Observations on Property in Robinson Crusoe and Second Treatise Essay

Observations on Property in Robinson Crusoe and Second Treatise  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚         People have been fighting over land and possessions since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden. But what actually constitutes the ownership of property? In the eighteenth century John Locke and Daniel Defoe addressed this question. In his Second Treatise, Locke defends the rights of people to property and he explains the basis for obtaining and maintaining dominion over it. In Robinson Crusoe, Defoe suggests a definition of property that concurs in part with Locke's, which indicates that people can claim ownership of property when they have added their labor to some part of it. In addition, Locke stipulates, according to principles of the rational use of creation's bounty, that people can claim as their property only what they can use for their sustenance--without wastefulness. Locke argued also that property owners must leave enough and as good for others to own. But his theory allows for the breaking of limits to ownership through the possession of money, which itself does not spoil or go to waste. Perhaps this view of money is why Crusoe takes it from stranded ships and hoards it even though he has no way to use it for his sustenance. Crusoe apparently (though unknowingly) adheres to a number of other aspects of Lockean theory. At times, however, his sense of ownership seems to go a bit further than what Locke argued for. For example, Crusoe claims ownership over an entire island. Regarding his claim, there are at least two issues to consider. The first one is whether or not the island was already somebody else's property. The second is whether or not the entire island was his since he had not added his labor to the whole of it. Nor did he ne... ...ng Crusoe: Locke's Political Theory in Robinson Crusoe." English Studies: A Journal of English Language and Literature. 69 (1): 27-36. Curtis, Laura. The Versatile Defoe. London: George Prior, 1979. Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. New York: Bantam, 1981. Donaghue, Frank. "Enevitable Politics: Rulership and Identity in Robinson Crusoe." Studies in the Novel 27 (1): 1-11. Kramer, Matthew H. John Locke and the Origins of Private Property. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government, the Works of John Locke. Vol.5. London: Thomas Teggs, 1823. Novak, Maximillian E. Realism, Myth, and History in Defoe's Fiction. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1983. Wood, Neal. The Politics of Locke's Philosphy. Berkeley: U of California P, 1983. Woodward, Ralph L. Robinson Crusoe's Island. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1969.   

BUGusa Inc. & WIRETIME Inc. Scenarios Essay

BUGusa Inc. is based in any state USA. The company provides critical software technology that allows eaves dropping, sound collection and more to law enforcement agencies throughout the states and federal government within the United States of America. BUGusa Inc. is looking to expand its services, expertise and software at an international level. In the course of their operations there have been some questionable behaviors concerning internal and external factors that are affecting the flow of operations and in some cases, this behavior may cause serious issues with the integrity of the software and its security. WIRETIME Inc. is a fairly new company competing against BUGusa Inc. That seeks to gain information on BUGusa Inc. by infiltrating its workforce and recruiting its best and brightest. Throughout this paper I will address some of those case scenarios and do my best to answer the questions set forth by the assignment. 1st Scenario: Has WIRETIME Inc. committed any torts? BUGusa Inc. vs. WIRETIME Inc. In this case scenario we find that WIRETIME Inc. has made an intentional negative public statement against BUGusa Inc, and more specifically against its product reliability. This behavior by WIRETIME Inc. can be seen as a gross move against BUGusa Inc. reputation, thus causing distrust in their products and services from the general public, state and federal agencies home and abroad. The behavior demonstrated by WIRETIME Inc. while not uncommon in the business world, can be seen as a defamation or libel tort, and this can give BUGusa Inc. leverage against WIRETIME Inc. in a lawsuit. BUGusa Inc. may sue for any marketing related costs it will incur to help its image rise to new and higher levels of trust within its current customers and future customers