Nielsen, Makayla
S00561651
Business-1050-042
1/22/2013
Assignment 3
Standard- Six
1. “Introduction to Critical Thinking in Business” was written by Edward G. Engh. Engh is
an author of many private studies for various companies in the aerospace industry and has
worked in the field for many years. He also has worked on many commercial space
launch systems, as a strategic planner for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic bid,
and has been teaching Business Administration for 12 years. Currently he is finishing a
Research Grant Study for Salt Lake Community College on “New Methods for Teaching
Critical Thinking.”
2. “Introduction to Critical Thinking in Business” is baisically about Reality and the Mind.
It explains how reality is true and the mind can perceive things to be true to its liking. In
this chapter, the author is trying to introduce the importance of education in business,
beginning with the variations of thought.
3. The text was published in 2012. A few major events that happened during that time were:
President Barack Obama was re-elected into presidency, super storm Sandy took a major
hit on the east coast and carribbean, London held the 2012 Summer Olympic games,
European Central Bank says that it “will preserve the Euro.”, and an Austrian Skydiver
breaks the sound barrier.
4. The Introductory chapter was written in Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah was listed as Forbes
top Business state.
5. The text is relevant to modern Business because it introduces how one needs to think if
one is to own and operate a business. Introducing critical thinking and how reality and the
mind are continually debating back and forth is a great way to begin paving the way to
the understanding of the foundations of a business.
6. I feel that my level of education is in much need of a business understanding. Thus why I
am enrolled in this course is to better my critical thinking and to hopefully one day
become a successful business owner. My understanding of literature is high and I doubt I
should have any trouble with the material we are to go over.
Questions 1-12
1. How did the ancient Greeks view the acquisition of wealth?
a. The Greeks appreciated wealth just as we do today. At first they were a bit
weary and suspicious of it, but later after the fourth century they seemed
less concerned about the morality of wealth.
2. How did Greek ideas of profit, trading and culture spread across much of the
world?
a. Much of the Grecian ideas of profit, trading, and culture spread throughout
the world by the conquests of Alexander the Great. Reaching from Spain
all the way to Afghanistan the Greek concepts spread. Then as Greece
grew they began to expand into colonies within Italy and upon the
northern shores of the Black Sea.
3. How did the ancient Romans seize the wealth of their culture from the rich kings,
and appropriate it to themselves?
a. Eventually the Numa and Tarquins dynasties of Rome were expelled.
Oncce removed the wealth of Rome was endowed to the people.
4. What did “Citizenship” mean in the Roman Republic?
a. To the Roman mind, Citizenship was more than just the right to a jury of
peers. Citizenship was the right to own land, do business, and acquire
wealth.
5. How were the Roman Social Wars relevant to us today?
a. The Social Wars were slave revolts against the Romans. Today these wars
are relevant to us by ways of seeing history repeated. Slavery was a part of
the whole antiquity of the world, part of the story for all ancient cultures.
In the middle-East there are many revolts against the dictatorship of the
harsh leaders and many are winning. Through winning, they are changing
the statuses of all the population. Just as the Roman senate changed the
status of all Romans, including slaves. They even provided the slaves with
the opportunity to buy their freedom if not given to them by their owners.
6. What was the principle purpose of the mighty Roman legions?
a. The principle purpose of the mighty Roman legions was not to oppress
their own people. They never collected wealth for their own pleasure and
served primarily to protect the lifeblood of the Republic, otherwise known
as trade.
7. Did trade contract or expand under the Roman Imperial Bureaucracy? Give
Evidence.
a. Trade expanded so greatly that Rome began to lose its population to the
provincial life. Southern Russia, Northern Africa, Gaul (France), England,
Ireland, Scotland and parts of Germany became so prosperous that they
achieved their own self-sufficiency. Thus causing trade within the city of
Rome to decline.
8. Who was Edward Gibbon, and what was his theory about the fall of Rome?
a. Edward Gibbon was a historian who wrote a brilliant theory on the fall of
Rome. His belief towards the fall of Rome was that it was due to
Christianity.
9. What happened to the Roman love of trade after Rome adopted the new religion
of Christianity?
a. The Roman love of trade grew so that it outgrew Rome. The creation of a
monopoly was disastrous for free trade.
10. How did the history of Greece and Rome affect the Founding Fathers of the
United States?
a. The history of Greece and Rome affected the Founding Fathers by way of
their beliefs of the formation of a Republic. Also because of Gibbons
theory of the downfall of Rome, the Founding Fathers insisted on a
separation of State and Church within the U.S. Constitution.
11. Who were Adam Smith, David Hume, and Ed Gibbon: and what was their
influence on the attitudes of the Founding Fathers of the United States?
a. Adam Smith, David Hume and Ed Gibbon were all authors of exquisite
books that published all around the same time, just before 1776. Gibbon
was a historian who proposed a theory as to why the Roman Empire fell.
Smith was a moral philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. He
wrote about the desired relationship between church and state, attempting
to create enlightened governments. Hume was a renowned natural
philosopher who had inspired Smith and wrote Essays and Treatsies on
Several Subjects.
12. Does man possess a perfect understanding of the natural forces of economics?
Give Evidence.
a. No, man doesn’t possess a perfect understanding of the natural forces of
economics. Through Game Theory and the mathematical tool of Quantum
Economics, we are continuously finding flaws within the economic
ideology starting with the eighteenth century to present day.
10 Vocabulary
1. Prosperity:
a. An advance or gain in anything good or desirable.
2. Garnering:
a. To gather for preservation.
3. Conceded:
a. Acknowledged.
4. Fortitude:
a. The strength or firmness of mind which enables a person to encounter
danger with coolness and courage.
5. Pernicious:
a. Having the quality of injuring or killing.
6. Misperceptions:
a. Erroneous perception.
7. Posterity:
a. Succeeding generations; future times.
8. Auxiliaries:
a. A helper; an assistant; a confederate in some action or enterprise.
9. Provincial:
a. Of or pertaining to province.
10. Secular:
a. Coming or observed once in an age or a century.
Works Cited

"Webster Dictionary." Webster Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2013

Engh, Edward G. "A Very Brief History of Trade." Critical Thinking: Readings from the
Literature of Business and Society. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 11-21. Print.