Monday, September 30, 2019

Descartes “I Think Therefor I Am” Essay

-A statement by the seventeenth-century French philosopher Renà © Descartes â€Å"I think; therefore I am† was the end of the search Descartes conducted for a statement that could not be doubted. In the beginning, Descartes was in the process of figuring out his nature, using reasoning instead of experience. He had to start with a first premise which was indubitable. He found that â€Å"I exist† is something that is certain, and what follows must be certain as well. In the meditator’s search for certainty, he had to discard anything that was false or even open to the slightest doubt. He had to tear away all that was previously known to him, and with a new, stronger foundation, start anew. Descartes had conceded that he has no senses and no body. He also noted that the physical world does not exist, which might also seem to imply his nonexistence. Yet, to have these doubts, he must exist. He found that he could not doubt that he himself existed, as he was the one doing the doubting in the first place. For an evil demon to mislead him in all these insidious ways, he must exist in order to be misled. There must be an â€Å"I† that can doubt, be deceived, and so on. He then formulates the famous cogito argument, saying that he concludes the â€Å"proposition I am, I exist is necessarily true whenever it is put forward by me or conceived in my mind.† He then questions what the â€Å"I† that exists is. He first thought that he had a soul, by means of which he was nourished, moved, could sense and think; and also that he had a body. All these attributes can be doubted, except the fact that he thinks. He can exist if any of the other attributes are not there, but cannot exist if he does not think. Further, he states that he exists as long as he is thinking. The meditator then concludes that in the strict sense, he is only a thing that thinks. In this statement, the Meditator finds his first grip on certainty after the radical skepticism he posited in the first meditation.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Affirmative Action As A Means To Diversify The U.S. Workforce

In the USA, federal affirmative action regulations are supplemented by state and municipal laws and ordinances. Furthermore, the laws that constrain affirmative action in the workplace are related but not identical to those that control affirmative action in university and college admissions.At the federal level, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) are responsible for most equal opportunity and affirmative action regulations and enforcement.When considering the effects of affirmative action, the interests of various stakeholders must be taken into account. The primary stakeholders are the target groups, other non-target groups, organizations that have affirmative action plans (AAPs) and society at large. The phrase ‘effects of' implies a causal relation.However, causal conclusions can rarely be drawn in affirmative-action research because scholars cannot control whether organizations have AAPs or the dimensions (e.g. race and gender) that determine who is targeted by those plans.The purpose of affirmative action is to improve the outcomes of target groups. Research indicates that the size and even the existence of demonstrated benefits on employment have varied across time, location, target group and job level (Holzer and Neumark 2000; Smith 2001).In addition, minority status (African American or Hispanic) contributes to college and university admission only among the most selective institutions, where it increases the probability of admission by up to 10 per cent (Kane 1998). Among African Americans, admission to such selective colleges and universities is associated with an increased probability of graduation, post-baccalaureate education and professional success (Bowen and Bok 1998).On the other hand, the use of affirmative action in the USA is associated with decreased employment outcomes for white males (Holzer and Neumark 1999, 2000).The relative paucity of ‘reverse discrimination' charges filed with the EEOC suggests that these effects are due primarily to the elimination of the privileges often enjoyed by white males rather than to the use of strong preferences for female or minority applicants.Because elite universities reject so many whites and accept so few minority students, the negative impact of affirmative action on white applicants is quite small (Kane 1998).On a broader scale, the long-term effect of having a diverse student body appears to be positive for all groups and for society as a whole. Diversity in higher education is associated with individual changes in attitudes and abilities that enhance participation and success in an increasingly diverse democratic society (Bowen and Bok 1998; Gurin et al 2004).Opponents of affirmative action argue that workplace AAPs depress the performance of organizations, which are forced to hire less competent employees.Supporters argue that affirmative action improves organizational performance b y eliminating economically inefficient discrimination and increasing workforce diversity. Research finds that organizations that use affirmative action in selection tend to hire minority individuals whose educational credentials are slightly lower than those of their white male hires.However, this difference in education does not lead to a corresponding difference in performance, perhaps because these organizations have developed superior human resource practices that enable them to identify high potential individuals and improve their capacities after they are hired. In short, workplace affirmative action does not appear to have a substantial effect, either positive or negative, on organizational performance (Holzer and Neumark 1999, 2000).An important question is whether individuals who are selected in the context of an AAP are stigmatized by others. The discounting principle of attribution theory suggests that one's confidence in the importance of a potential cause is lower when other plausible causes are available.For example, if a Hispanic man is hired by an organization with an AAP, two plausible causes for his selection are competence and ethnicity. But if the organization does not have an AAP or if the new hire is a white male, the remaining plausible cause for selection is competence.Ratings of the new hire's competence would therefore be lower when he or she is a target group member than in other situations. Experimental research finds precisely this effect.This stigmatization can be eliminated by providing unequivocal evidence of the new hire's competence, but it is not eliminated by ambiguous evidence of competence (Heilman et al. 1998). Given the continued prevalence of negative stereotypes of racial minorities, along with the common assumption that affirmative action involves preferential selection, it is likely that stigmatization is relatively common.Although most research on stigmatization has focused on the workplace, the same logic applies t o college and university admissions. Virtually all research in this area has been limited to evaluations of paper stimuli; the extent to which such stigmatization is maintained in the context of workplace interactions is unclear.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

