The world emerged and man and animals were placed on the land. If you read the bible you believe that a God put man here to interact with nature; if you are a scientist you track the evolution of this planet and how man came to flourish here. Whatever your notion of how humanity came to this Earth one question has always plagued us. What is the nature of human beings and what do we need to interact with other people and the world that surrounds us? Thousands of generations have found writers, philosophers, religious leaders, psychologists, hoping to put us in neat little boxes to help explain why people do what they do. Unfortunately, it is not that easy to comprehend. So many cultures populate this world, with so many different notions of how to live a good life, who among us then can say what exactly the right way to live is. Human nature is a tangled cloth of so many fibers that pulling them apart one by one seems a daunting task. Yet there are writers, especially those picked for this course, who try to unravel the seams to fit the cloth more comfortably around us; because looking past all those differences created by cultures all men and women really have very similar ideas regarding what we all want - food, shelter, clothing, to live in peace. Influences from many directions, however, muddle how people see the world and how they relate to others human beings with different views than their own.
In the 3rd century bc Chinese philosopher Xunzi wrote that human nature is bad - that people need to be hammered into shape; that we are crooked at birth and need strong teachers and guidance to make us good (“Enduring Questions” 38). How could one look at a small infant in the mother’s arms and think of someone impious sl...
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...of nature stating, “…we are naturally induced to seek communion and fellowship with others” (“Enduring Questions” 51). Therefore, we create societies where like-minded persons can live in harmony creating traditions of roadmaps on living. Since not all roadmaps are the same, however, we begin to form opinions when meeting other cultures from what we see and hear – from influences sent to us by a myriad of factions. It is up to us to weigh all these influences and choose the ones that will keep us unbiased about other people and other cultures. Only when we understand that all people are human beings, and interact with influences that let us successfully “seek communion and fellowship” with all cultures, will we be able to live in peace. Let us not give in to influence that belittles, but let us be more accepting – be more human, and together we will all survive.
Born to be Good? A timeless question that continues to stump psychologists. Are humans born good? Do we learn evil traits or are they imprinted into our minds as we come into the world? In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written in the early 1800’s, this same question comes into play.
across all of our written history have discovered the importance of knowing human nature. Human nature is responsible for our definitions of abstract concepts that are surprisingly universal across the western world like justice, equity, and law. Human nature must also be carefully studied in an effort to understand, obtain, or maintain power within society. Finally, human nature must also be carefully understood so as to protect it from being manipulated and to understand its place in society.
Will, George F. "The Nature Of Human Nature." Newsweek (Pacific Edition) 140.8 (2002): 9. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.
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.
Despite the fact that my essay is possibly too much influenced by my own interpretation and opinion, if my reading of Mencius and Xunzi is correct, they are not that different altogether. Their little epistemological difference about the intrinsical goodness or badness of the human nature is soon corrected by the symmetrically opposite tendency of the good nature to lose itself and of the bad nature to look for its opposite. It is also corrected by Mencius' and Xunzi's point of convergence – the necessity of learning and self-cultivation. Be that as it may, I hereby defend that both are epistemologically optimistic, although the semblance of their writings seem to make their thought more apart then it really is.
Confucius argues that children are born neutral and over time their minds will be refined to bring out the goodness in them. The humanitarian philosopher Mencius believed that human nature was essentially good. The philosopher Xunzi argued something completely opposite from Mencius. He stated that evil was built in human nature and that humans needed training severely by a trained instructor to be able to eliminate the evil that dwells inside human nature.
Mengzi poses the idea that human nature is inherently good, and that personal reflection will help to cultivate benevolent behavior and ward off evil intentions. Furthermore, he stresses that it is the result of a treacherous environment and the lack of individual effort that a person commits wrongdoings and becomes wicked.
What does it mean to be human? To most people it means being high on the food chain; or having the ability to make our own choices. People everywhere have a few things in common: We all must obey Natural laws, and we have preconceived ideas, stereotypes, and double standards. Being human is simply conveyed as human nature in “The Cold Equations”, by Tom Godwin, where the author shows the common ground that makes each and every one of us human.
...der or the importance of virtues such as humility. Unfortunately, there are people who act immorally in every culture, but that does not mean that one culture is more inclined to this behavior than another culture. Likewise, this same logic can be applied to goodhearted people who promote knowledge and wisdom. Good, intelligent people are plentiful across all cultures of the world. One cannot just “sit in the bush” if he or she expects to find them, but instead he or she must interact with them like Laura Bohanan or Richard Forsay Lee did with the various tribal peoples of Africa.
What separates the human race from all creation? Many will say that the ability to reason and capacity to know what is wright and wrong makes humanity different from everything else. But, for a while now, humanity has chosen to disregard these qualities and become blind to the horrifying product of this decision. Social media has made it very clear that our words affect others and is important to be mindful of them. The news show that even in the 21st century humans can be very cruel in 1st world or 3rd world countries. Brutal stories all around the world are shared about young man shutting others because of their physical or spiritual differences. The short story, written by Shirley Jackson, is a cry for humanity to stay
To gain a better understanding and develop a positive attitude and acceptance of the varying ethnic and cultural differences we have in society today in the modern world, we need to step back and examine and study the philosophical views of ancient philosophers and attempt to modify the traditional mind set of today’s population in regards to racism. We are in fact all human, all cultures, all ethnic groups, all races, all skin color and cannot be compared to other living creatures, we can make judgments, we know right from wrong, we all have the opportunity to succeed. We as the human race must re-evaluate our morals which define our personal character and strive to make healthier and better decision in our lives on issues that affect our fellow man, as well as being ethical in our social lives and activities.
We live in a world that is made up of many different types of people races religions etc. we do not live alone, borders are open you can travel and meet people from all around the world. This allows us the opportunity to get to know many people, which allows us to realize that we are all different and to respect one another all must be very tolerant.
One of the biggest questions asked by not only researchers, but everyday people as well, has been the question of what makes we as people human. Being human consists of a complexity of definitions and factors that coexist with one another to make up who we are as people, and through anthropology, being human is studied very carefully in order to provide an answer to this question. Aspects such as language and communication, self-conceptualism, and bipedalism all correlate to what consists of being human, and while some of these can relate to other species, human beings use them in uniquely different ways that enhance our functioning in the world. Anthropologists have researched the complexity of human beings for centuries and throughout this
Living in a diverse world should be something a person should be proud of. Getting to know a person’s culture and their beliefs should be a wonderful ability. Respecting one another is important, even though a lot of people still disregard that, which should discontinue. We should all start to learn how to make this world a better place,
Our world is constantly changing and it requires a society that is well versed in understanding the problems deriving from culture differences and tolerance of one another’s beliefs and perceptions. We are dealing with systemic problems in education, economic, government, religion and culture differences.