nationally and internationally; it wouldn’t  be a surprise if they also try to collect from possible damages it may have incurred from actual or potential loss of profit stemming from the ad circulated by WIRETIME Inc. and the distrust it may have already or potentially cause in the future against BUGusa Inc. WIRETIME Inc. could make the argument that its intention was not to harm BUGusa Inc. reputation because their statements were opinion based and not objective facts. In order to rebuttal the argument by WIRETIME Inc., and to build new trust, BUGusa Inc. could demonstrate that its products and services work well beyond the one-month capabilities that WIRETIME Inc. suggested on its supposedly opinion ad. By demonstrating that their software and services work beyond the one- month mark, they can surely h old their ground against their competitor and possibly create new business and stronger relationships with its consumers, and, at the same time win the lawsuit against WIRETIME Inc. 2nd Scenario: Has WIRETIME Inc. committed any torts? Janet, head of the R&D department at BUGusa Inc. has two more years in her contract with her current company. She has been offered a much lucrative opportunity to work for the competition (WIRETIME Inc.) But there is a provision in her current contract that prohibits her to work for the competition for the following two years of her contract even if she was fired before that time expires. This is called the non – compete clause. Janet disclosed this information (non – compete clause) to the head of human resources at WIRETIME Inc. when he or she offered Janet employment with their company. You would think that this information would deter any further headhunting approach from WIRETIME Inc. because of the consequences Janet’s breach of duty to BUGusa Inc. may cause her if she accepts and the liability WIRETIME Inc. picks up by performing this intervening event against the non – compete clause BUGusa Inc. has on Janet’s contract. After Janet exposed the non – compete clause, the head of human resources at WIRETIME Inc. persisted and offered to increase her pay by 10% and added a $5,000.00 signing bonus to the deal. Janet had a duty to BUGusa Inc. and she committed a breach of contract by accepting the offer from the competing company by evidence of acceptance. There was an offer, acceptance, consideration,  consent, capacity, legal purpose, and writing. While it was illegal to work for the competitor, it was not illegal for her to resign from BUGusa Inc. WIRETIME, clearly intended to have Janet violate her legal agreement and contractual restriction with BUGusa Inc. and committed the tort of interference in a contractual relationship between Janet and BUGusa Inc. 3rd Scenario: WIRETIME Inc. (Steve & Walter) Discuss BUGusa Inc. Liability for Walters’s actions. WIRETIME Inc. has made it its main mission to infiltrate its competitor and retrieve high value information from BUGusa Inc. by all means necessary. WIRETIME Inc. sends one of its employees, (STEVE) to apply for a position at BUGusa. Such is their luck that Steve, not only gets hired, but he secures a position within BUGusa Inc. research and development department. BUGusa Inc. failed to realize that Steve was an employee at WIRETIME Inc. thus placing the companies’ sensitive information at risk. While at BUGusa, Steve was picked up by an attentive security guard (Walter) who found out through the grapevine and investigation, that Steve was a spy amongst them working for the competitor. Walter decided to approach Steve and take him in to a soundproof room, and retrieve the truth from Steve through intimidating threats against his physical safety for six hours. Steve, of course fearing for his physical well being, disclosed his purpose in the company what information he has passed along and whom he truly worked for. While Walters’s frustration with Steve is understandable, his handling of the situation is totally unacceptable and carries some penalties with it. Walter created an atmosphere of stress, mentally and physically against an employee, regardless of his true intentions; BUGusa Inc. should of done its homework through background checks against Steve and probably saved itself the headache. Nevertheless, Walters’s behavior was thuggish and criminal thus creating the tort of assault. Walter could have held Steve and called the police, then followed through with charges against Steve and WIRETIME Inc. but his course of action may result in Steve goi ng after BUGusa Inc through vicarious liability. This liability holds BUGusa Inc. as responsible for Walters’s behavior and actions while performing his normal duties in the workplace. 