Functions Of The Parts Of The Human Brain Psychology Essay

Functions Of The Parts Of The Human Brain Psychology Essay The brain forms part of the central nervous system together with the spinal cord. The bodys nervous system is the center for communication and decision making. The nervous system is composed of the central and the peripheral nervous system, and the peripheral nervous system is made up of nerves in turn. The nervous system as a whole is in charge of every part of a human beings daily life, ranging from breathing and blinking to assisting one to memorize facts in a test. Nerves connect the brain with the face, eyes, ears, nose, and spinal cord, from where they link to the rest of the body. Sensory nerves is the group of nerves responsible for gathering information from the bodys environment and relaying it to the spinal cord, which in turn speeds the message to the brain. The brain then integrates the message and produces a response. Another group of nerves known as the motor neurons distribute the instructions from the brain to the all the body parts. The spinal cord is a superhighway of messages, composed of a collection of nerves going up and down the spine, transporting messages to and from the brain continuously. The brain is composed of three main segments namely: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The forebrain includes the cerebrum, the thalamus and the hypothalamus. The midbrain is composed of the tegmentum and the tectum. The hindbrain consists of the cerebellum, pons and medulla. The midbrain, the pons, and medulla are regularly referred collectively as the brainstem. Below is a visual representation of the brain and its various parts: The cerebrum, also known as the cerebral cortex, is the biggest portion of the human brain, linked with higher brain functions such as action and thought. The cerebral cortex is partitioned into four segments, referred to as lobes: the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe. Below is a diagram of the cerebrum: (Matlin, 1989). Each of the lobes carries out different functions as explained below: Frontal Lobe- connected with planning, reasoning, emotions, parts of speech, movement, and problem solving Parietal Lobe- associated with orientation, movement, recognition, and stimuli perception Occipital Lobe- related to visual processing Temporal Lobe- associated with memory, perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, and speech The cerebral cortex has numerous folds to increase the surface area of the brain and enable it fit into the small space in the skull. An increased surface area means more neurons per area hence increased efficiency. A deep groove divides the cerebral cortex into two equal parts, called the left and the right hemispheres. The two halves appear almost symmetrical yet it has been proven that each hemisphere functions differently from the other. The left hemisphere is associated with logical decisions while the right hemisphere is linked to creativity. The corpus callosum is a group of axons connecting the two hemispheres. The grey part of the cerebral cortex is composed of nerve cells. Below the grey surface are white nerve fibers which relay signals from the nerve cells to the other brain parts and to the rest of the body. The neocortex is a six-layered structure of the cerebral cortex which occupies the better part of the cerebral cortex and only occurs in mammals. The structure is th ought to have evolved recently and is linked to processing of more complex information by animals that are more fully evolved such as human beings and primates. It is where logical and rational thought takes place. The neocortex is the thinking part of the brain; it thinks through problems, makes decisions, reasons, organizes, concentrates, and controls the impulses. The corpus callosum is closely involved in cerebral organization, equally during growth and throughout adulthood. It is a thick bridge of neural tissue that conveys information from one hemisphere to the other. It plays an active role of directing the brain development beginning infancy into the highly lateralized organ it is known to be. The corpus callosum helps to maintain a balance of attention and arousal between the two hemispheres that allows each side to make its contribution to attain an integrated whole. It thus allocates each type of processing to the particular brain area that is programmed for the job, controls the distribution of attention between the two sides and facilitates sustained attention in difficult cognitive tasks. The corpus callosum also plays part in controlling certain types of eye movements. When the eyes make a movement, like in convergence, or in making saccades, information pertaining what to do is delivered to the brain from two sources: the two reti nas, which see somewhat different things, and the eye muscles that inform where the eyes are now. The input is conveyed to both hemispheres, and smooth integration of this information needs quick and accurate interhemispheric communication. The corpus callosum is therefore closely involved in smooth convergence, smooth tracking, matched focusing, and stable ocular dominance. Transfer of information about the locus of touch from one hands fingertips to the other without looking also needs the functioning of the corpus callosum. The information on which finger the touch occurred has to cross the neural bridge to reach the opposite hand. The cerebellum, also known as little brain, is analogous to the cerebrum due to its possession of two hemispheres and a well folded surface (cortex). This part of the brain is related to regulation and coordination of posture, movement, and balance. It is presumed to have evolved earlier than the cerebrum hence performs more basic functions compared to the cerebral cortex. The limbic system, often called the emotional brain, occurs deep within the cerebrum and is evolutionary old, like the cerebellum. This system is composed of the thalamus, amygdale, the hypothalamus, and hippocampus. The following is a midsagittal view of the human brain showing the limbic system: (Ford, 1992). The amygdale is an almond shaped nuclei mass which occurs deep within the temporal lobes adjacent to the hippocampus and medial to the hypothalamus. It plays various roles in cognition including: Emotional responses Arousal Control of autonomic responses related to fear Hormonal secretions The thalamus is composed of a lamellae (comprised of myelinated fibres) system dividing various thalamic subparts. Other regions are identified by distinctive clusters of neurons, such as the nucleus limitans, the periventricular gray, the intralaminar elements, and others. These clusters of neurons, which differ in