Can I know what another person is thinking or feeling? If so, how? :: essays papers

Can I know what another person is thinking or feeling? If so, how? The problem of Other Minds is a true philosophical enigma. It is apt to strike children with no philosophical education whatsoever, yet remains intractable to many academics. Broadly speaking, the problem can be divided into three questions. Firstly, how do I come to believe that there are minds in the world other than my own? Secondly, how can I justify my belief that there are minds in the world other than my own? Thirdly, what can I state about the mental states of minds other than my own?. The question we are dealing with here falls largely into the third category, although of course issues relating to the other two will also be involved. Firstly, it is imperative to assert that, in looking for 'knowledge', we are not aiming for logical certainties - we are not aiming to show that any propositions about other minds can be demonstrated with absolute certainty equivalent to that of mathematical truths. Philosophy ever since Descartes has tended to be defined by scepticism: either it aims to produce sceptical theories or it aims to refute them. And sceptics tend towards extremity in their doubts. It must be stated here and now that there are not, and never can be, any theories that prove demonstratively that other minds exist, or that I know others' mental states. This is not what should be aimed at in attempting to solve the problem. As Austin puts it "To suppose that the question 'How do I know that Tom is angry?' is meant to mean 'How do I introspect Tom's feelings?' is simply barking up the wrong gum-tree." Most philosophers agree that their theories only bestow a greater or lesser amount of probability onto statements about other minds (although there are exceptions, e.g. Peter Strawson's attempt to argue transcendentally for the existence of other minds through our own self-consciousness). There have been a number of different attempts to do this. J.S. Mill, who produced the first known formulation of the Other Minds problem, used the so-called 'Argument from Analogy' both to explain how we come to believe in other minds and to justify this belief. Briefly, the argument holds that I am directly aware of mental states in myself, and I am aware of the behaviour of mine that results from and is caused by these mental states. As I can observe similar physical behaviour in others, I draw the analogy that it is caused by the same (or at least similar) mental states to my own.

Medias role in religous conflicts

Media plays a vital role in our daily lives as it influences the way we view certain situations that are taking place in the world. Media can be used as a powerful weapon for propagation to the masses or as an essential tool to help us understand. It also helps us to objectively view a current situation. We also need to remember that most media coverage is meant to inform us about current situations while still being objective.This is to avoid offending anybody which is a good thing but we need o be cautious as this could also mean that the media is with-holding vital Information that could give us a greater understanding of the situation. I have chosen the Issue of the massacre of the Rollway Muslims by the Manner Buddhists in Burma. The conflict started when three Muslim men allegedly raped and murdered a Buddhist girl. 3 days later a mob set upon a bus riding through western Manner and ten Muslim victims were beaten In a frenzy and then urinated upon before the bus was set ablaze .Even though the accused rapists were already sentenced to jail. Now that we understand what happened, the reasoned It happened, and how it happened we automatically feel an Instinct to choose a side. This Is a sign of our dependence on the media. After reading various articles on the matter, the newspaper headlines alone tell me a great deal about the way the article has been written. From world Silent as Muslim Massacre Goes on In Manner† â€Å"We should either kill all the Salary in Burma or banish them otherwise Buddhism will cease to exist†.So the headlines we read are all sculptured by the author's views and so our views re also sculptured. For example I am going to explain two ways in which we can be manipulated by the media with reference to my topic Use of words In the last title you see the use of the word â€Å"salary† this word Is a racial slur used to slander the Raying Muslims. It is used openly in many forms of media and by predominant leaders in M anner. This shows us that there has previously been heightened levels of resentment towards the presence of Muslims in Manner society on a much wider scale.We need to understand the reasons for this resentment if we wish to be objective. Also, the use of adjectives in the source will give you a hint that the author of the source is being biased. This means that the author is being personal and if you are trying to be objective you cannot base your views on the views of others you need facts. An example of this is newspaper articles, magazines. Radio talk shows or government owned news coverage these are all forms of personal and biased people's views.The Information Given 1 OFF sentence highlighted in yellow and did not include the sentence highlighted in green or red. Your view on the situation would have been completely different. That is not just a magic trick that I'm showing you for your amusement. This is exactly how the media controls the way we think, they with-hold informat ion to insure a certain reaction from the masses. For example the Raying Muslims are refugees placed in Manner by the I-JNI. What does this tell you?The Manner Buddhists could've been xenophobic due to the fact that they are afraid of losing their religious heritage and ethnic culture. Also the government would have to now fund the inhabitance of the effuses so the Buddhist would have to pay more taxes. This also shows us that the Muslims were discriminated against for various reasons before the massacre took place, various forms such as racial and religious discrimination. They were also victims of countless attempts of ethnic cleansing by the MILITARY, so it was approved by government, meaning that discrimination against Muslims is an open thing in Manner.The information highlighted in red makes it very clear that there was a great deal of miscommunication, which is another form of media as word of out is also a form of media so we need to understand that yes the raping of the lit tle girl would cause a stir in any society BUT it was clearly not known that the rapists were already persecuted therefore causing the Buddhist to attack the Muslims. My conclusion I am not defending the Buddhists either as they attacked a bus full of innocent bystanders so in no way are they innocent. This shows us how important it is to be an independent thinker and how easy it is to become a victim of propaganda.Choosing a side makes us blind and ignorant to the errors committed by the ones we whose to follow. The media produced by the Burmese government was very much manipulated in order to protect the integrity of their politicians and the worlds view of Burma . The UN has stated before that the Muslims in Manner are one of the most oppressed ethnic groups in the world at that time yet it still insisted on sending refugees to that country The Muslim men who raped that girl should be sentenced to death by public execution as there is no excuse for such an act. These are my opini ons regarding the matter that I have researched

How to Make a Lichtenberg Figure

Lichtenberg figures are branching structures formed by an electrical discharge on or inside of an insulator. The structures take their name from Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, the physicist who discovered and studied them. Although you can  make your own Lichtenberg figure using polyethylene sheets and talcum powder, there is an easier method you may wish to try. Lichtenberg Figure Materials Sharp metal object (e.g., awl)Insulator (e.g., sheet of acrylic)Photocopier toner Make a Lichtenberg Figure Position the metal object so that only its tip is touching the surface of the insulator.If you have a Wimshurst machine or Van de Graaff generator handy, discharge it through the metal point into the acrylic. (Gray Matter has a cool video of what happens if you use a particle accelerator to create the Lichtenberg figure. Note that the hammer is insulated, thus preventing that persons skin from displaying a Lichtenberg figure. Be careful!)If you dont have a machine, youll have to generate static electricity another way, like by dragging your feet through a shag carpet and zapping yourself on the metal object... fun!In either case, you will create a Lichtenberg figure across the surface of the acrylic, radiating outward from the metal point. However, you probably wont be able to see it. If you (carefully) blow toner powder across the surface of the acrylic, the Lichtenberg figure will be revealed.