Era of social and cultural rebellion Essay Example for Free

Era of social and cultural rebellion Essay The disintegration of American values was reflected in manners and morals that shook American society to the depths. (Leuchtenburg) The 1920s was an era in which the Americans showed their independence through actions; learning not to live the same ways that those preceded them had. The 20s was a cultural and socialistic rebellious attitude, decomposing past American ethics and beliefs. The most obvious rebellion is shown by the feminine movements during this time. The 1920s led to a new role for American women, in which females desperately tried to rid themselves of Victorian roles they had played in the past. In an effort to become modern and masculine, the flapper led to newly recognized rights for females in the male fields. The flappers showed their rebellion by wearing short skirts that in previous years would have been entirely inappropriate dress for women. Rebellion was also shown by the increased number of females working in public offices, obtaining jobs, attending colleges, and having leading roles in professional careers (events that were practically unheard-of fifty years earlier.) Women professionals increased 50 percent, while married working women increased 30 percent. With the suffrage movement in 1920, women started out the 20s with a passion for independence and political and social rights. Women lived by themselves, proving absolute independence from men. They, who had once been thought of as mens property solely to perform the acts of cleaning and cooking, were revolting against their title of exclusive possession. Once the rebellion against stay-at-home wives had started, women who still fulfilled that role felt compelled to apologize that they were not out working alongside men in the job world. (Leuchtenburg) Marriage was also a way to rebel; women who were unhappy in marriages felt that they had the right to divorce their husbands; this act more then doubled between the years of 1914 and 1929. Divorce, once thought to be completely immoral, was becoming quite common. All these factors show that the female race was using the 1920s to revolt against issues they had previously disagreed with, but never had the courage to address. The 1920s brought a breakdown in ethics. Couples went further in publicly showing their affection for each other. Sex was a common discussion topic,  not only for women but young girls. Suggestive topics were broadcasted all over the radios, movies, and newspapers. Parties were no longer chaperoned, and parents no longer had knowledge about their daughters actions. The fact that individuals during this time were so free with their sexual favors proves the fact that people during this time wanted to show their capability at making decisions for themselves. (Leuchtenburg) One may argue that the 1920s was not an era of social and cultural rebellion, and bring up the opinion that the dresses the flappers wore were efforts to save money. (Shannon) This is possible, but in order to feel completely at ease at wearing what would have been considered (only a decade earlier) an outrageous outfit, the women would have had to rebel. One might also say that the reason why there were increased numbers of women attending college was not the fact that they were rebelling to prove their equality with men, but rather because it was the first time they could ever afford such an education. This is untrue; debt was so high in the 20s that most families would have been unable to afford a college education. During the 1920s, the economy grew into a consumer economy, one that revolved around the ability of the citizens to consume products. In order to make it easy for the people to do this, credit was developed. With the innovation of credit, many people became in debt, and consumer debt rose a total of 250 percent. Personal debt rose 2.5 times faster then personal income, and people just didnt have money to spend it on an education solely for the reason of becoming educated. However, in order to show their equality, women would have been more willing to put a college education on credit. In conclusion, the Roaring Twenties was a time of serious cultural and social rebellion. People wanted to live their lives they way they chose; they wanted to show their independence and ability to make decisions, and not live by the beliefs of their predecessors.

