The Evolution of the Justice System Research Paper

The Evolution of the Justice System - Research Paper Example The essay shall explore the justice system from conception, evolution and its impact on the United States judicial system. The justice system has evolved a lot since its inception into the society. When colonialists first arrived in early America, there was no form of law anywhere and it was a case of survival of the fittest. The land was filled with outlaws and this gave reasons for the rise of the county sheriffs. Soon after, courts were established and lawyers who had immigrated from England started practicing law. The sheriffs categorized crimes into two groups namely, misdemeanors and felonies. The courts were similar to the courts found in England in that both courts comprised of judges and a jury. Some courts had one judge presiding over cases while others had ten judges. In the case of the ten judges, there was no organization and conducting matters was difficult. The courts led to the establishment of county cells and prisons. The main distinction between the cells and priso ns is that the county cells were meant to hold petty offenders and suspects while they awaited trial. After the case proceedings ended and the verdict was passed, they would be taken to prison. This is similar to the modern justice systems since courts and the sheriffs still exist. Sheriffs normally operate in the counties since their role has since been taken up by the police force. In the modern era, there are courts, judges and lawyers who strive to make the country safe by convicting criminals. The main difference between the old form of justice and the modern way is the form punishment that was administered. In the Middle Ages, there were various forms of punishment most of which were barbaric. They included mutilations, corporal punishments and death by hanging. Fast forward to modern times and these forms of punishments were abolished and prisoners are sent to prison for rehabilitation and not condemnation. The highest legal institution in the country or state is the Supreme Court. It is usually the last place where a dispute can be resolved if both parties have not come to an understanding.

CRJ 520 DRNC WE6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CRJ 520 DRNC WE6 - Essay Example Also, a high percentage of the labor forces in NPS are sourced from various faith based agencies which are aimed at the rehabilitation of the mentally ill people, homeless people and people who are looking for an opportunity to start life anew. The Nationwide Professional Services (NPS) works in collaboration with one such faith based agency known as New Person Ministries which operates in South Florida. The New Person Ministries (NPM) helps for rehabilitation and provision of jobs for persons who had been convicted of sexual crimes at some point of their lives. The labors sourced by this agency include sexual offenders who belong to the sexual predator lists and the sexual offenders list of the State of Florida. The sex offenders attending the rehabilitation programs are not fully normalized and there remain chances of threat for the visitors from these sex offenders. The risk assessment with respect to a sex offender is done on the basis of considering the statistical probability o f the sex offender committing similar sexual offenses. The sex offenders generally have a type of mental disorder or abnormality which may instigate them to repeat their crimes without any consideration of the punishments that may follow the crimes. The DRNC is being held in the American Arena area of Miami where security threats are high. Thus, this may encourage the sex offenders included in the labor force of Nationwide Professional Services (NPS) to repeat their crimes. This would mean exposing the visitors and attenders of the DRNC to high threats and risks of being victims to crime. There are some differences between the individuals enlisted in the Sexual Predators list and those enlisted in the Sexual offenders list. Sexual predators are those people who are convicted of the violation of various sections of the Criminal Codes. Attempted violations of these criminal codes of a state also lead to the enlistment of the individuals in the Sexual Predator list.