The disturbance in the core’s natural motion causes the Earth

The plot of the 2003 movie â€Å"The Core† is centered on the apparent ceasing of the core’s rotation and the ensuing catastrophes that threaten to obliterate life on earth within a year’s time.The disturbance in the core’s natural motion causes the Earth’s magnetic field to falter, and consequently leads to a myriad of disasters that escalate in intensity and gravity over time. To avert the threat of annihilation, a team of â€Å"terranauts† was organized to travel into the Earth’s core to set off nuclear bombs that will restart its rotation.For obvious reasons â€Å"The Core† falls under the science fiction genre, but as with any typical sci-fi movie, a scrutiny of the movie should reveal just how much of its â€Å"science† is factual and how much is made-up.To resolve the predicament of the stalled core, the terranauts are to drill into the earth’s interior and are to set off nuclear bombs in the inner core to g et it rotating again. For argument’s sake we shall assume that it may indeed be possible to build a vehicle capable of traveling and withstanding the tremendous heat and pressure in the Earth’s interior, and that a nuclear bomb strong enough for the purpose exists.The question will then be whether the shock waves that will be generated by the nuclear bombs be able to jumpstart the core into rotating again.For this to happen, a torque, or a twisting force, needs to be applied to the core to start it spinning. Specifically, the direction of the force should be tangential to the core (â€Å"The Core (2003)†, par. 20), the same way that you would try to make a globe spin by applying force along a tangent in its surface.Contrary to what was shown in Zimky’s simulation in the movie, the shock waves from the explosion will doubtfully have any net effect when it hits the core (â€Å"The Core (2003)†, par. 20) since the waves will radiate out of the point o f explosion in all directions and will hit the core head-on.Even as the waves radiate further out and be propagated tangentially to the core, they would be propagated equally on opposing sides and will therefore cancel each other out.Another questionable observation about the simulation is that the waves seemed to be simply reflected by the outer core-mantle boundary so that it rebounds within the outer core. The bomb explosions are a form of induced seismic activity and from this vantage point, the shock waves can be discussed in terms of primary (P) and secondary (S) waves.P waves are compressional waves that travel along the direction of propagation while S waves involve the displacement of material perpendicular to the direction that the wave is traveling. Both waves travel through the Earth’s interior and are refracted when they pass through materials of a different composition and density (â€Å"Seismic Waves†, sec. 1.1).Considering this, the simulation appears o versimplified, if not inaccurate, since the primary waves will travel outward through the mantle and not simply bounce back inside the outer core. This would probably make the simulation for the sequential detonation of the nuclear bombs likewise inaccurate.Later on in the movie it is revealed that the reason for the core’s stalling was because of a top-secret government project named DESTINI (Deep Earth Seismic Trigger Initiative) which claims to have the ability to produce targeted seismic events anywhere on Earth by focusing high-energy electromagnetic waves down deeper fault lines.It wasn’t explained in the movie why DESTINI intends to target these deeper fault lines but assuming that it is because they intend to produce â€Å"deep focus† earthquakes that are, as of present, not yet fully understood and hence may not be as traceable in terms of their exact cause, then it doesn’t make much sense since these types of earthquakes usually are not as damag ing as â€Å"shallow focus† earthquakes (â€Å"INDEPTH†, par. 5).The latter’s focus occurs much nearer the surface and hence the seismic waves generated will be surface waves. Due to their nature, these waves are much more destructive than the P and S waves (â€Å"Seismic Waves†, sec. 1.2) that will be produced from deep focus earthquakes generated hundreds of kilometers deeper.It is also hard to imagine an instrument capable of delivering energy that is powerful enough to create stress along fault lines and in the process induce an earthquake. Even if such a device were possible, there’s still the question of how to target a specific location.DESTINI claims to be able to create earthquakes ‘anywhere’ but it is arguable that there’s a convenient fault for every conceivable target on the surface of the Earth. Even if the device were to target known active fault lines, it would be impossible to dictate the specific focus and epice nter of the resulting earthquake. It would also be shortsighted not to think that they would be running the risk of inadvertently producing earthquakes anywhere else along the fault line.In the first place, are the catastrophes depicted in the movie really possible if the core were to stop spinning? G. Glatzmaier of the Inst. of Geophysics & Planetary Physics said that â€Å"the super-rotation of the inner core is really neither a pure cause nor a pure effect of the magnetic field. The situation is much more intricate†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , so even if the core stalls it won’t automatically equate to a collapsing magnetic field. Likewise, the disasters attributed to the faltering geomagnetic field were dubious.The incident with the birds in Trafalgar Square is highly unlikely. The answer was in the movie itself – when asked how birds navigate, Keyes’ graduate student answered jokingly that it was through â€Å"eyesight† and only when Keyes asked how they navigate long-range did she reply that it was through sensing the Earth’s magnetic field. Birds do make use of the magnetic field but it is to find their way during long-distance and migratory flights, but even this is under debate (â€Å"All About Birds†).The Earth’s magnetic field does protect us from certain cosmic radiation, including solar winds but (â€Å"Solar Wind†, sec 3.3) microwave radiation is able to penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere because neither the magnetic field nor the atmosphere effectively blocks this type of radiation (â€Å"Solar Wind†, secs. 2 & 4).The Sun’s energy reaches us mostly in the form of visible light (â€Å"Solar System†, sec. 4) and though the Sun does emit microwave radiation, it won’t be in the form of an almost-visible and laser-like beam that can cut a bridge in two as depicted in the movie. Also, microwaves don’t cause severe sunburns because what causes the latter is exposure to u ltraviolet light.The movie did get some basic scientific facts right. Aside from the few already mentioned, the peach analogy is quite accurate if you compare it to a diagram of the Earth’s layers drawn to scale. The Marianas Trench is also indeed the deepest part of the Earth (â€Å"Mariana Trench†, par. 1) and would make a logical choice as the point of entry if you were to travel into the interior of the Earth.Compared to your average sci-fi film, â€Å"The Core† seems to have left most of the â€Å"science† out of its story. From a purely scientific point of view, the plot suffers from huge logical gaps in that the problem, its cause, and even the resolution to the said conflict are highly improbable, if not all together impossible. Hence, it would probably be a more accurate description to say that this fictional piece of work is likewise based mostly on science that is also bordering on fictional.References:All About Birds. 2006. Cornell Lab of Orni thology. 19 March 2007.Glatzmaier, Gary A. â€Å"I am wondering about the significance of the recent report that the earth's solid core rotates slightly faster than the earth's surface. Is this a cause or an effect of the earth's magnetic field?†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Online posting. 21 Oct. 1999. Scientific American.Com Ask the Experts: Geology. 19 March 2007.   

