Reificaition Case Essay Example for Free

Reificaition Case Essay Wikipedia defines reification as â€Å"(Lat. res thing + facere to make) n. the turning of something into a thing or object; the error which consists in treating as a thing something which is not one. Hypostatization, treating an abstract entity as if it were concrete, is a case in point†. In Marxist terms, it is the consideration of a human being as a physical object, deprived of subjectivity. According to Marxists, this is one of the pitfalls of the capitalist system because in such a system the laborers and their work are not valued to their proper extent. Their work is treated as a commodity and is valued according to the unpredictable needs of the market. This concept is closely tied to the Marxist idea of commodity fetishism which Wikipedia describes as â€Å"an inauthentic state of social relations, said to arise in complex capitalist market systems, where social relationships are confused with their medium, the commodity.† Marxist writer, Georg Lukà ¡cs, writes thus: The transformation of the commodity relation into a thing of ghostly objectivity cannot there ore content itself with the reduction of all objects for the gratification of human needs to commodities. It stamps its imprint upon the whole consciousness of man; his qualities an abilities are no longer an organic par of his personality, they are things which he can own or dispose of like the various objects of the external world. Simply put, Marxists criticize capitalist systems for stripping the human person of his social nature. He is transformed into a commodity or a product. One’s labor is transformed into money which is in turn used to purchase the products of other people’s labor. Although this may facilitate the exchange of goods, the problem of the system lies in the fact that because of this abstraction, the use-value (the actual usefulness of the object) is oftentimes totally different from its exchange-value (the value of the object in the marketplace). For example, a person who creates a hammer (which has a variety of uses) will be paid less than a person who makes jewelry (an object which has less use than a hammer). The value given to the work of the laborer is incommensurate to the work and effort that he made in order to produce the good. How can reification be avoided? Marxist measures against reification have proven themselves to be ineffective (including complete control over the market and standardization of wages). This is because these measures tend to remove the element of competition from the formula, thus, causing production to suffer instead. An alternative mode by which reification is avoided is through the respect of human rights. According to John Locke, each person has the natural right to life, liberty and estate which must be protected by the government. These rights must ensure that each person shall be given his due. By treating persons as individuals with human rights and dignity, people will be treated as an end and never as a means. The theory of human rights has been upheld and accepted by most of the world and are embodied in international instruments and conventions, most notable is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the field of labor and employment, modern societies have integrated this idea of human dignity by setting minimum standards and conditions to be strictly followed by employers under the pain of appropriate sanctions should they be defied. For example, there could be a law saying that any employee who works beyond eight hours in a single day shall be given additional overtime pay. Another instance would be a law that would lay down a minimum wage based on the living standards and conditions of the locality where the worker belongs. By recognizing the human dignity of every person, reification is completely obliteration because persons are then given the respect they deserve. They are no longer treated as cogs in the machinery of production but are considered partners in the enterprise. By holding that each person deserves to be treated with dignity, they are esteemed as subjects never objects, and will be given their due.       Bibliography Lukà ¡cs, Georg. 1967. History Class Consciousness. Translated by Andy Blunden. Merlin Press. Smith, John, Bob Snider, and Diane Hill. 2005. A study of physics. New York: McGraw Hill. Wikipedia. 2006. Commodity fetishism. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_fetishism. Ashcraft, Richard. 1986. Revolutionary Politics and Lockes Two Treatises of Government. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Wikipedia. 2006. Georg Lukà ¡cs. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Luk%C3%A1cs. Wikipedia. 2006. Human Rights. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights. Wikipedia. 2006. John Locke. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_locke. Wikipedia. 2006. Reification. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reification.

Buying the Perfect Horse :: Free Essay Writer

Buying the Perfect Horse Last weekend a Mr. Charlie Goodrich called my office. He told me that an old friend of mine, who had given me very high recommendations, had referred him to me. Mr. Goodrich said that he was looking for a horse. He was not sure what exactly he was going to use it for, but he was examining a couple possibilities. Since my job is to help people decide which breed of horse would best suit their plans and lifestyles, I needed to know exactly what it was he wanted to use a horse for. He told me that he owned a very reputable stable, with a variety of expensive breeds, and he was looking to expand his stock. Mr. Goodrich said that he wanted a stallion with a future in racing, and good siring bloodlines. That is what many owners do with retired racehorses. After the horse’s racing career is over they are sent to what is like a retirement home for horses. Here they live out the rest of their lives, breeding and siring many young foals. I explained to him that two of the best horses for racing were the Thoroughbred and the Arabian. My personal favorite is the Arabian, I told him, because of it’s unique beauty and rich heritage. In order to try and find which would be the best for him I researched both breeds and presented him with the results. While both the Thoroughbred and the Arabian are very beautiful, and both are well reputed in the racing world, the Arabian horse is far superior. Its ancient, mysterious origins, and unique beauty make it a very desirable horse. It excels on the track, and produces incredible offspring. The Arabian stallion has also been the subject of many novels, etching its figure into many hearts, and making it even more popular. Origins The term Thoroughbred describes a breed of horse whose ancestry traces back to three foundation sires – the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian, and the Byerly Turk. Named after their respective owners – Thomas Darley, Lord Godolphin, and Captain Robert Byerly – these three stallions were brought to England around the turn of the 17th century and bred to the stronger, but less intelligent, native horse. They were bred to native spring mares – very probably Scottish Galoways – and the resulting foals were the first real thoroughbreds.

