...On the Origin of Evil Where does evil come from? This is a question that I find most interesting. In our modern day civilization educated by liberal institutions everybody speaks as if they are certain of what evil is. So what is it? At first glance the thing that sticks out to me when I hear this question is: Asking where evil comes from is like asking where hunger comes from. Where does the desire for procreation, for sexual reproduction come from? Is a lion evil? I am sure it could be viewed as such in the eyes of a gazelle. Lions kill other lions indiscriminately. They will kill young and old alike in competition for food, mates, or territory. Should every creature have the disposition of a humble lamb? Is a human being killing another human being evil? What if it’s a matter of self-defense? What if one acquires glory or good fortune for oneself and one’s people by killing? King David rose to glory and won the battle for the Israelites by killing Goliath. As stated in 1 Samuel, “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands” (ch.18 v.7: via Bible gateway.com) Israel’s prosperity was only made possible because King David was a masterful warrior king that won many battles. Likewise war and conquest played a vital role in the founding of our country. And we became an economic superpower because of the good fortunes that came as a consequence of World War II. In this light killing could be viewed as a good thing. Accordingly things are only good or bad depending...
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...The Law Code of Hammurabi is a set of 282 laws. The codes express laws that tell what punishment or repayment the offender owes for his misdeed. The laws give out different punishment for the same problem depending on what class you are from. The punishments and repayments given out between the classes are extremely unequal, where the higher the class you are the less punishment you have to deal with. The laws are given differently depending on your group. Whenever there is a law explaining what has happened and what has to be done in return it usually is broken into three sections. The three sections are what does the free-born men and women have to do, what does the freed men and women have to do, and what does the slaves have to do. Within these laws the freeborn are treated better, or have more value than the freed, and then the freed are treated better than the slaves. There are even laws that say if you do something wrong to someone of a higher class then your punishment is going to be worse, which shows a major sign of inequality. The group that is treated with the most inequality is the slaves. Since the slaves cannot read they are already in a bad position. Most of the laws that are created in this set are directed towards the slaves. These laws make it where once you are a slave, you are always going to be a slave; even their children are born into this system. Slaves are also put at the lowest value compared to any other class. For example, laws 230 and 231 state...
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...power. In the same way that the possession of land creates an aristocracy, industrial property increases the power of the people; it provides the means to achieve its freedom. Antoine P. J. M. Barnave also believed that without the economic tribulations that were pending in France there would have been no need for change. The third estate could be broken down into three parts: the rich, bourgeoisie; the middle, lawyers, doctors, businessmen; and the poor, the peasant, farmer. There was much change in the economic world of the third estate. For instance the bourgeois were gaining land and therefore making money. 35% of the land was left to the 22 to 23 million peasants, the bourgeoisie held about 30% of the land, the 350 000 members of the nobility held about 20% of the land, and left with an unequally shared 10% the 130,000 member of the clergy. This shows how much land the bourgeois actually had. They were making large amounts of money off this huge percentage of land. Like those today who make money they needed to be taxed, there was only one difference between now and then, they [the third estate] were the only ones being taxed....
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...Andrew Maddox Professor Stacy Schmauss ANT 210 10/18/2012 Class Matters A class is defined as "A combination of income, education, wealth and occupation." (Ember, Ember, and Peregrine 315) Social status or economic class has shaped society since the beginning of man. Whether it is money, power, or strength, certain people are put into classes that gain them respect. Especially during this time of year when the election is going on, we hear class mentioned all the time. The upper class is the wealthier people in America, the middle class is what can be described as your "Average Joe", and the lower class are those that are struggling to provide for themselves. Class can affect things such as getting jobs, what kind of women or men you will attract, and how you are treated. Whether people want to believe it or not, class is a huge part of how we view people and it always will be. The New York Times came out with a special study about economic class. According to them, "class influences destiny in a society that likes to think of itself as a land of unbounded opportunity." (Scott, and Leonhardt) The article states that class is a powerful force in the life of Americans and places a huge role in shaping us today. Things such as your family name, education, and ethnicity all play huge rolls what class you fall into. In my personal opinion, I would have to say that the article hits the nail right on the head. Class is a widely debated topic and the people in each class play...
