Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Safety Precautions for Nurses while delivering Medications to Patients Essay
Safety Precautions for Nurses while delivering Medications to Patients - Essay Example ââ¬Å"A medication error is any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. Such events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing; order communication; product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use" (National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, 2012, p. 1). From the definitions, these errors are an action that are apparently committed and are divergent from the intended act; and, as a consequence fails to adhere to the principles of safety and conformity to the delivery of the highest quality of patient care, as expected from the health care profession. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) appropriately provided definitions of patient safety and quality of care as presented from the paper written by Mitchell. Accordingly, the IOM was reported to have provided the definition of quality as ââ¬Å"the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledgeâ⬠(Lohr, 1990; cited in Mitchell, 2008, p. 1). As such, quality of care incorporates elements that ensures patient safety and the delivery of highy quality of health services. Concurrently, patient safety was defined by the IOM as ââ¬Å"the prevention of harm to patientsâ⬠(Aspden, Corrigan, Wolcott, & al., 2004; cited in Mitchell, 2008, p. 2). The nursing theory that espouses both patient safety and quality of care is adherence to the principles of beneficence and least harm: to do good and to possibly inflict the minimum possible harm, if not at all preventable. In this regard, several studies have already tried to
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Different Forms Of Democracy
Different Forms Of Democracy The preceding paper describes democracy in detail. It discusses different forms of democracy. The difference between liberal democracy and democracy has also been analyzed in this paper. It puts light on the seven institutional guarantees of liberal democracy and examines each of the institutional guarantees in detail. Most of the people around the globe are familiar to the word democracy but its meaning is often misunderstood by the ton at occasions when marshal law administrators, single-party governments and military groups acquire the support of millions of people by claiming that they are a democratic government. The word democracy has been derived from the Greek word demos which means people. Democracy can be defined as a form of government in which the supreme power belongs to the people of the nation. In some forms of democracy this power is exercised, directly, by the people of the nation. In other forms, however, this power is being exercised by the agents that are being elected by the general public. According to Abraham Lincoln, democracy can be defined as the government of the people, by the people, for the people. (Cincotta , 2006) The word democracy is often used in place of freedom, but these two words are not synonyms. Although, democracy consists of ideas and theories regarding freedom but it also consists of rules, procedures and policies that have been carved through history. Democracy, therefore, can be defined as an institutionalized form of freedom. (Cincotta, 2006) Types of Democracy: The five major types of democracy are as follows: Direct Democracy: This form of democracy does not advocate the selection of rulers by the general public or the ruled instead it denies the concept that there is any difference between the ruler and the ruled. In such a form all the adult citizens get together to shape the laws and policies for the nation. In other words, we can say that the government and the general public become one. (Democracy,) Deliberative Democracy: It is the form of democracy in which the general public, not just the political personalities, deeply get engaged in the process of public decision making. The citizens also take part in the problem solving processes. The citizens, who are the representatives of a wide variety of stakeholders, who are generally trained by professional experts come together to discuss various facts and concepts from the diversified point of views. They talk to each other and consider various options that are presented to them. They also critically analyze the tension that underlies most of the decisions related to public issues. In the end, the citizens as well as the politicians reach a conclusion or a decision that is being made by both public and political opinion. Most of the countries, nowadays, are trying to employ the deliberative form of democracy. (Carcasson Sprain, 2010) Representative Democracy In this form of democracy people elect representatives who rule them. Most of the nations in todays world are representative democracies. In such nations, a flag represents a nation, a lawyer represents a client and elected politicians represent the nation on international and national levels. The rulers or the representatives allow the general public to have considerable influence or control over them. According to Joseph Schumpeter, representative democracy gives the general