Friday, January 24, 2020
Science and Morality in Shelleys Frankenstein - Consequences of Technology :: Frankenstein essays
The Consequences of Technology Revealed in Shelley's Frankenstein     In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written in the late nineteenth century, the author proposes that knowledge and technology can be dangerous to individuals and all of humanity. Frankenstein was one of the first cautionary tales about scientific research. Shelley's novel offers profound insight of the consequences of morally insensitive scientific and technological research.  Learn from me. . . at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow (Shelley 101)         The popular belief of how Frankenstein came to be written derives from Shelley herself, who explains in an introduction to the novel that she, her husband Percy Shelly, and Lord Byron set themselves the task of creating ghost stories during a short vacation at a European villa. According to Shelley, the short story she conceived was predicated of the notion as the eighteenth became the nineteenth century that electricity could be a catalyst of life. In her introduction she recalls the talk about Erasmus Darwin, who had preserved a piece of vermicelli in a glass case, till by some extraordinary means it began to move with voluntary motion," (Joseph vii). The extraordinary means forms the basis for Frankenstein. Many people also believe that a nightmare that Mary Shelley had could also be partly responsible for the creation of the novel.         At the time the novel was written, England was on the brink of leading the Industrial revolution in Europe. The experiments of Huntsman (crucible steel manufacture), Newcome (steam-powered pumps), and Cochrane (coal tar production) throughout the eighteenth century in England were decisive in the initial transformation of England into an industrialized country (Burke 137, 173, 195). The emerging age of technology appears to have found followers throughout the culture and to have become firmly reinforced by the time Frankenstein was written. Eric Rabkin (author), says that in England early in the eighteenth century, "there exist a populous discourse community that accepted the rhetoric of science" (Rabkin 39). This rhetoric has proof extending back to the English Renaissance. Those sensitive to change and those prepared to embrace a rhetoric of change need not be scientists. While scientists address a discourse community of scientists, novelists   address a wider discourse community of the literate. If we can accept the earlier argument that science and poetry are not ontologically antagonistic, then we might well hope to find fictional uses of the rhetoric of science . Science and Morality in Shelley's Frankenstein - Consequences of Technology :: Frankenstein essays The Consequences of Technology Revealed in Shelley's Frankenstein     In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written in the late nineteenth century, the author proposes that knowledge and technology can be dangerous to individuals and all of humanity. Frankenstein was one of the first cautionary tales about scientific research. Shelley's novel offers profound insight of the consequences of morally insensitive scientific and technological research.  Learn from me. . . at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow (Shelley 101)         The popular belief of how Frankenstein came to be written derives from Shelley herself, who explains in an introduction to the novel that she, her husband Percy Shelly, and Lord Byron set themselves the task of creating ghost stories during a short vacation at a European villa. According to Shelley, the short story she conceived was predicated of the notion as the eighteenth became the nineteenth century that electricity could be a catalyst of life. In her introduction she recalls the talk about Erasmus Darwin, who had preserved a piece of vermicelli in a glass case, till by some extraordinary means it began to move with voluntary motion," (Joseph vii). The extraordinary means forms the basis for Frankenstein. Many people also believe that a nightmare that Mary Shelley had could also be partly responsible for the creation of the novel.         At the time the novel was written, England was on the brink of leading the Industrial revolution in Europe. The experiments of Huntsman (crucible steel manufacture), Newcome (steam-powered pumps), and Cochrane (coal tar production) throughout the eighteenth century in England were decisive in the initial transformation of England into an industrialized country (Burke 137, 173, 195). The emerging age of technology appears to have found followers throughout the culture and to have become firmly reinforced by the time Frankenstein was written. Eric Rabkin (author), says that in England early in the eighteenth century, "there exist a populous discourse community that accepted the rhetoric of science" (Rabkin 39). This rhetoric has proof extending back to the English Renaissance. Those sensitive to change and those prepared to embrace a rhetoric of change need not be scientists. While scientists address a discourse community of scientists, novelists   address a wider discourse community of the literate. If we can accept the earlier argument that science and poetry are not ontologically antagonistic, then we might well hope to find fictional uses of the rhetoric of science .
