Existentialism and Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Existentialism and Art - Essay Example A look into these various concepts proves that Leo Tolstoy comes up with the best explanation regarding art. According to him, art is a form of communication that can take various forms. If it succeeds in developing an emotion, it is an art. Aristotle and Art According to the Aristotelian view, art is an imitation of life. He starts his theory of art with the claim that humans have the urge to imitate, and this tendency to imitate is the very basis of human learning. It is this tendency that makes humans delight in works of imitation. Thus, according to the scholar’s opinion, various people imitate using various medium ranging from color and voice. As Butcher (1951, p. 116) says, this concept contains three elements of imitation. They are rhythm, language, and harmony. Here, Aristotle brings in the concept of virtue in art. To illustrate, the factor that decides whether a particular artwork is a comedy or a tragedy is the object that is imitated in the work. Though the art for m used is the same, the emotions it creates will be quite opposite in both the cases. Thus, when one follows the Aristotle's point of view, one gets a chance to evaluate the quality of art and the element of virtue in it. This becomes possible because the artist is supposed only to imitate, not to create. Evidently, there are a number of pitfalls in the Aristotelian view. ... For example, if the quality is assessed from the perfection in imitation, people from other geographical areas will not be able to assess the quality of any art. In other words, an art form will be highly limited to people in that geographical area or who are familiar with the item being imitated. Another issue arises that the concept does not take into account the authenticity of abstract works. To illustrate, it forgets the quality of Cubism and Pop as art forms, though they are not realistic reflections of nature. Thus, it becomes evident that though Aristotle managed to present the human characteristic of imitation, he failed to develop a flawless theory of art out of it. Plato and Art One can see that Plato too shows a tendency to consider art as an imitation though he develops a bit on the concept; but to the wrong side. In The Republic, Plato claims that art is an imitation of the things and events that one encounters in everyday life (p. 69). However, admittedly, Platoâ€℠¢s theory goes astray when things like music are considered. For example, even though Plato claims that music represents natural sounds and emotions, one can easily find that there is no imitation of anything natural other than emotion. However, Plato’s effort to show how complicated art can be in imitating things deserves appreciation. To illustrate, in The Allegory of the Cave, Plato describes the example of some prisoners chained to a bench, facing the wall of a deep cave. Behind them, artists are performing puppet play, and the prisoners could only see the shadows what they perceive as reality. However, as one prisoner gets released, he sees the puppets that produced the shadows (The allegory of the cave, 2011). Thus, one sees that, though Plato considers art

Leadership Matrix and Decision Making Assignment

Leadership Matrix and Decision Making - Assignment Example Assessment of leadership through decision-making ability is a complex and sensitive activity, which can be done through appropriate questioning and drawing leaders’ viewpoints and plans of action in different scenarios. Following is a set of questions with all possible answers/options that different leaders may choose with respect to areas requiring critical decision making such as delegation of authority, involving group members in a decision-making process, and focus on driving results. Based on these questions and the matrix, leaders scoring highest on option-a (strongly agree) can be termed as effective decision makers. These leaders possess good people management skills; they motivate people through involvement in the decision-making process; they create accountability for decisions made. These leaders maintain the integrity and set the right example to the group members by doing the right thing. Servant leadership is more of service than of leadership itself. Such leaders are committed to people through their work, and fully accept their responsibility and accountability for their job. These leaders tend to be highly transparent in their views, possess great willingness to learn, and possess the high sense of honesty and integrity. These leaders value the differences that may exist and work in collaboration with the group. These leaders work proactively towards their vision. Servant leaders possess the insight and ability to make important decisions, allocate resources and decision making authority by empowering others to act for the betterment of people and the organization. Their focus on relationships helps them gain the better understanding of their people, which in turn ensures appropriate empowerment. These leaders are self-motivated, and they bring a lot of emotions in their surroundings to build a strong team for the organization. Servant leaders believe in inclusive working style, i.e. they involve other members of the group in critical areas of work.

