Nishida Kitarôs Studies of the Good and the Debate Concerning Universal Truth in Early Twentieth-C :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Nishida Kitarà ´'s Studies of the Good and the Debate Concerning Universal Truth in Early Twentieth-Century Japan ABSTRACT: When Nishida Kitarà ´ wrote Studies of the Good, he was a high school teacher in Kanazawa far from Tokyo, the center of Japanese scholarship. While he was praised for his intellectual effort, there was no substantive agreement about the content of his ideas. Critics disagreed with the way he conceived of reality and of truth as contained in reality. Taken together, I believe that the responses to Nishida's early work give us a window on the state of Japanese philosophy in the early twentieth century. In what follows, I give evidence for the existence of such a debate about the nature of truth and reality. After a sketch of Nishida's position (in which scientific truth is made subordinate to an all-encompassing divine truth), I outline the positions of two other contemporary thinkers: Katà ´ Hiroyuki and Takahashi Satomi. With respect to Nishida, they offer markedly different takes on the question of universal truth: Katà ´ favors an antireligious, scientific positivism w hile Takahashi accepts an existentialist notion of radical human finitude, in which human access to any certainty is denied. I conclude that one is confronted with a lively debate by Japanese philosophers inside Japan about the definition of truth and consequently about the nature of reality. Nishida Kitarà ´ (1870-1945) wrote the essays that make up Studies of the Good while a high school teacher in Kanazawa, in the hokuriku region on the Japan sea, far from the center of scholarship in Tokyo. The essays originally appeared separately in various journals and in 1911 were published in book form. From the publication of the first essay, "Concerning the Nature of Reality", in Tetsugaku zasshi, the journal of the philosophy seminar at Tokyo Imperial University, Nishida faced a number of direct and indirect critiques. While his intellectual effort was highly praisedone person proclaiming that such a level of accomplishment . . . would have been unattainable for anyone but a true scholarthere was no such agreement about the content of what Nishida had written. Critics disagreed with the way he conceived of reality and of truth as contained in reality. Taken together, I believe that the responses to Studies give us a window onto the state of philosophizing in Japan in the earl y twentieth century. The responses show that four decades into the program of opening up to the West, philosophers in Japan were in full-scale debate about the nature of truth and reality.

Mystery of Genghis Khan

Why is the great warrior and Mongolian icon Genghis Khan perceived as a destructive and genocidal warlord? Why is there a negative perception about him in spite of his achievements and glories? Genghis Khan was a political and military leader of Mongolia. He is revered as the greatest Mongolian ever born. He is credited with uniting the nomadic Mongol tribes and creating the Mongol empire, the largest contiguous empire in World History. The chronicler Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani left a description of Genghis Khan, written when Genghis Khan was in his later years: â€Å"[Genghis Khan was] a man of tall stature, of vigorous build, robust in body, the hair on his face scanty and turned white, with cat's eyes, possessed of dedicated energy, discernment, genius, and understanding, awe-striking, a butcher, just, resolute, an over thrower of enemies, intrepid, sanguinary, and cruel.† The Mongol Empire ended up ruling, or at least briefly conquering, large parts of modern day China, Mongolia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Moldova, South Korea, North Korea, and Kuwait under his military rule. He was not only a great warrior but also a great ruler. He created the Yassa code which was the military and civil code for Mongolian Empire. The Mongol Empire was one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse empires in history, as befitted its size. There were tax exemptions for religious figures and so to some extent teachers and doctors. The Mongol Empire practiced religious tolerance to a large degree because it was generally indifferent to religious beliefs. Genghis Khan had a lot of virtues worthy of a true leader and statesman. Simplicity, honesty and loyalty were the cornerstones of his life. Yet, accounts of Genghis Khan's life are marked by claims of a series of betrayals and conspiracies. These include rifts with his early allies such as Jamuqa (who also wanted to be a ruler of Mongol tribes) and Wang Khan (his and his father's ally), his son Jochi, and problems with the most important Shaman who was allegedly trying break him up with brother Qasar who was serving Genghis Khan loyally. Many modern scholars doubt that all of the conspiracies existed and suggest that Genghis Khan was inclined to paranoia. He was largely tolerant of religions. The exception was when religious groups challenged the state. For example Ismaili Muslims that resisted the Mongols were exterminated. In Iraq and Iran, he is looked on as a destructive and genocidal warlord who caused enormous damage and destruction. Similarly, in