public the right to accept or refuse the person who would rule them. (Democracy,) Liberal Democracy Liberal democracy can also be defined as limited government. It limits the authority of the government in order to secure the liberty and the freedom of the public. It also seeks to defend the rights of the minority and to protect the minority from the major danger that is being by democracy, the tyranny and oppression of the majority. This form of government can be defined as the rule of the law rather than the men. In this form of government the rulers are subjected to follow the constitutions and laws. These constitutions consist of rules regarding individual rights. If a citizen feels that he is being exploited by the government then he can raise a dispute in the judicial institutions. (Democracy,) Illiberal or Electoral Democracy In this type of democracy, the leaders or rulers pay no or very little attention to the rights of the individual citizens. The process of democracy is limited to the elections. And in some cases the elections are also disrupted by the influence of the rulers and they may turn the election process in favor of their party. (Democracy,) Difference between Democracy and Liberal Democracy Democracy or presidential form of government can be defined as a form of government where strong decisions are being made immediately in a short period of time and are implemented as well. It is a form of government where the voice of people is valued more than the freedom of the government. According to Schmitt, liberal democracy can be identified with plurality, compromise and indecision. In such a system the freedom of individuals is valued a lot. The decision making process in this form is very lengthy and weak. The decisions made in this form of government, are temporary and do not provide a permanent solution for any problem. Nowadays, in the parliamentary or a liberal form of government the real decisions are being made by the executive committee members behind the closed doors and the parliament is being treated as a debate house. This indicates that the present form of liberal democracy is moving away from its basic objective, public decision making. In a democracy, unlike l iberal democracy where public decision making is practiced, there is a set of rules and regulations which is being followed to make all the important decisions. According to Schmitts theoretical approach, a democracy may exist in a real world but it is nearly impossible for a liberal democracy to exist and sustain in the real world. (Stewart, 2002) Institutional Guarantees Provided by Liberal Democracy For the liberal democracy to exist, it must fulfill the following institutional guarantees; Freedom to Form and Join Organizations All the individuals have complete freedom to join the organization (political) of their choice or they may form their own political organization. For example, the United States of America allows its citizens to freely form and join political organizations. There are about 29 minor and 5 major political parties in the United States of America. Freedom of Expression: All the citizens of a liberal democracy have a right to express their views freely. For example, public demonstrations in different democratic states clearly represent the fact that the general public in democratic states has a complete right to express their views. Inclusive Suffrage: This condition provides all individuals the right to cast the vote and to elect the government. The liberal democracy, for example, provides men and women an equal right to cast the vote whereas; in the previous times women were being neglected in the case of casting votes. The Right to Run for an Office This means that the individual citizens as well as the political candidates have a right to run for a political office in a liberal democracy. For example, in different states many private candidates run for different offices, such as Ross Perrot, who ran for US presidential elections in 1992. Right of Political Leaders to Compete for Vote and Support A liberal democracy allows all the political candidates to compete with each other in legal ways to get their voted and support. For example, different political leaders arrange mass political campaigns in order to convince the people to vote for them. Availability of Alternative Information It is the right of the people to have complete information about all the alternative options available for them. The liberal governments, for example, provide all possible information and complete profiles (including their asset count, net income) of the potential candidates to the general public. Free and Fair Elections It is the responsibility of the government in a liberal democracy to conduct free and fair elections so that the deserving candidate may win and the people may get what they want. For instance, the government posts military officials at various polling stations so that the elections may be conducted peacefully. In addition to that, various policies have been designed by a number of governments in order to avoid vote tracking. Conclusion The increase in transition, from an authoritarian form of government, to democracy has led towards an increase in the number of corrupt governments and system failures. In a survey conducted in third world countries, it was reported that the majority of the people (about 74 percent) said that democracy is the best form of government but they (about 55 percent) also indicated that they would not mind having an authoritarian leader if that would lead towards better economic conditions. Democracy has its pros and cons, but if managed properly, this form of government can bring the best out of a nation and its people. (Howard, 2011)
