Abstract This paper tackles the issue of "universals" from all sides, looking at both the Platonic and Aristotelian models to understand the theories that arose from those bases. The idea of a universal is thoroughly defined, explored in terms of different theories (Bundle Theory, Nominalism, Classic Platonism, etc.), and finally boiled down to a discussion of the implication that the idea of "universals" has in regards to the more general notions of "nothingness" and "somethingness".
From the Paper "The following essay is focussed on exploring all aspects of the theory of universals as it applies to metaphysical investigation. I will proceed in defining universal in general terms, presenting the arguments that support universal theory, presenting the opposing arguments, briefly defining the individual nominilist theories, and finally presenting my own thoughts concerning universals. I have tried to present the following material logically and comprehensibly, to eliminate as many assumptions as possible, hopefully providing a coherent step by step exploration of universals and related issues."
Tags: aristotle, bundle, nimonalism, objective, philosophy, plato, subjective, theory
Abstract The writer gives a background of the Big Bang Theory and explores the theory as an explanation of the beginning of the universe. However, since the 1940s and the introduction of this theory, scientists have raised questions as to the validity of the explanation and continue to research other ways in which the universe might have been created. The paper traces some of this research.
From the Paper "One such area of research has been the model for the expansion of the universe and so for the Big Bang. One theory offered to explain this is the inflationary model, and over the last two decades what has happened to this model shows some of the ways scientific truth is pursued and fine-tuned. Alan Guth developed the idea in 1979 and wrote it in his notebook. Inflation was the name for the mechanism Guth proposed for igniting cosmic expansion and which might have operated for as little as 10-35 seconds. Still, it would have whipped up all the matter and energy in the universe and laid the seeds for galaxies and galaxy clusters in that brief time, and in that time the universe would have blossomed exponentially from as small as 10-24 centimeters across to perhaps the size of a pumpkin. Michael Turner of the University of Chicago describes inflation as "the most important idea in cosmology since that of the big bang itself.""
Tags:universe, creation, science, astronomy, research
Abstract This paper discusses what the universe is made up of, its age, how stars are formed and what is the future of our solar system. It discusses the history of the exploration of the universe. The author explains how In this century large telescopes are set up, far away from city lights and traffic to gather the best data for studying the skies. A brief overview of the theories on the origin of the universe is also given. The author concludes that although new theories are constantly being proposed and science is constantly to answer the question "Where did we come from"? , until now, no answer has satisfied everyone.
From the Paper "Man's fascination with the heavens is as old as recorded history itself. Astronomers from all civilizations"medieval to the present times"carefully observed the stars and their relative position in the night sky. Even in the medieval times, astronomers universally observed two features: that stars tended to drift westward with each passing night; and, despite this apparent movement, stars were always in a fixed position relative to each other. Anything that man could not explain, ending up fascinating him?as did the stars. It has been stated that when man loses his desire to explore the unknown, the human race will have sounded its own death knell."
Tags:universe, astronomy, stars, westward, observations, fixed, position
Abstract In this essay, the writer discusses that sociological theory is of great value in understanding how religious colleges are eventually transformed into fully accredited secular schools. The writer explains that sociology is the study of social behavior. The writer also notes that it examines the behaviors of individuals and organizations and their evolution through their interactions within and outside of their social systems. Further, the writer maintains that the rational choice axiom might offer some insight in the case of the transformation of a college associated with a religious denomination into an accredited secular university; however, other theories might offer additional insight as well.
Abstract In recent years Noam Chomsky has become more famous as a political activist and critic of various American governments than he has ever been as a linguist. Be that as it may there was a time when Chomsky was one of the leading linguistic theorists in America and this paper looks at arguably his most important scholarly contribution to that area of inquiry. Specifically this paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of Chomsky's theory of universal grammar, in particular what it reveals and what it does not reveal or rather what it obscures.
Abstract This paper discusses the various theories that were developed beginning at the end of the nineteenth century and leading over time to superstring theory as a way of explaining the fundamental nature of the universe, with necessary earlier ideas including relativity theory, quantum theory, and the idea of higher dimensions over the four usually cited.
From the Paper "The development of superstring theory required a number of theoretical shifts from the earlier Newtonian model of the universe, which itself had supplanted other ideas about the nature of reality. In this development, the nature of the human relationship to the universe changed because of scientific theories of the time that were offered, that countered the prevailing beliefs, and that seeped down into the culture to be expressed in art, literature, and the popular press in various ways. The central figure in this shift was Albert Einstein, though he was not alone in making discoveries that would alter the prevailing Newtonian, Copernican, and common-sense view of time and space and the immutability of both."
Abstract This paper relates that sexology deals with the systematic study of human sexuality and that it encompasses all aspects of sexuality, including attempting to characterize normal sexuality and its variants. Specifically, the paper looks at two serious theories to emerge from this study: Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy's "The General System Theory" and Kenneth Earl "Ken" Wilber Jr. "Universal Integralism". The paper notes that both theories were regarded as meta-theories because they were both drawn from other theories.
