Different Ways That the Body Maintains Optimal Temperatures

The body maintains optimal temperatures in several different ways.  Among these ways are shivering when you are cold in order to heat you up, sweating when you are hot in order to cool you down, growing hair/fur/feathers depending on what kind of creature you are in order to keep warm, and having a layer of fat to protect you from the cold.

Isn't it fascinating how the body is able to come up with such creative ways to protect itself?  I think it is amazing how often we take for granted these things!  We tend to completely disregard the fact that our bodies are able to cool themselves in the hot summer months, or warm up in the dead of winter.  It's certainly a huge blessing that our bodies know how to do these things!  Think about it.  If our bodies weren't able to produce something as simple as sweat, it would be terribly hard to handle those 90 degree days!  Likewise, if we couldn't shiver, it would be difficult to warm up after swimming in the lake!   These are definitely some big things to be thankful for!  Don't ever take for granted the ways that your body takes care of itself!

The body maintains optimal temperatures in such interesting ways, and I hope that you understand them a bit better!    

Discussion on the Just War Theory, as well as the Later Scholastics

"Describe the main principals of just-war theory."


I think that this will be one of the easier topics for me to describe, as well as one of the easier ones for you to understand.

Just war theory is simply the theory of just war.  It is ideals and principles that make a war "just".  For instance, according to the just war theory it would be wrong to go to war with a country or state that had simply stolen a single apple.  It would likewise be wrong according to the just war theory to slaughter mercilessly all of the civilians living in the place that you are at war with once you had already won.

I hope you have a basic idea of what the just war theory is now.



"In what fundamental way did Duns Scotus and William of Ockham challenge the position of Thomas Aquinas?"


These two later scholastics were of the opinion that reason and faith simply did not go together.  They were two completely separate things in the eyes of these men.  This of course was a complete and utter challenge to the position taken by Thomas Aquinas.  Thomas Aquinas had spent a great deal of his life trying to prove that faith and reason went hand in hand.  Faith could be proven using reason according to Thomas Aquinas. This was the fundamental way that Duns Scotus and William of Ockham challenged the views of Thomas Aquinas.


Thanks for reading, and please give me feedback!  I would love to hear from you!

Animal Intelligence

"What does it mean to say a creature is 'intelligent'?"


First of all, what is intelligence?  Well, intelligence is what determines how well (if at all) we will be able to decipher a problem.  It helps us to learn about the world in which we live, and it assists us in making this world better for all of us.  Without intelligence, the world would be completely chaotic.

Now that we have defined intelligence, we must tackle the question that asks, "What does it mean to say a creature is intelligent?".  I suppose it means that the creature can think about a problem, and find a solution that isn't simply based on instinct.

I will use two examples of animal intelligence today.  First of all, I will use the chimpanzee.  The chimpanzee has been known to "problem-solve" in peculiar ways.  Sometimes it will actually make tools for finding food! It will take a piece of grassy twig, remove the leaves, and then stick the grassy twig into a termite mound.  When it pulls out the grassy twig, there are generally several termites stuck to the grass.  In this way, the chimpanzee has used the grassy twig to "fish" for a termite snack.

The next example that I will use is the elephant.  They have been known to paint pictures, they form lasting bonds with family members, and they seem to exhibit self-recognition in mirrors!

Even though animals can't create spacecrafts, or create a car engine like us, they certainly seem to have intelligence to some degree.

Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!      

The 12th Century Renaissance, the University System in the High Middle Ages, and Scholastic Philosophy

"What kinds of developments occurred during the
renaissance of the twelfth century?"


During this period in history we see many interesting developments occurring.  Among them was an interest in the Latin classics.  There was much reading of Latin authors, poets, and the writing of commentaries.  As time goes on we see more of a decline in these, and an increase in the study of philosophy and the like.

Besides these developments, there is a revival of the Roman law.  This wouldn't have been all that bad since several aspects of Roman law are familiar to western thought, had it not been for the fact that during the time of Justinian the law was modified to give more jurisdiction to the emperor rather than the people.

As you can tell, the renaissance of the twelfth century held many fascinating occurrences.




"Discuss the origins and features of the university system in the High Middle Ages."




 During the High Middle Ages the rise of universities became quite popular.  Before these new universities, there had not been anything like them in past history.  Of course there had been different schools, but there was not a "university" per-say.

We are not entirely sure as to how some of the major universities of the time came about, but it seems that many had their origins rooted in the monastic and cathedral schools, as well as random meetings of professors in one place.

These universities introduced the awarding of degrees, had a more or less fixed program of study, and a distinction of graduate and undergraduate study.




"What was Scholastic philosophy?"




