We see and understand things not as they are but as we are

We see and understand things not as they are but as we are We see and understand things not as they are but as we are. Discuss this claim in at least two ways of knowing. When the theory of knowledge teacher asked a student in the class to examine and describe a paper flower, he boldly described it as soft, weak and small. I also examined the same paper flower and came up with an understanding that the flower is small, weak and soft. This was because we both were observing the same thing. This observation leads to a hypothesis that the existence of knowledge without human minds is not possible. If in that instant of time one of us would unfold the paper flower and make a paper boat to run it on the water surface in a bucket, we both would have mentioned the differences. This assertion points out our ways of acquiring knowledge. Is it worth saying that human mind understands the world and its phenomenon according to the knowledge being saved in to it earlier. Does culture has impacts in the way humans see and understand? Do people of different religions experience the same reality? Through this essay I shall try to look at the above mentioned problems of knowing and come up with an argument that humans do see and understand things not as they (things) are but as we (humans) are. Famously quoted by N. R. Hanson Two third of what we see is behind our eyes. I myself agree with the title of the essay that I see and understand things not as they are but as I am. But why? We wouldnt have any knowledge of the outside world without our perception. For example a person from a different culture than ours would misunderstand the purpose of a finger bowl with a flower petal at a dining table and perceive it as a bowl of soup. The main issue here is that a same thing is perceived differently by different observers due to various aspects in their lives. These perceptions are often strongly influenced by our experiences and memories, religion, personality, culture and even gender. Plato defined knowledge as Justified True Belief. According to the definition, the more justification we can provide for a particular belief, the knowledge constructed from the fact will be easier to understand. Mostly the knowledge human value primarily is based on cultural backgrounds and past knowledge. For example dogs will always scare a man if he has been bitten by dog in the childhood while some people on the other hand have dogs as pets and loves them as their own children. One of the main issues of knowledge in this context would be to explore the question that states that do emotions affect the way we see and understand things? First of all, I must mention that the ways of getting knowledge from emotions are facial expressions, tone of voice or tears. For example if I drag literature into the essay and take a look at the Slumdog Millionaire. There comes a point in the story when the character Jamal witnesses his girlfriend getting rapped. Jamal finds this act of violence more hurtful to himself instead of finding it hurting to his friend. Jamal sees himself as the victim because of the pain he is getting just by hearing the voices and runs from the scene. But in reality his refusal to help his friend makes him as accused of the crime as the perpetrator. The point of interest in this example is that Jamal saw the situation through his mind and his emotions did not let him see the actual reality. So he saw the whole situation as he was, not as the reali ty was. Another example in this context could be a student who is very intelligent but is held down in the class because he is deemed to be selfish. In his point of view he is strong and independent and has great integrity that is why he never bows to altruism. But other students criticize him because of this attitude. Sacrifice of self is highly appreciated in some cultures but in others self reliance is honored the most. This also points me back to the question of the essay and concludes that culture plays a significant role in what we see and how we perceive it. Religion also plays a part in the perception of people. For example Muslims are not allowed to eat pork and they have religious justifications to prove their belief but for the rest of the world it is quite normal to eat pork and they serve it both at their national and holy events. Therefore a same event in time and space cannot be perceived by same point of view by particular group of people. These three examples led me to concl ude that perception is so strongly influenced by emotions, culture and religion that people see the reality as they are not as the reality is. Sometimes one comes across knowledge that seems authentic but that is not true. I will quote the 4th century BCconcept that the earth is flat. Lack of equipment and modern technology lead ancient scientists to claim this hypothesis. The scientists justified this hypothesis by saying that if earth was not flat; rather sphere then the things on the curved surface of the earth would slide and fall down. Moreover they also justified that the earth appears to be flat even viewed from a high altitude. Since their conclusion (justifications) made sense to the people of that era, so they considered this knowledge valuable. But with the passage of time, scientists realized that earth is spherical instead of flat. They justified this belief by showing the fact that if earth was flat then all the bodies in the sky should be visible