Wetland Research Paper Essay Example

Wetland Research Paper Paper Construction is another threat because as the population grows the demand for affordable housing goes up. Also with a rise in population comes a demand for food, which leads the to last and most destructive threat to wetlands, farming. Farming is all the threats to wetlands rolled into one; it builds over hundreds of acres of land and pollutes it with fertilizers and herbicides.   There are many misconceptions about wetlands that the public has due to the fact that there is not much public interest to save the wetlands. Well what exactly is a wetland? A lowland area, such as a marsh or swamp, that is treated with moisture, especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife, but in actuality a wetland is so much more than that. Depending on the type of wetland suggests the function it performs for the environment. We now realize that wetlands are important and valuable ecosystems. They are home to many beautiful and rare species. They filter runoff and adjacent surface waters to protect the quality of our lakes, bays and rivers. Wetlands also protect many of our sources of drinking water. They are the source of many commercially and recreational valuable species of fish, shellfish and lilied. They retain floodwater and protect shorelines from erosion (Gomez, J. 1 992, Peg. 3). There are several types of wetlands each differing in its location, climate, and the life supported. There are Northern Bogs, Prairie Potholes, Cypress Swamps, vernal pools, Southern Bottom Lands, and Coastal Marshes. For example bogs are especially good for trapping CO in the form of peat, coastal marshes filter out saltwater coming inland from the ocean, and cypress swamps (Above) absorb pollutants into their sediment. We will write a custom essay sample on Wetland Research Paper specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Wetland Research Paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Wetland Research Paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer BRB very beautiful as well as beneficial wetland is the vernal pool. Vernal lolls are naturally occurring depression type wetlands that are covered by shallow water from winter to spring, but may be completely dry for most of the summer and fall. These wetlands range in size from small puddles to shallow lakes and are usually found in a gently sloping plain of grassland. Although generally isolated, they are sometimes connected to each other by small drainages known as vernal swales. Beneath vernal pools lies either bedrock or a hard clay layer in the soil that helps keep water in the pool. Climatic changes associated with each season cause dramatic changes in the appearance of vernal pools. The pools collect water during winter and spring rains, changing in volume in response to varying weather patterns. During a single season, pools may fill and dry several times. In years of drought, some pools may not fill at all.   Len the spring, wildflowers often bloom in brilliant circles of color that follow the receding shoreline of the pools. By early summer, the water has evaporated, and the clay pools appear brown, barren, and cracked. However, appearances may be deceiving. The unique environment of vernal pools provides habitat for numerous rare plants and animals that are able to revive these harsh conditions. Many of these plants and animals spend the dry season as seeds, eggs, or cysts, and then grow and reproduce when the ponds are flooded again. In addition, birds such as egrets, ducks, and hawks use vernal pools as a seasonal source of food and water (Marshall, 1978). Potholes are a very beneficial wetland that is home to dozens of migratory waterfowl. They are found primarily in the Upper Midwest, especially North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. This formerly glaciated landscape is covered with a vast number of potholes, which fill with snowbell and rain in the spring. Some prairie pothole marshes are temporary, while others may be virtually permanent. Here, as in other marshes, submerged and floating aquatic plants take over the deeper water; while bulrushes and cattails grow closer to shore, and wet marshes lie next to the upland. These wetlands are a sort of cousin to vernal pools, sharing the same location, and seasonal waters. (Marshall, 1978). Another infamous type of wetland is the bog. These wetlands have for centuries have been shrouded with mystery. Bogs are known for their ability to produce peat, which is just as valuable as coal. They also have the ability to reserve things, one such incident in 1 987 where a 2,800-year-old corpse was pulled from the swampy waters in near perfect condition ((March, of the Bog National Geographic). This man had been killed during the Iron Age, in a radicalized thiefs execution, which involved the torture and eventual slitting of the throat. Such wetlands in Florida preserved the bodies of hunter gatherers for thousands of years after they died. So in a sense wetlands can provide us with vital archeological evidence. However all this evidence is being threatened as peat bogs are being mined into extinction. Beer BRBThe greatest benefit wetlands have is on the environment they support, with out these lands many species of plants and animals. Many fish that live in the ocean depend on the wetlands. One may ask how a wetland could be necessary for a fish that lives in the ocean? The answer is that wetlands serve as breeding grounds for many animals, not just fish, as well as act as nurseries for when the animals are just born. It is said that half the fish that are caught commercially rely on wetlands to reproduce (Marshall, A. 1 978, peg. 5). Wetlands are critical to the fish industry, which continues to over farm he oceans. This is a problem obviously because there are more and more fish being caught and less places f or them to breed. This is also true with migratory birds, which use the wetlands to make pit stops and raise their young. It is the life that the wetlands support which makes them North Americas rain forests. In fact a wetland produces just as much life as a rain forest of the same size, and they are both being destroyed at about the same rate (Mitchell, J. (1992, October). Our Disappearing Wetlands National Geographic, Peg 15). While wetlands are able to support life they also protect rounding ecosystems by taking in pollutants that would normally poison the land. BeerThere is one more very important element of wetlands that benefits both humans and animals, and that is CO reduction. According to the EPA since 1990 the amount of CO in the atmosphere has risen dramatically. Wetlands are our immediate protection from this because they take in as much CO as the rain forest and out put just as much oxygen. Wetlands reduce the amount of CO, not just by photosynthesis but also in the form of what is called peat. Peat is a dark brown coal like substance, which is created by the decay and arbitration of plants in the water of wetlands or bogs (Incarnate 2001 : Peat). Peat is still mined today for its fuel uses, which is another cause of destruction to wetlands. So in short peat is both a protector of the atmosphere and a UsefUl fuel source, unfortunately wetlands are destroyed for it.   Lets say for a moment that there is a utilitarian who doesnt eat fish, cares not for bird watching or bio-diversity, and never listens to the reports on global warming. What about people right now? Well people need water, and lots of it. The city of Los Angles consumes millions of gallons of water everyday. Of course this water does not come from wetlands, but wetlands prevent the contamination of where our water does come from. With out wetlands natural and non-natural pollutants would flow into our rivers, lakes, aquifers and reservoirs (Mitchell, J. (1 992, October) Our Disappearing Wetlands. National Geographic, up. 14-15). Coastal Marshes also act as a go between to stop salt water from coming inland to lakes and rivers. Coastal marshes are the most fertile form of wetlands that support dozens of species Of plants and animals. Animals like shrimp, crabs, and eatable fish all spend sometime in coastal wetlands. These animals are a good, as well as expensive source of food. Other animals like oysters and clams also live in wetlands. Only do wetlands protect our water, but they also protect us from water. Since wetlands can be looked at as sponges, they do a very good job at preventing floods. When wetland loss reached its peak last year in Florida, the state began to have huge problems with flood control and landslides. Landslides are prevented by wetlands because they absorb excess water that can go elsewhere and soften the ground. Wetlands also hold the land together, the roots of its trees and shrubs hold the soil in place, which reverts disasters. They can also protect us from the force of water, coastal marshes help break the waves that come from the ocean which helps protect the near by land and potential housing (Angel, 1982). Plants are another important aspect of wetlands. Plants form the base of wetlands and everything else lives on top of them. Plants are what holds the wetlands together, literally, in cypress swamps especially the roots of the trees stabilize the surrounding land and keep it from being eroded or washed away. Plants also provide a good source of food while performing other tasks o improve the wetland. One good example Of this is a plant called duckweed it grows in swamps, absorbs pollutants in water, and is a favorite food among ducks (Mitchell, J. (1 992, October) Our Disappearing Wetlands. National Geographic, up. 30-31 These plants do benefit humans too, wild cranberries grown naturally in bogs and marshes. Other plants such as cattails and water lilies grow in wetlands and are said to have medicinal purposes.  