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Pages:
7 pages/≈1925 words
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2 Sources
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APA
Subject:
Literature & Language
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Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
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Topic:

The answer to the Essay (Question 6). Literature & Language Essay

Essay Instructions:

The requirements are below:
There are two video that we watched before, the paper doesnt require the video, but maybe they will help you to finish the essay.
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=5d2-BmEa_YI&list=PLvpFenv-nFqI19mtaAOf5aybg5IEcHlYL&index=2
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=MNIv6Edc1eI
B) Revision
1. Follow the links below to access the videos which contain detailed instruction on how to complete the exam.
2. The first video contains general information on the structure of the exam and on how to study for it. The second video focuses specifically on the midterm.

https://vimeo(dot)com/221156574
https://vimeo(dot)com/221107942
C) Length of the Exam
Although the length of the exam may vary depending on the student's writing style, typically an "A-quality" exam should be around 2000 words in total: 1000 for the answer to the essay question, 1000 for the text-comment.
Midterm Exam
ANSWER ONE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Examine the relation between man and reality by making reference to the problem of filters
2. Explain the relation between philosophy and mythology. Examine and discuss the main interpretations.
3. Why did philosophy emerge in Greece around the 6th century BC?
4. Who were the “Presocratics”? What are the common features of their philosophical investigations? In which ways were these thinkers different from the poets, historians, and intellectuals that came before them?
5. What is the meaning of the terms “world-system” and “principle” according to the Milesians philosophers?
6. Why did Thales believe that water is the principle of all that exists?
7. State Anaximander`s argument for the Unlimited.
8. Why did Anaximenes believe that air is the principle of all that exists?
9. Why was Xenophanes so concerned to attack Homer and Hesiod? Are his criticisms effective?
10. Can we know the truth about things, according to Xenophanes? If so, how?

COMMENT ON ONE OF THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES:
1) Most of those who first engaged in philosophy supposed that the only principles of all things were to be found as material elements. That of which all things that are consist, that from which they first arise and into which they finally vanish away, that of which the “basic being” persists although the perceptible characteristics are changed, this, they say, is the prime element and first-principle of things. Therein they hold that nothing either comes-to-be or is destroyed, since this kind of “basic nature” always persists. As to the nature of what is fundamental, however, and even as to whether it is one or many, there was much disagreement. Thales, the founder of this type of philosophy, says that the first principle is water (for which reason he declared that the earth rests on water), getting the notion perhaps from seeing that the nutriment of all things is moist, and that heat itself is generated from the moist and kept alive by it (and that from which they come to be is a principle of all things). He got his notion from this fact, and from the fact that the seeds of all things have a moist nature, and that water is the origin of the nature of moist things. Some think that even the ancients who lived long before the present generation, and first framed accounts of the gods, had a similar view of nature; for they made Ocean and Tethys the parents of creation, and described the oath of the gods as being by water, to which they give the name of Styx; for what is oldest is most honorable, and the most honorable thing is that by which one swears. It may perhaps be uncertain whether this opinion about nature is primitive and ancient, but Thales at any rate is said to have declared himself thus about the first cause. (Aristotle, Metaphysics, i. 3 ; 983 b 6)
2) The Unlimited is the first principle of the things that are. It is that from which the coming-to-be [of things] takes place, and it is that into which things return, by moral necessity, giving satisfaction to one another and making reparation for their injustice in accordance with the ordering of time. (Anaximander, Fr. 1)
3) Anaximenes was an associate of Anaximander and agreed with him that the essence of all things is one and unlimited; on the other hand, he declared that it is not indeterminate but it has the specific nature of air, which differs in rarity and density according to the kind of things into which it forms itself. Rarefied it becomes fire; condensed it becomes wind, then cloud, and as the condensation increases it becomes successively water, earth, and then stones. Everything else gets made out of these. (Simplicius, Commentaria)
4) There never was nor will be a man who has plain knowledge about the gods and about all the things I speak of. Even if he should chance to say the complete truth, yet he himself knows not that it is so. But all may have their fancy. (Xenophanes, Fr. 10)

Essay Sample Content Preview:

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The answer to the Essay (Question 6)
Thales was one of the pre-Socratic philosophers and most notably by Aristotle. He contributed in the field of philosophy through the theories of nature and reality. He is noted as the first person to investigate the fundamental principles of matter and reality. The question of the originating substance of matter formed the basis of his natural philosophy which later created an opportunity for developing new theories linked to nature. Most of his approaches focused on explaining the reality of nature and defining the first principle. The matter is an essential substance that makes up the earth`s surface. Linking basic matter provided background information for the explanation of water and the role it plays in supporting life. Even though Thales was involved in developing an understanding of supernatural events, he had an interest in understanding cosmology and astronomical phenomena. The theories provided reliable sources for Aristotle's arguments. For instance, Thales's explanations of water as a primary principle of life creates an understanding of wisdom and knowledge which are defined across different context by Aristotle.
Nature was described as a single entity with the existence of different forms of matter. Therefore, it provided an opportunity for differentiating science and myths. Having focused on the aspect of the case, the philosopher sought to understand matter as a definition of what exists in nature, earth and the surrounding environment of the universe. Thales' research was related to matter. It provided an opportunity of focusing on the sources that defines living matter. He, therefore, broke the use of mythology and created a new field of knowledge that provided reasonable explanations on the nature of the living and how they regulate to the natural environment (Gilje & Skirbekk, 2017). Through the description of the physical objects, theories and hypotheses explained nature by deriving something based o the existence of the ultimate substance thus replacing mythological explanations that had long been used in the description of the universe and matter. Therefore, his hypotheses were later defined by Aristotle as the originating principle of nature and matter based on a single substance which is water. He perceived that some objects or matter changed to become other forms of matter and water was part of these substances which was viewed to have a significant influence on the earth`s surface
Water is an essential element for all living beings. It is a critical and survival needs for the living things to thrive on the earth`s surface. Human beings rely on food and water, and therefore the water components are highly valued.
Additionally, the plants rely on water for growth. Therefore, a substance is considered as living based on the ability to use water as an essential element for sustaining life. It is also a necessary element for plants to grow, and this creates a room for the survival of other animals in the earth's ecosystem. Apart from the survival and food-making process, water is often required to achieve different activities such as processing and development of food in plants. It is also required ...
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