Friday, September 27, 2019

Narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Narrative - Essay Example I was all geared up after my I finished my midyear exams and I thought to myself that it was time to kick back as well relax after all the sleepless nights spend studying. I could not help but go to the Chalet, this was the first thing on my mind and I knew the opportunity had come for me to have a well-deserved holiday. The thought of the Chalet made me excited and my cheeks flushed with happiness which I could not hide from anyone. The thought of having a holiday was God sent and I could not believe it. I finished packing and called up my friends in order to move into the Chalet. The journey to the Chalet was smooth and we drove as we sung and bonded. I could not believe that I had finished my exams and I was getting the much deserved holiday that in needed. However, upon reaching the Chalet we realized that there was a need to get some foodstuffs in the nearest supermarket. Being the smallest one I was told to follow my Cousin’s car and I followed the car with my ATV slowly. The night was dark and chilly and consequently the visibility was low. It was well known that my Cousin was a good driver, however, things started going haywire when he started showing off. The road was not as smooth and consequently as a result of his drifting, several stones were thrown towards our car and I had to swerve in order to avoid them. However, out of nowhere my cousin’s car flipped and rolled several times. I gasped out of breath and I could not believe what was unfolding before my eyes. Bodies were being thrown outside the window in weird and contorted ways. I was rooted to the spot and could not be able to move, I looked at the horrific accident with my mouth agape. The smile that was there initially was wiped out clean and what was existed was a face that showed sadness and despair. Seeing people that I cared about very much coughing blood and desperately crying for help on the sand and on the pavements made me crouch with fear.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Malaria Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Malaria - Research Paper Example The cells then invade the liver and become hypnozoites. These undergo the division and are released in the blood. The parasite infected cells burst and release further more mature protozoa in the blood which causes the chills and fever. The repeated episodes of this blood phase keep on occurring till the treatment. The parasite, therefore, acts as a carrier of the plasmodium and spread malaria (Schwartz, Parise, Kozarsky, & Cetron, 2003). It has just come to my knowledge that there was another genus of Plasmodium known as P. knowlesi. It was earlier recognized as the main cause of malaria. But the research later showed that it mostly infects the Macaques in Southeast Asia and humans to some extent. Malaria, in this case, spreads from animal to human. The animal was thought to be monkey which has been documented as a cause of human infections and deaths in the past. I also came from this fact that the malaria infected individual should not donate blood till three years. The blood bank follows the strict rules for accepting the donors who have been in the endemic area. The donor must remain symptomless for these years in order to be able to donate blood later in life. Among all the malaria species, P. vax and P. oval can for dormant liver stages that can reside inside the body for up to 3 to 4 years. The pregnant women are more susceptible to the disease by P. falciparum. P. falciparum infection may lead to the decrease baby’ weight which then reduces the chance of baby survival.... knowlesi. It was earlier recognized as the main cause of malaria. But the research later showed that it mostly infects the Macaques in Southeast Asia and humans to some extent. The malaria in this case spreads from animal to human. The animal was thought to be monkey which has been documented as a cause of human infections and deaths in the past. I also came by this fact that the malaria infected individual should not donate blood till three years. The blood bank follows the strict rules for accepting the donors who have been in the endemic area. The donor must remain symptomless for these years in order to be able to donate blood later in life. Among all the malarial species, P. vivax and P. ovale can for dormant liver stages that can reside inside the body for up to 3 to 4 years. The pregnant women are more susceptible to the disease by P. falciparum. P. falciparum infection may lead to the decrease baby’ weight which then reduces the chance of baby survival. EPIDEMIOLOGY It is an international health problem affecting 215 million people worldwide. Annually it causes about 665,000 deaths due to poor treatment regimen and atmospheric conditions. Despite the development and research on the disease, there are still many endemic areas for the occurrence of malaria. CDC has provided the data about these endemic countries, which is derived from the different sources like World Health Organization. Usually the attack is most common in the Southeast Asia, Africa and some parts of the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. Of all these cases, 65 % occur in Africa, 19% in Asia, 15% in Caribbean and to the lesser number in Europe. (Cdc.gov, 2011) It occurs in the tropical and subtropical

Asian Agriculture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Asian Agriculture - Essay Example In India, the agriculture sector is not protected when compared to the industrial sector; this may be one of the reasons for it failure in trade. Food grains are in abundance in India, especially Rice. This should not be used as an export, because you never know when the situation might change for the demand. Food crops should be used in other industries, such as animal feed. One another major point is that liberalization has enabled diversity in the food supplies and it is not easy for the government to subsidize all these supplies so that the poor can eat them, thus it is better to people to get jobs and earn money so that they can eat what they want and to ensure a continuous supply of food in their house. In the early 1990’s the subsidies being received by the agricultural sector were above their requirement and can be called full investment in this sector. The use of new technology was adopted by the farmers quickly because of the subsidies, but the sector has deteriorated in terms of fiscal deficits, productivity of inputs, employment elasticity and environmental degradation. Economies of scale cannot be experienced by the farmers in India. Currently there is a ceiling in the industry; the best thing for the industry is to continue with the ceiling so that in the future the sector can develop itself as a safety net for the industry as a whole. The policies and restrictions should not be relaxed, and loans should be provided to farmers who want to buy land for cultivation. This will help all people involved, as the farmers would work hard to pay for the land and the land owners can benefit from the produce of the land. The economic viability of the country is very low, the market rates and the concessional rates have a huge difference because of the middle-men involved. This leads to the poor families getting higher interest rates. These farmers should be

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Skills and Competitiveness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Skills and Competitiveness - Essay Example Advancement in technology has placed an even greater demand for skills. This is because the rate of technical change leads to higher levels of uncertainty for organizations which results in greater demand for problem solving skills   (Streeck, 1989). Countries such as the U.K are facing pressure from emerging countries such as India and China owing to their high growth rates and supply of high skills. Also, the demand for a highly skilled workforce has increased in the midst of intense global competition which has forced companies the developed nations to engage in ‘diversified quality production’ (Streeck, 1989).   On the contrary, critical studies have downplayed the importance of skills in securing innovation. In fact, the recent trend towards innovation may require â€Å"de-skilling† or reduction in the content of skills (Toner, 2011). According to these authors, the reliance on skill development through training has been reduced. This is attributed mostly to developments in the labor market such as self-employment and casualisation which require non-standard nature of work   (Toner, 2011). Furthermore, labor migration and labor mobility have further increased the power of workers and have reduced the incentives for firms to invest in developing skills of workers. Furthermore, the increased female participation in labor also acts as disincentive to train female employees with skills that they know will no longer benefit the organization once the females quit work (owing to family responsibilities or maternity leaves).

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Dr. Stones Feats of Survival in the Film Gravity Essay

Dr. Stones Feats of Survival in the Film Gravity - Essay Example Accompanying her is the veteran Astronaut Matt Kowalsky, who is commanding his final expedition. However, during their spacewalk, a most unfortunate thing happens: a debris from a satellite crashes into the space shuttle, Explorer, destroying most of it and therefore leaving them stranded in space with limited air. As the debris continues to hit other satellite, a chain reaction of destruction is caused such that the satellites necessary for the two astronauts to communicate with mission control in Houston are also destroyed. Even though the two astronauts do not receive any messages from the Mission Control in Houston, both Kowalsky and Stone continue to transmit-though â€Å"in the blind â€Å"to Mission Control, in the hopes that somehow Mission Control can hear them. According to Pomerantz, Fearfully, Stone tumbles out of control after separating from the shuttle’s cargo bay arm. Kowalsky who is wearing a thruster pack as part of his spacesuit navigates to Stone and retrieves her. The two tethers together and find their way back to the Explorer, where to their utter dismay discover that the shuttle has been damaged beyond repair, and further, the rest of the crew is dead. They then decide to use the thruster pack to make their way to the ISS, which is nearby in orbit. Kowalsky sets the timer on his suit for 90 minutes, in estimation that the debris which destroyed the explorer will orbit the Earth and come back around in that amount of time. Kowalsky, ever calm and efficient in the crisis reassures Stone that they will both make it back to Earth safely. En route to the ISS, they discuss Stone’s life back home and the death of her daughter in a schoolyard accident. As they approach ISS, it is clear that the crew has evacuated due to the debris field causing damage.  