structure from the main part of the thalamus, have collectively been grouped into the allothalamus. The thalamus obtains its blood supply from the posterior cerebral artery. It is known that the thalamus has numerous functions. It is deduced to act as a translator for processing various prethalamic inputs into readable form for the cerebral cortex. It is thought to process and relay sensory information to different parts of the cerebral cortex selectively, as one thalamic point might serve one or several parts in the cortex. The thalamus also assists in regulating states of wakefulness and sleep. Thalamic nuclei posses firm reciprocal connections with the cerebral cortex to form thalamo-cortico-thalamic circuits that are linked with consciousness. The thalamus has a major role to play in regulating arousal, activity, and the level of awareness. Injury to the thalamus can cause permanent coma. The system composed of the thalamic parts is associated with many different functions. It is associated with sensory systems: somatic, auditory, gustatory, visceral, and visual systems whereby localized lesions aggravate specific sensory deficits. The roles played by the thalamus are more directed towards motor systems. The relay of cerebellar afferences has been targeted by stereotactians especially for the improvement of tremor. The thalamus is thought to be involved in anterior nigral and pallidal territories in the disturbances of the basal ganglia system. The thalamus is known to play negligible role in tectal or vestibular functions. The thalamus has been considered as a relay that just forwards signals to the cerebrum, but research have shown that the thalamus has more complex functions. The hypothalamus, located directly below the thalamus, is mainly involved in upholding the bodys status quo, homeostasis. In homeostasis, factors such as body temperature, blood pressure, body weight, and fluid and electrolyte balance are regulated by the hypothalamus to a precise value known as the set-point. This set-point can change with time although it is fixed remarkably within a certain range. The hypothalamus acts as the control center for all autonomic regulatory activities of the body. It has thus been referred to as the brain of the brain. It is the center for regulation of endocrine and autonomic homeostatic systems such as temperature, visceral organs, and cardiovascular. It presides over all sensory processing, endocrine hormonal levels, and organizing body metabolism and ingestive behaviors. Almost all functions of the hypothalamus appear to be related somehow to the brain management and body connection, linking the mind to the body. The figure below shows the location of the hypothalamus: (Bandura, 1989). The hypothalamus controls not only the autonomic nervous system but also the pituitary output by producing particular chemicals into the pituitarys front lobe. The hypothalamus is involved in organizing and controlling many complex emotions, moods and feelings, together with all motivational states such as appetite, hunger, and food intake, and everything concerned with the perception of pleasure including comfort, satisfaction and creative activities. A number of neurotransmitters are synthesized by the neurons in the hypothalamus, which are responsible for relaying information and instructions to all brain and body parts. These neurotransmitters influence the pituitary gland directly leading to release of thyroid hormone releasing factor, growth hormone and other neuropeptides through hypothalamic input. The hypothalamus is closely linked with the integration of all physiological stimulation, taste, sight, smell, touch, and sound, which it then translates, refines and gathers into one distinct package linking all the elements of experience and all the stimulation associated with it into one vivid harmonious concept, and one memory. This therefore results in a concise emotionally rewarding understanding and verdict of the experience itself. The hippocampus is seen as being fundamentally involved in the fast encoding of events as relations amongst stimulus context and elements, during the encoding of episodes as event sequences, and in connecting episodes by common aspects into relational networks that sustain elastic inferential expression of memory. There is evidence that the hippocampus plays a major role in encoding of associations amongst actions, stimuli and places that make up discreet events (associative representation). The hippocampus is also thought to be involved in learning the context of events, for example contextual fear conditioning. It is also proposed that the hippocampus is involved in sequential organization. This is the organization of an event as a sequence of events that discloses with time. Another cognitive function of the hippocampus is the connecting of similar features of different memory episode to form flexible presentations. This can be explained as the abstraction of similar features of d ifferent episodes to create representations, or the formation of semantic information from intermittent memory. The hippocampus quickly learns on individual experiences and avoids interference by sorting out representations of those experiences. Limbic system-coordinates memory and emotion Hippocampus and temporal lobes- processing of verbal and visual memory, and control of short-term memory and new learning Parietal lobes-controls sequencing of activities and understanding of spatial information Frontal lobe- regulates social judgment and behavior Occipital lobe- regulates vision, and the skill to see and combine shapes, colors, angles and movement in coordinated patterns. As a result the following abilities are impaired: Mental abilities: A persons skills of understanding, thinking, remembering, and communicating are impaired. The capacity to make decisions is reduced. An individual forgets performing simple tasks that he/she had been performing for years. Persons easily get confused and loss of memory, for short-term and eventually long-term events. An individuals ability to find the right words in a conversation will be affected. Emotions and moods: An individual loses interest in generally all activities and may appear apathetic. A person loses control of emotions and mood. Some individuals appear more withdrawn and less expressive. Emotions may vary across joy, anger, love fear, and sadness, even in the advanced stages of the disease. Behavior An individuals behavior changes in the way he/she interacts with his/her environment including: Hiding his or her possessions Repeating the same words or actions Restlessness Physical flare-ups Physical abilities The disease affects an individuals mobility and physical coordination resulting in steady