Thursday, March 19, 2020

A Critical Examination of Rene Descartes Trademark Argument essays

A Critical Examination of Rene Descartes Trademark Argument essays A Critical Examination of Rene Descartes Trademark Argument In the six meditations written by Rene Descartes there are numerous principals and theories proposed, among them is the Trademark argument for the existence of God, which states that we all have an innate idea of an infinitely perfect God and the cause of the idea could only be a perfect God. Descartes states that there are degrees to reality and what is less real may not be caused by something, which is given more reality, (that the cause must pre-contain the reality of its effect). Descartes dubs this the pre-containment principle. He then goes on to say that all things must have a cause and that all causes may affect another thing, (deemed the principle of universal causation). So using all this Descartes states that he has an idea of God, and the only possible cause for this idea is God himself, because only God contains enough formal reality to cause the idea with that much objective reality. First off how do we know that the idea of god is in fact innate, and what of the fact that there are many different versions of that same idea? If you were to ask a person who had never had contact with another human being before exactly who or what God is, I believe the person would ask who and what God is? Who is to say the idea of God is in fact innate, what proof is there to suggest that the idea is Innate, or that there are innate ideas at all? Three similar objections can be raised, the first being that God can be thought of as not existing. That is, we can separate his existence from his essential attributes. Since, according to some critics, we can conceive of God as not existing, then existence is not a necessary attribute of this idea. A further objection to Descartes' proof is that even though a necessary attribute of a mountain is that it be adjacent to a valley, it doesn't follow that any mountains or valleys exist. In the same way, even though the c ...

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Nancy Drew Books Author Carolyn Keene Biography

Nancy Drew Books Author Carolyn Keene Biography Teenage sleuth Nancy Drew and Mildred Wirt Benson had a great deal in common, including very long and active lives. Nancy Drew books, in one form or another, have been popular for more than 70 years. Mildred Wirt Benson, who wrote the text of 23 of the first 25 Nancy Drew books under the direction of Edward Stratemeyer, was still an active newspaper columnist  when she died in May of 2002 at the age of 96. Bensons Early Years Mildred A. Wirt Benson was a remarkable woman who knew from an early age that she wanted to be a writer. Mildred Augustine was born on July 10, 1905, in Ladora, Iowa. Her first story was published when she was only 14. While attending the University of Iowa, she wrote and sold short stories to help cover college costs. Mildred also worked on the student newspaper and as a reporter for the Clinton, Iowa Herald. In 1927, she became the first woman to receive a masters degree in journalism from the University of Iowa. In fact, it was while she was working for a masters degree that Benson submitted a manuscript for the Stratemeyer Syndicates Ruth Fielding series and was hired to write for the series. She was then offered the opportunity to work on a new series about teenage sleuth Nancy Drew. The Stratemeyer Syndicate The Stratemeyer Syndicate was established by author and entrepreneur Edward Stratemeyer for the purpose of developing childrens book series. Stratemeyer created the characters and developed outlines of the plots for a variety of childrens series and the Syndicate hired ghostwriters to turn them into books. The Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and Nancy Drew were among the series created through the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Benson received a flat fee of $125 from the Stratemeyer Syndicate for each book for which she was the writer. While Benson never hid the fact that she wrote the text for the Nancy Drew books, the Stratemeyer Syndicate made it a practice to require that its writers remain anonymous and listed Carolyn Keene as the author of the Nancy Drew series. Not until 1980, when she testified in a court case involving the Stratemeyer Syndicate and its publishers, did it begin to become commonly known that Benson wrote the text of the first Nancy Drew books, following the outlines provided by Edward Stratemeyer. Bensons Career Although Benson went on to write numerous other books for youth on her own, including the Penny Parker series, the bulk of her career was devoted to journalism. She was a reporter and columnist in Ohio, first for The Toledo Times and then, The Toledo Blade, for 58 years. While she retired as a reporter in January of 2002 due to her health, Benson continued to write a monthly column Millie Bensons Notebook. Benson was married and widowed twice and had one daughter, Ann. Like Nancy Drew, Benson was smart, independent, and adventurous. She traveled a good deal, particularly in Central and South America. In her sixties, she became a licensed commercial and private pilot. It seems fitting that Nancy Drew and Mildred Wirt Benson had so much in common. What Makes Nancy Drew Books So Popular? What is it that has made Nancy Drew such a popular character? When the books were first published, Nancy Drew represented a new kind of heroine: a bright, attractive, resourceful girl, capable of solving mysteries and taking care of herself. According to Mildred Wirt Benson, ...it seems to me that Nancy was popular, and remains so, primarily because she personifies the dream image which exists within most teenagers. The Nancy Drew books continue to be popular with  9-12-year-olds. Some of the boxed sets you might consider are: Nancy Drew Starter Set, which includes  The Secret of the Old Clock,  The Hidden Staircase,  The Bungalow Mystery,  The Mystery at Lilac Inn,  The Secret of Shadow Ranch, and  The Secret of Red Gate Farm  Nancy Drew Girl Detective Sleuth Set, which includes  Without a Trace,  A Race Against Time,  False Notes, and  High Risk. If you like audiobooks, try The Secret of the Old Clock  The Hidden Staircase Individual Nancy Drew books, such as  The Case of the Creative Crime  and  The Baby-Sitter Burglaries  are also available in hardbound and/or paperback editions.