Analysing obesity in the US

Analysing obesity in the US Obesity continues to be a growing crisis in the United States. Too many people arent taking into account that its become a serious health threat that people can prevent, but its as if people arent trying. Too much food in too many places and so much technology made for so many different things are causing people to notice their waistlines expanding. People claim that they cant help how heavy they and blame it on things such as not be able to exercise because theyre too busy, when its a number of different things. People need to start doing things in their every day life to avoid becoming obese. It seems like now days Americans are worried about their weight more than ever. With all the diet pills, health clubs, and just plain fitness craze one would think the United States would be in pretty good shape, but its the complete opposite. The more variety of unhealthy foods that are offered and the more short cuts technology are providing now days, the more Americans find their waistlines expanding. Why is it that healthy foods are so expensive and junk food is always five for the price of one? Obesity is a major problem in the United States today. With all the troubles and worries in the world, obesity is quickly becoming a very important problem to worry about. It can basically be made into a life and death situation. The parents that just sit on the couch eating chips while setting an example for their children, the schools that want to cut their physical education class, the greasy foods that fast food restaurants provide, and the major food companies that keep coming up wit h new ideas to add to the number of unhealthy choices Americans make are just a few of the many causes of this rising epidemic. Obesity is continuing to get worse as more and more people continue to eat themselves to the point where they cant do anything about it. Americans are literally eating themselves to death and do not realize it. The government continues to warn that obesity is getting out of control and something has to be done, but how is anything going to get done if nobody is doing anything about it? According to Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee from an article written by Karen Tumulty, if someone isnt willing to step in, the generation of young Americans being brought into this world today is being expected to have a shorter life span than their parents and even their grandparents (Tumulty, 2006). There are so many choices in todays food and nearly half of Americas food is proven to be unhealthy. It is not easy to make the choice between a salad with low fat dressing versus a quick plump juicy burger from McDonalds. Children are being taught that its okay to eat fast food, and arent being pushed to eat their fruits, vegetables, as well as many other things that are needed for a healthy diet. According to Kaplan (1998), â€Å"children learn to eat the wrong foods and consume empty calories from junk food each day† (p. 218). As children get older, they wont know how to make the right choices between healthy snacks and junk food. America will soon find that obesity rates have sky rocketed, and they wont be able to do anything about it. Time is running out, and someone has to step in to stop this soon to be number one killer. Although metabolism has to deal with the way people burn the food they eat, doesnt mean that the metabolism they might get from their parents is going to make them obese. Bjorntorp (2001), stated that â€Å"several observations point in the direction that physical inactivity is the main cause of the obesity epidemic† (p. 1006). If one doesnt exercise how do they expect to maintain a healthy weight? People have to eat in order to survive. Its what they eat, and how much they eat that plays a part on how their body looks. Children weight more today than they did 20 years ago and the main problem appears to be not getting enough exercise (Kaplan, 1998). How does a person think they are going to remain healthy if they dont somehow burn some of the calories they ingest daily? America is surrounded by unlimited, easily available foods. Nobody ever has to worry about running out of food. Although its hard to fight off the urge to reach for that bag of chips, its quite possible. Peopl e have to learn self will and the fact is that the more weight people gain the harder it is for them to lose weight. As just mentioned, exercising helps a person lose weight, but if someone has McDonalds for lunch and supper every day then run over five miles daily isnt going to help them to be healthier. They may not become obese, but once they become older and arent able to run as much as they used to, then they soon find their metabolism slows down. They now have to change their eating habits because they start having health problems that interfere with their everyday life. It doesnt matter how active someone can be, having an unhealthy diet can cause serious health problems later down the road. Obesity cant be blamed on only one thing; its a number of different things. Of course eating healthy is a sure way to fight off obesity. According to an online source, a studys lead author â€Å"blames the environment in which Americans live.