The problems of philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The problems of philosophy - Essay Example Viewing the work in a general way of such philosophers as Russell, Descartes, Ayer, Wittgenstein, and James can provide good ideas on what philosophy is and its work.In The Problems of Philosophy Chapter XV: The Value of Philosophy, Bertrand Russell implies that philosophy may be difficult to understand in the material world. He presents the idea that if all of one's material needs were satisfied, if poverty and disease had been met, there are still some things for which one looks. These things are 'goods of the mind' and they are reached by the 'self' that is not limited to the prison of materiality. It is possible for the self to escape and to know things outside itself. The self can reach for a unity of knowledge which may constitute the highest good. It can find basic materials of the universe that do not need to be further analyzed and it is the goal of the philosopher to conduct such a search. Rene Descartes conducted this very search and he did it inside his mind. Outside the mind is the reality of the world, or so it seems. This reality is full of conflicts and contradictions. The role of the philosopher for Descartes was to use principles offered by mathematical reasoning to go inside the mind and to find or develop a system of knowledge that demonstrated, from within the mind, a unity from which all other knowledge could come. The way in which truth was derived from mathematics could also be applied to the world.

Amtrak Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Amtrak - Essay Example The company’s train service connects nearly 500 destinations in 46 states. The company information indicates that Amtrak served 30.2 million passengers and achieved ticket revenue of $1.9 billion in 2011 fiscal year (AMTRAK, 2008). It would be recommendable for the Amtrak to introduce its railroad services to Denmark, one of the most developed economies in the world. Although Denmark is an economically and industrially developed country, its railroad industry is still struggling to provide superior services to passengers. â€Å"Railroad transport is not competitive in Denmark and is only being sustained by higher subsidies than other modes of transport† (OECD, 1999, p.77). Denmark remains to be one of the Western European countries with limited number of long distance bus transpiration. Today, a large number of passengers depend on bus transportation for their journeys, and hence Amtrak services are most likely to be accepted by the Denmark’s railroad passenger industry. Currently, the country has roughly 2,600 km of railway lines and passenger trains are a common mode of transport in Denmark. In addition, the country has well developed infrastructure facilities, which is a vital element for railroad passenger industry. Denmark has some major rail connections to its adjacent countries including Germany and Sweden. Although there are numerous positive factors for Amtrak to introduce its services in Denmark, some operational barriers exist in the new global country. The OECD report (1999, pp. 77-78) reflects that increased governmental regulations have become a growth impediment to Denmark’s railroad passenger industry. The report also points out that Denmark does not effectively seize transportation opportunities provided by its neighboring countries. As a result, such government level restrictions may limit the operational efficiency of the company in Denmark. In addition, Denmark has only limited number of electrified