The news had piqued my interest. The world had accused China as an apathetic nation. The event had even sparked “stop apathy” campaign online. To most of us, it seems bizarre that none of the people present responded. Some speculated that the lack of response was related to the fear of bearing the responsibility. When interviewed, the monger said the reason they didn’t help the girl was because they assumed they would be held responsible and blamed for the girl’s misfortune. Some claimed that city people indifference in nature. But it seemed that this is not an exceptional event. For example, nobody could forget about the tragedy that befallen Kitty Genovese, who was brutally murdered witnessed by a lot of bystanders or the Singaporean student who was abandoned after gang-raped and murdered in Delhi on 2013. Who to blame for these unfortunate events? Is it true that these bystanders have a lack of empathy and heartless? Did they not pity the victims? Or are they just jerks who enjoy seeing people’s suffering? Probably they are just people like you and me.
Side-line spectators
The term of “bystander effect” was coined to explain the lack of action in an emergency situation when more people are nearby. Psychologists had tried to explain the absurd phenomena for years. Finally, in an eventful lunch, American psychologists Darley and Latane discussed to show and explain why such an event occurred. They designed an experiment where participants were asked to sit down in individual cubicles and could communicate with other subjects over an intercom system. There was actually only one real participant in the study; the other participants were pre-recorded voices, including one person that had a seizure. The researchers manipulated the...
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...tle girl had sacrificed herself as if trying to open our eyes on how important of helping people in need. Don’t expect for incentives. When faced in situation like Wang Yue’s don’t wait and expect people to come forward.A simple and small gesture can help another person’s life. Public must be educated on the importance of lending a hand and parents must instilled and internalized good moral values on children. Misfortunes like Wang Yue’s story can be easily prevented if all the members of society are willing to work together and help each other. So are we all jerks? Maybe we were, but you and you alone can change that. Don’t just give up on your morality. Be a Good Samaritan.
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson-
Most of us would like to think of ourselves as decent, helpful people. We proclaim that we would never turn our backs on someone in obvious need of help-or would we? In fact, any of us, when faced with a person who seems to be in trouble, do nothing. To explain this, the term bystander effect was coined by sociologist and psychologists. It is a psycho-social phenomenon that suggest the more people there are present at a scene of emergency, the less likely they are to help. In the mind of the individuals in the group, a common unconscious thought occurs: “This group is really big; surely someone has dealt with the situation or eventually will”. Basically, the mere presence of bystanders reduces the chances of intervention, and reduces the likelihood
... There is no joy, no choice, and no individuality. If those qualities are not present in life, then what is the purpose of living? In the council’s opinion the purpose of life and living is to provide for all of man (meaning to just work day in and day out) and not for oneself. If my life had no purpose, no individuality, and no happiness, I would not want to live.
In most countries, allowing an injustice to take place is seen as something unethical, and for that reason, it is evident that being a bystander is morally incorrect. This is demonstrated in the article, “We Are Living Through a
Everyone once in their life has witnessed a person get into trouble or maybe danger, we like to think we would help the person in need but that ain’t always the case. The social psychological phenomenon that occurs when individuals don’t offer help or intervene in an emergency situation because of the presence of others is called the bystander effect, or bystander apathy. The chances of helping are greatly related to the number of bystanders. In other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. Perceived diffusion of responsibility (onlookers are more likely to intervene if there are few or no other witnesses) and social influence (individuals in a group monitor the behavior of those around
“Once an event is noticed, an onlooker must decide if it is truly an emergency” (Darley and Latanè 769). In this example, Lantanè and Rodin set up an experiment at Columbia University. During this experiment, subjects were given a questionnaire to fill out. During the questionnaire, a tape recording was played with noises sounding like someone had fallen and was in need of assistance. Out of the subjects involved, 70 percent offered to help; while those waiting in pairs only 20 percent offered to help. Astonishingly, 32 subjects remained unresponsive. The subjects go on to say if it was a real emergency they would have helped.
“ The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less, said Greek Philosopher Socrates. Philosophers have said that happiness is about living a good life. Looking at the reading we see different views of what people thought happiness was. We will explore the different characters and stories of a few people like Epicurus, Epictetus, and Socrates. Whether it be through doing what we want to do or doing what we ought to do through happiness or pleasure.
