Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider): World Without Purpose

World Without Purpose in Camus' The Stranger (The Outsider)   In The Stranger, Albert Camus misleadingly portrays his existentialistic views of life, death, and the world.   Camus portrays the world as absurd or without purpose Meaursalt, who, as a reflection of Camus, is foreign and indifferent to his own life and death.   Meaursalt eventually senses guilt for his crime, not because of the remorse of taking someone else’s life, but because it means he would lose the little things that he considers important in his life.   Meaursalt is a puzzling character, who leaves readers to be uncertain about Camus’ views of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Meaursalt is a simple and ordinary man living in French Morocco.   Neither intellectual nor emotional, when his mother died, he did not feel or show any sorrow.   He is a character rather distracted by his surrounding, such as people walking by and nature.   He would feel much irritation whenever the sun would shine red and bright.   On a thoughtless walk on the beach, he ends up killing an Arab (who had a hostile relationship with his friend) for no apparent reason, but because his [Arab] blade light reflected by the sun.   In addition, for no good reason he shoots four more times, the body lying on the ground.   He is tried in court, during which he feels he is his own spectator.   Meaursalt gets convicted of murder and sentenced to death.   Before execution, he feels guilt for the first time because he would miss the simple things in life.   However, he is never scared to die, because for him death comes eventually.   Just before the execut ion, a chaplain tries to make him believe in God, but Meaursalt angrily defends his atheistic views.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Meaursalt is an uncommon character that prefers simpl... ...t sure whether to say it is objective or subjective.   The novel itself is a puzzle to me and I’m not in any pursuit to figure it out.   I’m not refusing to, but I find no point in doing so.   The same way Meaursalt treats life as meaningless, I treat it the same way, but that life is meaningful.   We don’t need to go searching too hard that in the process we give up on life, as I see Meaursalt as.   I think you could have a meaningful life without knowing the meaning.   I can’t accept Meaursalt’s values, because I do believe in a God and an afterlife.   That is the difference between him and me.   I would not recommend this book to anybody who is in the process of soul searching.   It is a confusing yet an unique story to be regarded only as Camus’ point of view of life. Works Cited: Camus, Albert. The Stranger, trans. Mathew Ward. New York: Random House, Inc., 1988.

