Alaska Holidays
Alaska holidays offer spectacular experiences for the travellers. Being the largest state of United States of America the place has vast area of natural scenery and multiple wild lives. The close encounter with the nature during Alaska cruise tours is really a unique experience. It’s really adventurous to cruise through the Inside Passage and fjords of Alaska. The south east area of Alaska is the true example of classic scenery having mountains, fjords, glaciers and forests. That is why Alaska is known as the best destination for cruising in the world. There is lack of roads between the towns of the state and that offers an interesting opportunity to navigate through the marine highway most suitable for the travelling ships.
Some Major Attractions
Apart from vast natural scenes and wildlife there is national park named Denali Park in the Alaska. Moreover, the most of the highest mountains of USA have been encompassed by the state of Alaska. These mountains are full of glaciers offering a good opportunity for Alaska cruise in a group. Watching the Mount McKinley from close quarters gives a nerve shivering feeling making the Alaska holidays a lifetime memory for the travellers.
Alaska cruise
Alaska cruise tour is the best way of sightseeing in Alaska. The capital of Alaska has just 14 kilometres of road and you have no choice left except sailing through the boat. The best part of cruising is that cruising is not expensive. Rather, it offers a unique experience and you don’t have to worry about your lunch and dinner. If you set out in a group you may carry readymade eatables and entertainment equipments with you on the boat. Moreover, for your kind information there are travel agencies which provide delicious foods to the travellers whom they rent out their boat at cheap rates. It makes your Alaska holiday more cheap and enjoyable. Sumptuous food, snacks and tasty dinner at general prices make your cruise campaign more satisfying.
The added advantages of Alaska cruise tours are that you will have opportunity to feel a close touch of mink and orca and humpback in the sea, moose and bears in the forest from stone’s throw distance. Sailing through glaciers may also offer you for studying, and you may have flexibility to navigate in the way that suits your mood. Moreover, in your Alaska holidays you may do activities such as mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, water skiing and dingy sailing. The inland water is calm and so you won’t have difficulty in steering your boat to see the marine wildlife like Dolphins, white bears and a variety of fish from close quarters.
There are many cruises to Alaska targeting a particular part of the coast. You have options and you can choose any of them as per you team choice. One boat can not carry more than 12 to 24 persons. The calm inland water makes it quite accessible for you to watch the glaciers comfortably. One more speciality of the Alaska holidays is that you will have the opportunity to see old aboriginals with their natural habitat and village customs. That is why many people prefer Alaska cruise as a good means for their anthropological researches on the inhabitants of pristine nature.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Human Freedom
Human Freedom
Human Freedom is an idealistic concept that asserts a basic right of living humans to be that of individual liberty. This notion was largely absent from ancient forms of government (e.g. kingdoms and oligarchy) up to the time of the American Revolution.
Statesmen like Patrick Henry (of the famous quote: "Give me liberty or give me death") live on through their famously fiery rhetoric as codified in the Constitution of the United Sates of America which purports to guarantee personal freedoms such as the right to freedom of speech, freedom of or from religion, and a free press. The question of whether or not this is an achievable goal, is open to debate.
Definition
The definition of human freedom varies in every culture and political ideology.
There is no specific or unique idea that would encompass all the possible variations that this concept may suffer and furthermore, we do not have the right to say which of these definitions is more correct.
As Gearts expresses, communities need ideologies to support each other and be able to develop. By imagining a line where we could draw conclusions on these theories based on the spectrum of the comparisons, it is possible to see the variations of these theories and the extent to which they allow for true human freedom.
By comparing and contrasting from Communism, Socialism, Conservatism, Fascism, and Nazism, we come to know that each of these systems gives to the achievement of self actualization by the societies which they represent.
First of all, the political and economic theory of socialism advocates that land, natural resources and industries should be owned by the community as a whole and not by individual, private groups.
The best way to carry on with this ideology is through the application of a communist social system where all property including the aforementioned benefits, would be owned equally by all members of society and they will all work for the common benefit.
In these systems individualism is not seen as a value, instead, it is an opposing force to communism in pro of capitalism. In people’s democracies as well as in social democracies, economic equality and equal distribution can most successfully be achieved by the implementation of a communist State.
For as long as the State remains powerful and the goals of the community are being equally satisfied through the global objective of self actualization, then the system can be considered as successful at guaranteeing human freedom.
As an opposing force to capitalism and instead of promoting the individual freedoms of a person, communism and socialism promote the importance of working together as a community in the achievement of the mutual goals.
After all, if the goals are mutual, why not work together in achieving them and saving energy in the effort?
Even though these systems seem to put limits on the capabilities approach of each person simply because being considered as an element of the community and not as an individual, it can be seen how the theory of working together for common, basic goals seems to be fair and justified.
The contrasting characteristic of these theories can be best explained by the idea of J.S. Mill who explains that the rule of ignorant masses can give too much power to unprepared individuals who would use tyranny and dictatorships as the only manner to keep control.
Furthermore, putting limits on a person’s self-development opportunities goes against the universal declaration of human rights, this is why there are other systems that offer opposing views and put more emphasis on the superior individual work of a single race.
This is the case of the importance of human freedoms in Nazism and Fascism. Nazism refers to a socialist based party who takes this economic and political theory to the extent of controlling not only where the community should focus its efforts in the sake of society’s goals, but also believes in the superiority of a single race that is naturally entitled to the enjoyment of these benefits.
As well as fascism, extreme right movements are more prone to conserving the background characteristics that culturally define each of our societies.
According to John Locke, humans will always make decisions that will give them the most advantageous position over others and this is a reason for Nazism and Fascism to encourage the creation of a single master race where the mindsets and morals of all are equally shared.
Each society has its own norms, beliefs and values with its own common and individual goals. This explains why, under these two ideologies there is no space for other cultures that would try to put themselves in more advantageous positions as the one that inherently deserves the occupied territory.
Jewish people for example, were seen as a culture illegally occupying European areas in order to make a profit and take advantage of the locals.
This therefore leads, through the power of the masses and the coming to power of ignorant leaders such as Benito Mussolini and Adolph Hitler (J.S. Mill), to an unsustainable and senseless political system which little by little takes away more individual freedoms from the community in order to keep tyrannical power.
There can not be individual freedoms in a society that believes in elitism, anti-liberal individualism, survival of a master race and other forms of social Darwinism.
In these communities, only those who are part of the so called "master race" are capable of enjoying freedom at the expense of the suffering of others.
Even though we can not blame Nazism and Fascism for the results of the genocidal politics of its known leaders during World War II, we can generalize that if the success and enjoyment of some is based on the suffering and destruction of others, this form of government is not placing much importance on the individual freedoms of most people.
Another political system that can be compared and contrasted with the theories of communism and socialism is expressed in those systems that support conservatism such as the United States.
As mentioned above, communism believes that, as an alternative to capitalism, the working together of the community will lead to the achievement of common goals in the most efficient manner. In conservatism, the ideal of capitalism is essential for the success of these societies, thus the differences between these two theories will consist on the importance that they place on the role of the individual vs. the community.
The public and private spheres of communism and socialism are characterized by high government control and the little opportunity to make individual decisions.
On the other hand, public and private spheres of societies with a more conservative tradition keep government well separated from the decision making process of the individual, specially at the private sphere level.
Capitalist theories of conservatism express that individual freedom leads to competition among members of society and this is the best way to keep people in constant struggle for self actualization.
When people are forced to be individualistic in order to achieve individual goals, be more successful and more valuable as a member of society, they are not living a very important part of life.
On the other hand, the socialist theories that do not allow people to become self actualized at their own pace but instead, become one more piece of the keyboard equally valuable as anyone else, is not allowing for freedom either.
Socialization as different from socialism is the ability to share, understand and mutually engage as a member of a community. As Michael Walzer expressed, communal society encourages equality and justice.
Having a multi-cultural perspective allows for continuous development of societies. Thus, one can believe (conclude) that the importance of human freedom relies on the capabilities of a person to understand other cultures, ideologies and political systems with the highest amount of cultural sensitivity. Encouraging a society where the mutual basic goals can be guaranteed through the communal effort gives equal opportunities to all members of society to do all that is necessary to continuously achieve self actualization.
The democratic ideal will come naturally as a result of the ability of each person to govern oneself as an authentic and unique human being.
The most important anecdote that we can learn is that none of the social, political and economic systems can be forced upon the will of any society. As seen in Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, we can not say that capitalism is bad and socialism is good. In order to reach socialism Marx declared that a capitalist society has to create the proper environment for a revolution to take place.
The unique characteristics of all human beings make civilizations different from each other; therefore the natural course of action that a political system suffers is in constant adaptation to the changing values of a society.
For as long as we have the power to feel free to express our thoughts in regards to the social setting of our society and furthermore promote options for change without feeling oppressed by the system in control, then we could say we have achieved human freedom.
Christian Motif
The relationship of violence and Christianity is controversial.1 When asked whether Christianity supports violence and is a violent religion, one can answer "Of course -- look at the crusades, the multiple blessings of wars, warrior popes, support for capital punishment, corporal punishment under the guise of 'spare the rod and spoil the child,' justifications of slavery, world-wide colonialism in the name of conversion to Christianity, the systemic violence of women subjected to men, and more". Or one can respond, "Of course not -- look at Jesus, the beginning point of Christian faith, who is worshiped as 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace' (Isa. 9:6); whose Sermon on the Mount taught nonviolence and love of enemies; who faced his accusers nonviolently and then died a nonviolent death; whose nonviolent teaching inspired the first centuries of pacifist Christian history and was subsequently preserved in the justifiable war doctrine that declares all war as sin even when declaring it occasionally a necessary evil, and in the prohibition of fighting by monastics and clergy as well as in a persistent tradition of Christian pacifism". But these answers are apparently contradictory. Does one of them trump the other? Or might there be yet another answer?
Let us analysis the relationship between violence and Christianity by examining aspects of Christian theology. Specifically, by examining violence and assumptions of violence in the classic formulations of the central Christian doctrines of atonement and Christology. Here we use broad definitions of the terms "violence" and "nonviolence." "Violence" means harm or damage, which obviously includes the direct violence of killing -- in war, capital punishment, murder -- but also covers the range of forms of systemic violence such as poverty, racism, and sexism. "Nonviolence" also covers a spectrum of attitudes and actions, from the classic Mennonite idea of passive nonresistance through active nonviolence and nonviolent resistance that would include various kinds of social action, confrontations and posing of alternatives that do not do bodily harm or injury.
Atonement Motifs
The standard account of the history of doctrine lists three families of atonement theories or images. The first round of observations about the violent elements of these atonement images will emerge from the description of their development and their historical relationship to each other.
Christus Victor, the predominant image of the early church, existed in two forms, each of which involved the three elements of God, the devil or Satan, and sinful humankind. In the ransom version of Christus Victor, the devil held the souls of humankind captive. In a seemingly contractual agreement, God handed Jesus over to Satan as a ransom payment to secure the release of captive souls. The devil killed Jesus, in an apparent victory for the forces of evil. The devil is deceived, however. In raising Jesus from the dead, God triumphed over the devil, and the souls of humanity were freed from his clutches. This victory through resurrection provides the name Christus Victor or Christ the Victor.
A second version of Christus Victor pictured the conflict between Satan and God as a cosmic battle. In this struggle, God's son was killed, but the resurrection then constituted the victory of God over the forces of evil, and definitively identified God as the ruler of the universe. This cosmic battle imagery constitutes another Christus Victor atonement image.
Satisfaction atonement has been the predominant atonement image of the present time as well as for much of the past millennium. It suffices for present purposes to sketch two versions of satisfaction atonement. One reflects the view of Anselm of Canterbury. In 1098 he published Cur Deus Homo, which constitutes the first full articulation of satisfaction atonement. Anselm wrote that Jesus' death was necessary in order to satisfy the offended honor of God. Human sin had offended God's honor and thus had upset divine order in the universe. The death of Jesus as the God-man was then necessary in order to satisfy God's honor and restore the order of the universe.
A change in this image of satisfaction occurred with the Protestant Reformers. For them, Jesus' death satisfied the divine law's requirement that sin be punished. Thus with his death, Jesus submitted to and bore the punishment that was really due to us -- humankind -- as sinners. Jesus was punished in our place. Jesus substituted himself for us, and died a penal substitutionary death.
The third atonement image is moral influence. In this image, the death of Jesus is a loving act of God aimed toward us. God the Father shows love to us sinners by giving us his most precious possession, his Son, to die for us.
Deleting the Devil from Atonement
These theories did not develop as isolated entities. Each emerged as a response to a previous one. In the first book of Cur Deus Homo, Anselm specifically rejected the idea that Jesus' death was a ransom payment to the devil. Satan has no contractual rights that would obligate God to make such a payment. And even though humankind deserves punishment, Satan has no right to inflict that punishment. These considerations make it unworthy of God to deal with Satan via a ransom. Thus Anselm deleted the devil from the salvation equation.2 Rather than seeing human beings as captive to the devil, Anselm made them directly responsible to God. Humans sinned against God; sin offended the honor of God, and thus threatened order in the universe. The death of Jesus served to restore God's honor and thus restore order in the universe.
Abelard's school followed Anselm in rejecting the idea of Jesus' death as a ransom payment to the devil. But Abelard also rejected the idea of Jesus' death as a payment to God. It made God seem vengeful and judgmental. Instead, Abelard saw the death of Jesus aimed not at God but at sinful humankind. It was a loving act of God designed to get the attention of sinners, and reveal the love of God for sinners while they were yet sinners. Its impact on the psychological or moral character of humankind identifies this view as the moral influence theory of atonement.
Thus historical relationships exist among these atonement theories. Anselm's satisfaction motif succeeded ransom, and was subsequently modified by majority Protestantism. Abelard's moral theory posed an alternative to Anselm's satisfaction theory while retaining Anselm's critique of the ransom motif.
Each of these images attempts to explain why "Jesus died for us." But recalling the object or "target" of the death of Jesus makes clear that these images suggest entirely different approaches to understanding the death of Jesus. For ransom and cosmic battle motifs the death of Jesus has the devil as its object. For Anselm, it is aimed at God's honor, while for penal substitution, the object is God's law. Finally, for moral influence, the death of Jesus targets "us," sinful humankind, as its objects.
Retribution in Atonement
The first round of analysis worked on implications drawn from Anselm's deletion of the devil from the atonement equation. This section follows a quite different route to similar conclusions.
The various versions of satisfaction atonement function with the assumption that doing justice or righting wrongs depends on retribution. Sin creates imbalance. Satisfaction atonement assumes that the imbalance is righted or balanced by the punishment of death.
One contemporary version and one historic version of this assumption make clear its presence in satisfaction atonement. The criminal justice system of the United States operates on the principle of retribution. This system operates under the assumption that doing justice means to inflict punishment, which is understood as violence. The assumption is that small crimes require small penalties, while a big crime requires a big penalty. The biggest punishment, namely death, is reserved for the most heinous crimes. The assumption that doing justice is equated with punishment appears in the public disapproval when what is perceived as a big misdeed receives only a "wrist tap" as punishment. With an apparent imbalance between deed and punishment, it seems that justice was not done. The assumption of retributive justice -- that doing justice means meting out punishment -- is virtually universal among North Americans and throughout much of the world.3
The assumption that doing justice means to punish underlies satisfaction atonement, and in particular the image of penal substitutionary atonement. This image assumes the necessity of punishment, with innocent Jesus punished in our place. As our substitute, Jesus bore the punishment we deserve.
The motif of Jesus as the substitute object of punishment, which assumes the principle of retribution, is the particular image that feminists and womanists have found very offensive. It portrays God as the chief exacter of retribution. God punishes -- abuses -- one of God's children for the sake of the others. And the Jesus of this motif models passive submission to innocent and unjust suffering for the sake of others.
The contemporary assumption of retributive justice has a medieval counterpart in the feudal system. Let us follow R. W Southern's description of the feudal system and how Anseim's image reflects his feudal world view. The feudal world was hierarchical. A lord at the top held the hierarchy together. Stability of the system depended on maintaining the honor of the lord at the top of the hierarchy. An offense against the lord's honor incurred a debt that threatened his authority and thus the stability of the system. In order to restore honor and stability, the debt had to be repaid. Inability to collect the debt challenged the honor and authority of the lord.
A modern equivalent might be a teacher who is sassed by her student. Her authority as teacher is threatened if she cannot enact punishment on the disrespectful student. The object of dealing with the student is not punishment per se. It is rather that some kind of compensation for the offense is necessary in order to maintain the integrity and stability of the teacher's authority in her classroom. Or perhaps the perceived sense that stability of the social system demands retribution is like a governor who refuses to pardon an inmate on death row. In the governor's perception, pardoning a death-row inmate would threaten the integrity of the criminal justice system. If one who has violated the law is pardoned, it appears that the system itself is threatened. Again here, one sees punishment as the means to maintain the integrity and stability of the system.
It is not difficult to see that Anselm's image of the atoning death of Jesus reflects the feudal world view. Human sin has brought imbalance and disharmony into the universe. The restoration of harmony, order and balance requires a payment to satisfy the offended honor of God. Anselm understood Jesus' death as the debt payment that satisfied the honor of God, and thus restored balance and order in the universe. The logic of satisfaction atonement can be understood with all the feudal imagery removed from Anselm's argument. As was previously noted, for example, the modern criminal justice system constitutes an arena that assumes and models retribution. There is thus no need to dispute Southern's conclusion that feudal society supplies the motif that Anselm elevated to an ultimate image of the way that God maintains order in the universe. Maintaining order in the universe depends on maintaining the honor of God, which necessitates a debt payment -- the death of Jesus -- to cover the offense to God's honor that was enacted by human sin.
Although Anseim's understanding of satisfaction atonement differs significantly from penal substitutionary atonement, each assumes some form of the idea of retribution. Whereas penal substitution pictures retribution in terms of punishment exacted by divine law, for Anselm it was the offended honor of God that required retribution in the form of the payment of death.
Anseim's satisfaction atonement clearly differs from the penal substitutionary image, in which God punishes Jesus as a substitute for punishing sinful humankind. One recent strategy for defending satisfaction atonement makes a great deal of this difference. The first point of this defense is to acknowledge that feminists and womanists are correct that the images of God and Jesus in penal substitutionary atonement are unhealthy for persons in abusive and oppressive conditions, namely a Father God who punishes an innocent Son, and a Jesus who passively submits to his Father's abuse. The second point is to claim that the image of penal substitution is not true satisfaction atonement as articulated by Anselm. Thus, the would-be defender of satisfaction atonement blames early Protestant reformers for the unhealthy images, and appeals for the true satisfaction motif to the medieval Anselm, where we do not have an angry God who punishes, but rather an image concerned with a defense of God's honor. This God seems not so concerned about Godself as about addressing the disorder and disharmony in the universe produced by human sin. In this view, the argument goes, the death of Jesus is not about having Jesus bear punishment actually merited by human beings, but about restoring order and harmony in the universe.
While clear differences do distinguish these two versions of satisfaction atonement, appealing to Anselm does not absolve satisfaction atonement of its inherent violence. To illustrate that point, visualize atonement in terms of a debt payment to God's honor, and consider again the questions posed earlier.
The above analysis has demonstrated the extent to which presuppositions of violence and overt violence are inherently a part of classic Christian theology. We have also observed that the abstract and ahistorical character of the classic formulas of atonement and Christology mean that they do not challenge injustice in the social order. This combination of intrinsically violent elements and lack of challenge to injustice in the social order mean that it has been possible throughout much of Christian history for Christians to profess allegiance to Jesus and to claim salvation as depicted in classic Christology and atonement, while simultaneously pursuing the violence prohibited by Jesus' teaching and life.
If Christians are uncomfortable with Christianity as a violent religion, the first step is to recognize the extent to which formulas of classic theology have contributed to violence both overt and systemic. The analysis provided data for that acknowledgement. The second step away from Christianity as a violent religion would be to construct theology that specifically reflects the nonviolence of its namesake, Jesus Christ. As a suggestion in that direction, we offer narrative Christus Victor as both nonviolent atonement and narrative Christology. Finally, step three would be to live out the theology of its nonviolent namesake. That commitment is a call to every Christian.