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...Write a note on "Pygmalion as a comedy" of manners. Comedies of manners are plays which are "set in the world of the upper class, and ridicule the pretensions of those who consider themselves socially superior, deflating them with satire. With witty dialogue and cleverly constructed scenarios, comedies of manners comment on the standards and mores of society and explore the relationships of the sexes." The play Pygmalion is many things, and one of those is certainly a comedy of manners. Pygmalion is less of a farce than the earlier comedies of manners. While there are certainly miscommunications (especially at the beginning between Eliza and Higgins) they generally don't create changes to the plot. But in several other respects Pygmalion is a comedy of manners; most especially in its satire of both the upper and lower classes. Higgins, though a respected figure and "professor of phonetics" is an example of much of what is wrong, in Shaw's mind, with the upper class of Britain -- particularly the upper class intellectual male (a class to which Shaw, himself, belonged!) Higgins is a master of his subject, and, as he boasts, is not only able to place with minute accuracy London accents, but is able to train the most entrenched Cockney accents (Eliza's) into the tones of Mayfair. But with all his learning and accomplishments Higgins has left his humanity behind. He has to be forced (with only limited success, by Mrs. Pearce, Eliza, and Colonel Pickering) to understand that Eliza...
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...Once there was a king Reigning on a small kingdom faraway When disaster came His little kingdom faded away All his people fled, all nobles and princes Nothing was left of the kingdom where he reigns In the ruins the king roamed Tears on his eyes seeing that nothing remained Then he saw his jester coming by And asked him why he stayed The Jester answered “My king, thy servant is here to relieve your pain” With the jester’s loyalty the king was pleased So he asked the jester to build his kingdom with him “Jester if you will rebuild this kingdom of where I reign Great rewards are what you will gain In my place you will have a place In my kingdom you will have a space” Thus, the jester worked day and night Lifting stones, planting seeds with all his might To far away lands, on foot he traveled To find men and servants to rebuild the king’s towers Days passed and the kingdom was built Better, stronger and far richer than what was ruined The king then gave the jester a room The king’s castle became the jester’s home With all his heart the jester served his king Working day and night to keep his reign The king and the jester worked to make the kingdom grow Through the days they reaped what they sow The nobles and princes heard of the king’s newfound riches One by one they were back in the castle One maiden, one noble came one after the other The king welcomed them all like a father One by one the nobles came All of them, wanting...
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...“Cleisthenes reforms gave the poor more rights than Solon had done.” To what extent do you agree with this opinion? I think that Cleisthenes did give the poor more rights than Solon did. He went further than Solon did and reduced the gap between the poor and the wealthy by creating new demes based upon the area in which you lived rather than who your family were. Cleisthenes had gained power by promising to give the poor more power, in order to weaken his rival, Isagoras’ support in the political areas. This allowed him to have the backing of the majority of the Athenian citizens, as they were mostly poor. However, it also meant that he had to follow through with his promise otherwise he would have the citizens against him and his regime. In order to make sure that no one else could seize tyrannical power, new cults and military functions increased the unity of the new tribe. The loyalty of the new tribes was now to Attica and not to the noble families as they were grouped into three areas of Attica. The basis of the Boule was strengthened making it more difficult for ambitious tyrants to take power. Breaking up the demes broke the power of the nobles and the old ionic tribes they had dominated. Also, the Boule of 500 became open to all over 30, except thetes and was most likely selected by lot which gave no advantage to the aristocracy. They served for one year and reappointment was allowed once but not in consecutive years making it hard for individuals to dominate. The nobles...