Afghanistan and Pakistan (along with other non-Turkic Muslim countries) he is not looked with favor though some are ambivalent. It is believed that the Hazara of Afghanistan is descendants of a large Mongol garrison stationed therein. Nevertheless, the invasions of Baghdad and Samarkand caused mass murders, for example, and much of southern Khuzestan was completely destroyed. His descendant Hulagu Khan destroyed much of Iran's northern part. Among the Iranian peoples he is regarded as one of the most despised conquerors of Iran, along with Alexander and Tamerlane. In much of Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Hungary, Genghis Khan, his descendants and the Mongols and/or Tartars are generally described as causing considerable damage and destruction. Presently Genghis Khan, his descendants, his generals and in general the Mongols are remembered for their ferocious military, toughness, ruthless and destructive conquests in much of the world in history books. In military strategy, Genghis Khan generally preferred to offer opponents the chance to submit to his rule without a fight and become vassals by sending tribute, accepting residents, contributing troops. He guaranteed them protection only if they abided by the rules under his administration and domain, but his and others' policy was mass destruction and murder if he encountered a resistance. For example David Nicole states in The Mongol Warlords, â€Å"terror and mass extermination of anyone opposing them was a well tested Mongol tactic.† In such cases he would not give an alternative but ordered massive collective slaughter of the population of resisting cities and destruction of their property, usually by burning it to the ground. Only the skilled engineers and artists were spared from death and maintained as slaves. Documents written during or just after Genghis Khan's reign say that after a conquest, the Mongol soldiers looted, pillaged, and raped; however, the Khan got the first pick of the beautiful women. Some troops who submitted were incorporated into the Mongol system in order to expand their manpower; this also allowed the Mongols to absorb new technology, manpower, knowledge and skill for use in military campaigns against other possible opponents. There also were instances of mass slaughter even where there was no resistance, especially in Northern China where the vast majority of the population had a long history of accepting nomadic rulers. Many ancient sources described Genghis Khan's conquests as wholesale destruction on an unprecedented scale, causing radical changes in the demographics of Asia. For example, over much of Central Asia speakers of Iranian languages were replaced by speakers of Turkic languages. According to the works of Iranian historian Rashid al-Din, the Mongols killed more than 70,000 people in Merv and more than a million in Nishapur. China suffered a drastic decline in population during 13th and 14th centuries. For instance, before the Mongol invasion, unified China had approximately 120 million inhabitants; after the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people. How many of these deaths were attributable directly to Genghis Khan and his forces are unclear, as are the highly generalized numbers themselves. In addition, some modern scholars question the validity of such estimates, since the methodology of the 1300 census likely underestimated the population. [citation  needed] His campaigns in Northern China, Central Asia and the Middle East caused massive property destruction for those who resisted his invasion; however, there are no exact factual numbers available at this time. For example, the cities of Ray and Tus, the two largest and most populous cities in Iran at the time, both centers of literature, culture, trade and commerce, were completely destroyed by order of Genghis Khan. Nishapur, Merv, Baghdad and Samarkand suffered similar destruction. There is a noticeable lack of Chinese literature that has survived from the Jin Dynasty, due to the Mongol conquests. In Mongolia the topic of Genghis Khan was taboo and was heavily suppressed by the Soviet-backed Mongolian communist government. He was largely described as a bad person and a tyrant. However, after the fall of the communist government and the onset of democracy in Mongolia, the memory of Genghis Khan has been catapulted to legendary status. Mongols today celebrate him as the founding father of Mongolia. Negative views of Genghis Khan are very persistent with histories written by many different people from various different geographical regions often citing the cruelties and destructions brought upon by Mongol armies, but some historians are looking into positive aspects of Genghis Khan's conquests. Genghis Khan is sometimes credited with bringing the Silk Road under one cohesive political environment. Theoretically this allowed increased communication and trade between the West, Middle East and Asia by expanding the horizon of all three areas. In more recent times some historians point out that Genghis Khan instituted certain levels of meritocracy in his rule and was quite tolerant of many religions. For instance in much of modern-day Turkey, Genghis Khan is looked on as a great military leader and even many male children are named after him with pride.         

