The Prison-Industrial Complex

The Prison-Industrial Complex Is prison overcrowding a vexing problem or a tempting opportunity? It depends on whether you see the  nearly 2  million Americans locked in prison cells  as  a  tragic  collection of misspent lives or a  vast self-sustaining supply of cheap labor. To be sure, the growing prison-industrial complex, for better or worse, views the inmate population as the latter. Derived from the  Cold War-era  term â€Å"military-industrial complex,† the term â€Å"prison-industrial complex† (PIC) refers to a combination of private-sector and government interests that profit from  increased  spending on prisons, whether it is truly justified or not. Rather than a covert conspiracy, the PIC is criticized as a convergence of self-serving special interest groups that openly encourage new prison construction, while discouraging the advancement of reforms intended to reduce the inmate population. In general, the prison-industrial complex is made up of: Politicians who play on fear by running on â€Å"get tough on crime† platforms.State and federal  lobbyists  who represent prison industries and the companies that profit from cheap prison labor.Depressed rural areas that depend on prisons for their economic survival.Private  companies that view the  $35 billion spent each year on corrections  as creating a lucrative market, rather than imposing a drain on taxpayers. Influenced by prison industry lobbyists, some members of Congress may be persuaded to press for  harsher federal sentencing laws  that will send more non-violent offenders to prison, while opposing prison reform and inmate rights legislation. Prison Inmate Jobs   As the only Americans not protected from slavery and forced labor by the  Thirteenth Amendment  to the U.S. Constitution, prison inmates have historically been required to perform  routine prison maintenance jobs. Today, however, many inmates take part in work programs that make products and provide services for the private sector and government agencies. Typically paid far below the  federal minimum wage, inmates now build furniture, make clothing, operate telemarketing call centers, raise and harvest crops, and produce  uniforms for the U.S. military. For example, the signature line of jeans and t-shirts Prison  Blues  is produced by inmate-workers at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institute. Employing more than 14,000 inmates nationwide, one government-managed prison labor agency produces equipment for the U.S. Department of Defense. Wages Paid to Inmate Workers   According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), inmates in prison work programs earn from 95 cents to $4.73 per day. Federal law allows the prisons to deduct up to 80% of their wages for taxes, government programs to assist crime victims, and the costs of incarceration. Prisons also deduct small amounts of money from inmates required to pay child support. In addition, some prisons deduct money for mandatory savings accounts intended to help convicts become re-established in the free community after their release. After deductions, participating inmates netted about $4.1 million of the $10.5 million total wages paid by prison work programs from April to  June  2012, according to the BLS. In privately-run prisons, inmate workers typically make as little as 17 cents per hour for a six-hour day, a total of about $20 per month. As a result, inmate workers in federally-operated prisons find their wages quite generous. Earning an average of $1.25 an hour for an eight-hour day with occasional overtime, federal inmates can net from $200-$300 per month. The Pros and Cons   Proponents of the prison-industrial complex argue that rather than unfairly making the best of a bad situation, prison work programs contribute to the inmates’ rehabilitation by providing job training opportunities. Prison jobs keep inmates busy and out of trouble, and money generated from the sales of prison industries products and services help maintain the prison system, thus easing the burden on taxpayers. Opponents of the prison-industrial complex  contend  that the typically low-skill jobs and minimal training offered by prison work programs simply do not prepare inmates to enter the workforce in the communities to which they will eventually return after their release. In addition, the growing trend toward privately-operated prisons has forced states to pay for the cost of contracts for outsourced incarceration. Money deducted from wages paid to inmates goes to increase the profits of the private prison companies rather than decreasing the cost of incarceration to taxpayers. According to its critics, the effect of the prison-industrial complex can be seen in the stark statistic that while the violent crime rate in the  United States has fallen by about  20% since 1991, the number of inmates in U.S. prisons and jails has grown by 50%. How Businesses View Prison Labor   Private sector businesses that use inmate workers profit from significantly lower labor costs. For example, an Ohio company that supplies parts to Honda pays its prison workers $2 an hour for the same work regular union  auto  workers  are paid $20 to $30 an hour. Konica-Minolta pays its prison workers 50 cents an hour to repair its copiers. In addition, businesses are not required to provide benefits like vacations, health care, and sick leave for inmate workers. Similarly, businesses are free to hire, terminate, and set pay rates for inmate workers without the collective bargaining limitations often imposed by  labor unions. On the downside, small businesses often lose manufacturing contracts to prison industries because they are unable to match the low production costs of a vast pool of low-paid convict workers. Since 2012, several small companies that had historically produced uniforms for the U.S. military have been forced to lay off workers after losing contracts to UNICOR, a government-owned prison labor program. Civil Rights Civil rights groups argue that the practices of the prison-industrial complex  lead to the building, expanding prisons mainly for the purpose of creating employment opportunities utilizing prisoner labor at the expense of the inmates themselves. For example, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) contends that the prison-industrial complex’s drive for profit through privatization of prisons has actually contributed to the continued growth of America’s prison population. In addition, the ACLU argues that the construction of new prisons solely for their profit potential will ultimately  result  in  the often unjust and lengthy imprisonment of  millions  of additional  Americans, with a disproportionately high number of the poor and people of color being jailed.

