Thomas Hobbes’ conception Essay Example for Free

Thomas Hobbes’ conception Essay Thomas Hobbes’ conception of the natural state of man without the presence of a governing institution is primarily asocial; man is in constant war with other individuals, motivated by competition, self-preservation and reputation. These selfish desires remain present in man’s natural state that impedes the creation of a harmonious society. In Hobbes’ political treatise Leviathan, he mentions: â€Å"So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel; first, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly, glory† (Hobbes 84). Every individual is motivated by personal gain without any just cause to give importance with other individuals other than oneself. Man’s natural state is in constant conflict and may be considered primitive since the chaotic context provides no absolute conception of laws or moral codes in which to govern behavior among individuals. From the natural state, man progresses from its primitive consciousness, governed by reason, to aspire for peace. Thus, the creation of society comes from the individual’s initiative to impose a right that would not allow man to do harm upon himself and other people as well. Hobbes’ natural condition of man implies the presence of subjectivity in the midst of its primitive environment wherefore laws and moral codes represent the need for objectivity in order for a governing body to be formed. Indeed, man’s natural state is primitive and asocial; individuals naturally act upon instinct such as self-preservation, personal glory and other tendencies that leads to extreme individualism rather than an objective social reality. Man’s nature is selfish in essence as rational animals; however, reason separates the instinctive consciousness of the individual into forming social systems that naturally perpetuate man’s desire of peace and a harmonious society. Work Cited Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Minneola, N. Y. Dover Publications, 2006.

suicide Essay -- essays research papers

Suicide Suicide is a significant cause of death in many western countries. Attempts at suicide, and suicidal thoughts or feelings are usually a sign indicating that a person is not coping, often as a result of some event or series of events that they personally find prostrating traumatic or distressing. Most people who attempt suicide are confused about whether or not they want to die. They usually are desperate to find a way to remove or stop emotional pain. A suicide attempt is often a cry for help that ends in a tragedy. In eight out to ten suicides the person has spoken about their intent before killing themselves. In many cases, their impact can be mitigated, or their prostrating mind will gradually decrease if the person is able to make constructive choices about dealing with the crisis when it is at its worst. In some cases exceeding deaths by motor vehicle accidents annually. Many countries spend limitless amounts of money on safer roads, but very little on suic! ide awareness and prevention, or on educating people about how to make good life choices. They need someone to take them and their emotional pain and discouragement seriously. What is usually most helpful is to encourage them to express them-selves without telling them how they should feel or think. In the vast majority of cases a suicide attemptor would choose differently if they were not in great distress and were able to evaluate their options objectively. Most suicidal people give warning signs in the hope that they will be rescued, because they are intent on stopping their emotional pain, not on dying. Suicidal people need friends who will listen patiently and show they care, and referral to a professional if possible. Since this can be extremely difficult, so we may be better able to recognize and help other people in crisis, and also to find how to seek help or make better choices ourselves. People usually attempt suicide to block unbearable emotional pain, which is caused by a wide variety of problems. A person attempting suicide is often so distressed that they are unable to see that they have other options. We can help prevent a tragedy by trying to understand how they feel and helping them to look for better choices that they could make. Suicidal people often feel terribly isolated because of their distress, they may not think of anyone they can turn to, fu... ... taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone. God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The church prays for persons who have taken their own lives. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Page 608) Suicide is an issue which should be examined at by all angles. Not just from the angle that it is â€Å"wrong". End of debate. Rather it should be looked at from the point of view that â€Å"yes" for some people, they should be allowed to die in peace. Attempted suicide is also relatively rare in children under the age of 12. After that the rates increase constantly with age especially among girls, who are far more at risk of making attempts than boys. A considerable amount is known about the characteristics of adolescent suicide attempters, especially the disturbed care and family problems and the factors that reckless their suicide attempts. Prevention of child, adolescent and adult suicidal behavior is an urgent task. Doctors, other health professionals and teachers play an important role in identifying those most at risk, but this is often difficult because their characteristics are shared by many more individuals who will not carry out suicidal arts.