Scholastic philosophy was more so a switch from positive theology (confirmations from Scripture, councils, etc.) to speculative theology (faith that was in agreement with reason).  In other words, if faith and reason do not make sense together, this means that you have simply misinterpreted faith or used reason incorrectly.

As an example of a Scholastic philosopher, I would like to use St. Anselm.  St. Anselm would try to use ontological proof for the existence of God.  This means that he would use the argument that God must be the greatest conceivable being.  Something that is only in your mind is obviously less meaningful than something that is right in front of you.  Since this is the case, God must be something that is not only in your mind, but also something conceivable.   See, he is trying to combine faith and reason.


Thanks for reading this essay, and please let me know what you think!  I would love to hear your feedback!  




  




 

The Albigensians, Mendicant Orders, and the Magna Carta

"What did the Albigensians believe?"



The Albigensians believed that two gods existed.  One god was that of spiritual things, and the other was that of things pertaining to the world.  The god of spiritual things was good, and the god of things of the world was bad.  They thought that anything which was made of matter was bad as well.  This included their physical bodies.




"Describe the mendicant orders of the 13th century."





The mendicant orders were orders that relied upon livelihood through charity in turn for good works.  The people involved with theses orders would practically live as beggars that would go around searching for something good to assist with.

Those who practiced the mendicant orders were the followers of St. Francis and St. Dominic.





"What was the significance of the Magna Carta?"





The Magna Carta was a document that played a major role in shaping the way that we view law today.  It was a document that stated what the king couldn't do.  It was supposed to hinder the king from doing that which was potentially harmful.  Before this document, kings had hindered the power of the public, but what about the king's power?  Who had hindered his power?  It was time for a change, and the Magna Carta helped to bring this about.


Thanks for reading this essay, and please let me know what you think!        

Arthropods and Their Potential Economic Benefits

"Could a deeper understanding of arthropods lead to tangible economic benefits?"



Arthropods make up an extremely diverse range of life, and because of this, there are more potential benefits.   A deeper understanding of these creatures could certainly lead to "tangible economic benefits" in my personal opinion.

a caterpillar

I would like to use both the butterfly and moth as an example.  These arthropod's larval stage (the caterpillar) happens to be quite harmful to gardens.  If we were to do more research on the caterpillar, we would likely be able to find better ways of deterring this "pest" from our plants.  In deterring them, we would be able to produce a better harvest.

I think that I will also use the crab as an example.  Everyday we feast on crab legs, and restaurants as well as fishermen make their incomes in part because of this animal.  What if we were to conduct research on the crab that would help us to better locate them.  Perhaps we could develop a kind of "crab sonar" which would make it easier for fishermen to find large numbers of crabs.  If we could figure out exactly where the largest crab populations are, then we would be able to better fish for them, as well as protect them from over-fishing.

Just think of all the opportunities that the research of arthropods could create in the next 5-10 years!  I have no doubt that we will be making several discoveries that could aid us economically because of our research.

Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!

The Events of the 4th Crusade, and Common Misconceptions About the Crusades

"What are some common misconceptions about the Crusades, and why are they incorrect?"


There are many misconceptions about the crusades, but I would like to focus on two for today, as I am short on time.

The first misconception that I would like to mention, is how the Crusades were done out of unprovoked aggression.  This is simply not the case once you consider how the Muslims had already invaded and conquered these Christian lands.  The Crusaders were actually attempting to regain control of them.

The second misconception that I would like to speak of is how the Crusades resulted in the resentment by some Muslims, which led to the 20th and 21st-century terrorist attacks.  In fact, the Crusades weren't really even thought of by Muslims as a big deal until far later.  The irony is that it seems that Westerners were actually the ones to make it into a big deal.  The Crusades were mostly failures and hence, past Muslims seem to have seen the Crusades as rather insignificant episodes in their history.

Please note that I am in no way trying to condone some of the horrific things which took place during the Crusades.  I am simply trying to bring to light the truths and put out the misconceptions.




"Describe the events of the fourth Crusade."


The events of the fourth Crusade didn't actually include much Crusading once it was launched.  The reason for this is that the Crusaders had become sidetracked by an ownership dispute over the throne of Constantinople.  They had gotten to know a man named Alexis who claimed to be the rightful holder of the throne, but that another had taken his place by unjust means.

Alexis told them that he would pay them great riches so that they could pay their bills back home if they were to help him.  Of course this seemed like a good deal to them considering that they would be helping out a man to get what he deserved, but they would also be able to obtain the money necessary to their monetary well-being away from the crusade.  Eventually Alexis gained his place on the throne, but he was having difficulty obtaining the money that he needed to repay the Crusaders.

In the end, the Crusaders basically waged a war on Constantinople, which caused countless destruction when they had sacked the fellow christian city.

As you can see, the Crusade was not what had been intended in the slightest.  I hope that my essay has been helpful, and please let me know what you think!