Capitalism V. Communism Essay Example for Free

Capitalism V. Communism Essay As the feudal system in Europe began crumbling with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution a void was created in the European social and economic structure, Scottish philosopher Adam Smith took it upon himself to fill this void and in 1776 published The Wealth of Nations; just as Newtons Principia Mathematica laid the foundation for modern physics so to did Adams work lay the foundation for modern economics. For the next 70 years Adams doctrine went unchallenged until Karl Marx presented his rebuttal in the Communist Manifesto. Capitalism as envisioned by Smith called for complete private control of the economy, and a small government that practiced a hands off policy. Such a system, Smith believed, would allow for the greatest amount of wealth, and as a byproduct would benefit the majority of the citizens. Capitalism quickly became the economic standard in the British Empire and post-revolutionary France and America, as well as in Germany and the Scandinavian countries as they industrialized. This switch in economic philosophy would result in an unprecedented shift in western society from chiefly agrarian to mostly urban, from feudal lords to corporate tycoons, and from frugality to consumerism. Under capitalism people for the first time in history could, on a large-scale, improve their economic and societal status through hard work and perseverance. Under this system someone like Andrew Carnegie the son of a weaver could through intelligence and determination found a corporate empire. Capitalism was and is by no means perfect, as is evident by the vast separation of wealth it creates, in America today for example according to the University of California at Santa Cruz, the top twenty percent of Americans control 85 percent of the countrys wealth. This obvious economic inequality is the greatest shortcoming of capitalism, and the primary reason for the creation of communism. Under communism the government controls every aspect of the economy and society. Communism calls for a classless society in which there is no private property and citizens work for the good of the state rather than their personal well being. The few examples of pure communist countries North Korea, Cuba, China under Zedong, and the USSR under Stalin that have been created were or still are dysfunctional states. They are characterized  by violent oppression, famines and the rise of dictators. On a smaller scale though communism has proved quite successful, a hundred and fifty years before Marx coined the term early religious sects in America, namely the Puritans and later on the Mormons, had perfected small scale communism. These settlers worked not for themselves but for the community, and proved that such a society could govern effectively. Communism at its core calls for the people to sacrifice individuality and work for the benefit of the state rather than for their personal well being. Capitalism on the other hand is focused on working for individual growth, and personal ownership to provide wealth for ones self. Communism places the economy in governments hands, while capitalism removes the government from the economy entirely. Communism sets direct demands on the work you do and what you need to produce, so others can benefit as well as you from your hard work. Communism asks the government to decide what is needed for each individual to live and be equal. The government tells the community what demands need to be meets to produce and distribute enough materials equally. Capitalism depends on supply and demand instead of quotas, in order to make sure there is not too much or too little of certain products. If there is not enough of a product wanted then the price will rise, which will in turn cause production to increase. Once there is more than enough of that product on the market, the demand will begin to drop, resulting in the price and production to drop and so on. Capitalism creates a system where peoples first concern is themselves, rather than the others, making things a personal investment instead of community investment. Communism is built on the idea that humans are inherently just, and as such will work not just for themselves, but for their countrymen as well. Capitalism is built on the idea that humans are inherently greedy and self-promoting, which will in turn lead to a great importance being placed on attaining wealth. Capitalism calls for freedom at the expense of equality while communism calls for equality and neglects liberty. Communism with its drive towards collectivization, and a classless society, clashes with the very principle that western democracies are based on individuality. Neither capitalism nor communism is ever going to be perfect for a nation, but a system that  rewards hard work and self-determination will always outdo a system that calls for dependence and mediocrity. Communism Marxism The Communist Manifesto. All About Philosophy. 9 Oct. 2008 . Capitalism. The European Enlightenment Glossary. 10 Oct. 2008 .

