The ones who walked away from Omelas free essay sample

â€Å"The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas† by Ursula Le Guin In the short story, â€Å"The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas†, by Ursula Le Guin, the author tells the story of the beautiful and happy city of Omelas. Everything and everyone in Omelas seems to prosper, making Omelas seem like a perfect city and Utopian society. However hidden deep down in the darkness somewhere beneath the city of Omelas is the city’s secret, a young child is kept there, starving, tortured, forbidden of any happiness, and never to see the light of day. In order for this so called â€Å"perfect city† to exist, this child must live in endless misery and woe. In Le Guin’s writing of this story, she explores various binary oppositions, toleration, and the topic and use of a scapegoat, in order to create a metaphor of social injustice, discrimination, and human rights violations, which occur all around us today. We will write a custom essay sample on The ones who walked away from Omelas or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The people of Omelas justify the misery and torture of the one child, â€Å"they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvests and the kindly weather of their skies, depend wholly on this child’s abominable misery† (Le Guin, 5). They believe that it is a necessary evil that must exist in order for them to live their luxurious and beautiful lives. Their toleration turns from ignorance to unlawful neglect. Jovan Babic critics this point of view in his journal on ethics and his critique of the topic of toleration, â€Å"Tolerance involves absorbing the attitude that others may have and act upon a definition of â€Å"the Good† which is different from our own. † (227). According to Jovan Babic’s definition of tolerance, the people of Omelas do not possess true toleration with regards to the misery of the young child, but what do they possess? Jovan Babic answers this question as well, â€Å"it is quite easy to substitute for genuine toleration its pretend version. This so-called toleration may in fact generate very intolerant attitudes and behaviors. † (227). The people of Omelas possess this fake sense of toleration, they believe that by tolerating the suppression of one young child, that they are benefitting the entire city as a whole. They believe that â€Å"happiness is based on a just discrimination of what is necessary, what is neither necessary nor destructive, and what is destructive† (Le Guin, 2). That being said the people believe that the misery of the child is a necessary evil, a price that they are willing to pay in order to keep their false sense of happiness and well being. Do we not do this today? Are there not times when we, the human race, look away when someone faces discrimination because it would inconvenience us? If we do not stand up for these so called â€Å"child’s beneath Omelas†, then we are no different than the people of Omelas who live in luxury and prosperity whilst an innocent child is tortured deep beneath their perfect city. Throughout the short story, â€Å"The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas†, there are various binary oppositions that Le Guin purposely buried into her writings and descriptions of the so-called perfect city of Omelas. The story is filled with them and they all point back to the greater binary opposition of good vs. evil as a whole. David L. Porter notes that the â€Å"unity and equilibrium of good and evil in human nature reflects on the individual scale the larger universal balance and interdependence of opposites in the broader natural world† (243) Without good there can exist no evil, and without evil there can exist no good, ironically the two go hand in hand. In the story of Omelas the young child involuntarily takes upon himself all the sadness, despair, failure, etc. and the people of Omelas are then blessed with a lifetime of prosperity void of the evils of life. Lee Cullen Khanna points out these binary oppositions in her essay on Ursula Le Guin’s writing, â€Å"Beyond Omelas, Utopia, and Gender†. Some examples that Khanna noted included â€Å"Utopian citizens parade, in unity and joy, into their beautiful city; dissenting citizens walk alone and sorrowfully away from it† (48), â€Å"the young flute player is†¦ juxtaposed with the suffering child of the same age† (48), and â€Å"Utopian accomplishment is suggested in the city’s glorious public buildings, even as the dark basement houses the secret sufferer† (48). The people of Omelas need to realize that with every good comes an evil, one cannot live his life without feeling of the malice’s of the world. Sometimes it is best to just embrace the bad things of the world and let them happen, not to cover them up and direct them elsewhere, as the people of Omelas did. By directing the misery and woes of the people of Omelas to the child, they turned the child into a scapegoat. With all the people that live in endless happiness and luxury in the city of Omelas, someone has to take upon himself the pain and misery. The pain and misery cannot just vanish. The young boy plays this role. He is forced to take upon himself all the sadness and misery that goes on in the city of Omelas and as such he lives a torturous life in the darkness. The young boy involuntarily plays the role of a scapegoat in this story. Yes, some good comes from it, but at what cost? How can the endless misery and torture of a young innocent boy be worth it? The people of Omelas ought to take it upon themselves to save the young child. A â€Å"perfect city† that is fundamentally built upon the torture and injustice of a young and innocent child, can in no way be considered a â€Å"perfect city†. Throughout world history a scapegoat has been used as a source to which people have channeled the negativity of the world, whether Jew, Muslim, Christian, African American, Asian, etc. etc. all have at some point been a victim of being a scapegoat. It is human nature to search for a place to put the blame, often time it ends up being a minority. Subconsciously it seems, humans have become so numb to the injustice around them that when an injustice does occur, it is often overlooked and ignored. Even today in America people face social injustice based on the basis of race, gender, religion, and most notably today, sexuality. In 29 US states there are no laws that prevent the discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people (LGBT), in the workplace. This means that these people can be fired, denied promotion, and experience harassment on the job solely based on their sexuality (Employment, 1). Numerous times throughout history, LGBT people have been a scapegoat. Even today they’re blamed for the deterioration of the institution of marriage; however the divorce rate of heterosexual couples, which is nearly 50% seems to deteriorate the institution of marriage by far more than the expansion of marriage to homosexual couples, who have a divorce rate about half that of heterosexual couples (Hertz, 1). In order to prevent the American society from becoming like unto that of Omelas, where social injustice is a norm, the American people must first become aware of the social injustices’ and discrimination that occur all around. Then they must recognize and acknowledge that something must be done, and then do something about it. One flaw of those that walked away from Omelas was simply that they walked away. If someone is facing being discriminated against, one cannot just walk away from it, one should stand up and do something about it. Le Guin wanted people to realize this when she wrote â€Å"The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas†. She wanted people to become of aware of the social injustices that occur even today, and she wanted people to do something about it.

Mystical Experience as an Expression of the Idealizing Self object Need †Theology Paper

Mystical Experience as an Expression of the Idealizing Self object Need – Theology Paper Free Online Research Papers Mystical Experience as an Expression of the Idealizing Self object Need Theology Paper As the other in the religious conversion is perfect and infallible, the experience of merger achieves the felt quality of perfection rendering the transformed self perfect as well. The merger with God may offer the opportunity for a relationship that circumvents the demands of relationships with separate others who have wishes and needs of their own. (Ullman, 1989, p.147.) Introductory Comments about Religion and Psychology Throughout history human beings have reported experiences interpreted variously as spiritual, transcendent, religious, or mystical. Karen Armstrong (1993) called this an arresting characteristic of the human mind and a fact of life (p. xxi). Rudolph Otto (1923) referred to homo religiosus as a way of describing this uniquely human interest in the divine. Rolland challenged Freud about his omission of this aspect of religious experience in Future of an Illusion (1927). Freuds response was dismissive on two counts: first and most interesting, he had not experienced this oceanic feeling, and secondly, he thought it could be understood as a regressive phenomenon originating in infantile maternal longings. Laski (1961) wrote about the rare joy and feeling of contact with ultimate meaning of transcendent origin in ecstatic experiences. These experiences were not restricted to particular religious triggers. Maslow (1964; 1966) investigated peak experiences of contact with th e holy or sacred, the beauty of nature, and feelings of harmony with the universe. These were not rare and exotic experiences, but rather the pinnacle of his need hierarchy. And most recently, Jeffrey Rubin (1996; 1997) describes non-self-centered subjectivity: . . . a psychological-spiritual phenomenon that is implicated in a range of adaptive contexts . . . It is something many people have experienced, for example, creating art, participating in athletics or religious experiences, or in love. It is characterized by heightened attentiveness, focus, and clarity, attunement to the other as well as to self, non-self-preoccupied exercise of agency, a sense of unity and timelessness, and non-self-annulling immersion in whatever one is doing in the present (1997, p. 80) For the purpose of this chapter, I have chosen to delimit this range of experiences to particular kinds of mystical experiences in which there is an element of what Evelyn Underhill (1912) called the unitive feeling what is psychologically called a merger experience. Ellwood (1999) regards mysticism as an interpretive category and defines it as: . . . experience in a religious context that is immediately or subsequently interpreted by the experiencer as a direct, unmediated encounter with ultimate divine reality. This experience engenders a deep sense of unity and suggests that during the experience the experiencer was living on a level of being other than the ordinary. (p. 39) The attempt to understand mysticism psychologically has a history as long as psychology itself beginning with the French psychopathology tradition, continuing into German studies in psychology of religion, and on to the American psychologists of religion working at the turn of the twentieth century. James Leuba, a member of the Clark school (a program in religious psychology founded by G. Stanley Hall in the late 1800s), was convinced that religious experience lacked a transcendent object and could be explained entirely by psycho-physiological processes. He was perhaps the only American at the time to take such a strict point of view. There were many apologists. Henri Delacroix (1908) thought mystics possess a special aptitude for a rich subconscious life and that the stages of a mystics life represent new and creative existence. While not exactly an apologist, Theodore Flournoy (1903a), Swiss psychologist and friend of William James, suggested the principle of the exclusion of the transcendent as necessary for