The Effects And Importance Of Work

The Effects And Importance Of Work Work is at the root of a meaningful life, the path to individual independence, and a necessity for human survival and flourishing. It is also the distinctive means by which men concretize their identity as rational, goal-directed beings. Edward W. Younkins. Discuss. Work has a common human practice since the beginning of civilizations. It is the secret behind social progress and the defining characteristic of man. Work as we see it, is a virtue and a necessity. In times of uncertainty, interdependence and market economy, the individual has to rely on his work to ensure his own well-being. Work provides the individual with the ability to be independent, to flourish, to develop, and most importantly, to find a meaning to life. Definition of work This paper is centered on Edward W. Younkins definition of work. An individuals work creates private property and a person owns himself and therefore has property in the free use of his time, abilities, and efforts. Work requires the expenditure of time and energy. Man is in control of his time and energy when he voluntarily and constructively works. Control of ones time and energy both reflects the meaning of freedom and constitutes the means by which a person exercises his freedom. A little girl in one of the corners of the world who goes to the kindergarten and learns how to count, draw, sing or write, is working. An adult, who goes to his/her job every day from 8 to 4 oclock and gets remunerated for that, is working. Work has different dimensions such as work for making a living and work for developing ones talent and potential. Thus what the little girl does is one dimension of work, because instead of staying home to only eat and sleep, she is actually doing activities which are improving her as an individual. On the other hand, the man who has a job and devotes a lot of time and energy towards is a concretization of work for pay. Through his work, he is producing wealth which he can later use to pursue his goals. Thus, based on the age, circumstances, needs and desires of individuals, work takes different shapes. It is important for the individual to see work as a mean towards achieving ones goals. Work provides individuals with the medium to realize most of their aspirations. Therefore, it is an important tool for forming the individual and the community as a whole, since we are all interconnected with each other. We produce and benefit from our work and that of another individual whose work might have an influence upon us. For instance a farmer who works his land does so by using a tractor which was produced in a fabric thanks to the work of other people. Work as part of a meaningful life Work is an essential tool through which individuals can achieve their goals, flourish and have a meaningful life. It is not at the root of a meaningful life but is an inseparable part of it. According to Younkins meaningful life is interconnected with reason, productive work, goal achievement, human flourishing and happiness. Since productiveness is one of the most important elements of a meaningful life an individual should work in order to be productive. Productive work on the other hand is the process by which we can control our existence by acquiring knowledge and translating our ideas and values into physical form. Thus, it is through work that we can actualize our abilities and desires, and give meaning to our existence. Work is important because it helps us shape our personal identity. It is also the building brick of the community. In order to lead a meaningful life, we have to be rational human-beings who choose work as an undisputable way of flourishing our lives. For insta nce, if we take into consideration the labor market and the people who get paid for their work, we can say that they can sustain themselves, their families and maybe have enough wealth left to spend on entertainment. These people give meaning to their existence and shape their life based on the work they do. Work organizes your life, gives you a reason to wake up in the morning and makes you understand the importance of other things in your life. It will be mentioned later that work is a central purpose in peoples life but not the only one. You can get tired and frustrated from your work, but at the moment when you gather around the Christmas tree you will have been able to afford a present for your children and can cherish upon a glass of wine with your wife. Work gives you the freedom to chose, freedom to have the things you need and desire. Work as a path to individual independence Independence means to actualize your existence by your own means. Work provides individuals with the necessary means to sustain themselves both economically and socially, provides the freedom to be part of a society. It is through work that we establish ourselves as a woman or a man. If you work, you produce wealth which only you have possession of and nobody else does. People live through their choices. Everyone by natural law has the liberty to do whatever he or she wants as long as it does