Concept of Freedom
Freedom is the ability to act without restraint. In the context of internal control, freedom is also known as self-determination, individual sovereignty, or autonomy.
The protection of interpersonal freedoms can be the object of a social and political investigation, while the metaphysical foundation of inner freedom is a philosophical and psychological question. Both forms of freedom come together in each individual as the internal and external values mesh together in a dynamic compromise and power struggle; the society fighting for power in defining the values of individuals and the individual fighting for societal acceptance and respect in establishing one's own values in it.
Spiritually, freedom encompasses the peaceful acceptance of reality. The theological question of freedom generally focuses on reconciling the experience or reality of inner freedom with the omnipotence of the divine.
In philosophy
An absence of restraint: It means unwilling to subjugate, lacking submission, or without forceful inequality. The achievement of this form of freedom depends upon a combination of the resist of the individual (or group) and one's (their) environment; if one is in jail or even limited by a lack of resources, this person is free within their power and environment, but not free to defy reality. Natural laws restrict this form of freedom; for instance, no one is free to fly (though we may or may not be free to attempt to do so). Isaiah Berlin appears to call this kind of freedom "negative freedom" - an absence of obstacles put in the way of my action (especially by other people). He distinguishes this from "positive freedom", which refers to my power to make choices leading to action.
Freedom has often been used a rallying cry for revolution or rebellion. For instance, the Bible records the story of Moses leading his people out of slavery, and into freedom. In his famous "I Have a Dream" speech Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted an old spiritual song sung by black American slaves: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty we are free at last!"
Inner autonomy
Freedom can also signify inner autonomy, or mastery over one's inner condition. This has several possible significances:
● the ability to act in accordance with the dictates of reason;
● the ability to act in accordance with one's own true self or values;
● the ability to act in accordance with universal values (such as the True and the Good); and
● the ability to act independently of both the dictates of reason and the urges of desires, i.e. arbitrarily (autonomously).
In a play by Hans Sachs, the Greek philosopher Diogenes speaks to Alexander the Great, saying: You are my servants' servant. The philosopher has conquered fear, lust, and anger; Alexander still serves these masters. Though he has conquered the world without, he has not yet mastered the world within. This kind of mastery is dependent upon no one and nothing other than ourselves. Richard Lovelace’s poem echoes this experience:
Stone walls do not a prison make
Nor iron bars a cage
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage
Notable 20th century individuals who have exemplified this form of freedom include Nelson Mandela, Rabbi Leo Baeck, Gandhi, Lech Walesa and Vaclav Havel.
The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau asserted that the condition of freedom was inherent to humanity, an inevitable facet of the possession of a soul and sapience, with the implication that all social interactions subsequent to birth imply a loss of freedom, voluntarily or involuntarily.
Overview
Steiner describes how from two sides of our existence, our experience works to make us unfree. We can easily recognize that our natural being, that part of us we share with the animal world - our drives and desires, our prejudices and habits - tends to determine our deeds and soul life from one side. Just as constraining, however, are the dictates of conscience and abstract ethical or moral principles. Freedom, he says, is only possible because these various constraining factors work in contradictory directions. Between the impulses of our two natures, neither of which is individualized, we find the freedom to choose how to think and act. By overcoming the dictates of both our 'lower' and 'higher' sources of experience, we become true and free individuals.
At least since Kant’s time, most western philosophy has recognized that dualism is innate to human consciousness. This dualism arises because we perceive the outer nature of the world and its inner nature in radically separated ways. Our sensory perceptions inform us about the outer appearance of the world, while our thought life penetrates its inner nature. This division is particular to and defines human experience. Steiner suggests that we actually have the capacity to overcome the dualism of experience by reuniting perception and thought.
By both perceiving and thinking through a subject, and then bringing our perceptions and conceptions of this subject into harmony, we establish a unified relationship to the world. This relationship is also a free one, as out of it we can act without being determined by one or the other side of our dualistic experience.
It is notable that Steiner expressly includes our subjective, inner life as one of the realms we perceive dualistically, and thus in which we are initially unfree. Our inner subjectivity is thus as much in need of our overcoming its essential duality and unfree nature, as our experience of the objective outer world is.
He proposes that once we have brought the two sides of our experience into harmony, we need to forge a new synthesis of these at every moment in a situationally-appropriate, free deed. Steiner coins the term moral imagination for this act of creative synthesis. He says we only succeed in achieving freedom when we find a moral imagination, an ethically impelled but particularized response to the immediacy of a given situation. This response will always be individual; it cannot be predicted or prescribed. This radical moral individualism is characteristic of freedom.
Exercising freedom
Steiner begins the second section of this work by emphasizing the role of self-awareness, of the awakening of the ego, in objective thinking. Here he modifies the usual description of inner and outer experience by pointing out that our feelings, for example, are given to us as naively as outer perceptions. Both of these, feelings and perceptions, tell about objects we are interested in: the one about ourselves, the other about the world. Both require the help of thinking to penetrate the reasons why they arise, to comprehend their inner message. The same is true of our will. Whereas our feelings tell how the world affects us, our will tells how we would affect the world. Neither attains to true objectivity, for both mix together the world's existence and our inner life in an unclear way. He emphasizes that we experience our feelings and will - and our perceptions as well - as being more essentially part of us than our thinking; the former are more basic, more natural. He celebrates this gift of natural, direct experience, but points out that this experience is still dualistic in the sense that it only encompasses one side of the world.
This all is by way of introduction and recapitulation. Steiner then introduces the principle that we can act out of the compulsions of our natural being (reflexes, drives, desires) or out of the compulsion of ethical principles, and that neither of these leaves me free. Between them, however, is an individual insight, a situational ethic, that arises neither from abstract principles nor from my bodily impulses. A deed that arises in this way can be said to be truly free; it is also both unpredictable and wholly individual. Here Steiner articulates his fundamental maxim of social life:
Live through deeds of love, and let others live with understanding for each person's unique intentions.
Here he reconnects with Schiller's polar view of the influences on human nature, stating that morality transcends both the determining factors of bodily influences and those of convention:
A moral misunderstanding, a clash, is out of the question between people who are morally free. Only one who is morally unfree, who obeys bodily instincts or conventional demands of duty, turns away from a fellow human being if the latter does not obey the same instincts and demands as himself.
Morality is completely situational and individual; true morality depends upon our achieving freedom from both our inner drives and outer pressures. In order to achieve such free deeds, we must cultivate our moral imagination, our ability to imaginatively create ethically sound and practical solutions to new situations, in fact, to forge our own ethical principles and to transform these flexibly as needed - not in the service of our own egotistical purposes, but in the face of new demands and situations.
Steiner concludes the whole presentation by pointing out that in order to achieve this level of freedom, we must lift ourselves out of our group-existence: out of the prejudices we receive from our family, nation, ethnic group and religion, out of all that we inherit from the past that limits our creative and imaginative freedom to meet the world directly. Only when we realize our potential to be a unique individual are we free. Again, it lies in our freedom to achieve freedom; only when we actively strive towards freedom do we have some chance of attaining it.
Process of Moral Reasoning
Lawrence Kohlberg, a psychologist who devoted twenty years to the study of
moral development, has stated that there is a three level, six stage process of
maturation in the development of moral reasoning. He holds that everyone begins
at Level one, Stage one, but that very few people ever develop beyond stage four.
Following is a concise and over-simplified summary of Kohlberg's stages and their
concomitant effect on values and motives.
Level One
Determination of whether something is good or bad, or right or wrong is made in terms of whether the consequences will be pleasant or unpleasant, or in terms of the physical power of those who might punish or reward. Pleasantness is directly related to punishment, rewards, exchanges of favors, etc. The person sees things from his/her own point of view and is primarily motivated by self-interest. Example: Childhood perception.
Stage One -- Punishment and obedience. An action that results in physical punishment is bad, one that does not result in physical punishment is good. Power and punishment avoidance are valued in their own right. Very little, if any, realization that others have similar needs. Example: Oral stage (0-1 year)of socialization process. Here child is ignorant about the social system; the sub-system of child and mother is a system for him/her.
Stage Two -- Personal usefulness. An action that satisfies one’s own needs, and occasionally the needs of others, is a morally good action. Human relations consist of exchanging favors or revenge. Satisfying the needs of others is a means of getting what a person wants. Example: Anal stage (1-4)of socialization process. Here child gets toilet training, in-between he/she intermingles with the family members, through smiles for favor.
Level Two
A person’s own immediate needs are subordinate to group needs. Support of family, group, or nation is a value independent of the individual. Group order and stability are actively maintained. Loyalty to the group and its norms is of paramount importance. Actions are good or bad depending on whether they conform to the rules and expectations of the group. Situations are seen from the point of view of the group and everyone is assumed to be similar. Example: Peer Group.
Stage Three -- Group conformity. Doing that which gets approval, or avoids disapproval, of family, friends and close associates. What is right or wrong is determined by the will of the majority--constitutes “natural” behavior. Motivation to do right is to be seen as a good person, or a nice person, in your own eyes and the eyes of others. Example: Oedipal and Adolescence Stage. At this stage child is inculcated with norms and values of the group or system. He/she is expected to behave according to normative pattern and is rewarded of it.
Stage Four -- Law and Order. Rules are obeyed because they are the rules. People are part of a larger social system in which individual roles and obligations are defined. Norms generated by that social system are separated from personal and immediate social group norms. The larger social order is superior to groups and respect is given to authority. The social order is maintained as valuable for its own sake. National loyalty is primary. Rules define right and wrong. Example: Adulthood. When an individual becomes member of the real world.
Level Three
There is an attempt here to determine right and wrong in terms of some universal or general set of values and principles. Values and norms of social groups, large or small, are not accepted if they cannot be justified by universal moral principles. Values and principles are not morally justifiable just because they emanate from authority, power or a group with which one identifies. Moral principles are self-identified principles which can be applied universally. Position in a given society, or belonging to a particular society, do not determine moral values. They are values which a person would be willing to accept and abide by no matter what society they belonged to or their status in that society. The key is to be able to justify those moral principles to any rational person. Example: Scientific Approach. The highest moral principles should be based on rational thinking and universality. Intuition must be justified by a logical process. Basic assumptions must be stated and they must be critically analyzed.
Stage Five -- Social contract, “natural law.” Right and wrong are defined by a set of general values that society has agreed upon by the democratic process. These values are general and theoretical such as freedom, justice, equality, fairness, mercy, etc. Beyond those concepts and values, right and wrong are matters of personal values and opinion. To be valid those moral
principles which are outside the democratic consensus must be justifiable to any rational individual. In this stage individuals attempt to solve moral issues by passing laws, however, laws are not sacrosanct at this stage. They are subject to challenge if they violate more general humane principles. Example: Rational Approach. Democracy, freedom of speech, thoughts and religion are universal values. Child abuse or human trafficking etc. is considered social evils.
Stage Six – Personal conscience and universality. The guiding moral principles are general and apply to everyone everywhere no matter what the social status or the society in which they live. These principles are consistent, universal and logically comprehensive. These are not concrete statements of moral rules such as the ten commandments, but are abstract concepts such as the golden rule. These moral principles are the basis for evaluating all moral rules and arrangements, even those arising out of the Ethical Process, democratic consensus. Morals are a matter of personal conscience, where personal conscience is guided by the general moral principles. Example: Superego. The Superego is that part of the personality that operates as the conscience, aiming for perfection, controlling the function of the Ego by placing moral constraints on it. Such as denying homosexuality or illegal sex act.
The stages are sequential and an individual develops and proceeds through each stage before moving to the next. No stages are jumped. It is, however, not a certainty that an individual will pass to the next stage. As stated earlier, Kohlberg holds that most Americans never develop beyond stages 3 or 4. Most of us can name adults who we are convinced have not developed beyond stage 1.
Theory of Natural Law
Natural law theory is one of the most important theories in the philosophy of Classical Realism. The concept of natural law has taken several forms. The idea began with the ancient Greeks' conception of a universe governed in every particular by an eternal, immutable law and in their distinction between what is just by nature and just by convention. Stoicism provided the most complete classical formulation of natural law. The Stoics argued that the universe is governed by reason, or rational principle; they further argued that all humans have reason within them and can therefore know and obey its law. Because human beings have the faculty of choice (a free will), they will not necessarily obey the law; if they act in accordance with reason, however, they will be "following nature."
Christian philosophers readily adapted Stoic natural law theory, identifying natural law with the law of God. For Thomas Aquinas, natural law is that part of the eternal law of God ("the reason of divine wisdom") which is knowable by human beings by means of their powers of reason. Human, or positive, law is the application of natural law to particular social circumstances. Like the Stoics, Aquinas believed that a positive law that violates natural law is not true law.
With the secularization of society resulting from the Renaissance and Reformation, natural law theory found a new basis in human reason. The 17th-century Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius believed that humans by nature are not only reasonable but social. Thus the rules that are "natural" to them -- those dictated by reason alone -- are those which enable them to live in harmony with one another. From this argument, by the way, Grotius developed the first comprehensive theory of international law.
Natural law theory eventually gave rise to a concept of "natural rights." John Locke argued that human beings in the state of nature are free and equal, yet insecure in their freedom. When they enter society they surrender only such rights as are necessary for their security and for the common good. Each individual retains fundamental prerogatives drawn from natural law relating to the integrity of person and property (natural rights). This natural rights theory provided a philosophical basis for both the American and French revolutions. Thomas Jefferson used the natural law theory to justify his trinity of "inalienable rights" which were stated in the United States Declaration of Independence.
During the 19th century natural law theory lost influence as utilitarianism and Benthamism, positivism, materialism, and the historical school of jurisprudence became dominant. In the 20th century, however, natural law theory has received new attention, partly in reaction to the rise of totalitarianism and an increased interest in human rights throughout the world. With this contemporary interest in mind, let's now turn to our attention to the natural law theory as understood by the tradition of Classical Realism.
What do we mean by "natural law"? In its simplest definition, natural law is that "unwritten law" that is more or less the same for everyone everywhere. To be more exact, natural law is the concept of a body of moral principles that is common to all humankind and, as generally posited, is recognizable by human reason alone. Natural law is therefore distinguished from -- and provides a standard for -- positive law, the formal legal enactments of a particular society.
Since law must always be some dictate of reason, natural law also will be some dictate of reason. In fact, it is law discovered by human reason. Our normal and natural grasp of the natural law is effected by reason, that is, by the thinking mind, and in this service reason is sometimes called "conscience." We, in all our human acts, inevitably see them in their relation to the natural law, and we mentally pronounce upon their agreement or disagreement with the natural law. Such a pronouncement may be called a "judgment of conscience." The "norm" of morality is the natural law as applied by conscience. Lastly, we can say that the natural law is the disposition of things as known by our human reason and to which we must conform ourselves if we are to realize our proper end or "good" as human beings.
To sum it up, then, we can say that the natural law:
is not made by human beings;
is based on the structure of reality itself;
is the same for all human beings and at all times;
is an unchanging rule or pattern which is there for human beings to discover;
is the naturally knowable moral law;
is a means by which human beings can rationally guide themselves to their good.
It is interesting to note that virtually everyone seems to have some knowledge of natural law even before such knowledge is codified and formalized. Even young children make an appeal to "fair play," demand that things be "fair and square," and older children and adults often apply the "golden rule." When doing so, they are spontaneously invoking the natural law. This is why many proponents of the natural law theory say it is the law which is "written upon the hearts of men."
Now, our reflection on our own conduct gives rise to the explicit formulation of the precepts of the natural law. We as human beings put our "commonsense" notions of natural law under "critical examination." In other words, our natural impulses toward "fair play," justice, and so on are subject to a rigorous investigation and rationalization. And our understanding of natural law becomes more precise as we consider and codify the principles or precepts of natural law. The primary precept of natural law will be the most basic principle about human action that can be formulated.
If we recall Classical Realism it would be clear that there is an absolutely first and indemonstrable principle in the speculative order of things. That is, there is an absolutely basic, self-evident truth of reality upon which we build our entire metaphysics which serves as the foundation for our view of the ultimate structure of reality. This is the Principle of Contradiction, from which we derive other basic principles such as Identity and Excluded Middle. Strictly speaking, the Principle of Contradiction cannot be "proved." It must be accepted as an absolute "intuitive" or self-evident truth, the truth of which is shown by an analysis of the terms of the Principle and the impossibility of thinking the opposite.
Natural law theory is of the "practical order" of things and the first principle of the practical order is a principle that directs human acts in all their operations, and it will be concerned with the "good," since we act in terms of what a least seems good to us. Therefore, the primary principle of the practical order -- the first precept of natural law -- is a formulation based upon the notion of the good and is stated in the following way: The "good" (according to reason) must be done, and evil (what is contrary to reason) must be avoided. The simplest statement of this precept is, of course, "Do good and avoid evil."
Although we rarely express the precept of "Do good and avoid evil" explicitly (just as we rarely state the Principle of Contradiction explicitly in daily life), nevertheless we always act in terms of such a precept. This fact points to the fundamental truth of such a precept, and indicates how it expresses something "natural" to human beings. A human being naturally inclines to seek what appears good to reason, and naturally shrinks from what appears to be evil. Hence, the justification of speaking of this basic moral law as "natural" law.
Upon further reflection, we can distinguish, within natural law, primary and secondary precepts. The primary precepts will correspond to the order of natural inclinations in human beings. The most fundamental inclination of all, "Do good and avoid evil," will give rise to other primary precepts such as the natural inclination to self-preservation, to live in society, to avoid harm to others, and to know truths about the reality we live in and our own human nature. These primary precepts are unchangeable to the extent they concern the primary ends of the natural inclinations inherent in all human beings.
The primary precepts are very general in their formulation. The secondary precepts, on the other hand, are more particular or specific and are concerned with things to which we are not inclined so immediately. Among these are such precepts as those regarding the education of children, and the stability of family life, and the demands of hospitality. On the negative side, we also have secondary precepts regarding the neglect of children, deliberate injury to others, and so on.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Natural Law Theory
Strengths:
It allows you to have a clear sense of what is right and wrong, based on your religious and spiritual beliefs. Hence, things that are “unnatural” or “not what God intended” or “not in keeping with the way things are supposed to be” are wrong, and staying away from those kinds of decisions will likely keep you on the right path
Weaknesses:
Organized religion that defines “natural law” is sometimes in conflict with scientific or cultural progressions affecting morality. Science has cast doubt on a divine order to the universe that we simply need to follow for proper behavior. For example, the Catholic Church would say that birth control is against the natural law. However, culturally most people believe in having fewer children than nature would bring, and scientifically, we know that certain contraceptives help prevent disease, which is something that we also wish to support culturally but may be in conflict with “natural law.”
Religion often provides conflicting advice on morality, so that moral guidance is unclear. Morality is independent of religion according to the perspective that houses philosophy and moral theory. For example, there are conflicting views in the Bible about the same issue, such as how to treat your wife. Or, you may require a person to interpret what the book says – which leaves you further removed from moral authority.
The obvious conclusion here is that our knowledge of natural law, is incomplete, and probably will always be incomplete. Values of the Wise believes that you have the capacity to be a good person, to decide what your values are and how to live them. We, as civilized and rational human beings, will always be involved in a "critical examination" of our actions in the practical order. Out of this reflection will come new and refined "truths" regarding ethics and moral philosophy.
Natural law related to a Christian understanding “conscience”
Christian natural law
Despite pagan associations with natural law theory, a number (though not all) of the early Church Fathers sought to incorporate it into Christianity (the suspect devotion of the Stoics to pagan worship no doubt aided in this adoption). This was true in the West more so than in the East. The most notable among these was Augustine of Hippo, who equated natural law with man's prelapsarian state; as such, a life according to nature was no longer possible and men needed instead to seek salvation through the divine law and grace. In the Twelfth Century, Gratian reversed this, equating the natural and divine laws.
Thomas Aquinas restored Natural Law to its independent state, asserting that, as the perfection of human reason, it could approach but not fully comprehend the Eternal law and needed to be supplemented by Divine law.