† He says, â€Å"there is too much food available, social situations encourage overeating, restaurants compete with each other by offering bigger and bigger servings and technology has made it possible to avoid exercise† (1998). If we have problems now with trying to find ways to be active, imagine how it will be like ten years from now. Pretty soon things will be so easy that nobody will care they are obese when in todays society obesity is looked down upon. How far is this rising epidemic going to go? Discrimination goes back to the early Christian church when gluttony was one of the seven deadly sins. According to Spake (2004), â€Å"obesity was viewed as the outward manifestation of the ‘sin of overindulgence† (p. 52). It seems like today the media is trying to make it look like being overweight isnt bad. Although obesity is brought up as such a major problem, why is the media trying to make it look like being overweight isnt bad? Some would argue that its for the teenage girls that are struggling with an eating disorder. Seeing skinny models all over the television screen doesnt help teenage girls with problems like that, but seeing bigger people; even obese people, all over the television screen doesnt help children figure out that eating healthy helps you to remain fit either. Obesity can cause a lot of problems in a persons life; problems that are preventable. Becoming obese has many health problems related to it. So far, obesity is catching up to smoking as the number one cause of preventable death. According to the American Obesity Association major insurance companies boost coverage for obesity treatment and prevention, and a persons lifespan may be cut short by obesity. Obesity carries the major risk for getting type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and some cancers. Tumulty (2006) stated that, â€Å"health care providers say they are seeing something of an epidemic of potentially lethal Type II diabetes, once known as the adult-onset version of the disease, among children as young as 10 and 11† (p. 40). How are the next generations going to survive when America provides to this deadly disease known as obesity. Children learn how to eat healthy at a young age. Fact is that if children are fed healthy foods, and are taught to eat healthy foods at a young age then they are bound to keep it that way as they get older; this has to start with the parents. If parents sit on the couch and eat high fat foods then tell their children to eat right and go out and exercise isnt gong to get the job done. Parents have to keep foods that are high in fat, and sodas that are high in sugar out of the house. They should have fruits and vegetables on hand so their children learn to eat healthy. Children can have pretty much all they want of fruits and vegetables. In an interview done by Nanci Hellmich (2006) with nutrition professionals it was stated that eating habits begin with the parents. Eat healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables and stay away from the high fat and deep fried foods. Also be sure to have some sort of physical activity daily (p. 8d). Parents have control over what their child eats at a young age, but once the child starts to go to school, its hard to see what the child eats. This is where the school should step in. Standards should be set with the types of foods that are provided in school lunches, but how is this going to be done if there isnt any intervention from the school itself? People have control over their own body, but these day its hard for working parents to find time to prepare meals from fresh food when all they have to do is pay for cheep fast food that can by bought in big portions. Its also hard for children going to schools that are getting rid of their physical education classes and playgrounds because the school doesnt have enough money to support such things. Instead they allow vending machines and food advertising in their buildings. The article Junk Food Nation by Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor is trying to tell people that junk food has become a major problem in the US today concerning obesity and certain people arent taking into consideration that it actually is a real problem. They blame it on other things like watching too much TV and not exercising enough. They dont think the greasy foods that fast food restaurants provide and the king sized bags of candy that gas stations sell as well as lunches that schools sell dont play a part in the young obesity in this country. When really it plays a big part and the people that should care about this problem leave it up to the people that really dont have much control over it (Ruskin Schor, 2005). If a child goes to a school that doesnt have any physical education classes and receives a unhealthy lunch everyday is bound to live an unhealthy life-style. Children these days are getting bigger than ever and its as if nobody cares. It also seems like the media is targeting the youth of the United States. Tumulty (2006) stated that, â€Å"the rates of obesity among children and teens have tripled in the past 25 years† (p. 40). The next generations are going to be bigger than ever. According to an article by Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor (2005), â€Å"Kraft announced it would no longer market Oreos to younger children, McDonalds promoted itself as a salad producer and Coca-Cola said it wont advertise to kids under 12. But behind the scenes its hardball as usual, with junk food giants pushing the Bush Administration to defend their interests† (p. 15). Children these days are getting bigger than ever. Its not just because of the foods they eat, its because theyre parents and how they set an example for them, the school lunches theyre provided everyday, and the chances they actually get to be outside or just plain get to get up and do something. If schools are getting rid of their physical education classes, how are todays youth and Americas future youth going to be able to stay fit? With how bad obesity is now, why is America making it worse? Schools need to make it clear to children about the effects of eating unhealthy. Grimm (n.d.) stated that a â€Å"Department of Agriculture study calculated that 95% of the 10,000 food commercials children see each year pitch high fat, high