Corruption in the Church and Society Reflected in The Canterbury Tales :: Canterbury Tales Essays

Corruption in the Church and Society Reflected in The Canterbury Tales  Ã‚  Ã‚   In discussing Chaucer's collection of stories called The Canterbury Tales, an interesting picture or illustration of the Medieval Christian Church is presented. However, while people demanded more voice in the affairs of government, the church became corrupt -- this corruption also led to a more crooked society. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as just church history; This is because the church can never be studied in isolation, simply because it has always related to the social, economic and political context of the day. In history then, there is a two way process where the church has an influence on the rest of society and of course, society influences the church. This is naturally because it is the people from a society who make up the church....and those same people became the personalities that created these tales of a pilgrimmage to Canterbury.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England was to take place in a relatively short period of time, but this was not because of the success of the Augustinian effort. Indeed, the early years of this mission had an ambivalence which shows in the number of people who hedged their bets by practicing both Christian and Pagan rites at the same time, and in the number of people who promptly apostatized when a Christian king died. There is certainly no evidence for a large-scale conversion of the common people to Christianity at this time. Augustine was not the most diplomatic of men, and managed to antagonize many people of power and influence in Britain, not least among them the native British churchmen, who had never been particularly eager to save the souls of the Anglo-Saxons who had brought such bitter times to their people. In their isolation, the British Church had maintained older ways of celebrated the major festivals of Christianity, and Augustine's effort to compel them to conform to modern Roman usage only angered them. When Augustine died (some time between 604 and 609 AD), then, Christianity had only a precarious hold on Anglo-Saxon England, a hold which was limited largely to a few in the aristocracy. Christianity was to become firmly established only as a result of Irish efforts, who from centers in Scotland and Northumbria made the common people Christian, and established on a firm basis the English Church. At all levels of society, belief in a god or gods was not a matter of choice, it was a matter of fact.

Philosophers skepticism Essay

Skepticism, which derives from the Greek word skeptesthai, is the philosophical outlook that declares knowing anything with assurance is impossible. This term can also signify an unwillingness to accept anything without sufficient proof. Skepticism originated in the 5th century BC in Greece when certain philosophers began to express their doubts about how certain they could be about the knowledge they obtained and lived by. These philosophers include Protagoras of Abdera (480-411 BC) and Gorgias (485-380 BC), whom both showed skepticism about the world and how it is perceived. Protagoras is reported to have said that, â€Å"man is the measure of all things† Moore and Bruder (2005). He meant that each person’s opinions are different, so what is true for one person may not be for another person. Gorgias has said â€Å"nothing exists; if anything does exist, it cannot be known; if anything exists and can be known, it cannot be communicated† Moore and Bruder (2005). Gorgias’s theory was self explanatory; nothing exists and even if it did, it cannot be communicated. Therefore, there is no real proof that something exists at all. The history of Skepticism has three predominate periods: the pre-Academic, the Academic and the post Academic. The pre Academic period started with Pyrrho, who was from the western side of the Greek Pelopnnesus, Elis. He believed that true reality is unknown so judgments should not be made by anyone. Pyrrho was like Socrates because he never kept a record of his philosophy in writing. For that reason, most information regarding Pyrrho comes from his pupil’s writings, Timon. Pyrrho preferred to provide his followers with tools to live a commendable life, which included peaceful living according to the laws during his time. Pyrrho also believed that the five senses are contradictory of one another when referred to nature and essence. For example, when a person tastes honey, is the sweetness in the honey or in that person? This question is raised because what tastes good to one person may be tasteless to another. Certain foods may also look tasty but have a bitter taste (diCarlo, 2009). In these particular instances, the five senses are contradictory of one another. Pyrrho and Timon both believed that the conflicting suppositions regarding nature are impossible to decide since valid arguments can be made for each side. The Academic period began after the death of Socrates, when Plato started The Academy, a school of philosophy located in Athens. Academic skeptics introduced two important elements to skepticism: the first included developing an organized attack toward doctrinaire positions, including the metaphysics of Plato; the second included the development of rules and vocabulary to cope and interact with their experiences. One of the first Academic skeptics was Arcesilaus (315 BCE-240 BCE), who was the leader of Plato’s Academy. He channeled his energy toward the Stoics, who believed certain views are self evidently true, therefore, they cannot be doubted. The Post-Academic Skeptics included Aenesidemus and Sextus Empiricus. Aenesidemus developed the tropoi (10 modes of skepticism), â€Å"a set of skeptical argument forms, or modes, to show that judgment must be withheld on any issue. † These 10 modes of skepticism ranged from perception differences to cultural differences, and allowed a skeptic to criticize any metaphysical doctrine (diCarlo, 2009). Sextus created Empiricus’s Outlines of Pyrrhonism, which, described a school of thought which was named after the philosopher Pyrrho of Elis (c. 365-275 B. C. )†( Sextus Empiricus’s Outlines of Pyrrhonism, 2006). In the world today, skepticism is a part of human nature. Most people raise doubt because of inexperience or bad experiences from their past. Some individuals, like law enforcement officers and judges, are forced to be skeptical everyday due to their occupations. Critical decisions have a lasting effect on their lives, and the lives of those they are associated with during work. Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line everyday so skepticism is necessary to survive. Police officers are required to be doubtful because they could become vulnerable or naive if they allow others to fool them. Simply pulling someone over for a traffic violation could turn fatal if the officers do not think critically and take certain safety measures. Although the officer may have intentions on just writing the person a citation, they might feel threatened and become violent. Judges are also faced with skepticism on a daily basis because there are two sides of the story, and the judge makes the decisions. The judge has to make the right choice and determine who is being honest based on evidence and their experience. Skepticism plays a major role because the judges are usually familiar with the body language and gestures made by someone who is guilty, so they become skeptical of their behavior. Overall, society displays skepticism about the smallest things because bad experiences or gullibility. References Moore, Brooke N. , & Bruder, Kenneth. (2005). Philosophy: The Power of Ideas (6th ed. ). McGraw-Hill Companies. PhilosophyOnline (2009). A Brief History of Scepticism. PhilosophyOnline. co. uk. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www. philosophyonline. co. uk/tok/scepticism8. htm Sextus Empiricus’s Outlines of Pyrrhonism (2006). Alex Scott. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www. angelfire. com/md2/timewarp/skepticism. html The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2006). Aenesidemus (1st Cn. CE). The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www. iep. utm. edu/a/aeneside. htm

