Stephen Bantu Biko :: essays research papers

Stephen Bantu Biko Stephen Biko is known internationally as the founder of the South African Students' Organization (SASO), and a leading force in the South Africa Black Consciousness movement. He fought against the separation between black and whites, called apartheid (the Afrikaans term for separateness). His childhood experiences and character, lead him to became a powerful leader. Steve Biko was born on December 18, 1946, in King William's Town, South Africa. He father was a clerk and his mother was a housemaid. Following the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, Biko was just 17 years old when he became a political activist. He started to become active when he got expelled from Lovedale High School and his brother was arrested in a nationwide police crackdown on political activists. He ended up graduating in 1966 at a boarding school in Natal named St. Francis College. By then, his mind and character were those of a leader. He had a quick brain with huge mental force and ideas. He had the gift to cut through to the core of a problem and find the best solution. "His mind was a tool to chisel out sense and truth and order" (Woods 78). Biko was thoughtful, sensitive and had a good sense of humor. He was motivated by the search for good and truth. At the University of Natal Medicine in 1968, he became involved in the multiracial National Union of South African Students. He was known by peers and adults as a student leader This organization fought for black rights, except he claimed that, "the white [were] doing all the talking and the blacks listening" (Biko 210). Biko wanted the blacks to have as much say and participation as the whites, so in 1968 he became the co-founder and first president of he South African Students' Organization (SASO). This was an all-black organization, which aim was to raise self respect and reliance to all blacks. He said, "Black liberation starts with psychological self reliance. This can only be initiated in isolation from allies whose good intentions are an obstacle to such self- realization" (Woods 63). This organization helped the foundation of another movement and convention, known as the South African Students' Movement, and the Black Peoples' Convention (BPC). This movement also became known as the Black Consciousness Movement. The movements he founded were headed towards students, because they were the ones that might change their minds, unlike the older people, who have already made up their minds. He published Black Review, which was a political journal for the black community. These movements and publications raised so much controversy that the black man is as worthy as any

The divisions within Northern Ireland society have as much to do with class as religion or nationality