Like said before one of the greatest aspects of wetlands are the animals that live in them. What makes the wetlands unique is the life that they purport and the species of animals that will live only there. A very common sight to wetlands are birds. One third of this countys birds live in wetlands and over half will spend time there while migrating. With these creatures homes disappearing, they themselves are also disappearing. In 1 940 more than 40 million mallard ducks would land in the wetlands of Central Valley California. Due to massive reclaiming of wetlands especially in California, which has lots over 91% of its wetlands, today no more than 5 million migrate through there each year. Surprisingly even a bird such as a bald eagle has offered from the damage to the everglades. The bald eagle depends on the everglades for a source of food and a place to raise her young. They eat the vast amount of fish that live in the marshy waters, and nest in the trees that spring up from the water. Even this most prestigious of animals was hurt when near by Farmers sprayed their crops with DICHLORIDE DEEPENING TETRACHLORIDE or EDT (Morrison, A. (1 994, April). National Geographic, Peg 11). EDT is a chemical that is used to kill insects and weeds, this chemical is so dangerous that it was used in a more concentrated form as a chemical paean during World War l. The problem with this insecticide is that the next time it rains it is washed off into a near by water source or in this case a wetland. This poisoned nearby fish, which were eaten by a bald eagle and given to her chicks. It was even worse if the mother had survived because if she laid eggs they would have unusually thin shells, which would break before the embryo was ready to be born. Naturally this had a devastating effect on their population. Not only are birds affected by the loss footplates but dozens of types of animals like frogs, fish, and turtles. Fish are especially pendent on wetlands either for spawning or as a habitat. Since most pollutants are dumped first into the water then fish and other aquatic life are the first to feel the effect of contaminants. Another animal that depends on wetlands are crocodiles, not common to all wetlands, but infamous in the swamps of southern Florida known as the Everglades. The crocodile has had his share of problems because of what man has been doing to the everglades. Oddly enough this problem comes from near by nuclear power plants, the radioactive waste that was left over caused the crocodile population to slip each year (Morrison, A. 1 994, April). National Geographic, peg 11).   The everglades are probably the best know wetland in the country, mostly because it is the wetland that is a national park. The Everglades was actually a river that was 50 miles wide and 6 inches deep that flowed from lake Cheekbone to Florida Bay. It technically was never a wetland until man came in and cut it off from Cheekbone. Farmers taped it for water, and drained the land to raise crops. Engineers built over it, and diverted its flow to provide water for southern Florida. All this chopping off of the everglades caused the water to become stagnant and form a swamp. One of the largest single destructions to the Everglades was the building of Disney World. Hundreds of square miles of wetland were drained or destroyed for the building of Pepco Center. This destruction occurred because it was the least expensive land in all of Florida (Gomez, 1 992 Peg. 32). The Everglades are very special wetlands that have been attacked since the earliest days of our country. The Everglades were considered to be useless wastelands that had to be destroyed for the good of the country. The wetlands were hit hard by destruction, every single form of damage that can mom to a wetland happens to the Everglades. When the areas around the Everglades were not heavily populated they were poisoned by the pollution of industrial plants. Previous to 1984 when the area was declared a park, the water in the Everglades contained a pollution level of 5,000 parts per million. This is extremely high compared to bottled water which is 30-50 parts per million (Avian).  Its true that the wetlands have been treated poorly, but it was just as bad if not worse 150 years ago. Back then it was perfectly legal, as well as encouraged to destroy wetlands. So says the Swamp Lands Act of 1850, the ill reads that it is legal and encouraged that people reclaim all swamp lands and marshes so that they might yield agricultural benefits. The swampland act was the first in a set of laws that permitted the destruction of wetlands. Even in the days of the depression Government agents were sent into places like the Everglades and actually trained farmers in how to drain and fill in wetlands for crops. One such orange grove farmer in southern Florida can remember when representatives from Washington taught his father how to drain the wetlands of their water and to put them to good use. The overspent did all the engineering. They advised us on how to drain the land. They wanted us to do it. Now were being told to put the water back. Laurence Crop (Mitchell, J. Our Disappearing Wetlands (1 992, October). National Geographic, Peg 34).   BeerThankfully today there are far more laws protecting wetlands, unfortunately these laws, more often than not, are loosely enforced or not followed at all. The very first law that was set to protect wetlands was the wetland protection act of 1972. This basically undid what the swamplands act of 1 850 had done to destroy these precious ecosystems. This law declared all wetlands as gentle areas that would be protected by the government. It also declared that the Florida Everglades was a Nation Park one Of the laws to protect wetlands was section 404 Of the clean water act. Section 404 establishes a program to regulate the discharge of dredge and fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. Activities in waters of the United States that are regulated under this program include fills for development, water resource projects (such as dams and levees), infrastructure development (such as highways and airports), and inversion of wetlands to uplands for farming and forestry (Section 404 of the clean water act Mitchell, J. 1992, October) Our Disappearing Wetlands. National Geographic, peg 34). The basic idea of the program is that no run off of dredged or fill material can be permitted if theres an alternative that is less damaging to the wetlands or if the nations waters would be contaminated. In other words, when you apply for a permit, you must show that you have: taken steps to avoid wetland impacts as much as possible, minimized potential impacts to wetlands, and provided compensation for any remaining unavoidable impacts by restoring or creating wetlands (Section 404 of the clean water act Mitchell, J. 1 992, October) Our Disappearing Wetlands. National Geographic, Pigs). The next law to be made to protect wetlands was the swampiest. Contrary to its name it is more of a barterers, providing strict penalties for farmers who harm wetlands. In all honesty though this lava is much more lenient, allowing almost any kind of farm activity with the use of a permit. The program discourages farmers from altering wetlands by withholding Federal farm program benefits from any person who converts a wetland for the repose of or to make agricultural commodity production. Which basically means that any and all assistance that comes from the government to help farmers. Things like disaster insurance, and bonding are all cut from them until they either get a permit or restore the wetland (Mitchell, J. (1992, October) Our Disappearing Wetlands. National Geographic, Peg. 35). was said before that farming is one of the most destructive forces working against wetlands, which is why theres a whole section devoted to it. Farming has always used wetlands for their water and then destroyed them to raise crops. Farming can cause destruction so devastating to the land it may never recover. Things like demolition, pollution, and upsets in the ecosystem can all be attributed to farming. The most direct form of destruction from farming is the clearing of land for farms. During the early parts fifths century wetlands were regarded by everyone to be useless wastelands, this is why farmers never hesitated to remove a marsh that was in the way of their orange grove. Also there were no laws to stop farmers from doing what they wanted to with wetlands. With growing technology and mechanical advances farmers have been able to maintain larger and larger areas of land, which intern means more wetland destruction. Since 1950 the population of Florida has grown by leaps and bounds, and the farm industry has followed close behind. As of now the number of Farmers in the Sunshine State has reached an all time high, in response for the demand for food.   