Aristotle, Kant and Mills on Morals, Morality and Moral Philosophy Essay

The human social and personal life has become more and more complex. Over time, individual thinkers and intellectuals have consistently delved and investigated many important aspects of the human way of life. One of which is the investigation of how people rationalize their actions based on the socially-shared concept of right and wrong. Every time an individual acts, the deeply embedded instinct to question whether the action is right or wrong is influenced by the concept known as morality which is important in the society . Today, morality as an idea and as a practice and social feature remains unstable because it is still subject to change. This is the reason why morality is never cast in stone and that is why there is a saying that not all moral actions are legal and not all legal actions are moral. What morality affects is an aspect of life that greatly varies based on case-to-case situations and scenarios. It is difficult to define what morality is, and more importantly, what morality expects from the people. Helping the people understand that and manage this dilemma are the ideas of thinkers like John Stuart Mills, Immanuel Kant and Aristotle, who provided explanations and ideas regarding morality, what it is, what it entails, what to do with it, how to use it, etc. They are famous during their time and even in their present because of their intellectual gifts, how they used it and what resulted from it, these individuals proved to be instrumental in exploring and explaining the extent of morality and moral philosophy. They opened ideas regarding morality and moral philosophy that acted as guide for people to better understand it and live and act in accordance to what they believe are suitable tenets in their own way of life. History has viewed Kant, Mills and Aristotle as important pillars in the discussion of morality and moral philosophy. What people feel vis-a-vis what people are subjected to by law are all making its impact in how morality develops, shifts and change every day. It is important that individuals have a solid understanding of what these ideas are, how they differ or are similar with other ideas and how it can impact human life. II. Discussion A. Morality What is morality? For the longest time, morality has been strongly debated by many of the world’s greatest thinkers in the hope of finding a concrete and definitive answer to this inquiry en route to a useful application of such ideas in practical everyday lives. In the past as well as in the present, morality has often figured significantly in the many different affairs and activities of human beings. It is a set of beliefs. It includes important aspects like punishment and reward system in societies as well as traditional practices among others . Society has been strongly dependent and influenced by the concept of morality especially those which are socially shared. Morality has long existed but in the past was hardly explored, explained and defined. With the works of philosophers like Aristotle, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mills, among others, morality and the philosophy operating it has been explained and explored, especially in consideration to how people act or in anticipation of how people will and should act. Morality is an important aspect of social and personal life that influences and dictates the actions of human beings and how the society and other human beings respond to it. It is hard to imagine world without the concept of morality as it is. It may be presented in another words or terms but the ethos of such idea will persist. The human nature is naturally attuned to discovering and exploring a natural aspect of human interaction such as morality. Through the established ideas of morality accepted by the society, an action is defined as right or wrong, moral or immoral (although in case to case basis it is often more complex than that). Morality acts as a guide. The society hopes that through aspects like morality, people can have an organized set of actions and the social life will not fall into chaos. As an important indicator of what is right and what is wrong, morality and morals of the individuals have always been subjected to investigation. This is done to see if the existing parameter for the identification of morality and what is moral or immoral is acceptable, and if necessary, challenged to influence the entry of change. Individuals like the thinkers Kant, Mill and Aristotle tried to find out and explain the implications of morality, as well as its scope and boundaries. They explained whether it is a simple code of conduct or is it something more, something reflective of the real and true character of the individual which is innate even without the influence of external rules. â€Å"What is at stake is whether morality is essentially a system of rules, which persons can obey for whatever reasons, or something that is broader in its demands – a system that reaches to the ingredients of the characters or personalities of those who obey its rules . † B. Morality according to philosophers i. Immanuel Kant – Immanuel Kant was a very insightful and talented thinker and intellectual who made his mark in history based on what he offered to the world as important ideas in many different fields of human way of life. His position on morality and moral theory is characterized by his creation of what is known as the Categorical Imperative or simply CI. For Kant, discerning what is moral or immoral is simply based on how the individual acts according to the Categorical Imperative. Being consistent with what the Categorical Imperative requires mean