1,040 words

Self-interest and fear as fundamental human motivations

Philosophers and psychologists have argued endlessly about the forces that motivate a person most since the earliest time of recorded history.

~6 min read

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1,056 words

Nuclear proliferation debate: Sagan versus Waltz on deterrence

The apparent anti-proliferation approach of the George W. Bush Administration to nuclear and other Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) seems to coincide with the perspective of Scott Sagan in The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate, as opposed to the deterrence perspective of his co-author, Kenneth…

~6 min read

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1,021 words

Unsupported assumptions in arguments about God's existence and goodness

Arguments, both for and against the existence and "goodness" of God as outlined in the readings fall short of convincing because they are based in unsupported assumptions. Chief among these assumptions is the definition of evil and good; and a narrow construction of pain, suffering, and death.

~6 min read

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3,156 words

American support for capital punishment: demographics and arguments

Like abortion, the institution of capital punishment is a very divisive topic. The line dividing the supporters and opponents of capital punishment is variably drawn across political philosophies, race, sex and religion.

~16 min read

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1,716 words

The SAT: history, measurement, and debate in college admissions

The educational system in the United States, with time, has undergone several upheavals. There are over 1000 colleges and Universities in the United States. These institutions of learning range from conventional degree colleges that offer Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees.

~9 min read

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1,317 words

Race and class discrimination against Black Americans in the Vietnam War

Vietnam War on the issue of class and race on the Black Americans who participated in the war too. America has in many wars, starting from the Revolutionary era to the war in Vietnam.

~7 min read

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764 words

The abortion debate in the United States: rights, moral issues, and middle ground perspectives

In the United States, an individual's rights are guaranteed by law and the National Constitution. Laws encompass all aspects of the cultural definition and are likely to change over time as the social, political and religious foundations of the culture change.

~4 min read

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1,255 words

Aristotle's definition of happiness as virtuous activity in the Nicomachean Ethics

At the very beginning of Book I Chapter XIII, Aristotle states that "happiness is a certain activity of soul in conformity with perfect virtue" (Ethics 1102a).

~7 min read

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340 words

Langston Hughes' "Salvation": faith, guilt, and childhood deception

Salvation" is about himself as a boy who eventually stands up in church to be saved, not because he has seen Jesus, but because he is tired of sitting there and holding up the group of people who want him to be saved so that the service can come to an end.

~2 min read

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4,594 words

Transformation and transgression in Madame Bovary and The Awakening

Madame Bovary's entire experience is by way of approaching her own obscurity, and indeed her own demise, and her death as an individual.

~23 min read

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