Comparing Descartes and Peirces Opinions On Knowledge Essay

Knowledge according to Merriam- Webster’s dictionary is â€Å"acts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education.† Rene Descartes saw knowledge being attained through deductive logic and would disagree with this definition. Charles Peirce’s pragmatic approach on the other hand is the reason we have that definition. Rene Descartes believed that by ridding himself of all prejudice prejudgments and doubting everything including his senses, body, and all his previous experiences based on a mathematical approach was how humans can know about the natural world. Rather than going out into the world to find knowledge, Descartes wants us to think and go deeper within ourselves. He states, â€Å"It is only once we have†¦show more content†¦He used what is already known and from that information formed a hypothesis. Peirce, unlike Descartes is not searching for an absolute theoretical truth, because he has given up the idea of absolute truth. He understood knowledge as coming from experience. To know is to grasp independent reality through the senses or by experience. Peirce would like us to make the distinction between a principle that cant be doubted and one that isnt doubted. Whereas Descartes wants us to go deeper within ourselves, rather than in the world; Peirce wrote, â€Å"That the mi nd of man is strongly adapted to the comprehension of the world, and that there is a total harmony between man and world. Descartes shows that no â€Å"sense experience†, independent concept, or arbitrary judgment can furnish knowledge other than that which is â€Å"clearly and indubitably perceived† by the mind. (Fourth Meditation) Descartes expands on this when he tells us we exist with a mind though we may still be in error of our judgments. From this, Descartes formed the deductive â€Å"cogito,† â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† Testing the cogito by means of methodic doubt is supposed to reveal its unshakable certainty. Descartes believed the existence of our bodies are subject to doubt, however, the existence of our thinking is not. First person formulation is essential to the certainty of this cogito.

Social Worker Practice And Social Work - 1780 Words

Social worker practice involves the application of values, techniques, and practices is involved in helping people, communities, groups, with a family or individual setting. Social work practices require the incorporation of theories and perspectives that have been successful in helping people. Social workers use theories and perspective in every form of their services. Social workers are required to assess their clients and needs provided services that fit the current problem. The assignment provides students to discuss theories and perspective they are currently using and how specific theories can be incorporated into future social work practice. At the beginning of the course during the self-awareness and professionalism assessment the empowerment and advocacy theory was chosen as being important in my current social work profession. According to Payne (2010), Empowerment and advocacy are social democratic practice enabling people to overcome barriers in achieving their life objectives to gain access to services and to improve services, contributing to practice a focus on social injustices†. A social worker s role to assist with self-empowerment and allow the client make their own decisions Working as a Foster Care social worker my job duties entitle long hours of empowerment and advocacy. The main role of the social worker is to write a case plan and encourage our clients to complete their case plan. Parents who have not successful worked any components ofShow MoreRelatedThe Social Workers Ethical Accountability1185 Words   |  5 PagesThere is an increasing necessity for social workers to increase their understa nding of the skills and knowledge required to undertake the client’s challenges that are referred to them (Munro, 2004, p. 1076). It can be argued that evidence-based practice is the social workers ethical accountability. This is beneficial for the clients as individuals, and groups that social workers interact with (Plath, 2006, p. 59). Clients are involved as knowledgeable contributors in decision-making. Any ambiguityRead MoreA Brief Note On The Canadian And Philippine Social Work Practice925 Words   |  4 PagesSocial Work in Canada and The Philippines Despite geographically on different corners of the world, there remains a lot of similarities between the Canadian and Philippine social work practice. In both jurisdictions, social work is a recognized profession. In the Philippines, Republic Act 4373 laid the basis for professionalization social work. The organized social work practice in the Philippines was introduced during the American rule (1898-1946) to gradually extend public coordination of welfareRead MoreThe Social Work Of A Social Worker1585 Words   |  7 PagesAs a social worker, we are essentially given the opportunity to utilize our past and personal experiences, educational background, and diverse relationships to make a difference in countless people’s lives. Whether we choose to dedicate ourselves to practicing micro or macro social work, we can influence the outcomes of social policies, assist clients with obtaining basic necessities, or change a person’s thought processes by applying psychosocial t heories as necessary. However, we are obligatedRead MoreThe Code Of Ethical, Principle, And Guidelines1345 Words   |  6 PagesGuidelines. Social workers work with conflicting interests and competing rights to support, protect and empower people, statutory duties and other obligations that may be coercive and restrict people’s freedoms. Social work is an interrelated system of values, theory and practice. PRACTICE Social work practice addresses the barriers, inequities and injustices that exist in society. It responds to crises and emergencies as well as to everyday personal and social problems. TheyRead MoreThe Topic Of Evidence Based Practice1109 Words   |  5 Pagesbased practice (EBP) in Social Work. This paper will discuss the definition of EBP, why EBP is used in Social Work, the positive and negative sides of EBP, and finally an example of EBP being used within an agency setting. The information gathered is coming from three separate scholarly journal articles, a podcast episode, and the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (NASW Code). Keywords: Evidence Based Practice, National Association of Social Workers, Code of Ethics, Social WorkRead MoreSocial Care Environment: Ethical Practice Essay1050 Words   |  5 PagesWhen working in a social care environment, ethical practice plays a major part in every aspect of your work. This essay will explain what ethical practise is, how it affects the social care industry, and some examples as to how it could play an important role in daily work. Ethical practise is difficult to properly define. â€Å"Caseworkers, supervisors, and other staff should be guided by an overarching set of ethical standards that inform their decision-making and conduct when working with childrenRead MoreEthical Dilemmas Facing Social Work1619 Words   |  7 PagesIn social work, this learning process is an integral part of applying theory to practice. With the growing influence of postmodernism, social workers also need to be prepared to recognise the eurocentric discourse that grounds and governs their disciplinary knowledge. It is against this background that I will reflect upon Foucault’s power-knowledge axis, particularly as it relates to cultural competence. As will be demonstrated, anti-oppressive practice rests on the ability of social workers to analyseRead MoreA Brief Note On Social And Political Action808 Words   |  4 PagesI. 6.04 Social and Political Action Section 6.04 best supports community practice, it is inclusive of the elements needed to become a community activist or organizer. The details of this section cover equal access to employment, resources and the expansion of opportunities for disadvantage. This section embraces the methods of a community activist or organizer, by using action words like promote and advocate. The vivid instructions are given on the responsibilities of a social worker to prevent discriminationRead MoreSocial Work Roles Of Macro Practice1736 Words   |  7 Pages Social Work Roles in Macro Practice Journal 1 Student Name: Adegboyega Bada Professor: George Okurapa Course: Community Practice CourseRead MoreProfessional Standards For Health And Social Care1422 Words   |  6 Pagesfor health and social care. I will be concentrating on one profession which is social work. I will discuss the historical development of professional standards in health and social care and then explain how professional standards promote anti-discriminatory practice and anti-oppressive practice. I will describe how professionals develop awareness of their professional self by using professional standards. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care inspects the work of health and