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...attractive enough to appeal a man and got marriage so they went to the convent. Although we don’t know the reason the prioress becoming the nun, she mustn’t have gone to the convent because of believing in god for she lacked a true religious calling. Besides, as for her background, there are many suggestions she was from a noble family. Last but not the least, the brooch the prioress wore had some words: “Amor vincit omnia” which means “love conquers all”. Nevertheless, her “amor” wasn’t to the god but to other things like her appearance or her table manner. She was a representative of the decline of religious world. The order of prologue is an evidence of social class. In the Middle Ages, knights were the highest class of non-hereditary nobility. Therefore, it is acceptable that the narrator introduced the knight, his son and the yeoman first. However, the prioress comes next while clergy was not considered one of the social classes in the Middle Ages. The status of her family might be so high that she still ranked fourth among the pilgrims though she had not been a member of the noble society for a long time. In addition, the prioress was the first person had name in the prologue. Even men in the Middle Ages should have enough social status and their names were possible to be recorded; however, the prioress’ name was recorded in the prologue. Besides, there is an irony that clergies were introduced by the narrator before others having social class. They had to only connect to...
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...following three paragraphs, I would like to show you three causes and relevant effects of social class discrimination. The main cause of social class discrimination is that people in high class are more powerful in the society. Noble people always occupy higher status. Undoubtedly, it is much easier for upper classes to achieve something. They are accustomed to control, accustomed others to obey. As time passes, despotism appears. Some noblemen united to form a council governing the country. This is just the way some kingdom died out. Nowadays, even though this phenomenon is unlikely to emerge any more, the epitome of despotism still exists as a result of class discrimination; for instance, the law of hereditary kingship and the rank of nobility. As the discriminatory hierarchy exists, the society cannot be united and peaceful which has been proved by the history. The class consciousness is indoctrinated when people growing up. They observe how their parents treat lower- class people, so that they imitate. However, the inveteracy of class- based discrimination can influence their psychological health. They look down upon underclasses. They force those below to do overmuch back- breaking work. Discrimination based on social background contributes stress and other physiological changes as well. Therefore, class discrimination will damage both the physical and the mentally health of underclasses, especially teenager’s. Child labour, a special example of class discrimination, has...
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...So there I was behind the archers, knights on horseback (of course with their squires), and our “righteous” King and his cohorts. Scared does not begin to describe my feelings toward this battle that I did not volunteer for. I am just a mere foot soldier, an arrow cushion for the royals. We arrived a week ago today and it seems today will be the day of days. The Kings from our side and theirs are meeting in the middle of what will soon become the battlefield, or should I just call it what it will become, the resting place of most of us. I hope they work this out peacefully with some concessions. I am getting ahead of myself. When we first arrived we came ashore on boat and well let me just say there was nothing here, unless you count the forest. Well most of that went to constructing the Kings quarters. We found ourselves fighting over firewood to keep warm at night, although keeping warm almost came in second to just rest after our days. We work nonstop from dawn to dusk. It is just us “less” noble by birth that do all the manual labor, while the noble keep watch over us while they drink wine and we build battlements and quarters for the luckier. I find myself praying every night for this to be over, one way or the other, and at this point I am leaning toward the other, which would mean that I will never see any of you again. How I miss home. I know we work for a noble but at least we have a roof over our head and some grog and mead for our bellies. And it...
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...De Monfort Insanity Portrayed Through the Noble "It is too much: by heaven it is too much! He haunts me, stings me, like a devil haunts hell make a raving maniack of me villain!"(313). De Monfort's feud with Rezenvelt is so strong that it drives him toward insanity. The feud began when they were younger, but to no avail it seems to continue. The language used to describe Rezenvelt is very interesting; he compares him to the devil. In De Monfort's mind he is no man, but more of a demonic figure. This is actually very significant considering insanity and the devil always go hand in hand. The notion that someone has a mental illness is sometimes thought to be caused be demons or the devil himself. In De Monfort's mind he was no man but something of a evil figure. He says it in the quote above Rezenvelt turns me into a villain. He basically blames his insanity on Rezenvelet. One major question is why Rezenvelt cause De Monfort to act in this manner? It seems his obsession stems all the way back to when they were children. De Monfort says, "It will not part. Ive lodged it here too long; with my first cares I felt its rankling touch, I loath'd him when a boy."(332) De Monfort has serious angry and resentment toward Rezenvelt. In the play it is clear they are from different classes and this is part of what causes their feud. In the quote De Monfort expresses how it began from an early age. This is important because it shows that he is somewhat immature. By the...
