Hebrew Wisdom Essay Example for Free

Hebrew Wisdom Essay This is my introduction to describe the teachings of Hebrew wisdom on diligence and laziness and how does this correspond with the contrast between wisdom and folly? I first want to give the definition of each of the words that I will be addressing during this essay. Diligence means â€Å"the attention and care legally expected or required of a person†. Laziness means â€Å"resistant to work or exertion; slow-moving; sluggish†. Wisdom means â€Å"the ability to discern or judge what is true, right or lasting; insight:. Folly means â€Å"a lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight. Now that we have the definition of the important words that I will be focusing on, lets beginning the discussion of Hebrew wisdom regarding these attributes. The Book of Proverbs was written mostly by Solomon. Solomon asked God and received the wisdom of The Lord and Solomon teaches us about the importance of diligence and not being lazy. Solomon states in Proverbs 13:4 â€Å"The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich†. When we continually seek after wisdom it will enable us to not become lazy. If we continue to be diligent we reap the rewards by  obtaining the knowledge we need to help us in our daily walk and every aspect of our life. Solomon states in Proverbs 4:13 â€Å"Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life†. The Word of God is our foundation to live a diligent life. The Book of Proverbs emphasizes the fear of the Lord as the key to wisdom and knowledge. His wisdom is available to those of us who trust Him and keep His commandments (Proverbs 2:7-10). The Book of Proverbs gives you the lifestyle to follow, the life of diligence or the life of laziness. The choice is ours to make in what path we will follow. The lazy person is one that does not count up the costs, one that want something for nothing, one that will sleep during the day instead of working (Proverbs 13:4; 24:30). As believers we must understand the importance of being diligent and not lazy. We must apply the knowledge given to us through the Word of God and apply it to our lives so that we will not be as a folly person. Folly is one that is lead by the pleasure of this world. According to The Essence of the Old Testament â€Å"under the sun† indicates an earthly perspective, in other words, a life without God. In Proverbs 14, Solomon describes the difference between wisdom and folly. Solomon states that foolishness destroys his own, willfully avoids fearing the Lord, speaks words that are undependable and immature and the fool has no harvest for lack of spiritual strength. The fool leaves no room for accountability to God. Then in Proverbs 15, Solomon speaks of the wise person. He will build his own, maintain integrity because of the fear of the Lord, he produces a harvest, he tells the truth, he maintains a teach spirit and finds gracious favor from the Lord. In my conclusion, I will sum up the teaching of the Hebrew wisdom. We have a choice to obtain wisdom and be diligent or be foolish and lazy. Our reward will be greater if we choose to follow God and use the wisdom that God has given us and be diligent in everything that we do for God so that we will not be like the foolish person and head towards destruction due to self indulgence and doing and speaking evil against God. Those that have the wisdom and diligent, need to be careful that they do not rejoice when their enemy falls (Proverbs 24:17). As stated in Ecclesiastes 12:13, Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. Let’s all seek to be like Solomon and ask God for wisdom, daily so that we can do and say those things that are pleasing to our Heavenly Father. Wisdom is meant to be applied, not just studied or memorized (The Essence of the Old Testament). BIBLIOGRAPHY Edward Hindson and Gary Yates,,The Essence of the Old Testament: A Survey, Nashville, 2012 Broadman Holman Publishers, The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Nashville, 1996 Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition principal copyright 1993

Consequentialism, Deontology, and Inevitable Trade-offs :: Philosophy Essays

Consequentialism, Deontology, and Inevitable Trade-offs ABSTRACT: Recently, unrestrained consequentialism has been defended against the charge that it leads to unacceptable trade-offs by showing a trade-off accepted by many of us is not justified by any of the usual nonconsequenlist arguments. The particular trade-off involves raising the speed limit on the Interstate Highway System. As a society, we seemingly accept a trade-off of lives for convenience. This defense of consequentialism may be a tu quoque, but it does challenge nonconsequentialists to adequately justify a multitude of social decisions. Work by the deontologist Frances Kamm, conjoined with a perspective deployed by several economists on the relation between social costs and lives lost, is relevant. It provides a starting point by justifying decisions which involve trading lives only for other lives. But the perspective also recognizes that using resources in excess of some figure (perhaps as low as $7.5 million) to save a life causes us to forego other live-saving activiti es, thus causing a net loss of life. Setting a speed limit as low as 35 miles per hour might indeed save some lives, but the loss of productivity due to the increased time spent in travel would cost an even greater number of lives. Therefore, many trade-offs do not simply involve trading lives for some lesser value (e.g., convenience), but are justified as allowing some to die in order to save a greater number. It has long been one of the standard criticisms of consequentialist approaches to ethics that they too easily justify "trade-offs" that are morally unacceptable. The criticism which holds "the end justifies the means" philosophy inherent in consequentialism to be a source of great immorality is expressed, for example, in the famous scene from Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Remember how Alyosha reacts to the prospect offered by Ivan of a harmonious world order, a system that would bring about peace and rest and happiness for all men. A lovely idea, but the structure comes at the price of torturing one tiny child to death. And Alyosha will not consent to that "exchange." A consequentialist response to Alyosha's refusal to consent to trade the suffering and death of one innocent in exchange for universal harmony is that, in the present inharmonious order, many innocent children will die horribly, not just one. Alyosha's tender conscience will cost thousands of innocent children their lives. And so the debate continues. Recently, however, a proponent of consequentialism, Alastair Norcross, has sharpened the debate.

