Friday, January 24, 2020

The Quest for Nirvana in Siddhartha Essay -- Hesse Siddhartha Essays

The Quest for Nirvana in Siddhartha    In Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha and his friend, Govinda, leave their sheltered lives as Brahmins, Hindu priests, to be Samanas, ascetics who deny themselves all pleasure. Some years after, they meet the Buddha, whom Govinda stays with to be a monk while Siddhartha leaves to continue on his own adventures. Toward the end of their lives, they meet again at a river bank and discover if they have truly achieved inner peace. Hesse uses Govinda as a contrast to Siddhartha. As displayed in excursions with the Samanas, with the Buddha, and on other adventures, Siddhartha is a character who is more independent and must learn on his own while Govinda is more dependent and feels he must be taught.    Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia      According to Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, Hesse was born in Germany in 1877. After rebelling from traditional education and being expelled from the seminary in which he was enrolled, he educated himself mostly through books. In his earlier years, he became a bookseller and journalist, which may have inspired his first book, Peter Carmenzind. Being a pacifist, Hesse moved to Switzerland during World War I. He came in contact there with renowned psychologist Carl Jung who inspired some of his better-known works.    Frank McLynn   Edwin F. Casebeer   Joseph Mileck   New Standard Encyclopedia   Ernst Pawel   Felix Anselm      Frank McLynn, a biographer of Carl Jung, states that Hermann Hesse, following a breakdown, began psychoanalysis with one of Jung's pupils. It was through this pupil that Hesse eventually came in contact with Jung in 1916. According to noted Hesse... ...dhartha and learn from what he sees without being taught. Theodore Ziolkowski notes that characters of Hesse have transformed from trying to escape their problems more toward trying to resolve their inner vision. Siddhartha and Govinda are both. The two characters try to escape their suffering by trying to learn how to deal with pain by exposing themselves to immense amounts of it while they are with the Samanas. However, they realize that this approach will not help the problem: human suffering exists as emotional as well as physical pain. They must learn how to separate themselves from this suffering, not hide from it; that is Nirvana. Their paths separate because Siddhartha's adventures are based on those of an independent man who will try to teach himself, whereas Govinda's are based on those of a dependent man who prefers to learn by example.   

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Translator As My Dream Job Essay

Ever since I began studying English, I have always wanted to become a translator, translating Chinese into English so that people in other countries can enjoy Chinese poems and stories. Becoming a translator isn’t easy. It takes great patience and perseverance/ (Needless to say heartfelt effort and willing persistence is absolutely needed./ It is a step by step progress that involves confidence, patience and hard work.) Firstly, as a middle school student, I must improve my reading comprehension in both languages so that I can choose the appropriate words when I am translating something. Secondly, in order to become good enough to be a translator, I must learn and use effective learning strategies. I’m still only a middle school student, so I have a long way to go. I hope that I will be able to go to college and become a real translator some day. Ã¥  ¦Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã§ ¯â€¡Ã¯ ¼Å¡My dream is to become a successful doctor, helping those sick people and saving their lives. I hope everyone can have an opportunity to receive excellent treatments for their illnesses without having to pay much or just enjoy them free. Of course, I know to achieve my dream , there is a long way to go. I need enough knowledge and experience, so working hard in school will promote me to be a professional doctor. Now everything I do is close to my dream. I feel life is filled with hope and is colorful, and I have enough confidence to realize my dream. Beginning: My dream is to become a __________, +V-ing. ââ€"†My dream is to become a kindergarten teacher, teaching, talking and playing with my dear children. ââ€"†My dream is to become a professional photographer, showing people a different point of view and helping them find a new world in a single photo. Reason: There are several reasons. ââ€"†a kindergarten teacher –I can be myself by opening up my heart, wearing a sincere smile and maintaining a young, optimistic and energetic attitude to life. What’s more, I want to try to ensure that our children experience a memorable childhood by playing musical instruments, painting, singing, swimming and etc. The most important of all, I plan to create a good  circumstance in the kindergarten that every kid can seek out their own hobbies and have an interesting childhood to remember. How: Of course, I know to achieve my dream , there is a long way to go. ââ€"†To reach my dream I will take photography classes in summer and take a photography course in school. The only way to realize my dream is just do it! have enough confidence in yourself Ending: Once I become a doctor, the world is waiting for me to make a difference. With my persistent passion and endeavor, I am sure that I can climb over this mountain, no matter how high or tough it is. My enthusiasm and persistence can motivate me to pursue my dream. Now it’s the time! I always feel fortunate that I got through an unforgettable childhood, for I was never forced to learn what I was reluctant to learn and for I had the opportunity to go to various parks almost every week, going close to nature or making greetings to animals and plants.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Psychodynamic Theory Approaches and Proponents