a genuine psychology of religion. He argued psychologists are not in a position to affirm or reject the independent existence of a religious object and should confine themselves to observation and understanding. The Gifford Lectures of 1901-1902 resulted in the premier psychology of religion at the time, William James The Varieties of Religious Experience. James assumed the same stance toward the religious object as Flournoy, and so have many others since. In psychoanalytic circles, Rizzutos Birth of the Living God (1979) has already become classic. She explains her position:This book is exclusively a clinical, psychoanalytical study of postulated superhuman beings as experienced by those who do and do not believe in them Questions about the actual existence of God do not pertain here. My method enables me to deal only with psychic experiences. Those among my patients who believe are unshakeable in their conviction that God is a very live person. To understand them I must accept that belief as a reality to them. (1979, pp. 3-4) More recent psychoanalytic treatments of religion, notably those of Jones (1991) and Rubin (1996; 1997) have called for a mutually (if not reciprocal) influencing relationship. Psychoanalysis is challenged by religion to examine its own idolatries, values, self-care ethic, and pathologizing tendencies. Religion is challenged to examine its uncritical self-idealization and the ways in which its practices and beliefs may promote or sustain psychopathology. Wulff calls for the principle of inclusion of the transcendent to give transcendence the prominence it deserves without reifying it or identifying it with any one tradition or set of symbols (1997, p. 645). Self psychology represents an example of a moderate position in its interpretation of religion, and suggests in contrast to the previous positions, that religious experience, belief and practice may be understood as an expression of the state of the self and its particular life-long needs for a sense of being special, a need for the experience of alikeness, and a need for affiliation with the admired. These selfobject needs for mirroring, twinship, and idealization may all be operative in mystical experiences and in experiences of the divine, as well as in adherence to particular religious beliefs and practices. Self Psychology with its developmental trajectories for each selfobject need, recognizes that the mere presence of religion does not automatically convey the meaning, function, or derivation of the experience within the personality. Clinicians countertransference or confusion about how to deal with the material, often results in religion being pathologized or ignored. Her ein lies the relevance of Meissners (1984) observation that many religious people are very anxious about exploring the unconscious dimensions of their faith, lest it be psychologized away, and the relevance of Kohuts observation that the insights of the psychology of the self enable us to shed our intolerant attitude toward religion . . . (1978). This chapter will explore certain aspects of mystical experience as an expression of the idealizing selfobject need. Kohuts developmental continuum of idealization will be reviewed with attention to optimal developmental experience and to expressions of pathological (or archaic) forms of idealization. The cases of Mr. X and Mr. U in Restoration (1977) and the implications of the idealizing selfobject need for a psychology of mystical/religious/spiritual experience are considered. The chapter concludes with the clinical vignette of Mr. S, the mystical experience he reported in light of the selfobject needs expressed inside and outside the treatment, and a series of questions for. The Idealizing Selfobject Need and Its Relation to Religious Experience In discussing the selfobject functions of religion, Kohut gave more attention to idealization than to mirroring or twinship. In some ways, idealization has the most obvious link to religion with its fundamental desire to merge with or affiliate oneself with the calming perfection and omnipotence of the selfobject. The object of mystical experience is often described with reference to power and perfection. The need or motivation for idealizing selfobject experience derives from the childs experience of the loss of his or her original sense of narcissistic perfection. The idealizing need reflects one strategy to the problem of recovering a sense of perfection. The self attempts to merge or affiliate with the perfect other sharing in the others perfection, thereby protecting oneself from an empty and depleted sense of a defective self. A more technical definition is offered in Analysis of the Self (1971):It is the state in which, after being exposed to the disturbance of the psycho logical equilibrium of primary narcissism, the psyche saves a part of the lost experience of global narcissistic perfection by assigning it to an archaic, rudimentary (transitional) self-object, the idealized parental imago. (p. 37) The idealizing experience and related inevitable disappointments in life (optimal frustrations) result in the internalization of basic values and ideals. In addition, the earliest merger experiences provide the foundation for development of the capacity to calm and soothe oneself, to manage anxiety without undue difficulty, to regulate inner tension. Eating disorders, substance abuse, compulsive sexual activity, and perhaps delinquent behavior are all evidence, at least in part, of a deficit in the capacity to soothe oneself, and by inference, of an early disturbance in the experience of the idealized selfobject. The Developmental Continuum of the Idealizing Need The earliest point on the developmental trajectory of the idealizing selfobject need is experienced by the infant as a merger with the stable, calm, non-anxious, powerful, wise, protective selfobject that possesses the qualities the self lacks (Wolf, 1988, p. 55). Kohut (1971) described the experience of the child feeling bereft and insignificant without constant union with the selfobject who possesses these idealized qualities. Development progresses toward being able to recognize details of the environment more clearly; and beyond being able to love and hate (Kohut, 1971, p.38). The later, or more mature end of the continuum is illustrated by the capacity to be sustained by and to feel secure in the empathic resonance (rather than merger) with the idealized selfobject. The calming functions and ideals of the selfobject have been internalized and assimilated, becoming psychological structures within the self. Imperfections are observed in (reality) without resorting to splittin g defenses in which everything is either all good or all bad. The self learns to recognize and accept that the ideal is not ideal (Kohut in Elson, 1987, p. 81). Merger with the idealized selfobject and the requirement of perfection in the other gradually give way to a clearer and more realistic sense of the surround. This occurs through a process of de-idealization and transmuting internalization in which the child experiences incremental disappointments in an empathic environment and becomes increasingly realistic about the idealized parent imago. Kohut suggested, for example, that the experience of a childs undetected lie by the parents introduces the fact that the parents are not omniscient. Kohut also speculated that a maturational readiness to perform the function, as well as some withdrawal of the function by the selfobject would enhance the more mature development of the idealizing need (Kohut in Elson, 1987, p.98). To summarize, the developmental trajectory of the idealized selfobject experience begins in a merger with the perfect other in an effort to manage tension regulation and feelings of insignificance and imperfection. In the oedipal phase, acceptance of the childs idealizing needs plays a crucial role in superego formation and in the formation of gender identity. In adolescence and young adulthood, more advanced cognitive development permits the recognition of parental shortcomings. Often, idealization needs are directed to the peer group and popular culture until the adolescent and young adult have internalized his or her own set of ideals, values, and goals. Wolf noted the adolescents own values consist of partly parental, partly cultural, and partly a critique of both (1988, p. 58). In old age, there is a need to idealize community and to be confirmed as an especially valuable guide and model for the communitys ideals (Wolf, 1988, p. 60). Effects of Developmentally Inadequate Idealization Experience Generally speaking, insufficient empathy for the childs idealizing needs results in the continuation of archaic expressions of idealization into adulthood. Insufficient empathy may be characterized by a rejection of the childs idealizations, or by sudden loss of or extensive disappointment in the idealized selfobject, such as may occur in situations of divorce, substance abuse, domestic violence, or death. Wolf described the ideal-hungry personality as being able to experience him or herself worthwhile only by finding selfobjects to whom they can look up and by whom they can feel accepted (Wolf, 1988, p. 73). It is worth noting here that Ullman (1989) observed many converts were struggling with feelings of unworthiness and low-self-esteem prior to their religious or spiritual experiences. Excessive frustration in infancy and early childhood may result in difficulty sleeping (self-soothing) and difficulty managing anxiety. Traumatic disappointment up to and through the oedipal phase seriously interferes with the capacity to assume functions related to positive idealizing experiences (i.e., structuralization) and may result in a kind of developmental fixation, a renewed insistence on, and search for, an external object of perfection (Kohut, 1971, p. 44). There can be gross identification with the lost parent rather than an internalizing of structure (identification as a counter to the experience of mourning, Freud, 1917 E). In Restoration of the Self (1977), Kohut discussed the case of Mr. U in which there was significant failed maternal empathy and the development of a fetish. An attempt to idealize the father followed. The idealizing function the mother might have allowed Mr. U, as an infant, was a merger with her strength and calmness, thus assisting him to develop a capacity for self-soothing. Instead he resorted to stroking his own skin and the soft selfobject surrogates of his fetish. The turn to the father at this juncture is considered a secondary idealization. The father rejected Mr. Us attempts to use him as an idealized parent imago and therefore Mr. U had no opportunity to obtain self-soothing structures through this potential merger, nor any opportunity to incrementally experience de-idealizations allowing integration of the selfobjects shortcomings. This resulted in two opposite responses to the disappointment: 1) Mr. U became despairing and hopeless about an unreachable ideal, and 2 ) the ideal was regarded as worthless; he became superior to it (Kohut, 1977, pp. 56-57). The archaic grandiose self was reactivated in response to the injury of being rebuffed by the idealized parent imago. Kohuts further notation has relevance for understanding the function of religious experience. Mr. U created,. . . a psychological situation of merger with a nonhuman selfobject that he totally controlled, and thereby deprived himself of the opportunity to experience the structure-building optimal failures of a human selfobject. (1977, p.56) In a similar vein, Kohut (1984) revisited this notion of creating substitute selfobjects through visual imagery when there seemed to be no plausible selfobjects in ones environment. Specifically, he suggested a self psychology refinement of the concept of regression-in-service-of-the-ego and spoke of a positive evaluation of the capacity to conjure up the presence of individuals [in order] to carry out acts of supreme courage (Kohut, 1984, p. 