The Universe in Essays

Prompt: Evaluate the successes and failures of peacekeeping after the First World War.   Cynically speaking – and perhaps realistically speaking as well – peace is an impossible dream, defying all attempts to achieve it. In the case of world affairs following World War I (WWI), peacekeeping was not a successful undertaking. In particular, the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations, and Wilson’s Fourteen Points all failed to achieve peace between nations.

Overview: A reflective statement on Ismail Kadare's novel, Broken April . In reflective statements, we are to explain how our understanding of the culture and context within which a certain text was written has deepened as a result of Interactive Oral presentations on the text. Written: October 27th, 2015. From Interactive Oral presentations on Ismail Kadare’s novel Broken April , I have come to a deeper understanding of early twentieth century Albania. Specifically, I now see the connection between Kadare’s view of freedom on the one hand, and the text and its consummation on the other.

A United States drug company – Turing Pharmaceuticals – recently raised the price of AIDS medication by over five thousand percent, having bought the rights to the drug in August. Following public outcry, Turing promised to reduce the price, though not specifying the exact reduction. The ostensible justification for their previous move from $13.50 a pill to $750 was to use that increased profit for medical research. Martin Shkreli, the head of the company, says that his critics do not understand the pharmaceutical industry, implying that his company’s actions were not immoral or selfish, but balanced and prudent.

Question: Why did a general European war break out in 1914? Historical investigation is important because it reveals to us our past mistakes and how we might avoid them in the future. Determining the cause of World War I is necessary for this very reason: we ought to know how it came about so as not to repeat it. Imperialism – the policy of acquiring and holding colonies to extend the authority of an empire – explains why a general European war broke out in 1914. Other causes of war (e.g., nationalism and militarism) did exist, but were not decisive nor effectual on their own.

Philosophical naturalism is the thesis that the physical world is all there is – no God, no angels, and no soul. Literary naturalism is the effort to portray human action in animalistic terms. The latter is likely an outgrowth of the former. From Interactive Oral presentations on Emile Zola’s novel, Thérèse Raquin , I have come to see how literary naturalism developed in nineteenth century France, and how this development shaped Zola’s work in two ways: his characterization of women and his psychology of human beings.

Revolutions are not about corrupt governments or wicked kings; revolutions are about ideas. In 1966, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution to ingrain Communist ideals in Chinese life and culture. Ji-Li Jiang, in Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution , recounts her experience of that social upheaval in order to bear witness to the suffering she  endured under Mao’s regime. If Jiang had scrapped a memoir in favor of a persuasive essay, the book’s power would have been lost, and Jiang’s witness weakened as a result.

Question - "On the issue of the Bible being divinely inspired, how do we know it wasn't meant to be a story to teach children to be good, and not truly god's word?" - Louis. Answer - I am going to use your question, Louis, as an opportunity to develop my thoughts on the gospels alone. Trying to tackle the whole Bible is too big a task for one article. Indeed, whole libraries have been written on the subject! So let us narrow our focus to the four biblical gospels.