In conclusion, humankind is blessed with life as God created it. One must reflect on their actions throughout life because one will be judged by God in the next life, one must see the importance of gasping liberation, and one must have a loving and open heart when helping the poor. Life should be lived to its fullest because once time is lost, it cannot be regained; life needs to be appreciated.
On March 13, 1964 a woman by the name of Catherine “Kitty” Genovese was coming back to her apartment in Queens, New York at 3:00 a.m. when she was impaled to death by a serial killer. According to the news, the said attack was about 30 minutes long. During the attack, Kitty Genovese screamed for help numerous times. The killer left the scene when the attention of a neighbor was attracted. Ten minutes later, the killer returned to the scene and murdered Genovese. It came to attention that 38 people witnessed the attack and murder, but all thirty-eight failed to report it until after the murder. This ordeal got the attention of many people including scientists and psychologists who wanted to figure out why this occurred. Later, the events that were published by the news were found to be false. It seemed as if the news was experiencing the bystander effect as well, because their information did not contribute to the actual facts. There were not 38 witnesses to the crime, but several had heard the screams and a few calls were made to the police during the attack. But there was still talk about something that affected the minds of people during emergency situations. This phenomenon has become known as the Bystander Effect. There were several cases that are fairly similar to the Genovese one. As well as the Genovese case, these occurrences attracted the attention of many scientists and even the news had something to say about “apathy.” Is the bystander effect real? My hypothesis is that the bystander effect is in fact, a real everyday occurrence that limits the help offered by people. This is due to the number of bystander present during a given situation. The Bystander Effect is the social psychological idea that refers to cases in whi...
All human beings have a common desire. The desire that all humans are striving for is something that is important and vital to every human being. This desire is happiness, which according to Aristotle, “is not something you can feel or experience at a particular moment. It is the quality of a whole life.” Many great philosophers, like Aristotle, have attempted to seek and comprehend what happiness is. Plato believe happiness is a “harmony within the soul-the spiritual well-being of the truly virtuous man.” Immanuel Kant defines “the pursuit of happiness as selfish, setting personal satisfaction above the objective norm of duty and right.” Aristotle believes “Everyone uses the word happiness to name that which he seeks for its own sake and not for the sake of anything else. One wants to be happy because happiness is the ultimate good.” Happiness is a desire all humans want, no one wants to live a dreadful life. Everyone wants to live a good life. Happiness is the total satisfaction of all human desire. In Mortimer Adler’s point of view, there are many components that can lead to happiness. Three important components to attain happiness are bodily, social, and intellectual goods.
The bystander effect is an occurrence which can happen at any time and in any place. The definition is "… [a] social psychological phenomenon ... in which individuals do not offer any means of help … when other people are present." Although people can be helpful, the bystander effect is caused by social pressures such as: diffusion of responsibility, informational social influence, and evaluation apprehension which can make a lot of people unhelpful.
Quote: Joy, rather than happiness, is the goal of life, for joy is the emotion which accompanies our fulfilling our natures as human beings. It is based on the experience of one's identity as a being of worth and dignity-Rollo May
I believe that, in general, life purpose is not to be happy. It is to be useful, honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference, and to know you have lived and lived well. We were put on this earth to achieve our greatest self, which we cannot do without the assistance of God. A relationship with Him is the only thing that will quench our souls longing, find peace within ourselves, and be the best we can be in the short amount of time that we
“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to take experience to the utmost to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience” -Eleanor Roosevelt
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, said in his book “Nichomachean Ethics” that "happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the aim and end of human existence." (Aristotle). He means that happiness is a central purpose of human life. It is true when we all wish to be happy. However, when we are asked what happiness is, we cannot define happiness in a general concept because it means something different to each individual person. For example, for one person, happiness is a sense of satisfaction from success in career, whereas for others, it may be a feeling of being loved by other people. Meanwhile, philosophers indicate that happiness has two senses. The first one is psychological sense related to a state of mind (Haybron). The other sense
But the means for what purpose is a good life? There is no answer to this question, Aristotle said, because "a good life is an end in itself; we are not aiming for it for the sake of anything else"