Thursday, October 31, 2019

Ethical or Unethical Socially and Environmentally Essay

Ethical or Unethical Socially and Environmentally - Essay Example There are various concerns that have been pointed out to be of social interest while analyzing the ethic observed while producing cocoa. Among these issues is abusive children labor, issues with profit and protection as well as lack of proper ownership structures (Berlan, 2009). In regard to child labor, it has been established that a lot of children suffer trafficking and are taken to serve within the cocoa production farms as well as through the processing plants. In spite of increased efforts by the government to control the issues of forced labor on children, children trafficking as well as abusive practices on children within cocoa farms, the activities prevail and this is termed as unethical (Isern, 2006). This therefore shows that the entire process of producing cocoa can be said to be unethical socially as show through the abusive child labor is propagated. On the other hand, profit protection has also been termed as unethical and has been shown to persist within the cocoa farms. This is propagated by all players, right from the farmers, the middle men as well as the people involved in chain of delivery who all strive to maximize on their profit margins. In the process of targeting the high profits, the production has been characterized by unethical behavior hence the support of the thesis statement. Besides, lack of ‘ownership’ as is the common excuse adopted by all players within cocoa production industry has been used to explain propagation of the social vices like the trafficking of children and the unreasonably high prices. Every culprit interjected reasons that he/she has bought the product from middle men and hence the social concern (Blowfield, 2003). Besides the economic sense that is associated with production of cocoa, players within the system of production have been pointed ought on unethical behavior on farming practices which have contributed to environmental pollution through dumping of chemicals and fertilizers on the ground

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Luxury Brand Economy Effect Essay Example for Free

Luxury Brand Economy Effect Essay Monaco is a small country, but well known all over the world. All over the world it is known as a place of luxury. Every year a lot of tourists visit Monaco to have a good vacation visiting casinos, luxury restaurants and off course to do a shopping in a most known, luxury brands. In Monaco you can find a lot of different luxury boutiques for every taste; you can find everything from luxury cars to a luxury clothes and accessories. During the course of Luxury audit services we study a lot about the services in luxury stores. So our goal was to divide into groups and to do an audit of few stores. Our group was a big enough for such a mission, so we were thinking how to do it in a better way. And once we got a good idea. According to the information we received during the seminar with Guillaume Rose, in Monaco there are a lot of Russian millionaires, and they are always â€Å"invited guests† in different places. So we decided to split our group on two smaller groups and to compare the experience received in Gucci store and in Celine which are situated in the heart of Monaco, near the Casino and Hotel de Paris. I will share with you the Russian experience. I asked my friend, she is from Russia, for some help in this mission. Our story was that we family couple came from Russia for my friend’s wedding and as we already bought a new skirt for my wife we need to buy a new bag, which must be one of the last collections. And the second part of our group was native French with two different scenarios in two stores. As we will see next we received a little bit different experiences. Gucci store audit Firstly we decided to audit one of the most famous brands in the world, Gucci. At 12. 00 we entered the store. Before entering the store, we noticed that the showcase was clean, with good lighting, but there were no goods exposed. Entering the store, I noticed that the main glass door was all in hand prints and it was just 12. 00. Going to the store and pretending a married couple, we were arguing about the fact that my wife has already a bunch of bags and for what reason she is looking for one new. Staff in the store noticed us at once and ran to the side waving their heads as a greeting. Only the guard who was near the enter greeted us in a very polite form. We were walking through the shop for 3 minutes and a half and it gives us a good opportunity to study the store. We noticed that the reception area was clean as it is required, but there were not enough light, it gives to the store a much groomed look. And also no music and even no fresh flowers in the store. After 3 minutes and a half we meat a sales person who greeted us and introduced himself as a David. He asked us a few open questions in order to know what we are looking for. After he listened our story he was interesting in our previous experience with Gucci brand. We pretend that we don’t know anything about Gucci. He told us some information about the brand about its uniqueness and heritage. After that David proposed a few bags, he explained the value of that model and brought all the colors for that model. Also he guaranteed that the model will be in a trend for the next few years. What was not really very good it’s a careless handling of the bag and he put them on one big heap. And what impressed me very much is that he even don’t show the inner part of the bag, on my opinion it is