With reference to at least one work written by Emile Durheim, asses Essay

With reference to at least one work written by Emile Durheim, asses his perspective on rituals. You may also discuss Durkheims view on the relationship between - Essay Example As Durkheim was a sociologist, it is unsurprising that he chose to see religion in terms of its effects upon the social order. â€Å"God is society, writ large†, as he suggests, or: He sees the people’s conceptions of ideas such as the religious and supernatural worlds as directly related to their social order. The purpose of rituals, the main focus of his work, is to divide the supernatural or sacred world from the mundane or profane one. In considering how Durkheim connected an inner religious life to an outer social life, it is necessary to explore his understanding of ritual, and the role of this in creating a social order. This essay will examine Durkheim’s theory of ritual, beginning with an explanation of the two forms of Social Phenomena which he described as acting within religion; symbol and ritual. This will then extend into a closer consideration of the three systems of ritual which Durkheim considered important: positive rites, negative rites, and rites of Expiation. After a brief examination of the differences between Marx, Weber and Durkheim, an example of ritual which helps to illustrate Durkheim’s point will be discussed, followed by a conclusion in which all the separate parts of the essay are drawn together to provide a complete explanation of his perspective on ritual, and modern applications of Durkheim’s theory is also considered. As described above, these two kinds of social phenomena directly relate to the process of ritual; other forms of social phenomena are not included here. While these two social phenomena are described separately, they are, of course, intimately connected, both in religious terms and also in the wider sphere of social relations. No matter how the terms relate to each other or the environment, Durkheim’s ideas of their importance helped to create his theory of ritual and social connection. Durkheim considered religion to consist of three elements; belief

The Origins and Early Form of the Arms Race Research Paper

The Origins and Early Form of the Arms Race - Research Paper Example These technological developments, however, only occurred because of vast systems of ideology and doctrine that convinced both sides they needed to adopt and aggressive postures towards each other. To truly understand the arms race, it is essential to understand the doctrines and philosophies that led to the perception of its necessity. The United States and the Soviet Union were allies during the Second World War, but even before the close of the that conflict significant cracks began to emerge – Truman and Stalin were already spoiling for a conflict as of the Potsdam Conference prior to the close of the war. His journal entries at that point contain subtle threats. In one time, Stalin and Truman had a frank discussion, in which Truman refers to Stalin’s questions as â€Å"dynamite,† before referring to the fact that Truman had â€Å"some dynamite too, which I’m not exploding now.†3 This clearly speaks to veiled threats – Stalin making some, before Truman refers to the fact that he has a secret weapon more powerful than the Soviet Union. So even as of World War II, both the Soviets and Americans were convinced they would be in conflict with each other – they were certain that their ideologies were too divergent, their interests too opposed to each other, and the world simply too small to accommodate the both of them. This represents the earliest beginning of the Cold War and the arms race. The arms race became further reinforced by the differing doctrines of both countries The first doctrine that the United States adopted towards the Soviet Union after the close of the Second World War was the Truman Doctrine, a doctrine essentially of containment of Soviet Union, which the United States believed was highly imperialist.4 The Soviet Union, for its own part, believed that a spreading proletariat revolution was a necessity, and heavily encouraged communist revolutions in a variety of countries, including successful revolutions in North Korea, Vietnam, China, as well as the de facto annexation of much of eastern and central Europe through the conflict of the Second World War. This further reinforced the idea in each country that they would eventually come into conflict with each other. It seemed almost certain. But this conflict would be different from any that came before it, because it would involve nuclear weapons, something against which there was no effective defense. Previous systems of weaponry could be battled – to destroy a city through bombing would take massive waves of bombers, which could be destroyed, thus limiting damage. With the advent of atomic weapons, however, this all changed. If a single airplane flew through a defense, it could obliterate a city. There was no way to defend against this new kind of weapon, which meant the only way to stop it from being used was through deterrence. Each side had to be absolutely certain that if it used atomic weapons, they would have atomic weapons used against them. This brought about a troubling strategy