at the same time for all parts of the surface. Also when a ship disappears in the horizon justifies that the earth is sphere. These justifications were not enough fo r old believers of flat earth. Advancement in science and technology made humans land on moon. When astronauts showed pictures of earth taken from the surface of moon, people started believing the new knowledge. Pictures served as proof for the belief. Even in the presence of these strong reasoning some old religious scientists deny the fact and are still proving their old knowledge. They believe that in such cases pictures can serve as propaganda. Knowledge based on photographs could be biased or subjective. Thus this example shows that the knowledge that people value the most is the one with their own concrete justifications based on the circumstances or the previous knowledge. But how can we know what could be close to reality? Photographs are a ladder to reach knowledge, they dont serve knowledge. They can be manipulated for various purposes as in this example; photographs taken from moon can be a source of propaganda for the country first reached at moon. There also exists knowledge that has similar outcomes yet people do not agree with it. I will take ghosts as example. Spiritual scholars have played a key role in showing existence of ghosts. They showed religious references, pictures, videos and people who can approve their existence but majority of the people do not believe this because they are not able to show their justification to the rest of the world. If I consider myself, I personally believe in ghosts because my religion has strong justifications for that. But those justifications are very weak for the non believers. So when I see a person screaming at night or walking in sleep I consider it as influence of some ghost because this is what my religion and culture taught me. On the other hand modern science has showed evidence to many sicknesses in which a sleeping person might walk and even go to graveyard to remember the dead ones. So a doctor will see this situation completely differently than anyone from old South Asian s ociety. This is also an example of different perception of the same event. The whole discussion in this essay leads me to conclude than more the justifications, more reliable the belief is. But sometimes even justifications and proofs fail to convince people. Forexample we see a toothpick is embedded in chocolate dipped strawberries. A person with good socio economic background knows the purpose of this toothpick that is lifting the strawberry without getting hands dirty. On the other hand a person with less social status might see the toothpick as a cleaning tool that is used right after one has eaten the strawberries. So this whole discussion can be concluded by saying that knowledge that is most valuable depends on person to person. The knowledge that satisfies ones belief, emotions and actions is valued to him. Thus for him that particular knowledge is most valuable. But if we think logically, then there is no doubt that strong justifications (as in science) make the argument more valuable. As said by David Hume (1711-76) Reason is always and everywhere the slave of the passions

Wisdom of Parents in the Poem, Photograph of My Father In His Twenty-Second Year :: Photograph of My Father In His Twenty-Second Year

Wisdom of Parents in the Poem, Photograph of My Father In His Twenty-Second Year We have all grown up hearing our parent's advice "Do as I say, not as I do". When your parents give this advice you do not always listen at first, but later on in life you may catch yourself using it. I believe it is very important value, respect and listen to what your parent's say; their experience with life is their major tool in shaping their children into adults. Parents have lived life longer than their children that is a fact. And what they have gained is wisdom. Through out their lives they have learned from their personal experience and can use these experiences to try and guide their children in the right direction in a similar experience. In the poem "A Song In The Front Yard" (Gwendoly Brooks, Bridges 44) it gives us a picture of a child wanting to explore more of the world than her parents think she should. "I've stayed in the front yard all my life,"(Line 1) this line tells us that the child was a little sheltered. Not able to go out of the front yard the child was kept in away from the rest of the world. "I want a peek at the back" (Line 2) in this line the child wants to explore more than just the front yard, just to go into the back yard would be great. "To where the charity children play. I want a good time today. They do some wonderful things. They have some wonderful fun. (Lines 8-10) In these lines they show how the child sees the surroundings outside the fence. The child sees that the other children are doing fun things that the child wishes he or she could do. He or she sees the activities of the other children as wonderful. The other children are probably doing things that the child in the front yard doesn't get to do. "My mother sneers, but I say it's fine how they don't have to go in at quarter to nine. My mother, she tells me that Johnnie Ma will grow up to be a bad woman." (Lines 11-14) In these lines the poet depicts the mother's feelings of the other children. She doesn't think that they are the best crowd for her child to be influenced by or maybe the activities they are doing are quite appropriate.

