What is welfare According to recent polls, most A Essay Example For Students

What is welfare? According to recent polls, most A Essay mericans consider this nations welfare system a failure and a disgrace (LeVert 10). Most people use the word welfare to mean income support or public assistance programs designed to help people who are already poor. Although it is geared to poverty-stricken people, families, and children, most people have benefited from government aid or assistance programs, in other words, welfare. Poverty in America is a disease for which there is plenty of treatment, but no known cure. In the essay, On Dumpster Diving, Lars Eighner describes what life is like scavenging for food, and living on the street. In order to survive he had to dumpster dive. Eighner describes this as scrounging dumpsters for his basic needs, food and clothing (19). Whatever he eats, drinks, or wears come from dumpsters. The unfortunate circumstances that led to his situation occur to millions of people throughout the country. The growing problem of homelessness is worsened by the welfare programs that offer subsistence rather than opportunities, or incentives (Long 23). Federal expenditures for public and private low-cost housing have been cut from $30 billion, in 1981, to $7 billion in 1987, and only about 4 million of 10 million eligible households receive federal rental assistance of any kind (Long 29). We will write a custom essay on What is welfare? According to recent polls, most A specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now In the essay, A Nation of Welfare Families, Stephanie Coontz discusses her belief that all families in American history have depended on the legislative, judicial, and social structures set up by the government (Coontz 994). The suburban family of the 1950s was far more dependent on government assistance than any so-called underclass family of today (Coontz 995). Federal GI benefit payments, available to forty percent of the male population between the ages twenty and thirty-four, permitted a whole generation of men to expand their education and improve their job with The National Defense Education Act (Coontz 996). Government spending was largely responsible for the new highways, sewer systems, utility services, and traffic control programs that expanded the suburbs. In the postwar period, the Federal Housing Authority, supplemented by the GI Bill, put the federal government in the business of regulating loans for single home construction. FHA policy required a down payment of only five to ten percent of the purchase price and guaranteed mortgages of up to thirty years at interest rates of just two to three percent (Coontz 995). The current welfare system tries to help the poor in the form of in-kind benefits, not cash assistance. These programs aim to improve the quality of life of those without enough money for food, shelter, medical care, or education. Such programs include food subsides such as the Food Stamp Program, the School Lunch Program, and the Women and Child Nutrition Program; medical insurance or Medicaid; housing subsides, which provide public housing or vouchers toward rental assistance; and Low-Income Home Energy Assistance, which helps needy families pay their energy costs (LeVert 40). Although there is a great amount of welfare given to the poor most people benefit in some way from our system of social welfare. The retired person who collects Social Security checks, the low-income family who receive Food Stamps, the college student who is gr anted a low-interest federal student loan, and the worker who collects unemployment after losing their job are all beneficiaries of the system of welfare. Composed of more than two hundred federal and state programs, the welfare system is a complex patchwork of social insurance, means-tested programs, and includes cash assistance and non-cash, or in-kind benefits (LeVert 36). In 1992, total expenditures for all of these programs amounted to about $700 billion with more than two-thirds of this money spent on only three programs: Social Security, Medicaid, and Unemployment Insurance (LeVert 39). Almost everyone in this country will benefit presently, or in the future from these three programs. Social Security provides cash assistance to retired citizens who are sixty-two years of age or older, survivors of deceased workers, and those forced to retire because of disability. In 1991, the federal government allowed an individual to receive a maximum of $1022 a month, and the average Soci al Security pension for a worker who retired at age sixty-five, however, amounted to about $602 a month (LeVert 47). When one retires he or she will receive social security, as financial assistance paid for by the government, or in other words, welfare. .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 , .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 .postImageUrl , .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 , .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9:hover , .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9:visited , .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9:active { border:0!important; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9:active , .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9 .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ube6214bd57edf3c511932bb039bafaf9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Ethnographic Interview EssayMedicare provides limited medical coverage to elderly citizens. Beneficiaries commonly contribute to the cost of insurance, and because the services it provides are limited, many people must purchase additional medical insurance. This program accounts for about 22 percent of all social insurance costs. Unemployment insurance is available to workers who are involuntarily unemployed. Benefits are based on a percentage of past earnings and are funded through employers payroll tax. Although the maximum duration of benefits for an unemployed person is usually twenty-six weeks, a state may extend this coverage if its unemployment rate exceeds a certai n percentage. The amount a worker may collect depends on the salary earned, but a maximum weekly amount is fixed by each state. These maximums range from about $100 to $300 a week, and in 1992, a total of $37 billion was spent in funding this program (Maloney 11). In conclusion, whether in the past, present or future one will be the beneficiary of government aid. People receive federal assistance from the government but are reluctant to refer to it as welfare because of the stigma surrounding this controversial topic. Welfare is not just for the poor, in fact, even the wealth benefit from federal aid in some ways. Whatever reforms re made to our welfare system one thing is certain, they will need to be reexamined regularly because the effect everyone living in this countryWorks CitedCoontz, Stephanie. A Nation of Welfare Families. The Norton Reader. Ed. Linda H. Peterson et al. 9th ed. New York, 1996. 993-997. Eighner, Lars. On Dumpster Diving. The Norton Reader. Ed. Linda H. Peterson et al. 9th ed. New York,1996. 19-29. LeVert, Marianne. The Welfare System. New York: The Millbrook Press, 1995. Long, Robert Emmet. The Welfare Debate. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1989. Maloney, Lawrence. Welfare in America: Is it a Flop? U.S. News World Report. Dec. 1984: 10+.

