Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King - Fates

The Power of Fate in Oedipus Rex  Ã‚   Oedipus, the fated tragic hero of Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex, is a complex character who, through slow realization, learns that one cannot escape fate.   Throughout the course of the tragedy, Oedipus’s attitude evolves from arrogance to humbleness as he learns to seek for truth and finds that fate is impossible to control. In the beginning of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is a strong, noble king in search of justice for the slain former King Laios. Oedipus is both arrogant and ignorant of his future misfortune. â€Å"With the help of God, we shall be saved,†... ... full of rage, curiosity, impatience, ignorance, denial, and finally, remorse.   His persisting denial to accept the enormous coincidences that are made known to him and his complete ignorance towards these facts lead Oedipus to his tragic downfall from a noble king to a blind, humbled, man.

Session Long Affirmative Action

Gender discrimination has for long been the topic of hot ethical debate. Despite the growing awareness about the social implications and the consequences of discrimination, as well as financial and human costs of discriminative attitudes at workplace, numerous firms and businesses appear unable to change the traditional structure of their business relationships. Even the best and the most ethical organizations are not always willing to eliminate the barriers women face on their way to professional excellence. In case of KBR, diversity and female participation in labor seem to be the two critical elements of organizational culture.Yet, KBR, Inc. has not done everything possible to involve women into all areas of its organizational and business performance. In reality, even at KBR, Inc. – the company well known for its ethical practices – gender remains an issue. Moreover, the majority of the present day American companies are either unwilling or unprepared to tackle gend er discrimination challenges. â€Å"For instance, for every dollar earned by white men in 1998, white women earn 78 cents, African-American women earn 67 cents, and Hispanic women earn 56 cents, according to Catalyst.More than 85 percent of Fortune 500 companies lack even one woman among their five highest earning officers† (Social Funds, 2000). Objectively, KBR, Inc. is not an exception for even despite its growing commitment to diversity at workplace and its desire to eliminate the barriers which women face when trying to become a part of the company staff, the current Board of Directors at KBR does not have a single woman, comprising seven highly professional men (KBR, 2009).Moreover, given the nature and specificity of work at KBR, women find it even more difficult to prove that they possess sufficient engineering and construction skills and are able to successfully fulfill their workplace obligations and tasks. Finally, when it comes to working in hotspots, women face ev en more opposition on the side of their potential employers, who view it as unacceptable for a woman to work in conditions of wartime. From the deontological perspective, gender equality should become a rule KBR will follow at all levels of its organizational performance.Certainly, affirmative action can potentially become a good solution for the majority of gender discrimination problems, but affirmative action is just another form of discrimination aimed at establishing the new quality of gender relationships at workplace. Not gender discrimination, not affirmative action, but professionalism, education, and skills should serve the primary criteria the company will use when considering potential job candidates. Not gender, but individual preparedness to work in dangerous conditions and realization of the tasks and obligations should govern KBR in its job decisions.From the viewpoint of utilitarianism, providing women with equal access to jobs will help resolve several essential is sues. First, the company will improve its social corporate image. Second, it will bring in innovative looks and will substantially improve and speed up its decision-making processes. Third, it will provide women with a chance to realize themselves in professional fields, and finally, the company will avoid and secure itself from financial losses that result of continuous discrimination lawsuits.Discrimination is an increasingly negative social and workplace phenomenon. Moreover, the more â€Å"male† the nature of business seems to be, the less likely women are to become a part of such companies’ staff. That is why for the company to remain competitive, glass ceiling should be eliminated, to give women just another professional and individual try. Conclusion Even the most ethical companies face serious gender discrimination challenges and are not always able to eliminate the so-called â€Å"glass ceiling†.KBR, Inc. is not an exception. From deontological perspect ive, gender equality should become one of the primary company rules; from the utilitarian perspective, giving women a chance for professional self-realization will improve the quality of all decision-making processes and will protect the company from numerous discrimination lawsuits. Whether KBR, Inc. is able to preserve its positive corporate image depends on how well it copes with the challenges of gender discrimination at workplace. References KBR, Inc. (2009). Board of directors. KBR, Inc. Retrieved June 1, 2009 from http://www.kbr.com/corporate/corporate_governance/board_of_directors/index.aspx Social Funds. (2000). Glass ceiling still unshattered. Social Funds. Retrieved June 1, 2009 from http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/345.html

