Intelligent Design vs. Evolution Essay example -- essays research pape

There is a major controversy brewing in the educational field today. Scientist, teachers, professors, and many others are debating where the world and its habitats originally came from. This is the debate of Intelligent Design (ID) and Evolution. The main debating question of many scholars being, "Is the universe self-contained or does it require something beyond itself to explain its existence and internal function?". Intelligent Design is the idea that living creatures on Earth are so complex that, they could not possibly have been created through the natural selection. It is the belief that there must be an ?intelligent designer? that created us all. This creator is usually referenced as God. However, it may also be referenced to as an alien. Intelligent design leaves that possibility open as well. Many professionals feel that intelligent design is not a scientific theory that can be tested. They feel it is more of an opinion, preference, or belief. The evolutionary theory is the concept that species evolve over time through the mechanism of natural selection of survival and reproduction. Natural selection means acting on the assumption that various living organisms were produced by genetic diversity and mutation. The evolution theory may also be referred to as the philosophizing science. This theory states that all phenomena are derived from natural causes and can be explained by scientific laws without reference to a plan or purpose. Talking on both sides of the debate, each side feels as though the other has no scientific reasoning come up with their theory. In reading the article written by Shipman, the evolutionists believe that intelligent design has no concrete evidence on how the world was crea... ...ies. I believe that by this age, the student has a basic understanding of what the debate is about. At this age, one can make an adult decision and understand what he or she basis that decision on. At an age any younger, children can not possible understand the depth of the debate. The bias of the teacher could possible mold them into their decisions depending on which theory they believe. In conclusion, it is my belief that the universe came about from a creator of intelligent design. The basis for this belief is probably more biased than concrete. However, I still hang on to the fact on the Bible is an eye witness account to the occurrence of the creation of all. Shipman, Pat. ?Being Stalked by Intelligent Design.? American Scientist 93, Issue 6 (2205): 500-502 Hereen, Fred. ?The Lynching of Bill Dembski.? American Spectator 33, Issue 9 (2000): 44-50