Free Essays on Brutus & Caesar

and ideas to fit the political climate, betraying Caesar, his country, and eventually himself. Brutus, having no self-assurance, or confidence he resulted to being a follower right down to his death. These are all signs of a weak person. With so much going for him, he lost it all to an easy way out o... Free Essays on Brutus & Caesar Free Essays on Brutus & Caesar Brutus was a trusted friend of Caesar and an honorable man, or so you thought. In William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus is presented as a loyal companion to Caesar showing himself as honorable only to turn around and betray his friend by death. This to me does not sound like the act of an honorable man. Can a man who is honored, be honorable? Brutus was a noble man in Rome and a good friend to the leader Caesar. Many looked up to Brutus as an honest man, and a person to trust and confide in. Trust is a basis in a friendship, and the one thing that failed to enter the relationship between Caesar and Brutus, leading to the one thing to drive their friendship apart. He may be looked apon as honored but was definitely not an honorable man. Someone who kills one of his own because he was persuaded to by the thoughts and ideas of others is easily manipulated and therefore cannot be thought of as honorable. He does not have strong character if he does not have faith in himself. "Hold then my sword, and turn away thy face while I do run apon it." (Shakespeare The Tragedy of Julius Caesar 5. 3. line 49) These were words Brutus spoke moments before killing himself, dying full of shame. How could a man who does not have the strength to carry on with his life, be considered honorable? Half of having the title of being honorable, is having faith in yourself, a quality which Brutus showed he did not have by timorously taking his own life. Inner weakness portrays itself in an outer manifestations of lies and anger. How can these characteristics be considered honorable? Like a chameleon, Brutus changed his words and ideas to fit the political climate, betraying Caesar, his country, and eventually himself. Brutus, having no self-assurance, or confidence he resulted to being a follower right down to his death. These are all signs of a weak person. With so much going for him, he lost it all to an easy way out o...

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 148

Assignment Example There 155 units are supplied to the market at that price. Results are shown in the table in Q.2 An increase in demand as a result of a decrease in prices without a corresponding change in supply will push the demand curve upwards and hence result to a shift of the demand curve to the right, that is, from D to D2. An increase in prices will reduce the consumer’s purchasing power and hence shift the demand curve downwards to the left; from D to D1 as shown by the arrows. An increase in prices will result to an increase in supply and this shifts the supply curve to the right from S to S2. A decrease in prices decreases supply shifting the supply curve to the left from S to S1. The shift is shown by the arrows, demand remains constant. The equilibrium moves to the left incase of a decrease in supply and to the right in case of an increase in supply. An increase in both supply and demand will expand the market resulting in an increase in both the prices of the goods and also the quantity of goods supplied and demanded. The equilibrium shifts to the right (William 12). A decrease in both demand and supply will contract the market leading to lower prices of goods and lower quantities of goods traded. Hence the equilibrium price and quantity shifts to the left (William