All human laws were to be judged by their conformity to the natural law. An unjust law was in a sense no law at all. At this point, the natural law was not only used to pass judgment on the moral worth of various laws, but also to determine what the law said in the first place. This could result in some tension.
The natural law was inherently teleological in that it aimed at human happiness. Its content was therefore determined by a conception of what things constituted happiness, be they temporal satisfaction or salvation. The state, in being bound by the natural law, was conceived as an institution directed at bringing its subjects to true happiness.
Conscience in Catholic theology
Conscience, in Catholic theology, is "a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1778). Catholics are called to examine their conscience before confession.
Obedience to conscience has been claimed by many dissenters as a God-given right, from Martin Luther, who said (or reputedly said), "Here I stand, I can do no other," to progressive Catholics who disagree with certain doctrines or dogmas. The Church eventually agreed, saying, "Man has the right to act according to his conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters". In certain situations involving individual personal decisions that are incompatible with church law, some pastors rely on the use of the internal forum solution.
However, the Catholic Church has warned that "rejection of the Church's authority and her teaching...can be at the source of errors in judgment in moral conduct".
Conscience in Protestant theology
The Reformation began with Luther’s crisis of conscience. And for many Protestants, following one's conscience can rank higher than obedience to church authorities or accepted interpretations of the Bible. One example of a Protestant theologian who caused his church to rethink the issue of conscience was William Robertson Smith of the Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900). Tried for heresy because of his use of modern methods of interpreting the Old Testament, he received only a token punishment. However the case contributed to a situation in which many Protestant denominations allow a wide variety of beliefs and practices to be held by their members in accordance with their conscience.
Contemporary Understanding
The Roman Catholic Church continues to hold the view of natural law set forth by Thomas Aquinas, particularly in his Summa Theologiae, and often as filtered through the School of Salamanca. This view is also shared by some Protestant churches.
They understand human beings to consist of body and mind, the physical and the non-physical (or soul perhaps), and that the two are inextricably linked. Humans are capable of discerning the difference between good and evil because they have a conscience. There are many manifestations of the good that we can pursue. Some, like procreation, are common to other animals, while others, like the pursuit of truth, are inclinations peculiar to the capacities of human beings.
To know what is right, one must use one's reason and apply it to Aquinas' precepts. The most important is the primary precept, self preservation. There are also four subsidiary precepts: procreation, education of children, living in society, and worshipping God (veneration). In addition to these, there are secondary precepts, which Aquinas did not specify like the other five. Therefore, for a deontological ethical theory they are open to a surprisingly large amount of interpretation and flexibility. Any rule that helps man to live up to the primary or subsidiary precepts can be a secondary precept, for example: Drunkenness is wrong because it injures one's health, and worse, destroys one's ability to reason, which is fundamental to man as a rational animal (i.e. does not support self preservation). Theft is wrong because it destroys social relations, and man is by nature a social animal (i.e. does not support the subsidiary precept of living in society).
Natural moral law is concerned with both exterior and interior acts, also know as action and motive. Simply doing the right thing is not enough; to be truly moral one's motive must be right as well. For example, helping an old lady across the road (good exterior act) to impress someone (bad interior act) is wrong. However, good intentions don’t always lead to good actions. The motive must coincide with Aquinas's cardinal or theological virtues. Cardinal virtues are acquired through reason applied to nature; they are:
Prudence
Justice
Fortitude
Temperance
His theological virtues are:
Hope
Charity
Faith
According to Aquinas, to lack any of these virtues is to lack the ability to make a moral choice. For example, consider a man who possesses the virtues of justice, prudence, and fortitude, yet lacks temperance. Due to his lack of self control and desire for pleasure, despite his good intentions, he will find himself swaying from the moral path.
Human Freedom is an idealistic concept that asserts a basic right of living humans to be that of individual liberty. This notion was largely absent from ancient forms of government (e.g. kingdoms and oligarchy) up to the time of the American Revolution.
Statesmen like Patrick Henry (of the famous quote: "Give me liberty or give me death") live on through their famously fiery rhetoric as codified in the Constitution of the United Sates of America which purports to guarantee personal freedoms such as the right to freedom of speech, freedom of or from religion, and a free press. The question of whether or not this is an achievable goal, is open to debate.
Definition
The definition of human freedom varies in every culture and political ideology.
There is no specific or unique idea that would encompass all the possible variations that this concept may suffer and furthermore, we do not have the right to say which of these definitions is more correct.
As Gearts expresses, communities need ideologies to support each other and be able to develop. By imagining a line where we could draw conclusions on these theories based on the spectrum of the comparisons, it is possible to see the variations of these theories and the extent to which they allow for true human freedom.
By comparing and contrasting from Communism, Socialism, Conservatism, Fascism, and Nazism, we come to know that each of these systems gives to the achievement of self actualization by the societies which they represent.
First of all, the political and economic theory of socialism advocates that land, natural resources and industries should be owned by the community as a whole and not by individual, private groups.
The best way to carry on with this ideology is through the application of a communist social system where all property including the aforementioned benefits, would be owned equally by all members of society and they will all work for the common benefit.
In these systems individualism is not seen as a value, instead, it is an opposing force to communism in pro of capitalism. In people’s democracies as well as in social democracies, economic equality and equal distribution can most successfully be achieved by the implementation of a communist State.
For as long as the State remains powerful and the goals of the community are being equally satisfied through the global objective of self actualization, then the system can be considered as successful at guaranteeing human freedom.
As an opposing force to capitalism and instead of promoting the individual freedoms of a person, communism and socialism promote the importance of working together as a community in the achievement of the mutual goals.
After all, if the goals are mutual, why not work together in achieving them and saving energy in the effort?
Even though these systems seem to put limits on the capabilities approach of each person simply because being considered as an element of the community and not as an individual, it can be seen how the theory of working together for common, basic goals seems to be fair and justified.
The contrasting characteristic of these theories can be best explained by the idea of J.S. Mill who explains that the rule of ignorant masses can give too much power to unprepared individuals who would use tyranny and dictatorships as the only manner to keep control.
Furthermore, putting limits on a person’s self-development opportunities goes against the universal declaration of human rights, this is why there are other systems that offer opposing views and put more emphasis on the superior individual work of a single race.
This is the case of the importance of human freedoms in Nazism and Fascism. Nazism refers to a socialist based party who takes this economic and political theory to the extent of controlling not only where the community should focus its efforts in the sake of society’s goals, but also believes in the superiority of a single race that is naturally entitled to the enjoyment of these benefits.
As well as fascism, extreme right movements are more prone to conserving the background characteristics that culturally define each of our societies.
According to John Locke, humans will always make decisions that will give them the most advantageous position over others and this is a reason for Nazism and Fascism to encourage the creation of a single master race where the mindsets and morals of all are equally shared.
Each society has its own norms, beliefs and values with its own common and individual goals. This explains why, under these two ideologies there is no space for other cultures that would try to put themselves in more advantageous positions as the one that inherently deserves the occupied territory.
Jewish people for example, were seen as a culture illegally occupying European areas in order to make a profit and take advantage of the locals.
This therefore leads, through the power of the masses and the coming to power of ignorant leaders such as Benito Mussolini and Adolph Hitler (J.S. Mill), to an unsustainable and senseless political system which little by little takes away more individual freedoms from the community in order to keep tyrannical power.
There can not be individual freedoms in a society that believes in elitism, anti-liberal individualism, survival of a master race and other forms of social Darwinism.
In these communities, only those who are part of the so called "master race" are capable of enjoying freedom at the expense of the suffering of others.
Even though we can not blame Nazism and Fascism for the results of the genocidal politics of its known leaders during World War II, we can generalize that if the success and enjoyment of some is based on the suffering and destruction of others, this form of government is not placing much importance on the individual freedoms of most people.
Another political system that can be compared and contrasted with the theories of communism and socialism is expressed in those systems that support conservatism such as the United States.
As mentioned above, communism believes that, as an alternative to capitalism, the working together of the community will lead to the achievement of common goals in the most efficient manner. In conservatism, the ideal of capitalism is essential for the success of these societies, thus the differences between these two theories will consist on the importance that they place on the role of the individual vs. the community.
The public and private spheres of communism and socialism are characterized by high government control and the little opportunity to make individual decisions.
On the other hand, public and private spheres of societies with a more conservative tradition keep government well separated from the decision making process of the individual, specially at the private sphere level.
Capitalist theories of conservatism express that individual freedom leads to competition among members of society and this is the best way to keep people in constant struggle for self actualization.
When people are forced to be individualistic in order to achieve individual goals, be more successful and more valuable as a member of society, they are not living a very important part of life.
On the other hand, the socialist theories that do not allow people to become self actualized at their own pace but instead, become one more piece of the keyboard equally valuable as anyone else, is not allowing for freedom either.
Socialization as different from socialism is the ability to share, understand and mutually engage as a member of a community. As Michael Walzer expressed, communal society encourages equality and justice.
Having a multi-cultural perspective allows for continuous development of societies. Thus, one can believe (conclude) that the importance of human freedom relies on the capabilities of a person to understand other cultures, ideologies and political systems with the highest amount of cultural sensitivity. Encouraging a society where the mutual basic goals can be guaranteed through the communal effort gives equal opportunities to all members of society to do all that is necessary to continuously achieve self actualization.
The democratic ideal will come naturally as a result of the ability of each person to govern oneself as an authentic and unique human being.
The most important anecdote that we can learn is that none of the social, political and economic systems can be forced upon the will of any society. As seen in Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, we can not say that capitalism is bad and socialism is good. In order to reach socialism Marx declared that a capitalist society has to create the proper environment for a revolution to take place.
The unique characteristics of all human beings make civilizations different from each other; therefore the natural course of action that a political system suffers is in constant adaptation to the changing values of a society.
For as long as we have the power to feel free to express our thoughts in regards to the social setting of our society and furthermore promote options for change without feeling oppressed by the system in control, then we could say we have achieved human freedom.
Christian Motif
The relationship of violence and Christianity is controversial.1 When asked whether Christianity supports violence and is a violent religion, one can answer "Of course -- look at the crusades, the multiple blessings of wars, warrior popes, support for capital punishment, corporal punishment under the guise of 'spare the rod and spoil the child,' justifications of slavery, world-wide colonialism in the name of conversion to Christianity, the systemic violence of women subjected to men, and more". Or one can respond, "Of course not -- look at Jesus, the beginning point of Christian faith, who is worshiped as 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace' (Isa. 9:6); whose Sermon on the Mount taught nonviolence and love of enemies; who faced his accusers nonviolently and then died a nonviolent death; whose nonviolent teaching inspired the first centuries of pacifist Christian history and was subsequently preserved in the justifiable war doctrine that declares all war as sin even when declaring it occasionally a necessary evil, and in the prohibition of fighting by monastics and clergy as well as in a persistent tradition of Christian pacifism". But these answers are apparently contradictory. Does one of them trump the other? Or might there be yet another answer?
Let us analysis the relationship between violence and Christianity by examining aspects of Christian theology. Specifically, by examining violence and assumptions of violence in the classic formulations of the central Christian doctrines of atonement and Christology. Here we use broad definitions of the terms "violence" and "nonviolence." "Violence" means harm or damage, which obviously includes the direct violence of killing -- in war, capital punishment, murder -- but also covers the range of forms of systemic violence such as poverty, racism, and sexism. "Nonviolence" also covers a spectrum of attitudes and actions, from the classic Mennonite idea of passive nonresistance through active nonviolence and nonviolent resistance that would include various kinds of social action, confrontations and posing of alternatives that do not do bodily harm or injury.
Atonement Motifs
The standard account of the history of doctrine lists three families of atonement theories or images. The first round of observations about the violent elements of these atonement images will emerge from the description of their development and their historical relationship to each other.
Christus Victor, the predominant image of the early church, existed in two forms, each of which involved the three elements of God, the devil or Satan, and sinful humankind. In the ransom version of Christus Victor, the devil held the souls of humankind captive. In a seemingly contractual agreement, God handed Jesus over to Satan as a ransom payment to secure the release of captive souls. The devil killed Jesus, in an apparent victory for the forces of evil. The devil is deceived, however. In raising Jesus from the dead, God triumphed over the devil, and the souls of humanity were freed from his clutches. This victory through resurrection provides the name Christus Victor or Christ the Victor.
A second version of Christus Victor pictured the conflict between Satan and God as a cosmic battle. In this struggle, God's son was killed, but the resurrection then constituted the victory of God over the forces of evil, and definitively identified God as the ruler of the universe. This cosmic battle imagery constitutes another Christus Victor atonement image.
Satisfaction atonement has been the predominant atonement image of the present time as well as for much of the past millennium. It suffices for present purposes to sketch two versions of satisfaction atonement. One reflects the view of Anselm of Canterbury. In 1098 he published Cur Deus Homo, which constitutes the first full articulation of satisfaction atonement. Anselm wrote that Jesus' death was necessary in order to satisfy the offended honor of God. Human sin had offended God's honor and thus had upset divine order in the universe. The death of Jesus as the God-man was then necessary in order to satisfy God's honor and restore the order of the universe.
A change in this image of satisfaction occurred with the Protestant Reformers. For them, Jesus' death satisfied the divine law's requirement that sin be punished. Thus with his death, Jesus submitted to and bore the punishment that was really due to us -- humankind -- as sinners. Jesus was punished in our place. Jesus substituted himself for us, and died a penal substitutionary death.
The third atonement image is moral influence. In this image, the death of Jesus is a loving act of God aimed toward us. God the Father shows love to us sinners by giving us his most precious possession, his Son, to die for us.
Deleting the Devil from Atonement
These theories did not develop as isolated entities. Each emerged as a response to a previous one. In the first book of Cur Deus Homo, Anselm specifically rejected the idea that Jesus' death was a ransom payment to the devil. Satan has no contractual rights that would obligate God to make such a payment. And even though humankind deserves punishment, Satan has no right to inflict that punishment. These considerations make it unworthy of God to deal with Satan via a ransom. Thus Anselm deleted the devil from the salvation equation.2 Rather than seeing human beings as captive to the devil, Anselm made them directly responsible to God. Humans sinned against God; sin offended the honor of God, and thus threatened order in the universe. The death of Jesus served to restore God's honor and thus restore order in the universe.
Abelard's school followed Anselm in rejecting the idea of Jesus' death as a ransom payment to the devil. But Abelard also rejected the idea of Jesus' death as a payment to God. It made God seem vengeful and judgmental. Instead, Abelard saw the death of Jesus aimed not at God but at sinful humankind. It was a loving act of God designed to get the attention of sinners, and reveal the love of God for sinners while they were yet sinners. Its impact on the psychological or moral character of humankind identifies this view as the moral influence theory of atonement.
Thus historical relationships exist among these atonement theories. Anselm's satisfaction motif succeeded ransom, and was subsequently modified by majority Protestantism. Abelard's moral theory posed an alternative to Anselm's satisfaction theory while retaining Anselm's critique of the ransom motif.
Each of these images attempts to explain why "Jesus died for us." But recalling the object or "target" of the death of Jesus makes clear that these images suggest entirely different approaches to understanding the death of Jesus. For ransom and cosmic battle motifs the death of Jesus has the devil as its object. For Anselm, it is aimed at God's honor, while for penal substitution, the object is God's law. Finally, for moral influence, the death of Jesus targets "us," sinful humankind, as its objects.
Retribution in Atonement
The first round of analysis worked on implications drawn from Anselm's deletion of the devil from the atonement equation. This section follows a quite different route to similar conclusions.
The various versions of satisfaction atonement function with the assumption that doing justice or righting wrongs depends on retribution. Sin creates imbalance. Satisfaction atonement assumes that the imbalance is righted or balanced by the punishment of death.
One contemporary version and one historic version of this assumption make clear its presence in satisfaction atonement. The criminal justice system of the United States operates on the principle of retribution. This system operates under the assumption that doing justice means to inflict punishment, which is understood as violence. The assumption is that small crimes require small penalties, while a big crime requires a big penalty. The biggest punishment, namely death, is reserved for the most heinous crimes. The assumption that doing justice is equated with punishment appears in the public disapproval when what is perceived as a big misdeed receives only a "wrist tap" as punishment. With an apparent imbalance between deed and punishment, it seems that justice was not done. The assumption of retributive justice -- that doing justice means meting out punishment -- is virtually universal among North Americans and throughout much of the world.3
The assumption that doing justice means to punish underlies satisfaction atonement, and in particular the image of penal substitutionary atonement. This image assumes the necessity of punishment, with innocent Jesus punished in our place. As our substitute, Jesus bore the punishment we deserve.
The motif of Jesus as the substitute object of punishment, which assumes the principle of retribution, is the particular image that feminists and womanists have found very offensive. It portrays God as the chief exacter of retribution. God punishes -- abuses -- one of God's children for the sake of the others. And the Jesus of this motif models passive submission to innocent and unjust suffering for the sake of others.
The contemporary assumption of retributive justice has a medieval counterpart in the feudal system. Let us follow R. W Southern's description of the feudal system and how Anseim's image reflects his feudal world view. The feudal world was hierarchical. A lord at the top held the hierarchy together. Stability of the system depended on maintaining the honor of the lord at the top of the hierarchy. An offense against the lord's honor incurred a debt that threatened his authority and thus the stability of the system. In order to restore honor and stability, the debt had to be repaid. Inability to collect the debt challenged the honor and authority of the lord.
A modern equivalent might be a teacher who is sassed by her student. Her authority as teacher is threatened if she cannot enact punishment on the disrespectful student. The object of dealing with the student is not punishment per se. It is rather that some kind of compensation for the offense is necessary in order to maintain the integrity and stability of the teacher's authority in her classroom. Or perhaps the perceived sense that stability of the social system demands retribution is like a governor who refuses to pardon an inmate on death row. In the governor's perception, pardoning a death-row inmate would threaten the integrity of the criminal justice system. If one who has violated the law is pardoned, it appears that the system itself is threatened. Again here, one sees punishment as the means to maintain the integrity and stability of the system.
It is not difficult to see that Anselm's image of the atoning death of Jesus reflects the feudal world view. Human sin has brought imbalance and disharmony into the universe. The restoration of harmony, order and balance requires a payment to satisfy the offended honor of God. Anselm understood Jesus' death as the debt payment that satisfied the honor of God, and thus restored balance and order in the universe. The logic of satisfaction atonement can be understood with all the feudal imagery removed from Anselm's argument. As was previously noted, for example, the modern criminal justice system constitutes an arena that assumes and models retribution. There is thus no need to dispute Southern's conclusion that feudal society supplies the motif that Anselm elevated to an ultimate image of the way that God maintains order in the universe. Maintaining order in the universe depends on maintaining the honor of God, which necessitates a debt payment -- the death of Jesus -- to cover the offense to God's honor that was enacted by human sin.
Although Anseim's understanding of satisfaction atonement differs significantly from penal substitutionary atonement, each assumes some form of the idea of retribution. Whereas penal substitution pictures retribution in terms of punishment exacted by divine law, for Anselm it was the offended honor of God that required retribution in the form of the payment of death.
Anseim's satisfaction atonement clearly differs from the penal substitutionary image, in which God punishes Jesus as a substitute for punishing sinful humankind. One recent strategy for defending satisfaction atonement makes a great deal of this difference. The first point of this defense is to acknowledge that feminists and womanists are correct that the images of God and Jesus in penal substitutionary atonement are unhealthy for persons in abusive and oppressive conditions, namely a Father God who punishes an innocent Son, and a Jesus who passively submits to his Father's abuse. The second point is to claim that the image of penal substitution is not true satisfaction atonement as articulated by Anselm. Thus, the would-be defender of satisfaction atonement blames early Protestant reformers for the unhealthy images, and appeals for the true satisfaction motif to the medieval Anselm, where we do not have an angry God who punishes, but rather an image concerned with a defense of God's honor. This God seems not so concerned about Godself as about addressing the disorder and disharmony in the universe produced by human sin. In this view, the argument goes, the death of Jesus is not about having Jesus bear punishment actually merited by human beings, but about restoring order and harmony in the universe.