Meal time behavioral cultural differences Essay

Burping and slurping at the dinner table, how disgusting? In our culture such behaviors aren’t acceptable along with eating with our hands or even eating food off the floor after we have dropped it. Much to my surprise, after doing some research, all of those unacceptable behaviors that we have grown up to avoid at the dinner table are accepted by other cultures around the world. Everyone is different, especially our cultures. I mainly discovered that what we find acceptable in our culture as good mealtime behaviors is disrespectful in other cultures. Also, what we find rude other cultures find acceptable at the dining table. In Muslim cultures, instead of using utensils they use their right hand to eat food. The reasoning behind them using their right hand is that they generally use their left hand for hygiene purposes. Muslims consider their left hand â€Å"unclean† when it comes to eating. In America, we begin teaching our children how to use utensils as early as 12 months old. Yes, we do have foods in American that are made to be eaten with our hands, but for those foods that aren’t â€Å"finger foods,† we are to use good manners and use our utensils. Also in Muslim cultures, if someone drops bread on the floor all they have to do is pick it up, kiss the bread, and raise it to his or her forehead before putting the bread back on their plate. Muslims consider this action a sign of respect for their food and the hard work that went into making it. Dropping food on the floor is an automatic trip to the trashcan with the food that fell. We, Americans, know the dirt and germs that cover floors, so when food touches the ground we do not put it back on our plates, but simply make a trip to the trashcan. In Asian countries, eating all the food on your plate is a sign of disrespect host. The host thinks that they didn’t feed you enough. Napier-Fitzpatrick says, â€Å"They’ll keep refilling it, and if they run out, they’ll be upset that they didn’t have enough food for you. † In order to avoid showing disrespect to your host, Asians usually leave a small portion of food on his or her plate to show that he or she is full and that they appreciate the host’s generosity. In American, a lot of parents try to encourage their children to eat everything on their plate, although it is okay if a child doesn’t. As adults in America, when we eat everything on our plate, it is a sign of respect to the host, saying that we enjoyed the food given to us. Also, you may not refill your own glass. If you are thirsty and want to drink, you must refill another person’s glass at the table and how they show the generosity to you. Speaking of seconds, in Chile taking a second helping is offensive to the host and you must wait to be offered more food. Refills and second helpings in America is simply just a sign of a person still being hungry or thirsty. There is no disrespect in Americans wanting seconds or any type of process in receiving seconds. Ethiopians have a tradition called gursha, hand-feeding each other. They say this tradition shows hospitality to build trust and social bonds between one another between those who are sharing their food. Not only do Americans make sure we use our utensils while eating, but if we were to feed another person at our table, we would be sure to use a utensil to do so. Our thoughts on feeding ourselves or even one another with our hands is simple, it’s unsanitary. In Japan and China, slurping your noodles shows the host your appreciation for the meal they have served you. The host takes slurping as a compliment. Also in China and Taiwan, a small burp at the end of a meal shows the host that you have eaten well and they take that as a compliment. In America, if someone made noises at the table with their food, they would be asked to stop because it shows bad manners at the table. Burping at the table is also found to be disrespectful because once again it shows bad manners. Meal timing in America is also very different to other countries. Midday is when other countries have their main meal for the day. Americans have their main meal after their workday. We call our evening meal â€Å"dinner,† this word signifies a midday meal in other countries. Our main meal is usually served around 6pm, while in other countries such as Spain they eat their supper around 10pm. Also, Americans have a meal that we call â€Å"brunch,† a meal between breakfast and lunch, a foreign visitor would think of this meal timing baffling. There are several differences between our culture and other cultures around the world on what we consider good and bad table manners. Seems as though what we find as good manners aren’t good in other countries and vice versa with bad manners. Although we may not find certain behaviors â€Å"good manners,† doesn’t mean we can’t learn and teach these behaviors to our classrooms. It is very important for teachers to teach these different cultural meal time behaviors because it’s very important for children to know about other cultures other than their own, and also because we don’t want children to be considered disrespectful if they ever encounter such cultures. The best way for children to learn these different cultures is to talk about them and even practice them. I would make a lesson plan all about good table manners and bad table manners. Teaching our children about other cultures is very important, but we also need to be sure they know our good and bad table manners first. There are several ways to approach on how to incorporate other cultures. During my circle time, I would start by doing only one culture per day. The things to discuss during our circle time would be to state the culture we are discussing, ask the children what they know about that culture, ask the children what they want to know about that culture (for further discussions on other days), and then tell the children about the culture, while giving them time to respond on what their thoughts were. Just telling children about culture isn’t enough; they need to experience it themselves. During meal times, breakfast, snack, and lunch, I would allow my classroom to partake in the new cultural behaviors that they learned about. It is also important to let the children reflect on what they have learned about hearing about the culture and physically being able to experience the culture. It is very important for children to experience the different cultures of children that are in the same classroom as them. The best way to do that is to allow the child of a different culture to tell his friends about himself and culture. This way the children get a firsthand experience. Including the child’s parents and allowing them to come into the classroom and interact with the children while teaching about their culture is a great way to include families into the classroom. When teaching children about different cultures, teachers need to be sure that we include all children of all different cultures, along with their families, and to make sure we do it in a respectable manner. Works Cited â€Å"Dining Customs of Different Cultures. † Familyeducation. com. 5 Oct. 2014 http://life. familyeducation. com/cross-cultural-relations/behavior/48976. html â€Å"Dining Manners Around the World. † Parents. com. 5 Oct. 2014 http://www. parents. com/kids/responsibility/manners/dining-manners-around-the-wor ld.

