Epicurus and Marxs View on Meaningful life Essay -- alienation theory

In Marx’s theory of â€Å"alienation† it highlights on his analysis of alienated labor carried out by political economy, and sees worker as a misery tool for commodity production .This paper will examine the contrasting perspective given by Marx and Epicurus for a good and meaningful life, and will suggest that Marx’s view is more persuasive than Epicurus, in particular because Marx’s concept relates to our contemporary social phenomena which are much more alike in what we are experiencing today. Indeed, this paper will emphasize two arguments which distinctly are different between Marx and Epicurus’ view on life. First, Marx’s sees the point of life has tied into some kinds of activity like work and materialistic consideration, where Epicurus focuses on one’s experience such as pleasure, contemplation and friendship. Secondly, Marx does not consider wisdom is important, where Epicurus thinks wisdom is a key to achieve happiness in li fe. Marx’s view of alienation is a response to political economy and capitalism, and which has developed an important relation among human, production, and reality with human nature. He sees workers choose work to maintain life; work is not a voluntary thing. People create products that do not belong to them, and they work to satisfy the other’s need (eg. factory owners), not their own, and were considered to be â€Å"forced labor†. Therefore, in a sense work becomes a way people disconnect from their human nature. (p. 51,52) The act of production in a way alienates workers from their activities. Workers are alienated from the object they were produced, the more productivity a worker achieves the more he or she loses the nature of human beings. Since the product is not the creation of their own, workers bec... ...intain our basic living standards. I feel like we live the alienated social structure like Marx describes. Employer paid employees with rate in hours, working schedules; we have deadlines, and work objectives. Yet, we still spend most of our time at work and produce products or provide services which are not belonging to us. Works Cited Epicurus (1), "Letter to Menoeceus" in Jackman (ed), Phil 1100: The meaning of Life, Course Kit, York University 2013, pp. 25-26. Epicurus (2), "Principle Doctrines" in Jackman (ed), Phil 1100: The meaning of Life, Course Kit, York University 2013, pp. 27-29. Jackman, H. 2013 (1). "Karl Marx", Lecture Notes, York University, 2013. Jackman. H. 2013 (2). â€Å"Epicurus†. Lecture Notes. York Univeristy. 2013 Marx, Alienated Labor. (1844). In Jackman (ed), Phil 1100: The meaning of Life, Course Kit, York University 2013, pp. 51-54

Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis: Report Essay

Joseph J. Ellis is a well-known historian. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the college of William and Mary, and his masters and Ph.D. at the University of Yale. Ellis is currently a full time professor of the Commonwealth at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In addition to Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation Ellis has written many books and editorials. His books include; The New England Mind in Transition: Samuel Johnson of Connecticut (Yale University Press, 1983), School For Soldiers: West Point and the Profession of Arms (Oxford University Press, 1974), Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams (W.W Norton and Company, 1993), After the Revolution: Profiles of Early American Culture (W.W. Norton & Company, 2002), and American Sphinx: The character of Thomas Jefferson (New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1998), which won the 1997 National Book Award. Ellis also won the Pulitzer Prize for History for Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. The subject of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation focuses on the lives of the Founding Fathers and how they affected America then, and today. Ellis’s thesis is that there has always been turmoil when it comes to states’ rights and the balance of po wer, but the American Revolution was ultimately successful due to the bonds between the founding brothers. His motives for writing the book is to show why, â€Å"these events and achievements are historically significant because they shaped the subsequent history of the United States, including our own time† . Ellis uses many primary sources to support his claims in Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. For instance, he uses many letters from the characters in the book. The book also includes many quotations from the founding brothers. Ellis also uses many secondary sources. He uses many biographies to help give evidence, including many biographies on each character in the book. Some of these biographies include; Alexander Hamilton by Broadus Mitchell, Aaron Burr by Milton Lomask, James Madison by Irving Brent, Benhamin Franklin by Carl Van Doren, and many more. The majority of reviewers for Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation thought very highly of Ellis’s writing in this book. Many reviewers suggested for all audiences to read this book, including al l levels of education. T.J. Shaeper, of St Bonaventure University in New York, stated that, â€Å"Ellis is deeply steeped in the  literature, and his style is crisp and full of subtle ironies†. Benson Bobrick of The New York Times, observed that, â€Å"this is a splendid book-human, learned, written with flair and radiant with a calm intelligence and wit. Even those familiar with the Revolutionary generation will, I would warrant find much in its pages to captivate and enlarge their understanding of our nations fledgling years† . H. M. Ward, from the University of Richmond, believes that, â€Å"the author succeeds in his aim to extract essential meaning from large-scale topics. The lively narrative reassesses the pivotal roles of the seven men and their intertwining relationships† . Gilbert Taylor generalized that â€Å"Ellis essays are angled, fascinating, and perfect† . These reviews all show how greatly reviewers feel Ellis did on this book. One author had a very interesting opinion about how Ellis saw the â€Å"Founding Brothers†. Benson Bobrick, of The New York Times, analyzed that, â€Å"as Ellis sees it, the founding brethren not only cre ated the American Republic but held it together throughout the volatile and vulnerable early years by sustaining their presence until national habits and customs took root† 3.. This statement shows that, not only did Ellis view the founding fathers as the creators of the â€Å"American Republic†, but also as the backbone to America’s success in the years to follow. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation is a well written narrative about America’s founding fathers and the years that followed the Revolutionary War. Ellis’s book is appealing to anyone who is interested in learning about the roots of our founding brothers. The book is also well written in the aspect of not being long and drawn out into one big story. Instead, Ellis breaks the book down in to six stories that talk about different situations with American historical figures. Ellis uses more than one type of historical writing throughout the six stories. He uses social, economic and political types of history throughout this book. Overall Joseph J. Ellis showed the significant role the leaders played in the founding of our country. Each character that Ellis brings forth in a story had a great impact not only on America then, but also where America’s nation is concerned today. Ellis also shows the importance of knowing about the roots of the founding fathe rs of our nation. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation is not only informative, but also compelling in its stories to  keep the reader intrigued. Bibliography Books Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 2002. Reviews Shaeper, T.J. a review of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph Ellis. Library Journal (October 15, 2000). Bobrick, Benson. â€Å"The Brethren,† a review of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph Ellis. New York Times Book Review. (10 December 2000). Ward, H.M. a review of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph Ellis. Choice (February 1, 2001). Taylor, Gilbert. a review of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph Ellis. Booklist (October 15, 2000).

The Need for Quality Daycare Essay - 1029 Words

The Need for Quality Daycare Daycare has become a controversy because of the great quantity of advantages and disadvantages that it involves. While a very large number of parents have to rely on child care centers because of career ambitions or financial needs that only their jobs can fulfill, most child psychiatrists believe that the ideal growing environment for an infant is at home with the family. The problem is that choosing the right caregiver, a good substitute for the parents, is very hard, and the consequences of a wrong decision can be very detrimental to the child’s personality development. This choice depends on many factors like culture, education and especially income. In fact, the financial availability plays the most†¦show more content†¦The problem is accentuated by the widening of the gap between rich and poor, that can be translated in this matter as an increase of difficulty for low-income families to have access to the much more expensive high quality day care options. There are several aspects that built such a controversial situation and the most important are certainly the cultural and economical ones. The huge growth in women’s independence and professional ambition, in addition to importance, of the last decades, caused the fall of the cultural basis that have always taken for granted the responsibility of the mother as the full-time caregiver (Chisholm 38). Now women are more willing to gain a successful and respectable place in society, and this can be achieved almost exclusively through hard work and full immersion in their jobs. Simultaneously, the economical situation of our society caused many families to depend on two incomes to satisfy the basic needs. In fact, the increase in the cost of living not sufficiently balanced by a relatively smaller rise in wages, and a greater attitude toward materialism and conspicuous consumption, have given women the same financial responsibility as men (Chilman 451). This aspect can be fully applied only on families with an average income or better, because professional daycare programs are pretty expensive and in some cases can reach prices higher than the minimum wage. Those factorsShow MoreRelatedConceptualizing a Business Essay1417 Words   |  6 PagesI will explain the importance of the Arcoiris daycare to the community and how this service is helpful for people that are unable to take care their children. Arcoiris Daycare was open on June 19, 2009. This home daycare provides services for children of varying ages including infants, toddlers and pre-school. 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