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The idea that would be employed in this context is a car. I believe the idea-car is a real thing because it exists in a simil
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Philosophy
The idea that would be employed in this context is a car. I believe the idea-car is a real thing because it exists in a similar form as the actual car. In this regard, it should be appreciated that the idea car is existent in intellect rather than in actual form. From the perspective of the mind, it has similar features like those of an actual car. In particular, it has four wheels and other common features that the idea car has. Descartes indicates that the just like the thinking process, the mode of existence of reality is in the ‘in’ form (69). Thus just like the car exists formally in the garage, it may exist in an objective manner in the intellect provided it is being thought about by an individual. In his analysis, Descartes shows that the difference between the idea and an actual object stems from the thought process of the individuals. Thus it is argued that an idea is a thing because of the fact that it has a similar form like that of an object.
In addition, my idea car is a real car because of the fact that just like the actual car, it is conceived in my mind. In particular, it can be considered to be a product of the thinking process or an offspring of the intellect. Notably, the actual car is also a complete product of the thought process as it tends to have all the desirable features of the owner.
The difference between the idea car and an actual car is the fact that the actual car has distinct characteristics. In particular, it has a definite color and model. However, the idea car’s features are indefinite. At this juncture, Descartes indicates that features of an object existing in the mind are susceptible to constant alteration and modification (84). In other words, its features keep changing from one mode to another and tend to reflect the desires of the person thinking about the same. For example, the color of my idea car at this particular time is silver. However, I can not deny the fact that this is likely to change once I visit the show room. This is because of the recognition that the cars found in such scenarios tend to be more appealing and may influence my choice.
In addition, my decision regarding the color of my actual car might be influenced by information from secondary sources as well as from close friends and relatives. Comparatively, a real car has distinct characteristics and its color does not change within seconds. Even if the owner decides to change this, it requires some procedure, involvement of various stakeholders and may consume relatively more time than the former. With regard to the features, Descartes points out that the idea car differs from the actual car in the sense that its features are determined by the thought process (96). Notably, the actual car’s features are independent of the influence of the thought process. Further, it indicated that ideas tend to incorporate various aspects that may be invented by the conceiver. This is unlike in the case of reality where certain attributes that do not exist in the current world can not be associated with the objects.
In the case of my idea car, it is possible for me to invent and accord the same certain colors, smells and accessories that might not be existent in the actual world. However, this is impossible with the actual car as the current attributes are already defined. At this juncture, it is worth acknowledging that ideas are often sourced from within the conceiver, in the external environment of the conceiver and can also be invented by the same.
Further, my idea car differs fro the real car due to the fact that it is often still undergoing representation in the mind of the conceiver. In contrast the real car is often already represented in the mind. In other words, Descartes cites that it is usually already known to the conceiver of the same (113). The idea car which is in its formal form tends to do the representation for the actual car. In this consideration therefore, the status of the actual car can be considered to be more sophisticated than the real car. This makes it to be more desirable due to the fact that it does not require other process for complete conception.
Finally, it is posited that ideas differ from reality in the sense that the former are usually particularistic and singular and the latter complex. With regard to the idea of a car, it can be argued that an actual car can be perceived in terms of multiples. This is unlike the one in the intellect that is usually accorded a particular perception and therefore can only be analyzed singly. Irrespective of the inherent differences, it can be ascertained that my idea car is actually a real car because it has a similar form as the actual car in my mind.
Work Cited
Rene Descartes. Meditation on First Philosophy. Cambridge: University Press, 1996.
The Idea Of The Holy
The Idea Of The Holy
Introduction
Religion has always been one of the most fundamental pillars of the nation. It has often been tied to the social, economic, as well as political aspects of nations. However, the understanding of religion has often been shrouded in mystery with varied aspects being unclear, at least to the common mortals. This, in essence, has attracted the attention of scholars who have tried to explore its varied aspects, as well as come up with varied theories explaining the mystery. One of these is Dr. Rudolf Otto, whose book, “The idea of the Holy”, explored one of the primary components of religion, which is The Numinous.
Question 1
Otto explains the numinous experience as the holy devoid of its moral factor. It is both a category of being and of feeling. It underlines a religious feeling that comes with a distinctive form of religious knowledge that cannot be accessed to the ordinary rational understanding. The numinous experience is composed of a number of elements.
First, there is the element if creature feeling, which is explained as the emotion or feeling of a creature being overwhelmed and submerged by its own nothingness rather than that which comes as supreme to all creatures (Otto 4).