Analysis of the Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Essay

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost shows the narrator coming to a fork in the wood, which offers two paths to take. By use of symbolism and various verb tenses in different stanzas the author was able to convey the overall meaning of the poem. The narrator scrutinized the road but does not find a noticeable difference in the two paths and thus was stuck deciding whether which road is the better decision. However, in the fourth stanza, by the allegory â€Å"I took the one less traveled by† shows that the narrator wishes to take the path which leads to individualism. The narrator portrayed that in life there are decisions we must make that must be based on our own agenda. Symbols also play in defining the meaning of the poem. The symbol of the color yellow is use to show more than just the narrator’s cowardice, but also yellow represents autumn meaning the author is at the end of his life which indicates that he has wasted his whole life in indecision. Other symbols such as â€Å"two roads† and â€Å"one traveler† in the first stanza show the idea of free choice and individualism of the narrator. We can also tie in to the fact that because the roads lies in the woods, and that roads represents free choice, the overall idea would be comparable to free choice and fate. You are free to choose what choice to make but in the end the choices you make are still a part of your fate. In the first three stanzas the poem is written in past tense, but in the fourth stanza the poem is written in future tense. By repeating â€Å"two roads diverged in a wood† in the fourth stanza the narrator is implying that he is reflecting upon if the choice he had made was the better of the two choices. The first three stanzas of the poem being in past tense hints that he is looking back at his past, but the fourth stanza shows us the narrator is hoping â€Å"somewhere ages and ages hence† the decision he made will benefit him. In addition, because the narrator is still uncertain if the choice he made was the better of the two, we can concludes that he is still reflective on whether which road he should have took, hence the title â€Å"The Road Not Taken. † Partially, the poem tells us about the narrator’s fear of regrets which eventually leads to his indecisiveness in choice of what road to travel. The fear of making mistakes from either choice had excluded the narrator from taking any action. . Frost’s point is to acknowledge the fact that in life there are choices where uncertainty makes choosing difficult, and often we are paralyzed by the fact of making the â€Å"wrong choice. † Words such as â€Å"sorry,† â€Å"sigh,† and â€Å"doubted† shows the authors regrets and concern for making the wrong choice. The last stanza offered the author’s apprehension furthermore of whether which road he should take with the stuttered â€Å"I. † Although in the last two lines the narrator says he takes â€Å"the [road] less traveled by, and that has made all the difference,† the use of the word difference is ironic to what the poem has states in retrospective about the similarity of the roads. In the poem The Road Not Taken the narrator’s idea of non-conformity coupled with the fear of regrets from making the wrong choice apprehended him from making any decisions. The Road Not Taken shows us that the choices we make in life should be based on our individual values.