not interfere with the others liberty. For instance, Tom might chose to spend a quiet and peaceful summer at home or go on vacation. At the same time, Anna decides to do to a work and travel program and spend the same amount of time working. In the beginning of the next academic year, Tom has to ask his family to provide the money for everything whereas Anna can do so on his own. At this point, the Anna has developed as an independent individual who can pursue her goals through her own means. She actualizes her own existence by her own work. To work is to spend time and energy in producing something, instead of lying on the beach and enjoying the sun. According to Younkins It is in work that we can find the foundations of profit, property and corporations all can be justified in terms of the perfection of the human being. Therefore, through work we produce material values which we have possession of and can use it according to our aspirations. When you are a capable grown up person and by free will you choose not to work, then somebody else will have to produce wealth for you. At this point it is not you who own the wealth but the person who gives it to you, who indirectly owns and controls your desires and needs as well. For instance, it is Annas choice whether she can buy an expensive concert ticket, but it depends on Toms parents to decide whether to give him money to do so. Eventually, work smoothes the path towards individual independency. Work as a necessity for human survival and flourishing Flourishing is a synthesis of personal development and change towards perfection. These two factors require effort and persistence. Therefore, work is a necessity towards human flourishing because it contributes to our self formation, development and to the creation of material values. Through work we can be productive and create material values. The material values you need to survive and flourish must be produced. If you are not producing these values, then you can only attempt to survive and flourish by passing this responsibility onto someone else. When we work we produce material values which help us survive and flourish. We should be the ones working and creating the material values in order to flourish because if someone else does is not us flourishing but them. It is true that the society we live in today has created the possibility of a division-of-labor which means that everyone is being productive in a different and specialized way. The individuals, who distort this balance of producing and enjoying the benefits, by profiting without working, do not flourish. If an individual does not contribute to the production process, he is like a parasite which just profits from others without doing anything. Moreover, what if the society does not provide us with what we need? What if we want to develop as special and unique people, should we still rely on the outside world and wait? Through different stages of the human society, human beings have discovered and developed numerous facilities which make our life easier than ever. If you need to travel somewhere far, your solution is only a click away. Buying a ticket, reserving a hotel room, setting an appointment are all easy things you can do as long as you can afford them. However, if you wish to become a pianist, there is no professor who can teach you play beautifully if you do not spend time practicing every day. They can teach you the theoretical background, but not the skills. Work is an inseparable part of the human experience and people are what they do for a living. Your profession is part of your identity, whether you are a doctor, a journalist or a professor. All these terms are used to identify people of certain occupations, interests and lifestyle. When you are a baby, your parents are supposed to work and provide you with the necessary things. At the moment when you become capable of supporting yourself, you should do so by working. Work as a virtue of rationality According to Younkins, rationality is a primary virtue and it involves full focus, commitment to reality, and the constant expansion of ones knowledge. Rationality is one of the most important attributes of human beings, which distinguishes us from other species. Therefore, by choosing to work as a way to pursue our goals, we are actualizing the principle of rationality. Professor White explains that rationality is a virtue based on two elements: free will and reason. While free will is the deliberate choice of the individual to persist with rationality, reason is the solution the humans have in order to overcome physical and natural limitations. Therefore, rationality is important only if it is concretized. Going back to the element of reason we should stress on the fact that most of the things we are using today are product of reason. For instance heaters, fridges, vacuum cleaners and hundreds of other examples are products of reason which improve and ease our existence. In this re gard, work is the only viable tool to concretize rationality. For instance, a reasonable person would choose to work today and use the accumulated wealth to