very important to know how it is inside the bah which you are going to buy for a big amount of money. As I was pretending a husband who is not really happy to buy a new bag, I asked about the discount, and I get an answer in very polite form that there is no discount at all in Gucci store in Monaco. My pretending wife was asking me to buy the bag she liked and I was strong on my opinion. So a after that dialogue with my wife he proposed to book the bag till the evening for the case if I will change my mind. This was very polite from his side. But he doesn’t accompany us to the door and didn’t offer to giva us a business card and to right down us into the customers database. Totally we spend in the store 26 minutes. So in conclusion I can say that the experience I have received together with my pretending wife was far different from the French experience of my group mates. Celine store audit. The second we decided to audit was the Celine also situated in the heart of Monaco. Our story was the same, we were looking for a bag which will be good to my â€Å"wife’s† new skirt which we have bought for a wedding we are invited here in Monaco. The showcase was very clean with good exposition of some goods. When we entered the store we noticed staff talking together near the cash machine, although all of them greeted us in their store. The area of the class was very clean , there were enough light, giving a good look to the goods represented in the store. After a minute and 20-30 seconds of waiting we meat a vendor, she was Russian so we were able to speak on our native language. It impressed me very much, so I was ready to buy everything in that store. She was asking a lot of open questions, to get more information about our needs and it was great, because after that she proposed a few models which were facing all our needs. She was very listening, so it helps her to understand our needs. She explained everything about the product, how to clean it and how to use it to leave it in a new condition. Of course she valued the model and showed a few others and different colors. She knows the material and the price for that bag without looking anywhere. But what upset me she didn’t spoke about the brand, because we don’t know anything about that brand, except that it is a luxury and expensive brand. As the bag we liked the most she proposed to book it till the next day midday, so that we can think about purchasing it. She remains courtesy even in the case of not buying that bag. She put our names in database and proposed her help for any other matters. She accompanies us to the door and wish a good day for us. We spend in that store 23 minutes and the felling was like we spend there almost an hour, the experience we received in the Celine store was great dispute of some moments. Conclusion As our group was divided for two smaller groups in order to compare different experiences. As Russian group visiting the Gucci store we received almost a great experience. Points to improve, I would recommend to put some products on a showcases, it is needed to clean the entry glass door and if there is such a need to clean it every hour. They need to put more lights in the store, because it was too dark. Some fresh flowers will do only a good role and some soft music will be very great. And of course some training course for the staff. Celine experience was really great and there is nothing to speak about. I wish them to continue in that way. The experience we received during these audits was one of the greatest. We were participating in the process not just as a customer’s but almost as professionals who can notice almost everything in the store. Thanks to Ozzy Monaco for a great course.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Critical Review of Post-Mortem Sperm Retrieval (PMSR)

Critical Review of Post-Mortem Sperm Retrieval (PMSR) Introduction Post-mortem sperm retrieval (PMSR) is a procedure that has given rise numerous legal and ethical concerns, including: consent for procedure, ownership and assignment of sperm as a possession, divergence on the inheritance of the offspring and conflict over the introduction of sperm retrieval in organ donation (Pastuzak, et al., 2013). There is no agreement on the use of PMSR at different levels from institutional to an international level. A report published in 2003 discussed the benefits of implementing guidelines to introduce a framework and therefore simplify concerns with respect to PMSR, which included (Tash, et al., 2003): Consent issues Resource availability Medical contraindications A 1-year time period for careful evaluation of the recipient. Although PMSR is still fairly uncommon, the continuous increase in requests for In-vitro fertilization (IVF) with intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), resulted in an increased rate of PMSR requests (Kerr, et al., 1997). Sperm retrieval techniques With the advent of ICSI and IVF, numerous sperm retrieval techniques have been developed in order to tackle sperm retrieval from various entry points. The most commonly used techniques involve either an epididymal or testicular procedure by open surgery or percutaneous entry (See Table 1): Table 1: Sperm retrieval techniques Key: MESA – Microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration; PESA – Percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration; COB Conventional open biopsy; TESA – Testicular sperm aspiration. Micro surgical epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA) An incision in the scrotum is performed to uncover the epididymis. Using a microscope the tunica is incised and a ductule is