Friday, October 25, 2019
History of the Novel :: Free Essay Writer
The arrival of the novel was not a sudden process. Stories have existed among mankind since the cave man began drawing on the walls. From the Bible to Homer's epic poems to Shakespeare's plays the evolution of the novel has been a gradual but steady process. Now it must be made clear that books existed before the eighteenth century, fiction was writtenââ¬âhowever, the idea of a ââ¬Ënovelââ¬â¢ did not come into existence until the 1700s. Although there is no way to credit the ââ¬Ëfirstââ¬â¢ novel, however there are at least three ââ¬Å"groups of worksâ⬠which can be designated as the novels ââ¬Å"predecessorsâ⬠(Stoddard 30). These three consist of: 1. The Greek Romances "All that we have of it is evidence, more or less complete, of the existence of eight tales" (Stoddard 30) including the story of Nimrod, the story of Dinias and the story of Sinonis. These are stories of adventure and romance. According to Stoddard, these stories focus mainly on external events. These stories do not discuss the internal emotions of the hero. It is a story "wholly external depicting only adventures of the body, of the physical senses" (Stoddard 35). 2. The Italian and Spanish Romances These texts have "vastly influenced the literature of Europe" (Stoddard 39). Although they are similar to the Greek romances with their adventurous tales, there is a more sentimental feel to these stories. These texts take the "pastoral" idea of romance and images of the sentimental lover and longing for the past come into mind. "They are not the novel" (Stoddard 41) but when studying these works, one can see the influence the played on the eighteenth century novel. 3. Prose Romances of Chivalry They tell stories of knights rescuing the damsel in distress and riding off into the sunset. "Tracing a direct line of decent is difficult, but the spirit of these romances of the chivalric deeds"
Thursday, October 24, 2019
An Investigation Into the Use of Science by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in Relation to Climate Change
An investigation into the use of science by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in relation to climate change 1. Introduction Climate change is now the greatest environmental problem confronting the earth ecosystem and human beings. It is largely caused by unrestricted greenhouse gas emissions all over the world from industry and many human activities. It can be prevented from becoming worse if some decisive measures and actions are in place (Total Environment Centre, 2012).As one of the world environmental advocacy bodies, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dedicates to protect human health and the environment. The advocay body is established for the purpose of reducing environmental risks to Americans, making efforts to incorporate U. S. policies in environment into actions on the basis of the most reliable scientific information (EPA, 2012). To systematically address the impact of climate change, the adaptation needs through managing climate thre at, and the exact decision-making actions, science plays an important role (Laguna, 2012).For the advocacy organisations, science can also support their values and interests. In this case, an investigation into the use of science by the EPA concerning climate change is to be done in this report. 2. EPAââ¬â¢s advocacy positions 2. 1 EPAââ¬â¢s contribution to debate on climate change About debate on climate change, EPA released news to support the government policies and at the same time advocate its positions. For instance, a carbon footprint reduction program named ââ¬Å"Carbon yetiâ⬠successfully increased peopleââ¬â¢s awareness of climate change.This received EPAââ¬â¢s supports and achieved an EPA Clean Air Excellence Award (Kaufman, 2011). In addition, EPA released a report called EPA Endangerment Finding which was made after a review of bountiful public comments and research results on climate change. The findings indicated that greenhouse gas from human activi ty is the main cause of climate change. Simultaneously, greenhouse gas pollution can also become a risk to public health and public welfare (Environmental Defense Fund, 2012).The EPA Endangerment Finding was later commented by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), but the OIG report was considered to have mischaracterised EPAââ¬â¢s findings. EPA then sent a response to Inspector Generalââ¬â¢s report to claim the validity of its scientific findings (EPA, 2011). EPAââ¬â¢s attempt to state its advocacy position emphasized its use of science is significant to climate change studies. Whatââ¬â¢s more, in EPAââ¬â¢s FY 2013 budget proposal, EPA has shown its ongoing efforts in supporting the national fuel economy and constructing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Standards Program.The budget for this program includes a $10 millon increase in the EPAââ¬â¢s National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory for certification and compliance testing programs and in evaluating new biofuels tec hnologies. All EPA 2013 budget endorses American president Obamaââ¬â¢s vision of an American that develops sustainably (Milbourn, 2012). EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson made a statement when she left Cabinet after State of Union that the need to address climate change was quite urgent. She supported Obamaââ¬â¢s positive attitude towards human health and environment protection (Johnson, 2012). 