Funding Health Care Services Essay

Health Care Services Recommend How Ambulatory Services Should Be Funded There are many businesses like ambulance services that are private. Their fees are collected by the person that is using the service to be transported to the doctor or the use of their insurance they use to assist with their services. The community also provides some of the services and they are supported by taxes. In some cases, this is very rare. The hospital provides some of the ambulance services which are paid for by their insurance company or the patient for the service that is rendered at that time. In the community where I live, the patient is charged for the ambulance service regardless if someone gets on the ambulance when they arrive at the home. But the service is always community based. This is how the ambulatory service is paid for rather than it getting paid for by our tax dollars. It also depends on the business, county, and state we live in each day. Services provided by the county and state are services paid for by tax base. There is also the use of private ambulance services, or just the use of completely volunteer ones. The use of first responders is funded by the county and the state. At the same time, one can use a private separate ambulance service to assist with the injured person and transporting them. Recommend How Continuum of Long-Term Care Services Should be Funded I recommend that in order to deal with the complicated nature of long-term care, alternative solutions need to be considered. The reality is that the population who is in need of long term care has to consider all of their basic health and human needs met for all the decades of their life. This is an expensive reality. With the expanding population of individuals who qualify for long term care, there needs to be a feasible plan in place in order to ensure the viability of long term services without leaning on limited tax payer and/or government funds. My suggestion is to increase the requirement for pre-graduate internships and/or clinic experiences for students who are seeking advanced degrees in the long-term care services field. These include; medical assisting, nursing, professional counseling, social work, a physical rehabilitation. According to Mulvey, in the US, Medicaid is a government program that will pay for certain health services  and nursing home care for older people. In most states, Medicaid also pays for some long-term care services at home and in the community. Eligibility and covered services vary from state to state. Most often, eligibility is based on income and personal resources. Individuals eligible for Medicaid are typically not in the condition or capable of aging in pla ce, and Medicaid’s expenses are primarily concentrated on nursing home care. The current requirement for these programs before graduation is in the range of 9-12 months of unpaid or low-paid service. If this service graduation requirement were to increase to 18-24 months this would provide many more entry level, yet qualified, individuals the opportunity to provide care for those who are seeking a multitude of services at a fraction of the cost of current programs. The basis for funding should be a combination of government subsidized funds, acknowledging the inherent sympathy that the United States was founded, along with private donations. If the cost of services can decrease, the available funds can stretch further to be able to support additional individuals who require long term care. Recommend How Mental and Behavioral Health Services Should be Funded Mental disorders and mental health problems are treated by a variety of caregivers who work in diverse, relatively independent, and loosely coordinated facilities and services-both public and private (Williams ;amp; Torren, 2010). I recommend that they appoint staff from the Department of Mental Health to develop and put into practice a joint plan to create a continuum of care for elder adults with behavioral health needs based on the Community Support Program (CSP) model. This plan of action should summarize objectives, goals, timeframes, action steps, and a research/evaluation component. It should also make available guidelines for written agreements on local collaboration, which it should include how to decide cross-system disagreements. I also think that resource allocation o should be a main focus. With this being said, this would lay the groundwork for the systems integration needed to create the continuum of care. Next, I recommend that they establish committed funding for services to elder adults with behavioral health needs for the county and state. This already exists for the care of the children. There should be a level of flexibility in order to develop a group of services perceptive to the needs of the individual of the adults. As of now, the state has not funded mental health. I recommend that at least one geriatric pilot project be included in the budget. The project should require integration of the behavioral health and aging systems. I think that this would really be a vital step in addressing the needs of the geriatric population which is really underserved today. Once this is set up, it is my recommendation that the state set aside more money for this funding each year. On the local level, community mental health should make behavioral health services for older individuals a main concern in its yearly plan for the distribution of reinvestment dollars. I also recommend that they require that all medical and nursing students be trained in identifying behavioral health issues, treatment modalities as they relate to the older adults, and the referral processes.