While clear differences do distinguish these two versions of satisfaction atonement, appealing to Anselm does not absolve satisfaction atonement of its inherent violence. To illustrate that point, visualize atonement in terms of a debt payment to God's honor, and consider again the questions posed earlier.
The above analysis has demonstrated the extent to which presuppositions of violence and overt violence are inherently a part of classic Christian theology. We have also observed that the abstract and ahistorical character of the classic formulas of atonement and Christology mean that they do not challenge injustice in the social order. This combination of intrinsically violent elements and lack of challenge to injustice in the social order mean that it has been possible throughout much of Christian history for Christians to profess allegiance to Jesus and to claim salvation as depicted in classic Christology and atonement, while simultaneously pursuing the violence prohibited by Jesus' teaching and life.
If Christians are uncomfortable with Christianity as a violent religion, the first step is to recognize the extent to which formulas of classic theology have contributed to violence both overt and systemic. The analysis provided data for that acknowledgement. The second step away from Christianity as a violent religion would be to construct theology that specifically reflects the nonviolence of its namesake, Jesus Christ. As a suggestion in that direction, we offer narrative Christus Victor as both nonviolent atonement and narrative Christology. Finally, step three would be to live out the theology of its nonviolent namesake. That commitment is a call to every Christian.
Concept of Freedom
Freedom is the ability to act without restraint. In the context of internal control, freedom is also known as self-determination, individual sovereignty, or autonomy.
The protection of interpersonal freedoms can be the object of a social and political investigation, while the metaphysical foundation of inner freedom is a philosophical and psychological question. Both forms of freedom come together in each individual as the internal and external values mesh together in a dynamic compromise and power struggle; the society fighting for power in defining the values of individuals and the individual fighting for societal acceptance and respect in establishing one's own values in it.
Spiritually, freedom encompasses the peaceful acceptance of reality. The theological question of freedom generally focuses on reconciling the experience or reality of inner freedom with the omnipotence of the divine.
In philosophy
An absence of restraint: It means unwilling to subjugate, lacking submission, or without forceful inequality. The achievement of this form of freedom depends upon a combination of the resist of the individual (or group) and one's (their) environment; if one is in jail or even limited by a lack of resources, this person is free within their power and environment, but not free to defy reality. Natural laws restrict this form of freedom; for instance, no one is free to fly (though we may or may not be free to attempt to do so). Isaiah Berlin appears to call this kind of freedom "negative freedom" - an absence of obstacles put in the way of my action (especially by other people). He distinguishes this from "positive freedom", which refers to my power to make choices leading to action.
Freedom has often been used a rallying cry for revolution or rebellion. For instance, the Bible records the story of Moses leading his people out of slavery, and into freedom. In his famous "I Have a Dream" speech Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted an old spiritual song sung by black American slaves: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty we are free at last!"
Inner autonomy
Freedom can also signify inner autonomy, or mastery over one's inner condition. This has several possible significances:
● the ability to act in accordance with the dictates of reason;
● the ability to act in accordance with one's own true self or values;
● the ability to act in accordance with universal values (such as the True and the Good); and
● the ability to act independently of both the dictates of reason and the urges of desires, i.e. arbitrarily (autonomously).
In a play by Hans Sachs, the Greek philosopher Diogenes speaks to Alexander the Great, saying: You are my servants' servant. The philosopher has conquered fear, lust, and anger; Alexander still serves these masters. Though he has conquered the world without, he has not yet mastered the world within. This kind of mastery is dependent upon no one and nothing other than ourselves. Richard Lovelace’s poem echoes this experience:
Stone walls do not a prison make
Nor iron bars a cage
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage
Notable 20th century individuals who have exemplified this form of freedom include Nelson Mandela, Rabbi Leo Baeck, Gandhi, Lech Walesa and Vaclav Havel.
The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau asserted that the condition of freedom was inherent to humanity, an inevitable facet of the possession of a soul and sapience, with the implication that all social interactions subsequent to birth imply a loss of freedom, voluntarily or involuntarily.
Overview
Steiner describes how from two sides of our existence, our experience works to make us unfree. We can easily recognize that our natural being, that part of us we share with the animal world - our drives and desires, our prejudices and habits - tends to determine our deeds and soul life from one side. Just as constraining, however, are the dictates of conscience and abstract ethical or moral principles. Freedom, he says, is only possible because these various constraining factors work in contradictory directions. Between the impulses of our two natures, neither of which is individualized, we find the freedom to choose how to think and act. By overcoming the dictates of both our 'lower' and 'higher' sources of experience, we become true and free individuals.
At least since Kant’s time, most western philosophy has recognized that dualism is innate to human consciousness. This dualism arises because we perceive the outer nature of the world and its inner nature in radically separated ways. Our sensory perceptions inform us about the outer appearance of the world, while our thought life penetrates its inner nature. This division is particular to and defines human experience. Steiner suggests that we actually have the capacity to overcome the dualism of experience by reuniting perception and thought.
By both perceiving and thinking through a subject, and then bringing our perceptions and conceptions of this subject into harmony, we establish a unified relationship to the world. This relationship is also a free one, as out of it we can act without being determined by one or the other side of our dualistic experience.
It is notable that Steiner expressly includes our subjective, inner life as one of the realms we perceive dualistically, and thus in which we are initially unfree. Our inner subjectivity is thus as much in need of our overcoming its essential duality and unfree nature, as our experience of the objective outer world is.
He proposes that once we have brought the two sides of our experience into harmony, we need to forge a new synthesis of these at every moment in a situationally-appropriate, free deed. Steiner coins the term moral imagination for this act of creative synthesis. He says we only succeed in achieving freedom when we find a moral imagination, an ethically impelled but particularized response to the immediacy of a given situation. This response will always be individual; it cannot be predicted or prescribed. This radical moral individualism is characteristic of freedom.
Exercising freedom
Steiner begins the second section of this work by emphasizing the role of self-awareness, of the awakening of the ego, in objective thinking. Here he modifies the usual description of inner and outer experience by pointing out that our feelings, for example, are given to us as naively as outer perceptions. Both of these, feelings and perceptions, tell about objects we are interested in: the one about ourselves, the other about the world. Both require the help of thinking to penetrate the reasons why they arise, to comprehend their inner message. The same is true of our will. Whereas our feelings tell how the world affects us, our will tells how we would affect the world. Neither attains to true objectivity, for both mix together the world's existence and our inner life in an unclear way. He emphasizes that we experience our feelings and will - and our perceptions as well - as being more essentially part of us than our thinking; the former are more basic, more natural. He celebrates this gift of natural, direct experience, but points out that this experience is still dualistic in the sense that it only encompasses one side of the world.
This all is by way of introduction and recapitulation. Steiner then introduces the principle that we can act out of the compulsions of our natural being (reflexes, drives, desires) or out of the compulsion of ethical principles, and that neither of these leaves me free. Between them, however, is an individual insight, a situational ethic, that arises neither from abstract principles nor from my bodily impulses. A deed that arises in this way can be said to be truly free; it is also both unpredictable and wholly individual. Here Steiner articulates his fundamental maxim of social life:
Live through deeds of love, and let others live with understanding for each person's unique intentions.
Here he reconnects with Schiller's polar view of the influences on human nature, stating that morality transcends both the determining factors of bodily influences and those of convention:
A moral misunderstanding, a clash, is out of the question between people who are morally free. Only one who is morally unfree, who obeys bodily instincts or conventional demands of duty, turns away from a fellow human being if the latter does not obey the same instincts and demands as himself.
Morality is completely situational and individual; true morality depends upon our achieving freedom from both our inner drives and outer pressures. In order to achieve such free deeds, we must cultivate our moral imagination, our ability to imaginatively create ethically sound and practical solutions to new situations, in fact, to forge our own ethical principles and to transform these flexibly as needed - not in the service of our own egotistical purposes, but in the face of new demands and situations.
Steiner concludes the whole presentation by pointing out that in order to achieve this level of freedom, we must lift ourselves out of our group-existence: out of the prejudices we receive from our family, nation, ethnic group and religion, out of all that we inherit from the past that limits our creative and imaginative freedom to meet the world directly. Only when we realize our potential to be a unique individual are we free. Again, it lies in our freedom to achieve freedom; only when we actively strive towards freedom do we have some chance of attaining it.
Process of Moral Reasoning
Lawrence Kohlberg, a psychologist who devoted twenty years to the study of
moral development, has stated that there is a three level, six stage process of
maturation in the development of moral reasoning. He holds that everyone begins
at Level one, Stage one, but that very few people ever develop beyond stage four.
Following is a concise and over-simplified summary of Kohlberg's stages and their
concomitant effect on values and motives.
Level One
Determination of whether something is good or bad, or right or wrong is made in terms of whether the consequences will be pleasant or unpleasant, or in terms of the physical power of those who might punish or reward. Pleasantness is directly related to punishment, rewards, exchanges of favors, etc. The person sees things from his/her own point of view and is primarily motivated by self-interest. Example: Childhood perception.
Stage One -- Punishment and obedience. An action that results in physical punishment is bad, one that does not result in physical punishment is good. Power and punishment avoidance are valued in their own right. Very little, if any, realization that others have similar needs. Example: Oral stage (0-1 year)of socialization process. Here child is ignorant about the social system; the sub-system of child and mother is a system for him/her.
Stage Two -- Personal usefulness. An action that satisfies one’s own needs, and occasionally the needs of others, is a morally good action. Human relations consist of exchanging favors or revenge. Satisfying the needs of others is a means of getting what a person wants. Example: Anal stage (1-4)of socialization process. Here child gets toilet training, in-between he/she intermingles with the family members, through smiles for favor.
Level Two
A person’s own immediate needs are subordinate to group needs. Support of family, group, or nation is a value independent of the individual. Group order and stability are actively maintained. Loyalty to the group and its norms is of paramount importance. Actions are good or bad depending on whether they conform to the rules and expectations of the group. Situations are seen from the point of view of the group and everyone is assumed to be similar. Example: Peer Group.
Stage Three -- Group conformity. Doing that which gets approval, or avoids disapproval, of family, friends and close associates. What is right or wrong is determined by the will of the majority--constitutes “natural” behavior. Motivation to do right is to be seen as a good person, or a nice person, in your own eyes and the eyes of others. Example: Oedipal and Adolescence Stage. At this stage child is inculcated with norms and values of the group or system. He/she is expected to behave according to normative pattern and is rewarded of it.
Stage Four -- Law and Order. Rules are obeyed because they are the rules. People are part of a larger social system in which individual roles and obligations are defined. Norms generated by that social system are separated from personal and immediate social group norms. The larger social order is superior to groups and respect is given to authority. The social order is maintained as valuable for its own sake. National loyalty is primary. Rules define right and wrong. Example: Adulthood. When an individual becomes member of the real world.
Level Three
There is an attempt here to determine right and wrong in terms of some universal or general set of values and principles. Values and norms of social groups, large or small, are not accepted if they cannot be justified by universal moral principles. Values and principles are not morally justifiable just because they emanate from authority, power or a group with which one identifies. Moral principles are self-identified principles which can be applied universally. Position in a given society, or belonging to a particular society, do not determine moral values. They are values which a person would be willing to accept and abide by no matter what society they belonged to or their status in that society. The key is to be able to justify those moral principles to any rational person. Example: Scientific Approach. The highest moral principles should be based on rational thinking and universality. Intuition must be justified by a logical process. Basic assumptions must be stated and they must be critically analyzed.
Stage Five -- Social contract, “natural law.” Right and wrong are defined by a set of general values that society has agreed upon by the democratic process. These values are general and theoretical such as freedom, justice, equality, fairness, mercy, etc. Beyond those concepts and values, right and wrong are matters of personal values and opinion. To be valid those moral
principles which are outside the democratic consensus must be justifiable to any rational individual. In this stage individuals attempt to solve moral issues by passing laws, however, laws are not sacrosanct at this stage. They are subject to challenge if they violate more general humane principles. Example: Rational Approach. Democracy, freedom of speech, thoughts and religion are universal values. Child abuse or human trafficking etc. is considered social evils.
Stage Six – Personal conscience and universality. The guiding moral principles are general and apply to everyone everywhere no matter what the social status or the society in which they live. These principles are consistent, universal and logically comprehensive. These are not concrete statements of moral rules such as the ten commandments, but are abstract concepts such as the golden rule. These moral principles are the basis for evaluating all moral rules and arrangements, even those arising out of the Ethical Process, democratic consensus. Morals are a matter of personal conscience, where personal conscience is guided by the general moral principles. Example: Superego. The Superego is that part of the personality that operates as the conscience, aiming for perfection, controlling the function of the Ego by placing moral constraints on it. Such as denying homosexuality or illegal sex act.
The stages are sequential and an individual develops and proceeds through each stage before moving to the next. No stages are jumped. It is, however, not a certainty that an individual will pass to the next stage. As stated earlier, Kohlberg holds that most Americans never develop beyond stages 3 or 4. Most of us can name adults who we are convinced have not developed beyond stage 1.
Theory of Natural Law
Natural law theory is one of the most important theories in the philosophy of Classical Realism. The concept of natural law has taken several forms. The idea began with the ancient Greeks' conception of a universe governed in every particular by an eternal, immutable law and in their distinction between what is just by nature and just by convention. Stoicism provided the most complete classical formulation of natural law. The Stoics argued that the universe is governed by reason, or rational principle; they further argued that all humans have reason within them and can therefore know and obey its law. Because human beings have the faculty of choice (a free will), they will not necessarily obey the law; if they act in accordance with reason, however, they will be "following nature."
Christian philosophers readily adapted Stoic natural law theory, identifying natural law with the law of God. For Thomas Aquinas, natural law is that part of the eternal law of God ("the reason of divine wisdom") which is knowable by human beings by means of their powers of reason. Human, or positive, law is the application of natural law to particular social circumstances. Like the Stoics, Aquinas believed that a positive law that violates natural law is not true law.
With the secularization of society resulting from the Renaissance and Reformation, natural law theory found a new basis in human reason. The 17th-century Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius believed that humans by nature are not only reasonable but social. Thus the rules that are "natural" to them -- those dictated by reason alone -- are those which enable them to live in harmony with one another. From this argument, by the way, Grotius developed the first comprehensive theory of international law.
Natural law theory eventually gave rise to a concept of "natural rights." John Locke argued that human beings in the state of nature are free and equal, yet insecure in their freedom. When they enter society they surrender only such rights as are necessary for their security and for the common good. Each individual retains fundamental prerogatives drawn from natural law relating to the integrity of person and property (natural rights). This natural rights theory provided a philosophical basis for both the American and French revolutions. Thomas Jefferson used the natural law theory to justify his trinity of "inalienable rights" which were stated in the United States Declaration of Independence.
During the 19th century natural law theory lost influence as utilitarianism and Benthamism, positivism, materialism, and the historical school of jurisprudence became dominant. In the 20th century, however, natural law theory has received new attention, partly in reaction to the rise of totalitarianism and an increased interest in human rights throughout the world. With this contemporary interest in mind, let's now turn to our attention to the natural law theory as understood by the tradition of Classical Realism.
What do we mean by "natural law"? In its simplest definition, natural law is that "unwritten law" that is more or less the same for everyone everywhere. To be more exact, natural law is the concept of a body of moral principles that is common to all humankind and, as generally posited, is recognizable by human reason alone. Natural law is therefore distinguished from -- and provides a standard for -- positive law, the formal legal enactments of a particular society.
Since law must always be some dictate of reason, natural law also will be some dictate of reason. In fact, it is law discovered by human reason. Our normal and natural grasp of the natural law is effected by reason, that is, by the thinking mind, and in this service reason is sometimes called "conscience." We, in all our human acts, inevitably see them in their relation to the natural law, and we mentally pronounce upon their agreement or disagreement with the natural law. Such a pronouncement may be called a "judgment of conscience." The "norm" of morality is the natural law as applied by conscience. Lastly, we can say that the natural law is the disposition of things as known by our human reason and to which we must conform ourselves if we are to realize our proper end or "good" as human beings.
To sum it up, then, we can say that the natural law:
is not made by human beings;
is based on the structure of reality itself;
is the same for all human beings and at all times;
is an unchanging rule or pattern which is there for human beings to discover;
is the naturally knowable moral law;
is a means by which human beings can rationally guide themselves to their good.
It is interesting to note that virtually everyone seems to have some knowledge of natural law even before such knowledge is codified and formalized. Even young children make an appeal to "fair play," demand that things be "fair and square," and older children and adults often apply the "golden rule." When doing so, they are spontaneously invoking the natural law. This is why many proponents of the natural law theory say it is the law which is "written upon the hearts of men."
Now, our reflection on our own conduct gives rise to the explicit formulation of the precepts of the natural law. We as human beings put our "commonsense" notions of natural law under "critical examination." In other words, our natural impulses toward "fair play," justice, and so on are subject to a rigorous investigation and rationalization. And our understanding of natural law becomes more precise as we consider and codify the principles or precepts of natural law. The primary precept of natural law will be the most basic principle about human action that can be formulated.
If we recall Classical Realism it would be clear that there is an absolutely first and indemonstrable principle in the speculative order of things. That is, there is an absolutely basic, self-evident truth of reality upon which we build our entire metaphysics which serves as the foundation for our view of the ultimate structure of reality. This is the Principle of Contradiction, from which we derive other basic principles such as Identity and Excluded Middle. Strictly speaking, the Principle of Contradiction cannot be "proved." It must be accepted as an absolute "intuitive" or self-evident truth, the truth of which is shown by an analysis of the terms of the Principle and the impossibility of thinking the opposite.
Natural law theory is of the "practical order" of things and the first principle of the practical order is a principle that directs human acts in all their operations, and it will be concerned with the "good," since we act in terms of what a least seems good to us. Therefore, the primary principle of the practical order -- the first precept of natural law -- is a formulation based upon the notion of the good and is stated in the following way: The "good" (according to reason) must be done, and evil (what is contrary to reason) must be avoided. The simplest statement of this precept is, of course, "Do good and avoid evil."
Although we rarely express the precept of "Do good and avoid evil" explicitly (just as we rarely state the Principle of Contradiction explicitly in daily life), nevertheless we always act in terms of such a precept. This fact points to the fundamental truth of such a precept, and indicates how it expresses something "natural" to human beings. A human being naturally inclines to seek what appears good to reason, and naturally shrinks from what appears to be evil. Hence, the justification of speaking of this basic moral law as "natural" law.
Upon further reflection, we can distinguish, within natural law, primary and secondary precepts. The primary precepts will correspond to the order of natural inclinations in human beings. The most fundamental inclination of all, "Do good and avoid evil," will give rise to other primary precepts such as the natural inclination to self-preservation, to live in society, to avoid harm to others, and to know truths about the reality we live in and our own human nature. These primary precepts are unchangeable to the extent they concern the primary ends of the natural inclinations inherent in all human beings.
The primary precepts are very general in their formulation. The secondary precepts, on the other hand, are more particular or specific and are concerned with things to which we are not inclined so immediately. Among these are such precepts as those regarding the education of children, and the stability of family life, and the demands of hospitality. On the negative side, we also have secondary precepts regarding the neglect of children, deliberate injury to others, and so on.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Natural Law Theory
Strengths:
It allows you to have a clear sense of what is right and wrong, based on your religious and spiritual beliefs. Hence, things that are “unnatural” or “not what God intended” or “not in keeping with the way things are supposed to be” are wrong, and staying away from those kinds of decisions will likely keep you on the right path
Weaknesses:
Organized religion that defines “natural law” is sometimes in conflict with scientific or cultural progressions affecting morality. Science has cast doubt on a divine order to the universe that we simply need to follow for proper behavior. For example, the Catholic Church would say that birth control is against the natural law. However, culturally most people believe in having fewer children than nature would bring, and scientifically, we know that certain contraceptives help prevent disease, which is something that we also wish to support culturally but may be in conflict with “natural law.”