that the action and the individual is moral, while varying or deviating from the Categorical Imperative is equal to being immoral. Basically, what Kant is trying to point out here via his Categorical Imperative is the idea that morality is something that should be hinged on a particular set of standards established and shared by the society pertaining to what is acceptable and what is unacceptable action. Kant rationalizes that the individual should be free to pursue or deviate from the Categorical imperative. The individual is a rational being and not a being that is merely driven by emotional motors without consideration to reason. He or she is free and endowed with autonomy to make the distinction in recognizing moral and immoral actions. The individual pursues what could be moral or immoral in the person’s perspective and the perspective of other people or community. Kant’s position on morality is found in his several published works which have been extensively read, critiqued and reviewed by other individuals, who, like Kant are also intently pursuing the philosophy of morality and the ideas affecting it. These include â€Å"The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals†, followed by â€Å"The Critique of Practical Reason†, â€Å"The Metaphysics of Morals, Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View. † His writing entitled â€Å"Religion Within the Boundaries of Mere Reason† also touches the topic of morality and is important in moral theories. ii. Aristotle – Aristotle is a thinker who has explored many different aspects of human social life and has contributed many different important ideas. One of the things that Aristotle talked about in his works is morality. Aristotle is known for his contribution to the philosophy of morality. Despite the fact that Aristotle is well respected as a thinker, critical analysis of his works on moral philosophy still revealed some key holes and weaknesses in his overall concept . Some of the ideas that Aristotle explored with regards to morality and moral philosophy include the idea that the main consideration in morality is having people consider what is best for the many and not for the few. Aristotle’s discussion of morality is also focused on virtue, and the consideration and role of money and material consideration and the weighing of material and non material considerations when it comes to what constitutes happiness. In turn, it is an important consideration in assessing moral and immoral actions. It can be considered that Aristotle was practical and realistic in his approach to explaining morality, even giving ideas in simple construction, like how it is not easy to be good, as reflected in his work Nichomachean Ethics . iii. John Stuart Miller – John Stuart Mill has been considered as one of the individuals in the nineteenth century who talked about morality and provided new ideas regarding morality and moral philosophy. Many believed that Mill’s ideas were actually off shoot from other ideas in the past like those presented by intellectuals like John Locke and David Hume among others. Critics and analysts believe that what Mill did was consolidate some of the important ideas of these philosophers and develop and new approach in understanding morality and moral philosophy to help guide people and their way of life and way of thinking. This results to a society in tune with moral paradigms and is assisted in defining what is right and wrong actions and way of life. Mill is identified with the utilitarian approach in moral philosophy. This means Mill believes in the idea that the morality of the action of the individual is assessed by the consequences of that action which makes considerations on action utilitarian. The society judges the actions based on what it can do to the people or society. C. Similarities The three philosophers provide moral philosophy outlooks that share similarities based on what they imply and based on its characteristics as well. For example, critics and analysts believe that the theories of the three in morality are considered as normative. These are the kinds of theories that people should value and put importance to. â€Å"Kant, Mill and Aristotle are offering normative theories; theories of what we should value . † The moral philosophy design of Aristotle, Mill and Kant also shares the similar belief that part of the concept to be good which is important in morality is the recognition that it is difficult to act in such a way that is perceived by the society as good. The concept of what is difficult and what makes the actions difficult vary from one philosopher to the other . Also, morality plays an important part in Mill, Kant and Aristotle’s explanation of other related concepts integral to morality, like ethics, for example . One of the similarities of the three individuals with regards to their pursuit of and contribution to the concept of morals, morality and the moral philosophy is that they are all responsible each for three different perspective, approaches and ideas on morals and morality based on what they have popularized. Aristotle has his Nicomachean Ethics while Kant has his Categorical Imperative. Lastly, Mill has his Utilitarianism . Kant and Mill, two philosophers whose lives are closer to one another compared to the differences in time span with that of Aristotle, has become a factor that resulted in the creation of similarities in their ideas regarding moral philosophy. Larmore explained that the moral philosophy of both Mill and Kant are considered as liberal theories. It is characterized by consistent similarities between the two moral philosophies that featured ideas such as the autonomy and independence of