The value of Philosophy is, in fact, to be sought largely in its uncertainty.
The man who has no tincture of Philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the
prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or
his nation, and from the convictions which have grown up in his mind without the
co-operation of his deliberate reason. Bertrand Russell, The Problems of
Philosophy.
Philosophy is commonly thought of as an activity reserved for Oxbridge high-
brows; or a sort of intellectual table-tennis indulged in by the Ancient Greeks
to while the time away before television came along. Russell suggests that it
may actually serve a purpose for everyone.
In the first line, Russell is clearly contrasting his own belief in the inherent
uncertainty of philosophy with the attitude of those people who dedicate their
lives to a search for the "right" theory, in an attempt to understand the
"truth" about human nature. He argues that, were a philosopher to write the
perfect, unanswerable theory, the solution to life, the universe and everything,
then philosophy would itself become responsible for inducing the very mental
laziness which it should help us to avoid.
Disagreement and debate between the adherents of rival theories is, moreover,
essential to the health of philosophy. Just as many major advances of science
are catalysed by war, so the great intellectual insights are sparked by
discussion. If there were universal agreement on one philosophical theory, then
all further thought would be rendered useless. (See p.319, Small World by David
Lodge: "…what matters in the field of critical practice is not truth but
difference. If everybody were convinced by your arguments, they would have to do
the same as you and then there would be no satisfaction in doing it.")
Russell talks of three different factors involved in the formation of prejudice.
Each is considered in detail below.
The first type of prejudice is derived from common sense. This is interesting:
it appears that Russell is suggesting that common sense is to be avoided. The
Concise Oxford Dictionary defines common sense as "sound, practical sense,
especially in everyday matters". In theory, any sound sense is to be welcomed,
where appropriate; the distinction to be made here is between applying common
sense to mundane problems, which Russell would certainly not advise against, and
taking it out of context as a set of rules which can be followed without any
further thought, no matter what the circumstances. For example, if you are
feeling hungry, and you are holding a biscuit, then a philosophical debate is
not required to reach the conclusion that you eat the biscuit: it's common sense.
He says that the declaring of a new nation was a “great deliverance,” comparing it to the group led by Moses out of Egypt. He does this to further support why he likes the original ideals of the Americans, since they follow great examples from religions most audience members follow and can get behind. By planting early images of religion, he can later create a religious appeal to the audience.
The Salem witch trials were a time period in which there was mass chaos and very little reason. In, “The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller, there were an elect group of people that overcame this hysteria of the trials. Among the people of reason arose, Reverend Hale, who displayed both sides of the hysteria. Reverend Hale is a dynamic character as he transforms from a character following the strict law and causing the deaths of many, to a character that understands the ridiculousness of the trials.
As a word analyst, I found three words from the story, “All the Troubles of the World” by Isaac Asimov, that are significant to the theme and the understanding of the story. The first word is “tendril”. A tendril is a tread-like organ of climbing plants that grow in spirals and help the plant climb its way up. The word is used in the sentence, “Multivac…had reached out tendrils into every city and town on Earth” (pg 263). The author refers the view range of Multivac to a tendril because the ability of tendrils to climb up just about anything is similar to the capability of the Multivac to reach and oversee every man on Earth. The second word is “subconscious”. Subconscious means existing or operating in the mind beneath or beyond consciousness.
When we first meet Hale he has just come from another town he has purged of witchcraft. He says, “No, no. Now let me instruct you. We cannot look to superstition in this. The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone, and I must tell you all that I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of hell upon her.” (Miller 478.) Hale is very believing in his work and believes he truly knows how to rid a town of witches. Later on in the story, after seeing the results of the trials and how many people were dying, Hale’s idea’s started to change. “ I have this morning signed away the soul of Rebecca Nurse, Your Honor. I will not conceal it; my hand shakes yet as with a wound! I pray you, sir, this argument let lawyers present to you.” (Miller 514.) Towards the end, Hale realizes how many people are dying and maybe people are not confessing to witchcraft because there never was any. At the end of the play, Hale realizes that the trials were sending innocent people to their graves and that his mission was not as godly as it
To start, Reverend Hale experiences extreme guilt for helping with the witch trials. When Hale returns to Salem, he explains his guilt by saying, “There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!” (131). Hale is saying that he feels he is the cause of all the deaths in Salem. He is taking blame for them and is showing how remorseful he is. Second, Hale realizes that what he has been doing is wrong. He explains to Elizabeth that he is no longer with the court by saying, “I come of my own, Goody Proctor. I would save your husband’s life, for if he is taken I count myself his murderer” (131). Hale is finally owning up to his actions and seeing where he was mistaken. He is making up for his mistakes by trying to convince the accused to confess so they will not get hanged. Last, Hale comes back to work for the people to finally get his redemption. Hale tells Danforth, “I come to do the Devil’s work. I come to counsel the Christians they should belie themselves” (131). Hale is able to regain his goodness when he helps the accused witches fight for their lives and confess to a crime they did not commit. He is able to walk away a better man, as he is able to help some people live longer, instead of signing their death warrants. In conclusion, Hale comes to his senses late, but he is still able to free himself of his guilt by working for the
government. He said the people had an absolute right, to rebel against any government that
world today because we are the freest." He declared that his way of being free, lays in his
The 1931 version of Frankenstein was very similar to the novel and kept the essence of Shelly’s message. Although Shelly herself grew up in an affluent society and came from a family of intellectuals, she sees danger in excess knowledge and the advancement. Her anti-intellectualism and anti- exploration stem from her fear of the results. She doesn’t see many benefits or feel that the positives of advancement will outweigh the bad. The movie version of the novel changed the perspective of the story and added its own creative details. The movie enhances the actions being done by both the monster and Frankenstein which emphasized the dangers that arose from intellectual exploration. Both the novel and movie serve as a warning for advancement based on Shelly’s principals.