The history of Northern Ireland, a state created in 1921, has not been a peaceful one, and the study of the country has been as turbulent – it could be said that there is a ‘meta-conflict'; a conflict about the conflict. The causes of these troubles are varied, and it is far too simplistic to reduce it to just a religious one – although the Protestant faith is now synonymous with unionism, and Catholicism with nationalism, there are in fact many reasons for the divisions within the society. The conflict has become one of national identity, class and political and economic equality, as well as, some have argued, culture. These are all endogenous, i. e. internal, explanations for the fractious nature of Northern Irish life in recent decades, but others have placed the blame on external – exogenous – sources, claiming the behaviour of Great Britain or Ireland (or both) are responsible for the current situation. The roots of these divisions are buried under centuries of conflict, betrayal and mistrust, and, whilst religion played an important part, it was part of a wider economic and political battle. It is important to take these into account, but one of the problems facing Northern Ireland is the sheer amount of unresolved history that underlies every movement and decision. This essay will therefore take the recent ‘Troubles' as its main focus; that is, the causes and effects of the collapse of the Stormont assembly on 24th March 1972 and the imposition of Direct Rule by Westminster, ending in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement. Whilst this tentative agreement has by no means brought a complete halt to the violence and divisions in Northern Ireland, there was considerable hope, that has not yet proved to have been completely unfounded, that it would signify the beginning of the end. Northern Ireland had the second highest church attendance in Western Europe after the Republic of Ireland, with 95% of Catholics and 45% of Protestants attending church on a weekly basis in 1969 and there can be no denying the fact that the divisions within Northern Irish society have been given religious labels – on a superficial level at least it is a battle between Catholics and Protestants. If this is so, then it is not unreasonable question to ask just which of the two is principally at fault. Patrick Buckland is just one who feels that it is the Protestant community who see the conflict in religious terms, claiming â€Å"For Catholics the problem was largely political; for Protestants largely religious†. They feared the resources and the power of the Roman Catholic church, with 69% of Belfast Protestants in 1994 believing the Church had a ‘significant, ‘powerful' or ‘too powerful' influence in the government of the Republic of Ireland. This fear of the Catholic hegemony, that would swamp and overrun their own way of life and form of worship, helps explain their hostility towards the minority in the North. As an ethnic group, they are defined by their religion, which inevitably shapes their communities, their politics and their outlook. It could even be claimed that they fall back on their faith because they have no national identity of their own. Four features of unionist politics during the period 1972-1998 were clearly influenced by religion. The refusal to reach any significant accommodation with the Catholic minority, the steadfast rejection of any contemplation of an united Ireland, the desire to maintain the Union to preserve the Protestant way of life and the support for the evangelical Democratic Unionist Party were all bound up with Protestantism – the last point echoed in Steve Bruce's claim that â€Å"the Northern Ireland conflict is a religious conflict [because]†¦ that is the only conclusion that makes sense of Ian Paisley's career†. Finally, the anthropologist Don Akenson claims that the conflict stemmed from the Ulster Protestants' belief that they are God's ‘chosen people', and this explains their sense of superiority, their ability to discriminate against their Catholic population without qualms and their determination to retain the autonomy of the Six Counties, their ‘promised land'. However, it is also possible, as many Unionists have done, to blame the divisions on the Catholic religion. Many extreme loyalists claimed that nationalism is nothing by the tool of the Vatican in an attempt to ‘turn back the tide' of Protestantism. Whilst this view is perhaps a little extreme, they pointed to the ‘religious genocide' that took place in the South between 1941 and 1971, when the Protestant proportion of the population fell from 10% to 4. 1%, the legal enforcement of Catholic morality that caused the Protestant emigration to the North and the Papal law ensuring that the offspring of ‘mixed' relationships were raised as Catholics. Unionists also argued that it was the Catholic hierarchy that consolidated the divide by teaching a Catholic, southern Irish national identity within their schools, that it was their refusal to accept the legitimacy of the Union and its security forces that led to the downfall of the first Stormont Assembly. They were also incensed by the Church's refusal to excommunicate members of the IRA, as they did during the Civil War between 1922-3, and their willingness to bury IRA dead and hunger strikers in consecrated ground. This, coupled with the discovery of IRA weapons on church land, led to the belief, in Unionist circles at least, that the Church played an active role in the conflict. It was this strident and violent Catholic nationalism that linked Protestantism to unionism – after all, there were a small number of Catholic unionists, which is not to be expected if Protestantism and unionism had been one and the same from the very beginning. Despite all this, it must be remembered that the conflict was not a theological one, and that religion alone cannot explain the divisions within society. Although Northern Ireland still does have one of the highest church attendance figures outside the Republic, in line with the increasingly secularisation of the rest of the UK and Europe, numbers fell (just 29% of Protestants and 67% of Catholics went to church weekly in 1998) as the conflict developed, intensified and continued. The period 1972 and 1998, saw Northern Ireland become an increasingly secularised state – between 1981 and 1987 the divorce rate increased at the same rate as Great Britain's and the number of births outside marriage doubled – yet the divisions continue. If the conflict was the result of purely religious reasons, it would be expected that there would have been a correlation between areas most afflicted by the Troubles and the degree of religious intensity of the inhabitants, but this simply was not the case – the most devout communities were to be found in the countryside, but the vast majority of the violence was carried out in the cities, which recorded much lower church attendance figures – in 1992 it was estimated in one Belfast