individual in relation to morality, among others . â€Å"Liberal political theory since Kant and Mill has usually presented itself as an all-encompassing moral theory committed to overall personal ideals such as autonomy or an experimental attitude towards ways of life . † Both Kant and Mill also focused on the role and importance of virtue, citing the idea that virtue is a driving force behind achieving morality. Morality, in turn, is realized because of how virtue manipulates individuals towards action. â€Å"Kant and Mill both wrote about the importance of virtues. Still, in their views of morality, what makes for a virtue is the fact that the agent acts in accordance with the fundamental principle of morality . † Also, another similarity, this time between Kant and Mill, is their similar use and advocacy regarding human freedom regarding action and the pursuit of morality. For these two individuals and their moral philosophy, an important idea postulated is that of the role of autonomous human beings being empowered by freedom to choose their actions and by themselves consider what is moral and what immoral actions are. An important characteristic of the ideas of Kant, Mill and Aristotle when it comes to moral philosophy is the shared similarity of the three which made them a collective whole in the analysis of moral theory and philosophy. Prinz, in his book â€Å"The emotional construction of morals†, explained that when moral philosophies are examined collectively, Mill, Kant and Aristotle’s ideas comprise a particular group from which other groups involving different ideas are compared and contrasted with. An example is how the approaches of Hume and Nietzsche are compared to the collective similar ideas of Mill, Kant and Aristotle. â€Å"It is important to see that Hume and Nietzsche are doing something very different from Kant, Mill and Aristotle . † D. Differences i. The different ideas – In many different ways, the philosophical approaches of these three individuals vary from one another. For example, both Aristotle and Mill put forward reasonable, practical and understandable constructs and designs for their moral philosophy and the expectations of the humans and the societies in this matter. In comparison, Kant appears to be extreme in his ideas and in his expectations of the people and the society if his approach on moral philosophy would be followed. For example, Kant was expecting that the rest of the society and other people will rigidly follow behaviors indicative of moral behavior when the truth is, it is more complex than this. Also, Aristotle and Mill’s moral philosophies are considered teleological while that of Kant is considered deontological . Others believe that Aristotle was developing something which differs from the point of focus of the works of Mill and Kant, especially in the idea that moral philosophy can be a guidebook for some, while for others simply the identification of the idea good person . ii. Differences in lieu of God, religion and morality – In comparing the approaches, perspectives and moral takes of these three individuals on morality, morals and the philosophy of morality, it is noticeable how the concept of god and religion has often figured in this equation, and how the three individuals handled them differently. There is Kant who believes that the autonomous individual exercises free will and the belief that this act is a manifestation of God’s will and that reason is used to identify and understand morality. Mill, on the other hand, believes that morality does not include God in the equation and the identification of morality is dependent strongly on the consideration of the individual of his happiness or pleasure. Unlike Kant who believes that as morality is dependent on the individual, so is the individual answerable for his actions on morality and immorality. Mill believes that the individual is not the only entity answerable in morality but society as well. It appears that Aristotle sides with the idea that morality is dependent on the conscious course of action of the individual. This creates moral virtues which in turn influences and determines actions and whether or not they lean towards morality or otherwise. In the idea of virtue, differences are found, especially in comparison to the moral philosophies of Aristotle, Kant and Mill wherein Mill and Kant are in similar standing in the idea and concept of virtue different from how Aristotle perceived it. â€Å"For Aristotle, virtue is basic in a way which it is not for Kant and Mill. That is a crucial difference that is reflected in their theories as overall . † Aristotle provides a very good model for morality, explaining that morality and the pursuit of moral living should be aided by other aspects of life, like education. By being educated, the individual can act better in a way that morality is being considered more significantly in the actions. E. Analysis An important consideration to the understanding of, as well as appreciation, of the moral philosophies of the three moral philosophers is not just based on what the individual analyst or critic is experiencing at the moment and what the individual is biased for or against. Rather, it is based on the context by which they are trying to define and explain morality. It is important that regardless of their differences and similarities as ideas. All of these perspectives are based on an important foundation, and that is the reason through which the philosopher propels his or her ideas (in this case â€Å"his† since all three are male philosophers). As Rosenstand explained it, analysis and criticism of any of these ideas first require the individual to be able to understand the point