Nietzsche Essay -- Philosophy, On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense

An Analysis of Nietzsche’s On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense Friedrich Nietzsche’s On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense represents a deconstruction of the modern epistemological project. Instead of seeking for truth, he suggests that the ultimate truth is that we have to live without such truth, and without a sense of longing for that truth. This revolutionary work of his is divided into two main sections. The first part deals with the question on what is truth? Here he discusses the implication of language to our acquisition of knowledge. The second part deals with the dual nature of man, i.e. the rational and the intuitive. He establishes that neither rational nor intuitive man is ever successful in their pursuit of knowledge due to our illusion of truth. Therefore, Nietzsche concludes that all we can claim to know are interpretations of truth and not truth itself. Analysis In the first part of his work, Nietzsche asserts that: â€Å"The pride connected with knowing and sensing lies like a blinding fog over the eyes and senses of men, thus deceiving them concerning the value of existence† (Nietzsche 451-452). Here, it seems that Nietzsche is trying to reject any empirical sense of gaining knowledge. For example, I know that I am sitting on a wooden chair because I can see the chair, feel the texture of the wood, touch it, and even smell the aroma of it. But Nietzsche argues that we only perceive the surface of things, and our â€Å"senses nowhere lead to the truth" (Nietzsche 452). This is what Nietzsche meant by using the analogy of our senses being like a â€Å"blinding fog over the eyes† and thus deceiving us on our knowledge about things. But how do we know what is true from what is false? What is truth as opposed to lies? Her... ... something when it fact, we never ask ourselves why we know it. We tend to take for granted what counts the most in this world, that is, knowing ourselves. Human beings think that knowledge of things will lead them to enlightenment. But in reality, it is nothing but an illusion made by man himself to create a kind of path towards success. Those who follow this path will get nowhere close to success, rather, they bring upon suffering along the way, pulling us farther from ourselves. Thus, if only we were aware of this deceptive nature of language and metaphor to that of knowledge, we would come to understand that truth indeed is nothing but a man-made word and is therefore a mere figment of our imagination. The facts do not count, only our interpretations of them. So it seems that Reality then isn’t so far from our dreams, perhaps it’s really the other way around.

Biography of Andrew Jackson Essay

From his early childhood to his days in presidency, Andrew Jackson’s fueled a revolution in politics and the search for vindication of the American people. In this psychoanalytical biography of Andrew Jackson, James C. Curtis explores Jackson’s tenacious personality and lifelong quest for power, which was deeply rooted in his troubled past. Beginning in the backwoods of the Carolina’s, young Andrew Jackson was born to a couple from Northern Ireland that migrated here during a time of social and economic turmoil. Arriving in the late 1760’s, Jackson explored the prospective rolling countryside with the uncontrolled freedom that encouraged his wild behavior. By the age of fourteen, Jackson had lost his brothers and both parents, leaving a young troubled boy to fend for himself in the turbulent south. Evidently, Jackson’s rebellious attitude brought him nowhere in school. The local schoolmaster barley taught him to read or write, but he expressed himself directly. Even into his presidency his advisors had to revise his public writings due to his horrid grammar and spelling. Throughout the beginning of the book, Curtis extensively relates Andrew’s early encounters to his future motivations in personal and political thought. Andrew’s break came at the age of seventeen when he landed a job with a lawyer to practice law. Soon Andrew had a legitimate chance in frontier diplomacy. In 1784 he was involved in the Spanish Conspiracy. In this conflict the colonists were looking for a bold, reactionary person to represent them. Andrew took to this and forcefully went after the Indians. Obviously, his rashness toward the Indians was rooted in his own struggles with authority as a child. † They were doubly evil, reminding him of a past he was trying to forget and threatening a future he was trying to achieve. The Indian was a fit target for wrath.†(23) Curtis’ style emphasizes that Jackson was relating the unconstrained conditions of the frontier to his own unconstrained behaviors. As a result, Jackson wanted to suppress this feeling and took out his angers on the Indians. Finally in 1796, Jackson’s political chieftain, William Blount, selected the young judge advocate of the Davidson County Militia. After two years he  replaced Blount’s seat in the senate. Senator Jackson sat in office for about a year before he realized that his brash public speaking skills and high temper could not contest with the polemical persuasion the other Senators possessed. Once again Jackson returned to the profitable judgeship that the Blount regime offered. He served giving six years of crude but fair justice as a prominent judge. In 1806, Jackson once again revealed his reckless and impulsive behavior when he challenged a fellow opponent to a duel. Jackson exercised his boldness after allowing the sharpshooter take the first shot. Wounded, he immediately raised his gun and killed the other man. Curtis showed that this level of bravery would be his greatest alibi in future encounters. With the return of peace in 1815 allowed for more productive use of transportation. Consequently, the Market Revolution was born, as well as a time for political change. The old regimes were being taken over by new ones that represented a different generation of Americans. The majority favored Americans that were born and raised in the light of the Revolution. Andrew Jackson was and acted like that kind of person. His unstable past caught the admiration of the working class as well as the slave owners, but the old political parties saw Jackson as a frantic militiaman. He disappointed those † whose minds were prepared to see me with a Tomahawk in one hand and a scalping knife in the other.†(82) These reactions concerned Jackson and inspired him to seek a different course of action. Curtis showed, † the candidate desperately wanted such vindication.†(82) From 1828 to 1836 Jackson served the presidency with the same motivation that got him there. Tragedy struck again with the death of his wife, a serious illness, and the Eaton affairs. In 1831 allegations from the banks were swarming Jackson. The pressure of presidency was taking its toll. The fight with the Indians was showing progress, but the south was deteriorating. Jackson soon elected a new cabinet that contained federalists and Bank members. He even went to the extent in terminating his administration. Later in his retirement, he claimed,† It was the sovereign people that†¦.enabled me to terminate my administration so satisfactorily.†(179) This partisan  split showed Jackson’s trust in the people. Thus, his vindication was cured by the endorsement of the American citizen. For most he showed that the poor and unfortunate individuals could rise to the top, but he didn’t realize the human costs of economic expansion. During this time period Curtis presents Jackson as a resilient and self-promoting individual. However, there were just as important issues that should have been addressed besides the Market Revolution, issues with state banks, and Jackson fulfilling his need to clear his name from criticism. For instance, minorities, primarily blacks, didn’t have the slightest chance in rising to the point to make social change. The slaves were used as economic fuel to ignite the Market Revolution. I think this book did address Andrew Jackson as a genius in promoting change, but lacked in promoting his moral character and I would not recommend it. It seemed to me, Curtis represented him as an American hero more than a dynamic political figure. Andrew Jackson was the result of the troubled lives Americans lived during the Revolutionary period. The emotions of those people were the catalyst in Andrew Jackson’s search for vindication.

