We're Sorry...

In 1995 Jacques Chirac, the former president of france has publicly recognized France's responsibility for deporting thousands of Jews to Nazi death camps during the German occupation in World War II. His statement put an end to decades of equivocations by successive French Governments about France's wartime role, but what difference does this apology really make?

Cultural Imperialism

Throughout the years, the new media technology progresses and finds new faster, easier and cheaper ways of reaching its audiences. This enables to target large groups of people all over the world and to deliver the same information to everyone at the same time. While it is clear that the better access to information and the possibility for individuals to express themselves is beneficial, some threats come with it too; one of them is cultural imperialism.

Smoking on TV

Films and TV programs are rated based on what audiences they are appropriate for. Nonetheless, the classification system is controversial in many cases. One concerns the exposure of children and teenagers to images depicting smoking. Most of such films are rated 12A (suitable for 12 year olds and over), but many believe that they may be harmful and there should be a blanket ban on smoking in films.

Civilization Influence

Nowadays we cannot live without factories, oil drills, vehicles, smart phones, etc. and above all, the Internet. But is this really true? In the past people used to live without electricity and they were content. Have we really been spoiled so much?

Categorization of People

It is common knowledge that people tend to classify almost everything: animals, plants, objects, etc. people also tend to distinguish between each other. But is it okay to do that? Or can it be considered racism?

Believe Falsely or not to Believe at All?

Imagine Christmas: the feeling in the morning that someone has been there... The breeze of mysterious magic in the air... And only a few crumbs where the biscuits have been.

Is There Objective Truth

Recently I had a discussion with a friend. I do not exactly remember how we arrived at the topic, but we were talking about truth and whether there is an objective one.We considered the example of seeing things. We had different opinions on the matter, but now that I come to think of it, I'd have to say that we both had some valid points.

Self-Deception as a Destructive Power

Self-deception is a process of denying or rationalizing away the relevance, significance or importance of opposing evidence and logical argument. It is often used to make life more comfortable, so that the not always pleasant truth does not have to be dealt with, as it might not fit our personal beliefs. Self-deception does not alter realty, however, if we did not run away from truth but confronted it and learn more about it, we could change the current conditions into better ones.

And they lived happily ever after...

American movies which are highly ‘educative’, give a moral lesson and usually tend to end happily. But are happy endings in American movies always happy? Although it may seem so while watching the film, however after they are over, we are left with a strong feeling of unfulfillment.

Determinism

We like to think that we can change who we are, that our actions and experiences shape us who we are, but what if we are already coded to be someone? One such philosophy is described by determinism.