2. EPA values and interests As aforementioned, the mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment. To be more specific, the values and interests of EPA are different in nature but consistent in EPAââ¬â¢s claim to manage climate change. Interests represent EPAââ¬â¢s desire or goals to achieve something especially in a conflict situation (Maiese, 2012). It is notable that there exist conflict between human health and energy use: on one hand, people want to live healthily; on the other hand, human activities at present inevitably contribute to the production of greenho use gas so as to prompt climate change.Under such circumstance, EPA positions itself as a facilitator to reduce the threat to human life and elevate the environment condition where people live (EPA, 2012). It is the goal that EPA aims to achieve, and human health is their priority. By contrast, values are ways people see the world and the fundamental ideas they believe are right (Maiese, 2012). EPA states that to protect the environment is all the peopleââ¬â¢s responsibility. It believes that climate change affects everyone because peopleââ¬â¢s daily life is closely connected with the climate.A changing climate in the degrading environment can lead to a shortage of peopleââ¬â¢s water supplies, power systems, and human safety. If no efforts are to be made to reduce the risks of climate change to human life, the world in which the next generations live will have to face more disasters (EPA, 2012). In general, EPA focuses on the amelioration of the current condition of climate change in order to shape a more environment-friendly world in the future. The most important task so far is to raise everyoneââ¬â¢s awareness of stopping climate change since everyone has the responsibility. . EPAââ¬â¢s use of science 3. 1 Role of science Scientific research plays a prominent role in managing climate change, and EPA tries to use science to support their interests and values. It is known that science has led to a better understanding of climate change and proves the general conclusions made by previous scientists in the past few years. It confirms that the causes of climate change originate from human activity rather than the natural forces and the effects of climate change are very serious (Leggett, 2007).To further study the direct cause of climate, EPA manifests that the temperature of the earth is the main factor, while it is the greenhouse effect that keeps a high heat of the earth atmosphere. With the industrial development, humans began to exert growing influence on climate, particularly through increasing billions of tons of greenhouse gases to the earth atmosphere (NRC, 2010). In addition, since the 20th century, most of the global warming under observation is owing to greenhouse gas emissions by human beings (NRC, 2002). The figure below demonstrates the change.Figure: Earthââ¬â¢s temperature change in the 20th century [pic] Source: Hegerl et al. , 2007 It can be observed that with human-caused greenhouse gases emissions, the earthââ¬â¢s temperature soared in the mid-20th century. In another word, human hold responsible to climate change. To comprehensively address climate change and raise peopleââ¬â¢s consciousness of environment protection, EPA uses science to tell people about why climate is changing, its impacts and adaptation, indicators for observing climate change, and prediction of future climate dynamics (EPA, 2012).This in turn warns people about the potential serious effects of climate change and appeals the m to participate into the actions to stop climate change. 3. 2 Use of science to support values and interests The values and interests of EPA are presented previously that EPA aims at ameliorating the current condition of climate change for the sake of creating a world where people can live healthily and in harmony with the environment. EPA values everyoneââ¬â¢s responsibility of slowing down climate change as the most important for the reason that everyone contributes to and shares the effects of climate change.EPA thereby attempts to convince people by using science that if their efforts can congregate together, the climate change will not become a threat. Since EPA considers climate change is related to everyoneââ¬â¢s daily activity, and it is not just a simple slogan, EPA adopts the common-sense approach to develop standards for greenhouse gas emissions. Under the guidance of the Clean Air Act which is an American federal law, EPA is able to respond to the