Person Vs Human: What Makes A Man?

Person Vs Human: What Makes A Man? What makes up a man? This is the philosophical question mainly explored in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, entitled The Measure of a Man. In this episode, a formal hearing is held to debate whether or not Lieutenant Commander Data, an android who has been a long-time member of the Star Fleet, has the right to refuse undergoing a risky scientific experiment. The scientist who wishes to perform the procedure, named Bruce Maddox, claims that Data is not entitled to the right to refuse because Data, simply put, is a piece of technology. As a result, he claims that it would be absurd to entitle a thing to the same rights that a human being has. On the other hand, Captain Picard, a fellow crew member who sees Data as an equal, argues otherwise. He states that despite how Data technically isnt human, he is entitled to the same rights because he demonstrates the core qualities of human being, such as intelligence and self-awareness. A difficult decision must now be made: to all ow Data to refuse the procedure by acknowledging that he has the right to be regarded as a sentient being like a fellow human being, or to simply see Data as a piece of property without any rights and all of his human-like acts as being mere imitations and a complex system of if-then clauses. Though Data, being an android, is obviously not a human being, the episode ultimately raises the question of to what extent must an individual, or even a piece of technology, exhibit to be seen as an equal-a level that we, as human beings, recognize in each other? Captain Picards arguments focus more on how Data is a person rather than how he is not a biological human being, and that persons maintain certain rights. Commonly, most people today use the terms human and person interchangeably. However with deeper examination, it can been acknowledged that a person and a human being are not entirely same. A human being refers to people in a more a biological sense; being a human being merely implies that you are of the species homo sapiens. On the other hand, being a person signifies that you are a sentient being with a level of conscience. As a result of demonstrating these qualities, a person is to be regarded as one who is entitled to certain rights, a level of moral respect, and, ultimately, a right to life. And since being a person is different from being a biological human, it can be assumed that anyone, even an android such as Data, may be entitled to the rights that a person has; just because of the fact that one is not a homo sapien does not mean he is disqualified from the holding the moral respect a person deserves. Furthermore, it should be noted that not all human beings are persons, for an individual must have a level of rationality or consciousness to be regarded as a person. Maddox points out that a debate would not be taking place if it had been a computer or a toaster that had refused to undergo the procedure. But he failed to consider the fact that a toaster or a computer does not maintain a level of rationality or consciousness, hence not entitling it to the moral rights that a person is accorded with. Things that have failed to demonstrate these qualities, including certain human beings, are not viewed as persons, hence not entitled to these rights. For instance, a boy who is stuck in a permanently vegetative state and does not demonstrate any signs of brain activity may be regarded as a human being, but not a person. As a result, if it were decided that he would euthanized, there would be as much uproar as there would be if it had been boy had been severely injured, but still consciou s, because he would still be regarded as a person. Hence, it becomes evident that being human is not what determines whether or not someone like Data is a person, but the level of consciousness that one, whether he is a human or android or Klingon, exhibits. Captain Picard argues that it does not matter that Data is an android because the species of an individual does not determine his personhood. During his argument, Picard states three characteristics that determine whether or not an individual is to be regarded as a person: intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness. The trial ends in Picards favor because Data demonstrates to a degree all of these traits, and the fact that Data is an android does not work against his favor. It is ruled that as a result of demonstrating these characteristics, Data is ultimately deserves the moral respect that every person does. Conclusively, it becomes clear that being human does not automatically entitle an individual with the rights of a person, but the level of rationality or consciousness.