entertain oneself later. An unreasonable person might prefer to lie on the beach and enjoy the present. It sounds fun in the short-term, but it is impossible in the long one, since the resources at your disposal are limited and one day you will eventually have to work to generate some income in order to afford your expenditures. Moreover, the dynamics of the business world we live in accentuate the unquestionable need for work. Other aspects of work Up to now we have discussed work as a virtue and its importance. As a matter of fact, one should also take into consideration the way people approach work. Human beings differ in terms of many characteristics such as intelligence, talents, academic levels etc. Therefore, depending on human potential and the specific working environment, work can be equally beneficial to the human flourishing or demeaning. For instance, prostitution, gambling, and drug dealing constitute work as you get a kind of numeration for the service you provide and in a way you can pursue your goals. The money you get out of these kinds of work can help you afford your daily activities. Still, this money becomes useless at the moment when it neither contributes to the human flourishing, nor is the basis of a meaningful life. Work should be the key to human survival and flourishing, and not to the degradation of the individual and his moral values. If you sell your body to make money, you do not own it anymore. It becomes an asset for other people to use. Somebody who gambles plays with the risk of having nothing at the end, puts all his/her effort on luck rather than reason and work. When you base your human survival on drug dealing, you risk being caught up in a hierarchy of influences you cannot control, since the business is illegal. There is no basis for safety. Money and habits are the factors that decide on your life. On the other hand, no matter how honest, working from dawn to sunset does not help much for your life flourishing either. Workaholics, the people whose only purpose in life is work, impinge themselves from other activities. Work should be a central purpose in your life but not the only one, because you risk missing the numerous opportunities of flourishing as a human being. A central purpose should not be ones only purpose in life. A central purpose brings order to ones values, however it must be exercised in a way consistent with ones other values. Productive work is not an end-in-itself, but a means to flourishing. If one pursues productive work to the exclusion of everything else in ones life, so that it becomes ones only purpose in life, this will undermine ones flourishing. If we further elaborate on the concept of work and all its elements we might say that even decent work, such as an accounting job in a consulting company might turn out not contributive to the human flourishing. If you happen to hate your job, dont let it make your life miserable, but try improving your work environment or find more ways to make it more creative and interesting. The bottom line of work is to provide for the necessary means to the human flourishing and not to make it miserable. However, the fast pace business world we live in today is full of opportunities on one hand and on the other hand sometimes we dont have much of a choice. Therefore, if you can not find another job from which you can get satisfaction you should try to give a purpose to your actual job and find satisfaction in what you are doing. At the end of the day if we dont try to meliorate our life, no one will.

Lord of the Flies Essay -- essays research papers

Lord of the Flies and the novel’s symbolism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lord of the flies is a thought-provoking novel authored by William Golding. This novel uses symbolism throughout its entirety to help portray importance and teach lessons. The book describes in detail the horrific exploits of a band of young children who make a striking transition from civilized to barbaric. Lord of the Flies commands a pessimistic outlook that seems to show that man is inherently tied to society, and without it, we would likely return to savagery. Golding does not come right out and show this however he uses symbolism to allow this idea to show. There are many different examples of symbolism in the Novel included are Piggy’s Glasses, the beast and fire. Perhaps the most symbolic of these is fire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the novel fire served many, varied uses. Fire was used for warmth during the cold nights. It also created smoke, which served as a signal to potential rescuers. Perhaps the most basic, yet most important use for fire was for cooking. Without it the boys would not have been able to roast the pigs. The importance for fire was not at first understood by the boys. In Chapter Four the fire is out while a ship is spotted in the distance. If the fire was lit it could have been used to make smoke. In turn the smoke may have been used to signal the ship and save the boys. When questioned by Ralph, Jack and the others spew countless excuses to why the fire was...

