Comparison Of Islamic And Christian Philosophers

Comparison Of Islamic And Christian Philosophers According to the Encarta dictionaries, philosophy can be defined as the branch of knowledge that examines the basic concepts of thoughts and a set of beliefs or aims. Islamic philosophy is a style of philosophy that deals with the study of the framework of Islamic cultures, not necessarily religious issues, while Christian philosophy strictly deals with the theological doctrines of Christianity. However, as time went on there are many Islamic and Christian philosophers who have systematically established their works and have influenced the way people think in the society. Some of the great philosophers to be considered would be Plato, Mohammed Al Farabi, Saint Augustine, Aquinas, Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi and Ibn Rushd also known as Averroes. Further, I would examine the views, works and areas of study as an attempt to compare both Christian and Islamic philosophers. Plato, Mohammed al Farabi and Ibn Rushd were great renowned world philosophers who lived at one time or the other, and whose many contributions including their thoughts and works specifically with regards to philosophy, politics and science have greatly imparted into Islamic political theory. The impact these Islamic philosophers made during their life-times are still felt even up till today. Plato was an Islamic political thinker that was a well known student of Socrates. Plato established many dialogues and theories such as the Cartesian dualism hypothesis. This theory talks about the mind (soul) and the body. The theory further explains that there are conflicts between the mind and soul because the body is made up of physical appetites which can lead ones soul to committing sin.* However, Plato has greatly influenced many Arabic philosophers such as Mohammed Al Farabi. Mohammed Al Farabi was known to be the second teacher of Islamic philosophy after Aristotle. Al Farabi was one of the most famous, well respected, and successful Arabic philosophers. Also, He made an important contribution in the Islamic society by splitting the study of logic into two categories; Takhayyul (idea) and Thubut (proof). (Islamicity.com). Both Mohammed Al Farabi and Plato came up with philosophical themes. An example of one of these themes is the First theme which is the theory of Knowledge. Mohammed Al Farabi and Plato both stated that Knowledge development is very important in the society and that it was the key to the rise of power in most successful societies. Therefore, knowledge is responsible for the distinct differences between developed countries and the third world countries of the world. This theory of Knowledge is the basis for major societies like the United States of America (U.S.A). Plato and Mohammed Al Farabi made it clear that in every society, social and political changes are naturally observed and an isolated individual is not capable of achieving perfection. Both philosophers believed that anyone who was trying to be an island could have little or no chances of being successful in life. On the other hand, well known Christian philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas and Saint Augustine of the late centuries have also impacted greatly into the world. Both philosophers were good writers and made different dialogues. Thomas Aquinas was born to an aristocratic family and has produced a philosophical and cultural impact on the minds of many in the society today. Thomas Aquinas was a Christian philosopher that elaborated very much on how mankind could understand the truths of the universe through rational thinking. For example following Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas emphasized that humans are rational creatures that are capable of much learning and contemplating God. (Moseley, Page 12). He also contributed to Augustinian Christianity with an Aristotelian logic because he felt the followers of Saint Augustine lacked basic understanding of Christianity.* Meanwhile, Saint Augustine was a philosopher who was born into a Christian family and learnt about Christianity through his mother, after he was enrolled as a catechumen into a catholic church. * Nevertheless, both Saint Augustine and Aquinas came up with different ethical theories. Saint Augustines ethical theory was based on the love of God. He claims that people can be categorized into two: good or evil. According to Saint Augustine the good people are those that love and show appreciation to God while the evil people had no regards for God and his laws. Further, He explained that the good people are those that live in the city of God and the evil people are those that dwell in the city of man.* However, Thomas Aquinas ethical theory was immensely connected to the belief that everything had an end and an individuals action towards the end is initiated by an agent. As stated by Thomas Aquinas all actions must have an end otherwise an action without an end would tend to infinity.