Stylistic Means

All stylistic means of the English languages can be divided into expressive means (EM) and stylistic devices (SD). â€Å"The expressive means of a language are those phonetic, morphological, word building, lexical, preseological or syntactical forms which exist in language as-a-system for the purpose of logical and various dictionaries. Among lexical EM we must mention words with emotive meanings, interjections, polysemantic words, vulgar words, slang etc. The fact that polysemantic words retain their primary and secondary meanings is of great importance for stylistics. It is quite easy to understand the meaning of the following phrases; He grasped the main idea; a burning question; pity melted her heart. The italicized words are used in their secondary transferred dictionary meanings. But the primary and secondary meanings are realized simultaneously. The expressiveness of these words becomes obvious when compared with neutral equivalents; He understood the main idea; an important question; pity softened her heart. According to Prof I. R. Galperin`s definition Stylistic Devise is a conscious and intentional intensification of some type structural or semantic property of a language unit promoted to a generalized status and thus becoming a generative model. SD must always have some function in the text, besides they bring some additional information. The conception that words possess several meanings gives rise to such SDS as metaphor, metonymy, irony, epithet and others. Thus, a metaphor is a conscious and intentional intensification of typical sema ntic properties of a word: â€Å"Oh, Rain†-said Mor. He enveloped her in a great embrace. (I. Murdoch). The dictionary meaning of the verb â€Å"envelope† is â€Å"to wrap up, coer on all sides†. The contextual meaning is â€Å"to embrace† The typical features of proverbs and sayings serve as the foundation for an SD which is called epigram, i. e. brevity, rhythm and other properties of proverbs constitute a generative mo0del into which new content is poured A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. (J. Keats) Sweet is pleasure after pain (J. Dryden) What the eye does not see, the stomach doesn’t get upset (J. K. Jerome). These phrases are not proverbs; they are the creations of individual writers and poets. When such phrases are used in the text they accumulate great emotive force and function. They acquire a generalized status and thus easily become an SD while proverbs remain EM of the language. The some may be said about syntax. The typical structural features of oral speech (violation of word order, omission of some parts of the sentence, repetition of certain words etc) may be intensified and promoted to a generalized status. Such SDs as inversion, parallel constructions, chiasmus is the result of these stylistic transformations. It is important to know that the stylistic use of EM must not necessarily lead to the formation of an SD. For example, repetition is widely used in folk song and poetry and in oral speech to make our speech emotional and expressive, but we can’t say that in such cases we use a SD. When the weather is wet We must not fret,- When the weather is cold We must not scold When the weather is warm We must not storm. Thus we may draw the conclusion that EM are the facts of the language, while SDs are the property of the speech. They are the creation of individuals (writers and poets) and are based on the peculiarities of existing EM of the language. This is in short the difference between EM and SD. While speaking about SD we must always remember: the force of one and the same SD may be different. In some cases the emotive charge may be very strong, in others it may be weak. It depends on the use of a SD in one and the same function. Due to the overuse of the SD it may become hackneyed, trite and looses its freshness and brightness; 1. The best pens of the world A sweet smile 2. with his mousing walk Speaking about SDs we must mention the cases when two or more EM or SD meet at one point, it one utterance. Such clusters of SDs are called convergence. â€Å"Together each SD adds its expressivity to that of the others. In general, the effects of these SDs converge into one especially striking emphasis† (M. Riffaterre) For example: When everyone had recovered George said; â€Å"She put in her thumb and pulled out a plum†. Then away we were into our merciless hacking-hecking laughter again. (S. M. Maugham). In English examples we find the convergence of several SDs: decomposition of a proverb (to put one’s thumb into smth), a bring case of an onomatopoeia in the function of an epithet (Hacking-hecking), inversion (adverbial modifier stand before the subject). â€Å" †¦ and heaved and heaved still unrestingly heaved the black sea as if its vast tides were a conscience. Here the convergence comprises repetition, inversion and simile†. [1]

