Proximate and ultimate causation Essays

  • European Colonialism and Imperialism

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    areas of the globe? What gave them a great advantage over other groups? The proximate cause of this advantage was their possession of guns, germs, and steel. But how is it that they possessed these things and others did not? Ultimate causes of the Europeans possession of these guns, germs, and steel could be “Divine Providence.” People at the time thought that God favored the Europeans over other groups. Another ultimate cause could have been “Scientific Racism.” Other people believed that the Europeans

  • Macdougall-Shackleton's Levels Of Analysis

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article “levels of analysis revisited”, MacDougall-Shackleton discusses why it is important in differentiating between the levels of analysis and levels of reductionism, specifically ultimate functions and proximate mechanisms, when constructing research questions and forming hypotheses. This is very important when dealing with debates in evolutionary psychology because if there is no clear distinction between the two levels of analysis, is it likely that counterfactual arguments can be formed

  • Niko Tinbergen's Four Questions

    1531 Words  | 4 Pages

    of animal behaviour, namely causation, development, function described as the survival value and evolution. Although Tinbergen’s questions were not original, as causation, function and evolution questions had already been discussed previously by biologist Julian Huxley, Tinbergen added a fourth question to the study of animal behaviour regarding development (Giraldeau, 2012). The four questions are divided into two categories proximate or causal questions, and ultimate or functional questions, and

  • Theories of Sexual Offending

    2514 Words  | 6 Pages

    Sexual assault is one of the most offensive and depraved crimes that exist in our society today. The physical and psychological toll that this act has on its victims is as incalculable as it is incomprehensible. A sexual assault in Canada is defined as all incidents of unwanted sexual activity, including sexual attacks and sexual touching. Victims of these acts reported feeling angry, confused, frustrated and fearful. The General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization shows that young women and girls

  • Negligent Misstatement Case Study

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, foresight test is not actual now as it was substituted with the ‘knowledge’ criteria after the Caparo Inductries plc V Dickman [1990] case. The house of Lords held that a very proximate relationship must exist between claimant and defendant before liability in negligent misstatement will arise. Still, however, in order to give rise to liability, the four conditions should be satisfied: I. The advice is required for a purpose,

  • Freedom and Determinism

    2359 Words  | 5 Pages

    rhapsodized about freedom for centuries. Politicians present the utopian view that a perfect society would be one where we all live in freedom, and spiritual leaders teach that life is a spiritual journey leading the soul to unite with God, thus achieving ultimate freedom and happiness. In addition, we have the philosophers who perceive freedom as an inseparable part of our nature, and spend their lives questioning the concept of freedom and attempting to understand it (Transformative Dialogue, n.d.). Freedom

  • Materialism And Dualism: The Relationship Between Mind And Body

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    Human beings are made of matter, made of matter with the functions they were intended to have. They have weight, solidity and consist of liquids and gases. But unlike other material objects (e.g. rocks) humans can structure judgements and reason about their existence. Shortly put, we humans have minds. Humans are characterised as having both a mind (which is the nonphysical part) and a body/brain (which is the physical part). This is recognized as dualism. Dualism is the supposed aspect that the