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...a common man just like any other person in the town of Salem, he is described to be a highly regarded member of the society of Salem and his community respects him as such. The book describes him as a man ‘powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led,’ and the book states, “Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem…,” (Miller 20). John Proctor may not be of noble birth, but he was seen and perceived as a noble and respectable man in Salem. John Proctor is a man that could truly be called a ‘common tragic hero.’ He contains more qualities of a tragic hero than he does not, and although the guidelines of the Aristotelian tragic hero are classic, there is difficulty in trying to use them in the modern day, where there is less of nobility and royalty and more of the common man receiving attention. Some debate john Proctor to be a tragic hero or a failure, but he has shown to have more of a tragic hero and cannot, in good conscience, be called a failure. ...
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...History has shown life's mercilessness with the strongest surviving. In this game of survival, dishonorable tactics are used to climb the ladder swiftly with aspirations of attaining the pinnacle of power. Honesty and morals must be a mere memory if personal profits are to be achieved at a rapid pace. As a result, corruption and ruthlessness grows variably with the desires and cravings that haunt a person's psyche. Both Macbeth and Lord of the Flies give insight to the fact that greed engulfs people into malicious tyrants with the characters that are portrayed within these two novels. Thus, Jack, from Lord of the Flies and Macbeth, from Macbeth have both shown the world a crucial lesson that power and ambition are the root of all evil, as they carried out unethical action to achieve and maintain their respected goals. Each author, with immense captivation, portrays his respected characters with noble beginnings unadulterated of any corruption. Ambition has not yet overwhelmed the minds of these two respected characters, which therefore, gives them a chaste disposition. Jack from Lord of the Flies is introduced to the reader in a "holy" aura with the description of his choir; " Their bodies, from throat to ankle, were hidden by black cloaks which bore a long silver cross on the left breast" (Golding 21) Conveying religion into Jack's first emergence shows the likely innocence encompassed in the boy's life prior to crashing on the island. The induction of Macbeth also renders an...
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...In the text “Master and Slave Moralities” by Friedrich Nietzsche, two main oppositions “good” and “bad” were discussed by utilising the differences between master morality and slave morality. Nietzsche describes the master morality, slave morality and his ideas does not connect with ethical relativism but they are closely related to egoism. Primarily, he talks about nobles as an example of master morality. Nobles thinks of themselves as “good”. The reason behind this is the fact that they are coming from aristocratic society and wealth. They think of other people who are not noble, for example peasants and slaves, as “bad”. A noble person doesn’t even look at other people for approval, he is self confident, he creates values. In addition, he explains the slave morality. Because of being a member of working class, they lack self-confidence. First they look at other people, rather than creating their own values. A slave doesn’t have an ego, he looks at others to find himself. Slaves think that noble people are evil. In contrast to the noble class, slaves are the pessimistic type. They feel resentment. They are envious towards the nobles. According to Nietzsche, only slaves can feel resentment. They seek freedom and an instinct for the happiness. A slave is sceptical and distrustful. Furthermore, ethical relativism is the idea that there is no objective right or wrong. Right and wrong behaviour differs from a person to person. Everyone has different views. There are two types...
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...The term "middle class" is first attested in James Bradshaw's 1745 pamphlet Scheme to prevent running Irish Wools to France.[1][2] Another phrase used in Early modern Europe was "the middling sort".[3][4] The term "middle class" has had several, sometimes contradictory, meanings. It was once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry of Europe.[by whom?] While the nobility owned the countryside, and the peasantry worked the countryside, a new bourgeoisie (literally "town-dwellers") arose around mercantile functions in the city. In France, the middle classes helped drive the French Revolution.[5] Another definition equated the middle class to the original meaning of capitalist: someone with so much capital that they could rival nobles. In fact, to be a capital-owning millionaire was the essential criterion of the middle class in the industrial revolution. The modern usage of the term "middle class", however, dates to the 1913 UK Registrar-General's report, in which the statistician T.H.C. Stevenson identified the middle class as that falling between the upper class and the working class.[citation needed] Included as belonging to the middle class are professionals, managers, and senior civil servants. The chief defining characteristic of membership in the middle class is possession of significant human capital. Within capitalism, "middle class" initially referred to the bourgeoisie and the petite bourgeoisie. However, with...
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