Another way that Farms wreak havoc on wetlands is in the chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Pesticides take the most direct toll on the environment, they not only kill the insects that feed on crops, but the insects in wetlands where the run off from farms make their way into swamps. From here the pesticides can kill even large animals like ducks and fish, and upset the natural bacterial and microorganisms that form the base of the food chain. Herbicides are what farmers use to keep down weeds. This has a disastrous effect on the environment that is made up mostly of plants. The herbicides make their way into the swamp the same way as pesticides the only difference is that on most farms herbicides are sprayed much more often as weeds are a consistent problem. These chemicals do nitrous hurt plants, they are extremely poisonous to wild life. BRB The last and seemingly least dangerous chemicals to wetlands are redelivers. While fertilizers do not kill or destroy any plants or animals they can have a huge indirect impact. Fertilizers cause plant life to over grow, to kind of tip the ecological scale. What does this mean? It means that there are more plants than the herbivores can eat and this disrupts the ecosystem. BeerThe final form of wetland destruction that is sprung out of farming is the draining of wetlands for their water. To farmers this is the only good thing they see in wetlands, a cheap accessible source of water. Farmers realized that these inconveniently placed roadblocks could provide a useful resource fore they are plowed over. This problem is what continued the destruction of wetlands after the wetlands protection act was passed because there was no law against the draining of wetlands. The thing with wetlands is that taking away their water is just as bad as removing them because the life inside them cannot survive with out the water and the whole place dies anyway. This loophole allowed wetlands to be violated still, until the swampiest law made this illegal (Morrison, A. (1994, April). Right now it may seem that man is completely at fault for the damage one to wetlands, but there are many environmental factors that are causing wetlands to disappear. Things like droughts, erosion, and rising sea levels are all causing damage in some form to wetlands. Droughts have always been a problem for wetlands, they cause the ecosystem to dry up and when this happens the wetland is basically destroyed. However this problem does have its roots with man, water pumps and dams can prevent wetlands from receiving their sources of water and dry up. Erosion usually happens when a river that is connected to a wetland overflows and washes away the area. Wetlands are designed to have water that is stagnant or not moving, when this water begins to flow like a river the wetland is devastated. Plants begin to wash away and the current takes away the offspring of animals, like fish and tadpoles, since they are too weak to fight against it. Rising sea levels are a big problem especially for coastal marshes. Im sure many of us can remember the movie WATERWORKS (Universal Pictures, 1 995) where the earth is covered with water because the ice caps melted. Well according to scientists this is becoming more science fact than fiction. As pollution continues to Vega the ozone layer the ice caps melt causing the oceans to rise and this is proving costly for coastal marshes. These areas cannot survive when completely submerged in salt water. With out these wetlands we lose a vital link between the land and sea.   Construction is another huge threat to wetlands. As the population grows the need for affordable housing becomes obvious. Contractors are always begging to turn wetlands into low cost housing, malls, or movie theaters. Construction in itself is a very permanent form of wetland destruction in that it may be difficult to get permission to build over a bog, UT its impossible to move someone out of their house to replace a precious ecosystem. This may seem like wetlands are holding back the economy by preventing construction, but how much money to we gain or lose because of wetlands each year.  Wetlands contribute to the economy by producing resources and commodities and providing other benefits. One of the largest industries that have sprung from wetlands is the fishing industry. Wetlands are important spawning nursery areas and provide plant food for commercial and recreational fish and shellfish industries. In 1991, the dockside value of fish ended in the United States was $3. 3 billion, which served as the basis of a $26. 8 billion fishery processing and sales industry, which in turn employs hundreds of thousands of people. An estimated 71% of this value is derived from fish species that during their life cycles depend directly or indirectly on coastal wetlands. For example, Louisianan marshes alone produce an annual commercial fish and shellfish harvest of 1. Billion pounds worth $244 million in 1991. Another large form of income from wetlands is recreation. More than half of all U. S. Adults (98 million people) hunt, fish, bird watch, or photograph lilied. These activities, which rely on healthy wetlands, added an estimated $59. 5 million to the national economy in 1991. Individual States likewise gain economic benefits from recreational opportunities in wetlands that attract visitors from other States. (Taken from [U. S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. 1993. Preparing for an Uncertain Climate]. alt has been said already that wetlands protect the environment from pollution, what hasnt been discussed is what that saves people in terms of taking time and natural resources to clean water. Wetlands help stop pollutants from entering receiving waters. For example, the wetlands of the Congealer Bottommost Hardwood Swamp in South Carolina remove sediment and toxic substances and remove or filter excess nutrients. The least cost substitute for these wetlands benefits would be a Water treatment plant costing $5 million dollars to construct, and additional money would be needed to operate and maintain the plant. U. S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. 1993. Preparing for an Uncertain Climate)   wetlands can retain excess water, they can replace expensive man made dykes or canals. Which brings me to my next point, the savings on drainage. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has come up with the cost of $300 to replace, on average, each acre-foot of floodwater storage. In other words, if development eliminates a one-acre wetland that naturally holds 12 inches of water during a storm, the replacement cost would be $300. The cost to replace the 5,000 acres of wetlands lost annually in Minnesota would be $1. 5 million (in 1991 dollars). Beeralt is obvious now that wetlands pose a great benefit to the economy through its resources and recreation, how its one of a kind ecosystem supports a wide variety field life that makes it precious to the environment, UT what does the future hold for wetlands. When this country was first founded in 1 776 there were over 220 million acres of wetlands in the lower 48 states, today less than 1 00 million acres remain. This translates to 60 acres per hour from then until now, and at the current rate of destruction there will be less than 10 percent of wetlands remaining in the US (Mitchell, J. (1992, October) Our Disappearing Wetlands . National Geographic, up. 13-14). Even though this is a scary statistic EPA officials are confidant with the new laws in place protecting wetlands we can look forward to still having more than 10 percent around in the future. Currently some states like California have less than 9% Of its original wetlands remaining. F-or States like California there is little we can do to repair the damage that has been done. Thats not to say that there hasnt been attempts to replace what nature has created. This even made its way into the white house when the Clinton administration looked for a solution to try to stop the terrible flooding problems that have been affecting the states bordering the Mississippi River. In 1993 the administration decided to convert nearby agricultural land into wetlands. According the plan, the new areas would be converted to wetlands, rather Han having their levees rebuilt at taxpayers expense. Rivers could then spread across floodplains with less threat to property, less water speeding downstream toward cities, and lower government costs for emergency relief and cleanup. However when nearby farmers complained that levees should be built instead of taking a gamble on artificial wetlands, this became known as the Levee Controversy. Artificial wetlands had never been used before and had had a terrible track record. Farmers were also mad that they had to give up hundreds of acres of land that could be put to agricultural use. To quote one farmer These levee districts protect land that produces good for mankind. They dont get flooded every year. Maybe once in 20 or 30 years. That has to be Swanson (February 23, 93) The Levee Controversy Chicago Tribune). Regardless of its critics the plan Was put into effect and the land was converted into wetlands. To this day we sill do not know how effective the wetlands have been since there has not been a great enough flood to test the flood preventing abilities of these wetlands. 1985 there was an attempt to replace the Seawater marsh in New Mexico with bad results. With in a year half the species that were placed in the wetland died out, and with in two years the wetland had gone completely dry.

Test Tube Thunderstorm Chemistry Demonstration

Test Tube Thunderstorm Chemistry Demonstration You can react chemicals to produce what looks like a thunderstorm in a test tube. This is a spectacular chemistry demonstration that is suitable for chemistry class or lab. Safety You must be careful with this demonstration and keep any students away from the setup. It involves corrosive acid, flammable alcohol or acetone, and a slight chance of glassware shattering as a result of the vigorous chemical reaction. The test tube thunderstorm demonstration should only be performed by qualified individuals, wearing full protective gear and using proper safety precautions. Materials 95% alcohol (any type) or acetonesulfuric acidpotassium permanganateglass pipettetest tube Perform the Demonstration Wear gloves, a face shield, and protective clothing. Pour some alcohol or acetone into a test tube.Use a glass pipette to introduce a layer of sulfuric acid below the alcohol or acetone. Avoid any mixing of the two liquids, since the demonstration wont work if too much mixing occurs. Do not handle the test tube beyond this point.Drop a few crystals of potassium permanganate into the test tube.Turn out the lights. The sulfuric acid and the permanganate react to form manganese heptoxide, which explodes when it comes into contact with the alcohol or acetone. The reaction looks a bit like a thunderstorm in a test tube.When the demonstration is concluded, inactivate the reaction by using metal tongs to place the test tube into a large container of water. Be very careful! There is a chance the test tube could shatter.

