Philosophy and NASCAR

Philosophy is typically considered a thought-provoking science appropriately reserved for discussion between intellectuals;\u27 and NAS­CAR contrarily carries a stigma of uneducated masses of fans supporting a racer of their choice with a frequently drunken passion. Thus, the mar­riage of these two topics may seem entirely inappropriate. Despite their conflicting stereotypes, philosophy and NASCAR must not necessarily be separated. Philosophy-at least the right philosophy-exalts the use of the mind in furthering man\u27s capabilities and simultaneously seeks to under­stand the limitations imposed by nature. It is the science presented and, ideally, answering questions such as Where am I?;\u27 How can I discover it?;\u27 and What should I do? (Rand, 1974). The use of a rational mind is what supplies the answers to philosophers and NASCAR drivers alike

North Korean Intentions and the American Response

News stations across the world reported on December 17, 2011 about the death of a man referred to as Guiding Sun Ray, Glorious General Who Descended from Heaven, Highest Incarnation of the Revolutionary Comradely Love, and Savior. Better known as Kim Jong-II, he had been recognized as Supreme Leader by North Korea\u27s constitution since July 1994. Headlines internationally speculated that his death may cause a dra­matic shift in the policies and nature of the North Korean government (Fox News, 2011). Following the state funeral for Kim Jong-II on December 29, the deceased\u27s youngest son, Kim Jong-Un, became Supreme Leader. The United States Assistant Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell, greeted the news with willing­ness to discuss giving aid to North Korea in exchange for their disarming nuclear weapons-a discussion deserted by North Korea in 2009 under its former leadership. As the top U.S. diplomat to East Asia, he declared readi­ness to begin a new chapter in relations between the two countries, but said it is too early to discern the intent of the country\u27s new leadership (Fox News, 2012). Analyzing both past and present actions of the North Korean government will illustrate that three generations of dictators have established intoler­able practices and that American attempts at cooperation are likely to be as futile as ever

“…With Liberty and Justice Equitably and Efficiently Allocated for All”

The American pledge of allegiance and Constitution indicate that liberty and justice are provided for all citizens and that we are guaranteed equal protection under the law. Understanding the state of nature as Thomas Hobbes did, it is clear that liberty and justice are not efficiently allocated and there is no protection under law. Therefore, these ethical concepts are provided in civil society tangibly through civil services including policing. This essay views local police resources as an economic good, limited in its supply, in need of both equitable and efficient allocation. The ethical implications of inequitable or inefficient policing are potentially staggering, and so several policing strategies are analyzed in terms of costs and benefits, or trade-offs between liberties and justices. I maintain that empirical crime data is a necessary component of ethical policing as it tremendously enhances the efficiency with which police allocate liberty and justice. Furthermore, personal morality is an important aspect of ethical police work, considering there are social and local biases that must be avoided and values that must be prioritized

Making Human Rights Really Real

In lieu of Illinois Wesleyan\u27s Making Human Rights Real endeav­ors this school year, questions arise concerning the meaning of human rights and how we can effectively apply such a concept in the world around us. The discussion of human rights has long been one of the most contested among political philosophers and ordinary citizens alike. And rightfully so, because its conclusions hold drastic implications for individuals every­where at all times. In order to avoid a muddled debate on the subject, it is critical to concretely define human rights. Thus, the concept of a human;\u27 the concept of a right:\u27 and government\u27s role in protecting these values must be made coherent. To give up on these issues simply because they are perhaps far from being resolved is to give up the purpose of government, rights, and likely humans themselves

Faulty Phrases: Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Good things come to those who wait has become such a staple of English -speaking culture that it has been used in Guinness and Heinz ad campaigns. Just as Heinz encouraged ketchup consumers to endure the bottle\u27s slow trickle, people use the words in a variety of contexts to encour­age patience. A friend or parent may console a student anxious to receive essay results by declaring good things come to those who waif\u27 In hon­estly analyzing each of the words and the possible meanings interpreted from their interaction, without endowing any white-washed meaning, it should be easily observed that good things come to those who wait may be a severely detrimental bromide by which to live

