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Morality and ethical decisions
Similarities and differences of humans and chimpanzees
Similarities and differences of humans and chimpanzees
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My fellow homo sapiens, have you ever wonder what makes us unique? What makes us different from other animals? Throughout history and even today we always question and try to figure out how are humans different. Is it because we have opposable thumbs or the ability to recall the past and the future? In terms of science, we are very like chimpanzees; we are only varied in genetics by a little. While in religion we are uniquely different because God or gods created us. So, did we evolve from chimpanzees or super natural beings create us specifically? What actually makes us unique from other animals? I believe that what makes us different from other species is that we as humans have morals and value that is passed on from our ancestors or created to teach us the way to live and the resources that keeps us on top of the food chain makes us different from other species. …show more content…
Many wonder if we are born good or born bad. I personally believe that we are born with greed and evil but we are held back by morals provided by society. Society as whole has certain laws or restrictions that stops us from doing things that inflict us from harming others. The restrictions and laws are created through the morals that the society holds. I believe that we as humans are born with the mindset of survival just like other animals. In order to survival and live a full life, humans become greedy and try to have the most resources for us to survive. This mindset puts us on a path where we will conduct illegal activities that will give us better chances to survive. We with that mindset is hindered because our society has values that stops us from achieving these immoral deeds. We need to eat, survive and reproduce children just like other animals but as humans, we have morals to withhold us from achieving these things in an unmoral
The lines that define good and evil are not written in black and white; these lines tend to blur into many shades of grey allowing good and evil to intermingle with each another in a single human being. Man is not inherently good or evil but they are born innocent without any values or sense of morality until people impart their philosophies of life to them. In the words of John Locke:
It is the contention of this paper that humans are born neutral, and if we are raised to be good, we will mature into good human beings. Once the element of evil is introduced into our minds, through socialization and the media, we then have the potential to do bad things. As a person grows up, they are ideally taught to be good and to do good things, but it is possible that the concept of evil can be presented to us. When this happens, we subconsciously choose whether or not to accept this evil. This is where the theories of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke become interesting as both men differed in the way they believed human nature to be.
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.
“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” (Eleanor Roosevelt). This is just one of the infinite examples of how human nature has been explored by so many different people. Each and every human is born with the capability of making their own choices. The decisions that they will make in the future will determine how evil they are viewed by others. Although one’s nature and nurture do affect their life, it is their own free will that determines whether or not they are evil.
From all existing creatures, we humans differ because we are able to use our brain to make decisions. In
In conclusion of the argument made why primates, apes, should have equal rights as humans because they almost exactly the same as humans, but because we descended from them as well. We should not let habitat differences, we should not let hair differences, we should not let eating differences, we should not let physical differences be the only
...ulture and beliefs. Another reason one might commit a crime, is when people fail to achieve society’s expectations through legal means such as hard work and delayed gratification, they may attempt to achieve success through crime. People also develop motivation and the skills to commit crime through the people they associate with. Some criminals commit crimes because of the controls that society places on a person through institutions such as schools, workplaces, churches, and families. Sometimes there are occasions where a persons actions goes against what society considers normal, and as a result it is instead considered a crime. Also some criminals continue their criminal acts because they have been shunned by their society because once a person is labeled a criminal, society takes away their opportunities, which in most cases leads to more criminal behavior.
... drawn. What makes us human? Through the examination of human evolution, both biological adaptations and cultural adaptations which are distinct to humans can be recognized. Biologically speaking, humans are unique in that they are bipedal, they have larger brain sizes, and longer leg length. When examining the cultural evolution of humans we have a complex language system, we live in communities, engage in symbolic behavior, and act through emotional impulses. While we are often considered to be superior to all other animals, it is important to recognize that while we are animals, we have very distinct characteristics and adaptations that separate us both biologically and culturally from all other animals.
After a particularly insightful semester in Wheaton's Theories of Origin's class I have reached the conclusion that our uniqueness is in this sole fact: God chose us. I believe that humankind existed prior to these two chosen representatives; however without the ability to interact with God as we do today and throughout the Bible. Specifically, I believe that in the Garden, God gave Adam and Eve souls: an indescribable connection to Him that allows for us to communicate with God in a way that is unique. This connection is what separates us from animals and our own creations. The existence of our soul is needed for the redeeming Sacrifice of Christ to provide us with salvation from our sins and the ability to ascend to heaven.
Is man naturally good or bad? According to Hsun Tzu, man is naturally evil. Any kind of goodness associated with man is as a result of conscious activity. Man’s nature is that he or she is usually born with a fondness of profiting from anything he
Creationists believe that humans were always humans. Humans are classified in the mammalian family Primates. In this arrangement, humans, along with our extinct close ancestors, and our nearest living relatives, the African apes, are sometimes placed together in the family Hominidae because of genetic similarities. Two-leg walking seems to be one of the earliest of the major hominine characteristics to have evolved. In the course of human evolution the size of the brain has been more than tripled.
When researching there was a common recurrence with characteristic that make humans human. These characteristics separate us from our ancestors and is why we are the most successful species to live to this day. The first most occurring similarity in my research is that humans walk upright. Millions of years ago the early humans would climb up trees and walked on the ground to find food. This combination helped humans gain the ability to evolve and walk upright on two legs.
Are human beings born to be good? Or are we naturally born to be evil? A person’s nature or essence is a trait that is inherent and lasting in an individual. To be a good person is someone who thinks of others before themselves, shows kindness to one another, and makes good choices in life that can lead to a path of becoming a good moral person. To be a bad person rebels against something or someone thinking only of them and not caring about the consequences of their actions. Rousseau assumed, “that man is good by nature (as it is bequeathed to him), but good in a negative way: that is, he is not evil of his own accord and on purpose, but only in danger of being contaminated and corrupted by evil or inept guides and examples (Immanuel Kant 123).” In other words, the human is exposed to the depraved society by incompetent guardians or influences that is not of one’s free will in the view of the fact that it is passed on. My position is humans are not by nature evil. Instead, they are good but influenced by the environment and societies to act in evil ways to either harm others or themself.
From evolution we understand that we are not created as stationary unchanging objects, but that we are gifted the ability to change as a species, to overcome obstacles and improve ourselves from one generation to the next. In fact, I believe this understanding helps explain what makes us special as humans. We have the ability to evolve throughout
Man is distinctively different from the lower species of animals because of his ability in controlling the world he lives in. The difference between man and other animals also springs from the successful adaptions to his environmental demands. Each man is unique. Men differ from one another in their color,