Comparing the Secular Humanist, Machiavelli and the Religious Humanist,

Comparing the Secular Humanist, Machiavelli and the Religious Humanist, Erasmus One can often identify a person's political, religious or cultural orientation by his or her reaction to certain words. A case in point is the expression "secular humanism." For religious conservatives those words sum up much of what is wrong with contemporary society. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary gives several definitions for humanism, a word which made its appearance in 1832. The first is "a devotion to the humanities or the revival of class, individualistic and critical spirit, and emphasis on secular concerns characteristic of the Renaissance." Renaissance is capitalized. Another definition reads as follows: "a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values, especially a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason." Ousted from power and in exile from Florence, the city where he had served as a diplomat, Niccolà ² Machiavelli wrote a famous how-to-do politics book called The Prince. That was nearly 500 years ago and yet it holds a prophetic relevance for own age. Machiavelli fits both parts of our definition of humanism. On one hand, he was versed in the classics and inspired by his study of the government of Republican Rome and his own experience; thus he fits into the Renaissance period. On the other hand, he could be called a secular humanist because he rejects the authority of religion; he trusts his own reason and informs us that he will deal only with "the truth of the matter as facts show it" (34). Most people today would agree with him that the state needs to restrict the power of the church. ... ...nt that held the political power. Machiavelli saw the need for liberation--liberation from religious ideology; what counted in politics was getting the job done. Religion was unnecessary, only to be used as a kind of smoke screen for the real business at hand. Erasmus' used scholarship and wit to attack ignorance and corruption. He did not give up on the establishment nor did he turn his back on his faith. Both blind religious faith and cynical secularism threaten us today. Because I live in a society that claims to be religious, but operates according to secular principles I suppose that I fear the latter more. The current disillusionment with politics shows all too well that Machiavelli has, in a sense, won. We assume that morality and religious convictions do not play an important role in politics. We are only beginning to reap the fruits of that victory.

Hard Times: Coketown Essay

In † Hard Times: Coketown† Charles Dickens is assessing industrialization and the effect it had on the people in the towns in which they resided. Coketown seems to be portrayed as a city of work and not anything else. It is put across that the town consists of only fact and nothing else to alleviate the dullness. Charles Dickens is sharing his analysis on the social issues implicated in this town through a narrative that reflects upon the environment. He uses a lot of descriptions and similes to show the implications in which the society is inflicting. For example, the steam engine is constantly going up and down is â€Å"like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness,† (1057). He also uses metaphors like â€Å"it had a black canal,† and â€Å"interminable serpents of smoke† (1057). He is portraying a point that the government in this town is not caring enough about there community so therefore he feels he needs to get the message acros s about how socially unacceptable this is. As he conveys these ideas to the reader he uses representation to give an object human life. An example when he gives an object a human life structure is; â€Å"It was a town of unnatural red and black like a painted face of a savage,†(1057). By doing this he was stressing the importance of how nothing is progressing and the politicians need to take another look at the communities whole social and living structure. He makes inferences on industrialization and the effect that it has like â€Å"the river ran purple† and â€Å"it had a black canal in it† (1057) This is just showing how much out of hand the social concern of industrialization had got to and how pollution had got to a big height. â€Å"It was a town of red brick or of red brick if that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it,† (1057). This shows how bad the living conditions were getting and he probably felt the politicians in there town were not doing anything to fix these conditions. â€Å"It was very strange to walk through the streets on a Sunday morning, and note how few of them the barbarous jangling of bells that was driving the sick and nervous mad.† (1058) Now he was stressing how the community itself didn’t even know where they fit in as a social foundation. The main problem to Dickens was that the political and social issues of this town were worsening since none was caring enough to change anything. He basically is revealing the mistreatment of industrialization in this society and is implying towards the social disgraces that have occurred. He retorts,† fact, fact fact'† (1058) just to show even more how  dull the lives of the poor became a repeating every day thing. It became the same because it seemed like every day was a desperate day to survive in this new industrialize d world. To me a major social implication made a point in this short story was of a corrupt society that the politicians were more interested in productivity than in the health and happiness of its citizens.

Deciding to Licence or Assign When Selling a Patent

After youve brought your new idea to full fruition, youve invented it; and after youve gotten your intellectual property protection, youve patented it. Like most independent inventors, the next task at hand will be commercializing your product, you make money from it. If the following conditions apply to you: You have decided for a variety of reasons that you shouldnt be the one to manufacture, market, and distribute your invention yourself, you invented a better mousetrap but you dont want to go into the mousetrap business.You were/are not an employee and your invention was/is not automatically assigned to your employer as specified in your contract. There are two common ways to profit from your patent: licensing and assignment. Lets take a look at the differences between the two and help you decide which path is better for you. The Licensing Route Licensing involves a legal written contract where you the owner of the patent are the licensor, who grants rights to your patent to a licensee, the person that wants to license your patent. Those rights can include: the right to use your invention, or copy and sell your invention. When licensing you can also write performance obligations into the contract, for example, you dont want your invention to just sit on the shelf so you can include a clause that your invention must be brought to market within a certain amount of time. Licensing can be an exclusive or non-exclusive contract. You can determine how long the licensing contract will be in effect. Licensing is revocable by a breach of contract, by preset time limits, or by a failure to meet performance obligations. The Assignment Route Assignment is the irrevocable and permanent sale and transfer of ownership of a patent by the assignor (thats you) to the assignee. Assignment means that you will no longer ever have any rights to your patent. Typically its a one-time lump sum total sale of your patent. How The Money Rolls In - Royalties, Lump Sum With licensing your contract can stipulate a one-time payment or/and that you receive royalties from the licensee. These royalties usually last up until your patent expires, that could be twenty years that you receive a small percentage of the profits from each product that is sold. The average royalty is about 3% of the wholesale price of the product, and that percentage can commonly range from 2% to 10%, and in very rare cases up to 25%. It really depends on what kind of invention you have made, for example; a brilliant piece of software for an application with a foreseeable market can easily command double-digit royalties. On the other hand, the inventor of the flip-top drink can is one of the richest inventors in the world, whose royalty rate was only a tiny percentage. With assignments you can also receive royalties, however, lump-sum payments are much more common (and bigger) with assignments. It should be pointed out that because licensing is revocable when someone doesnt pay you your royalties thats a breach of contract, and you can cancel the contract and take away their rights to use your invention. You would not have the same weight with assignments because they are irrevocable. So in most cases, it is better to go the licensing route when royalties are involved. So which is better, royalties or a lump sum? Well consider the following: how ​novel is your invention, how much competition does your invention have and how likely is it that a similar product will hit the market? Could there be a technical or regulatory failure? How successful is the licensee? If there are no sales, ten percent of nothing is nothing. All the risks (and benefits) involved with royalties are avoided with a lump sum payment, and with assignments, that lump sum payment you receive, you never have to refund. However, negotiations for a lump sum payment do acknowledge the fact that the buyer is paying more upfront because they are assuming more risks to gain themselves a greater profit in the long run. Deciding Between Assignment or Licensing Royalties should be the main consideration when deciding between licensing or assignment. If you choose to receive royalties, choose licensing. If you want the capital that the best lump sum payment will bring you choose assignment. Are you in debt from your invention project? Would the money advance other projects and erase your debts? Or is your invention ready for commercialization, ready to make and sell, and you have determined that sales would be good and that you want royalties, then licensing is probably the better choice for you.