is today. Even though we still see sex and pregnancy before marriage as taboo, we have a certain level of toleration for it. It is crazy to think that years ago, many women in today’s society would be killed for their actions just because men wanted control over them.

Descartes Meditations On First Philosophy - 922 Words

In Rene Descartes’ excerpt, Meditations on First Philosophy, he proclaims, â€Å"It is beyond question that I shall reach the truth if I think hard enough about the things that I perfectly understand, keeping them separate from all the other matters in which my thoughts are more confused and obscure† ( §104). When Descartes made this statement in his fourth meditation, what was he conjecturing by the term â€Å"perfect?† According to the standard interpretation, perfect encompasses all required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. Nevertheless, perfect has different competing interpretations. Perfect could be expressed as complete, flawless, or accurate. Hence, illuminating different denotations of Descartes’ meaning of perfect could stimulate numerous interpretations of the passage. The first interpretation of perfect could be expressed as complete, or having all the necessary or appropriate parts; lacking nothing; whole or unabridged. For instance, Descartes states, â€Å"Thus I see plainly that the certainty and truth of all knowledge depends strictly on my awareness of the true God. So much so that until I became aware of him I couldn’t perfectly know anything† ( §121). Descartes expresses his dependency on and eagerness for God’s true knowledge. Further, he explains that until he is cognizant of the true God, he will never be â€Å"perfectly†, or in another interpretation, completely, knowledgeable about his beliefs. To accentuate the termShow MoreRelatedDescartes Meditations On First Philosophy807 Words   |  4 PagesConner Ruhl Professor Copley Philosophy 1000C 4 May 2015 Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy Rene Descartes was the first great philosopher of the modern era, He had a new approach which was focused on scientific and mathematical truths. Descartes came to reject the scholastic tradition, one of which he was educated, due to his pursuit of mathematical and scientific truth. Much of Descartes work was done to secure advancement of human knowledge through the use of the natural sciencesRead MoreDescartes Meditations On First Philosophy1079 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes argues for the ideas and philosophical beliefs behind skepticism. In his writings, he describes the fallibility and importance of the body of man and through extension the senses with which we observe the world. This paper will first show that within Descartes’ writings the body is an extension of the mind. Secondly, this paper will prove that the senses are a false form of understanding which leads to the deception of the mind. FinallyR ead MoreDescartes Meditations On First Philosophy1318 Words   |  6 PagesPhilosophical Questions November 2, 2017 Cogito Ergo Sum Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy and his questioning of our existence in reality is a question which philosophers have tackled throughout time. 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In meditation two, he claims that we have better knowledge of our own minds than of the physicalRead MoreDescartes Meditations On First Philosophy1264 Words   |  6 PagesDescartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy is a first-person record of Descartes’ descent into the bowels of disbelief, in order to eradicate all flawed belief from his life. In his first meditation, Descartes explains his argument for universal doubt, which leads him to doubt every truth he has ever established. Even the veracity of his sense perception is doubtful, as he renders those perceptions useless by arguing that in dreams, sense perceptions create the wildest of fantasies that can not beRead MoreDescartes Meditations On First Philosophy1712 Words   |  7 PagesDescartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) contains six Meditations. In the first two of these Descartes addresses doubt and certainty. By the end of the second Meditation Descartes establishes the possibility of certainty by concluding that he is a â€Å"thinking thing† and that this is beyond doubt. Having established the possibility of certainty, Descartes attempts to prove the existence of God. The argument he presents in the Third Meditation for the existence of God has been nicknamed theRead MoreDescartes Meditations On First Philosophy1536 Words   |  7 Pagesdid I formerly think I was? A man, of course. But what is a man?† (Descartes 340). This question that Descartes addresses in Meditations on First Philosophy is important because it outlines his core philosophical view in his work. His philosophy primarily focuses on dualism, which is the concept that there is another world that exists with ideal forms and is separate from the world of perception. The part of dualism that Descartes focuses his work on is the distinction between the soul and the bodyRead MoreDescartes Meditation On First Philosophy943 Words   |  4 Pages In the third meditation of Descartes Meditation on First Philosophy, Descartes argues that his idea of God must have come from God himself. One can also wonder whether that very own argument could also apply when Descartes has an idea of the Evil Demon. In this paper, I will argue that Descartes would not think that his having an idea of the Evil Demon proves that the Evil Demon exists. In his paper, Descartes was trying to find the source of his idea of God in order to prove that GodRead MoreDescartes Meditations On First Philosophy1080 Words   |  5 PagesRene Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, God is not mentioned until the third meditation. Descartes point of view on God simply claims his existence through the act of being. According to his claim, God must, essentially, exist as well as being an outcome of His own creation. Descartes was greatly interested in the idea that God’s being promoted an external force that controlled all beings that supported his presence. Descartes declarations, presented in his Meditations on First PhilosophyRead MoreDescartes Meditations On First Philosophy1961 Words   |  8 PagesIn Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, I will be considering if Descartes resolution to the â€Å"dreaming argument† seems acceptable to trust. The First Meditation is where the â€Å"dreaming argument † is first mentioned and then gets resolved later in the Sixth Meditation and the Objections and Replies. I will be touching on the idea that our experiences could be dreaming experiences based on personal experiences and thoughts I have had regarding this topic. Then I will go on to explain how it is