Catholic parish just 38% of the population attended mass on a weekly basis. The same should have been true for the paramilitaries, that those most committed to the cause would also have been the most devout, but there is considerable evidence that many only turned to religion after incarceration; most famously, many of the hunger strikers led by Bobby Sands in 1981 had converted to Catholicism once in jail. There has also been a careful avoidance by the main political parties in the province to avoid religious labels – the DUP was formerly the Protestant Unionist Party, but swiftly changed its name to the Democratic Unionist Party in 1971 – preferring terms such as ‘social democratic', ‘unionist', ‘nationalist' and so on, and they pursue political and economic – not religious – policies. It should also be pointed out that even if they did have religious labels, it would not have necessarily meant that the conflict was a religious one – numerous European political parties, the German CDU being just one example, proudly possess a religious name. Between 1969 and 1994, only one Protestant cleric was killed, and he, the Reverend Robert Bradford, was a hardline, outspoken UUP MP, and both sides, to a greater extent, respected the sanctity of churches and churchmen. An important point in this issues is that there is, in fact, nothing intrinsically religious about Catholics taking up arms in the late 1960s/early 1970s against a perceived aggressor or oppressor. This was not a ‘holy war', not a crusade, but a fight against the inequalities and discrimination they faced. Nor was the Protestant discrimination of Catholics inherently religious – Catholics were treated unjustly because they were seen as disloyal to the state, not because of their rosaries and belief in transubstantiation. The question of whether the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles' were prompted by the religious tensions is best summed up by John McGarry and Brendan O'Leary when they said â€Å"There is no need to invent ingenious religious agendas to account for militant republican paramilitarism† and the same is true for the loyalists. There are a number of other, more fundamental and realistic issues that explain the divisions within the province. There were clear class divisions within Northern Irish society throughout the twentieth century that could be said to have had an effect on the development of the Troubles. Stated crudely, there a disproportionate of the middle classes were Protestant, whilst Catholics were much more likely to make up the working classes. In 1971, 69% of Catholics were manual workers, in comparison to 59% of Protestant, and throughout the period the number of unskilled Catholic workers rose, whilst Protestant figures fell. Thus the Northern Irish conflict could be seen in terms of a Marxist struggle – one where the mainly Protestant elites were attempting to maintain the status quo against the demands of the Catholic working class. However, this would be to oversimplify the problem, and overlooks the not insubstantial Catholic middle class and ignores the significant influence the Protestant working class were able to exert on the Unionist leadership. If it had been an issue of class, then it would not be unreasonable to expect that political parties would have organised along class lines, but this was not necessarily the case. Whilst the UUP was heavily dependent on the support of the Protestant working class, this was not at the expense of middle class votes. The differences between the DUP and the UUP were not class-based, but simply political, although it could be said the SDLP attracted more middle-class nationalist support than Sinn Fiin before 1998. It might also have been expected that the small Catholic middle class would have been more unionist in character, if it had merely been a class struggle. Therefore to perceive the divisions in society as being along class lines is misleading, but there is a case for looking at the economic inequalities between the two communities, and the effect that they had on the formation and character of the conflict. In 1989, the Northern Ireland Office Minister Richard Needham said â€Å"If work can be found for 10,000 unemployed boys in West Belfast †¦ that in itself will do more to impact on the political and security areas than anything else. In all societies, political stability is linked to economic prosperity, and the fact that, for most of the period 1972 to 1998 the Northern Irish economy consistently underperformed economically in comparison to the mainland. At times in the 1970s, unemployment reached levels as high as 12%, whilst Great Britain had enjoyed full employment. Key staple industries, such as textiles, ship- and airplane building suffered from fierce overseas competition and by the 1970s were in near-terminal decline. Political extremism, and, by extension, paramilitarism was always more prevalent amongst the disadvantaged on both sides of the religious divide rather than the more affluent; a considerable proportion of the violence emanates from deprived Catholic and Protestant ghettos. Therefore there is some truth in Needham's statement – if Northern Ireland's economy had been stronger, then perhaps the more violent nature of the conflict could have been contained. A very important economic issue was that of discrimination. In 1971, 17. 3% of Catholic men were unemployed, in contrast to just 6. 6% of Protestants. Twenty years later, the figures were 21. 3% and 9. 6% respectively. For those Catholics in work, they could expect to be paid considerably less than their Protestant counterparts. Direct and indirect discrimination against Catholics were inherent in the economic inequalities they faced. Thus the roots of the conflict can be seen in Catholic demands for an improvement in their economic situation, but attempts, especially under the leadership of Terence O'Neill, to address these discrepancies had an important consequence: the Protestants became increasingly more determined to protect their economic privileges. They began to complain of what Birrell called ‘reverse relative deprivation', that is, during the 1970s Protestants began to feel relatively deprived as the gap between them and Catholics began to close, which led to an increased resistance to anti-discrimination policies, which in turn fuelled Catholic discontent. By the 1990s, the violence of loyalist paramilitaries were being attributed to the perception that Catholics were now doing better than Protestants, thanks to ‘reverse discrimination' in their favour – this point of view was especially prevalent in the Shankhill area of Belfast, as uncovered by the 1993 Opsahl Commission. Another economic motive that could help explain the divisions within Northern Ireland was the clear financial disadvantages of abandoning the Union. In the words of McGarry and O'Leary, â€Å"Protestants are said to be more loyal to the half-crown than to the Crown†. One of