Cave present us with a coherent picture of Platos ideas Essay Example for Free

Cave present us with a coherent picture of Platos ideas Essay The purpose of the simile of the Sun is to show the difference between knowledge and opinion. In the world of opinion the sun gives light for us to gain empirical knowledge through sight. Objects (such as tables and mugs) and concepts (such as beauty and love) are part of the world of opinion because they are detected by our senses. The Form of beauty (or love) exists in the realm of the Forms. Plato believed that the Form of good gives philosophers knowledge of the Forms. The Form of Good gives the minds eye the power of knowledge and illuminates other Forms with truth and reality. In this way the Form of good allows us to see other forms and ultimately it allows us to see the form of good. The sun is also the source of all growth, and thus the Form of good is the source of all the Forms, and the cause of all existence. In the Sun, Platos idea is that visibility is opinion and the Form of good gives us the reality behind visibility knowledge of the Forms. The divided line goes into more depth on Platos previous idea. Although an abstract example, Plato uses it to try and make his idea simpler. Plato believed that there were four different states of the mind, and four different states of reality, both progressing from a lower level (illusion / images and shadows) to a higher level (intelligence / Forms). The lowest level is the second hand images of physical things. As Plato thought that physical things were just in the mind anyway, a shadow of a physical thing is the lowest form of knowledge, which corresponds to illusion in the mind. The next step up is physical things, which also covers sciences as they are based on the study of physical things. Belief is the empirical knowledge of physical thing, but is still opinion. The upper half of the divided line has mathematical reasoning, which is part of deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning does not rely on empirical knowledge and so mathematical reasoning is not based on belief. The reasoning perceives mathematical ideas, which are based on some belief (such as seeing a square, you have a mathematical idea about the square), but these ideas do not rely on belief. The highest kind of knowledge in the mind is intelligence, which can only be reached by the philosopher. Mathematical reasoning leads to intelligence, but mathematical ideas (part of the intelligible world) lead to knowledge of the Forms. In the idea of the Divided Line, Plato is showing us in more detail the differences between knowledge and opinion. He suggests progressions from both illusion to pure thought, and from the less real (images and shadows) to the truly real (the Forms). He also makes two clear distinctions between the world of knowledge and opinion (in the mind), and the world of appearances and the intelligible world (in reality). Platos idea of the Forms and the distinctions between the mind and reality have been coherent between the Sun and the Divided Line both showing very similar ideas but in different attentions to detail. There is a slight incoherence though. In the simile of the Sun, Plato tells us that the Form of good gives us power to see all forms, yet in the Divided Line it is unclear if the Form of good gives any power at all, as it appears to be mathematical ideas which allow us to perceive the Forms. It may be though that these mathematical ideas simply give way to the Form of good so it can allow us to see the Forms. The Simile of the Cave moves into more specific detail on the accent of the mind from illusion to knowledge, shown by the prisoners accent from the cave to the outside world (intelligible world). The simile is also an example of the divided line, using ideas put forward such as shadows, physical things, illusion, the Forms (the Sun) etc. Like the Sun simile Plato depicts the Form of good as the greatest of all lights. There is a road between the fire and cave, maybe to portray a clear conversion from illusion to intelligence. There are people talking outside holding statues. Their voices and the images of the statues are projected into the cave, and the prisoners believe these are real. The people trapped in the cave are all looking at shadows of statues (images themselves) projected against the wall, and therefore are doubly ignorant. Plato allows a prisoner to be released, and he walks towards the fire where he is dazzled. It hurts him, and he is told that the people on the road are real and that the shadows are nonsense. He returns to the cave: choosing illusion. Plato is showing a would-be philosopher failing his journey of knowledge, due to a flawed character. Later on, the prisoner is taken into the sunlight and held until his eyes grow accustomed to the sunlight. Once accustomed he can see shadows and reflections within time. Plato here brings in the idea from the simile of the Sun, creating a coherent idea between the two similes, that the Form of good (the Sun) allows the philosopher to see other things until finally he can see the forms, and finally the Form of good itself (the Sun). Through duty the prisoner returns to the cave and is blinded by the darkness. This is an idea Plato has that the eyes can be blinded by the light and by the dark, as the mind can be confused by greater and lesser minds. This continues a coherent idea of Platos from the Sun simile, the idea of the Sun and the Mind, or if we were to bring the Divided Line into this, Reality and the Mind. So far Plato has created a seemingly coherent picture of knowledge and opinion. After descending from the Forms the prisoner tells the other prisoners the statues. He has seen the Form of justice and they have only seen the shadow of justice, and so they hold different views and therefore he is put on trial. Plato here is showing societys view of the philosopher ruler in a similar way as he does with the simile of the Ship. The different states of the Mind in the Divided Line are straight comparisons to features of the Cave. Illusion is the shadows cast by firelight; belief is the statues of things and the fire; mathematical reasoning is the shadows and reflections of real things of which the images are made; intelligence is the things themselves (moon and stars), and finally the Form of Good is the Sun. Plato uses a coherent idea throughout as appears to use similar / the same ideas in each of his similes (i.e., The Sun the Form of Good). There are problems in each of the similes and they all have points where they break down and lose a certain amount of coherence. In the simile of the Sun, although Plato would not have known at the time, the eyes are not charged up by the Sun, like he wanted us to think. Within the simile, therefore, the Form of Good no longer charges the mind with the power of seeing the Forms, but rather casts light onto other Forms. This is not what Plato wanted to portray. In the Sun, Plato explores the idea of the Sun being the ultimate Form in detail, but in the Cave, the sun itself is forgotten, and is seen more as a goal, or object, than as a metaphor for knowledge. Plato uses the fire and statues in more detail than the sun in the Cave simile, giving a better explanation of knowledge, which creates incoherence between the use of the sun in the Sun simile and its use in the Cave. In the simile of the Cave, mathematical ideas are not mentioned at all, not even in the accent to the Forms. This breaks down the idea of the Divided Line. A solution would be though that in the Divided Line, mathematical ideas are implied rather than stated: Plato may not even have mentioned the idea of mathematical ideas. This may be a reason why Plato did not mention them in the Cave. Plato says the prisoners only perceive shadows, which means the lowest level of knowledge illusion. This implies that Athenians cannot even see physical things, which is absurd because, unless all Athenians are blind, they will be able to visibly see objects such as tables, chairs, knifes etc. He also contradicts what he said earlier in the section on the Philosopher Ruler, that people in general only experience opinion / belief. This is only a problem if we use a strict interpretation, and in that case it would not be a simile at all, as similes should be open to wide interpretation. Another problem occurring in the Cave is that the shadows are used to describe illusion once, and mathematical reasoning another time. If we take the Divided Line, shadows should show illusion, and mathematical reasoning should be based upon physical things and a certain amount of belief. Plato has misused his metaphor of shadows in one of these similes and created an inconsistency. Although Plato has given us a clear picture of what his idea of knowledge and opinion is, and how the Form of Good fits into it, he has left many questions unanswered and a lot of gaps which need filling. His similes have been written and laid out in such a way that they can be interpreted in many varying, some contradictory fashions. This leads to the question of did Plato actually know himself where he was going with his arguments, or did he make them up as he went along? I personally think he thought them out well, but had to manipulate some things to fit in with his line of reasoning. This is perhaps a reason why these three similes are partly incoherent.