Greek Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Greek Philosophy Essay What Is Philosophy? †¢Philosophy : The studies of Greco-Roman thinkers on activities and inquiries. It is also the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct. †¢Philosophy focuses on three main types: †¢Stoicism †¢Skepticism †¢Epicurean †¢Philosophy consists of these philosophical areas: †¢Metaphysics †¢Materialism †¢Idealism †¢Epistemology †¢Empiricism †¢Rationalism †¢Ethics †¢Hedonism †¢Cynicism Three Main Types Stoicism †¢Refers to the knowledge of Aristotle oMind is a blank state, impressions are made by the 5 senses. †¢Stoics deny the metaphysical points of view. oReal objects produce intense feelings. oThe body and soul are pairs that act and react to each other. Skepticism †¢Examines as to what someone should believe- derived from Platos schooling †¢Objections on skepticism: oIts commitment to knowledgeable limitation is nonexistent. oIf knowledge is limited and judgment is not expressed, life is presumed unlivable. Epicurean †¢Formulated by Epicurus who believed philosophy was studied to make the soul happy. †¢Happiness created with less wanting of materialistic things and more peace. Philosophical Areas Metaphysics †¢Branch of philosophy accountable for the study of existence. oAnswers what is? †¢The foundation of philosophy oWithout metaphysics, we would not be able to comprehend the world or act accordingly to it. Materialism †¢Refers to the simple focus of the material world. oEverything in the universe is matter and matters. †¢The philosophy is held by those who believed that material items are accountable for existence. Idealism †¢Stresses the central ideal and spiritual interpretations of experiences. oThey believe world exists as a spirit †¢Two forms: oMetaphysical idealism oEpistemological idealism Epistemology †¢The investigation of grounds and nature of knowledge of the world. oFocuses on the knowledge of differences between truths and falsehood. †¢Fundamental aspect to how we think. Empiricism †¢Theory of experience as primary source to our knowledge of the world. oLearning through perception. †¢Classical empiricism oRejection of innate, in-born knowledge and concepts †¢Radical empiricism oExplains that all our knowledge is derived from our senses. †¢Moderate empiricism oDescribes the exceptions to general empiristic rules. Rationalism †¢Philosophical movement that introduced mathematical methods to philosophy. oCan be understood through mathematical and logical  principles, not sensory experiences. Ethics †¢Branch of philosophy dealing with what is the proper action for humans. oAnswers What do I do? †¢Requirement for human life, decides course of action. Hedonism †¢Doctrine that states that all pleasure is naturally acceptable- good for the soul. †¢Nothing but pleasure is good. Cynicism †¢Described as a way of life, which consists of asceticism, anti-conformism, and anti-conventionalism. †¢Basis of cynicism is the virtue of well being and a happy life. Philosophers Socrates †¢Possibly the wisest sage of all time †¢Contributions to philosophy: oPithy sayings. oSocratic method of discussion oSocratic irony oSocratic method- saying he knows nothing and that unexamined life is not worth living †¢Participated in the military during the Peloponnesian War. oCommitted suicide by ingesting poison hemlock. Plato Fun fact: Plato is not his original name- its Aristocles, but was later changed to Plato by his teachers †¢Considered the most important philosopher to have ever lived- father of Idealism. †¢Thought the human soul contained reason, spirit, and appetite. †¢Student and follower of Socrates. †¢Impacted math, science, morals, and political theories with his  Legacy of the Academy schooling. Aristotle †¢Student of Plato, teacher of Alexander the Great. †¢Wrote on logic, nature, psychology, ethics, politics, and art. †¢Developed deductive reasoning. †¢Basis: Aristotles syllogism †¢Church used Aristotle to explain doctrines in the Middle Ages. Concept of Prime Element †¢Thales Attempted to find naturalistic explanations of the world; identified water as the ultimate principle. †¢Pythagoras Creator of Pythagorean Theorem; believed earth was what encompassed all beings. †¢Anaximenes Explained how air was universally present and is the source of all that exists. †¢Heraclitus Disagreed with aforementioned philosophers and claimed fire was the classical element. †¢Empedocles Created the cosmogenic theory that composed of the four classical elements: water, earth, fire, and air. Bibliography †¢http://www. philosophybasics. com/movements_rationalism. html †¢http://www. importanceofphilosophy. com/Ethics_Main. html †¢http://philosophy. lander. edu/ethics/hedonism. html †¢http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/philosophy%20? s=t †¢http://ancienthistory. about. com/cs/people/p/aristotle. htm †¢http://ancienthistory. about. com/od/platoprofile/p/Plato. htm †¢http://ancienthistory. about. com/od/socratesbio/p/Socrates. htm †¢http://www. historyforkids. org/learn/greeks/philosophy/ †¢http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/athenians. html †¢http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/greeks. html †¢http://philosophy. gr/ †¢http://philosophy. gr/hellinistic/cynics. htm †¢http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/entry/Greek_philosophy,_A ncient †¢http://www. livius. org/gi-gr/greeks/philosophers. html †¢http://www. historyforkids. org/learn/greeks/philosophy/ †¢http://www. historyforkids. org/learn/philosophy/epicureans. htm †¢http://www. iep. utm. edu/stoicmind/ †¢http://www. iep. utm. edu/skepanci/.