Listen to and Learn Spanish on the Internet

Many people want to hear what native-speaker Spanish sounds like, but dont have access to native speakers or even Spanish-language radio or TV. Chances are that if youre reading this article, you have all the tools you need need to start listening. An abundance of Spanish-language webcasts, podcasts, and other programming is available for free on the Internet. The system requirements for listing to Internet audio vary with the site, but chances are that if your computer was built within the past three or four years, you already have the hardware you need. Most sites that provide audio content also have links to the software you need. Most audio content can be played using one of three audio players that are readily available for free: Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, and Apple QuickTime. The three are available for both recent versions of the Windows and Macintosh operating systems; the RealPlayer is also available for Linux. Some sites also have downloadable audio in MP3 or other formats that you can listen to on portable players. A high-speed Internet connection is helpful, although a good dial-up connection will sometimes be sufficient if you arent Web surfing at the same time. Listening Online in Spanish Spanish-language programming can be found for almost any interest, and a complete list would be far too long to list here. Following, however, are some of the sites that have been recommended by readers of this site: Batanga: You wont find any classical music here (unless you count classic rock), but youll find just about every other style of music.BBC Mundo: True, the BBC is well-known British news service. However, youll find quality programming in Spanish here.Deutsche Welle: This German network offers streaming programming in nearly all the European language and then some. At the time of this writing, however, its Spanish-language programming is not available to U.S. listeners.Ke Buena: Popular music from Acapulco, Mexico.La100: Rock from Argentina.Notes in Spanish: Tips about Spain, news, conversation and all the cool words they never teach you in class.M80 Radio: Classic rock from Madrid.Mitre: Variety of programming from Argentina.RAC105: International rock and pop from Spain. The home page is in Catalan, but if youre adept at reading Spanish you can probably comprehend most of it.Metro951: Self-described as the most popular radio, from Argentina.Radio Bilingà ¼e: Public radio-type progra mming from the United States.Radio Isla: Talk shows and more, from Puerto Rico.Radio Jai: Catering to Argentinas Jewish community with a mix of programming.Radio Progreso: Music, news and a bit of propaganda from Cuba.RTVE: This network from Spain provides a choice of six channels streamed over the Internet.Terra Radios: Talk, music and sports are featured on stations from Guatemala.Yahoo Music: About a dozen music stations feature Spanish music of various genres including rock, rap, reggaeton, pop, tejano, and jazz.