Religion often provides conflicting advice on morality, so that moral guidance is unclear. Morality is independent of religion according to the perspective that houses philosophy and moral theory. For example, there are conflicting views in the Bible about the same issue, such as how to treat your wife. Or, you may require a person to interpret what the book says – which leaves you further removed from moral authority.
The obvious conclusion here is that our knowledge of natural law, is incomplete, and probably will always be incomplete. Values of the Wise believes that you have the capacity to be a good person, to decide what your values are and how to live them. We, as civilized and rational human beings, will always be involved in a "critical examination" of our actions in the practical order. Out of this reflection will come new and refined "truths" regarding ethics and moral philosophy.
Natural law related to a Christian understanding “conscience”
Christian natural law
Despite pagan associations with natural law theory, a number (though not all) of the early Church Fathers sought to incorporate it into Christianity (the suspect devotion of the Stoics to pagan worship no doubt aided in this adoption). This was true in the West more so than in the East. The most notable among these was Augustine of Hippo, who equated natural law with man's prelapsarian state; as such, a life according to nature was no longer possible and men needed instead to seek salvation through the divine law and grace. In the Twelfth Century, Gratian reversed this, equating the natural and divine laws.
Thomas Aquinas restored Natural Law to its independent state, asserting that, as the perfection of human reason, it could approach but not fully comprehend the Eternal law and needed to be supplemented by Divine law.
All human laws were to be judged by their conformity to the natural law. An unjust law was in a sense no law at all. At this point, the natural law was not only used to pass judgment on the moral worth of various laws, but also to determine what the law said in the first place. This could result in some tension.
The natural law was inherently teleological in that it aimed at human happiness. Its content was therefore determined by a conception of what things constituted happiness, be they temporal satisfaction or salvation. The state, in being bound by the natural law, was conceived as an institution directed at bringing its subjects to true happiness.
Conscience in Catholic theology
Conscience, in Catholic theology, is "a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1778). Catholics are called to examine their conscience before confession.
Obedience to conscience has been claimed by many dissenters as a God-given right, from Martin Luther, who said (or reputedly said), "Here I stand, I can do no other," to progressive Catholics who disagree with certain doctrines or dogmas. The Church eventually agreed, saying, "Man has the right to act according to his conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters". In certain situations involving individual personal decisions that are incompatible with church law, some pastors rely on the use of the internal forum solution.
However, the Catholic Church has warned that "rejection of the Church's authority and her teaching...can be at the source of errors in judgment in moral conduct".
Conscience in Protestant theology
The Reformation began with Luther’s crisis of conscience. And for many Protestants, following one's conscience can rank higher than obedience to church authorities or accepted interpretations of the Bible. One example of a Protestant theologian who caused his church to rethink the issue of conscience was William Robertson Smith of the Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900). Tried for heresy because of his use of modern methods of interpreting the Old Testament, he received only a token punishment. However the case contributed to a situation in which many Protestant denominations allow a wide variety of beliefs and practices to be held by their members in accordance with their conscience.
Contemporary Understanding
The Roman Catholic Church continues to hold the view of natural law set forth by Thomas Aquinas, particularly in his Summa Theologiae, and often as filtered through the School of Salamanca. This view is also shared by some Protestant churches.
They understand human beings to consist of body and mind, the physical and the non-physical (or soul perhaps), and that the two are inextricably linked. Humans are capable of discerning the difference between good and evil because they have a conscience. There are many manifestations of the good that we can pursue. Some, like procreation, are common to other animals, while others, like the pursuit of truth, are inclinations peculiar to the capacities of human beings.
To know what is right, one must use one's reason and apply it to Aquinas' precepts. The most important is the primary precept, self preservation. There are also four subsidiary precepts: procreation, education of children, living in society, and worshipping God (veneration). In addition to these, there are secondary precepts, which Aquinas did not specify like the other five. Therefore, for a deontological ethical theory they are open to a surprisingly large amount of interpretation and flexibility. Any rule that helps man to live up to the primary or subsidiary precepts can be a secondary precept, for example: Drunkenness is wrong because it injures one's health, and worse, destroys one's ability to reason, which is fundamental to man as a rational animal (i.e. does not support self preservation). Theft is wrong because it destroys social relations, and man is by nature a social animal (i.e. does not support the subsidiary precept of living in society).
Natural moral law is concerned with both exterior and interior acts, also know as action and motive. Simply doing the right thing is not enough; to be truly moral one's motive must be right as well. For example, helping an old lady across the road (good exterior act) to impress someone (bad interior act) is wrong. However, good intentions don’t always lead to good actions. The motive must coincide with Aquinas's cardinal or theological virtues. Cardinal virtues are acquired through reason applied to nature; they are:
Prudence
Justice
Fortitude
Temperance
His theological virtues are:
Hope
Charity
Faith
According to Aquinas, to lack any of these virtues is to lack the ability to make a moral choice. For example, consider a man who possesses the virtues of justice, prudence, and fortitude, yet lacks temperance. Due to his lack of self control and desire for pleasure, despite his good intentions, he will find himself swaying from the moral path.
UPSC EXAM INDIA : Tips : HOW TO READ A NEWSPAPER?
Introduction: The current Affairs are an important and interesting part in every one’s life. Starting from Gossiping about Film Industry to latest Political development, every one has some interest in it. Newspapers fulfills the basic requirement of the above needs.Starting from ordinary clerical examination to the to the top most Competitive exams like Civil Services, there are questions on Current Affairs. Normal Current Affairs questions are on PERSONALITIES, PLACES AND NEWS ANALYSIS. One has to follow at least one newspaper to keep abreast of National and International developments. But most of the students don’t know, how to read a newspaper or Read and memorize for their exams. The following write up gives an idea to follow the same for better understanding of Newspapers, which will further improve student’s approach towards newspaper reading.
“ALL THE BEST”
Newspaper reading is an art in itself. It is always advisable to get hooked on to newspaper reading very early in the school days. Before familiarizing yourself with reading a newspaper, it is advisable to get acquainted with the broad contours and some technical terms related to the newspaper.Front page: As the name indicates, is the first, or the front page of the newspaper. The top left hand and the right hand corners on the front page are known as the ‘Ear Panels’. The ‘Ear Panels’ contain advertisements in small boxes. The name of the newspaper, along with the date, place of publication and the ear panels are known as the ‘Masthead’.Lead Story: The lead story of the newspaper is the main, first, or the most prominent story on the front page. It is given in bold letters with big fonts and is the most important story of the day. ‘Banner headline’ - Often in the case of a major natural disaster, or death of a head of State or Government, a ‘banner headline’ is given. Banner headline means a headline spread across the top of the front page.Columns – Every newspaper and every page of a newspaper has eight columns – from left to right. That is, the first column on the left and the eight column on the right.Pages – The number of pages in a newspaper varies from one to another. Leading dailies have between 16-24 pages on weekdays and 32-48 pages on weekends.Supplements – Supplements are also known as magazines. These are separate from the main newspaper. Each day, newspapers have supplements, or magazines. These supplements cover special issues such as fashion, health, cuisine and other material for light reading over the weekend.Layout of the newspaper – This again varies from newspaper to newspaper. But in a standard format, the first page of the newspaper is known as Front page. A front page normally has five-six prominent news stories on issues of national and international importance. Pages second to fourth page are normally reserved for local news stories, though it depends upon each newspaper. If the newspaper is published from Delhi, the local pages would have news reports about Delhi (or any other city) if a newspaper is published from that city. Pages fifth to seventh contain news from various States. Pages eight and nine, are normally the most important pages of the newspaper. These two pages combined form the ‘heart and soul’ of the newspaper and are together known as ‘Centrespread’. These contain, most importantly, editorials (usually two in number), two edit page articles and Letters to the Editor. The page on the left is the ‘Editorial page’ and the one on the right is now known as the ‘Op-ed’ (Opinion-cum-editorial pages) and contains columns written by well-known commentators, analysts, opinion-makers and experts on a particular issue. The editorial page conveys the broad policy of the newspaper management – i.e whether the newspaper is pro-government, anti-government or neutral in the coverage of the news and views that it carries.Pages 10 and 11 are often reserved for international news. The next three-four pages are for news related to Business, stock market and share prices. After these, three-four pages are dedicated to coverage of various national and international sporting events. The last page is often kept for important national and international human-interest stories, that is, stories that would interest any reader. HOW TO READ A NEWSPAPER: Readers and reading are of two broad types: skimming (scanning) and reading. There are different styles of reading for different situations. The technique of reading depends on the purpose of reading. So first of all, you should have the purpose of reading very clear in your mind. For example, one might be reading for enjoyment, information, or to finish a task. If you are researching or reviewing, you might skim through a document. Reading speed depends on the purpose of reading. Skimming is usually done four-five times faster than normal reading. Many people consider skimming and scanning to be search techniques, rather than reading strategies. Skimming is usually resorted for quick identification of the main contents of any given material. Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headlines, sub-headings, summaries, searching for keywords. But while scanning, it is advisable to read the first sentence, for it gives a fair and a broad idea of the contents of that paragraph. Newspaper reading can be easily compared to long-distance running. You should start jogging in the beginning, let the muscles warm up and accelerate a little bit at the halfway mark and sprint only at the last lap of the race. It is thus, strongly advised that if you are a beginner at serious reading of a newspaper, do not skim, or scan to start with. Skimming requires trained movement of eyes from one word, sentence, or paragraph to another. This will come with sustained practice and one must increase the speed of reading gradually. Reading requires careful attention to every word and detail. However, anyone can increase the speed of reading while maintaining equal, or even higher comprehension. If you subscribe to a particular newspaper, slow reading in the beginning is a must to train the eyes for the type and size of the font. There are three factors which can help in enhancing reading speed: (1) willingness to improve, (2) keenness to try out new techniques and (3) motivation levels to practice reading regularly. With practice – and gradually, try to develop a wider and broader eye-span. This will help in reading more words and later on, even sentences, at one glance. Try to increase the eye-span from one sentence to two, then to three, four and then the whole paragraph. For, even physiologically, the movement of the eye is amongst the fastest movements of our body. Hence, it is of utmost importance to control eye movement while reading, for eyes have a peculiar habit of not being fixed at one place and the gaze just keeps shifting to see and visualize more and more.One major difficulty in reading, or even scanning, is that the eyesight, if not trained, has the habit of jumping and skipping words that are difficult to read, or not familiar to the eye. This leads to problems in reading and retention. Often one may misread, or misunderstand a word while reading fast. Thus it is all the more important to read slowly and at a comfortable pace and increase the speed only when the eyesight is properly trained. Certain write-ups like editorials, main stories of the day have to be read carefully. Skimming can be practiced in cases where one is reading for leisure on a weekend, or vacation and perfect it before applying to daily reading. One can of course, formulate own reading techniques for speed-reading with practice.Therefore, start reading by applying these techniques, for being a prospective mass communicator, you will be required to read/scan tonnes of material. However, one major must for reading is that you must not take it as a burden and have to enjoy the entire process. For, as they say – “Bon Chance” (Wish you all the best). CIVIL SERVICES PREPARATION: Civil Services preparation point of view is important in this place, when an aspirant reads a newspaper. If one goes through the previous years questions of Current Affairs, it will give broad idea about the pattern. Normally asked questions are about Personalities, Places, News of National and International importance. Bilateral issues relating to India and other Nations, Visit of Head of the States of other Countries, Visit of Indian President and Prime Minister to other Countries, Important agreements etc. One should concentrate on above items and avoid every day politics, gossip news, crime reports, unimportant corporate news, local issues etc. One should concentrate on the first page for Latest development, Edit page for Editorial and analysis, ‘Op-ed’ (Opinion-cum-editorial pages) for the views of commentators, analysts, opinion-makers on a particular issue.
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TIPS-
TIPS FOR WRITING AN ESSAY
§ One is required to write an essay for three hours duration. This length of duration is enough. There is no standard word limit for writing an essay.
§ Remember to divide an essay into three parts – (i) Introduction (ii) Main body and (iii) Conclusion.
§ The choice of topic on which the essay is to be written after careful thought. While selecting a topic, the knowledge base of the topic – i.e how much you know about the subject is of crucial importance. If you have data or statistics at your fingertips to back some statements, all the more better.
§ The introduction is of crucial importance. Remember – well begun is half done. This applies to an essay all the more. One could begin with a saying or a quotation. Quotations make the essay interesting to read.
§ If you cannot mentally arrange the points to be covered in the essay, jot down the points on a rough sheet of paper. Try to expand one point in its entirety in one paragraph and then move on to the next point. Do not keep returning back to one point after you have started another point. It makes the essay repetitive and boring to read. If possible, try to maintain a link between the points by a connecting sentence at the end of the paragraph covering a given point.
§ Keep your sentences short. Longer sentences not only lead to complex sentences, but also point to complexity in thought process. Use minimum number of conjunctions. Finish off a sentence as quickly as possible and start a new sentence.
§ In an essay, try to point out the problem areas and also suggest solutions to solve them.
§ Conclusion is as important as an introduction. It gives an insight into your analyzing powers. Try to give a brief overview in the form of a gist of the essay in the conclusion.
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TIPS FOR PERSONALITY TEST
Basics:
§ The interview is nowadays known as a Personality Test. The reason being that it is not a test of knowledge, but of the overall personality of the candidate/aspirant.
§ Interview is more of a psychological test that is just content-based. Along with good communicative skills and self-confidence, good knowledge base no doubt gives you an upper hand. However, it has to be borne in mind that nearly all the aspirants/candidates in the Personality Test start more or less as equals in the sphere of knowledge base.
§ The most important thing to know about an interview is that it is not always a question-answer session and that the Board members are looking for different aspects of one’s personality.
§ One is not expected to know everything under the sun. If you do not know the answer to a particular question, do not hesitate to say – I don’t know, Sir/Ma’m. However, even “I don’t know Sir/Ma’m” should be said confidently and with a reasonable amount of cheerfulness. Remember – your knowledge levels have been thoroughly checked during the earlier stages of the CSE – viz Prelims and Mains.
§ Always remember that the interview is not a cross examination, but a natural, purposeful conversation.
§ Personality is a life-long asset and a thing, which evolves and changes every day.
§ Preparation
§ Keep a photocopy of the form filled for the Mains examination handy. Most of the initial questions – viz the meaning of your name, educational background, professional experience, hobbies etc will be based on this form only. Try to prepare on your bio-data; roughly 70% questions are based on bio-data, 20% questions are based on your subject and 10% are based on current affairs.
§ Aspirants to CSE should take an intelligent interest not only in areas of their specialization, but also in what is happening around them – both within and outside the country.
§ Be well informed about your interests and hobbies as there will be a few questions probing your levels of knowledge as regards your hobbies and interests.
§ Prepare thoroughly about your hometown & home state. If you hail from a place of historical importance or tourist interest, prepare well on it.
§ Know yourself. Prepare brief answers to choice of your subjects, family background, meaning of your name. You should try to take the lead by answering questions based on your bio-data.
§ One of the secrets of success is to prepare for the Personality Test along with the written test.
§ If a person gives the impression of being a bookworm, the chances of his/her selection are reduced. The candidate must exhibit an all-round personality, which indicates that the aspirant possesses a complete personality. MOCK /PRACTICE
§ One should form a group of 4-5 people, as the preparation for Personality Test cannot be done in isolation. Try holding as many mock interviews as possible.
§ No training institute can develop/transform your personality in a few days. However, some of the tips may help in ironing out some weaknesses/grey areas and can provide an avenue for a well-planned preparation and group discussions.
§ Take mock interviews. In the mock interview, ask your friends to grill you so that you can face pressure from the Board easily.
§ Discuss a lot with your friends. This not only helps in you assimilating different points of view, but also enhances knowledge levels. DRESSING UP:
§ Dress sense is of crucial importance. The choice of dress should be according to the weather conditions. Try not to wear newly stitched clothes, as they might make you uneasy. Light colours should be preferred. White colour is a good choice.
§ Wear comfortable clothes. Men need to wear light coloured shirt and a dark trouser with a tie (if weather permits). Women appear best in a saree or salwar/kameez.
§ Pay attention to the details, ironed dress, polished shoes, hair accessories, trimmed nails etc. Polish your footwear meticulously. Use convenient footwear like black or brown leather shoes.
§ Women candidates should take care to avoid the hair falling over the face as it could annoy both – you and the interviewer.
§ Do not wear anything that connects you with a religious or political group.
§ Do not use heavy perfume/deodorants.
§ In case you have a running nose or have caught a cold, carry a handkerchief, or sufficient stock of tissue paper. Tissue paper is preferable.
§ Some candidates take medicine to relax on the previous night of the interview; this should be avoided as the effect of medicine may decrease your alertness during the interview.
§ What and how you eat is also important. Have a light meal on the day of the Personality Test. Do not go for the interview on an empty stomach. However, also avoid over-eating, or having a heavy meal.
§ First impression is often the best impression. So create a positive, good impression within the first few minutes of the interview. ENTRY:
§ Arrive 20-30 minutes early. Prepare a route map and arrive well in time. This will give you enough time to relax
§ While waiting for your turn in the waiting area, read a newspaper or a magazine and try to remain focused without thinking too much of what will happen in the interview. Try not to presuppose situations.
§ Do not get nervous when you are waiting for your turn for the Personality Test. When waiting for your turn, try relaxing with closed eyes and practice deep breathing. It really relaxes you. Do not try to pre-suppose situations in the Personality Test.
§ Take a final, deep breath before entering the boardroom.
§ Do not forget to knock at the door before entering, as it indicates basic courtesy.
§ On entering the room, greet all the members cordially and do not sit down on the seat without being asked to.
§ If there is a lady member in the interview board, greet her first.
§ Be conscious of your body language when you are seated.
§ Men should keep the feet flat on the floor during the interview, knees at waist level, and hands on your thighs and place your elbows on the armchair. Avoid locking hands.
§ Women, cross your ankles or legs, but keep the bottom leg straight down and do not swing it over the top leg and keep your elbows positioned on the arms of the chair.
§ When the Board members thank you at the end of the Personality test, do not forget to thank the members one last time and keep your body posture straight at the time of leaving the room.
§ Remember that interview is a two-way process.
§ Be cool. Be yourself during the Interview.
§ Your aim should be to make the board members feel comfortable in your presence.
§ Be truthful, transparent and Predictable.
§ The object of the interview is to assess the suitability of the aspirant/candidate for a career in public service.
§ Most of the questions posed in the Personality Test are opinion-based.
§ Don’t expect any expression on the faces of board members, even if your answer is very good. During Interview
§ In a personality test, what is of importance is how you say what you say. It is the style of presentation that matters.
§ Your personality is, on an average, assessed in 25-30 minutes, it is your responsibility to bring out your very best in front of the board.
§ Be attentive and listen to each question carefully. Try not to jump into an answer before the complete question has been posed as you will end up wasting time on answering a question that you were not actually asked. If you are not sure of what was asked, you can always politely seek a clarification.
§ Do not try to answer the question as soon as it is posed. Think over the question, take your time and organize the broad outline of the answer before airing it. Pause a while before answering, even if you know the answer.
§ At times, you will be given situations wherein you will be required to take a decision. In such situations, the board is testing your ability to comprehend issues and use reason and good judgment logically, precisely and arrive at a balanced decision.
§ Your replies should be crisp and to the point. Do not beat around the bush.
§ Maintain a gentle smile off and on during the Personality Test without overdoing it. It displays a sense of ease and confidence. Wherever possible use your sense of humour judiciously. General Do’s and Don’ts for the personality test:
§ The board members are usually very senior and learned people, so give utmost respect to the board.
§ Don’t go by any stories/rumours spread by others. Avoid unnecessary details.
§ Don’t ask the previous candidate about his/her interview.
§ The board has no biases towards anyone.
§ Never make any sweeping statements/generalized descriptions.
§ Accept your mistakes boldly.
§ Speak honestly, truthfully and modestly.
§ Do not give a hasty reply.
§ Answer in an orderly and logical fashion and always maintain eye contact with the Board members while answering.
§ Be polite and courteous.
§ Don’t try to be too argumentative.
§ Be consistent in your views. Don’t change your views just because the Board differs in its opinion from your opinion.