Medicalization Essay

Medicalization describes a process by which a non-medical problem becomes defined and treated as a medical problem, usually in terms of illness and disorders. Medicalization used to be focused on deviance, now it focuses on a range of human problems. Medicalization is increasing as technology advances. There are many things that have become medicalized such as Alcoholism, mental disorders, eating disorders, sexual dysfunction, etc. There are three degrees of medicalization. 1. Fully medicalized, example would be severe mental illness. 2.  Partly medicalized, example would be menopause. 3. Minimally medicalized, example would be sexual addiction. The factors that affect the degrees are the support of medical profession, available treatment, and medical insurance. In the end medicalization has increased the profitability and markets of pharmaceutical and biotechnological firms. Many factors have contributed to the rise of medicalization. For instance the loss in religious, the increase of faith in science, rationality, progress, increased prestige and the power of the medical profession. The medical profession and the expansion of medical jurisdiction were prime movers for medicalization. Medicalization has also occurred through social movements. Doctors are not the only ones involved in medicalization now, patients are active collaborators in the medicalization of their problem. The Vietnam veteran movement medicalized PTSD; AIDS treatment was done by the gay and lesbian movement, and PSM with the woman’s movement. There are both positive and negative consequences to medicalization. With everything being medicalized, some people have a better chance functioning well in society. If they are really shy, they will be diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder, and will be medicated to interact efficiently in society. People are no longer depressed, disoriented because of medical intervention, for example, menopause and anorexia. It can really improve the self-esteem of some individuals. Those were some of the positive consequences of medicalization. There are a few negative consequences as well. For instance, medicalization transforms human differences into pathologies. Example, a child with a different learning size will be accused of having a learning disability or having ADHD. By transforming all of these differences into pathologies, it will diminish our tolerance for and appreciation of the diversity of human life. Eventually every person will be labeled as sick. In the Dr. Jarvik article, the speaker demonstrates how old age is being medicalized. It isn’t acceptable to age, because one should stay young. Medicalization has brainwashed people into thinking that somethings aren’t normal when really they are. As people age they are pushed to take all of these medications to stay young and feel good, when it should be socially acceptable to age. A good example of a way medicalization has been resisted would be demedicalization. Gays have changed the definition of homosexuality from illness to lifestyle. Same thing with masturbation, it used to be considered an illness, now its something natural that most people do. These examples contradict medicalization since they have been demedicalized. Disabilities went from medical problem to societal problem. Childbirth used to have been done in a hospital under drugs. Now woman have many options on how they would like to give birth. Parents have refused to give children medication for their ADHD because they belive it wont benefit them. One example from the article would be the â€Å"ana is my friend† website that they mentioned. It is a website that helps anorexic people learn to live an anorexic lifestyle. They don’t promote it they just help anorexics adjust. In the end, Medicalization plays a huge role in todays society. It will keep on expanding from here, and along will come its consequences.

