Is 'Change' a Good or Bad Thing?

Is 'Change' a Good Thing or a Bad Thing?

Change: it seems like such a simple and straightforward word, but it can bring about many outcomes, results, or consequences. It may be completely unnoticed or have a direct impact on your life, the world around you, or the things you do. Changes that occur can be big, small, horrible, wonderful, unexpected, planned, and more. The word “change” can be used as a verb or a noun. The textbook definition of a change, as a noun, is “a transformation or modification,” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/change) but I look at it as a difference in the world, your life or a difference in something you do, may it be a positive or negative difference. As a verb, its definition is, “to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone, to become different.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/change ) A change is when something becomes unlike it was before, and it is not how is used to previously be. There is change that you initiate and change this is forced on you such as changes at school or at work. People may view a certain change as good change, while others may view it as bad change.

Positive and optimistic people usually look at most changes as a good thing. They have a high tendency to see a change as a new adventure to embark on or a struggle to overcome. A person who is very positive would see a small change such as switching a class or classes in school during the school year as a great new way to meet friends, but a person who is negative may see change as a very bad thing, that they will be sitting in a classroom full of people who they have never met or seen before. Other examples of changes that were very good changes are a grade in school changing from a ‘B’ to and ‘A’, not playing a sport to making the sports team that you really wanted to be a part of, and so on. If you have a tendency to look at events or circumstances positively, a change in your life will probably be a good thing. A quote by Winston Churchill says, “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/change)

Changes that happen for the worse can and will occur at many different times in your life and are often very much unexpected and not planned or thought out ahead of time. For the most part, most people resist change. They do not like it and want nothing to do with it. Change can be painful because it requires thinking, creativity, understanding, and it takes people out of their comfort zone, but change also keeps us on our toes, keeps us alert, and makes life interesting. A close family member, friend, or loved one dying is an example where a tragic change in your life is definitely not a good one, and it is definitely not what you would have like to have happened. If this was a person you truly loved a lot and cared deeply for, their devastating death would not bring about happiness or joy, but rather pain, sorrow, and anger, so this change in your life is very much a bad one. Certain changes may seem terrible or awful at first, but usually, over time, the new situation or circumstance is not as bad as you first thought it was or how it first seemed. Because changes are always happening all the time, a slight change in something small may go completely unnoticed and not receive any thought at all. At a time like this, when you are unaffected by a change, it is looked at as neither a good change nor a bad change.

People may want a change in their life for a variety of different reasons. If things have not been going well in someone’s life, then they would obviously want those things to change and change for the better. Many circumstances or situations may occur where this would happen and be the case or condition. When people are down, upset, or unhappy about a problem that involves a friend, a school, a teacher, a sibling, a classmate, etc., a change would want to be made in order to restore happiness or fix the problem that aroused. This sort of change would be one that is good because happiness and joy come out of it.

When it really comes down to the wire, change is inevitable and unavoidable. Life is exactly like a rollercoaster; it has its ups and downs, the ride is not always easy, simple or smooth, and so things are always going to be changing. Things in life never stay the same very long, so the fact that things will eventually change and become different needs to be accepted. “Things are always changing, as fast as everything stays the same.” (Author Unknown - (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/change) Things in life are constantly changing, even if you are unaware that they are. The way a change or difference affects you or your life may alter your view on it. When people look back after they have been through a change, they usually realize that they have learned something new, they have grown from the experience, and they have obtained an overall positive result. Considering a change to be positive or negative is your opinion based on your thoughts about it.

Change: viewing it as a good thing or a bad thing is up to you. You are the one impacted, affected, or influenced by the many changes that occur throughout your life. If you like the changes in your life, that is a good thing and the adventures, challenges, and hardships you face will go well. “If you don't like something, change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.” (Mary Engelbreit- http://www.quotegarden.com/change.html)

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What is History?

What is history? This may seem like it is a fairly simple question, but history can be looked at and considered in a variety of different ways. Studying history can be challenging, but understanding it can be even harder and more complex.

History is said to be “the story of human experience”. (http://www.studentsfriend.com/onhist/nature.html) According to “Wise Geek,” history is the study of the past. It is everything that has happened up until the present. (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-history.htm) There are many different aspec

ts of history that could be considered, and some people categorize history into different subjects or topics. You may look at physical history, cultural history, or political history, but that is not what I will be focusing on. These are ways to look at history, but not the main types in which history can be classified or determined.

In Western Civilization, four main types of history are known and studied: linear history, cyclic history, the Hegelian Theory of History, and vortex history. Each type is unique and looks at history in a very different way.

Linear history, vortex history, and cyclic history are very easy to distinguish from each other. Linear history is the way that most people think of history. It is the idea of a timeline, the idea that everything happens in order. Linear history is the way history is presented in textbooks, and it is the type of history that students learn about in school. Cyclic history is a theory which says that the major forces that motivate human actions return in a cycle, as a result of human emotions and beliefs. It is an idea that says you are born and reborn again. “The theory of cyclic history was considered in A.E. Van Vogt's 1950 science-fictio

n novel, The Voyage of the Space Beagle.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_history) This theory also says that another round of religious cycling may be coming, probably to America, where religion is still very important. Vortex, or vortextual history, was introduced by Yeats, an Irish poet. He thought that history was like a gyer with a mirror. A gyer is a tornado, therefore Yeats’s idea was that events that occurred in history were big, and then became small, like you would imagine the swirling of a tornado to be. He believed that the events in history were always changing and never the same. These three types are very interesting, but I believe in another type of history.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel introduced the Hegelian Theory of History. He was born on August 27, 1770. He studied theology at Tübingen, was a family tutor, and edited the Kritische Journal der Philosophie. From these three facts, you can see that Hegel

was a very intelligent and wise person. Hegel's philosophy eventually turned him into a loyal supporter of the authoritarian state and hater of democratic measures, especially the English Reform Bill. “His political philosophy is set out in The Philosophy of Right, and his lecture notes on the History of Philosophy, Philosophy of History and of Art, the latter an important contribution to aesthetics, were published posthumously.” Hegel died during a cholera epidemic in 1831. (http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/hegel.html)

