Altered state of consciousness

Carl Sagan was a well-known astronomer who studied extraterrestrial intelligence advocated for nuclear disarmament. Growing up Sagan developed a passion for astronomy (Moore). Michael Shermer received his B.A. in psychology and his M.A. in experimental psychology. He taught a course for Ph.D. students on Evolution, Economics, and the Brain. He was head of one of America’s leading skeptic organizations (Shermer). Shermer is more rhetorically effective than Sagan in his reading because he goes…

In the song “Boogieman”, artist Childish Gambino uses the allegory of the boogieman and a myriad of sound clips to present an embedded, but clear message on police brutality and the experiences of black people in the United States of America. Though the message of the song is entrenched in heavy themes, the track is upbeat and laced with funky seventies guitar riffs and groovy bass lines. It is so groove-able, that upon first listen one might not even catch some of the themes being laid out.…

born into and lives with. There is a loss of a secure sense of a common world when the public view of what is considerable in human action is altered and cannot be defined anymore. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the altruistic sense in imperialism increasingly becomes unwarrantable. The demand for a welfare state and increasing class-consciousness at home even furthers this growing separation between altruism and imperialistic designs. Who allegorises this better than Joseph Conrad in…

human interaction situated in times of war: its moral, mental, and physical components and demands. Since the novel’s publication in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five continued its popularity and relevance in our contemporary world. As one literary critic states: “When the novel first came out it was read by young students who were caught up in the peace movements of the 1960’s. This moment in time was crucial to the novel’s success…

If you had the power to look into the future from a piece of literature written in the past, would you? In the novel 1984 by the renowned author George Orwell, you have the opportunity to do just that. This novel is one of utmost importance. It’s a known fact that history, does indeed repeat itself one way or another. Orwell writes about a dystopian society ruled by a totalitarian government which controls it’s people by bombarding them with propaganda, suppressing their individuality and…

Although regular forces are often involved, irregular forces frequently predominate. Conflict often is protracted, confined to a restricted geographic area, and constrained in weaponry and level of violence. Within this state, military power in response to threats may be exercised in an indirect manner, while supportive of other instruments of national power. Limited objectives may be achieved by the short, focused, and direct application of force.?[footnoteRef:2] [2:…

Introspection is merely revelations that rely on state and the property of the mind. When a person centers his or her attention on the content of his or her consciousness he or she only apprehend his or her thoughts, desires, sensations, and emotions but does not apprehend the electrochemical activities that goes inside his brain that lead to these thoughts, desires, emotions, or sensations. Therefore interception rely also on some form of physical states and properties. The assumption that…

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, wakes up to an unfamiliar body as he has turned into a large bug. As Gregor begins to accept his transformation, his family, as well as his own consciousness, begin to think that he is no longer a human. In Gregor’s transformed state, he still possesses the thought of a human, but lacks the physical features and speech to convey his human thoughts.…

surround dreams. Strauch and Meier describe dreams as “…a world of experiences, where, seemingly separated from our waking lives, we lead a second existence” (1). That being said, how is the brain able to remember these other lives lived in a dream-like state? The brain is a complex set of nerves, so many factors play a part in why one would or would not remember a dream. One factor that helps the brain remember dreams is the fact that dreams are based off memories and past emotions. Another…

ulterior power for consolation or hope. Earlier chapters within the novel set the preface for this ideology; the magistrate who hurls a crucifix at the protagonist while visiting his cell states, “all men believe in God, even those who reject Him” (Camus 42). Meursault unequivocally advertises this sense of altered atheism, even in the presence of the clerk as he jousts a crucifix towards his…