English140 Blog

  PLATO QUESTIONS: 1. Consider the issue of what it is we know when we rely on our senses. Is sensory knowledge as unreliable as Plato thinks it is? Everyones perception is based on a number of aspects and factors. T o an extent that what Plato states is true, and he has very good logic behind his statements.  Which sometimes what he says is very true that if you rely on your senses you can easily misjudge what is going on.  But in other situation’s sensory knowledge can be very reliable and true. 2. Are we materialistic when we praise sense perception? What are the alternatives to any such materialism arising from overvaluing (or solely valuing) sense experience? Most people are very materialistic when they praise sense perception. People are constantly concerned about how they look. People care about their hair, makeup, clothes, shoes, and really anything on their body appears. In this generation people can cover themselves with materialistic items and create and cove...

  Virginia Woolf: 1. It is useful to point out that this essay was originally delivered to women students at two Oxford colleges. Ask your students to identify what evidence there is to suggest Woolf was aware of the nature of her audience. Virginia Woolf knew that her targeted audience was women and the difficult things they went through. She talks a lot about how different women and men were and how women now should be grateful for what they are able to do versus how hard they had to work for little things back then. 2. What do the chapter headings from Trevelyan’s History of England (para. 6) reveal about historians’ concerns? The chapter headings from Trevelyan's History of England reveals that people were concerned about how he never said how he was guilty for saying that famine was an effective way for reducing population.  3. What would Woolf propose as the most important changes in society that would alter the situation most talented women find themselves in? Why does ...

  1. Define the phrase "pernicious effects" on the basis of what is stated in the essay. Mary Wollstonecraft explains what life was like when women were a part of the war and then when they were told to do the domestic roles. She writes “A woman’s rank in life requires her to be dependent and charged with motherhood and denies her the opportunity to think and act for herself; men may unfold their faculties by becoming soldiers and statesmen.”If  Wollstonecraft were to look at women like they were expected to complete these duties and nothing more and this is her exact meaning of pernicious effects.  2. Is it possible to compare women with property on the basis of this essay? When this essay was written,  women were considered property and men had much more power over them.. Men had the right to control their wives, while “ The most respectable women are the most oppressed and usually become contemptible only because they are treated like contemptible beings in their ...

  1. What is the basis of scientific pedagogy for Montessori?  The Montessori Pedagogy was written from observations and the discovery of Maria Montessori. She prepared many activities to help children with their development and realized if children can work in an organized prepared environment, they will likely be more independent and have self control.  2. How does school furniture affect the education of the child? Montessori learning is very hands on and collaborative. Here she was given a room with fifty small children aged between two and seven to take care of and teach. She expanded on her knowledge developed in her psychiatric observations. Montessori had no equipment or materials and made do with whatever she could find to awaken the children’s senses Montessori began introducing ideas of allowing the children to choose what materials they want to work with, and the teacher guides the process by offering age appropriate activities. 3. What effect does freedom ha...

  1. How would you defend Smith’s views as expressed in this essay? In what sense is he right in establishing the “natural progress of opulence” as you observe it yourself? He describes the world as he knows it in his own time and then imagines how it might have become that way. How well does he satisfy your curiosity about the way in which nations grow rich? Adam Smith's views were expressed in many different ways. He expressed them with modernity and continued to inform people of their understanding of current economic trends. He established the “natural progress of opulence” by establishing the steps by which a nation capitalizes on their wealth and becomes wealthy. He agreed with natural developments and that they take their own time. I agree with how he words his rhetoric and how he is interested in how everything takes its own course.  2. Smith places a great deal of faith in the value of land for maintaining wealth. Since most people today, including wealthy people, d...

  Galbraith: 1. One of Galbraith’s most basic premises is that America is now an affluent society. Examine in detail the society that you know for the purposes of validating or contradicting that assertion. Is America an affluent society? What are the signs of affluence? What qualifies as affluence? What are the results of affluence? John Kenneth Galbraith writes, “An affluent society that is also both compassionate and rational would, no doubt, secure to all who needed it the minimum income essential for decency and comfort” (Galbraith Paragraph 17). This means that the not well-being wouldn’t be pushed on the children of families. Scarcity of resources isn’t common, and the economy is being reached by a majority of the members in a population/society. Qualities of affluence include having wealth and property, luxuries, and several other charming items. People who are happy and aren’t struggling to pay for utilities and other important aspects of their lives are those who live in ...