Money

Not only are our simplest needs but our wildest dreams often connected with money as well. Money is a mixed blessing which man can’t do without. Imagine how life would be in the absence of it. And how the greed of piling it up could be the motive behind committing crimes, deviation and even waging wars among countries. Some people think that money is the root of all evil; others think it will solve all the world’s problems. Everyone agrees there is never enough of it as nothing is worth than wealth in life. However money is not the answer to everything. You can’t buy love or happiness, but as someone said “if you are going to be unhappy, it’s easier to be unhappy in comfort”. Therefore, we can make the best use of it in many peaceful purposes: it does help build up medical centres, public hospitals, more schools, and more land for agriculture which in turn affects our economy well.
I want you to put your comments about this topic

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Difference between: Aware, know, believe, learn, etc

It seems to me that any philosophical discussion about [knowledge] must deal with the fact that we use the term [know] to mean many different things... and, in fact, these meanings are often incompatible with one another.

Absolute vs. Relative
Knowing something seems to imply that what we know MUST be true... but very little (if any) of what we say we "know" actually satisfies this condition.

Consider the statement, "I know what reality is." It seems like a statement that should be obviously true. But how do we "know" that we're not in a hospital somewhere, hallucinating our world? Or living in a Matrix-like reality that is generated by a computer? Furthermore, what we perceive is not the underlying reality--as Quantum Mechanics seems to demonstrate--thus, there is nothing that we "know" about the "exact" nature of reality. Even those who are experts in the QM field are unsure how to interpret what the the mathematics implies about the nature of reality. That's why there are several theoretical interpretations--such as the many worlds interpretation.

I would say that this [absolute aspect] of knowledge is impossible to have. Instead, we use knowledge in a relative way... So for example, when I say, "I know what reality is," what I really mean is something more along the lines of, "In as far as it can be known, I know what reality is."

know vs. believeOne of the key distinctions between these terms seems to be that when we say we [know] something we have to have a valid reason for our belief that we know it. For instance, if a drunk hallucinates a pink elephant behind the bar. And he expresses this belief. And coincidentally there actually is a [pink elephant] hidden behind the bar. Is it accurate to suggest that the drunk [knows there is a pink elephant behind the bar]?

The reason it seems more plausible to suggest that the drunks assertion is a [belief] instead of [knowledge] is because there isn't a sound justification. Be believes what he says because he is hallucinating... not because he has some knowledge.

Know vs. aware
If we're traveling in a car and see what appears to be a barn... we might say, "I know there is a barn on that property." But what if the object we see isn't an actual barn--but rather is a papier-mâché object made to look like a barn.

What we think we know is false. What appears to be an actual barn is not an actual barn. But we are not wrong about what we are aware of... for what we are aware of is not a [barn] but [what appears to be a barn].

know vs. learnedA child might say, "I know my ABCs." But there is a difference in [learning] something and [knowing] it. If I learn that the earth is flat, it makes sense to say I've learned that the earth is flat--just as the child has learned the ABCs... but I do not KNOW the earth is flat.

Know vs. Understand
I can learn something without understanding it. For example, quantum theorists have learned how to work the mathematics of Quantum Mechanics, without understanding the principles behind why the math works.

But [understanding] isn't the same thing as [knowing] it, because we don't have to believe something in order to understand it. I may understand a fellow philosopher's theory, but that doesn't mean I believe it. And even if I did believe it, there is enough evidence to suggest that the theory may be wrong that there isn't a strong justification for claiming that I know his theory in that sense.

Given all of this, how do we define [knowledge] in a meaningful way; and how do we distinguish between that sense of knowledge and all the other informal ways that it can be used in plain English?

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Technology

Technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. The word technology comes from Greek τεχνολογία (technología); from τέχνη (téchnē), meaning "art, skill, craft", and -λογία (-logía), meaning "study of-".[1] The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include construction technology, medical technology, and information technology.

The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.

Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, opining that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.

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Does money make happiness

Money is not the key to happiness. On the contrary, family, marriage, relatives, friends, the social relations network, are important factors for happiness, independent from financial wealth.
Usually people become richer as they age. However this is not necessarily accompanied by more happiness.

More money does not mean more happiness. No one can argue against the fact that a minimum necessary of financial power is needed in order to satisfy basic needs. Nevertheless this level is relatively low.

In people the relativity of their income is more important than its absolute value. People do not feel rich if they do not compare their own situation with others. But no matter how well off is someone financially wise, there is always somebody else who will be in a better situation.

A result of this, is the fact that as soon as people achieve their aims, they immediately put new and higher targets to reach. Automatically the hopes for happiness change level. The necessary precondition to make people happy is then the achievement of these new higher and more difficult aims.

For many people life is a continuous search of what they want instead of being the search of satisfaction and happiness.

The relativity of the feelings of satisfaction and happiness, is well ××××××××ed from studies done in rich and poor countries.