4th Scenario: Parking lot of BUGusa Inc. Crime problem. What defense if any, may be available to BUGusa Inc.? As with all working environments, it is the legal and implied duty of any employer to provide a healthy and safe work environment for its employees, vendors and any other patrons visiting or performing work at any job site within the United States of America. Here we can see that this particular BUGusa Inc. branch that is located in Shady town USA, has been the victim of multiple attacks on its employees and its vendors and also fell pray to vandalism. This problematic issue is well known to the residents of the community where BUGusa has its building; this leads me to know that management at BUGusa Inc. must have also been aware of this problem and failed to address it properly. I do not see any available defense for BUGusa Inc. on the matter of the vendor being attacked and robbed while waiting to deliver goods at the facility mentioned above. BUGusa has a duty to its employees, vendors and any patron performing any job within its premises to provide adequate safety measures that w ill deter thief’s from braking in to cars and vandalizing company property, but most importantly from harming the people within its property at all times. Having a well lit parking lot means all lights are working properly and to their full capacity, and in this case, they had a few lights that were not operating at all. Also, well-lit areas are not enough security against a hostile environment that has in the past proven to be dangerous against employees and vendors. The company breached its duty by not upgrading its security measures after the first reported assaults against its employees, this negligence caused that the vendor become another victim of the crime wave affecting its private property. The injury to the employees and vendor are financial, mental and may well be physical if not yet. The tort that applies here is negligence on the part of BUGusa Inc. If they would have reevaluated their security stance against the rise in crime and violence on their property and its surrounding community, it could have avoided such negligence. 5th Scenario: Randy and Brian (BUGusa Inc.) What defense may be available to BUGusa Inc.? The following Scenario holds two parties as responsible for failing to perform their required duties as responsible citizens and employees. By both parties being negligent, they are both are potentially at fault; they violated personal and business duty, breached their duties to their safety and business safety, causing an accident and damages to private and business property not to mention the physical injuries if any, and obvious financial injuries to personal and business property. Both Randy and Brian were negligent in their actions, Brian, as an employee of BUGusa Inc. could have avoided the crash if he were following the speed limit or driving in accordance with road and area conditions. Randy failed to obey the yield sign and assumed the risk of being impacted by another vehicle. Here we can apply comparative or contributory negligence because they were both at fault, if BUGusa Inc. can prove that Randy had more to do with the cause of the accident then they may well win the c ase. 6th Scenario: Sally may have a successful case against BUGusa Inc. for what Tort? Just as in the actual case of General Motors, BUGusa Inc. failed to notify the consumers of the potential hazards of using their products. BUGusa tried to save money at the risk of consumer’s safety by taking shortcuts in the manufacturing and assembly process, knowing that such shortcuts may result in short circuit and in some cases harm to its product users they moved forward with its sale and fielding. Strict Product Liability Tort states that the manufacturer, distributor and seller are responsible for any harm and or injury caused by failure to inform of manufacturing defects or design defects. By designing the product without the necessary insulation, Sally was exposed to a short and suffered injuries. BUGusa Inc. is clearly in hot water and can be liable for all harm and injuries stemming from this negligent act. References Cornell University. (2014). Tort. Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/tort Expert Law. (2014). Negligence / Personal Injury. Retrieved from http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/negligence.html Hill, M. (2011). The Legal Environment of Business. A Managerial Approach: Theory to Practice. Phoenix, AZ: Copyright  © McGraw-Hill Company.

