A Look At Superstition And Religion

A Look At Superstition And Religion Superstitions are very common. A superstitious person, knowing that there is something higher than he cannot control, believes in the existence of supernatural forces. Superstition arose from a sense of powerlessness to make contact with God. Therefore, a man creates his own religion in which he tries to see certain and clear logic of supernatural forces around him or influence them through his own behavior. Superstition is a credulous notion, which is a belief in a prediction of our future and an impact on it through the use of any supernatural forces. It contains an assumption, often unconscious, that with the help of these forces it is possible to achieve a compromise, which is acceptable for a man. Superstition usually manifests itself in reduced forms of a ritual at the behavioral level: the use of mascots, tattoos, magical gestures, etc. A special place occupies different signs and superstitious beliefs: certain events are attributed to prognostic significance. There are four main types of superstitions that include: Pagan superstitions, which are directly connected with a pagan anti-Christian worldview. They have their origins in the polytheistic religions that deny the existence of God, and reject the Creator of the world; Occultism, in turn, elevates to a deity some hidden forces, and attributes them the ability to change a persons life; Folk superstitions differ from pagan ones that they do not represent a holistic pagan worldview, but exist fragmentarily and separately, not included in any complete system of the world outlook; Ecclesiastical superstitions are expressed in the use of religious rituals in pagan rites or vice versa. The examples of superstitions in American culture are the following ones: Some common good luck superstitions: You will get good luck, if you take your stand on your shadow; If you find a horseshoe that was lost by someone, it will bring you good luck; You will have good luck, if you find a clover with four leaves. Some common bad luck superstitions: The family will fall ill, if a cat sneezes no more than three times; If a black cat crosses your road, it brings you bad luck; You will have bad luck, if you spill salt. Religion is a special form of the worlds awareness, caused by the belief in the supernatural forces, which include a set of moral norms and behaviors, rituals, cult actions and unite people in an organization (for example, a church or a religious community). In addition, religion is a mans worldview (or a certain group of people), which is based on the belief in something supernatural, unexplainable. In every religion, there are certain rules of behaviors to be followed by the adherents, as well as the purpose for which people follow the tenets of that religion. In this part of the paper, let us discuss and explain two different types of religions, such as Catholicism and Protestantism. Catholicism: the faith is based on the Bible and Holy Tradition, which includes decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. Celibacy is compulsory for priests and bishops. A sign of the cross most often is executed by five fingers as a symbol of the five wounds of Christ. Catholics believe that the dead return home and sometime visit their living relatives in a day of commemoration. People, who are stingy to the funeral repast, are punished by loss of cattle, fire, etc. There is a custom to paint eggs at Easter, as well as to bake cakes. Then these cakes are sanctified, and they are considered to be a symbol of this holiday. When people swim in an ice-hole during Epiphany, it helps him to be cleansed of his sins. It is prohibited to scorch the bottom of the candle when it is inserted into a candlestick. It is motivated as follows: Thus, a person burns the feet of Christ. Protestantism: Protestants believe that a person can receive forgiveness of sins by a faith in Jesus Christ (by a faith in His death for the sins of all people and in His resurrection from the dead). The Bible is the most supreme and final authority on all issues affecting the mankind in its development. In addition, Protestants do not see any point in prayers for the dead, saints, and many holidays in their honor. Protestants, in comparison with other Christians, pay very much attention to speaking in tongues (glossolalia) (they consider it to be a sign of Baptism of the Holy Spirit), and to other gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as the gift of healing and prophecy. There is no doubt that there are some differences and similarities between superstition and religion. Let us discuss superstition and religion from the standpoint of an emic and etic prospective. Different religions are born with the help of peoples faith in something supernatural. They pass this belief on from one generation to another within their family. For instance, we can often hear that different illnesses of a religious person were cured with the help of many prayers. The illness disappeared by the effect of a prayer. In fact, there are no logical and right explanations about this event. The religious people can call it a miracle. In turn, some philosophers would name it superstition. Superstition is influenced by some irrational beliefs, such as the reverence of different things, black cats. The things of this nature is a peculiar fear that people believe and carry that if they face with those things, that probably something unhappier and bad will affect them. Thus, it can be considered to be a religion, but it is a kind of false and incorrect worship. Ethnocentrism is a view of society, in which a certain group is central, and all other groups are compared and related to it. Levine and Campbell emphasized that the attitudes include seeing ones own group (the in-group) as virtuous and superior, ones own standards of value as universal, and out-groups as contemptible and inferior (qtd. in Hammond and Axelrod 926). Cultural relativism is opposite to ethnocentrism. The basis of cultural relativism is the assertion that members of one social group cannot understand the motives and values of other groups, if they analyze these motives and values according to their own culture. In summary, it is possible to conclude that both superstition and religion are powerful notions, even if they have some similarities between each other, they are not common things and act and operate separately and independently from each other.

