The Allegory of the Cave Essay -- Platos Republic

In Plato's Republic, the great philosopher describes what is needed to achieve a perfect society. He addresses several subjects still debated in today's society, such as justice, gender roles, and the proper form of education. He discusses these issues through his main character, Socrates. Socrates, another well-known philosopher for his time, happens upon a group of men, and what begins as a modest question, leads into a series of debates, metaphors, and allegories. Perhaps the most discussed allegory in today's popular culture is the Allegory of the Cave. Over the past decade, several movies have mimicked the fantasy, the most profitable being the Matrix Trilogy. But what makes this story so fascinating? Through it, Plato attempts to map a man's journey through education. The map used is another metaphor: the Line. He explains the rewards for those who reach the top of the Line, and the significance of those who fall short. He also tries to answer the important question, how does a city's ruler view politics and education, once he has reached true understanding? Plato's fantasy begins in Book VII, 514a, with a dismal view of humanity, told by Socrates. He describes a world in which people live in a cave from birth, never seeing any sign of daylight. They're heads are bound to the wall in such a way that they cannot look at either side of them, nor behind them. The people are ignorant of all their surroundings except for what is directly in front of them. Socrates goes on to describe a massive fire behind the people, and behind the fire, a partial wall. On top of the wall stand several statues of people, animals, and other various objects. Out of sight from the bounded prisoners are another group of people who manipulate the ... ... of the Line: Imagination, Belief, Thought, and Understanding. When he completes the Line, he becomes a philosopher-king, ruler over the city. The guardian then returns to the cave to help the others turn around and become educated. They perform this charity because they strive for the benefit of the city, rather than themselves. In contrast, the prisoners who refuse to become educated must not participate in politics, because their motives are set on benefiting themselves instead of the people as a whole. Through these points, Plato explains the views of the philosopher-king. The ruler views politics as a privilege meant only to be experienced by the educated, and he views education as the ultimate goal in life; to achieve understanding of the world around him. Through these ideals, Plato believes that his ruler will be able to properly lead his perfect Republic.

International business environment Essay

The world’s poorest countries are at a competitive disadvantage in every sector of their economies. They have little to export, no capital; their land is of poor quality; often have too many people against available work opportunities; and are poorly educated. Free trade is not in interest of these countries. Discuss. 2 . How do you think the successful conclusion of the multilateral agreement to liberalize regulations governing FDI will benefit the world economy? 3 .Discuss the Competitive Advantage Theory of International Trade. How this theory is different from other theories. 4 .On what basis countries as classified as low income, middle income and high income countries? Do you think economic status of a country will influence its global business? 5 .Explain different types of Economic Systems. What are the major challenges faced by the command economies while transiting to a market economy? 6 . Explain the achievement of EU in integrating its member countries. How is formation of EU beneficial for India? 7 .How is WTO different from GATT? What are the main issues in the Doha Development Agenda and what are its implications for the developing countries? 8 .Write short notes on any three of the following:- a) Tariff b) Subsidies and Countervailing Duties c) Quotas d) Voluntary Export Restraint e) Local Content Requirement. The world’s poorest countries are at a competitive disadvantage in every sector of their economies. They have little to export, no capital; their land is of poor quality; often have too many people against available work opportunities; and are poorly educated. Free trade is not in interest of these countries. Discuss. 2 . How do you think the successful conclusion of the multilateral agreement to liberalize regulations governing FDI will benefit the world economy? 3 .Discuss the Competitive Advantage Theory of  International Trade. How this theory is different from other theories. 4 .On what basis countries as classified as low income, middle income and high income countries? Do you think economic status of a country will influence its global business? 5 .Explain different types of Economic Systems. What are the major challenges faced by the command economies while transiting to a market economy? 6 . Explain the achievement of EU in integrating its member countries. How is formation of EU beneficial for India? 7 .How is WTO different from GATT? What are the main issues in the Doha Development Agenda and what are its implications for the developing countries? 8 .Write short notes on any three of the following:- a) Tariff b) Subsidies and Countervailing Duties c) Quotas d) Voluntary Export Restraint e) Local Content Requirement.

Nonstandard English Definition and Examples

Nonstandard English refers to any dialect of English other than Standard English  and is sometimes referred to as  nonstandard dialect or non-standard variety.  The term Nonstandard English is sometimes used disapprovingly  by non-linguists to describe bad or incorrect English. Examples and Observations It is no simple matter to define the difference between a standard and a nonstandard variety of language. However, for our purposes, we can define a standard dialect as one that draws no negative attention to itself... On the other hand, a nonstandard dialect does draw negative attention to itself; that is, educated people might judge the speaker of such a dialect as socially inferior, lacking education, and so on. A nonstandard dialect can thus be characterized as having socially marked forms, such as aint. A socially marked form is one that causes the listener to form a negative social judgment of the speaker.It is important to understand that identifying a dialect as standard or nonstandard is a sociological judgment, not a linguistic one.(F. Parker and K. Riley, Linguistics for Non-Linguists. Allyn and Bacon, 1994)Nonstandard dialects of English differ from Standard English most importantly at the level of grammar. Examples of widespread nonstandard grammatical forms in English i nclude multiple negation.(Peter Trudgill, Introducing Language and Society. Penguin, 1992)In fiction nonstandard forms are mostly found in dialogue and they are used as a powerful tool to reveal character traits or social and regional differences.(Irma Taavitsainen, et al., Writing in Nonstandard English. John Benjamins, 1999) Nonstandard Usage in Huckleberry Finn I see Jim before me, all the time; in the day, and in the night-time, sometimes moonlight, sometimes storms, and we a floating along, talking, and singing, and laughing. But somehow I couldnt seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind. Id see him standing my watch on top of hisn, stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him agin in the swamp, up there where the feud was; and suchlike times; and would always call me honey, and pet me, and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was. And at last I struck the time I saved him by telling the men we had smallpox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the  only  one hes got now; and then I happened to look around, and see that paper.It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a trembling, because Id got to decide, fo rever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself:All right, then, Ill go to hell—and tore it up.(Mark Twain,  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1884)The kinds of errors that Huck makes [in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn] are by no means haphazard; Twain carefully placed them to suggest Hucks basic illiteracy but not to overwhelm the reader. Nonstandard verb forms constitute Hucks most typical mistakes. He often uses the present form or past participle for the simple past tense, for example, see or seen for saw; his verbs frequently do not agree with their subjects in number and person; and he often shifts tense within the same sequence.(Janet Holmgren McKay, An Art So High: Style in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New Essays on Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, ed. by Louis J. Budd. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1985) The Stigma of Nonstandard English We should not be so naive... as to begin thinking that nonstandard English will ever shed its stigma. Many who argue against teaching Standard conventions seem to believe it will. The reality is that failure to teach the conventions of Standard and formal Standard English in our classes is unlikely to have any effect on societys attitudes toward speakers of nonstandard English, but it will most certainly have an effect on our students lives. Their horizons will be limited, and many at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale will remain ghettoized. On this basis alone, I would argue that we must push students to reach their full potential, especially with regard to language. Our society is growing ever more competitive, not less, and Standard English, because it is inclusive rather than limiting, is a basic requirement for social and economic opportunities.(James D. Williams, The Teachers Grammar Book, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2005)