Development of Modernity from Enlightenment

Development of Modernity from Enlightenment Dare-to-know is the motto that Kant gave to the Enlightenment. In this essay I am going to demonstrate how this motto relates to modernity. My starting point will be the definition of the Middle-Ages and description of events that characterized it, because it is where evolution to modernity initiated. Immediately after the Middle Ages follows the Renaissance, which I will also be explicating, and it is also followed by Enlightenment or the Modern Age. These three time periods are also inter-linked by historical events that marked them. They have a cause-and-effect relationship, meaning the existence of one is the effect of the existence of another. The Enlightenment was wholly based on reason, and its effect was the historical landmarks such as the French Revolution and the American Revolution. These landmarks, particularly the French Revolution, ensured the society’s exit from medieval tutelage and made a radical transition to the Modern-Age. Based on the Weber’s ideal type bureaucracy, I will also be demonstrating how they have influenced the modern institutions and how they operate, particularly the state, which is the biggest idea or effect of Enlightenment. Freedom also emerged after the establishment of the state, and strive to separate religion from the state, or secularism, was undertaken. Therefore, this rationalization led to the various forms of the modern state being devised. The â€Å"Middle Ages† is the phrase used to describe western countries after the fall of the Roman Empire and the dawn of the Renaissance in the 14th century. It is often called the medieval period. During this period the person’s identity was determined by God. (Dreyfus Kelly, 2011). Everything was determined and created by God. Therefore people never dared to question the phenomena or what made sense to them. Everything was taken for granted. Even kings and queens ruled by divine right in the Great Chain of Being. By divine right it meant they were chosen by God to rule and lead the society. The Great Chain of Being is a divine order or what can be called a social structure in the modern society. It consisted of God at the top, then kings above noblemen and other people in general, and the animals would be ranked below all the people. In the wake of the fall of the Roman Empire, there was a need for an alternative form of rule, the structure, or the government that would unite all the people of Europe. This duty was assumed by the Catholic Church which became a very powerful rule of the Middle-Ages. It also became a source of power for medieval kings and queens as a result of their alliance with it. The church also afforded protection to these monarchs. Rural life was based on feudalism. In this form of existence, the king would give land, or fiefs to noblemen. The peasants, or serfs would work on the land in exchange for protection and to live on the land. However, technological innovations in agriculture resulted in significant evolution in feudalism. Heavy plough and three-field crop rotation efficiently increased production, as well as the supply of food. As a result, less human resource was needed to work on farms. Ultimately, more people flocked to towns and cities. It was by virtue of these cities’ dynamism that gave rise to the Renaissance period in the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. The word Renaissance is French and means rebirth. It is the period in which the society started moving away from the medieval values and norms, from God as the determinant of everything, and thus significantly reducing the power and rule of the church, the Catholic Church. Most importantly it was the time that was marked by a massive change in economy and intellect, particularly in art, literature, science and philosophy. New ideas were created and disseminated across all spheres of life. Artistic work became more accurate and had a viewpoint, literature focused more on the characteristics and behaviors of the people, and printing eased access to information and education by society. In science great improvements were made in various fields, particularly in astronomy and physics. This is evident in Galileo’s successful invention of the telesc ope. Philosophy changed the way people thought about themselves and the universe. It focused on humanism. Humanism is broadly understood as involving a positive approach to human existence and an appreciation of human endeavor. The broad influence of Renaissance humanism in turn filtered back to philosophical and political thought, where various ideas of human reason became the main focus of theoretical speculation. John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, had an optimistic notion of human nature, believing that rationality was a key feature in the way in which human beings organized themselves, with or without state intervention. Locke promoted the idea that unjustly treated subjects had a â€Å"right to rebel† if their reason was being insulted. (Bevir, 2010). These philosophical changes culminated in another change in human thought. This was the dawn of the Modern Age which came to be famously known as The Enlightenment. The Enlightenment is largely defined and popularly known as the age of reason, mainly for its commitment to the use of reason for the promotion of happiness via the amelioration and improvement of the practical conditions of human life (Bevir, 2010). The German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, was also keen to stress the importance of rational critique to the Enlightenment, calling on his readers to dispense with â€Å"immaturity† and take up the challenge daring to know for