* Furthermore, Thomas Aquinas explained that an action should not just have an end but a proper end which seeks a lot of perfection. This perfection can be attained through the guidance of God who is referred to as the only perfect being. Moreover, Thomas Aquinas also discusses on good and evil. He argues that the act of will is not always good, but sometimes evil, indicating that the goodness or badness of a thing is sought in the will of an action. Initially, Christian and Islamic philosophers were very versatile because they expertise in different fields. One of the common areas of study which was associated with both Christian and Islamic philosophers was the study of medicine. For example Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, Ibn sina also known as Avicenna, and Thomas Aquinas were both philosophers who studied medicine at one point in the life time. Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi was an Islamic philosopher who was born in Kufa at around 800 A.D. He did not just study medicine but was one of the chief contributors to the field, because he was known to be the first to systematically determine the doses to be administered of all the drugs to sick patients at his time. Furthermore, this resolved the conflicting views prevailing among physicians on the dosage that caused difficulties in writing recipes. (trincoll.edu). On the other hand Thomas Aquinas who was a Christian philosopher that also studied medicine and explained that the human body contained innate capacities and non- innate capacities (also referred to as learned capacities). Thomas Aquinas made a related distinction between these two capacities by giving the term potential for the innate capacities and dispositions for the learned capacities. Moreover, Thomas Aquinas distinguished between the innate capacities and the non-innate capacities by giving examples. Take the case of playing a musical instrument such as the flute and the sense of sight. Thomas Aquinas stated that playing of the flute is obviously learned unlike someone that does not acquire the sense of sight by seeing; rather because he has the capacity of sight, he is made actually to see. (Books.google.com.ng). Secondly, Christian and Islamic philosophers share different political views. Take the case of two well known philosophers Plato and Saint Augustine who both had different views of the concepts of politics such as justice and evil. Plato defined justice in a society as the connection and balance of roles occupied by social agents or people in a society. He further explained that justice can only be achieved in a society if there is evil present in that particular society. Moreover, evil according to Plato is anything that is not in accordance with justice. However, Saint Augustine had a different perspective of evil. Saint Augustine related evil with Gods existence by explaining that evil was transgressing against Gods will. He explained that God was the Supreme Being in charge of all creatures and was the only one free of evil. Saint Augustine further elaborated that all human beings are created good but not made perfect, and therefore makes humans liable to committing sin which sometimes fulfills the will of God. Although both philosophers shared different views, Plato and Saint Augustine had it in mind to maintain justice and goodness in the society. Lastly, Christian philosophers accepted the notion of Greek natural philosophy, while the Islamic philosophers did not. Perhaps the reason that Christian philosophers accepted Greek natural philosophy was that Christianity is founded within the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, so the Christian philosophers grew accustomed to Greco Roman culture. Unlike Islam which was founded outside the Greco-Roman world. Take the case of Saint Augustine who converted to Christianity after being influenced by the biography of the life of Saint Anthony. Saint Augustine did not only become a Christian but also was inspired to produce more works such as his most famous of all works which was titled the city of God.* To conclude, it is obvious that over the years some Islamic and Christian philosophers do not necessarily agree to each others dialogues or theories, while some succumb and even supplement the theories made. However, as stated earlier both Islamic and Christian philosophers have contributed greatly to the each other even up until today despite the fact that both Islam and Christianity are two different religions that are based on their particular principles. Bibliography Adler, J. Mortimer. Great Books of the Western World: 16 Augustine. Chicago: 2003. Print. Afnan, Soheil. The Commentary of Avicenna on Aristotles Poetics. The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 2 (1947) 188-190, JSTOR Web. 22 Mar. 2010. Black, Antony. The History of Islamic Political Thought: From the Prophet to the Present. New York: Routledge Publishing Company, 2001. Print. Ebenstein, Alan. Introduction to Political Thinkers. 2nd ed. Orlando, Florida: Words worth, 2002. Print. Matthews, T. Roy and Dewitt, F. Platt. The Western Humanities, Volume 1: Beginnings Through the Renaissance. New York: Mc Graw- Hill Publishing Company, 2008. Print. Mohammed Al- Farabi. Islamicity.com. . 22Mar. 2010. Moseley, Alexander. A to Z of Philosophy. London, New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008. Print. Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. New York, London: Simon and Schuster publishing company, 1972. Print. Stroumsa, Sarah. Avicennas Philosophical Stories: Aristotles poetics reinterpreted. Arabica. 39. 2 (1992): 183-206, JSTOR Web. 22 Mar. 2010. Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al- Kindi. trincoll.edu. Chris Marvin and Trinity College, n.d. . 22 Mar.2010