76). He had in mind martyred resisters to the Nazis. In noting the selfobject transference in the treatment situation as a new edition of the relation between the self and selfobject in early life, Kohut reported several cases with religious preoccupations. In one case he was treating (during the early stages of his self psychology theory development), Kohut consistently refused the patients idealization. She became deeply religious and continued the unresolved idealizing transference in an intense religious experience (Kohut in Elson, 1987, p. 77). Regarding his work with a young man whose idealized father died when he was nine years old, and who expressed interest in the figures of Gandhi, Jesus, and Martin Luther King, Kohut concluded, There is a shift from the attempt to regain a lost personified strong ideal to a religious-like drifting attitude toward the world (Kohut in Elson, 1987, p. 286). It was Kohuts experience that when a treatment ended with an incompletely analyzed idealizing transference, the patient often became preoccupied with religion or broad religious attitudes. Kohut explicitly said he was not adverse to religion, but that in some patients he felt the religious interest was psychologically obligatory and not freely chosen. In one case, the religious interest was maintained all the time against reality resulting in a pollyannaish attitude that everyone was good, an attitude that mitigated against a more needed realism in the patients job and his hiring practices (Kohut in Elson, 1987, p. 287). In Restoration (1977), the case of Mr. X illustrates again the pathological implications of an inadequate idealized parent imago. He presented himself to Kohut with an interest in joining the Peace Corps and with a Christ-identification, both of which Kohut came to regard as the carriers of an archaic grandiose self. One aspect of his difficulties had been the mothers interference with Mr. Xs idealization of his father. The structural defects that resulted were dealt with by concretized erotic enactments. For example, Mr. X. would feel suffused with idealized masculine strength when he imagined himself crossing his penis with the penis of the priest as he was receiving the Host. Kohut understood it necessary to shift Mr. X from an addictive erotic representation to a reactivation in the transference of Mr. Xs relation to his father, the idealized selfobject. This required shedding the Christ-identification his mother had fostered in her Bible reading to him and simultaneously di sengaging the father-surrogate, God, which had represented his mothers unconscious imago of her own father (1977, p. 218). While Kohut theorized the possibility that participating in religion or spirituality could meet appropriate selfobject needs, it is clear that he also viewed involvement in things religious as potentially serving pathological or defensive functions within the personality. Implications for Religious Belief and Experience The developmental fate of the idealized parent imago, whether mature or archaically vulnerable to narcissistic injury, may find expression in some form of spirituality. Whether in particular theological beliefs or in varieties of religious experience, the need to affiliate with perfection can often be observed in both the characterizations of the divine as well as in the emotional longings which precede many conversion experiences. Ullman (1989) interviewed converts to Catholicism, Judaism, Hinduism, and the Bahai faith and concluded that the religious realities of these converts consisted primarily of the promise of unconditional love and protection by a figure perceived as infallible, rather than in an ideological search for the truth (p. 191). Kohut introduced the consideration of mystical experience and nature religion in his discussion of archaic idealizing needs and the concept of fuzzy idealism. He noted two expressions of fuzzy idealism in religious experience. The first related to what he called vague religious preoccupations which lacked focus upon a clearly delimited admired figure (1971, p. 85). As noted above, idealizing transferences deflected by the therapist that remain unengaged in the treatment sometimes resulted in the patients turn to religion or spirituality. The predisposition for such a turn related to early developmental disruptions in the idealized selfobject experience. Secondly, the early loss of or traumatic disappointment in an idealized figure sometimes resulted later in an interest in nature religion or philosophy (e.g., Thoreaus work). The appeal of these experiences is the absence of a human being experienced as selfobject who may disappoint again. The fuzziness of these idealizations p rotects the believer from a certain form of narcissistic injury while at the same time providing a needed experience of idealization. Kohut also observed the not infrequent presence of a tendency to mystical merger experiences in archaic expressions of the idealizing selfobject need. The dynamic of merger was the key focus for Kohut and suggested to him a response to earlier developmental expressions of this selfobject need. It is significant to note that he discussed both healthy and pathological forms of merger. Healthy merger must be initiated from the mature aspect of the personality, should not be the only automatic response to stress, should be controlled and controllable, should be a choice, and should be capable of tolerating delay (Kohut in Elson, 1987). In contrast, pathological merger experiences in adulthood are a response to the inadequately fulfilled, phase appropriate merger needs of childhood. Kohut noted that in actual behavior, though there is a longing for an intense archaic merger experience, the more typical protective response is a strict avoidance of circumstances and experiences that mi ght provoke a feared regression and a loss of control. In psychology of religion studies, there is basic agreement as to the major characteristics of mystical experience regardless of era or tradition (James, 1902; Underhill, 1911; Leuba, 1925; Otto, 1923; Stace, 1961; Hood, 1975, 1977, 1978; Ellwood 1999). James concluded The Varieties with an observation about mysticism: personal religious experience has its root and centre in mystical states of consciousness (p.292). He had suggested four marks that justify the name of mystical: 1) ineffability the experience is difficult to articulate (p. 292); 2) noetic quality new states and depths of insight which are ususally authoritative for the individual (p. 293); 3) transiency the experience lasts no more than one-two hours; 4) passivity . . . the mystic feels as if his [or her] own will were in abeyance, and indeed sometimes as if he [or she] were grasped and held by a superior power. (p. 293) An additional characteristic discussed is union. This overcoming of all the usual barriers between the individual and the Absolute is the great mystic achievement. In mystic states we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware of our oneness (1902, p. 321). Following a review of the literature, Ellwood concluded, . . . what the pattern finally says is simply that there is a direction toward union in the serious spiritual life. While common motifs may appear, no two advances toward union are the same (1999, p. 175). A few brief quotations illustrate this characteristic longing for union. From Catherine of Sienna, a thirteenth century mystic: My me is God (in Flinders, 1993). From Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, about her conversion to Roman Catholicism: . . . but I wanted to be poor, chaste, and obedient. I wanted to die in order to live, to put off the old man and put on the Christ. I loved, in other words, and like all women in love, I wanted to be united to my love (1952/1981, p. 149). Thomas Merton, a 20th century priest and theologian, wrote poignantly of the longing to close the distance he felt between himself and God: My God it is the gap and the distance that kills me. That is the only reason why I desire solitude to be lost to all created things, to die to them and the knowledge of them . . . For I knew it was only by leaving them that I could come to you (1948, p. 461).The experience of union or merger in mystical experience is a controversial topic in r eligious and psychological circles. Merton (1966) suggested regressive features in mystical experience are not uncommon and are even necessary to attain the earlier stages of the experience, but that deeper experiences should be beyond regressive elements. Though Mertons attitude seems open, the rejection of regressive elements in deeper, presumably more mature kinds of mystical experience suggests an equating of regression with pathology. Traditional psychoanalysis has regarded mystical experience as a regression to the narcissistic state of the infant. However, as noted earlier, Kohut recognized the narcissistic dimensions of religious experience, allowing for both archaic and mature transformations of narcissism. Self psychology brings a more complex psychological understanding to these phenomena. It appreciates how the seeking of union or merger may manifest as a psychologically regressive phenomenon, but may be in the service of the ego in utilizing religious experience to realize the nuclear program of ambitions and the actualization of certain ideals (e.g., Gandhi or Day). Or, in mystical experiences, the merger may assuage the narcissistic vulnerability of possible re-traumatization with idealizing selfobjects. As Ullman noted (1989), merger with God protects from the demands of other relationships at greater risk for disappointment and thus the possibility of increased awareness of ones imperfections. Clinical Vignette In the clinical setting it is sometimes difficult to clearly separate specific selfobject needs from one another, and in this case there are significant mirroring needs as well as the idealizing focus of this chapter. Mr. S was a single, 28 yr. old graduate student, who sought psychotherapy for a long-standing problems with anxiety. In the second hour, he reported a life-changing event that he regarded as a mystical experience. I saw him intensively for one and a half years until an external situation necessitated a move out of state. He traced the beginning of his anxiety back to seventh grade when he began wondering about the nature of the universe. Was it predominantly benevolent or not? What was real? How did he know that this life was not just a part of a dream God might be having? What was the meaning of life?. He suffered much internal anguish and in the face of being unable to resolve these questions, put them aside. In the tenth grade, Mr. S experienced another expression of anxiety in the form of an obsession about his own mortality (the father was also afraid of death and hyper-vigilant about safety and contagion). At age 22, Mr. S suffered the most intense and nearly debilitating outbreak of anxiety yet, related to beginning a practicuum following college. He was aware of panic about doing a good job. The intensity of these attacks gradually abated, though he continued to experience a fairly consistent internal sense of dis-ease and anxiety that eluded his understanding. Family History Mr. S was the youngest child in his family and throughout the therapy, Mr. S said relatively little about his siblings or his parents. Mother died several years previous to the treatment after a protracted illness that began while Mr. S was in high school. The anxiety attacks had begun shortly after she left the family home requiring institutional care. Mothers illness and death were understood as connected in a significant way to Mr. Ss feelings that he should be doing something important with his life, perhaps as a way of redeeming her suffering. He thought this feeling had motivated him earlier to pursue leadership positions and to initiate charitable activities. Mr. S reported some fairly nominal involvement in mainstream Protestantism during his childhood. He recalled that in