Examining the Factors affecting Successful Strategic Management

Examining the Factors affecting Successful Strategic Management Todays an organization want to achieve success, they should consider all aspects for reaching the desired ends and how to avoid difficulties to help plan successful strategies. When an organisation has a strategy it enables them to ensure that decisions made on a day-to-day basis fit in with its long term interests. Strategies are also important as any decisions an organisation makes today can have a negative impact on its future results. A strategy will also help encourage employees, departments to work together to achieve common goals. In this essay I will concentrate on three schools, including design school, planning school and positioning schools. Furthermore, I will clarify some points in others schools of thought by particular looking at the overall, key issues and assumptions of this theory. According to Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel (1998), they suggest that there are a lot of influential factors affect strategy. The schools will help organization to evaluate their macro and micro dynamics of a company. The first three schools that is design, planning and positioning schools of thought are prescriptive in nature. Those schools discuss how a strategy should be formulated. Accordingly, organization based on current situation and its environment to identify directions actions. The next six schools, entrepreneurial, cognitive, learning, power, cultural, and environmental are concerned with a specific aspect of strategy formation rather than prescribing an ideal strategic behaviour, it may be characterized as descriptive, emergent and subjective. Whereas, the configuration school alone constitutes the third group that integrates the various elements of strategy formation from all the previous schools mentioned. The first of the prescriptive schools is the Design school. The value of this strategy formation is that it seeks to establish a fit between an organizations strengths and weakness and its internal potential and external possibilities. This school also considers the role played by managerial values and social responsibility as important in the process of strategy making (Shekhar, 2009). Therefore, the CEO has a responsibility for a strategy formation. On the other hand, the strategy should be individualized, simple and explicit. According to his framework, a strategy formulated should be consistent in its goals as well as policies. Moreover, it must be adaptive to the changes in the organizations environment, provide and maintain competitive and should be feasible. The advantage of this type of school is that it forces consideration of external factors and will be more appropriate in organisation that needs reorientation. In the assignment 2, I will concentrate on how both internal a s well as external factors impact strategy of organization, and also according to this theory to provide some evaluation, selection, using SWOT analysis and Porters Five Force to descript how organization can fit between strength, weakness and the opportunities. The next school that I will discuss is a Planning school. It is a member of the prescriptive schools and a strategy formulation also mention as a formal process. The principal of this school has a separation between strategy formulation and strategy implementation. According to this school, strategy is a plan, a direction, a guide or a course of action into the future. The planning school consent with most of the premises in the Design school. However, the execution of strategy became formalized. The CEO takes the responsibility for the formulation of the whole process. By applying powerful analytic tools such as rigorous strategic planning methodologies, scenario analysis, managers can forecast the future of their business and can be accurately enough to let them to choose a suitable strategic direction. I will discuss these issues in the next assignment. The Positioning school also is part of the first group of schools. This school is different from other schools, it also known as an analytical process. In the positioning school, there are only a few key strategies or positions in the market place, which is economic and competitive, while there are no limits to strategies in some schools, for example the design and planning schools. The process focused more narrowly on calculation and on the close-ended selection of strategic positions than on the development of integrated and unusual strategic perspectives or on the specification of coordinated sets of plans (Marko, 2004). Strategies developed under this school are generic, specifically common, identifiable positions in the marketplace. In addition, when compared with other schools, it is less emphasis on political effects, including internal and external on the strategy formation in an organization. In the next assignment, I will focus on tools, methods such as BCG matrix, Michael Porters Generic Strategies, Profit Impact of Market Strategies and some other tools to clarify how to analysis and calculate in order to support the process of developing the strategy. In the next assignment, I will highlight some of the critical aspects of strategy formation in ten schools of through. In detail, the entrepreneurial school views strategy formation as a visionary process and visions can be set by a single or multiple founders of a company. The power school views strategy formation as a process of negotiation, the power refers to political power or the political relations surrounding an organization. The cognitive school views strategy formation as a mental process, it analyses how people perceive patterns and process information. The learning school views strategy formation as an emergent process of trial and error learning within an organization. The cultural school views strategy formation as a collective process, based on beliefs and understandings shared by the members of various groups and departments in organization. The environmental school views strategy formation as a reactive process, it described the relationship between particular dimens ions of the environment. Thereby reacting to the challenges imposed the external environment. According to configuration school, this strategy formation is seen as a process of transforming the organization from one state of decision-making structure into another. Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel (1998) stated the key to this strategy if for the organisation to recognise the need for the transformation, however to be able to do this without damaging the organisation. From this assignment I have learnt the importance of implementing strategic management into an organisation to gain competitive advantage. Applying Mintzbergs schools could help an organization about evaluation, development and transformation. Using the schools, organization can be able to identify their objectives, its strengths and weakness, to help expand on potential, developing on their opportunities and strengths. The key point to the schools is finding which strategy making technique best fits into an organisation, and developing further on it. Having successful achieving these goals, it will transform and give an organisation higher strategic competence. (1090 words)

