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Gadfly (social)
A gadfly is a person who interferes with the ''status quo'' of a society or community by posing novel, potentially upsetting questions, usually directed at authorities. The term has a modern use but it was originally associated with the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, as portrayed in Plato's ''Apology'' when Socrates was on trial for his life. History Socrates The term "gadfly" (, ''mýops'') was used by Plato in the ''Apology'' to describe Socrates' acting as an uncomfortable goad to the Athenian political scene, like a spur or biting fly arousing a sluggish horse. During his defense when on trial for his life, Socrates, according to Plato's account, pointed out that dissent, like the gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high: "If you kill a man like me, you will injure yourselves more than you will injure me" because his role was comparable to that of a gadfly: "to sting people and whip them into a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Status Quo
is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure or values. With regard to policy debate, it means how conditions are contrasted with a possible change. For example: "The countries are now trying to maintain the ''status quo'' with regard to their nuclear arsenals." To maintain the ''status quo'' is to keep things the way they presently are. The related phrase '' status quo ante'', literally 'the status before', refers to the state of affairs that existed previously. Political usage The status quo may be changed via social movements. These seek to alleviate or prevent a particular issue and often to shape social feeling and cultural expression of a society or nation. Advocating to improve the status quo is a persuasive rhetorical device. This is sometimes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Power (social And Political)
In political science, power is the ability to influence or direct the actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors. Power does not exclusively refer to the threat or use of force (coercion) by one actor against another, but may also be exerted through diffuse means (such as institutions). Power may also take structural forms, as it orders actors in relation to one another (such as distinguishing between a Master–slave dialectic, master and an enslaved person, a householder and their relatives, an employer and their employees, a parent and a child, a political representative and their voters, etc.), and discursive forms, as categories and language may lend legitimacy to some behaviors and groups over others. The term ''authority'' is often used for power that is perceived as Legitimacy (political), legitimate or socially approved by the social structure. Scholars have distinguished between soft power and hard power. Types One can classify such power types along three differen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Group Processes
Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group (''intra''group dynamics), or between social groups ( ''inter''group dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision-making behaviour, tracking the spread of diseases in society, creating effective therapy techniques, and following the emergence and popularity of new ideas and technologies. These applications of the field are studied in psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, epidemiology, education, social work, leadership studies, business and managerial studies, as well as communication studies. History The history of group dynamics (or group processes) has a consistent, underlying premise: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." A social group is an entity that has qualities which cannot be understood just by studying the individuals that make up the group. In 1924, Gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer proposed "There are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concepts In Ethics
A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, psychology, and philosophy, and these disciplines are interested in the logical and psychological structure of concepts, and how they are put together to form thoughts and sentences. The study of concepts has served as an important flagship of an emerging interdisciplinary approach, cognitive science. In contemporary philosophy, three understandings of a concept prevail: * mental representations, such that a concept is an entity that exists in the mind (a mental object) * abilities peculiar to cognitive agents (mental states) * Fregean senses, abstract objects rather than a mental object or a mental state Concepts are classified into a hierarchy, higher levels of which are termed "superordinate" and lower levels termed "subordinate". Additi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cognitive Inertia
Cognitive inertia is the tendency – for a particular orientation in an individual's thinking about a matter, belief, or strategy – to resist change. Clinical and neuroscientific literature often describes it as a lack of motivation to generate cognitive processes needed to attend to a matter or problem. The physics term "inertia" emphasizes resistance to change in a mode of cognitive processing that has been used for a substantial time. Commonly confused with belief perseverance, cognitive inertia is perseverance in an interpretation of information, not perseverance in the belief itself. Cognitive inertia has been causally implicated in disregard of impending threats to one's health or environment, in enduring political values, and in deficits in task switching. Interest in the phenomenon was taken up by economic and industrial psychologists primarily to explain resistance to change in brand loyalty, in group brainstorming, and in business strategizing. In a clinica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Change
Change, Changed or Changing may refer to the below. Other forms are listed at Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching * Personal development, or personal change, activities that improve awareness and identity * Social change, an alteration in the social order of a society * Technological change, invention, innovation, and diffusion of technology Organizations and politics * Change (company), a brokerage company in the Netherlands * Change (manifesto), a 2024 political manifesto in the United Kingdom * Change 2011, a Finnish political party * Change We Need, a slogan for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign * Change.gov, the transition website for the incoming Obama administration in 2008–2009 * Change.org, a peti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gadfly
