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More handpicked essays just for you.
The civilization of Egypt
Features of Egyptian civilization
Features of Egyptian civilization
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Neil Postman’s The judgement of Thamus encompasses the story of Plato’s Phaedrus of King Thamus of Upper Egypt. Throughout the reading it is clear his prime message is to point out the negative and positive affects technology has created starting to the beginning of time. His objective is perceived through his underlining of analogies, examples, and rhetorical strategies he uses to relate the paradox of technology today. Throughout the passage, Postman argues Thamus perspective of his view on technology being a burden. Postman states, “Every technology is both a burden and a blessing; not either-or, but this-and-that.” (Postman, 1992). As he describes, Thamu’s perception of technology was due to his belief that the effect that writing would
Technology has been around as long as people have and has been advancing ever since. It is the reason that we have access to the miraculous tools that we do today. From the forks that we eat our supper with to the cars that get us from place to place technology is everywhere. However, with technology advancing at such a rapid pace, it could pose a threat to our future society. In the short stories “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut and “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet, the authors describe how bleak society could become if we do not take precautions when using technology.
The author uses this short story to show similarities with the world today. The main point that he is trying to get across is that every technology has both good and bad effects within a society. "We are currently surrounded by throngs of zealous Theuths, one-eyed prophets who see only what new technologies can do and are incapable of imagining what they will undo" (p.5). Postman goes on to criticize Thamus for only looking at the downsides of writing and not thinking about the potential benefits to writing, that he in turn tends to
Throughout Aristophanes’ “Clouds” there is a constant battle between old and new. It makes itself apparent in the Just and Unjust speech as well as between father and son. Ultimately, Pheidippides, whom would be considered ‘new’, triumphs over the old Strepsiades, his father. This is analogous to the Just and Unjust speech. In this debate, Just speech represents the old traditions and mores of Greece while the contrasting Unjust speech is considered to be newfangled and cynical towards the old. While the defeat of Just speech by Unjust speech does not render Pheidippides the ability to overcome Strepsiades, it is a parallel that may be compared with many other instances in Mythology and real life.
I do not believe it would have been just for the state to pardon Tucker’s crimes due to the moral injustice she was responsible for. In Jeffrey Reiman’s article “Against the Death Penalty” he analyzes the principle of lex talionis, which states that one who has harmed another should be penalized to the same or equivalent extent, or as the common phrase goes: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Reiman arrives at the conclusion that there is an equality between human beings by examining the implications of lex talionis, which implies one thinks of other’s pain to be as great as his or her own. Additionally, Reiman explores the Kantian belief that an individual permits the universal form of the objective which guides his action. For example, if an individual kills someone, then he or she authorizes the concept that he or she may be killed, and in doing so there is no injustice done. Thus, this belief also endorses the equality of individuals and helps grant credibility towards Reimans claim. By using Kant’s theory as a basis for his argument, Reiman asserts the concept of lex talionis “affirms both the equality and rationality of human beings and for that reason [lex talionis] is just” (Reiman). Therefore, I believe it would be unjust to grant Tucker a pardon for her crimes because doing so would lose the equality between human beings. Tucker deserved a grave punishment for the brutal murder of two people, but Tucker did not deserve to die.
This text was also among my most favorable topics, as I can relate to the generation of technology, its advances and consequences, and its role and influence on society. I evaluated three pieces of texts, all of which presented thorough research. My analysis was an investigation of a book I found to be an outstanding read, amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. I evaluated Postman’s argument, and incorporated and established my own stance and position towards the consequences of technology today and in the future on our society. I created a persuasive argument connected to Postman’s
Technology was considered to be a creative invention of an individual, something that was considered the vilest of offenses. Equality 7-2521, or self-declared Prometheus, was certain that if he showed the council how amazing the concept of technology, of light, that he could change the way his world saw technology and creativity. He believed that with the creation of his seclusion he would aspire to greatness, but in the world he lives in has clones of men who believe that what he did was a monstrosity. With the degeneration of technology, the world in which Equality 7-2521 lived was able to suppress the thirst for knowledge in nearly all of the inhabitants. It only took one mind with a hunger for knowledge and learning to destroy an entire age.
