Criminology Theory Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminology Theory Analysis - Essay Example Merton, then, explains how people cope with social norms, goals, standards and means of achieving the prescribed goals. When people are able to conform with the legitimate means of achieving the prescribed goals, they conform with the social norms. In an anomic society, people cope through different means. There are ritualists, those who conform with the legitimate means, conforming to social norms but not expecting to achieve the prescribed goals. When people cannot achieve the prescribed goals through legitimate means, they tend to find other ways, resorting to illegitimate means of achieving the goals. This creates deviance and individuals begin to adapt using rebellion, innovation or retreatism. Individual’s choice of adaptation depends on how they view the prescribed goals and means in achieving it. It depends on their willingness to conform or reject the standards set by the society. Sex work or prostitution can be legitimate or illegitimate depending on the set of values and norms of the society. The exchange of sex for money or material possessions equivalent to the service given can be viewed in different perspectives. A society that views it as legitimate will have no problem since people conform to the social standards of working to get economically successful, one the ultimate prescribed goals of most societies. If prostitution is viewed as illegal in the society, then, it becomes a deviant behavior. The standards, norms and values of the society are created and developed through the shared meanings of the majority or the entire society. These socially accepted standards, norms and values becomes the guiding principle of the individual’s behavior and lives. This becomes the basis of their means in achieving the prescribed goals of their societies. Economic success has been one of the measures of being successful as an individual. This can be classified as a prescribed goal by the society, as it creates personal and economical

( Ontological Arguments ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

( Ontological Arguments ) - Essay Example The conceptual analysis of the cause of the universe based on cosmological argument helps in establishing the important facts about the existence of the universe and its being. The argument starts from three premises; Premise (1) is notably true since something cannot come out of nothing. According to metaphysical intuition there has to be some cause for the existence of something. It is thus very reasonable to argue that there is a requirement of a causal explanation for the existence of the universe even for the atheists. This is because if they believe that the universe began at the Bing Bang, then the universe must have had the potentiality to exist in the first place. And since there is nothing that had existed prior to the Bing Bang, then the potentiality of the universe’s existence rested in the power of God who made it possible. As such, this premise is true as we can confirm it in our realities and also the scientist naturalists can sense in it. Premise (2) holds that an actual infinite cannot exist. This is because as infinite temporal regress of events causes intolerable absurdities and therefore it cannot exist. History is made of events leading up to each other sequentially and, therefore it is very possible to add to history making its existence potentially infinite. However, it can only be potentially infinite as opposed to being actually infinite. This argument is frequently objected on the basis of the second premise which is deemed problematic both scientifically and philosophically. This is because opponents state that if the universe has an infinitely distant starting point, then one should be able to transverse from the starting point to the present. The common logic is that if there is a finite distance which connects sequential events in the past, then it can be easily transversed, which is not the case here. This objection is further worsened by the fact that the cosmological argument presupposes

Critically compare and contrast Karl Marx's attack on capitalism with Essay

Critically compare and contrast Karl Marx's attack on capitalism with Susan Mendus's attack on individualism. How would Ward Churchill evaluate their arguments - Essay Example n a similar way, Susan Mendus also rejects individualism on the basis that â€Å"the language of domination and subordination is a central factor to individualism†. She also argues for equality between men and women, believing that individualism does not generate equality (Mendes 1993). She equates the individualists to the bourgeois, who elevate themselves at the expense of others. Marx states that a person’s spirituality is the labor power he has. He argues that a case of alienation develops when man is deprived of the opportunity to exercise this labor power. He believes that religion is the â€Å"opium of the masses† and states that religion is the response of the oppressed person, trying to find heart in a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions (Marx 1970). He views religion as the means by which people try to deal with social inequalities. Mendus on the other hand, believes that religion is brainwashing to make people believe in certain things, but merely because they espouse such beliefs, it does not necessarily indicate that they are true. She believes that applying moral rules to love and relationships is basically flawed.(Mendus 1996). While Marx believes religion is purely palliative and does not achieve anything constructive, Mendus on the other hand states that individualism cannot serve the cause of religion or the commo n good. Ward Churchill launches an attack on the â€Å"pious† Christians of America who have been at the forefront of their leaders’ war initiatives, unleashing death and destruction upon the less fortunate world. (Churchill 2001). He would perhaps agree with Marx, who viewed religion as the opium that drugs the majority, so that they can be led to their slaughter. Similarly, religion is also functioning as the opium that dulls the individual American’s ability to think clearly and rationally about the concepts of equality and justice among people. Marx’s views on the power of the proleterait are relevant here,