Stephen King Essay -- essays research papers

The Master Of Malice   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn’t in the middle of the room. Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around† states Stephen King in his book On Writing (94). Stephen King is a world-renowned author for his works in horror fiction, fiction, cinema and television. He has published more than forty novels and written nine screenplays (Adams 1). Stephen King draws a great deal of his inspiration from his surroundings, his job and his life experiences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947. Stephen came as a surprise to his parents, Nellie Ruth and Pillsbury King. Mrs. King was told she would never conceive. The couple had adopted a son, David, Stephen’s older brother. When Stephen was just a toddler his parents divorced. Nellie moved Stephen and David to Indiana for a short time then to Connecticut. At the age of twelve, Stephen’s small family moved back to Maine (Stephen King.com 1-2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stephen showed an interest in writing at a young age. When he was growing up his brother would allow Stephen to write articles for â€Å"Dave’s Rag†, his brothers independently published newspaper (Full Biography 2). Throughout his childhood he would read articles from horror comics and become inspired. He began to write short stories and sell them to his mother’s friends for a nickel (King On Writing 15). Stephen graduated from Lisbon Falls High School where he was sought after to be on the newspaper staff. Stephen sold his first professional story to Starting Mystery Stories in 1967 (Stephen King.com 1-2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stephen King met his wife, Tabitha, while attending the University of Maine at Orono. Tabitha and Stephen were married in January of 1971. The couple lived in a small apartment; their only source of income was Stephen’s salary as a laborer at an industrial laundry. In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching sophomore English in Hampden Maine and working on short stories on the evenings and weekends. In 1973, his first novel Carrie was published. Not long after that his second novel ‘Salam’s Lot was published. With the money made from the two novels Stephen and Tabith... ...e natural talent (Adams 2-3). King believes that a strong desire to write is what fuels brilliant story telling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Write what you like, then imbue it with life and make it unique by blending in your own personal knowledge of life, friendship, relationships, sex and work† (King On Writing 157). Stephen King is the 2003 recipient of The National Book Foundation Medal For Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He is also the world’s best selling novelist (Stephen King.com 2). When Stephen is not writing he spends his time playing guitar in a rock band called â€Å"Rock Bottom Remainders† (Full Biography 5). The way King parallels his life with his writing without making it seem like every story is a biography is amazing. His stories are compelling and inspiring. â€Å"These are just interests which have grown out of my life and thoughts, out of my experiences as a boy and a man, out of my roles as a husband, a father, a writer and a lover† (King 208). Stephen King is a phenomenal author who has written many classics of the twenty-first century. He has cleverly told the world about himself and his life through his immortal words.