A Freudian Analysis of The Fatal Sisters Essay -- The Fatal Sisters

A Freudian Analysis of The Fatal Sisters When the psychoanalytical approach is applied to Thomas Gray's "The Fatal Sisters,", each of Freud's three main theories are glaringly apparent. A major factor in the poem's psychoanalytical grisly texture is that the poem is sung by the giants at the loom as they weave. The language they use not only reflects upon the characters, but it offers new insight for Freudian analysis. The most obvious example of Freud's theories is phallic and yonic symbolism. (HCAL 132) War is being fought by the male warriors and all of the descriptions of the woof of war are rife with phallic symbolism. One prime example of this is line 22, "Pikes must shiver, javelins sing." The valkyries--who are the only characters mentioned by name in the giantess's song--are accompanied by appropriate yonic symbols. "Gondula, and Geira, spread/O'er the youthful king your shield" (31-32) The loom portrays an interesting blend of both types of symbols. The "Sword, that once a monarch bore," (15) is one of the phallic symbols of the loom, dealing with the p...

Chaucers Canterbury Tales - The Miller’s Tale and the Life of Christ E

The Miller’s Tale and the Life of Christ      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, he created a great majority of the individual tales by "borrowing" and reworking material from various sources. Most of these stories would have been very familiar to his medieval audience, and the changes he made in the standard version of these tales for his work would have been a form of tacit communication that would have added an extra dimension to each of them. Howard says that "... the tales possess a relatedness of their own within a world of other texts. They can be understood only with reference to shared formulas of language or generic traits..." (448). In the Miller's tale Chaucer parodies the Knight's Tale, which itself was "adapted from a longer tale ... from Italy ... from Boccaccio" (Howard 448), by combining and satirizing highly irreverent references to the life of Jesus Christ with the story of Oedipus to make the tale as bawdy and comical as possible. The Miller's tale introduces a carpenter, John, his wife, Alison, and a student lodger, Nicholas. The identification of John as a carpenter immediately causes the audience to relate these characters to another famous carpenter and his wife, namely, Joseph and Mary from the Bible. (quote) The character of John is similar to Joseph not only because of their shared profession, but also because of the shared situations with their wives before marriage. Chaucer mentions how it was a rather rash move for John to marry Alison, a woman much younger than he. He says "He might have known, were Cato on his shelf,/A man should marry someone like himself" (89). Just as Joseph was wary of marrying Mary because she was already pregnant such that he "did not want to expose her to p... ...t flood, cuts loose the ropes holding his tub to the ceiling and falls to the ground, breaking his arm in the process. The ridicule that John receives from the neighbors who have been told by Alison and Nicholas that he is insane, serves to create enough of a triumph as to symbolize Christ's resurrection. The triumph would not have been nearly as dramatic if it had merely consisted of Nicholas's recovery or Absalon's defeat because it would not have fulfilled Nicholas's main goal of "killing" his father and "marrying" his mother. Works Cited Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. England: Penguin Books, 1977. Howard, Donald R. Chaucer: His Life, His Works, His World. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1987. New International Version. Holy Bible. Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1988. Wilson, A. N. Jesus: A Life. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1992.      