Introduction to Nokia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Introduction to Nokia - Essay Example â€Å"How an organization uses its collective ability to make sense of and respond to its surroundings. It includes individual learning as employees interact with the external environment or experiment to create new information or knowledge, the integration of new information or knowledge, the relation and collective interpretation of all available information, and action based on the interpretation. Organizational learning is more than the sum of the learning of all employees.† (Nancy Dixon, 1995) Nowadays organizations are in process of rapid changes due to drastic changes in technology. Managers are now more focusing on innovation and creativity of their products and services. For this they also need help of their employees (Metcalfe, 1995). Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Nokia has a strong backing of its unmatched experience, innovative ideas, solution that are more secure than others, user friendly systems. It is right now the leading mobile supplier in the world with the overall market share of 33%. It also holds the award of leading supplier of IP and mobile networks. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on six major exchanges.

Southwest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Southwest - Essay Example Evolutionary change is beneficial for both workers and managers. This type of change is slow and will give people time to see how the organization will react. 2) The types of changes that deal with restructuring that this company has undertaken include, changing task and authority relationships, It has also been involved in redesigning the organizational structure and the culture to improve organizational effectiveness. Economic, political and global forces – this tends to affect where the firms produce the goods and services like political instability. For example, political instability has been shown to depress the GDP and foreign investment (Jones 138). As the firm moves it operation elsewhere, it will lead to fewer work opportunities and a continued cycle of instability. Demographic and social factors – organization must adapt to handle substantial knowledge loss and cope with work force issues. For example, 77 million baby boomers are projected to retire in the next 20 years. This means that organizations has to rearrange it work forc.e Ethical issues –the trend in social responsibility can lead changes in how organizations obtain supplies. For example, in 2008 Gap leaned that one if is suppliers was suing forced child labor on one product batch. This led to the entire batch being pulled out of the store and destroyed. At the organizational level, power and conflict can resist change especially when there is too much resistance. Some of the resistance can be beneficial. For example, those workers who form Unions can help the organization to retain knowledge that is helpful in the long run. However, too much resistance can inhibit the change needed. Functional orientation, this makes people to become overspecialized (Jones 140). For example, the HR team can be highly cohesive with the marketing team but may not be cohesive with the sales team. This makes it difficult coordinate changes

Compare the worldview of two societies with contrasting cultures Essay

Compare the worldview of two societies with contrasting cultures - Essay Example (Hollander, P. 1988 p 130) In addition, it will help visitors on Africa to recognize conflicts, which may arise, to accept, and work through difficulties in a positive manner, to identify positive areas of conflict, to accept difficulties they face as natural occurrences, to change to adapt to the African situation and work within the terms and conditions that exist. Finally, is to develop positive appreciation on the reasons of African culture as per the differences. On the other hand, this comparison will help Africans to understand how they can cope with the European cultures. It will also help Africans who want to understand European background. The Africans will also understand why it is hard for the Europeans to fit in to the society in a foreign country and why they act in strange ways. It will also smoothen the tensions which a rise between the Christians of Europeans and African background working together in African setting. In many occasions both sides are not aware why th e difficulties are arising. Differences between African and European Cultures Telephone: Two people communicate by a process. They can be communicating through English, Kiswahili or any other language. For example in USA, children are given basic telephone skills when they are young. Children learn the correct way of answering and calling when they are young before even going to school. Therefore, the Europeans who are in Kenya or the Kenyans who are in European countries should not assume such