Gun Control: Do NOT Believe What Liberal Politicans Tell You :: Argumentative Example Essays

The book titled "Guns in America" written by Helen Strahinich defines gun control as any las that restricts the ownership or sale of firearms(Strahinich 2). The history of the gun control debate can be traced back to colonial times when guns were being outlawed to keep them out of the hands of the poor. Today, the subject still remains so controversial that many politicians fear touching the subject. Will banning guns eliminate crime? Will criminals still be albe to obtain firearms? These are two of the most controversial questions that fuel the fire in the debaate spotlight. tThese following two examples best illistrate how easily one can put forth arguments either for or aginst gun control.In 1995, a gang of four masked theives armed with Tec-9 semiautomatic pistols brok into Marsha Bealty's home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The thieves were supprised when they were confronted by Marsha and her roomate armed with 9mm pistols. The immediately fled when threatened by the two women.(Black man) The two sides of this argument are the pro and anti gun groups. The anti-gun groups main goals range from more stringent gun control laws to a total ban on handguns. The political supporters of this group are susally liberal democrats and a few other small independedt groups such as Handgun Control Inc. Their main arguments are questionin gth eoriginal intent of the framers of the constituion adn the way of life in the time it was written, and also the purpose of guns in modern siciety. For thte most part, their claims are mainly emotional and use popular incidences adn the high number of people killed annually from firearms and, gun saftey in households. On the other side of the fence is the pro-gun grouuups who lobby to support law abiding citizens' second amendment rights to keep and bear arms. Their suporters tend to be conservative republicans and pro-gun groups. The most popular of these groups is the NRA(National Rifle Association) which is a strong political group consisting of over three million members. Theses groups tend to use statistics and sases wehre lives have been saved by the use of firearms while strongly stressing gun saftey and training programs. They favor strict interpretation of the Bill of Rights. INthsi paper I am taking a stand against gun control. I feel that law abiding citizens should be entitled to their second ammendment rights to keep and bear arms for the purposes of protection of home, property, and person.

Art Appreciation Essay

Art has been part of the human culture for thousands of years. It has facilitated the development of civilization for centuries. The history of the world would not be the same without the affluence of creativity and innovation. One particular period in art history that clearly manifested the artistry and ingenuity of many artists was the Baroque period. The art style practiced during this era was described as the â€Å"harmony spatial relationships, both real and illusionary, with spectacular visual effects† which were executed using technical brilliance. Most of the artworks produced during the Baroque period had â€Å"highly developed naturalistic illusionism, usually heightened by dramatic lighting effects, creating an unequaled sense of theatricality, energy, and movement of forms† (Heindroff, 2006). More so, this art movement flourished throughout Europe wherein several talented artists have emerged who had helped shaped the contemporary art style. Morover, at that time, one of the famous themes for the visual arts was landscape painting. It is in this field that Annibale Carracci, an Italian painter, Claude Lorrain, a French artist, and Jacob Van Ruisdael, a Dutch artisan, have all excelled. They have produced some of the most exquisite masterpieces such as the Landscape with Flight into Egypt (c. 1603) by Carracci, A Pastoral Landscape by Claude Lorrain (c. 1650) and View of Haarlem from the Dunes at Overveen by Van Ruisdael (c. 1670). In Carracci’s Landscape with Flight into Egypt, he showcased the beautiful landscape of Rome with two human figures and a donkey at the foreground. This piece of art was commissioned by â€Å"Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini Pietro Aldobrandini for the family chapel in his palace in Rome, later known as Palazzo Doria Pamphilj†during the year 1603. More so, this painting was considered as the most notable input of Carracci in the veduta genre which was described as the precise and detailed depiction of urban cities and rural landscapes that that attracted the â€Å"sense of local pride of the wealthy Dutch middle class. † Carracci successfully established â€Å"a balanced, idyllic landscape beauty, with a perfect sentimental fusion of the holy characters, their stories and the landscape† (NationMaster. com, 2005). Furthermore, he was one of the pioneers to create a landscape painting wherein the figures were not the focal point but it was the landscape that took the spotlight. This style was later on followed by Carracci’s pupils such as â€Å"Domenichino and Lorraine. † Overall, â€Å"Carracci was remarkably eclectic in thematic, painting landcapes, genre scenes, and portraits, including a series of autoportraits across the ages† (Bookrags. com, 2006). Meanwhile in France, Claude Lorrain was also acclaimed for his landscape paintings. Lorrain was born in Lorraine, France but he actually grew up in Italy. By 1633, he was able to launch his name