Experiments on Trusting Senses

Experiments on Trusting Senses The illusion of sight and sound This report examines what aspects of psychology can provide interactive and informative ways to provide an opportunity for the public to evaluate whether they can trust their senses. Focusing on vision and the illusion created by the human mind, also auditory perception, and the co-dependence on other senses, for example sight. 1: Introduction The minute decisions we make are based upon the information we gain from our senses. The human body depends on five senses, this report will focus on the individuals ability to see and hear. However, the way the human body processes information can trick the senses and the brain into not hearing sounds or seeing illusions. This report will outline some ways in which psychologists understanding of the senses may provide useful interactive tools to connect with the public and give an opportunity for self-discovery. 2: What are the senses? The senses are the bodies way of gaining information from the surrounding environment. The five senses are sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, which has three individual aspects, feeling temperature, pain and pressure. These senses provide the body with information externally and internally. There is also proprioception, known as the sixth sense. This additional sense gives information as to where the body is in relation to the environment, for example where the different limbs are in correlation to the environment, the bodies need for food and drink, body awareness (Turner, Block4, 2015). 3: How the other four senses work? Our sense of taste is influenced by sight and smell, for instance cover your nose and eat with a blindfold on and some of your favourite foods may taste differently. The sense of taste is altered by personal experience, emotions are also tied to the bodies relationship to food and expectations of the taste and texture of a food (Turner, Block 4, 2015). Smell is based on experience, there are some smells many find unpleasant. However, when exposed to an odour repeatedly, the body learns to mask and ignore the scent, for instance a perfume can smell amazing or terrible, influenced completely by your attraction to the individual wearing it (Turner, Block 4, 2015). Touch is often influenced by subjective comparisons. Proprioception, awareness of environment, for example, feeling heat near the skin or cool air, touching hard or soft surfaces (Turner, Block 4, 2016). 3.1: Vision Sight is the most trusted of the senses, however what is seen by the individual is dependent on personal beliefs, levels of attention and perceptions. The human eye can only detect light in a faction of the range of the electromagnetic spectrum, to counter this shortcoming the individual builds an accurate internal representation of the surrounding environment. People rarely see what is occurring around them and often fill in the blanks with assumptions. For example, when being asked to describe the contents in a bedroom, the assumption is there was a bed there, even if we didnt see one (Turner, Block 4, 2015). 3.2: Auditory perception Hearing is often based on assumptions, for instance, having misheard what someone said, even when they speaking clearly or not noticing a repetitive sound until it is pointed out to you. A typical person hears less than a bat or elephant in terms of range of sound frequencies. People are constantly surrounded by sound and learn to filter out much of the environmental noise (Turner, Block 4, 2016). An individual can focus attention on areas of interest, for example, at a party, where many conversations are going on, yet the human ear only tunes in to the conversation of interest. 4: Interactive examples For the public to fully engage with the surrounding environment and to gain a clearer understanding about the human abilities and limitations of sight and sound, the suggestion of interactive visual illusions offers a good opportunity to evaluate whether they can trust their senses within a fun and relaxed way. Â   Â   Â   For example, this YouTube video which illustrates the individuals perception of length and distance. This optical illusion illustrates a three-dimensional perception, how the distance between lines and shapes cause the brain to perceive a size difference simply by altering lines. This illusion is also known as The Ponzo illusion, which favours the top-down process, simply put, the human brain decides on what is being perceived based on prior existing knowledge (Turner, Block 4, 2015). A suggested example for auditory senses, this video plays a distorted sentence, twice which allows the brain to begin existing prior information to help understand incoming information. The sentence will be played for a third time, when to the surprise of the individual the sentence is understandable. Usually the individual assumes the audio has been changed but once explained can help people draw attention to whether they can trust their senses or not. Also within the framework of this exhibition the language barrier and the possible decreased ability of some senses should be considered. A language option being provided before individuals begin the various tasks, maybe including a sign language option should be considered as to not exclude any members of the public from this learning experience. 5: Conclusion Discovering if the senses humans depend on can be trusted can be developed into an adventure of self-knowledge. Appling different techniques of visual optical illusions, problem solving activities which require minimal skills to complete and auditory illusion, the exhibition becomes interactive with the public and can continue to develop within a multi-cultural framework, however the exhibition should balance the many languages and sensory needs of all visitors to this exhibition. That a verbal and visual aid should be suggested along with language opinions. In conclusion, the evidence is persuasive that there are still many things to learn about human senses, however the individual senses working together seem to manage the important tasks of everyday life. On balance this exhibition will help to build a greater understanding of our own boundaries of self. Word Count: 1017 References An audio Illusion-Your Brain, [ Online]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG9HSvNPVKQ (Accessed [ 20.03.2017]). Moving Illusions, [ Online]. Available at https://youtu.be/Iw8idyw_N6Q (Accessed [ 20.03.17]). Turner, J. (2016), section 3:Auditory perception, DD210, Bock 4, Week 18, Making sense of the world, [Online].https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=843722section=3 (Accessed [ 20.03.17]). Turner, J. (2016), section 6:Developing your skills: report writing, DD210, Bock 4, Week 21, Conspiracy theories, [Online]. https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=843725section=6 (Accessed [ 21.03.17]). Turner J., (2015) Making Sense of the world, in: Turner, J., Barker, M.J. (eds.) Living psychology: From the Everyday to the Extraordinary. (Book 2.) Milton Keynes, The Open University. Turner, J. (2016), section 2:You are plastic and so are your brains, DD210, Bock 4, Week 18, Making sense of the world, [ Online]. Available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=843722 (Accessed [ 20.03.17]). Turner, J. (2016), section 4:Motion perception, DD210, Bock 4, Week 18, Making sense of the world, [Online]. https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=843722section=4 (Accessed [ 21.03.17]). Turner, J. (2016), section 3:Perceiving things that arent there: pareidolia, DD210, Bock 4, Week 19, Everyday errors in making sense of the world, [Online]. https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=843723section=3 (Accessed [ 21.03.17]). The government minister may focus on the decrease