Climate Change, Deforestation and the Media Essay Example for Free

Climate Change, Deforestation and the Media Essay Various factors exist that are causing a negative impact and damaging the natural ecosystem. Various emissions from motor vehicles and different industries and chemical plants, processes like deforestation and various other activities continuously contribute to the deterioration of the well-being and livelihood of individuals and the ecosystem. Various researches conducted worldwide have detected various changes in the terrestrial ecosystems marked with the various activities propagated by the actions of human beings towards the environment (Midori, 2014, p 105). The alterations that exist have been attributed to climate change as opposed to any other types of activities and factors that may have arisen. There are various marked causes and effects of climate change towards the natural terrestrial organisms and all the other substances that consti0tute to the natural ecosystem. For instance, different animal, plant and biomes ranges have undergone shifting. The different timings in which various organisms and plants take to perform various activities such as flowering have been altered (Maxwell, 2013, p 779). The migration of animals has also been shifted since the prediction of the climate which facilitates there movement has significantly been altered. There have been instances in which the scotching sun has led to the development of various wild fires. Moreover, various amphibians, for instance seventy-five different frog species have been driven to extinction because of the climate change. Projections and various statistics have it that the various greenhouse emissions may lead to an overwhelming supply of various poisonous gases into the atmosphere hence altering the natural adaptive mechanisms of various organisms in the ecosystem. If the situation were left unmonitored and uncontrolled, vast areas would turn into ASALS thereby contributing to the alterations of the biochemical cycles that are experienced worldwide (Maxwell, 2011, p 779). Aquatic Ecosystems The aquatic ecosystems form a very functional and important role in the interrelation and existence of the global environment. Apart from playing a key and functional role in the ecological productivity and their contribution towards biodiversity, they play a very important role to the human beings. However, they face direct threats from the activities of human beings either in a direct or indirect manner. Climate change has an impact on the aquatic environment in the sense that an increase in the temperature of water significantly alters the basic ecological process facilitated by the marine life and the aquatic life species geographical distribution. The marine life may show tendencies of migration to various suitable habitants but various human activities may hinder their respective migration (Brulle et al, 2012, p 182). They may be unable to migrate thereby leading to their extinction of the various treasured species. Climate change influences the precipitation patterns. Moreover , the surface run off may have been contaminated by various gases that exist in the atmosphere thereby influencing marine life. Agriculture Agriculture forms a vital component of many economies. Agriculture is a composition of various cash crops, domestic livestock and various aquatic fish species, which are consumed or reared for commercial and consumption purposes. Climatic conditions highly influence the existence of fish and various agricultural produce. The effect of climate change on agriculture can be viewed from various dimensions since various factors exist that favor the process of agriculture while some hinder growth and production (Christensen et al, 2012, p 201). The excess existence of temperature and release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere contribute to increase in productivity and synthesis of various crops. However, for these conditions to have a positive impact on the various crops, various other factors such as the correct soil pH, the availability of water, moisture content of the soil, and other factors must be met. Massive periods of droughts and excess floods are always a challenge to various farmers. Moreover, when the temperature of water that harbors the aquatic life becomes warmer, the fish may migrate or die hence influencing the ecosystem (Corner et al, 2012, p 470). Crops are influenced by warm temperatures. They hasten the growth levels but reduce on the quantity of the yields produced. Moreover, an increase for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also increases the amount of yield that is expected from a given type of crop. The growth process of crops is hindered by the existence and presence of extreme occurrences of rain and temperatures. The occurrence of drought and foods hinder crop growth since the crops become washed away and wither (Doherty et al, 2011, p 265). Human Health Human beings are affected by the occurrence of various climate change processes. These effects vary from the influence and diverse effects of heat waves, extreme weather events, air quality and occurrences of climate-sensitive