Book of the Courtier Essay Example for Free

Book of the Courtier Essay â€Å"Whatever character an individual has determines how successful the community he belongs to will be† these lines are indeed true with what the â€Å"Book of the Courtier† suggests. Authored by an Italian soldier, and a statesman attached to the court of the duke of Milan and later in the service of Duke Urbino, Baldassare Castiglione, the entire book dwells in a central theme which includes having graceful behavior, especially that of the impression of effortlessness or referred to by the book as â€Å"sprezzatura. † This series of four books deals so much on how an individual should train himself in discipline so as to be able to reach the best person he could in a way that he could contribute so much to his own community. In the case of this book, Castiliogne puts it in the personification of a perfect courtier. On the third book though, the story evolves on how a court lady should carry herself and thus be able to serve her master in a way that they will never have any point of despising her service. Being clever is quite a clear attitude pointed in this part of the book. In addition to this, the wide differences between male and female genders is shown with emphasis. One part of these series of stories talks about the individuality of each men as I may quote: â€Å"I don’t want to be like the man who stripped down to his shirt and then jumped a shorter distance than he had in his greatcoat. So as far as I am concerned it is very fortunate that the hour is late, because as there is little time I shall have to say far less, and not having given the matter any thought, I will be excusable and allowed to say without being censured all the things that come to my mind. And now in order not to have to carry the burden any longer, let me start by saying that to recognize true perfection in anything is so difficult as to be scarcely possible; and this because of the opinions vary. Thus there are many who like to hear someone talking a great deal and who will call him an agreeable companion. Some will prefer reticence; others an active and restless man; others one who always acts with calmness and deliberation; and so everyone praises or condemns according to his own opinion, always Importance Placed on Individual or Society Page #2 camouflaging a vice under the name of a corresponding virtue; or a virtue under the name of a corresponding vice. † This lines shows how individual opinions affect how one person chooses to conduct himself in front of the other people in his community. Sometimes held in hindrance to what he really likes to do, a person chooses to succumb to what his society considers to be right and acceptable. Yet some choose to stick to what they believe in and dares to be different in some ways thus facing the judgment of his community men regarding his rather different being. Indeed, however a man chooses to deal with his own life defending his own beliefs as such, it will strongly influence his society’s views on things. A real â€Å"perfect courtier† is referred to as someone who can direct his own way. Someone who would not allow his principles be cracked by people who aims to put his â€Å"service to his master† into a lower state of excellence. A real noble man is the one who can decide for himself. From the smallest detail of how he should dress to the most complicated issue of how he should deal with his life. He that continuously struggles for his goals toward aspiring people. Someone who is able to measure his accomplishments with those of other people is the one considered to be truly successful. Everything must occur in such a reasonable way and with purpose. It is very important for each and every one of us to continue on pursuing our own goals to attain self excellence. As Sydney Bremer says in his book Successful Achievements: â€Å"In the assurance of strength, there is strength, and they are the weakest, however strong, who have no faith in themselves or their powers. Men often conquer difficulties because they think they can. Their confidence in themselves inspires confidence in others†. This is indeed true specially in connection with the theme of the book of Castiglione. It is thus true that what a person does as a separate part of his community is directly linked to other people living with him. Man, as the very basic part of a certain society determines both the norms and the idealism a community considers to be true and acceptable. On the other hand, aiming for the best, as suggested by the ideas of Castiglione is concerned with how we embed ourselves with the positive traits that lead to self excellence and also eliminating negative characters which may Importance Placed on Individual or Society Page #3 hinder us from doing what we are supposed to reach as our aims in life. One of which is â€Å"sprezzatura† which was translated in the modern English as â€Å"recklessness†. It came from an Italian root-word â€Å"sprezza† meaning contempt, disdain, or scorn. Having such attitudes wouldn’t make any young courtier a successful one at that. On the contrary, it will just lead him to failure and distress. His goals of giving his best service will surely be a waste if he continues to cultivate this character in his everyday dealings. This is so much true even to an individual who strives to be the best in what he does. As a whole, as we could closely see, the â€Å"Book of the Courtier† shows so much emphasis on the kind of living of an individual person. From the positive traits he must posses to the negative attitudes he must omit from his system so as to be able to meet the goal of self excellence. Women also were given emphasis to have certain independence from the authority of men in some ways. Giving them the free will, freedom of speech and freedom in deciding for what they want with their lives. Yes, as this book has been set at a long time past in England, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t have any practical advise to the modern times we are presently living in today. Apparently, the contents of this book has a lot of advise enclosed for these generation which we are living in. As to what we could actually observe, many young people today lack the enthusiasm of actually establishing their own purpose in life. Sadly, only a few of the youth today endeavor to influence the community they are living in with positive contributions to the moral, spiritual, and even secular aspects of life in the society. Only a fewer percent of today’s population really strive for the aim of having self-excellence. Yes, sometimes, its not bad to be a bit perfectionist with ourselves. Knowing our limits of course, perfectionism usually lead us to self-excellence. As one saying implies : â€Å"Make perfection your aim and be satisfied with nothing less†. Yes, we must always remember to ask ourselves of what we ought to do as an individual, what we could improve on ourselves and thus be able to make a difference on the community we are living in. Not to be praised or to be renowned as a noble man, but to reach the reality of self-excellence. Sources: Castigliogne, Baldesar. The Book of The Courtier. Penguin Classics. 1967.

