Illusion of free will Essay Example for Free

Illusion of free will Essay In our society, free will is something that is ingrained in our set of beliefs that every citizen of the world should possess. We generally believe that we possess free will because of the choices we make on a day-to-day basis that is generally not forced upon by any direct outside force like in a totalitarian society out of a science-fiction story: the decision of whether or not to go to school in the morning, or finishing an essay at the last minute or allowing the grade to drop for an extra day are excellent examples of my view of free will. In Paul Halbach’s â€Å"The Illusion of Free Will†, he systematically attempts to debunk the debate between the combating theories of free will and hard determinism. He conveys his argument by stating that determinism and free will are incompatible with one another: one cannot exist if the other is true. If he can thoroughly prove that determinism is true, then free will would be deemed incapable with the human condition which we must accept. Holbach breaks down his strategy into two parts, the first of which he explains how the thought process and decision making of human beings are complex, yet mechanical, which boils down to the fight of competing desires. Lastly, he attacks different views on actions people would normally view as explanations of free will. Holbach believes that the human mind makes decisions based on the laws of nature governing the person’s environment; the upbringing, culture, surroundings and countless situations a person has experienced are what determines his or her way of thinking. The causal effects of everything around a man is always what governs every decision he makes, as Holbach states that â€Å"he always acts according to necessary laws from which he has no means of emancipating himself† (Holback 439). He uses the example of presenting a parched man being presented with a fountain and wants to drink from it. Upon realizing that the water in it has been poisoned, the man can still choose whether or not to drink from it. Not drinking the water upon realization of its impurity is a voluntary choice to resist the urge to quench his thirst, although it still stems from the same desire of self-preservation. Regardless of if he does or does not is not of importance because of the prevailing motive behind making either decision, proving that every action one takes is predetermined by an impulse involuntarily generated based on the man’s upbringing and experiences which creates his sense of morals, beliefs, and self-worth, none of which he has any power of influencing. If this is the case, then determinism is true, and free will is only an illusion.

The Different Experience of Puerto Ricans Migration to the United States :: History Historical Puerto Rico Essays

The Different Experience of Puerto Ricans' Migration to the United States Some people are inclined to view the Puerto Rican experience as a historical repetition of earlier migrations to the United States. However, the migration experience of Puerto Ricans to the United States is more complex, as well as one of a kind. Similarities do exist between the migration of Puerto Ricans and that of other groups, however, no other ethnic group has shared the tribulations of the Puerto Rican population. Their experience is different from that of anyone else. When Puerto Ricans migrated to the United States they did it in two major waves. The first wave of emigration occurred in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The second wave occurred from the 1940s to the present. The workings of Bernando Vega and Jose Cruz deal with the different generations of Puerto Ricans that these two waves brought to the United States. While Vega discusses the early emigration of Puerto Ricans to New York City, Cruz discusses the later emigration of Puerto Ricans to Connecticut. Each author describes a different Puerto Rican experience in the United States. The experiences differed in most aspects; from the context in which each wave of emigration occurred to the type of politics that was practiced. After the Spanish American war of 1898, the United States took control of Puerto Rico. In the initial state of US ownership, the Puerto Rican population faced a major dilemma. The island belonged to but was not a part of the United States, and as a result Puerto Ricans held no citizenship. They simply lingered as citizens of nowhere. It was not until the Jones Act of 1917 that Puerto Ricans were granted statutory citizenship which was not equivalent to constitutional citizenship. Not granted full American citizenship by the United States, Puerto Ricans were, on the other hand, granted the right to be drafted into the armed forces during WWI, and also to be recruited as cheap labor for the defense industry during the time of war. Such inequality was not the only thing early Puerto Rican migrants experienced on the island. They also experienced severe economic set backs. Under the domination of the United States, Puerto Rico did not have control over their means of production. Instead, the United States possessed that power and transformed their island into a metropolitan economy. Workers were subjected to the changing demands of US capital expansion, and their migratory movements were shaped accordingly.