Biography of Hans Bethe

Biography of Hans Bethe German-American physicist Hans Albrecht Bethe (pronounced BAY-tah) was born on July 2, 1906. He made key contributions to the field of nuclear physics and helped to develop the hydrogen bomb and the  atomic bomb used in World War II. He died on March 6, 2005. Early Years Hans Bethe was born on July 2, 1906 in Strasbourg, Alsace-Lorraine. He was the only child of Anna and Albrecht Bethe, the latter of whom worked as a physiologist at the University of Strasbourg. As a child, Hans Bethe showed an early aptitude for mathematics and often read his fathers calculus and trigonometry books. The family moved to Frankfurt when Albrecht Bethe took a new position at the Institute of Physiology at the  University of Frankfurt am Main. Hans Bethe attended secondary school at Goethe-Gymnasium  in  Frankfurt until he contracted tuberculosis in 1916. He took some time off school to recover before graduating in 1924. Bethe went on to study at the University of Frankfurt for two years before transferring to the University of Munich  so that he could study theoretical physics under German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld. Bethe earned his PhD in 1928. He worked as an assistant professor at the University of Tubingen and later worked as a lecturer at the University of Manchester after immigrating to England in 1933. Bethe moved to the United States in 1935 and took a job as a professor at Cornell University. Marriage and Family Hans Bethe married Rose Ewald, the daughter of German physicist Paul Ewald, in 1939. They had two children, Henry and Monica, and eventually, three grandchildren. Scientific Contributions From 1942 to 1945, Hans Bethe served as the director of the theoretical division at Los Alamos where he worked on the Manhattan Project, a team effort to assemble the worlds first atomic bomb. His work was instrumental in calculating the bombs explosive yield. In 1947 Bethe contributed to the development of quantum electrodynamics by being the first scientist to explain the Lamb-shift in the hydrogen spectrum.  At the beginning of the Korean War, Bethe worked on another war-related project and helped to develop a hydrogen bomb. In 1967, Bethe was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for his revolutionary work in stellar nucleosynthesis. This work offered insight into the ways in which stars produce energy. Bethe also developed a theory related to inelastic collisions, which helped nuclear physicists understand the stopping power of matter for fast charged particles. Some of his other contributions include work on solid-state theory and a theory of the order and disorder in alloys. Late in life, when Bethe was in his mid-90s, he continued to contribute to research in astrophysics by publishing papers on supernovae, neutron stars,  black holes. Death Hans Bethe retired in 1976 but studied astrophysics and served as the John Wendell Anderson Emeritus Professor of Physics Emeritus at  Cornell University  until his death. He died of congestive heart failure on March 6, 2005 at his home in Ithaca, New York. He was 98 years old. Impact and Legacy Hans Bethe was the  head theoretician on the Manhattan Project  and was a key contributor to the atomic bombs that killed more than 100,000 people and wounded even more when they were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during  World War II. Bethe also helped to develop the hydrogen bomb, despite the fact that he was opposed to the development of this type of weapon. For more than 50 years, Bethe strongly advised caution in using the power of the atom. He supported  nuclear nonproliferation treaties and frequently spoke out against missile defense systems. Bethe also advocated for the use of national laboratories to develop technologies that would lower the risk of nuclear war rather than weapons that could win a nuclear war. Hans Bethes legacy lives on today. Many of the discoveries that he made in nuclear physics and astrophysics during his 70 year career have stood the test of time, and scientists are still using and building upon his work to make progress in theoretical physics and  quantum mechanics. Famous Quotes Hans Bethe was a key contributor to the atomic bomb used in World War II as well as the hydrogen bomb. He also spent a significant portion of his life advocating for nuclear disarmament. So, it is really no surprise that he was often asked about his contributions and the potential for nuclear war in the future. Here are some of his most famous quotes on the topic: When I started participating in thermonuclear work in the summer of 1950, I was hoping to prove that thermonuclear weapons could not be made. If this could have been proved convincingly, this would of course have applied to both the Russians and ourselves and would have given greater security to both sides than we can now ever achieve. It was possible to entertain such a hope until the spring of 1951, when it suddenly became clear that it was no longer tenable.If we fight a war and win it with H-bombs, what history will remember is not the ideals we were fighting for but the methods we used to accomplish them. These methods will be compared to the warfare of Genghis Khan who ruthlessly killed every last inhabitant of Persia.Today the arms race is a long-range problem. The Second World War was a short-range problem, and in the short range I think it was essential to make the atomic bomb. However, not much thought was given to the time after the bomb. At first, the work was too absorbi ng, and we wanted to get the job done. But I think that once it was made it had its own impulse - its own motion that could not be stopped. Today we are rightly in an era of disarmament and dismantlement of nuclear weapons. But in some countries nuclear weapons development still continues. Whether and when the various Nations of the World can agree to stop this is uncertain. But individual scientists can still influence this process by withholding their skills.  Accordingly, I call on all scientists in all countries to cease and desist from work creating, developing, improving and manufacturing further nuclear weapons - and, for that matter, other weapons of potential mass destruction such as chemical and biological weapons.   Hans Bethe Fast Facts Full Name:  Hans Albrecht Bethe  Occupation: PhysicistBorn: July 2, 1906 in  Strasbourg, Germany (now Strasbourg, France)Died: March 6, 2005 in Ithaca, New York, USAEducation: Goethe University Frankfurt,  Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichKey Accomplishment: Received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967 for his work in  stellar nucleosynthesis. Served as head theoretician on the Manhattan Project.  Spouses Name: Rose EwaldChildrens Names: Henry Bethe,  Monica Bethe Bibliography Broad, William J. â€Å"HANS BETHE CONFRONTS THE LEGACY OF HIS BOMB.†Ã‚  The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 June 1984, www.nytimes.com/1984/06/12/science/hans-bethe-confronts-the-legacy-of-his-bomb.html?pagewantedall.Broad, William J. â€Å"Hans Bethe, Prober of Sunlight and Atomic Energy, Dies at 98.†Ã‚  The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2005, www.nytimes.com/2005/03/08/science/hans-bethe-prober-of-sunlight-and-atomic-energy-dies-at-98.html.Gibbs, W. Wayt. â€Å"Hans Albrecht Bethe, 1906-2005.†Ã‚  Scientific American, 1 May 2005, www.scientificamerican.com/article/hans-albrecht-bethe-1906-2005/.â€Å"Hans Bethe.†Ã‚  Atomic Heritage Foundation, 2 July 1906, www.atomicheritage.org/profile/hans-bethe.â€Å"Hans Bethe - Biographical.†Ã‚  Nobelprize.org, www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1967/bethe-bio.html.Irion, Robert. â€Å"A Towering Physicists Legacy Faces a Threatening Future.†Ã‚  Science, American Asso ciation for the Advancement of Science, 7 July 2006, science.sciencemag.org/content/313/5783/39.full?rss1.