of reason of these philosophers, why they are trying to say what they are saying and why this is how they see things. â€Å"If we were to ask Kant, Mill, Aristotle, or just about any moral thinker, he or she would say we must try to appeal to their reason . † This phenomenon, in a way, is indicative of the social condition. Societies vary from one another when it comes to their collective idea of morality as well as the differences in the personal preferences on morality. They all have their reasons why their morality and their moral philosophies are designed as it is. III. Conclusion The philosophers Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill and Aristotle are individuals and thinkers who explored and discussed morality and in the process helped people in defining standards for life and way of life. These individuals are important because people has the need to understand how they should act and under what considerations. It is an idea that is important and crucial in the concept of morality and moral philosophy. Through these individuals and their ideas which are similar and different in one or many different points, people are given the chance to assess their actions and see if they are good or bad depending on the moral guides that they follow. â€Å"Kant, Mill and Aristotle are telling us what we should value . † Bibliography Bailey, Andrew. First Philosophy: Fundamental Problems and Readings in Philosophy. Toronto: Broadview Press, 2004. Ben-Yehuda, Nachman. The politics and morality of deviance: moral panics, drug abuse, deviant science, and reversed stigmatization. New York: SUNY Press, 1990. Care, Norman S. Decent people. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. D’Andrea, Thomas D. Tradition, rationality, and virtue: the thought of Alasdair MacIntyre. Vermont: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. , 2006.

Educational Issue Paper: Standards Based Curriculum Essay

There are many concerns that of the education system of the U. S. are faced with. One of these concerns is that the education system does not and can not adequately prepare the students for the 21st century life and work. Because of this, numerous educational professionals across the county have been trying new ways in changing the U. S. educational system. Different educational reforms have been tried and tested in different states. In several states, policy makers are changing the educational system in such a way that the measurement of the effectiveness of teaching and education is being based on results or outcomes instead of traditional inputs such as hours spent in class and in course credits earned. Policy makers have termed this educational reform as the standards-based curriculum or the outcome-based curriculum. The position of the author of this paper is for the standards-based curriculum to be implemented and to continue to be implemented in all states of the U.  S. The author believes that the standards-based curriculum in the U. S. educational system will help improve student learning by the effective restructuring of the teaching and learning process guided by the standards which are set by policy makers and educational experts. The author will therefore aim to provide justifications on siding for the standards-based curriculum in this paper. This paper will further aim to give the strong points as well as the weak points of standards-based curriculum. Standards-based curriculum as an education reform is based on the analogy of education to the business and manufacturing sector where total quality movement is being implemented. Total quality movement in the business sector is a belief that the best way for business organizations to reach their ideal goals is to first determine where they are now and where they want to be in and then plan backwards to determine the best possible way for them to get from where they are now to where they want to be. The main idea behind the standards-based curriculum is standards. A standard is a level of quality or achievement which is thought to be at a level of being acceptable. A standard is also used to measure or to estimate the degree or quality of an object. When used in the educational system, standards would comprise of a cumulative body of knowledge and set of competencies which will be the basis for the quality of education. Standards would express what all students should know and should be able to do after attending school. Standards however, do not include how these students would be able to learn things (Judy Steiner, n. . ). Setting standards in a national level through the standards-based curriculum would give all students equal opportunity because all students would be compared to the same set of standards which would be set nationally. There is a need for these standards to be at a national level in order to have a degree of uniformity in every school. If these standards would not be uniform then each teacher or each school would set his or their own standards for students. The demands on students would then be different from teacher to teacher or from school to school. If this happens then there would be inconsistency in both instruction and in assessment. Thus, it is important that national standards should be set in the standards-based curriculum. Another advantage of having a standards-based curriculum is that it provides students with clear understanding on what they need to know at different levels of their education. Exams and assessment on student learning are given on a national level to determine the progress of students in achieving the set standards. These assessment procedures would also indicate students who are not achieving the standards earlier