A crucial portion of Asimov's analysis of human vulnerability is the supposed chaos of normal life. In Asimov's eyes, unity and cooperation function much better than the effort of any given individual towards a specific goal. In Green Patches a group of astronauts lands on Saybrook's planet. The planet is fascinating in that all of the organisms work in conjunction in order to maintain homeostasis. There exists no competition for food, for space, or for sex. In a sense, "all life on Saybrook's planet is a single organism"(371). Strangely enough the main sensory tissue/organ of all organisms on Saybrook's planet is not eyes, but rather "furry green patches"(364). More importantly however the green patches act as "super-sensory organs" (364) which are able to sense not only presence but thought as well. Lastly all organisms on Saybrook's planet have the ability of transmitting their own characteristic green patches onto other organisms. Within this ability lies Asimov's true purpose for the story. Captain Weiss, the narrator of the story clearly states, "compared to life on Saybrook's planet, Earth's growth is one big cancer"(374) in such "every species, every individual [does] its best to thrive at the expense of every other species and individual" (381). Asimov explains that the chaos of human society leads not to unified harmony but rather, "a fighting dependence, a dog-eat-dog dependence" (371). Asimov furthers his obvious "desire for an impetus for change by giving the creatures on Saybrook's planet an ever-present and omnipotent quality" (Marshall Cuthers- Isaac Asimov: Origins and Growth). In the story, a creature from Saybrook's planet has snuck in to the ship. The crew tries very careful to prevent such an occurrence but through disguise the creature becomes able to hide until the landing on Earth. The goal of the creature is also quite clear. It wishes to provide "completeness for the keen-thinkers" and that "they would be saved despite themselves"(387). The astronauts on-board understand that if exposed to Earth, the creature will be able to transmit its traits onto all organisms and alter the reproductive cycle so that all subsequent generations will have the same traits and Earth will become equivalent to the unified Saybrook's planet. Captain Weiss understands this and is stuck in a moral dilemma. If released, Earth will "become void of so many flaws"(392) and "there would be no more overpopulation, no more disease and no more crime and violence" (392).
In Alan Brown’s article “The Yellow Wallpaper’: Another Diagnosis”; Brown discusses why Charolette Perkins Gilman published The Yellow Wallpaper as well as another diagnosis on the character in The Yellow Wallpaper. In the article it is explained that Gilman published this short story as a reflection of her own life. Gilman battled depression and sought out help from expert neurologist. The neurologist had suggested that she rest and be confined to her room. This experience lead to the creation of The Yellow Wallpaper. Being confined to a room like the character in The Yellow Wallpaper is enough to drive anyone to insanity. Brown had a different idea on why the character lost her mind and began to believe she was seeing figures in the wallpaper.
In the human nature, naive ignorance of the world's imperfections eventually yields to the recognition that the world does contain hatred and violence. John Knowles places his novel A Separate Peace in situations which necessitate this emotional transformation. The characters become increasingly aware of the nature of the world. In addition, symbols help show the interrelation of ideas and events as they appear in Gene's subconscious mind. In this novel, setting, character, and symbols develop the theme of loss of innocence.
He is unable to understand why they can’t leave nature alone. His frustration stems from the fact that so much valuable land is being destroyed, to accommodate the ways of the lazy. It seems as though he believes that people who are unwilling to enjoy nature as is don’t deserve to experience it at all. He’s indirectly conveying the idea that humans who destroy nature are destroying themselves, as nature is only a mechanism that aids the society. In Desert Solitaire Abbey reminds the audience, of any age and year of the significance of the wild, enlightening and cautioning the human population into consciousness and liability through the use of isolation as material to ponder upon and presenting judgments to aid sheltering of the nature he
A coon dog and a tick, an oak tree with moss on the north side, a termite and its internal bacteria, and a shark with tiny fish that eat the extra meat chunks in between the teeth all have one thing in common: symbiosis. Defined as the interdependence of organisms, symbiosis is the basis of the relationship between George and Lennie in “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. One type of symbiosis helps both parties while another type involves one organism being hurt by the exchange. The dog is hurt by the tick while the termites and the bacteria benefit from each other’s presence. These types of symbiosis can occur in humans and are evident in “Of Mice and Men.” Both types of symbiosis exist between George and Lennie in the novel.
...ghout the novella is that even though we are humans and not animals, if we continue to repress each and every aspect of our own primitive needs and instincts, we will completely lose them. We will not be able to function in any world except the one we live in, making us extremely and very dangerously vulnerable. We need to, instead, embrace these instincts as our ancestors did to help them survive in their own unique, yet brutal environments. We can never revert fully back to Primitivity as Buck did, that would cause absolute chaos. We do however, need to utilize certain aspects of these natures, the ones that can help us survive, give us special intuition, and allow us to come closer to ourselves and understand what it means to be a truly free and independent human being in a world that is entirely too dependent on altering everything that humans need to embrace.
Through this quote Ralph Waldo Emerson was trying to prove that the understanding of nature in human is very little, as all humans do is view nature as something that is materialistic. In the first chapter of his essay, "Nature", Emerson says that if humans were to let go of all the materialistic views they have and interact with nature and observe it beyond the items they would understand the true meaning of nature and its value. His theme through this passage is to show that every single object that humans see before their eyes is not nature. The objects that humans see is a piece of art that humans can easily change to become something different. When he describes the farms he sees, Emerson says that no one owns the farms because as a whole the farms are nothing but of the same, meaning they are a whole piece not individual pieces that are scattered. That is the theme that he is trying to portray through this quote and just like stars, though they are always there, everyone just views them as they are always there "for" the humans, but Emerson
Upon making an honest and accurate assessment of his character, it seems evident that man is not such a creature divinely set apart from the trappings of selfishness and immorality. Rather than put man at either extreme, it seems more accurate to describe man as a creature whose tendency is to look out for himself first, as a means of survival. It is true that on many levels humans act in a cooperative way to benefit all -- but does that warrant a claim that man is genetically altruistic? Perhaps the reasoning behind his actions would lead to another view? As Ridley examines man's dependency upon others in his species, it becomes apparent that man is not necessarily a savage beast out to do everyone in, but rather a lone creature trying to ensure his survival.
