Aristotle and Plato on Realism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aristotle and Plato on Realism - Essay Example When Aristotle and Plato are contrasted, it becomes clear that their efforts were largely responsible for the inclusion of metaphysical inquiry into Western philosophical thought. Both philosophers provided highly differing views on reality and the way it could be conceptualised but this does not serve to indicate that their views were altogether opposed to each other. Instead, there are fine lines where both Plato and Aristotle tend to agree and other areas where they tend to disagree. This paper will explore areas where both philosophers tend to agree on the domain of realism. Plato held that the ultimate reality behind an object were notions or concepts of that object. He argued that things in the physical world are merely abstract representations of various kinds of universal concepts. It could be argued that Plato thought that in order to understand reality it was necessary to approach the world of various ideas. This method of interpreting reality has been labelled as Platonic realism where ideas are given greater preference to the physical object in ruder to perceive reality. Plato also holds that the true nature of reality revolves around the idea that abstract universals create the physical reality. However, there are limitations on perceiving these universals because in effect these universals have no spatial or temporal characteristics that could be realised or tested. In his treatise on the issue, Plato has argued that all physical objects have some kind of a universal form. These universal forms exist outside the realm of these objects but one cannot perceive these universals. The object in question can be physically observed such as by visual observation and this could be enhanced by studying the object in detail to form concepts about it. This would in turn allow the object under scrutiny to develop a physical reality based on concepts and notions of universals that support its existence. In order to support the ideas behind and the existence of universals Plato rested his argument on a few other elements. These elements included the principles of self-predication, one over many and non-self partaking. When these ideas are put together, they tend to culminate into a greater understanding of Platonic realism. Furthermore, these ideas tend to serve as the bedrock and foundation for Platonic world of forms and in effect for Plato’s conception on reality (Bakalis). When Aristotle’s ideas on reality are considered, it can be said that his conception of reality differed from that of Plato but not very significantly. Aristotle’s conception of ultimate reality is not as highly differentiated from Plato’s realism as is often projected in texts. The bedrock of Aristotle’s ultimate reality is based on instantiated universals while the basis for Plato’s realism is un-instantiated universals. Much like Plato, Aristotle held that the universal form of any physical object is not removed from the o bject itself. Instead this kind of existence is used as predication for the existence of the object under question. In addition, Aristotle also held that the form of the object under question did not exist in a separate mystical world held by Plato but instead it existed within the existence of that object itself (Jackson). The Platonic world of forms is where Plato believed the form of an object to exist. However, Aristotle held t

The logic model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The logic model - Essay Example ve existed, or have been promoted over the past several years, you have been concentric upon utilizing resources provided by the healthcare community or directly promoted by healthcare professionals. Within this understanding, it is at this juncture that this particular plan seeks to utilize a change in organizational behavior theory as a means of further providing a health care promotion strategy that can effectively address the issue at hand. In terms of inputs that will be required, the first of these is a level of training and understanding that should be provided to healthcare professionals that have regular interaction with parents or children. For the most part, the input will require training of pediatrics staff as a means of providing indirect and direct level of counseling, as well as printed material and resources, to parents and children that may be at risk of obesity themselves. Likewise, the input of time, money, and a change in the way that organizational operation takes place will all be required in order to affect this particular health care promotion strategy. Furthermore, in terms of activities that will be required, these will be concentric upon counseling and the provision of direct assistance to parents and stakeholders that are or may potentially become at risk for obesity. Yet, more than merely encouraging a level of physical exertion and promoting healthy lifestyles, and other core activity that will be involved within this particular health care promotion strategy is the need to gather information, with a relevant consideration for privacy, and utilize this information as a means of determining which at risk individuals are those that could potentially benefit from the programs that are being offered. Whereas it is true that in a perfect world all potential patients could be engaged in a similar, if not identical manner, the resources and the overall strain of time create a dynamic by which healthcare professionals will be required to