In developed and rich countries like Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States of America, people are much more rich than people in poorer countries like Mexico and Ghana.

However the level of satisfaction and happiness has been found to be on similar levels in spite the fact that in richer countries, income can be as much as 10 times higher than in poorer countries.

Additionally research has shown that the fourfold increase of the income in developed countries during the last decades, was not accompanied by a significant rise in terms of satisfaction and happiness of their citizens.

Happiness in people influences physical health.

In the countries of former Soviet Union, people are considered among those who are today the less happy. It has been observed that their lifespan shows a continuous decrease.

Interesting studies done in nuns for more than 70 years, found that those who in their youth expressed positive emotions, had an average duration of life 10 years longer than those who had the least positive emotions.



It is certain that scientific research has produced convincing evidence that happiness adds years to lifespan as well as quality to the years that we live.

We therefore see that financial wealth, after a certain minimum, does not offer us happiness and when it does this is little and short-lived.

But if money does not buy us happiness, what does?
Financial wealth, after a certain minimum, does not offer us happiness and when it does this is little and short-lived.
Usually people become richer as they age. However this is not necessarily accompanied by more happiness.


Research done in 44 countries (Pew Research Center) showed that:
The biggest source of happiness is the family

Married people live usually at least 3 years longer and at the same time have a better somatic and psychic health than the not married people

The family in people, increases the feelings of satisfaction and the more time somebody spends with his or hers family, the more there are positive effects to the psychical health and happiness

Economists define as "social capital" the bonds that exist between people and their families, their neighbors, their coworkers, the community and their religious groups.

There is a strong association between the subjective feelings of satisfaction and happiness on one side and the power of social capital of each individual on the other. In fact the depth and breadth of an individual's social connections are the most important factors that predict his or hers level of happiness.

Professional life is a key element for the satisfaction and happiness someone has from his life.

The degree of autonomy in the workplace, the way, amount and rhythm of the work to be done, the trust between employer and employee, the correctness and fairness of procedures, participation in decision making, are important factors related to satisfaction obtained from professional life.

On a national level, when governments give importance to the individuals preferences, then citizens are more happy. The choices offered and simultaneously the feeling of being in position to influence political developments, increase the degree of satisfaction and happiness of the citizens.

In conclusion after these interesting considerations about money and happiness, what can we do to improve our level of satisfaction and happiness in our daily lives:
Initially it is appropriate to make our own self evaluation and introspection. It is important to be satisfied with what we have. Let us look outwards, not in order to compare ourselves with others but to develop social interactions with other people. This is a more secure road to happiness

Let us develop close relationships of friendship and love with people that we do appreciate. We should work hard for cultivating and maintaining our social network. We should not omit regular and frequent contacts with our family, friends, neighbors and friends

It is important as well to try and constrain the penetration of our work into our personal lives. There should be enough time for personal relationships and recreation. If profession is so much invading that it kills all other aspects of life, then an option is to consider changing working conditions or the nature of occupation. Particular attention is needed not to get sucked from a job. Such an eventuality is particularly psychologically traumatic for the individual and can be even more than the loss of a spouse. If free time is available, getting occupied in voluntary work, with the community or with the religion, can be very rewarding
June 30, 2006 -- Money won't buy happiness, says a group of distinguished economists and psychologists.

"Would you be happier if you were richer?" ask Princeton researcher Daniel Kahneman, PhD, and colleagues. Kahneman shared the 2002 Nobel Prize for applying the principles of psychology to economics.

Their answer: No. It's just an illusion that wealth brings happiness.

"When someone reflects on how additional income would change [their sense of] well-being, they are probably tempted to think about spending more time in leisurely pursuits such as watching a large-screen plasma TV or playing golf," Kahneman and colleagues observe. "But in reality, they should think of spending a lot more time working and commuting and a lot less time engaged in passive leisure. ... By itself, this shift in time is unlikely to lead to much increase in experienced happiness."

Kahneman and colleagues' theory appears in the June 30 issue of Science.

Money's Effect on Happiness Overrated

The distinguished scientists look at research into people's reported happiness and life satisfaction. They find that people are likely to overrate the joy-bringing effect of whatever they're thinking about at the time, whether it's money or the number of dates they had last week.

In reality, they say:

Increases in income have a relatively brief effect on life satisfaction.
When countries experience a sudden increase in income, there is not a corresponding increase in citizens' sense of well-being.
Life satisfaction does tend to increase as a nation's per-capita income rises. But there is little increase in life satisfaction once per-capita income goes above $12,000 a year.
Psychological studies show that the wealthier people are, the more intense negative emotions they experience. These studies do not link wealth with greater experienced happiness.
Why does increased income have so little effect on happiness? Research shows that:

Relative income, rather than any certain level of income, affects well-being. If you get richer than your peers, you may feel you're better off than they are. But soon you'll make richer new friends, so your relative wealth won't be greater than it was before.
People quickly get used to all the new stuff their money can buy.
The amount of money people say they need rises along with their income.
When you start making more money, you spend more time making money -- and have less leisure time -- than you did before. "The activities that higher-income individuals spend relatively more of their time engaged in are associated with no greater happiness, but with slightly higher tension and stress," Kahneman and colleagues note.
Focusing on the illusion that money makes you happy may have an unexpected side effect. It may make your life worse.

