All Quiet on the Western Front Essay: Effective Criticism of War :: All Quiet on the Western Front Essays

All Quiet on the Western Front:   Effective Criticism of War  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     All Quiet on the Western Front was a sad tale of Paul Bà ¤umer, a lad just entering adulthood, who fought in a war that he did not even believe in. Erich Maria Remarque wrote this novel to show the war through the eyes of Paul, who saw everything that happened; every death, every horror, and all the bloodshed. Remarque denounced war by showing how it destroys human lives and, more   importantly, how it devours the human soul. World War I was pointless to the young soldiers who did not even seem to know why a war was being waged. Paul showed how war affected an entire generation, of people, which he represented through Paul. Altogether, All Quiet on   the Western Front was a powerful and moving criticism of the war.    Every character in the novel was a tragic character and a sad loss in the war. This includes Paul, whose eyes Remarque used to show the atrocities of war to the world. All the events were shown without heroism, or at least without what was officially determined to be heroic by the people. Paul watched people die and killed people, something that tore him apart emotionally, but for which he would be considered a hero for. "We reach the zone where the front begins and become on the instant human animals" (56). The humanity was taken away from these soldiers, a horrible and mournful thing, and completely unwarranted. These were students like Paul, farmers like Detering, and other ordinary men who were enlisted and taken to the front, not really knowing what they were fighting for, stripped of even their humanity. At one point Paul even said "[i]n many ways we are treated quite like men" (91). However, they were men, even though they were made to feel like animals. They were still men. Remarque effectively used Paul's experiences to illustrate his criticism of World War I, showing the destruction to humanity and human emotion. There was already the mention of the soldiers becoming animals when at the front. He described this further: "The blast of the hand-grenades impinges powerfully on our arms and legs; crouching like cats we run on, overwhelmed by this wave that bears us along, that fills us with ferocity, turns us into thugs,