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Warren Court Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Warren Court - Term Paper Example But he was not what people assumed him to be. He changed a lot of things in his court. The remedial power of law was one of the things Earl Warren really believed in and he enforced this idea further as well. The center of attention of court was transferred to personal rights from property rights and great importance was given to ethical values as well as legal issues. The Warren court worked really hard for the civil rights of people. It strongly supported the Bill of Rights as well. The decisions made by the Warren Court brought about many vital changes in the society all over. The decisions mainly covered the issues like one-man, one vote; desegregation and the decisions made in the criminal courts. The Warren Court was considered to be too lenient towards the accused and was hindering the work of the police by doing this. The law enforcement agencies have been among the more influential groups engaged in criticizing the Warren Court (Lytle 1968). Before the Warren Court there wer e not very clear and strong rights given to the accused for his or her defense. They were also hesitant to give the accused constitutional rights. The right of the defendant to get a lawyer who is granted to him or her by the government was introduced in the Warren Court. The decisions which were made in the Warren Courts regarding various issues were undisputed while others were made through split court. The Warren Court mainly focused upon the constitutional regulation of criminal procedure instead of substantive criminal law. Some of the people argue that the efforts made by the chief justice Earl Warren to bring improvements to the criminal justice system are ambiguous and not certain. Chief justice Earl Warren brought about some primary changes in the criminal justice system. During its last eight years the Warren Court revolutionized criminal procedures, taking the lead in the development of American law in the twentieth century (Belknap & Warren 2004). It is also considered b y some to have brought about a criminal law revolution but on the other hand some think that it is barely and evolution in regard to the civil rights of the defendant. However, there is no doubt that the changes in criminal law system made in Warren Court have changed the way the criminal administration worked in United States permanently. In the Bill of Rights there were amendments that protected the rights of the defendant. The fourth amendment stated that the criminal defendant could not be arrested unlawfully and that legal court notice is required in order to search or seize the accused. According to the Fifth Amendment in the Bill of Rights the defendant was guaranteed the advantage against the self-incrimination. Last but not the least; in the sixth amendment the accused was given the right to a fast trial, compulsory process for witness and the right to a counsel for his defense. These amendments give rights to the criminal defendant and to further support these rights certa in rules were made like for example the accused have to be brought in front of the judicial officer as soon as he is arrested. The Warren Court expanded the right to counsel by ruling that criminal defendants charged with felonies in state courts do have fundamental right to an attorney even if they

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Linguistics Plus Essay Example for Free