Inflation in the UK Economy Essay -- Economics Money England Essays

Inflation in the UK Economy Before starting to explain inflation it is necessary first to define it. Inflation can be described as a positive rate of growth in the general price level of goods and services. It is measured as a percentage increase over time in a price index such as the GDP deflator or the Retail Price Index. The RPI is a basket of over six hundred different goods and services, weighted according to the percentage of how much household income they take up. There are two measurements of this: the headline rate (includes all the items in the basket) and the underlying rate (RPIX) which excludes mortgage interest payments. It is the RPIX which is used more often in this country, as a feature of the UK when compared to the rest of Europe is a very high proportion of owner/occupier homeowners. This means that many people have mortgages, and as such, changes in interest rates (to control inflation) can artificially raise the headline rate. Causes of Inflation There are two main causes of inflation, 1) Demand Pull Inflation This is where the total demand for goods and services in the economy exceeds the total supply. This happens after excessive growth in aggregate demand, and creates an inflationary gap. Excess demand in the economy drives up prices, and high prices mean that Suppliers want to produce more units of their product in order to make more money. To supply more, they must increase their production capacity, and the easiest way to do this in the short run is to increase the amount of labour they employ. This means that they are paying more wages, so people will have more disposable income, and hence there is more demand in the economy. Demand pull inflation is often monetary in origin: when the money supply grows faster than the ability of the economy to supply goods and services. This concept is explained by the Quantity Theory of Money. The quantity theory of money holds that changes in the general level of prices are directly proportional to changes in the quantity of money. It is obvious though, that merely an increase in the supply would have no effect on prices. The increase must be spent in order for this to happen. This is where velocity of circulation (V) becomes important. If the total amount of all transactions is T, and the total amount of money is... ...sion (ie unemployment) are lagged ? they do not respond until after the damage has been done, and so, in the example of the Lawson Boom, because consumer demand did not respond swiftly to interest rate increases, rates were put up too much, which stifled growth instead of merely slowing it. Some people are now suggesting that the cycle of boom and bust has ended with the advent of e-commerce, as more and more firms employ increasingly fewer people, and are far more responsive to changes in demand. There is some empirical evidence to suggest this as inflation seems to have been fairly constant for the last few years (see appendix 2). However, whether this is due to e-commerce, the Bank of England having semi-autonomous control over interest rates, or some other factor, has yet to be seen. Bibliography Introductory Economics - GF Stanlake Chapter 11 Principles of Economics ? Lipsey and Chrystal Chapters 26- 32 Macroeconomics ? Greenaway and Shaw www.tutor2u.net ? inflation, income and unemployment statistics www.answersleuth.com/numbers/1970.shmtl ? chronology of oil prices www.thebankofengland.co.uk -The Bank of England ? interest rate statistics