mobilised. An incision of the ductile then follows exposing the fluid within which is aspirated. Microsutures are then applied, when sufficient fluid is aspirated, to the ductule. In the case that no fluid is observed another ductule is mobilised for aspiration. Microsurgery allows for a precise incision resulting in an aspiration free from any contaminating blood. With this technique a large number of motile sperms can be retrieved and preserved for future use. Also, it allows for preservation of the ductule in the case of further aspirations, if needed. Nevertheless, no evidence is present to affirm that using microsurgery will result in better retrieval in the future. In addition, the technique is very laborious and time-consuming, needing a microscope and an experienced microsurgeon (Siber, et al., 1994; Girardi Schlegel, 1996). Percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) By using antiseptic the scrotum is thoroughly cleaned and consequently washed using saline to eliminate any excess antiseptic. In some cases, local anaesthetic is utilised (Gorgy, et al., 1998), then the epididymis head is put between the thumb and forefinger, where it is then punctured, from the scrotal skin, with a needle that is connected to a tuberculin syringe filled with 0.1ml of washing medium. The plunger is then retracted that slowly punctures the ductule. The syringe is then rotated and partially withdrawn staying within the epididymis. Then the suction is released slightly and the syringe withdrawn. Examination of the aspirated sperm is then performed after flushing the fluid into a dish. In the case that motile sperm are not found, the procedure is performed again at a different location. As the location is selected blindly, numerous tries are needed in order to secure good quality sperm. In this case, the procedure is quick, easy, does not need open surgery and easily repeatable. Nevertheless, since the punctured location is random, it cannot be controlled and occasionally ductules can be missed. In some cases, the epididymis can be very small and even covered with fat layers, making retrieval challenging. This can be overcome by using OFNA. Also, there is a higher chance of contacting a blood vessel and therefore contaminate the fluid with blood (Shrivastav, et al., 1994). Testicular sperm aspiration (TESA) In this case anaesthetic is needed, afterwards a butterfly needle is poked around the testicular fluid while suction is applied from another syringe. The fluid is then examined for sperm quality. Studies also show that color Doppler ultrasonography can be used to guide the syringe and go around blood vessels (Balenky, et al., 2001). It is quite a simple technique that does not need any special training or equipment. However, there is a risk of puncturing the tunica blood vessels since it is done blindly. Puncturing multiple passages into the tissue may lead to damage and ultimately haemorrhage. Also, sample volume tends to be quite scanty (Craft Tsirigotis, 1995). Conventional open biopsy (COB) An incision is made in order to expose a testis, afterwards an incision is also made to the tunica and a small piece of testicular tissue is sampled. Sutures are then made to the tunica and the incision closed. It is a simple method that can be performed by a general surgeon and yields a significant amount of tissue. However, testicular vessels can be damages since it is an open surgery procedure, that would lead to the possibility of impaired testicular function as these are end-arteries (Schlegel Su, 1997; Manning, et al., 1998). Key ethical issues Ethical issues can be assessed through fairness, choice and wellbeing of the stakeholders, in order to arrive to a plausible conclusion. I managed to identify the following as the stakeholders; deceased husband, family members (wife/partner, parents etc.), unborn child, physician and society. Fairness With regards to fairness the debate is driven by two main issues; firstly, the right of the father to an heir even after death. In such cases, it is suggested that the father conveys consent for artificial insemination prior to his death (Strong, et al., 2000; Orr Siegler, 2002). This would make the decision more ethically justifiable. In cases where this is not available, inferred consent could also be accepted. However, although very little data is present with regards to the postmortem wishes of men, it is assumed that a large faction of men would not want their spermatozoa used after their death (Pastuszak, et al., 2013). Nevertheless, strict regulation should always be implied, to eliminate abuse where possible (Strong, et al., 2000). Choice The issues of society with regards to PMSR centre about a fear of a continual acceptance of non-conventional practices especially in conservative societies which may lead society to become biased and aversely disapprove of such practices. However, this difference in viewpoint can be seen in all controversial debates, where society criticizes individuals of backing such practices for their own goals and desires. Therefore the introduction and implementation of legislation is important to provide a framework which may help society better understand the uses of PMSR. In the case that family members want to perform sperm retrieval from the deceased based on verbal consent from previous conversations, would the physician be obliged to carry out this task? Basing the answer on the physician’s autonomy, the physician is not obliged to enter in a patient-doctor relationship, unless the patient has no other means for medically necessary care, which is not the case. This means that the physician