Country analysis of The Democratic Republic of Congo Essay

This location allows grief from neighboring countries on the other hand it is in an ideal location by way of trade routes to other countries and access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Congo River. The Democratic Republic of Congo is also dense with valuable minerals making it regarded as one of the richest countries as ar as natural recourses go. However, it is one of the poorest countries in the world In 1998, the second Congo war began, this war was also known as â€Å"The African world war†. It directly involved nine other African nations: Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and a few others. The war started because neighboring countries as well as citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo wanted to gain some of the minerals and natural resources from the nation originally creating a civil war which spread to other nations, sucking them in and starting a full out war between the countries. The war officially ended in 2003 however; battles and bitterness still resound and cause mass conflict between the African nations today. This war is said to be the worst conflict since World War II. Around five and a half million people have been killed so far due to this conflict. About 90% of the victims were not killed in battle. They passed on due to ravaging diseases such as malaria. They also died from pneumonia and malnutrition. These reasons for death were brought up by displaced populations living in unsanitary, heavily over populated conditions and were denied access to food, water, medicine, and shelter. This ongoing war has devastated a nation that in theory could be a rich, well off nation. The Democratic Republic of Congo has mass amounts of untapped raw mineral deposits. These deposits are worth 24 trillion dollars. This nation contains 30% of the world’s diamond reserves and 70% of the world’s coltan. There are also enormous reserves of gold, copper, and cobalt. The mineral extraction is done in a process known as â€Å"artisanal and small scale mining†. Mining has created severe problems in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There were many illegal organizations profiting off the mines. Because of this, the government shut down the eastern part of the country to mining. During the war, many of the commanders were making illegal trades with foreign countries with their minerals and natural resources. This trading was labeled as â€Å"mass scale looting†. When the mass scale looting died down soldiers were then encouraged to take part in small scale looting. This brought forth the â€Å"active and extraction phase†. Because of all this looting, there were large amounts of inflation. The Congolese government lost much of their profits from Uganda and Rwanda to transport their resources. They often exported diamonds and coltan out of the country. They would then repackage the diamonds and â€Å"legally’ sell them as it they were from their own country. Rwandan soldiers made around 20 million dollars a month from smuggling resources out of the Democratic Republic of Congo. These large mining operations attract migrant workers. Many people migrate to The Democratic Republic of Congo as well to escape the violence in the Great Lakes region. The number of immigrants has been rapidly decreasing over the years. The mass amounts of immigrants have taken over the work force there. In recent years immigrants are starting to migrate to the European nations rather than other nations in Africa. Due to the dense population and poor living conditions, poverty runs rampant through this nation. This also means there are large amounts of crime even though there is a police force, the Congolese national police force. One of the most prevalent crimes in this area is of rape and sexual slavery. The Democratic Republic of Congo is known as â€Å"the rape capital of the world†. With the recent war, the numbers of rape victims have drastically increased. Although the Congolese law rohibits rape these laws are almost never enforced. Rape was a main weapon used in the Second Congo war, which started this ongoing epidemic of sexual violence. Prostitution and human trafficking are prohibited and have a penalty of twenty years in Jail according to the law. However, there will be years where there is not a single investigation of either of these. Proving that the laws are not as heavily enforced in these areas, as they should be. There are also no laws against spousal abuse. This lack of law enforcement is brought up by the lack of a stable and secure government rom the ongoing war. Left with an insecure government the nation is slowly starting to repair itself. The Lusaka Peace Accords set up a government system in 1999. A president was finally elected in 2006. The economy is starting to take a turn for the bright side but it is still wrought with poverty and a failing economy due to the war and mining conflicts. Due to the violence and unstable government, there are few markets and public services. This does not allow farmers to be able to sell their own goods. It forces civilians to fend for themselves. Due to the lack of public services, here are very few hospitals and medicals centers. Disease runs rampant through this nation. Since this nation is so heavily populates diseases spread easily through the communities. There are vast amounts of major health problems in this region including; HIV, aids, malaria, polio outbreaks, cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, the Ebola virus, hemorrhagic fever, and tuberculosis. Many of the illnesses are from poor living conditions, living in filth and with bugs. Diseases are spread through bug bites. Diseases like HIV and Aids are easily spread through a multitude of ways. Diseases re spread through the movement of soldiers and refugees, few HIV testing sites, mass amounts of untreated sexual diseases, human trafficking, sexual abuse, prostitution, and diseased blood transfusions. Due to the ongoing wars and conflicts, it has made it difficult to set up an organization for stopping the spread of these diseases. Because of how poor the civilians are, they have no money for medical help, which is expensive and required to be paid in advance in full cash. The Democratic Republic of Congo is not only rich with minerals but is also a great agricultural location. The general temperature ranges between 68 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a region covered with rainforest and savanna areas. The farming is done mainly in the open savanna areas. Some of the major cash crops include peanuts, beans, bananas, plantains, rice, yams, and sugarcane. Cottee is also a major crop grown here. It is one of the most exported natural resource. Most of the farming is done through the Feronia Arable Farming division. Smaller farmers often use the slash and burn method of farming nearer the rainforest. This method however, is destroying the environment and the rainforest. Using the slash and burn method it takes around fifteen years before the burned field can recover and be used again making the farmers cut down more and more of the rainforest to sustain products and and income. The Democratic Republic of Congo is an up and coming nation it requires vast amounts of revision with the nation’s government system, the conflicts with other countries need to be amended, and laws should be more strictly enforced to create a working nation. The DRC has the potential to be one of the richest nations in Africa by way of its large mineral reserves and demand on the natural resources cultivated here. Major reforms need to be made before this country thrives.

Essay about Gambling Addiction - 2683 Words

What is Gambling Addiction? While it may appear that addictions are solely pleasure-seeking behaviors, the roots of addiction can also be traced to a wish to suppress or avoid some kind of emotional pain. In the broadest sense, addictive or pathological gambling is gambling behavior which causes disruptions in any major area of life: psychological, physical, social or vocational. Addictive gambling is sometimes referred to as the hidden illness, because there are no visible physical symptoms. The American Psychological Association classifies compulsive gambling as a mental health disorder of impulse control. It is a chronic and progressive disease that is both diagnosable and treatable. About 2 to 4 percent of Americans have an active†¦show more content†¦* Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy? * Did gambling affect your reputation? * Have you ever felt remorse after gambling? * Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties? * Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency? * After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses? * After a win did you have a strong urg e to return and win more? * Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone? * Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling? * Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling? * Were you reluctant to use gambling money for normal expenditures? * Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family? * Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned? * Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble? * Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling? * Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? * Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble? * Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling? * Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling? According to Gamblers Anonymous, if you answer â€Å"yes† to seven of more of these questions, you most likely have a compulsive gamblingShow MoreRelatedGambling Addiction : Illegal Gambling2199 Words   |  9 PagesGambling Addiction Walking into the flashing lights, the happy people and seeing people win; are all the start of a bad beginning. Gamblers have a different mindset them some and they need help most of the time. The worse thing for a person just starting out is to see people win because they believe they are going to do the same thing and even more. That is almost never how it turns out; it usually starts with betting small, but gamblers always raise their bets over time even if they are winningRead More Gambling Addiction Essay1116 Words   |  5 PagesGambling Addiction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. 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