Breast Feeding and Prevention of Breast Cancer Research Proposal

Breast Feeding and Prevention of Breast Cancer - Research Proposal Example This was particular for BRCA1, which is one of the breast cancer faulty genes. The other one is BRCA2, and did not show any response to breast feeding, regardless of the length. Since the Swedish study, researchers have been giving contradicting results about breast cancer and breast feeding (Carlson, 2012). This means that research is ongoing to try and further elucidate whether it is a myth or a fact. This study looks at experimental research to prove the fact that breast feeding will actually offer a protective advantage against breast cancer. Objective This research draws its hypothesis on already done researches to assume that there is a protective advantage against breast cancer in breast feeding. Therefore, the main objective is to find out the truth in the allusions that the earlier researches have come up with. It focuses on evidence to prove that there is truth in breast feeding having a protective effect on breast cancer. Further, the study also intends to give mothers and would be mothers the probable duration of breast feeding that will help to check the risk of breast cancer, despite it being a very personal decision how long one plans to breast feed. Background Globally, breast cancer accounts for almost 10.4% of all the cancers among women. A large percentage of this occurs in third world countries (Goldberg, 2009). Control would be gained among women and health practitioners if it was to be detected earlier before becoming critical. This means that ignorance has been the cause of high cancer mortality rates in developing countries around the world. Screening practices and breast cancer awareness will help a great deal in enlightening people about the disease. The level of ignorance about breast... To evaluate the hypothesis of a protective advantage against breast cancer in breast feeding, the research employed a cross sectional study method by use of a structured questionnaire in a period of two months. The questionnaire covered demographic principle and breast cancer risk factors. The main objective of the research is to find out the truth in the allusions that the earlier researches have come up with. The paper focuses on evidence to prove that there is truth in breast feeding having a protective effect on breast cancer. Further, the study also intends to give mothers and would be mothers the probable duration of breast feeding that will help to check the risk of breast cancer, despite it being a very personal decision how long one plans to breast feed. Further, the results provide evidence that women breast feeding for longer periods keep themselves protected against breast cancer. Additionally, there is evidence in the fact that most women in first world countries either do not breast feed or breast feed for shorter periods, hence there is high rates of the disease in those countries. Basing on evidence, breast feeding has a significant protective effect on breast cancer. The study above proves that women who frequently breast feed reduce their risks of getting the disease significantly in comparison to women who do not breast feed. Therefore, this study confirms the hypothesis. From this study, mothers should breast feed their babies for a period of at least one year.

Introduction to mass communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Introduction to mass communication - Essay Example The editor is another gatekeeper who decided which parts of the original report were to be retained and which parts were to be changed or removed from the report. B) This report is targeted towards the world in general. This is a news item about politics, and it cannot be denied that everybody who is even slightly conscious of the world around him must have at least some interest in politics, for, as Aristotle said, "Man is a political animal." This report is about one of the greatest incidents in world politics in the year 2009, and is targeted towards anybody who has an interest in politics, anybody who is literate and aware of the political situations in the world. CNN is one of the world's leading journalism media, and their reports are generally believed to be authentic and trustworthy; a lot of people depend on CNN for comprehensive reporting of different events. It is not possible for everybody to be present everywhere every time; and although television has made communication easier, the utility of print journalism remains. This report is targeted to all those people who were interested in Obama's swearing-in and wanted a first-hand account of the proceedings at the inauguration of USA's 44th President and the first Black President in the history of the country. C) This report describes the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of t... The United States is considered the most powerful country in the world. This greatness that America has achieved was not a given; according to Obama, "it must be earned". America has earned its greatness, and although it faces serious economic and international challenges, it has not ceased to be great. Obama showed his countrymen a ray of hope in saying that the challenges faced by USA will be met, although that may not be easy or quick. Joe Biden was sworn in as Vice-President before Barack Obama took his oath of office with his hand on the same Bible that was used in Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration. Obama took note of the fact that he was Black, and thanked those who sacrificed so much so that "a man whose father, less than 60 years ago, might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath." He promised to end petty squabbles on Capitol Hill, bring "old friends and former enemies" into the fold. He also vowed to leave Iraq to its people and to finish forging "a hard-earned peace" in Afghanistan. To Muslims, he promised "a new way forward, based on mutual interest," and to terrorists, he said, "You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you." The report also shows what the reaction of people across America and the world were. While spectators at the National Mall were overwhelmed by Obama's speech, across the country, people gathered together to watch Obama deliver words of hope on television. Even the reactions of celebrities like Oprah Winfrey are documented in this report. It also mentions that world leaders like Nicholas Sarkozy, the French President, and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd congratulated the new President on

