Why did Sigmund Freud and Michel Foucault not trust the notion of the Essay

Why did Sigmund Freud and Michel Foucault not trust the notion of the self - Essay Example Nonetheless, the initial facts and issue act as a basement upon which new knowledge is based. Thus emergent thinkers simply contribute new ideas to the body of knowledge. To a great extent, such ideas are reflective of the modern day experiences and way of life. One of the philosophical concepts that have been accorded great attention by a significant percentage of the philosophers pertains to the concept of self. Notably, this has undergone various transformations and has been shaped and molded by varied perceptions that were put forth by the philosophers. Seemingly, the most important contribution to this notion was made by the two great thinkers; Sigmund Freud and Michael Foucault. Although their approaches differed considerably, their critical approach to the notion of self was not only insightful but also very informative. It is against this background that this paper explains why the two great thinkers did not trust the notion of the self. To enhance a harmonic consideration, i t begins by explaining the notion of self and the developments that it has undergone since its suggestion. Essentially, the notion of self concept is all encompassing and comprises of dynamic and organized attitudes, beliefs and opinions that an individual perceives to be true about his or her self. These from a philosophical view point are also imperative in defining one’s personal existence as well as history. In essence, it seeks to explain how or what an individual considers himself to be. It is an objective standpoint that goes a long way in defining who a person is in light of his past as well as present experiences. It differs considerably from the concepts of self esteem and self report. While the former underscores feelings related to enhancement of personal worth and attainment of self fulfillment, the latter constitutes the amount of information that an individual may be willing to disclose about the self. Foucault at this point refers to the concept of self as â⠂¬Ëœlife being aware of it self† (Foucault, 1979, p. 54). Historical evidence ascertains that the concept of self was put forth by Rene Descartes in 1644 (Ryan, Short & Weed, 1986, p. 527). In this text, he argued that the aspect of doubt was an important principle of self inquiry. For an individual to attain an objection perception of one self, he needed to doubt the self. Doubt in this respect would enable him to understand his strengths, weaknesses and make an objective evaluation of his capabilities. Using it, individuals would be able to understand and appreciate themselves. Existence according to his point of view was greatly influences by perception. This knowledge was later extended by Freud who explored the aspect of internal mental processes. In particular, he detailed the importance of the individual internal thinking processes and further analyzed the aspects of self interpretation. As indicated earlier, Foucault perceived the concept of self in light of being able to understand and appreciate the abilities and capabilities of one self. Understanding these required a critical evaluation of all the aspects of an individual. In essence, it entailed a full understanding of oneself and relative capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. Of great importance to self understanding however was to know the meaning of living. Previous philosophers have in some cases related this to the spiritual notion of Christianity. At this point, it cannot be disputed that some Christian concepts greatly advocate for the practice of self renunciation. The individual in this regard is able to understand

Consider the state of the American Public School System. Put forward Essay

Consider the state of the American Public School System. Put forward an argument on the topic.Can you suggest a solution - Essay Example However, the decentralization makes it difficult to deal issues pertaining to school reforms (William J. Reese, 2). The current public educational system is piled up with issues not just pertaining to classrooms or corridors but resulting in the failure of American public education system. This failure cannot be made accountable to the performance of the students but the entire system that is responsible for the declining performance. (John Hood, Volume: 43). Many factors were being considered to hinder the public education like money or funds, poverty, class size, teachers, salaries of teachers, student’s performance and teachers unions etc. (Jay P. Greene, James Q Wilson, 3) increasing the rate of drop outs and unqualified students for future. Even today certain percent of unskilled and drop out students exists which increases the relocation of more qualified professionals from outside the country. Considering the growing competition parents coming from a middle or higher cl ass prefer to educate their children in private funding institutions that provide high standards of education while vast numbers of lower class children attend public schools. Funds: People assume that lack of funds has resulted in failure of public educational system which is a myth. ... unds while improved nutritional programs like arrangements of breakfast or lunch increased the expenditure to an extent, added to these issues the â€Å"no child left behind† policy is yet to be met (Amy Richards, 24th October 2011). Teachers and Unions: Teachers have their unions to support and protect them no matter how incompetent they are while their â€Å"tenure† guarantees the job safety until retirement without considering their performance. They are given salaries with no rewards of excellence and are not penalized for their poor performance due to which every teacher performs the same (B. Awesome, 30th May 2011). Training needs to be provided to those under performing teachers to improve their ability to teach. Teachers who lack to improve their performance levels even after rigorous training should be removed while qualified and hardworking teachers can bring reform in the public education system to certain extent should be provided with a performance based wa ges and incentives. Society Influences: Many students who tend to drop out of high schools are not skilled enough to work in a technologically advanced workplace. Those who have dropped out of high school earn less salary than students who graduated from high school. Dropped out students usually live in poverty and depend upon welfare (Jay P. Greene, James Q Wilson, 95). Societal influences like poverty and bad parenting also results in poor performance. Successful public schools are in the area where the rich and wealthy reside, while worst or unsuccessful public schools belong to the areas where poor families live (Valerie Strauss, Washington Post). Children dealing with poverty can afford to attend these unsuccessful schools where they are not provided with proper resources. Class Size: Some believe