§ Never make an attempt to present a made-up appearance or politically correct answers.
§ If you are taking an extreme view, you should also be able to justify the same.
§ Take tea or coffee, if any member offers the same to you. This will show you are relaxed and it will also help in lightening and relaxing further proceedings and give them an informal touch.
§ Avoid chewing gums and other munching items as it gives a negative and a careless image.
§ Try holding mock interviews in front of a mirror. Look out for unwarranted actions/emotions and try to rectify any shortcomings. If possible record your own answers and play them again for finding out errors.
§ Don’t criticize any government policies or even individuals.
§ Take a good night’s sleep. A good, sound sleep will keep you refreshed, cheerful and relaxed. Otherwise you will have a fuzzy head and you will betray a confused personality. You will neither be able to grasp questions correctly, nor be able to think clearly.
§ Do not speak rapidly. Speak slowly and clearly so that the Board members grasp what you are saying and do not have to interrupt you or ask you to repeat your views.
§ The Board will check you for certain traits – such as honest and integrity, logical exposition, balance of opinion, leadership skills, mental alertness, variety and depth of interest, social cohesion, moral integrity, acumen, your response to a peculiar situation, your views on varied topics.
§ At times, the Board members might pile pressure upon you. Do not panic – it is a strategy aimed at gauging the point till which you can maintain your cool under pressure and can think originally even in pressure cooker situations. Try to resemble tealeaves – show your true colours when in hot waters.
§ Form your views on a subjects in a logical and rational manner supported by data whenever necessary.
§ To be in touch with the latest happenings/events – nationally and internationally, candidates should read magazines and newspapers (at least two for interview), watch current affairs-based television programmes.
§ Assume that all questions are asked with a good reason and answer them accordingly.
§ Keep a file/folder to keep your certificates and documents in an organized manner. They are verified before you enter the interview room. (You don’t have to carry file/folder inside board room)
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TIPS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
§ The choice of optional should be done with due care and caution. While knowledge in the subject is of crucial importance, interest in the subject is also an important consideration. The reason being that the interest in the subject should be enough to last a few years of preparation.
§ The aptitude and proficiency of a particular candidate in a given subject plays an important role in arriving at a decision to select an optional subject.
§ Since some subjects are more scoring than others, candidates opt for such subjects. But one thing should be kept in mind is one’s aptitude and interest towards subject.
§ Don’t choose an entirely new subject in which you will have to work very hard.
§ If the subject selected for preliminary is opted for, in the Mains examination also, it will be very useful and solves a lot of labour and time. The preparations done for the Preliminaries would assist the candidates in getting a good grasp over the subject; otherwise the effort put in would go waste after the Prelims.
§ Books for Preliminary examination are available in plenty in common for popular subjects, but in case of specialized optional like Agriculture, Engineering, Mathematics etc one has to look carefully for good books which cover all parts of the syllabus.
§ One should select standard, prescribed books for the preparation.
§ A detailed study of good textbooks and whole syllabus only give good input and a decent chance to answer maximum questions to score high. It is better to consult various books on different aspects, as it is very rare that one single book covers the entire syllabus in its totality.
§ After reading/understanding the basic concepts, it is desirable to have sufficient or a good question bank on the subject concerned may assist the students a great deal.
§ Questions asked in the Preliminary examination for previous 10 years are available in the market. As a first step, one should sort out the questions of the optional, according to the syllabus topics. This will give an insight into the nature of questions, important areas, and twists in the questions etc. Once the basic strategy is formed, it will be easier to study the subjects according to the nature of questions asked in UPSC.
§ The optional subject should be studied extensively (Optional: General Studies= 75:25).
§ A four-month exclusive preparation for Preliminary examination is a must.
§ For the optional subject, the whole syllabus should be thoroughly studied and should be revised and mastered. (Remember no topic in optional should be left as optional) :One question carries 2.5 marks.
§ One should aim at scoring 95-110/120 (optional subject), 95-105/150 (General Studies). (Score varies per subject & per category).
§ Optional subjects carry more marks (total of 300) as compared to General Studies (150). The area/syllabus of the optional subject is also limited. Though there is a prescribed syllabus, there is no limit. It is vast.
§ As the question paper is objective in nature, it would not be advisable to confine the studies only to the multiple choice objective type questions. Practice with question banks available in the market.
§ One should read the entire syllabus by covering each and every aspect. This provides a candidate with loads of self-confidence and knowledge to answer the questions correctly.
§ This practice would perfect the art of answering the questions correctly and rapidly. This will also help the candidates to properly understand the questions asked in various forms.
§ A candidate doing well in the optional paper is expected to fare well in the examination.
§ Practice of correctly marking the answer sheets by using minimum possible time will go a long way in helping you succeed. It helps to assess one’s progress in that particular subject.
§ As the questions in the Preliminary examination are objective in nature, intelligent guesswork may be used to answer questions when you don’t know the precise answer. While solving the paper you may take three rounds. In the first round solve the easy questions. In the second round may be taken up statement and reason. The third round can have the tough questions where the intelligent guesswork may be applied. If you don’t even know some questions, you should answer the same code to all. Mark “A” or “B” or “C” or “D” to all blank where you don’t have any clue at all.
§ Importance of General Studies also cannot be undermined.
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TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN CSE
With the number of vacancies dwindling each year and the competition getting tougher, with the number of aspirants increasing each year, one must consider all the pros and cons before jumping into the fray. One should preferably have an alternative job, which gives one the confidence and makes a wholehearted effort possible.
Selection of Subject:
The first and foremost thing to decide while aspiring for Civil Services is the judicious choice of subjects for the Preliminary and the Mains examinations. The selection of subjects should be done most carefully, if it goes wrong, everything will go wrong.
Normally students have the advantage of selecting one of the optionals, which they are familiar with, or have at least studied till graduate level. If you are not comfortable with the subject, you should not select the subject as an optional. Example: One who studied Medicine in his/her graduation may have to refer many books for one topic. On such occasions it is better to take a subject of one's interest.
The aspirants should opt for a subject of their interest - technical subjects like engineering, medicine, veterinary sciences. Students from science background may find it difficult to understanding economics and vice-versa. Agriculture or Veterinary Sciences will be opted by the students who have studied it at their college level. Hence, the competition is among the people who have opted for the same subject. One should top in his/her subject to succeed in the examination.
One should analyse the syllabus of previous years and the question papers. The comfort levels with the subject opted for and the past trends should be analysed. While going through the questions of previous years, one can judge himself/herself about the knowledge base and comfort level with the subject. After a detailed analysis one should decide the subject for the first optional. One can get some feedback/advice from seniors and fellow students who are well versed in the subject. To avoid confusion at advanced stages of the examination, one should have some consultation with experienced/senior colleagues. They can guide you better than any coaching class.
Preparation:
Preparation for General studies can be done hand in hand, along with the preparation for optional papers. Good mix of study hours for General Studies and the Optionals makes studies enjoyable and it becomes easy to sustain the momentum for longer hours, without boredom setting in and without losing interest and enthusiasm. The most important aspect for the preparation for GS (Prelims) is to identify the loopholes and plug them urgently. But remember one thing; never sacrifice the time of optional for General Studies. Because each question in optional carries 2.5 marks and in total it carries 300 marks. More importantly, input-output ratio in optional is much better than that in General Studies.
Always go in for a planned and systematic study. Work out your own study schedules in a manner suited to your style and stick to it.
One should read a leading daily regularly and also a magazine that will give an insight into the writing skills and observe how facts are presented clearly and succinctly. Also watch news & current affairs programmes on a good TV channel. The latest trend has been a shift towards the current issues; hence a thorough awareness of recent happenings is mandatory. In-depth knowledge of such events is most important, as the questions will test the knowledge of details of any given event/happening.
First one should cover the entire syllabus and then one month preceding the Mains, practice with the help of question papers of previous years. Sometimes students may end up studying topics, which are connected to the syllabus, but are practically irrelevant from your preparation point of view. For this, one should always keep a copy of the syllabus handy and keep referring to it time and again to reassess the direction of the preparation. One should also keep question papers of the previous years. Compare them and see what types of questions are repeated every year.
Try to attempt question papers of previous years and General studies papers. This will expose your weaknesses and give you an idea about the extent of your preparation, your knowledge base, your speed and accuracy.
General preparation can be broadly classified as long-term or short-term depending on the available time for preparation. Preparation for Mains examination should begin soon after the Prelims are over, without waiting for the result, as it involves wastage of time.
The generally accepted strategy for CSE is that one must have studied the entire syllabus for the Mains before the Prelims or at least before the result is out. After the Prelims results are announced, all three subjects - two optionals and General Studies should be divided equally in three quarters to revise the subjects. If the subject is not revised, it is as good as not read because preparation is a continuous process. One might have covered the syllabus long back, but memory detoriates with time
One should read/study daily 10-12 hours per day. Some people say that used to read 18-20 hours. However, don't go by the claims of other persons who say that have studied for more than 18 hours a day. It is humanly impossible. Each person knows one's own capacity, so one should prepare the timetable accordingly and follow the same for the whole period of preparation. The execution of the timetable is of crucial importance.
One should be dedicated and have faith in one's own capabilities and in the Almighty. Do not get depressed if you are unable to achieve the targets. Remember, it is your preparation; you are the one who will appear in the examination. You know yourself better than anyone else. Quality of hours put in is more important than quantity of hours. Your time and energies should be used in an efficient and effective manner.
During the entire period of the examination, take a light diet. One should maintain good health during the preparation and also maintain a hobby, which relaxes you during your preparation. Take adequate amount of sleep, as both - body and mind require it. It is always better to study when the body and mind are fresh. This helps in easy grasping of things as well as in retaining them.
To save time during revision, aspirants may mark/highlight important points during their first or second reading. The aim of the first reading is to reduce the study material to half by eliminating unnecessary points. The second reading is to make it more concise, so that you can revise the entire syllabus within two days before the examination.
Information from any source of relevance to your goal should be welcomed, as long as it is from a standard source. Discuss with your friends, talk to them and listen to their views. This will expand your knowledge base and also expose you to different views. (But while discussing be careful and don't waste time on unnecessary details). You should have a guided discussion. It is important to peak at the time of the examination. So, channelise your preparations in such a manner that you don't burn yourself out before the examination commences.
Those who still have two-three years of time left for becoming eligible to appear for Civil Services must begin the preparation for the examination in the right earnest - right now.
Once you decide that you wish to be a civil servant, as your career has to follow certain steps to be abreast with the latest trends and be ready in the first attempt itself.
If you are schooling:
§ Read your school textbooks thoroughly. This is the building block of your general knowledge base.
§ Read one national newspaper regularly.
§ Watch one TV news regularly.
§ Follow discussions/debates on one TV channel regularly.
§ Read one national news magazine.
§ If possible, read one competitive examination magazine also.
§ Discuss news items with family members and friends that will confidence and different points of view.
§ Be alert to learn new things.
§ Keep an open mind to learn what is happening around you.
At college stage:
§ If you decide to make civil services a career at college stage, try to follow these things:
§ Learn your subject thoroughly.
§ Read NCERT books very carefully as they are little encyclopedias and also comprehend them carefully.
§ Study India yearbook published by Publication Division, Ministry of I&B. This will give you the base and a bird's eye view about India.
§ Read one national newspaper and a magazine thoroughly.
§ Watch TV news (one prime time bulletin which covers major national and international news every day). TV channels give an overall news/views scenario on their prime time slots.
§ Listening to morning news bulletins/analysis of All India Radio is a must. They provide invaluable background information and a balanced opinion on major issues. Evening news bulletins of AIR give an overview of the prominent news stories of the day.
§ Follow one competitive examination magazine regularly. That will give you the latest trends about civil services and other competitive examinations and also give you important information in capsule form.
§ Discussions on current affairs on standard TV channel should be followed by a student to learn "how the arguments take place and how arguments are built up".
§ Discuss things/news items with your friends and family members that will give confidence of taking a stand against any issue.
§ Once you enter 3rd year of your preparation, you can go through the question papers of the previous years of CSE. Students in the first year also can go through these papers, but it would be difficult for a person to understand all the questions because he/she might have not studied the entire syllabi.
§ Normally four questions from the syllabus are asked which are of PG level if the subject is from the Arts or Science stream. So one should go through the syllabus first, then decide about taking the questions for the test.
§ In the first step itself, if you take the question paper and if you don't know most of the questions, it will deject you. There is nothing to get dejected at this stage.
§ If you complete your one optional at the college level itself, it will be easy for you to crack the Civil Services in the first attempt itself. If you clear the exam before the age of 23 that will make you eligible to become Secretary to Government of India/ Chief Secretary of a State - and even go up to the rank of Cabinet Secretary.
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TIPS FOR GENERAL STUDIES
§ Read newspapers and magazines carefully, which will expand your knowledge base and give good command and writing skill.
§ Preparation for General studies should be done hand in hand while preparing for optional papers.
§ NCERT books should be studied carefully and newspapers like The Hindu and magazines such as Frontline.
§ Trend nowadays has shifted more towards current issues, hence a thorough awareness of recent events/happenings is mandatory.
§ In the Prelims, though the General Studies carries only 150 marks, all the candidates are required to solve the same questions, hence, this paper assumes enormous importance, as anyone spoiling this paper cannot have any chance of qualifying for the Mains stage of the examination.
§ Other than the syllabus given, questions on planning, budgeting, developmental programmes, latest issues of political and constitutional importance, Panchayati Raj, electoral reforms, natural resources, culture, growth of nationalism, committees, commissions etc can be expected almost every year.
§ Emphasis is normally placed on the general aspects of the subjects, which every educated person aspiring to join the civil services is expected to know.
§ The General Studies paper needs special and thorough preparations and does not need to be over-emphasised.
§ In General Studies, other than current affairs, each and every aspect is covered in our school syllabi. Whatever one has studied upto Class XII is only asked in General Studies. The only thing which is different is that it has an application but the basic is from our school textbook only. A good, bright student who understood the basic concepts during his/her school studies will definitely be strong in General Studies too.
§ Those who would like to appear for Civil Services should have a strong base, which will make them easy to follow the subjects.
§ Exhaustive study of each subject and every aspect of the General Studies is essential.
§ An important point is efficient time management and proper planning. The time available with the candidates for preparations is limited and hence has to be intelligently utilized.
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TIPS FOR MAINS
§ INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE QUESTION PAPERS SHOULD BE READ CAREFULLY.
§ Preparations for Mains examination should be done intensively.
§ It always helps if the choice of the optionals for the Prelims examination is one of the subjects chosen for the Mains.
§ After analysis/taking the decision on the options, one should sort out the Main question papers according to the syllabus topics of the Mains examination. If one analyses these questions, after sometime the questions are repeated in one form or the other. This will give you time to prepare a standard answer to the question papers of the previous years. This will also make your task easy at the Mains examination.
§ Questions asked are of the Masters level examination. Sometimes the questions are ‘conceptual’ in nature, aimed at testing the comprehension levels of the basic concepts. So, if you don’t have a basic grounding in the basic concepts, it would be advisable to start from simple books.
§ The right choice of reading material is important and crucial. You should not read all types of books as told by others. Get a list of standard textbooks from the successful candidates, or other sources and also select proper notes for studying.
§ One should always target for Mains even while preparing for Preliminary examination. This is because there is much in common ground for study and there is little time for preparation for the Main examination after the results of the Prelims examination are announced.
§ While studying for the optional subjects, keep in mind that there is no scope for selective studies in CSE. The whole syllabus must be completely and thoroughly covered. Equal stress and weightage should be given to both the optionals. Remember – in the ultimate analysis both subjects carry exactly the same amount of maximum marks.
§ For subjects like Mathematics and Statistics and Geography maps etc, practice is very important. One should also practice other subjects and should not treat the same examination, as an “experience gathering” exercise to get a chance for writing mains is a great thing, which one may not get again. Hence, you should go through the unsolved papers of the previous papers and solve them to stimulate the atmosphere of the examination. Stick to the time frame (roughly 1 minute for 2 marks. Speed is the very essence of this examination. Hence, time management assumes crucial importance.
§ Writing skills (packaging) matter a lot in the Civil Services. Most of the candidates appearing for the Mains examination have a lot of knowledge, but lack writing skills. They are not able to present all the information/knowledge in a coherent and logical manner, as expected by the examiner. It is not only what you write, that is important, but also how you write what you write.
§ For developing the writing skills, one should keep writing model answers while preparing for the Mains examination. This would help the candidate to “get into the groove” of writing under time pressure in the Mains examination. The attitude should never be “I will directly write in the examination”.
§ Develop and follow your own style of writing. Try not to be repetitive and maintain a flow in the style of your writing. Never try to imitate others in the style of writing.
§ Sequential and systematic style of answering comes after a lot of practice and analysis of standard answers. Try to stimulate the actual examination hours to judge your performance and to plug any loopholes.
§ Strictly adhere to the word limit as prescribed at the end of the question to the extent possible. Try not to exceed the word limit, as far as possible. Sticking to the word limit that will save time. Besides, the number of marks you achieve are not going to increase even if you exceed the word limit.
§ Revision of subjects is very important because “anything you could not revise prior to the examination is as good as not having prepared at all”. The reason is that you have been preparing for months or years together. It is a human tendency to forget something after some time. Hence, revision is a must.
§ Write it legibly as it will simplify the evaluator’s task and he can read the answers easily.
§ Highlight/underline the important points, which you feel, are important.
§ If the write up is in essay form, write in paragraphs. A new point should start with a new paragraph.
§ If the question needs answer in point form, give it a bullet format.
§ Keep sufficient space between two lines.
§ Try to maintain uniformity in your write-ups throughout the paper. Some students write well in the initial papers. Under time pressure, the script goes from bad to worse in the later stages of the answer sheets and gets bad treatment. This may irritate the evaluator.
§ Don’t count words after every answer. If you have practiced well, you can count “how many words do you write in a line and how many lines in a single page and the total words per question”.
§ Give space and divide it by a dividing line between two questions.
§ One should target 1200-1250/2000 marks in the Mains. The main cut off also varies from year to year
Strategy for indian civil services exams
For Indian civil services Preliminary Exams
§ Aspirants should Go through the Syllabus in detail.
§ Regarding preliminary exam one should go through the PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPERS.
§ Sort out the question papers according to the syllabus chapterwise.
§ Analyse the Question papers pertaining to different chapters.
§ The analysis will give an idea how the question are be asked.
§ The pattern of the question may vary from one to other but the answer to the question may be same.ie,The Questions are twisted from the basic concept of the particular subject.
§ May see the different types of question from easy to very hard in nature.
§ UPSC also set the questions in different categories viz very easy to answer, Easy to answer, Moderate tough, Very tough, Difficult to conclude an answer.
§ One should make out the areas where the thrust has been given over the year.
§ This Analysis will give an idea about the trend of question setting.
§ Give more thrust in the areas where maximum question been asked.
§ Try to answer the old question as it was asked in the original question papers.
§ Try to answer the question sorted out by you according to the chapters.
§ Collect the standard books which can give maximum answer to the sorted question.
§ This Exercise should be done as early as possible the moment one decides about the optional.
§ After studying the whole syllabus One should work out the above Questions and find out their stand.
§ Practice as many model question papers as possible before the exams. Follow the time frame STRICTLY.
For Indian civil services Mains Exams
§ The Preparation for main should be done Besides prelims preparation.
§ Sort Out the question according the different chapters of the Syllabus.
§ Analysis the question asked over the years.
§ Find out important chapters which are frequently asked.
§ The Questions asked are like Examine, Elucidate, Explain, Elaborate, Define, Brief, Summarise, etc., have different meanings.
§ Aspirants should answer according to the question being asked.
§ The word limits are crucial because one very good and elaborate answer will not fetch high marks.
§ Practice previous year question papers keeping the time frame.
PERSONALITY TEST COURSE
This course starts from the third week of March. Each batch lasts for ten days. The ten days may be split into two parts - seven days at the time of joining a batch and three days just before the date of interview of the candidate. The fee would be Rs.4000/- plus service tax as applicable.
