Pride Virtue or Vice Free Essays

According to Richard Taylor, â€Å"Pride is not a matter of manners or demeanor. One does not become proud simply by affecting certain behavior or projecting an impression that has been formed in the mind. It is a personal excellence much deeper than this. We will write a custom essay sample on Pride: Virtue or Vice or any similar topic only for you Order Now In fact, it is the summation of most of the other virtues, since it presupposes them. † Philosophers and social psychologists have noted that pride is a complex emotion. However, while some philosophers such as  Aristotle consider pride to be a profound virtue, others  consider it a  sin. The view of pride as a sin has permeated Christian theology dating back to Christian monasticism. However, it wasn’t until the late 6th century that pride was elevated in its ranks among the seven deadly or cardinal sins. The Bible, especially the Old Testament, has plenty to say about pride. In the book of Proverbs for example we read, â€Å"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (16:18). Again in Proverbs 21:4, Scripture says, â€Å"Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the lamp of the wicked—are sin. Augustine makes the argument that pride is not just a sin but it is the root of all sin. He often used the following passage to support his claim: â€Å"The beginning of pride is when one departs from God, and his heart is turned away from his Maker. For pride is the beginning of sin, and he that has it shall pour out abomination (Sirach 10:12-13). † This paper seeks to examine Augustine’s ethics on pride and how he supports it in his Confessions. Augustine considered pride to be the fundamental sin, the sin from which all other sins are born. Augustine believed the devil’s sin was rooted in pride. In his Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love, he states that, â€Å"Some of the angels†¦in their pride and impiety rebelled against God, and were cast down from their heavenly abode,† and that the devil â€Å"was with his associates in crime exalted in pride, and by that exaltation was with them cast down. † Pride has a certain fascination, attraction and influence over everything, and it corrupts everything, even what is in itself good. No one can escape the pressure of its temptations, including Augustine himself. In his  Confessions, Augustine identifies pride in his own life. For example, during his adolescent years when he was searching for wisdom, Augustine refused to approach Scripture because the Latin version that was available to him seemed too basic and unpolished. It certainly did not compare to the scholarly works of Cicero that he was reading. It wasn’t until years later that he could admit that it was his pride that kept him from turning to Scripture. He wrote, â€Å"I was not in any state to be able to enter into that (its mysteries), or to bow my head to climb its steps. He goes on to say, â€Å"Puffed up with pride, I considered myself a mature adult. † The same pride that kept him from accepting the Bible, led him to Manichaeism. Augustine refers to the Manichees as earthly-minded men who are proud of their slick talk. So, looking back on his life, he could acknowledge that the Manichees could never have satisfied him because of their own pride. Augustine†™s argument on pride rests on the premise that human beings are defined by what we love and what we love determines not only what we do but who we become – speaking to our very identity. The human predicament, as Augustine sees it, is that our loves and our desires are disordered. In order to explain this further, Augustine often referenced the Genesis story of Adam and Eve. Although Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, they were not satisfied. They wanted to be like God, knowing good and evil. It was pride that motivated their rebellion against God and it was a disordered love that allowed them to put themselves before God despite the consequences. Their disobedience led to destruction – not only of themselves but also of everyone else. Accordingly, Adam and Eve’s disordered love disordered the loves of all their offspring and since the fall, all human beings have been born with disordered affections. To Augustine, it was no accident that the Bible records the pride of Adam and Eve as the cause of their fall from God’s grace. Augustine calls this disordered love amor sui, which is Latin for self-love. This love of self that he describes is willing to put the world at the center and source of everything. According to Augustine this primal form of sin is rightfully named pride, as it is a perverse and speci? kind of self-love that leads us to claim a place that rightly belongs to God alone. As we turn away from God, self-love becomes the guiding principle of our lives. He suggests that two cities are formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self and the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. In his book, The City of God, Augustine explores the opposition of these two loves. He writes that the members of the city of God are marked by the love of God, amor dei while the members of the earthly city are marked by self-love, amor sui. It is no surprise, then, that those absorbed in amor sui act according to what they love and the disorder of their loves is reflected in the disorder of their lives. We do what we love and disordered love disorders what we do. This is