Free Essays on Ciceros On Duties

Summary of Cicero’s, On Duties This excerpt from the book, On the Good Life, is a letter from Cicero to his son. I couldn’t even imagine getting something like this from my father. It is full of great advice on how to live your life in such a way that you are regarded as a highly favorable person with impeccable morals. I agree with most of what Cicero has to say in his excerpt, On Duties. In this review I will summarize Cicero’s’ main arguments and his ideas for a better person and nation. I believe that Cicero wrote this book for intelligent individuals who wanted to attain power in life through morally positive avenues; it was written almost as an academic piece. It was also written as a gage with which a person who was reading it could weigh himself. Cicero begins the volume by relating to us why he has chosen Philosophy as his current field of study, his only field of study. He had once been a political leader but since the government â€Å"lay under domination of a single individual† (120) he was angry and sorrowful that he had lost some of his good friends to the uprising. That he was no longer able to practice politics deeply saddened Cicero. So to forget his sorrows he took up philosophy. Cicero believed that the best method for learning was philosophy because it literally meant love of wisdom. Even though Cicero thought himself a philosopher he was quick to disagree with those philosophers who he saw as tricky and misleading to the public. Cicero believed that the only way to â€Å"attain the objects of their desires† was â€Å"by moral goodness, both in thought and in action† (125). This leads us to Cicero’s classification of expediency and how it affects us as humans. Cicero classified the â€Å"things that go towards the maintenance of human life† (125) as either animate or inanimate. The inanimate objects consist of gold and silver and things from the earth. He then further classifies the animate into rationa... Free Essays on Ciceros On Duties Free Essays on Ciceros On Duties Summary of Cicero’s, On Duties This excerpt from the book, On the Good Life, is a letter from Cicero to his son. I couldn’t even imagine getting something like this from my father. It is full of great advice on how to live your life in such a way that you are regarded as a highly favorable person with impeccable morals. I agree with most of what Cicero has to say in his excerpt, On Duties. In this review I will summarize Cicero’s’ main arguments and his ideas for a better person and nation. I believe that Cicero wrote this book for intelligent individuals who wanted to attain power in life through morally positive avenues; it was written almost as an academic piece. It was also written as a gage with which a person who was reading it could weigh himself. Cicero begins the volume by relating to us why he has chosen Philosophy as his current field of study, his only field of study. He had once been a political leader but since the government â€Å"lay under domination of a single individual† (120) he was angry and sorrowful that he had lost some of his good friends to the uprising. That he was no longer able to practice politics deeply saddened Cicero. So to forget his sorrows he took up philosophy. Cicero believed that the best method for learning was philosophy because it literally meant love of wisdom. Even though Cicero thought himself a philosopher he was quick to disagree with those philosophers who he saw as tricky and misleading to the public. Cicero believed that the only way to â€Å"attain the objects of their desires† was â€Å"by moral goodness, both in thought and in action† (125). This leads us to Cicero’s classification of expediency and how it affects us as humans. Cicero classified the â€Å"things that go towards the maintenance of human life† (125) as either animate or inanimate. The inanimate objects consist of gold and silver and things from the earth. He then further classifies the animate into rationa...

Manganese Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements

Manganese Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements Manganese  Basic Facts Atomic Number: 25 Symbol: Mn Atomic Weight: 54.93805 Discovery: Johann Gahn, Scheele, Bergman 1774 (Sweden) Electron Configuration: [Ar]4s2 3d5 Word Origin: Latin magnes: magnet, referring to the magnetic properties of pyrolusite; Italian manganese: corrupt form of magnesia Properties: Manganese has a melting point of 1244/-3 °C, boiling point of 1962 °C, specific gravity of 7.21 to 7.44 (depending on allotropic form), and valence of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 7. Ordinary manganese is a hard and brittle gray-white metal. It is chemically reactive and slowly decomposes in cold water. Manganese metal is ferromagnetic (only) after special treatment. There are four allotropic forms of manganese. The alpha form is stable at normal temperatures. The gamma form changes to the alpha form at ordinary temperature. In contrast to the alpha form, the gamma form is soft, flexible, and easily cut. Uses: Manganese is an important alloying agent. It is added to improve the strength, toughness, stiffness, hardness, wear resistance, and hardenability of steels. Together with aluminum and antimony, especially in the presence of copper, it forms highly ferromagnetic alloys. Manganese dioxide is used as a depolarizer in dry cells and as a decolorizing agent for glass that has been colored green due to iron impurities. The dioxide is also used in drying black paints and in the preparation of oxygen and chlorine. Manganese colors glass an amethyst color and is the coloring agent in natural amethyst. The permanganate is used as an oxidizing agent and is useful for qualitative analysis and in medicine. Manganese is an important trace element in nutrition, although exposure to the element is toxic in higher quantities. Sources: In 1774, Gahn isolated manganese by reducing its dioxide with carbon. The metal may also be obtained by electrolysis or by reducing the oxide with sodium, magnesium, or aluminum. Manganese-containing minerals are widely distributed. Pyrolusite (MnO2) and rhodochrosite (MnCO3) are among the most common of these minerals. Element Classification: Transition Metal Isotopes: There are known 25 isotopes of manganese ranging from Mn-44 to Mn-67 and Mn-69. The only stable isotope is Mn-55. The next most stable isotope is Mn-53 with a half-life of 3.74 x 106 years. Density (g/cc): 7.21 Manganese Physical Data Melting Point (K): 1517 Boiling Point (K): 2235 Appearance: Hard, brittle, grayish-white metal Atomic Radius (pm): 135 Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 7.39 Covalent Radius (pm): 117 Ionic Radius: 46 (7e) 80 (2e) Specific Heat (20 °C J/g mol): 0.477 Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): (13.4) Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 221 Debye Temperature (K): 400.00 Pauling Negativity Number: 1.55 First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 716.8 Oxidation States: 7, 6, 4, 3, 2, 0, -1 The most common oxidation states are 0, 2, 6 and 7 Lattice Structure: Cubic Lattice Constant (Ã…): 8.890 CAS registry number: 7439-96-5 Manganese Trivia: Manganese dioxide is used to make clear glass. Normal silica glass is tinted green and the manganese oxides add a purple tint to the glass that cancels out the green. Because of this property, glassmakers called it glassmakers soap.Manganese is found in the enzymes necessary to metabolize fats and carbohydrates.Manganese is found in the bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas.Manganese is important in the processes that form bones, clots blood, and regulates blood sugar.As important as manganese is to our health, the body does not store manganese.Manganese is the 12th most abundant element in the Earths crust.Manganese has an abundance of 2 x 10-4 mg/L in sea water (parts per million).The permanganate ion (MnO4-) contains the 7 oxidation state of manganese.Manganese was found in a black mineral called magnes from the ancient Greek kingdom of Magnesia. Magnes was actually two different minerals, magnetite and pyrolusite. The pyrolusite mineral (manganese dioxide) was called magnesia. Manganese is used in steel production to fix the sulfur found in iron ores. It also strengthens steel and prevents oxidation. References: Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001), Crescent Chemical Company (2001), Langes Handbook of Chemistry (1952), CRC Handbook of Chemistry Physics (18th Ed.) International Atomic Energy Agency ENSDF database (Oct 2010)