the reasons Unionists were so opposed the idea of a united Ireland was because it would lead not only to the end of their economic advantages, but to a general decline in the average standard of living, seeing as the Republic simply could not guarantee degree of expenditure on the province as Britain – by the early 1990s, the subsidy given to Northern Ireland from London actually exceeded the Republic's income tax revenue. This does not explain the continued nationalist support for and end to the union, even when aware of the inevitable economic disadvantages, but it is an important factor in understanding Protestant intransigence. However, economic factors alone simply cannot explain the divisions that led to the outbreak of the ‘Troubles', or their continuation for so long. As Trotsky pointed out, if mere deprivation was the cause of revolutions, the masses would always be in a state of rebellion. If economic reasons were the cause of violence between the two communities, it would be expected that periods of depression would be accompanied by an intensification of conflict, which simply was not the case: after the 1958 slump there was no outbreak of violence, and the ‘Troubles' actually started during a period of relative growth, falling unemployment and increasing prosperity, which would point to a political, rather than economic, trigger. Whilst political extremism is more likely to be found in underprivileged areas, repression (especially in the case of nationalist groups) was still as major reason for joining paramilitary forces, rather than objective deprivation. As already mentioned, there was no economic incentive for the Six Counties to unite with the South, especially before the Republic's emergence as a ‘Celtic Tiger', but the British subvention of the province also does not fully explain Protestant unionism, for it increased considerably during the years of Direct Rule, and in 1972 it was nowhere near the i3. billion it was in 1998. Unionism was driven by the belief in the right to self-determination and the resolve to preserve the Protestant way of life, not an economic self-interest, and equally, â€Å"Nationalism has a social psychological basis rather than a purely or largely materialist foundation† (McGarry and O'Leary). For shared material experiences to shape a community in any significant way, they must firstly, according to McGarry and O'Leary, have a deep sense of national identity formed through shared historical or geographical experiences and facilitated by common culture, language or religion. Whilst economics clearly played a crucial role in consolidating existing divides, it does not explain the existence of the divisions in the first place. The violent divisions in Northern Ireland society can all be traced to the problem of national identity. Culturally, there was no real divide between the two communities, except over fairly superficial matters such as sport and newspapers. Religious, economic, class and cultural issues, whilst important in understanding the complexity of the Ulster question, are not, in themselves, enough to explain the underlying causes. In terms of religion, whereas the Catholics were a single denomination, the various Protestant denominations were united only by the fact that their non-Catholicism, which was not strong enough to produce a strong enough degree of cohesiveness. Religious labels, however, were used as a demarcation between the two communities. Unionists were not united by their religion, their class or their economic self-interest, but by their identification with the rest of the United Kingdom, by the fact that they considered themselves to be British – even when the government did not necessarily agree. Equally, nationalists were united in the belief that they are Irish, and spiritually and ethnically a part of the southern Republic. People were members of a ‘religious community', considered to be a ‘cradle' Catholic or Protestant regardless of their actual religious or non-religious conviction; their religious label was an ethnic label. Whilst churches maintained and reinforced the social boundaries, through religiously driven activities, and the high rates of endogamy (in 1968, 96% of the population had parents of the same religion, whilst between 1943 and 1982 just 6% of all marriages were mixed), the persistence of segregated schooling (just 2% of primary and secondary school pupils in 1994 attended an integrated school) and residential separation, the divisions were originally caused by something else: â€Å"religion reinforced nationalism, not the other way round†. Thus political and economic discrimination of the Catholics by the Protestant majority can be explained in terms of Protestant fears that their national identity would be lost in a united Ireland. Their determination to remain a part of the United Kingdom, and their extreme reluctance to grant significant civil rights to the Catholic minority was as a result of their fear of losing their way of life, as well as just an unwillingness to relinquish their privileged status. As McGarry and O'Leary succinctly put it: â€Å"National and ethnic attachments tend to be much more binding and explosive in historically established and stable communities than alternative solidarities, like gender or class† and this is especially true of Northern Ireland. There are many aspects of the divisions in Northern Ireland society that this essay has not addressed. More could be said about cultural differences, and the long-term political discrimination, such as gerry-mandering, faced by Catholics that led to the Troubles between 1972 and 1998. External factors, such as British and Irish policy, and other long-term historical factors, such as the nature of British colonialism of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, such as the impact of plantation on the political dynamic of the province. It is impossible to blame the Troubles on class conflicts, for Protestants and Catholics simply do not divide neatly into a unionist middle class and nationalist working class. Economic factors did have a significant impact on the development of grievances and intransigence, but also only provide an incomplete picture. Superficially, the conflict can be seen in religious terms – after all it is often described as Catholics against Protestant, as well as nationalist versus unionist. However, in recent decades, as Northern Ireland follows the general European trend for secularisation, and church attendance figures continue to fall, the religious labels are a sign of ethnicity, rather than belief. The entrenched nature of the divisions between the two communities, in the face of improving economic and political conditions and increasing secularisation during the period 1972 and 1998 means that there must have been a further, deeper cause for the conflict, and the question of nationality – British or Irish – is more convincing than the other, admittedly important, possibilities.