Safe Survivable and Effective Combat Systems for U.S. Military Personnel

The changes that are happening in the society have paved the way for different developments and threats to become observable in various countries. The advancement of science and technology, the advent of globalization, and other phenomena have created different advantageous effects to the everyday lives of people. However, development in various fields also come with it different threats, especially when it comes to the security and welfare of citizens. The dangers and risks to the security and welfare of citizens is greatly observable during the 9/11 terrorist attacks that caused destruction of different infrastructures and numerous casualties. Due to this incident and also other terrorist attacks that happen in different parts of the world, the importance of military personnel and other individuals that have the responsibility of protecting and safeguarding the welfare and safety of people have become more important than ever. Being the case, it is essential that the safe survivable and effective combat systems for United States military personnel are given due attention and importance. As methods of warfare and terrorism are developing in a rapid pace, it is also pivotal that safe survivable and effective combat systems for the United States military are also further developed. United States military personnel have to be properly equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to properly and effectively perform their duties and responsibilities. The facilities that will be given focused in the project will emphasize the development that need to be done in safe survivable and effective combat systems. The strength of military capabilities is recognized as the foundation of the political prominence of the United States. The prominent role of the United States in the international arena is brought about by the military strength of the country, which becomes observable starting the Cold War. The military capabilities of the United States are necessary in order to secure the welfare of Americans. The strength and development of the United States military are heavily dependent upon the advancement of science, technology, and economic resources (Bolt et al. , 2005). Being the case, focusing the project on safe survivable and effective combat systems for the United States is justified and appropriate because it gives due consideration to the political role of the country and the welfare of the people. The project will also give importance to the seven ASIS guidelines because it provides the consensus regarding the general practices when it comes to the performance of security risk assessment. The seven-step process is an outline, â€Å"which comprises system and assess identification, specification of vulnerabilities, determining risk probabilities and event impact, developing risk mitigation options, studying the feasibility of options, and performing a cost/benefit analysis† (Landoll, 2006, p. 22). Among the seven-step process, the most challenging to complete are the first parts of the ASIS guidelines, namely: identity assets, specify loss events, and frequency of events because it requires intensive research and the collection of related data. In addition, it is also difficult to properly identify and assess the impact of events because it needs the appropriate standard of measurement in order to examine the actually impacts of the events. Contrary to the usual perception that the cost/benefit analysis is the most difficult part of the seven-step ASIS guideline, it is actually the least demanding to complete because of the needed data in order to make a comprehensive and reliable analysis are already available. The advantages of focusing the project on safe survivable and effective combat systems are observable in the range of literature that can be used when it comes to the research of the topic. There are different researchers and authors who have also explored the subject of safe survivable and effective combat in relation to the United States military personnel. On the other hand, the there are also disadvantages in using the aforementioned topic, as the focus of the project. First, since military personnel are the main subjects of the study, it is very difficult to gain the actual perspective, opinion, and experiences of these people because of the strict military rule and conduct that they abide to. Second, the development of science and technological when it comes to the field of military is often done in strict confidentiality, which can make it difficult to actual identify and study the level of development