Technology should be influenced by religious and social values Essay - 1

Technology should be influenced by religious and social values - Essay Example Ortega y Gasser found that man and technology began together (Gasser, 1941), and technology has always facilitated man’s functioning beyond the limitations of his natural self. Thus, technology, religious and social values are mutually interdependent, and contribute to each others’ growth (Newman, 1997). â€Å"Religion is universally acknowledged as one of the primary forms of human experience and culture† (Newman, 1997, p.1), and from ancient times till the present day, religion continues to have social significance. Moreover, contemporary humanistic social scientific scholars have reinforced the approach that religion is vital to achieve a clear understanding of social values and culture. Thus, even Sigmund Freud, the severe critic of religious illusion, stated that â€Å"religion has ruled human society for many thousands of years† (Freud,1964, p.60). Significantly, technology and culture have a historical, and even pre-historical relationship, and several cultural theorists have found technology to have a greater social importance than religion. For example, according to Thorstein Veblen, â€Å"in the growth of culture, as in its current maintenance, the facts of technological use and wont are fundamental and definitive† (Veblen, 1964, p.v). These assertions made by scholars do not refer to technology in the sense of the latest electronic gadget purchased at the local store, but to innovations and technical skills that have helped man to employ the basic principles of agriculture, to build houses, to weave cloth, to make tools, create weapons, manufacture simple domestic utensils such as cooking pots, cooking ovens, cutlery, and in making basic furniture (Cardwell, 1972). Even a simple human community needs a fundamental level of such technology if it has to rise above the level of primitive existence experienced by wande ring food-gatherers. The purpose of technology is to transform nature into

Edgar Allan Poe The Raven Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Edgar Allan Poe The Raven - Research Paper Example It was possible that Lenore was the deceased woman being referred to in the poem (Cummings , par 9). The poem tells of a bereaved man who is completely devastated by the lost his loved one, Lenore. Suddenly in his moment of sadness, a raven appears who keeps on repeating the word â€Å"nevermore†, as if telling the man that he will never see his beloved again, not even in heaven. As in most works of Poe, â€Å"The Raven† has a very melancholy tone which is emphasized by Poe’s use of words such as â€Å"weary†, â€Å"dreary†, â€Å"bleak†, â€Å"dying†, â€Å"sorrow†, â€Å"darkness†, â€Å"stillness†, â€Å"ebony† and â€Å"grave† (Cummings , par 7). He also uses internal and end rhymes and alliterations to enhance the theme of the poem. â€Å"The Raven† was first published on January 29, 1845 in the New York Evening Mirror (eNotes.com, Inc. , par 1). It is said that the sources of â€Å"The Raven† are Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s â€Å"Lady Geraldine’s 1843 Courtship†, Charles Dickens’ â€Å"Barnaby Rudge† and the two poems by Thomas Holly Chivers, â€Å"To Allegra Florence† and â€Å"Isadore† (eNotes.com, Inc. , par 1). Poe revealed in his â€Å"The Philosophy of Composition† that he wrote about death in â€Å"The Raven† after asking himself what it is among the universal understanding of mankind is the most melancholy (Poe , par 20). Furthermore, he also asked himself what it is that is most universally appreciable and his answer was â€Å"beauty† (Poe , par 13). Having these two topics in mind, he then thought of combining them and writing a poem about the death of a beautiful woman which he considered â€Å"the most poetical to pic in the world† (Poe , par 20). In terms of symbolism, Poe also considered using a parrot in the poem because it was capable of speech. However, he decided to use a raven instead since the theme of the poem is melancholy. A raven is known to be a bird which symbolizes ill omen; thus, Poe decided that it was more