Benjamin Hoff

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.” (Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching.) This quote about Taoism not only describes how I feel about Taoism but about life in general. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff has helped me better understand the principles of Taoism. I enjoy reading this book because it helps to further understand why it is important to just be yourself and not try to conform to what society wants or expects you to be. The two topics I found the most interesting in Benjamin Hoff's The Tao of Pooh is the Cottleston Pie Principle and the idea of Un-Bouncing because it focuses mainly on accepting yourself the way you are and trying to better yourself. The first topic I found most interesting…

The movie “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is about a Taoist concept called Inner nature. In the book “The Tao of Pooh,” the author, Benjamin Hoff, states that Inner nature is beyond the power of the intellect to measure or understand (38). Furthermore, Hoff explains that Inner nature is the concept that everything has its own unique function (40). In other words, we cannot scientifically understand Inner nature, but only know that everything in nature has its own unique purpose including individual humans.…

He points out: “The Emptiness, the space that’s not filled in. What is it about fresh snow, clean air, pure water? Or good music?” (Hoff 147). The word “emptiness” is capitalized as if it were a proper noun. Here, Hoff is stressing that the principle of emptiness is very important, and is too crucial to be treated or grouped with all the other “normal” words. He defines this Emptiness as “the space that’s not filled in”, a rather positive interpretation of a word that is usually viewed with…

Carlos Mangundayao David Howard-Pitney History 17A November 20, 2014 The Success of Benjamin Franklin We all might know and see Benjamin Franklin everyday in our current hundred dollar bills. What we don 't know is all his achievements, success, and huge contributions to American history. Franklin established the American Philosophical Society, which is an association of the advancement of science. He held some minor positions responsible for printing work for the government. In that time, he…

Revolutions of Interest Gordon Wood and Gary Nash offered two different claims about the radical ideas of the American Revolution and who had them. Wood proposed the revolution derived from the more elite in society, wealthier land owning white men. It was between Patriots and Courtiers. Courtiers were those who wished to maintain the rule of Great Britain, in order that social position should derive from the King and aristocracy. While Patriots desired talent and merit, along with recognition…

Benjamin Franklin achieved his intellectual and literary proficiency in the Eighteenth Century during the Age of Reason, with the multitude of philosophical advances that reflected heavily on the content and style of his work. He was no stranger to the works of John Locke, Montesquieu, and Voltaire, and his writing echoed those found also in the literature of the period. Long past the early colonial days of Jonathan Edwards’ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, the Christian idea of…

hot topic in neuroscience, still even nearly twenty years after this article was penned, due to the controversy it attracts regarding morals and self-determination. Tom Wolfe argues, in a rather snarky tone consistently seen throughout the article, that the concept of a self is dead—much like Nietzsche’s preceding declaration that God is dead. However, the concept of self is not yet dead in neuroscience like Wolfe predicted. Rather, more recent research suggests that free will stemming from a…

America got its independence, many representatives from each state came and had a convention where they talked about many issues that the country was having. Franklin talked about how if they agreed this country will prosper, “I hope, therefore, for our own sakes, as a part of the people, and for the sake of our posterity. That we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending this Constitution, wherever our Influence may extend and turn our future thoughts and endeavors to the means of…

The life of Benjamin Franklin, an American mastermind, is purely breathtaking. His ability to accomplish so much within his life is proof of the American Dream. Not only did Franklin have a scientific life, but he also has a political life. Although first a strong supporter of the English crown and Parliament, Franklin later becomes a powerful and important contributor to the American Revolution. This paper will argue that Franklin’s reason for his shift is simply because of Great Britain’s…

(Cavendish) Among the brominated people that had played prominent parts in the revolution were many of the founding fathers. The founding fathers such as George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson still had another key factor to play in this newly developing nation. America was made for the most part of farmers. They had plantations, farms, and almost everyone had a vegetable garden. Gardens helped the American people to provide for themselves on plantations, to also have fresh…