Our text, “Western Civilizations: Ideas, Politics, and Society”, includes many of the core values of today’s modern society. Rationality, the first value listed, is simply being able to use mental analysis to comprehend different, sometimes complex, subjects in a clear way. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationality) Rationality is extremely important to the effective running of any society. The only alternative to acting and thinking rationally is to act with impulse, or without thinking a situation through. (http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Ethics_Rationality.html) A prosperous society cannot act in this way. I feel that for the most part, rationality is still alive and well today. While everyone does not always agree with the moves of our president, I think everyone can agree that thought goes into every move that is made for our country. Political freedom is the second value listed. It is that to be one of the most valuable assets to a democratic society. Living in a society without overt oppression and being allowed civil liberties and human rights are some examples of political freedom. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_freedom ) I am a little on the fence when it comes to modern day political freedom. It is obvious that as Americans, we are free, but how free are we really? Gay and lesbian marriage is illegal, meaning the Government has a say in who we can and cannot marry. Cannabis use is illegal, even though medical specialists have proven its ability to cure certain illnesses, including cancer, but alcohol, which kills many each year, is still perfectly legal. To me, this shows that we are not truly politically free, we are just exponentially better off than other countries. Inner freedom, the ability for ...
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... would exist if it wasn’t for human dignity, so it goes without saying that it is the most important of all.
When it comes to premodern and modern values; I am mostly with the modern value set. I feel that to become a better society of people; everyone must continue to move forward in all areas; including the changing and growing of societies values. As far as postmodern values: it seems that they will revolve around rejecting open-minded truths, role of language, power relations, and attack “sharp” classifications; black and white and male and female for example. (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100420051934AAkkCqy) I feel like I am a little bit postmodern in my beliefs. I do feel that “sharp” classifications are not right, however I also believe in extreme open-mindedness, so it seems as if I fall in the middle of modern and postmodern thinking.
Human Dignity: We are all created in the image of God and therefore should be treated as humans with dignity and respect. The value or worth of human life.
My dignity, to me, is extremely important. Everybody deserves to be respected. I agree with Depree's definition of dignity. A good leader will respect their followers regardl...
War is commonly defined as an armed conflict between two entities, one that dates back to the beginning of mankind’s very existence. During this time many have attempted to explain the complex nature of war, its actors, and its origins. There are two authors in particular who have made critical analysis on the topic of war within the international system, more specifically the nature of balanced power and hegemonic war and the role that perception plays in conflict. Glipin asserts that disequilibrium will result in a hegemonic war due to inferior civilizations striking falling civilizations. Whereas Jervis asserts that misperception is the driving cause of war. I argue that it is not an inferior civilization, but rather different economies
According to the text there are 5 main sets of value paradigms: values from a perspective of traditional certainty, values from a perspective of post modern Relativism, values from an environmental perspective, the new-age perspective and values from an eclectic perspective. So lets examine that fundamentals of each paradigm to get a better view.
Human persons are fundamentally equal in their worth and dignity. A person’s worth is not dependent on their lineage, how they fit in some utopian scheme, how much they produce or consume, their autonomy or independence, or their race, intelligence, age, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. Human worth is innate and cannot be forfeited. And it is equal in each person.
Freedom remains the sole basis for American society as we know it. Without freedom the great nation of America would have never been founded. To understand the true principles of freedom, one must understand the scope of the word. Philosophical freedom encompasses the ability to make choices without restraints, while political freedom is the state of being free rather than in physical confinement. Despite the importance of these ideas to our founding fathers, freedom has lost much of its importance in modern American society. The failure to stress the importance of freedom has diminished the quality of life for the entire American populous
“Why Western History Matters” is an essay adapted from a speech Donald Kagan delivered to the National Association of Scholars, and was reprinted in the December 28, 1994, issue of the Wall Street Journal. Throughout Kagan’s essay, he describes the essential need for the college course, Western History. He does so by examining older cultures and explaining why they were quintessential to the past and to our future development as a society. I strongly concur with Kagan’s standpoint of the necessity of history, and the realization of how exactly our flourishing society came about. History is a key constituent in determining who we are; for to determine who we are one must first know from whence they came. In the words of George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.
