The Philosophical Investigations Essay examples -- Philosophy Philosop

The Philosophical Investigations ABSTRACT: The Philosophical Investigations is an inherently pedagogical work. Wittgenstein claims throughout his later writings to be teaching a method and this method is both philosophical and pedagogical. It is the claim of this paper that if we do not take Wittgenstein's methodological claim seriously, we do not engage with the text in the manner for which it was written. Consequently, we begin and end in the wrong places and the text becomes (in the words of Wittgenstein) 'variously misunderstood, more or less mangled and watered-down.' Â §1 is philosophically and pedagogically complex. It presents the philosophical problems to which Wittgenstein will respond in the text which follows and it also, significantly, presents their solution. An investigation of the philosophical and pedagogical questions raised in the opening remark of the Investigations will demonstrate that we have not yet begun to use Wittgenstein's method and his writings to their full potential. The Philosophical Investigations is an inherently pedagogical work. Wittgenstein claims throughout his later writings to be teaching a method, and this method is both philosophical and pedagogical. According to Moore and Fann he remarked to the effect that it did not matter whether his results were true or not, what mattered was that a method had been found (Moore 1993: 113). During the 1930s Wittgenstein also described the Investigations as a textbook; 'a textbook, however, not in that it provides knowledge (Wissen), but rather in that it stimulates thinking (Denken)'. (1) He claimed that the remarks which he wrote enabled him to teach philosophy well. (2) Although generally acknowledged within the secondary literature, these me... ...hers. Wittgenstein, Ludwig (1968) Philosophical Investigations, trans. G. E. M. Anscombe, Oxford: Basil Blackwell. __________ (1969) The Blue and Brown Books: Preliminary Studies for the 'Philosophical Investigations', Oxford: Basil Blackwell. __________ (1980) Culture and Value, eds. G. H. von Wright and H. Nyman, trans. P. Winch, Oxford: Basil Blackwell. __________ (1982) Wittgenstein's Lectures 1932-1935, ed. Alice Ambrose, Oxford: Basil Blackwell. __________ (1988) Wittgenstein's Lectures on Philosophical Psychology 1967-47, ed. P. T. Geach, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf. __________ (1993) Philosophical Occasions 1912-1951, eds J. Klagge and A. Nordman, Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company. __________ (1993) 'Philosophy' in Philosophical Occasions 1912-1951, eds J. Klagge and A. Nordman, Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company.