diseases. Instances of hydration and the occurrences of heat strokes are prevalent and major causative agents of weather-related ailments and deaths. The impact would be a shift in the population patterns. Weather events, which are extreme, may contribute to various challenges that may be faced by human beings (Dotson et al, 2012, p 69). For instance, there would be a general reduction of water supplies and food in various parts of the country. Various health care services and communication utilities may be interrupted. Storms and various other factors may contribute to the excess concentration of carbon monoxide gas, which is poisonous to the human life. Climate change can therefore be seen to have various diverse effects on the natural ecosystem and if not pr operly controlled can lead to the extinction of various life forms and species. Mitigation of climate change Mitigation of climate change refers to the various actions adopted with the aim of reducing the affect of the natural ecosystem. Framing Issues The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change consists of a numerous enrolment of countries that have united to adopt various measures and practices to curb climate change. The principle aim of UNFCCC is to ensure the stabilization of various concentrations of atmospheric gases as a block of various human related activities that would contribute to the interference of the atmosphere (Fahey et al, 2013, p 134). Some of the main activities involve the control of emission of green house gases into the atmosphere. There was a universal consensus to the fact that the level of green house emissions should be limited to 1.5 to 2.0 degrees and below. Governmental and intergovernmental action Majority of the countries are adopting various policies proposed by various organizations such as the Green Belt Movement to extensively use clean technologies in their daily business operations. The mitigation process is promoted by the action that may be adopted by the various firms. Many countries aim at reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere (Hajer et al, 2012, p 300). The government aim is to ensure reduction and minimization of emissions containing carbon into the atmosphere, the utilization of renewable energy and a boost in the efficiency of energy that is being consumed in the industry. The adverse effects of climate change are always felt greatest in nations, which have a low economic status. There exists the Commitment to Development Index, which analyses the various policies adopted to curb rising instances of emission of gases to the atmosphere. There are various activities that majority of the countries engage in that may be seen to contribute to the emis sion of gases in top the atmosphere. Activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and various emissions always influence the emissions. Therefore, the effective regulation of the particular emissions facilitates control of the climate change. Various strategies have been formulated with the main aim of curbing the spread of the adverse effects of climate change. These strategies include the Kyoto protocol, which remains to be the existent international agreement with the sole purpose of curbing climate change. Non-governmental policies These refer to policies that are aimed at reducing the extents of climate change through the effective funding from private investors and other business entities. They may also take the form of various environmental groups, which are seen to promote personal initiative when it comes to the process of fighting crime (Christensen et al, 2013, p 12). The non-governmental bodies also thrive through the encouragement of various personalities to adopt various effective means of using energy for instance the lowering of cooling usage and house heating, the effective use of renewable energy sources, minimization of exhaust fumes from vehicles through finding of means of transaction and operations that do not involve mobility with a vehicle. Apart from the road transport, various researchers have also expressed concern about the emissions produced by the air travel (Dotson et al, 2012, p 76). Various emissions are produced by the air travel, which may influence the atmospheric balance and the resultant ecosystem. The non-governmental bodies therefore aim at finding methods and means through which the emissions can be minimized to maintain an eco balance to the environment. Implications of climate change for sustainable development in rural areas. Rural areas have been known to hold and be a major backbone when it comes to agricultural production. The main occupation of majority of the people who reside in these regions is farming. Majority of the climate alterations because of climate change are diverse in urban areas, which are populated by industries. Rural areas experience constant and predictable rainfall patterns (Fahey et al, 2013, p 143). However, the effect of climate change resulting from various emissions to the atmosphere can easily alter the weather and climate patterns of a vast area of land. It therefore becomes important to note the fact that the sustainable development of rural areas whose