sugar products† (p. 108). How far are big food companies willing to go to make the future generations of America even unhealthier than it already is? America knows that obesity has become something serious, yet schools are marketing to their students with allowing vending machines with unhealthy foods as well as soda machines with drinks that are high in sugar and calories while getting rid of their physical education classes because they dont have enough money to support it. Vending companies are offering schools money just so the school will market their product. Its almost as if food companies are more worried about their own businesses rather than worrying about this growing health issue occurring in the United States. Overeating seems to be a problem in the United States today. This can be one of the main causes for the number of obese people in America. Restaurants provide huge meals and fast food restaurants provide large portions of greasy foods for cheep. A glycemic index (GI) indicates the rate at which carbohydrates are digested and absorbed and this can also trigger over eating (Amersbach, 1999). Foods with a low GI includes fruit and vegetables; foods with a medium GI include milk and oatmeal; and foods with a high GI includes the foods that Americans love such as muffins, donuts, and so on. If one eats a low GI breakfast its been proven that they feel fuller and eat less through out the day. If one eats a high GI breakfast then those people usually find that theyre eating an hour later because they feel hungry. If a person is hungry two hours after a meal, the fact is that theyve eaten the wrong foods. Obesity can cause a lot of problems in a persons everyday life. Imagine going to a theater and not being able to fit into the seats or having to buy an extra plane ticket because its not possible to fit into just one seat, but most of all imagine going out in public while having every person just stare. Obesity doesnt just cause health problems; it causes mental and physiological problems as well. How can eating; the simplest thing ever, turn into something so deadly? Why do people seem to indulge in so many unhealthy foods when they know the consequences? With all the choices there are in America and all the marketing for unhealthy foods, it shouldnt surprise people that obesity has become a fatal problem in the United States today; a fatal problem that can be prevented. If something isnt done now, obesity will continue to threaten the lives of many. How can one avoid becoming obese? Its simple; eat right, exercise, and remember that obesity is a disease that is treatable, but one h as to be willing to help their self. No drugs and prescriptions can treat this disease. Its the personal responsibility a person must have to keep their body fit and to live a healthy lifestyle. References Amersbach, G. (1999, November). Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. In a low-fat world, why are Americans getting fatter? Retrieved April 10, 2008, from, http://nutrition.tufts.edu/magazine/1999fall/ roberts.html. Bjorntorp, P. (2001, September 22). Thrifty genes and human obesity. Are we chasing ghosts? Lancet, 358, 1006-1008. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost. CNN.com. (1998, May 28). Study: Americans fatter than ever and getting even fatter. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from, http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9805/28/obesity/ Grimm, M. (n.d.). Is marketing to kids ethical? Business, pp. 107-112. Hellmich, N. (2006, April 5). How parents can handle the sensitive but critical topic of weight. USA Today. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost. Kaplan, P. (1998). Human Odyssey: Life-Span Development. Sixth Edition.: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company: Pacific Grove, CA. Ruskin, G., Schor, J. (2005, August 29). Junk food nation. The Nation, 281, 15-17. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost. Spake, A. (2004, February 9). Rethinking weight. U.S. New World Report, 136, 50- 56. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost. Tumulty, K. (2006, March 27). The politics of fat. Time, 167, 40-43. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost.

The Purpose of Education: Empowering Individuals Essay -- Philosophy o

Purpose of Education: Empowering Individuals Every now and then I think about my education from kindergarten through senior year of high school and I wonder where I would be and who I would be without it. I have realized that those thirteen years of my life were essential to my development as an individual, for they have shaped me into the person I am today. Education provides people with guidance and practical skills necessary in everyday life. For example, when we are purchasing something, we deal with money. Who do we owe the quick calculation we make as we pay for these items? Thanks to our first, second, and third grade teachers for teaching us to add, subtract, multiply, and divide at such a young age. The math skills we acquire at an age when we do not see the importance is something we carry with us throughout our lives. When driving a distance to visit a loved one, the street signs are very practical. What if we could not read? Thanks to our kindergarten teacher who started us off with reading the words â€Å"cat† and â€Å"dog.† Then we can thank the first grade and second grade teacher who taught us how to write sentences, for if we cannot make it to see our loved ones who live far away, we can write them a letter. The basic education that we are provided with in elementary school helps us to make it through a world which requires our mastery of basic skills. Yet, these basic skills are not enough, for we continue going to school after...