From the Paper "Just like other theories, the theory of Universal Integralism has received various cynical reviews for allegedly failing to distinguish the school of philosophy from the spiritual tradition based on the teachings on meditations and the nature of God. They also claimed that the theory lacks the essence concerning with the self-realization by which one understands the ultimate nature of reality. It even became controversial as another great philosopher, Christian de Quincey, provided an opposing comment on it. In his statement made in 2002 in The Promise of Integralism: A Critical Appreciation of Ken Wilber's Integral Psychology in the Journal of Consciousness Studies, de Quincey considered Wilber's integral theory as an intellectual edifice that denigrates emotion. Another writer, William Irwin Thompson, has harshly criticized Wilber's approach on integral theory as categorizations of textbook. "
Tags: General, System, Theory, Universal, Integralism
Abstract The paper explains why theory is important and then formulates three universal laws derived from common communication theories. The paper discusses how people will communicate most often with those whom they share basic values, that the things which mean the most to us and which comprise the most intimate aspects of our self-conception are often the things which we reveal last and that men and women truly are different and that allowances must be made for this fact. The paper shows how if these universal laws are followed, many characteristics of human interaction will become more understandable.
From the Paper "The first "truth" which will be put forward by this writer is the universal law that human beings communicate predominantly with those whose values and beliefs coincide with their own. Not to be overlooked, the "flip-side" of this theory is that people will act evasively or communicate in almost defensive manner when compelled to interact with those with whom they disagree. This law is derived from the concept of "selective exposure" which is a sub-component of the broad theory of cognitive dissonance (both items will be discussed in greater detail shortly). Moving right along, the second universal law put forward by this writer is that the manner by which people communicate will become more defensive the closer any conversation or exchange comes to their most deeply-held fantasies or fears. Simply stated, this law is derived from the "onion" metaphor colorfully described by Altman and Taylor and it is part of the sometimes under-appreciated Social Penetration theory that offers a fascinating glimpse into how human beings reveal aspects of themselves. Finally, the last universal law is that men and women really do communicate differently and process information differently - and this explains why so many relationships fall apart despite the best efforts. This insight is gleaned from the Genderlect theory of communication advanced by Deborah Tannen and it goes a very long way towards explaining why so much tension between men and women exists in contemporary western society."
This paper discusses the possibility of more accurately forecasting weather through the application of Edward Lorenz' chaos theory as based on James Gleick's book "Chaos: Making a New Science".
Abstract This paper explains that James Gleick in his book "Chaos: Making a New Science" reports the work of meteorologist and pioneer of the chaos theory, Edward Lorenz, to computerize the forecasting of weather based on physical laws. The author points out that Gleick explains, even though the straight-forward mathematical attempt by Lorenz to find weather averages was a "failure", Lorenz discovered that the phenomenon of climate instability was related to the chaos theory. The paper relates that Lorenz' two non-linear discoveries are (1) that models of chaotic systems have an exquisitely sensitive dependence on initial dependence called the butterfly effect and (2) that even simple systems can show complex, chaotic behavior proving that the "clockwork" universe doesn't exist.
Table of Contents
Gleick's Belief of the Possibility to Forecast Weather
The Butterfly Effect
Nonlinear and Linear Systems
Similar to Predicting the Motions of Planets
Link between Aperiodic Behavior and Unpredictable Behavior
Thermal Convection
From the Paper "The very act of predicting weather is "fragile" when it comes to computer modeling, even though the data may be "reasonable trustworthy" and the laws of science are "purely physical" (20). But the computer modeling of weather patterns and air movement and temperatures and all the other ingredients that go into the stew, are only good for a day or two; "beyond two or three days the world's best forecasts" are / were speculative, and "beyond six or seven," Gleick writes, "they were worthless." Why were they worthless? "The Butterfly Effect was the reason.""
Abstract This paper explains that adults learning a second or foreign language often produce errors or nonnative substitutions, including a foreign accent and normative grammatical utterances. To study the issue of L1 (native language) transfer versus universal grammar, the author uses a critical review of relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature and a survey of Mexican-American second language learners living in California concerning their views on these issues. The paper concludes that the knowledge of grammar in one language does not necessarily translate into an efficient use of grammar in another language. Included with the paper are several graphs, charts and tables.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of Study
Importance of Study
Rationale of Study
Overview of Study
Definition of Terms
Review of the Literature
Background and Overview
L1 Transfer
Universal Grammar
Discussion
Table: Recapitulation of L1 Transfer Studies
Table: .Recapitulation of Universal Grammar Studies
Methodology
Data Analysis
Summary and Conclusions
From the Paper "Following a period of relative inattention during the Renaissance, an wide range of concepts of universal grammar emerged which were no longer tied strictly to Latin; instead, grammarians began to consider what is universal in human languages to the "particular" or "special" properties that serve to differentiate one language from another. In this regard, Thomas reports that Johann Heinrich Alsted provided a useful definition of "general grammar" in his 1630 Encyclopedia as 'the pattern [norma] of every particular grammar.'"