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Positive Psychology Paper Essay
Positive Psychology            Positive psychology is a new branch of psychology founded by Dr Martin Seligman, who is the Director of the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center. This branch is defined as â€Å"the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive†(Seligman, 2007). In addition, positive psychology is â€Å"founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play†(Seligman, 2007). As a critique, developing such field may be beneficial to human and in turn, to society. Being aware of what positive psychology entails and applying these in life will promote healthy relationships as this field aims to promote â€Å"positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions†(Seligman, 2007). Then again, one possible setback for the development of this new branch of psychology is seeing all the others as negative.            Generally, researchers value positive psychology as an essential part in the aim of studying the entire spectrum of human experience.  Researchers of this field do acknowledge the existence of the negative aspects of life such as hardships and dysfunctions, however, aim to study the other side of the coin. This includes joys, good feelings and functional institutions. Studies say that humans, by nature, easily recall the negative events than the good ones. Basing from this, a positive perspective and a healthy state of mind should be set. One effective way of fighting the negative is to list every good thing that occurred during the day and contemplating on them. This should be done despite having a bad day. To be happy, one must develop the initiative to dwell on the good and appreciate one’s blessings. One should exert conscious efforts to dispel the ugly and replace them with positive and pleasant thoughts. Reference Seligman, M. â€Å"Authentic happiness†University of Pennsylvania Website. Retrieved     February 27, 2008, from http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx Â
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
The Stick-Built House (In Situ)
A stick-built home is a wooden framed house constructed on a building site piece by piece (or stick by stick). It describes the process or how a home is built. Manufactured, modular, and prefabricated homes are not classified as stick-built, because they are made mostly in the factory, transported to the site, and then assembled. A custom home and a home made according to stock building plans may both be stick-built, provided that they are constructed board-by-board on the land where they will remain. Stick-built describes the construction method and not the design. Other names for stick-built homes include site built, hard construction, and in situ. What Is In Situ? In situ is Latin for in place or in position. It can be pronounced a number of ways, including in-SIT-oo, in-SITCH-oo, and most correctly in-SEYE-too. Because commercial architecture is not generally made out of sticks of wood, the Latin in situ is often used to describe a process of building commercial properties or, more often, producing construction materials on site. For example, in situ concrete means cast-in-place concrete. That is, the concrete is molded and cured (i.e., cast) on the construction site, as opposed to pre-cast concrete (e.g., columns or beams made in a factory and transported to the construction site). One of the green methods used for the London 2012 summer Olympic Games was to provide a batching plant onsite, a one-source supplier of low-carbon concrete for all of the builders of Olympic Park. Concrete was mixed and poured in situ. In situ construction methods are thought to be more environmentally friendly. The main reason behind this belief is reducing the harmful effects of transporting beam after beam and pier after pier. Pros and Cons of Stick-Built Homes A common perception is that stick-built homes are better constructed, last longer, and have a better resale value than prefabricated or modular homes. This perception may or may not be true. Comparisons depend on the quality of the manufactured product versus the workmanship of a builder or carpenter. The major advantage for the home builder is in control. The contractor is in command of the materials and how they are assembled. Likewise, home owners also have certain administrative rights as they can oversee the piece-by-piece construction of their investment when its built in situ. Disadvantages: Common perceptions against stick-built homes involve time and money  that is, stick-built homes take more time to build and they cost more than house pieces built off-site and simply assembled onsite. Competitors also claim that continuous construction traffic to and from the building site makes the stick-built process less than a green building environment. These perceptions may or may not be true. Pushback From Prefabricators Stick-building is a traditional method being challenged by the marketers of modular and prefabricated methods. American Custom Builders, an independent modular home builder in Defiance, Ohio, describes why a system of prefabrication is better than stick built for these reasons: Stick built home have no controlled environment like a factory does  building outdoors in humidity and water can damage wood and cause delays. They say: A stick builder cannot control the weather....Our homes are all built indoors under a temperature controlled environment.Frame carpenters can take short-cuts youll never know about. They say: With An All American Home they use jigs to make sure the walls are straight and square.Stick-built homes take three times longer to build than prefabricated homes. They say: When the house is delivered, we will have it up in aprox. 9 hours.Homes built off-site are less expensive. They say: Will match our prices against his, any day! In Situ Architecture In situ architecture is a structure designed for a particular place, a specific environment, and a known site. Stick-built houses may be constructed onsite, but that doesnt mean that the building was designed architecturally for that land. Portland, Oregon architect Jeff Stern seeks to create architecture that is site specific....to capture the experience of a particular place; how the sunlight falls, and the rise and fall of the land....maintain and create strong views, maximize daylight and natural ventilation, and generally create a place better than when we began. The name of his architectural firm is In Situ Architecture. Resources and Further Reading BOCA Built, American Custom Builders, http://www.americancustombuilder.com/bocabuilt.htm [accessed September 8, 2015]About In Situ Architecture, http://www.insituarchitecture.net/about/ [accessed September 8, 2015]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)