The Older Worker Essay - 2077 Words

The Older Worker The workplace for older adults is becoming a dynamic space rather than a unidirectional journey leading to retirement. Work life for older adults is situated in a dynamic pattern of periods of active employment, temporary disengagement from the workplace, and reentry into the same or a new career. The new older worker is developing a third stage of working life, the period beyond the traditional retirement age and final disengagement from the work role. The third age of life has been associated with choice, personal fulfillment, and liberation (Soulsby 2000). Using this idea, we posit a third stage of working life where older workers are active agents negotiating various roles within the workspace. The actions,†¦show more content†¦The concept of older worker encompasses different ages depending on the purpose of the organization as well as the needs of the worker. Age alone may not be a defining characteristic of an older worker. Perhaps becoming an older worker is more sit uational than chronological. Retirement Is the Final Stage of Working Life: The Retirement Myth Retirement for future older workers is becoming an outdated notion. From a societal perspective, the issue has changed from assisting older workers to retire and use leisure time to retaining and recruiting older workers. Recruitment and retention (Levine 1988) become a key policy issue to satisfy the increasing demands for productivity, worker shortages, and retaining corporate knowledge (Crampton 1996; Kinderlan 1998; National Alliance of Business 1996; Ohio Bureau of Employment Services 1996). From a national policy perspective, increasing work life eases the social security burden (Cowans 1994; Reynolds 1994), reduces age discrimination (Perry 1995), and requires programs for reemployment and continued employment of older workers (New York State Office for the Aging 1992; O’Donoghue 1998). In the future, retirement will be interspersed with older workers cycling in and out of periods ofShow MoreRelatedOlder Workers At The Workplace1616 Words   |  7 PagesOlder Workers in the Workplace (3rd draft) Does aging reduce the work effectiveness of older workers? In this fast-growing economy, many people believe that older workers should stop working at a certain age because younger workers will keep up with rapid economic development better. Lois Lowry describes this discrimination in The Giver when citizens get older, they give up their jobs and are treated as children instead of knowledgeable individuals to maintain the sameness in the community. SimilarlyRead More Older Workers Essay1969 Words   |  8 PagesOlder Workers The aging of the U.S. population is affecting the demographics of the work force. 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