Lab 4 Diffusion and Osmosis Essay

1. Diffusion and Osmosis, June 4, 2013 2. Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to help give visual understanding of diffusion which is a solution of high concentration spontaneously (no energy required) moving to an area of low concentration. Also taking a look at osmosis, which is the movement of chemicals across the cell membrane. Osmosis requires some type of energy to be put in for this to happen. After these experiments we should have a better idea and visualization of how chemicals transfer across the cell membrane. 3. Materials: Dropper bottle of water Compound microscope Dissecting needle Carmine powder Slide and coverslip 3 test tubes Transfer pipets 2 400 ml beaker 30 cm moist dialysis tubing 500ml beaker Hot plate Benedicts reagent I2KI solution starch solution Wax pencil 30% glucose solution String or rubber band Test tube rack Slides and cover plates 4. Methods and Procedures: Experiment 1: Prepare a slide of dry carmine and water and cover slip Put under the microscope, examine under the different magnifications, record you findings to later set up your conclusion. Experiment 2: Use dialysis tubing that has been soaking in water, fold it â€Å"accordion style† and use string to close the ends like a bag. Roll opposite end of bag till it opens and add 4 pipettes of 30% glucose into it. Add 4 pipettes of starch solution into it. Mix contents with bag closed. Then rinse with tap water. Add 300 mL of water to a 400- to 500- ml. add a few drops of solution till it turns an amber-yellow color. Leave bag in beaker for 30 minutes. Remove bag then let it dry. Record observations. Experiment 3: Obtain 7 equal size bore hole cylinder from the potato, cut roughly to the same size record the length and weight of each making sure they remain order. Next is to collect 7 cups filled with 100 ml of the 6 different concentrations of glucose (, 0.1 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, and water). Record the time and submerge the potato cylinders in the solutions. Let them sit for an hour and half before removing, weighting and recording the final weight. 5. Observations and data: Experiment 1: Carmine powder observation: movement is random, looks like continuous vibrations Experiment 2: Table 1 Benedicts Test Test final color Before heat of Benedicts test After heat Final Color Water (control) Clear Baby blue Blue Bag Slight yellow Baby blue Yellowish green Beaker Gold Baby blue Orange/pink After letting the bag sit inside the bath for 30 minutes the solution inside the bag went from a clear color to a slight yellow color. And after the final results of benedicts test I can conclude the carbohydrates did move from inside the bag out. My observation concerning the size of the potato cylinder in the glucose decreased as the concentration of glucose increased and the potato in water remained the same size. 6. Conclusion: The carmine powder experiment proved the theory of diffusion because with no energy required you can see the movement of particles under a microscope. Again diffusion is the movement of molecules from high concentration to low concentration with no energy required. On the other hand the experiment concerning osmosis were the dialysis bag and the saturation of the potato. Both experiments demonstrated the movement of sugar or water across a cell membrane. On the dialysis bag experiment we could see the slight color change as the IKI did move across the membrane in to the bag but the big surprise was see that after the benedicts test how strong the sugar content was in the beaker solution. Lastly the potato experiment demonstrated through the change in weight how water could pass through the membrane. As we saw the greater concentration of glucose the more shriveled the potato got, indicating the water inside the potato exited out trying to make the concentration equal. The solution containing strictly water made the potato swell as if the concentration inside was lower than the concentration outside.