Linguistics Plus Essay A. The Backround Of Study In the preceding chapters , linguistics has been discussed mainly as the scientific study of languages. According to this view, linguistic is a theoritical, abstract, academic subject. It describes the nature of human language activity in scientific terms and linguistics are see to belong to different schools of thought and to hold competing linguistic theories. We have seen what this view of linguistics has to contribute to language teaching. There is another view of linguistics which cuts across all schools of linguistic thought and is common ground among all linguistics. In this view,linguistics is abody of attitudes and knowledge which result from the study of things like nature of language as a communicative, social activity : language in the individual , his speech mechanism and mental capacities for language : language in society : varieties of language , the rigorous description of particular languages , etc . This common ground the linguistics is immediately relevant to whole field of language teaching . B. The Formulation Of Study Based on the backrgound of study that explained, we formulate some problems that will be explained in this discussion, there are : 1. What is the meaning of psycholinguistics? 2. What is language acquisition? 3. is the first language learning the same as first language acuisition? 4. What is the interference from L1 in learning L2? C. The Perpose Of Writing To obtain a focused, it is necessary to tell the purpose of this paper. The purposes of writing this paper are: 1. Make the readers know about Psycholinguistic , language acquisition , First and second language, Motivation in L2 learning , and Language Interference. 2. Knowing the different between First and Secong Language D. Research Of Methodology. There are many methods that can be used in educational research, such as historical method, descriptive method, experimental method etc. We use the description method in order to meet the purpose of the research. CHAPTER 2 LINGUISTIC PLUS (CHAPTER 6 IN BOOK) A. PSYCHOLINGUISTICS PSIKOLINGUISTIK As its name suggests, psycholinguistics is a field study that combines psychology and linguistics. The term itself was coined in 1951. Though the study had been going on eveb in the nineteenth century in the form of the study of language development. It includes a great variety of topics that are of interest to language teachers. Some of these are: how language is received and produced by language user : our memory span of language: motivation in language learning : how L1 Habits interface with L2 learning billingualism and mental development : the use of language in concept formation; and language acquistion or development. Seperti namanya, psikolinguistik adalah studi lapangan yang menggabungkan psikologi dan linguistik. Istilah itu sendiri diciptakan pada tahun 1951. Meskipun penelitian telah terjadi bahkan pada abad kesembilan belas dalam bentuk studi perkembangan bahasa. Ini mencakup berbagai macam topik yang menarik bagi guru bahasa. Beberapa di antaranya adalah: bagaimana bahasa diterima dan dihasilkan oleh pengguna bahasa: memori kita rentang bahasa: motivasi dalam belajar bahasa: bagaimana Kebiasaan L1 antarmuka dengan pembelajaran belajar L2 dan perkembangan mental: penggunaan bahasa dalam pembentukan konsep, dan akuisisi bahasa atau pembangunan. B. LANGUAGE ACQUISTION TRANSISI BAHASA The last mentioned topic is currently being much investigated by TG grammarians because their linguistic theory makes such on the language producing ability of human beings. It is therefore of interest to them, as it is to teachers, to find out how language is acquired. ( it may be noted at this point that they make a distinction between language acquisition or development and language learning . The first language or mother tongue is acquired, while the second language is learned. ) Topik terakhir yang disebutkan saat ini sedang diselidiki oleh banyak tatabahasawan tradisional grammar karena teori linguistik mereka membuatnya seperti bahasa dapat menghasilkan kemampuan manusia. Oleh karena itu sangat menarik bagi mereka, terutama untuk guru, untuk mengetahui bagaimana bahasa diperoleh. (Mungkin terdapat pada bahasan ini bahwa mereka membuat perbedaan antara penguasaan bahasa atau pengembangan dan pembelajaran bahasa asli atau bahasa ibu yang langsung diperoleh, sedangkan bahasa asing harus dipelajari. ) There are two theories of language acquisition: the cognitive-code learning theory f-voured by the transformational generative linguists and the habit-formation theory of the structural linguists. The habit-formation theory is in effect the aplication of learning theory to language acquisition. It involves conditioning and reinforcement to shape a response until it is like the model . An example mat make the process clear. An infant may accidentally produce what sound like â€Å"mama† ,on his babbling and the mother reinforces this by smiling , kissing, cuddling him.. This encourages him to produce the sounds again and the nearer they approach the word â€Å"mama† , the more pleasure the mother shows until the child learns to say the word correctly every time with reference to her. The whole process is described as â€Å" shaping† the response and strengthening it by selective reinforcement. The response is encouraged to recur or strengthened by the smile or nod , or whatever is reinforcing to the child. Repeated occurences of the response from habit. Imitation plays as important a role as repetition in the theory. The child imitates the adults he hears and is again reinforced for correct responses. This theory of language acquisition is based on the view that language is behaviour that results from habits and habits are formed by practice and repetion. Ada dua teori akuisisi bahasa: teori belajar kode kognitif mempelajari teori f-voured oleh ahli bahasa transformasi generatif linguistik dan teori-kebiasaan hasil pembentukan ahli bahasa struktural. Teori formasi kebiasaan yang pada kenyataannya aplikasi dari teori belajar akuisisi bahasa. Ini melibatkan pengkondisian dan penguatan untuk membentuk respon sampai seperti model atau contoh yang ada, misalnya sebuah kaset untuk membuatnya sebagai contoh. Contoh lain adalah Bayi yang dapat menghasilkan sebuah kata yang terdengar seperti mama, saat mengoceh dan ibunya memperkuat ini dengan memberikan senyuman, mencium,atau memeluk dia . Hal ini dapat mendorong dia untuk menghasilkan suara lagi dan semakin dekat dengan kata mama yang sebenarnya, respon senang yang ditunjukan ibunya itu terus ditunjukan hinngga anak belajar mengucapkan kata kata dengan. Seluruh proses yang digambarkan sebagai pembentuk respon dan penguatan dengan penguatan selektif. Respon yang didorong untuk muncul kembali atau diperkuat oleh senyum atau anggukan, atau apapun yang dapat memperkuat kepada anak untuk melakukan sesuatu. Kejadian yang diulang dari respon dan dari kebiasaan. Permainan meniru sama penting peranannya sebagai teori. Anak meniru orang dewasa, ia mendengar lagi dan diperkuat oleh respon yang diberikan orang disekitarnya. Teori pemerolehan bahasa didasarkan pada pandangan bahwa bahasa adalah perilaku yang dihasilkan dari kebiasaan dan kebiasaan yang dibentuk oleh praktek dan pengulangan. The cognitive-code learning theory states that language is rule-governed behaviour and that in language acquisition, the infant learns the set of rules that will produce the sentences of the language. How does he arrive at the set of rules? TG grammarians say human beings are born with a language acquisition device (LAD), which enables the child to form a series of hypotheses about the language which he hears , as he grows up. At each stage in his language development he tests his hypothesis (the set of rules he has formulated so far) against what he hears ( the language data) and revises it accordingly , until he reaches adult competence. But what does the LAD consist of? The theory is that it consists of those linguistic universals to be found the deep, deep structure of all languages. There is no agreement or certainty yet about what these universals are apart from the  fact that they must be certain abstract syntactic and semantic categories and relationships, though there may be a neurophysiological basis in the brain. Examples of such relationships which have been postulated are: those between noun and verb as in case grammar; that between subject and predicate; and catagories like NP , VP , Adv. These universals are said to be present in the structure of all languages but each language realises them in different way in surface structure and language learning consists in learning how it is done in that particular language . The linguists are making cross-cultural studies of language acquisition in order to get evidence of linguistic universals, but the data collected so far are still sketchy though certain features in language appear in about the same sequence and at about the same age all over the world. Teori Kode kognitif belajar menyatakan bahwa bahasa adalah aturan aturan perilaku dan bahwa dalam akuisisi bahasa, bayi mempelajari seperangkat aturan yang akan menghasilkan kalimat bahasa. Bagaimana ia bisa sampai pada seperangkat aturan? Tatabahasawan TG mengatakan manusia dilahirkan dengan perangkat penguasaan bahasa (LAD), yang memungkinkan anak untuk membentuk serangkaian hipotesis tentang bahasa yang ia dengar, saat ia tumbuh. Pada setiap tahap dalam perkembangan bahasa, ia menguji hipotesis tersebut (seperangkat aturan yang telah dirumuskan sejauh ini) terhadap apa yang ia dengar (data bahasa) dan merevisi (menerjemahkan artinya), sampai ia mencapai kompetensi dewasa. Tapi apa saja penyusun LAD itu ? Tidak ada kesepakatan atau kepastian tentang apa saja penyusun LAD tersebut dan tak ada yang terlepas dari kenyataan bahwa orang orang universal linguistik harus memastikan kategori sintaksis dan semantik abstrak, meskipun mungkin ada dasar neurofisiologi