Social Work Practice: Values and Ethics

Social Work Practice: Values and Ethics Introduction At its most basic social work is a consistent and organised approach to the social problems of families and individuals. It is an approach that focuses on helping people to help themselves (Moore, 2002).[1]Most practitioners enter social work because of a commitment to social justice, or at the very least a desire to help others and to see improvement and positive change in people’s lives. Modern social work, along with other public services, is being increasingly run along business lines and market principles. Today’s social worker therefore is confronted with the managerial approach, performance indicators, care managers and care packages. Given the current state of things where everything is guided by budgets and the need to satisfy those in charge by processing a case as quickly as possible one wonders whether a social worker has time to be guided by general ethical principles, let alone a specific code of practice. In the current climate it is easy to forget that s ocial workers are committed to the view of the intrinsic human worth of each individual, and the concomitant view that each person deserves the best care and advice possible. In 1948 the Universal Declarati[2]on of Human Rights came into being. The declaration encapsulates a view of the inherent worth and dignity of the human person. The declaration espouses the notion of individual freedom on the basis that such freedom did not infringe the rights of others, these are the rights on which much of social work practice is based. This paper will begin with a general definition of ethics. It will then look at the ethics and values which underpin social work practice. There will be an assessment of social work values and of their relevance to anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice. Ethics Ethics are general moral principles that are intended to inform the governing of human behaviour. Thus, most people would hold to the view that some things such as cruelty and murder are always wrong, or unethical. Ethical codes, however, may be based on moral principles, but are not as generalisable or universally applicable. This is because they refer to particular professions and the way in which professional behaviour is governed. Such ethical codes cannot be said to be neutral or value free because they are contextual. They arise within a certain context and are applied to a particular purpose as such, ethical codes are influenced by the ideologies held in that context (Butler, 2000). The context being examined here, is that of social work practice. Codes of practice and ethics are often idealistic, because they may be seen as providing a blueprint for how a social worker should act when it is impossible to legislate for every situation, and this may result in a false sense of s ecurity (Banks, 2003). Social workers therefore, need to be able to recognise when the code of practice within which they are required to work, does not operate within a framework that is informed by human rights and social justice (Husband, 1995). The Client’s Needs Shon (1991) has argued that: Professionals claim to contribute to social well-being, put their clients’ needs ahead of their own, and hold themselves accountable to standards of competence and morality. (Schon, 1991:11-12). Some critics maintain that the way in which social services often operates is self-serving rather than serving the needs of the clients, yet social workers do police themselves and their profession. The way in which they do this is to think critically about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what moral implications this may have. Certainly social work ethics should not lead anyone to believe that the social work profession should serve itself, rather the needs of the client should be most important. One of the ways this is achieved is by establishing clear relationship boundaries early on. This is because involvement with a client that is too personal is contrary to what the BASW has to say about social work ethics and values. The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work (BASW,2001). [3] Social work practice, in order to be ethical practice must be centred on the needs of service users Social workers of necessity intervene in people’s lives and have an influence on situations, ethical decision making is therefore a vital component of social work practice (Osmo and Landau, 2001). The Association is there to give advice to social workers on what constitutes ethical decision making in different contexts. Ethical Decision Making Decision making has to be grounded in the values and ethics of social work. Some of the issues that social workers have to deal with and that involve them in ethical decision making centre around balancing the rights of one individual against others, around public welfare and issues of institutional and structural oppression. This can make life difficult because the social worker has then to identify when institutions and structures are being oppressive and how the values of social work may be used to combat this. Decision making is also problematic because social workers are committed to confidentiality with respect to the people they work with. Sometimes a social worker is faced with a situation where he or she may, for the greater good, be forced to break the ethic of confidentiality because the client may be a danger to themselves of someone else. This causes a conflict of values and the social worker has, with the help of his/her supervisor, to balance the needs of the individua l against the needs of the greater good. At the very least social work should begin with a clear commitment to social justice which seeks to challenge poverty and discrimination in all its forms because social work has its roots in the nineteenth century moves to eradicate poverty and unemployment. Everyone has the right to be protected from abuse and to be treated with respect. This is not easy when Government discourses express concern for inclusion and equality e.g. for those with mental health problems, then employ discourses which ignore factors such as race, gender and class