in order to give them effective remedial assistance (Judy Steiner, n. d. ). Having set standards through the standards-based curriculum would create effective learning because the curriculum would provide all students the expectations that the state has for them. Having set standards would also be beneficial to the different stakeholders in education. Standards-based curriculum would provide the state with a common reference tool which can be used to define the framework for national testing. Standards-based curriculum would also provide schools and districts with a clear focus on how to develop and organize their instructions and assessment programs as well as the content that they will include in their curriculum. Standards-based curriculum would also help teachers to design and restructure their way of teaching and assessment and would help them create more meaningful lessons. Teachers would also be asked to make their students understand clearly the expectations which would improve student learning. For the students, standards-based curriculum would give them a set of performance expectations that would be clear and would help them understand what they need to do to meet the set standards. Standards-based education would also allow the parents to determine how their children are coping up in their education through the communication of the set standards for learning. Once parents know the expectations on their children, then they will know if their children are attaining the standards or not (Judy Steiner, n. d. ). One advantage of standards-based curriculum is that the performance expectations are the ones that are identified. Standards-based curriculum does not indicate how the students should come to attain these set standards. This can be an advantage because teachers, schools and districts would be given the opportunity in coming up with new learning ideas that would enable their students to attain these set standards. Since there are many ways to arrive at the same result, teachers, schools and districts would come up with different approaches in teaching and eventually, through experimentation, would come up with a teaching approach that can be implemented at a national level. However, this can also be seen as a weakness in the standards-based curriculum because it would lead to the question of who will be held accountable in determining what standards to be set and how the schools and districts would reach the set standards (Judy Steiner, n. d. ). There are also other concerns about the weakness of a standards-based curriculum that it would lead to a centralized education in the U. S. Opponents of the standards-based curriculum argue that this educational reform would undermine innovation at the local level. Schools and districts would not be given the opportunity of improving their education system within themselves. Opponents to the standards-based curriculum also argue that setting national standards would limit what students should learn and would not allow for diversity among students and the specific needs of the different populations. Some learning expectations that are demanded from students may be applicable to some states but may not be applicable to other states or population within the U. S. (Judy Steiner, n. d. ). Although there are many concerns regarding standards-based curriculum, the author still maintains his position in favor for the standards-based curriculum because the author believes that this type of educational reform has more positive effects than it has negative. Another positive effect this type of curriculum has is on the assessment of students. Traditional curriculum would rely on students’ memorization and mastery of the subject matter in order to get good grades or marks during examinations. This type of assessment has the purpose of determining if students have learned specific knowledge that is part of the curriculum. In the standards-based curriculum, assessment is intertwined with standards and has become an integral part of both the curriculum and the instruction program. Assessment through the standards-based curriculum no longer tests students in terms of the accumulation of facts and information but would rather emphasize on the students use and application of such knowledge. Standards-based curriculum would then assess students on their ability to think critically in terms of knowledge application. Standards-based curriculum would focus on testing students’ higher order thinking skills rather than just their ability to master lessons or memorization. Assessment in a standards-based curriculum becomes a continuous process which would provide teachers the performance data of students to be set as a benchmark as students move on to the next level in education. Assessment in a standards-based curriculum creates an environment where students would become successful since assessment is not as rigid as those of the traditional curriculum. Students can attain a standard at different acceptable levels. All in all, standards-based curriculum has more positive effects than it has negative effects in education. Standards should be well thought of and should be applicable to all populations of the country. However, standards in and of themselves are meaningless. The author believes that the important thing to consider in the standards-based curriculum is how teachers, educators, schools, districts and other policy makers in education help the students in attaining these set standards. There should be a very good monitoring system in ensuring that teachers are doing everything possible in making sure that students attain and achieve the performance expectations that are asked from them.