will never be obliged to perform such duties even if sperm retrieval might be ethically justifiable in certain scenarios. This occurs especially if the physician conscientiously opposes sperm retrieval making him free to decline performing such tasks (Strong, et al., 2000). Also, another question arises, in that would the physician be morally obliged to decline performing practices which may cause harm to a future generation? The Human Embryology and Fertilisation Authority (HEFA) obliges physicians providing assisted reproductive technologies to assess t he wellbeing of the unborn child before proceeding (Parliament of the United Kingdom., 2008). Deciding to perform such a procedure utilizing the sperm of the woman’s partner can be a complex situation to tackle especially without consent. Wellbeing The main concerns when PMSR is sought are with regards to the deceased and the unborn child. Postmortem sperm retrieval affects the welfare of the deceased as it alters the values and beliefs of the deceased (Bahadur, 2002; Orr Siegler, 2002). Also, the child would be considered the heir of the deceased, which has several permanent social implications, especially on the deceased’s family, including, possession distribution and also the child’s upbringing. This could in turn be in complete disagreement with the deceased values (Bahadur, 2002). Family members could also find interest in maintaining the family’s lineage, which could also be in direct conflict with the deceased’s wishes. With regards to the unborn child there are issues too as children born through PMSR will have no father, which may result in difficulties during their upbringing (Strong, et al., 2000). Nevertheless, the claim that post mortem insemination can lead to such dejected views is very complex as it tries to compare existence with something that does not exist. Nevertheless, it is still a very difficult task to raise a child without a father, which may lead to additional costs for the mother and the family which in turn may also be stigmatized (Weber, et al., 2009). Policy and regulatory frameworks for PMSR PMSR has now started to gain international recognition, with different countries starting to implement legislation in order to manage its practice and safeguard its use. Several countries have opted to completely abolish its use. In fact Sweden, Germany, Canada and some parts of Australia have legislation that prohibits the use of PMSR (Bahadur, 1996; Webb, 1996). In addition, regions in West Australia have legislation that prohibits post-mortem use of gametes (Webb, 1996). Israel allows the transfer of pre-embryos to the wife within a year from the death of the husband, even if there is no consent. However, upon death of the wife, the embryos would not be used (Benshushan Schenker, 1998). In the U.K., the Human Fertilisation and Embryology ACT of 1990 does not forbid post-mortem sperm retrieval and storage however it does need prior written consent from the male (Parliament of the United Kingdom., 2008). In France on the other hand after a particular case the Centre d’Etude et de Conservation du Sperme Humain (CECOS) has embraced a practice of not allowing postmortem retrieval, a policy which was backed by the French courts (Aziza-Shuster, 1994). Thereafter, in 1994, France passed an act that prohibits post-mortem sperm retrieval (Lansac, 1996). On the other hand other countries like Belgium and the USA permit PMSR, even in the absence of the males consent (Brahams, 1997; Brahams, 1996). Conclusions The advent of new practices to aid infertility cases, will challenge us with ever increasing ethical issues which most probably will only increase in number. This is why informed consent is a major issue that needs evaluation as it forms an essential part of many programmes. However, for consent to be impartial, all the information with regards to such practices must be given together with counselling to enable proper consent to be given. This means that ideally both male and female should give their consent in advance. Cases involving married couples that have prior consent even with first degree relatives, PMSR should be allowed, although it has to be in agreement with a special committee responsible of dealing with such cases. Cases that might deal with consanguinity or incest for example a mother to be inseminated with her son’s spermatozoa should be prohibited both for ethical and genetic reasons. Also, cases where children are already present, and are heirs, should be al so consulted and consent be obtained. Nevertheless, this review is being written in order to address a number of issues important issues that come with PMSR. Since, such practice is still in its infancy and little data is present, it is difficult to reach any definite answers or conclusions, especially since there is little legislation to produce a framework of guidelines and practices. However, this review might help in furthering the discussion especially since ethical opinions will vary depending on cultural and religious values. Also, the issue is not merely medical and relies also on moral ethical and religious values. A debate will allow for common guidelines to be achieved and with time implemented for future practice and improvement on the subject.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Dont Say A Word :: essays research papers