Opportunity to make this film Essay

â€Å"Let him have it, Chris† are the words used by Derek. The audience could interpret this statement in two different ways – as an instruction to shoot or as a request to hand the weapon over. The audience is led to believe that Bentley meant the latter, but Craig interprets the line in the first way. He fires at the detective, wounding him in the shoulder. The impulsive movement of the camera and the unmistakeable sound of a gunshot are both used, with great effect, to scandalize the audience. The detective then retreats for cover, verbally and physically abusing Derek, â€Å"Have you got a fucking gun, too, eh? † He pushes him hard against the wall using his own body as a ram. This may have been to increase his levels of cover, reducing a possible target, but the audience think of it as intimidating Derek. The detective then proceeds to caution Bentley, but groans with pain before he can finish. He then finds the knuckle duster Bentley is carrying, a present from Craig. He seems to blame Bentley, forcing him against the wall, causing the audience to feel sorry for him even though what he has done is clearly wrong. The next scene is showing Craig reloading his weapon behind an access point to the roof. After each round he loads into the magazine, a police officer is shown in a police station being handed a gun before running out of shot. This gives the viewers the impression that each round in Craig’s weapon is meant for that particular officer. This again makes the audience feel that he’s there to kill, not just to get away, condemning him as some sort of maniac. The next thing shown is Chris firing randomly into the air as he moves closer to the camera. It shows him as being much more confident than before, as though this event was his rite of passage, his destiny. His teeth are clenched, ready for war and he wears a crazy smile, as though he is indeed insane. This confidence is not shared by Bentley, however, who is shown to be scared and worried. Later on, the same actions are taking place but as Craig walks amongst the skylights on the roof they light up, signifying that police were now inside the building. Police are shown to be in the very stairwell that Derek and the DC are hiding behind. An officer approaches the door, but before he can open it, another says â€Å"Here, let me†. This is ironic as the next sequence of events will show. The colour inside this tiny room is once again gold, annotating these characters as friendly. As the first officer jumps out from the door to join up with his colleague he is immediately shot by Craig. As this happens, the speed of the film slows, showing you the full gore of the fall the policeman has to take. The music then turns low as if to say ‘that wasn’t a good idea†¦ ‘. As DC Fairfax runs inside shouting â€Å"Get me a fucking gun†, Derek wanders to the body. The camera then switches to a different shot, this one as though the audience are in Derek’s head. The camera tentatively swoops from normal eye level to the body and then back up. He then gazes back at Craig, muttering â€Å"You shot him†. â€Å"Stay back†. At this point the audience does know that Craig has turned into a maniac, rejecting one of his friends. Two officers then grab Derek and use him as a shield to retreat back to the stairs. This makes Bentley appear as just a tool rather than a person, the police regarding him as a means to an end rather that an end in itself. â€Å"You bastard† uttered a police officer lingering in the stairwell as the two grasped him in a head – lock. Now the door was open the colour inside the building had changed, or been infected with the chilling blue. Because of that the police had changed from someone the audience could trust into someone to be wary of. Meanwhile, Craig continues to fire randomly into the air, shouting abuse at the people present, â€Å"You ain’t getting up here that way copper†, â€Å"Come on then, I’m only sixteen†. This action shows the audience his insanity and the amount of courage he has because this statement makes the audience believe that he feels he can take on the world. Eventually DC Fairfax re-emerges with a revolver too. He bides his time, waiting behind the cover of the stairwell. After a burst of fire, the audience hear a click. It is clear to all but Craig what this means. Fairfax advances, into no – man’s land, ready to face off his opponent. â€Å"Stay back†, says Chris, pointing the gun at the detective. But he continues to advance. Click. Click, Click. Craig’s out of ammunition. He begins to step backwards, away from Fairfax. In a desperate attempt to end it, Craig turns the gun on himself and pulls the trigger, braced for impact. Click Click Click. He now begins to whimper, Fairfax pushing him further and further away. In a last – ditch attempt, Craig summersaults from the roof onto a nearby greenhouse. The siege had ended. Throughout the whole of the scene, chilling blue was used to amplify the feeling of dread the audience are already feeling. This case is well publicised in all types of media, although not all sources sympathise with Derek. The Daily mail, the best selling newspaper at the time, printed a highly sensationalised and inaccurate report which claims Craig was in possession of a sten gun, a fully automatic weapon of devastating proportions. After the â€Å"battle† they report a heroic chase of the gunmen, over