Earth’s History and the Mesozoic Era Essay

Earth’s history began about 4 billion years ago. The atmosphere contained almost no oxygen, and would have been toxic to humans, and most other modern life. Since then Earth has been a part of very important events, such as the formation of the solar system, which formed from a large, rotating cloud of dust, and gas called a solar nebula. Earth has also had other significant events like the formation of the moon, the creation of oceans, the origin of life, and the first continents. It has also been through many eons, starting with the Hadean eon about 4. billion years ago, followed by the Achaean eon about 3. 8 billion years ago, and both are a part of the super eon Precambrian. All eons are organized on the Geologic Time Scale. After the Achaean eon ended the Proterozoic eon began about 2. 5 billion years ago. This eon included the oxygen revolution, which made a development in life. Life developed into eukaryotes, which were organisms whose cells contain complex structures enclosed within membranes. These cells have a nucleus with which genetic material is carried. During this eon there were severe ice ages. In the early Proterozoic eon the Earth cooled dramatically, and some scientists say that the Earth experienced ice ages so severe, that it was once completely frozen. This hypothesis is called Snowball Earth. When the Proterozoic eon ended, the Phanerozoic eon began around 542 million years ago. This eon included three eras. The first era was the Paleozoic era. During this time many modern groups of life came into existence, and life began to colonize the land, first plants, and then animals. This era saw the Cambrian explosion, which was a sudden emergence of new species, and forms during this time. This burst of animals forms led to most of the major animal groups we know today. The Cambrian explosion gave rise to the first animals with shells, and exoskeletons, like the Trilobites. The Phanerozoic eon continued with the second era, which was the Mesozoic era. This era is subdivided into three periods, and lasted from 251 million years ago to 65. 5 million years ago, beginning with recovery from a previous extinction during the Paleozoic era. This era has been called the â€Å"Age of Reptiles,† probably because of their dominance during this time. There were new diversifying plant groups including conifers, reproducing by means of seeds borne in cones. This era also saw many new predators in the seas, on air, and in the skies. The first period in the Mesozoic era was the Triassic period. This period began recovering from a mass extinction in the Paleozoic era, which had wiped out 95% of Earth’s species at the time, so life gradually developed in the beginning of this period. Still this period saw 450 new families of plants, and animals come into existence. The Triassic marked the beginning of many important advances in plant life. The conifers seemed to join the already flourishing ferns, cycads, and now extinct species like seed ferns. The plants of the Triassic had thick, waxy coverings, and trees did not usually grow as tall as modern trees. The Triassic saw that amphibians continued to be well represented and diverse. One common group of amphibians were the labyrinthodonts. These flat-headed creatures grew several feet in length, had sharp, conical teeth, with deeply folded enamel. They had small limbs, and very weak backbones. They spent their time in the backwaters of the Triassic rivers, and later became extinct while other amphibians like frogs were established. Towards the end of the Triassic is when reptiles began to rise. They were completely adapted to life on land, unlike the amphibians, so they occupied a variety of habitats. The dinosaurs appeared, descending from the thecondonts. The earliest thecondonts lived during the early Triassic, and were small, and medium sized predators. One group of thecondonts even took to the water, and became large fish eaters, like the phytosaurs, and crocodilians. At the end of the Triassic period, a meteorite slammed into the Earth. It is thought to have been responsible for the Manicouagan impact structure. The Mesozoic era continued setting the stage for warmer climates to follow. After the Triassic period came the second period in the Mesozoic era, which was the Jurassic period. This period began around 206 million years ago, and is known for the increase in number, and diversity of dinosaurs. This period is also when birds appeared in, and ruled the skies, descending from thecondonts. The vegetation on land mainly stayed the same with cycads, seed ferns, conifers, and other plants. The climate was warm, and humid. Reptiles had adapted to climates during this period, and were more diverse. Dinosaurs attained their longest life spans, and larger sizes during this period. Although at the beginning of this period dinosaurs were small, and lightly boned, feeding on insects and other small dinosaurs; but the dinosaurs weren’t the only reptiles. There were also reptiles that ruled the