''The Gadfly'' is a novel by Irish-born British writer Ethel Voynich, published in 1897 (United States, June; Great Britain, September of the same year), set in 1840s Italy under the dominance of Austria, a time of tumultuous revolt and uprisings. The story centres on the life of the protagonist, Arthur Burton. A thread of a tragic relationship between Arthur and his love, Gemma, simultaneously runs through the story. It is a tale of faith, disillusionment, revolution, romance, and heroism. Themes The book, set during the Italian ''Risorgimento'', is primarily concerned with the culture of revolution and revolutionaries. Arthur, the eponymous Gadfly, embodies the tragic Romantic hero, who comes of age and returns from abandonment to discover his true state in the world and fight against the injustices of the current one. The landscape of Italy, in particular the Alps, is a pervading focus of the book, with its often lush descriptions of scenery conveying the thoughts and moods ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gadfly (mythology)
The gadfly, a type of fly, known for plaguing cattle, appears in Greek mythology as a tormenter of Pegasus and Io, a human lover of Zeus. In the story, Zeus lusted Io, who is eventually turned into a white heifer to hide her from his jealous wife, Hera. This goddess is not fooled, and demands Io as a gift from Zeus. She then assigns Argus, the 100-eyed giant, the job of guarding Io. Hermes, following orders of Zeus, kills Argus and frees Io. When Hera finds out, she sends a gadfly to torment and sting Io, forcing her to wander further and further away from home. The gadfly plays a role in the myth of how Bellerophon loses Pegasus and the gods' favor. Bellerophon attempts to ride Pegasus to the top of Mt. Olympus, arrogantly believing himself worthy of entering the realm of the gods. Zeus is enraged by the human's audacity and sends a gadfly to sting Pegasus. The winged horse is startled and he rears backward. Bellerophon loses his grip and falls back to Earth. Athena spares his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devil's Advocate
The (Latin for Devil's advocate) is a former official position within the Catholic Church, the Promoter of the Faith: one who "argued against the canonization (sainthood) of a candidate to uncover any character flaws or misrepresentation of the evidence favoring canonization". In common parlance, the phrase "playing devil's advocate" describes a situation where someone, given a certain point of view, takes a position they do not necessarily agree with (or simply an alternative position from the accepted norm), for the sake of debate or to explore the thought further using valid reasoning that both disagrees with the subject at hand and proves their own point valid. Despite being medieval in origin, this idiomatic expression is one of the most popular present-day English idioms used to express the concept of arguing against something without actually being committed to the contrary view. Playing devil's advocate is considered a form of the Socratic method. Origin and history ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concern Troll
In slang, a troll is a person who posts deliberately offensive or provocative messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a forum, a chat room, an online video game) or who performs similar behaviors in real life. The methods and motivations of trolls can range from benign to sadistic. These messages can be inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic, and may have the intent of provoking others into displaying emotional responses, or manipulating others' perceptions, thus acting as a bully or a provocateur. The behavior is typically for the troll's amusement, or to achieve a specific result such as disrupting a rival's online activities or purposefully causing confusion or harm to other people. Trolling behaviors involve tactical aggression to incite emotional responses, which can adversely affect the target's well-being. In this context, the noun and the verb forms of "troll" are frequently associated with Internet discourse. Recently, media ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polemics
Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial topics. A person who writes polemics, or speaks polemically, is called a polemicist. The word derives , . Polemics often concern questions in religion or politics. A polemical style of writing was common in Ancient Greece, as in the writings of the historian Polybius. Polemic again became common in medieval and early modern times. Since then, famous polemicists have included satirist Jonathan Swift, Italian physicist and mathematician Galileo, French theologian Jean Calvin, French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher Voltaire, Russian author Leo Tolstoy, socialist philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, novelist George Orwell, playwright George Bernard Shaw, communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, linguist Noam Chomsky, so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morris Kline
Morris Kline (May 1, 1908 – June 10, 1992) was a professor of mathematics, a writer on the history, philosophy, and teaching of mathematics, and also a popularizer of mathematical subjects. Education and career Kline was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn and resided in Jamaica, Queens. After graduating from Boys High School in Brooklyn, he studied mathematics at New York University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1930, a master's degree in 1932, and a doctorate (Ph.D.) in 1936. He continued at NYU as an instructor until 1942. During World War II, Kline was posted to the Signal Corps (United States Army) stationed at Belmar, New Jersey. Designated as a physicist, he worked in the engineering lab where radar was developed. After the war, he continued investigating electromagnetism, and from 1946 to 1966, he was director of the division for electromagnetic research at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Kline resumed his mathematical teaching at NYU, becoming ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