"This focusing illusion may lead to a misallocation of time, from accepting lengthy commutes (which are among the worst moments of the day) to sacrificing time spent socializing (which are among the best moments of the day)," Kahneman and colleagues observe. "The long-term effect of income gains becomes relatively small because attention shifts to less novel aspects of daily life

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The history of money

Have you ever wondered how money started? The first kinds of money didn't look anything like what we use for money now. This paper will look at how money moved from stuff to the bills and coins we use now. I will include a kind of timeline to show what money was used when.
Before there was money, there was bartering. Bartering is the thing you do when you trade something for something else. Some people think that animals and plants do it! (That is not true!!!) Some people still do bartering, even in America! One time, Mommy traded Miss Pam, her hairdresser, piano lessons for her daughter in exchange for getting her hair done.
9,000--6,00 BC: Cattle
After bartering, there was Cattle, which is anything from cows, to sheep, to camels, are the first and oldest form of money. It is almost bartering, but it is not. After a while, people started using fruits and vegetables, too.
1,200 BC: Cowrie ,,,,ls
After cattle, there were Cowrie ,,,,ls. A Cowrie ,,,,l is a small clam ,,,,l. It was first used in China. Many countries have used cowries as money, and even as recently as the middle of (the twentieth) century. Cowries have also been used in some parts of Africa. The Cowrie is the most widely and longest used money in history.
1,000 BC: First ,,,,l money and Coins
After real Cowrie ,,,,ls, they made bonze and copper Cowrie ,,,,ls in China at the end of the Stone Age. These were some of the earliest ,,,,l coins. ,,,,l tool money, such as knife and spade money, was also first used in China. This early ,,,,l money became coins. Chinese coins often had holes so they could be put together like a chain.
500 BC: modern Coinage
After fake cowry ,,,,ls, people outside of China made the first coins out of lumps of silver! They soon started to look like (the) round coins we use now, and were stamped with various gods and emperors to mark where they were from. These early coins were first used in Lydia, which is part of present-day Turkey, but the techniques were quickly copied and changed by the Greek, Persian, Macedonian, and later the Roman empires. Unlike Chinese coins, which depended on base ,,,,ls, like copper, these new coins were made from precious ,,,,ls such as silver, bronze, and gold, which had more value.
118 BC: Leather money
Leather money was used in China in the form of one-foot-square pieces of white deerskin with colorful borders. This could be considered the first known banknote (dollar).
800-900 AD: The Nose
The phrase, "to pay through the nose" comes form Danes in Ireland, who slit the noses of those who were lazy in paying the Danish poll tax.
806 AD: Paper Currency
The first paper banknote appeared in China. In all, China experienced over 500 years of early paper money, going from the ninth through the fifteenth century. Then, beginning in 1455, the use of paper money in China disappeared for several hundred years.
1535: Wampum
Wampum, which are strings of beads made from clam ,,,,ls, was first used by North American Indians in 1535. The Indian word, "wampum,: means white, which was the color of the beads.
1816: The Gold Standard
After wampum, gold was first made the standard in England in 1816. Then, they made a bank note worth a certain value of gold. Banknotes had been used in England and Europe for several hundred years before this time, but they were never worth gold. In the united States, the Gold Standard Act was started in 1900, which later led to a bank.
1930: End of the Gold Standard
The massive Depression of the 1930s ended the Gold Standard. In the United States, the gold standard was changed and the price of gold was lowered. The British and International gold standards soon ended as well.
The Present
Today, money continues to change and develop, as evidenced by the new $100 U.S. Ben Franklin bill. The hundred-dollar bill changed in 1996 to make it harder to copy. First, the picture of Ben Franklin was made bigger, and then it was moved to the left, which made it harder to crease his face. They also added more fine lines in the writing on the bill. Another special thing about the $100 bill is the special ink. It is black and green, depending on the light. This ink is only made in America.
The Future: Electronic money
Digital cash in the form of bits and bytes will most likely become a new money of the future. Businesses are already using this kind of money on the Internet

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Money is the root of every evil

Money is a means
that can be used well or badly, so I'd rather say that the love of money is the
root of all evil, not money itself. Because of money, people steal, kill and
bribe. Also, people may envy each other and love each other. Not a day pmindes
without hearing about a bank robbery or a murder. The reason why such crimes
are committed is usually the desire to make a fortune without exerting great
efforts.


Moreover,
the wars that sweep the world are motivated by financial reasons. Even the
civil wars which take place between people within the same country are based on
financial affairs.


In brief, we
can say that although having a fortune is a blessing from God, it can be a
curse if we misuse it.

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