physical impairment. The individuals ability to perform day-to-day chores independently, such as bathing, eating, and even dressing up, is affected (Tiraboschi, Hansen, Thal, Corey-Bloom, 2004). The Biopsychosocial concept played a key role in helping people cope with the daily global changes and challenges due to modernization and civilizations. Hans then went on and coined the terms distress meaning negative stress, and eustress referring to positive stress. He also came up with the term stressor during this time which referred to the stimulus causing stress. This created a lot of interest among psychologists who ventured in diverse researches to know the links which existed between some diseases and stress. By the year 1970s, stress had become a major area of focus in research by medical practitioners as a way of addressing the issue in a better way amongst the population (Zapf, D., Dormann, C., Frese, M., 1996, p. 96). It is evident that the social, political and scientific changes have had an adverse effect on the researches being carried out on the topic. It has become a problem to undertake researches due to the pressures from science, politics and social changes. According to Anderson a researcher on stress, Our lifestyle has also made us far more susceptible to stress and stress is therefore on the increase in our society. We have more pressure put onto us in day to day living. We may live far away from the support of our immediate family, we may have very little family support and have no one to talk toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦we have less job security and fear redundancyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the pace of life is much, much faster. We are inundated with e-mails, mobile phones ring constantly. We can never switch off or escape. All these factors together with many more others make for a more stressed out society. Individuals go on to argue that such aspects drive much pressures to human beings than before. Ther e have been a lot of political instabilities with the advancements which have also had a negative impact on undertakings of researches on stress, on top of increasing chances of stress to people. This in return has led to making the lives of human beings more complicated and difficult. Stress researches have been made hard by political pressures and stereotypes which have preoccupied people. Scientific advancements have also posed a major challenge to researchers because of its many demands. This is in relation to the requirements that the researches should have testable hypotheses and the conclusions should be in line with the stated hypothesis. By the years of 1990s stress had already been integrated in the modern scientific researches in the areas of human functioning as well as in physiology. These changes have also led to new histories on workplace stress, and the development of new techniques of managing stress (Winefield A., H., 2002, p. 85). Science is said to be a theoretical, empirical and practical knowledge of the natural world. The knowledge is said to be obtained by use of research findings through observations, explanation, and experimentation of the actual phenomena. Given that scientific researches insist on objective knowledge, it has improved the recent researches on the concept of stress, and has done much in improving the history of stress. The scientific advancements are considered to be very crucial and it considers earlier researches as being pre-scientific. it has therefore brought about many changes in the history of stress by forcing the current researchers on the topic of stress, to come up with what they call scientific and up to date research findings on stress. Social advancements have also depicted a major impact on the history of stress. The last 20 years have registered significant changes in the structure of the society. This is because of the demographic developments, technological advancement s, and socio-economic changes. These in turn have affected our family structures, social networks, and our working patterns. These changes have been said to have increased the levels of stress and the causes of stress as well. This has therefore raised a new challenge of addressing the structural changes and how they affect the life of a human being. This is because in the early history of stress, such issues as society structures and technological advancements were not considered (Aldwin, C.M., ed., 1993, p.46). Different people have had differing reactions to the researches and research findings on stress. The topic has been accorded a negative name in the past years. Some have said that they have had difficulties in figuring out between the stress-vulnerable individuals and the stress-resistant ones; hence demanding that these aspects should be clarified as a way of enabling students deal with stressful moments effectively. Others have argued that recent researches did not fully cover on the issue of stress well, hence such publications are not fit for curriculum, and they should be edited or removed from the curriculum. Others have credited authors and researchers on stress for providing them with relevant information on how to cope with a situation which is very common amongst human beings. Other reactions included mis-understandings. For instance; Hans Selye is seen apologizing in some recent memoirs for having used stress as a wrong word, though he is believed to have been the sole cre ator of the biological stress concept. He says he should have called it strain syndrome instead of biological stress. This poses a major challenge for the researchers because people tend to question the validity of their research findings. It has become certain that stress is always in the head of a human being, and that people are the ones who make it to be what it is. Suicides continue to happen at a higher rate, divorce cases are increasing everyday, and generally life does suck for almost everyone, and we want to talk of being stress-free! It is certain therefore that the life of a normal human being cannot run without the word stress. Today, the term has several connotations and meanings and is also used differently by people. It is said to be a phenomenon of physiology, a state of mind, and also a marketing tool and an excuse for human beings. Much of its attention has been initiated by the scientific discoveries as well as efforts by medical practitioners. Since then the term stress became common all over and it achieved what can be called a zenith cultural significance. It is of late a fact of every day life (Mason JW., 1975, p. 7). The term has since then gained a lot of popularity and become a common field of research for many scholars. In the ancient