the primary theme that runs through Augustine’s confession. In his Confessions, Augustine reveals that his own life was absorbed by this self-love or pride. He shows how prior to his conversion, his life was directed by his own will and his own misguided judgments. When reading his confessions, we are made privy to Augustine’s struggles with self-love and his description of how it undermines his love of God. He is compelled to confess his excessively erotic relationships with women, his misdemeanors, and his lust for experiences that does not consider other people. Augustine was a slave to the objects of his own desires. He gives great detail about his erotic desires, suggesting that it was his desire to love and be love that dominated him. Once again, we recognize his notion of misdirected desires and love without restraints. Even as we read the confession of the theft of the pears in Book 2, it allows us to see how Augustine explains the idea of pride as the bottom-line of all sin. Augustine is quite concerned with this incident in which he and some friends stole pears from a neighborhood orchard. Augustine deeply regrets his sin, and offers a few brief insights as to how and why he committed them but what bothers him most is that he stole the pears out of sheer desire to do wrong. This story takes Augustine’s explanation of the nature of the sin of pride to a deeper level. It suggests that his actions simply represent a human perversion of his God-given goodness. In fact, what he sought to gain from stealing the pears and everything we desire when we sin turns out to be a twisted version of one of God’s attributes. In a very skillful way Augustine matches each sinful desire with a desire to be like God – demonstrating how pride seeks power that we do not and cannot possess because it belongs to God alone. The creature can never attain the same level as the creator even though pride allows us to think the contrary. Augustine also argues that each sin consists of a love for the lesser good rather than a preference for God. Such delight in the created over the creator reflects a turning from God and a turning to love of self. Augustine’s own disordered desires give us an awareness of not only the individual but also the social nature of pride or sin. For Augustine, pride is a disorder that affects us not only personally but also communally. This is why our existence becomes consumed by the need for power. We seek after this power through a series of desires that are incomplete and therefore will never satisfy. How then is pride the root of all sin? Augustine would say our lives were made for God and to want more than God is pride. God is enough and pride causes us to forsake God and to seek after disordered desires to fulfill our self-love. According to Augustine, â€Å"The soul fornicates when it turns away from you and seeks outside of you the pure and clear intentions which are not to be found except returning to you. † We sin, then, by loving the inferior aspects of ourselves, or by loving ourselves to such excess that we claim God’s place, and in the process we pervert what love truly is. True love, as Augustine sees it, does not seek out personal advantages. For Augustine, the solution is for human beings to seek humility for it is humility that transforms our lives. Where pride takes pleasure in replacing God’s power with our own desire for power, humility allows us to be satisfied with our God-given place in the universe. After Augustine spends his first 30 years searching, he comes to the conclusion that only a person with humility can follow Christ. As he says to God in his Confessions, â€Å"You sent him (Christ) so that from his example they should learn humility. Where pride was the mark of the Augustine’s years prior to his conversion experience in Milan, humility became a goal of the rest of his life. Bibliography Augustine, Confessions, translated by Henry Chadwick (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992) Augustine, The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love (Washington, D. C. : Regnery Publishing, 1966) Cardinal sin. Dictionary. com.  © Enc yclopedia Britannica, Inc.. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. http://dictionary. reference. om/browse/cardinal sin  (accessed: February 21, 2013). Taylor, Richard. Ethics, Faith, and Reason  (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985) Wogaman, J. Philip, Introduction to Christian Ethics: A Historical Introduction, (Louisville, Westminster John Knox, 1993) ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Richard Taylor,  Ethics, Faith, and Reason. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall 1985), 98 [ 2 ]. Dictionary. com.  © Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. http://dictionary. reference. om/browse/cardinal sin  (accessed: February 21, 2013). [ 3 ]. Augustine, The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love (Washington, D. C. : Regnery Publishing, 1966), [ 4 ]. Augustine, Confessions, translated by Henry Chadwick (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 40 [ 5 ]. Ibid. , 40 [ 6 ]. P hilip J. Wogaman, Introduction to Christian Ethics: A Historical Introduction, (Louisville, Westminster John Knox, 1993), 57. [ 7 ]. Augustine, Confessions, translated by Henry Chadwick (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 32. [ 8 ]. Ibid. , 219 How to cite Pride: Virtue or Vice, Essay examples