Green in Shakespeares Tragedy of King Lear Essay

Green in Shakespeares Tragedy of King Lear - Essay Example William Shakespeare, a known English playwright, and poet are regarded widely as the greatest writer in the language of English and the pre-eminent world’s dramatist. Translation of his major plays has been done to almost all living language and more often performed than other playwrights. In his book, The Tragedy of King Lear, many aspects presage the green literature. The work of Shakespeare illuminates more about human nature that is more instructive for a green environment. With respect to the theory of Green literature, ecocriticism involves the study of the relationship between the environment and the research. The book is all about the British elderly king who decides to give out his power and realm to one of his daughters. Even though his preferred choice is the one who loves him most, the other two disguises him and acquire the wealth. The two later turns against him but through the friends of the other daughter, he manages to ascertain the reality. In relevance to nature, therefore, a habitat consists of different organisms’ co-existing together for mutual benefits. An organism can acquire help from the other community, for instance in support. Plants with tendrils, for example, get support from big trees to acquire sunlight. This paper, therefore, analyses the review of the play, The Tragedy of King Lear with regards to the theory of Green Literature, how ecocriticism relates both literature and the environment. The theory of green literature provides the vocabulary towards environmental ethics as well as an attitude in the story of King Lear. This offered a movement beyond symbolism and thematic which were widely characterized by the critical work of Shakespeare in relation to the environment representation.  

Competitive Advantage Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Competitive Advantage - Case Study Example This paper will compare and contrast the competitive advantages of renowned engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce Plc (Rolls-Royce) and retail store giant Tesco Plc (Tesco). Traditionally, the competitive advantage business organizations can be fully identified by conducting a value chain analysis. However, recognizing the numerous changes in the businesses' market environment, this paper will also complement value chain analysis with a method introduced by Shawn Cartwright, the value web analysis. It should be noted that this tool brings into consideration the analysis of competitive advantage of dotcoms or firms whose operations are conducted online or whose brick and mortar strategies are complemented by online presence (Cartwright and Oliver 2000). This report will be organized as follows. The first section will take a look at the operations of Rolls-Royce Plc. A brief organizational profile will be presented together with the company's identified core competencies. The paper will then evaluate Rolls-Royce's competitive advantage in light of the value chain and the value web analysis. The second section will also evaluate Tesco Plc in the same manner. This paper will conclude with a comparison and contrast of the previously identified competitive advantages. Rolls-Royce is currently the world's second largest airline engine manufacturer beh... Aside from aero-engine, the company is also involved in other industries like defence, marine, and energy markets. The business organization traces its origin in 1971 and was founded by Henry Royce and CS Rolls. With its humble beginning, it has now ascended in the global business marketplace with its cutting edge technology and diverse product offerings. The company is not just a provider of high-quality products but also offers unmatched after sales service to its clients. Its market base spans over 120 countries around the globe, becoming a significant supplier of engine to important customers worldwide. Also, in order to complement its product, Rolls-Royce has established online presence through Aeromanager in offering aftermarket services. 2.1 Core Competencies The success of Rolls-Royce in the global aero-engine industry is attributed to its core competencies. A core competence, according to Prahalad and Hamel (1990) is something that a firm can do well and meet three specific conditions: "it provides customer benefit; it is hard for competitors to imitate; and it can be leveraged widely to many products and market." A company's core competencies are the capabilities which the company needs in order to build a competitive advantage. In the case of Rolls-Royce, its core competency is apparently in the production of engine. It should be noted that the expertise of the business organization in the creation of aero-engine is applied to a wide range of industries where it operates such as defence, marine, and energy. With the company's expertise in the production of a single product engine, Rolls-Royce, with its technological is able to transform this engine into one which can be used in other industries. It should be noted that all the end

Brain in a Vat Critique

Brain in a Vat Critique Donald Davidsons philosophical writings include a variety of essays that plays an important role in the realm of Philosophy of Action, Mind, and Language. His profound essay Action, Reason, and Causes (1963) set about a standard for the action theory wherein he begins by claiming that reason rationalizes the action and that this rationalization of an agent (characterized as having a pro-attitude and a belief) is a species of causal explanation. In addition to this, Davidsons significant contribution to the Philosophy of Mind is his concept of Anomalous Monism which serves as a foundation of his philosophical work. Now, let us consider a sceptic argument of Brain in a vat, a fiction so created via scientific technique, as discussed by Renà © Descartes1 and Hilary Putnam. Just to assume, what if we are all brains in a vat, being fed electrical impulses by computers [as operated by scientist] impulses that alter our brain states and thereby create pseudo-experiences, and beliefs.2 If we regard this assumption to be true, then the hypothesis of Brain in a Vat in prospect brings with it the illusion of experience of performing an action and having some beliefs (that are actually being imposed by the scientist). Here, two positions are considered- one, Davidsons theory of Belief and Action and, other, the sceptical hypothesis of being a Brain in a Vat. So, considering Davidsons philosophical approach towards human actions, beliefs, and thoughts; in this paper, I intend to figure out his response to this given- assumed- situation of Brain in a Vat and the extent to which he can dissipate such sceptical argument, in order to justify his theory. I have divided my paper in three main sections wherein section I is an overview of Davidsons philosophy followed up by section II which takes into account the exposition of Brain in a vat argument. And finally, section III which shows Davidsons dissipation of such a sceptical hypothesis. I. An Overview of Davidsons Philosophy Davidson is accredited of presenting a suave philosophical account of interpreting human actions that depicts the very existence of human beings and so can be expressed as a means of self- expression.3 He maintained that every action that an agent perform (under a description) has a primary reason involved, inclusive of a pro-attitude (, i.e., desires, wants, urges) and a belief (, i.e., knowing, perceiving). This constitutes the rationalization of an agent (as governed by reason) which Davidson argues is a species of causal explanation. This can be formulated as: R is a primary reason why an agent performed the action A under the description d only if R consists of a pro attitude of the agent towards actions with a certain property, and a belief of the agent that A, under the description d, has that property.4 So it can be said that the essential point in Davidsons approach towards action is that an action so performed by the agent is voluntary in nature; it is an intentional act performed with reason, under a particular description. But, here, Davidson pointed out that to know the primary reason of an action so performed by the agent is to know the intention of an agent in performing the action, but the converse is not necessarily true.5 Moreover, he emphasized on the role of causal concepts in the description and explanation of human action6 which brings with it the foremost concern that even primary reason for an action is its cause.7 There is a proper pattern of cause and effect that is involved in explanation of an action that connects the physical event being performed with the mental event (or intention) of an agent. Now, a question can be asked as to what is this Mental that Davidson is talking about? What does he mean by Mental? Simon Evnine has clearly explained this notion by characterizing mental states into sensations (that an agent may feel) and the intentionality which includes beliefs, desires (that are also referred as propositional attitudes). Davidson is primarily concerned with the propositional attitudes that have propositional content and so has confined himself to the content-bearing, propositional states8. As he said: The distinguishing feature of the mental is not that it is private, subjective, or immaterial, but that it exhibits what Brentano called Intentionality.9 Moreover, mental states can be analysed from two perspectives: the first-person point of view and the third-person point of view. The former is according to agents sensations and the latter is in accord with propositional attitudes that is pertinent to Davidsons view. This is because, as Evnine mentioned, understanding in terms of rationality is a distinctive human activity (or is a communal activity) which is in principle public and observable to all. And the states like belief, desire play an important role in this way.10 Also, two kinds of laws are generally considered in relation to the Mental the psychophysical laws that connect mental states to physical states; and the psychological laws that connect mental states to