di otak. Contoh hubungan tersebut yang telah disebutkan adalah antara nomina dan verba seperti dalam tata bahasa, bahwa antara subjek dan predikat, dan kategori seperti NP, VP, Adv. Itu dikatakan terdapat dalam struktur dari semua bahasa, tetapi setiap bahasa menempatkan mereka dengan cara yang berbeda dalam struktur permukaan dan pembelajaran tertentu. Para ahli bahasa membuat studi lintas-budaya , untuk mendapatkan bukti yang umum tentang linguistik, tetapi data yang dikumpulkan sejauh ini masih samar meskipun fitur tertentu dalam bahasa muncul di sekitar urutan yang sama dan pada sekitar usia yang sama di seluruh dunia . The teacher of second language needs to take of these two theories of language acquisition since they have given rise to schools of thought on language teaching. If language acquisition is a matter of habit formation, then the language teacher must concentrate on performance. Let the pupils imitate a model and give them plenty of pattern drill to establish habits of behaviour. Reinforce them gor correct responses and elimitate wrong responses by a lack of reinforcement. Let them learn inductively, inferring the rules for themselves after much practice rather than receiving the rules for explanations at the begining. If, on the other hand, language acquisition is a matter of learning a code, then the language teacher must ensure that the pupils internalise the rules yhat will enable them to produce sentences. Explanations of the sentences structures and explicit knowledge of the rules must then play a larger rule in language teaching. Para guru bahasa kedua perlu mengambil dari kedua teori pemerolehan bahasa karena mereka telah melahirkan aliran pemikiran pengajaran bahasa. Jika akuisisi bahasa adalah masalah pembentukan kebiasaan, maka guru bahasa harus berkonsentrasi pada kinerja. Biarkan siswa meniru model dan memberi mereka banyak bor pola untuk membangun kebiasaan perilaku. Memperkuat mereka tanggapan gor benar dan elimitate tanggapan yang salah oleh kurangnya penguatan. Biarkan mereka belajar induktif, menyimpulkan aturan untuk diri mereka sendiri setelah banyak latihan daripada menerima aturan untuk penjelasan di awal. Jika, di sisi lain, penguasaan bahasa adalah masalah belajar kode, maka guru bahasa harus memastikan bahwa siswa menginternalisasi yhat aturan akan memungkinkan mereka untuk menghasilkan kalimat. Penjelasan dari struktur kalimat dan pengetahuan eksplisit aturan kemudian harus memainkan aturan yang lebih besar dalam pengajaranbahasa. How is the language teacher to decide between the two theories of language learning? What grammatical theory is most useful to language teachers? To answer these questions, i would just like to refer the reader to the paper by J. B Carroll that i cited in chapter 1. In that paper he says. â€Å"it would be pretentious to try to express an opinion on which of the various grammatical theories is most vailed. Different grammatical theories have somewhat different goals in general. I believe that language teacher should evaluate grammatical theories in terms of the degree to which they comform to the linguistic habits that actually enable a language user to speak and understand the language†. Bagaimana guru bahasa untuk memutuskan antara dua teori pembelajaran bahasa? Apa teori tata bahasa yang paling berguna untuk guru bahasa? Untuk menjawab pertanyaan ini, saya hanya ingin merujuk pembaca untuk kertas oleh JB Carroll yang saya dikutip dalam bab 1. Dalam kertas yang katanya. Itu akan sok mencoba untuk mengekspresikan pendapat yang dari teori gramatikal berbagai paling vailed. Teori tata bahasa yang berbeda memiliki tujuan yang agak berbeda secara umum. Saya percaya bahwa guru bahasa harus mengevaluasi teori tata bahasa dalam hal sejauh mana mereka comform ke kebiasaan linguistik yang benar-benar memungkinkan pengguna bahasa untuk berbicara dan mengerti bahasa . As for theories of language learning. Carroll suggest a synthesis of the two. I am inclined to agree with him that neither a pure â€Å"audiolingual habit theory† nor a pure â€Å"cognitive-code learning theory† can be comprehensive and correct. Each of the theories contains elements of truth, and each therefore to some degree wrong or incomplete. We need to extract what is valuable for each theory and put them together. Carroll calls the synthesis â€Å"cognitive habit-formation theory†. Adapun teori belajar bahasa. Carroll menyarankan sintesis dari dua. Saya cenderung setuju dengan dia bahwa baik murni kebiasaan teori audiolingual atau murni kognitif-kode teori belajar bisa tidak lengkap dan benar. Setiap teori mengandung unsur kebenaran, dan masing-masing karena itu untuk beberapa derajat yang salah atau tidak lengkap. Kita perlu untuk mengambil apa yang berharga bagi teori masing-masing dan menempatkan mereka bersama-sama. Carroll menyebut sintesis kognitif kebiasaan-formasi teori. The audiolingual habit theory is correct in that language behaviour is partly a matter habits. The audiolingual method with its emphasis on pattern practice and formations of habits fell out of favour because the theory made the wrong assumtions about that kinds of habits to form and how to form them. Instead of forming habits that have to do. For instance, with substituting words in sentences or with changing one kind of sentences into another. teacher sould form functional habits. The diffferent between the two is that the former takes no account of language ude in actual situations (where is the occasion for substitution for tables in real life outside the classroom?) while the latter does. For example, in teaching commands and requests, it is not enough to present the learners with statements to be changed into commands or requests. The stimulus is the sentence in the case. In forming fumctional habits the stimulus is the situations, the intentions and the listener. In situation A, if you need help you just shout â€Å"help! † ; in situation B, you may say, â€Å"please help me† or â€Å"could you helm me? † ; in situation C, you may say, â€Å"would you mind helping me? † and so on. Teori Kebiasaan audiolingual benar dalam perilaku bahasa adalah kebiasaan sebagian materi. Metode audiolingual dengan penekanan pada praktek pola dan formasi dari kebiasaan jatuh dari nikmat karena teori membuat assumtions salah tentang hal itu jenis kebiasaan untuk membentuk dan bagaimana membentuk mereka. Alih-alih membentuk kebiasaan yang harus dilakukan. Misalnya, dengan mengganti kata-kata dalam kalimat atau dengan mengubah satu jenis kalimat menjadi lain. Guru arwah membentuk kebiasaan fungsional. The diffferent antara keduanya adalah bahwa mantan tidak memperhitungkan bahasa ude dalam situasi yang sebenarnya (di mana merupakan kesempatan untuk substitusi untuk tabel dalam kehidupan nyata di luar kelas?) Sedangkan yang kedua tidak. Sebagai contoh, dalam mengajar perintah dan permintaan, itu tidak cukup untuk menyajikan peserta didik dengan pernyataan yang akan diubah menjadi perintah atau permintaan. Stimulus adalah kalimat dalam kasus ini. Dalam membentuk kebiasaan fumctional stimulus adalah situasi, maksud dan pendengar. Dalam situasi A, jika Anda memerlukan bantuan Anda hanya berteriak membantu! , Dalam situasi B, Anda mungkin berkata, tolong bantu saya atau bisa Anda helm saya? , Dalam situasi C, Anda mungkin berkata, bisakah kau membantu saya dan sebagainya?. Carroll also points out that the audingual habit theory wrongly assumed that practice and repetion were crucial factors in the formation of habits. Although practice and repetition have certain roles to play, they are not crucial in learning. Succesive repetition of the same response is, in fact, generally the wrong way to â€Å"stamp in† a habit; there are few kinds of learning where this is effective. Evocation of the response on a number of aperiodic, widely-spaced occasions, with interpolation of different material in the intervals, is a much more effective method has been insufficiently employed in pattern drills. Carroll juga menunjukkan bahwa teori kebiasaan audingual salah diasumsikan bahwa praktek dan pengulangan adalah faktor penting dalam pembentukan kebiasaan. Meskipun praktek dan pengulangan memiliki peran tertentu untuk bermain, mereka tidak penting dalam belajar. Pengulangan berturut dari respon yang sama, pada kenyataannya, umumnya cara yang salah untuk cap di kebiasaan, ada beberapa jenis belajar di mana ini efektif. Kebangkitan dari respon pada sejumlah aperiodik, luas-spasi kesempatan, dengan interpolasi dari bahan yang berbeda dalam interval, adalah metode yang jauh lebih efektif telah kurang digunakan dalam latihan pola. The element of truth in the cognitive-codelearning theory is that a knowledge of the facts and formal rules of the language can really be of help in guiding the learner to form the right language habits. However, knowledge of the rule alone is of on avail unless the learner is given opportunities to form the habits in the way suggested above. Forthermore, the facts of the language should be presented in a form easy to understand, and appropriate to the learner’s age and ability. Abstract rule should be illustrated with a number of concrete examples. Unsur kebenaran dalam teori kognitif-codelearning adalah bahwa pengetahuan tentang fakta-fakta dan aturan formal bahasa benar-benar dapat membantu dalam membimbing peserta didik untuk membentuk kebiasaan bahasa yang tepat. Namun, pengetahuan tentang aturan saja dari pada berhasil kecuali pelajar diberikan kesempatan untuk membentuk kebiasaan dalam cara yang disarankan di atas. Forthermore, fakta bahasa harus disajikan dalam bentuk yang mudah dimengerti, dan sesuai dengan usia peserta didik dan kemampuan. Aturan abstrak harus diilustrasikan dengan sejumlah contoh konkret. C. FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA PERTAMA DAN KEDUA A question often discussed with regard to second language learning is whether it is the same as first language acquisition. The answer depends on the stage at which the second