a background. Cultural assumptions concerning greeting and encounter are complicated by lack of training and experience. Every European must introduce them on the phone even if they are close. This is because of the formal procedure required in their background. However, as per Africans they call or answer and go direct to the point without introduction, which will make communication between Africans and Europeans hard. Permission to leave This is whereby one asks for permission before leavin g to another place or destination from where he/she was before. According to African culture and background, the owner of the house, office, or even compound as whole can leave in his own pleasure without even informing the workers as he/she is the head or is over everyone (Gannon, 2004 p.230). However, in the side of the Europeans one must seek for permission to leave even the father must seek permission from his children before leaving. Therefore, when the Europeans and African are working together they might not understand each other the Europeans will be asking for permission to leave even he /she is the employer. This will leave the Africans wondering. This will be opposite in the side of Africans as they can leave whenever they wish. Missionaries and Modesty In Europe, it was in fashion for women to wear floor length dresses, which had high collars. While in Africa, it was a fashion for women to wear nothing above the waist. This was quite inappropriate as according to the Afr icans they were adhering to their culture while the Europeans were also doing the same. This brought a lot of troubles and misunderstanding as according to Africans especially Zaire they knew that any woman who was covering his body above the waist was prostitute. It was ironical as missionaries were trying to turn good, morally upright, and modest women of the community into prostitutes. Contrasting African and European Cultures

The Role Of the Teacher by Irving Layton critique Essay Example for Free

The Role Of the Teacher by Irving Layton critique Essay The essay The Role of the Teacher written by Irving Layton reviews the current state of our ever criticized school system. The author shows us how we view the problems of the school system and explains how and why we place blame on teachers. He shows how penny-pinching school boards'(p145) are the real ones to blame and not the teaches whom are the easiest to confront. A feeling has grown that schools and universities are not achieving that which they were intended: namely , the enrichment of the individuals life by giving him the tools of self improvement and the cultivated mind to use them'(p145) is how most people view the school board and what the author is trying to discuss. The author uses a logical pattern and an expository purpose. The author uses opinion based format for this essay. Irving Layton uses metaphor in his essay. books have become objects of curiosity; like an atomic pile, something heard about but never seen'(p145) This sentence lets people relate with the point that author is trying to get across to the reader. The reader now has a mental reference or link to what is being described so he can now better understand what he is reading. This stylistic device is used effectively in this essay. Knowledge spills over like a water from a seemingly inexhaustible fountain.'(p146) This is a good use of imagery. By applying this description of endless knowledge to a fountain or waterfall the reader can make a mental picture better allowing him to comprehend exactly what the author is trying to discribe. It is very hard to understand what endless knowledge would be like, so the author puts a picture of a fountain spewing knowledge forever, making the idea more plausible to the reader. The author did not use too many stylistic devices to prove his point. The few that were used only made the facts easier to grasp. The essay was based on opinion and the writer, used very relevant topics to get his point across and make the reader sympathetic to his views. Personal opinion is the main structural device used throughout the essay. If education means anything, it should mean the creation of individuals with a strong sense of social responsibility'(p146) Since this essay is in the Writing To Pursued section of the book the essays must have facts and opinions to move the reader to the writers opinion. The essay is describing the faults of the school system, this is the authors opinion. Since it is opinion based it can be argued that the school system is in a good condition. (I wouldnt) The essay was very effective because it used many relevant topics and ideas. It properly adjusted the blame from the innocent teachers to the greedy school boards, where the blame should be. Parents and alike see the faults of the schools and automatically place the teachers in the spotlight because they are the more tangible then a school board which has no shape to it.