Fact or fiction Essay

Overtime, tales of the most miniscule historic characters have been slowly distorted into tales of gigantic warriors and near perfect individuals. For instance, stories of Jesus Christ from the bible have always caused people to necessitate an image of purity and selflessness, however, newly discovered testaments are beginning to establish a love affair with a women, whom produced children: living descendants of Jesus Christ. This is just one of many examples that have been continually misrepresented throughout history. Additionally, this raises questions as to whom are the real iconic figures that have shaped our memoirs. One of the model Americans is Robert E. Lee, a timeless figure of American history that has widely been altered in various publications, however, what will remained unchanged is that Robert E. Lee is the true symbol of southern Americanism of his time. BACKGROUND Son of Ann Hill Carter, a wealthy successor of Scottish Royalty, and Harry Lee, an attractive commander in the Revolutionary War, Robert Edward Lee was born in Virginia’s Westmoreland County on January 19th, 1807. Ann Hill Carter married Harry Lee and produced 5 children during their marriage while Harry was governor of Virginia. Throughout the course of their marriage, Harry began drowning the family in debt, thus rendering Robert to take on as head of the household while his father remained unwilling to stop his overzealous spending habits and relentless affairs with other women. It is undoubted that Robert was the favorite of his mother’s children, thus giving him the authority to make decisions as head of the household and care for his mother. â€Å"As sometimes happens, the good son strove to be all that his father was not. When Anne was lonely he kept her company; when she was sick he nursed her; in his teens he helped manage the household. His father had been reckless and unfaithful† (Epstein 23). After years of frivolous spending, thus spiraling the family into debt, Harry Lee fled the country and settled in the West Indies where he lived out the rest of his days. Nonetheless, Ann Carter continued to use the remainder of her bequest to support her children. Lacking the money needed to attend a university, Robert applied to West point and was granted admittance in 1829. Shortly thereafter, Lee also attended the U. S. Military Academy and graduated with honors. Due to various scandals that surrounded Roberts family, such as his father’s abandonment and his older brother Henry’s murderous scandal involving Henry’s sister-in -law, whom he seduced and produced a child with thus giving him the nickname ’black horse’, it was not easy for Robert to find a companion for himself. Nonetheless, Robert married Mary Anna Randolph Custis in 1831 and together they produced 7 children. From thereon, Lee earned recognition for his role as engineer in the construction of the St. Louis Harbor, as well as his is prevailing military operations in the Mexican War. As a Virginian aristocrat, Robert Lee was already accustomed to the ethics behind slavery, consequently, when his father-in-law, George Washington Custis became ill, Lee took leadership in the distribution of slaves to corresponding plantations. It was Lee’s understanding that slaves were the foundation of the south, in which many products of labor were necessary for financial survival. This stance was the drive in Robert Lee’s struggle to maintain the south that he had become habituated to. Although the Lee-Custis families remained relatively respectful and kind to slave families throughout the years, during his leadership in the Civil War, his comportment turned from reverential to malicious. Elizabeth Brown Pryor states that â€Å" Lee rented out so many hands that the black community at Arlington was badly fragmented. The youngest and strongest were chosen to be hired away because they brought in the greatest revenue†¦. Worst of all, Lee ruptured the Washington and Custis tradition of respecting slave families. By 1860 he had broken up every family but one on the estate† (Nolan 24). In addition to this testimony, there are scores of other attests to Lee’s brutal violence towards slaves as well. Although modern Lee patriots have highly scrutinized these testaments, they have been corroborated with consistent authentic eye witness accounts found in various writings. Nevertheless, Lee has been noted for his leadership during the Mexican War in as well as his achievements and calamities during the Civil War. Well educated, yet incapable to produce a strategic victory, Lee is doubtless renowned for his defeat at Gettysburg. â€Å"The disaster at Gettysburg highlights Lee’s chief shortcoming as a strategist, his lack of the political instinct–in the strictest sense, a sagacity in working with men. Lee was so rigid in his devotion to a hierarchy that he held most of his generals at a distance, often keeping them in the dark or ignoring their advice. Meanwhile he went groveling to Jefferson Davis and the Confederate government for guns, food, and uniforms–as if he were scarcely worthy–when he should have demanded the essential materiel, without which his soldiers stood in peril† (Epstein 23). After his military command, Lee retreated back to his home in Virginia, where he died in 1870 at the age of 63. LITERATURE REVIEW Rationalizing realism versus simulated characteristics of Robert Lee begins with previous analysis. Robert E. Lee was born in1807, thus leaving the impossibility of retrieving factual information from the primary source. Consequently, interpretation of fact from fiction lies within previous texts and comparison of those texts against each other. Many contemporary authors such as Carl Moneyhon report that â€Å"In his foreword, the editor of this collection of articles justifies this volume as an effort to break away from the paradigm of scholarship that has produced what he considers to be a stale rehashing of arguments over the merits of the generalship of Robert E. Lee. The core of the interpretive problem, in Peter S. Carmichael’s view, is the tendency of many recent studies to begin with assumptions based upon generalizations made over seventy years ago in Douglas Southall Freeman’s works, then to use Freeman’s own evidence to challenge his conclusions Carmichael suggests that a new scholarship might emerge if scholars return to primary Lee-related manuscript sources. The six articles that follow are unified by that effort, beginning with the contemporary Lee rather than the Lee created by Freeman† (777). Moneyhon’s elucidation of other author’s works display the bias between authors, most of which erratically render Lee as the patron saint of the south. Many publications regarding Lee have rendered him as somewhat mythological, while others have painted him as a failing general, one whom orchestrated many mistakes. According to Alan T. Nolan, â€Å"There is little need to belabor the fact of Lee’s heroic, almost superhuman, national stature, which has steadily enlarged since the war years. Writing in 1868, Fanny Dowling described Lee as ‘bathed in the white light which falls directly upon him from the smile of an approving and sustaining God† (4-5). Many Lee loyalist have portrayed him as a god-like creature, attaining purity and perfection, however, others deemed him anything but. Regarding the issue of slavery, despite its unethical perspective, as a Virginian aristocrat, Lee was accustomed to slavery for all of his life, however, considering his reverential conduct towards slaves before the war, it is alarming that Lee’s behavior took such an impulsive change during and after the war. For instance, despite praises of loyalty and kindness in respect to slaves under Lee’s orders since his attainment of