Euphemisms and Dysphemisms

A pleasantly plump man’s best friend and a gargantuan flee bag. Both mean the same thing, a fat dog, but invoke two completely different feelings. By describing things in a certain way, we are also conveying our opinion on the specific topic. In an argument, euphemisms can be used to be polite or to make the issue seem more pleasant to encourage persuasion on their argument. Dysphemisms are used to demonstrate the negative opinions on something and make it seem worse than it is. In the military, the soldiers wouldn’t describe killing other soldiers as murder; they would refer to it as neutralizing the opponent. For hippies, they would probably opt to use a dysphemism such as, cold-blooded murder, to describe the happenings on a battlefield. We use euphemisms to avoid insulting somebody; instead of using the word ‘retarded’ we would say someone has a ‘mental illness’. Perhaps we build these euphemisms surrounding the stigmas in our society to make ourselves feel more comfortable when speaking of them. We seem to even make up words to make awkward topics much easier to speak of; topics like sex, death and pooh, to be blunt.

Euphemisms first began in old Greece. They believed that by replacing religious taboo words with euphemisms they would avoid fatal consequences. It was almost like magical thinking, and soon euphemisms became popular in disguising less socially accepted words. And soon became a political tool.

It is especially important in health care to avoid euphemisms. An example would be using a procedure with a much more confusing scientific name, rather than informing the patient of a less expensive procedure with a much more simple name. Sure a doctor can advertise, but it would be breaching the rules of informed consent by giving a fancier name to an expensive treatment, rather than using the normal name for a less costly one. The patient doesn’t know exactly what they are getting with the procedure with a euphemism.

There comes a point when our euphemisms and dysphemisms become lies, like “making murder respectable”.

Where child sacrifice is a business

 

Where child sacrifice is a business

In Kampala, the capital of Uganda, the witch doctors get paid to abduct the innocent children in villages and farming communities. These children are the victims of the ritual murders of what is called the child sacrifice business. Their decapitated bodies are buried in the side of the roads or the local fields. The children are closely watched by their teachers and parents on their way to and from their schools to prevent any more abductions as well as innocent sacrifices.

Many people believe that the witch doctors get paid to commit such crimes by the members of the country’s new elite to provide increased wealth with their big sums of money. According to a pastor named Peter Sewakiyanga at the Kyampisi Childcare Ministries church, child sacrifice followed by the ritual abductions and murders has risen due to people’s strong ambitions for money. They have a belief that they could get much richer if they sell their children to people who are actually willing to buy these children for a price, which made the child sacrifice become a commercial business, an inappropriate one.

This kind of belief and rituals that some of the Ugandan people have go against the principle of autonomy and respect as well as the principle of equality and justice. They do not respect the rights of the innocent children and treat them without any equality or justice by murdering them inhumanely. They disregard the freedom of the children and see the value of their lives as trivial things.

Not many Ugandans in the Ugandan villages and farming communities are wealthy enough. However, it is not righteous to use the children for commercial business purposes and sell them around just to increase their wealth. This kind of abductions and murders must stop for the protection of the children’s rights and justice.

Did you know, that on average, a person lies about 14.5 times a day? That would be my third today.

Regardless, we all know that lying is something we do at least once a day. Big lies, small lies, white lies, hurtful lies, I'm saying all kinds of lying (and yes, even those you say to protect others). Its probably one of the most common wrong acts to carry out. Daily.

If all truth was good, which in this case, would make lying bad, things would be much simpler. Don't lie. 

Parents always seem to teach their children, "always tell the truth". Yet, as we get older, we start to realize that telling the truth often has to be nuanced..

The truth isn't always beneficial, and it hurts half the time. That's where white lies come into play. An accurate definition or white lies would be a harmless or trivial lie, especially one told to avoid hurting someone's feelings. I think we can all agree that in some situations, lying could be the more appropriate ethical response to a conflict, than telling the truth.

Although white lies are mostly told to avoid conflict or to protect someone, it is, still lying itself. Even if telling a white lie might be beneficial to the person you are telling it to, most of the times, they would have to face the truth sooner or later, which is arguably more hurtful than telling them the truth in the first place. 

This has been debated lots, and people all over the world of all ages have different opinions on this. Personally, I try to avoid lying, that would cause trouble on a later date. Telling someone the hurtful truth, is certainly much better than keeping it from them. You can't keep a secret forever, nor can you lie for a lifetime. One thing that some of us realize is that no matter what kind of lies are told, it breaks the trust between the liar and the receiver of the lie.

On the ethical side of things. There are many different ways an ethicist can look at lying. For example, utilitarians would look at the consequences of a lie, to tell whether the lie is a good one or a bad one. in contrast, a deontologist although, would not agree with looking at the consequences. But they generally accept 'do not tell lies', simply. Same with virtue ethicists.

