Sleeping and Dreaming Essay -- Psychology Sleeping Dreams Essays

Sleeping and Dreaming Despite the large amount of time we spend asleep, surprisingly little is actually known about sleeping and dreaming. Much has been imagined, however. Over history, sleep has been conceived as the space of the soul, as a state of absence akin to death, as a virtual or alternate reality, and more recently, as a form of (sub)consciousness in which memories are built and erased. The significance attributed to dreams has varied widely as well. The Ancient Greeks had surprise dream encounters with their gods. Native Americans turned to their dreams for guidance in life. Shamans dreamed in order to gather information from the spirits. Sleep and dreams have defined eras, cultures, and individuals. Sigmund Freud’s interpretation of dreams revolutionized twentieth-century thought. Historical archives record famous short sleepers and notable insomniacs—some accounts reliable, some not. When Benjamin Franklin counseled, â€Å"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,† he was using sleep habits to symbolize his pragmatism. Important public policy issues have arisen in our modern 24-hour society, where it is crucial to weigh the value of sleep versus wakefulness. Scientific knowledge about sleep is currently insufficient to resolve the political and academic debates raging about how much and when people should sleep. These issues affect almost everybody, from the shift worker to the international traveler, from the physician to the policy maker, from the anthropologist to the student preparing for an exam. In 2004–2005, the Penn Humanities Forum will focus on the topic of â€Å"Sleep and Dreams.† Proposals are invited from researchers in all humanistic fields concerned with representations of sleep, metaphors used to describe sleep, and sleep as a metaphor in itself. In addition, we solicit applications from those who study dreams, visions, and nightmares in art or in life, and the approaches taken to their interpretation. We also welcome proposals about the effects of dreaming on the dreamer, and the resulting emotions, behaviors, and actions taken or foregone in response to dreams. In this Forum on Sleep and Dreams, we will see how the diversity of academic disciplines can help to answer important questions about sleep and dreaming—questions that may touch the basis of human intellect. The Forum is fortunate in... ...stingly, the same type of brain arousal takes place whether people actually do finger tapping or only imagine it. What surprised Sutton most, however, was detection of remarkably similar activity in much larger networks spanning areas of the cortex dealing with both input from the senses and output signals to the muscles. "Patterns of activity in small, more primitive areas of the brain are recapitulated in larger, more advanced parts," Sutton says. "This means that nature did not have to develop new rules of operation for different levels of the brain from small clusters of cells to large systems." In other words, as the brain evolved from a thimbleful of cells in a worm's head to the billions of cells with trillions of connections in humans, many of the same principles of organization were retained. Those similarities make it infinitely easier to make computer models of the brain. "We already have built models which allow us to understand what is going on more quickly," Sutton notes. "Many types of mental illness may result from disorders of this organization. Understanding the details of what is happening will allow us to help real people with real suffering."