of -14% from 2013-14 in Credit card identity theft. However, the opposing shadow minister could counter with data illustrating a decrease from 26,488 -15,420 in 2008-2011 when the shadow government were in place. However, the government minister could also suggest the data implies an increase from 15,420 24,078 in 2011-2012, before the initiatives were imposed and therefore implicating the shadow minsters government as being at fault. Overall from the public view point there is only 5.4% difference between the figure in 2008 and the figure presented in 2014, the data shows a steady decline during 2008-2011. However, during 2012 there was a shape increase of 8.658 incidents which increases again in 2013 and falls by -14% in 2014. The government minister May also focus on the overall decrease of 4% in 2013-14 in counterfeit fraud (cloned/skimmed cards). However, the shadow minister may wish to raise that in 2009 this area was at its lowest of 99,403 incidents and at its highest in 2013 with figures reaching 138,967 incidents and therefore there is no real decrease in occurrences as the initial figures suggest, in fact there is an increase of incidents after the measures were put in place by the present government minister. From the public view point in 2013 incidents increase by 25.964 taking the figure to 138.967 which then fell by -4% to 133.943, the two highest figures from 2008-2011 the data shows a strong decrease from 2008 -2009 dropping from 115,590 to 99,403, however, there is a steady increase from 2010-2012 the data showing that an additional 11.056 incidents occurred. Overall the data suggests that the measures and initiatives put in place by the government minster in this area have increased the le vel of incidents occurring. Data suggests that the area of remote/online purchase fraud has grown by 7% the shadow minister may well raise the evidence which shows a marked increase in incidents from 2012-2013 which is when the measures were imposed, there is a growth of 201.788 incidents occurring. And this figure increases again in 2014 by 7%. However, the government minister could suggest that the figures from 2013-2014 for credit card identity theft and counterfeit fraud (cloned/ skimmed cards) has a decrease of -18% collectively and therefore suggest more resources be directed towards remote/ online purchase fraud. The government minster could also argue that the data suggests from 2011-2012 there was an increase of 40.798 incidents which were before any measures were in place. However, the shadow minister can use the data to show that during 2008-2011 there was a decrease of incidents totalling 165.684. From the publics view point the area of remote/online purchase fraud has the highest incident rate across the data table. The data suggest the measures which were in place prior to 2013 show stronger impact across the data table. In 2009 column, there is a marked decrease in all areas in contrast with 2013 column after the measures were imposed there is a marked increased in all areas. The data table suggest the public are at more risk from fraud in 2013-2014 then in 2009. Word count: 523 Are lies more believable than the truth? As the title suggests the purpose of this short essay is to outline the research undertaken by psychologist into rumours and conspiracy theories and assess if the research findings favour or refute the idea that a lie is more believable than the truth. There is a traditional saying that A lie can get halfway round the world before the truth has its boots on, It can be argued that rumours create conspiracy theories and just like a pebble in the pond creates more ripples, more rumours can enable a collective cycle of mutual reinforcement. For instances, Procter et al., observed media reports and the social media engine Twitter during the English riots of August 2011, this allowed for an opportunity to study how rumours begin and grow over the course of an event. Byford, (Block 4, 2016), suggests that close to 2.6million tweets were posted during and shortly after the events, carrying a hashtag pertaining to the riots and occurring events. The purpose of Procter et al., 2013 observation was to gain insight into specifically tweets which make claims and counter claims about unfolding events, but lack the evidence to refute or support the claims. This information can then be used to clearly demonstrate the difference between rumour and factual tweets. Byford, (Block 4, 2016) suggests the study results showed a pattern, a cycle of a rumour beginning to spread via a tweet being shared by others, before being flagged and questioned for rationale, evidence or support. This then began the cycle of a few people questioning the many and this would then become a debate, which leads to the tweet being slowly ignored and no longer shared, as the rationale or lack of clear evidence being shown discouraged believability. However, the findings of this study also showed that a false tweet spread faster than the subsequent debate or conclusion of its falsehood. Procter et al., 2013, p. 204 uses the rumour of rioters attacking Birmingham childrens hospital to illustrate the speed in which false tweets are shared in comparison to rebuttals. This analogy suggests the rumours travel three times as fast as the explanation provided by the police at that time, clearly rebutting the false rumour. The cycle was the same it took longer for the falsehood t o be refuted and disregarded. Procter et al., (Block 4, 2013), also noted individuals arriving late to the conversations showed a preference for the original false tweet rather than the debate or rebuttal, this action may suggest that the debate and rebuttal are somewhat ignored. In conclusion, many conspiracy theories continue with strong momentum simply because there is no clear unrefutably solid evidence provided, which only adds to the collective cycle of mutual reinforcement as there have been some Conspiracy theories found to be factual for example, Security services in the USA and Europe monitoring communications and terrorists conspiring to carry out the 9/11 attacks, However, as many if not more conspiracy theories are shown to be faulted. The strength of social media to do good and harm plays out mostly with rumour and fact. As the research suggests lies do travel faster than the truth. Word count:532 References Byford, J., (2015) Conspiracy theories, in: Turner, J., Barker, M.J. (eds.) Living psychology: From the Everyday to the Extraordinary. (Book 2.) Milton Keynes, The Open University. Turner, J. (2016), section 3:Conspiracy theories as stories, DD210, Bock 4, Week 21, Conspiracy theories, [Online]. https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=843725section=3 (Accessed [ 21.03.17]). Turner, J. (2016), section 7:Developing your skills: numeric data and statistics in psychology and everyday life, DD210, Bock 4, Week 19, Everyday errors in making sense of the world, [Online]. https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=843723section=7 (Accessed [ 21.03.17]). Turner, J. (2016), section 6: Focus on methods: risk, randomness and probability, DD210, Bock 4, Week 19, Everyday errors in making sense of the world, [Online]. https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=843723section=6 (Accessed [ 21.03.17]). Turner, J. (2016), section 4:Heuristics and biases: health and safety, DD210, Bock 4, Week 19, Everyday errors in making sense of the world, [Online]. https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=843723section=4 (Accessed [ 21.03.17]). Procter, R, Vis, F, Voss, A 2013,Reading the riots on Twitter: methodological innovation for the analysis of big data, International Journal of Social Research methodology, 16,3, pp. 197-214 [ online]. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2013.774172 (Accessed [ 21.03.17])