George Washington Custis’s estate, narratives of harsh lashings and slave separation from their families are mottled through historical accounts of Lee’s alleged generosity and empathy. Epstein states that â€Å"Because the Custis will entailed that land should be sold to pay debts and legacies, and did not state that such obligations should take precedence over freeing the slaves, Lee’s conduct is disturbing. Even more chilling is the 1859 testimony of one Wesley Norris, a slave who ran away from Arlington with his sister Mary to Westminster, Maryland. They were caught and imprisoned, and returned in chains. When Lee asked why they had run away, Norris said that they believed they were free. Lee replied that ‘he would teach us a lesson we would never forget. ’ Leading them to the barn, he gave orders to his overseer McQuinn to strip the slaves to the waists, tie them to posts, and apply fifty lashes to the man and twenty to the girl. When McQuinn refused to take up the lash, ‘Dick Williams, a county constable was called in, who gave us the number of lashes ordered; Lee, in the meantime, stood by, and frequently enjoined Williams to ‘lay it on well. ’ When Williams was done, Lee ordered the overseer to wash the bleeding slaves with brine (24). Many Lee scholars do not like to explore the possibility that Lee was cruel towards slaves as this attribute disrupts the harmony of assimilated perfection of Lee’s character, however, these accounts of vindictiveness reassure Lee’s less god-like capabilities. Additionally, in with regard to military expertise, Lee scholars are divided as well on this issue concluding that most of Lee’s military career is focused around the failure of Civil War expeditions, while others concur that Lee exerted the symbol of a genuine confederate liberator. It is undisputed that Lee was very well educated and skilled in military delegations, however, most of Lee’s military career is focused around the failure of thus overshadowing the more positive aspects of his military career. In the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee was very careless thus ruining the lives of the men in his regime. Ballard states that â€Å"Lee could have and should have won† (948). Lee carelessly destroyed his regime during the Battle of Gettysburg, by not waiting for incoming supplies that were to be given to his regime’s depleted arsenal. His soldiers were starved and malnutrition and did not have the proper weaponry for combat, thus presenting an easy victory for the union. (Adams 66). Moreover, despite how conflicting accounts represent Lee, most scholars such as Gallagher agree that â€Å"In a conflict often characterized, whether accurately or not, as the first great modern war, the Confederate commander frequently appears as a soldier of considerable martial gifts who harkened back to an earlier time. Lee is cast as a man who thought of the struggle in terms of protecting his own state rather advancing the cause of the entire Confederacy, forged a personal bond with his soldiers reminiscent of feudal relationships, focused on winning set-piece battles without taking in the broader political and social landscape of a modern war, and failed to understood the implications of new weaponry such as the rifle-musket† (295). Most importantly is to include the feelings of others that admired Lee from enemy lines as those of the North. Although commonly, enemies do not sing the praises of each other, this is not the case in those towards Lee. In fact, many northerners admired lee for a number of reasons as is told as such: â€Å"He possessed every virtue of other great commanders without their vices. He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a soldier without cruelty; a victor without oppression; and a victim without murmuring. He was a public officer without vices; a private citizen without wrong; a neighbor without reproach; a Christian without hypocrisy and a man without guile. He was a Caesar without his ambition; Frederick without his tyranny; Napoleon without his selfishness; and Washington without his reward. He was obedient to authority as a servant, and royal in authority as a true king. He was gentle as a woman in life; modest and pure as a virgin in thought; watchful as a Roman vestal in duty; submissive to law as Socrates; and grand in battle as Achilles† (Warrior and Gentleman’s Gentleman 39). Although this excerpt seems a little over dramatized, it does reflect Lee’s impinge on realistic people versus overly inflated scholarly accounts, thus rendering Lee as a true individual of his time. CONCLUSION In conclusion, Robert Edward Lee, born in 1807 to Ann Hill Carter, wealthy Scottish heiress, and Harry Lee, the former Virginia Governor. Whilst his family endured many problematic episodes, including financial hardships despite their mother’s dwindled fortune due to his fathers erratic spending habits, and his brothers Henry’s alleged murder of his illegitimate child, Lee prevailed in most of his endeavors, including his role in the Mexican War. However, undisputable evidence exhibits the differentiating portrayals of General Robert Edward Lee. Many scholars initiate depictions of a true southern liberator to maintain the south as it was during the early 1800s, whilst others disagree as to the true characteristics of Lee as much less than pure and holy. Nonetheless, both portions of testaments enable the true disposition of Robert Lee as he was. For instance, as a Victorian aristocrat, Lee understood the ethics of labor that slavery entailed, however, Lee’s attitude changed throughout the course of the war. Instead of maintaining the healthy relationships between slaves and Lee, he separated the families and also assisted in harsh beating of slaves, thus severing the once tight-knit relationship between the two. Also, in terms of Lee’s military endeavors, Lee was skilled, however, mostly unprepared for his battles in the Civil War. For example, in the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee was strategically unprepared for the battle, consequently costing the confederate army its most important mission. However, this did not deterred Lee from admitting his faults for his role in losing the battle, which shoes humility for his wins and losses. Finally after many interpretations of literary works, the true formation of Robert E. Lee is quite clear. A Victorian aristocrat he was, accustomed to the south as it was and its dependence on slavery, he maintained humility, strength, and most of all, leadership. Lee was not pure, nor holy, however, he was a man of God, family, and campaign for the southern beliefs, and he preserved those relationships simultaneously. WORKS CITED Adams, Michael C. C. :Review Essay: Robert E. Lee and Perspective over Time. † Civil War History. 49 (2003): 64-70. Ballard, Michael B. â€Å"Robert E. Lee: Icon for a Nation. † Journal of Southern History. 76 (2006): 947-949. Epstein, Daniel M. â€Å"Who Cares about Robert E. Lee. † New Criterion Sept. 2007: 22+. Gallagher, Gary W. â€Å"An Old-Fashioned Soldier in a Modern War Robert E. Lee as Confederate General†. Civil War History. 45(1999): 295. Lee, Robert E. Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee . Westminster, 1904. Moneyhon, Carl H. â€Å"Audacity Personified: The Generalship of Robert E. Lee† The Historian. 67 (2005): 777-780. Nolan, Alan T. Lee Considered: General Robert E. Lee and Civil War History. North Carolina: North Carolina Press, 1991. â€Å"Robert E. Lee. † UXL Newsmakers. (2005): Find Articles. 28 Feb. 2008 `. â€Å"Warrior and Gentleman’s Gentleman: Despite Being a Battle-Hardened General, Robert E. Lee Never Lost His Most Admirable Trait His Devotion to God, Friends, Duty, and Honor. † The New American. 23 July 2007: 33- 39.