skies. These birds were warm-blooded to obtain the maximum of metabolic efficiency needed for controlled flight, but kept the reptilian mode of reproduction, by laying eggs. Some birds also adapted to life at sea, by flying underwater to catch fish. Predators also occupied the seas like the fast swimming ichthyosaurs, shaped like dolphins, with toothed, beaklike jaws. By the close of this period dinosaurs were massive predators, like the Allosaurs and Ceratosaurs. These dinosaurs had heavy bodies, powerful hind legs, front limbs used for grasping, and holding prey, and long sharp teeth for spearing, and stabbing. The Seismosaurus was one of the longest known dinosaurs, possibly reaching a length of more than 140 ft. The Jurassic period ended with a minor-mass extinction event, and many shallow water species died out. The cause of this is unknown. When the Jurassic period ended, the final period of the Mesozoic era began, which was the Cretaceous period. During this period coral reefs were the most widespread thing, ranging a thousand miles farther away from the equator, whereas today they are restricted to the tropics. Animal life continued to develop, as new species of dinosaur became important. The Tyrannosaurus Rex appeared in this period, and ruled during the end of the Cretaceous period. This dinosaur was a reptile-hipped dinosaur. It walked on two legs, which made it a therapod, and all therapods are carnivorous. Flowering plants developed also, and grew in this period. The ancestors of many modern tree species appeared in this period, like the magnolia, and maple. Flowers brought many insects. The flowering plants provided food for the insects, while the insects made sure to spread pollen from flower to flower. This kept the flowers producing seeds to keep reproducing. At the end of the Cretaceous period, there seems to have been a major event that caused mass extinction. A very popular theory is that one or more large asteroids or comets struck the Earth. Dinosaurs and over 70% of other species went extinct. In fact all land animals over 50 pounds seemed to have gone extinct. This event ended the Cretaceous period, and completely ended the Mesozoic era. The Mesozoic era was definitely a time of dominance for reptiles, as they could adapt to many habitats during this time. Flowering plants developed, and many other plants came into existence. Overall this era was a time of rebirth, as it began after a mass extinction, and saw many new plants, and animals in a variety of habitats. The Mesozoic era will always remain an important part in Earth’s history.

Introduction Bert Coron

This is a research paper that analyzes the life and contributions of Bert Corona in his fight and life as a political activist. The research paper is to tackle keenly and step by step the life of this well composed man, a political activist, and above all a man who never at one point of his eighty-years never backed down, Corona acted as an eye-opener to many and has left a living legacy as an organizer of many workers unions in America. Introduction Bert Corona was born on the 29th day of May 1918 to Neo Corona his father and Margarita Escapite Salayandia his mother, his father was a commander in the Francisco villa during his birth.Berth during the whole of his life was recognized as American labor leaders and the civil rights activists. It is recorded that during his entire life his contributions were recognized in his work with very many major Latino organizations and as the founder of very many civil rights and labor organizations. In his career as he was reorganized as the old man and fought tirelessly for the rights of the immigrants. (http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_8_65/ai_76697709)Bert Corona enrolled in a school at an early age, he had a very good command of English Which gave him n upper hand above some of his classmates, while in school, his experience with racism started here, this is when some of his fellow students were punished inhumanly by washing their mouths with soaps for speaking their own languages, but because of his command in English he was spared. When his mother heard of this she publicly objected to such treatments and took him from that school to a boarding school in. (Garcio, 1994)His activist life started early in life and the first one took place when he was in the fifth grade at Harvard boys school, this was when their history teacher always gave poor and wrong ides against the Mexican student in the Harvard school. The students organized a strike which made the teacher to apologize (Garcio, 1994). Immediately C orona cleared his primary school Corona Joined El Pasio High school where he was playing basketball , after clearing his high school he was lucky to get an athletic Scholarship to the University of southern Carolina.Here he was lucky to get a full time employment because of His experience in the drug store back at home and also because of the nature of the scholarship which allowed him to work. At the university Corona studied commercial