In H.G. Wells War of the Worlds the humans’ instinct to survive overcomes threats to their existence.
Threshold 5 tackles the beginning of life on Earth. This is where any living things are characterized by metabolism, homeostasis, and reproduction. Over time, the genetic makeup of any living thing change so later generations being slightly different. This results into diversification and the evolution of certain species that best suit their environment. However, threshold 5 also deals with the idea of dealing with the “natural world.” It may seem that the environment is almost entirely man-made but the “natural world” is still a huge part of the environment. This can be simple as the earth on the ground, the air that people breathe in, or even the sun that provides the heat and light to the planet. However, as human technology progresses the “natural world” becomes less and less apparent in the world today.
It has been observed throughout the centuries that humans in a community mutually benefit when they share a common resolve to achieve a goal and help each other out in the process. We can also see this process play out in plant communities in nature. For instance, in a TED talk given by Suzanne Simard, Simard revealed that different species of trees, namely birch and fir, will share carbon and nutrients with each other, helping both grow larger. However, while this is a useful example, there remains some uncertainty as to whether this holds true for humans. In the real world, working towards a common goal doesn’t always result in mutual benefit to both parties. “The people who work in a coal mine and the people who own it will share an interest in the mine’s pros- perity, but that is hardly to say that they form a community – especially when the “owners” are shareholders who never set eyes on the mine or its miners.” In this case, the miners and owners both seek to mine coal, but the executives are not subject to harsh conditions and low pay that the miners must experience. Yet despite the apparent
For years, authors and philosophers have satirized the “perfect” society to incite change. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley describes a so-called utopian society in which everyone is happy. This society is a “controlled environment where technology has essentially [expunged] suffering” (“Brave New World”). A member of this society never needs to be inconvenienced by emotion, “And if anything should go wrong, there's soma” (Huxley 220). Citizens spend their lives sleeping with as many people as they please, taking soma to dull any unpleasant thoughts that arise, and happily working in the jobs they were conditioned to want. They are genetically altered and conditioned to be averse to socially destructive things, like nature and families. They are trained to enjoy things that are socially beneficial: “'That is the secret of happiness and virtue – liking what you've got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny'” (Huxley 16). Citizens operate more like machinery, and less like humans. Humanity is defined as “the quality of being human” (“Humanity”). To some, humanity refers to the aspects that define a human: love, compassion and emotions. Huxley satirizes humanity by dehumanizing the citizens in the Brave New World society.
A common theme in science fiction is outer space. Many of Bradbury's stories take place there. As critic Wayne L. Johnson observes, "For Bradbury, space is not merely a stage upon which stories of the future are played, it is what the Great Plains were to the pioneers, not just a frontier but a symbol of the future for the human race" (49). If space serves as a symbol of the future for the human race, the story "Kaleidoscope" has a large amount of symbolism. In this story, the crew of a spaceship is shot into space. "The first concussion cut the rocket up the side with a giant can opener. The men were thrown into space like a dozen wriggling silverfish. They were scattered into a dark sea; and the ship, in a million pieces, went on, a meteor swarm seeking a lost sun" (Bradbury The Stories of Ray Bradbury 143). The view expressed in "Kaleidoscope" is that although people come from one original being, they grow apart all the time. This divergent evolution is clearly expressed as each member of the crew, although separated for a short time, changes their view on the situation. The crewmen being hurled at the sun has a happy attitude, while the ones being hurled into darkness are engulfed in it. Bradbury might have not intended the reader to find this theme in the story, but it shows how creatures adapt to their environment.
Rachel begins her book by painting us an image of a small quiet town. Keep in mind though, this town isn’t a real place, but is a parallel of our society. In this town, she describes the people living modest lives, and all is well. This is used to represent the calm before the storm, so to speak. The people start to notice strange things, such as birds dying and strange sicknesses. The people themselves are blissfully unaware of what is happening, and that they are to blame. This example is used in parallel to our world. We are unaware of the effects of Pesticides in the long term and if we don’t become aware of these effects, permanent damage will be done.
In his essay, The Ethics of Respect for Nature, Paul Taylor presents his argument for a deontological, biocentric egalitarian attitude toward nature based on the conviction that all living things possess equal intrinsic value and are worthy of the same moral consideration. Taylor offers four main premises to support his position. (1) Humans are members of the “Earth’s community of life” in the same capacity that nonhuman members are. (2) All species exist as a “complex web of interconnected elements” which are dependent upon one another for their well-being. (3) Individual organisms are “teleological centers of life” which possess a good of their own and a unique way in which to pursue it. (4) The concept that humans are superior to other species is an unsupported anthropocentric bias.
Most would agree with Taylor’s first two elements of the biocentric outlook on nature. The first element it is undeniably true; humans are indeed members of Earth’s community. Taylor pushes this further and asserts that humans are non-privileged members of the earth’s community of life. Humans, just like all other living organisms, have biological requirements to live. Moreover, “[w]e, as they, are vulnerable. We share with them an inability to guarantee the f...