So, what's your take on lies? Any exceptions to your rule?

If you're undecided, take a look at this article by the BBC, that lays it all out for you.

The Power of Yoga

Yoga is the practice of physical, mental, and spiritual discipline. It originated from India and the earliest evidence of yoga has been traced back all the way to 3000 B.C. It is practiced in many parts of the world and is very popular amongst women. It is said that yoga can help improve your health, balance, flexibility, fitness, and many other things.

Yoga has benefited a woman named Carolyn LaFleur who was involved in a car accident and while physical therapy and massage therapy helped her hip and neck to recover, it did not make the pain in her head go away. Her headaches did subside however, when she started practicing yoga and she claims that doing yoga has given her strength. Doctors say that yoga can lower your tension and it relaxes the tone of your muscle. It also helps bring down stress levels, which makes arteries relax so there is more blood flow everywhere, so everything becomes better.

While therapy and medication work pretty well to relieve pain and stress, yoga can also help with your health conditions as well. It is often underestimated as a good way of treatment and it can also become an enjoyable method for fitness. If yoga is practiced regularly, it can greatly benefit a person’s well being.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yoga/CM00004

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/07/21/yoga.pain.management.cohen/index.html

http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/beginnersguide/yogahistory.asp

To Steal, or not to steal?

The picture above asks a question. The question is as follows: " It is 1933. You are in Berlin, Germany. Somehow, you find yourself in a position where you can effortlessly steal Adolf Hitler's wallet. This theft will not effect Hitler's rise to power, the nature of World War II, or the Holocaust. There is no important identification in the wallet, but the act will cost Hitler forty Reichsmarks (german currency back then) and completely ruin his evening. You do not need the money. The odds that you will be caught committing this crime are less than 2 percent.
Are you ethically obligated to steal Hitler's wallet? 


This question is difficult to answer, maybe even impossible. It leads to many other ethical questions that could be asked such as; Why would that be an obligation? Because Hitler did bad things, is stealing his wallet justified?
Of course we know he is responsible for the largest genocide in history, but if we had an opportunity to do something bad to him in return, knowing what he did, we assume that anyone would do it. It is expected of everyone that if they had the chance to subject Hitler to some sort of inconvenience, even if it is as insignificant as stealing a wallet, they would. Why? 
It is has been taught to us as children that what he did and who is was, was bad. We are programmed to give a negative connotation to his name whenever it is spoken. But we have never been taught how to respond if an opportunity is presented. It is a thing of the past, and why would we ever need to know how to deal with something that has already happened and over with? But once we are faced with a question like this, we do not know how to answer. Though most would steal the wallet, many would stop to think, "what's the point?" If it doesn't affect anything about the war or the holocaust, why do it? Because somehow we think that stealing a wallet will compensate for a fraction of the crimes that he committed, and that somehow makes us some sort of hero. So before you go to bed tonight, demand an answer from yourself to this question, and ask yourself why. You may be like me, and not be able to come up with an actual reasons for your "yes of course I would."

Trick of the Mind

Derren Brown is a British psychological illusionist, mentalist, artist, painter, writer, skeptic and television presenter. He is well known around the world for his ability to read people’s minds. However Derren Brown frequently states that he possesses no psychic or paranormal abilities. He uses his knowledge and skills through which he is able to influence people’s thoughts through subtle suggestion, and read body language or psychological signs that indicate what a person is feeling or thinking. He is what is known as a “modern day magician” because he is able to do some things that people would believe to be ‘magical’. In some of his TV specials he manipulates the mind in ways the subjects could never imagine. For example he trained the minds of four average people to rob a person carrying money from a bank. 3 of the 4 people were successfully manipulated to take the briefcase whereas one managed to control the urges of wanting to take the money. He is able to read body language like a person can read a book with really large print. This man truly has a talent that the world really admires. He is a true magician. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Ul9HJtP-g&feature=endscreen&NR=1&list=UU_RhBfwbg5029C5JL6uAtyw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derren_Brown

http://derrenbrown.co.uk/

The Ancient Alien Theory

Some writers propose that intelligent extraterrestrial beings have visited earth in prehistory and made contact with humans. Such visitors are called ancient atronauts or ancient aliens. Believers suggest that this contact influenced the development of human cultures, technologies and religions.  

Erich von Daniken was one of the main figures in popularizing the ancient alien theory. His book “Chariot of the Gods” was an instant best seller and made people share his point of view.

-          

      Believers argue that the evidence for ancient astronauts 

      comes from supposed gaps in historical and archaeological records. They also explain absent or incomplete historical

     data. Such as the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Nazca lines

     in Peru

I think this whole theory is complete bogus. There is a much simpler reason to as why there are pyramids standing in Egypt: The ancient Egyptians were a very accomplished civilization, they proved they were capable mathematicians 

and architects with all their other work.