law and met different people which made him to spring to blossom. It is at the work place- Brunswick Pharmaceutical Company where he got the real taste of labor and had his first attempt to organize and train workers on their rights. (Rosales , 2000) Brunswick Pharmaceutical Company employees were mostly Mexican American immigrants.The workers had not known or joined any union and because of this faced a lot of frustrations as low wages, long hours of work, poor working conditions and racism. When Corona joined this company with his good command in English, experience in the field and his activism nature he realized these problems and when Longshoremen's Union decided to recruit workers supported the recruitment of over 2500 workers and the same year led them to a strike to demand wage payment increase.After the farm workers strike which was organized by the Longshoremen's Union and facilitated by him the Union asked him to support in the organizing of the warehouse workers of which they started with Brunswick Company. ((Garcio, 1983) When the Company management realized that Corona wanted to organize a Union of for the warehouse workers who were getting half of the pay of warehouse workers in the food industry, the management fired him, this gave him a new dimension to life and he decided to abort his education at the expense of helping the Union.He abandoned hi college education when he was employed as a union organizer by Harry bridges of the Congress of industrial Organization. As an organizer in the packing department he learned to be very excellent this grew his fame (Rosales, 2000) Corona gained a lot of fame and commanded lot of influence among the Mexican America workers and the undocumented workers. This he gained because his numerous efforts to recruit and support Mexicans everywhere in the United States, this was being driven by his believe that every organization needs a good, strong and steady workers unions.He continued fighting for the rights and against the mistreatment of the people who ca me from Mexico without the permission of the United States government. By 1965, he became regional organizer for the National Association of Mexican Americans. He gained a reputation for being able to influence Mexican American citizens. Becoming a member of the Northern California Democratic Campaign Committee, Corona actively supported Democratic candidates for two decades (http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1295/ )Bert Corona in his life was closely identified with the works of National Mexica n Brotherhood (Hermandad Mexicana Nacional,) , this is an organization which proved very much helpful to the immigrants, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional was focused in the organizing of the trade Unions, defending of Undocumented workers and providing social service to this same undocumented workers. Since there were very many undocumented workers who never wanted to protest against the infringement of their rights for fear of being deported.The organization gave them a base of argument and therefore sprung up to many parts including the Los Angeles. ( Rosales, 2000) The efforts and contributions of Bert Corona were well documented when he realized that most of the Mexican American workers did not know how the US law protected them he organized to them a good package on how the law protected them. He is also being remembered for his protest against some of the of the striker Immigrant laws, which wanted the employers to be responsible and liable for employing immigrants.(http://findarti cles. com/p/articles/mi_m1295/ ) Corona more than any other person, furthered the ideological struggle against the nativity and this he did during his public lectures and programs where he always preached the need of unity and oneness. One such was a meeting in which he had with students and the public where he launched the program to campaign against bills that would crack down on the hiring of illegal immigrants and to fight for humane immigration policies and practice.( http://www. ucpress. edu/books/pages/6201. php) Until his death in 2001, he was the chairman Hermandad Mexicana Nacional Los Angles Chapter and is more effort have been made towards the delivery of the Mexican American from their oppression state in the United States. He participated actively as an activist, union organizer and an educator. (http://www. ucpress. edu/books/pages/6201. php) Works Cited Francisco Arturo Rosales (2000) Testimonio: A Documentary History of theMexican American Struggle for Civil Rights: Arte Publico Press Garcio T. Mario (1994) Memories of Chicano The Life and narrative of Bert Corona. University of California Press Garcio T. Mario and Et al (1983). History Culture and Society: Chicano studies in the 1980 . Bilingual Press http://www. ucpress. edu/books/pages/6201. php Retrieved on the 16th July 2008 http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_8_65/ai_76697709 Retrieved on the 16th July 2008.

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