Aristotle’s Definition Of Virtue

Nowadays, virtues are associated with refinement and nobility of one’s character. Aristotle believed that virtue is a function of the soul that guides every action of an individual. Thus, every action illuminates the discretion of an individual to act freely the chosen disposition. Since every human has a soul and virtue is its activity, can we classify every action as virtuous action? In Nicomachaen Ethics, Aristotle examined the inter-relations among the purpose of every human action, virtues, and vices in the achievement of happiness. Aristotle believed that the supreme good is the ultimate goal of every human endeavor. What then is the â€Å"good† for a man that can be possibly attained through his endeavors? It is happiness but relatively defined; vulgar men associated it with pleasure while people with refined character ascribed it to honor. While these things are pursued to achieve happiness in one’s self, but â€Å"good† should be pursued not only for happiness but for the â€Å"good† itself—as an end. The â€Å"good† brings happiness and is associated with function or activity. For instance, if you are a behest pianist then, you are good in playing piano for you are functioning well. The well-performance of your function creates happiness not only for yourself but also for the others, thus, giving you a unique identity. In the same line of reasoning, soul is an aspect of humans that differentiated them from the rest of the animals. Thus, man’s function concerns the soul. The rational component of the soul controls man’s impulses, thus, makes him virtuous. Therefore, â€Å"human good turns out to be an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, and if there are more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete. † As such, the nature of virtue then should be explored. Moral Virtues The product of teaching is the intellectual virtue while moral virtue resulted from the habit. Thus, it is never the case that moral virtue arises spontaneously on man’s being. Moral virtues are inculcated in man’s soul and perfected by habits. â€Å"For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them. For if all men are naturally born good or bad, adept or inept in certain skills, teachers have no sense at all. On the same ground, moral virtues can be learned or destroyed in one’s soul: by interacting with others we may become just or unjust; by experiencing perils we may become brave or coward; and other circumstances may impart hedonism, ill-temperance, or self-indulgence. Moreov er, by absorbing moral virtues at very young age, great difference will be made in one’s soul. Since it is through training, virtues are acquired; training then at very young age can mold virtuous personality. Conditions for the Conduct of Virtues Just and temperate actions are done by a man who has the sense of justice and temperance. â€Å"But if the acts that are in accordance with the virtues have themselves a certain character it does not follow that they are done justly or temperately. † Several conditions are necessary for the conduct of every virtuous action: knowledge of virtues; disposition for virtuous actions; and power to do virtuous actions. Hence, knowledge on virtues is not enough to become virtuous; rather, the disposition to put virtues into actions is a must. It is common sense to us, for example, that insufficient food and water taken into the body results to poor nutrition while a balanced diet ensures good health. â€Å"So too is it, then, in the case of temperance and courage and other virtues. † Avoidance of fears leads to timidity while extreme braveness endangers one’s life; absolute abstinence creates insensibility while hedonism shapes one’s indulgence. Since wrong doings are committed due to pleasure and noble character is avoided due to pain, pleasures and pain then are subjects of every virtue. The Doctrine of the Mean â€Å"Now neither virtues nor the vices are passions, because we are not called good or bad on the ground of our passions, but are so called on the ground of our virtues and our vices. † Passions, faculties, and states of character exist in the soul: passions are desires; faculties are abilities to perceive passions; and states of character are the choices to either put the passion in action or not. Feelings of pains and pleasures or passions, and the knowledge on good or bad are not virtues for virtues involve modes of choice. In addition, we naturally have faculties and desires. The man’s virtue then, involves the state of character that makes the realization of every desire that either good or bad. â€Å"For instance, both fear and confidence and appetite and anger and pity and in general pleasure and pain may be felt too much or too little, and in both cases not well; but to feel them at the right times, with reference to the right objects, towards the right people, with the right motive, and in the right way, is what is both intermediate and best, and this is the characteristic of virtue. The deficient and excess among the activities that give pleasure or pain is a vice while moral virtues lie in between of these deficiency and excessiveness, hence, the mean. However, the â€Å"mean† can not be found among actions which are entirely wrong such as crimes and envy. For the â€Å"mean† among entirely wrong actions is either its excess or deficiency, â€Å"but however, they are done they are entirely wrong; for in general there is neither a mean of excess and deficiency, nor excess and deficiency of a mean. Also, an extreme of a particular activity can be closer to its mean such as in the case of courage; courage is more of rashness than cowardice. This is so because of the things that are farther from its â€Å"mean† are its opposites. Moreover, Aristotle’s concept of the â€Å"mean† is not a strict doctrine; since the things and degree of happiness for each individual varies, so as the extent to which the â€Å"mean† for every case lies. It is only through the aid of our practical reason that we may determine the mean in a particular situation. Thus, virtue is a set of innate dispositions for the governance one’s action towards the attainment of happiness. Happiness then is not achieved unless one acted in accordance with his virtuous dispositions. Since actions are the concern of moral virtues, the attributes then of which should be examined. The Nature of Actions The nature of actions was classified by Aristotle as voluntary, nonvoluntary and involuntary. Involuntary actions are done against one’s disposition; voluntary actions are in accordance with the disposition; and nonvoluntary actions are accidentally done due to ignorance. Since virtue governs one’s disposition to act in accordance with the â€Å"mean,† the primary basis then of a virtuous action is the goodness of choice. For an action is always a product of premeditated choice of an individual for the attainment of one’s purpose, it is therefore voluntary. This also satisfies the conditions that Aristotle believed are necessary for virtue: knowledge, volition, and doing. On the other hand, if an individual was forced for a certain action, although seem involuntary, he is still responsible for that action for he has a choice for not doing. Meanwhile doing things because of ignorance is involuntary if at the end, one recognizes ignorance while failure to do so, makes it nonvoluntary. For instance, if a drunkard is addicted to liquor due to inability to discern virtuous things, the person then is guilty of ignorance and the action is nonvoluntary. If at some point of time, the person realized his ignorance, the action then becomes involuntary. With these, only ignorance can excuse an action to be called a vice but has limitation. If after realizing virtuous things, the person has continued to be a drunkard, then the action is voluntary and he is therefore vicious. Conclusion For Aristotle therefore, virtues are dispositions that acted in accordance with the doctrine of the mean towards the attainment of happiness. Happiness can not be achieved by merely just having or knowing virtues, rather by putting virtuous dispositions into actions. Thus, virtue is an active condition that makes one apt at choosing.

Essay on Tracking Metastasis and Tricking Cancer - 900 Words

Carcinoma is a cancer that begins to develop in epithelial cells. These cells include the lining or tissue of an organ or in the skin (Australian Institute of Health Welfare Australasian Association of Cancer, 2012). There are two types of carcinoma cells, basal cells and squamous cells (American Cancer Society, 2012). Basal cell carcinomas are the cells that develop in the basal cell layer of the epidermis (American Cancer Society, 2012). Squamous cell carcinomas are cells that are more likely to develop in the fatty tissue beneath the skin (American Cancer Society, 2012). The squamous cell carcinoma are more likely to spread to the lymph nodes and surrounding tissues in the body (American Cancer Society, 2015.†¦show more content†¦Tumour markers are detectable cancer cells that are found in the spinal fluid, urine or blood (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011). They can include enzymes, hormones, antigens or genes (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011).Tumour markers are beneficial, in that they are able to identify high risk cancers in individuals (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011). They also help by diagnosing different cancer types (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011).There are different markers that are able to identify different cancer types (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011). For example, Prostrate-specific antigen (PSA) identifies prostate cancer cells and a-fetoprotein (AFP) identifies Hepatic cancer cells (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011). There is a disadvantage of using tumour markers, and that is that some non-cancerous tissues produce markers (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011). Therefore, to determine whether a patient has cancer, additional tests are necessary (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011). Sentinel nodes are lymph nodes that receive the bodies waste first (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011). It is believed that the cancer cells are metastasised to these nodes before spreading to other nodes of the body (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011). To identify these nodes, dye or a radioa ctive tracer is used to locate the node and determine an accurate stage of cancer (Craft, Gordon Tiziani, 2011). Thrombocytopenia is a