Overall, I like the general tone of the passage. Although, Franzen often focuses on the adverse effects of technology with reference to human relationships, it never comes across as an angry rant. Neither does he propagate the Luddite view of technology.
Have you ever had the thought that technology is becoming so advanced that someday we might not be able to think for ourselves? There is no questioning the fact that we live in a society that is raging for the newest technology trends. We live in a society that craves technology so much that whenever a new piece of technology comes out, people go crazy to get their hands on it. The stories that will be analyzed are The Time Machine by H.G Wells and The Veldt by Ray Bradbury. These stories offer great insight into technologies’ advancements over time that will ultimately lead to the downfall of human beings. These two stories use a different interpretation of what will happen when technology advances, but when summed up a common theme appears. In the story, The Time
The second idea that Postman gives, he does admit that it is desperate, is to address the problem that exists throughout schools. Postman does acknowledge that all of this exposes a type of typical American faith in the possibilities of the American education system. He writes that we have not yet investigated the way printed text affects the way our minds work. Postman stays somewhat optimistic, that teachers are actually becoming more “media conscious” in a world that demands a person to know about new forms of technology (162).
Neil Postman, writer, educator, critic and communications theorist, has written many books, including Technopoly. Mr. Postman is one of America's most visible cultural critics, who attempts to analyze culture and history in terms of the effects of technology on western culture. For Postman, it seems more important to consider what society loses from new technology than what it gains. To illustrate this, Postman uses the Egyptian mythology called "The Judgment of Thamus," which attempts to explain how the development of writing in Egyptian civilization decreases the amount of knowledge and wisdom in the society. He traces the roots of technology to show how technology impacts the moral and intellectual attitude of people. Postman seems to criticize societies with high technologies, yet he seems naive to the benefits technology has given society. Postman can be considered fairly conservative in his views regarding technology. His lucid writing style stimulates thoughts on issues in today's technological society; however because of his moral interpretations and historical revisions, his ethos is arguable. For every good insight he makes, he skips another mark completely.
Albert Borgmann follows the general project by Heidegger to see how technology has harmful effects on humanity and to determine how it can be reformed. Borgmann shares Heidegger’s view that modern technology is starkly different from premodern technology in its pattern of disclosing the world to human beings. Borgmann agrees that a sort of ethical reform must be undertaken to limit technological ways of living from dominating the lives of individuals and to keep technology in its place. His proposal for a direction of reform first takes cues from Heidegger but then asserts the need for different tactics.
Chapter Three: Technology When assessing various technological advancements, Postman encourages the reader to be question, “What is the problem to which this technology is a solution?” “Whose problem is it?” “Which people and institutions might be most ser...
It seems to be that society’s opinions cause people to pass judgement. Throughout history, the number of people being judged is increasing. It is becoming challenging to state an opinion or belief without receiving backlash. David Sedaris used different syntactic devices to convey how he feels about society’s opinions and judgment. This essay will focus on how the opinions from society can create judgment.
It is difficult to escape the influence of technology on modern life. It lurks behind every door: the classroom, home, office, and store. There are many who are resistant to new technology, saying that technology causes harm to society. These claims are often made without the realization that technology also includes important and indispensable parts in their life such as writing and the tools for writing. Writing was one of the first technologies invented. Technology has now become so entrenched in the majority of cultures around the world that it is hard to imagine a life or society without writing. For those that maintain a majority of technology beyond writing is harmful, imagine the difficulty in writing without the help of other technologies, which includes pencils, paper, computers, printing presses, and a number of other technological aids.
I wonder why sometimes people are afraid of their intelligence. Don’t imagine your life without technology because the progression of technology will never stop, and it will continue to benefit us. As technology advances, our society is able to advance also. Instead of tangle with how technology causes laziness or distracts us from what is important, it would better to think about how to use technology to make our life better.