Plato and Gettier on Knowledge Essay Example for Free

Plato and Gettier on Knowledge Essay Plato in one of his most famous earliest dialogue Meno tried to provide a new way of explaining how we humans acquire knowledge. The common notion of the ancient Greeks and even to our times on how we acquire knowledge is the characteristic of knowledge to be taught and learned. Knowledge in a sense is an outside entity that resides outside ourselves. We learn outside of ourselves through our environment or other people that try to teach us. However, the events and flow of discussion in Meno had convinced Plato to provide a new framework that will be able to discuss how we acquire knowledge. Platos basic discussion says that knowledge acquisition is more in fact a matter of recollection rather than learning. We acquire knowledge and ideas from the inside of ourselves and not through the lessons outside ours. Plato rooted this from the belief of the priest and diviners and even philosophers to the immortality of the soul. The soul had existed since time immemorial making it able to know everything it needs to know. Whatever knowledge and ideas had already been embedded on the soul because of immortal existence. However, as the soul transfer from one body to another body because of the mortality of the human body, Plato argued that as the body withers and dies, all the knowledge are forgotten and put into background. From here, Plato would argue for the knowledge acquisition to be a matter of recollection and remembering of the knowledge and ideas already possessed by the soul. Plato believed that whatever we know is a recollected and remembered idea of the souls former existence. This concept was explained by Socrates to Meno with the help of Menos slave. Socrates called the slave and asked some questions regarding geometry and the measurement of some shapes. Socrates tried to ask some questions that direct the slave to answer them rightfully. It is important to note the slave is uneducated in the classical sense. However, through Socrates questions, he managed to enable to direct the slave towards right answers. This had help to prove to Meno that the soul already possessed the knowledge and opinions about everything. For Plato, this knowledge can be accessed by examining ourselves and with yourself or someone asking the right questions that will redirect you to the knowledge and ideas inside your soul. Knowledge is defined in its justification, truth and being a belief. After discussing the nature of knowledge and how we can acquire it, Socrates and Meno moved on to discuss to define opinion and its relevance on the affairs of man. The task is simple, to define opinion (true opinion) and to contrast it to knowledge. Primarily, Socrates acknowledged the role of a good opinion in the human affairs. He did not disregard it completely but rather understand its use in some cases. In fact, he acknowledges the inclination of virtuous men to rely on their true opinion to do good things. However, Socrates clearly undermines opinion; even they are good when it is contrasted to knowledge. For Plato, an opinion does not last long and easily withers in contrast to knowledge that has the capability to last eternally. The main difference lies on the presence of a rationality and grounds on knowledge and its absence of an n opinion. He used the example of a statue. He stated that the statue with that is tied in a good foundation will be able to last longer compare to a statue that is not tied. For Socrates, though an opinion can produce the same awe to an observer, it is a natural tendency for humans to ask the question of why and how. These questions cannot be answered by an opinion because of its absence of ground. In this sense, knowledge exceeds an opinion. This definition of knowledge that is characterized by Plato which is defined as a justified true belief had dominated from the ancient Greeks up to the mid-late 20th century. The general belief that knowledge for it to be referred as knowledge must be able to satisfy three basic characteristics, which is (1) justification (2) truth (3) belief was questioned by Edmund Gettiers paper entitled â€Å"Is Justified True Belief Knowledge? †. This short paper that had managed to provide a doubt to the long tradition in epistemology that considers knowledge to be a justified true belief. Edmund Gettier provided to two cases or examples will put in to question the long era of this ancient belief. He presented a case in which the three conditions are present namely justification, truth, belief yet unable to be count as knowledge because of the play of other factors. In Gettiers examples which were referred as Gettiers cases, the three criteria were only made possible by some elements of luck and chance which clearly invalidate it to be knowledge. This put an end to a long tradition of considering knowledge by the virtue of three elements of justification, truth and belief. Though the paper of Gettier did not provide an alternative view or solution to his problem, responses on his paper can be summarized to the attempts of many philosophers to look or find out for the fourth criteria that will make the definition of knowledge. Works Cited Plato. Grube G. M. A. (trans) Cooper, John (rev) Five dialogues. 2002. Hacket Publishing Company Inc. IN. Print Gettier. Edmund. Is Justified True Belief Knowledge? Web.