Presidential Scholars Essay Essay

The creative work the best illustrates the way I see the world and the way I see myself in the world is the Charles Dicken’s novel, Great Expectations. Basically, the novel revolves around a boy named Philip Pirip or â€Å"Pip,† and his many struggles to achieve his goals. Pip’s main goal is to become a wealthy gentleman someday in order to marry the woman of his dreams, Estella, which he accomplished in the novel. However, in order to achieve his goal, Pip had to go overcome a lot of obstacles and face a lot of adversities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the story, it was shown that Pip was a very generous and kind-hearted young man. However, the best and possibly the worst aspect about him is his overly-ambitious attitude. Although Pip’s good-natured personality and pure innocence enabled him to accomplish his dream of becoming a wealthy gentleman, he realized that his position in society is the not the most important aspect about any person. In the end, although he lost his wealth, he was able to marry Estella, and live a happy life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this regard, the novel shows my belief that while anything can be achieved if one works hard for it, it also important to know one’s place in the world and remain humble. In other words, like in the novel, I believe that in this world, it is more important for me to possess moral values and be happy and content with my life than simply be rich. Moreover, the story also shared my belief that it is equally important to not expect too much from anything, which is what Pip failed to do, as you may end up disappointed. More importantly, however, the novel also corresponds with my perception which is to never be too ambitious on anything in this world as it may mislead one’s life. Furthermore, the story also showed how I see myself in the world. Like Pip, I believe that I am also a good natured and kind-hearted person who can achieve anything if I work hard for it. However, I must always remember not to commit the same mistake the Pip did, which is to become overly-ambitious, in order for me to reach my dreams. Presidential Scholars essay: The teacher who has influenced me the most   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In school, the person who made the most impact on my life was my Italian teacher, Mrs. Elliott. Basically, Mrs. Elliott has not only sparked my interest in the Italian language and other languages, but she has taught me and my fellow students the value of investing in knowledge, which she believes would greatly help us in our future careers. She is also a highly competent teacher who always makes sure that we learn new things after each of our classes with her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   She has also shared with us a lot of information about the Italian culture and lifestyle, among others. Although she is a bit demanding in her classes, I know that she only wants us to learn and grow. However, what I like best about Mrs. Elliott is her unwavering passion for teaching. She always teaches enthusiastically and eagerly, which is why all the students listen attentively and never get bored in her class.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, she is also a very approachable person outside the classroom. Students would never hesitate to go to her when they have concerns about anything. Whether it’s about school or family, Mrs. Elliott would always be there to guide us and give us advice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, she has also taught us valuable lessons and values in life such as patience, understanding, integrity, honesty, commitment, and dedication, which we would all be able to apply throughout the rest of our lives. She also told us to always remember the lessons we learned so we could pass them on to our future children   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In short, Mrs. Elliot has not only imparted to us the necessary knowledge that we would need as we seek higher education, but she has also taught us valuable lessons that cannot simply be learned in a classroom. No doubt, she is one of the people whom I would never forget and whom I would always honor for the rest of my life

