Essay Undergraduate 417 words

Plato, Descartes, and Hume: Knowledge, Self, and Doubt

A comparative essay examining Socratic ignorance, Cartesian doubt, and Humean empiricism — covering knowledge, God, and personal identity in Western philosophy.

Philosophy

~3 min read

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637 words

Descartes' six meditations on God and the soul

Descartes "Meditations..." This philosophical essay was written by Rene Descartes (1596-1650) in 1641. Descartes, also known for his famous "I think, therefore I am" theory, was also a mathematician and scientist.

~4 min read

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374 words

Simone de Beauvoir's ethics of freedom and moral choice in ambiguity

Simone de Beauvoir's essay the Ethics of Ambiguity, in which she outlines an ethics derived from existentialism, largely drawing from and responding to the work of Jean-Paul Sartre, is broken into three main sections and a brief conclusion.

~2 min read

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651 words

Hannah Arendt's distinction between power, violence, and speech

In her essay, "Communicative Power," Hannah Arendt explores the relationship between power and other institutions, namely violence, from a humanistic and collectivist standpoint, painting a portrait of power in the public realm.

~4 min read

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947 words

Stoll's satirical critique of technology-based educational reform

The essay entitled "Cyberschool," written by Clifford Stoll, is an example of an extremely satirical and informal piece. Stoll explores the impractical aspects of extreme educational reform with the use of too much technology.

~5 min read

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578 words

Racial profiling and the Amadou Diallo case

In the essay entitled, "Race, Crime and Justice," the issue of racial profiling against black Americans is discussed, implying that this is prevalently happening among police officers, skewing the concept of fair justice towards the favor of white Americans and against the black Americans.

~3 min read

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775 words

How writing about budgeting management improved my conceptual understanding

Of the essays I completed, I must admit that I like various parts of all of them, but feel that my third essay was the best. By then I was more confident about what I was writing.

~4 min read

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548 words

Thoreau's critique of government in Civil Disobedience

Thoreau's essay "Civil Disobedience" was written after the Transcendentalist author was imprisoned for refusing to pay his taxes in protest against the Mexican-American War. In his essay, Thoreau demanded that America become once again a truly free government, for the people and by the people.

~3 min read

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580 words

The three essential qualities of a true friend

Composition IIIllustration EssayA True FriendIt has been said that human beings are social animals. What this means is that we detest isolation and like to associate with others. It is for this reason that we live in groups or formations such as communities and families.

~3 min read

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Reflection Paper Undergraduate 935 words

Status, Consumerism, and Teen Peer Culture: A Sociological Reaction

A reaction essay to Milner's Freaks, Geeks and Cool Kids, examining how teenage status systems and American schooling fuel consumer capitalism.

Sociology

~5 min read

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