Personality Test :The personality test is an integral part of the Main Examination. In view of the fact that marks for the personality test have been increased to 300 from the year 1993 it has assumed greater importance. Therefore, good score in the personality test plays a crucial role in the process of final selection to Civil Services, especially, in determining the rank of a candidate. The test is aimed at to assess "the personal suitability of a candidate, particularly his mental alertness, critical power of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest and for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity" (Kothari Committee Report).
Broadly speaking a candidate is asked questions on his bio-data (including extra-curricular activities, prizes, medals and scholarships won during school and college days, hobbies, sports, jobs held, knowledge of his State etc), current national and international affairs, on some hypothetical situations to test the candidate's mental alertness and qualities of leadership and on his subjects of study. Since the aim of a candidate is to spend about thirty minutes purposefully before the Interview Board, it is advisable to attract the attention of the Board in areas wherein the candidate can engage the Board Members in discussion satisfactorily. This can be done by developing interests on some hobbies, sports etc., beforehand, and throwing subtle hints during the course of the interview, without over doing it.
It is almost impossible to change completely the personality of a candidate even over a long period of time, let alone within a short period of 10 or 15 days. What the Institute attempts to help is to enable a candidate to appear before the Interview Board equipped with adequate knowledge, confidence and composure, by providing a minimum of three mock interview sittings. After the mock sittings, a candidate is given a fair and candid assessment of his performance indicating his strength and weaknesses with suggestions for improvement.
Interview Programme :
Our interview course will commence within a week after the announcement of IAS Main Exam result. We will have three batches starting in a week for a duration of 2 to 3 hours daily at different timings. The duration of the course would be one week. Three classes on current national/international affairs, two on economics, and one one administrative issues will be held. Apart from this, two mock interview sittings are given to each student by a panel of experts. One personal sitting is also given to the students one or two days before the actual date of interview in the UPSC. After the mock interview sittings a candidate is given a fair and candid assessment of his/her performance indicating his/her strength and weaknesses with suggestions for improvement.
Optional subject
Minimum number of questions need to be correct for optional subject
Minimum number of questions need to be correct for General Studies
Geography
84-95
90+
Indian History
95-98
95
Mathematics
68
95
Political Science
90+
95+
Public Administration
84-98
90
Sociology
94-100
95
Based on last years Trend. It may change from year to year. Scores vary based on the number of applicants take the examination and the difficulty level. Author does not assume responsibility for the correctness of this information. Even if you feel that your score will be less than the score listed above, please keep on preparing for your Main examination
Introduction: The current Affairs are an important and interesting part in every one’s life. Starting from Gossiping about Film Industry to latest Political development, every one has some interest in it. Newspapers fulfills the basic requirement of the above needs.Starting from ordinary clerical examination to the to the top most Competitive exams like Civil Services, there are questions on Current Affairs. Normal Current Affairs questions are on PERSONALITIES, PLACES AND NEWS ANALYSIS. One has to follow at least one newspaper to keep abreast of National and International developments. But most of the students don’t know, how to read a newspaper or Read and memorize for their exams. The following write up gives an idea to follow the same for better understanding of Newspapers, which will further improve student’s approach towards newspaper reading.
“ALL THE BEST”
Newspaper reading is an art in itself. It is always advisable to get hooked on to newspaper reading very early in the school days. Before familiarizing yourself with reading a newspaper, it is advisable to get acquainted with the broad contours and some technical terms related to the newspaper.Front page: As the name indicates, is the first, or the front page of the newspaper. The top left hand and the right hand corners on the front page are known as the ‘Ear Panels’. The ‘Ear Panels’ contain advertisements in small boxes. The name of the newspaper, along with the date, place of publication and the ear panels are known as the ‘Masthead’.Lead Story: The lead story of the newspaper is the main, first, or the most prominent story on the front page. It is given in bold letters with big fonts and is the most important story of the day. ‘Banner headline’ - Often in the case of a major natural disaster, or death of a head of State or Government, a ‘banner headline’ is given. Banner headline means a headline spread across the top of the front page.Columns – Every newspaper and every page of a newspaper has eight columns – from left to right. That is, the first column on the left and the eight column on the right.Pages – The number of pages in a newspaper varies from one to another. Leading dailies have between 16-24 pages on weekdays and 32-48 pages on weekends.Supplements – Supplements are also known as magazines. These are separate from the main newspaper. Each day, newspapers have supplements, or magazines. These supplements cover special issues such as fashion, health, cuisine and other material for light reading over the weekend.Layout of the newspaper – This again varies from newspaper to newspaper. But in a standard format, the first page of the newspaper is known as Front page. A front page normally has five-six prominent news stories on issues of national and international importance. Pages second to fourth page are normally reserved for local news stories, though it depends upon each newspaper. If the newspaper is published from Delhi, the local pages would have news reports about Delhi (or any other city) if a newspaper is published from that city. Pages fifth to seventh contain news from various States. Pages eight and nine, are normally the most important pages of the newspaper. These two pages combined form the ‘heart and soul’ of the newspaper and are together known as ‘Centrespread’. These contain, most importantly, editorials (usually two in number), two edit page articles and Letters to the Editor. The page on the left is the ‘Editorial page’ and the one on the right is now known as the ‘Op-ed’ (Opinion-cum-editorial pages) and contains columns written by well-known commentators, analysts, opinion-makers and experts on a particular issue. The editorial page conveys the broad policy of the newspaper management – i.e whether the newspaper is pro-government, anti-government or neutral in the coverage of the news and views that it carries.Pages 10 and 11 are often reserved for international news. The next three-four pages are for news related to Business, stock market and share prices. After these, three-four pages are dedicated to coverage of various national and international sporting events. The last page is often kept for important national and international human-interest stories, that is, stories that would interest any reader. HOW TO READ A NEWSPAPER: Readers and reading are of two broad types: skimming (scanning) and reading. There are different styles of reading for different situations. The technique of reading depends on the purpose of reading. So first of all, you should have the purpose of reading very clear in your mind. For example, one might be reading for enjoyment, information, or to finish a task. If you are researching or reviewing, you might skim through a document. Reading speed depends on the purpose of reading. Skimming is usually done four-five times faster than normal reading. Many people consider skimming and scanning to be search techniques, rather than reading strategies. Skimming is usually resorted for quick identification of the main contents of any given material. Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headlines, sub-headings, summaries, searching for keywords. But while scanning, it is advisable to read the first sentence, for it gives a fair and a broad idea of the contents of that paragraph. Newspaper reading can be easily compared to long-distance running. You should start jogging in the beginning, let the muscles warm up and accelerate a little bit at the halfway mark and sprint only at the last lap of the race. It is thus, strongly advised that if you are a beginner at serious reading of a newspaper, do not skim, or scan to start with. Skimming requires trained movement of eyes from one word, sentence, or paragraph to another. This will come with sustained practice and one must increase the speed of reading gradually. Reading requires careful attention to every word and detail. However, anyone can increase the speed of reading while maintaining equal, or even higher comprehension. If you subscribe to a particular newspaper, slow reading in the beginning is a must to train the eyes for the type and size of the font. There are three factors which can help in enhancing reading speed: (1) willingness to improve, (2) keenness to try out new techniques and (3) motivation levels to practice reading regularly. With practice – and gradually, try to develop a wider and broader eye-span. This will help in reading more words and later on, even sentences, at one glance. Try to increase the eye-span from one sentence to two, then to three, four and then the whole paragraph. For, even physiologically, the movement of the eye is amongst the fastest movements of our body. Hence, it is of utmost importance to control eye movement while reading, for eyes have a peculiar habit of not being fixed at one place and the gaze just keeps shifting to see and visualize more and more.One major difficulty in reading, or even scanning, is that the eyesight, if not trained, has the habit of jumping and skipping words that are difficult to read, or not familiar to the eye. This leads to problems in reading and retention. Often one may misread, or misunderstand a word while reading fast. Thus it is all the more important to read slowly and at a comfortable pace and increase the speed only when the eyesight is properly trained. Certain write-ups like editorials, main stories of the day have to be read carefully. Skimming can be practiced in cases where one is reading for leisure on a weekend, or vacation and perfect it before applying to daily reading. One can of course, formulate own reading techniques for speed-reading with practice.Therefore, start reading by applying these techniques, for being a prospective mass communicator, you will be required to read/scan tonnes of material. However, one major must for reading is that you must not take it as a burden and have to enjoy the entire process. For, as they say – “Bon Chance” (Wish you all the best). CIVIL SERVICES PREPARATION: Civil Services preparation point of view is important in this place, when an aspirant reads a newspaper. If one goes through the previous years questions of Current Affairs, it will give broad idea about the pattern. Normally asked questions are about Personalities, Places, News of National and International importance. Bilateral issues relating to India and other Nations, Visit of Head of the States of other Countries, Visit of Indian President and Prime Minister to other Countries, Important agreements etc. One should concentrate on above items and avoid every day politics, gossip news, crime reports, unimportant corporate news, local issues etc. One should concentrate on the first page for Latest development, Edit page for Editorial and analysis, ‘Op-ed’ (Opinion-cum-editorial pages) for the views of commentators, analysts, opinion-makers on a particular issue.
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TIPS-
TIPS FOR WRITING AN ESSAY
§ One is required to write an essay for three hours duration. This length of duration is enough. There is no standard word limit for writing an essay.
§ Remember to divide an essay into three parts – (i) Introduction (ii) Main body and (iii) Conclusion.
§ The choice of topic on which the essay is to be written after careful thought. While selecting a topic, the knowledge base of the topic – i.e how much you know about the subject is of crucial importance. If you have data or statistics at your fingertips to back some statements, all the more better.
§ The introduction is of crucial importance. Remember – well begun is half done. This applies to an essay all the more. One could begin with a saying or a quotation. Quotations make the essay interesting to read.
§ If you cannot mentally arrange the points to be covered in the essay, jot down the points on a rough sheet of paper. Try to expand one point in its entirety in one paragraph and then move on to the next point. Do not keep returning back to one point after you have started another point. It makes the essay repetitive and boring to read. If possible, try to maintain a link between the points by a connecting sentence at the end of the paragraph covering a given point.
§ Keep your sentences short. Longer sentences not only lead to complex sentences, but also point to complexity in thought process. Use minimum number of conjunctions. Finish off a sentence as quickly as possible and start a new sentence.
§ In an essay, try to point out the problem areas and also suggest solutions to solve them.
§ Conclusion is as important as an introduction. It gives an insight into your analyzing powers. Try to give a brief overview in the form of a gist of the essay in the conclusion.
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TIPS FOR PERSONALITY TEST
Basics:
§ The interview is nowadays known as a Personality Test. The reason being that it is not a test of knowledge, but of the overall personality of the candidate/aspirant.
§ Interview is more of a psychological test that is just content-based. Along with good communicative skills and self-confidence, good knowledge base no doubt gives you an upper hand. However, it has to be borne in mind that nearly all the aspirants/candidates in the Personality Test start more or less as equals in the sphere of knowledge base.
§ The most important thing to know about an interview is that it is not always a question-answer session and that the Board members are looking for different aspects of one’s personality.
§ One is not expected to know everything under the sun. If you do not know the answer to a particular question, do not hesitate to say – I don’t know, Sir/Ma’m. However, even “I don’t know Sir/Ma’m” should be said confidently and with a reasonable amount of cheerfulness. Remember – your knowledge levels have been thoroughly checked during the earlier stages of the CSE – viz Prelims and Mains.
§ Always remember that the interview is not a cross examination, but a natural, purposeful conversation.
§ Personality is a life-long asset and a thing, which evolves and changes every day.
§ Preparation
§ Keep a photocopy of the form filled for the Mains examination handy. Most of the initial questions – viz the meaning of your name, educational background, professional experience, hobbies etc will be based on this form only. Try to prepare on your bio-data; roughly 70% questions are based on bio-data, 20% questions are based on your subject and 10% are based on current affairs.
§ Aspirants to CSE should take an intelligent interest not only in areas of their specialization, but also in what is happening around them – both within and outside the country.
§ Be well informed about your interests and hobbies as there will be a few questions probing your levels of knowledge as regards your hobbies and interests.
§ Prepare thoroughly about your hometown & home state. If you hail from a place of historical importance or tourist interest, prepare well on it.
§ Know yourself. Prepare brief answers to choice of your subjects, family background, meaning of your name. You should try to take the lead by answering questions based on your bio-data.
§ One of the secrets of success is to prepare for the Personality Test along with the written test.
§ If a person gives the impression of being a bookworm, the chances of his/her selection are reduced. The candidate must exhibit an all-round personality, which indicates that the aspirant possesses a complete personality. MOCK /PRACTICE
§ One should form a group of 4-5 people, as the preparation for Personality Test cannot be done in isolation. Try holding as many mock interviews as possible.
§ No training institute can develop/transform your personality in a few days. However, some of the tips may help in ironing out some weaknesses/grey areas and can provide an avenue for a well-planned preparation and group discussions.
§ Take mock interviews. In the mock interview, ask your friends to grill you so that you can face pressure from the Board easily.
§ Discuss a lot with your friends. This not only helps in you assimilating different points of view, but also enhances knowledge levels. DRESSING UP:
§ Dress sense is of crucial importance. The choice of dress should be according to the weather conditions. Try not to wear newly stitched clothes, as they might make you uneasy. Light colours should be preferred. White colour is a good choice.
§ Wear comfortable clothes. Men need to wear light coloured shirt and a dark trouser with a tie (if weather permits). Women appear best in a saree or salwar/kameez.
§ Pay attention to the details, ironed dress, polished shoes, hair accessories, trimmed nails etc. Polish your footwear meticulously. Use convenient footwear like black or brown leather shoes.
§ Women candidates should take care to avoid the hair falling over the face as it could annoy both – you and the interviewer.
§ Do not wear anything that connects you with a religious or political group.
§ Do not use heavy perfume/deodorants.
§ In case you have a running nose or have caught a cold, carry a handkerchief, or sufficient stock of tissue paper. Tissue paper is preferable.
§ Some candidates take medicine to relax on the previous night of the interview; this should be avoided as the effect of medicine may decrease your alertness during the interview.
§ What and how you eat is also important. Have a light meal on the day of the Personality Test. Do not go for the interview on an empty stomach. However, also avoid over-eating, or having a heavy meal.
§ First impression is often the best impression. So create a positive, good impression within the first few minutes of the interview. ENTRY:
§ Arrive 20-30 minutes early. Prepare a route map and arrive well in time. This will give you enough time to relax
§ While waiting for your turn in the waiting area, read a newspaper or a magazine and try to remain focused without thinking too much of what will happen in the interview. Try not to presuppose situations.
§ Do not get nervous when you are waiting for your turn for the Personality Test. When waiting for your turn, try relaxing with closed eyes and practice deep breathing. It really relaxes you. Do not try to pre-suppose situations in the Personality Test.
§ Take a final, deep breath before entering the boardroom.
§ Do not forget to knock at the door before entering, as it indicates basic courtesy.
§ On entering the room, greet all the members cordially and do not sit down on the seat without being asked to.
§ If there is a lady member in the interview board, greet her first.
§ Be conscious of your body language when you are seated.
§ Men should keep the feet flat on the floor during the interview, knees at waist level, and hands on your thighs and place your elbows on the armchair. Avoid locking hands.
§ Women, cross your ankles or legs, but keep the bottom leg straight down and do not swing it over the top leg and keep your elbows positioned on the arms of the chair.
§ When the Board members thank you at the end of the Personality test, do not forget to thank the members one last time and keep your body posture straight at the time of leaving the room.
§ Remember that interview is a two-way process.
§ Be cool. Be yourself during the Interview.
§ Your aim should be to make the board members feel comfortable in your presence.
§ Be truthful, transparent and Predictable.
§ The object of the interview is to assess the suitability of the aspirant/candidate for a career in public service.
§ Most of the questions posed in the Personality Test are opinion-based.
§ Don’t expect any expression on the faces of board members, even if your answer is very good. During Interview
§ In a personality test, what is of importance is how you say what you say. It is the style of presentation that matters.
§ Your personality is, on an average, assessed in 25-30 minutes, it is your responsibility to bring out your very best in front of the board.
§ Be attentive and listen to each question carefully. Try not to jump into an answer before the complete question has been posed as you will end up wasting time on answering a question that you were not actually asked. If you are not sure of what was asked, you can always politely seek a clarification.
§ Do not try to answer the question as soon as it is posed. Think over the question, take your time and organize the broad outline of the answer before airing it. Pause a while before answering, even if you know the answer.
§ At times, you will be given situations wherein you will be required to take a decision. In such situations, the board is testing your ability to comprehend issues and use reason and good judgment logically, precisely and arrive at a balanced decision.
§ Your replies should be crisp and to the point. Do not beat around the bush.
§ Maintain a gentle smile off and on during the Personality Test without overdoing it. It displays a sense of ease and confidence. Wherever possible use your sense of humour judiciously. General Do’s and Don’ts for the personality test:
§ The board members are usually very senior and learned people, so give utmost respect to the board.
§ Don’t go by any stories/rumours spread by others. Avoid unnecessary details.
§ Don’t ask the previous candidate about his/her interview.
§ The board has no biases towards anyone.
§ Never make any sweeping statements/generalized descriptions.
§ Accept your mistakes boldly.
§ Speak honestly, truthfully and modestly.
§ Do not give a hasty reply.
§ Answer in an orderly and logical fashion and always maintain eye contact with the Board members while answering.
§ Be polite and courteous.
§ Don’t try to be too argumentative.
§ Be consistent in your views. Don’t change your views just because the Board differs in its opinion from your opinion.
§ Never make an attempt to present a made-up appearance or politically correct answers.
§ If you are taking an extreme view, you should also be able to justify the same.
§ Take tea or coffee, if any member offers the same to you. This will show you are relaxed and it will also help in lightening and relaxing further proceedings and give them an informal touch.
§ Avoid chewing gums and other munching items as it gives a negative and a careless image.
§ Try holding mock interviews in front of a mirror. Look out for unwarranted actions/emotions and try to rectify any shortcomings. If possible record your own answers and play them again for finding out errors.
§ Don’t criticize any government policies or even individuals.
§ Take a good night’s sleep. A good, sound sleep will keep you refreshed, cheerful and relaxed. Otherwise you will have a fuzzy head and you will betray a confused personality. You will neither be able to grasp questions correctly, nor be able to think clearly.
§ Do not speak rapidly. Speak slowly and clearly so that the Board members grasp what you are saying and do not have to interrupt you or ask you to repeat your views.
§ The Board will check you for certain traits – such as honest and integrity, logical exposition, balance of opinion, leadership skills, mental alertness, variety and depth of interest, social cohesion, moral integrity, acumen, your response to a peculiar situation, your views on varied topics.
§ At times, the Board members might pile pressure upon you. Do not panic – it is a strategy aimed at gauging the point till which you can maintain your cool under pressure and can think originally even in pressure cooker situations. Try to resemble tealeaves – show your true colours when in hot waters.
§ Form your views on a subjects in a logical and rational manner supported by data whenever necessary.
§ To be in touch with the latest happenings/events – nationally and internationally, candidates should read magazines and newspapers (at least two for interview), watch current affairs-based television programmes.
§ Assume that all questions are asked with a good reason and answer them accordingly.
§ Keep a file/folder to keep your certificates and documents in an organized manner. They are verified before you enter the interview room. (You don’t have to carry file/folder inside board room)
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TIPS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
§ The choice of optional should be done with due care and caution. While knowledge in the subject is of crucial importance, interest in the subject is also an important consideration. The reason being that the interest in the subject should be enough to last a few years of preparation.
§ The aptitude and proficiency of a particular candidate in a given subject plays an important role in arriving at a decision to select an optional subject.
§ Since some subjects are more scoring than others, candidates opt for such subjects. But one thing should be kept in mind is one’s aptitude and interest towards subject.
§ Don’t choose an entirely new subject in which you will have to work very hard.
§ If the subject selected for preliminary is opted for, in the Mains examination also, it will be very useful and solves a lot of labour and time. The preparations done for the Preliminaries would assist the candidates in getting a good grasp over the subject; otherwise the effort put in would go waste after the Prelims.
