Animal Farm by George Orwell Essay Example for Free

Animal Farm by George Orwell Essay Napoleon is the main character from the book Animal Farm written by George Orwell. He is a demanding, overpowering pig who always gets what he wants. In the book Napoleon is a common pig that gets rid of the pig that shares power with him, Snowball and takes over the leader ship of the farm which he later turns into a dictatorship. The difference between Napoleon and Snowball is what makes the book powerful and refers to what real people get manipulated easily. Napoleon is based on the real life person Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union for 30 years. The name Napoleon comes from the French general Napoleon Bonaparte, who was power crazy and a dictator. In the book Napoleon is a bad pig from the beginning. He fights along with his fellow pig, Snowball to free the farm from humans but later on starts making some suspicious decisions such as drinking the milk that the animals have worked for and taking the puppies of Jessie and Bluebell for himself. Napoleon takes over by sending his dogs after Snowball, who runs away, do to fear. Slowly but surely we see him take one step at a time towards the crown of being the only leader. For example he changes the seven Commandments rules against killing, drinking, and sleeping in bed. All the animals are forced to work just as hard as before the rebellion and they don’t even get enough food. Napoleon makes the other animals fear him by killing the animals that have made wrong decisions and starving some of them because they don’t do as he says. Soon enough everyone does as he wishes and behaves after his will. Napoleon praises himself for all the things that he has done for the animals which in the end is nothing.

Democracy and Political Obligation Essay -- What is Politics?

The public life of political servants is characterized by other duties and obligations than private life. Conflicts can even arise between a person's public and private duties. The central point of this paper is to examine whether this difference of duties can be regarded as an effect of different forms of obligation. Can we speak of a particular form of political obligation in the same way in which Kant distinguishes between ethical and legal obligation, the former pertaining to intentions and the latter to external aspects of the action? Could political obligation be distinguished from both of them, for example by its relation towards ends? The first section develops the thesis that if there is such a thing as political necessity, it must be some kind of moral obligation. The second section focuses on the question of whether political obligation can be conceived of as different from legal and ethical obligation, the only two forms of moral obligation that Kant distinguishes. The la st section is about a differentiated conception of political obligation and virtue, in democracies, for political leaders, for citizens, and for public servants. All modern societies in some way accept the distinction between legal and ethical obligation. The former constitutes an exterior sphere of norms and rules, including duties which citizens can be compelled to perform by the threat of punishment or other legal consequences, the latter concerns the interior sphere of a person's conscience and private intentions. Making this distinction can be seen as the explicit acknowledgement of what Agnes Heller has called 'the first structural change in morals': the evolution of a separate subjective sphere of morality within the public ethical life. (1) ... ...cal action: the problem of dirty hands, in : Philosophy and Public Affairs, 1973, pp. 160-180; Thomas Nagel, Mortal questions, Cambridge 1979, pp. 53-90; Bernard Williams, Moral Luck. Philosophical Papers 1973-1980, Cambridge 1981, pp. 54-70. (3) Kai Nielsen, There is no dilemma of dirty hands, in: South African Journal of Philosophy, 15-1 (1996), pp. 1-7. (4) Thomas Nagel, Mortal questions, p. 89. (5) See e.g. R.M. Hare, Political Obligation, in: Ted Honderich (ed.), Social Ends and Political Means, London 1976, pp. 1-12. (6) I. Kant, Die Metaphysik der Sitten, Akademie-Ausgabe, Berlin 1902, Bd VI, p. 232. (7) Cf. Peter Schneider, Recht und Macht, Gedanken zum modernen Verfassungsstaat, Mainz 1970, p. 224. (8) Cf. Bernard Williams, Consequentialism and Integrity, in: Samuel Scheffler (ed.), Consequentialism and its Critics, Oxford 1988, pp. 20-50.