Power Corrupts in Animal Farm

Power is authority and strength, which is any form of motive force or energy, ability to act, or control. When too much power is given, a dictatorship government can form, in which all decisions are made by one authority. In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell the author portrays how â€Å"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely†. From the death of Old Major, Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer replaced him. At first things started off pretty well; the harvest was very good the first year and the reading and writing system had helped some, but had limited success on others.In time, the leaders of animal farm started to have mixed feelings. Snowball and Napoleon were in constant disagreement. An important meeting that was held ended with an astonishing outcome. One decision that was made was concerning the windmill project and the most important decision made was who would be the head animal. Snowball and Napoleon each gave their input on what needs to be done around the farm. â€Å"Snowball stood up and, though occasionally interrupted by bleating from the sheep, set forth his reasons for advocating the building of the windmill.Then Napoleon stood up to reply. He said very quietly that the windmill was nonsense and that he advised nobody to vote for it†. At this time, Snowball jumped back up to convince the people that it was a good idea to build a windmill. Then Napoleon sent his dogs after snowball and they chased him off the farm. Since Snowball had been expelled, Napoleon took over â€Å"The Manor Farm† which led to food shortage, hard labor, and deaths. He used his knowledge and education to take over the farm.With all the pigs and dogs on his side Napoleon had absolute power. The pigs were the brains of the farm and the dogs were the military force of the farm. Napoleon had complete control over the farm. Napoleon’s power corrupted the whole idea of Animalism & The Seven Commandments, which the farm fi rst started with. The power that the three pigs obtained had corrupted them and, then Napoleon received absolute power, which corrupted the society as a whole. Throughout the story Napoleon’s power continually increases, but he’s never quite satisfied.Napoleon is always greedy for more power. Napoleon's standards are that he must have complete power and rule over everyone, though he becomes corrupt because he gains absolute power over everyone on the farm. Stalin loses power because he is always hungry for more power, and is never satisfied with the power that he has. As Stalin dies Russia is completely corrupt because the power was not evenly distributed, and the citizens did not count as people. No power is given to the people under Stalin’s rule.Only him, and a few other privileged individuals live with power and respect in the community. In conclusion, history has proven that power is the root of all evil in a communism style government or congregation. In A nimal Farm, the animals tried to be equal, but in time, some animals had certain views and different opinions and some gradually became more powerful. No matter how hard in society we try, equality will never truly be reached by mankind for the reason that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely† (Lord Acton).

Capital Punishment And The Death Penalty - 1643 Words

In today s world, terrible crimes are being committed daily. Watching the news, listening to the radio or reading a newspaper shows proof of this cruelty. So what can be done about these criminals? Capital punishment has been exposed throughout history; â€Å"In the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608, Captain George Kendall was hanged for the capital offense of treason. Among other serious capital crimes in colonial times were murder, rape and witchcraft† (Fridell). The death penalty has been under discussion for some time. While there are many supporters, some still disagree. Currently, â€Å"there are thirty-one states in which the death penalty is enforced, and nineteen states that have abolished it† (Death Penalty Information Center). The Death penalty is a form of punishment that involves executing a person after he or she were found guilty of a major crime by the legal system. Should the death penalty be used for murderers, rapists, and serial killers and no oth er crimes? Research shows that â€Å"the major reasons why people support the death penalty is because of deterrence, retribution, and incapacitation† (Booker, Renee, and Hubbard). Racism also can play a part of capital punishment. The death penalty is an effective tool for reducing violent crimes and eliminating the costs of supporting violent offenders in the prisons. The death penalty’s effectiveness is based on its ability to deter, promote retribution, and ultimately to incapacitate violent offenders. Deterrence ToShow MoreRelatedCapital Punishment : The Death Penalty1482 Words   |  6 PagesMrs. McElmoyl 12/12/14 Capital Punishment As stated by former governor of New York, Mario M. Cuomo, Always I have concluded the death penalty is wrong because it lowers us all; it is a surrender to the worst that is in us; it uses a power- the official power to kill by execution- that has never brought back a life, need inspired anything but hate. (Cuomo 1) This is one of the main arguments against capital punishment (also known as the death sentence.) Capital punishment is the ability for a governmentRead MoreThe Death Penalty And Capital Punishment931 Words   |  4 Pageswritten down (Robert). The death penalty was applied for a particularly wide range of crimes. The Romans also used death penalty for a wide range of offenses. Historically, the death sentence was often handled with torture, and executions, except that it was done in public. In this century, the death penalty, execution or capital punishment, whatever you’d like to refer it as, is the result for committing capital crimes or capital offences and it is not in public. The death penalty has been practiced byRead MoreCapital Punishment : The Death Penalty1410 Words   |  6 PagesCapital Punishment in America In 1976 the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled the Death Penalty constitutionally permissible. 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This is usually given to people that have committed serious offences or capital crimes. There are 31 states in the United States that are for the death penalty. Crimes that are punishable by the death penalty, vary from state to state. Examples of such crimes are; first degree murder or premeditated murder, murder with special circumstances, such as: intende d, multiple, and murder whichRead MoreCapital Punishment And The Death Penalty1539 Words   |  7 PagesCapital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, has been the center of debate for a long time. Capital punishment may be defined as the â€Å"[e]xecution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense† (Capital Punishment). Up until 1846, when Michigan became the first to abolish the death sentence, all states allowed legal practice of capital punishment by the government (States). 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