Rene Descartes: The Concept of Dualism Essay examples -- Dualism Essays

Rene Descartes' Argument from Divisibility is the argument in which he claims that the mind and the body are two completely different things and thus cannot be identical. His argument is that the body is divisible because it can be physically altered like being cut in half. His belief is that the mind is indivisible because it is not a physical thing. Descartes believed that if two things do not have identical properties then they couldn't be the same. What Descartes was suggesting was that human beings' bodies are separate from their thoughts and that when the body dies the mind still lives, which had undertones of suggesting that there is an afterlife. Descartes called his concept Dualism. The premise that the body is divisible is true because the body is a physical thing. The body has weight, mass, and interacting parts just like a machine such as a watch or an automobile. The premise that the mind is indivisible is not true because it is an assumption that the mind and body are two different things. "It is common knowledge that the brain is the central point of the body where all functions is controlled, mainly being sense perception and thought." (Lawhead, pg 283). The brain is as much a piece of physical matter the same way a rock is. Although much more complex than a rock, a brain and a rock have similar properties because they can be affected by the physical world and are bound by the laws of physics. All thoughts and functions come from the mind, in the sense that the word mind means our consciousness or being. It can be easy to assume that the mind and body are two separate things. Mind and body are one in the same because if the mind were not affected by the physical world, then it would not have to follow the rules of the physical world. If the mind were truly a separate thing from the body, in theory people should be able to have outer body experiences as they please. It cannot be done because the mind is confined to the body and therefore is part of the body. Outer body experiences people have claimed to have are nothing but dreams. When a person suffers trauma and claims to have had an outer body experience what they describe as experiencing is the same description of a dream. Everyone who truly dies never come back. Dead men tell no tales. The mind is a part of the body just like the heart but more dynamic and complex in its nature... ... the mind and body are different. If his idea was true then when a person suffers trauma to the head like in a car accident then that should not affect their mind and the way they think but there are many cases of people being permanently changed after head trauma. Another good example is the many prescription drugs that are out on the market such as Prozac. It is a pill which is a physical thing, like the body but it is proven to have an effect on the mind. According to Descartes the link between mind and body occurred in the pineal gland in the brain through a process called interactionism but that theory does not make sense because the pineal gland is just another part of the physical body. In the end his argument cannot be true because there is no proven link between the mind and body. There is just the physical body and nothing more; nothing less. Dualism is an idea mainly based on assumption and faith. Although it would be nice to know what happens to people after they die, that is something most people would like to wait to find out. Work Cited Lawhead, William F. (2013). The Philosophical Journey, An Interactive Approach, 6th Ed. McGraw-Hill Education. New York .

Kudler Fine Foods IT Security Report and Presentation †Top Threats

Kudler Fine Foods IT Security Report and Presentation – Top Threats Team B has been commissioned to examine the Kudler Fine Foods’ (KFF), frequent shopper, Customer Loyalty Program that is currently in development. The team has also been asked to direct the system development team to ensure the system is established securely so that it properly protects company data and customer information throughout all stages of the system development process. In week 2, the team will examine the Customer Loyalty Program for vulnerabilities in different areas of the system. The study will define the possible threats that exist to the security of the organization’s and the customers’ data and information, the potential vulnerabilities each threat may exploit, and area of the system affected by the threats. Additionally, a summary of the most critical threats to Kudler’s Customer Loyalty Program will be provided. The following table presents the possible threats, t he potential vulnerabilities each threat may exploit, and area of the system effected by the threats: Area of SystemsThreat Potential Vulnerability Networks Unauthorized access Unsecured equipment roomConfidentiality breach E-mail that doesn't employ scanning of messagesDenial of Service Lack of inside firewall can lead to worm spreadNatural Disaster Potential issues from lack of redundancySniffing Network infiltration via wireless access point Workstations Unauthorized access Patches not currentSniffing Old software versionsNatural Disaster Firewall not active Servers Unauthorized access Patches not currentSniffing Old software versionsNatural Disaster Firewall not active Employees Social Engineering Training not currentCorruption UnhappyMalicious behavior poor work ethic Data Corruption Non securedDeletion Unencrypted data Software Corruption Non-securedDeletion Software that does not employee authorized user access Building Tailgating Front door that doesn't have employee securit y guardUnauthorized access Compromised key card accessOf the possible threats to Kudler Fine Foods’ Customer Loyalty Program there are two critical threats discovered during our assessment that warrents Kudler’s immediate attention. The first of these threats is Social Engineering. Social Engineering according to Social-Engineer.org (2013), is â€Å"the act of influencing a person to accomplish goals that may or may not be in the ‘target’s’ best interest. This may include obtaining information, gaining access, or getting the target to take certain action.† The employees themselves are the area of the system affected by this threat. Social Engineering exploits their naivety. General lack of experience in recognizing this type of attack is a major reason for its success. Education on what Social Engineering is and how to recognize attacks coupled with company policies written, put into place, and enforced to prevent individuals from divulging o r even having access to certain information no matter the scenario is the recommended course of action.Next is Denial of Service. According to Conklin, White, Williams, Davis, and Cothren (2012), a Denial of Service (DoS) attack is an attack intended to disrupt a system or service from operating normally. The attacker will attempt, through means of crashing the system, closing out a logged on session, or overwhelming a machine with multiple requests that causes the machine to freeze up or as  stated crash. Kudler’s Customer Loyalty Program information could be affected because the program that accesses customer information could be made unavailable by such a DoS attack.This could cause events such as slow terminal responses, systems going offline while updating customer files, and causing system reboots to return to normal operation. This type of attack exploits the weakness of either not having a firewall running in the terminal or server background or a poorly set up fire wall allowing too many network requests to be handled by the system. Kudler’s IT department should be aware of this and conduct a system check to ensure that the firewall allows requests from only internal or authorized external sources.As requested by Kudler Fine Foods, Team B has conducted an examination of the Customer Loyalty Program concerning the possible threats and vulnerabilities to their system. A table presenting these threats and vulnerabilities as well as the areas of the system affected has been made available for review. In addition, a summary of the top two critical threats that must be addressed by Kudler Fine Foods has been provided.