oneself. (Bevier, 2010). He defined the Enlightenment as the man’s exit from his self-incurred minority (Wood, 2001). He described minority as being unable to use intelligence without guidance, and it is self-incurred if it caused by lack of determination and courage to use intelligence without guidance. Therefore, he called Sapere Aude, meaning having the courage to use one’s intelligence, the motto of the Enlightenment (Wood, 2001). This was an attitude towards modernity because it was founded o n the principle rationalism. Rationalism is the belief that the world has a rational structure, and that this can be disclosed through the exercise of human reason and critical enquiry. As a philosophical theory, rationalism is the belief that knowledge flows from reason rather than experience, and thus contrasts with empiricism. As a general principle, however, rationalism places a heavy emphasis on the capacity of human beings to understand and explain their world, and to find solutions to problems. It is associated with an emphasis on principle and reason-governed behavior, as opposed to reliance on custom or tradition, or non-rational drives and impulses. (Heywood, 1992). It was the successful revolution in science of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that gave birth to the Enlightenment. Science undermined the ancient geocentric conception of the cosmos, and the constraining presuppositions that guided philosophical inquiry. It is the period that was marked by dramatic revolutions in science, philosophy, society and politics. The Enlightenment thought also culminated in the historical French and American Revolution, in which the traditional ancient hierarchical political and social orders (the French monarchy, the privileges of the French nobility, the political power and authority of the Catholic Church) were violently destroyed and replaced by a political and social order informed by the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality for all, founded, ostensibly, upon principles of human reason (Bristow, 2011). These revolutions served as a society’s transit from the medieval perspective to a modern world-view. In politics, the Enlighten ment make present again a course of action to encourage values characteristic of liberal modernity, which are freedom, progress, opulence, and humanitarianism. More specifically, political theorists have found in the Enlightenment the origins of several institutions that define our political landscape today, from liberal individualism and global capitalism to constitutional democracy, value pluralism, human rights recognition, and religious toleration (Bevir, 2010). The starting point in analyzing these modern institutions and political landscape is Weber’s bureaucracy. According to Marsh, et al., (1996) bureaucratic organizational structure seems to be fixed and permanent, and indispensable feature of the modern society. Most important is the nature of these bureaucracies. They are impersonal with clearly defined rules that also separate work and private life. Their form of reporting is hierarchical and break job into smaller task for increased quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and economies of scale. Candidates are also appointed based on their qualifications and experience. Therefore, Weber’s bureaucracy serves as a guideline in forming a modern organization, and played a crucial role in the development of the modern state. The biggest idea that grew out of the Enlightenment is that of the modern state. The proximate sources of the modern state were absolutism and the interstate it initiated (Held, 1992). It came as a response to absolutism. A state is that human community which (successfully) lays claim to the monopoly of legitimate physical violence within a certain territory, this territory being another of the defining features of the state (Weber, 1994). This means that all modern states are nation-states, political apparatuses, distinct from both ruler and ruled, with supreme jurisdiction over a demarcated territorial area, backed by a claim to a monopoly of coercive power, and enjoying a minimum level of support or loyalty from their citizens (Held, 1992). Therefore, the modern state is fixed within exact territorial borders, control the means of violence by the army and police, it is sovereign, and it is the only form of rule that regards its people as citizens. Governments come and go but the s tate remains. Therefore, the control of state machinery is contested and won by a political party in elections, which makes it democratic and legitimate because it reflect and/or represent the needs of its citizens. The state also uses a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one of its institutions, which are the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary, exerts or exercise too much power over another. Out of the idea of the modern state other concepts and/or ideas emerged, too. Liberalism emerged as the product of two intertwined developments in early modern Europe. The first was the creation of modern states with the concomitant emergence of semi-autonomous civil societies. The second and roughly contemporaneous development was the invention and spread of a set of values and priorities that broke with the religious traditions that had prevailed in feudal and clerical practice in medieval Europe (Bevir, 2010). Liberalism comes from the word liberty, meaning freedom. In politics, the term is recognized as a unique set of ideas or ideology. The central theme of liberal ideology is a commitment to the individual and the desire to construct a society in which people can satisfy their interests and achieve fulfillment (Heywood, 1992). Liberals believe that