fourth grad, he was interested in god and the Devil for three or four months, and then had little or no interest in religion for another ten years. He was confirmed in eighth grade, but said it had meant nothing to him. He described himself as an agnostic who wanted to believe, but experienced himself in his early twenties as being frightened about closing his eyes to pray. He made a few efforts to attend retreat weekends and to do some reading in psychology and religion, but found these too emotionally taxing, at least until he had a life-changing conversion experience. The Religious Experience In the second session and with a great deal of hesitance about my response, Mr. S related a very significant experience, the details of which were more fully disclosed over the following months. He had been out with his girlfriend and was driving them back to her house. They had not been getting along very well and were in the midst of an argument when she turned to him and said, You are so self-centered. Before Mr. S could respond, he felt something coming into him and had to pull the car over because he could not concentrate on driving. He felt pervaded with an unconditional love that he had never before experienced, a sort of cosmic orgasm. He experience adoration for the Godhead and a presence within him. Mr. S felt that God had communicated with him and, in effect, had reassured him about the benevolent nature of the universe. There was nothing for him to fear. He described a vague visual element toward the end of this experience that seemed to be something like a slowl y swirling galaxy. The most intense part of the experience lasted about an hour. Mr. S was left convinced of the reality of God and that his life pursuit should be related in some way to disseminating the truth he had learned. This experience was a critical turning point for Mr. S. Subsequently, he felt a greater tolerance for his anxiety and felt that it had diminished. An earlier sense of needing to do something important with his life in a public arena was reinforced, as well as, confirming a sense of being special. More specifically, Mr. S seemed to identify himself with figures like Martin Luther and Abraham Lincoln in that perhaps like them, his internal suffering was a necessary preparation in order to do great things. Discussion Mr. Ss reactions to the therapeutic relationship seemed to follow Kohuts description of how persons with narcissistic personality disorders respond to empathic breaks, that is, instead of relying on the empathic connection with the therapist, there is a return to archaic selfobject relations. Following a feeling of greater attunement from the therapist, Mr. S would often come to the next session feeling disgruntled about therapy and feeling he expected answers from the therapist which only he could find. Only God could really understand him and I regarded this as regression to an archaic merger. Mr. Ss experiences of anxiety, the function of his religious experience, the confusion he felt about his ambition and his experience of grandiosity are difficulties illustrative of the various disturbances of a narcissistic personality disorder. He demonstrated aspects of a mirroring transference within the therapy (as evidenced by his soliciting my admiration, his vulnerability to mis-attunements, and his identifications with historically great figures). Also present was an extra-therapeutic dimension of an idealizing transference to certain male figures and to his experience of the divine. There were disturbances in at least two sectors of the self, the grandiose-exhibitionistic self and the idealized parental imago. The extent of Mr. Ss anxiety lead to the conclusion that there was a defect in the structure of the self, specifically, a deficiency in the calming structures which serve the self-soothing function of the idealized pole of the self. Kohut (1984) suggested that suc h a defect derived from either a congenital propensity to experience excessive anxiety and/or failure of empathic responses from selfobjects early in life. It can be inferred that Mr. S did indeed experience a failure of idealized maternal and paternal selfobject omnipotent calming, resulting in an adequate capacity for self-soothing. Though his anxieties had manifested in a number of ways, fundamentally it seemed that a disintegration anxiety had been stimulated early in life, a fear of destruction of the self based upon the unavailability of empathic selfobjects. This was related to mothers illness and death, and the loss of selfobject functions that she may have provided and the reactive feelings of being destined to do something great that immediately preceded her death. The emergence of archaic grandiosity could be understood as a defense against the impending loss, against the helplessness he felt as he watched his mothers condition deteriorate, against the demise of the preconscious wish in his dreams to rescue her in order to restore himself, and a retreat from the disappointment in his fathers inability to save the mother. Mr. S felt he needed to be God for himself. A vertical split was observed in his conscious fear of becoming a hamburger-flipping misfit in contrast to his feelings of being destined for great things. Healing these splits then became the underpinning for further psychological development. Mr. Ss experience contained classic mystical characteristics in the difficulty of articulating the experience; the new insight of a truth; transiency (the experience lasted about an hour); and passivity the experience came upon him. The experience may have served, initially, as a defense against a narcissistic injury and the potential fragmentation Mr. S experienced when his girlfriend made the observation of his self-centeredness. The exposure of his archaic grandiosity may have been threatened. The experience also functioned as a merger with a transcendently experienced, omnipotent and calm, idealized selfobject. This experience, and the return to it through less intense experiences of prayer and meditation for relief from anxiety, contained a schizoid quality in its avoidance of human intimacy. It may also have served as a creative adaptation through which Mr. S discovered a new selfobject and attempted to remobilize arrested development in the idealized sectors of his perso nality. The religious dimension of Mr. Ss life was not without its conflicts that expressed disturbances in the spheres of ambition and ideals. Mr. S reported having a great deal of resistance to praying and wondered why, since, There was no other feeling like it. During prayer, Mr. S observed that he had to become aware of himself as human, with difficulties and anxieties; that God was God, and he was not. On the other hand, it was during these times when Mr. S felt best about himself, when he was most real about himself. He felt okay, happy, joyful, and calm with an increased sense of self-esteem. Conclusion This chapter reviewed Kohuts concept of the idealizing selfobject need, its definitions and functions, and its developmental trajectories. The need to affiliate with perfection as a solution to the loss of ones own sense of perfection is especially relevant to a psychological understanding of mystical experience. Certain forms of mysticism function as a form of fuzzy idealism in which disappointment in the experience of human selfobjects is avoided by appealing to a vague sense of perfection. Union or merger dimensions were recognized as an aspect of mysticism, but one that does not automatically assume pathological meaning. The clinical vignette of Mr. S considered the adaptive functions of his religious experience in the consequent lessening of anxiety in his life, as well as how the experience served a protective function against the exposure of archaic grandiosity. A number of questions arise from these explorations. Does a developmental view necessarily have to imply that a merger experience is regressive in a pathological way? Postmodern perspectives challenge these linear models and the maturity morality implicit in them. Can psychological structure be accrued through experiences with a sacred other? Based on perception of the divine as empathic, are experiences of transmuting internalization possible (e.g., unanswered prayer as an optimal frustration)? Might God be viewed as a substitute selfobject created out of the absence of suitable selfobjects in ones environment (see Bacals notion of a fantasy self-object and A. Ornsteins concept of the curative fantasy)? How can the experience of self-transcendence from a self psychology perspective be understood? Are there reciprocal dimensions of influence between the spiritual experience and the therapeutic experience? How does the work in the transference affect ones spiritual experience and how might a spiritual experience affect the working through of a transference? What gender differences may be present in these experiences? Self psychology provides a helpful theoretical framework not only for a psychology of religion, but also for assisting the therapist/analyst in the clinical situation by suggesting a way to understand connections between selfobject needs, the transference, its genetic origins and developmental fate, and the relation of all this to the nature of a patients spiritual experience. Kohuts approach undeniably includes an empathic and therapeutic understanding of things spiritual and offers a deeper grasp of the role and function of this aspect of human experience. Unwittingly, he is very much in concert with that most famous psychologist of religion, William James who a century ago suggested that, To the medical mind these ecstasies signify nothing but suggested and imitated hypnoid states, on an intellectual basis of superstition, and a corporal one of degeneration and hysteria. Undoubtedly these pathological conditions have existed in many and possibly in all cases, but that tells us nothing about the value for knowledge of the consciousness which they induce. To pass a spiritual judgement upon these states, we must not content ourselves with superficial medical talk, but inquire into their fruits. (1902, p. 317) REFERENCES Armstrong, K. 1993. A history of God: the 4000 year quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Day, D. 1952. The long loneliness: An autobiography. San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers (1982). Delacroix, H. 1908. Etudes dhistoire et de psychologie du mysticisme. Les Grand mystiques chretiens. Paris: Felix Alcan. Ellwood, R. S. 1999. Mysticism and religion. Second edition. New York: Seven Bridges Press. Flinders, C.L. 1993. Enduring grace: Living portraits of seven women mystics. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Flournoy, T. 1903a. Les principesde la psychologie religieuse. Archives de psychologie, 2, 33-57. Freud, S. 1917E. Mourning and melancholia. In Freud: General psychological theory, pp. 164-179. New York: collier Books, 1963. ______. 1927. The future of an illusion. In The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (24 vols.). Vol. 21, 1961, pp. 1-56. Translated from the German under the general editorship of J. Strachey. London: Hogarth Press, 1953-1974. Goldberg, C. 1996. The privileged position of religion in the clinical dialogue. Clinical social work journal, 24, 125-136. Hood, R. 1975. The construction and preliminary validation of a measure of reported mystical experience of transcendence. Journal for the scientific study of religion, 12, 441-448. ______. 1977. Differential triggering of mystical experience as a function of self-actualization. Review of religious research, 18, 264-270. ______. 1978. Anticipatory set and setting: Stress incongruities as elicitors of mystical experience in solitary nature situations. Journal for the scientific study of religion, 17, 279-287. James, W. 1902. The varieties of religious experience. New York: Longmans Green. Jones, J. 1991. Contemporary psychoanalysis and religion: Transference and transcendence. New Haven: Yale University Press. Kohut, H. 1971. The analysis of the self: A systematic approach in psychoanalytic treatment of narcissistic personality disorders. New York: International Universities Press, Inc. ______. 