language is learned. If it is learned at an early age before the first language is thoroughly mastered, or almost simultaneously with the first language then second language learning parallels first language learning. If it is learned at a later stage in the formal school setting, there are several observable differences. First of all, the child is exposed to the first language all his waking hours while he probably hears the second language only during the class hour. Secondly, there is a big difference in motivation. A child learning his first language is strongly motivated because his needs and wishes are satisfied by the use of language and his control of his environment and himself increases with his increasing mastery of his mother tongue. Not only this, but emotional and social ties are created by his use of the first language. The second language seldom fulfils such function when it is learned as a subject in the curriculum. Thirdly, as the child learns the first language he is also learning the concepts, while in learning the second language he seldom has to form new concepts except where these are foreign to his own culture. Finally, the habits established in first language learning tend to inhabit and interfere with his learning of the second language. It is also claimed that there is a critical period for language acquisition which extends up to puberty. But according to Carroll: â€Å"the evidence for a ‘critical period’ and decline in language acquisition ability during the middle school years is not strong, however, and even if there is some decline. I am not persuaded that one must appeal to biology to explain it. † (p. 109) Krashen has since confirmed Carroll’s view. Suatu pertanyaan yang sering dibahas terkait dengan pembelajaran bahasa kedua adalah apakah pembelajarannya sama dengan akuisisi bahasa pertama. Jawabannya tergantung pada tahap di mana bahasa kedua dipelajari. Jika dipelajari pada usia dini sebelum bahasa pertama benar-benar terkuasai, atau hampir bersamaan dengan bahasa pertama, maka pembelajaran bahasa kedua sejajar dengan pembelajar bahasa pertama. Jika dipelajari pada tahap berikutnya dalam bentuk sekolah formal, ada beberapa perbedaan yang diamati. Pertama-tama, anak terkena bahasa pertama selama dia terjaga sementara dia mungkin mendengar bahasa kedua hanya selama jam sekolah. Kedua, ada perbedaan besar dalam motivasi. Seorang anak belajar bahasa pertamanya sangat termotivasi karena kebutuhan dan keinginannya terpuaskan dengan manfaat bahasa dan kendali lingkungannya dan dirinya sendiri meningkat dengan meningkatnya penguasaan â€Å"bahasa ibunya†. Tidak hanya itu, tapi hubungan emosional dan sosial terciptaka oleh penggunaanya terhadap bahasa pertama. Bahasa kedua jarang memenuhi fungsi tersebut bila dipelajari sebagai subjek dalam kurikulum. Ketiga, ketika anak belajar bahasa pertama dia juga belajar konsep, sedangkan dalam mempelajari bahasa kedua jarang ia harus membentuk konsep-konsep baru kecuali konsep-konsep itu asing bagi budayanya sendiri. Akhirnya, kebiasaan-kebiasaan pada pembelajaran bahasa pertama cenderung menghuni dan mengganggu pembelajaran bahasa kedua. Hal ini juga menyatakan bahwa ada periode kritis bagi penguasaan bahasa yang meluas sampai masa puber. Tetapi menurut Carroll: bukti untuk periode kritis dan penurunan kemampuan akuisisi bahasa selama pertengahan masa sekolah tidak kuat, bagaimanapun, dan bahkan jika ada beberapa penurunan. Saya tidak yakin bahwa seseorang harus menarik biologi untuk menjelaskannya (hal. 109). Krashen sejak mengkonfirmasi pandangan Carroll. There is one respect in which learning a first language is similar to learning a second language: it is in the process itself. Just as the young child makes generalisations and says â€Å"foots† or â€Å"goed†, so the Malay learner of English as a second language may over-generalise and say â€Å"foot of the sky† when he means the horizon. In second language learning there is also imitation and modelling, just as there is in first language learning. Ada suatu kecocokan dimana pembelajaran bahasa pertama mirip dengan belajar bahasa kedua: yaitu dalam proses itu sendiri. Sama seperti anak muda yang membuat generalisasi dan mengatakan foots atau goed, begitu pula pelajar Melayu yang belajar Bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa kedua mungkin over-generalisasi dan mengatakan foots of the sky ketika ia bermaksud mengatakan â€Å"the horizon†. Dalam pembelajaran bahasa kedua ada juga imitasi dan modeling, seperti yang ada dalam pembelajaran bahasa pertama. D. MOTIVATION IN L2 LEARNING MOTIVASI DALAM PEMBELAJARAN L2 It was mentioned above that there was a difference in motivation between first and second language learning. It is the lack of motivation that produces little or no difference in student performance in response to improved teaching methods or materials. This problem of motivation in second language learning has been studied and two kinds of motivation have been distinguished. One is called instrumental motivation: this is when the student learns the second language for instrumental purposes. For example, it may be a compulsory school subject or it may be required for post –graduate work, for his career or for travel abroad. There is no desire on his part to go beyond the language as a tool to fulfil rather limited purposes. The other kind of motivation is called integrative. In this case, the student learns the second language with the desire to identify himself with the native speakers and to enrich his life by contact with another culture. It was found that students with integrative motivation have greater success at learning the second language than those with merely instrumental motivation. Telah disebutkan di atas bahwa ada suatu perbedaan dalam motivasi antara belajar bahasa pertama dan kedua. Ini adalah kekurangan dari motivasi bahwa motivasi menghasilkan sedikit atau tidak adanya perbedaan terhadap prestasi siswa dalam menanggapi metode pengajaran atau materi. Masalah motivasi dalam belajar bahasa kedua ini telah dipelajari dan dua jenis motivasi telah dibedakan. Satu disebut motivasi instrumental: yaitu ketika siswa belajar bahasa kedua untuk tujuan instrumental. Sebagai contoh, mungkin suatu subjek sekolah yang wajib atau mungkin diperlukan untuk tugas pasca sarjana, untuk karirnya atau untuk perjalanan ke luar negeri. Tidak adan keinginan pada bagiannya yang melampaui bahasa sebagai alat untuk memenuhi tujuan yang terbatas. Jenis lain dari motivasi disebut integratif. Dalam hal ini, siswa belajar bahasa kedua dengan keinginan untuk mengidentifikasi dirinya dengan penutur asli dan memperkaya hidupnya dengan kontak dengan budaya lain. Ditemukan bahwa siswa dengan motivasi integratif memiliki keberhasilan yang lebih besar dalam mempelajari bahasa kedua dibandingkan dengan motivasi instrumental. E. LANGUAGE INTERFERENCE GANGGUAN BAHASA Another aspect of psycholinguistics that is directly relevant to second language teacher has been touched upon in discussing contrastive analysis. That is, the study of interference from L1 in learning L2. The theory is that in learning L1 certain habits of perceiving and performing have to be established and the old habits tend to interlude and interfere with the learning, so that the student may speak L2 with the intonation of his L1 or the word order of his L1, and so on. We noted in the last chapter that though such interference does occur, not all errors in L2 learning can be accounted for by interference from L1. L2 learning like L1 acquisition appears to proceed by stages when new bits of the language are imperfectly learned, giving rise to what has been called interlanguage. Aspek lain dari psikolinguistik yang secara langsung relevan dengan guru bahasa kedua telah disinggung dalam pembahasan analisis kontrastif. yaitu, the study of interference from L1 in learning L2. Teorinya adalah bahwa dalam belajar L1 kebiasaan dalam mengamati dan performing harus dibentuk dan kebiasaan lama cenderung selingan dan mengganggu pembelajaran, sehingga siswa berbicara L2 dengan intonasi L1-nya atau urutan kata L1-nya , dan seterusnya. Kami mencatat dalam bab terakhir bahwa meskipun gangguan tersebut tidak terjadi, tidak semua kesalahan dalam pembelajaran L2 dapat dipertanggungjawabkan oleh gangguan dari L1. pembelajaran L2 seperti akuisisi L1 muncul untuk melanjutkan secara bertahap ketika bit baru dari bahasa tidak dipelajari secara sempurna, sehingga menimbulkan apa yang disebut interlanguage. CHAPTER III CONGCLUTION From chapter 2 in this report , we make some point : 1. Psycholinguistics is a field study that combines psychology and linguistics. The term itself was coined in 1951. Though the study had been going on eveb in the nineteenth century in the form of the study of language development. It includes a great variety of topics that are of interest to language teachers. 2. theory of language acquisition is based on the view that language is behaviour that results from habits and habits are formed by practice and repetion. 3. If the second is learned at an early age before the first language is thoroughly mastered, or almost simultaneously with the first language then second language learning parallels first language learning. If it is learned at a later stage in the formal school setting, there are several observable differences. different motivation. Emotional and social ties are created by his use of the first language. Meanwhile, The second language seldom fulfils such function when it is learned as a subject in the curriculum. When we Learn first language, we also learn the concepts, while in learning the second language we seldom has to form new concepts except where these are foreign to his own culture. 4. The old habits tend to interlude and interfere with the learning, so that the student may speak L2 with the intonation of his L1 or the word order of his L1, and so on.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Othello: Character Analysis of Iago