Abstract This paper discusses in detail and compares theories of Saint Augustine, Plato and Aristotle as related to the concepts of time and eternity. The author believes that the concepts of time and eternity are important philosophical considerations that relate largely to how our universe works and how it was created. The author states that Saint Augustine considered time and eternity from the standpoint of the Christian religion, but Plato and Aristotle looked at the ideas on a non religious level.
From the Paper "In The Confessions, Saint Augustine offers a history of his own spiritual journey. The entire work, comprised of thirteen books, is told in diary form, with Augustine describing his actions, his thoughts and especially his comments on God, faith and Christianity. The diary is also addressed to God, with Augustine asking God the questions he is seeking answers to. The first ten books tell his life story from his childhood, his teenage years and his eventual conversion to Christianity in his thirties. The final three books consider the teachings of God. The eleventh book is the one where Augustine considers time and eternity, discussing each in detail."
Abstract The paper first explains Kant's theory of universal law, and defines key concepts and terms. The paper then goes on to argue that Kant ignores conflicting duties and external factors in morality. This argument is supported by hypothetical examples and quotes from philosopher Thomas Nagel's book, "The Last Word".
From the Paper "Human beings guide their actions by instincts and selfish desires. How could it be possible to act differently? The philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote The Foundation of the Metaphysics of Morals as a set of axioms [principles or postulates] that can be used in constructing moral laws based on the use of reason. Kant in his ethics takes his point of departure from the concept of good will: "nothing in the world can possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualifications except a good will." (Kant, 1959, p.9)"
Abstract This paper explains string theory, which has been put forth by physicists in an effort to develop a theory of gravity that can be incorporated into the quantum understanding of nature. The paper explains that string theory hypothesizes that classical point particles are actually infinitesimally small lines or, perhaps, loops and that the theory supports the concept that all quantum particles, including the messenger particle of gravity, or graviton, are components of a single, master superfield.
From the Paper "Generally speaking, considering the enormous amount of matter that was concentrated in a tiny space after the Big Bang, the setting for unification is contained by almost unbelievable energy levels. Efforts to achieve this "mathematically" have been reasonably successful and are termed Grand Unified Theories, or GUT. So far, physicists have managed to unify the electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions into one formalism."
Abstract Second Language Acquisition is a field of inquiry that abounds in theories, while at the same time no single approach has adequately explained how language acquisition takes place. One reason for this might be that linguists interested in SLA have been trained in different disciplines, such as linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and neurolinguistics. The paper explains that, naturally, they have approached SLA from very different perspectives and treat all the variables involved in the learning process differently. The situation appears to be very confusing and frustrating. All the present theories, hypotheses, and models are all preliminary work done toward the ultimate goal of a true theory. The paper shows that in this sense, the different approaches taken by linguists and researchers are never worthless. They have uncovered bits and pieces of the whole complexity of language acquisition. Hopefully, the continuing and combined efforts made by linguists and researchers will lead to the ultimate success of establishing the true theory in language acquisition as well as in SLA.
From the Paper "Linguistics is one of the newest fields of scientific inquiry. It was developed into an independent discipline of social science in the United Sates first "as an offshoot of anthropology" in the first half of the twentieth century in an attempt to investigate into the disappearing American indigenous languages (Lakoff, 2000, p. 2-3). Traditionally, it has been concerned with the analysis of language, namely its phonology, morphology and syntax. Following this tradition, Norm Chomsky in the 1950s put forward his milestone transformational generative grammar (TGG), which assumed "an ideal speaker-listener, in a completely homogeneous speech-community" unaffected by any external factors in his exploration of the Universal Grammar (UG), the general rules of language (Chomsky, 1965, p.3). This is basically an asocial or theoretical view in linguistic studies as opposed to the social view which claims knowing a language also means "knowing how to use that language"(Wardhaugh, 2002, p.3) in social contexts. Adopting either or both of the two views, linguistics and researchers alike have postulated a multitude of theories, approaches, and models in the inquiry into the nature of language and language acquisition, which appear to be conflicting ones fighting against one another."
Abstract This paper attempts to defend the cosmological argument for the existence of God against the theory of evolution by presenting arguments in favor of the cosmological argument, refuting some of the major objections against it and elaborating the weaknesses of the evolutionary theory.
Outline:
The Cosmological Argument
Criticisms of the Cosmological Argument & their Refutation
The Theory of Evolution
Does the Theory of Evolution Negate the Cosmological Argument?
Conclusion
From the Paper "Man has sought to unravel the mysteries about the origins of the universe, life, and mankind itself since times immemorial. Philosophers, theologians, and scientists have thought hard and deep through the ages and put forwarded divergent theories about the mystery. These have eventually boiled down to two major and contrary ideas, i.e., the "evolutionary" theory that life was created by pure chance and has over time evolved into ever-more complex forms of life through a process of natural selection, and the theist argument that an outside supreme force (God) was responsible for the start of the universe and life. The "Cosmological Argument" for the existence of God and the "theory of evolution" best represent the two divergent schools of thought on this important argument."