1977. Restoration of the self. New York: International Universities Press, Inc. ______. 1978. The search for the self: Selected writings of Heniz Kohut: 1978-1981, Vols. I and II. Edited by Paul Ornstein. Madison, Connecticut: International Universities Press, Inc. ______. 1984. How does analysis cure? Chicago: University Press of Chicago. ______. 1987. The Kohut seminars on self psychology and psychotherapy with adolescents and young adults. Edited by Miriam Elson. New York: W.W. Norton and Co. Laski, M. 1961. Ecstasy: A study of some secular and religious experiences. London: Cresset Press. Leuba, J. 1925. The psychology of religious mysticism. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Maslow, A.H. 1964. Religion, values, and peak experiences. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. ______. 1968. Toward a psychology of being. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. Meissner, W. 1984. Psychoanalysis and religious experience. New Haven: Yale University Press. Merton, T. 1948. The seven storey mountain. New York: Octagon books, 1978, second printing, 1983. ______. 1966. Comments on Prince and Savages Mystical states and the concept of religion. In the R. M. Bucke memorial society newsletter. Otto, R. 1917. The idea of the holy: An inquiry into the non-rational factor in the idea of the divine and its relation to the rational. Translated by J. W. Harvey. London: Oxford University Press, 1923. Rizzuto, A. 1979. Birth of the living God: A psychoanalytic study. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Rubin, J.B. Psychotherapy and Buddhism: Toward an integration. New York: Plenum. ______. 1997. Psychoanalysis is self-centered. In Soul on the couch: Spirituality, religion, and morality in contemporary psychoanalysis. Edited by C. Spezzano and G.J. Garguilo. Hillsdale, New Jersey: The Analytic Press, pp. 79-108. Stace, W. T. 1960. The teachings of the mystics. New York: New American Library. Ullman, C. 1989. The transformed self: The psychology of religious conversion. New York: Plenum. Underhill, E. 1911. Mysticism. London: Methuen and Co. Wolf, E. S. 1988. Treating the self: Elements of clinical self psychology. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Wulff, D.M. 1997. Psychology of religion: Classic and contemporary. Second Edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Inc. Research Papers on Mystical Experience as an Expression of the Idealizing Self object Need - Theology PaperThree Concepts of PsychodynamicAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionMind TravelEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Assess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Genetic Engineering

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An Introduction To Logic Gates Essay

An Introduction To Logic Gates Essay Logic circuit is one that behaves like a switch, i.e. a two-positive devise with ON or OFF states. This is termed as binary device, in which the ON state is represented by 1 and the OFF state by 0. We require devising a logic statement which can be expressed in only one of two forms. For instance As you may know, computers store information in gigabytes, megabytes, and so on. The fundamental unit of storage is the bit or binary digit, which is similar to a switch. Like a switch, which has two states on or off, the bit has two states 1 and 0 (sometimes represented as true and false. We use this abstraction to represent numbers with the binary number system. In order to perform calculations, the computer manipulates bits by means of logical operations, which use inputs to yield a particular output based on the input bits states. To explicitly define the logic, we use truth tables which express the outputs in terms of all combinations of inputs. Examples of truth tables for logical operations are given below: Logical AND (i.e. A.B=C) Logical OR (i.e. A+B=C) Logical NOT (i.e. A) A useful way of representing these logical operations is by means of logic gates, which are pictorial representations of the logic. The most basic logic gates, which illustrate the Boolean logic of the above truth tables, are AND logic gate C=A.B OR logic gate C=A+B NOT logic gate B=A Using the logic gates above, we can create schematics of more complicated circuits. These combinational logic circuits involve feeding the output of one gate to the input of another gate. This allows us to create useful circuits that function according to our needs. Examples are provided below: F=X.Y.Z F=X+Y+Z F=X+Y.Z We probably know that calculators and computers store decimal (0-9) numbers as long strings of zeros and ones in a form called binary code. Each number is stored using microscopic electronic switches called transistors. Its easy to store binary numbers simply by switching transistors on and off. Switching on a transistor stores a number one; switching it off stores a zero. So storing numbers is easy. But how can you add, subtract, multiply, and divide using nothing but electric currents? Calculators and computers do these using clever electronic circuits called logic gates. Fig:1.1 Photo: A gate can keep we out or let we into a field. In the same way, a microscopic logic gate is a barrier in an electronic circuit that can let electricity through or stop it flowing altogether. Put lots of logic gates together and you make a machine thats capable of basic mathematical reasoning. TYPES OF LOGIC GATES: Logic gates: circuits that compare A logic gate might sound horribly complex, but its simply an electric circuit with two inputs and an output. It receives two incoming electric currents, compares them, and sends on a new, outgoing electric current depending on what it finds. A logic gate is a bit like a doorman or bouncer who is allowed to let people into a nightclub only if they pass certain tests. There are quite a few different types of logic gate, the most common of which are called AND, OR, NOT, XOR (Exclusive Or), NAND (NOT AND), and NOR (NOT OR). Lets look at the three simpler ones, AND, OR, and NOT: AND Suppose we went to a nightclub where the doormans job is to enforce a simple rule: Everyone in our group must wear a tie to come in. We went along with a friend one night. If were both wearing ties, youll get in. If only one of we is wearing a tie, or if neither of us is, neither of you will get in. An AND logic gate works the same way with two electrical inputs. If both inputs are switched on (that is, carry a number 1), the output will be 1 as well. Otherwise the output will be 0. In electronics, we can represent an AND gate with this little symbol. Three ways in which the gate can work are shown below. OR Were not wearing a tie, so you go to another club further down the street. Here, the person on the door is enforcing a different rule: A group of people can come in if any one of them is a member. If either we or our friend is a member, or if you both are members, we can both come in. If neither of we is a member, youre both left out in the cold. An OR logic gate works this way with two electrical inputs. If either input is switched on (that is, carries a number 1), the output will be 1 as well. Otherwise the output will be 0. In electronics, we represent an OR gate with a different symbol. Three ways in which it can work are shown beneath: NOT So far, weve failed to get into either of the clubs. But theres one last hope: you know a friend is having a party a few streets away. The only trouble is, theres a really argumentative and contrary person on the door. He talks to each person in turn as they approach him. If youre nice and polite, he shouts abuse at you and turns you away. But if youre rude to him, he likes that for some reason and lets you in. In other words, he does exactly the opposite of what youd expect! In electronics, theres a logic gate that works in the same, contrary way and its called a NOT gate or invertor. Unlike AND and OR gates, it has only one input and one output. The output is exactly the opposite of the input, so if the input is a 0, the output is a 1 and vice versa. Heres how we represent a NOT in electronics. Two ways it can work are shown beneath. The other three common logic gates are variations on these three. XOR (Exclusive OR) is like an OR, but it switches off if both the inputs are switched on. NAND is just like AND, only the end result is swapped over (so where AND produces an output of 1, NAND produces an output of 0). NOR is like OR with the end result swapped over in the same way. Calculators can do all the things they need to do using different combinations of logic gates. Its logic gates that control how the display works in a calculator and more logic gates that figure out the results of calculations. Lets take a closer look NAND gate This is a NOT-AND gate which is equal to an AND gate followed by a NOT gate. The outputs of all NAND gates are high i any of the inputs are low. The symbol is an AND gate with a small circle on the output. The small circle represents inversion.   NOR gate This is a NOT-OR gate which is equal to an OR gate followed by a NOT gate. The outputs of all NOR gates are low if any of the inputs are high. The symbol is an OR gate with a small circle on the output. The small circle represents inversion.   EXOR gate The Exclusive-OR gate is a circuit which will give a high output if either, but not both, of its two inputs are high. An encircled plus sign () is used to show the EOR operation. EXNOR gate The Exclusive-NOR gate circuit does the opposite to the EOR gate. It will give a low output if either, but not both, of its two inputs are high. The symbol is an EXOR gate with a small circle on the output. The small circle represents inversion. The NAND and NOR gates are called universal functions since with either one the AND and OR functions and NOT can be generated. Note: A function in sum of products form can be implemented using NAND gates by replacing all AND and OR gates by NAND gates. A function in product of sums form can be implemented using NOR gates by replacing all AND and OR gates by NOR gates. IMPLEMENTATION OF LOGIC GATES FIG: 1.2 130 ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR   The Friden 130 uses diode-resistor OR and AND logic gates, with transistor-based inverter, buffer, and flip-flop devices. It performs math operations in bit-serial form, using the magnetostrictive delay line as the medium for storing its working registers. Logic levels are 0 Volts representing logic 1, and -12 Volts (nominally) representing logic 0. The delay line input transducer is driven with a pulse of approximately 20V, and by the time the signal makes it to the other end of the delay line, the voltage induced in the transducer is approximately 35mV, or 35/1000ths of a volt. Digits are stored within the delay line as a series of pulses arranged in groups for each digit. Zero pulses represent a zero, and nine pulses represent a nine, with the numbers in-between represented by a number of pulses matching the number. As the pulses exit the delay line, they are amplified and fed into the counters (the A and/or D counters), which count the number of pulses in the digit to form a uniq ue five-bit identifier that represents the number. The counter registers are not configured as counters in the usual binary sense. They are instead configured as five stage switch-tail shift registers, such that they count in a sequence of shifting 1s. For example; 0 is represented as 00000; 1 as 10000; 2 as 11000; 3 as 11100; 4 as 11110; 5 as 11111; with 6 as 01111, and ending with 9 as 00001. With five flip flops, each counter can represent the numbers zero through nine as unique combinations of bit patterns. In terms of applying logic gates to real world applications, many gates can be used in Figure1`.3CEP-1114 Piezo Buzzer Frequency processing. For example, when dealing with piezo audio transducers such as the CEP-1114, an oscillating frequency signal is require to produce a sound pattern from the buzzer.   