§ Books for Preliminary examination are available in plenty in common for popular subjects, but in case of specialized optional like Agriculture, Engineering, Mathematics etc one has to look carefully for good books which cover all parts of the syllabus.
§ One should select standard, prescribed books for the preparation.
§ A detailed study of good textbooks and whole syllabus only give good input and a decent chance to answer maximum questions to score high. It is better to consult various books on different aspects, as it is very rare that one single book covers the entire syllabus in its totality.
§ After reading/understanding the basic concepts, it is desirable to have sufficient or a good question bank on the subject concerned may assist the students a great deal.
§ Questions asked in the Preliminary examination for previous 10 years are available in the market. As a first step, one should sort out the questions of the optional, according to the syllabus topics. This will give an insight into the nature of questions, important areas, and twists in the questions etc. Once the basic strategy is formed, it will be easier to study the subjects according to the nature of questions asked in UPSC.
§ The optional subject should be studied extensively (Optional: General Studies= 75:25).
§ A four-month exclusive preparation for Preliminary examination is a must.
§ For the optional subject, the whole syllabus should be thoroughly studied and should be revised and mastered. (Remember no topic in optional should be left as optional) :One question carries 2.5 marks.
§ One should aim at scoring 95-110/120 (optional subject), 95-105/150 (General Studies). (Score varies per subject & per category).
§ Optional subjects carry more marks (total of 300) as compared to General Studies (150). The area/syllabus of the optional subject is also limited. Though there is a prescribed syllabus, there is no limit. It is vast.
§ As the question paper is objective in nature, it would not be advisable to confine the studies only to the multiple choice objective type questions. Practice with question banks available in the market.
§ One should read the entire syllabus by covering each and every aspect. This provides a candidate with loads of self-confidence and knowledge to answer the questions correctly.
§ This practice would perfect the art of answering the questions correctly and rapidly. This will also help the candidates to properly understand the questions asked in various forms.
§ A candidate doing well in the optional paper is expected to fare well in the examination.
§ Practice of correctly marking the answer sheets by using minimum possible time will go a long way in helping you succeed. It helps to assess one’s progress in that particular subject.
§ As the questions in the Preliminary examination are objective in nature, intelligent guesswork may be used to answer questions when you don’t know the precise answer. While solving the paper you may take three rounds. In the first round solve the easy questions. In the second round may be taken up statement and reason. The third round can have the tough questions where the intelligent guesswork may be applied. If you don’t even know some questions, you should answer the same code to all. Mark “A” or “B” or “C” or “D” to all blank where you don’t have any clue at all.
§ Importance of General Studies also cannot be undermined.
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TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN CSE
With the number of vacancies dwindling each year and the competition getting tougher, with the number of aspirants increasing each year, one must consider all the pros and cons before jumping into the fray. One should preferably have an alternative job, which gives one the confidence and makes a wholehearted effort possible.
Selection of Subject:
The first and foremost thing to decide while aspiring for Civil Services is the judicious choice of subjects for the Preliminary and the Mains examinations. The selection of subjects should be done most carefully, if it goes wrong, everything will go wrong.
Normally students have the advantage of selecting one of the optionals, which they are familiar with, or have at least studied till graduate level. If you are not comfortable with the subject, you should not select the subject as an optional. Example: One who studied Medicine in his/her graduation may have to refer many books for one topic. On such occasions it is better to take a subject of one's interest.
The aspirants should opt for a subject of their interest - technical subjects like engineering, medicine, veterinary sciences. Students from science background may find it difficult to understanding economics and vice-versa. Agriculture or Veterinary Sciences will be opted by the students who have studied it at their college level. Hence, the competition is among the people who have opted for the same subject. One should top in his/her subject to succeed in the examination.
One should analyse the syllabus of previous years and the question papers. The comfort levels with the subject opted for and the past trends should be analysed. While going through the questions of previous years, one can judge himself/herself about the knowledge base and comfort level with the subject. After a detailed analysis one should decide the subject for the first optional. One can get some feedback/advice from seniors and fellow students who are well versed in the subject. To avoid confusion at advanced stages of the examination, one should have some consultation with experienced/senior colleagues. They can guide you better than any coaching class.
Preparation:
Preparation for General studies can be done hand in hand, along with the preparation for optional papers. Good mix of study hours for General Studies and the Optionals makes studies enjoyable and it becomes easy to sustain the momentum for longer hours, without boredom setting in and without losing interest and enthusiasm. The most important aspect for the preparation for GS (Prelims) is to identify the loopholes and plug them urgently. But remember one thing; never sacrifice the time of optional for General Studies. Because each question in optional carries 2.5 marks and in total it carries 300 marks. More importantly, input-output ratio in optional is much better than that in General Studies.
Always go in for a planned and systematic study. Work out your own study schedules in a manner suited to your style and stick to it.
One should read a leading daily regularly and also a magazine that will give an insight into the writing skills and observe how facts are presented clearly and succinctly. Also watch news & current affairs programmes on a good TV channel. The latest trend has been a shift towards the current issues; hence a thorough awareness of recent happenings is mandatory. In-depth knowledge of such events is most important, as the questions will test the knowledge of details of any given event/happening.
First one should cover the entire syllabus and then one month preceding the Mains, practice with the help of question papers of previous years. Sometimes students may end up studying topics, which are connected to the syllabus, but are practically irrelevant from your preparation point of view. For this, one should always keep a copy of the syllabus handy and keep referring to it time and again to reassess the direction of the preparation. One should also keep question papers of the previous years. Compare them and see what types of questions are repeated every year.
Try to attempt question papers of previous years and General studies papers. This will expose your weaknesses and give you an idea about the extent of your preparation, your knowledge base, your speed and accuracy.
General preparation can be broadly classified as long-term or short-term depending on the available time for preparation. Preparation for Mains examination should begin soon after the Prelims are over, without waiting for the result, as it involves wastage of time.
The generally accepted strategy for CSE is that one must have studied the entire syllabus for the Mains before the Prelims or at least before the result is out. After the Prelims results are announced, all three subjects - two optionals and General Studies should be divided equally in three quarters to revise the subjects. If the subject is not revised, it is as good as not read because preparation is a continuous process. One might have covered the syllabus long back, but memory detoriates with time
One should read/study daily 10-12 hours per day. Some people say that used to read 18-20 hours. However, don't go by the claims of other persons who say that have studied for more than 18 hours a day. It is humanly impossible. Each person knows one's own capacity, so one should prepare the timetable accordingly and follow the same for the whole period of preparation. The execution of the timetable is of crucial importance.
One should be dedicated and have faith in one's own capabilities and in the Almighty. Do not get depressed if you are unable to achieve the targets. Remember, it is your preparation; you are the one who will appear in the examination. You know yourself better than anyone else. Quality of hours put in is more important than quantity of hours. Your time and energies should be used in an efficient and effective manner.
During the entire period of the examination, take a light diet. One should maintain good health during the preparation and also maintain a hobby, which relaxes you during your preparation. Take adequate amount of sleep, as both - body and mind require it. It is always better to study when the body and mind are fresh. This helps in easy grasping of things as well as in retaining them.
To save time during revision, aspirants may mark/highlight important points during their first or second reading. The aim of the first reading is to reduce the study material to half by eliminating unnecessary points. The second reading is to make it more concise, so that you can revise the entire syllabus within two days before the examination.
Information from any source of relevance to your goal should be welcomed, as long as it is from a standard source. Discuss with your friends, talk to them and listen to their views. This will expand your knowledge base and also expose you to different views. (But while discussing be careful and don't waste time on unnecessary details). You should have a guided discussion. It is important to peak at the time of the examination. So, channelise your preparations in such a manner that you don't burn yourself out before the examination commences.
Those who still have two-three years of time left for becoming eligible to appear for Civil Services must begin the preparation for the examination in the right earnest - right now.
Once you decide that you wish to be a civil servant, as your career has to follow certain steps to be abreast with the latest trends and be ready in the first attempt itself.
If you are schooling:
§ Read your school textbooks thoroughly. This is the building block of your general knowledge base.
§ Read one national newspaper regularly.
§ Watch one TV news regularly.
§ Follow discussions/debates on one TV channel regularly.
§ Read one national news magazine.
§ If possible, read one competitive examination magazine also.
§ Discuss news items with family members and friends that will confidence and different points of view.
§ Be alert to learn new things.
§ Keep an open mind to learn what is happening around you.
At college stage:
§ If you decide to make civil services a career at college stage, try to follow these things:
§ Learn your subject thoroughly.
§ Read NCERT books very carefully as they are little encyclopedias and also comprehend them carefully.
§ Study India yearbook published by Publication Division, Ministry of I&B. This will give you the base and a bird's eye view about India.
§ Read one national newspaper and a magazine thoroughly.
§ Watch TV news (one prime time bulletin which covers major national and international news every day). TV channels give an overall news/views scenario on their prime time slots.
§ Listening to morning news bulletins/analysis of All India Radio is a must. They provide invaluable background information and a balanced opinion on major issues. Evening news bulletins of AIR give an overview of the prominent news stories of the day.
§ Follow one competitive examination magazine regularly. That will give you the latest trends about civil services and other competitive examinations and also give you important information in capsule form.
§ Discussions on current affairs on standard TV channel should be followed by a student to learn "how the arguments take place and how arguments are built up".
§ Discuss things/news items with your friends and family members that will give confidence of taking a stand against any issue.
§ Once you enter 3rd year of your preparation, you can go through the question papers of the previous years of CSE. Students in the first year also can go through these papers, but it would be difficult for a person to understand all the questions because he/she might have not studied the entire syllabi.
§ Normally four questions from the syllabus are asked which are of PG level if the subject is from the Arts or Science stream. So one should go through the syllabus first, then decide about taking the questions for the test.
§ In the first step itself, if you take the question paper and if you don't know most of the questions, it will deject you. There is nothing to get dejected at this stage.
§ If you complete your one optional at the college level itself, it will be easy for you to crack the Civil Services in the first attempt itself. If you clear the exam before the age of 23 that will make you eligible to become Secretary to Government of India/ Chief Secretary of a State - and even go up to the rank of Cabinet Secretary.
<< Previous Tips
TIPS FOR GENERAL STUDIES
§ Read newspapers and magazines carefully, which will expand your knowledge base and give good command and writing skill.
§ Preparation for General studies should be done hand in hand while preparing for optional papers.
§ NCERT books should be studied carefully and newspapers like The Hindu and magazines such as Frontline.
§ Trend nowadays has shifted more towards current issues, hence a thorough awareness of recent events/happenings is mandatory.
§ In the Prelims, though the General Studies carries only 150 marks, all the candidates are required to solve the same questions, hence, this paper assumes enormous importance, as anyone spoiling this paper cannot have any chance of qualifying for the Mains stage of the examination.
§ Other than the syllabus given, questions on planning, budgeting, developmental programmes, latest issues of political and constitutional importance, Panchayati Raj, electoral reforms, natural resources, culture, growth of nationalism, committees, commissions etc can be expected almost every year.
§ Emphasis is normally placed on the general aspects of the subjects, which every educated person aspiring to join the civil services is expected to know.
§ The General Studies paper needs special and thorough preparations and does not need to be over-emphasised.
§ In General Studies, other than current affairs, each and every aspect is covered in our school syllabi. Whatever one has studied upto Class XII is only asked in General Studies. The only thing which is different is that it has an application but the basic is from our school textbook only. A good, bright student who understood the basic concepts during his/her school studies will definitely be strong in General Studies too.
§ Those who would like to appear for Civil Services should have a strong base, which will make them easy to follow the subjects.
§ Exhaustive study of each subject and every aspect of the General Studies is essential.
§ An important point is efficient time management and proper planning. The time available with the candidates for preparations is limited and hence has to be intelligently utilized.
<< Previous Tips
TIPS FOR MAINS
§ INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE QUESTION PAPERS SHOULD BE READ CAREFULLY.
§ Preparations for Mains examination should be done intensively.
§ It always helps if the choice of the optionals for the Prelims examination is one of the subjects chosen for the Mains.
§ After analysis/taking the decision on the options, one should sort out the Main question papers according to the syllabus topics of the Mains examination. If one analyses these questions, after sometime the questions are repeated in one form or the other. This will give you time to prepare a standard answer to the question papers of the previous years. This will also make your task easy at the Mains examination.
§ Questions asked are of the Masters level examination. Sometimes the questions are ‘conceptual’ in nature, aimed at testing the comprehension levels of the basic concepts. So, if you don’t have a basic grounding in the basic concepts, it would be advisable to start from simple books.
§ The right choice of reading material is important and crucial. You should not read all types of books as told by others. Get a list of standard textbooks from the successful candidates, or other sources and also select proper notes for studying.
§ One should always target for Mains even while preparing for Preliminary examination. This is because there is much in common ground for study and there is little time for preparation for the Main examination after the results of the Prelims examination are announced.
§ While studying for the optional subjects, keep in mind that there is no scope for selective studies in CSE. The whole syllabus must be completely and thoroughly covered. Equal stress and weightage should be given to both the optionals. Remember – in the ultimate analysis both subjects carry exactly the same amount of maximum marks.
§ For subjects like Mathematics and Statistics and Geography maps etc, practice is very important. One should also practice other subjects and should not treat the same examination, as an “experience gathering” exercise to get a chance for writing mains is a great thing, which one may not get again. Hence, you should go through the unsolved papers of the previous papers and solve them to stimulate the atmosphere of the examination. Stick to the time frame (roughly 1 minute for 2 marks. Speed is the very essence of this examination. Hence, time management assumes crucial importance.
§ Writing skills (packaging) matter a lot in the Civil Services. Most of the candidates appearing for the Mains examination have a lot of knowledge, but lack writing skills. They are not able to present all the information/knowledge in a coherent and logical manner, as expected by the examiner. It is not only what you write, that is important, but also how you write what you write.
§ For developing the writing skills, one should keep writing model answers while preparing for the Mains examination. This would help the candidate to “get into the groove” of writing under time pressure in the Mains examination. The attitude should never be “I will directly write in the examination”.
§ Develop and follow your own style of writing. Try not to be repetitive and maintain a flow in the style of your writing. Never try to imitate others in the style of writing.
§ Sequential and systematic style of answering comes after a lot of practice and analysis of standard answers. Try to stimulate the actual examination hours to judge your performance and to plug any loopholes.
§ Strictly adhere to the word limit as prescribed at the end of the question to the extent possible. Try not to exceed the word limit, as far as possible. Sticking to the word limit that will save time. Besides, the number of marks you achieve are not going to increase even if you exceed the word limit.
§ Revision of subjects is very important because “anything you could not revise prior to the examination is as good as not having prepared at all”. The reason is that you have been preparing for months or years together. It is a human tendency to forget something after some time. Hence, revision is a must.
§ Write it legibly as it will simplify the evaluator’s task and he can read the answers easily.
§ Highlight/underline the important points, which you feel, are important.
§ If the write up is in essay form, write in paragraphs. A new point should start with a new paragraph.
§ If the question needs answer in point form, give it a bullet format.
§ Keep sufficient space between two lines.
§ Try to maintain uniformity in your write-ups throughout the paper. Some students write well in the initial papers. Under time pressure, the script goes from bad to worse in the later stages of the answer sheets and gets bad treatment. This may irritate the evaluator.
§ Don’t count words after every answer. If you have practiced well, you can count “how many words do you write in a line and how many lines in a single page and the total words per question”.
§ Give space and divide it by a dividing line between two questions.
§ One should target 1200-1250/2000 marks in the Mains. The main cut off also varies from year to year
Strategy for indian civil services exams
For Indian civil services Preliminary Exams
§ Aspirants should Go through the Syllabus in detail.
§ Regarding preliminary exam one should go through the PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTION PAPERS.
§ Sort out the question papers according to the syllabus chapterwise.
§ Analyse the Question papers pertaining to different chapters.
§ The analysis will give an idea how the question are be asked.
§ The pattern of the question may vary from one to other but the answer to the question may be same.ie,The Questions are twisted from the basic concept of the particular subject.
§ May see the different types of question from easy to very hard in nature.
§ UPSC also set the questions in different categories viz very easy to answer, Easy to answer, Moderate tough, Very tough, Difficult to conclude an answer.
§ One should make out the areas where the thrust has been given over the year.
§ This Analysis will give an idea about the trend of question setting.
§ Give more thrust in the areas where maximum question been asked.
§ Try to answer the old question as it was asked in the original question papers.
§ Try to answer the question sorted out by you according to the chapters.
§ Collect the standard books which can give maximum answer to the sorted question.
§ This Exercise should be done as early as possible the moment one decides about the optional.
§ After studying the whole syllabus One should work out the above Questions and find out their stand.
§ Practice as many model question papers as possible before the exams. Follow the time frame STRICTLY.
For Indian civil services Mains Exams
§ The Preparation for main should be done Besides prelims preparation.
§ Sort Out the question according the different chapters of the Syllabus.
§ Analysis the question asked over the years.
§ Find out important chapters which are frequently asked.
§ The Questions asked are like Examine, Elucidate, Explain, Elaborate, Define, Brief, Summarise, etc., have different meanings.
§ Aspirants should answer according to the question being asked.
§ The word limits are crucial because one very good and elaborate answer will not fetch high marks.
§ Practice previous year question papers keeping the time frame.
PERSONALITY TEST COURSE
This course starts from the third week of March. Each batch lasts for ten days. The ten days may be split into two parts - seven days at the time of joining a batch and three days just before the date of interview of the candidate. The fee would be Rs.4000/- plus service tax as applicable.
Personality Test :The personality test is an integral part of the Main Examination. In view of the fact that marks for the personality test have been increased to 300 from the year 1993 it has assumed greater importance. Therefore, good score in the personality test plays a crucial role in the process of final selection to Civil Services, especially, in determining the rank of a candidate. The test is aimed at to assess "the personal suitability of a candidate, particularly his mental alertness, critical power of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest and for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity" (Kothari Committee Report).
Broadly speaking a candidate is asked questions on his bio-data (including extra-curricular activities, prizes, medals and scholarships won during school and college days, hobbies, sports, jobs held, knowledge of his State etc), current national and international affairs, on some hypothetical situations to test the candidate's mental alertness and qualities of leadership and on his subjects of study. Since the aim of a candidate is to spend about thirty minutes purposefully before the Interview Board, it is advisable to attract the attention of the Board in areas wherein the candidate can engage the Board Members in discussion satisfactorily. This can be done by developing interests on some hobbies, sports etc., beforehand, and throwing subtle hints during the course of the interview, without over doing it.
It is almost impossible to change completely the personality of a candidate even over a long period of time, let alone within a short period of 10 or 15 days. What the Institute attempts to help is to enable a candidate to appear before the Interview Board equipped with adequate knowledge, confidence and composure, by providing a minimum of three mock interview sittings. After the mock sittings, a candidate is given a fair and candid assessment of his performance indicating his strength and weaknesses with suggestions for improvement.
Interview Programme :
Our interview course will commence within a week after the announcement of IAS Main Exam result. We will have three batches starting in a week for a duration of 2 to 3 hours daily at different timings. The duration of the course would be one week. Three classes on current national/international affairs, two on economics, and one one administrative issues will be held. Apart from this, two mock interview sittings are given to each student by a panel of experts. One personal sitting is also given to the students one or two days before the actual date of interview in the UPSC. After the mock interview sittings a candidate is given a fair and candid assessment of his/her performance indicating his/her strength and weaknesses with suggestions for improvement.
Optional subject
Minimum number of questions need to be correct for optional subject
Minimum number of questions need to be correct for General Studies
Geography
84-95
90+
Indian History
95-98
95
Mathematics
68
95
Political Science
90+
95+
Public Administration
84-98
90
Sociology
94-100
95
Based on last years Trend. It may change from year to year. Scores vary based on the number of applicants take the examination and the difficulty level. Author does not assume responsibility for the correctness of this information. Even if you feel that your score will be less than the score listed above, please keep on preparing for your Main examination
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