Hipaa Violation

Course Project Rough Draft MGH HIPAA violation case Jennifer Brummage Medical Law and Ethics In the health care business, there are certain standards and laws that have been put in place to protect our patients and their personal health information. When a health care facility fails to protect their patient’s confidential information, the US Government may get involved and facilities may be forced to pay huge sums of money in fines, and risk damaging their reputation. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was established in 1996. This Act was put into place in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system. The HIPAA law includes a Privacy rule and a Security Rule. Hospitals, Doctors, and employees in the medical field are expected to adopt the national standards and aim to keep patient information confidential. When a hospital or medical employee fails to meet the standards set, lawsuits can ensue and they can be fined large sums of money relating to the incident. The Privacy Rule establishes national standards to protect individual’s medical records and other personal health information and applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers that conduct certain health care transactions electronically. The Privacy rule requires appropriate safeguards to protect personal health information. The rule also gives patients’ rights over their health information, including rights to examine and obtain a copy of their health records. The Security protects individual’s electronic personal health information that is created, received, used or maintained by a covered entity. The Security rule requires appropriate administrative, physical and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of electronic protected health information. The Office for Civil rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing the HIPAA standards. When a complaint is filed, it is the job of the OCR to investigate. OCR may also conduct compliance reviews to determine if the health organization is in compliance with the HIPAA laws. When the OCR accepts a complaint from an individual, they will notify the person and the covered entity named in it. Then both parties will submit information about the incident. The OCR will review the information to determine whether or not a violation has occurred. When violations have occurred and have been proven, the US Government will impose a fine that they see appropriate. When Health organizations such a private medical practices, hospitals, and clinics fail to meet the standards described in the HIPAA act, investigations, bad press, and fines are surely to follow. There have been a number of cases in the past few years that have been investigated for HIPAA violations. One of the more recent and highly publicized cases was that of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). On March 6, 2009 is was reported that an employee of MGH had removed from the hospitals premises a folder of documents that included the private healthcare information (PHI) of approximately one hundred and ninety two patients. The employee had removed the folder from the hospital’s medical records room, so that she could bring her work home with her in order to complete some paperwork. The information that was included in these files were documents that had billing encounter forms that contained the names of the patients, their date of birth, social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, medical record number, the patients diagnoses and proposed course of treatment, their provider and the providers address and phone numbers. The folder also contained documents that included the practices daily office schedule for three days and the medical record number for 192 patients. The employee was aware that she was not permitted to remove this confidential information from the hospital premises. In doing so, she violated the HIPAA law. On March 9, 2009, the employee who removed the documents from the hospital was commuting to work on a subway train. According to the complaint that was filed, the employee had removed the folder containing the documents from her bag and placed them in the seat beside her. The documents were not in an envelope and they were bound only by a rubber band. Upon exiting the train, the MGH employee left the documents on the subway train. The documents were never recovered. This incident was later reported to the Office of Civil rights (OCR) by a patient who was informed by the hospital that his medical records had been lost by an employee and left them on a subway train. The One hundred and ninety two patients involved had been patients of the hospitals Infectious Disease outpatient practice, which includes HIV/AIDS patients. The fact that the patients involved in this case were potentially AIDS patients, made the violation that much more serious. Investigators had to take in to account that these people had their medical records lost, and in those records were their phone numbers and addresses and possibly their place of employment. If these documents fell into the wrong hands, the potential for destroying the patients’ lives was very high. Had a person with malicious intent got ahold of their information, they could have harassed the patient and possibly spread their personal information around, which could have had devastating consequences. The Office of Civil Rights began their investigation of Massachusetts General following the March 2009 Complaint. Because of the potential violations that MGH faced, they agreed to pay the United State Government $1,000,000 to settle potential fines. MGH is one of the nation’s largest and oldest hospitals. The Hospital is highly regarded and respected, and many hospitals took notice when the investigation into possible HIPAA security law violations began. In addition to agreeing to pay the United States Government one million dollars, the hospital and the General Hospital Corporation agreed to sign a Resolution Agreement with the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agreement required that the hospital develop and implement a comprehensive set of policies and procedures to safeguard the privacy of its patients. In signing this resolution agreement, it was the HHS hope that other hospitals and clinics throughout the nation would recognize that the OCR is very serious about investigation every claim that is filed with them. The OCR wants other hospitals to see that if a violation has occurred and a patient’s privacy has been violated, there will be consequences. The OCR wanted to make an example out of Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition to the fines and the signing of the resolution agreement, OCR and HHS asked MGH to enter into a Corrective Action Plan. The HHR wanted the hospital and its employees to not only be held responsible and made an example out of, they also wanted the hospital to raise the awareness of its employees. The Corrective Action Plan (CAP) was designed to develop and implement a comprehensive set of policies and procedures that ensure the patient’s private health information is protected when Removed from the hospitals premises. It was to ensure that the employees were trained and informed of the new policies and procedures so that future mistakes could be prevented. The hospital was also required to have the Director of Internal Audit Services of Partners HealthCare System Inc. to serve as an internal monitor who will conduct assessments of MGH’s compliance with the CAP and render semi-annual reports to the HHS for a 3 year period. It was the mistake of one person that caused so many changes in MGH’s system. It was a costly mistake, but ultimately is has helped the United States Government make hospitals aware that if the standards set are not followed then there will be consequences. The HIPAA laws that are set in place are meant to protect patients. Even the US Government and the employees of MGH are someone’s patients, and they would also want their privacy respected. Hospitals across the nation, private practices, doctors and healthcare facilities should take notice, they need to make sure their employees are trained and informed of the policies and procedures regarding patient’s privacy and security. Every hospital in the nation should raise their own standards so that they are above the ones set for them. Patients will take notice and be appreciative and more trusting when receiving care. In conclusion, this HIPAA violation could have possibly been prevented had MGH implemented the Action Plan in the beginning. The hospital should have had a program that required all employees to take prior to starting work with the hospital. Had the employee that left the documents on the subway been through a class on HIPAA laws and the correct way of handling PHI, maybe the incident never would have occurred. Hospitals should hold a class as part of the hiring process to thoroughly train their employees on this issue. It could be used as a preventive measure and save the hospital from large fines in the future. References * FierceHealthcare. com, HIPAA violations. Feb 25 2011 (54198) * HHS. gov. News Release MGH HIPAA violation. Feb 24 2011 * US Department of Health and Human Services. HIPAA Law, July 19, 2011 * Zigmond J, Modern Healthcare, ISSN: 0160-7480, 2011 Feb 28; Vol. 41 (9), pp. 13 * http://www. hhs. gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/index. html