The Great Divorce Essay Example for Free

The Great Divorce Essay The Great Divorce, the narrator suddenly, and inexplicably, finds himself in a grim and joyless city (the grey town, representative of hell). He eventually finds a bus for those who desire an excursion to some other place (and which eventually turns out to be the foothills of heaven). He enters the bus and converses with his fellow passengers as they travel. When the bus reaches its destination, the people on the bus — including the narrator — gradually realize that they are ghosts. Although the country is the most beautiful they have ever seen, every feature of the landscape (including streams of water and blades of grass) is unbearably solid compared to themselves: it causes them immense pain to walk on the grass, and even a single leaf is far too heavy for any of them to lift. Shining figures, men and women whom they have known on earth, come to meet them, and to persuade them to repent and enter heaven proper. They promise that as the ghosts travel onward and upward, they will become acclimated to the country and will feel no discomfort. These figures, called spirits to distinguish them from the ghosts, offer to assist them in the journey toward the mountains and the sunrise. Almost all of the ghosts choose to return instead to the grey town, giving various reasons and excuses. Much of the interest of the book lies in the recognition it awakens of the plausibility and familiarity, along with the thinness and self-deception, of the excuses that the ghosts refuse to abandon, even though to do so would bring them to reality and joy forevermore. The narrator is met by the writer George MacDonald, whom he hails as his mentor, just as Dante did when encountering Virgil in the Divine Comedy; and MacDonald becomes the narrators guide in his journey, just as Virgil became Dantes. MacDonald explains that it is possible for a soul to choose to remain in heaven despite having been in the grey town; for such souls, their time in hell has been a period of testing, and the goodness of heaven will work backwards into their lives, turning even their worst sorrows into joy, and changing their experience on earth to an extension of heaven. Conversely, the evil of hell works backwards also, so that if a soul remains in, or returns to, the grey town, even its happiness on earth will lose its meaning, and its experience on earth would have been hell. None of the ghosts realize that the grey town is, in fact, hell. Indeed it is not that much different from the life they led on earth: joyless, friendless, and uncomfortable. It just goes on forever, and gets worse and worse, with some characters whispering their fear of the night that is to eventually come. According to MacDonald, heaven and hell cannot coexist in a single soul, and while it is possible to leave hell and enter heaven, doing so implies turning away (repentance); or as depicted by Lewis, giving up paltry worldly pleasures and self-indulgences — which have become impossible for the dead anyway — and embracing ultimate and unceasing joy itself. In answer to the narrators question MacDonald confirms that what is going on is a dream. The use of the chess game imagery as well as the correspondence of dream elements to elements in the narrators waking life are reminiscent of Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The narrator discovers that the vast grey town and its ghostly inhabitants are minuscule to the point of being invisible compared with the immensity of heaven and reality. This is illustrated in the encounter of the blessed woman and her husband: she is surrounded by gleaming attendants while he shrinks down to invisibility as he uses a collared tragedian to speak for him. Toward the end of the narrative the terror of the dreaming narrator of remaining a ghost in the advent of full daybreak in heaven is that of the man with his dream of judgment day in the House of the Interpreter of The Pilgrims Progress. The book ends with the narrator awakening from his dream of heaven into the unpleasant reality of wartime Britain, in conscious imitation of The Pilgrims Progress, the last sentence of the First Part of which is: So I awoke, and behold, it was a Dream. Main Characters The Narrator (it is implied that this is Lewis himself) — main focus of the narrative George MacDonald — the writer, who acts as guide to the narrator. And also many other small characters that play some pretty important roles in explaining Lewis ideas. Allusions/references to other works Lewis consciously draws elements of the plot from Dante (The Divine Comedy) and Bunyan; for example, comparing his meeting with MacDonald to the first sight of Beatrice. He also credits the idea that hell exists within heaven but is smaller than one atom of it to his scientifiction readings; travel by shrinking or enlargement is a common theme in speculative fiction, and the narrator alludes to its presence in Alice in Wonderland. In the preface, Lewis explains the origin of his idea that heaven is immutable to the ghosts from hell, referencing an unnamed science fiction work which gave him the notion of a character being unable to affect matter around him because he ha d traveled back in time to the unchangeable past.