The Benefits of Multicultural Education in the Classroom free essay sample

Education being my catapult through life; I enjoy it. I love to learning about children and figure out how they learn best and how our educational experiences can shape us as adults. Two years ago, I found myself accepting a position as a teacher Aide in a special education classroom in Pasadena ISD. To describe it simply, I was like a fish out of water. I had lots experience with children. I raised two boys of my own. But I had no experience with children of special needs. This experience taught me a great deal about learning in our great world. I was amazed to witness the pure relationships between children of all ethnic background and children with special needs as well All color aside, the children seemed to embrace each others differences and celebrate in their dedicated friendships. It would be a beautiful world if we could achieve this oneness within our public school classrooms. We will write a custom essay sample on The Benefits of Multicultural Education in the Classroom or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Multicultural Education is essential to improve Societal and Economical factors that significantly cause the lack of cultural diversity within the classroom. Children, who continued to be taught in diverse classrooms would reduce animosity among all races, improve the performance of minority groups, and provide an equal educational experience for all. Integrating multicultural education in school is beneficial for the reduction of racial stereotyping and the performance of minority races. I believe multicultural education embodies a perspective rather than a curriculum. Teachers must consider childrens cultural identities and be aware of their own biases. It is tempting to deny our prejudices and claim that we find all children equally appealing. Teachers and parents need to acknowledge the fact that we, like our children, are inevitably influenced by the stereotypes and one-sided view of society that exists in our schools. Not only must we recognize those biases, but we must change the attitude they represent by accepting all children as we receive them. One system tried by school districts around the [continues]

Should Marijuana Be Legalized Arguments For And Against Essays

Should Marijuana be Legalized? Arguments For and Against Should Marijuana be Legalized? Arguments For and Against The purpose of this paper is to discuss marijuana and compare both sides of the issue of legalizing marijuana. We have two factions fighting each other ; one those who are pro marijuana and those who are anti marijuana. These two factions have been fighting on this issue on the halls of justice for years. Pro marijuana legalization groups such as the Physician's Association for AIDS Care, National Lymphoma Foundation argue that marijuana should be legalized in order to treat terminally ill patients. Among them are AIDS victims who find that marijuana stimulates their appetites so they can fight off dangerous emaciation; glaucoma sufferers who have used marijuana said it has prevented them from going blind, and cancer patients for whom it alleviates the severe nausea that is often accompanies chemotherapy and sometimes makes lifesaving treatment impossible. Due to all these lobbying groups which show substantial evidence that marijuana can be used as a prescribed drug. Also many advocates who are pro marijuana complain that morphine and cocaine are legal and are very dangerous drugs, that brings up the question why not legalize marijuana as medical drug which is proven to be less dangerous than cocaine and morphine. Lobbying groups in a San Diego, California , council committee unanimously voted to urge president Bill Clinton and congress to end federal restrictions against the use of marijuana for " legitiment medical use." City council women Christine kehoe said she wanted the city of San Diego "to go on the record we support the medical use marijuana.; marijuana can be a drug of necessity in the treatment of AIDS, glaucoma, cancer and multiple sclerosis. '' Many agencies which are anti marijuana such as Drug Enforcement Agency and police departments argue that marijuana shouldn't be legalized. These agencies believe that marijuana shouldn't be legalized because if marijuana is to become legal then thousands more patients using marijuana. Then people will raise the question why marijuana illegal at all if its a medicine. The main reason why the Drug Enforcement Agency doesn't want marijuana to be legal is because their is no hard core evidence that proves that marijuana is a effective drug as a medicine. In twenty years of research have produced no reliable scientific proof that marijuana has medical value. The American Cancer Society , American Glaucoma Society,the National Multiple Sclerosis, the American Academy of Ophthalmology , or the American Medical Association , say that their is no evidence that marijuana is a medicine. The agencies also argues that no other drug prescribed is smoked and that knew findings show that marijuana is acutely harmful to AIDS, Cancer patients because the active ingredient in marijuana acutely reduces the the bodies white blood cells which fight off infection. The Drug Enforcement Agency along with police departments all over the United States believe, with the legalization of drugs crime will increase due to a higher increase of pot users which will eventually become addicts and will still or kill in order to get their drugs. These are the main points and reasons why the Drug named marijuana shouldn't be legalized in the United States of America. Seeing booth sides of the issue I come to a conclusion that marijuana should be legalized in order to help people suffering from terminal diseases such as AIDS, Cancer and Glaucoma. Prohibition of marijuana over the past decades hasn't deminshed the demand of the drug in the United States. The use of marijuana has acutely went up due to the mass attention given to marijuana by rappers such as Cypress Hill who promote the use of marijuana as a social drug. But I believe that marijuana is here to stay in our society and is only going through the stages that alcohol had during the prohibition era. Marijuana will become legal due to the knew administration which is liberal and who's leader , president Bill Clinton who had acutely used marijuana during the nineteen sixties. Due to all these factors marijuana will become more widely accepted by the American people who will pressure congress to rewrite the laws on the drug marijuana. Now its only a matter of time before lobbying groups pressure the legislature to legalize it. Due to legalization many states will be able to grow marijuana as a cash crop, and the United States government will be able to tax marijuana and make revenue off it. The revenue made from marijuana will be in the millions which can be used for drug rehabs and anti drug programs targeted