Aum Shinrikyo Terrorist Group

Introduction The Aum Shinrikyo is a Japanese ‘New Religious Movement Organisation’ but they are also labelled as a terrorist organisation in many countries across the world. The group originated in 1984, in Japan. It started as a cult where the founder and leader, Shoko Asahara, promised followers that they would have the power to hover or levitate if they joined. Since its establishment in 1984, it has committed at least two terrorist attacks. The group was popular in the 1990’s and had many members (10,000 in Japan and approximately 30,000 in Russia) but following the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, the numbers diminished due to the group being targeted by the police. They changed the name of the organisation from Aum Shinrikyo to Aleph. History The infamous Cult began in 1987 and was founded by Shoko Asahara. Aum Shinrikyo has elements of Buddhism and Christianity although Christians and Buddhists have no association to the group. The founder, Shoko Asahara, was born in 1957 and is partially blind. He spent his life studying acupuncture which is a common career in Japan for the blind. He was arrested by the Japanese authorities and held in prison for a short period for selling useless medicines to cure diseases, with the claim that they give the user special powers. He later travelled in the Himalayas where he supposedly learnt his divine powers and was teleported to the year 2006 where he spoke to soldiers who had survived World War III. Asahara formed the Cult in 1987 in a small yoga studio and convinced people that if they joined they would have special powers such as the ability to levitate and they would fight in World War III, which was to occur at the end of the millennium. Asahara grew a beard when he started the Cult as a way of appearing as a mystic. The reason the Cult was able to recruit so many members was that the vulnerable sought the belief that they could posse supernatural powers and could achieve a different life to the busy, non-stop working life of most people in Japan. The Cult members were loyal to Asahara and treated him as a type of ‘Christ’. He brainwashed his followers and taught a range of extreme theories such as the doomsday and apocalypse that was his World War III. He brainwashed people into thinking that if they left they would die in the apocalypse and there were cases of members leaving and being killed by other members, acting on Asaharas orders. In 2000, the name of the organisation was changed from Aum Shinrikyo to Aleph. Aleph is the first letter of the Jewish alphabet. It is somewhat of an enigma that they changed the name to Aleph as the group is strongly opposed to Judaism. The reason for the change of name served to prove to the public they had changed and were no longer Anti-Semitic and to recruit new members that were unaware of the Cult’s previous history. The Cult still exists today, although many countries such as Australia and the USA have placed Aleph and Aum Shinrikyo on terrorist alert lists. Interestingly, Japan has not classed Aleph as a terrorist organisation, yet and current worldwide membership as of 2005 is 1,650 according to Japanese government records. Chemical Weapons The Aum Shinrikyo made sarin using over the counter products purchased at a chemist and processed themselves. The Aum Shinrikyo maintained large warehouses where they would develop nerve agents and other chemical weapons. The Cult even had a headquarters in Western Australia that was closed at the end of 1993. In Western Australian it is asserted they tested chemical weapons (Sarin gas and VX which is the most toxic nerve agent created and is classed as a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) by the United States) on 29 sheep. The Cult also maintained chemical warehouses throughout Japan but in many cases, local residents petitioned for them to move away. Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Attacks In 1995 the Aum Shinrikyo committed the first, and worst, of their terrorist attacks. In the early morning rush hour on the Tokyo subway, five Aum Shinrikyo members each released two bags of the lethal chemical, Sarin and the attack was carried out at peak hour in the subway stations where there was the largest number of people and greatest potential impact. The perpetrators were driven to the designated subway stations carrying 2 bags of liquid Sarin wrapped in newspaper. Some wore disguises while others had medical masks (which are quite common in Japan). All boarded the subway carriages and placed the bags on the floor, puncturing them with umbrellas before hopping off at the next stop. The liquid evaporated and commuters began to feel light headed and nauseas. The subway carriages were forced to stop and were then evacuated. At one station a commuter told a staff member of a leaking bag which the staff member immediately picked up with her hands and then placed in a bin – the staff member died shortly after. Chaos followed outside the subway stations as Tokyo’s road systems were already congested with traffic and emergency services found it difficult to reach victims. In total, 12 people died, 50 were severely injured and possibly 1000 more had temporary blindness and vision loss. The attack remains to this day the worst terrorist attack committed in Japan. Aum’s Other Illegal Activities Although the 1995 Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas attacks received the most publicity, it is certainly not the only terrorist and illegal act. The second most notorious and infamous reason for the Cult’s media coverage were the Sakamoto murders. Sakamoto was an anti-cult lawyer who was working against the Aum Shinrikyo in 1989. Sakamoto convinced Asahara to take a blood test to see if there was anything unusual in his body that would give him his supernatural powers. The test came back normal suggesting suggest that Asahara was a fraud and had no supernatural powers. This would have been devastating for recruitment into the Aum Shinrikyo and embarrassing to Asahara. This was the reason Asahara sent his loyal followers to kill Sakamoto and his family. The method they chose to kill Sakamoto and his family was with 14 hypodermic syringes filled with potassium chloride and their bodies were mutilated to hinder identification. The perpetrators were only arrested and prosecuted because other members of the Cult were linked to the sarin gas attacks gave evidence. There has also been evidence and accusations that the Aum Shinrikyo had torture chambers at some of the warehouses and headquarters. It is asserted that they placed members who tried to leave the Cult in large shipping containers where they deprived them of sleep along with committing other tortures before then killing them. ———————– Shoko Asahara – A very famous photo of Asahara on trial in Japan. This photo has had a lot of coverage and even taking the cover of Time Magazine. Source: www. my. dek-d. com The clean up after the Sarin Gas attacks on the subway. Source: www. angelingo. usc. edu Large containers of Chemical weapons such as Sarin and VX were found in an Aum Shinrikyo warehouse throughout Japan and one in Western Australia. Source: http://www. semp. us This image shows many test tubes filled with the deadly gas used in the Tokyo Subway attacks, Sarin. Source: jafproject. net/images3/sarin. jpg This photo was taken outside a subway station after the Sarin was released. The gas made people feel nauseas and sick and they can often loose their sight or even die. These victims are most likely only suffering from temporary blindness. Source:http://www. semp. us/_images/biots/Biot171PhotoA. jpg Tsutsumi Sakamoto, his wife and one year old son. This photo was taken shortly before they were brutally murdered by members of Aum Shinrikyo under Shoko Asaharas orders. Source: http://japanfocus. org A wanted photo that has been stuck on a wall outside a subway station where two sarin bags were released. The photos are of the perpetrators, Ikuo Hayashi, Kenichi Hirose, Toru Toyoda, Masato Yokoyama and Yasuo Hayashi. Source:http://content. answers. com Bibliography http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Aum_Shinrikyo#1995_Tokyo_sarin_gas_attacks_and_related_incidents http://www. religioustolerance. org/dc_aumsh. htm www. angelingo. usc. edu

The Ability Of All Citizens To Participate In Politics

The ability of all citizens to participate in politics is a fundamental right established by international law and implemented within Australia (austliii). This ensures effective and active civic participation within the nation, which Australia, as a democratic country, needs. However, marginalised groups within Australian society face barriers to their civic engagement, attributable to a number of hindering factors often out of their control. This essay aims to examine Ian Macfarlane’s speech â€Å"I’ve changed my mind, we picked the wrong date†, and its relation to the national issue of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander civic participation, or lack thereof, in Australia. Ian Macfarlane is a former Australian politician with the Liberal†¦show more content†¦Macfarlane’s speech is inherently linked to the notion of civic participation within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. In order to holistically understand civil engagement amongst Indigenous Australians, we must first look historically at their place within Australia’s political society. Despite being the nation’s first inhabitants, Indigenous Australians were not granted the right to vote until 1962 when the Commonwealth Electoral Act (1918) was amended by the Menzies Government (refernce). Furthermore, Indigenous Australians were not formally recognised within the census, nor was the Commonwealth able to make laws in relation to them, until the successful 1967 referendum which amended sections 51 and 127 of the Constitution (refernce). Whilst this was an important step towards increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander political participation , it is still extremely problematic, as it removed all references to Indigenous Australians from the Constitution completely. The Australian Constitution therefore fails to acknowledge history prior to settlement, presenting Australia’s national narrative as beginning with British arrival (refernce). This historical misrepresentation of Aboriginals in the Constitution, which is still highly problematic today, holds the roots of the low levels of civic engagement within the Indigenous community. The overwhelming IndigenousShow MoreRelatedThe Political Culture Of Politics1506 Words   |  7 PagesThe term ‘politics’ itself has changed over many years. To ask if the evolution of political culture changes how people participate in politics is simple. The answer is yes. To begin with, let’s define political culture; ‘Authors define the term political culture as the particular distribution of patterns of orientation towards political objects among the me mbers of a nation’ (Almond and Verba 1963: 13 cited in Welzel and Inglehart, 2014 p.285). 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