Friendship In Fried Green Tomatoes

Friendship In Fried Green Tomatoes Friendship is the relationship between two or more more people who trust, have faith and are concerned with the welfare of each other.Relationship involves intimacy and mutual care for one another.A good friend has the responsibility of accepting good and bad qualities of his friends and one who is ready to help his friend in changing bad traits.Friends should love each other and have faith in whatever their friends tell them.Friendship has to do with undertsnding and caring for one another.A relationship based on this qualities makes friends to have a good feeling and smile because of the love and care which is given to him.In some cases people do not remain to be friends for a long period of time for instance when people disagree with each other and seize to be friends. When making friends people should be careful because all friends may not be good. Some friends will only be for you during the times of happiness but they run away when problems arises.These are not good friends bec ause you cannot depend on them.Good friends will always sacrifice to be with you during good and bad moments of your life and they will understand your strong and weakpoints (Fanny 10). Having friends is a very important aspect in life. One may have all the necessities needed in life like money, good house, clothing but still friends are needed. Human beings are depend on one another and they can not survive all alone.There are some things that other people must do for you and therefore its very important to have people around you.If for example one gets sick, he/she will need other people to take them to the hospital making friends very important to the lives of individuals.Friendship is therefore something which all people should have in order to have peace of mind (Fanny 15). There are different kinds of friendships for example friendship based on utility. In this kind of friendship, people become friends so that they can benefit personally. For example people who come together and start a business.They do not spend most of their times together and they may not like each other.A very common form of friendship is one which is based on pleasure.This is a friendship between two people with the aim of gaining pleasure from one another.This kind of friendship occurs mainly between people of different sexes who have love and affection for one another.The main aimof this friendshilp is compabnionship and these people may end up marrying one another. Being a very important aspect of life, i will discuss friendship in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes basing my arguiment on one relationship. Fried Green Tomatoes was a novel written in 1987 by Fannie Flagg which later came to be adaptedas a movie in 1991.It was a commedy drama which was based on the novel and it was lreleased in the United States bearing the full name of the novel.The film was directed by Jon Avnet and written by Fannie Flaggin conjunction with Carol Sobieki. The film is about of twowomen Ruth and Idgie at a time when they have difficulties in their friendships.There is also another friendshipwhich ekxisted in 1980s between Evelyn a woman of a middle age and Ninny an old woman.Ninny knew ruth and Idgie.The story dwells much on the murder of ruths husb,and who was abusive and the accusations which came after he was murdered. The film received two academy awards and critics of film were positive in the poem.The people who were making the view criticized it because the group which reviewed the book ignored the contents about lesbian (Fanny 28). The film begins with Evelyn Couch a house wife aged around 40 years who mwas timid and unhappy coming in to contact with Ninny Threadgoode in a Birminghamfond in a nursing home called Alabama. Ninny and Evelyn visit each other several times during which Evelyn tells her about a town in Alabama called Whistle Stop which had been occupied by people sometimes back but they had moved from that place (Fanny 30). She tells her stories of people who used to occupy that town.She begins the story by telling about Idgie Threadgoode the youngest of her children but who during her description is reffered to as her sister in law.Idgie had a brother who was a good friend of him but he died through an accident by a train.After the death of his brother whoi meant alot to his life, he moved away from his society where he spend most of his childhood and adolescent stages. She stayed away from his family until Ruth Jamison the former girlfriend of his brother is requested by his family to intervene so that they can become friends. She refused to befriend Ruth in the first stages but after some time she found a space in her heart to have feelings for her.Frank Bennette befriends Ruth and marries her after which they moved fromWhistle Stop town and settles in Valdosta, Georgia. The act of Ruth getting married annoyed Idigie because she lost her friend .It was a hard task for her to forget ruth but she tried hard to forget her. She later paid a visit to Ruth who was already carrying a baby but her husband Frank abused her.Idgie pleads with Ruth to leave her husband and accompany her back to Whistle Stop.Ruth accepted but Frank was against the idea.It is at Whistle Stop that Ruth gave birth to a baby named Buddy Jr. Idgie was given money to open a business so that she can cater for the needs of Ruth and her baby. Ruth and Idgie opened a cafe at Whistle Stop Town called Whistle Stop Cafe. They employed Sipsey and Big George her son as cooks.These cooks made barbeque which became popul ar with their patrons