Guidelines Alternative Medicine Essay

Guidelines Alternative Medicine Essay Guidelines: Alternative Medicine Essay alzheimers.org.uk Complementary and alternative therapies and dementia There are high levels of public interest in the various complementary and alternative therapies available today. Many people with dementia, and those who care for them, are interested in using these therapies as alternatives or additions to their conventional treatments, often due to the perceived benefits that they may bring and the image of being ‘safe’ and ‘natural’. This factsheet explains what complementary and alternative therapies are, outlines several therapies for which there is some evidence of their effectiveness and describes how to access these treatments. This factsheet only addresses therapies that have an evidence base and does not cover treatments for which there is no clinical evidence of effectiveness in dementia, even if they are widely used (such as homeopathy). What are complementary and alternative therapies? The term ‘complementary and alternative therapy’ covers many diverse forms of treatment. Complementary and alternative therapies are a broad range of treatments that are outside of conventional medicine and are used to treat or prevent illness and promote health and well-being. Practitioners of complementary therapies are not trained to diagnose disease. 1 The area of complementary and alternative medicine is controversial and changes regularly. Therapies that are considered ‘complementary’ or ‘alternative’ in one country may be considered conventional in another. Therapies that are currently considered alternative may become more mainstream over time, as researchers discover their effectiveness and they become integrated into mainstream health care practice. Some complementary and alternative therapies are now available on the NHS, although this varies from region to region. Using complementary and alternative therapy versus conventional medicine Complementary and alternative therapy should only be used in addition to, not instead of, conventional medicine. If you decide to use complementary and alternative therapy it is important that you continue to see your doctor and keep them informed of the treatments you are having. Although most complementary and alternative treatments have a good safety profile they are not 100 per cent safe and there are serious safety concerns about some therapies. For example, some herbal preparations may interact harmfully with conventional drugs. It is therefore very important that your doctor knows exactly what you are taking. Don’t be nervous about telling your doctor what you are using – awareness of complementary and alternative therapy is increasing among the medical profession, and most doctors are sympathetic to its use. How widespread is complementary and alternative therapy? At least one in four people in England are thought to have used complementary or alternative therapy in the past year. In recent surveys, 85 per cent of medical students, 76 per cent of GPs and 69 2 per cent of hospital doctors have said they feel that complementary therapies should be made available on the NHS. This widespread interest helps to encourage research in the area. One common concern is the difficulty in regulating such a varied range of treatments. Most forms of complementary and alternative therapy have one or more governing bodies, which set standards for the training and services provided and codes of conduct for practitioners. However, these are often self-regulated and membership tends to be voluntary. A report by the House of Lords in 2000 called for more regulation, and research to investigate effectiveness and safety. However, current regulation is still patchy. In 2008 the Department of Health funded the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health to set up the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council to regulate 12 alternative therapies, such as aromatherapy, reflexology and homeopathy (see ‘Useful

Grammar Myths Ending a Sentence with a Preposition

Grammar Myths Ending a Sentence with a Preposition Grammar Myths: Ending a Sentence with a Preposition Why do people always misquote me? Winston Churchill Ending a sentence with a preposition has long been forbidden by grammar pedants. And when accused of doing this, Winston Churchill is supposed to have responded: This is the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put! Do you see what he did there? And even if he probably never said it, it provides a great jumping off point for discussing a famous grammatical â€Å"rule.† So is ending a sentence with a preposition really so bad? And if not, where did the rule come from? Let us explain. The Origins of the Myth Some people insist that it’s wrong to end a sentence with a preposition. This is otherwise known as using a â€Å"terminal preposition.† The rule about this comes from the notion that English should follow the same rules as Latin, in which it is impossible to end a sentence with a preposition. For someone who holds this view, sentence A below would be wrong: A) You are reading the book which my article was published in. B) You are reading the book in which my article was published. The problem is that sentence A ends with the preposition â€Å"in,† while sentence B places the preposition in the middle of the sentence. Arguably, this makes B sound more formal than A. But, at the same time, it is easy to understand what sentence A means. And English is not Latin, so there is no reason to follow Latin-specific rules. Modern English is much more flexible about preposition placement. And there’s no reason not to end a sentence with a preposition. Is Ending a Sentence with a Preposition Wrong? In English, we regularly use prepositions at the end of sentences. As long as the sentence in question reads clearly, this is fine. In fact, as shown by the quote attributed to Churchill above, avoiding terminal prepositions can sometimes make a sentence more confusing! For instance, rather than â€Å"up with which I will not put,† we would usually say: This is the sort of nonsense which I will not put up with! And while this sentence ends with the preposition â€Å"with,† it is easier to understand than the original version, which was designed to show what happens when we follow grammar â€Å"rules† blindly. The â€Å"rule† forbidding terminal prepositions is thus a myth. But, more importantly, it’s also bad advice! Most of the time, it’s fine to end a sentence with a preposition, especially if it’s part of a verb phrase such as â€Å"put up with.† The key is ensuring your work is clear and easy to read. And if you’re ever unsure whether you’re using prepositions correctly, we’re here to help!