Figure 3: AND gate signal output wave generator such as an oscilloscope or a programmed PIC must be logically processed with a second frequency signal to create a combination of high/low outputs which will turn the Buzzer on and off creating a sound pattern. So if you used a Square-wave signal from a PIC as one input into an AND gate and a second varying frequency as the other input, it is proven due to AND gate logic that when both signals are high the buzzer will produce a sound, and any other combination will turn the buzzer off. Furthermore, as you can see from Figure 3 on the left, the output is only high when both Input A and Input B are high. If Input B was changed or altered, this would alter the output signal sent to the buzzer. Imagine that Input B was stretched so that only one period was observed in the time give rather than two periods. This would extent the time that Input B is high and would increase the time that the output is high. Additionally, if variation of the waveform inputs is difficult or impossible, variation of the output can still be accomplished by simply changing the logic gate implemented. If the AND gate currently being used was replaced with a NAND gate, the output would be completely reversed. Every time the output was high using the AND gate will now be low, and every time the output was low will now be high. Conclusion Logic gates come in all shapes and sizes, and whether they are used in combinations or individually, they provide the user with many options and solutions to problems which may appear difficult at first. Furthermore, these seven basic logic gates ease the complexity of Boolean algebra and allow for simple application in electronics and circuit analysis. These gates can be used in almost any situation such as comparison of frequencies when developing filters in communication or in more mechanical settings when using choppers and inverters which compare input and output currents to determine modulating indexes. Figure 2: CEP-1114 Piezo Buzzer FLIP FLOPS Flip flops are actually an application of logic gates. With the help of Boolean logic you can create memory with them. This is the most basic idea of a Random Access Memory [RAM]. If the logic gates are designed correctly, they will be helpful in remembering the input value given to them. A higher application of flip flops is helpful in designing better electronic circuits. The main use of flip flops is the implementation of a feedback circuit. As a memory relies on the feedback concept, flip flops can be used to design it. Given below is a simple feedback circuit using two inverter logic gates. Take a look. Though this circuit is not good for practical electronic circuits, it will help you to get a clear idea on what a feedback circuit is. When the value of the output Q happens to be 0, it always remains 0. If the output happens to be 1, it always remains 1 There are mainly four types of flip flops that are used in electronic circuits. They are The basic flip flop or S-R Flip Flop Delay Flip Flop [D Flip Flop] J-K flip flop T flip flop 1. S-R Flip Flop The SET-RESET flip flop can be designed with the help of two NOR gates and also two NAND gates. These flip flops are also referred to as S-R Latch. S-R Flip Flop using NOR Gate The flip flop has mainly two inputs, called the SET [S] and RESET [R]. There are also two outputs, Q and Q. The diagram and truth table is shown below. S-R Flip Flop using NOR Gate From the diagram it is evident that the flip flop has mainly four states. They are S=1, R=0-Q=1, Q=0 This state is also called the SET state. S=0, R=1-Q=0, Q=1 This state is known as the RESET state. In both the states you can see that the outputs are just compliments of each other and that the value of Q follows the value of S. S=0, R=0-Q Q = Remember If both the values of S and R are switched to 0, then the circuit remembers the value of S and R in their previous state. S=1, R=1-Q=0, Q=0 [Invalid] This is an invalid state because the values of both Q and Q are 0. They are supposed to be compliments of each other. Normally, this state must be avoided. S-R Flip Flop using NAND Gate The circuit of the S-R flip flop using NAND Gate and its truth table is shown below. S-R Flip Flop using NAND Gate Like the NOR Gate S-R flip flop, this one also has four states. They are S=1, R=0-Q=0, Q=1 This state is also called the SET state. S=0, R=1-Q=1, Q=0 This state is known as the RESET state. In both the states you can see that the outputs are just compliments of each other and that the value of Q follows the compliment value of S. S=0, R=0-Q=1, Q =1 [Invalid] If both the values of S and R are switched to 0 it is an invalid state because the values of both Q and Q are 1. They are supposed to be compliments of each other. Normally, this state must be avoided. S=1, R=1-Q Q= Remember If both the values of S and R are switched to 1, then the circuit remembers the value of S and R in their previous state. Clocked S-R Flip Flop It is also called a Gated S-R flip flop. The invalid state can only be removed by using a bistable SR flip-flop that can change outputs when certain invalid states are met regardless of the condition of either the Set or the Reset inputs. For this, a clocked S-R flip flop is designed by adding two AND gates to a basic NOR Gate flip flop. The circuit diagram and truth table is shown below. Clocked S-R Flip Flop A clock pulse [CP] is given to the inputs of the AND Gate. In the beginning the outputs of both the AND Gates remain 0 until the value of CP is 0. When a pulse is given the value of CP turns 1. This makes the values at S and R to pass through the NOR Gate flip flop. But when both the S and R values turn 1, the HIGH value of CP causes both of them to turn to 0 for a short moment. As soon as the pulse is removed, the flip flop state becomes intermediate. Thus either of the two states may be caused, and it depends on whether the set or reset input of the flip-flop remains a 1 longer than the transition to 0 at the end of the pulse. Thus the invalid states can be eliminated. 2. D Flip Flop The circuit diagram and truth table is given below. D Flip Flop D flip flop is actually a slight modification of the above explained clocked SR flip-flop. From the figure you can see that the D input is connected to the S input and the complement of the D input is connected to the R input. The D input is passed on to the flip flop when the value of CP is 1. When CP is HIGH, the flip flop moves to the SET state. If it is 0, the flip flop switches to the CLEAR state. To know more about the triggering of flip flop click on the link below. TAKE A LOOK :  TRIGGERING OF FLIP FLOPS TAKE A LOOK :  MASTER-SLAVE FLIP FLOP CIRCUIT 3. J-K Flip Flop The circuit diagram and truth-table of a J-K flip flop is shown below. J-K Flip Flop A J-K flip flop can also be defined as a modification of the S-R flip flop such that it is a refinement at the indeterminate state of the SR flip flop. The inputs J and K behave just like the S and R inputs of the S-R flip flop. The letter J stands for SET and the letter K stands for CLEAR. When both the inputs J and K have a HIGH state, the flip-flop is designed to switch to its complement state. So if the value of Q was 1, it switches to Q=0 and if the value of Q was 0 it switches to Q=1. Two 3-input AND Gates are used in the circuit. The output Q of the flip flop is given as a feedback to the input of the AND along with other inputs like K and clock pulse [CP]. So, the flip flop gets a CLEAR signal when the value of CP is 1 only if the value of Q was earlier 1. Similarly output Q of the flip flop is given as a feedback to the input of the AND along with other inputs like J and clock pulse [CP]. So the output becomes SET when the value of CP is 1 only if the value of Q was earlier 1. The output may be repeated in transitions once they have been complimented for J=K=1 because of the feedback connection in the JK flip-flop. This can be avoided by setting a time duration lesser than the propagation delay through the flip-flop. The restriction on the pulse width can be eliminated with a master-slave or edge-triggered construction. 4. T Flip Flop This is a much simpler version of the J-K flip flop. Both the J and K inputs are connected together and thus are also called a single input J-K flip flop. When clock pulse is given to the flip flop, the output begins to toggle. Here also the restriction on the pulse width can be eliminated with a master-slave or edge-triggered construction. Take a look at the circuit and truth table below. T Flip Flop Conclusion Logic gates come in all shapes and sizes, and whether they are used in combinations or individually, they provide the user with many options and solutions to problems which may appear difficult at first. Furthermore, these seven basic logic gates ease the complexity of Boolean algebra and allow for simple application in electronics and circuit analysis. These gates can be used in almost any situation such as comparison of frequencies when developing filters in communication or in more mechanical settings when using choppers and inverters which compare input and output currents to determine modulating indexes

Don’t Shoot: A call for International Diplomacy Essay -- Essays Papers

Don’t Shoot: A call for International Diplomacy Worldwide terrorism became the central focus of the United States’ foreign policy following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. At that time, the world saw the obvious hatred that other countries hold toward the U.S. and the extreme danger that came with it. Our eyes were opened to foreign issues that many of us were not previously aware of. President Bush’s initial response to the new danger was to overtake and reform two regimes, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as to eliminate Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Instability still exists in these areas of the world, but there looms a much more immediate threat in the nuclear countries of Iran and North Korea. Said countries both possess histories of nuclear proliferation, which have recently become more threatening. Each country has violated treaties in regards to their nuclear pursuits and, presently, both countries are actively developing weapons of mass destruction. The United States has established a trend of forcefully instituting change in other countries where it sees fit, as in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the case of Iran and North Korea, such a policy is unnecessary at this time. There currently exists insufficient threat from either country to warrant an attack, so a preemptive strike would be disastrous and unnecessary. The only circumstances that necessitate physical force are those in which the United States and/or other nations are immediately and inevitably endangered. We do not possess the military or economic resources for another full-scale war front as most of our troops and funds have been exhausted in Afghanistan and Iraq (Schwenninger 17). The United States’ course of... ... 50-51. Coulter, Ann. Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2003. Forbes, Steve. â€Å"Ticking Bomb.† Forbes 6 Sep. 2004: 33. Gannon, Jeff. â€Å"Iraqi Leader Challenges Western Media Bias.† Talon News 28 Sep. 2004: 25-26. Hanson, Victor Davis. â€Å"Kill the insurgents. Stop Talking.† The New Republic. 7 June 2004: 13-14. Hirsch, Michael and John Barry. â€Å"Madmen, Rogues & Nukes.† Newsweek 11 Oct. 2004: 34-35. â€Å"Japanese official says North Korea holds nuclear weapons: report.† 17 Oct. 2004: n.pag. On-line. Internet. 18 Oct. 2004. Available WWW: http://news.yahoo.com. Scoblic, J. Peter. â€Å"As I Say: Bush v. Bush on North Korea.† The New Republic 4 Oct 2004: 11-13. â€Å"Will the US now attack Tehran?† New Statesman 27 Sep. 2004: 6. Zakaria, Fareed. â€Å"A Vision, and Little Else.† Newsweek 13 Sep 2004: 37.

