The Accidental Tourist- Why and how Muriel Changed Macon Essay

The Accidental Tourist- Why and how Muriel Changed Macon - Essay Example Out of the blue Macon recognizes that he is on the brink of insanity. One reason for the change in Macon’s character is his sudden realization of how he failed to use his mental power to repel his pain. Another reason is his realization of the uncultivated emotional strength that he is pushed away from. The changing character of Macon is perplexing to his brother, Charles. Macon responds to Charles’s confusion (Tyler 2002, 228): â€Å"I’m more myself than I’ve been my whole life long.† Before the fated rendezvous with Muriel, Macon is a generous but anxious individual with a traditional sense of decency and refined fairness. Macon is a neurotic, overwhelmed with particular fears about being killed by lead-poisoned canned orange juice. All about him is contained. Even the manner in which he mourns over his deceased son is contained, hence at the surface it appears more like apathy. When his wife wrongly blames him for not truly loving their son and walks out of the restaurant, Macon musters his pride and pushes himself to eat his meal. His wife wants to face their son’s killer. She would force the killer to grasp the terrible nature of his action and afterward would kill him on the spot. Macon, who is not at ease with obsessive sentiments, says to his wife, â€Å"We can’t afford to have these thoughts† (Tyler 2002, 21). His wife retorts: â€Å"Easy for you to say†¦ pretend it never happened. Go rearrange your wrenches from biggest to small est instead of from smallest to biggest; that’s always fun† (Tyler 2002, 21). This confrontation is one of the defining roots of Macon’s change, propelling him to the path of Muriel who changes him significantly. The first meeting of Macon and Muriel is a clash of two completely dissimilar characters, compelling the change in Macon’s character. As Muriel deepens her place in Macon’s heart, he recognizes that, with her bright clothes and flowery fragrance,

Peter Winchs The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Essay

Peter Winchs The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Philosophy - Essay Example According to the scholars on the topic of social science, this subject of study has been slow to imitate the natural sciences and liberate from the dead hand of philosophy and this has resulted in the slow growth of this branch of study. They maintain that it is important for the social science to follow the methods of natural science rather than those of philosophy if it should make some significant progress. The main purpose of Peter Winch is "to attack such a conception of the relation between the social studies, philosophy and the natural sciences." (Winch, 1958, p 1). According to Peter Winch, a successful social science in general and sociology in particular would more nearly resemble literacy criticism than physics and other physical sciences and he provides several justifications for his claim all through his book. Winch's justification of his claim becomes evident in a reflective analysis of his distinctions between and among 'understanding and explanation,' 'motives, reason s, and causes,' and the difference between the sociologist's and the physical scientist's relation to the phenomena that they investigate (the 'subject matter' of the social sciences), and this paper undertakes an analysis of these aspects of the book along with a summary. In his The Idea of a Social Science and Its Relation to Philosophy Winch... cience in general and sociology in particular would more nearly resemble literacy criticism than physics and other physical sciences and he provides the central core of his argument under the title 'Understanding Social Institutions.' He maintains that 'understanding' is more essential phenomenon than 'explaining' and it clarifies his major arguments. According to him, it is essential to use the term 'understanding' rather than explaining, though he does not mean to allude to the distinction made by Webber between 'casual explanation' and interpretive understanding'. "The point I have in mind is a rather different one. Methodologists and philosophers of science commonly approach their subject by asking what the character of the explanations offered is in the science under consideration. Now of course explanations are closely connected with understanding. Understanding is the goal of explanation and the end-product of successful explanation Unless there is a form of understanding that is not the result of explanation, no such thing as explanation would be possible. An explanation is called for only where there is, at least thought to be, a deficiency of understanding." (Winch, 1990, p X). Winch considers 'understanding' as the standard against which the deficiency of the knowledge must be measured and this calls for explanation. The understanding one already has is expressed in the concepts which constitute the form of subject matter that one is concerned with. On the other hand, these concepts also express certain aspects of the life characteristic of the people who apply them. The interconnections among these aspects are the major subject of explanation in the book by Winch. It is also vital to understand the connections among concepts such as motives, reasons, and