law actively by taking a series of common-sense-procedures to face the challenge of climate change.It is acknowledged that all the people should get to know the basic scientific facts about climate change, and if no actions are taken, our planet will fall into a very dangerous state (Clark & Gleick, 2010). That is to say, taking actions can save human from confronting catastrophic results. To EPA, human health and environment are two important objectives it endeavors to protect. Besides, the sustainable development of the next generation is also the top concern. In this case, people now have to understand how to reduce greenhouse gas in everyday life from the basic common sense.EPA, therefore, tells people to use electricity more, burn woods less, keep recycling, save water at home, at the office, on the road and at school. It presents them how much greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced and at the same time how much money can be saved through replacing the old energy source with new eco-friendly energy (EPA, 2012). All these common senses are supported by science: using mathematic calculation to make people be aware of the significance and benefits to be green, and thus be healthy. For instance, EPA shows people to have a full load of their dishwasher when it is running.This can save up to 100 pounds of carbon dioxide with approximately $40 money being saved per year (EPA, 2012). Such common sense enables people to learn how to be a smart energy user. All these efforts and EPAââ¬â¢s use of science are consistent with EPAââ¬â¢s values and interests because the goal is to involve everyone in taking actions to adapt to climate change and in an effort to stop it. It is no doubt an undeniable fact that climate change is not a single person or only an advocacy bodyââ¬â¢s responsibility to face with and manage, instead, it needs everyoneââ¬â¢s participation.However, to really involve everyone requires enough patience and time. 4. Conclusions To sum up, the report made an investigation into the use of science by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relating to climate change. The report chose EPA for the study because it has clear stand on climate change. In another word, it advocates people to take actions to prevent the climate change from becoming worse. The report presented EPAââ¬â¢s contribution in the debate on climate change that EPA has new releases, published papers on climate change as well as media appearances by its administrator.The report then demonstrated EPAââ¬â¢s values and interests in order to understand EPAââ¬â¢s advocacy positions in climate change. To be more specific, EPA focuses on the amelioration of the current condition of climate change in order to shape a more environment-friendly world in the future. The most important task so far is to raise everyoneââ¬â¢s awareness of stopping climate change since everyone has the responsibility. After that, EPAââ¬â¢s use of science was given to loo k at how it tries to support its values and interest.For one thing, by manifesting scientific information on climate change, EPA shows people the importance and peopleââ¬â¢s mission to deal with it; for another, by using common-sense approach with science calculation to help people get involved in taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All in all, EPAââ¬â¢s use of science successfully supports its values and interests. Reference List Clark, W. C. , & Gleick, P. H. (2010). Climate change and the integrity of science. Science, 328(5979), 689-690. Environmental Defense Fund. 2012). Overview of EPA endangerment finding. Retrieved from http://www. edf. org/climate/overview-epa-endangerment-finding EPA. (2011). EPAââ¬â¢s response to Inspector Generalââ¬â¢s report on endangerment finding. Retrieved from http://yosemite. epa. gov/opa/admpress. nsf/721aa416060e4eda8525770b006e18b9/64a85204a88e46a785257919006fce32! OpenDocument EPA. (2012). Climate change basics. Retri eved from http://www. epa. gov/climatechange/basics/ EPA. (2012). Our mission and what we do. Retrieved from http://www. epa. gov/aboutepa/whatwedo. tml Hegerl, G. C. , Zwiers, F. W. , Braconnot, P. , Gillett, N. P. , Luo, Y. , Marengo Orsini, J. A. , Nicholls, N. , Penner, J. E. , & Stott, P. A. (2007). Understanding and attributing climate change. In S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K. B. Averyt, M. Tignor & H. L. Miller (eds. ), Climate change 2007: The physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Johnson, A. (2012).Statement by EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson announcing her leaving cabinet after State of Union. Retrieved from http://yosemite. epa. gov/opa/admpress. nsf/721aa416060e4eda8525770b006e18b9/3b1c073659f5e6a785257ae100548961! OpenDocument Kaufman, J. (2011). ââ¬Å"Carbon Yetiâ⬠snares City of Bellevue an EPA ââ¬Å"Clean Air Excellence Awardâ⬠. Retrieved from http://yosemite. epa. gov/opa/admpress. nsf/721aa416060e4eda8525770b006e18b9/14401a7faa2166cb852578a90059f915! OpenDocument Laguna, P. (2012). Use science to address climate change. Retrieved from http://www. hilstar. com/science-and-technology/2012/11/29/875809/%E2%80%98use-science-address-climate-change%E2%80%99 Leggett, J. A. (2007). Climate change: Science and policy implications. CRS Report for Congress. Maiese, M. (2012). Interests, positions, needs, and values. Retrieved from http://www. beyondintractability. org/bi-essay/interests Milbourn, C. (2012). EPAââ¬â¢s FY 2013 budget proposal focuses on core environmental and human health protections / EPA budget supports President Obamaââ¬â¢s vision of an America that is built to last.Retrieved from http://yosemite. epa. gov/opa/admpress. nsf/721aa416060e4eda8525770b006e18b9/d38e604ef465557a852579a3005f4630! OpenDocument NRC (2002). Abrupt climate change: Inevitable sur prises. National Research Council. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA. NRC (2010). Advancing the science of climate change. National Research Council. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA. Total Environment Centre. (2012). Climate change. Retrieved from http://www. tec. org. au/climate-change
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Law of nature Essay
There are several books that deal with philosophical questions of liberty, social restrictions, pursuit of property and freedom versus enslavement. I have selected six related to these themes to be reviewed and closely analyzed to understand those themes better. The second treatise of Government by John Locke has been ever since its first publication in 1689 an influential source of political and social interpretation. The USA constitution is based on the principles and themes John Locke deals with in this master piece of philosophical reasoning. His main argument in the book is that the sovereignty is in the hands of the people and that the government is in their service. Locke underscored the importance of being aware as people of our natural and fundamental rights but that we have had to relinquish certain aspects of this human freedom to be able to coexist peacefully within a society regulated by laws established to maintain the order. People are thus originally endowed with certain inalienable rights in a state of nature where freedom exists in absence of laws or rules to abide to. This law of nature does thus not require people to obey each other but instead people are free to be themselves. The state of nature is defined by Locke himself as: ââ¬Å"To properly understand political power and trace its origins, we must consider the state that all people are in naturally. That is a state of perfect freedom of acting and disposing of their own possessions and persons as they think fit within the bounds of the law of nature. People in this state do not have to ask permission to act or depend on the will of others to arrange matters on their behalf. The natural state is also one of equality in which all power and jurisdiction is reciprocal and no one has more than another. â⬠Locke deals thus with the topic of civil society in this book and how we can politically coexist together as people. To understand the true and best form of a civil society we need to comprehend the fundamental right we are born with as humans which is simply freedom in its complete sense. Taking this into consideration we have also to acknowledge the full meanings this brings along with it for everybody despite color, ethnicity, religion or race. Since all people are born with this right then it follows that all people are equal and deserve to live in a system that secures this equality and freedom of pursuit of oneââ¬â¢s dreams. Lockeââ¬â¢s second main argument is how governments should only rule with the consent of the people and that any government that does not becomes as a result illegitimate and deserves to be overthrown by the people through their right to revolution. He also deals with the themes of conquest and slavery, property and representative government. Property for instance lead to the creation of the civil society as men sought to protect his property through the law. People exchanged some of their natural rights in order to achieve this form of civil society where they could coexist peacefully with other people in a safe and secure atmosphere. The representative government on the other hand is only legitimate if it is acknowledged by the people and serves the needs of the people. It is this way that Locke established the rule that governments should be there for the service of the people rather than vice versa. Lockeââ¬â¢s ideas about slavery on the other hand are that it is essentially a form of involuntary servitude and the only way slavery could be justified as a system that goes against the order of the natural state is through the absence of the state of nature and the presence of the opposite which is the state of war during which exceptions were allowed. The discussion of slavery leads us to another major work concerned with the subject: The Life of Olaudah Equiano which is an autobiographical work that was first published in the 18th century and recounts the story of slavery and its horrors. The story of his enslavement, acquired freedom and pursuit of work as a seaman and merchant is a very fascinating tale of forward movement and determination at achieving success, despite the hardships encountered along the way, in order to earn the natural right of freedom back. Olaudah, like Locke, was a fighter for a cause. Lockeââ¬â¢s