times such researches were geared towards knowing how the body reacts to different forms of stress and the cognitive processes that influence a human minds functioning. Its beginning of use was in the 1930s by the endocrinologist Hans Selye. He carried out a stress research to test how laboratory animals did respond to physiological changes. He later broadened his research and tested how human beings would respond to their daily life challenges. According to his research, stress was the outcome or reaction showed by organisms and the stressors to their known threats. He said that stress can be adapted positively especially when it is involved in the struggle to achieve certain goals in life, but on the other hand it could very harmful to human beings if managed poorly (Mason JW., 1975, p. 9). After that the term has been used constantly by laymen in a metaphorical way as opposed to the biological meaning to refer to the difficulties experienced in our daily activities. It also continued to become a euphemism of referring to our problems when we do not want to be explicit. Hanss first research was practiced on rats which he exposed to some harmful stimuli, and he found out that all animals did produce similar reactions to such stimuli. In the year 1936, he described this universal reaction as a general adaptation to syndrome or GAS. according to those original researches it is a process which is initiated by an alarm which detects the stressor, then the second process is resistance whereby a mode of coping with the problem is initiated. The third stage is the exhaustion stage which can be found in the GAS model. According to Hans, it is during this stage when all the available resources are fully depleted and the body becomes unable to cope with the situation which then le ads to what people call stress. The researches then found out that when such a condition is arrived at the individual can have ulcers, digestion problems, depression or even develop some cardiovascular complications among other illnesses (Mason JW., 1975, p. 9). Some of the frequently asked questions when carrying out a research on the topic of stress include the following: what causes stress? What are the major symptoms of a stressed person? What are the effects of stress? Is stress a permanent situation or not? How can one manage stress in their daily lives? How can stress be avoided? How can the condition be dealt with under normal circumstances? How can people lead stress free lives? Which age/gender is prone to stress? Among many other sub-topics and questions. Seeking answers to such questions related to stress has been undertaken by several individuals (Kearney, G., E., et al, 2003, p. 120). Several key personalities in our history can be credited for having ventured into carrying out thorough researches on the topic of stress. A group which called itself the Work and Stress Research Group was formed with the aim of addressing issues related to stress and work in the daily life of a human being. Among them were: Saswata Biswas, Maureen Dollard, Philip Heffernan and Jane Farin. They were committed to providing information on stress and consultations. It is a group which was officially registered with the University of South Australia when they started their research. This was back in the year 1996, and they dealt with issues which caused stress like unemployment, work violence, ergonomics, and drug addiction. The group has been since then collaborating and uniting with other organizations with the aim of collecting enough information on their topic of research. The group has been commended and credited for its competency and trustworthy in the research, something which ha s gained it popularity from international organizations and institutions

How Do the Major Theories of Child Development Essay

Social experiences play a vital role in the development of children. Theories of child development have been created to help us to understand how children’s minds develop, taking into account the differences between cultures around the world. Some of these theories explore the possibility that children gain knowledge, develop new concepts and bridge new ideas through interaction with experience and cognitive schemata. Some theories explore the theory that development also plays a role in social experience. There are many theories of development, but some are more influential and have inspired a lot of research. There are four main contrasting theories of child development that not only help us to understand child development as a whole, but also assist us in the understanding of the role of social experiences in child development. These four theories of development are often referred to as the ‘grand theories’ as they cover all aspects of child development, not just specific parts. The four grande theories are behaviourist theory, the social learning model, constructivist theory, and social constructivist theory. This essay will discuss and outling the four main theories of development, compare and contrast some of the concepts of the main theories, then discuss whether or not the theory is able to explain the role of social experiences in child development. Behaviourism used to be the most dominant theory in psychology throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s. The evidence provided by the behaviourist experimental technique has been was very important to the discipline of psychology, and many of the theories have stood up to the test of time. Behaviourist psychologists such as were Ivan Pavlov, John Watson and B. F. Skinner. They used techniques such as conditioning (classical conditioning and operand conditioning) to explore the theories of child development. The behaviourist view on child development is that children learn by conditioning, which means that children’s behaviour is affected by a series of rewards and punishments. This learning theory suggests that children are not active in the process of learning; it is as though they are allowing themselves to be shaped by agents in the environment around them, such as teachers and parental models. One criticism of the behaviourist approach is it’s inability to explain the role of social experiences in child development. This is because behaviourism is primarily focused on experimental and scientific methods, and it is limited in the respect that it does not take into account aspects of human nature which can not be measured by the experimental method alone. Emotions and feelings require can not be fully understood by observation alone; it requires a certain degree of introspection. The behaviourist model has explained some very important aspects of cognative development and learning, but more recent theories have shown