The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius - Research Paper Example

1. [a] The metaphor of the mountain here means external influences that could impact an individual’s thought process. Those influences could take theindividuals mainly in the negative direction. [b] Yes, the author think human nature is basically "good", and the external influences could only corrupt him. This perspective is valid to the maximal extent because human thought process as well as their actions could be influenced and oriented by external factors including other persons, events and issues. [c] In ethical terms, irresponsible parenting, and devious friendship are some of the forces that can undermine a beautiful soul or character, because if parents and friends does not take ethical responsibility and provide optimal care, then it negatively impact individuals. [d] Some core values are broadly shared among people in diverse cultures, whether it is Chinese people in 3rd century BC, because human relationships bordered on same linearity, irrespective of people and time. 2. Alan Greenspan is being realistic about the possibility of "business ethics", that too in the current business environment, because ethics in business can protect the organization from external negative influences or criticisms. If an organization indulges in unethical practices in its functioning, it can be picked by external players like its customers, government agencies, watchdogs, media, etc., and that can result in failure of its products, deterioration of its brand or ethical image, thereby leading to its eventual fall. Greenspan validates this perspective by pointing out how economic transactions of organizations are bound by codes and laws, and how all the involved parties follow it to avoid dangerous repercussions. 3. To strengthen one’s self-control, individuals can take number of constructive steps. The first one is, clearly instilling in the individual’s mind, that their mind is totally in their “control”, and no external person or aspect could physically control it. That is, in line with the perspective of Roberto Assagioli, an individual should realize that although external persons could impact his/her mind through words and actions, they cannot physically ‘inject’ their words into the individual’s mind, and so it is in the control of the individual to allow only the thoughts that are favourable for him/her. The second strategy is, even if negative and unfavourable thoughts enter an individual’s mind, he/she should minimize the time those thoughts oscillate in the mind, and should eventually eliminate. The final strategy to strengthen self-control is, the individual should move on with their life by focusing on constructive and positive things, instead of allowing those negative aspects to enter the mind. 4. As Marcus Aurelius states in his book, Meditation, “We are made for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To act against one another then is contrary to nature.” (Aurelius 97). On those lines, I like to express my gratitude for the cooperation given by my parents, friends and teachers for completing my academics. Considering the fact that although it is their duty, my parents give their hard earned money for my education, I am ethically indebted to them. As my teachers and friends critically as well as constructively see my academic performance, and guide on the areas to improve, I am intellectually indebted to them. As I need their cooperation and support, I will be grateful to them. 5. During depression or melancholy, Lincoln practiced certain adaptation strategies helped him to overcome that depression, and aided him to achieve his set goals. The first adaptation strategy of Lincoln was he developed an “irrepressible desire” to achieve certain creditable things, so his achievements could be praised by generations to follow. (Shenk) The second strategy was, during depression, he focused his mind on improve himself by “developing self-understanding, discipline, and strategies for succor that would become the foundation of his character.” (Shenk). The third and final adaptation strategy was, he always kept his mind occupied with positive and constructive thoughts, by gathering materials from good sources and printing it, and also by telling or sharing stories as well as jokes with friends. (Shenk). 6. [a] The aspects, we can hypothesize, which might be driving Stephen Glass to commit all those journalistic fraud was, he wanted to take the quick road to professional success, without putting in the hard work. Although, he had the strength to write creatively, he had the weakness of not working hard to find true stories and write about, which could have done effectively, instead of fabricating stories. [b] Before his downfall, we can hypothesise that Glass viewed himself as more intelligent than his editors and colleagues, as he thought he could continue to spin his stories and thereby fool them, without getting caught. [c] The two strategies for deception used by Glass were utilizing real locations to set his stories, and then utilizing fake individuals to back up his stories. As both these strategies were found out with strong cross-checking, it ultimately failed [d] Yes, Glass did leave “a trail of casualties” because many of his colleagues, who turned blind eye to his fabricated stories, were eventually forced to accept their mistake and tender an apology to the readers. [e] To avoid hiring someone like Stephen Glass, editors need to do effective background checks about the prospective candidate during pre-employment screening. These checks particularly regarding their previous professional experience as well as details about their personal life could provide key insights into how he/she will act in the work environment. 