An Ethical Analysis of the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport Assignment

An Ethical Analysis of the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport - Assignment Example This paper illustrates that John Mill introduced ‘utilitarianism’, a consequentialistic theory that sees good behavior or actions as those that generate the ‘greatest good for the greatest number of people’. This theory supports the knowledge about the outcomes of actions and of abiding by norms or standards encouraging these principles. Utilitarianism largely argues that the morally correct decision is the decision that generates the greatest good. There are numerous ways to explain this overall argument. One aspect worth mentioning is that the perspective is a kind of consequentialism, which states that the correct action is viewed wholly in relation to the outcomes generated. There are two forms of utilitarianism-- act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. The difference between these two lies in how or where they are used. Act utilitarianism is used in the process of choosing a specific action under a given situation, whereas rule utilitarianism is use d in the selection of a cluster of guidelines, which are consequently exercised to choose a particular action in a given situation. Act utilitarianism argues that an action or behavior becomes morally correct when it generates the most good for most people, whereas rule utilitarianism claims that the moral rightness of a decision relies on the rightness of the guidelines that enable it to attain the highest good. Act utilitarianism is the conviction that it is fine to violate a rule so long as it creates a higher good, whereas rule utilitarianism argues that even if a principle cannot generate a higher good, violating it will not either. Rule utilitarianism is a reaction to several of the main criticisms against act utilitarianism.