of safe survivable and effective combat systems. Nevertheless, despite the disadvantages of the topics of the project, it is still beneficial to study the safe survivable and effective combats because of the purpose and advantages objectives in conducting the study. Moreover, there will always be a source of data even though there are difficulties in acquiring some of it. In order to complete the seven steps of ASIS General Security Assessment, the process of doing the project will largely rely on the acquisition of data through research. The sources of research that will be done includes studying related literature when it comes to the topic wherein other studies will be use in order to obtain the necessary data for the project. In addition, the participation of the military population will also become helpful wherein a sample population can be interviewed or survey in order to identify the perspective and opinion of United States military personnel, which can generalized a substantial portion of the of the population. In terms of determining the probability of loss risk, frequency of events, and impacts of events a mixed methodology of both qualitative and quantitative risk assessment will be used. The project will take into focus the safe survivable and effective combat systems for United States military personnel by performing document research through the use of policy papers, organizational articles, and other similar documents. In the same manner, quantitative risk assessment will be done wherein the surveyed perspective and experiences of military personnel will be used. The security solutions and the feasibility of implementation study will be identified through the use of data obtained from the other steps of the ASIS guidelines. The use of the gathered data will enable the project to clearly identify the problem and its corresponding solutions. Furthermore, the cost/benefit analysis of safe survivable and effective combat systems will be properly done through the accomplishment of the preceding steps of the ASIS guideline. The corresponding cost and benefits of the decision that would be done in order to develop the aforementioned area will properly done through the previous steps, which are accomplished through the use of research, document analysis, and survey. The use of the mixed methodology will give substantive data that will allow the proper analysis of cost and benefits of the project, which in turn, will help in making the appropriate decisions regarding the development of safe survivable and effective combat systems for United States military personnel.

Compromising Development: the Language of Instruction Dilemma

Tayebwa Morris Compromising development: The Language of Instruction dilemma in Tanzania. Introduction Following release of the Tanzania 2012 Form IV results by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training on February 18, the media and the general public have been frantically discussing the fact that up to 60 % of the students who sat last years’ ‘O' level final failed the exam. i This has once again raised a lot of concern in and around Tanzania from educators, parents and policy makers.Among many reasons given for the failure, that has in fact been increasing every year are factors like; shortage of quality teachers, poor infrastructure and study tools. The reason that stands out however, is the poor proficiency of secondary school students in English, the language of instruction. In fact studies have shown that the same students do much better in primary school where they are taught and examined in Kiswahili, the national language.The Tanzanian Dilemma Inspite of incessant advice by policy makers and educators for a complete adoption of Kiswahili as the only medium of instruction at all levels, the Tanzanian government has upheld the bilingual education system and English is continually used as a language of instruction for all post-primary school education. In fact early research agrees with the promotion of Kiswahili as the appropriate choice as a language of instruction.However, going by the advances of education worldwide where especially tertiary education is becoming more globalised, wouldn’t it be regressive to adopt a language of instruction that is limited to just one country? Unless we of course consider that the returns from quality secondary education would be sufficient for Tanzania without regarding the effect on tertiary education. Or maybe higher education would also have to adopt Kiswahili as a language of instruction.This is before we consider the feasibility of such a transformation most importantly in terms of pre sence and quality of secondary school and higher education tools such as curricula, textbooks, teaching guides and manuals and obviously teachers trained to instruct post – primary levels. Or maybe the country should take the bitter pill and adopt English as a language of instruction on all levels. In this paper, I will try to delve into previous research on this matter and find a relation etween the language of instruction and effect on developmental outcomes of Tanzania both in terms of human capital growth