human beings are, first and foremost, individuals, endowed with reason (Heywood, 1992). This implies that each individual should enjoy the maximum possible freedom consistent with a like freedom for all (Heywo od, 1992). However, although individuals are entitled to equal legal and political rights, they should be rewarded in line with their talents and willingness to work (Heywood, 1992). Secularism is one of the sub-concepts of liberalism, meaning the next step after individual liberties have been achieved is to strive for the separation of religion from the state. The philosophes’ opposition to traditional religious authority stressed the need for secular knowledge free of religious orthodoxies (Hamilton, 1992). It is an ethic that is perceived as the most radical anti-clerical movement. The aim of the early modern political thought is to establish a secular political order capable of settling the wars of religion, stopping the persecution of religious minorities and heretics, and guaranteeing the natural rights and liberties of every man and citizen (Bevir, 2010). Liberalism also influenced the varying forms of the modern state. Constitutionalism or the constitutional state is the form of state in which political or state decision-making is procedurally or substantively limited. This limits can be either implicit or explicit. Here the practice of the state is restricted and constrained for the maximization of freedom of all citizens. In the liberal state private affairs are separated from public affairs by a concern. This is the form of state in which civil society is freed from unnecessary political intervention and the authority of the state is delimited. Representative democracy is a form of rule in which officers are elected by the citizens themselves to represent their interests within the rule of law. Decisions about social issues are not taken by the society itself, but by the elected officers, the representatives. Lastly, there is also a form of a modern state called a one-party state. Its definition is in its name, a state in which there is only one legitimate political party. Here voters have the o pportunity to affirm the party’s choice of candidate, or occasionally to choose from among different party candidates (although some may doubt whether this constitutes an opportunity for the exercise of choice at all) (Held, 1992). In conclusion, in the Middle-Ages everything was determined by God and existed in the Great Chain of Being. The fall of the Roman Empire ushered in the Renaissance. It was marked by great revolutions in science, philosophy, and astronomy, which then led to the Enlightenment or the Age of reason. This age of reason culminates in the overthrowing of the French monarchy and leads to the establishment the modern democratic state. It also makes Sapere Aude an attitude of modernity, because dare-to-know simply means have courage to find reason. That reason was found and it liberated the society from the shackles of the Middle-Ages. It is also because of that reason the modern state, its various forms and institutions were found. Rationalism thus freed mankind from the self-incurred minority. 1

Sexual and Spiritual Freedom :: essays research papers

Sexual and Spiritual Freedom The key to humanities freedom lies in its religious and sexual paradigms. Religion, as a social control mechanism, has sought to limit mans sexual freedom. The stigma associated with sexual promiscuity permeates every level of our society. I believe that in time people will demand freedom in the sexual and spiritual aspects of their lives. In order for this to occur a paradigm must be established that emphasizes wholism. Without this wholistic thought conflict can still exist and dogmatic religion is needed to band all the individuals into a splintered and confused mass. Within our current Newtonian paradigm, material realism, true wholistic thought is impossible. The scientific rules of strong objectivity, the notion that objects are independent from the mind and determinism prevent it. Strong objectivity was established when Descartes divided the world in to the objective and subjective spheres. This was done mostly as a compromise with the then all-powerful church, which would rule in matters of the subjective mind while science enjoyed freedom in the world of “reality';. Determinism is easiest under stood through analogy. Think of the universe as a bunch of billiard balls in a three dimensional pool table called space. If one were to know all the forces acting on these balls at any time it would be possible to extrapolate all future or past positions. This creates determinism and determinism destroys free will. The best example of this phenomenon in society would be the partisan political system and foreign policy. Sociologists and the public in general, see themselves and each other as one of these pool balls being kicked around. In this environment neither self-worth nor confidence is cultivated. These traits are vital in a society that increasingly asks its population to work unsupervised and off of the job site. In 1665 Isaac Newton drafted the theories which set us on the course that led to the materialism dominating our culture. The philosophy of materialism matches the paradigm of classical physics, material realism. Since this revolution our vision has been a mechanistic one. This vision was formed as a direct result of the changes in philosophical and political knowledge that came to light in the mid seventeenth century. The power and simplicity of Newton’s three laws of motion and the success of scientific empirical method caused nearly every influential thinker of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to use them as a model.