Persepolis Assignment - 1402 Words

Satrapi states in the introduction of the 2004 Pantheon version of The Complete Persepolis that Iran, an â€Å"old and great civilization[,] has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism.† She expresses that, â€Å"as an Iranian who has lived more than half of [her] life in Iran, [she] know[s] that this image is far from the truth. This is why writing Persepolis was so important to [her]. [She] believe[s] that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists.† Although Satrapi hopes to convince her mostly Westernized readers that not all Iranians are involved in danger and terrorism, Satrapi strays from her initial motive. Not only does she emphasize the repressive regime in†¦show more content†¦She even decides that she wants to become a prophet when she grows up and develops a list of rules for her ideal society including that â€Å"everybody should have a car,† â€Å"all maids should eat at the table with the others,† and â€Å"no old person should have to suffer† (7). Marjane grows into a strong independent young woman who becomes rebellious because of her direct exposure to the harsh Iranian Revolution and her need to escape the repression. Marjane’s family members and her friend’s family members die every day for the country, but Marjane’s parents never explain to the young girl exactly what occurs outside of their home. Marjane begins to embody a personality that she believes is best for her to fit in with her family and friends in Iran. At age fourteen, Marjane is sent to Austria by her parents to try to protect her from the revolution. She lives in Austria for four years and meets many people that are influential in shaping her identity. They teach her their western ways of life. Unfortunately, she gets involved with drugs and boyfriends that are a bad influence on her. Realizing that she needs to return home to her family, she travels back to the repressive Iranian regime where her family welcomes her and finally includes her in on their discussions of the revolution. Everything considered, Marjane never develops her own identity but rather embodies a different identity around each person she meets; sheShow MoreRelatedPersepolis Marxism Analysis1133 Words   |  5 PagesAdam Gasiewski IH 1– Final Assignment December 14, 2017 Analyzing the Effects of Consumerism in Persepolis The Complete Persepolis, an autobiographical novel by Marjane Satrapi, tells the tale of Marjane’s childhood in Iran. In this story, Marjane (Marji) is brought up by communistic parents. Evidence of this Marxist upbringing is displayed several times throughout the book, like early on in the story when young Marji exclaims that â€Å"it was funny to see how much Marx and God looked like each other†Read MoreGraduation Speech : English Class888 Words   |  4 Pagesessays for most of my grade in a class is not what I was looking forward too. When I entered college I knew that it would be one of many challenging classes I would have to take. Starting from the lowest English class to moving on up, the writing assignments became longer and more thought out. The time came when I got into this class that I knew more work was going to have to be put into essays and thus brought out what I had not seen before in my work progress. At the beginning of this class I wasRead MoreWriting Process After English 115 I Thought, Oh Great, Another English Class And I Am Horrible843 Words   |  4 Pagesstructure of the class to seem quite intriguing. 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In one scene, she writes about a certain period of her life whereRead MoreCultural Imperialism And Iranian Art2292 Words   |  10 PagesGeorge Herbert Mead’s book Mind, Self and, Society â€Å"which argues powerfully that the self is not given at birth, but arises as a result of social interaction.† (Mead, 1934) The same is true with what these women do in art. For example, in the film Persepolis when Marjane is sitting in a coffee shop or restaurant the girls behind her make snide remarks about Iran, which, thus leads her to present her identity as an Iranian women to the girls sitting next to her. This is a strong example her agency toRead MoreAn Evaluation Of Iranian Artist And The Role2283 Words   |  10 PagesGeorge Herbert Mead’s book Mind, Self and, Society â€Å"which argues powerfully that the self is not given at birth, but arises as a result of social interaction.† (Mead, 1934) The same is true with what these women do in a rt. For example, in the film Persepolis when Marjane is sitting in a coffee shop or restaurant the girls behind her make snide remarks about Iran, which, thus leads her to present her identity as an Iranian women to the girls sitting next to her. This is a strong example her agency toRead MoreHow Art Is Affected By Hegemony And Vice Versa2218 Words   |  9 PagesGeorge Herbert Mead’s book Mind, Self and, Society â€Å"which argues powerfully that the self is not given at birth, but arises as a result of social interaction.† (Mead, 1934) The same is true with what these women do in art. For example in the film Persepolis when Marjane is sitting in a coffee shop or restaurant the girls behind her make snide remarks about Iran, which, thus leads her to present her identity as an Iranian women to the girls sitting next to her. This is a strong example her agency to