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An Analysis of Matt Ridley’s The Origins of Virtue
Inwardly examining his own nature, man would prefer to see himself as a virtuously courageous being designed in the image of a divine supernatural force. Not to say that the true nature of man is a complete beast, he does posses, like many other creatures admirable traits. As author Matt Ridley examines the nature of man in his work The Origins of Virtue, both the selfish and altruistic sides of man are explored. 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 comparing man as the lone hunter to the cooperative being he is today it is evident that his species has thrived and survived with much greater ease in a cooperative society as opposed to a lone hunter. Though it can be easily argued that this cooperation between man, is at some level a sort of mutual altruism, it may better be understood as a selfish means of survival. The saying goes that "there is safety in numbers, " this could not be more true for man's plight. Because alone man stands little chance of perpetuating his genes, he flocks to the community where he has the better chance of survival, as do his genes.
So to better understand the reasoning behind man's need to be in the community it is imperative to look at nature. In the wild and brutal game of life the only measure of true success is whether genes are passed on. Like any other animal this measure of success measures man's success too. For all creatures, to survive is the chance at continuing a gene line, and it is this necessity to continue the line that is innately imbedded in man and all other creatures.
Are humans natural born sinners? Are we content with our self-indulging human nature? Flannery O’Connor shows us through her stories that the worst quality in a human is selfishness. Through grotesque characters, O’Connor demonstrates the common theme of selfish human nature to display the ability it has to ruin/drive people crazy and that people only look to religion when they are desperate.
Main characters often struggle with finding their self-worth, but the distinction between self-worth and selfishness may often be unclear. The protagonists of both Anthem, by Ayn Rand, and Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, fluctuate between being self-aware and being selfish. If Equality is an honest narrator, then to describe him as selfish would be an incorrect understanding, because the laws in place by Equality 7-2521’s community strips every one of their individuality and, therefore, their humanity; however, to describe Siddhartha as selfish is a more accurate understanding, because Siddhartha never lost his humanity and only strives for his own desires.
Louden opens this section with this statement: “… it is commonplace that virtue theorists focus on good and bad agents rather than on right and wrong acts.” This is a good th...
The question “What makes us who we are?” has perplexed many scholars, scientists, and theorists over the years. This is a question that we still may have not found an answer to. There are theories that people are born “good”, “evil”, and as “blank slates”, but it is hard to prove any of these theories consistently. There have been countless cases of people who have grown up in “good” homes with loving parents, yet their destiny was to inflict destruction on others. On the other hand, there have been just as many cases of people who grew up on the streets without the guidance of a parental figure, but they chose to make a bad situation into a good one by growing up to do something worthwhile for mankind. For this reason, it is nearly impossible to determine what makes a human being choose the way he/she behaves. Mary Shelley (1797-1851) published a novel in 1818 to voice her opinions about determining personality and the consequences and repercussions of alienation. Shelley uses the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to make her point. Rousseau proposed the idea that man is essentially "good" in the beginning of life, but civilization and education can corrupt and warp a human mind and soul. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (hereafter referred to as Frankenstein), Victor Frankenstein’s creature with human characteristics shows us that people are born with loving, caring, and moral feelings, but the creature demonstrates how the influence of society can change one’s outlook of others and life itself by his reactions to adversity at “birth”, and his actions after being alienated and rejected by humans several times.
The Road is a phenomenal example of how raw human nature shapes peoples’ decisions. It addresses the behaviors of people neither informed nor controlled by a social order. In the essence of The Road, people’s actions are highly dependent on the person’s basic needs. A lack of basic human needs often results in the more disturbing view of human nature. (Gilbert pg. 43) Betrayal, suicide, and cannibalism are all examples of behaviors that human nature can bring out of people.
During the 60’s and 70’s, drug use became a social phenomenon. It has been called the age of experimentation. People were trying drugs at a rate never before seen. Part of this was the ease of distribution due to the interstate systems. However, also many adopted an attitude that it was just an “experiment.” One issue was the lack of understanding on the addictive quality of these drugs. Another problem was that if it was prescribed medication, people held the belief that it could not be a dangerous or harmful thing to take. Combined, these attitudes began to have large-scale, adverse effects in
The chemotherapy drug did not start out as a treatment at all. A chemical agent known as mustard gas was used in combat during World War I, and later studied during World War II. It was found to be effective in fighting the cancers of the bone marrow cells. This cancer, known as...