Don’t Say A Word was what Nathan Conrad heard from his daughters’ kidnappers. This movie was intense and heart stopping. It all started out in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in November of 1991. Five men commit a bank robbery to steal one prize jewel. After the robbery, the five men split into two groups and took two different get-away vehicles. One vehicle had three men and the other had two men. The vehicle with two men contained â€Å"Jon Doe† (name never mentioned) and another anonymous man. These two men planned on stealing the jewel from their partners throughout the entire crime; they were successful in doing so. It showed the two men laughing and having a drink as they split open Jon Doe’s daughter; Elizabeth Burrows, doll to conceal the jewel inside of the doll, named Nilempha. Ten years later the movie continues on with a well-known psychiatrist named Nathan Conrad on the day before Thanksgiving. One of Nathan’s previous co-workers paged him and said it was an emergency to come directly to the Bridgeview Psychiatric Hospital to see a patient named Elizabeth Burrows who has just sliced a man with a razor numerous times. Elizabeth had been institutionalized for the past ten years in twenty different institutes; this showed she was extremely disturbed. When Nathan arrived at the Hospital, he met Elizabeth and found she had not eaten, had anything to drink, or spoken since her arrival. He also noticed she had numerous bruises and scars in areas known for suicide attempts. When she was a young girl she watched her father, Jon Doe, from the previous robbery brutally murdered in a subway. The other men, who helped him commit the crime found him, beat him and threw him in front of a subway train. The men who did this were arrested and tried, but were now out of prison and looking for her. This is why she stayed in the hospitals because she felt safe. He tried to speak to her and with no replies he began to walk out when she said, â€Å"You want what they want†, he turned and asked her what she meant. She repeated herself and then sang, â€Å"I’ll never tell†. With this Nathan grew curious as to who â€Å"they† were. He stayed at the hospital until close to ten o’clock PM before returning home to his wife and eight-year-old daughter, Jessie.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Moving to a New House

Annonymous Professor Licata Enc 1101 W, 17 21 Oct. 2011 We Need More Room To hear the news of my mother’s new pregnancy was quite an excitement, yet I knew I would have to discuss with my mother why I believed it would be of essence to move to a much bigger house, this would mean that the new triplets would have a room of their own, and my brother Alex and I could have one as well. I informed my mother of the three important differences between our real house and our dream home would be the size, amenities, and location are more important factors with a larger family. One important difference between our real home and our dream home would be size. Our current home is only 1,007 square feet. This is not going to be sufficient space for our increasing family. Like two lions fighting over whom will eat the buffalo, we would be fighting over living space, specially with eight people living in an overcrowded house that has only two bedrooms and one bathroom. If we moved to a house that was 6,589 square feet, 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, we would be more contented with all the additional space. No more fussing about who gets to use the bathroom next. Like animals, humans are also very territorial, and the less space we have to live in, the more hostile our environment becomes. A more important difference between our real house and our dream house would be amenities. Seeing as to how we are a family that loves to watch movies and have family time after dinner, having a Sony WEGA 32 inch television is not cutting it for us. There are times when the quality of the TV is so terrible, that we cannot even recognize the different colors being displayed on the screen. â€Å"Tell me it wouldn’t be better if we had our own Yalos Diamond LCD TV in our new home! † I said to her. Everyone could sit around the TV and enjoy more flicks, with an HD quality. â€Å"Also, you wouldn’t have to worry about me and Alex ever fighting about who gets to use the Nintendo 64 Next during our family time. † In our dream house we would have our own gaming room filled with a WII, Xbox 360, and Play Stations. Although, amenities are important, they are not the most important difference as to why we should move to a bigger house. The most important difference between our current home and our dream home would have to be location. â€Å"But what does Location have to do with anything that matters? † asked my mom as she sat on the small rocking chair outside our front door. â€Å"It makes a big difference mom! † I exclaimed to her. We live in a neighborhood called Oakridge in Orlando, Florida. This is an exceptionally dangerous area to be at late at night, and to make matters worse, a reporter from the News 13 said and I quote â€Å"This is a neighborhood where the criminal and robbery rate are occurring more often. † We live in the poor regions of Oakridge where we are most vulnerable to all these approaching dangers. â€Å"Do you really want to bring three baby infants into this environment? † However, if we were to move to Windermere, we would still be able to live in Orlando, Florida and in a more family oriented, safe environment. Mom, they are a gated community, no more distressing about break-ins or somebody robbing us. Everyone would be safe and secure at all times. Our family can finally be at ease mom. † To conclude all, the three differences between our real house and dream house are very important because of the new triplets. It would be in our best interest to move to our dream house. We would all live more comfortably in a larger size home , have extra fun during our family time thanks to the additional amenities, and our family will be much safer in the new location we move to.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Aesthetics and cultural theory The WritePass Journal