Psychodynamic theory is actually a collection of psychological theories which emphasize the importance of drives and other forces in human functioning, especially unconscious drives. The approach holds that childhood experience is the basis for adult personality and relationships. Psychodynamic theory originated in Freud’s psychoanalytic theories and includes any theories based on his ideas, including those by Anna Freud, Erik Erikson, and Carl Jung. Key Takeaways: Psychodynamic Theory Psychodynamic theory is comprised of a set of psychological theories that arise from the ideas that humans are often driven by unconscious motivations and that adult personality and relationships are often the result of childhood experiences.Psychodynamic theory originated in the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud, and includes any theory based on his ideas, including work by Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Erik Erikson. It also includes newer theories like object relations. Origins Between the late 1890s and the 1930s, Sigmund Freud developed a variety of psychological theories based on his experiences with patients during therapy. He called his approach to therapy psychoanalysis and his ideas became popularized through his books, such as The Interpretation of Dreams. In 1909, he and his colleagues traveled to America and gave lectures on psychoanalysis, spreading Freud’s ideas further. In the years that followed, regular meetings were held to discuss psychoanalytic theories and applications. Freud influenced a number of major psychological thinkers, including Carl Jung and Alfred Adler, and his influence continues today. It was Freud who first introduced the term psychodynamics. He observed that his patients exhibited psychological symptoms with no biological basis. Nevertheless, these patients were unable to stop their symptoms despite their conscious efforts. Freud reasoned that if the symptoms couldn’t be prevented by conscious will, they must arise from the unconscious. Therefore, the symptoms were the result of the unconscious will opposing the conscious will, an interplay he dubbed psychodynamics. Psychodynamic theory formed to encompass any theory deriving from Freud’s basic tenets. As a result, the terms psychoanalytic and psychodynamic are often used interchangeably. However, there is an important distinction: the term psychoanalytic only refers to theories developed by Freud, while the term psychodynamic references both Freud’s theories and those that are based on his ideas, including Erik Eriksons psychosocial theory of human development and Jungs concept of archetypes. In fact, so many theories are encompassed by psychodynamic theory, that it is often referred to as an approach or a perspective instead of a theory. Assumptions Despite the psychodynamic perspective’s association with Freud and psychoanalysis, psychodynamic theorists no longer put much stock in some of Freud’s ideas, such as the id, ego, and superego. Today, the approach is centered around a core set of tenets that both arise from and expand upon Freud’s theories. Psychologist Drew Weston outlined five propositions that generally encompass 21st century psychodynamic thinking: First and most importantly, a great deal of mental life is unconscious, meaning people’s thoughts, feelings, and motivations are often unknown to them.Individuals may experience conflicting thoughts and feelings towards a person or situation because mental responses occur independently but in parallel. Such internal conflict can lead to contradictory motivations, necessitating mental compromise.Personality begins to form in early childhood and it continues to be influenced by childhood experiences into adulthood, especially in the formation of social relationships.People’s social interactions are impacted by their mental understanding of themselves, other people, and relationships.Personality development includes learning to regulate sexual and aggressive drives, as well as growing from a socially dependent to an interdependent state in which one can form and maintain functional intimate relationships. While many of these propositions continue to focus on the unconscious, they also are concerned with the formation and understanding of relationships. This arises from one of the major developments in modern psychodynamic theory: object relations. Object relations holds that one’s early relationships set expectations for later ones. Whether they are good or bad, people develop a comfort level with the dynamics of their earliest relationships and are often drawn to relationships that can in some way recreate them. This works well if one’s earliest relationships were healthy but leads to problems if those early relationships were problematic in some way. In addition, no matter what a new relationship is like, an individual will look at a new relationship through the lens of their old relationships. This is called transference and offers a mental shortcut to people attempting to understand a new relationship dynamic. As a result, people make inferences that may or may not be accurate about a new relationship based on  their past experiences. Strengths Psychodynamic theory has several strengths that account for its continued relevance in modern psychological thinking. First, it accounts for the impact of childhood on adult personality and mental health. Second, it explores the innate drives that motivate our behavior. It’s in this way that psychodynamic theory accounts for both sides of the nature/nurture debate. On the one hand, it points to the way the unconscious mental processes people are born with influence their thoughts, feelings, and behavior. On the other, it emphasizes the influence of childhood relationships and experiences on later development.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Weaknesses Despite its strengths, psychodynamic theory has a number of weaknesses, too. First, critics often accuse it of being too deterministic, and therefore, denying that people can exercise conscious free will. In other words, by emphasizing the unconscious and the roots of personality in childhood experience, psychodynamic theory suggests that behavior is pre-determined and ignores the possibility that people have personal agency. Psychodynamic theory is also criticized for being unscientific and unfalsifiable—it is impossible to prove the theory to be false. Many of Freud’s theories were based on single cases observed in therapy and remain difficult to test. For example, there’s no way to empirically research the unconscious mind. Yet, there are some psychodynamic theories that can be studied, which has led to scientific evidence for some of its tenets. Sources Dombeck, Mark. â€Å"Psychodynamic Theories.† MentalHelp.net, 2019. https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/psychodynamic-theories/McLeod, Saul. â€Å"Psychodynamic Approach.† Simply Psychology, 2017. https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychodynamic.html  Weston, Drew. â€Å"The Scientific  Legacy of Sigmund Freud: Toward a Psychodynamically Informed Psychological Science. Psychological Bulletin, vol. 124, no. 3, 1998, pp. 333-371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.124.3.333Weston, Drew, Glenn O. Gabbard, and Kile M. Ortigo. â€Å"Psychoanalytic Approaches to Personality.† Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research. 3rd ed., edited by Oliver P. John, Richard W. Robins, and Lawrence A. Pervin. The Guilford Press, 2008, pp. 61-113. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-11667-003The Freudian Theory of Personality.†Ã‚  Journal Psyche,  http://journalpsyche.org/the-freudian-theory-of-personality/#more-191