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver - 746 Words

Birds are a personal symbol for Turtle’s development. Throughout the novel, birds are tied to Turtle and major events in her life. Turtle makes her first sound when the car stops suddenly to avoid a family of quail. â€Å"I slammed on the brakes and we all pitched forward†¦ ‘I think that sound was a laugh’...In the road up ahead there was a quail, the type that has one big feather spronging out the front of its head like a forties-model ladies hat. We could just make out that she was dithering back and forth in the road, and then we gradually could see that there were a couple dozen babies running around her every which way† (Kingsolver 106-107). Turtle and Taylor have become comfortable as a family and Turtle has recovered from her previous trauma to the point that she makes audible noises and expresses herself. Just as the family of Taylor and Turtle has brought joy to the lives of Lou Ann, Mattie, Esperanza and Estevan, this disruptive family of bir ds bring joy and laughter to Taylor and Turtle. When Taylor takes Turtle to the doctor and learns the extent of Turtle’s abuse, she sees a bird that has made its nest inside a cactus. â€Å"I looked through the bones to the garden on the other side. There was a cactus with bushy arms and a coat of yellow spines as thick as fur. A bird had built her nest in it. In and out she flew among the horrible spiny branches, never once hesitating. You just couldnt imagine how shed made a home in there† (Kingsolver 137-138). Just as the bird hasShow MoreRelatedThe Bean Trees By Barbara Kingsolver Essay1520 Words   |  7 PagesIn The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver uses characters and symbols to show that families are not genetically made up, rather built from love and support. 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Turtle helps Taylor enjoy the journey of motherhood and Taylor helps Turtle end her journey to find her parents and then Taylor drives Estevan and Esperanza to Cherokee land and Estevan unintentionally helps Taylor get through her dislike in men. Throughout the story, Kingsolver develops a message, thatRead MoreBean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver Essay599 Words   |  3 PagesWithin the novel Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, the reader is introduced to a young women named Marietta, Missy, and she later on renames herself Taylor. Taylor story is much like a coming of age story, and she many new lessons along the roads of life. She learns how to deal with unforeseen troubles, phobias, and the many forms of love, and because these inner actions she learned to see a new outlook on life. 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Ironically, Taylor ends upRead MoreTraditional Gender Roles In The Bean T rees By Barbara Kingsolver1609 Words   |  7 PagesBarbara Kingsolver’s modern romance, The Bean Trees, tells the story of a young woman named Taylor Greer. Taylor is born in a small rural town and â€Å"gets away† so she can do bigger and better things. While driving cross-country, a woman leaves her a small child. Taylor raises names and raises this child, Turtle. She moves in with another single mom and works for Mattie, a woman who smuggles refugees. Taylor has multiple moments of lost innocence as she learns the true evils of the world, and she uses