Relative and Radiometric Dating

Two general processes used to figure out the age of rocks is relative dating and radiometric dating. We will compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of both methods. According to Lutgens and Tarbuck, Relative dating is the process in putting events in their proper sequence. Relative dating is based on assumption, not able to give an accurate date but an estimated time period where the rock originated from. A Danish scientist, Nicolaus Steno is accredited for the Law of Superposition. This law basically tells us that each layer of sedimentary rock is younger than the one below it which is depicted in figure 8. in the text. Steno is also accredited for the Principle of Original Horizontality. The principle is shown in figure 8. 4 in the text showing rocks compounding with sediment escalating in height that have not been disturbed by geological disturbances. Another relative dating process is the Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships. This takes place when faults force them selves through older rocks. This means that the faults or dikes have penetrated layers of sediment that were deposited long before the intrusion. By implementing these theories and processes, we can assume a time period in the Earth’s history where these rocks originate from. However, this is an assumption and not a specific time as shown in figure 8. 10. Radiometric dating is the process of estimating the age of rocks from the decay of radioactive elements inside the rock specimen. This process utilizes radioactive isotopes to date igneous rocks. These radioactive isotopes have a distinctive number of atoms that present themselves unstable. These atoms will inevitably decay through a series of evolutions. We will take Uranium as example. Uranium will ultimately decay into the stable element lead. The father element being the Uranium and the end result creating the daughter element lead. Radioisotope dating is used to date igneous rocks that have cooled from their molten stage. it is assumed that all daughter elements have escaped through the immense heat. Once cooled, no elements will escape based on assumption. In the event that elements do escape, is through radioactive decay. According to Lutgens and Tarbuck, The decay rate that takes place is measured in Half Life. This is the length of time that one half of the remaining atoms to decay. This can be measured in a laboratory by finding the decay rate and counting time backwards to find the age of the rock specimen. Relative dating and radiometric dating have many strengths but also many weaknesses. Relative dating gives a general time frame where the rock exists whereas Radiometric dating has a scientific formula to give a more accurate account on where the rock originated from. However, it is safe to presume that both processes rely on assumption and not strict scientific fact.

President Putin, Russia s Current President - 1465 Words

national security. This is the first time this has happened, and it is worrying why Vladimir Putin, Russia’s current president, may have made this accusation (Reuters). It is obvious because of this distrust from Russia that relations between the U.S. and Russia are beginning to deteriorate from previously â€Å"improved† standards. Although there were points where Russo-American political relations were lacking, there were also many other aspects of the relationship that saw improvement after the Cold War. In 1972, before the Cold War had officially ended, the first Moscow Summit was held, in which President Nixon met with Premier Brezhnev. At this meeting, several positive topics were discussed, such as: the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty,†¦show more content†¦They first sought to recover from the stockpiling and threat of mutual destruction caused by the Cold War. America then looked to make Russia decent again through improvements in their government, their social institutions, and their economy (Talbott 156). Another aspect of Russo-American relations that showed a fluctuation in tone were the economic states of the U.S. and Russia before and after the Cold War. Before the Cold War had begun, Russian economic standards had already been on a decline due to the damaging effects of Communism in a global market economy. The years caught up to Russian industry and agriculture, reducing the quality of products that were meant to keep an economy afloat (Rady 17). The U.S. was so afraid of a Communist takeover of Europe that they were prepared to go to â€Å"war† over the matter. Because of Eastern Europe s Warsaw Pact to combat NATO, the U.S. denied access to loans and financial support for them, leaving Russia with one less nation to sponge off of (Rady 16). Later, Russia made an attempt to alter their Communist policies to form a Hungarian-inspired form of Communism, called Goulash Communism. Russia’s rate of import increas ed due to the adoption of this system, and eventually peaked in the 1970s (Rady 21). Any Western items that were imported and sold in Russia at this time were considered to be valuable, and sold at higher prices.