Effective teachers Essay

I. The Power of an Effective Teacher and Why We Should Assess It This is the value of the teacher, who looks at a face and says there’s something behind that and I want to reach that person, I want to influence that person, I want to encourage that person, I want to enrich, I want to call out that person who is behind that face, behind that colour, behind that language, behind that tradition, behind that culture. I believe you can do it. I know what was done for me. The transformative power of an effective teacher is something almost all of us have experienced and understand on a personal level. If we were particularly fortunate, we had numerous exceptional teachers who made school an exciting and interesting place. Those teachers possessed a passion for the subjects that they taught and genuine care for the students with whom they worked. They inspired us to play with ideas, think deeply about the subject matter, take on more challenging work, and even pursue careers in a particular field of study. Some exceptional teachers achieve celebrity status, such as Jaime Escalante, the math teacher who inspired the film Stand and Deliver, but thousands of unsung heroes go unrecognized in their remarkable work with students on a daily basis. ? II. Qualities of an Effective teacher Think back to when you were in school. Who was your favourite teacher? Who was the teacher you dreaded having? Almost everyone will instantly be able to answer these two questions. We’ve all had terrific teachers and, unfortunately, most of us have had teachers that were not effective. So what qualities does an effective teacher have that an ineffective teacher does not? The answer is that it takes a perfect blend of several qualities to create a truly effective teacher who can have a lasting impact on virtually every student. In this article, we examine ten qualities that virtually every effective teacher will possess. a)An effective teacher loves to teach. The single most important quality that every teacher should possess is a love and passion for teaching young people. Unfortunately, there are teachers who do not love what they do. This  single factor can destroy a teacher’s effectiveness quicker than anything else. Teachers who do not enjoy their job cannot possibly be effective day in and day out. There are too many discouraging factors associated with teaching that is difficult enough on a teacher who absolutely loves what they do, much less on one who doesn’t have the drive, passion, or enthusiasm for it. On top of that, kids are smarter than what we give them credit for. They will spot a phony quicker than anyone and thus destroy any credibility that the teacher may have. b)An effective teacher demonstrates a caring attitude. Even teachers who love their job can struggle in this area, not because they don’t care, but because they get caught up so much in the day to day routine of teaching that they can forget that their students have lives outside of school. Taking the time to get to know a student on a personal level takes a lot of time and dedication. There is also a line that no teacher wants to cross where their relationship becomes too personal. Elite teachers know how to balance this without crossing that line and once a student believes the teacher truly cares for them, then there is no limit to what that student can achieve. c)An effective teacher can relate to his or her students. The best teachers work hard to figure out how to relate to each of their students. Common interest can be hard to find, but exceptional teachers will find a way to connect with their students even if they have to fake it. For instance, you may have a student who is a Lego fanatic. You can relate to that student if you do something as simple as ordering a Lego catalogue and then going through it and discussing it with that student. Even if you have no actual interest in Lego’s, the student will think you do and thus naturally create a connection. d)An effective teacher is willing to think outside the box. There is no one set cookie cutter way to teach. A cookie cutter approach would likely be boring for both teachers and students. What makes teaching so exciting is that kids learn differently, and we have to find and utilize different strategies and differentiated learning to reach every student. What works for one student, will not work for every student. Teachers have to be willing to be creative and adaptive in their lessons, thinking outside the box on a continual basis. If you try to teach every concept in the same manner, there will be students who miss out on key factors because they aren’t wired to learn that way. e)An effective teacher is an excellent communicator. To be the best possible teacher you must be an effective communicator. However, in this area you are not just limited to being a skilled communicator to your students although that is a must. You must also be a strong communicator with parents of your students as well as your faculty/staff team within in your building. If you have a difficulty communicating with any of these three groups, then you limit your overall effectiveness as a teacher. f)An effective teacher is proactive rather than reactive. This can be one of most difficult aspects for a teacher to conquer. Intense planning and organization can ultimately make your job all the more less difficult. Teachers who plan ahead, looking for aspects that they might have issues with, and proactively looking for solutions to solve those problems will have less stress on them, than those teachers who wait until a problem arises and then tries to address it. Being proactive does not replace being adaptive. No matter how well you plan, there will be surprises. However, being proactive can cut down on these surprises tremendously, thus making you more effective overall. g)An effective teacher strives to be better. A teacher who has grown complacent in what they do is the most ineffective kind of teacher. Any teacher who is not looking for new and better teaching strategies isn’t being an effective teacher. No matter how long you have taught, you should always want to grow as a teacher. Every year there is new research, new technology, and new educational tools that could make you a better teacher. Seek out professional development opportunities and try to apply something new to your class every year. h)An effective teacher uses a variety of media in their lessons. Like it or not we are in the 21st century, and this generation of students was born in the digital age. These students have been bombarded by technological advances unlike any other generation. They have embraced it, and if we as teachers do not, then we are falling behind. This is not to say that we should eliminate textbooks and worksheets completely, but effective teachers are not afraid to implement other forms of media within their lessons. i)An effective teacher challenges their students. The most effective teachers, are often the ones that many students think are the most difficult. This is because they challenge their students and push them harder than the average teacher does. These are the teachers who are often students’ least favourite teachers at the time, but then later on in life they are the ones that we all remember and want to thank, because of how well they prepared us for life after our time with them. Being an effective teacher does not mean you are easy. It means that you challenge every one of your students and maximize your time with them so that they learn more than they ever thought they could learn. j)An effective teacher understands the content that they teach and knows how to explain that content in a manner that their students understand. There are teachers who do not know the content well enough to effectively teach it. There are teachers who are truly experts on the content, but struggle to effectively explain it to their students. The highly effective teacher both understands the content and explains it on level. This can be a difficult skill to accomplish, but the teachers who can, maximize their effectiveness as a teacher. III. Effective teaching strategies Six keys to classroom Excel a) Interest and explanation – â€Å"When our interest is aroused in something, whether it is an academic subject or a hobby, we enjoy working hard at it. We come to feel that we can in some way own it and use it to make sense of the world around us. † (p. 98). Coupled with the need to establish the relevance of content, instructors need to craft explanations that enable students to understand the material. This involves knowing what students understand and then forging connections between what is known and what is new. b) Concern and respect for students and student learning – Rams den starts with the negative about which he is assertive and unequivocal. â€Å"Truly awful teaching in higher education is most often revealed by a sheer lack of interest in and compassion for students and student learning. It repeatedly displays the classic symptom of making a subject seem more demanding than it actually is. Some people may get pleasure from this kind of masquerade. They are teaching very badly if they do. Good teaching is nothing to do with making things hard. It is nothing to do with frightening students. It is everything to do with benevolence and humility; it always tries to help students feel that a subject can be mastered; it encourages them to try things out for themselves and succeed at something quickly. † (p. 98) c) Appropriate assessment and feedback – This principle involves using a variety of assessment techniques and allowing students to demonstrate their mastery of the material in different ways. It avoids those assessment methods that encourage students to memorize and regurgitate. It recognizes the power of feedback to motivate more effort to learn. d)Clear goals and intellectual challenge – Effective teachers set high standards for students. They also articulate clear goals. Students should know up front what they will learn and what they will be expected to do with what they know. e)Independence, control and active engagement – â€Å"Good teaching fosters [a] sense of student control over learning and interest in the subject matter. † (p. 100). Good teachers create learning tasks appropriate to the student’s level of understanding. They also recognize the uniqueness of individual learners and avoid the temptation to impose â€Å"mass production† standards that treat all learners as if they were exactly the same. â€Å"It is worth stressing that we know that students who experience teaching of the kind that permits control by the learner not only learn better, but that they enjoy learning more. † (p. 102. ) f)Learning from students – â€Å"Effective teaching refuses to take its effect on students for granted. It sees the relation between teaching and learning as problematic, uncertain and relative. Good teaching is open to change: it involves constantly trying to find out what the effects of instruction are on learning, and modifying the instruction in the light of the evidence collected. † ?