Othello: Character Analysis of Iago In order to understand the personal motivations of Iago we need to consider not only the personal actions of the character but also the society in which he lived. Many examples of Iagos malignity can be found throughout the play demonstrating the malevolent streak that permeates the actÄÂ ±ons and feelings of Iago. It was Samuel Taylor ColerÄÂ ±dge who came up with the term, The motive-hunting of motiveless Malignity, to describe the character of Iago. Coleridge referred specifically to the end of Act 1, Scene 3 in which Iago takes leave of Roderigo: Iago weaves a web of deception that ensnares the Othello, Cassio and Roderigo. He succeeds in destroying a marriage and two noble characters as well as his wife, (Emilia), and Roderigo. Iagos true delight in his own cunning can be witnessed in his Act 2 Scene 1 soliloquy. Here he revels in the power he wields, that which can turn Desdemonas virtue into pitch. Also ammoral is Iagos mercenary use of Roderigo to line his coat. He readily accepts money for a service that is impossible to achieve Desdemona has no feelings for Roderigo, and Iago knows this. At the heart of Iagos duplicity is his ability to play a number of roles convincingly; to adapt his tone and style to suit any occasion. With Cassio , he is bluff, coarse and genial. He offers plausible, practical solutions for his problems. With Roderigo and Emilia, he is self-serving, materialistic and cynical. This can be seen in Act 1 Scene 1 where he makes it clear to Roderigo that his pride was hurt when Cassio was promoted before him. he becomes furious. This anger was not founded because there is no evidence of any kind that Othello takes any interest sexually in Iagos wife Emilia. Cassio, by contrast, whom Iago also suspects of intimate dealings with his wife, has at least done more to raise that fear when he kisses Emilia on the lips in front of Iago in 2.1.99-100. These feelings are made clear in lines 270 280 of Act 2 Scene 1 He states that his soul will not be sated: With no remedy for his condition, with a job that is beneath him, with a superior that he knows and will eventually demonstrate has vices incompatible with military leadership, with a system that has shown that its values are inverted, what can he do? Strike back at the system and people who have failed him. Iago then tries to create civic anarchy in Venice. First, he suggests to Roderigo that he wake Brabantio, Desdemonas father, in the middle of the night to announce her elopement with Othello. While Brabantio is rousing his family to action, Iago slips away for his second provocative act. He meets up with Othello and tries to goad him on to violence. The phrase, Motiveless Malignity is not an accurate portrayal of Iago. There are many examples throughout the play which show clearly Iagos villainy. Iago manages to turn all his friends, who trust him most, against each other. These actions eventually lead to the murder of Roderigo. While the act of murder cannot be condoned, this shows the utter desparation of Iago as a man whom was pushed to the edge by a society which failed to show him sufficient respect. Iago himself offers several possible motives for his actions to the audience throughout the play in his different soliloquies. Evil and hopeless Iago clearly is, but this needs to be set also against a class-based society which trapped Iago in second class citizenship, a status which he did not deserve. The absolute loyalty and dedication Iago showed towards his masters was never rewarded and it is this which led him to engage in malevolent acts against everybody including his loved ones.