Three Ways of Being with Technology

Three Ways Of Being-with Technology by Carl Mitcham Introduction: Mitcham talks about the relations between technology and humanity. He starts with the chicken-and-egg question â€Å"Which is primary-humanity or knowledge? † What exactly is happening? Is it that we influence the technology or is it so happening that the technology is shaping our morals and us? At this point he quotes one of the Winston Churchill quotations that â€Å"We shape our buildings and thereafter they shape us â€Å".Then he tries to answer this question by saying it is a mutual relationship in between these two but even the mutual relationship take different forms. He then proposes a three ways of being with the technology and takes the whole document on structural analysis of the three forms. Ancient Skepticism: The articulation of a relationship between humanity and technics in the earliest forms when stated boldly is â€Å"technology (that is, the study of technics) is necessary but dangerousâ⠂¬ .Technics, according to these myths, although to some extent required by humanity and thus on occasion a cause for legitimate celebration, easily turns against the human by severing it from some larger reality – a severing that can be manifest in a failure of faith or shift of the will, a refusal to rely on or trust God or the gods, whether manifested in nature or in Providence. Ethical arguments in support of this distrust or uneasiness about technical activities can be detected in the earliest strata of Western philosophy.Socrates considered farming, the least technical of the arts, to be the most philosophical of occupations. This idea of agriculture as the most virtuous of the arts, one in which human technical action tends to be kept within proper limits, is repeated by representatives of the philosophical tradition as diverse as Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and Thomas Jefferson. Socrates argues that because of the supreme importance of the ethical and political issues, human beings should not allow themselves to become preoccupied with scientific and technological pursuits.Socrates argues that human beings should determine for themselves how to perform their actions and therefore should not depend on god for help in â€Å"counting, measuring or weighing† whose consequences are nonetheless hidden. In the Intellectual Auto Biography of Socrates, he explained how he turned away from natural science because of the cosmological and moral confusion it tends to engender. Never did he speculate on the ‘cosmos ‘of the sophists or the necessities of the heavens but declared those who worried about such matters were foolish.The classical greek culture was shot through with a distrust of the wealth and the affluence that the technai or arts could produce if not kept within strict limits. Socrates explains what is important is moderation. He explains that under the condition of affluence human beings tend to become accustomed to eas e and thus to chose less over the more perfect. He explains â€Å"Once drugs are available as palliatives, for instance, most individuals will choose them for the alleviation of pain over the more strenuous paths of physical hygiene or psychological enlightenment. Which is very true in the modern con text than to that current in athens that scarcely need to be mentioned. Another aspect of this tension between politics and technology is on the dangers of technical change. In the words of Adeimantus, with whom Socrates in this instance evidently agrees, once change has established itself as normal in the arts, â€Å"it overflows its bounds into human character and activity and from there issues forth to attack commercial affairs, and then proceeds against the laws and political orders†.Technological change, which undermines the authority of custom and habit, thus tends to introduce violence into the state. This should be taken more serious with the experience in the 20th centu ry. Eros or love, by contrast, is oriented toward the higher or the stronger; it seeks out the good and strives for transcendence. â€Å"And the person who is versed in such matters is said to have spiritual wisdom, as opposed to the wisdom of one with technai or low-grade handicraft skills† It’s the person with the spiritual wisdom that the love is oriented to.The ancient critique of technology thus rests on a tightly woven, fourfold argument: (1) the will to technology or the technological intention often involves a turning away from faith or trust in nature or Providence; (2) technical affluence and the concomitant processes of change tend to undermine individual striving for excellence and societal stability; (3) technological knowledge likewise draws human beings into intercourse with the world and obscures transcendence; (4) technical objects are less real than objects of nature.This pre-modern attitude looks on technics as dangerous or guilty until proven innoce nt or necessary – and in any case, the burden of proof lie’s with those who favor technology not those who would restraint it, because this way of being with technology views it with skepticism. Enlightenment Optimism: This is a radically different way of being with technology; it shifts the burden of proof from those who favor to those who oppose the introduction of inventions in the name of enlightenment.Aspects of this idea or attitude are not without pre-modern adumbration. This idea is first fully articulated in the writings of Francis Bacon at the time of renaissance. Unlike Socrates Bacon maintains that God has given humanity a clear mandate for the change i. e. the technical change. Technical consequences are all cut loose with an optimistic hope and the consequences of such actions are treated as mere accidents. We all deemed to form in the image of god are all expected to create and the art plays the primary role in this.Formed in the image and likeness of Go