The Court as a Framework for Civilized Society in The Tempest Essay

The Court as a Framework for Civilized Society in The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, the court is portrayed not as a place or as a group of people, but as a structure binding society together. Emphasis is placed on the court as structure by the use of the two metaphors of shape, the sphere and the circle, which combine to give the impression of the court not only as a structure with a clearly defined shape, but also as a system of hierarchical control. The first of these shape metaphors uses the neoplatonic concept of spheres, with the sovereign becoming the One Infinite Being of neoplatonic belief whose divine qualities radiate outwards in concentric circles of diminishing strength into infinity. This introduces important notions not only of the sovereign as a divine being, but also of the court as an organic body and also the formal hierarchies that were inherent in Renaissance Neoplatonism. The second shape mentioned is the circle of protection created by a magician which, although using the language of art rather than nature, and magic rather than divinity, uses once more the discourse of hierarchy, with the magician using the circle as a method of controlling the 'spirit he excites’ (11). This idea of the court as a hierarchical system which is the only way of promoting virtue seems to be linked with the other main feature of the passage: that of the court as an enclosed space.      Ã‚  Ã‚   The language of the passage refers over and over again to boundaries ('banished' (1), 'end' (2), 'concluded' (2), 'bounded' (3), 'comprehend' (4), 'contains' (8), 'excludes' (9), and 'exiled' (14), and the images of sphere and circle also suggest borders which can either contain or exclude.    .. ...terly, 43, no.3, (1992) John Gillies, 'Shakespeare's Virginian Masque' in E.L.H, 53, no.4, (1986) Jeffrey Knapp, An Empire Nowhere: England, America, and Literature from Utopia to The Tempest, (University of California Press, 1992) Anthony Pagden, European Encounters with the New World from Renaissance to Romanticism, (Yale University Press, 1993) Gail Kern Paster, 'Montaigne, Dido and The Tempest: How Came that Widow in?’Shakespeare Quarterly, 35, no.3 (1984) Linda Levy Peck, Court Patronage and Corruption in Early Stuart England, (Unwin Hyman, 1990, reprinted in paperback, Routledge 1993) Bernard W. Sheehan, Savagism and Civility: Indians and Englishmen in Colonial Virginia, (Cambridge University Press, 1980) Deborah Willis, 'Shakespeare's Tempest and the Discourse of Colonialism', Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, 29, no.2, (1989)