The Ethical Issues behind Cosmetic Surgery

The article I chose is entitled â€Å"Ethnic Differences Emerge in Plastic Surgery† and was written by Sam Dolnick for the New York Times on February 19, 2011. It explains that cosmetic plastic surgery is no longer an opportunity limited to wealthy suburbanites. In New York City, there has been a surge of immigrants having plastic surgeries that are correlated with their ethnic beauty standards.Furthermore, doctors practicing in various ethnic enclaves throughout the city have seen; Italians having their knees reshaped, Egyptians getting face-lifts, Iranians getting nose jobs, Dominican women getting their buttocks’ lifted, Asians having â€Å"double eye-lid surgery† or receiving a crease in their eyelids to make their eyes appear rounder, and Russians getting breast implants.The article goes on to contrast the cultural beauty standards or tastes between one group of wealthy Long Island suburbanites with Washington Heights’ ancestrally Dominican citizens, where, in Long Island suburbs they want fat removed from their behinds, and in Washington Heights they want their rear ends enlarged and rounded. There are three ethical issues present in this article, the first being the usage of surgery to improve patients’ psychological self-esteem issues versus the usage of surgery for traditional health reasons.The second issue is the fact that doctors are willing to offer layaway plans to help patients afford operations, but even more precarious, unlicensed practitioners are performing illegal surgery throughout most ethnic enclaves. The third is the belief that American pop culture and media have a role in affecting people’s personal awareness and ideals of beauty, and this is making them much more willing to have unnecessary cosmetic plastic surgery performed. John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarian doctrine is the first ethical theory I chose to apply to these ethical problems.Mill argued that morality is based on the consequenc es you take, and that consequences must be a means to increase utility or pleasure (Utilitarianism: Of What Sort of Proof the, para 3,9). To the first ethical issue, Mill would most likely say that people who undergo cosmetic plastic surgery are moral because they are acting accordance with increasing happiness. However, they are acting upon a lower pleasure, which is vanity, and although this may bring some joy, it is something that can become an endless pursuit.Towards the second issue, Mill would most likely say that the legality of the operations, and how the surgery is paid for, is superfluous to morality. If there is a tendency for patients to come out feeling and looking better, than the surgeon has done his or her job and there is nothing immoral going on. However, if there is a tendency for people to leave these places, where layaway is acceptable and the surgeons do not have licenses to practice, in pain and vexation, there is something immoral about this particular situat ion.One could further argue, that performing surgery illegally and allowing layaway for surgery is based in greed. To this I believe Mill would still say that it is the patients responses that matter, for they are the ones who choose to have the surgery illegally, and if they have gained more pleasure through the experience, the actions taken by the illegal surgeons or greedy doctors was moral (Utilitarianism: Of What Sort of Proof, para 6).To the last part, is media and pop culture responsible for unnecessary surgery, and people unhealthy personal beauty obsessions, he would say, generally no. Although he might say that certain parts of media are potent at changing the way people view their bodies and other people’s bodies, and may make people obsessively drawn into the lower pleasures of cosmetic bodily improvement. Immanuel Kant’s Deontological ethics is the second theory I chose to administer to the article. Kant argues that for an action to have genuine moral wort h, it must be done out of duty, or from pure intentions.People or semi-rational beings must not allow subjective experiences and past events, or particular circumstances, determine what actions are morally right, but must act to achieve the categorical imperative, thus making every intention and every action together an end in itself (Groundwork: Moving from popular, para 2-4, 6-7). To the first, again being the usage of surgery for traditional reasons, versus the usage of surgery for patients who have psychological self-esteem issues; they believe that having cosmetic surgery will result in looking better and therefore bring happiness.Kant would strongly see this as immoral, as it is first off not being used to preserve one’s life, and it is seeking out happiness through picking means which Kant believes will only lead to pain (Groundwork: Moving from popular moral, para 15-16). Also cosmetic plastic surgery is not universafiable because it means that our self-love is based off of subjective contingent circumstances, and not based off of self-love because we are semi-rational beings.To the second ethical theory being layaway plans and illegal surgery, Kant would probably see the layaway plans as bad in that if everyone had layaway, there would not be any true ownership, and everyone would be in debt to someone else. Illegal surgery is also not universifiable in that, if it were universifiable, there would be no legality, and the state laws for surgical practices would not exist. As to whether Kant would see people receiving cosmetic plastic surgery as victims of our hyper-idealized beauty popular culture and media, he would probably say yes, there is a problem.Pop culture, the media, and social networks certainly do have an insidiously furtive part in how we behave, and what we believe is beautiful. To go out of your way to make yourself more beautiful because someone or something tells you to do so, especially if it is instilled upon you in a covert w ay, is not acting in accordance with freedom. It is dually leading you to use surgery as a mere means to happiness, and using you as a mere means to waste your money on advertised beauty/ diet products, more surgery, and more repetitive mindless television shows.In terms of which ethical theory best resolves the ethical issues spurred by this article, I would have to say Kant’s theory of good intentions is most critical and affirmative. All of these ethical issues I have raised have questionable intentions behind them. If I were to go with Mill, I certainly would be a lot more lenient with these issues. That is not necessarily a bad thing, since these peoples actions are not necessarily questionable. Their actions are somewhat good, because whether you are the patient, the doctor, or the pop culture media (entertainment) you are aiming at or supposedly affecting happiness (in a Mill sense).But their intentions are somewhat convoluted, and in my opinion, impure. I believe most of the doctors have greed as their intention, especially those who are willing to perform surgery illegally. Sure, the illegal surgeons may be acting in a proper way, that is, they may perform the surgery properly. But behind it all is an intention of surreptitiously avoiding the rules of the state to save money, meanwhile being completely liable to malpractice and putting in jeopardy their lives and the lives of their patients.The patients may know that these doctors are quacks, but if they don’t, then in fact they are being lied to and are being placed under the knives of surgeons who are dishonest and hence treating the patients as a mere means. Furthermore, I believe anyone who is getting cosmetic plastic surgery based off of established beauty standards, unless in some horrific accident or bearing some horrific deformity is impure in their reasoning.They are giving into standards that are not their own, but have been environmentally, and artificially created, beefed up and branded. Thus, in a Kantian sense, people are acting not under a categorical imperative, but under empirical knowledge that has been conjured through culturally relative or subjective circumstances. In sum, Kant would say be happy with what you look like, and don’t attempt to change it based off of your cultural preferences or media created beauty bombardments, because you are not acting freely and with duty.