Saturday, January 25, 2020

Essay --

The Views of Hawthorne on Puritanism Nathaniel Hawthorne's knowledge of Puritanism and his close relationship with the religion has impacted his views on those in the society. Hawthorne is critical of the Puritans and he thinks that they are hypocrites for having rules and morals that they do not follow. He sees the underlying sin that others may not. Through his many writings he makes known to his readers that everyone is guilty of sin. The Puritan's main goal was to save themselves from the sin in the world, but Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays their morals and society as troublesome through his works, "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," and The Scarlet Letter. Through the work of "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne is able to express his views of hypocrisy in Puritanism. Goodman Brown was convinced that his Puritan family was sinless and deserved to be honored. When traveling through the forest he says, "My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We have been a race of honest men and good Christians since the days of the martyrs" ("Young Goodman Brown" 238). What Goodman Brown does not know is that his previous generations have taken part in these sinful actions that occurred in the woods. Although Brown's ancestors were supposedly righteous Puritans, they were involved in lashing a Quaker woman and setting fire to an Indian village, according to the traveler speaking with Brown. Through these stories that the traveler tells, Hawthorne makes known to his readers that Puritan's are hypocrites because they say they are holy and pure when in reality they are committing impious actions. Throughout this stor y Young Goodman Brown takes his journey through the woods and sees nearly eve... ... like Hester. He is implying that she is the victim and that the Puritans are actually at fault for this sin. Hawthorne's main goal is to convey the Puritans as sinful and unholy. He does not approve of the sin they hide and he thinks there should be punishment for their actions. To Hawthorne there are many problems in Puritan society. He exposes their transgressions of secret sin and hypocrisy. Hawthorne was haunted by his Puritan past, as he saw all the sins and immoral acts that the society committed. He expresses that everyone sins, no matter how holy or pious they may appear. Hawthorne points out their unrighteousness despite the Puritans claim to be pious. He sees no benefits in being involved in the society. Hawthorne expresses his negative views on Puritanism through his three works, "Young Goodman Brown," "The Ministers Black Veil," and The Scarlet Letter.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Loaded word

Among the words that were created and developed in the English language, â€Å"empowerment† remains an elusive yet most rampantly used term, especially in the field of civic engagement and community-building.   Empowerment is a word that contains with it social, political, and economic dimensions; however, its foci remains on the political dimension, wherein the objective is to experience or provide power to an individual or group. According to the World Bank, empowerment â€Å"is the process of enhancing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes.†Ã‚   These capacities are social and/or economic in nature, and they are gained and developed through the utilization of resources available in people’s social environments.   Key to the achievement of empowerment is access to these resources, since it is only by the availability of these resources that individuals or groups are able to achieve development of their capacities. Empowerment is a loaded word because this concept is difficult to achieve, especially when social and economic factors are included in the achievement of empowerment.   This is the dilemma encountered among individuals or groups who try to achieve empowerment, as ascertained in their own terms.   Because empowerment could mean the achievement of capacities on the different aspects of a person’s life, empowerment is also subjected to varied interpretations of its success or failure. In fact, empowerment could also have positive and negative dimensions.   Positive empowerment is achieved when the individual/group feels empowered without letting other people feel subjugated; the converse is the effect of negative empowerment, wherein the individual/group feels empowered at the expense of another individual/group. Empowerment is reflected in the work of millionaire Bill Gates, who feels empowerment because of the economic resources that he has at his disposal and control.   These economic resources are the computer and information technologies, intellectual, and financial resources. His empowerment is reflected in his ability to command his IT company Microsoft, to live comfortably and not feel the scarcity of resources about him, and to provide support to other people who needs empowerment in different areas in their lives.   He is an individual who experienced empowerment because of his intellect, and through his intellect, he was able to capacitate himself further by accumulating economic wealth and the ability to be a â€Å"mover† in the industry of computer and information technologies. People who have not yet experienced empowerment in terms of development are the Papuans, of the Pacific Island Papua New Guinea.   Papuans are considered not empowered when it comes to their health, wherein there are still individuals and groups who experience health affliction such as tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.   In TB alone, Papuans remain far behind versus other developing and underdeveloped countries. This is why, in order to promote health empowerment among Papuans, funding agencies are supporting them in terms of economic resources, such as providing supplies of medicines and laboratory equipment to the health sector of the country.   In addition to providing economic resources, agencies are also providing capacity-building support to the village members, empowering them by providing them knowledge and skills in detecting TB patients and the treatment services available in their villages.   By controlling and preventing this disease alone, Papuans are empowered in a particular aspect of their lives: healthcare, particularly TB care and treatment.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Abiotic Synthesis And The Deep Sea Vent Hypotheses

Although both abiotic synthesis and the deep-sea vent hypotheses argue the environment of a primordial-Earth was required for the origin of life, the two hypotheses have their differences. In general, the abiotic synthesis hypothesis describes the process of how organic compounds can be created from inorganic compounds, while the deep-sea vent hypothesis argues a possible scenario where life may have originated from inorganic compounds. While the term â€Å"primordial soup† has been used to describe abiotic synthesis, the same term has been used to describe the extreme environment surrounding hydrothermal vents. In Stanley Miller’s experiment, Bada and Lazcano (2008, p.745) argue, Miller showed abiotic synthesis took place by introducing an electric current to a circulating mixture of pressurized â€Å"CH4, NH3, H20, and H2.† However, samples of both types of hydrothermal vents show different mixtures than that of Miller’s experiment. Although the LCHF lac ks CO2, according to William Martin, John Baross, Deborah Kelley, and Michael J. Russell (2008, p.806) the compound was not used in Miller’s experiment, but the vent did release ample amounts of H2 and CH4, which were used in Miller’s experiment. Black smokers, on the other hand, give off H2, but also release CO2 and H2S (Martin et al., 2008, p.806). The two hypotheses agree that life on Earth originated around roughly 3.8 billion years ago. Another similarity between the two hypotheses is both argue the precursors of life areShow MoreRelatedThe Origin Of Life On Earth2069 Words   |  9 Pagesmade it possible. Life on Earth originated billions of years ago, either in the conditions of an early Earth environment or from deep-space meteors, the most compelling hypotheses aiming to explain how life originated are abiotic synthesis, the deep-sea vent hypothesis, and panspermia. A popular theory aiming to explain the origin of life on Earth is abiotic synthesis, a hypothesis which argues an early Earth atmosphere would have provided an ideal environment for the formation of amino acids and