and social circumstances, that are pertinent to any proper understanding of a person’s condition. The Human Rights Act of 1998 makes it mandatory for local authorities to act in ways that are conversant with the Act. Social workers help with the problems faced by people with disabilities. Social workers have a duty to be conversant with the Human Rights Act and the Community Care Act of 1990. Social workers are faced with making decisions concerning what defines a person with disabilities and also how to assess their needs. If the wrong form of care is prescribed, e.g. detainment under the Mental Health Act for a person who does not fulfil the specified criteria, then this could be an infringem ent of human rights. Social workers are duty bound to base their practice on concepts of human rights and social justice but at the same time they need to be more aware of how the inequalities that they see in society might affect their practice (Cemlyn and Briskman 2003). Society does not always operate in the best interests of the individual person, furthermore, the introduction of market principles into social care can mean that the legal framework within which a social worker has to act may also (however much it is unintended) work against individual rights. Some commentators e.g. Challis (1990) maintain that prior to market principles and managerialism being introduced into social care, social workers operated with a much greater degree of freedom. It is arguably the case that the social worker is duty bound to act in accordance with a process that is informed by the valuing of the human person and the concept of human rights, and may, therefore, need to be prepared to work outside of a framework th at (albeit unintended) prevents them from working according to this ethic (Cemlyn and Briskman, 2003). Wolff (2002) speaks of virtue ethics being the root of social work practice because of its concern with a just society and justice for individuals. Bearing this in mind social workers seek to engage in anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice in all that they do. Anti-discriminatory and Anti-oppressive Practice An emancipatory and anti-oppressive attitude is a critical component of ethical social work, social workers should be people enablers, enabling people to stand up for their rights and giving them a voice. Horton and Pattapen (2004) argue that in contemporary society individuals are often disempowered in numbers of ways and feel unable to cope with the rules that guide their lives. Social workers deal with the distress that results from this and in their practice should question social systems wherein an increasing number of people suffer from injustice, oppression, and exclusion from mainstream society. Anti-discriminatory practice means taking account of structural disadvantages i.e. how the structures of society often work against certain groups e.g. those with disabilities, women, and ethnic minorities. It also means that the social worker takes care not to use discriminatory language and to do their best to promote the dignity and self-worth of service users. The ethos of the worth of individual human persons is often counteracted by current social work practice. Under the guidelines for social care social workers help individuals to choose what is best for them, in practice however, care managers are the people who hold the budgets and budgetary concerns can often be discriminatory disenfranchising the person that the social worker is trying to help (Postle, 2000). Social workers try to avoid this happening but they work in a state institution that often inadvertently works against the best interests of service users. This is why social workers need to be trained to view the world from the perspective of others so that they more easily recognise how the system oppresses (Moore, 2002).. Conclusion The ethics and values that underpin social work practice are dedicated to social justice and recognition of the inherent worth of each and every individual. Social workers do their best to work in partnership with service users and to do this in a way that includes and empowers people. Social workers are dedicated to help people move forward and take control of their lives, the idea is to shift the power balance away from the social worker and towards the person that needs help. The structures of society are, in some ways, discriminatory and oppressive and social workers recognise that white masculine values disadvantage people and they are therefore committed to anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice in their work. Bibliography Banks, S. 2003 From oaths to rulebooks: a critical examination of codes of ethics for the social professions European journal of Social Work Volume 6 No. 2 July 2003 p. 133-144 British Association of Social Workers (2002) The Code of Ethics for Social Work.http://www.basw.co.uk/. Butler, I 2000. A Code of Ethics for Social Work and Social Work Research http://www.elsc.org.uk/socialcareresource/tswr/seminar6/butler.htm Cremlyn, S and Briskman L. 2003 â€Å"Asylum, Children’s Rights and Social Work† Child and Family Social Work 8 (3) pp. 163-178 Husband, C. (1995) The morally active practitioner and the ethics of anti-racist social work. In: Ethical Issues in Social Work (eds R. Hugman D. Smith), pp. 84–103. Routledge, London Ife, J. (2001) Human Rights Social Work: Towards Rights-Based Practice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Postle, F. (2000) The social work side is disappearing. I guess it started with us being called care managers, Practice, 13(2), pp. 13-27. Ring, C. 2001 â€Å"Quality assurance in mental-health care: A case study from social work† Health and Social Care in the Community 9(6) 2001 pp. 383-390 Schà ¶n, D. A. (1991) The Reflective Turn: Case Studies In and On Educational Practice, New York: Teachers Press, Columbia University Slote, Michael. From Morality to Virtue. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992 Wolff, J. 2002 â€Å"Contractualism and the virtues† Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy Volume 5 No. 2 June 2002 p. 120-132 1 Footnotes [1] See p.179 [2] [3] http://www.basw.co.uk/articles.php?articleId=2page=2