Assess whether you believe that representations of women in mens magazines such as Loaded and FHM are offensive and in poor taste. :: essays research papers fc

For those who have not taken the time to read a selection of men’s magazines they may associate them with pornography or sport. Since the mid-90s, a crop of very successful magazines aimed at young men has emerged, spearheaded by the controversial Loaded. It is important for me to establish early on in this essay that men’s magazines such as loaded and FHM, are general lifestyle magazines; the modern men's magazine is about sports and cars as well as sex, fashion, women, and humour. This essay will consider whether the sexual nature of these magazines is insulting and tasteless. One must bear in mind that taste depends on the individual; it is a personal judgement. What some people find in good humour others may find vulgar. As the notion of what is acceptable in our society varies over time so clearly it varies from one person to another. Men’s magazines, such as Loaded and FHM, could be looked at as offensive to both men and women as they reinforce stereotypical images of macho men and sexist attitudes to there readers. Feminist, Robin Morgan made some very bold statements when she wrote about pornography, she said that it encouraged sexual violence and rape against women: â€Å"Pornography is the theory, rape is the practice† She refers to pornography as humiliating women â€Å"Women are hurt and economically and sexually exploited in the production of pornography.† (1) Yet isn’t it a brazen statement to refer to these magazines as pornography? David Gauntlett argues: â€Å"Men’s magazines are purely for entertainment, they are not seriously on a crusade to return to a pre feminist ideal or harm anyone in an attempt to provide entertainment.† (2) This is a common opinion where most readers are concerned. I feel there is an important difference where sexist attitudes come into play, between lifestyle magazines and magazines such as Top Gear or other car magazines which have half naked females draped across the body, for no apparent reason – as she isn’t an accessory to the car! Lifestyle magazines generally do portray women in a sexual way; they conjure up a shallow and unrealistic view. Some argue that the emergence of such magazines is an attempt to regain male dominance. Lacey suggests that it is the diminishing of men's power that has resulted in publications like FHM and Loaded, he says that the celebration of 'laddishness' is a desperate attempt to grasp what is left of traditional male identity.