Nature’s Relationship to Psychological Flexibility

Acceptance and commitment therapy has defined and successfully discovered methods of increasing psychological flexibility. Various methods of increasing psychological flexibility could be used as interventions. Contact with nature, in various forms, has been shown to increase and be related to many physical and mental health benefits. These benefits include things like mindfulness and other aspects of psychological flexibility. The question arises whether or not contact with nature is related to increases in overall psychological flexibility. The current study involved administering a questionnaire comprised of multiple existing measures, to primarily a college sample of 349 students. The answers were statistically analyzed to look for relationships and predictive power of connectedness to nature and time spent in nature on psychological flexibility and experiential avoidance. Statistically significant relationships were observed between connectedness to nature and psychological flexibility. Additionally, time spent in nature was positively associated with psychological flexibility and negatively associated with experiential avoidance

Introduction to Faulty Phrases

Regardless of setting and no matter the circumstances, language is at the root of human interaction. A perplexing phenomenon picked up by toddlers at an almost inconceivably rapid rate, language has been used since the first days of recorded history-because recording history without it would be near impossible. Every voluntary exchange amongst men, and every emerging educational discipline has required effective and efficient communication. From thoughts expressed only in our heads to legal con­tracts manifesting a mutual agreement, language is necessary. Not only in literature, but also in the natural and social sciences, language plays an indispensable role in communicating and sharing discoveries and truths

Climate Geoengineering and IWU\u27s Ethics Bowl

In its sophomore season of competition, Illinois Wesleyan\u27s Eth­ics Bowl team qualified for the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl hosted in San Antonio, Texas on February 28. In spite of technical difficulties and flight delays, the team returned to campus having won the first annual Spirit of the Ethics Bowl award, an honor recognizing sportsmanship which was voted on by opposing teams. Ethics bowl competition centers around a set of cases featuring ethical dilemmas and quandaries published by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. It is structured so that a presenting team has ten minutes to answer a question regarding anyone case, noting relevant ethical theories and examples; then an opposing team has five minutes to respond to the presenters\u27 answer; the presenting team has another five minutes to address the opposition\u27s response; and finally a panel of three judges has ten minutes to ask additional questions to the presenting team. This year\u27s national competition addressed ethical cases ranging from the DREAM Act and exotic animal hunting to copyright in­fringement and climate geoengineering. This essay will address the case and question of climate geoengineering, including some of the ideas men­tioned in the opposing team, University of California, Santa Cruz\u27s presen­tation\u27 in IWU\u27s rebuttal, and ideas not brought up during the competi­tion

A Gravitational Model of Crime Flows in Normal, Illinois: 2004-2012

This study intends to use these past contributions as a framework for a gravity model of crime in the Town of Normal, Illinois from the years 2004 to 2012. Following Smith (1976), Elffers et al. (2008), and Walker (2009), data has been gathered from the local police department and includes a variety of violent crime and property crime. Following Elffers et al.’s (2008) analysis, geographical area and a measure of the residential housing stock will be used as control variables; similarly to the approach followed by Smith (1974), Elffers et al. (2008) and Kahane (2013), the distance between police sub-beats in Normal is approximated by estimating the geographical distance between centroids. Because each of the aforementioned analyses found distance to be a reliable predictor of the concentration of crime across towns and countries, this study expects to establish the same relationship

Concert recording 2017-01-25

[Track 1]. Passaggio rotto from Book 2 of Ayres for the violin / Nicola Matteis -- [Tracks 2-4]. Partia #4 in E minor for 2 violins and basso from Muscalsche ergotzung / Johann Pachelbel -- [Track 5]. Partia #5 in G minor from Artifiosus concentur pro camera / Johann Vilsmayr -- [Track 6]. Sonata #4 / Heinrich Biber -- [Tracks 7-9].Sonata for violin and piano, K. 454 / W.A. Mozart -- [Track 10]. The dream, Op. 38 #5 / Serge Rachmaninoff -- [Tracks 11-13]. Sonata for violin and piano #3 in C minor / Edvard Grieg