Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Socrates The Symposium and Its Serious Purpose Essay Example for Free
Socrates The Symposium and Its Serious Purpose Essay Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.)was a Greek philosopher. Plato (ca. 429-347 B.C.E.)was the student of Socrates. According to David H. Richter, because Plato mistrusted writing, he did not set down his philosophy in the usual form of a set of treatises but rather in dialogues (18). The Symposium comes from a dialogue of Socrates ideas transcribed by Plato, because Socrates never wrote anything himself. Whether or not Plato kept his own ideas out of Socrates is the subject of debate: . . . at times we may wonder whether Socrates is being serious or ironic, at other times whether he always speaks directly for Plato (Richter 18). Be that as it may, The Symposium discusses the nature of love, and although it is written in a comic tone, nonetheless it also strives to explore love in a serious manner as bound in morality in the structured forms of drama, rhetoric and dialect.     The Symposium takes the form of several speeches by guests at a symposium, or drinking party, at the house of Agathon. Each of the seven party guests, and their respective speeches, represent a different aspect of love.  Phaedrus takes a literary approach to the topic of love, while Pausanias a legal perspective. Eryximachus brings a doctors view to the topic, and Aristophanes, as a comic poet, sticks with a humorous take on the subject. Agathon uses a self-conscious poetic outlook, whereas Socrates puts a religious spin on love. Finally, Alcibiades talks about his relationship, whether erotic or not, to Socrates. If love is a part of or even the basis of morality, then it is not surprising that Socrates and Plato were interested in coming up with a clear idea of what love was, because according to D. Brendan Nagle, Socrates and Plato, came to the defense of the beleaguered city-state and tried to find a new and irrefutable moral basis for it (162). Socrates was looking for a basis for morality, and certainly he thought at least a part of it was bound up in the idea of love. C. M. Bowra, in Classical Greece, says that Socrates was the first exponent in Greece of a morality based on the demands of individual conscience rather than the demands of the state (137). This work explores this idea of love bound in morality. Socrates, at a time before the drinking party, speaks to Diotima, who tells him a story about love. She brings together the ideas of love and eternality, or what we might today call a true and undying love. She relates how some men were willing to die for the sake of their name being bound to a good reputation even after their death. She gives the example that Achilles would not have avenged Patroclus was it not for the memory of their virtues, which still survives among us, would be immortal? (The Symposium).     Plato uses the dramatic form as one type of structure for The Symposium (Platos Symposium). There is an introduction, the body of the play, and an afterward. The drama is built around the verbal antics of three pairs of speakers with differing points of view. Phaedrus is a social climber and wants to get in good with the poets. He is a rival to Pausanias for Agathons attention. Pausanias, however, is Agathons current lover, so the plot thickens comedically in this first episode. The next scene takes place between Eryximachus, the physician who is bombastic and Aristophanes, the comic dramatist who was known for bringing down people with big egos. The final portion is a debate between Agathon and Socrates. Plato draws a verbal picture of Agathon as a flamboyant self-centered character, whereas Socrates comes across as simple and unfashionable. These pairings help produce the comedy and satire of the piece.     The rhetoric of this piece can also be used as a form for the discussion of love in which these characters partake. Some of the characters deliver their speeches in an exaggerated manner, such as Eryximachus and Agathon. Others, like Socrates and Aristophanes, use a plain style. By the end of the piece Alcibiades, the last speaker, explains in summary that inner beauty is more attractive than outer charm.     Another way to understand The Symposium is as an example of the Socratic method itself. It starts with basic ideas about love, and gradually it grows to deeper understanding based on a question and answer format made famous by Socrates. Phaedrus begins with the idea that love elevates the lover, but Pausanias counters that love can have a religious context or a secular one. The doctor gives a medical explanation for love, claiming that love will bring peace to the mind, whereas Aristophanes thinks that love is more self-centered, because the lover is looking for self-actualization through the means of love. Socrates has the final summary through expressing the ideas of Diotima to the other party guests that love in its purest form wants eternally to be immortal and also wants the good and the beautiful to be the focus of its immortality.     