Aristotles Ethics Essay -- essays research papers

The Humanities represent man's concern with man and with the human world. In that concern there is no more important problem than the age-old one which was first discussed systematically here, in Greece, more than two thousand years ago. The problem I refer to, which the ancient Greek philosophers thought deeply about, is this one: What makes a human life good -- what makes it worth living and what must we do, not just merely to live, but to live well? In the whole tradition of Western literature and learning, one book more than any other defines this problem for us and helps us to think about it. That book of course is Aristotle's Ethics, written in the fourth century before Christ. Aristotle was a student of Plato. Plato had founded the Academy of Athens, which was the great university of ancient Greece. Aristotle studied and worked there for about twenty years. He was called by Plato "the intellect of the school." Unlike Socrates, Aristotle was interested in the study of nature. He was unlike Socrates in another respect. When he, too, was accused of un-Athenian activities, he decided to flee, saying "I will not let the Athenians offend twice against philosophy." The subject treated in this book is called "ethics" because ethos is the Greek word for character, and the problems with which this book deals are the problems of character and the conduct of life. The Ethics is divided into ten parts. I am going to deal only with the first part, in which Aristotle discusses happiness. But before we begin, let me remind you of a famous statement about happiness that occurs in the opening paragraph of the American Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..." Have you ever thought what it means to say that it is every man's natural right -- not to be happy -- but to engage in the pursuit of happiness? What do we mean when we say that one of the main objectives of good government is to see that no man is interfered with -- more than that, that every man must be helped by the state in his effort to lead ... ... almost completed, and say that it has been good. This may seem strange to you at first, but when you think about it for a moment you will see that it really is not. One example will make this clear to you. You go to a football game. At the end of the first half, you meet a friend of yours in the aisle. He says to you, "Good game, isn't it?'' If it has been well-played so far, your natural response would be to say, "Yes." But if you stop to think for a moment, you will realize that all you are in a position to say, at the end of the half, is that it is becoming a good game. Only if it is well played all through the second half, can you say, when it is all over, that it was a good game. Well, life is like that. Not until it is really over can you say, "It was a good life" -- that is, if it has been well lived. Toward the middle, or before, all you can say is that it is becoming a good life. Here is Aristotle's way of making this point: "Certainly the future is obscure to us, while happiness, we claim, is an end and something in every way final†¦If so, we shall call happy those among living men in whom these conditions are, and are to be fulfilled."