people’s livelihood is dependent on the main economic activity which is agriculture. Rural areas are known to consist of vegetation that regulates the atmospheric gases in the atmosphere. They play an important part in balancing the ecosystem (Takahashi, 2011, p 249). Therefore, the efficient regulation of climate change may result to increase in various product output with a rise in production due to the occurrence of precipitation and adequate rainfall to facilitate growth of crops and the existence of livestock and fisheries. Coverage of Climate Change by the Media The media has played a pivotal and vital role in the influence of international, personal and national actions and efforts to address the issue of climate change. The mass reporting off climate change has been predominant in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The level and extent of climate change is hugely attributed to the massive reports and collaborations with the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change. The media hit the sky during the early 2007 when featuring the Al Gore documentary and the Fourth Assessment Report on Climate change (Sheppard et al, 2012, p 235). Media reporting was also heightened in the year 2009 when the world held a conference on climate change organized by the United Nations. It was referred to as the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Consequently, another forum was referred to as the Climatic Research Unit email controversy that had been held earlier in November. Besides the USA and the UK, various other countries have shown massive efforts in the reporting of climatic changes and sensitizing the world on better policies to be adopted to minimize the effect and extent of the climate change. Countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, Sweden, New Zealand and India have shown particular interest in climate change and this has been made possible through the media coverage that is received (Segerberg et al, 2011, p 201). The media has also been though t to attribute the findings of climate change to the public opinion and politics. Through the reporting, various governments have held numerous sittings with the aim of coming up with climate policies that various industries such as transport and manufacturing industries should adopt with the principle purpose of maintaining the ecosystem. The media has largely contributed towards the sensitization of the public to be able to know what happens when industrial chemicals and toxins are thrust into the sky (Olausson, 2011, p 290). For instance, a survey conducted indicates that when people were asked about the urgency of control of climate change and whether it was a problem or not, the following responses were obtained: It is not a problem 8% It is a future problem 14% It is a present problem 41% It is an immediate problem 36% I do not know 1% Climate change remains to be an eminent threat to the existence of natural and human beings. Campaigns by all media types and other institutions should be encouraged. The governments should come up with stringent climate change policies to curb the spread of acidic rain, drought, floods and any other extreme weather conditions (Dotson et al, 2012, p 80) References Aoyagi, Midori. Climate Change Governance and Media: Media Exposure, Public Opinion and â€Å"the Most Important Issues,† By the Japanese Public. In XVIII ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 13-19, 2014). Isaconf, 2014.Boykoff, Maxwell T. Public enemy no. 1? Understanding media representations of outlier views on climate change. American behavioral scientist 57, no. 6 (2013): 796-817. Boykoff, Maxwell T. Who speaks for the climate?: Making sense of media reporting on climate change. Cambridge University Press, 2011.Brulle, Robert J., Jason Carmichael, and J. Craig Jenkins. Shifting public opinion on climate change: an empirical assessment of factors influencing concern over climate change in the US, 2002–2010. Climatic change 114, no. 2 (2012): 169-188. Christensen, Miyase, Annika E. Nilsson, and Nina Wormbs. Globalization, Climate Change and the Media: An Introduction. Media and the Politics of Arctic Climate Change: When the Ice Breaks (2013): 1. Christensen, Miyase, Annika E. Nilsson, Nina Wormbs, Sverker Sà ¶rlin, Dag Avango, Per Hà ¶gselius, Henry Huntington, and Ralf Dà ¶scher. When the Ice Breaks: Globalization, Climate Change and the Media. (2012). Corner, Adam, Lorraine Whitmarsh, and Dimitrios Xenias. Uncertainty, scepticism and attitudes towards climate change: biased assimilation and attitude polarisation. Climatic change 114, no. 3-4 (2012): 463-478. Doherty, Thomas J., and Susan Clayton. The psychological impacts of global climate change. American Psychologist 66, no. 4 (2011): 265. Dotson, Devin M., Susan K. Jacobson, Lynda Lee Kaid, and J. Stuart Carlton. Media coverage of climate change in Chile: A content analysis of conservative and liberal newspapers. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture 6, no. 1 (2012): 64-81. Fahey, Dan, Paras Patel, John Rawlins, and Meiko Peng. Climate Change Podcast Series-The Media and Climate Change. (2013). Hajer, Maarten, and Bart Strengers. Who speaks for the climate: making sense of media reporting on climate change. Cambridge Review of International Affairs 25, no. 2 (2012): 298-300. Olausson, Ulrika. â€Å"Were the ones to blame†: Citizens representations of climate change and the role of the media. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture 5, no. 3 (2011): 281-299. Segerberg, Alexandra, and W. Lance Bennett. Social media and the organization of collective action: Using Twitter to explore the ecologies of two climate change protests. The Communication Review 14, no. 3 (2011): 197-215. Sheppard, Stephen Richard John. Visualizing climate change: a guide to visual communication of climate change and developing local solutions. Routledge, 2012.Takahashi, Bruno. Framing and sources: a study of mass media coverage of climate change in Peru during the V ALCUE. Public Understanding of Science 20, no. 4 (2011): 543-557. Source document

The Trade War between America (USA) and the European Union (EU) :: essays papers

Chiquita Brands International Inc. is best known as the world’s number one distributor of banana’s, which account for more than half of its sales. For the past decade, Chiquita’s sales have dropped dramatically and the company is now on the verge of bankruptcy. Currently, Chiquita is trying to avoid filing for a Chapter 11 by attempting a major financial restructuring of their debt. There are many factors that have contributed to the company’s downward spiral, although all of these factors are linked to the trade barriers imposed by the European Union on banana imports. The European Union enacted import restrictions on banana’s in 1993, and just recently, is attempting to revise the old regime in order to comply with the World Trade Organization. The EU is preparing to introduce a new import system dubbed â€Å"first-come first-served† which they believe will be a WTO compatible system. Chiquita filed a lawsuit in January, 2001 against the European Union seeking reparations in the amount of $525 million for their losses that resulted from the old biased import system (Palmer). Chiquita is just one of many companies that were affected by this biased import regime, but some other companies still managed to work around the import restrictions. Chiquita’s rivals, Dole Food and Fresh Del Monte, although bruised as well by the European restrictions and falling banana profits, are in much better shape. Both have managed to increase their market share in Europe, largely at Chiquita’s expense (Alden). Chiquita, however, sought out and fought a political battle against the European Union with the United States government backing them. The old EU import regime was not only an issue for the companies involved, but for the United States as a whole, since it affected banana’s and other agricultural products sold in the US. The regime initially was enacted in 1993, and was later ruled in 1997 to not be in compliance with the World Trade Organization (PR Newswire). The regime was designed in part to protect less efficient banana growers in former European colonies. Chiquita’s management has complained for years that the policies of the EU have cost the company millions by favoring banana’s from Caribbean producers in former European colonies. The EU’s rules were judged to discriminate in favor of growers in EU territories and the Caribbean at the expense of Latin American producers and U.

What Are the Qualities That an Ideal Person Should Cultivate?

What are the qualities that an ideal person should cultivate, possess, and practice according to Confucius? 1. Introduction In this paper, I will discuss what qualities should be cultivated, possessed, and practiced for an ideal person according to Confucius. Although Confucius regards humanness, wisdom, and courage as the basic threefold towards being a junzi (superior man/ideal person, ), there has been an ongoing disagreement among scholars regarding the qualities that are needed to become an ideal person or a junzi.I shall accomplish my purpose by first providing a basic background of information on the topic, then identifying two conflicting interpretations of the qualities that are required by Hosung Ahn and Ha Poong Kim, adding my own critical response, and lastly offering my resolution using Antonio S. Cua’s interpretation on the topic. I will use Confucian Analects (1895) by James Legge as my primary source, along with â€Å"Junzi as a Tragic Person: A Self Psycholo gical Interpretation of the Analects† (Ahn, 2008), â€Å"Confucius’s Aesthetic Concept of Noble Man: Beyond Moralism† (Ha, 2006), and â€Å"Virtues of Junzi† (Cua, 2007) as my secondary sources. . Background Information According to Chinese tradition, Confucius is one of the most outstanding thinker, political figure, educator, philosopher, and the founder of the Ru (? ) School of Chinese thought. Our textbook â€Å"The Eastern Paths to Philosophic Self-Enlightenment: An introduction to Eastern Philosophies† (2002) written by Professor Phan points out that Confucius’s thoughts are preserved in the Lunyu ( ) or the Analects, which is one of the Four Books. It is worth noting that the Analects was not written by Master Kong Zi (Confucius, himself, but complied by his close disciples when they recollected his â€Å"sayings† after Confucius’s death. Defined by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Confucius’s teachings create the foundation on most of subsequent Chinese speculation on the education and comportment of the junzi ( ), and how such an individual should live his life, interact with others, and the types of society and government in which he should participate. On one hand, in 14:20, the Master said, â€Å"The way of the superior man is threefold, but I am not equal to it.Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold; he is free from fear. † While on the other hand, scholars have attempted to interpret the qualities of junzi differently. In the next section, I shall examine the conflicting interpretations of Ahn and Kim. 3. First Interpretation by Hosung Ahn A. Background on Confucianism and Psychological Connotations of Junzi In Ahn’s article, he provides historical background information on Confucianism being the most efficient ideological means of medieval and modern authoritarian governments in China and Korea (Ahn, 2008).Yet, Ahn argues that in the course of quoting Weber (1968), Confucianism and Daoism could not be introduced into modern capitalism due to their â€Å"thisworldliness. † Ahn depicts Confucianism as one of the major hindrances in the road toward modernization and industrialization and considers Confucius as a stubborn and conservative moralist whose ethical codes were oppressive. By introducing Heinz Kohut, an Austrian-born American psychoanalyst, Ahn compares Kohutian psychoanalysis such as self-psychology with Confucianism’s ideal person in the Analects.Ahn provides the basic background information in the purpose of identifying Confucianism as being neither sophisticated nor systematized; yet, Ahn suggests that the Analects could be interpreted as a pre-psychoanalytic self-psychology owing to the abundant self psychological insights in the Analects. Ahn then defines junzi as â€Å"a prince literally and a gentleman ordinarily,† and that in Confucianism, â€Å"a junzi is a noble per son who attempts to actualize Confucian cardinal virtues in concrete human relationships at any cost.A junzi has often been considered a conformist or a conservative† (Ahn, 2008). Furthermore, Ahn states that Confucianism being established as an ethical and political orthodoxy in Korea was a rigid and authoritarian formalistic, and of which courtesy, rituals, and humanity were the fundamental standards of being a junzi (see Shun 2002). B. Ahn’s Thesis In this article, Ahn (2008) specifically points out that â€Å"a junzi is a tragic person in the Kohutian sense. Like a tragic person, a junzi follows his or her ideals with values deeply anchored in oneself even at the expense of one’s death. Ahn thinks the most important standards of being a junzi are courtesy and rituals; he states that, â€Å"Confucius himself severely criticizes the externalized beauty and grandeur without the internalized quality of character† (Ahn, 2008). Most importantly, Ahn address es that the core characteristic of the Kohutian tragic person is almost identically expressed in the Analects: humanity (ren, ? ), which is the ultimate virtue of Confucianism and that a junzi would rather die than giving up his or her ideals and values; which Ahn refers to as strikingly similar to Kohut’s definition of a tragic person.In terms of Ahn’s arguments for supporting his claim, he brings out the topic of xiaoren (small man, ) and defines it as â€Å"those whose ideals and values are superficially situated on the psyche as compared to junzi in the Analects† (Ahn, 2008). Ahn then identifies the difference between a xiaoren and a junzi employing Confucius’s saying, â€Å"The gentleman (junzi) is conversant with righteousness; the small man (xiaoren) is conversant with profit† (Analects, 4. 16). Ahn points out that because a xiaoren focus on what is beneficial to him or her only, he or she cannot but be vulnerable to the external vicissitud es.Similarly, according to Kohut, a xiaoren would â€Å"quickly and opportunistically adjust his or her convictions under the influence of external pressures† (cited in Ahn, 2008); whereas a junzi is determined to â€Å"adhere to the good (Way) until death† (Analects, 8. 13). Ahn then considers this determination as courage, and he quotes Kohut (1985) that â€Å"The culminate peace (in his death) achieved by the hero is†¦the ultimate ascendancy of a firm and life-affirming self† (p. 27).Ahn further proves that Confucius has expressed the same idea through: â€Å"If a man in the morning hears the right way, he may die in the evening without regret† (Analects, 4. 8). Thus, Hosung Ahn summarizes that a junzi, according to Confucius, is a person who searches for â€Å"the achievement of a psychological synthesis at all costs† (Ahn, 2008). In other words, Hosung Ahn interprets that Confucius thinks the quality an ideal person should cultivate, poss ess, and practice is the spirit of achieving a psychological synthesis or preserving his or her ideals and values at all costs. 