english :: essays research papers

Guidone 1 Throughout time Shakespeare has influenced society in many ways. He has been a great inspiration to literature, plays, painters, movies and language. Many of his plays and poems have been required as a part of liberal education. His idea’s on such subjects as heroism, romantic love, and the nature of tragedy have shaped the attitudes of millions of people and influenced their thinking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shakespeare contributed greatly to the English speaking language. Many phrases and words from Shakespeare’s poems and plays have become apart of our everyday speech. Millions of people that use his words or phrases are unaware they are created by him. Some common words he has invented are assassination, bump, eventful, and disgraceful conduct. Shakespeare introduced almost 3,000 words into the Oxford English Dictionary. There are over 1700 common words of Shakespeare origin in our everyday vocabulary. The most rapid growth of vocabulary in the recorded history of language was the period of Shakespeare. Due to his inventiveness and creative word play he has had the greatest impact on our daily vocabulary. Many people quote Shakespeare almost everyday without knowing it. If a person doesn’t understand my argument and the one party state’s â€Å"It’s Greek to me†, or if someone has ever â€Å"Refused to budge an inch†, they a re quoting excerpts of Shakespeare. Many people re-sight lines from Shakespeare’s plays without even reading them. One of the most famous lines is â€Å"To be or not to be.† He experimented with all sorts of words and phrases to create vivid pictures in the mind. Shakespeare helped shape many English speaking countries. He often invented and changed words around. Some of Shakespeare’s words may be confusing or unfamiliar to Guidone 2 many of the modern readers. However, many of the words he had employed are no longer being used.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since Shakespeare’s death he has influenced every generation of writers, painters and still has some impact on contemporary plays. Many rhetoric devices were used in his work, that writers are often using now. Some familiar ones are alliteration, which is the same sound being repeated in a line or group of lines and repetition, which is when something repeats itself. He often used a lot of imagery, which many writers found useful. With imagery writers were able to create excitement. Shakespeare’s Macbeth was one of the famous and brilliant examples of imagery. There are many paintings from Macbeth that have been done by some of the best artist.

History of Psychology Essay

I declare that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another unit, degree or diploma at any university or other institute of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. I warrant that any disks and/or computer files submitted as part of this assignment have been checked for viruses and reported clean. Student signature: __________________________ Date: __________________________ Abstract This paper aims to trace and analyze the historical development of the subjective nature of truth, the sources and reactions towards the theory. The implications of the theory of subjective truth are vast since a position on the nature of truth permeates one’s personal life goals and purposes, cognition, and morality of individual and hence also affects research methodology and psychotherapy. Subjectivism focuses on individuals’ thoughts and feelings as well as the proposition that knowledge of humans can never be separated from the knower. This literature review covers the existence of truth as being subjective during the time of the early Greek philosophers, present within Hellenistic and Roman psychology and persisting within romantic and existential philosophy, humanistic psychology and the approaches of the postmodernists in the mid-1960s. Keywords: subjective truth, history, postmodernism The Subjective Nature Of Truth: A Historical Development The constant tension of whether truth is objective or subjective has long since existed throughout history and continues to pervade in current schools of psychotherapies. â€Å"Science versus Humanism† is the term Conway (1992) gives to the philosophical dimension along which the values underlying the theories of psychologists differ. A scientific approach to psychology is based on the epistemological tradition of objectivism. Mahoney (1989) summarizes objectivism as beliefs that an objective and separate ‘real world’ lies beyond the organism, independent of perception and that valid knowledge is ultimately rendered from our sensory experiences, and can be totally separated from the knower (Mahoney, 1989 as cited in Conway, 1992). In contrast, the humanistic approach to psychology is based on the epistemological tradition of subjectivism which focuses on thoughts and feelings. Furthermore, knowledge of humans can never be separated from the knower (Conway, 1992). Due to different theories on the nature of truth, methodology for observing consciousness and the role of inner experience differ. The human science approach to psychology seeks to explain behavior in terms of a person’s subjective existence (Kendler, 2005). Humanistic psychology and philosophical phenomenology are two schools of thought that employ the human science interpretation of psychology (Kendler, 2005). The implications of the theory of the relativity of truth is seen in the individuals personal life goals, purpose of life, cognitive styles, morality, ethics, counseling goals, research methodology and conceptualization of definitions. Due to the great relevance of the topic to psychology, this essay traces and analyzes the historical development of the subjective nature of truth, the sources and reactions towards the theory. Early Greek Philosophers