d, human beings are called on to be creators; to abjure that vocation and pursue instead an unproductive discourse on ethical dilemmas. Bacon indeed claims that not applying new remedies must expect new evils. The kingdom of man founded by sciences is none other than the kingdom of heavens. It is important to understand that Bacon and Socrates relates to each other in pro- and anti- technology partisans. Technical action is circumscribed by uncertainty or risk.Bason doesn’t evaluate technical projects on their individual merits, but simply asserts/affirms the technology. It is important to pursue technological action irrespective of the dangerous consequences. The uncertainty of the technological actions is jettisoned in the name of revelation. Bacon argues that the inventions of printing, gunpowder, and the compass have done more to benefit humanity than all the philosophical debates and political reforms have done to the human kind throughout history.The distinctly modern w ay of being-with technology may be articulated in terms of four interrelated arguments: (1) the will to technology is ordained for humanity by God or by nature; (2) technological activity is morally beneficial because, while stimulating human action, it ministers to physical needs and increases sociability; (3) knowledge acquired by a technical closure with the world is more true than abstract theory; and (4) nature is no more real than artifice – indeed, it operates by the same principles.Romantic Uneasiness: The pre modern way of being with technology effectively limited the rapid technical expansions in the west for approximately 2000 years. The proximate causes of this radical transformation were, of course, legion: geographic, economic, political, military and scientific and the author questions then what brought all such factors together in England to engender a new way of life. Romanticism is what came out from this yelling for change.This paved the way for the new way of being with the technology, one that can be identified as with ancient skepticism or modern optimism but tries to be neutral by accepting change but showing uneasiness towards the change. Mitcham argues that the Romanticism is a form of questioning. On the ancient view, technology was seen as a turning away from God or the gods. On the modern view, it is ordained by God or, with the Enlightenment rejection of God, by nature. With the romantics the will to technology either remains grounded in nature or is cut free from all extra-human determination.In the former instance, however, nature is reconceived not just as mechanistic movement but as an organic striving toward creative development and expression. William Wordsworth tries to demonstrate the same thing through his poems. In which he first shows exult over intellectual mastery and inventions and then in the following poems looks back and grieves over the great change that happened because of inventions and the outrage done t o the nature. Then he writes how unpropped are these arts and high inventions.Rousseau argues the need for actions, not words, and approves the initial achievements of the Renaissance in freeing humanity from a barren medieval Scholasticism. He argues that the destruction is better than inaction. He then points out to a paradox that: turning against technology – but in the name of ideals that are at the heart of technology. In with the way of romantic way of being with technology, there is a paradox. There is a certain ambivalence built in to this attitude. The attitude itself has not been adopted whole-hearted way by the modern culture.

Beginning Of Christianity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Beginning Of Christianity - Research Paper Example ctions and ministries that the disciples themselves initiated as a means to fulfill this grand commission that they had received from Christ during his earthly ministry. Furthermore, the outpouring the Holy Spirit during Pentecost was merely a sign that the earliest beginnings of Christianity and the movement to become fishers of men had initiated as Christ noted during his earthly ministry that just such an occurrence would take place as a means to help spread the gospel message. The earliest history of the church relates how it grew from what could be described as a 1st century Jewish following to an inclusive religion that sought to engage gentiles within the ranks to the very same extent that Christ himself had focused upon the Jews within Israel. As the message was destined for all peoples, the gospel commission exhorted the disciples and fellow believers to engage with diverse peoples the world over and seek to engage them with the New Testament gospel that Christ imparted to the early church. As a function of this, the disciples spread out over various parts of the Middle East, Asia Minor, parts of Africa, and Southern Europe as a means to accomplish such an end. Although Christ spent almost all of his earthly ministry appealing to the Jewish community to accept the Savior that was sent to them, the disciples were charged with expanding upon the converts that they sought and therefore the dawn of Pentecost, the revelation of the Holy Spirit, and the ab ility to speak with different nations with the gift of tongues provided the clear break from the past that helped to define the early church and the beginnings of Christianity. Although the early apostles were themselves invariably ethnically Jewish, the great commission extended outside of the Jewish ethnicity and demanded that these apostles interact with and engage members of diverse groups outside of which they would not otherwise likely have any degree of contact. In this manner, the earliest church

P5 SCI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