that the shaping of a child’s mind is far more complex than conditioning alone. In the 1960’s, the social learning model was created and it was proposed that children learn through simply observing other people around them. Role models are an important part of the social learning model. Research has shown that children will often imitate aggression that they have witnessed through watching other people (Liebert et al. , 1977). This is in contrast with the behaviourist learning theory that children learn through reward and punishment. In 1965, Bandura conducted a study where he explored the hypothesis that children can experience social learning without conditioning. He argued that while children learn by observing and mimicking others, they are also extracting concepts and ideas from what they are observing, and making sense of situations on their own. This is in contrast to the behaviourist view that children are not active agents in their own learning. One criticism of this research is that while this is an insight into how children learn by observation, it tells us very little about the cognitive processes and the development of social schemata. The constructivist view of development was formed by Piaget in the 1920’s and 30’s. Jean Piaget’s stage theory suggests that there are four stages of development that every child will experience and progress through, regardless of culture. Piaget also developed the concept of schemata, and the theory that children gained knowledge through interaction between experiences and schematic concepts. Piaget’s theory is contrary to the behaviourist model as he believed that through observation, children ‘construct’ their own understanding of the world, based on their own experiences and prior knowledge. Piaget believed that this type of learning was more influential than instruction from a teacher or caregiver. Piaget and Binet conducted research into the role of cognitive schema and it’s involvement in the process of learning. They carried out an experiment where they conducted a series of intelligence tests on both children and adults. From this research, Piaget found that children and adults look at the world differently, which as a result causes children to build upon their own schemata on their own term. This is because their reasoning differs from that of adults, so they need to make sense of the world using their own rational. Piaget emphasised the importance of interaction with peers in development. Children learn through socialising with one another, and surprisingly they do not appear to benefit in the same way from contact with Adults. Piaget reasoned that children benefit from exposing one another to conflicting perspectives, which causes them to adapt and develop their cognitive schema. This development does not occur when children are in contact with adults, as they see adults as authority figures, and thus would be willing to accept an adult viewpoint without questioning it, which does not allow them to form new ideas or critique old ideas. The fourth and final theory of development that will be discussed is the social constructivism theory. This theory is similar to the constructivist theory as it proposes that children are active agents in their own learning and development. The social constructivism theory extends the constructivism model by introducing the roles of other agents, and by emphasising the role of interaction in the process of learning. The constructive theory places emphasis on social interaction as an important tool in cognitive development, and that schema are formed by children mostly through social interaction, not just through creating the ideas on their own . Vygotsky was a social constructivist whose theories can be contrasted with Piaget’s contructivist theories. Piaget believed that children are the main agents in developing their own knowledge and cognitive schemata about the things they have experiences in the environment. In contrast, Vygotsky placed more emphasis on the development of social schemata through the internalisation of social interactions using cultural tools such as language and expressions. The social constructivist model can be contrasted with social learning theories because it emphasises interaction with people and the environment, and put less emphases on observation. It can also be contrasted with behaviourism as the theory does not appear to value the possible effects of reward and punishment. The main differences between Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theories is that Vygotsky believed that children play the most important part in shaping their cognitive development, which is in contrast to Piaget’s theory of the four universal stages of development. Vygotsky did not incorporate stages of development into his theory, and instead tended to focus on more social factors and role of language and other social tools. Vigotsky’s (1978) social constructivist approach was able to explore the social influences on cognitive development. Piaget’s theory was more focused on children creating new knowledge and cognitive schema through their own self exploration. Crain (2000) believed that some theories focus too much on learning by instruction, and that children were able to learn on their own and through social interaction, so it it important to allow them to explore this in order for them to be active, imaginative and ‘childish’. However other theories have suggested that if the process of learning under instruction is left too late then it may be too late to teach children more dult styles of thinking and reasoning. The social learning theory is possibly the model that places the least emphases on social experiences out of the four primary learning theories. The social part of the theory is the process of learning through observation. This theory does not place much emphasis on how social experiences relate to the development of cognitive schema, or how cognitive schemata facilitate social experiences. Children gain knowledge and bridge pathways through simply watching others in the environment around them. It can be seen from the descriptions of the four main theories of development that not all of them take into account of the role of social experiences in child development. They all appear to make valid claims about the different ways in which children develop complex ideas about the world. From studying these four theories, it seems as though children develop through many different means. Internal structures, role models, and traditional teachings in school, all play an important role in shaping a childs development. Social interaction is possibly equaly as important, if not more important in facilitating normal development in children.