Philosophy Paper

In this paper, I will discuss euthanasia and demonstrate its immoral implications using J. Gay-Williams’ essay, â€Å"The Wrongfulness of Euthanasia†; more specifically his attempt to show the wrongfulness of euthanasia through an argument from nature. I believe that the argument is valid and presents a very good approach for those who are opposed to euthanasia. Below is my effort to summarize this view by placing it in the standard argument format. Argument from Nature ) If there is a person in a situation, where a natural instinct compels them to take action, it is morally wrong to intentionally suppress that instinct. 2) In all euthanasia cases, there is a doctor is in a situation where their patient’s natural instinct compels them to survive. 3) Therefore, in all euthanasia cases, it is morally wrong for a doctor to intentionally suppress their patient’s natural instinct to survive. The argument above is derived from part one of Gay-Williams essay. He begins his discussion of the argument from nature by asserting that each person â€Å"has a natural inclination to continue living†. He displays this furthermore by explaining, that everything about the composition of a human organism has been designed to have a conditioned reaction that makes â€Å"the continuation of life a natural goal. † It is by this rationale he claims, â€Å"that euthanasia sets us against our own nature. † In order to further demonstrate the argument’s validity and good quality, I will explain how it follows all the rules of a good argument. The rules are as follows: 1) all the premises are reasonable 2) the conclusion follows 3) the argument does not beg the question. Premise one may be better explained in and of itself through an example having to do with a general, natural instinct. One example could be when someone is in a situation in which their family is put in harms way when an intruder with sinister motives enters their house. It is a natural reaction to protect that which belongs to you (in this situation your property-your â€Å"territory† and your blood- your family). To stand idly by and witness attacks upon your family and home, without in any way, making an effort to stop the attacks, would require an ntentional suppression of a natural instinct. Premise two becomes more specific by stating that in euthanasia cases throughout, a doctor is always in a situation in which their patient’s natural instincts compel them (for as we saw in the quotes from J. Gay-Williams, a human’s conditioned response in all situations-based on the make-up of the body-is to function in a way that would always enable (or lean towards) co ntinuity. ) to survive. The way to show that this argument follows rule number two is to reveal its logical pattern. ) If there is P (a person in a situation), where Q (a natural instinct compels them to take an action), it is R (morally wrong to intentionally suppress that instinct). 2) In all S (euthanasia cases), there is P (a doctor in a situation), where Q (their patient’s natural instinct compels them to survive). 3) Therefore, in all S (euthanasia cases), it is R (morally wrong for a doctor to intentionally suppress their patient’s natural instinct to survive). I think that this argument is good. The way in which Gay-Williams went about presenting his case was commendable. He did make brief reference to there being a God, and that human beings are supposed to act as â€Å"trustee of his body†, and in taking a life or our own, humans are acting against him. However, it seemed as though he was keeping in mind that many people might not share the same beliefs as he, and therefore needed to have rational arguments against euthanasia which pertained in no way to faith or religion. This was the admirable thing, because it seems that many times religious people, although trying to argue an important idea, seem to have no rational approach and end up â€Å"Bible-thumping†, and coming across as ignorant. One objection someone might have to this argument would be to premise two. Someone might say that the premise is generalizing when it says â€Å"all euthanasia cases†, because in certain cases of euthanasia a person might not be being kept alive through natural means any longer (such as: artificial life support); therefore, it can’t be said that the person’s natural instinct is to survive because without life support the person would have already died thus following the natural instinct towards death. My response to this objection would be the following: in my interpretation of J. Gay-Williams argument from nature, I used â€Å"In all euthanasia cases, there is a doctor is in a situation where their patient’s natural instinct compels them to survive. † As my second premise. And I must admit, that with this as the second premise, the argument is flawed as the objector revealed. However, if I were to make the second premise not end with â€Å"natural instinct compels them to survive† and rather put â€Å"natural instinct compels them† then it wouldn’t be a flawed argument. This is because it would merely be adding a twist on the argument, which Gay-Williams did not come right out and say, but it is implied. This twist that is implied is that it is morally wrong to go against any natural human instinct, and this includes the natural instinct of dying. Maybe then, the problem of removing someone or not removing someone from life support would no longer be the problem, due to the fact that artificial life support is preventing some people from allowing their bodies to follow the natural instinct to die. Now of course this seems a bit morbid, and I’m not at all suggesting that modern technology and what it can do to save lives is morally wrong, I’m simply showing what other routes this argument from nature implies. Philosophy Paper In this paper, I will discuss euthanasia and demonstrate its immoral implications using J. Gay-Williams’ essay, â€Å"The Wrongfulness of Euthanasia†; more specifically his attempt to show the wrongfulness of euthanasia through an argument from nature. I believe that the argument is valid and presents a very good approach for those who are opposed to euthanasia. Below is my effort to summarize this view by placing it in the standard argument format. Argument from Nature ) If there is a person in a situation, where a natural instinct compels them to take action, it is morally wrong to intentionally suppress that instinct. 2) In all euthanasia cases, there is a doctor is in a situation where their patient’s natural instinct compels them to survive. 3) Therefore, in all euthanasia cases, it is morally wrong for a doctor to intentionally suppress their patient’s natural instinct to survive. The argument above is derived from part one of Gay-Williams essay. He begins his discussion of the argument from nature by asserting that each person â€Å"has a natural inclination to continue living†. He displays this furthermore by explaining, that everything about the composition of a human organism has been designed to have a conditioned reaction that makes â€Å"the continuation of life a natural goal. † It is by this rationale he claims, â€Å"that euthanasia sets us against our own nature. † In order to further demonstrate the argument’s validity and good quality, I will explain how it follows all the rules of a good argument. The rules are as follows: 1) all the premises are reasonable 2) the conclusion follows 3) the argument does not beg the question. Premise one may be better explained in and of itself through an example having to do with a general, natural instinct. One example could be when someone is in a situation in which their family is put in harms way when an intruder with sinister motives enters their house. It is a natural reaction to protect that which belongs to you (in this situation your property-your â€Å"territory† and your blood- your family). To stand idly by and witness attacks upon your family and home, without in any way, making an effort to stop the attacks, would require an ntentional suppression of a natural instinct. Premise two becomes more specific by stating that in euthanasia cases throughout, a doctor is always in a situation in which their patient’s natural instincts compel them (for as we saw in the quotes from J. Gay-Williams, a human’s conditioned response in all situations-based on the make-up of the body-is to function in a way that would always enable (or lean towards) co ntinuity. ) to survive. The way to show that this argument follows rule number two is to reveal its logical pattern. ) If there is P (a person in a situation), where Q (a natural instinct compels them to take an action), it is R (morally wrong to intentionally suppress that instinct). 2) In all S (euthanasia cases), there is P (a doctor in a situation), where Q (their patient’s natural instinct compels them to survive). 3) Therefore, in all S (euthanasia cases), it is R (morally wrong for a doctor to intentionally suppress their patient’s natural instinct to survive). I think that this argument is good. The way in which Gay-Williams went about presenting his case was commendable. He did make brief reference to there being a God, and that human beings are supposed to act as â€Å"trustee of his body†, and in taking a life or our own, humans are acting against him. However, it seemed as though he was keeping in mind that many people might not share the same beliefs as he, and therefore needed to have rational arguments against euthanasia which pertained in no way to faith or religion. This was the admirable thing, because it seems that many times religious people, although trying to argue an important idea, seem to have no rational approach and end up â€Å"Bible-thumping†, and coming across as ignorant. One objection someone might have to this argument would be to premise two. Someone might say that the premise is generalizing when it says â€Å"all euthanasia cases†, because in certain cases of euthanasia a person might not be being kept alive through natural means any longer (such as: artificial life support); therefore, it can’t be said that the person’s natural instinct is to survive because without life support the person would have already died thus following the natural instinct towards death. My response to this objection would be the following: in my interpretation of J. Gay-Williams argument from nature, I used â€Å"In all euthanasia cases, there is a doctor is in a situation where their patient’s natural instinct compels them to survive. † As my second premise. And I must admit, that with this as the second premise, the argument is flawed as the objector revealed. However, if I were to make the second premise not end with â€Å"natural instinct compels them to survive† and rather put â€Å"natural instinct compels them† then it wouldn’t be a flawed argument. This is because it would merely be adding a twist on the argument, which Gay-Williams did not come right out and say, but it is implied. This twist that is implied is that it is morally wrong to go against any natural human instinct, and this includes the natural instinct of dying. Maybe then, the problem of removing someone or not removing someone from life support would no longer be the problem, due to the fact that artificial life support is preventing some people from allowing their bodies to follow the natural instinct to die. Now of course this seems a bit morbid, and I’m not at all suggesting that modern technology and what it can do to save lives is morally wrong, I’m simply showing what other routes this argument from nature implies.