and Hellenistic and Roman Psychology The Sophists were a group of philosophers who believed that nothing is inherently right or wrong but that believing something is right makes it right and vice versa (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 41). Protagoras (485-420 B.C.) was the most popular Sophist who proposed that man is the measure of all things, meaning that man determines whether something is true or untrue and hence, truth depends on the perceiver not physical reality (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 41). The context of this perspective of the nature of truth is that Protagoras lived in the Periclean democracy where skills for effective communication were valuable to own especially in the political sphere (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 42) where some beliefs were more advantageous to utilitarian harmony than others. Hence, Protagoras was primarily interested in teaching effective argumentation to demonstrate the practicality of the relativity of truth. Socrates (470-399 B.C.) disagreed with the Sophists’ view that no truth exists beyond personal opinion. In the second century A.D., a school of thought named Skepticism promoted suspension of judgment and preferred to say ‘This is how things appear to me† rather than to claim having arrived at irrevocable truth (Hergenhahn, 2009). They were of the view that dogmatists constantly fought amongst themselves and were always agitated unlike the Skeptics who sought a life of peace and lived by two primary guides: appearances (sensations and feelings) and social convention (Hergenhahn, 2009). Displaying a similarity with the Sophists and the Skeptics, the Cynics such as Diogenes (412-323) advocated individualism and that true happiness depended on self-sufficiency and living a life that was natural, rejecting any type of control, be it bodily or social control. The theme of moving away from absolute truth and towards a relativistic conception of truth, individual feelings, opinions, social convention or whatever ‘truth’ brings gain (e.g., political status or living peaceably with others) will manifest itself again throughout history. Instrumental theory of truth: Profitability as criteria for truth William James (1842-1910) was of the view that ideas become true as long as they help people satisfactorily relate with other parts of one’s experience (De Waal, 2005, p. 43). James proposes that it is far from essential for our thoughts, beliefs or in other words, conceptions of truth, to copy reality. Hence, he opposes the singularity of truth and posits that multiple, though different beliefs are acceptable. In contrast, there can only be one truth for the empiricists and the rationalists since truth is the perfect copy of reality (De Waal, 2005, p. 47). Based on pragmatic principles, James proposes that any hypothesis cannot be rejected if there are useful results that come from it. Pragmatism is hence a principle that views any ‘truth’ as true as long as it profits. In other words, the pragmatist’s notion of truth is that beliefs originating from within one’s self but does not copy anything without the believer will still count as true when these lead people to directions that are worthwhile (De Waal, 2005, p. 50). The theme of moving away from a singular truth independent of the knower and towards whichever concept, idea or belief brings profit is a pattern seen even during the Early Greek Philosophers and Hellenistic and Roman Psychology. A profit-focused approach to handling truth, as proposed by the pragmatists, will strongly permeate and an underlying principle in future philosophies and approaches to psychology such as romanticism, existentialism, humanistic and postmodern psychology. Romantic and existential philosophy: Feelings, human choice and freedom In the late 18th century, an artistic and intellectual movement named Romanticism rebelled against Enlightenment rationality that overemphasized linear and the investigation of causes by trying to add feelings and intuition to rationality (Schneider, 1998). Romanticism emphasized the wholeness of experience via implicit processes such as affect, intuition, kinesthesia, imagination as well as the descriptions of these processes (Schneider, 1998). Rousseau was of the view that facts of history were of less importance than what values can be learned from them and that history should be considered as a collection of fables (Rousseau, 1762 as cited in Robinson, 2008). This type of thinking is seen again in Postmodernist thinking later on in history although to Rousseau, historical facts were not subjective but unknowable because of human error and interpretation. In psychology, romanticism is manifested in orientations of existential-humanistic, hermeneutical, narrative, and transpersonal psychologies (Schneider, 1998). Carl Rogers of the school of humanistic psychology, whose thoughts will be further explored later on in this paper, has much similarity with the romantics since experience is Rogers’ highest authority and makes decisions based on what feels [emphasis mine] right, valuable or worth doing (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 593). Like romanticism, existentialism stresses subjective experience. The existentialists (18th and 19th centuries) encourage us humans to consider the meaning of living authentically, in one’s own personal way (Oaklander, 1992). If one chooses freely, one chooses authentically and leads an authentic life. Since there are no objective values for the existentialist, it depends more on how one chooses rather than what their choice is. An existential philosopher, Kierkegaard proposed that each person’s life individually has its own self-determined meaning. Subjectivity is truth, that is, the person’s beliefs define that person’s reality (Oaklander, 1992, p. 577). Though the existentialist