mental states itself. Davidson denies the value or presence of both these laws and this is what he has in his mind when he talks about The Anomalism of the Mental. As he writes, . . . The causal dependence, and the anomalousness, of mental events are undeniable facts.11 Thereby, Davidson advocated his theory of Anomalous Monism which exhibits the fact that mental states or events cannot be given purely physical explanations; such that not all events are mental, while . . . all events are physical.12 This may mean that, since there is a categorical difference between the mental and the physical state, it is regarded that there cannot be any strict psychophysical law. As he stated in his essay Mental Events (1970): It is a feature of physical reality that physical change can be explained by the laws that connect it with other changes and conditions physically described. It is a feature of the mental that the attribution of mental phenomenon must be responsible to the background of reasons, beliefs, and intention of the individual. There cannot be tight connections between the realms if each is to retain allegiance to its proper source of evidence.13 Davidson pointed out that, although the two states of mental and physical cannot be connected with any particular law, in spite of having some causal interaction between them, yet it can be said that the characterisations of mental events somehow depend on the characterisation of physical events. This may be termed as Supervenience, i.e., an object cannot alter in some mental respect without altering in some physical respect.14 But this does not imply any sort of reducibility whatsoever. Further, as it has been observed that Davidson is primarily concerned with the interpretation of human actions, wherein both mental and the physical state or event has a distinctive role to pay, the next consideration demands the specific attribute of interpretation itself. The question may be asked: what makes interpretation possible? What is the role of understanding in interpretation? Given a situation, what if you land up in a place you are completely unaware of. You cannot understand the language or utterance of the people (of that unknown place) and so you are unable to interpret their happenings or the behaviour of the people of the unknown environment. This implies that without understanding, no interpretation is ever possible. In order to interpret the actions of the people (of the unknown place), to attribute beliefs, desires and other mental states to them, to assign meaning to their utterances and say what they are doing, we have to begin from scratch.15 Thereby, Davidson posits the problem of interpretation and maintained that All understanding of the speech of another involves radical interpretation.16 So, having a great influence of Quines Radical Translation, Davidson advocated (a little different) doctrine of Radical Interpretation wherein the interpreter tries to understand the actions of the people, allocating meaning to their sayings, according to the environment they are living in. In a way, Radical Interpretation, as Evnine explained, is a theoretical exercise designed to reveal the interrelations between the various intentional, or propositional states and events like beliefs, desires, linguistic utterances and actions, and the relation between these states and events and non-intentional states, and events such as brain states, noises; marks on paper and bodily movements.17 Now, Radical Interpretation has been credited of having two features- Normativity and Holism. Normative principles are general principles that is applicable to every other person in concern which deals with the question, how things should or ought to be? Davidson claims that radical interpretation should be guided by normative principles for mental states can justify other mental states, having an assumption that the person concerned is rational. So rationalization has an essential role in terms of attribution of mental states. However, rationality, here, is restricted in the sense of its relation to the world and actions being performed.18 Secondly, regarding the holistic feature of radical interpretation, it is claimed that mental states are adhered only in relation to other mental states. The attribution of the mental states is based on the behaviour of the agent performing actions, but such attribution is not fixed and so must be made according to the attributes of other mental states. So in the light of other attributions, the reason for an action can be considered.19 Thereby, it can be said that in Davidsons view actions and mental states mesh together in a holistic network . . . a web in which everything is connected, either directly or indirectly, to everything else.20 Thus, Davidsons account of interpretation as normative and holistic is about rational interpretation and attribution of mental states only. But this does not mean that no error in terms of interpretation is ever possible for there can be a gap between interpretation of belief of someone and his actual belief. This brings us to take into account the indeterminacy of interpretation which allows the possibility of having more than one set of interpretation. Moving on, can we say, in Davidsonian context- Is there any connection between Interpretation and Anomalous Monism? Quite obviously, there is a strong connection between Interpretation and Anomalous Monism that yields a correct analysis of utterance of the speaker. To explain this- utterance is an action, and so an event, and to interpret a certain event, we ought to describe it. And this description gives the meaning of the uttered sentence. So, in context of Interpretation and Anomalous Monism, we are concerned with events and descriptions. Events, in themselves, are opaque and meaningless. But they can be seen as intentional actions or mental events only when they are described in a certain way.21 As Davidson writes: we interpret a bit of linguistic behaviour when we say what a speakers words mean on an occasion of use. The task may be seen as one of redescription.22 Now, Radical Interpretation occurs only when the interpreter is able to understand the unknown language for which meaning of language is very important as the essence of language lies in understanding and its usage. But how can we account for the truthfulness of the sentences being uttered by the speaker? Or, how can we account for the validity of the interpretation itself? In order to answer this, Davidson accommodated The Principle of Charity, i.e., an assumption that the speakers utterances will be counted as true, in terms of his belief as well as his meaning. For the belief of the speaker and the meaning of the sentence incorporates the truthfulness of the sentences being uttered by the speaker. The underlying thought of this principle is the fact that given this Principle of Charity, it is generally assumed that the speakers utterances will be regarded as true and rational. Although even this assumption is guided by rationality (in broader context), however, the Principle of Ch arity also include the possibility of mistaken beliefs for its base is assumption only. The point is that The Principle of Charity cannot be sidelined if we are to adhere to Radical Interpretation, in Davidsonian context. This is so because the concept of belief, desire, meaning and intentional action are defined by what the theory, the principle of charity, says about them.23 But, even The Principle of Charity, which has been adopted as an across-the-board basis24, can be sorted out into two main principles The Principle of Correspondence and The Principle of Coherence. The former principle takes into account the assumption of the truthfulness of the speakers utterances per se whereas, the latter principle takes into account the principles governing attribution of attitudes to an agent and description of the agents behaviour so as to make the agent out to be by and large rational.25 Also, Davidson in concern with epistemology upholds the position that coherence yields correspondence; wherein coherence allows a set of true beliefs of an agent (as guided by his rationality and understanding). Again assumption plays a central role here as well, as he said: There is a presumption in favour of the truth of a belief that coheres with a significant mass of belief. Every belief in a coherent total set of beliefs is justified in the light of this presumption, much as every intentional action taken by a rational agent . . . is justified.26 However, it should be noted that Truth is not to be defined specifically in terms of coherence and belief, for truth is primitive, according to Davidson, and is always in relation of correspondence with the existing world. More so, in spite of adhering to his coherence theory as assuming the truthfulness of beliefs of an agent, Davidson accepts the possibility of even coherent set of false beliefs that an agent may have because of the gap between what is held to be true and what is true.27 II. Being a Brain in a vat The sophisticated form of the sceptical hypothesis of being a Brain in a vat in prospect has been addressed by Hilary Putnam in Reason, Truth and History (1981). This possibility urges us to assume, what if we are really brains in a vat? , i.e., what if the experiences (or sensations) I am currently having is as per the scientists wish? In other words, the argument of Brain in a Vat as stated by Putnam, says: A human being . . . has been subjected to an operation by an evil scientist. The persons brain . . . has been removed from the body and placed in a vat of nutrients which keeps the brain alive. The nerve endings have been connected to a super- scientific computer which causes the person whose brain is to have the illusion that everything is perfectly normal.28 This implies that a being can never know that he is not a brain in a vat because it might be the case that the experience he is having is being fed to him by the scientist, and that his experience is ex-hypothesi identical with that of something which is not a brain in a vat.29 Although Putnam considered such a fictional argument that has its space in some physically possible