4.Second Interpretation by Ha Poong Kim A. Background on Aesthetic Concept of a Noble Man In Kim’s article, he provides historical background information of the Analects being narrowly and moralistically interpreted. Kim points out that Confucius’s remarks such as from â€Å"the Book of Songs and Music† are commonly given an ethical meaning owing to the tradition of Confucius’s key term ren (humanness, ? ) as being an ethical term. Through offering a historical basis as a foundation, Kim attempts to broaden Confucius’s humanistic interpretation of ren as humanness or the human spirit.In details, Kim (2006) addresses that â€Å"while the word ren only rarely occurs in the pre-Confucian literature, it is used in works such as the Songs and the (Book of) History, essentially as a synonym of ren. † To demonstrate that C onfucius’s teaching ren for the first time as the supreme principle of human existence and that Confucius is the discoverer of the human spirit in Chinese civilization, Kim introduces and explains other meanings and definitions of ren used in other Confucius or Mencius materials.Also, Ha Poong Kim offers the background information of â€Å"one-dimensional image of the Confucian junzi as a rigid moralist, a man whose distinguishing mark is just a fastidious observance of li (rites, ? )† (Kim, 2006). With all the background information and explanation provided by Kim, he expresses the fact that some of Confucius’s sayings in the Analects are purely aesthetic and any attempt to moralistically interpret them distorts their meanings. B. Kim’s Thesis Kim (2006) agrees with the normativity of Confucius’s concept of ren, yet he argues that the ground of its normativity is fundamentally aesthetic.In supporting his claim, Kim applies Confucius’s teach ing: â€Å"Recognize beauty in abiding in ren. If one chooses not to stay in ren, how can one be considered to have attained wisdom? † (Analects, 4:1) Kim interprets this saying as Confucius stressing the recognition of the beauty of ren as a necessary condition of human wisdom, which is equivalent to the awareness of the human spirit. Kim defines this recognition as an aesthetic awareness. Then, through applying Confucius’s saying: â€Å"To become a junzi Ru (noble scholar, ), not a xiaoren Ru (common scholar, † (Analects, 6:11); Kim points out the difference between a junzi and a xiaoren ultimately comes from the noble man’s awareness of the beauty of ren, which the small man (xiaoren) lacks. Kim explains that since a junzi has this aesthetic sensibility of humanness, he naturally desires, loves, and delights in ren and every manifestation of it. For the purpose of backing up Kim’s claim, he states Confucius believes that by studying the Songs, one would be best awakened, which then explains why Confucius repeatedly urges his pupils to study the Songs.Kim argues that Confucius’s teaching is to help the students become a junzi, who is a lover of ren, through arousing humanness that is obtained through the study of music. In this particular main argument, Kim (2006) summarizes that â€Å"for Confucius’s spiritual awakening, specifically the aesthetic awakening to ren, is the presupposition of the education of junzi. Without this wakening, the learner or scholar will remain a xiaoren Ru, no matter how well versed he may be in ritual subjects, and regardless of how blameless he may be in his ethical conduct. Next, Kim offers another important argument that during Confucius’s years of wandering from state to state in search of a good ruler, he rarely parted with his lute. Sima Qian, an Ancient Chinese historian, revealed that once, surrounded by two hostile armies, Confucius and his disciples ran out of p rovisions in the wilderness between the states of Chen and Cai. With some of his disciples falling ill and being unable to get up, Confucius calmly continued singing songs and plucking his lute.Kim regards Confucius’s act as a man capable of forgetting everything else while enjoying music. Thus, in Kim’s point of view, what fundamentally separates Confucius’s junzi from the rest of humanity is the junzi’s aesthetic sensibility to ren. In other words, Kim believes that according to Confucius, the quality a junzi should cultivate, possess, and practice is the aesthetic awareness. Nevertheless, Kim mentions that through stressing the junzi as an aesthetic man, he is not denying a junzi’s many-sidedness. 5. CritiqueI agree with Hosung Ahn’s claim regarding junzi as a noble person who attempts to actualize Confucian cardinal virtues, and that courtesy, rituals, humanness, and courage are important criterions of becoming a junzi. Moreover, I agree with Ahn’s claim that a junzi would follow his or her ideals and values deeply anchored in oneself even at the expensed of death. However, I strongly disagree with Ahn’s opinion of Confucius’s teaching or his classification of a junzi as a tragic person. In my point of view, Ahn has made an inaccurate interpretation of one Confucius’s saying from the Analects.In 4:8, Confucius teaches that â€Å"If a man in the morning hear(s) the right way, he may die in the evening without regret. † Ahn interprets this saying as Confucius’s advocating of a junzi who must search for â€Å"achievements of a psychological synthesis at all costs† (Ahn, 2008), and this remarkably resembles