Home Schooling’s Net Effects

The article found in the Washington Post on July 16,2000, addresses the role of the Internet in aiding home schooling. The Internet is revolutionizing the growing home-schooling movement. The Internet makes home-schooling a more popular option because of its vast capabilities. It is a key tool in education, serving as a teacher, textbook, and even a library. The concept of home schooling is not new, however, the ideas of cyberschools and â€Å"e-teachers† are. Through the use of a computer, school-age children can actually enroll in an â€Å"e-school† and take classes. These classes include a normal curriculum, and the Internet is able to expand these classes to include virtually anything. â€Å"E-teachers† post lecture notes, direct students to various web-sites and links for reading and visual material, hold discussion questions in chat rooms, and even conduct parent-teacher conferences. Almost 100% of schoolwork is completed and turned-in online. Students download worksheets, submit them to their â€Å"e-teacher† who grades them and returns them. E-students† are expected to complete projects, tests, and even take field trips. They interact with other students in their virtual classroom via chat-rooms. In this course, we are learning how computers and computer information can provide a foundation in other courses. Computers help us with research, communication, and writing. The uses of the Internet and the World Wide Web are incorporated in daily life, and can be used for business, education, or pleasure. Cyberschools make use of computer technology as a tool for learning. Many advocates of â€Å"E-schools† feel that the combination of home-schooling and the Internet allow for a more individualized curriculum For parents, online courses make instructional work easier and free-up their time so that they can continue to work full-time jobs. Also, parents feel reassured that â€Å"e-teachers† are adequately teaching their children classes that they themselves don†t feel qualified to teach. Many parents are now opting for â€Å"e-schools† because of their reservations concerning the safety and quality of traditional schools. Some argue that the idea of cyberschools is detrimental to children†s† social and emotional development. Critics are concerned that children taught at home are not properly socialized. They feel that children need to interact with teachers and peers in a traditional classroom setting, not over a keyboard. Also, â€Å"e-schools† detract from what should be the purpose of home schooling, bringing together the parent and the child. The ultimate challenge of cyberschools is the students. Students are highly susceptible to slacking-off when they don†t have a school bell ringing in the morning. These students must learn that discipline (regarding schoolwork) comes from within. Additional concerns about â€Å"e-schools† are that the courses teach students to rely too heavily on Web sites rather than books for information. Also, many fear that these cyberschools are unaccredited and employ uncertified teachers. Although I have never taken a full curriculum online, I have however taken a class online. I owe the Internet a big thanks, because without the option of â€Å"e-school† I would not have graduated on time. In order to fulfill my graduation requirements, I had to take a math class, which was not being offered at my high school in Amman, Jordan. My advisor immediately asked me how I felt about taking a class online, and I was thrilled with the idea. I was a pioneer of ACS (my high school), I was the first person to take a class online. The experience was fun, but I wouldn†t say that it was very educational. The biggest difficulty I faced, was my lack of self-discipline to actually log on to my virtual classroom and do my assignments. It was tough for me to learn math without having a teacher to help me hands-on. Also, the temptation of â€Å"surfing the net† seemed to take over every time I was supposed to be in my virtual classroom. I often found myself checking my e-mail, shopping online etc. Towards the end of the semester, I dreaded having to sit in front of the computer for my math class. For many, cyberschool is a great option, allowing them an individualized curriculum and teaching responsibility and self-discipline. For example, the Internet makes it possible for people with physical disabilities to obtain an education from their own home. For others (such as myself), it may not be well suited. This may be because they need more structure, more personal and hands-on attention or various other reasons. I applaud computer technology because it has made virtually anything possible. I am greatly concerned that â€Å"e-school† impairs socialization because of the lack of interpersonal relationships and interaction. A family who chooses cyberschool for their children, must be prepared to provide structure and interaction for their kids. The Internet also expands the realm of knowledge and provides an alternative to traditional classrooms and teaching. The Internet is one of many educational tools, allowing us to broaden our horizons of research and communication.