world, however, he denies the practical possibility of the sceptical argument by regarding it to be self-refuting in nature.30 I shall take up this view of Putnam later, for as of now my main focus is to assume the situation of being a Brain in a Vat to be true wherein all that the person is experiencing is the result of electronic impulses travelling from the computer to the nerve endings . . . that if the person tries to raise his hand, the feedback from the computer will cause him to see and feel the hand being raised.31 This may mean that the person is, as though, performing an action (of raising his hand) or having a sensation or feeling; in spite of being a brain as merely placed in a vat. In addition, another case of such a scientific fiction that can be put forward is that of Turings Test a test that can judge whether a computer (or machine) is conscious or not? Turing advocated the following test: let someone carry on a conversation with the computer and a conversation with a person whom he does not know. If he cannot tell which is the computer and which is the human being, then . . . the computer is conscious . . . the conversations are all carried on via electric type-writer.32 The point that Turing maintained is that even a machine can be qualified as being conscious, having thoughts, if it passes the test. But even the test that Turing advocated is criticized for the very fact that there is a gap between the concept of being conscious and the computers technical language. Now, as having considered the point that even a Brain in a Vat (in some sense) is performing some action or is having some belief that may have (in his perspective) some rationalization of his performing an action; although in actuality, those experiences are all being induced by the scientist. Here, let us consider that given this assumed-situation of being a Brain in a Vat to Davidson; let us figure out his response towards such a sceptical position. Quite obviously, Davidson dissipates such a position, but let us see how. III. Against Brain in a vat A Davidsonian version The very assumption of being a Brain in a Vat brings with itself the practical difficulties that can never be accounted for. The reason being that it is a mere scientific technique, a fiction that induces the illusion of having experiences, beliefs or performing actions, to the brain as kept in a created- scientific- environment, a vat. Putnam, himself, attributed such a hypothesis to be self-refuting in nature, and explicitly denies any junction between the brain in a vat world and the actual world.33 But, since my concern is with Davidsons version, let us consider his objection against this sceptical hypothesis with special reference to his Coherence Theory.34 Davidson assumed (and so asserted) that there are coherent set of true beliefs, however, he never rejected the fact that there can also be coherent set of false beliefs. He maintained that beliefs can be false as well but the very concept of false beliefs introduces a potential gap between what is regarded as being true and what is actually true.35 Although the possibility of having false beliefs is minimum in Davidsons context, yet this can be viewed directly against the Brain in a Vat hypothesis as the brain that has been placed in a vat- a created scientific environment, have illusory beliefs merely based on some sensory stimulations*  [1]  that are surely false, and the very fact that the brain in a vat have false beliefs itself shows that there is a practical- potential- gap between the created world of brain in a vat and the actual rational world of human beings. Even Putnam explained this by saying that there is no qualitative similarity between the thought of the brain in a vat and the thought of someone in the actual world.36 Secondly, to consider Quines view, he said that the meaning . . . [of] sentence is determined by the patterns of sensory stimulations that would cause a speaker to assent to or dissent from the sentence.37 Davidson argues that such an account will invite scepticism leading to the falsity of every sentence whatsoever. As he said, when meaning goes epistemological in this way, truth and meaning are necessarily divorced.38 He asserts that sensory stimulations can never be regarded as an evidence or justification for the belief (which is veridical in nature). In his words: Quine . . . ties the meanings of some sentences directly to patterns of stimulations . . . but the meanings of further sentences are determined by how they are conditioned to the original, or observation sentences. The facts of such conditioning do not permit a sharp division between sentences held true by virtue of meaning and sentences held true on the basis of observation . . . I now suggest [to give up] the distinction between observation sentences and the rest. For the distinction between sentences belief in whose truth is justified by sensations and sentences belief in whose truth is justified only by appeal to other sentences held true is as anathema to the conherentist as the distinction between beliefs justified by sensations and beliefs justified only by appeal to further beliefs. Accordingly, I suggest we give up the idea that meaning or knowledge is grounded on something that counts as an ultimate source of evidence. No doubt meaning and knowledge depend on experience and experience ultimately on sensation. But this is the depend of causality, not of evidence or justification.39 This, again, can be posited against Brain in a Vat hypothesis for the hypothesis, in itself, invokes vague- sensory stimulations which go against the possibility of having any valid stimulated belief. As a result, the stimulated belief of a brain which is placed in a created scientific environment of a vat is false. Moreover, to determine the content of a belief, Davidson endorsed the view that in radical interpretation, we should identify the object of a belief with the cause of that belief. This view can also be directed against Brain in a Vat hypothesis. The reason being that according to the sceptic, the content of brains belief is not dependent on their causes.40 But this is not acceptable to Davidson as, for him, causality plays an indispensable role in determining the content of what we say and believe.41 And as interpreters, we must consider the belief of a brain in a vat in accordance with its actual environment, the environment that causes those beliefs, with special reference to The Principle of Charity. So in the case of a brain in a vat, Davidson claims that one must have knowledge of computers technical environment. He argues that though the brain is functioning and is having a sensation of performing some action with an illusory belief, but the brain is only reacting to the featur es of its environment which is, in actuality, a computers technical data storehouse. So, therefore, the only way to interpret those actions is to correlate it with the bits of data that the computer is feeding in.42 And such an action cannot have any logical- valid- interpretation in a rational behaviouristic sense of being human. Further, just to consider Turings Test (as explained earlier in section II), Davidson argues against the Turings test of machines claiming them to be conscious. He gave an example of John, a rational human being and Robo-John, artificially created John proxy. Davidson explains that John is causally connected to the actual things outside in the actual world. But Robo-John is not causally connected with the things outside in the actual world. And so, unlike John, Robo-John does not think. Thus, Turing is wrong as John does think whereas his proxy Robo-John does not.43 If this is the case, then it is applicable to the Brain in a Vat argument as well (in terms of actions), for in such a created- scientific- situation there is no causal connection between the brain (as placed in a created environment) and the actual world. Lastly, Davidsons objection to this sceptical hypothesis can also be posited with the help of the notion of understanding. As Davidson maintained that the coherence theory is about beliefs or sentences held true by someone who understands them.44 But it can be questioned that does Brain in a Vat have any understanding as it involves rationalization pertaining to the normal human behaviour? There is a strong doubt that the functional brain which is placed in a vat is able to understand any activity, in spite of being induced the sensations, the beliefs by the scientist. So even though the hypothesis is accredited of performing some action which is a mere illusion, it will not have any capacity to understand things accordingly. Conclusion Thus it can be said that Davidsons position of an action being performed by an agent, that has a proper belief and pro attitude, is about a rational human agent living in this actual real world of human beings who are guided by reasons. It is certainly not about a brain being placed in a scientific- created- environment, a vat and, then, having an illusion of performing an action and having some illusory beliefs and sensations that are actually being induced by the scientist. Whatever actions or beliefs that a Brain in a Vat is experiencing is not grounded on any primary reason, for the brain in concern is merely having false beliefs of experiencing the reality, the false belief of performing some action, it is a case of mere illusion, hallucination that does not have place in Davidsons project. More so, since there cannot be any connection between the brain in a vat world and the actual world of beings, Davidson dissipates the position of being a Brain in a Vat whose scientific, co mputer- created- environment is completely opposed to that of being human and so can never be interpreted in accord with our behavioural patterns and the actions of human agents, as even to interpret the actions of someone, we need to attribute some beliefs in a holistic network according to our rationality. But this seems infirm in the case of brain in a vat. Though the brain placed in a vat is having a belief of performing some false action, still is restricted in his small created domain and so interpreting his actions