Sonny s Blues By James Baldwin - 1620 Words

Sonny’s Blues â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† was written by James Baldwin. Some of the main characters of the short story are family members that include the narrator, his brother Sonny, their mother, the narrator’s wife Isabel, his father and their uncle. Sonny’s friend is also a main character in the story, but was not in the least helpful to Sonny. The characters live in Harlem and try to survive in very trying circumstances of crime, violence and poverty. Even though the main characters are all struggling to make it in the violent crime ridden neighborhood of Harlem, they interact and help Sonny to fulfill his dream of playing his music for a living. First, the narrator is Sonny’s older brother. He is narrating the story in the first person point of view. He appears to be a successful man who is an algebra teacher with a family of a wife and two children (190). He lives in Harlem where many of the young men there are not doing as well. Many are unemployed or living in circumstances that have them work in undesirable jobs. Compared to the other young men, the narrator had escaped the streets. The narrator describes what he sees in Harlem in detail. The narrator copes with living in Harlem by not getting emotionally involved in its problems that surround him. He tries to distance himself away from it. He is also an articulate man. He describes, for instance, the housing projects as â€Å"rocks in the middle of a boiling sea† (text 195).the boiling sea is the violent neighborhood of Harlem.Show MoreRelatedSonny s Blues By James Baldwin827 Words   |  4 PagesSonny’s Blues In James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† it is only when a brother loses his child that he realizes how easy it can be to lose his brother. The narrator’s little brother, Sonny, was left in his charge when their parents passed away. He neglects Sonny and leaves him to work through hard decisions on his own which leads to Sonny being picked up by the police for using and selling drugs. When the narrator’s daughter, Grace, passes he sees how suffering can affect people and reaches outRead MoreSonny s Blues By James Baldwin1252 Words   |  6 PagesThe story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† by James Baldwin centers on the conflicting relationship between two brothers that is explored throughout various stages of their lives. Through the structured, melodic style used by Baldwin there are reoccurring themes of suffering, family, and home that are used to further convey the idea of two brothers who love each other, but don’t understand eac h other. Ultimately, the relationship between the two brothers is greatly strained due them being polar opposites, their lackRead MoreJames Baldwin s Sonny s Blues956 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin brings you on an emotional ride through Harlem in the 1950’s with his short story, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues.† From the beginning, we are in media res when the unnamed narrator is informed of bad news concerning his younger, troubled brother, Sonny. Throughout the story we witness the ocean of emotions between these two brothers battling hardships from their past, through flashbacks, and present time. The setting plays an important role in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† to an extent where it is practically aRead MoreSonny s Blues By James Baldwin2300 Words   |  10 PagesIn the short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, by James Baldwin there is the notion or a reoccurring theme of a conflict between light and dark between the characters. The notion is carri ed throughout the story of two brothers finding their own lights and trying to work towards a greater life. In the late 50’s, after the Harlem Renaissance, adolescents are faced with drug sales everywhere and crime sprees around every corner, this is one example of the darkness in the story. Kids began to form bad habits thatRead MoreJames Baldwin s Sonny s Blues2994 Words   |  12 PagesINTRODUCTION Sonny, from James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† is portrayed as a sufferer. He struggles with his stagnation in Harlem, his unfulfilled dreams and the disconnect between himself and his only family, his brother. However, not all hope is lost. He serves as a teacher for others, full of knowledge of how one can truly suffer and still triumph (Norton 47). Only when he is finally able to connect with his brother through music, are his â€Å"blues† finally heard and he affirms his individualityRead MoreSonny s Blues By James Baldwin1028 Words   |  5 Pagesand influence the subject’s ideas. Consciously and unconsciously, the individual reflects the confluence of his or her history and culture. In â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, a short story by James Baldwin, the dominant culture constricts the black individual. Subject to the explicit and latent biases of a racist society, the black population of â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† attempt to en dure oppression and suffering and survive in an unforgiving land. However, they can thrive here with the hope and salvation provided by theRead MoreSonny s Blues By James Baldwin Essay1745 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Sonny’s Blues† is a narration about two siblings – brothers - who choose very different routes in life in order to accomplish the zenith of individualism, expressionism and recognition. In doing so, they take a glimpse into one another’s spheres and learn to assent and appreciate each other for who they are. In 1951, Baldwin wrote Sonny’s Blues, a story of the ills that Harlem provided its youth. In Baldwin’s telling of the narration, it forms a nous of liberation, an atmosphere of therapeutic acceptanceRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues Essay1154 Words   |  5 Pagesntroduction: James Baldwin, author of Sonny s Blues, once said, I grew up with music...much more than with any other language. In a way, the mus ic I grew up with saved my life (Session 3 Inquiry: Rudolfo Anaya and James Baldwin, 2015).   Blues becomes Sonny s drug and his addiction to it his salvation.       Even though the adults refrain from lamenting their sufferings directly to the children and telling them about the darkness, the child-narrator still intimates its marks in their facesRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 995 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin presents an emotional journey through Harlem in the 1950’s with his short story, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues.† From the beginning, the story is in medias res when the unnamed narrator is informed of bad news concerning his younger, troubled brother, Sonny. Throughout the story there is an ocean of emotions witnessed between these two brothers as they battle hardships from their past and present time. The setting plays an important role in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† to an extent where it is practically a characterRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues Essay2104 Words   |  9 PagesSeveral dialectics are at play in James Baldwin’s short story â€Å"Sonnyâ€℠¢s Blues† including a dialectic between the narrator and his beloved brother Sonny involving their opposing responses to the sense of oppression and limitation that arises from living in Harlem. This dialectic and its resolution closely parallel Baldwin’s masterful use of Blues, Jazz, and Gospel music. We follow the narrator and his brother Sonny as they traverse the complexities of their individual and interconnected Harlem lives