Socrates used humor as well as structure provided by drama, rhetoric, and the Socratic method of question and answer to get his message concerning love across not only to the guests at the party, but eventually to the world. This piece has been the foundation upon which Western cultures idea of love was based. Although Socrates students loved him, the state, not surprisingly, did not for several reasons. The city-state leaders did not like the idea that Socrates questioned the popular religions of the day. He believed his search for self-individualism was greater than the needs of the state. The state of Athens thought Socrates, in his role as an educator, to be a corrupting force on the youth of the city, and they condemned him to death. He died surrounded by his friends and talking to them, after he had drunk hemlock, the poison that would take his life. Plato called Socrates,the wisest and most just and best man who ever lived, a saint and a martyr (Bowra 138). Even after Socrates death, Plato wrote down the words that Socrates said, and this is why we can begin to understand his thoughts in The Symposium. Works Cited Bowra, C. M. et al. Classical Greece. Alexandria, VA: Time-     Life Books, 1977. Nagle, D. Brendan. The Ancient World: A Social and Cultural     History. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall,     1989. Plato. Symposium. http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/p/     plato/p71sy/symposium.html Platos Symposium. http://condor.depaul.edu/~dsimpson/     tlove/symposium.html Richter, David H. The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and     Contemporary Trends. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Explication of Theme in Flannery OConnors A Good Man is Hard to Find
In Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,†a family of six set out on a vacation to Florida while an extremely dangerous criminal is on the loose. The family takes the grandmother, who is outraged that the family is traveling while The Misfit is scanning the countryside. Throughout the short story, O’Connor drops many hints to the reader, ultimately leading to the terrifying climax. Foreshadowing is more commonly noticed the second time a story is read as opposed to the first. Readers will pick up on the hints that foreshadow the events to come. Foreshadowing is used when grandmother mentions The Misfit in the opening paragraph, when grandmother dresses formally in case of an accident, and when the graves are noticed in the cottonfield.      Foreshadowing is first used when grandmother tells the family about The Misfit when discussing the vacation destination. â€Å"‘Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people. Just you read it. I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose.’†(393). O’Connor throws the idea of The Misfit up in the air for the reader to grasp. â€Å"aloose from the Federal Pen and headed towards Florida,†suggests that the family may in fact have a run-in with The Misfit while in Florida. O’Connor leaves the audience with the feeling that the criminal is dangerous and commits unspeakable c...
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Case 15: Teletech Corporation, 2005 Essay
Case Study 3: Estimating the Cost of Capital 1. Currently Teletech Corporation (TC) uses a single hurdle rate for both their Telecommunications Services (TS) and Products and Services (P&S) divisions. This hurdle rate obtained by an estimate of TC Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), which is calculated at 9.3%. When analyzing critically at this point, TS is underperforming with a return on capital (ROC) of 9.1%, whereas, P&S segment is well over the required rate of return as it is gaining a ROC of 11.0%. As a result, the firm’ share price is inactive. Their price-to-earning is far below investor’s expectation in comparison to the firm’s risk. The use of a single constant hurdle rate brings about an uncorrelation between risk and return. With an approx. $2 billion being invested in the upcoming years, the discount rate is significantly important in order to make investment decision on profitable projects, that will increase shareholder’s value. 2. Estimate the segment WACCs for Teletech: Corporate TS P&S Explanation MV asset weights 100% 75% 25.00% Bond rating A-/BBB+ A BB Pretax cost of debt (Kd) 5.88% 5.74% 7.47% Tax rate (t) 40% 40% 40% After-tax cost of debt 3.53% 3.44% 4.48% Kd(1-t) Equity beta (ÃŽ ²) 1.15 1.04 1.36 Industry Average Rf 4.62% 4.62% 4.62% 30-year U.S Treasury Securities RM 10.12% 10.12% 10.12% Source: Bloomberg RM-Rf 5.50% 5.50% 5.50% Cost of equity (Ke) 10.95% 10.34% 12.11% Ke=Rf + ÃŽ ²(RM-Rf) Weight of debt 22.19% 22.19% 22.19% Assume that it stays the same as Weight of equity 77.81% 77.81% 77.81% Teletech WACC 9.30% 8.81% 10.41% WACC=Wd *Kd(1-t) + We*Ke 3. It seems that TS is actually profitable on a risk-adjusted basic, even though it is underperforming compared with the firm hurdle rate. The reason behind is the current use of constant hurdle rate does not mirror the higher cost of debt required for P&S, and shows that the cost of equity required for TS will not have sufficient capital in the future but P&S will be given more than enough because TS’ return is less than P&S. It also indicates that TS certainly is less risky than the company and therefore it should be provided adequate funds in the long run. 4. In term of â€Å"economic value†, all money is green. Teletech having a book value of $16 million, they would fit the profile no matter it is under two segments its return on capital is viewed as one whole part. Investors are only concerned with the company as the whole, rather than its individual segments. The implication of that view is to let investors deeply understand that Teletech will still have return at the hurdle rate despite the fact that P&S is less profitable than TS. The return is being produced for shareholders are clearly dependent on where Teletech invests its fund. The argument in favor is that the returns on capital of the two segments complied into Teletech hence, it is practical to keep all capital contributions at the firm should be treated individually. The argument against this statement is that the decision might be wrong if the use of strategic consideration is not included. The use of single hurdle rate will make the NPV results consistent but the NPV as well as the economic profit estimations would lose their meaning and comparability across TS and P&S. The separation of using different hurdle rates will make Teletech’s return higher. 