philosophers differ in their views in a few aspects of their thinking, one common theme is the emphasis on human freedom and choice and the related slogan of Sartre that ‘existence precedes essence’ which means that humans have no prepackaged nature or essence but that we are is what we choose to be (Oaklander, 1992). In other words, subjectivity must be the starting point (Oaklander, 1992). Sartre also says that â€Å"Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself. Such is the first principle of existentialism. It is also what is called subjectivity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Influenced by existential philosophy, a brand of contemporary psychology which has the key concepts of freedom, individuality, authenticity and responsibility emerged called existential psychology (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 574). The man who is generally considered to be the bridge between existential philosophy and existential psychology is Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) who is of the view that there is no ‘ultimate truth’ but emphasizes interpretation and that there is no ‘real meaning’ behind a phenomenon (Daitz, 2011). He proposed that humans choose nature of their own existence and it is worthy of notice that Heidegger chose to be committed to Nazism (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 574). The theme of moving away from a singular truth independent of the knower and towards â€Å"personal truth† as self-defined by individuals as well as the unfortunate consequence of individuals freely choosing what they think is right or desirable which may conflict with what society views as desirable. This will manifest itself again with slight differences in humanistic and postmodern psychology. Humanistic psychology: An application of subjective truth In the early 1960s, humanistic psychology, a new human science that would study humans as aware, choosing and emotional beings, appeared in reaction to traditional scientific approaches to psychology (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 571). Unlike the two existing schools of psychology, behaviorism and psychoanalysis, which assume determinism in explaining human behavior, humanistic psychology assumes humans are free to choose their own existence and that subjective reality is the most important cause of behavior (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 571). A basic tenet of humanistic psychology is that subjective reality is the primary guide for human behavior (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 586). Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was of the view that humanistic science should allow the individual to be freer and more inner determined (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 586). What he deemed as self-actualization is what humans achieve when they are true to their own nature (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 587). Carl Rogers (1902-1987) also proposed that a person who is likely to live a fulfilling life is motivated by his true inner feelings instead of beliefs, traditions and values imposed by others outside the individual (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 593). Rogers started the movement of Person-Centered therapy which stress an essential trust in the experiential world of the client and stress three conditions to promote the client’s growth: congruence (genuineness on the therapist’ part), true empathy, unconditional positive regard. A limitation that Owen (1999) notes in his analysis of both psychoanalysis and person-centred therapy is the conflict for the person-centred therapist to both communicate unconditional positive regard as well as congruence with a negative feeling about a client. In other words, prizing the client and also at the same time, being honest with personal feelings towards client. This poses a question of what a therapist should rightly do when being honest also means being non-empathic and withholding unconditional positive regard from the client. This problem of congruency undeniably stems from the theory of truth and its subjective nature since what the therapist believes to be true and what the client believes to be true are both equally ‘true’ if the assumption is that the individual self-defines truth. Postmodernism approaches: Contemporary development of the theory of truth Modernists believe in objective reality that exists independent of any attempt to observe it whereas postmodernists believe in subjective realities that do not exist independent of observational processes (Corey, 2005). Postmodernism is similar to the romantics, existentialists, the Sophists, and Skeptics and aspects of James’ psychology in that there multiple truths and these vary with individual experience, thus paving the way for postmodernism. According to Schneider (1998), the postmodernist were different from the romantics in that postmodernists promote a relativistic chaos when this conflicted with the sensibility of Romanticism (Schneider, 1998). The Romantics assumed knowledge as determinate and argued for the universality of autonomous experience while postmodernism assumes it as indeterminate and relativistic, thus fragmenting knowledge and experience (Webb, 2006). Similar to James’ pragmatism, the postmodernist is of the view that a problem exists only when people agree there is a problem needing to be addressed. Narrative therapy is an application of the Postmodernist approach to psychology and encourages clients to see their stories from different perspectives (Corey, 2005). The client’s reality is focused on without disagreeing whether it is accurate or rational (Weishaar, 1993 as cited in Corey, 2005). Unlike traditional therapists who see the client as the problem, the narrative therapists believe that the problem is the problem (Corey, 