The second characteristic is what he calls the “mysterium tremendum”, or tremendous mystery. As mysterium, Otto states that the numinous experience is “wholly other”, or rather entirely different from things that individuals experience in their ordinary lives. It underlines the notion of being something that goes beyond the realm of the intelligible and familiar, in which case it falls outside the boundaries of the canny (Otto 6). This feature underlines the fact that it would elicit a reaction of silence and fill the creature’s mind with astonishment and blank wonder. The numinous being mysterium tremendum, means that it rouses terror as it comes as an overwhelming power. Mysterium tremendum comes with three characteristics of the numinous, which are the absolute unapproachability, power, as well as the energy or urgency, which is essentially a force whose easiest perception revolves around the “wrath of God”.
The numinous experience is also characterized by the element of “fascinans” or fascination, which underlines an attractiveness or potent charm despite the terror and fear that it souses in individuals. In this case, while the creature trembles at the transcendent, it would seek to turn to it, thereby making it his own (Otto 7).
Question 2
Otto uses the term creature–consciousness (also known as creature-feeling) to underline the emotion pertaining to a creature where it is overwhelmed or submerged in its own nothingness rather than to the things that are supreme over all creatures. In essence, this phrase comes as a conceptual explanation pertaining to the feeling or experience of being in the presence of the numinous. It is worth noting that, the numen praesens or numinous presence inspires, in the individual who is experiencing the presence, the creature feeling. The sense of autonomy comes as a response of an individual to the presence of the numinous or the numen. It is worth noting that the numinous is not a feeling that is inferred by rationality or human reason, rather is felt as objective, as well as outside the realm of the self (Otto 11). However, Otto notes that, as much as the experiences of the numinous may have evolved from earlier religious consciousness, there is a difference between creature-consciousness and the primitive religious consciousness. This is especially considering that the primitive religious consciousness had “daemonic dread” as the primary feeling-response reaction. The crude or primitive religious consciousness eventually evolved to a nobler, as well as elevated experience over the centuries, which is the creature-consciousness.
Question 3
The “Law of Association of (analogous) Feelings” is a phrase that is used to underline the notion that a feeling may arouse or trigger similar feelings. In cases where a non-religious feeling has sufficient resemblance to a numerous experience, it has the capacity to trigger it in an individual’s mind. This law pertaining to the reproduction of similar feelings revolves around the fact that there exists an imperceptibly gradual substitution pertaining to the non-religious feeling or experience by its like, the religious or numinous feeling, with the former exiting from the scene while the latter increases in corresponding degree. Feelings have the capacity to arouse similar feelings, in which case the presence of one feeling in an individual’s consciousness may essentially be the occasion for allowing or entertaining the other feeling (Otto 43). Natural feelings have the capacity to stimulate or trigger, as well as be replaced by numinous feelings. There exists a numinous “overplus” in the numinous awe, which can only be revealed in religious feeling through the functioning of the law of analogous feelings. This quality in experiencing the numinous awe cannot be reproduced in the natural or non-religious feelings of awe (Otto 45) Numinous feelings, in essence, have connections or links with the related or associated natural feelings that afford analogies and are parallel to them in varied ways, “but do not coincide with them in precise point-to-point correspondence” (Otto 47).
Works cited
Otto, Rudolf The Idea of the Holy: An Inquiry into the Non-rational Factor in the Idea of the Divine and Its Relation to the Rational, Second edition, tr. John W. Harvey. New York: Oxford University Press, 1923. Print
The idea of predictive policing is gaining much prominence among the law enforcement agencies.
Writers Choice Computer Science
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Writers Choice: Computer Science
Introduction
The idea of predictive policing is gaining much prominence among the law enforcement agencies. With dwindling budgets and a struggle to fight crime, police departments across the nation have the challenge of deploying police officers in areas or locations where crime is likely to occur. The application of information technology use in optimizing police department’s performance in reducing crime is critical to random patrols of the streets. Therefore, police departments should enhance their efforts to systematically predict where and when crimes are likely to occur depends on how well they deploy their resources
Benefits of Information Technology in Police Departments
The application of information technology is critical to raising the performance levels of police departments. The benefits of incorporating information technology systems in fighting crime are very cost effective. Police department in responding to the immense forces of change, such as globalization, changing demographics, emerging environmental issues, growing threats of stability, and increasing expectations from the public on policing services and results, must apply information technology systems. By increasingly using information technology, increases access to information and transparency, aggregating the populace data across law enforcement agencies, providing holistic perspective of the population behaviour, and integrating predictive analyses (Willis, Mastrofski, & Weisburd, 2007).
Therefore, increased application of information systems in fighting and predicting crime is related to the core business of police department in achieving desired results of crime reduction. Information systems thus helps law enforcement agencies to make appropriate decisions, achieve mission objectives, analyze system results, and reduce operating costs. Application of information systems offers solutions to address the key strategic challenges facing law enforcement agencies, to protect the nation and its citizens, and managing the overall police performance. Information technology provides a combination of deep industry expertise, comprehensive hardware portfolio, software and services together with a proven methodology to develop strategies and solutions with an actionable roadmap (DeLorenzi, Shane, & Amendola, 2006).