rooftops and down fire escapes. This relates to the film well, as this is biased, but on the part of the police, a normal response to murder. Another curious aspect of the investigation is whether Bentley actually even said the words that eventually killed him. During the trial, Craig denied the words were said. One police officer confirmed this in his statement, writing, â€Å"I did not write it down because I did not hear it. I did not hear it down because it was not said†. Claude Pain’s statement was later lost by police. Controversy still shrouds this topic, and, indeed, the whole court case’s truth. It has been suggested in the book ‘Let Him Have It, Chris’ by M. J. Trow that the words that hung Bentley may have been ‘borrowed’ from the case of Rex V. Appleby who was hung for inciting his accomplice to kill a policeman by shouting â€Å"Let him have it, he is all alone†. Did the police believe what had hung Appleby would hang Bentley? These statements point out yet more bias acts to swing the trial in favour of the police. It seems that there is much biased activity within the real life events as well as the film. While the director has chosen that the character should say these words, he has ignored the fact the police constable killed on the roof, Sydney Miles, was a father of two. This may have been omitted so as not to prevent the audience feeling sympathy towards Derek and even some sympathy towards Chris. The next scene is after the court case and the sentence has been passed. The family has campaigned Bentley’s innocence and found many to believe this too. The trial, too, has been uncovered as a sham. It is discovered that Derek has the mental age of eleven and should never have been tried. Victory seems almost certain for the Bentley’s, but their pleas for a pardon have been rejected. Many feel this an injustice. The scene starts with Derek’s father walking out, into his street, and looking around in despair. Although this action is shown for a mere two seconds, if that, a lot can be deduced. His pace is slow, his face pensive. As he walks out, the postman greets him with just one letter, a great deal less than days before. The camera zooms out, to reveal the street empty. This creates a sense of solace, that no-one is there to support the family. The roads are lined with decaying leaves, a sign that Derek is missed, for it was his job to clear them up. Their position is important, too. They are all in the gutter, suggesting that the father, like the leaves, is in the gutter too. The leaves are also dying, a subliminal message of what’s to come. The next event is the constant switching of shot from the cell of Derek to the family’s sitting room with them all gathered round, supporting each other. Nothing happens during these scenes, but the family is shown expressing their emotions. The use of this technique shows a direct link between them and Derek. Once again, Derek, or at least his face, is bathed in an almost angelic light. Close ups of everyone’s faces are used to convey just how much emotion he family are feeling. This technique also causes the audience to feel their sadness with the family, as though they were a member of that family. The section following that is of Bentley sitting down, crouched forward, over himself like an animal trying to protect itself. The vicar is reciting the Lord’s Prayer and Derek is saying as much as he can. This action suggests he now has no-one that can help him but God. He has stopped denying the inevitable and has accepted it. Gold is the predominant colour in this scene, warming the characters involved as though they are saints. The prayer is also what was said by the little girl before she spots Craig and Bentley climbing over the gates of the factory. This provides a waypoint in the film the audience can revisit, as though to say â€Å"What if†¦? † The family is shown in the living room once again, but this time from above. This effect makes it feel like Derek is looking down at them, as though already dead. It tell the audience that there is only one future for Derek. This reciting is interrupted, however, by the guard telling him it’s time in a more forceful way. As soon as the door is flung open, the colour inside the room is changed by that of the outside. It is now dark and blue once more, suggesting, quite rightly, that the mood inside the cell has changed. The ensuing action is very rapid, providing a harsh contrast between the relaxed readings of the vicar and the short, sharp officials. The first line said is â€Å"Here, drink this†. Once Derek has drunk the liquid the camera acts, once again, like the audience are looking at the events through Derek’s perspective. This rapid series of events gives the audience an impression of force, that Derek is being pushed into something that should never have happened. The camera cuts to Derek’s supporters outside the prison, showing he audience that even the general public believe what will happen is wrong, reinforcing the audience’s belief. The camera shows the crowd and then pans upward, showing the large towers of the prison. This is to show that the government is more far powerful than the people below. The coat of arms lies on the wall, meant to signify justice. The audience are now mentally branding everyone running the prison as evil. The scene shows that everyone is behind Derek, and makes the viewers ask why? Why did this