Dementia Care Essay

Dementia is a common condition that affects about 800,000 people in the UK. Your risk of developing dementia increases as you get older, and the condition usually occurs in people over the age of 65. Dementia is a syndrome associated with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities. This includes problems with: memory loss thinking speed mental agility language understanding judgment People with dementia can lose interest in their usual activities, and have problems controlling their emotions. They may also find social situations challenging, lose interest in socializing, and aspects of their personality may change. A person with dementia may lose empathy (understanding and compassion), they may see or hear things that other people do not (hallucinations), or they may make false claims or statements. As dementia affects a person’s mental abilities, they may find planning and organizing difficult. Being independent may also become a problem. A person with dementia will therefore usually need help from friends or relatives, including help with decision making. Most types of dementia can’t be cured, but if it is detected early there are ways to slow it down and maintain mental function. Dementia is a collection of symptoms including memory loss, personality change, and impaired intellectual functions resulting from disease or trauma to the brain. These changes are not part of normal aging and are severe enough to impact daily living, independence, and relationships. There will likely be noticeable decline in communication, learning, remembering, and problem solving. These changes may occur quickly or very slowly over time. Common signs and symptoms of dementia include: Memory loss Impaired judgment Difficulties with abstract thinking Faulty reasoning Inappropriate behaviour Loss of communication skills Disorientation to time and place Gait, motor, and balance problems Neglect of personal care and safety Hallucinations, paranoia, agitation Types of dementia: There are many types of dementia some of them are: Alzheimer’s disease: it is the most common disease cause of dementia and affects around 496.000 people in UK. Alzheimer’s disease, first described by the German neurologist Alois Alzheimer, is a physical disease affecting the brain. During the course of the disease, protein ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’ develop in the structure of the brain, leading to the death of brain cells. People with Alzheimer’s also have a shortage of some important chemicals in their brain. These chemicals are involved with the transmission of messages within the brain. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, which means that gradually, over time, more parts of the brain are damaged. As this happens, the symptoms become more severe. Vascular dementia: Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. It is caused by problems in the supply of blood to the brain. Vascular dementia affects different people in different ways and the speed of the progression varies from person to person. Typically, the symptoms of vascular dementia begin suddenly, for example after a stroke. Vascular dementia often follows a ‘stepped’ progression, with symptoms remaining at a constant level for a time and then suddenly deteriorating. Some symptoms may be similar to those of other types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, people with vascular dementia may particularly experience: problems with speed of thinking, concentration and communication depression and anxiety accompanying the dementia  symptoms of stroke, such as physical weakness or paralysis   memory problems (although this may not be the first symptom) seizures   Periods of severe confusion. Also there are different types of vascular dementia. The difference between these types depends on what has caused the damage in the brain, and which part of the brain has been damaged. Dementia with lewy bodies (DLB): this type of dementia shares symptoms with both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. DLB it’s often mistakenly diagnosed as some other conditions. Lewy bodies, named after the doctor who first identified them, are tiny deposits of protein in nerve cells. Researchers don’t have a full understanding of why Lewy bodies appear in the brain, or how they contribute to dementia. However, their presence is linked to low levels of important chemical messengers and to a loss of connections between nerve cells. Over time, there is progressive death of nerve cells and loss of brain tissue. Lewy bodies are the underlying cause of several progressive diseases affecting the brain and nervous system, notably DLB and Parkinson’s disease. The symptoms a person experiences will depend on where the Lewy bodies are in the brain. Lewy bodies at the base of the brain are closely linked to problems with movement (motor symptoms). These are the main feature of Parkinson’s disease. Lewy bodies in the outer layers of the brain are linked to problems with mental abilities (cognitive symptoms), which are characteristic of DLB. Movement problems and changes in mental abilities can occur together. About one third of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease eventually develop dementia. Similarly, at least two thirds of people with DLB develop movement problems at some point. The symptoms of DLB and Parkinson’s disease dementia become more similar as the conditions progress. Together they are referred to as Lewy body dementias. P2: Outline possible effects of dementia on an individual’s health and quality of life. As dementia progresses, memory loss and difficulties with communication often become very severe. In the later stages, the person is likely to neglect their own health and require constant care and attention. Intellectual effects: People with advanced dementia may not