and general wellbeing of citizens. Does the language of instruction really matter? From the human capital rationale, language does matter. â€Å"Human capital† refers to the set of skills a person acquires mainly through education and training to aid his/her productivity and attain greater compensation in the labour market (Becker 1964).Proficiency in a language of instruction (reading, writing, oral expression) is a skill vital to the development of human capital . As explained by Chiswick and Miller (1995), the language skill â€Å"satisfies the three criteria that define human capital,† that is, the costs involved in the creation of language skills, the skills that serve a productive purpose relevant to economic activity in the labour market; and the fact that all that is embodied in a person. As demonstrated by Samuel O.Ortiz (2004) in his assessment of culturally and linguistically diverse students, language of instruction also determines the competence of students in relation to the improvement of their cognitive skills, a means and end to the means of quality education. By discussing cognitive skills and quality education, we get closer to the effect of language of instruction on the development of individuals and societies, both socio-economic and general well-being. According to Hanushek and Kim (1995) and Hanushek and Woessmann (2007), quality of education is a measure of labour force quality based on the cognitive skills att ained.Therefore, such big failure rates, and reports that most students failed to write anything in last year’s exam, and either resorted to cheating, writing funny verses and abuses spells a bad image for the Tanzanian education system and leaves us to wonder what kind skills are the students getting anyway. Undeniably, research over the years has shown that standards of English education are inadequate thus affecting the general performance of most post-primary students (Mlama and Matteru 1977, Criper and Dodd 1984, Roy-Campbell 1997, Martha Quorro (2013).In fact it was found that students perform much better under the medium of Swahili and that nearly 75 percent of teaching, especially in the early stages of secondary education, was being done in Swahili rather than English or sometimes with massive code switching involved (Rugemalira et al 1990). ii Students therefore receive a large part of their education in the local language yet assignments, tests and even national ex ams are written in English. This, as a result handicaps students with low proficiency and leads such to high failure rates.This goes on to not only affect the education system but the students as well. For example, after such failure, most students drop out of schools even without qualifications, girls are married off at an early age by parents who are not seeing direct returns from the education, boys resort to lower income jobs for survival and this ultimately also affects the motivation of other students to join secondary school. As a result, Tanzania has the lowest secondary school enrolment in the region (World Bank, 2009).The government has however ignored research findings and the sociolinguistic reality by maintaining a weak bilingual instruction format. It makes no sense teaching in a language that children are not understanding. In fact the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training has in the past proposed starting English as Language of Instruction from nursery school all through to tertiary education (MoEVT, 2009). Tangled in this predicament, there is also an inequality dimension.Studies have shown that many wealthy Tanzanian parents send their children to better performing private schools, as well as to schools in the neighbouring countries, in order to have their children exposed to English-medium education in primary school (Mazrui 1997, Cox and Jimenez 1991). In a country where there are better opportunities for the English proficient workforce, the foreign trained students consequently have more valuable capital and better potential to get better paying jobs and thus opportunities are still in the hands of the already privileged. The uncertain futureFrom the aforementioned studies, it is clear that adoption of Swahili as the language of instruction in secondary schools, will lead to better outcomes in terms of effective transfer of information, legibility, improved education and a more productive population. On the other hand, emphasis on English, just like in other neighbouring countries will likewise improve the skills needed to compete globally especially in tourism and other export-oriented investments, broaden other labour- market opportunities, and close the socioeconomic classes’ gap that exists between the English currently proficient labour force and the general public.In my opinion and as discussed by Batibo (1990) a bilingual system can still be maintained but the government will need to invest more in promoting the learning of English at pre- primary level to better prepare the students to the reality of an English post primary education. However as this paper has shown, even with a plethora of research on this matter, the Tanzanian government is faced with the dilemma of choosing a curriculum policy that should emphasize a well understood and better performing language or one that is used widely around the world especially in economic, scientific and technological circles.NOTES i The breakdowns b y divisions are as follows: division 1-1,641; division 2-6,453; division 3- 15,426; division 4103,327, and division 0-240,903. By gender for those who passed i. e. received divisions 1-3: girls =7, 178 and boys = 16, 342. That means 5. 