within a short period of time. Frank paid a visit to Whistle Stop town with the aim of kidnapping Buddy Jr. But he was killed by an assailant who was not recognized. For some time frank could not be found and his car was found at the bottom of a sea around the town.Idgie is suspected to be responsible of Franks death because she had threatened him publicly because of beating her friend Ruth. Idgie and Big George were arrested as suspects for the murder of Frank (Fanny 38). The police wanted torelease her and pin the crime to Big George alone but she refused to betray her friend.The judge during the trial says that the two clients were not aware of the diappearance of Frak because had had gone on a three day journey but it was a lie.In addition to that he says that Frank was always drunk and his death cloud have resulted from an accident.Idgie and her friend are cleared of the charges and released.Ruth died soon after the trial as a result of cancer.The Cafe closed after Ruth died and many people who stayed in Whis tle Stop migrated to other places.That is the way Ninny ended her story to Evelyne without revealing to her what really caused the death of Frank. Franks death came accidentallly because he was killed by Sipsey with a cast iron skillet in an effort to prevent him from kidnapping Buddy Jr.The body was then taken by Big George and he berbecued it while the body was burried by his mother in the garden of Mrs.Threadgoode. Ninny stayed in the nursing home temporary because her house had been condemned and torn away.When Ninny became aware of what had happenegd to her she decided to welcome her and give her a room in her own house since they had already became good friends. Ninny accepted accepted to stay with Evelyne.On their way from Ninnys former home, they passed through the grave of Ruth which was decorated with flowers and on top of it was a card bearing the writings à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Bee Charmerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  the nickname she was given by Idigie. After the death of Mrs Threadgroode, Evelyne got a letter from a neighbour of Mrs. Threadgoode inviting her for a visit (Fanny 40). She went to visit her grave carrying pink flowers.She found a note on Ruths grave fron Idgie which had not taken long after visiting the grave of Mrs. Threadgoode. Finally Idgie is found to be stillliving selling honey on a satnd which is near a road. There are many themes in this film. For example the theme of food is highly elaborated. In the cafe where Sipsey and her son cooked they prepared barbecue which became popular to many people. Rth and Idgie sold food for the blacks through the back doors at a reduced rate.When Frank died, his body is said to have been barbecued by Big George and served to the people. Food is a very important aspect such that human beings are also eaten.The film portrays lesbianism in the sense that when Buddy the brother to Idgie died, she was encouraged by her family to befriend her (Fanny 45). This is a clear indication that the society encourages lesbianism.Women are mistreated by men according to this novel.When we look at Evelyne,she was unhappy with her marriage because her husband had ignored her.The same case applies to Ruth who was abused by Frank her husband.Another theme in the film is death. So many people have died in the film. To begin with, Buddy the boyfriend to Ruth was hit by a train and he died. Frank was bitten by Sipsey with a cast iron skillet in an attempt to prevent him from kidnapping Buddy Jr. which caused his death. Ruth died as a result of cancer while Mrs. Threadgoode is also said to have died and burried in the same place with Ruth. The death of all these characters makes death a major theme in this film. The other theme and among the most important is the theme of friendship. According to the film, we have a series of friendships.To start with Mrs. Threadgoodes became a very good friend of Evelyne after they came in to contact with each other for a period of time.Through the story which Threadgoode gave to Evelyne, she was encouraged by the character of Idgie thus influencing her positively in her ways of living .Buddy and Ruth were also friends. According to the film, Ruth was Buddyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s girl friend but the relationship ended when he died as a result of an accident.Buddy was also a friend to his sister Idgie.When Buddy passed away, her sister was so much affected an indication that the two people were very good friends with each other.Ruth befriended Frank who married her but later started abusing her. Idgie was offended by the marriage because she lost her friend Ruth to Frank.She was so much attached to Ruth because even after Ruth married Frank, she took a long time to forget her. All the above are friendships portrayed in the film. In my paper i will discuss the relationship between Ruth and Idgie (Fanny 56). According to this book friendship is defined as a relationship which is different fromothers.Friends volunatariry come together.Frindships are different fromother relationships like marriage relationships which are based on institutions and established laws. Friends are not governed by laws and there is no standard way through which friends should interact.Friendships have some qualities like emtional closeness.Some people become friends so that they can be emotionally close.Emotional love comes as a result of spending time together, talking and going through experiences together.Issues of gender and sex however have impacts on the way people express their emotions towards their