The Importance Of A Multi Criteria Rating System - 987 Words

While reputation bootstrapping concerns trust initializing of newcomer agents in the absence of historical information [18]. Rebootstrapping, on the other hand, is an exploration strategy in the absence of trustworthy agents. The term â€Å"rebootstrapping† was first introduced by Griffiths [19], referring to a strategy when there are no trusted agents that provide the required capabilities, the agent with the highest trust level based on some probabilistic models from the pool of untrustworthy agents will be selected. More specifically, rebootstrapping strategy can help avoiding deadlock when in a certain situation all interacting agents are distrusted and are not considered for cooperation. Braynov et al. [8] state that the condition for market efficiency does not require complete trustworthiness assessment. They propose trust revelation mechanism which involves agents holding accurate estimates of one another at the beginning of every transaction, even if they are untrustwo rthy. In other words, agents having trust value to the degree they deserve to be trusted can transact as efficiently as trustworthy agents. Similar to a multi-criteria rating system called FIRE [20] which is capable of handling changeability problem in participant’s behaviours or relationships (for example, when a former trustworthy partner becomes unreliable or breaks the old relationships). To cope with such circumstances, FIRE model continuously monitors the performance of components and adopts learningShow MoreRelatedPolicy Alternatives for Affordable Housing Essay1222 Words   |  5 PagesSelection of The Criteria Criterion 1: Economic Feasibility Purpose of this criterion is to answer the question, Does the whole benefit and savings of implementation of this alternative outweigh the other costs of implementing it? Alternatives also will be measured for its cost to New Zealand in terms of staff and program resources. An optimum program would require minimized use of these resources. 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