Why is the church a functionalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why is the church a functionalism - Essay Example This contention is the reason why I chose functionalism to analyze the church as among the institution which plays a very crucial role in the society. I believe that in employing functionalism, the function of the church would be fully understood beyond being a house of worship alone. Included is the contribution of functionalism to the understanding of human behavior. The church is considered a functionalism because it plays a function in the society which is the core essence of functionalism. Proponents of functionalism view society as a network cooperating to work together towards a common goal. As one of the essential structures of the society, the church has its own function to execute. Functionalists compare society with human body with parts and functions to perform. In the event that one part becomes diseased or dysfunctional, other parts are affected and the person may suffer from illness. The same thing would happen with the society because parts are interdependent with eac h other (Encyclopedia, 2010).

The Role of the Bahamas Development Bank in the Bahamian Economy Coursework

The Role of the Bahamas Development Bank in the Bahamian Economy - Coursework Example State of the Bahamian economy Before exploring the role played by the Bahamas Development Bank in the Bahamian economy, it is imperative to look at the state of the Bahamian economy: its strengths and weak points before addressing how the Bahamas Development Bank plays a role in addressing these weak points. Being among the best offshore global banking centers, Bahamas has come up with a non-simple banking structure that caters for the services of both domestic and foreign investors. Both the central bank of Bahamas and the Bahamian international banks and Trust have a complete list of about 272 financial institutions that are legally mandated to conduct business with the public (US Department of Commerce, 1992, p. 40). The states in the Caribbean went through several challenges in 2004. Examples of these include declining real sector production, a reduction in their export trade, pressure from other parties regarding the exportation of sugar and bananas, increased indebtedness and a season highly characterized by natural perils and catastrophes. Moreover, though categorized as middle – class economies, majority of these nations have a good score of their citizens who are poor. Statistics from the Caribbean Development Bank indicate that the poor form between one and twenty six percent of the population. In a bid to deal with these challenges, Bahamas has had to conserve economic stability, strengthen the tourism and fiscal financial sectors, enhance the security of citizens, and support family islands and growth of small businesses through buttressing social services and improvement of the transport sector (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2006, p. 16). The Bahamas authority plays this role through its financial institutions like the Bahamas Development Bank, among others that get their external sources of finance from other lending agencies such as the Caribbean Development Bank. In the recent years, there has been a reported rapid growth in both the financia l, Nassau and tourism sectors. In the recent years, Bahamas has become popularly known as a center for offshore banks and trusts apart from being a strategic location for carrying out international currency business (Khambata, 1996, p. 95; Bernardi, 2008, p. 107). This has been facilitated by the overall openness of the economy, proximity to the United States and The Bahamas’ tax haven state. Apart from generating income and employment for the country, financial services enhance the nation’s tax haven image. The attainment of the nation’s high-level per capita income can be attributed to the growth in the service sector that has really increased the national income of Bahamas (Karagiannis and Witter, 2004, p. 150). The major cause of the post war growth in the Bahamian economy can be attributed neither to structural reforms neither in the country’s production base nor to any changes in the functioning of its economy. The change can rather be attributed to the enlargement of the tourism and financial sectors. In fact, the pattern

Televisions Grip on the Mind of America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Televisions Grip on the Mind of America - Essay Example Neil Postman rightly identifies the iron grip that the television has on minds throughout American society. Perhaps the fundamental reason for television's power is the way in which it has given "an exquisite and dangerous perfection" to the "epistemological biases of the telegraph and instancy." The telegraph brought bits of information directly to the consumer, without giving that information any sort of context, any sort of reason why that information was significant. The significance was in the novelty, or in the entertainment value. The instancy of the photograph relieves the mind of having to imagine, or even having to pay a lot of attention. An idea can be summarized, remembered, ingrained in the form of a picture. Combining the two, making a slogan with a picture, simultaneously places an idea an image in the mind. This increases the power of the idea, and gives a visual source of memory associated with that idea for the mind to clutch tightly. Another characteristic of television concomitant to this simultaneity of thought and vision is the power of speed. The telegraph took the "line-by-line, sequential, continuous form of the printed page" and reduced it to a "world of fragments and discontinuities." The photograph takes a reality that can present ideas to the mind and reduces them down to particular examples.