The role of sociology during Wars Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The role of sociology during Wars - Term Paper Example Since a lot of assets are at stake during a war, it is crucial to resolve the crises and in order to do so understanding the root causes is very important. This paper aims at discussing how sociology can play a crucial role in predicting, understanding and thus, avoiding wars. Sociology is the study of societies, usually modern ones which comprises of people being the sole fundamentals or building blocks of the society, and thus understanding the psyche and societal roles of these people can help understand war more effectively, as proposed by the sociologists (Stanchak 2000). The first part of the thesis comprises of the role of sociology in understanding the concept of war which is the sole pre-requisite for predicting and thus, resolving the issues which have the potential of turning into a war like situation. In this context, Lachmann (2012) argues that war can be traced back in history and can thus be studied in terms of benefits and losses for individuals or groups within individuals. For instance, he states that citizens of a nation associate their collective interests with the state authority, and the state in turn seeks benefits from the state in terms of taxes and services etc. Thus, over the years, the state has developed strong control over the citizens in terms of controlling their socio-economic lives either directly or indirectly, and in this global world, the same benefit and loss patterns have resulted into conflicts between states over resources which are already in scarcity. Supporting this argument, another proposition posed by Shaw (2 007) can be stated which indicates that the reasons behind wars can be related to sociological patterns across society. This implies that war rather than being taken as an absolute entity should rather be studies as general conflicts between individuals or groups, and he focuses on the concept of genocide where a certain group attacks an un-armed group of people to pursue their personal interests. In other

What did the Greeks ever do for us Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

What did the Greeks ever do for us - Essay Example The dictionary typically defines philosophy as â€Å"the love of or search for wisdom or knowledge† or â€Å"as the theory or logical analysis of the principles underlying conduct, thought, knowledge and the nature of the universe† (Neufeldt, Goralnik, 1994, p. 1015). With such a general definition, one might begin to understand the complexities involved in studying philosophy as it seems to encompass just about all knowledge pursuits. Perhaps part of the confusion in trying to define the term can be found in the early days of the science when it applied almost universally to all avenues of knowledge in ancient Greece. The term itself derives from an ancient Greek word that translates to â€Å"love of wisdom† (Wikipedia, 2005) and it is through several early Greek thinkers that we have arrived at the perceptions we now foster. Although philosophy and its early proponents have had a huge impact on the shape of modern Western thought, for the purpose of brevity, th is paper will only discuss how some of the key Greek philosophers have influenced modern conceptions of ethics and morality in a very general sense.Within this discussion, it is important to understand that the definition of ethics as it is considered by philosophers does not merely constitute a choice between right and wrong behavior.