friends.Some people get close to their friends through dialogue.As for women,the best way to maintain social closeness is through listening and talking.Through talking with one another people can understand lives of other people.Through dialogue friends can become emotionally close. Ruth and Idgie must have t alked together during the time they stayed together.Another way through which people can become emotionally close is through doing things (Wood 253). When people do things together and they perform duties for one another, they become close to each other.Looking at the relationship between Ruth and Idgie they did their things together.They opened a cafe where they helped one another. The two people participated in all the activities in the cafe.Through sharing of the duties, these people became close to each other.Another quality is acceptance.Each and every person wants to be accepted by his/her friends.We all have our strong and weak points and we expect our friends to appreciate us the way we are. People try their level best to ensure that they impress people who are knew to them. Ruth was wrong when she agreed to marry Frank and leave behind her friend Idgie who loved her very much.However we can say that both of the two characters accepted and appreciated each other based on the way they conducted themselves. Idgie even offered to take good care of Ruth and her child because she had accepted her as a friend. Friends should trust each other.We should trust our friends that we can relie on them.We should also trust their words in the sense that they will do what they say.Trust also means being sure that the friends that we have cares for our welfare.Idgie was a trustful friend of Ruth because she was very much concerned with her welfare.When she found that Frank was abusing Ruth through beating her, she took her and offered to care of her and the pregnancy until she gave birth.This shows how much she cared about her.In addition, she threatened Frank in the public because of abusing her friend which is a risk to her because she was later suspected to be responsible for his death and was jailed (Wood 258). Friends should support each other both in words and financially.Support includes telling your friends that you love them.Another way of suporting our friends is through being available and helping them in times of difficulties.Its clear from the film that Idgie was always there for Ruth an d she sacrificed her time and money in helping her and the baby.Its true to ssay that the relationship between these people was based on good characteristics of a friendship.Even after the death of Ruth we can see Idgie visiting her grave an indication that she was a very influential person in her life. Sometimes friendships come to an end because of several reasons.Friendships can come to an end when people disagree on some issues or when as a result of separation.Friendship can seize if people who are friends stop coming into contact with each other the way they used to do.Education and employment are some of the factors which can make people stop being friends when they move far away from each other.Many friendships however do not end umbruptly. They fade slowly by slowly until the friendship comes to an end (Wood 260). When friendship comes to an end, people will change their mode of communication. People who used to spend alot of time with others do not see the need of spending time with them.Words like I do not have time for you may be heard from people who used to be very good friends.Ruth accepted to leave Idgie who had been her friend because she had seen another friend Frank. This is how their relationship came to an end even though they later agreed on each other and star ted staying together. In most cases friends do not always lead a smooth life. They are also subjected to pressures from internal and also from external just like other relationships of human beings.Internal tensions arise from an individual and the interactions he/she is involved in.Pressure can arise in a friendship if the parties have different needs.If what i need in not what my friend needs then we are likely to differ (Wood 265).Communication also affects friendships especially in a case where th parties come from different cultural backgrounds and do not understand each other.For instance some societies no not circumcize their males while most of the societies do.This differences can be a problem in a friendship.Sexual attraction can also pause a problem in the case where friends have decided not to have sexual intercourse but one of them is not abiding to what they said. Friendships are also affected by external pressures.Human beings change from time to throughout their life.The same thing applies to friends.Whenever one moves from one place like schools,colleges, to another they make new friends.Since people make friends with people they meet frequently, they are likely to forget old friends.Geographic distance also affects friendship.When people migrate from one place to another they will make new friends there.However technology has made it easy for people far away from each other to continue with their communication through emailing and face book thus maintaining their friendship. Friendship is a very important aspect of life as portrayed in the film because through friends we can achieve what we may not achieve alone (Wood 268). Work Cited Flagg, Fanny. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Audio Download. London: Little, Brown Book Group Limited, 2007. Wood, Julia. Interpersonal communication: everyday encounters. 6th edition. Wadsworth: Boston, 2010.