Catherine the Great essays

Catherine the Great essays Throughout history, Russia has been viewed as a regressive cluster of barely civilized people on the verge of barbarism. In the eighteenth century, ideas of science and secularism grasped hold of Europe, and Russian Czars, realizing how behind Muscovite culture was, sought out this knowledge, attempting to imbed it into Russian society. Catherine II was one of these Czars. She listened to both the ideas of the philosophes and the problems of her people and strove to enlighten Russia by codifying the laws, establishing an elected government, funding hospitals, and forming a functioning school board. Her attempts, however, were met with only partial success. Her reforms received much criticism, especially from the serfs, and Catherine was forced to realize, through the Pugachev Rebellion in 1773, that enlightening all of Russia was an impossibility. Catherine IIs greatest glory was seen in her foreign policies, as she solved two fundamental problems for Russia by winning victorie s over Turkey and Poland. As well, she established a League of Armed Neutrality and spoke out against the French Revolution. Catherines reign created both prosperity and poverty for Russia. In order to decide whether she was truly great, one must evaluate her accomplishments upon the foundation of Russian ideals. At the end of the seventeenth century, Russia was a country in transition. The death of Czar Alexis in 1676 marked a change in Russian society, a movement from traditional Muscovite culture toward new, educated concepts. Reforms in the 1650s divided and weakened the Russian Orthodox Church, and a few bold individuals began to adopt a semi-westernized lifestyle. By western standards, however, Russia still seem backward, and at best, a fringe nation of Europe...without benefit of middle class, universities, academies, or secular culture (Oblensky and Stone 144). The rebellion of the musketeers, or streltsy, in 1682 ex...