Free Essays on Thanatposis

Thanatopsis and The Bible In William Cullen Bryant’s early nineteenth century poem Thanatopsis, a collage of imagery and ideas surround a central theme of the cycle of life. Within this poem lies a story of great wonder and hope. The story is that of the afterlife in which Bryant conveys a lot of the same ideas of a majestic and heavenly paradise that are present in the Christian Bible. Since Bryant was schooled heavily in theology, is Thanatopsis based on the ideas that the Christian Bible holds of the afterlife? Bryant immediately introduces his notion of spiritual unity among humans and nature in the first line of the poem. To him in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language; for his gayer hours She has a voice of gladness, and a smile And eloquence of beauty, and she glides Into his darker musings, with a mild And gentle sympathy, that steals away Their sharpness, ere he is aware (Line 1). From this opening line of the poem the reader is aware of Bryant’s use of metaphorical language to describe the bond in which nature holds with man. According to the first book of Genesis, God created all of nature and delegated some of his authority over it to the human race. He gave humans the promise of protection and forgiveness in return for the service of watching over his creation. This is what Bryant affirms to be the â€Å"Communion† in which man holds with nature. Since nature is the circumstance for human existence, humans see it as glorious as well as comforting in times of trouble. No matter how lonely, or desolate a human soul can get, nature is still part of man. This is a very strong correlation to the Christian Bible, however it is not the only one that Bryant mentions in Thanatopsis. Bryant goes on to describe and almost tell the reader of the story not to fear the final moments of life for all that is and was created â€Å"Will share thy destiny.†(Line 61) Lik... Free Essays on Thanatposis Free Essays on Thanatposis Thanatopsis and The Bible In William Cullen Bryant’s early nineteenth century poem Thanatopsis, a collage of imagery and ideas surround a central theme of the cycle of life. Within this poem lies a story of great wonder and hope. The story is that of the afterlife in which Bryant conveys a lot of the same ideas of a majestic and heavenly paradise that are present in the Christian Bible. Since Bryant was schooled heavily in theology, is Thanatopsis based on the ideas that the Christian Bible holds of the afterlife? Bryant immediately introduces his notion of spiritual unity among humans and nature in the first line of the poem. To him in the love of Nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language; for his gayer hours She has a voice of gladness, and a smile And eloquence of beauty, and she glides Into his darker musings, with a mild And gentle sympathy, that steals away Their sharpness, ere he is aware (Line 1). From this opening line of the poem the reader is aware of Bryant’s use of metaphorical language to describe the bond in which nature holds with man. According to the first book of Genesis, God created all of nature and delegated some of his authority over it to the human race. He gave humans the promise of protection and forgiveness in return for the service of watching over his creation. This is what Bryant affirms to be the â€Å"Communion† in which man holds with nature. Since nature is the circumstance for human existence, humans see it as glorious as well as comforting in times of trouble. No matter how lonely, or desolate a human soul can get, nature is still part of man. This is a very strong correlation to the Christian Bible, however it is not the only one that Bryant mentions in Thanatopsis. Bryant goes on to describe and almost tell the reader of the story not to fear the final moments of life for all that is and was created â€Å"Will share thy destiny.†(Line 61) Lik...

Henry Clay essays

Henry Clay essays Discuss Henry Clay as the symbol of the antebellum era. Give four examples where his success or failure reflected a broader social trend. Henry Clay, born a poor, orphaned boy from the Virginia slashes, became one of the most popular and influential political leaders in American History and the symbol of the Antebellum era. The Antebellum era was the time period preceding the Civil War between the North and the South. This era was caught between the glory of the Revolutionary and Founding period and the spectacular drama of the Civil War - the bloody and destructive birth and rebirth of the nation. A time filled with tumultuous political action, but lack of blood and gun powder - political action from fascinating and extremely influential characters such as Andrew Jackson, Jon Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, John Calhoun, etc. It was the task of this generation and its political leaders to build on the legacy left by the Founding Fathers and more importantly preserve the Constitution and the Union; and to reinforce and embellish liberty and self-government. At the center of these tasks and drama stood Henry Clay, the true symbol of this time. His unmeasurable devotion to the preservation of the Union, his record on slavery, and his rivalry with Andrew Jackson are three prime examples of how Clay as a political figure embodied the era of his time, its people, their popular views, and the trends. The key aspects of his life mentioned above are in direct relation to three of the most important aspects of the era, the Union and its state of togetherness, Abolitionism, and the Second American Political Party system. Henry Clay will never be questioned on his devotion to preserving the Union. He would sacrifice his most strongly held points of view when the integrity of the Union he so loved and so tried to keep together were threatened. The Union he put above all else. He was often credited as the man who kept the Union to...