Path of Democracy Throughout the French Revolution

â€Å"The French Revolution was a decisive period in the shaping of the modern west. It implemented the thought of the philosophies, destroyed the hierarchical and corporate society of the Old Regime, which was a legacy of the Middle Ages, promoted the interests of the bourgeoisie, and quickened the growth of the modern state† ( Perry. Chase. Jacob. Jacob. Von Laue, p. 462). The aristocracy of France was also weakened by the Revolution. The nobles no longer had their ancient rights and privileges making them ordinary people. In the nineteenth century, the ruling class was no longer decided upon by noble birth but by property.This trait was shown before the Revolution. Also the French government was now ran by the aristocrats and the bourgeois. With the bourgeois being given high positions because of their wealth, talent, ambition, and opportunities, they would have an important role in the political life of France. The French Revolution changed the Old Regime, based on a dynas tic state, into the modern state it is today. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen concluded that the state was no longer a separation of provinces or estates; it was also no longer a possession of the monarch's that he believed belonged only to him.The idea of the Declaration showed that the state now belonged to the people as a whole and its power must come from the people to succeed. The people now had the characteristic of individuality of no longer being separated into nobles and commoners. Many surrounding lands took the ideas and reforms of the French Revolution as inspiration to create their own revolution over their land. â€Å"During the nineteenth century, the French Revolution served as a frame of reference for the various political constellations: liberalism, socialism, and conservatism† ( Perry. Chase.Jacob. Jacob. Von Laue, p. 462). Before the Revolution, the state was still closely linked to its religion. Each state had a state church that w as the ruling power. â€Å"By disavowing any divine justification for the monarch’s power, by depriving the church of its special position, and by no longer limiting citizenship to members of a state church, the Revolution accelerated the secularization of European political life† (Perry. Chase. Jacob. Jacob. Von Laue, p. 463). The Revolution did away with administrative ways of the Old Regime, and imposed rational ways to the state.Highest ranks of land and position were given to men by their talent and no longer by their birth line. The Revolution also did away with peasantry working obligations, and based taxes on the people’s income. By showing that an ancient order could be overpowered by a new one, The French Revolution inspired other generations to revolt against their abusive model societies. This created three forces with the modern state: total war, nationalism, and a fanatic utopian mentality. These ideas went against the ideas of the Declaration of t he Rights of Man and could be destructive to what the French Revolution was creating. The French Revolution also gave birth to the modern nationalism† ( Perry. Chase. Jacob. Jacob. Von Laue, p. 463). During the Revolution, the entire nation was directed loyalty. This view was seen as dangerous by many philosophers because it was feared that it would setback the progress of the Revolution. The Revolution looked to reconstruct society on the basis of Enlightenment ideals. These ideas were soon crushed by the terrors and fears of the dangerous forces that had begun to rise in the later years of the Revolution. These forces almost succeeded in ruining what the French reformers had created.

The Effects Of Smoking Cigarettes On Society - 925 Words

The Effects of Smoking Cigarettes Society has been faced with many social struggles since the beginning of time. Smoking cigarettes is just one of those many social challenges. Individuals who smoke cigarettes increase the risk of developing health issues. Advertising has decreased over the years but the investment is with those that started when advertising was a big deal. Finally, the chemicals put into cigarettes are designed to increase a person’s cravings for cigarettes making it harder to stop smoking. With all the billions of dollars spent on advertising and creating a friendly product, long term use causes negative effects on a person such as cancer. Today people smoke for many reasons. Peer pressure and or social norms are contributing factors to smoking. Smoking may improve self-confidence and a sense of belonging. Each smoker has their own reason for starting the habit. One influential factor used by the tobacco industries were advertisements on TV commercials and billboards everywhere. These advertisements suggested smoking certain brands or creating a wannabe effect which drew the consumer to the products. Newport, Marlboro and Camel were brands that were everywhere in the fifties. The writers McCay et al., suggests that Jo the Camel was used as a cartoon character to target young people which attracted the generation early to begin their investment in smoking (1). Another character, created by tobacco companies was the Marlboro Man and he was portrayed asShow MoreRelatedHarmful Effects of Smoking1418 Words   |  6 PagesHarmful effects of smoking Doan Thi Huong Thao BAIU08155 International University HCMC Academic English 2 Bien Thi Thanh Mai Instructor May 17, 2010 Abstract Smoking is known to be a primary cause of harmful effects on health, family, environment and society. However, scientist research in health and environment, that researches show that smoking cause many diseases, even lung cancer. An aim of my study has been to determine that smoking also effect on family and society. Results indicatedRead MoreThe Harmful Effects Of Smoking And Smoking1380 Words   |  6 Pagestime they light a smoke. Some of the harmful effects of smoking include various potentially lethal diseases to the smoker and others exposed to secondhand smoke, the sinful addiction caused by a key ingredient in cigarettes, and social issues smoking causes for smokers and their loved ones. Smoking should be prohibited completely because of the harmful physical and social effects it has on smokers and the non-smokers they associate with. First of all, smoking creates a number of health problems for smokersRead MoreWhy Smoking Should Be Banned884 Words   |  4 Pagespeople smoke? Is smoking really healthy for them? How much does it cost an individual to smoke? 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