Power and Ambition Free Essays

William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, is the story of a usurping General, Lord Macbeth, and his wife Lady Macbeth who are driven to murder their king in pursuit of the throne and power. The tragedy has multiple reoccurring themes and motifs, of which Shakespeare uses many aesthetic features to effectively develop and enhance. One such theme is Masculinity vs. We will write a custom essay sample on Power and Ambition or any similar topic only for you Order Now Femininity which resounds throughout the entirety of the play and is a central focus point during many events. Shakespeare uses imagery, symbolism and metaphor very effectively during the course of the play to augment and pinpoint important developments and changes to the characters and their states of masculinity and femininity. At the time that Shakespeare wrote his plays the values and attitudes were vastly different to those of modern society. Women were considered the fairer sex while men were considered the dominant sex. Similar essay: If I Become A Collector Essay In Macbeth, this view is approached with the idea that masculinity carried with it the ability to kill and commit sin while femininity in its ideal was softer, gentler and comprised of virtue. Shakespeare demonstrates this ideal very early in the play when, in Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth calls out, â€Å"Come you spirits that tend on human thoughts! Unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty. † This happens directly after receiving notice from her husband that the witches’ prophecy had come true and that the king was to be joining them in their castle. At this point in the play she is asking the spirits to take away her femininity, a literal unsexing, and fill her with a ‘direst cruelty’ that she, as a woman, did not already possess so that she could have the ability to kill her king. This idea of femininity causing an inability to kill, indeed needing to become masculine to be able to commit the crime demonstrates Shakespeare’s ideal of women being pure while men have evil in their very being. The use of this imagery and figurative language, ‘direst cruelty’ and ‘unsex me now’, in this scene underlines this ideal and highlights Shakespeare’s view on femininity and masculinity. Another aspect of Shakespeare’s portrayal of women as incapable of sin relates directly to the view of women at the time the play was written. The medieval view of women, in that they were weaker, less intelligent and meant for menial work and child rearing; and the subsequent opposite view of males, being that they were the money earners, the soldiers, and thus full of courage and honour is very easily seen through Shakespeare’s language throughout Macbeth. In Act 4 Scene 3, Macduff says, ‘O! I could play the woman with mine eyes’ after being informed that his children and his wife had just been murdered in the home that he had run from. By implying that weeping is a womanly attribute and saying that he as a man should not do it, it again highlights the idea that women were weaker and softer in their femininity then men were in their masculinity. This weakness and its symbolized lack of physical strength, shows again, Shakespeare’s view of women as the weaker sex and their subsequent inability to commit murder or other atrocious acts. Yet another instance of Shakespeare’s obvious separation of femininity from sin is in the scene where Lady Macbeth is convincing Lord Macbeth to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth cows Lord Macbeth by asking him â€Å"With thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own self-esteem, letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’, like the poor cat I’ the adage? † This line and its subsequent imagery of a cat wanting the fish but afraid of the water shows that Shakespeare believes that to be a man is to go after his true desires regardless of the consequences. At this point in time, Lady Macbeth has been unsexed and is using her new found masculinity to manipulate and force Lord Macbeth into fulfilling her own desires, something that she was not capable of when she was a woman. This is a doubled example of masculinity’s ingrained sin; Lady Macbeth is manipulating Lord Macbeth by questioning his manhood and as a result to prove his virility and strength he will commit murder. By proving his masculinity in this way, through murder and evil, it shows that Shakespeare believed men to be the only ones capable of sin. Throughout Macbeth, the theme of Masculinity vs. Femininity is developed and expanded upon using imagery and symbolism. Shakespeare manipulates language conventions to demonstrate the idea of the feminine sex being incapable of murder and sin while men and their subsequent masculinity is the root of such evil acts. At the time that Shakespeare wrote his plays the values and attitudes were vastly different to those of modern society and as such his ideals and views reflect these medieval interpretations of women being the weaker sex while men were dominant. From Lady Macbeth’s plea to be unsexed, to Macduff’s implication of crying being a weak response of women and then to Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of her husband after being filled with the ‘direst cruelty’ of masculinity, Shakespeare’s language shows his view on Masculinity vs. Femininity. Through his imagery and symbolism, his opinion that women are incapable of evil in their feminine state becomes very clear and Macbeth becomes almost a warning to the fairer sex; do not lose your femininity and thus your purity. How to cite Power and Ambition, Essay examples