a tragic person. As the exercise we conducted in our philosophy class on textual hermeneutics of the Confucian Dao in the Analects, this Confucius’s saying represents the importance of the Dao (way, ? ; which according to Confucius, with the experience of heari ng the Dao, one could die without regrets afterwards. Thus, this person or this junzi would be a happy person since he contains the very important factor â€Å"Dao†, and that he is absolutely not a tragic person as Hosung Ahn considers as. In terms of Ha Poong Kim’s interpretation of a junzi, I agree with Kim regarding the fact that Confucius repeatedly urges his disciples to study the Songs and Music because it would indeed help his pupils awaken and broaden their minds, enjoy the six arts, and commit to the Dao.I also agree with Kim that a junzi is many-sidedness. What I do not agree with Kim is his differentiation of a junzi and a xiaoren through aesthetic awareness. As I mentioned above, Kim (2006) summarizes in this particular main argument that â€Å"†¦without this wakening, the learning or scholar will remain a xiaoren Ru, no matter how well versed he may be in ritual subjects, and no matter how blameless he may be in his ethical conduct. † In my opi nion, apart from pointing out Confucius advocates his pupils to study the Songs and Music, Kim has not given sufficient evidence to support this claim.He has not shown any Confucius’s teaching that could demonstrate the fundamental difference between a xiaoren’s and a junzi’s aesthetic awareness, but rather Kim provides claims simply from his own exploration of Confucius’s thoughts. To further prove that Kim’s interpretation is inaccurate, there are numerous examples of junzi lacking of musical talents and xiaoren being extremely talented in aesthetic. In my opinion, Confucius does believe that music could change one’s mind, adjust one’s mood, smooth one’s qi (energy) and etc. , but Confucius certainly does not identify a junzi from a xiaoren based on aesthetics. . Resolution: Interdependent and Dependent Virtues of Junzi According to Antonio S. Cua, junzi is a paradigmatic individual who sets the tone and quality of the life o f ordinary moral agents, and a junzi is a person who embodies ren (humanness, ? ), yi (righteousness, ? ), li (rites, ?). In addition, unlike Ahn or Kim, Cua recognizes that except the basic, interdependent, and cardinal virtues of ren, yi, and li, a junzi also involves particular dependent virtues such as filiality (xiao, ? ), magnanimity (kuan, ? ), trustworthiness (xin, ? ), and courage (yong, ? ).Cua regards these as dependent virtues in the sense that their ethical significance depends on connection with the basic, interdependent, and cardinal virtues; and Antonio S. Cua further stresses that dependent virtues are not subordinate or logical derivatives of the basic virtues. In 14:30, the Master said, â€Å"The way of the superior man is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear. † As we interpreted in class that according to Confucius, to become a junzi, one must be morally goo d, intellectually wise, and psychologically brave.In my point of view, I highly agree with Cua’s claim and I think although Confucius identifies humanness, wisdom, and courage as the superior man’s three core virtues, interdependent virtues and dependent virtues work together to form the junzi. To clarify, Antonio S. Cua borrows Xunzi’s distinction, a Chinese Confucian philosopher who lived during the Warring States Period and contributed to one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the cardinal virtues ren, yi, and li are generic terms, and dependent virtues such as xiao, kuan, xin, yong are specified terms.In other words, â€Å"specified terms are terms that specify the concrete significance of the cardinal virtues in particular contexts of discourse† (Cua, 2007). To demonstrate further, in the Analects, we could find fragments of Confucius’s remarks that mention both cardinal virtues and dependent virtues in the same contexts. For example, â€Å"T here were four things which the Master taught: letters (wen, ? ), ethics (xing, ? ), devotion of soul (zhong, ? ), and truthfulness (xin, ? ). † —Confucius, The Analects, 7. 25And in 14:28 we could find Confucius’s teaching of ren, zhi (wisdom, ? ), and yong (courage, ? ); in 3:19 li and zhong; in 13:4 li, yi, and xin and so on. For heuristic purposes, Cua regards dependent virtues as two different groups: supportive and constitutive virtues. Cua explains that the distinction between are that the former are â€Å"genial or helpful, though not necessary, to the development of the cardinal virtues such as ren, yi, and li;† whereas the latter, are those that are â€Å"both supportive and constitutive of the quality of the cardinal virtues actualized† (Cua, 2007).Also, depending on the character and temperament, a constitutive and supportive virtue varies, that is, what is merely a constitutive attribute in one person may be a supportive merit for anoth er. Thus, Cua believes that Confucius’s idea of the junzi is flexible or adaptable, and I highly agree with him. To sum up, in my point of view, according to Confucius, what qualities a junzi should