The Power behind knowing

No-one knows what the future holds because after all it is the unknown. It is meant to be hidden until the present reveals it. There are certain things that people believe that are able tell the future, stuff    like: Astrology, The crystal ball, Palm reading, Psychics,  and Tarot or oracle cards. There are so many things out there that are believed to have a way of telling the future but are these things actually credible sources for knowing the unknown? The answer can be up to you. It is a decision you have to make all on your own because there are no facts to prove the future can be told, there are only beliefs and superstitions. The question is should the future be something the world should know?

If the future could be predicted, we would know whether  the human race would survive the predicted end of the world in 2012. We would be able to know so much more of what is to come then we do today but that doesn't make knowing what is coming better. If the future really could be predicted people would begin to alter their lives in order to side step an accident that was foreseen. As humans we live for the future, we live until we die, its just the circle of life,but if the future could be seen we could take what has been found in the years ahead and use it today. Discoveries and new inventions that were ment to arrive in hundreds of years would be made and factorized before their alleged time.  The world would turn into chaos with everyone trying to figure out the next best thing and selling it. Just think of how the world could get out of hand if everyone knew everything that was to happen. There would be a rush of people looking into the next inventions of the future of the future. So in a way it is a plus that we do not know what is to come. Its a good thing that these ways that are thought to predict the future are actually not reliable. Not knowing the future does have its perks. Leaving the day someone is to die to the unknown keeps you from counting the days till it happens which makes you live life as you would with no extra worries about knowing what is coming. For now the future should be kept in the unknown, after all y.o.l.o. 

History Rewritten

      The Holocaust: tragically one of the most well known events in history. The slaughter of millions of Jewish, disabled and civilian people during Nazi occupation of most of Europe. Yet, to this day there are the minority who believe that the “alleged” event was produced as propaganda after the war. These people know as Neo-Nazis argue that the gas chambers at concentration camps were not used for the murders they had been known for. The gas chambers were never in use and even if they were in use, no remains have been found.

     One must assess claims like these in order to decipher the true meaning behind their thoughts. The party stating these claims isn’t ‘interested’ but does wish for you to join their cause. It is part of their belief system so should you believe it? No. Just because an opinion or belief is stated doesn’t mean you should follow it.

 

For example:

• There have been traces of chemicals used for gassing at these sites
• The witness accounts of the gassings are reliable
• There hasn’t been any witness statements going against the gassing claims

The moral of the story:

Don’t follow whatever you find on the internet, whether it be the new face-wash “proven” by “experts” to clear your face or something as complicated as arguing whether the holocaust existed. You have to decided for yourself, true of false?


READ MORE HERE!

Neo-Nazism

Questions regarding Holocaust

Gods vs. Aliens

Often we merely ignore ideas different to our own because it’s easier. Without really questioning, and re-thinking what brought us to believe what we believe in the first place. 

We categorize people who do this as: narrow-minded, intolerable and petty. Generally, anyone who is unable to view things from a different perspective. 

Yet then, so many of us, turn around, and act like the before mentioned adjectives towards subject topics we think too ridiculous to be deserving of our attention. 

Example:

Erich Von Daniken claims that the large geoglyphs sketched into the arid plateau of 

Peru were created by ancient Peruvians on the instruction of their extraterrestrial gods who consequently used the geoglyphs as landing strips for their space crafts. 

I know, this seems ridiculous. And yes, if you met someone who believed in aliens having contact with humans, you would probably immediately make a mental note to never talk to that person again. 

BUT when we compare Dankness belief to other religions around the world you can’t help but notice the similarities.

First of all neither the existence of aliens or Gods can be proven; either you believe or you don’t. 

Secondly, both the aliens and most of the gods in religions across the world God disssend from heaven; using different methods of transport of course. 

And lastly, both the aliens and our more traditional gods had knowledge superior to the civilization they interacted with; aliens knew about the universe and our Gods knew about the after life. 

In fact, because of all of these undeniable similarities many people claim that the deities represented in so many cultures are aliens that have been mistaken for Gods. Simply because they had no other explanation for what they observed and experienced. 

Yet regardless of this belief, these comparisons ultimately ask one question: 

Why do we believe in God and not aliens if both of these beliefs lack equal amounts of evidence?

In the end it really comes down to two things:

1. How long the claim has been around for.
2. 1. The number of supporters a claim has.

After all, it’s far more likely that you are going to believe an idea supported by a lot of other people compared to a claim believed by only a few #safety in numbers

For more information you can watch an episode on the History Channels TV series :

"Ancient Aliens"

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LeHm3yVrSg

OR

Research Erich von Daniken here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_von_Däniken