Audrey Hepburn and Personality Theories

Audrey Hepburn and Her Personality Theories Psy/300 Audrey Hepburn and Her Personality Theories Audrey Hepburn was born in 1929 in Brussels Belgium during a time of economic hardship and personal strife. Her life took an amazing twist from her once food deprived, fatherless, war frenzied, childhood and adolescent years by becoming a 20th century icon. She withheld perseverance for life that drove her into the Land of the Free and ironically into the luxurious world of film-making by becoming one of the most wanted actresses in Hollywood.Through her trials, tribulations, heredity and the surrounding environments this paper will explain how they contributed to molding her personality and what made her such a unique individual. Audrey had very little emotional support or family influence as a child. Her father left her, bother and mother when she was six years of age. Her mother was forced to raise two children on her own in a time of war with ample ways in which to concentrate on emoti onal ties or even fundamental ways to nurture the children. Audrey once quoted that after her father left that she was â€Å"devastated and had no one left to cuddle with. (Flonder, 1998) Being that it was such a difficult time in history Audrey and the influences around her where forced to work harder than the average person does in a life time. She was raised morally by her Mother in that they worked hard for what they needed in order to survive. Once the war was over her and her family even made geographical moves in order prosper and achieve their goals. It was also documented that during the war she was a messenger for her allies against the enemies reflecting that she was culturally influenced at an early age to fight for those that she trusted and believed in.Although there was opportunity to steal and pillage her and her, family and friends went so hungry at times that â€Å"they ate tulip bulbs in order to stay alive. † (Flonder, 1998) There are several theories in the study of psychology that suggest how a personality is formed and what creates it’s unique characteristics in which drive a person to act a particular way in certain environments and while interacting with others. In Audrey Hepburn’s case the Objective Relation Theory and the infamous Sigmund Freud theory of Psycho-dynamic best fit her characteristics and actions by what is recorded of her life history and personal quotes.Objective Relation Theorist focus on the ways in which people cope with their feelings (defenses) and adapt to reality while trying to fulfill their needs (ego-centric). (Kowalski & Weston, 2011) It also suggests that people whom develop their personality in this way by environment and life events have an extreme inability to trust relationships. It is a progressive movement toward a more mature relatedness to others. (Kowalski & Weston, 2011) The personality of Audrey Hepburn is reflected in this theory in several ways.Her two divorces might have stemmed from the desertion of her father or the result the enemies and horrors that she encountered during the war. The two divorces suggest signs of maladaptive interpersonal problems by having conflicts with others. The two divorces may also be the way that she coped with not having trust for the men in her life and a short lived childhood. She once mentioned that she had â€Å"very little youth, few friends in the usual teenage way and no security. Is it no wonder I became an interior sort of person? I think I was older in those days than I am now. (Flonder, 1998) As mentioned above the Objective Relation Theory also focuses on a person’s ego or how much one thinks of oneself. Audrey was a very giving person in the literal sense. She was said to be a fantastic mother of two boys and quoted â€Å"all that I ever really wanted to be was a mother†. (Flonder, 1998) As a way to pay it forward to those that helped feed her during the war she also gave tirelessly to child ren of other countries by becoming the Ambassador to the United Nations International Children’s Fund. Therefore, she could give to others effortlessly although she suffered from signs of ego-centrism and self- preoccupation.With the events of her past she yearned to be loved and even with great success by the worlds view as an Academy Award winner she continued to search for the truth behind true internal happiness. The Psycho-dynamic Theory concludes that people are motivated by wishes and fears which Audrey had many of and displayed openly that they both drove her in many ways. She