Perhaps the most exclusive aspect of American freedom is stated directly in the Declaration of Independence. It states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" (Jefferson). This well-known statement truly incorporates all facets of what it means to be free in America. The citizens of this country have the right to live. They have the right to be free of restriction and control, to do what they please. And they have the right to be happy in whatever way that might be. These rights are...
In the article review “ How the West was Lost” the author, William T. Hagan explains that in a brief thirty-eight year period between 1848 and 1886, the Indians of the Western United States lost their fight with the United States to keep their lands. While nothing in the article tells us who Hagan is, or when the article was written, his central theme of the article is to inform us of how the Indians lost their lands to the white settlers. I found three main ideas in the article that I feel that Hagan was trying to get across to us. Hagan put these events geographically and chronologically in order first by Plains Indians, then by the Western Indians.
Ideology, Knowledge and the escalation of new ideas led to a better life and society that made positive impacts on Western Civilizations. There were many idea’s that were explored and implement into the daily lives of the people and for the most part it turned out to be a good impact. Although there were some bad ideas that caused suffering to the society at the time. They learned from what they witnessed and created something that would work better for the most part. In this essay I am going to use some primary sources that support my idea that society benefited from the new “ideas” but I will also use an example to explain how it caused a negative impact too.
Analysing The West: Unique, Not Universal. Throughout history, Western civilization has been an emerging force behind change in foreign societies. This is the concept that is discussed in the article, the West Unique, Not Universal, written by Samuel Huntington. The author makes a very clear thesis statement and uses a variety of evidence to support it. This article has a very convincing point.
The Western culture has evolved over a span of several years with various civilizations specializing in specific aspects of life or nature. In essence, Western civilization dates back to the BCE periods when Ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, and Ancient Rome reigned. Each of the Western civilizations came with a clear lineage that portrayed such attributes as property rights, free market economy, competition, personal freedoms, and innovation (Perry, 2013). Besides, the western civilizations came at different periods with some of the attributes evolving or remaining unchanged throughout the lineage. However, the non-western civilizations contributed towards such attributes to a given extent, primarily because of the interactions among
It is important to distinguish between freedom’s kinds of values, because in defining a system of government, the attitude towards freedom is a key component. If freedom has no independent value, different schools of political thought might have the standpoint, that we should not value freedom at all, only the things that it is means to. Some might think that they know better what is good for people, and feel justified in constraining people’s freedom. We intuitively value freedom, and usually do not even notice, that we have it, because it woven through so much of our everyday life. We take freedom for granted, even though in some countries it is not so trivial. It is not enough to feel that freedom is our basic right, but to understand why it is so important, and why freedom can not be replaced by the specific ends one might think it is means to. I will argue, that freedom does have independent value. First I will talk about the non-independent value of freedom, and look at the different independent values, then concentrate on the non-specific instrumental value. I am going to look at claims where Dworkin and Kymlicka were wrong, and evaluate Ian Carter’s standpoint.
My family has always been a priority for me because they always taught me how important it is to respect others. I highly value respect for others as well as myself. Having respect for others is very important at all times in any given situation. Respecting others opinions, beliefs, and values show 's you are acknowledging their feelings and ensures the person they are as important as anyone else. Being able to give someone your respect can also grant you with respect in return. Being respectful can also have an effect on your personality. It can help determine how you interact around others. The quality of respect has components to help others relate if you are a rude person or a kind one. In the late 1800 's John Stuart mill and Jeremy Bentham established a theory of social justice. Utilitarianism theory consists of moral ethics. The action of doing right and treating others equally maximizes utility and brings happiness to most people. Having respect can bring many positive aspects such as happiness, being happy can bring happiness to others around you that is an essential to solving problems that reduces conflict with one another. Having a value that is such a priority in life does not mean that you have to go against what you believe in order to satisfy others. It just helps you on improving on how you see the world and why others might feel the way they do. Respect has taught me not to be selfish and only think
Although our government has, many limitations on freedom these restrictions make it possible for us to be civilized. We are able to be free from slavery, and prejudices. Every human on this earth has the right to their opinions, freedom from oppression and a chance to prevail over limitations. Freedom is as desirable as limitations on freedom because with out both we would be at either end of the extreme. We would live either in complete chaos or in a police state. I am not saying that our system is immaculate, but is the best we can do, given the circumstances.