Case Study Of Care Group Health And Social Care Essay

Case Study Of Care Group Health And Social Care Essay 100 years after the first heart surgery less than 8% of the world’s population can afford it. If a solution is not affordable it is not a solution† says Dr.Devi Shetty, Chairman of Narayana Hrudayalaya. His thought to make cardiac surgery affordable and cater to the needs of those who are in the most need of it triggered the birth of Narayana Hrudayalaya. Dr.Devi shetty did his post graduate studies in cardiac surgery and worked at cardio thoracic surgery unit at Guy’s Hospital, London. He returned to India to work and serve the poor. His initial setups and work with other private hospitals didn’t give him the desired satisfaction and thus he ventured out to start a hospital of his own. With the support from his family owned business ‘Shankar Narayana Construction Company’, he started Narayana hrudayalaya a 250 bedded cardiac hospital in Bangalore city, India on 8th May 2001, with an initial investment of around Rs. 70 crore ($).The group has grown 25 to 30 per cent year on year. The hospital/health care group was instituted and is run under the name of Narayana Hrudayalaya private limited incorporated on 19 July 2000 according to the norms of the companies act, 1956 of India. All its present possessions come under the same name. Present stature: In a decade of starting its operations the health care group has grown and expanded its services nationally and internationally. Today the company holds many hospitals and health care institutions under its name. Starting with a single cardiac hospital in Bangalore it has now branches in various cities of India and planning to open branches in Mexico City, Mexico and Cayman Islands, USA in the coming years. The rate of growth and expansion of the hospital to other parts of India has been phenomenal. Narayana hrudayalaya pioneered the Indian health care market with a vision towards high quality but low cost health care. It helped to fill in the gap left by the other private hospi tals which catered to the few rich at the top of the pyramid with high costs for care and the government health care setup which struggled to provide basic medical services with only around 0.9% GDP (WHO) for over a billion people. Even as its expansion strategy was mainly oriented at the prospects of delivering affordable health care to the lower and middle income sections of the society. In doing so Narayana Hrudayalaya followed a flexible policy to establish itself in other cities of India. It brought in the concept of Management agreements where in it started to acquire hospitals that could not run to capacity due to lack of funds and other resources or institutions/trusts that showed interest to participate in bringing affordable care to the people in their regions. Narayana Hrudayalaya leased the hospital and the existing infrastructure from such hospitals. The hospital was managed by Narayana Hrudayalaya according to their standard protocols but a monthly/annual payment was m ade as per the lease agreements. In some instances Narayana Hrudayalaya was invited by state governments by provision of land subsidies or in the forms of potential investments to open new hospitals. A huge spurge can also be seen in the expansions during and after financial year 2007-2008 due to external investments coming into the group. Biocon Pvt.Ltd, an Indian biotechnology company came forward to collaborate in building a specialty oncology hospital in Bangalore, India. In February 2008 Global investment banks American International Group Inc. (AIG) and JPMorgan have taken a 25% stake in the company for Rs 200 crore ($) each.

Fiscal and monetary policy theories and application Essay

Fiscal and monetary policy theories and application - Essay Example Fiscal policy entails the processes through which the government achieves major economic goals through taxes and government spending. The government collects tax and spends it to achieve economic development. Taxation is one of the key avenues though which governments collect revenues from local and foreign residents. Three main aspects that make up fiscal policy include consumption, investment and government spending. In this sense, the government relies on the three aspects of demand to achieve desired economic goals. The desired economic goals include full employment, price stability, economic growth, and maintenance of a favorable balance of payment, The three aspects add up to determine the equilibrium level of the gross domestic product. On the other hand, monetary policies refer to the manipulations of interest rates and money supply to achieve various economic ends. The economic ends are similar in the sense that they entail full employment, economic growth, price stability, and a favorable balance of payment. This suggests that the fiscal policies and the monetary policies possess the same goals. In the regulation of the money in circulation, central bank adjusts the interest rate that entails the price of borrowing money. In the history of economics, different schools of thought vouch for different policies. The fiscalists rely on the Keynesian school of thought in stabilizing the economy. This school of thought believes that fiscal policies are the only effective measure of instigating economic growth during a period of recession in a country. In turn, monetary policies are ineffective in stirring economic growth during a recession in a country.

Even Dogs Need Angels Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Even Dogs Need Angels - Essay Example I had decided that today would be my last. I asked to meet with Dr. Mary Lou Alvarez, the head of the Pet Clinic, and though I was prepared to have her sign my termination paperwork, I would first ask to be allowed to work in the business office. I explained to Dr. Alvarez that the job wasn't at all as I had expected. The only experience I was getting was in baby-sitting sick pets and learning how not to run a business. I thanked her for offering me the opportunity and, still hoping for an office job, proceeded to offer my "just enough to be dangerous" knowledge of business. I threw in the standard clichs' from the latest Donald Trump book that I had just read and advised her that by moving her practice to the suburbs she would have "access to a more lucrative market" where there would be a "wealthier customer base" that wouldn't need the "massive amounts of credit" she was extending. I felt that my speech was having an impact on her as Dr. Alvarez smiled and allowed me to finish without interruption. Dr. Alvarez then began by telling me that she hadn't always been interested in veterinarian medicine either. When she was twelve years old her pet collie had gotten hit and sustained a broken leg with internal injuries.