P5 SCI - Essay Example In the last part of the 20th century, modern investigations have led to the evidence of sea-floor spreading or the diversion of ocean floor from the mod-ocean ridges. Under geometric continental reconstructions evidence, Wegener proposed that the coastline geography of the continents on either side of the Atlantic Ocean have pattern and can be fitted back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Example of which are the coastlines of western Africa and eastern South America (Rogers, 2008). In addition, Wegener reiterated it is the end of the submerged continental shelf that marks the line of the originally joined continents and not the coastline-fit misconception. Geological match and continuity of structure evidence explained how there are similar rock types, succession of strata or igneous bodies which have unique characteristics were found on either side of the ocean. This evidence was observed in the similarities of the rock strata and geological structures of the Appalachian and Caledonian mountain belts of eastern USA and northwestern Europe, as well as the Precambrian rocks and geological structures similarity observed between South America and Africa (Rogers, 2008). The third evidence is the climate, sediment and mismatch of sedimentary deposits, which explained that the nature and style of rock weathering and erosion varies among Earth climate belts. This explained why sand dunes are formed in hot, dry desserts, cool and sandstone succession in tropical swamps and river deltas, and boulder clay deposits and U-shaped valleys in ice sheets and glaciers areas (Rogers, 2008). The modern evidence gathered during the latter part of the 20th century, which has made the continental drift theory acceptable, is the sea-floor spreading evidence. Modern geologists had explained the inaccessible ocean floor in Wegener’s theory and discovered stri ped patterns of magnetic

Brief Synopsis of the Film Avatar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Brief Synopsis of the Film Avatar - Essay Example Colonel Miles Quaritch who heads the Earth’s security force, however, found the rich source of unobtanium which is the Na’vi’s sacred gathering place and attacked it. Jake joined in defending Hometree that led to the eventual retreat of the humans. Jake was later transferred to his avatar permanently through the help of the Tree of Souls. II. The intersection of two issues: racial and gender discrimination Humez and Dines theorized that mass media which are the radio, television, and film help form our identities that includes the way we see the world, relationship with it and the values we hold and cherish (2002). In essence, media has so much influence that it could dictate our perception and value system particularly the film because it immerses its audience in the reality it portrays and thus, inadvertently influences its audience of the cultural and social perspective of the film. In James Cameroon film Avatar, there is two distinct cultural and social persp ective of the film that causes injustice and subjugation wrought by greed and social stratification. These two distinct issues that were obvious in the film that is the discrimination of humans against Na’vis who were viewed by humans as primitive and with condescension whose race is taken as an impediment in their quest to harvest the mineral unobtanium. This relationship between humans and Navi’s become unjust because it perpetuated a system of inequality whereby it restricts some people while privileging others (Magner qt. in Weber 13). Another subtle issue that was present in the film was the gender issue of stereotyping of women as people who are often subjugated to men. This became an injustice because Na’vis imposed a social stratification that subjugates a gender (female) to another gender (male). These issues intersect in a way that the race and a particular gender are relegated to another which in this case are the Na’vis and the women to be bel onging in the lower strata as represented by Neytiri, the chieftain and the spiritual leader’s daughter.  

Business plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business plan - Assignment Example Our company therefore aims to target this area by producing electrical power that will also fulfill the demands of future consumers. Production cost of solar energy is minimal once our project is operational. Our company will aim to benefit from the shortfall that exists in the area by producing clean electrical energy by the use of solar power. The rising prices of electricity are an additional benefit in terms of earnings for the company that is likely to make the project a huge success in a very short period of time. Reduced cost of production of electricity will also provide us a competitive advantage over the traditional producers of power, thereby making it possible to offer electricity at lowered prices than the current market rates. The society is well aware of the fact that solar energy is the safest form of energy since there is almost no pollution associated with the use of this form of energy. Due to this reason a high degree of acceptability is likely to result for our proposed project. This will reduce our cost for promotional activities (e.g advertising) that are otherwise required to grab the attention of users. Elevated acceptance of our project will definitely provide us an edge over our traditional competitors which we will use to establish our customer base. The previously used solar panels for energy production were efficient in the range of less than 25%. However, with the passage of time, the technology has advanced and now it has become possible to attain an efficiency of close to 50%. Our plan is to use the latest technology for our project which will increase productivity and will continue to serve the purpose for an extended period of time. Moreover, extra production means the ability to expand our market further. Keeping in view the fact that solar energy is green (clean), there is general consensus that the promotion of