The truman show response Essays - Articles, Philosophy,

In the movie "The Truman Show", the main character Truman is living a life in which all of his experiences are simulated. Truman un knowingly lives on a TV set where everything is set up, but he believes that he lives in the real world . This resembles what the prisoners went through in "The Myth of the Cave" , when they were stuck in chains and could only see the shadows on the wall . Truman' s reality is staged for him by the directors of the show , j ust like how the prisoner's reality is made up by the people creating the shadows. Both Truman and the prisoners are presented with a reality, and they have no reason not to believe in this theatrical world. They are fooled into believing things that are untrue. The prisoners identified shadows with things that they are not. Also, everything in Truman's life was made up such as his job, where he lived, his friends, his family, and his relationships . The people narrating these false realities have the power to alter the mind of the people they are fooling. The narrators can make them believe in whatever they want them to , allowing the narrators to create an entire alternate reality. One quality of the ideal state is the idea of wisdom. Being wise requires knowledge of self-discipline by using reason. The wise people in the ideal state are outnumbered, but they naturally prudent, so they are the governors. This is similar to how man's soul is ruled by wisdom and reason. The second quality is Courage. To be courageous one must be able to persevere through tough and fearful situations. Also, one must withstand the training and follow the teaching created by the law. The third quality of Plato's ideal state is temperance. Plato begins by describing temperance as a sense of control that man has over the indulgences in life. A person governs their own soul, and it is solely up to that person to make the right decisions. A person's soul works similar to the ideal state, they both are responsible for leading themselves through good and bad. Aristotle recognizes four causes, material cause, Formal cause, efficient cause, and final cause. These causes must be acknowledged in order to acquire the correct knowledge of whatever object is being studied. The first of the four causes, material cause, is the first source of information you can get from the object. It defines the material out of which the object is made, literally what substances make up the object. The second cause respectively, describes the shape or design of the object. It depicts exactly what the object is trying to portray. The efficient cause is by whom was the object was made. This cause represents who the creator is and states that the creator is the sole reason this object exists. The last of the four causes is the final cause, which speaks to show the magnificence of the object as a whole. This cause is the reason for the objects existence, to be admired. I agree that there is a connection between happiness and virtue, I believe that one cannot be truly happy without living a somewhat virtuous life. Aristotle uses a great analogy with plants, describing how in order for a plant to flourish, it's internal functions must follow a natural state. This correlates to humans, by demonstrating that if we do not follow our righteous human nature, then we cannot flourish and grow into happy human beings. Having virtue also requires a decent upbringing, in which one is taught how to be respectful, and to not partake in shameful behavior. This is essential because everyone has natural inborn desires that can lead us astray from good nature. Choosing to give into these desires might bring someone a short-term happiness, but eventually the happiness this person feels will fade. Aristotle depicts which goods are necessary for happiness in someone's life, and which are unnecessary and solely trappings. Things such as good health and life ar e necessary, but other things such as wealth, friends, and fame are just add-ons. The only real happiness someone can achieve requires an honorable

Past Perfect Progressive Definition and Examples

Past Perfect Progressive Definition and Examples A verb construction (made up of had been a present participle) that points to an activity or situation that was ongoing in the past. Also known as past perfect continuous. Also see: AspectPast PerfectProgressive AspectPast Progressive Examples and Observations He knew that she had been dreaming that night and he knew what her dreams were about.(W. Somerset Maugham, Christmas Holiday, 1939)For an hour the old man had been seeing black spots before his eyes and the sweat salted his eyes and salted the cut over his eye and on his forehead.(Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, 1952)If she had been pretending, she would have hidden for a reasonable time before coming out and telling her story.(C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1950)I felt like an extraordinary hero. I was only five or six and I had the whole of life in my hands. Even if I had been driving the carriage of the sun I could not have felt any better.(Dario Fo)The jaws fell, the ears drooped more limply. He had been looking like a dead fish. He now looked like a deader fish, one of last years, cast up on some lonely beach and left there at the mercy of the wind and tides.(P.G. Wodehouse, Right Ho, Jeeves, 1934)I was sixteen years old and more, and I had not yet done anything the Grandfathers wanted me to do, but they had been helping me.(John G. Neihardt, Black Elk Speaks, 1932) Mr. Churchill was better than could be expected; and their first removal, on the departure of the funeral for Yorkshire, was to be to the house of a very old friend in Windsor, to whom Mr. Churchill had been promising a visit the last ten years.(Jane Austen, Emma)The past perfect progressive (had been -ing) tells us about the length of the action and the specific point when it ended. It occurs frequently with since or for to specify the duration of the action.(Ann Raimes, Exploring Through Writing. Cambridge University Press, 1998) Also Known As: past perfect continuous

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Ethics - Essay Example As with all opinions, just because they are diverse, does not mean that one is right, or one is wrong. Aristotle’s views, while not necessarily congruent with Plato’s views, do show a strong influence as a result of what Plato taught. Plato’s discourses are heavily influenced by the Pre-Socratics and Sophists, and none too little influenced by Socrates himself, however, while they may show those influences, the views are entirely his own. Plato’s primary literary form was the dialogue; he would use two characters of opposing sides arguing each point with the other in order to show both sides of the philosophical question and in doing so, allow his true views to show through. In The Allegory of the Cave, an excerpt from Plato’s Republic, the reader receives some insight into what Plato believes â€Å"the good life† to be. Plato speaks first of the State, and discussing how it can be tailored to be the best that it can be, speaking of how †Å"the State in which the rules are most reluctant to govern is always the best and most quietly governed, and the State in which they are most eager, the worst (The Allegory of the Cave, 4).† This is one of the more influential teachings of Plato’s in relation to Aristotle, something that will be touched upon later. Plato, still in The Allegory of the Cave, discusses Homer’s perspective, â€Å"Better to be a poor servant of a poor master, and to endure anything, rather than think as they do and live after their manner? Yes, he said, I think that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and live in this miserable manner† (6). Plato refers to the concept discussed regarding those whose eyes are not yet opened to the fact that the shadows are not reality; that anything at all would be better than to remain under the false impression that the shadows dancing on the wall are all that is there, are all that is real. He would rather have enlightenment, knowledge, and suffer, than to remain in the dark forever, thus showing that one characteristic of â€Å"the good life† in his view, is knowledge. A key insight into Plato’s view comes along towards the end of The Allegory of the Cave when he pronounces â€Å"they who are truly rich, not in silver and gold, but in virtue and wisdom, which are the true blessings of life† (10), showing that in order to have it good, one must have virtue and wisdom, before any form of monetary wealth, in order to be considered to have a high quality of life. It is not just Plato’s Republic, however, that shows what his opinions are on what is good and what is right; one must look to Plato’s other works in order to find out more. Plato took it upon himself to write of Socrates, and the trial which took place during his life. Socrates had a habit of not writing down any of his teachings, preferring instead to spending the time teaching others to question the world as he did. Among Plato’s other works were the Euthyphro, the Apology, and the Crito; these works speak of the trial, the sentencing, the imprisonment and the death of Socrates. Based upon the way that Plato has written these discourses, in fact, the way that he wrote all of his works, it is a task of relative ease to pull key phrasing from these dialogues, in order to find out more about what Plato considers to be â€Å"the good life.† In the Euthyphro, Plato makes it clear that distinction is important. It is not enough to know generally of what a thing is,