The Views Of Mencius And Hsun-Tzu On Heaven Essays - Confucianism

The Views Of Mencius And Hsun-Tzu On Heaven November 17, 1999 The Views of Mencius and Hsun-tzu on Heaven. Mencius believes that it is our nature and mind that determine what we are. It is our fate that governs our fortunes and determines our lease on life. Fate was originally a patent to a fief-holder, given by the Son of Heaven as Heaven's deputy to a feudatory. In extended usage it became our lot in life - the fate ordained by heaven. While people guard their minds and determine their conduct, they cannot determine their fate, which is in Heaven's hands. So, Mencius believed that though all humans are innately good, the realization of that good comes with self-cultivation and self-knowledge. Hsun-tzu could not accept Mencius idealistic view of human nature, nor did he believe that Heaven was the sole arbiter of human behavior. He believed that the importance of humankind in the universe is equal to but different from the importance of Heaven and Earth: Heaven has its seasons, Earth has its riches and man has his culture. This is what is meant by the Trinity. Humanity's function is to utilize the resources of Heaven and Earth to create its own culture. This can be done through the strength acquired from social organization. However, because the social organization needs to be regulated, lest it break down, and because desires are many, but things are few, Hsun-tzu taught that people need to be restricted and guided by rules and morality. In my view of these two philosophers, I feel that Mencius' views are much more common in most religious traditions today. Mencius beliefs are a lot like Christianity, which is the religion that I am most familiar with. He believes that Heaven is a moral force whose mandate is to be respected and followed by human beings. We follow Heaven's mandate by knowing and nourishing our human nature. Our human nature is good. When you look at the Doctrine of four beginnings, Jen, Yi, Li, and Chih, when these are fully developed, you have a very wise and harmonious person. If you have nature you have Heaven. If no nature, no Heaven. This is self-cultivation. In my religious tradition if you do the will of God, you will receive eternal life (Heaven). Religion Essays

Monetary policy, an Australian essays

Monetary policy, an Australian essays Monetary policy is a powerful tool for manipulating the economy, its capacity is heightened by the floating exchange rate used in Australia since December 1983. Fiscal policy, the other major macroeconomic force is somewhat less effective in reaching the major goals of the government including stabilisation of economic growth, unemployment, the balance of payments and inflation. The policies are simply a myriad of tools used to prevent a long period of high unemployment, inflation and prices as well as low wages and growth. Critically discuss the proposition that under a floating exchange rate (e.g. $Aus/$US) monetary policy is a powerful instrument of macroeconomic policymaking whereas fiscal policy is a weak instrument for achieving domestic macroeconomic goals. When attempting to fulfil its macroeconomic goals, governments have the choice of two major policies to use or combine. Firstly, monetary policy uses the level of interest rates to influence the economy in the short to medium term. Its major goals are to stabilise demand and inflation in the medium term and inflationary expectations and to achieve the governments objectives of sustainable growth with underlying inflation of about 2-3%. Fiscal policy is based on the use of government budgeting to either stimulate or dampen the economy, it primarily focuses on correcting the balance of payments situation, whilst not as flexible and wide ranging as monetary policy, fiscal policy is effective if managing a current account deficit. Since December 1983, Australia has been operating with a variable or floating exchange rate, that is, determined by the supply and demand of the currency on the international foreign exchange market. The floating rate can be used to hedge against poor performance of the economy in the future by businesses and by the government, it can also be used to influence the level of activity in the economy, especially when combined with ...

Film An Inconvenient Truth Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Film An Inconvenient Truth - Movie Review Example From the vivid description of Al Gore’s concept of global warming in this documentary shows that human beings are responsible of the severe effects of global warming and being responsible is the only way to achieve eco-stability. This article seeks to analyze the causes of global warming and its impact on the ecosystem as depicted in the movie â€Å"An inconvenient truth.† In the movie, Al Gore starts by creating the awareness that global warming is a reality that is already being experienced in the world today. As the documentary starts, visual images of the sun taken from different earth positions are shown and it is evident that the illumination of this light has intensified with time (Guggenheim). Also, he presents the data of carbon dioxide changes in the atmosphere and the changes in the temperatures of the globe. On this ground, Gore seems to believe that global warming is an active topic that must be tackled in the society to salvage the natural environment from the scourge of this disaster. The data presented by Gore is similar to the information that was tabulated by Booker (21) that shows the manifestation of global warming on the earth today in his effort to assert that this is threatening disaster. The correlation between the evidence presented by the two environmental activists show that global warming is a matter of concern in the society today. Next, the movie draws a connection between the activities of human beings and the problem of global warming that is being experienced in the society today. At this point Gore makes a reflection of grade-school experience when his teacher ridiculed a student who asked about the effects of continental drift in the society (Guggenheim). By pointing out that the teacher was ignorant, he asserts that the society, and more so the politicians, have ignored the reality of environmental pollution. He feels that the result of global warming is the cumulative effect every person’s irresponsibili ty in pollution and not necessarily the effects of large industries. This is similar to the argument of Booker that the environment should be protected from the people and not the vice versa (308). The minor activities of the society such as driving, waste disposal, chemical use, farming and damage of natural vegetation are the major causes of global warming. The idea of Gore is that human activities are responsible for global warming and that any effort to curb this disaster must start from individual responsibility. After developing the connection between global warming and human activities, Gore points out the severe effects of this scourge to the society. He explains that the trends in global warming promises more diseases, dry vegetation and reduce economic activities in the future of the world. At this point an image of the ‘Crimes of the Hot’ describes vividly the adverse effects that greenhouse effect would have on the environment. The image shows an earth that is completely burnt and captures the attention of the viewers to visualize how the earth would turn out to be if the disaster is not mitigated (Guggenheim). By making such an exaggeration, Gore seems to make a realistic threat to incite the people against global warming in the society. In reality, scholars have predicted a doomed global warmed earth under the mercies of the population proactive environmental rehabilitation. By