7. Firstly, I want to take or view both victory and defeat in the same breadth or balanced mindset, without getting over excited for a victory and getting depressed in a defeat. Secondly, I want to keep on coming up with fresher goals, both in the professional as well as in the personal side, so that I can keep on going with optimal interest and motivation. Thirdly, by mingling and cooperating with work colleagues during work hours and importantly in the post-work hours, I can optimize my social living, and thereby positively impact my organizational functioning. Finally, by involving myself in sports particularly team sports, I can keep interact with more people and develop team spirit as well as teamwork. These are the key values and habits that I am personally developing to avoid narcissistic personality and it can aid me to avoid the resultant repercussions. 8. Although, plagiarism is dubbed as a "victimless crime", in this case involving attorney Peter Cannon, it has an indirect victim in the form of the client, for whom Cannon filed a plagiarized brief and importantly charged. According to court records, Cannon billed the client $5737.50 for filing a plagiarized brief “in an effort to disqualify the attorneys for the bankruptcy trustee.” (Murphy). [b] The punishments meted out to Cannon appears right because he has confessed to the crime of plagiarism, has refunded the fees that he has charged from the client, and also “paid another lawyer to get up to speed on the case.” (Weiss). [c] In the case involving another attorney Lane, the punishments was severe than the ones imposed on attorney Cannon because in Lane’s case he did not immediately accept wrong doing. In addition to not acknowledging his plagiarism, he failed to respond to court notices for several months, thereby leading to severe punishment than Cannon. [d] The personal appearances and public reprimands can be an apt strategy because anything done in public will create maximum impact on the involved parties, and it will not only prevent the involved lawyer from indulging in wrong practices, but will also impede fellow lawyers from doing the same. 9. Terrence Des Pres in his work, An Anatomy of Life in the Death Camps raises questions regarding whether human moral sense is an idealistic illusion or an evolutionary survival strategy. For me, it is an evolutionary survival strategy because in the current world, where every aspect of human living from business to education, sports, etc, etc., are necessitating adoption of ethical practices, people are forced to adopt human moral sense. Notwithstanding success or failure, people’s maximal actions in an organized setting are being critically viewed mainly from the ethical perspective by various external players, and so it is crucial to hold on to the moral sense. 10. [a] The lines of Albert Camus, which I regard as the most memorable are, “And with what feelings could he accept this honour at a time when other writers in Europe, among them the very greatest, are condemned to silence, and even at a time when the country of his birth is going through unending misery?” (qtd. in “On His 100th Birthday”). The main reason why I selected these lines is because it reflected his political leanings and importantly his empathy for the fellow writers. The lines of Richard Feynman, which are memorable are, “That was the beginning, and the idea seemed so obvious to me and so elegant that I fell deeply in love with it. And, like falling in love with a woman, it is only possible if you do not know much about her, so you cannot see her faults. The faults will become apparent later, but after the love is strong enough to hold you to her.” (qtd. in “Nobel Lecture”). These lines are nice because he brought out the origin as well as refining of this theory through real-world psychological example. [b] The key value Camus share was, more than his award, he is concerned about his fellow writers, who are restricted from expressing and also how his home country of France was going through tough times. The key value Feynman wanted to express, was one can intentionally find faults with others or things, after he/she is totally and emotionally in love with them or attached to them. [c] The work of art that deeply engages me is painting, as it gives me an outlet to exhibit my creativity and also to express my perspectives of life. Works Cited Aurelius, Marcus. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Digireads.com Publishing, 2010. Murphy, Pat. “Law Life: Lawyer nabbed for Plagiarism.” Legal News, 21 Oct 2010. Web. 15 May 2014. “Nobel Lecture.” Nobel Prize. 11 Dec 1965. Web. 15 May 2014. “On His 100th Birthday, Hear Albert Camus Deliver His Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech (1957).” Open Culture. 7 Nov 2013. Web. 15 May 2014. Shenk, Joshua Wolf. “Lincolns Great Depression.” The Atlantic, 1 Oct 2005. Web. 15 May 2014. Weiss, Debra Cassens. “Iowa Lawyer Reprimanded for Plagiarizing Bankruptcy Brief.” ABA Journal, 18 Oct 2010. Web. 15 May 2014. Read More