Definition and Examples of Comparison in Composition

Definition and Examples of Comparison in Composition In composition, comparison is a  rhetorical strategy and method of organization in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or things.Words and phrases that often signal a comparison include similarly, likewise, by comparison, by the same token, in like manner, in the same way, and in a similar fashion. Comparison (often referred to as comparison and contrast) is one of the classical rhetorical exercises known as the  progymnasmata. Comparison/Contrast Essays A Brother of St. Francis, by Grace RhysLaughter, by Joseph AddisonThe Lowest Animal, by Mark TwainLuxuries, by George AdeOf Youth and Age, by Francis BaconOn the Difference Between Wit and Humor, by Charles S. BrooksRed-Bloods and Mollycoddles, by G. Lowes DickinsonTwo Ways of Seeing a River, by Mark TwainWatching Baseball, Playing Softball, by Lubby Juggins Style Scrapbook Comparison in Laurie Lees AppetiteComparison in Sarah Vowells Place Description Etymology From the Latin, compare. Examples and Observations A car is useless in New York, essential everywhere else. The same with good manners.(Mignon McLaughlin, The Complete Neurotics Notebook. Castle Books, 1981)The truth of the matter was, the baby looked very much like a mouse in every way. He was only about two inches high; and he had a mouses sharp nose, a mouses tail, a mouses whiskers, and the pleasant, shy manner of a mouse. Before he was many days old he was not only looking like a mouse but acting like one, toowearing a gray hat and carrying a small cane.(E.B. White, Stuart Little. Harper, 1945)Must a powerful fairy like myself condescend to explain her doings to you who are no better than an ant by comparison, though you think yourself a great king?(Andrew Lang, The Wonderful Sheep. The Blue Fairy Book, 1889)Immigrants in Canada are . . . more culturally similar to the native population than immigrant groups in other nations. Canadian immigrants nationalize at very high rates. They participate in the labor force at rates similar to the native population; their unemployment is lower; their occupational prestige is similar; and their income is the same as the native population.(J.P. Lynch and R.J. Simon, Immigration the World Over. Rowman Littlefield, 2003)establish a clear basis for comparison;make a thorough and specific presentation; andprovide an effective arrangement for the material. Comparison and Contrast EssaysTo gain the most from your use of comparison and contrast, . . . you need to(W.J. Kelly, Strategy and Structure. Allyn and Bacon, 1999)Arranging Details in Comparison and Contrast EssaysOrdering detail in a comparison-contrast essay requires some thought. One possible arrangement is the block pattern whereby all the points about one subject are made (in a block) then all the points about the other subject are made (in a second block). . . .A second possible arrangement for the details of comparison-contrast is the alternating pattern, whereby a point is made for one subject, then for the other. A second point is made for the first subject, then for the other. This alternating pattern continues until all the points are made for both subjects. . . .In general, the block method works better for essays with fewer points of comparison or contrast that are not extensively developed . . ..An alternating pattern is usually a better choice for an essay with many points of comparison and contrast or an essay with extensively developed ideas.(Barbara Fine Clouse, Patterns for a Purpose. McGraw-Hill, 2003) Complaining vs. MoaningVisitors to Britain are rarely able to graspsometimes after decades of residencythe vital distinction its inhabitants make between complaining and moaning. The two activities seem similar, but there is a profound philosophical and practical difference. To complain about something is to express dissatisfaction to someone whom you hold responsible for an unsatisfactory state of affairs; to moan is to express the same thing to someone other than the person responsible. The British are powerfully embarrassed by complaining, and experience an almost physical recoil from people who do it in public. They do love to moan though. The background music of British life is a running aria of moaning about pretty much everythingour weather, our politics, our permanently under-performing national sports teams, our reality-TV-obsessed media, and so on. Moaning, a source of entertainment in its own right, is also an important psychic comfort blanket, a way of venting resentment without taking responsibility for effecting change.(John Lanchester, Party Games. The New Yorker, June 7, 2010) European Football vs. American FootballAlthough European football is the parent of American football, the two games show several major differences. European football, sometimes called association football or soccer, is played in more than 80 countries, making it the most widely played sport in the world. American football, on the other hand, is popular only in the United States and Canada. Soccer is played by 11 players with a round ball. Football, also played by 11 players in somewhat different positions on the field, uses an elongated round ball. Soccer has little body contact between players, and therefore requires no special protective equipment. Football, in which players make maximum use of body contact to block a running ball carrier and his teammates, requires special headgear and padding. In soccer, the ball is advanced toward the goal by kicking it or by butting it with the head. In football, on the other hand, the ball is passed from hand to hand across the opponents goal. These are just a few of the features that distinguish association and American football.(student paragraph, Football and Soccer) A Sexist Interlude by Bill Bryson: Women vs. Men at the Checkout CounterAlthough the store had only just opened, the food hall was busy and there were long queues at the tills. I took a place in a line behind eight other shoppers. They were all women and they all did the same mystifying thing: They acted surprised when it came time to pay. This is something that has been puzzling me for years. Women will stand there watching their items being rung up, and then when the till lady says, Thats four pounds twenty, love, or whatever, they suddenly look as if theyve never done this sort of thing before. They go Oh! and start rooting in a flustered fashion in their handbag for their purse or checkbook, as if no one had told them that this might happen.Men, for all their many shortcomings, like washing large pieces of oily machinery in the kitchen sink or forgetting that a painted door stays wet for more than thirty seconds, are generally pretty good when it comes to paying. They spend their time in line doing a wallet inventory and sorting through their coins. When the till person announces the bill, they immediately hand over an approximately correct amount of money, keep their hands extended for the change however long it takes or however foolish they may begin to look if there is, say, a problem with the till roll, and thenmark thispocket their change as they walk away instead of deciding that now is the time to search for the car keys and reorganize six months worth of receipts.(Bill Bryson, Notes From a Small Island. William Morrow, 1995 Pronunciation: kom-PAR-eh-son Also Known As: comparison and contrast

enzymes essays

enzymes essays The experiment is designed to determine whether the catalytic behavior of the enzyme is altered if the normal chemical environment is changed. The goal is to lower the concentration of lactase, so more excess enzyme is available to produce a greater amount of product for the same enzyme with the same volume in a sixty second period. The substrate o-nitrophenyl-B D-galactopyranoside (ONPG) was used. A diluted Lact-Aid solution was the enzyme. The enzyme never reached saturation point in either the control or treatment. The use of fewer enzymes decreased the absorption of the ONPG. The 1/2X takes a longer amount of time to get to the same point as the 1X. Enzymes are catalysts. Most are proteins. Enzymes bind temporarily to one or more of the reactants of the reaction they catalyze. In doing so, they lower the amount of activation energy needed and thus speed up the reaction. Lactase is an enzyme normally found in the small intestine that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the disaccharide lactose (milk sugar) to the monosaccharide galactose and glucose. The pH of the small intestine is alkaline (pH=8) and the temperature is 37C in humans. Salt concentrations on the order of 0.1 M (100 mM) are considered physiological. We worked to characterize lactase activity under optimal conditions such as are found in the small intestine. The usual means by which enzyme activity is assessed is through measurement of the rate of product formation or the rate of substrate disappearance could also be measured. The rate of lactose disappearance can not be measured by a spectronic-20, so the synthetic compound, ONPG is used as the alternative substrate. Wh en ONPG is hydrolyzed by lactase, it yields the product 0-nitropenolate and galactose. O-nitropenolate is yellow in color and absorbs at a wavelength of 420 nm, so the spectronic-20 can be used to measure its appearance. Our experiment was designed to determine whether the catalytic beha...