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What is Life?

Life as an academic topic appears across nearly every discipline because it touches the fundamental conditions of human existence — how individuals develop, make choices, navigate systems, and find meaning. In personal issues courses, sociology, nursing, literature, and ethics, students are asked to examine what shapes lived experience and how institutions, relationships, and culture either support or constrain individual ability. The topic resists easy definition, which is precisely what makes it intellectually rich: it forces writers to clarify terms, interrogate assumptions, and connect abstract concepts to concrete human realities.

The papers archived here reflect a genuinely wide range of approaches. Literary analysis appears in essays on works such as Bernice Morgan's fiction and Bessie Head's "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses," where writers examine how characters construct identity, belonging, and personal freedom. Policy and ethical frameworks drive essays on abortion, DNR legislation, and prison overcrowding, while sociological and cultural analysis informs work on parenting styles, family therapy, and soccer hooliganism. Observational and practice-based writing — such as operating room reflections and evidence-based nursing — grounds the topic in professional experience, showing how the concept of life plays out in direct care and institutional settings.

A strong essay on this topic begins with a focused, arguable thesis rather than a broad statement about life in general. Evidence drawn from specific texts, case studies, policy documents, or observed practice carries far more weight than vague generalization. The most common pitfall is treating "life" as self-evident — a compelling essay defines its scope early, specifying which dimension of individual experience or social process it actually intends to examine.

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Research Paper Doctorate

Perception and truth in Akutagawa's "In a grove" and Kawabata's "A thousand cranes"

Akutagawa Ryunosuke, born in the year 1892, was a short story writer and a poet and an essayist, who was also one of the first few Japanese writers whose works happened to be translated into English.

Research Paper Doctorate

Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great as female rulers

Elizabeth I of England and Catherine II or Catherine the Great of Russia were both of noble birth. Elizabeth was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his second queen, Anne Boleyn (911 Encyclopedia 2004).

Research Paper Doctorate

Material desire and character transformation in Maupassant's "The Necklace"

Oh! -- My poor Mathilde, how you are changed." The owner of the titular necklace in Guy do Maupassant's short story barely recognizes her former friend ten years after she lent her the fake jewels.

Research Paper Doctorate

Aristotle, Kant, and Mill on the ethics of emotion and pleasure

Ethics and its role on Emotion of Pleasure: Views from Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, and J.S. Mill

Paper Doctorate

The Enlightenment's influence on American democratic ideals and institutions

Essay Questions ONE: Impact of Enlightenment on American Culture and Political Life The impact that the Enlightenment had on American culture is significant. In fact the American society that "evolved and is dominant today – including the democratic ideals, capitalism and the scientific method – all "derive from the Enlightenment ideals formulated in England" (Jandt, 2007, p. 184). The emphasis that Americans have on individual liberties and the dominant language in America and the structure of law were the result of the Enlightenment, Jandt explained (184). The author asserts that values related to democracy – including separation of powers (executive, legislative and judicial) – derived from the French philosopher Montesquieu, prominent in the French Enlightenment. Professor Robert Morse Crunden – with the University of Texas – explained that because of the Enlightenment's impact on America, "Educated men revolted against the irrationality and violence of post-Reformation Europe" (Crunden, 1996, p. 31). Those educated men – plus "local clergy, academics, businessmen and professional men" were enlightened, creating new ideas and producing profoundly important documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution (Crunden, 31).

Essay High School

How Augustine, Freud, and McFague conceptualize God's role in human society

Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud's seminal student, wrote that "Bidden or unbidden God is present." This motto of his might well stand in for the ways in which Freud, St. Augustine, and Sallie McFague write about the ways in which they conceive God – or rather the ways in which they conceive people conceive of God. Each of these writers describes how the idea of God is fundamental to the way in which many people experience their lives, even though not all people recognize a connection between themselves and the kind of personified God that Judaism and Christianity posit. This paper examines the ways in which these three different thinkers address the ways in which individuals understand (but do not necessarily accept) the concept of God and the implications of living in a society that itself clings to the idea of divinity.

Paper Undergraduate

Parental stress and marital satisfaction in families with special needs children

Parenting is an inherently stressful process that can change the dynamic of a marital relationship. This impact is magnified in the case of parents with special needs children. The research proposal here offers a study hypothesizing that parents of special needs children encounter higher levels of parental stress than do the parents of non-special needs children.

Research Paper Doctorate

Religion's role in society: functionalist and conflict perspectives

Sociology and Religion sociological study of religion does not focus simply on what different people believe or how different people worship. In addition to these, sociologists also focus on the social effects of…

Research Paper Doctorate

Anticipatory empathy and power dynamics in social work practice

Anticipatory empathy can be described as the ability of a person to evaluate the effects of his or her actions or words on another person. This is a common technique used by therapist to understand the outcomes of their therapy. It is necessary to practice social justice that one can understand in other person' s shoes and try to perceive the impacts that one's may have on other. In fact, anticipatory empathy is highly important for the students and educators of social work practice. Evidence suggests that practitioner-to-client empathy is critical for effective social work practice (e.g., Berg, Raminani, Greer, Harwood, & Safren, 2008; Forrester, Kershaw, Moss, & Hughes, 2008; Green & Christensen, 2006; Mishara et al., 2007; Sale, Bellamy, Springer, & Wang, 2008). We also know that empathy is essential to adequate moral development (Jollife & Farrington, 2006).

Research Paper Doctorate

Why sculpture qualifies as a legitimate art form

Sculpture is art for a variety of reasons. First, the sculptor must study art, to begin his craft. He must also study stone carving, or work with stone and other mediums to become successful.

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