Utterance Definition and Examples in English

Utterance Definition and Examples in English In linguistics, an utterance is a unit of speech. In phonetic terms, an utterance is a stretch of spoken language that is preceded by silence and followed by silence or a change of speaker. (Phonemes, morphemes, and words are all considered segments of the stream of speech sounds that constitute an utterance.) In orthographic terms, an utterance is a  syntactic unit that begins with a capital letter and ends in a period, question mark, or exclamation point. EtymologyFrom the Middle English, outward, make known Examples and Observations [T]he word utterance . . . can refer to the product of a verbal act, rather than to the verbal act itself. For instance, the words Would you please be quiet?, spoken with a polite rising intonation, might be described as a sentence, or as a question, or as a request.  However, it is convenient to reserve terms like sentence and question for grammatical entities derived from the language system, and to reserve  the term utterance  for instances of such entities, identified by their use in a particular situation.(Geoffrey N. Leech,  Principles of Pragmatics,  1983. Routledge, 2014)Utterances and Sentences-  We use the term utterance to refer to complete communicative units, which may consist of single words, phrases, clauses and clause combinations spoken in context, in contrast to the term sentence, which we reserve for units consisting of at least one main clause and any accompanying subordinate clauses, and marked by punctuation (capital letters and full stops) in writin g.(Ronald Carter and Michael McCarthy, Cambridge Grammar of English. Cambridge University Press, 2006)- An utterance can take sentence form, but not every sentence is an utterance. An utterance is identifiable by a pause, a relinquishing of the floor, a change of speaker; that the first speaker stops indicates that the utterance is, temporarily, complete and awaits, invites a response.(Barbara Green, Experiential Learning.  Bakhtin and Genre Theory in Biblical Studies, ed. by  Roland Boer. Society of Biblical Literature, 2007) For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,To stir mens blood: I only speak right on.(Mark Antony in William Shakespeares Julius Caesar, Act 3, scene 2)Intentionality[T]he problem of meaning can be posed as follows: How does the mind impose Intentionality on entities that are not intrinsically Intentional, on entities such as sounds and marks that are, construed in one way, just physical phenomena in the world like any other? An utterance can have Intentionality, just as a belief has Intentionality, but whereas the Intentionality of the belief is intrinsic the Intentionality of the utterance is derived. The question then is: How does it derive its Intentionality?(John R. Searle, Intentionality: An Essay in the Philosophy of Mind. Cambridge University. Press, 1983)The Lighter Side of Utterances: Kate Beckett: Um, do you know how you talk in your sleep sometimes?Richard Castle: Oh yeah.Kate Beckett: Well, last night you said a name.Richa rd Castle: Ooh.  And not your name, I assume.Kate Beckett: No.Richard Castle: Well, I wouldnt read anything into one random utterance.Kate Beckett: Fourteen utterances, and the name was Jordan. You said it over and over again. Whos Jordan?Richard Castle: I have no idea.Kate Beckett: Is it a woman?Richard Castle: No! Its nothing.Kate Beckett: Castle, I know nothing. Nothing is a dear friend of mine and this is not nothing.Richard Castle: Yes, it is. Besides, most of what I say is meaningless. Why would it be any different when Im asleep?(Stana Katic and Nathan Fillon, The Wild Rover. Castle, 2013)

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America Vol II, Part 1, Chap 1-11 Essay

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America Vol II, Part 1, Chap 1-11 - Essay Example Alexis believes that the doctrines and methods of Descartes, Luther and Voltaire are applied best in America (Gutenberg). Although Americans are more liberal in thought and practice yet Christianity holds a mystical power; with politics or laws not affecting change on the religious beliefs (Gradesaver). Alexis regards that Americans are deep rooted in their ideology because they have not gone through any democratic revolution, thus no major shift in their ideological concepts has resulted (Tocqueville). Alexis says that societies only prosper when they have thoughts, ideas and actions that they have in common, and commonalities result from common belief systems and not following individual paths (Gradesaver). Tocqueville suggests that man does not have enough time to define and explain all the truths on his own and thus has to believe already established truths, which have either been established by people of superior intellect or by societies (Gutenberg). He thinks that every man’s intellect complies with the higher authority to a varying degree; no mind can be completely independent and free of all authority (Gradesaver). American people are more apt to believe in religion due to the majority of society believing in it, as the majority of people are believed to have equal capability of believing the truth thus; religion finds its strength based in public opinion (Tocqueville). Alexis believes that the tendency of American people to investigate every truth independently; unconsciously leads them to reverting to the behavior and attitudes of mankind and thus a generalization of views emerges (Tocqueville). Americans believe in equality which gives birth to generalization; the English are more inclined towards an aristocratic way of life, thus leading to particularity and negating individuality (Gutenberg). On the other hand, according to Tocqueville, Americans do not revert to