happen? The camera shows Derek being led to the gallows, between two lines of executioners. The camera pans around these lines, showing, once again, the full might of authority. It makes the audience as well as Bentley feel as though there is no way out, no going back. Derek is taken into the execution room, blindfolded and hung. Once the blindfold is added, the music stops and now all the audience can hear is Derek’s loud breathing. This creates a sense of apprehension, like they don’t want to see what is about to happen. The action is once again very rapid, like the executioners don’t even want to be there. The room is dark and has no source of light apart from a small window. As the execution is completed, Derek’s shoes are shown falling off his feet and hitting the floor. There is now a lingering shot of them. They symbolise Derek, in a way. They give the impression that this is all that is left of him. They also highlight his mental age once more as they aren’t tied. After Derek is killed, the camera flies up, out of the room and returns to the family. This could be his spirit, flying away and returning to his home and family once more. As this takes place, there is no music, just the scared and agitated breathing of Derek. As the spirit enters the home, the audience can see the colours have changed. What was once lit with gold and yellow is now illuminated using the same chilling blue of that fateful night. This signifies that the mood inside the house has changed from warm and welcoming to cold and unforgiving. The family are shown crying on each other’s shoulders and the camera pans round the room to the clock, which is now the only thing audible over the crying. As the whimpers grow louder, the clock stops. This signifies that time has run out for Derek. As the credits begin to roll, the crying is faded out and silence follows. Medak has used every tool at his disposal to promote sympathy for Bentley and his family. The lighting is dark and harsh when showing characters that bring Derek down, while those that are friendly towards him are lit using gold and yellow. The music is repetitive and unforgiving, creating links to previous scenes it the audience’s mind. Often there are large gaps with no music whatsoever to emphasize the action taking place. The camera often switches from a third person view to the action as though it were Derek to show the audience exactly what he can see. The camera also persists in showing the audience of Derek’s suffering. The dialogue of many other characters involves swearing regularly, but not in the case of Derek or his family. They are shown to be as near angelic as humanly possible. Derek’s dialogue is childlike and predictable, another method of showing the audience his mental age. The director has achieved his goal tremendously well. The director, in my view, has strayed from the truth very little, but has neglected to include certain aspects of the story altogether to promote sympathy for Bentley and his family. The film is, indeed biased, and that is clear in the audiences mind as the film ends, but then, most people, having been given the opportunity to make this film, would have produced it as biased.

The Interracial Mix For A Purer Race Essay - 1598 Words

The Interracial Mix for a Purer Race Black children belong in black homes even if white families are capable and willing to raise them. How is it that Americans can expect racial development, if people such as the National Association of Black Social Workers, a black advocacy group started to address social issues for blacks, are willing to remark in such a way to the idea of interracial adoption? One can fall into the ideas of the NABSW, but in reality people must realize that interracial adoption is a factor in the growth and progression of not only the United States, but of the entire world, and for that reason interracial adoption should be accepted and encouraged. In a racially mixed family, an interracially adopted child is†¦show more content†¦Racially mixed people are meant to prove that they are good enough for society, and in reality, society chooses who that interracially adopted child is going to be. Because interracially adopted children will one day be part of the competitive social market, socie ty makes it difficult for these children to realize that one day they can be successful. Starting in school, some children are isolated because they may not really belong to a certain race on its own. Never realizing that a mixed child can actually be part of whatever race he relates to, the child may take such actions such as isolation, and self destruct. Along with comments such as black children belong in black homes society sets trends like the highest number of adoptive children are black, but the highest numbers of adopted children are white. The statistics of more adopted white children demonstrates the favoritism of white children over any other race, and helps build a personal pain on those children that are not adopted, because of their race. Although it is hard to accept others making decisions for one, interracially adopted children, and all others must recognize that society chooses what a persons racial identity is, and should be embraced because society needs more div erse people. Societys choice for a person is based on race, but a persons race is hereditary, consequently an interracially adopted child can be