Assignment IKEA Case Study Essay

IKEA is a Swedish-owned global business founded in 1943. The business generates annual revenues of 27 billion euros and employs 139,000 people in 298 stores and 26 countries. The values and design philosophy of the founder continue to underpin the brand. These values might be summed up as frugal, democratic, environmentally aware, and design oriented. IKEA has become synonymous with Swedish lifestyle. The stores are virtually identical across the globe and sell a range of globally sourced flat-packed furniture products as well as a range of related furnishings for the home—the stores offer customers a Swedish experience by incorporating restaurants and a variety of customer services intended to simplify the shopping process (e.g., childcare). What is interesting about IKEA is that customers have become a significant part of the value creating process—customers play a key role in terms of logistics and in production. By performing the assembly of the flat-packed furniture, customers complete the final stages in the production process. In terms of logistics, the customer â€Å"moves† goods from warehouse-style storage through the checkout, and then transports the goods home. The trade-off for the consumer is lower prices and immediate gratification—furniture is typically sold using just in time (JIT) inventory management, which means that once a customer has placed an order, the furniture then goes into production and is delivered to the customer’s home some 3–4 months later. IKEA’s senior management has in the past pursued an aggressive expansion policy, but management is currently changing direction, adopting a slower rate of expansion and investing in existing stores. The company plans to increase sales by 10% a year to 2020, thereby doubling annual sales revenues. Management is concerned about how expansion in the BRIC countries, particularly India and China, is pursued. There are fears about preserving the company’s culture in these huge markets (Milne, 2013). Sources: http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/this-is-ikea/company-information/index.html Milne, R. (2013, September 1). Ikea signals slower expansion. Financial Times. What do you think? What would you do? What problems do you foresee and how will this impact IKEA’s Swedish concept? Please recommend a marketing solution that will help IKEA achieve growth in either India or China based on your understanding of the place P and how delivering the value is evolving. Please use the case study guidelines below to perform a brief analysis, identify the problem, suggest alternative solutions, and make recommendations for the implementation of the solution that you believe is the best fit. Case Study Guidelines 1. Analysis of the Current Situation—The proper context must be established for the case analysis. Please provide a SWOT analysis in a SWOT box. Research: Identify the key environmental factors such as industry trends, level of competitiveness, customer perceptions, legal considerations, and evolving technology at the outset of the analysis. Summarize the key aspects of the internal environment of the firm in terms of strengths and weaknesses and the external environment in terms of opportunities and threats to the firm in your SWOT box. 2. The Target Market—Identify your target market: Who is your target customer? In terms of demographics and lifestyle, what aspects of consumer behavior provide insights into this group of customers? 3. The Problem—Identification of key problem(s). It is easy to identify symptoms of problems while failing to identify the real problems. For example, declining sales may be identified as a problem, when the decline is only symptomatic of more complex problems that are harder to observe. Make a  clear distinction between what is identified as the problem and the symptoms of the problems. 4. Alternative Solutions—Identify and evaluate alternatives. Develop reasonable alternatives and evaluate them in terms of feasibility, projected costs advantages, disadvantages, and potential short-term and long-term consequences. 5. Recommended Course of Action—Select a course of action and provide the appropriate strategies and tactics to accomplish the chosen course. Justify your choice in terms of your analysis. As most practitioners know, charting a course of action can be a difficult job, but implementation is the true challenge. Produce a workable action plan that would have a reasonable probability of success in the implementation phase. Develop a minimum of five slides to present the findings of your analysis. Some additional research is expected. The IKEA website is highly informative. Use APA format and include an additional slide with your sources. Assume that your analysis will be presented to the IKEA senior management team and that your job depends on it!