The Effects of Advertising Essay -- TV Media Television

Every time we open a newspaper or we turn on the TV, we see sellers of almost identical products spending huge amounts of money in order to convince us to buy their brands. Every year, each typical American watches 1550 hours of TV, listens 1160 hours on radio, and spends 290 hours reading newspapers and magazines. So every day, each American watches 100 TV advertisements, 100 to 300 ads through other mass media, and in one single year receives 216 pieces of direct mail advertising, and almost 50 phone calls from telemarketers (Pratkanis and Aronson 2). All these, because sellers of everything, from computers to detergents, believe that advertising is essential to the product. Ed Ney, ex-chairman of the Young and Rubicam American agency, refers to the mid seventies when many firms still had as a debatable issue if they should advertise or not. Those days have passed. As Ney says, that has happened, because it has been proved that advertising is beneficial to the firms (Clark 16). The critics state that advertising is really beneficial to the consumers: They believe that advertising â€Å"creates† consumers that are better informed about the characteristics of the commodities, and that it does not alter the way in which the companies evaluate their products. Also, they believe that advertising creates price sensitivity for the consumers that buy the best products for their value. Finally, they think that with advertisement, entries for new brands are much easier because of the communication with the potential consumers that commercials offer (Haefner and Rotzoll 87). Advertising, collective term for public announcements designed to promote the sale of specific commodities or services. Advertising is a form of mass selling, employed wh... ... the information that could probably be associated with. Although this problem is not very important in deciding which breakfast cereal to buy, it is very dangerous and sneaky in presidential elections, where the consequences are more conspicuous (O’Barr 205). That is because each candidate has created propaganda that might distort the beliefs of the voters. That is why advertising is appealing to the government. Making an advertising campaign against heroin use as the best way of spending money is debatable, but it enables the administration to be seen caring (Clark 31). So, I believe that advertisements exist only in order to return profits to the advertisers by many tricky ways. Some of these are the use of persuasion at the consumers, the faulty – logic messages, and the influence on children. All these acts, definitely, are not for the benefit of the consumers.

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein - The Individual and Society Essay

Frankenstein: The Individual and Society      Ã‚  Ã‚   The creature's ambiguous humanity has long puzzled readers of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In this essay I will focus on how Frankenstein can be used to explore two philosophical topics, social contract theory, and gender roles, in light of ideas from Shelley's two philosophical parents, William Godwin, and Mary Wollstonecraft.    What Does it Mean to be Human? Individual and Society    One historically important tradition in social and political philosophy is called "Social Contract Theory." It gives a way of thinking about what it means to be human, raising fundamental questions such as: what is human nature, in itself, apart from society? Are people fundamentally equal, and if so, why, in what ways? What justifies governmental authority? In what sense are people free and independent if their lives are ruled by laws and governmental authorities?    Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), and John Locke (1632-1704), were English philosophers who approached these questions by hypothesizing a "state of nature." Try to imagine what a person would be like if he or she lived outside of any governed society. Hobbes thought that people would be isolated, desperately afraid of harm from others. Life would be, in Hobbes' memorable phrase, "poore, solitary, nasty, brutish and short." Locke wasn't quite so pessimistic. He thought that in the state of nature, people would be fairly sociable, and would establish private property and trade. Both Hobbes and Locke thought that insecurity in the state of nature would lead people to join together and give to a governmental authority the right to make laws and punish offenders. Hence, for them, government is based on a "social contrac... ...manly virtues are, in fact, weaknesses. Wollstonecraft insists, "The most perfect education, in my opinion, is such an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated to strengthen the body and form the heart....It is a farce to call any being virtuous whose virtues do not result from the exercise of its own reason" (103). When women are socialized to be feminine, when their reasoning powers are not developed, and when they have no option but to be economically dependent on men, their characters will become perverted, and they will become servile or manipulative.    Works Cited: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile. 1762. translated by William Boyd, New York: Columbia University, 1956. Shelley, Mary. 1818. Frankenstein. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996. Wollstonecraft, Mary. 1792. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

We Are Living Wild and Free