book helped revolutionize the ideas about government and shaped the USA constitution the way we know it now. His defense of the rights of the human continues to influence the discourse on democracy, human rights and politics. Olaudahââ¬â¢s journey and struggle for freedom has also left tremendous impact in the literature of slavery and he also helped in the process of abolishing slavery later on. Those two prominent men had a social vision of what a society was supposed to be like and fought to achieve it. The book starts with the recount of Olaudahââ¬â¢s personal life before enslavement when he used to live in an African region called Assaka. He was kidnapped and forced into slavery(something that enforces Lockeââ¬â¢s opinion about the forced status of slavery as an institution) at the age of ten and transported to the New World or to be more specific the plantations of Virginia. He was purchased by a lieutenant in the Navy called Michael Pascal who named him Gustavus Vassa, a name he also came to be known by. His life as a slave was a continues struggle and suffering. He could not tolerate the idea of deprivation of his right of freedom and chose to rebel through denying the new name his owner gave him which lead to his punishment as if he was a mere dog whose job was to obey without reluctance. Being deprived of his freedom reduces the human being into an animal. The life of the slave was really hard according to the journals of Olaudah. He was later sold in the Caribbean and acquired by a Philadelphian Quaker who taught him how to read and write better and educated him in the Christian faith. He allowed him to trade to earn the money required to buy his freedom as young man in his twenties and traveled to England where he fought for the cause of slavery abolition. Olaudah observed in his book how slaves were treated as inhuman subjects with no feelings. It was almost as if the masters considered them to be a different specie or an alien creature. Our third book or novel is concerned with a creature that displays those characteristic: Frankenstein. Frankenstein by the author Mary Shelley refers to the scientists within the book Victor Frankenstein who knows how to create life and decides to create a creature that is like man but with more powerful characteristics. The novel is made up of the correspondence between the Captain Robert Walton and his sister. Walton happens to know about Frankensteinââ¬â¢s creature and recounts the story to his sister in his letters. The story starts with Walton traveling to the North Pole where he will be trapped by a sea of massive ice rocks. This is how Walton meets Victor Frankenstein and this is also how he comes to know about the monster Victor had created. Victor is himself terrified by what he has created and runs away thereby allowing the monster to be released. The troubled scientist feels sick with guilt and his depressed state only worsens when he hears about the murder of his brother. It appears that the monster was who murdered his brother and this was explained by the monster himself as an attempt at taking revenge of Victor who had treated him with horror and disgust. He begs Victor for a companion since he cannot stand the loneliness. Victor does decide to oblige but later on regrets it and destroys his second creation to which the monster vows revenge that he soon fulfills through killing one of his friends. The monster manages to also kill his bride and Victor decides to follow the monster which led him to meet Walton and dies a few days later on. Walton concludes his letters by recounting how surprised he was to find the monster weeping on his body in agony and loneliness. It turns out that the monster had feelings like any other human being and could be good or evil like any other normal person. But Victorââ¬â¢s fear and prejudice blinded him from seeing that. The same thing happened with the white owners of slaves in the era of Olaudah. They stopped seeing the slaves as human beings and regarded them as mere properties to be feared and doubted if they acted differently the way Olaudah did through educating himself. The fear of the unknown is a characteristic of the human psyche but what is also a common aspect between the white and black man and the monster of Frankenstein is the need of freedom. Our fourth book is the Communist manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The first publication of the book took place in 1848. Just like John Lockeââ¬â¢s The Second Treatise of Government the Communist Manifesto is a very influential political manuscript. The main theme of the book is the class struggle and the weaknesses of the capitalist system. The Communist Manifesto is what the communist party strengthened the ideology of the Communist party. The Manifestoââ¬â¢s main aim was to make communism more understood by a larger number of people since the party was feared and doubted by many. Karl Marx continues then to mark the differences between the bourgeois and proletariat class since his main focus will be throughout the paper on how the proletariat has been victimized by the capitalist system and bourgeois class. He states in the first section that: ââ¬Å"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary re-constitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes. â⬠Marx arguments of class struggle resemble those of Locke to a certain extent. He also echoed the claim that the human need for property is what leads to the creation of civil society as we know it today. Marx acknowledges this human need for the acquisition of property but seeks to regulate it more through establishing laws that do not allow for a minority of rich people to subject and benefit from a larger group that is the real driving force of any society: the proletariat class. The proletarians will, according to Marx, rise to power through class struggle. The bourgeois continues exploiting the proletarians but the latter will use their right to revolution (Locke again) to throw this form of social establishment and create a new reality more fit for the general and larger public. This vision was eventually realized by the Bolsheviks in the former Soviet Union. Our human need for freedom equality and development is according to Locke, Olaudah, Marx and Shelly a fundamental aspect of our psychological nature. This leads us to the fifth book to focus on: On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin who explains in this work how humans have developed from their natural state to their current one and how they have been able to survive. The natural state described by Darwin in his book is different from that of Locke in that he focuses on how we developed physically as people from the shape of monkeys to that of humans. It is needless to say that his book has caused the necessary controversy in the religious circles. Darwin presents a very interesting evolutionary idea in this particular book to explain the process of human evolution: the survival of the fittest. The idea of the transmutation of the species was however not welcomed by the Church establishment of that time and is still not looked at with favor by several even nowadays and despite the many scientific data that has been supplied to enhance his theory. Natural selection or to use the other phrase, the survival of the fittest, has been described by Mr. Herbert Spencer as: ââ¬Å"Owing to this struggle for life, any variation, however slight and from whatever cause proceeding, if it be in any degree profitable to an individual of any species, in its infinitely complex relations to other organic beings and to external nature, will tend to the preservation of that individual, and will generally be inherited by its offspring. â⬠Charles Darwinââ¬â¢s book has also helped in reshaping the human thought regarding its origin and nature and developed the notion of the necessity of strength and relentlessness to succeed and earn the right to exist since only the fittest survive. Our last book is also closely related to the themes we have seen so far in relation to human rights and natural states and the preservation of an efficient civil society. Civilization and its discontents was first published in 1929 and became one of Sigmund Freudââ¬â¢s most renowned works. Freudââ¬â¢s main theme in this book is the state of conflict between the individual and his society. Just like with Lockeââ¬â¢s book we come to wonder how much the relinquishment of our fundamental right of total freedom affects our psyche and therefore our performance within the civil society we created. The primary source of conflict, according to Freud, is the individualââ¬â¢s desire of freedom and the clash that creates with societyââ¬â¢s expectation of the individual to conform to the general rules. The majority kills with this the individuality and our natural states are denied for the sake of preserving the general picture agreed upon by the majority of the citizens. Humans have certain desires and characteristics that are hard to control. The desire for sex is the most prominent one which has lead to the creation of many laws to regulate sex conduct in public and punish the acts of rape and sexual aggression. The natural instincts come to be subjected to laws and regulations to allow for the peaceful existence within a society. The six books that we have seen so far all deal with several issues related to humanityââ¬â¢s primal needs that can clash at times with societyââ¬â¢s expectations of the individual. Our quest for freedom and property creates conflict all along but we never are able to let go of one of the two. Humans have always wanted the two together and the need for more property led to the enslavement of millions to satisfy the need for cheap labor thereby violating the natural human state of being free by birth. But humans are creatures who seek pleasure and understanding and bonding with the other. That is also another reason why we co-exist within a society and try to abide to the rules to sustain the civil form. Works Cited Darwin, Charles (2002). The Origin of Species. W. W Norton & Company. Equiano, Olaudah (1999). The life of Olaudah Equiano. Dover Publications. Freud, Sigmund (1989). Civilization and its discontents. W. W Norton & Company. Locke, John (2002). The Second Treatise of Government. Dover Publications. Marx, Karl (1998). The Communist Manifesto. USA: Oxford University Press. Shelley, Mary (2004). Frankenstein. Pocket.
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