Neuropsychological Testing Essay example -- Health, Diseases, Brain Im

Neuropsychological testing is used to assess and diagnosis brain impairments, such as a head injury, dementia, or Alzheimer’s (Gregory, 1999). Purposes of neuropsychological assessments include determining if the problem is physiological (e.g., brain damage or lesion), the nature of the dysfunction (e.g., location or type), and cognitive deficits caused by the problem (Class Notes VIII). For example, following a brain injury, a neurological battery of tests may be given in order to assess the individual to see if there has been any change in cognitive functioning. Results from neurological assessments can provide information on the individual’s current mental capacities, which allows for the development of a specific diagnosis and an individualized treatment plan (Gregory, 1999). Additionally, these tests help document the effects of a progressive illness (i.e., Alzheimer’s) or can confirm the individual’s recovery (Gregory, 1999). Furthermore, if suspici on or referral questions about cognitive functioning are presented, then screening tests are often given beforehand to assess whether or not a neurological test battery or flexible battery is required. These screening tests are shorter versions that are easier to administer and interpret than the long intensive neurological test batteries (Gregory, 1999). A neuropsychological battery of assessments examines areas that are sensitive to brain trauma or disorders, such as intelligence, memory, language, visuospatial and motor abilities, and frontal lobe functioning. The WAIS is specifically useful to neuropsychological testing because it can be used to examine these same areas. The intelligence aspect is generally measured by a standard intelligence test like the WAIS-III or WAIS-I... ...r-level concept formation. Furthermore, reading ability on the WAIS-III can predict the score on the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WRAT). Some problems with using this approach is that reading is dependent on education and verbal abilities and brain damage can cause problems with reading ability (e.g., aphasias), so another test would have to be administered in the neuropsychological evaluation (Schoenberg et al., 2002). Overall, the WAIS can be a useful tool to include in a neuropsychological battery. It can help estimate a person’s premorbid IQ and some of the individual subtests can provide insight into the section of the brain that may be dysfunctional. However, the WAIS may also be a difficult test to use to estimate cognitive decline, because there are so many tasks involved in the WAIS tasks that it is hard to separate out what they real problem may be.

The butterfly and the banana skin

The banana skin lay slap bang in the middle of the road. Tommy a prison warden, riding his bike on his way back from the shops. Where he had bought 3 tins of organic peas and a frozen turkey, the inmates were having it for a little treat, he didn't spot it in time. The banana skin was too slippy he hit the ground softly along with the peas unfortunately the turkey hit a rock, and took off down the road at great speed. Round one corner and round the next, it eventually ground to a halt after causing à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6,500 pounds worth of damage to vehicles back along its crash course route. Jennifer came to her door a look of amazement crossed her face, how could a frozen turkey cause so much damage she thought to her self. She glanced ten yards back up the road at her 1964 ford mustang convertible, which now needed a new rear tyre. Unfortunately the only place she new about in town where one of these rare items could be acquired was a place called big bobby's mustang palace, which would soon be shut. She hopped in her second car, a faded mint green Chevy coupe, reversed out of the drive and off she went. Tommy by this time had reached the bottom of the road and was now retrieving his turkey from some ones front garden. Jennifer was now travelling at a speed unacceptable for the type of road she was driving on. Poor Karen a twenty something year old cocktail waitress from Moca-Choca-Rinos around the corner didn't see the car that hit her. A witness bob Jones who saw the incident from his house across the street said, â€Å"The car was American, and light green in colour but I didn't get a close look†. Karen's boss Steve as he is known was now down a waitress, and it was happy hour in 10 minutes. At the end of the night his total loss was estimated at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½689. In the morning there was a knock at the door, it was the bank. He needed à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4556 but he only had à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4256 he had 2 days to come up with the cash before he was declared bankrupt. He had no choice he knew what had to be done. The next morning the fireman were scraping through the burnt timber trying to find the source of the fire. Steve was there on the phone to the insurance company he was claiming à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20,000 the case was up in court in 4 hours time. It flew by and before he knew it he was sitting in the courtroom in front of judge Malone. He had explained his case and the judge was about to give him the money when the doors to the courtroom opened. A firemen walked in with a can of petrol in his hand and big smile on their face. The new evidence proves that Mr Steven Donaldson was guilty of fraud and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. He sat in his cell the little hatch in the door opened the food was pushed through. He was suddenly cheered up by the taste in his mouth yum yum turkey.

The Role of Government and Personal Freedoms Essay

When the leaders of the American Revolution began their journey of independence, they revolted against the increasingly totalitarian monarchy of King George III. Representatives from across the colonies met numerous times to discuss the intrusive and burdensome policies implemented by the British Government, and to unify their efforts to have the government address their grievances. After numerous overtures were spurned by the British Government, the colonial leadership embarked on a path of overt defiance against a government which they believed no longer held the right to govern. In this struggle the founders of the United States answered the important generational question, â€Å"Should we consent to be governed?† Their answer concerning†¦show more content†¦While a small of amount of incidental injustice is tolerable in any form of government, it is important that government should contain an ideological focus on maintaining the maximum number of negative rights a mong individuals within the state fairly and equally. Whenever the state systemically undermines the rights of a large segment of the population, people have the right to protest against any laws or institutional structures which perpetuates injustice. Although protesting and disobedience to laws are morally justifiable, the scope in which people are allowed to rebel against government must be proportional to the injustice committed. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail provides a useful framework to explain under what condition a law is â€Å"unjust† and should be disobeyed. In his letter, King Jr. argues that an unjust law is, any law that degrades human personality . . . is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself . . . [or] a law [that] is just on its face and unjust in its application (King Jr.). By utilizing King Jr.s criteria, people can determine if the preconditions exist for the consent to be governed. Another important condition that a government must ensure in order to receive consent to be government is its adherence to the protection of third party interests to fully protect the rights and freedoms of individuals fromShow MoreRelatedThe Relation Between Economic Freedom And Political Freedom1216 Words   |  5 Pagesrelation between Economic Freedom and Political Freedom and also the Role of Government in a Free Society written by Milton Friedman. 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