Careful with Words Used as Noun and Verb

Careful with Words Used as Noun and Verb Careful with Words Used as Noun and Verb Careful with Words Used as Noun and Verb By Maeve Maddox English has numerous word pairs that are spelled alike, but pronounced differently according to whether the word is being used as a noun or as a verb. Some examples are conduct, digest, escort, insult, produce, and record. With each of these words, and others like them, the accent shifts according to the part of speech. Here are some examples: I do not approve of his cà ³nduct. John Williams will condà ºct the symphony . He subscribes to the Congressional Dà ­gest. Some food is difficult to digà ©st. Charlie will be her à ©scort. He will escà ³rt her to the Prom. That last remark was an à ­nsult. How dare you insà ºlt your father? Celery and tomatoes are fresh prà ³duce. These factories prodà ºce the finest widgets. That’s his fifth platinum rà ©cord. Let’s recà ³rd the baby’s first word. You will notice that for the noun the accent falls on the first syllable; for the verb, on the second. Some noun/verb pairs shift in pronunciation and in spelling. These are the ones writers need to be aware of. Here are a few that I’ve seen misused : Take his advice with a grain of salt. Who will advise the king? He likes a warm bath. They bathe in the river. It’s cold enough to see our breath. Don’t breathe the chemical fumes. The shoes are made of cloth. Feed the hungry and clothe the naked. He felt grief at the death of the child. He must be allowed time to grieve. Here, Ill give you half. The new invention will halve production costs. What is the proof of your contention? He worked night and day to prove his innocence. A prophecy of Merlin foretold the Maid. Prophesy unto the wind, for the wind will listen. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Contronyms (Words with Contradictory Meanings)Latin Plural Endings15 Idioms for Periods of Time

Kant's Metaphysics of Morals, the Importance of Duty Essay

Kant's Metaphysics of Morals, the Importance of Duty - Essay Example All of which were important aspects in the moral determination of the will that would contrue an act as moral or ethical. Kant’s normative ethics posits that the best way to act morally is to act from duty with the consideration of the highest good. That is, acting through the moral determination of the will. Kant’s acting through the moral determination of will meant that the motivation of one’s action must be pursued with the good without condition which is intrinsically good by itself. He formulated his deontological ethics in a categorical imperative of doing good for the sake of good regardless of its consequence. The three propositions of moral determination of the will are as follows; Universal Law formulation which is to act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. This means that if one is to act good, that will should not be subjected to any condition or any physical constraints. Humanity or E nd in Itself formulation which posits to act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end. This meant the free will is a source of rational action. And that humanity, is not just a result of an action but also the motivation of such action and how the action is carried out. A logical free will should therefore be an end itself because an end is subjective that they needed to be pursued whereas, the rationale action is objective and therefore must be categorically pursued. Kingdom of Ends formulation is the integration of the first two laws that says all maxims as proceeding from our own [hypothetical] making of law ought to harmonize with a possible kingdom of ends. This meant an autonomous will is not subject to anything but it must bind itself to the first two laws to make it applicable to everybody that people by themselves are both a means and an end. In sum, Kingdom of Ends formulation meant that the end and the means must be harmonized to be good and this is applicable to all circumstances without exemption. Kant explained the etymology of the expression of his deontological ethics. According to Kant, imperatives imply what they just meant which are commands such as â€Å"wake up early†. Often they are hypothetical imperative because they only serve a specific objective or purpose such as â€Å"wake up early so you will not be later for work†. This imperative or command becomes categorical when it is applied universally and that the actions and decisions of individuals are to be judged solely by their motivations and that the consequences do not matter morally (as in the case of hypothetical imperative) neither the intended consequences nor the actual consequences matter morally; only the principle or rule we follow if we do the action matters morally. In simpler terms, this meant doing what is good regardless of consequ ence and that by doing is an end by itself. Thus, actions themselves become an end and this action should be a rational result in the exercise of freewill. In the example stated, categorical imperative dictates to â€Å"wake up† early because it is good to wake up early even without considering one’s need not to be late for work. Consistent to this, Kant’s categorical imperative states that every person has the duty to use and exercise his goodness/humanity as a means to an end. The application of Kant’s second law of categorical imper