actually changed her name to Audrey as to not face the name of her past as well as by wishing for a better life with her new identity. Audrey quoted â€Å"Edna had been through enough already. † (Flonder, 1998) This theory also places emphasis on how ne’s personality takes formation during early development and is highly affected by the role of their parents. (Burton & Davey, 2006) Audrey clearly had an early physical and loving attachment to her father to state that â€Å"she had no one to cuddle with† once he was gone. (Flonder, 1998) Without this early attachment achieved her recognition of autonomy and self conscious freedom would have been meaningless. (Kowalski & Weston 2011) At this early stage of her development with her father she was able to form such strong desires to love and care for her children beyond what her Mother could honestly provide.She also showed a strong desire to have close harmonious connections by being very socially active as well as caring for those in needs. As well, in her latter stages of life she did eventually fall in love and stay in a committed relationship up until her death in 1993. (Flonder, 1998) In all, the Psycho-dynamic Theory best describes the personality of Audrey Hepburn. Although she faced many challenges during her life in the face of adversity through the progression of her life she did overcome them i n healthy ways.And although the desertion of her father left her unable to trust and searching for love she was able to form some loving bonds with people throughout her life. To support this theory as well one of her most famous quotes is â€Å"people need to be loved, restored and redeemed. Never throw out anyone. † (Erwin & Diamond, 2006 ) Audrey Hepburn had a multifaceted personality due to the relationships that she had as child and established during adolescent but she stayed true to her morals and was striven for answers that would improve her as to overcome her past.She appeared to be kind and loving towards the people that meant the most to her in her life. Those that encounter her briefly also suggest that she was a â€Å"giving and elegant spirit† (Erwin & Diamond, 2006 ) simply working towards a better life for herself and mankind. References Kowalski, R. & Weston, D. (2011). Psychology (6th ed. ) Hoboken, NJ: Whiley. 2004 Flonder, P. Biography. The Immorta l Audrey Hepburn Aug98, Vol. 2 Issue 8, p46. 8p. 19 Larsson, P. Counseling Psychology Review, Vol. 27, No. 1, March 2012 Erwin, E. , & Diamond, J. (2006). The Audrey Hepburn Treasures . New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, inc..

Nike s Responsibilities And Responsibilities - 1609 Words

In today’s society the public plays a major part in any business because in order for a business to be sustained there must be clients/customers that are contributing to the business. It’s vital that companies build their missions around focusing on the needs and demands of the customers. Nike is a company that is continually evolving with the people and society. Nike engages in public policy advocacy on a range of issues affecting their business, the industry and other areas of concern. They use their voice to advocate, promote and protect our business objectives with stakeholders around the world. Nike has developed its focus on six key public policy issues which are as follows: trade, tax and intellectual property, employment, supply chain, sustainability and sport. This is an international focus as their main goal is to be consistent across the board and across the market. Although this may seem simple, it can be quite complicated in some areas such as between trade and labor, or environmental standards, trade and poverty alleviation. It has taken numerous discussions, debates and rigorous education to try and establish consistency globally and to create a balance between different interests taking into account local, regional, global interests, and cultural and p olitical dynamics. It requires that a strong stance is taken through internal and external consultation. (public policy and advocacy , 2015) A second company that is also continually evolving with the people isShow MoreRelatedNike CSR Analysis1581 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ CSR Analysis and Impact on Operations Nike has a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that includes its commitment to the environment and is a signatory of the UN Global Compact. Nike has created a team of sustainability managers led by an independent director. 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