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

Over the centuries, various would-be conquerors have thrown their armies against the sere mountains and valleys of Afghanistan. In just the past two centuries, great powers have invaded Afghanistan at least four times. It has not turned out well for the invaders. As former US National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski put it, They (the Afghanis) have a curious complex: they dont like foreigners with guns in their country. In 1979, the Soviet Union decided to try its luck in Afghanistan, long a target of Russian foreign policy. Many historians believe that in the end, the Soviet War in Afghanistan was key in destroying one of the Cold War worlds two superpowers. Background to the Invasion On April 27, 1978, Soviet-advised members of the Afghan Army overthrew and executed President Mohammed Daoud Khan. Daoud was a leftist progressive, but not a communist, and he resisted Soviet attempts to direct his foreign policy as interference in Afghanistans affairs. Daoud moved Afghanistan toward the non-allied bloc, which included India, Egypt, and Yugoslavia. Although the Soviets did not order his ouster, they quickly recognized the new communist Peoples Democratic Party government that formed on April 28, 1978. Nur Muhammad Taraki became Chairman of the newly-formed Afghan Revolutionary Council. However, infighting with other communist factions and cycles of purging plagued Tarakis government from the start. In addition, the new communist regime targeted Islamic mullahs and wealthy landowners in the Afghan countryside, alienating all of the traditional local leaders. Soon, anti-government insurgencies broke out across northern and eastern Afghanistan, aided by Pashtun guerrillas from Pakistan. Over the course of 1979, the Soviets watched carefully as their client government in Kabul lost control of more and more of Afghanistan. In March, the Afghan Army battalion in Herat defected to the insurgents, and killed 20 Soviet advisers in the city; there would be four more major military uprisings against the government by the end of the year. By August, the government in Kabul had lost control of 75% of Afghanistan - it held the large cities, more or less, but the insurgents controlled the countryside. Leonid Brezhnev and the Soviet government wanted to protect their puppet in Kabul but hesitated (reasonably enough) to commit ground troops to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. The Soviets were concerned about the Islamist insurgents taking power since many of the USSRs Muslim Central Asian republics bordered on Afghanistan. In addition, the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran seemed to shift the balance of power in the region toward Muslim theocracy. As the Afghan governments situation deteriorated, the Soviets sent in military aid - tanks, artillery, small arms, fighter jets, and helicopter gunships - as well as ever-greater numbers of military and civilian advisers. By June of 1979, there were approximately 2,500 Soviet military advisers and 2,000 civilians in Afghanistan, and some of the military advisers actively drove tanks and flew helicopters in raids on the insurgents. Moscow Secretly Sent in Units of the Spetznaz or Special Forces On September 14, 1979, Chairman Taraki invited his chief rival in the Peoples Democratic Party, Minister of National Defense Hafizullah Amin, to a meeting at the presidential palace. It was supposed to be an ambush on Amin, orchestrated by Tarakis Soviet advisers, but the chief of palace guards tipped off Amin as he arrived, so the Defense Minister escaped. Amin returned later that day with an Army contingent and placed Taraki under house arrest, to the dismay of the Soviet leadership. Taraki died within a month, smothered with a pillow on Amins orders. Another major military uprising in October convinced the Soviet leaders that Afghanistan had spun out of their control, politically and militarily. Motorized and airborne infantry divisions numbering 30,000 troops began preparing to deploy from the neighboring Turkestan Military District (now in Turkmenistan) and the Fergana Military District (now in Uzbekistan). Between December 24 and 26, 1979, American observers noted that the Soviets were running hundreds of airlift flights into Kabul, but they were unsure whether it was a major invasion or simply supplies intended to help prop up the tottering Amin regime. Amin was, after all, a member of Afghanistans communist party. All doubt vanished over the next two days, however. On December 27, Soviet Spetznaz troops attacked Amins home and killed him, installing Babrak Kamal as the new puppet-leader of Afghanistan. The following day, the Soviet motorized divisions from Turkestan and the Fergana Valley rolled into Afghanistan, launching the invasion. Early Months of the Soviet Invasion The Islamic insurgents of Afghanistan, called the mujahideen, declared a jihad against the Soviet invaders. Although the Soviets had vastly superior weaponry, the mujahideen knew the rough terrain and were fighting for their homes and their faith. By February of 1980, the Soviets had control of all of the major cities in Afghanistan and were successful in quashing Afghan Army revolts when army units marched out information to fight the Soviet troops. However, mujahideen guerrillas held 80% of the country. Try and Try Again - Soviet