cultivate, possess, and practice is the unity of virtues that consists of ren, yi, and li as the basic cardinal virtues, and combining with other qualities such as xiao, yong, zhong, xin, kuan, etc.Depending on each different person and situation, the mapping of the virtues of junzi is in the distinction between basic, cardinal, interdependent and dependent, supportive and constitutive virtues, which may be referred to â€Å"the way of the superior man is unityfold. † 7. Conclusion On this paper, I provided background information of the topic; I discussed and dissected two interpretations made by Hosung Ahn and Ha Poong Kim. In response to Ahn’s and Kim’s argument, I have made a personal critique that a junzi is not a tragic person and that a junzi is not requ ired to possess aesthetic awareness.I then offered my resolution along with employing Antonio S. Cua’s interpretation of this topic. In short, by presenting a map of junzi’s virtues that consists of both interdependent and dependent virtues; it reveals that the Confucius’s conception of junzi is a unity of virtues with flexibility. Works Cited Ahn,  Hosung. â€Å"Junzi as a Tragic Person: A Self Psychological Interpretation of the Analects. â€Å"Pastoral Psychology, 57. 1/2 (2008): 101. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Apr. 2012 Confucius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). †Ã‚  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI, Stanford University, 3 July 2002. Web. 1 May 2012. Cua,  Antonio. â€Å"Virtues of Junzi. â€Å"Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 34 (2007): 125. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Mar. 2012 Kim,  Ha Poong. â€Å"Confucius's Aesthetic Concept of Noble Man: Beyond Moralism. †Ã‚  Asian P hilosophy, 16. 2 (2006): 111. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Mar. 2012 Kohut, H (1985). Self psychology and the science of man.In Humanities and self psychology: Reflections on a new psychoanalytic approach (pp. 73-94). New York: Norton. Legge, James. Confucian Analects. In Vol. I of Chinese Classics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1895. Print. Phan, Cha? nh Co? ng. The Eastern paths to philosophic self-enlightenment: an introduction to Eastern philosophies. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co. , 2002. Print. Shun, K. -L. (2002). Ren ? and li ? in the Analects. In B. W. Van Norden (Ed. ), Confucius and the Analects: New essays (pp. 3-72). New York: Oxford University Press. Weber, M. (1968). The religion of China (H. Gerth, Trans. ). New York: Free Press. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. The numbering of the book/chapter of a passage from the Analects follows James Legge’s in his translation of the text (1895). [ 3 ]. The cited phrase comes from The religion of China by Weber, M. [ 4 ]. Ren ? and li ? in the Analect. Confucius and the Analects written by K. Shun, as cited in Hosung Ahn’s article.

Eteocles and Polynices

Eteocles and Polynices were the sons of the classic Greek tragic hero and Theban king Oedipus, who fought each other for the control of Thebes after their father abdicated. The Oedipus story is part of the Theban cycle and told most famously by the Greek poet Sophocles. After decades of ruling Thebes, Oedipus discovered he had been at the mercy of a prophecy cast before his birth. Fulfilling the curse, Oedipus had unwittingly killed his own father Laius, and married and fathered four children by his mother Jocasta. In rage and horror, Oedipus blinded himself and abandoned his throne. As he left, Oedipus cursed his own two grown sons/brothers, Eteocles and Polynices had been left to rule Thebes, but Oedipus doomed them to kill each other. The 17th-century painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo shows the fulfillment of that curse, their deaths at each others hand. Owning the Throne The Greek poet Aeschylus told the Eteocles and Polynices story in his award-winning trilogy on the topic, Seven Against Thebes, In the final play, the brothers fight  each other for possession of the throne of Thebes. At first, they had agreed to rule Thebes jointly by alternating years in power, but after his first year, Eteocles refused to step down. To gain the rule of Thebes, Polynices needed warriors, but Theban men within the city would only fight for his brother. Instead, Polynices gathered a group of men from Argos. There were seven gates to Thebes, and Polynices selected seven captains to lead the charges against each gate. To fight them and protect the gates, Eteocles selected the best-qualified man in Thebes to challenge the specific Argive adversary, so there are seven Theban counterparts to the Argive attackers. The seven pairs are: Tydeus vs. MelanippusCapaneus vs. PolyphontesEteoclus vs. MegareusHippomedon vs. HyperbiusParthenopeus vs.  ActorAmphiaraus vs. LasthenesPolynices vs. Eteocles The battles end when the two brothers kill each other with swords. In the sequel to the battle between Eteocles and Polynices, the successors of the fallen Argives, known as the Epigoni, win control of Thebes. Eteocles was buried honorably, but the traitor Polynices was not, leading to their sister Antigones own tragedy.