Aesthetics and cultural theory Introduction Aesthetics and cultural theory IntroductionReferencesRelated Introduction Subjectivity is the starting point of Hegel’s statement. His lectures on aesthetics give the significance of art within his philosophy while the German period of romanticism is being explained and critiqued. Recent theorists such as Theodor Adorno, Paul Guyer and Arthur Danto based their views on aesthetics from Hegel’s outlook on art. All support that Hegelian idealism was introduced with a poor consequence of personal subjectivity. The idealistic philosophers argued that only our conscience has real status and that the physical world is only a product of consciousness. The idealism (or utopianism) is closely linked to the religion either directly or indirectly and all philosophies based on this term are supporting the existence of a superior power that can not be interlinked with human’s capability. The most effective way of understanding the whole concept of idealism is to study directly the forefather of all theorists. Plato in his book, ‘The Republic’, gives an allegory (the ‘cave) to represent idealism in it’s simpler form. He describes men sitting in a dark cave who are chained in such a way that they can look in only one direction. Few meters behind them, light comes out of a fire which casts their shadows towards a wall they cannot see. Plato asks us to imagine those men in that specific position for their entire life. Having no experience of anything else, these men understand what they have experienced before reality is being represented to them. The philosopher continues with his metaphor and asks us to visualise that those prisoners got unchained and faced the existence of the fire and the shadows. They begin to have a sense of the environment they lived in.  The allegory ends, with Plato explaining that those men in the cave are us. As a consequence, we experience the world with our only five senses, but  as a matter of fact ‘our world’ is made with images and three-dimensional shadows. He claims that our mind has absoluteness perfection (‘absolute mind’). As we loo k into sun and turn away for protecting our eyes, thats how we turn back into the cave, in our safe place of sense perception. Now, modern idealism puts forward a cognitive human activity and attributes to a self-determined reality, such as the ‘absolute truth’ and creativity. Two German recent idealism theorists, J. G. Fichte and Friedrich von Schelling, which came to a climax in an absolute idealism of Hegel, started giving their explanation with a refutation of the uncertain thing-in-itself. However, Hegel formulated a complete structure of thought about art and the world. Most importantly, he hold up that reality should be logical, so that it’s eventual framework will be shown by our own thoughts. He did not think that symbolic, so by extension, conceptual art, has the ability to surpass the high nature of classical Greek art and its representational/imitative abilities. This is because, as he explains, since symbolisms, depend on the knowledge of man of the earth and society, and because, we can never know everything about the human psyche, trying to represent it with symbolisms, is just not enough. Hence, imitative art, which is what classical Greek sculptures, are of a much higher regard to Hegel, than symbolic art. He describes it as ‘the sensuous presentation of ideas’. It is in the communication of ideas excluding the connection between our reason and our sensory faculty and is distinctive successful. Modern aesthetic theorists turn first and f oremost to Kant, an 18th century German philosopher, and the historical convention of German romanticism to utilize the role of ‘pessimistic’ art. Hegelian view comes to support that art does more than sabotage the non†aesthetic. Thus, modern art can preferable take in contemporary artistic practices. Both theorists connect that art is superior to the external world, both opposed to appetite and enjoyment. Hegel gives his philosophy on art that is, as a whole, his main philosophical system. For us, to comprehend his philosophy of art we must understand his philosophy as a whole. Similar with Aristotle’s way of thinking, Hegel believes that the investigation of logic could lead to a key system of reality. Thus, logic is being characterised as dialectical. Poetry for Hegel seem not to have something physical as a sculpture. In that way, music according to him is the least spiritual form of art. On the other hand, Kant stated as an important matter that a generic explanation of the world could lead to an opposite observation. But Hegel explained that those two notions could be integrated by a move to a different way of thinking. Consequently, our mind moves from thesis, to antithesis, to synthesis[4]. This could be seen in history, nature and cultural progress. All the thinking consists by the idea (thesis), which antithesis is nature, while combining (synthesis) the two it forms t he spirit. This could also be named as the ‘absolute’ itself and is examined in more detail in Hegel’s ‘Phenomenology of Spirit’ as a transformation from subjective to objective to the absolute spirit. He is examining the organised structures in humanity giving absolute freedom and self determination to be essential. Those vitals principles include the practice of right, having a family and being