The Shack By William P. Young - 1619 Words

â€Å"Evangicalism† in The Shack Despite its messages in regard to religion, faith, and God which have touched many people, The Shack by William P. Young has been denounced by many conservative Christian critics and writers, some who have gone so far as to call the book â€Å"heresy† (Woodbridge 77). Thus, there is apparently a difference between how general readers read and interpret the content of this book and how conservative Christian readers look at it. The divergence of viewpoint on The Shack represents an interesting matter as such a conflict might be seen as negatively affecting the popularity of this book, but that has not been the case. Analysis of The Shack will focus on the the two different reactions to this book, positive by many personal readers but negative by conservative Christian readers. To begin with, one has to recognize these two sets of readers bring completely different backgrounds to their readings of this novel. Of course, the conserv ative Christian readers bring their theological education and experiences to their reading. For this reason, they might be considered to approach the reading of the novel from a distinctly biased background. Their knowledge and experience is focused on traditional conservative Christian theology and teachings. Such theology and teachings, for the Christian critics of The Shack, have been based on the evangelical tradition in the U.S. in which the salvation of the individual requires the development of anShow MoreRelatedThe Shack By William P. Young1508 Words   |  7 Pagesbook was published. William P. Young wrote The Shack with the intention of just giving it to friends, and close family, but then hose people wanted to share it with their friends. He took the book to over twenty publishing companies, and the all turned it down, and so Young eventually decided to self publish his book. He ended up selling over a million copies of his book from his garage. 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