I believe in the Hegelian Theory of History. Hegel introduced this philosophy, and it is often called a “dialectic” (a word that originates in Ancient Greece), which is “a progression in which each successive movement emerges as a solution to the contradictions inherent in the preceding movement.” (http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/philosophy/history/hegel_philosophy_history.html) In simpler terms, this means that everything that happens, happens as a result or follow-up to something that occurred before it. Dialectic can simply be understood as cause and effect. One thing happens as a result of a preceding event. I believe that this is a very logical way to look at history.

The three other types of history that were mentioned above are respectable, but the Hegelian Theory of History is the most understandable and reasonable. Everything happens in order, but happens because of an event before it. If you look at this statement, and really think about it, it is true. We would not wake up in the morning if we never fell asleep. We would not walk into our house if we did not first open the door. The Hegelian Theory of History makes complete and total sense. The Hegelian Theory could be looked at as linear history with a bit more explanation and reason to it. Instead of things only happening in a consecutive order, Hegel proposed that things happen this way for a reason and because of a previous event. You will find that by looking at history in this way, everything that you know and learn will come together and make much more sense.

The Hegelian Theory of History consists of an expression that is well known. The expression could be looked at as a word problem; thesis + antithesis = synthesis. Even without know the meanings of these words, this idea seems fairly simple, and it is. This expression is usually explained in the following way: “The thesis is an intellectual proposition. The antithesis is simply the negation of the thesis, a reaction to the proposition. The synthesis solves the conflict between the thesis and antithesis by reconciling their common truths, and forming a new proposition.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesis,_antithesis,_synthesis) The main idea of this expression is comprehensible and can easily be grasped. History very much happens in the order of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Everything happens for a reason.

The Hegelian Theory of History is an excellent way to explain the events of the past. By knowing that it was proposed by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a very intellectual and gifted man, you can realize that it is a legitimate way to look at history. I believe that an outsider who is not very familiar with studying history would like this theory because of the fact that it is very logical. Events are easier to remember by looking at history in this way. In conclusion, think of history like Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel did, and you will fall in love with it even more.

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Notes on the Beginning of Civilization

1. Way back in pre-history, in the Stone Age (there are three: Paleolithic (old stone age), Mesolithic (middle stone age), Neolithic (new stone age) people were hunter-gatherers. This is nomadic culture, they were nomads.
2. As the metholithic turned into the Neolithic, archeological evidence was found of people planting crops, staying in one location, and domesticating animals. People settled into villages, domesticated animals, starting to make sculpture, etc. Dogs were first domesticated and were domesticated for food. They soon found they were better companions for hunting and protection.
3. The first city we have is the city of Jericho. A "tell" looks like a hill, it has been buried by time. Jericho was the first city that was every developed.
4. When people moved into cities, people moved northwest to go closer to water. Water is the single major reason why a given city is in a given place.
5. Whenever you look at old cities that have been around for a long, they are all cities based around ports. It is the same way in the ancient world.
6. In nomadic societies, the faster better stronger hunters are the ones who get the animals. You can trade things in order to get what you need, such as food. Trade develops, one of the first things that happen when people settle in cities. People also start to specialize in what they do.
7. Problems are worked out by laws and a legal system. Once people settle in one place, all of these things can develop.
8. The city of Ur was the city of the Goddess Nanna. She was a Sumerian moon god. In Ur, there was a great Ziggurat. It was a temple and massive building. When people settle down, they start to build temples. There are set practices and beliefs in an organized religion which was created.
9. These are all aspects of culture.

Venus of Willendorf

Venus of Willendorf is an "11.5 cm high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between 24,000 B.C. and 22,000 B.C." It is also referred to as the Woman of Willendorf. This statue was discovered in 1908 by an archaeologist by the name of Josef Szombathy at a site near Willendorf. Carved from oolitic limestone not found in the region, it is tinted with red ochre and is a replica of a naked woman. Because the limestone was not native to that area, it must have been traded or brought to Willendorf. Little is known about the origin of this famous statue, but since it's discovery, several similar statuettes and other similar forms of art have been discovered. This statue shows that advances were being made in technology and architecture.

Source:

"Venus of Willendorf." Wikipedia. Web. 26 Jan. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Willendorf>.

Image From: Wikimedia Commons

The Significance of Megaliths

A megalith is a "large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones." Megaliths serve as a symbol or have a special meaning that is significant to people. A variety of megaliths from Wales at Stonehenge were arranged. This probably served in a ceremony that was associated with the changing of the seasons. Megaliths can represent many things and have different meanings.

Definition from Google Definitions

The Significance of Agriculture

Throughout history, the rise of agriculture has been very significant. Agriculture is "the science and practice of producing crops and livestock from the natural resources of the earth." From 8000 to 2000 B.C., there were many effects of agriculture introduced in Europe. Groups of farmers began to settle in Europe and the cultivation of what and barley became established in Eastern Europe. It then gradually moved westward. These farmers used unpainted pottery . Agriculture helped the farmers to develop their civilizations and advance their technology.

Definition from Q&A