Information technology definitely increases the engagement of community members and the police, thus the increasing interaction encourage public participation which is a protective factor against crime. The use of ICT tools such as message boards and listservs enhances collaborative problem solving, and broadening participation. Technology though, is not a substitute to face to face interaction between law enforcement agencies and criminal activities. Too much expectation on information technology as a problem solving tool can immensely inflate expectations for information technology projects. Willis, Mastrofski, & Weisburd, (2007) argue that the information technology installed is not immune from problems. Use of information systems does not solve past occurrences of crime, nor eliminate barriers of participation; they can instead turn out be just a means of transferring data. Information technology tends to view crime like weather, or as some occurrence that just happens instead of a series of human decisions and people’s actions.
COMPSTAT: Predictive Policing
According to Willis, Mastrofski, & Weisburd, (2007), COMPSTAT is a predictive information technology model that uses Geographic Information System (GIS) to map crime locations, identifying crime hotspots, and problem areas. CompStat model is a management process within a performance management platform that analyses crime and disorder data, strategic problem solving, an an accountability structure. It is a system that facilitates timely and accurate crime analysis. And it is used to study crime patterns and various problems. The analyses generate customized responses which are implemented through appropriate and rapid deployment of resources and personnel. Its accountability structure is important to ensuring that the analysis is acted upon, and responses affected appropriately. It also assesses if the responses are effective and efficient in reducing crime. Geographic Information systems (GIS) provides search strategies that employs computerized crime mapping, crime analysis, CompStat, geographic profiling, criminal and offender profiling, hotspots identification, spatial analysis, geocoding, and geospatial analysis (Willis, Mastrofski, & Weisburd, 2007)..
Implementation
This is a data driven management model called CompStat, it known for decreasing crime and enhancing the quality of life of New Yorkers for almost the last decade. This process, as an information system is guided by the four principles of input, processing, output, and feedback.
Input
DeLorenzi, Shane, & Amendola, (2006) argue that for knowing what is happening by gathering accurate and timely intelligence, the sources of data will be from official sources, such as calls for service, crime, and arrests data. This primary data should be available real-time so as to provide crime maps, trends, and other analysis products. The command personnel use these information products to to know which crime problems need to be addressed.
Processing
To have a plan need effective tactics that relies on previous successes, and appropriate resources. The command personnel and other law enforcement officers plan tactics that respond well to the identified crime problems. These tactics may include law enforcement, government, and community partners (DeLorenzi, Shane, & Amendola, 2006).
Output
Rapid deployment implies do it quickly which is contrary to the traditional policing of reactive model. If the tactics are deployed in a timely manner, then CompStat deploys resources to places where there is current crime. This results to heading of the problem before it escalates or continues.
Feedback
Assessment and follow up involves if it has worked, the do more of it, otherwise do something else. CompStat has platform for checking on the success of the present and past strategies in resolving the identified problems. This feedback strategy is excellent for problem solving focused on crime reduction, and provides intelligence on how to improve present and future planning and deployment of resources (Firman, 2003).
Benefits of Implementing CompStat
The New York Police Department introduced techniques of predictive policing in 1994. CompStat has amassed immense wealth of historical crime data. Mathematicians came with a number of algorithms that run against past historical data to forecast on the nature of future crimes for police departments. Predictive policing has seen a significant drop in rates of crime such as car thefts, burglaries, and many other kinds of crimes in neighbourhoods. The goals of the system are to increase accountability, improve the performance of police departments, and their service outcomes.
SWOT Analysis
The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of police departments that would wish to implement the predictive policing model. The strengths lay in the traditional policing model expertise which CompStat is supposed to compliment. The opportunities are the vast crime intelligence generated and the need to broaden participation of community. The weaknesses could be difficulties in implementing CompStat, as police departments may implement just as a means to convey data. The threats may be acceptability by the conservative police officers who prefer traditional policing approach (Willis, Mastrofski, & Weisburd, 2007).
Conclusion
Law enforcement agencies including police departments have the mandate to improve public safety by engaging in addressing crime and terrorists activities. In applying information systems helps them to integrate data to provide a wholesome view of the persons, objects, locations, and events. This helps in reducing the time needed to conclude investigations, implementing accountability programs to improve police departments performance, defining and discovering criminal and threat related patterns, considering both historical and future senses.
References
DeLorenzi, D., Shane, J, & Amendola, K. (2006). The CompStat process: Managing performance on the pathway to leadership. The Police Chief, 73 (9).
Firman, J.R. (2003). Deconstructing CompStat to clarify its intent. Criminology & Public Policy, 2 (3), 457-460.
Willis, J.J., Mastrofski, S.D. & Weisburd, D. (2007). Making sense of CompStat: A theory-based analysis of organizational change in three police departments. Law & Society Review, 41 (1), 147-188.