part of a civil society (state). The most developed and sufficient perception of spirit is achieved by philosophy. It provides a conceptual understanding of the nature of reason while it describes why reason must take the form of time, space, life, matter and self-conscious spirit. In Christianity, however, the procedure which the ‘idea’ or ‘reason’ turns into self-conscious spirit is symbolised with metaphors and images as the procedure where God turns into spirit lies within humans. This is the process we place our belief and faith rather our notion of understanding. Hegel supports that humans cannot live   with just the hypothesis of things but also need to trust the truth. He asserts that ‘is in religion that a nation defines what is considers to be tr ue’. According to Hegel, art is different from religion or philosophy and it’s purpose is the formation of beautiful objects in which aesthetically pleasing indication is coming through. Therefore, the main target of art is not impersonate nature but to give us the opportunity to look at images being made by non-materialistic freedom. In other words, art exists not just for the purpose of having ‘art’ but for beauty. This union of freedom and beauty from Hegel shows his obligation to two other theorists, Schiller and Kant. Kant goes further to analyse that our understanding of beauty is a form of freedom. He explains, by judging an object or a piece of art as beautiful, we are discernmenting about a thing. By this we are declaring that the ‘thing’ or object has an effect on us, thus everyone will have the same effect. This results to a comprehension and   vision in ‘free play’ with each other, and it is this delight that comes from the ‘free play’ that guides us to our judgment if something is nice or not. Schiller comes in contrast with Kant which explains beauty as a belonging of the object itself. He stress that freedom is independent from our mind (Kant describes as ‘noumena’). ‘Freedom in appearance, autonomy in appearance [] that the object appears as free, not that it really is so’’ However, in Hegel’s view on beauty, is being described as the complete manifestation of freedom. It can be seen or sound like a sensory expression. Hegel moves a step further to explain that beauty can be created by nature but as he calls a ‘sensuous’ beauty’ it can only be found through art which can be produced by people. For him, beauty has symmetrical qualities. It has elements that are not organised in a framework but are joined organically. We were told, as he explains, that the Greek outline is beautiful, because the nose is flawless under the forehead while the Roman human profile has more sharper angles between them. Nevertheless, beauty’s importance is not only the shape but also the content. Modern art-theorists disagree with Hegel’s theory of beauty and art. They claim that art can include any content. This content is described in religion as God, then a beautiful art could be seen as angelic. Nonetheless, Hegel insists that Godly art is through a humankind form as freedom. He understands that piece of art could consists of nature such as plants or animals but he thinks that art is responsible to show the angelic form, as mentioned before. Only a human can represent reason and spirit through colors and sounds. Art, in Hegel’s eyes, is metaphorical. Not because it always comes to copy what is in nature, but the main motivation of art is to communicate and represent what he explained as a ‘free spirit’. It can mostly be attained   throughout humans and images. Particular, art exist to remind our mind that us, as human beings, have freedom and try not to forget the truth within ourselves. It is the only way the ‘freedom of spirit’ could be seen in it’s simplest form. The contradiction with art is that it links truth all through romanticised images made by someone. As mentioned before, according to Hegel, this spirit and beauty could be found through ancient Greek sculptures (Aeschylus, Praxiteles, Phidias and Sophocles). The German philosopher explains that are a lot of things we can be named as ‘art’, such as the Greek sculptures mentioned before, Shakespearian plays, but not everything is entitled to be called like that. This is because not everything represent what ‘true’ art really is. He sets some standards that a piece of work has to meet in order to be beautiful art. References BBC magazine, A Point of View: Why are museums so uninspiring? (London, BBC, 2011)bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12308952 [accessed 11 mar 2011] Hegel G. W. F., Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, (Oxford: University Press, 1977) Hegel G. W. F., Hegel’s Aesthetics: Lectures on fine art, Know, vol.1 (Oxford: University Press, 2010) Hegel G. W. F., Hegel: Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion: Volume II: Determinate Religion: Determinate Religion v. 2 (Oxford: University Press, 2007) Immanuel Kant, ‘Kant: Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason: And Other Writings’ (Cambridge, University Press, 2004) Jason M, Miller, ‘Research Proposal’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Notre Dame, 2004), p.2 Robin, Waterfield, ‘Plato’s Republic’   (Oxford: University Press, 2008) Stephen, Houlgate, ‘Hegel’s aesthetics’, (The Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy, 2009)http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hegel-aesthetics/ [accessed 15 Mar 2011] Schiller, Friedrich,   ‘Kallias or Concerning Beauty: Letters to Gottfried Kà ¶rner†, in Classical and Romantic German Aesthetics’, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003)