The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy

Cameron Gilmore Professor Stephen Ferguson Liberal Studies 202 14 September 2012 The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy In this paper, I will analyze Stephen Ferguson’s article â€Å"The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy†. Throughout Ferguson’s article he discusses the limitations of Afrocentrism and the negative effects it may cause because of the beliefs and ideas expressed from the philosophical view.Following the summary of the article’s main points and themes, I shall expound upon the article’s erudite theme, while illuminating the author’s generalization of this â€Å"worldview†. Ferguson introduces the reader to the article with a poem entitled Heritage by Countee Cullen. While Ferguson only includes the first stanza of that poem, the entirety of the poem somewhat relates to the view of Afrocentrism in how Cullen articulates the beau ty of Africa, but by the end of the poem the mood has changed to Cullen’s current life and how it has changed.Like the poem the main point of the article is that Afrocentrism may be something of a good thing, but it cannot be any good to history if it is only based of off of â€Å"fantasy or fairy tale† as Ferguson states. There are many examples on the claims that are made on Afrocentrism and how it clouds the rich African-American or African heritage.One line from the passage says, â€Å"†¦[the Afrocentric quest for an authentic past] ignores the fact that the Pharaohs in conjunction with the priests were an oppressive and exploitative aristocracy. Dreaming of what Kwame Nkrumah termed an idyllic African classless society is a wrong-headed approach for Black Studies† (Ferguson). I found that this strongly demonstrates how farfetched ideas may become, mostly, when Afrocentrism becomes just a ploy to console the African-American race from times of struggle or disparity.Along with the negative side of the Afrocentric view, Ferguson greatly details on how it is even more important to read, research, learn and teach all parts of history; in which, he includes a cited passage, The Mis-Education of the Negro, written by Carter G. Woodson which basically says that it is important to read about great historic heroes such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but it is just as important to read about the slaves that provided all the labor that contributed and made this country what it is today.One final theme that I received from the article is that like today’s Eurocentric view, which is also full of fallacy, Afrocentrism would not be too far from it with all the misleading and misguided illustrations, as opposed to simply researching and collecting facts, like this quote from Carter G. Woodson used in the article, â€Å" ‘race prejudice was based on wide-spread ignorance’ and that ‘carefully gathered scientif ic proof’ would eliminate it† (Ferguson).Throughout this review of Ferguson’s â€Å"The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy†, I have discussed the author’s main points which I believe are that Afrocentrism is frequently filled with ideal views and utopian ideas, that African-Americans used these ideas at times of hardship to uplift the race, that it is just as important to research and learn about European history as well as every other history and that just as Eurocentrism can be cloudy in terms of actuality, so can Afrocentrism.I would have to honestly agree with all of these points, especially after the given details and examples, however I do fear that the author has made a generalization of this Afrocentric view. I believe that many people nowadays know of the oppression faced during the era of Ancient Egypt and Africa, and those phrases and terms given by early generation African-Americans which f ed to the false ideas to Afrocentrism have been proven to be exaggeration.In conclusion, I have reasoned that while Ferguson has given great details and is right on his claims, this does not mean that they are widely believed as much as his says, which in turn gives of a since of generalization.

Abstract. “Astrobiology Is The Field Of Study Focused On

Abstract â€Å"Astrobiology is the field of study focused on searches for life and possible habitats for such life on other worlds† (2014). The science of astrobiology has many areas of study and is important because it helps us find other places in the universe that could be habitable, determine the potential for habitable planets beyond the solar system, and understand those planets that we can observe in the universe. Scientists have many ideas on how to recognize signs of life on other planets (Des Marais et al., 2008). NASA has done many missions to planets and moons in our solar system and beyond, searching for life. ASTROBIOLOGY According to the textbook Astro2, â€Å"Astrobiology is the field of study focused on the search for†¦show more content†¦Habitable world’s research uses the history of life on Earth to discover life on other worlds and how it might develop. It also searches for life that once existed on dead planets. Research in the area of emerging worlds tries to understand how the sun and the planets surrounding it developed. Instrument development programs to see far off worlds involves building satellites and telescopes that can see distant worlds and distant conditions for habitation (â€Å"NASA Astrobiology, n.d.†) Exoplanet research advances our knowledge and understanding of planets outside of our solar system. Its objectives are the detection of exoplanets and their characteristics. Planetary protection involves efforts to not contaminate other planets by introducing hazardous organisms. This keeps other planets in a natural state and it ensures any organisms fou nd by scientists on other planets did not originate from Earth. It also involves protecting our planet from organisms from other worlds. This is done by setting planetary protection policy, designing sterile spacecraft, and planning to protect the Earth from organisms in returned samples. The goal of the laboratory analysis of returned samples is laboratory testing for samples returned from missions to