as one of the most leading landscapist and he was also commissioned by high-ranking officials of the Italian society such as the â€Å"popes, cardinals, ambassadors and kings† (Barewalls. com). In A Pastoral Landscape, Lorrain was commissioned by â€Å"Prince Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna. † Like Carraci’s painting, this one also had no distinguishable subject. The figures present where â€Å"sitting and the standing shepherds† accompanied by 3 women (Miller, 2007). The background is a scenic view of the city alongside the pastoral landscape of the rural area. Lorrain’s landscape paintings illustrated a â€Å"sharp contrasts of light and shades. † More so, it was believed that Poussin influenced him to highlight spatial composition in order to reach a â€Å"complete balance between masses of trees and of architecture. † By 1650, he was able to hone and enhance his creativity and art skills and these were manifested in the â€Å"classical balance of the composition which is subtly altered by soft light† (Barewalls. com). For Van Ruisdael, he was also a landscape artist who studied painting in Germany but lived in Amsterdam. Van Ruisdael was able to establish his own studio where he trained several talented artists. His â€Å"dramatic, naturalistic rendering of landscapes and his emotional use of color support his reputation as the principal Dutch landscape painter in the second half of the 1600s. † Additionally, he mastered the use of proportional compositions, meticulous draftsmanship, and thick impasto which were all evident in the â€Å"View of Haarlem from the Dunes at Overveen (Getty Museum, 2008). This landscape painting showed the panoramic view of Haarlem, Van Ruisdael’s hometown. The red roofs of the houses and the clouds in the sky were the main visual elements in the painting. These three paintings showcased the different approaches of three artists from three different countries during the flamboyant period of Baroque. Annibale Carracci, Claude Lorrain, and Jacob Van Ruisdael gave a new meaning to the word landscape painting wherein they transcended reality in a two-dimensional canvases infused with their own respective personalities and techniques. References Barewalls. com. (n. d. ). Claude Lorrain. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from http://www. dropbears. com/a/art/biography/Claude_Lorrain. html Bookrags. com. (2006). Annibale Carracci. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from http://www. bookrags. com/wiki/Annibale_Carracci Getty Museum. (2008). Jacob van Ruisdael. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from http://www.getty. edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails? maker=517 Heindroff, A. M. (2006, July 24). Baroque Art. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from http://arthistory. heindorffhus. dk/frame-Style10-Baroque. htm Miller, M. (2007, February 16). Claude Lorrain Landscape Drawings from the British Museum at the Clark. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from http://www. berkshirefinearts. com/? page=article&article_id=218&catID=3 NationMaster. com. (2005). The Flight into Egypt (Annibale Carracci). Retrieved December 6, 2008, from http://www. nationmaster. com/encyclopedia/The-Flight-into-Egypt- (Annibale-Carracci)

Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg outlined one of the best-known theories addressing the development of morality in childhood. Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, which include three levels and six stages, expanded on and revised the ideas of Jean Piaget’s previous work on the subject. Key Takeaways: Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg was inspired by Jean Piaget’s work on moral judgment to create a stage theory of moral development in childhood.The theory includes three levels and six stages of moral thinking. Each level includes two stages. The levels are called preconventional morality, conventional morality, and postconventional morality.Since it was initially proposed, Kohlberg’s theory has been criticized for overemphasizing a Western male perspective on moral reasoning. Origins Jean Piagets two-stage theory of moral judgment marked a divide between the way children younger than 10 and those 10 and older think about morality. While younger children looked at rules as fixed and based their moral judgments on consequences, older children’s perspectives were more flexible and their judgments were based on intentions. However, intellectual development doesn’t end when Piaget’s stages of moral judgment ended, making it likely that moral development continued as well. Because of this, Kohlberg felt Piaget’s work was incomplete. He sought to study a range of children and adolescents in order to determine if there were stages that went beyond those proposed by Piaget. Kohlberg’s Research Method Kohlberg utilized Piaget’s method of interviewing children about moral dilemmas in his research. He would present each child with a series of such dilemmas and ask them their thoughts on each one to determine the reasoning behind their thinking. For example, one of the moral dilemmas Kohlberg presented was the following: â€Å"In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her†¦ The druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about†¦ half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: ‘No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it.’ So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife.† After explaining this dilemma to his participants, Kohlberg would ask, â€Å"Should the husband have done that?† He then continued with a series of additional questions that would help him understand why the child thought Heinz was right or wrong to do what he did. After collecting his data, Kohlberg classified the responses into stages of moral development. Kohlberg interviewed 72 boys in suburban Chicago for his study. The boys were 10, 13, or 16 years old. Each interview was approximately two hours long and Kohlberg  presented each participant with 10 moral dilemmas during that time. Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development Kohlberg’s research yielded three levels of moral development. Each level consisted of two stages, leading to six stages in total. People pass through each stage sequentially with the thinking at the new stage replacing the thinking at the previous stage. Not everyone reached the highest stages in Kohlbergs theory. In fact, Kohlberg believed that many didn’t move past his third and fourth stages. Level 1: Preconventional Morality At the lowest level of moral development individuals haven’t yet internalized a sense of morality. Moral standards are dictated by adults and the consequences of breaking the rules. Children nine years old and younger tend to fall into this category. Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience Orientation. Children believe the rules are fixed and must be obeyed to the letter. Morality is external to the self.Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange. Children begin to realize that the rules aren’t absolute. Different people have different perspectives and therefore there isn’t just one correct point of view. Level 2: Conventional Morality A majority of adolescents and adults fall into the middle level of conventional morality. At this level, people start to internalize moral standards but not necessarily to question them. These standards are based on the social norms of the groups a person is part of. Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships. Morality arises from living up to the standards of a given group, such as ones family or community, and being a good group member.Stage 4: Maintaining the Social Order. The individual becomes more aware of the rules of society on a broader scale. As a result, they become concerned with obeying laws and maintaining the social order. Level 3: Postconventional Morality If individuals reach the highest level of moral development, they start to question if what they see around them is good. In this case, morality stems from self-defined principles. Kohlberg suggested that only 10-15% of the population was able to achieve this level because of the abstract reasoning it required. Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights. Society should function as a social contract where the goal of each individual is to improve society as a whole. In this context, morality and individual rights like life and liberty may take precedence over specific laws.Stage 6: Universal Principles. People develop their own principles of morality even if they conflict with society’s laws. These principles must be applied to every individual equally. Critiques Since Kohlberg initially proposed his theory, many criticisms have been leveled against it. One of the key issues other scholars take with the theory centers on the sample used to create it. Kohlberg focused on boys in a specific United States city. As a result, his theory has been accused of being biased towards men in Western cultures. Western individualist cultures may have different moral philosophies than other cultures. For example, individualist cultures emphasize personal rights and freedoms, while collectivist cultures emphasize what’s best for the community as a whole. Kohlberg’s theory does not take these cultural differences into account. In addition, critics like Carol Gilligan have maintained that Kohlberg’s theory conflates morality with an understanding of rules and justice, while overlooking concerns such as compassion and care. Gilligan believed the emphasis on impartially judging conflicts between competing parties overlooked the female perspective on morality, which tended to be contextual and derived from an ethics of compassion and concern for other people. Kohlberg’s methods were also criticized. The dilemmas he used weren’t always applicable to children at the age of 16 and under. For example, the Heinz dilemma presented above might not be relatable to children who had never been married. Had Kohlberg focused on dilemmas more reflective of his subjects lives, his results may have been different. Also, Kohlberg never examined if moral reasoning actually reflected moral behavior. Therefore, it’s not clear if his subjects’ actions fell in line with their ability to think morally. Sources Cherry, Kendra. â€Å"Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development.† Verywell Mind, 13 March 2019. https://www.verywellmind.com/kohlbergs-theory-of-moral-developmet-2795071Crain, William. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 5th ed., Pearson Prentice Hall. 2005.Kohlberg, Lawrence. â€Å"The Development of Children’s Orientation Toward a Moral Order: I. Sequence in the Development of Moral Thought.† Vita Humana, vol. 6, no. 1-2, 1963, pp. 11-33. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1964-05739-001McLeod, Saul. â€Å"Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development.† Simply Psychology, 24 October 2013. https://www.simplypsychology.org/kohlberg.html