Furious with the people in court for allowing the girls to manipulate and strike fear into their hearts, Hale shouts aloud: “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court!” (3.1.1499-1500). Hale felt the court was weak and the people in it in dismay. Wanting to save Elizabeth’s husband(John Proctor) from being hanged, Hale says, “I would save your husband’s life, for if he is taken I count myself his murderer” (4.1.423-425). Hale sought to save Elizabeth’s husband or else he would feel guilty/responsible for his hanging.
At first, Arthur Miller characterizes Hale to be one that jumps right to conclusions without any sort of evidence. Hale is a so called “witch hunter,” so even the slightest unusual tait, and you’re a witch. Hale quotes to Tituba, “You have sent your spirit out upon this child, have you not?” (44). Since he had come to Salem to find witches, witches are what he’ll find. Hale is pressuring the people of Salem to confess to a sin the have not commit, shoving words in their mouths. As the play progresses, Hale starts to come to his senses and realizes the events are all false. Hale preaches to the constable and surrounding villagers, “Let you counsel among yourselves; think on your village and what may have drawn from heaven such thundering wrath
In the beginning of The Crucible Reverend Hale is originally called down to Salem to look over Betty--Reverend Parris’ daughter-- for signs of the Devil. Hale is convinced the Devil is in Salem. When Hale is observing Betty, he seems to suspect the Devil is around. When asked if ridding Betty of the Devils influence will harm her, he says, “I cannot tell. If she is truly in the Devil’s grip we may have to rip and tear to get her free.”(Act 1, pg 154, line 800) showing his suspicion is growing. Finally, he confirms his suspicions and tries to wake Betty. He believes the Devil is near and Betty has been the victim of witchcraft. Also, when he is trying to get Tituba to
This piece of the evidence goes to show that Barack Obama made his speech very credible by including something that everyone in the audience have knowledge to. He used the declaration of independence to explain American’s Pride. He used something every American can or could relate or have access to as a way to show credibility on the knowledge of what America stands for. It is our duty to take pride of the paths that we create in the United States of
Hale is simply a hard working reverend who takes his job very seriously. He is very stern and is set in his ways. He is set in his ways in which he is only in Salem to do his job and not to take it personally. In his line of work he may have to convict people who eventually get hanged for witchcraft. When Hale first arrived in Salem he said "In these books the Devil stands stripped of all his brute disguises. Here are all your familiar spirits-your incubi and succubi; your witches that go by land, by air, and by sea; your wizards of the night and of the day. Have no fear now-we shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!" (Miller 185). This quote shows how he is very intent on finding any signs of the devil and will show no mercy.
Reverend John Hale was summoned by Reverend Parris, the minister of the church, who believes witchcraft has taken over salem. He was called to Salem because he was an expert and a believer of witchcraft. When he first arrives in Salem, his first destination was the Parris home. He arrives with a heavy load of books ready to interview the household about the afflicted child who has fallen into a deep sleep. He starts to observe the sleeping child who has been paralyzed in a deep sleep. While examining her he firmy says, “Have no fear now, we shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face” ( Miller 1149). He truly believes that the devil is with them in Salem. This quote shows that he is there to stay until the devil himself is brought out to justice. He will not leave until all is revealed. Abigail williams, the afflicted childs cousin, is next to being questioned b...
Many articles can attest to the subject that is, why education doesn 't just stop at school. Lily Claiborne, Annie Paul, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi are all people who have written articles about learning outside the classroom. Things like the internet, world experiences/ responsibilities, and your peers, teach you so much more that you ever would in a classroom. Articles like “Teaching Outside the Classroom” by Lily Claiborne, “Informal education: What students are learning outside the classroom” by Annie Paul, and “Education for the 21st Century” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, show great examples to why learning doesn 't stop at school. Going to school may be a primary form of education, but with the immense amount