Gary Nash Essay -- essays research papers

In the essay written by Gary Nash, he argues that the reason for the American Revolution was not caused by the defense of constitutional rights and liberties, but that of â€Å"material conditions of life in America† were not very favorable and that social and economic factors should be considered as the driving factor that pushed many colonists to revolt. The popular ideology which can be defined as resonating â€Å"most strongly within the middle and lower strata of society and went far beyond constitutional rights to a discussion of the proper distribution of wealth and power in the social system† had a dynamic role in the decisions of many people to revolt. The masses ideas were not of constitutional rights, but the equal distribution of wealth in the colonies that many felt that the wealth was concentrated in a small percentage of the population in the colonies. The Whig ideology that was long established in English society had a main appeal towards the upper clas s citizens and â€Å"had little to say about changing social and economic conditions in America or the need for change in the future.† The popular ideologies consisted of new ways of changing the distribution of wealth. Nash in his essay continued to give good evidence to prove his point that the American Revolution was not caused by the defense of constitutional rights and liberties, but by improper distribution of wealth. During the pre-American Revolutionary times, the â€Å"top five percent of Boston’s taxpayers controlled 49 ...

The Odyssey: Book 5/6 Summary & Analysis

Chapter 5 All the gods except Poseidon gather again on Mount Olympus to discuss Odysseus’s fate. Athena’s speech in support of the hero prevails on Zeus to intervene. Hermes, messenger of the gods, is sent to Calypso’s island to tell her that Odysseus must at last be allowed to leave so he can return home. In reply, Calypso delivers an impassioned indictment of the male gods and their double standards. She complains that they are allowed to take mortal lovers while the affairs of the female gods must always be frustrated. In the end, she submits to the supreme will of Zeus.By now, Odysseus alone remains of the contingent that he led at Troy; his crew and the other boats in his force were all destroyed during his journeys. Calypso helps him build a new boat and stocks it with provisions from her island. With sadness, she watches as the object of her love sails away. After eighteen days at sea, Odysseus spots Scheria, the island of the Phaeacians, his next destinat ion appointed by the gods. Just then, Poseidon, returning from a trip to the land of the Ethiopians, spots him and realizes what the other gods have done in his absence.Poseidon stirs up a storm, which nearly drags Odysseus under the sea, but the goddess Ino comes to his rescue. She gives him a veil that keeps him safe after his ship is wrecked. Athena too comes to his rescue as he is tossed back and forth, now out to the deep sea, now against the jagged rocks of the coast. Finally, a river up the coast of the island answers Odysseus’s prayers and allows him to swim into its waters. He throws his protective veil back into the water as Ino had commanded him to do and walks inland to rest in the safe cover of a forest.Calypo complains to the gods that the male gods always get to have relationships with mortal females whereas the goddesses Summary: Book 6 That night, Athena appears in a dream to the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa, disguised as her friend. She encourages the young p rincess to go to the river the next day to wash her clothes so that she will appear more fetching to the many men courting her. The next morning, Nausicaa goes to the river, and while she and her handmaidens are naked, playing ball as their clothes dry on the ground, Odysseus wakes in the forest and encounters them.Naked himself, he humbly yet winningly pleads for their assistance, never revealing his identity. Nausicaa leaves him alone to wash the dirt and brine from his body, and Athena makes him look especially handsome, so that when Nausicaa sees him again she begins to fall in love with him. Afraid of causing a scene if she walks into the city with a strange man at her side, Nausicaa gives Odysseus directions to the palace and advice on how to approach Arete, queen of the Phaeacians, when he meets her. With a prayer to Athena for hospitality from the Phaeacians, Odysseus sets out for the palace.Analysis: Books 5–6 Our first encounter with Odysseus confirms what we have a lready learned about him from Menelaus’s and Helen’s accounts of his feats during the Trojan War and what Homer’s audience would already have known: that Odysseus is very cunning and deliberative. The poet takes pains to show him weighing every decision: whether to try landing against the rocky coast of Scheria; whether to rest by the river or in the shelter of the woods; and whether to embrace Nausicaa’s knees (the customary gesture of supplication) or address her from afar.The shrewd and measured approach that these instances demonstrate balances Odysseus’s warrior mentality. Though aggressive and determined, he is far from rash. Instead, he is shrewd, cautious, and extremely self-confident. At one point, he even ignores the goddess Ino’s advice to abandon ship, trusting in his seafaring abilities and declaring, â€Å"[I]t’s what seems best to me† (5. 397). In each case, he makes a decision and converts thought to action with speed and poise. In his encounter with Nausicaa, a telling example of his skill in interacting with people and charisma, his subdued approach comes off as â€Å"endearing, sly and suave† (6. 162).