5. If all the firm’s assets were invested only in the telecommunication segment the firm would increase the total risk as the lack of diversification on multiple investments. From another point of view, currently Teletech is using a constant rate to determine the projects and this rate is used as the discount rate. If the hurdle rate is set constantly at 9.3%, return on capital of TS (8.5%) is far lower than the hurdle, it seems like TS will reduce the firm’s value. While the return on capital of P&S (11.4%) exceeds the hurdle, it means P&S will enhance the firm’s value. TS P&S Explanation Return on Capital (%) 9.10% 11.00% NOPAT (million) $1,180.00 $480.00 Capital (million) $12,967.03 $4,363.64 Capital=ROC*NOPAT Economic Profit (million) -$25.98 $74.17 Use of a constant hurdle rate EP=(ROC-Hurdle Rate)*Capital $37.66 $25.54 Use of individual hurdle rates Where: The constant hurdle rate = WACCfirm = 9.3% The individual hurdle rates: Used for TS = WACCTS = 8.81% Used for P&S = WACCP&S = 10.41% From the table above, obviously observed that the use of the constant hurdle rate will mislead investment decisions, as it probably will result in negative economic profit from TS (-$25.98 million) as it does not take into account any additional risk associated with each segment. In fact if the use of individual hurdle rates applied, it will generate a large positive economic profit from TS ($37.66 million), PS still remains profitable but it is far below the original economic profit that calculated by using the constant hurdle rate. 6. From the calculations above in part 5, P&S will contribute extra value ($25.54 million) to Teletech as the term â€Å"all money is green†because P&S’ actual return is up to 11%, which is, lightly exceeded the hurdle rate of 10.41%. 7. There is no conflict with holding two seats on Teletech’s board of directors as he demanded, but the initial purpose of business is to provide firm’s customers the best goods and services, that will make Teletech to become the best telecommunication service. The firm will have to generate the best possible return, maximize the shareholder’s wealth, maintain the heavy development in both expansions of range as well as increase in customer’ satisfaction. So far, each segment has shown clear evidences and signs that they have been being brought value to Teletech, therefore Teletech have to decide to treat both TS and P&S like individual firms in the uses of equity and debt for a long run benefit.
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Rational Choice Theory Merits and Limitations - 1195 Words
The objective of this paper is to provide insight into Rational Choice Theory. This theory, highly relied upon by many disciplines, is also used to calculate and determine crime and criminal behavior. Through definition, example and techniques utilized by criminologists, the reader will have a better understanding of the subject. By definition, criminology is the study of crime, criminal behavior and how it pertains to the law. Criminology is considered a scientific technique. Therefore, those who study and carry out its theories are considered scientists. The theories and practices within the subject help criminologists determine the cause and consequence of criminal behavior; also why criminology is so highly regarded among law†¦show more content†¦This reasoning is inherently based on the belief that if the punishment is severe enough, it will deter or prevent further criminal behavior. Incidentally, thirty-eight states currently uphold the death penalty based on the find ings of rational choice theory (cite). The CEO of a large corporation decides to siphon small inconspicuous amounts of money from his employer, over an extended period of time. A thief decides to rob an elderly woman walking down a darkened street in the middle of the night. These are just a couple examples of rational choice transpiring. The CEO believes that if he steals only small amounts of money, stretched out over time, no one will have noticed that the money is missing and he will ultimately get away with it. The thief believes that by choosing a more vulnerable target, such as the elderly woman, in a less than safe environment, a darkened street that there will potentially be no witness to his crime and he will likely get away with it, as well. Rational choice theory can be applied to nearly every form of crime. Murder, rape, robbery can all in some way be attributed to rational decision making. Rational choice theory is heavily relied upon because it allows for scientific explanation. Scientific explanation is considered the most respected and substantial form of supporting evidence in virtually all disciplines. However, due to a â€Å"lack†of true hard evidence, the accuracyShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Planning, Policy Formulation And Decision Making Essay981 Words  | 4 PagesOVERVIEW The article is aimed at clarifying and formalizing the Successive Limited Comparisons (Branch) method, which has been neglected by authors (in the literature) for a long time. This long neglected method is contrasted with the Rational-Comprehensive (Root) method, which has been widely covered in the books (literatures) of planning, policy formulation and decision-making. 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