Efforts to 1985 In the first five years, the Soviets held the strategic route between Kabul and Termez and patrolled the border with Iran, to prevent Iranian aid from reaching the mujahideen. Mountainous regions of Afghanistan such as Hazarajat and Nuristan, however, were completely free of Soviet influence. The mujahideen also held Herat and Kandahar much of the time. The Soviet Army launched a total of nine offensives against one key, guerrilla-held pass called the Panjshir Valley in the first five years of the war alone. Despite the heavy use of tanks, bombers, and helicopter gunships, they were unable to take the Valley. The mujahideens amazing success in the face of one of the worlds two superpowers attracted support from a number of outside powers seeking either to support Islam or weaken the USSR: Pakistan, the Peoples Republic of China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Withdrawal From the Quagmire - 1985 to 1989 As the war in Afghanistan dragged on, the Soviets faced a harsh reality. Afghan Army desertions were epidemic, so the Soviets had to do much of the fighting. Many Soviet recruits were Central Asians, some from the same Tajik and Uzbek ethnic groups as many of the mujihadeen, so they often refused to carry out attacks ordered by their Russian commanders. Despite official press censorship, people in the Soviet Union began to hear that the war was not going well and to notice a large number of funerals for Soviet soldiers. Before the end, some media outlets even dared to publish commentary on the Soviets Vietnam War, pushing the boundaries of Mikhail Gorbachevs policy of glasnost or openness. Conditions were terrible for many ordinary Afghans, but they held out against the invaders. By 1989, the mujahideen had organized some 4,000 strike bases across the country, each manned by at least 300 guerrillas. One famous mujahideen commander in the Panjshir Valley, Ahmad Shah Massoud, commanded 10,000 well-trained troops. By 1985, Moscow was actively seeking an exit strategy. They sought to intensify recruitment and training for the Afghan armed forces, in order to transition responsibility to local troops. The ineffectual president, Babrak Karmal, lost Soviet support, and in November of 1986, a new president named Mohammad Najibullah was elected. He proved less than popular with the Afghan people, however, in part because he was the former chief of the widely-feared secret police, the KHAD. From May 15 to August 16, 1988, the Soviets completed phase one of their withdrawal. The retreat was generally peaceful since the Soviets first negotiated cease-fires with mujahideen commanders along the withdrawal routes. Remaining Soviet troops withdrew between November 15, 1988, and February 15, 1989. A total of just over 600,000 Soviets served in the Afghan War, and about 14,500 were killed. Another 54,000 were wounded, and an astonishing 416,000 became ill with typhoid fever, hepatitis, and other serious diseases. An estimated 850,000 to 1.5 million Afghan civilians died in the war, and five to ten million fled the country as refugees. This represented as much as one-third of the countrys 1978 population, severely straining Pakistan and other neighboring countries. 25,000 Afghans died from landmines alone during the war, and millions of mines remained behind after the Soviets withdrew. The Aftermath of the Soviet War in Afghanistan Chaos and civil war ensued when the Soviets left Afghanistan, as rival mujahideen commanders fought to enlarge their spheres of influence. Some mujahideen troops behaved so badly, robbing, raping, and murdering civilians at will, that a group of Pakistani-educated religious students banded together to fight against them in the name of Islam. This new faction called itself the Taliban, meaning the Students. For the Soviets, the repercussions were equally dire. Over the previous decades, the Red Army had always been able to quash any nation or ethnic group that rose in opposition - the Hungarians, the Kazakhs, the Czechs - but now they had lost to the Afghans. Minority peoples in the Baltic and Central Asian republics, in particular, took heart; indeed, the Lithuanian democracy movement openly declared independence from the Soviet Union in March of 1989, less than a month after the withdrawal from Afghanistan finished. Anti-Soviet demonstrations spread to Latvia, Georgia, Estonia, and other republics. The long and costly war left the Soviet economy in shambles. It also fueled the rise of a free press and open dissent among not only ethnic minorities but also from Russians who had lost loved ones in the fighting. Although it was not the only factor, certainly the Soviet War in Afghanistan helped to hasten the end of one of the two superpowers. Just over two and a half years after the withdrawal, on December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union was formally dissolved. Sources MacEachin, Douglas. Predicting the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan: The Intelligence Communitys Record, CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence, Apr. 15, 2007. Prados, John, ed. Volume II: Afghanistan: Lessons from the Last War. Analysis of the Soviet War in Afghanistan, Declassified, The National Security Archive, Oct. 9, 2001. Reuveny, Rafael, and Aseem Prakash. The Afghanistan War and the Breakdown of the Soviet Union, Review of International Studies, (1999), 25, 693-708.