Pro-Choice Persausive Essay

â€Å"One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning. Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i. e. , the nonliving, the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living†(Rand). The meaning behind this statement is powerful and the speaker is trying to surface the need for concern of the living when regarding abortion. Although the nonliving should be considered when contemplating an abortion, the primary focus should be on the mother. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy and is becoming an increasingly volatile issue; a topic that almost everybody has a stance on.Abortion opponents or â€Å"Pro-lifers† believe that the fetus is a human being at the moment of conception, and abortion therefore is murder. Those against abortion also agree that the government should have control over a women’s body and forbid her to have abortion. On the flip side, â€Å"Pro-choicers† argue that the fetus is only a potential child, and not a human until the moment the child can survive on its own. So, the rights of the self-sustaining, living, mother overpower the rights of the dependent fetus. Abortion should be an available option to women throughout the United States.Especially since in some cases it’s an option that separates life and death. First of all, sometimes medical issues decrease the chance of a healthy, successful birth or life, and abortion should be available to prevent a disastrous outcome. In many instances, abortions are needed to save the life of the pregnant women. An example of this situation is an ectopic pregnancy, or a pregnancy that occurs outside the uterus- usually in the fallopian tubes. (Hurley) This causes certain death to the fetus, and if not aborted, also to the expecting mother.If abortion was not permitted under any circumstance, these women would lose their lives trying to give birth. Medical problems can also occur in the fetus, that make a healthy life seem near impossible. Patau syndrome, a rare and very severe chromosome disorder leads to mental retardation and physical defects-so severe that many babies die soon after birth. (Day) Because Patau syndrome is a chromosomal disease, it can be detected during the pregnancy, giving the women an option to end the pregnancy. This option is beneficial to both the fetus and mother.The trauma of having your newborn die soon after birth is unbearable. Also thinking of the child, the suffering of hospitalization only to pass away in the near future is horrible, and therefore abortion is the most humane solution to this horrific disease and others similar. Living in the 21st century, the prevalence of young girls becoming pregnant is high, and the sheer age of girls causes many concerns of health for both the fetus and the girl. â€Å"70,000 girls ages 15-19 die each year from pregnancy, and babies being carried by young mothers have a 60% higher chance of dying as well†(Roleff).By allowing very young gir ls to go through pregnancy, more deaths occur, then if the embryo was aborted. In cases with young girls, abortion is a well thought out alternative to taking the chance of a child giving birth to a child. Medical issues are a significant argument against getting rid of abortion, but having a child can also have a negative impact on the mental health of a mother. Secondly, the mental health and stability of the women should be taken into consideration before giving birth, and abortion should stay an option to those who are not suited to give birth.Many things can contribute to the instability of women such as being a victim of rape. The woman who has been raped has undergone a terrible trauma, and carrying around a baby for nine months-her rapist’s baby- could significantly impact the victim’s mental health. Common mental health disorders resulting from sexual assault include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and even substance abuse. All disorders that a newborn should not be brought up in, and abortion should be available to the victims of such injustice.The results from giving birth can also have a very large impact on the lives of teenage and young girl’s lives. These problems include the most extreme cases of fear, disappointment, regret and low self-esteem (â€Å"Why Women Choose Abortion – Reasons Behind the Abortion Decision. â€Å"). Being a very young mother, many obstacles are thrown your way, and having one of these symptoms or conditions can make having a baby truly difficult. Most of the times teen mothers are left to be a single parent, making raising a child seem near impossible.Likewise not being emotionally ready for a baby, causes many women to be remorseful and regret having the child, this isn’t the best situation to bring a baby up in. A child should be blessed to people who are willing to take care of him or her. Abortion is sometimes a moral choice when pregnancy is unwanted and will be uncared for. â€Å"There are approximately 210 million orphans in the world (Knapp)†. It’s obvious that there are not enough families for all these children. If a pregnancy will lead to giving the baby to an orphanage maybe abortion is an option for that mother.Since the numbers are so high, and spots so precious, women should be able to receive an abortion instead of allowing the child to end up on the streets somewhere. If the fetus is kept, the children are likely to be neglected and don’t receive