recognise close family and friends; they may not remember where they live or know where they are. They may find it impossible to understand simple pieces of information carry out basic tasks or follow instructions. Physical effects: Some forms of dementia don’t get worse over time. But Alzheimer’s and many other dementias do worsen, and they include physical changes that can have an impact on an individual’s health. It is not uncommon for people in the later phases of  dementia to move in a stiff or jerky manner. Especially with Alzheimer’s, stiff, jerky movements just tend to happen as the dementia progresses. People who suffer from dementia also tend to become physically unable to control their body functions, reminding them to go to the bathroom once every two hours can help. Some people may eventually be unable to walk and may become bedbound. People with vascular dementia may also experience stroke-like symptoms, including muscle weakness or paralysis on one side of their body. Language: Communication problems; It is common for people with dementia to have increasing difficulty speaking and they may eventually lose the ability to speak altogether. It is important to keep trying to communicate with them and to recognise and use other, non-verbal means of communication, such as expression, touch and gestures. Social effects: people who suffer from dementia may become less sensitive to other people’s emotions, perhaps making them seem cold and unfeeling. They also tend to lose interest in activities such as socialising with others. As the illness progresses you’ll have to start discussions in order to get the person to make conversation. This is common. Their ability to process information gets progressively weaker and their responses can become delayed. Eating, appetite and loss of weight: Loss of appetite and weight loss are common in the later stages of dementia. It’s important that people with dementia get help at mealtimes to ensure they eat enough. Many people have trouble eating or swallowing and this can lead to choking, chest infections and other problems. Economic impacts: Dementia has significant social and economic implications in terms of direct medical costs, direct social costs and the costs of informal care. Impact on families and caregivers Dementia is overwhelming for the families of affected people and for their caregivers. Physical, emotional and economic pressures can cause great stress to families and caregivers, and support is required from the health, social, financial and legal systems. M1: Asses possible effects of different types of dementia on individuals and their families. Caring for a person with dementia can be challenging. The  needs of the person may often come before your own and this can mean that you struggle to manage everything. There are positive aspects of caring, such as learning new skills, building on existing ones, strengthening relationships and supporting someone who is important to you. However, it can also be both physically and mentally exhausting. It affects all aspects of your life and can lead to increased isolation, stress, conflicting emotions and sometimes depression. Carers also have their own physical and mental health needs, which can be overlooked when caring for a person with dementia. It is important for carers look after them so that they do not become unwell and can continue to support the person they care for. Some of the feeling carers/family often develop while looking after a person with dementia are: Guilt It’s very common to feel guilty for the way the person with dementia was treated in the past, guilty at feeling embarrassed by their odd behaviour, guilty for lost tempers or guilty for not wanting the responsibility of caring for a person with dementia. If the person with dementia goes into hospital or residential care you may feel guilty that you have not kept him at home for longer, even though everything that could be done has been done. It is common to feel guilty about past promises such as â€Å"I’ll always look after you,† when this cannot be met. Grief and loss If someone close develops dementia, the people who were around them are faced with the loss of the person they used to know and the loss of a relationship. People caring for partners may experience grief at the loss of the future that they had planned to share together. Anger It is natural to feel frustrated and angry—angry at having to be a caregiver, angry with others who do not seem to be helping out, angry at the person with dementia for her difficult behaviours. Sometimes people feel like shaking, pushing or hitting the person with dementia. Feelings of distress, frustration, guilt, exhaustion and annoyance are quite normal. However, if the care giver feels like this he/she should talk to a doctor or a member of their society. Children and teenagers are also affected by the fact that someone from their family e.g. grandmother develops dementia. Children often  experience a wide range of emotions when a parent or grandparent has Alzheimer’s disease. Younger children may be fearful that they will get the disease or that they did something to cause it. Sometimes the younger members of the family do not get all the attention they need because of so much focus on the person who has dementia. They can end up feeling left out. As children do not know or recognize the illness they may feel confused at the person’s behaviour towards them and can also feel sad because the person with dementia does not longer recognize them. Children may feel fearful because of an unexplained bad behaviour from the person with the illness and this can affects them emotionally. Teenagers may become resentful if they must take on more responsibilities or feel embarrassed that their parent or grandparent is â€Å"different.† College-bound children may be reluctant to leave home.