Advantages That Multinations Have Over Domestically Focused Companies

In this age of globalization, companies are seeking to expand businesses across borders and consequently there are more and more multinational companies. A multinational corporation is one that is based in one country while maintaining manufacturing facilities or operations offices in other countries and markets its products or services on an international basis. A multinational corporation is able to take advantage of special economically advantageous opportunities that exist in the countries where it operates, such as a low labor cost or favorable rate of currency exchange.They also enjoy access to a diversified workforce that gives them greater creative competitive edge. The reasons why companies seek to expand across borders are: to open new markets or to hold onto existing ones; to avoid tariffs or other trade restrictions; to tap new sources of raw materials and agricultural production; and to take advantage of cheap foreign labor. The most significant aspect of multinational c orporations is that they enjoy major tax and investment advantages. Tax Advantages: Business taxation varies from country to country.While there are high tax countries like the United States, Great Britain and the People's Republic of China (PRC), there are low tax countries like Belize, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. A multinational corporation can pick its tax jurisdiction and thus limit its tax obligations. Doing so translates instantly into greater profits. On the contrary, any domestic company will be subject to taxation on its profits in that country and there is no question of choice (Kate, 2006). Lowering Taxes:Most multinational corporations look for tax holidays when seeking a foreign base for their manufacturing plant. However the tax holiday offer is meaningless in the US and Singapore as companies in these places companies are taxed on their global income. Multinational companies enjoy the advantage of having the choice to get the best combination of location, labo r market, and government corporate benefits. Funding opportunities: Multinational corporations have regular access to funding opportunities unavailable to domestic companies.The money provided by the government in return for creating jobs reduces the multinational corporation's overhead, diminishes business risk and increases profits. It has been found that any company with an established export market outside of the manufacturing country's domestic market can recover most – almost 50-75% – of the expenditure in setting up a new plant. This is mainly because of the support of the government (Kate, 2006). Tariffs Can Be Circumvented: Multinational corporations can dodge tariffs by proper planning.If a MNC wants instant free trade access to both the EU and the USA, it will start manufacturing in Israel. If there is a low-tech product that needs free trade access to the EU, it is best to make it in Senegal, since they have a free trade agreement with France. The list of b ypasses around tariffs is long and grows as NAFTA and the EU expand (Kate, 2006). Accounting advantages: Multinational pooling arrangement is an agreement between the head office of a multinational company and an insurance network, which allows – at an accounting stage – the consolidation of the worldwide experience.This network allows: better management of the worldwide risk and improved reporting; up-front local savings due to economies of scale and potential international dividends; improved local terms & conditions due to network leverage; easier transfer of employees within the entity and reinsurance protection against individual peaks or catastrophic events (DF, 2006). Advantage of Transfer Pricing: When one part of a multinational organization in one country transfers goods, services or know-how to another part in another country, the price charged for these goods or services is called ‘transfer price'.This may be a purely arbitrary figure, meaning by this that it may be unrelated to costs incurred, may be unrelated to operations carried out or to added value. The transfer price can be set at a level which reduces or even cancels out the total tax which has to be paid by the multinational. In other words it is possible for a multinational company to minimize its liability for corporation tax by transfer pricing (Davidmann, 2006). According to the US law, multinational corporations, whether American- or foreign-owned, are supposed to pay taxes on the profits they earn in the United States.However, in reality, foreign-owned corporations doing business in the United States, typically pay far less in U. S. income taxes than domestic companies. Even U. S. -owned multinationals utilize such tax evasion loopholes. Companies try to set their â€Å"transfer prices† to shift income away from the United States and shift deductible expenses into the United States (CTJ, 2006). Asset Protection: Multinational companies often use offshore ce nters to restructure their ownership of assets. Through trusts, foundations or through an existing corporation company wealth ownership can be transferred from people to other legal entities.Many companies which are concerned about lawsuits or lenders foreclosing on outstanding debts choose to transfer a portion of their assets to an entity that holds it outside of their home country. By making these ownership transfers, these companies can escape seizure or other domestic troubles (Investopedia, 2006) . Confidentiality: Many offshore jurisdictions offer multinational companies the added advantage of secrecy legislation. These countries have enacted laws establishing strict corporate and banking confidentiality.If this confidentiality is breached, there are serious consequences for the offending party. An example of a breach of banking confidentiality is divulging customer identities; disclosing shareholders is a breach of corporate confidentiality in some jurisdictions. To a multin ational company, this secrecy of personal information can offer significant financial and legal advantage. Because nations are not required to accept the laws of a foreign government, offshore jurisdictions are, in most cases, immune to the laws that may apply where the investing company resides (Investopedia, 2006).Diversification of Businesses: Domestic companies have to follow local government regulations that restrict its international investment opportunities. Multinational companies have unlimited access to international markets and to all major exchanges. There are also many opportunities in developing nations, especially in those that are beginning to privatize sectors that were formerly under government control. Conclusion: Thus we find that multinational companies enjoy many advantages compared to local domestic companies.

The Evolution Of The Homo - 2311 Words

Our homo ancestors date back to about 2.5 million years ago. Classification of the genus Homo into species and subspecies remains poorly defined and subject to incomplete information, leading to difficulties in binomial naming, and the use of common names, such as Neanderthal and Denisovan. With that being said, many people get a misunderstanding when discussing our homo ancestors. The biggest issue is knowing what a species are actually apart of the genus homo and who isn’t. Several species, including Australopithecus garhi, Australopithecus sediba, Australopithecus africanus, and Australopithecus afarensis, have been proposed as the direct ancestor of the Homo lineage. These species have morphological features that align them with†¦show more content†¦Homo habilis had smaller molars and larger brains than the australopithecines, and made tools from stone and perhaps animal bones. One of the first known hominids, it was nicknamed handy man by discoverer Louis Leake y due to its association with stone tools. Some scientists have proposed moving this species out of Homo and into Australopithecus due to the morphology of its skeleton being more adapted to living on trees rather than to moving on two legs like Homo sapiens. Homo rudolfensis findings in Kenya have been suggested to be Homo habilis, but scientists are unsure. The fossils found from these two species are said to be from about 1.8 million years ago. Homo georgicus, named after the country Georgia, is said to possibly be an intermediate form between Homo erectus and Homo habilis or a sub species of Homo erectus. Homo erectus lived from about 1.8 million to about 70,000 years ago. Many scientist believe that the early stages of erectus, about 1.8 to 1.2 million years ago, is a separate species called Homo ergaster, seen as a sub species of erectus. In the early Pleistocene, 1.5–1 Ma, in Africa some populations of Homo habilis are thought to have evolved more complex brains and made more elaborate stone tools; these differences and others are sufficient for anthropologists to classify them as a new species, Homo erectus. The next two species are said to be a mix between Homo