6% of those who sat for this exam passed (divisions 1-3), it only when division 4 (the worst possible grade) is included that failure rate reduces to 60% otherwise with division 4 included, failure rate is actually 94. 4%. ii Code switching is the practice of alternating between two languages to ease communication.References Barro R (1999). Human Capital and Growth in Cross Country Regressions, Swedish Economic Policy Review, 6, 237-77. Barry R. Chiswick and Paul W. Miller (1995). The Endogeneity between Language and Earnings, Journal of Labor Economics, 13, 248. Batibo, H. M. (1990). English language teaching and learning in Tanzanian primary schools. Language in Education in Africa: A Tanzanian Perspective. Ed. C. M. Becker, Gary. (1964). Human Capi tal: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Cox, Donald and Emmanuel Jimenez. (1991). The Relative Effectiveness of Private and Public Schools: Evidence from Two Developing Countries. Journal of Development Economics 34:99-121. Criper, C. and William Dodd (1984). Report on the Teaching of English and its Use as a Medium of Instruction in Tanzania, ODA/ British Council. Education in Africa: A Tanzanian Perspective. Ed. C. M. Rubagumya. Philadelphia: Multilingual Matters, 1990. Hanushek E and Kim D (1995), Schooling Labour Force Quality and Economic Growth, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 399, Cambridge, MA. Hanushek E and Woessmann L (2008). The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development, Journal of Economic Literature, 46, 607-668. Martha A. S. Qorro, (2013). Language of instruction in Tanzania: Why are research findings not heeded? International Review of Education Mazrui, Alamin. T he World Bank, the language question and the future of African education. Race and Class 38. 3 (1997): 35-48. Mlama, Penina na May Matteru (1977). Haja ya kutumia Kiswahili kufundishia elimu ya juu, a research report commissioned by BAKITA, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.MoEVT (2009). Sera ya Elimu na Mafunzo (2009), Rasimu ya I. Toleo Jipya, Juni, 2009. Ortiz O. Samuel, Comprehensive Assessment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student: A Systematic, Practical Approach for Non-discriminatory Assessment Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychologists. Qorro (eds. ): Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa. (LOITASA) Dar es Salaam: E & D Limited. pp. 149 – 170. Roy-Campbell, Zaline Makini and Martha. Qorro, (1997). The Language Crisis in Tanzania: the Myth of English versus Education, DSM: Mkuki na Nyota Publishers.Rubagumya, Casmir (2003). English medium primary schools in Tanzania: a new â€Å"linguistic market† in education? In: Brock-Utne, Birgit, Zubeida Desai and Martha Rubagumya. Philadelphia: Multilingual Matters. Rugemalira, J. M, C. M. Rubagumya, M. K. Kapinga, A. F. Lwaitama and J. G. Tetlow. Reflections on recent developments in language policy in Tanzania. Language in World Bank, (2009) World Bank Indicators – Tanzania accessed on 15. 03. 2013 from http://www. tradingeconomics. com/tanzania/school-enrollment-secondary-femalepercent-gross-wb-data. html

Anton Sukhinski s The Holocaust - 953 Words

Imagine, you re running for your life from tyrants, and you’re only fifteen. Not only would they kill you, but they would make you dig your own grave, terrified and freezing and the price for your capture is $247.78. Then a man comes to you with open arms and offers you shelter. One man who displayed this affection to jews like this in the holocaust. His name, Anton Sukhinski. Anton was a poor man and was an outcast in his little village in Ukraine, he was, a a village idiot. During WWII he saved six souls. Hiding Jews in his secret bunker he defied his neighbors and the German soldiers, risking his life in the process. It wasn t all that easy though. At one point his neighbors found out about the Jews and went there with guns. One woman died and it weighed on Anton. He spent the next few weeks working on a new bunker. The Jews he held left for a bit and wandered to a farm where they stayed only one night. They came back, but Anton was not done. He hid the Jews in his attic un til he finished. That s when German soldiers arrived. His neighbors had tattled on him, and so he could not care for the Jews directly. When the Germans found no trace of a hidden bunker, they left. The Jews during this, so thirsty they drank their urine and they stayed quite by stuffing cloth in their mouths. Then one day the bunker door opened up. They had been rescued by the Germans. This displayal of moral courage was a feat that was recognized by â€Å"The Rightous Among the