will be determined in terms of his computer oriented environment which again is being created by a scientist and is contrary to the world of being human per se and hence, is not at par with the rationality of humans as well. And so to understand and interpret the actions or language of a brain placed in a vat in a holistic way would be like interpreting the actions of a swimmer (while swimming) without even knowing what basic technique is required to swim. Hence, t he actions of a Brain in a Vat is merely envision without having any substantial ground. For Davidson claims: If we cannot find a way to interpret the utterances and other behaviour of a creature as revealing a set of beliefs largely consistent and true by our own standards, we have no reason to count that creature as rational, as having beliefs, or as saying anything.45 Reference Notes 1 See Concept of Evil Demon by Renà © Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, Trans. John Veitch, (Watchmaker Publishing, USA, 2010), 97-103 2 Richard Rorty, Davidson versus Descartes; in Dialogues with Davidson: Acting, Interpreting, Understanding, ed. by Jeff Malpas, (Cambridge: The MIT Press, London, 2011), 3 3 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 39 4 See Davidsons essay Action, Reason and Causes in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 3-5 5 Ibid. , 7 6 Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), xv 7 See Davidsons essay Action, Reason and Causes in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 4 8 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 7-8 9 See Davidsons essay Mental Events in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 211 10 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 9 11 See Davidsons essay Mental Events in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 207 12 Ibid. , 214 13 Ibid. , 222 14 Ibid. , 214 15 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 10 16 See Davidsons essay Radical Interpretation in Donald Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984), 125 17 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 10-11 18 Ibid. , 11-12 19 Ibid. , 14-16 20 Ibid. , 39 21 Ibid. , 99 22 See Davidsons essay Belief and the basis of Meaning in Donald Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984), 141 23 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 113 24 See Davidsons essay Belief and the basis of Meaning in Donald Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984), 153 25 Kirk Ludwig, ed., Donald Davidson, (Cambridge University Press, 2003), 17 26 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 308 27 Ibid. , 308 28 Hilary Putnam, Brain in a vat, in Epistemology: Contemporary Readings, ed., Michael Huemer, (Routledge, 2002), 527 29 Jonathan Dancy, An Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology, (Blackwell Publications, 1985), 10 30 Hilary Putnam, Brain in a vat, in Epistemology: Contemporary Readings, ed., Michael Huemer, (Routledge, 2002), 528 31 Ibid. , 527 32 Ibid. , 529 33 Ibid. , 532 34 Davidson never directly attacked or objected Brain in a vat argument in any of his work. I have tried to postulate the objections that Davidson might have against such a fictional possibility and the so called illusory actions being performed. 35 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 308 36 Hilary Putnam, Brain in a vat, in Epistemology: Contemporary Readings, ed., Michael Huemer, (Routledge, 2002), 532 37 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 313 38 Ibid. , 313 39 Ibid. , 313-314 40 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 142-143 41 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 317 42 Richard Rorty, Davidson versus Descartes; in Dialogues with Davidson: Acting, Interpreting, Understanding, ed. by Jeff Malpas, (Cambridge: The MIT Press, London, 2011), 4 43 John-Michael Kuczynski, Davidson on Turing: Rationality Misunderstood?, (Principia 9, 1-2, 2005), accessed October 07, 2012; http://www.periodicos.ufsc.br , 114-115 44 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 308 45 See Davidsons essay Radical Interpretation i

Martin Bernal and describes Essay

Black Athena is the works of Martin Bernal and describes the Afro-asiatic roots of classical civilization in ancient Greece. Martin examines the perception of ancient Greece in relation to its African and Asiatic neighbours especially in West Europe. This occurred in the 18th century onwards and exhibits the denial by the western academia and the influence of the Greek culture on civilization. In his work Bernin does not support the Greek civilization as being founded by the Aryan settlers whose trace is Europe. He gives proves as to the arguments of the famous great Grecian thinkers like Plato, Socrates and Aristotle that Phoenician civilization originally colonized Greece. In this basis he comes up with a theory based on the methodology of these historians and this theory states that Greece was colonized by northern invaders with their existing colony established in Phoenicia. (Moore, 2001) He uses several examples to explain that countries of Africa like Egypt and those on the west are being admired by prominent European leaders because of their historical backgrounds. The current Greek language spoken in classical Grecian world has its roots in the proto Greek language and influence from other Anatolian languages that were spoken nearby. The culture in Greece is believed to have been developed as a result of comparison of unity of elements. Bernam puts great emphasis on the elements of Africa that shaped the Grecian history. He compares the 19th and 20th century eurocentrism with the development of the western appropriation culture and its development. He argues that the western world influenced the Modern Greek language terming the contact between the indo European languages and the culturally influenced Egyptian and Semitic languages as very key in the determination of the modern Grecian culture and language. He gives examples of some words being used in the modern language of Greece to have been from these origins. He estimates the introduction of the Greek alphabet to have been between the period 1800 and 1400 BC. (Moore, 2001) Bernal came to the conclusion that the relationship between ancient Greek and Egyptian influence should not be taken lightly. His background traces to the interests he had on Egypt since childhood and the inspirations by his father. He is further encouraged to take this direction by the discovery of the works of Cyrus Gordon and Astour. Afrocentrism which is now the most felt model in the North American primary and secondary schools has been noted to be the most significant and challenging developments in higher education systems and curriculums. It’s a model which encompasses both multi cultural and Afro Hellenic orientations. This simply means that it’s grounded in ethnic and cultural diversity and the aspect that it is attributed to Africa. In contrast with the black Athena which attributes the development of modern Greece to the western world, the Afrocentric model attributes it to be an abstract, intellectual civilization which is grounded in the traditional orientations of western civilization. Bernal’s discovery of the black Athena is the modern thinking of how the Greek world came into being but has been criticized as not with definite reasons as afrocentric movement. His was of a different order that racist and anti Semitic scholars only showed the historical facts from the Bronze Age onwards making the culture of Greece to be a product of only Egyptians and Levantines. He argues that for the complete concealing of the origin of the Greek culture we need to consider the north of Athens and the medditerenian island of Crete, civilizations which took place in the third millennium. Bernal’s case is different from the afrocentric models because it rests upon on legend and myth. It relies upon the stories told by the ancient Greeks like Aristotle and Aristotle. He interprets these stories as the memories of the Egyptian and Phoenician developments. There is a critic about this however because we need to ask ourselves ‘of what benefit is myths and legends? ’ (Bernal, 1987) Bernal attributes archaeology, myth and linguistic borrowings as evidence to the development in Greece. The history and development of Greece is of much importance to the culture adopted today in Greece. Without the historical base Bernal suggests that tracing of the Greek history and civilization would be very complicated. Bernal claims that approximately 30% of Greek is of Semitic origin, 20% from Egyptian origin and the rest from the ancient Greek origin. Critics however have suggested that his demonstrations is only based on the resemblance merely and not the principles of linguistic adaptation. Bernal takes the similarity of a few words and tries to generalize. The afro centric orientation is based on the western world and argues that linguistic development in Greek civilization has been natural like the development of any other language. (Bernal, 1987) The contention that the Egyptians were the greatest civilization in history is critically opposed by the Afrocentrists. Afrocentrists view the Egyptians as only blacks who cannot contribute anything to the civilizations which took place especially in Greece. Bernal regarded the developments of Greeks like the scientific and mathematical orientations as very important movements. It’s however criticized by the afrocentrics as a total disregard of the facts of chronology. Conclusion The black Athena and the afrocentric movements have had an influence to the history and civilizations of the current Grecian histories. In our study of the two models we need to understand the fact that the current ancient civilization is as a result of amalgamation of the two models. Bernal in his book Black Athena: The afroasiantic roots of Classical civilization addresses the issues which have made the Greek world today be the way it is. Reference: Bernal, M. (1987) Black Athena: Afroasiantic roots of Classical Civilization, Rutgers University press. Moore, D. (2001) Black Athena writes back, Duke University press.