Evaluate the different interpretations of the role of the state Essay

There are many different views about what the role of the state is and should be. All mainstream parties have concluded that there is some need for welfare provisions in a modern day liberal democracy. However with historical variations to each ideology it is sometime difficult to group an ideology as one. Also many variations agree with other ideological variations. The role of the state is a controversial issue with many differing ideas. Traditional conservatism stresses the importance of a strong state in order to maintain and uphold society. Authority and tradition are embedded in the state and act as the state to hold it together. Although Burke is a strong advocator of this view it is clear that from such a role the state could become a totalitarian state, especially with Conservatives believing that being born into society simply means you must follow its rule. A criticism of this view would be found in classical liberal ideology, with theorists such as Locke and Hobbs that would argue that by having a strong state individual freedoms were being eroded away. Also by no having any welfare provisions they were upholding a strong state that was full on inequality and exploitation of the working class especially during industrialisation. A one-nation approach then emerged that tried to solve some of the criticisms of traditional conservative ideology. Having a state as a welfare provider was a key principle to this variation. It is much he same as modern liberalism in the idea of protecting the working classes. However where as modern liberals wanted to liberate the working class from social evils to give them back their freedom, one-nation conservatives were more concerned with a social uprising by the lower orders (Disraeli) and therefore called for a more paternalistic approach to the state in order to protect the very make up of society. Never the less this improvement of welfare can be criticised mainly by classical liberals who state that individual freedoms were being restricted once again because of the welfare provisions being placed on individuals. As a result the criticism of a ‘nanny’ state caused the New Right conservatives to emerge. They believed in have the state as night watchmen, with free markets. However they have an inconsistent set of ideals as there are too different strands of New Right conservatism. Neo-conservatives call for a strong but minimal state, two things that contradict each other, where as neo-liberals call for minimal state and free markets. It is clear that this most recent form of conservative ideology is not coherent. Modern liberal ideology is one that has been subscribed to by both one-nation conservatives and social democrats, and is clearly a viable choice of role for the state. Green and Hohouse call for a need for a welfare state to free those who are exploited through industrialisation. It answers the criticism of Classical liberalism, that doesn’t provide any safe guard against social inequality, by providing a welfare state. It also avoids the possibility of unrest and revolution from the lower orders. Anarchists would argue that no state is required and put trust in the good nature of humans in running a society. I agree to some extent with Paine (classical liberal) that the state is a ‘necessary evil’ but I see the state as more of a safety net, there to protect when needed. Modern liberals believe that a welfare state answers the question of removing social inequalities, where as Marxists believe that removing the state initially is the answer. By radically redistributing wealth among society and eventually dissolving the state, it aims to eradicate an unfair class system, as it sees itself. However in order to achieve this stateless state, a strong state is required in order to implement it! Another ideology that doesn’t have a consistent set of ideas. I also believe that Marxism goes too far and encroaches too much on individual freedom. Never the less Gramsci would argue that because we are living in a liberal democracy we do not know what are actual needs are. We have our felt needs such as the vote and welfare provision, but we lack freedom for class oppression. This line of argument is flawed however because there is in this case then no-one who has no been influenced by a liberal democracy to inform us of what our actual needs are. Marxist ideology does have some credit in that they are attempting to eradicate class oppression which I believe is a credible aim but on the other hand the ideology is incoherent and difficult to imagine people subscribing to. Less radical forms of socialism are influenced by Marx but take a more practical approach to implementing his ideas. Social democrats see the capitalist economy as a part of the state but wish to humanise it to eradicate exploitation. Much as modern liberals attempted to do by implementing a welfare system. However a gradual change is required, and equality of opportunity is focused on; which is contrasting to democratic socialism who believes in a radical redistribution of wealth by taxation and nationalisation, with a focus on opportunity of outcome. Classical liberals would criticise this because by imposing such a large state, individual freedoms are being ignored. However feminists may argue that a radical change to the state may allow them to adapt the state to promote more equality for women. Clearly the aim to eradicate social inequality is plausible but the amount of state intervention into the economy in order to achieve this aim is just too greater price to pay for total e quality. In conclusion there is a clear consensus that a welfare state has its merits in a liberal democracy. It is the modern liberal approach, that both one-nation conservatism and social democrats have been influenced by, that protects its citizens whilst still allowing them individual freedoms. Although there is a clear argument that by imposing a welfare state individual freedoms are eroded but this is a small price to pay in order to protect against rebellion and unrest. But as Hobhouse and Green would highlight, a welfare state s needed to protect the individual freedoms that are eroded away through free capitalist societies. Although social democrats have a strength to their argument for a full remake of the economy and the framework of society I believe this goes too far. To remove the class system, would be to remove tradition and that is not necessary in order to protect individual freedoms, it could even go some way to eroding them further. A welfare state that doesn’t seek to become a ‘nanny’ state such as one-nation conservatism, but one that puts protection of individual freedoms at the forefront of its ideas would be a desirable way to run a state.

What The Confucian Ideas And Practices Are Essay - 1916 Words

In this essay, to make it easier to understand when I begin to address the main problem presented by the question I will first give a brief outline of what the Confucian ideas and practices are. I will then do as the question asks and evaluate the critique, I will do this by going on to decide how valid I believe the critique to be and proposing some responses to it to see how the critique really holds up, before going on to discuss some alternative critiques and whether I see them to be more valid. So to begin some context, Confucius was born in 551 B.C.E. as far as the books say, to a class of society that despite being noble had fell upon hard times. (Yu-lan, 1952, P.43) All thinkers during this time-the warring states- were looking back to an imagined golden age, when China was a unified empire, the people were at peace, and people knew and followed the Way or Dao. Most thinkers of this time looked to achieve this once again. (Yu-lan, 1952, p.43) Confucius’s main ideas and practices then. To Confucius the Dao or way, is considered to be nothing more or less than the way a person choices to live their life. (Cua, Ames, 2003, p.61) The root of Confucius ideas is the idea that there is no individual or self but that one is one’s roles and relationships. For Confucius then the goal of life to achieve happiness for oneself and the people we believe to make up ourselves via roles and relationships. (Cua, Ames, 2003, p.61) That is we should focus on bringingShow MoreRelatedThe Ethics Of Confucian Business Ethics1172 Words   |  5 PagesSupport of Confucian Business Ethics in Harmony of the Business Environment (160)Issue: The one question brought forth by Lagan (2006) is the conflict between harmony in the business environment and the competition of capitalistic markets in the ethical debate on the efficacy of Confucian business ethics. 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