the attention and support they need. â€Å"Children who are born out of wedlock to women who are not prepared to raise a child are more likely to be unable to function in society and to become violent or criminals†(Roleff). This fact proves that because originally the fetus was unwanted, the parents failed to use proper parental guidance.This aspect was overlooked and therefore these misfortunes end up the criminals in society. Every child should be a want ed child, and if not, abortion should remain an option to those who are unwilling to take responsibility for the fetus. Although sometimes an individual is willing to take care of the future child, but financial obligations don’t permit it. According to several small studies across the country 73 percent of women absolutely cannot afford to have a baby at the moment.As of 2009 the cost to initially have a baby was between 9,000 dollars and 25,000 dollars without insurance (Ford). Also, the cost of raising a baby to age 18 is between 125,000 dollars and 250,000 dollars and that's not including college tuition (â€Å"Baby Expenses†). For some women this kind of expense is too much to handle, and not a possibility where they are at in their lives. Women who cannot afford to have a baby, might need abortion as a last resort, so it should stay legal.If abortion does not stay legal, many poor choices will be made in a time of desperation. Lastly, the negative outcomes of mak ing abortion illegal outweigh the positive outcomes because many women now have to go to great lengths to get one. A negative effect of making abortion illegal would be that women will resort to â€Å"back alley clinics† in order to receive treatment. This type of clinic would obviously be illegal, so the people whom run these centers would have trouble keeping the environment sanitary, or just wouldn’t care.If the clinics no longer are sanitary, the women receiving the abortions would be exposed to disease in their fragile state. This type of center would result in a large number of deaths from ill performed abortions. If not being regulated these centers will become who knows what. In order to prevent the spread of disease and back alley clinics, abortion should continue to be legal. Abortions being legal allows sanitary offices for women to turn to for help. If abortions weren’t legal, mother would also try to kill the fetus themselves.Nicknamed â€Å"self-a bortions† many women try different tactics to try to kill their baby, such as causing trauma to themselves and the fetus in order to rid of the fetus. This also provides a greater chance of death to women just trying to get an abortion. As a result of making abortion illegal many flustered, women with nothing left to do, will turn to dangerous solutions. In the end, Abortion should be an option for desperate women across the nation. There are many supporting points on why this last resort should continue to be legal.Sometimes medical issues decrease the chance of a healthy, mother or child or the survival of either could be jeopardized as well. Secondly, the mental health of some women is just not a suitable environment to bring a baby into, but also the result of the pregnancy could just as well induce mental issues too. Abortion is sometimes a moral choice because the child will not be cared for properly. Lastly, there are drastic measure women will take to get one, so they should not be illegal. All in all, the option to keep abortion legal is the right one. For some women it’s the only one.

The Tragic Hero Of Sophocles Oedipus The King - 1518 Words

Tragedies from past to present have always captured the whole attention of a reader. The different emotions that are conjured while watching or reading these is why they seem to enthrall their audiences so well. A tragic hero plays the most essential role in this. Tragic heroes can be defined differently for whoever is trying to force a character into the tragic hero mold. However Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, established an outline of the requirements a tragic hero has to meet in order to be considered one. These requirements include a downfall, a hamartia, and recognition of said tragic hero’s condition. Oedipus, the protagonist of Sophocles’ play Oedipus The King fits the mold. Throughout the plot and action that takes place in the play it can be seen time and time again that Oedipus accurately reflects the characteristics Aristotle declares to be a tragic hero. Sophocles’ character Oedipus exemplifies a tragic hero as described by Aristotle through his flaws, the plot of his story, and the outcome of his life. It is crucial that a tragic hero possesses flaws in order for him or her to be considered a tragic hero in Aristotle’s eyes. Aristotle refers to these flaws as hamartia. The book Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing states â€Å"as Aristotle said†¦hamartia: his error or†¦his flaw or weakness of character† (Kennedy 945). This description indicates the need for the tragic hero to have a tragic flaw. Oedipus has the seriously tragicShow MoreRelatedCharacteristics of a Tragic Hero in Oedipus the King by Sophocles1238 Words   |  5 Pagesspecific definition of a tragic hero, it can be concluded that Oedipus is a tragic hero. Oedipus The King was written by a well-known tragic dramatist named Sophocles. This story is considered to be one of the greatest tragedies of all time. In fact, the Marjorie Barstow of the Classical Weekly says that it â€Å"fulfills the function of a tragedy, and arouses fear and pity in the highest degree† (Barstow). It is also very controversial because of the relationship that Oedipus has with his mother, althoughRead MoreOedipus As A Tragic Hero1094 Words   |  5 PagesIn the play Oedipus the King, Oedipus struggles to accept the truth and lets his temper over power him. He can be displayed as a tragic hero. His refusal to accept the truth led to Oedipus’ down fall. A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, â€Å"is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction.† Sophocles’ Oedipus exemplifies Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. In the play, Oedipus unknowingly has cursed the entire town of Thebes. He was cursedRead MoreOedipus-a Tragic Hero706 Words   |  3 PagesRunning head: Oedipus-A Tragic Hero Research Paper ENGL 102: Literature and Composition) Fall 2015 Melinda Meeds L26683811 APA Outline Thesis: In Sophocles’ â€Å"Oedipus†, Oedipus is exemplified as a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s definition because his story appeals to the reader’s humanity in the way he maintains his strengths after inadvertently causing his own downfall. I. Oedipus A. The noble birth. B. Describe Oedipus’ character. II. Tragedy A. DescribeRead MoreEssay on Oedipus: The Reign of a Tragic Hero1266 Words   |  6 Pagesto truly understand a tragic play and the history it comes with? The history behind the character of Oedipus, in the play Oedipus the King, is very complicated. His intricate past dealing with prophecies, family members, and murder is the main focus of the story. There are many characteristics that complete Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero; these being the presence of hamartia and peripeteia, a sense of self-awareness, the audience’s pity for the character, and the hero is of noble birth. Read MoreJocasta as a Tragic Hero Essay1222 Words   |  5 Pages2012 Upholding Jocasta as the Tragic Hero What makes a tragic hero? Aristotle lays down groundwork of a tragic hero as being essentially good. They are neither villain nor saint because they have flaws. Several elememts are nevcesary to have a tragic hero, they are the tragic flaw, the reversal, recognition, and hubris. These generally make up the story of the tragic hero, and in the case of Jocasta, the wife and mother of Oedipus in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, she posses all three. Yet sheRead More tragoed Oedipus as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)1217 Words   |  5 PagesOedipus as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Oedipus the King In the introduction to Sophocles Oedipus the King, Sophocles defines a tragic hero as one who [behaves] admirably as a man, [but who] is nevertheless tripped up by forces beyond his control and understanding... (Sophocles 76).   In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. The force that trips up the hero is fate, or, moira. It is Oedipuss actions that set the events into motion,   but it is ultimately his fate, and his attemptedRead MoreOedipus the Tragic Hero1390 Words   |  6 PagesOedipus; The Tragic Hero In the Fourth Century BC, a famous philosopher named Aristotle wrote about the qualities that a tragic hero must possess. Ever since that time, there have been many examples of tragic heroes in literature. None of those characters, however, display the tragic hero traits quite as well as Oedipus, the main character from the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Oedipus is, without a doubt, the absolute quintessence of a tragic hero. His example shines as clear as a sunny summerRead MoreOedipus As A Tragic Hero1724 Words   |  7 Pagesstory of Oedipus, Oedipus is considered a â€Å"Tragic Hero† because of the tragic fate and effect that he had upon his life. My definition of a tragedy is a great loss that has a unhappy ending to which concluded me to state that Oedipus falls under that category. Throughout the book, Oedipus is leading himself to his own destruction when trying to find the killer of the late King Laios. So when a journal article I found published by The John Hopk ins University Press stated that a â€Å"tragic hero is a manRead MoreOedipus : The King Of Thebes And Tragic Hero Essay728 Words   |  3 PagesOedipus: The King of Thebes and Tragic Hero Ancient Greek Literature encompasses an assortment of poetry and drama to include the great masterpieces of tragedy. In Classic Literature, tragedies were commonly known for their elaboration of a protagonist fitting the classification of a tragic hero. This type of a tragic hero often collectively described as a character of noble birth, facing an adversity of some nature and a fate of great suffering. The characteristics of what encompassed a tragic heroRead MoreOedipus And His Tragic Traits. In Sophocles Play Oedipus1017 Words   |  5 PagesOedipus and His Tragic Traits In Sophocles play Oedipus the King, Sophocles depicts the horrible fate of Oedipus, a pompous, arrogant young ruler. The story begins in the Greek town of Thebes. A plague has descended upon the Thebians causing death and famine throughout the land. Oedipus, being the heroic king, takes full responsibility to find out the cause of their aliments. While working to discover the source of the plague, Oedipus stumbles upon the tragic truth of his heritage and the horrifying