Tangeniqua Traxler Running head: WE ARE LIVING WILD AND FREE â€Å"We Are Living Wild and Free† Teen drug and alcohol abuse is very common in today’s life. Teenagers and young adults become involved with alcohol for a lot of reasons. Some reasons might be for pleasure, or influence from family such as parents drinking and smoking in front of or with the teenager, friends, curiosity, acceptance, and pure pressure are just a few of the reasons teenager’s might began to drink or smoke at a young age.Some teens think that if their parents smoke or drink, then it is alright to do the same on special occasions, which sometimes turn into smoking or drinking more frequently. Underage drinking can cause dangerous sexual behavior, such as unprotected sex, and sex with multiple partners. These actions can lead to unplanned pregnancy and for contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s, also infections with HIV, the virus that cause AIDS. Excessive drinking create s secondhand effects that can put other people in harm.According to Steele (2012) alcohol can cause many physiological effects such as Sedation, muscle relaxation, drowsiness, and disinhibiting of impulses and emotion. Over a long period of use it can cause mood swings, make one have less patience, give one a false sense of confidence, make one more aggressive, delay the capability to make liable decisions, interfere with one’s alertness. WE ARE LIVING WILD AND FREE 2 Even though the NY state law is you have to be 21 years of age or older to purchase liquor, or be caught with it in public teens are still using.I’ve noticed nothing stops them from using, many turn to an older sibling to use their I. D to buy liquor or to go clubbing. Binge drinking (drinking of four or more drinks on a single occasion within two weeks) is a big problem on college campuses. It is binge drinking, different from drinking in general that causes most of the alcohol-connected harm thatâ€℠¢s happening on campuses and in the students' lives. A lot of teens don't think that they will become addicted, and simply use drugs or alcohol to have a good time and to feel ike they fit in with their friends. When teens become addicted they start to lose friends, start to have health problems, and start to fail in school, they experience memory loss, and they lack motivation. Addicts tend to distance themselves from their family and friends with their negative acts, attitudes and unpredictable emotional swings. I personally know this from experience because my dad is an alcoholic. When I visit my dad we never seem to have father and daughter time, I always find him passed out or he’s just somewhere getting high.I’ve seen him fall and pass out from being drunk, and I have seen him loose character from getting high. When he's drunk he often get into serious arguments and fights with people surrounding him. If you say the slightest wrong thing to him while he is intoxi cated he reacts to it. I myself have had alcohol before, but because I witness so much abuse to liquor I know how to limit myself while drinking. While drinking there’s stages you will go through of alcohol intoxication. Stage one you nearly sober, just getting started.Stage two your tipsy, usually signs of this is a blush face, stupid grin, loud voice and an aware love for mankind. The sufferer is incredibly deep, WE ARE LIVING WILD AND FREE 3 intelligent and insightful, but prone to giggles. Stage three you’re plastered†¦. really generous, loud, and self-confident. Starts suffering from long talkativeness and a belief that he or she can drink anyone under the table. Then you start to feel drunken usually suffering vision, hearing ; speech weakening, with a greedy appetite for pizza.Then one’s to get obsessed with anyone and everyone, having a specious faith that he or she is attractive regardless of drooling and slobbing. Stage five you’re wastedà ¢â‚¬ ¦ suffering from dangerous loss of balance, co-ordination and sex appeal. Liable to sleep anywhere, chatting confusedly with loss of most body functions. Your final stage is a hang-over†¦. suffering from near death, always with a pounding headache, unbalanced with no sense of humor. Needs complete silence and another drink! All these harmful stages can be avoided by monitoring the amount you drink.When you are in stage one you can give yourself some time to feel the drink, it may not affect you as soon as your finish but give it time. Most people get to stage three and don’t realize how much they are drinking, in this stage you usually don’t taste how strong a drink is so you continue to drink repeatedly to stage 5. The use of alcohol for a long length of time can cause many health problems. It can harm the liver, bones, endocrine system, and brain, and at the same time stunt ones growth. When a person drinks constantly, it has been known to deeply affect the ir liver.Over a period of time this out of control drinking can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or even suicidal behavior. Using alcohol for a long period of time can cause damage to the brain, which can alter one’s mood. Developing a mood disorder from alcohol consumption can one to develop suicidal ideation. WE ARE LIVING WILD AND FREE 4 I personally feel that a person of any age, race, and background can become an alcoholic, or addicted to drugs. It all starts by socially drinking and smoking with friends who seem to be handling it all.Eventually if there is a weakness in a person, they will breakdown and slowly began to show the signs of heavy drinking, falling out, disrupting other people, and using physical abuse. Since I have watched drinking destroy my father, I have learned the signs and symptoms of alcoholism and the effects it has on the family members. As a child I just thought he was a crazy person, who acted this way after drinking, I thought this is what he was supposed to do after drinking. This article gave information on many different psychological and physiological effects of alcohol.The author explained how alcohol, classified as a depressant drug could have bad long-term effects as well as health benefits. This is all depending on the person, the consumed amount, and the length of time the person has spent drinking alcohol. The author included the risks that are associated with drinking that allows one to enjoy. It can turn out to be an embarrassing time, as drinking decreases one’s ability to make proper judgments, or alter one’s mood. The author wrapped everything up after explaining that although can be a deadly drug; there are also good things that alcohol does to benefit one’s health. â€Å"LIVE ABOVE THE INFLUENCE! †