You want to conduct a study to determine whether fruit consumption leads to reduce weight. Why would an experiment be better than an observational study?
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
An experiment would be a better choice than an observational study to determine whether fruit consumption leads to reduced weight for several reasons:
1. Establishing Causality:
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Observational studies can only show correlation – a relationship between fruit consumption and weight loss. However, this doesn’t prove causation. Other factors could be involved, like exercise habits, overall diet, genetics, or even a healthier lifestyle associated with fruit consumption.
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Experiments allow for manipulation of the independent variable (fruit consumption) while controlling for other factors. This makes it possible to establish a causal relationship – whether fruit consumption directly causes weight loss.
2. Controlling for Confounding Variables:
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Observational studies are vulnerable to confounding variables that can skew results. For example, people who eat more fruit might also exercise more, making it difficult to isolate the effect of fruit alone.
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Experiments use randomization and control groups to minimize the impact of confounding variables. Random assignment ensures that groups are similar in terms of other factors, allowing researchers to isolate the effect of fruit consumption.
3. Establishing a Dose-Response Relationship:
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Observational studies might show a correlation, but it’s difficult to determine the specific amount of fruit that leads to weight loss.
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Experiments allow for varying levels of fruit consumption in different groups, allowing researchers to investigate the dose-response relationship. This helps to establish a more precise understanding of how much fruit consumption is needed to see a weight loss effect.
Example:
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Observational Study: You might observe a group of people who eat lots of fruit and find they have lower average weights. However, you can’t be sure if the fruit is responsible or if other factors are contributing.
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Experiment: You could randomly assign participants to two groups: one group that eats a controlled amount of fruit daily and another group that doesn’t. You would control for other factors like exercise and calorie intake. By comparing weight loss between the groups, you could more confidently determine whether fruit consumption is a causal factor in weight loss.
In conclusion, while observational studies can provide useful insights, experiments offer a more rigorous and reliable method for determining whether fruit consumption causes weight reduction.