Plato and Baudrillard Essay

The central argument of Plato’s Republic is that the just life is preferable to the unjust one. Socrates argues this point against his friends, who put up various objections to the thesis. The principal objection concerns appearances; because it is apparent to all that the unjust dissimulator reaps the fruits of the world, while the just and virtuous person, who refuses to compromise with the world, suffers poverty, rejection and general hardship. The argument of Socrates proceeds along the lines that appearances are liable to deceive. In Book 7 the argument has strayed into epistemology. Here again the argument of Socrates is that material knowledge is deceptive. In order to make this point he gives us a vivid and extended analogy of the cave-dwellers. The dwellers of this cave are sitting facing the wall of the cave, and their heads are constricted so that they must always be gazing at the wall, not being able to turn their heads at all. Behind them there is a fire, and between the fire and the dwellers a road. There are bearers who carry objects and walk along the road. The shadows of the objects, as well as those of the bearers, fall on the cave wall, and this is what the dwellers see, and is the sum of their visual knowledge. Plato is arguing that in the phenomenal world our knowledge is constrained. That we cannot reach the essence of things, and that our knowledge must be content with the hazy shadows of things. Because such knowledge is so incomplete, it is liable to produce error in our judgment of things. But Plato is not promoting skepticism. He extends the analogy to suggest that we may come to know the essence of things, but this is only after we have been released from the bondage of material existence. He goes on to consider the condition of the cave-dwellers once they have been released from their constraints. They see the objects with their profusion of detail, and the clarity overwhelms them, so that they refuse to accept the objects themselves as real, and instead insist that the shadows on the wall were more real. In the next stage of their enlightenment they are guided to outside the cave, and then they see things with the greatest clarity of all, and this by the light of the sun. Eventually they come to the understanding that all light originates in the sun. The suggestion that Plato makes is that there is indeed clarity of knowledge, and that it lies beyond the realm of the material and of appearance. The possibility itself is the saving grace of man. The preserve of wisdom is the shelter that man seeks as he stumbles through the morass of error. The Allegory of the Cave is highly pertinent to how Jean Baudrillard pictures modern society. In his essay â€Å"Simulations and Simulacra† he contends that modern society has lost all referential links to reality, and has supplanted reality with an artificial construct, which he terms â€Å"hyperreality†.   In terms of Plato’s allegory, the shadows on the wall become the starting points on which to construct a comprehensive reality. In Baudrillard’s general epistemology, all knowledge necessarily deals with the signification of things, and never with the essence of the things themselves. These units of knowledge are â€Å"signs†. A sign has no meaning in itself, but derives all meaning through its reference to all other signs. Therefore it has â€Å"self-referential† meaning only. True and total meaning can only emerge when the references have been taken to all other possible signs. But the finite capacity of man precludes this possibility, even though he always strives for total meaning, in order to overcome his limitation. He constructs simulacra, i.e. models that combine the signs in logical formulations, and meant to represent reality by similitude. But this is a doomed endeavor. The message of Baudrillard is no different from that of Plato. The shadows on the cave walls are merely signs of the real presences. Yet the cave dwellers are forced to build all reality from these shadows, and commit error if they try to limit reality to the shadows. The stress of Baudrillard is not on the possibility of true understanding, which nevertheless is tacit in his philosophy. He is more intent on pointing out that modern society has fallen into grave error by â€Å"the cartographer’s mad project of an ideal coextensivity between the map and the territory† (Baudrillard 170). The result in Western societies has been a â€Å"precession of simulacra† (Ibid 169). The original project, as taking place in the Age of Enlightenment, is the construction of simulacra, which he likens to maps which are meant to be co-extensive with reality, because atomic level detail is strived for.    The next stage is second-order simulacra, where the original simulacra tend to be copied, instead of taking reality as the first reference point. But the plight of modern society is even more serious than this, for here we have arrived at third order simulacra. This is when the signs are employed in order to simulate reality, so that all reference to the original is severed, and now it is â€Å"the map that precedes the territory† (Ibid). Because it is so Baudrillard claims that reality has been effaced for the dwellers of modern society, and has been replaced by â€Å"hyperreality†. In this completely simulated existence there is no room for advance any more, but only a meaningless spinning around of fads and fashions, or â€Å"the orbital recurrence of models and the simulated generation of difference† (Ibid 170). It is natural that Baudrillard emphasizes the plight of modern society. In Plato we find the seduction of material knowledge, and the consequences are to be imagined. Baudrillard is confronting the consequence face to face, because material knowledge has transpired as a social norm. This is why Plato is more concerned with telling us the possibility of true knowledge, whereas Baudrillard gives us a physiology of the false, because he sees it extant before him. Works Cited Baudrillard, Jean. Jean Baudrillard: Selected Writings. Translated by Jacques Mourrain. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2001.