News + Politics

Though all three of our philosophers see self-conscious thought as impacted by our social position, their particular way of expressing this varies. In the case of Hegel, he exemplifies his ideas with what is now called the Master-Slave Dialectic. In this piece, Hegel argues that when two individuals meet one another, a battle ensues between the parties to see who will become subservient to the other (who will become the master and who will become the slave to the master). In this process, the master establishes his self-conscious by imposing himself upon the slave, who in turn establishes his own self-conscious through his subservience to the master. However, one finds a paradox immediately in the idea of establishing a self-consciousness in relation to the subservience of one to himself - and on the other hand, establishing a self-consciousness in relation to being subservient to the other - as the self-conscious of an object necessarily implies some awareness of self, as a subject, which is separate from the perceived object. Hegel is aware of this contradiction, and so requires that a change in the relationship between master and slave must take place. He does so by stating that the

I often think back to that cool, autumn night I shared a room with thirteen strangers in an old, unkempt brick building on the river bank. The room was small, dark and musty, but it was warm and the scent of freshly-brewed coffee was strong. For the two hours I spent sitting around a long, wooden table with the strangers, I was silent. I observed. I listened. The hours passed like minutes as I was completely immersed in the horrific and touching stories of the strangers, one after another. My presence that night was not voluntary, though I would not have traded my experience for any other.

There are three key issues to look at when examining the Peruvian mining case. The first issue is the violence, conflict, frustration and poverty of created by the mining practices of certain mining companies. Their policies then create a climate of violence, conflict, poverty and frustration because they refuse to listen to the local populations demands. The second issue taking place in Peru is the increasing violations of human rights by the mining companies and their private security forces. The last issue brought is the question whether or not the industry will be viable in the future with metal prices falling.

Three Marines busy themselves before an inspection. They find a moment to rest and still talk about business.

The Midwest is an unremarkable place. This is what it’s known for, it is what the people I know know it for. Everything monochromatic, slow, grey when it’s cold, yellow when it’s hot. Violent crime spikes in the summer, drunks linger cozy and warm in dim bars in the winter. Suicides on the outskirts, murders on hot asphalt. The Midwest doesn’t know itself. I don’t know the Midwest, yet here I am.

Joining the force was a thing done on a whim. Not much thought about it at all. Walking down the sidewalk below the precinct it occurred to him that he needed a change. He climbed the steps and strolled confidently through the metal detectors.