2005). This separation of client from problem allows one to take a stance against specific storylines, be hopeful in generating a more positive, healing story and thus reducing self-blame. The therapist searches for times when the client made a choice and times when the client was successful (Corey, 2005, p. 403). Very similar to the assumptions of the Cynics and particularly the Romantics, the Postmodernist approach is based on the optimistic assumption that people are able and that they possess alternative stories that can enhance their lives (Corey, 2005, p. 403). The nature of truth and the approach to psychology: Future research direction Within the United States and internationally, Kirschenbaum and Jourdan (2005) carried out a survey that found an increasing number of therapists who identify themselves as â€Å"eclectic† or â€Å"integrative† amongst Carl Rogers’ client-centered/person-centered therapists over the past 30 years. In his writing on the topic of romanticism’s potential in complementing psychology, Schneider (1998) writes that experimental research, whether in hypothesis-making or verification, cannot fully replace romantic insights and needs to refer back to qualitative data that Romantics emphasize (Schneider, 1998). Hence, there are advantages in employing research as well as therapy methodology that take into account aspects of the intuitive and emotional aspect of human beings that romanticism emphasizes. In view of the advantages, Schneider also writes about the implications for therapists in training. He proposes the provision of rich and sensitive qualitative descriptions of their clients in addition to treatment plans that are problem-oriented or behavioral in focus (Schneider, 1998). Therapists in training should also pay attention to emotional, kinesthetic, and cognitive experiences of clients. Besides just assessing progress toward therapy goals, the meaning of therapy goals for clients should also be considered. Schneider is of the view that therapist with the full range of experiential data about their clients would be in an optimal position to collate essential data for a treatment plan. Hence, research should be done to measure the effectiveness of this approach to therapy in addition to (i.e., eclectic approaches) or instead of traditional approaches. In his comparison of person-centred therapy with psychodynamic therapy, Owen (1999) notes the possibility of conflict that person-centred therapists might face in trying to be congruent to their own personal feelings while at the same time, being non-judgmental and providing unconditional positive regard. Further research should be carried out in the area of long-term consequences to the therapist and to the client as well as strategies that can be employed when there is a conflict in the congruence of the therapist and the therapist’ provision of unconditional positive regard. Research may also include investigating the incorporation of one aspect of the psychodynamic approach which is neutrality (neither making interpretations nor providing unconditional positive regard) towards the client’s sharing of his personal experience or thoughts (Owen, 1999). Neutrality allows for a full range of emotions including negative emotions of the client. Conclusion Whether truth is absolute and independent of the knower and perceiver has been supported and argued against since the period of the early Greek philosophers. Similar themes that focus on the human individual to evaluate and make their own choices, define their own meaning and ultimately, define and act upon what is the nature of truth and the truth itself recur time and time again whether in the form of an emphasis on affect like the Romantics or Postmodernist who selects part of a narrative, whether accurate or true, to put it to good use in helping the individual cope during therapy. The implications of the position taken on the nature of truth have been demonstrated throughout history in major schools of philosophy, psychology and in this paper. Future speculation of this theory of truth is that, after certain negative events that will happen in future times as a result of pragmatic and postmodern thinking, a reaction against relativistic and individualized conceptions of truth that may take a shape of fundamentalism may return to schools of philosophy and the social sciences. References Conway, J. B. (1992). Presidential address: A world of differences among psychologists. Canadian Psychology, 33(1), 1-23. Corey, G. (2005). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (7th ed.). California: Thomson Learning Inc. Daitz, L. (2011). Understanding, truth or resolve? Considering the ‘aim’ of existential psychotherapy and the approaches of van Deurzen and Spinelli. Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 22(1), 140-149. De Waal, C. (2005). On Pragmatism. California: Thomson Wadsworth Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to the history of psychology (6th ed.). California: Cengage learning. Kendler, H. H. (2005). Psychology and phenomenology: A clariï ¬ cation. American Psychologist, 60(4), 318–324 Kirschenbaum, H. & Jourdan, A. (2005). The current status of Carl Rogers and the person-centered approach. Educational Publishing Foundation, 42(1), 37–51. doi: 10.1037/0033-3204.42.1.37 Oaklander, L. N. (1992). Existentialist phi losophy: An introduction. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Owen, I. R. (1999). Exploring the similarities and differences between person-centred and psychoanalytic therapies. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 27(2), 165-178 doi: 0306-9885/99/020165-14 Robinson, P. (2008). Jean-Jacques Rousseau and history: Moral truth at the expense of facticity. Rethinking History, 12(3), 417–431. doi: 10.108 0/13642520802193 288 Schneider, K. J. (1998). 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