The people in support of Prop 227 state that it gives them more say so in how their child is being taught in the public school system. For example “Parents or guardians may waive the above requirement if they are able to show that a child already knows English, has special needs, or would learn English faster through an alternate instructional technique.” (Linton, 2007). In this way it gives parents a better sense of control over the educational system. Over ten years, it can be said that the state will pay out $50 million per year to provide students with English tutoring. All in support, also believe that the bilingual programs are ineffective and poorly implemented and that Americans should speak English. In 1997, alone only 6.7 percent of limited- English students in California learned enough English t...
Bilingual education involves teaching material in two languages. In America, this includes ESL (teaching English as a second language) for students whose native language is not English. Bilingual education simply helps those students who would otherwise be helpless in actually learning the material in their English-only classes. It also helps English-speaking Americans learn another language, like Spanish. This is useful to them because America’s demographics are indeed becoming more diverse and thus, better language skills should be employed. Implementing bilingual education in the school curriculum is due to the passing of legislation at the government level. As of now, English immersion programs exist because of the Bilingual Education Act (a.k.a Title VII), which was passed along with the Civil Rights Act in 1964. (Cerda; Hernandez, 2006) At that time, it was expected to change ethnoc...
The physical and chemical properties make heroin a desirable drug. It is highly addictive and fast acting, which lure users in. The first time one uses the drug it is said to cause disagreeable feelings and nausea. But following further use it causes a sudden rush in your brain, lasting 1 to 2 minutes, that feels as if it is relieving all the tension one has, followed by a calm and relaxed state that can last a few hours (“Heroin in the Brain”, n.d.). These feelings of satisfaction and ease make this drug ...
Confucius, the founding philosopher of Confucianism, never explicitly details what he believes to be the inherent nature of humans. However, through his teachings and writings, his opinion can be understood to be that humans reach good nature, through self-cultivation and self-improvement. He believes that humans are improvable and teachable, but lack virtue. “Confucius
The following analysis deals with the nature and source of evil and whether, given our innate motives and moral obligation, we willingly choose to succumb to our desires or are slaves of our passion. From this argument, I intend to show that our human nature requires that we play into our desires in order to affirm our free will. This is not to say that our desires are necessarily evil, but quite the opposite. In some sense, whatever people actually want has some relative value to them, and that all wanted things contain some good. But given that there are so many such goods and a whole spectrum of varying arrangements among them, that there is no way we can conceive anything as embodying an overall good just because it is to some degree wanted by one or a group of persons. In this light, there arises conflict which can only be resolved by a priority system defined by a code, maybe of moral foundations, which allows us to analyze the complexities of human motivation. I do not intend to set down the boundaries of such a notion, nor do I want to answer whether it benefits one to lead a morally good life, but rather want to find out how the constructs of good and evil affect our freedom to choose.
Bilingual Education began in the United States in the mid- 60’s. The time that the bilingual movement started coincided with the height of the civil-rights movement for African Americans. During this time there was a great outcry from Latino activist that protested against discrimination that led to a high drop out rate for Spanish speaking students. In 1968 congress approved a bill to aide in equal education opportunities, this was the Bilingual Education Act. Its intentions were merely to help Limited English Proficient (LEP) students become literate in English, today goals of Bilingual education have advanced (Porter 2003). On...
Google Inc. is a company that started in 2002 and has gradually grown to become an international technology company. Google’s business is mainly focused around vital areas, like advertising, search, operating platforms and systems and platforms, hardware products and enterprise. The company produces its revenue mainly by distributing online advertising. Google also produces revenues from Motorola through selling products. The company offers its services and products in over 100 languages and in over 50 regions, territories and countries. The company assimilates various features in its search service and gives dedicated search services to aid users modify their search. Google also gives product-listing advertisements, which comprise of product information, like price, merchant information and product image without needing ad text or extra keywords.
In 1976, following the Lau decision, California adopted the Chacon-Moscone Bilingual Bicultural Education Act A.B.507 which established specific bilingual program requirements for identification, instruction, staffing assignments, classroom composition, reclassification and parent involvement. In 1980 this act was amended , adding to the above that its primary goal was to move pupils into English as the language of instruction as " effective and efficiently as possible." This amendment changed the above original Act to a more complex set of requirements that included Language Arts and Math in the students native language , English Language Development (ESL), Social Science, Music, Art and P.E . This curriculum utilizes Spec...