...comes from his shaping of the Social Contract Theory, assertion of the importance of individual liberty in society, and the natural goodness innate to mankind. His nonconformist critic of the world led him to assert that society has degraded in virtue, not progressed. Yet, through a proper understanding of the positives and negative aspects of natural man, society could be corrected unto a path suitable for virtue. The father of the Romantic movement in the 19th century, Rousseau had a great admiration for the natural world. A strong opponent on the direction that the modern world was following, he stressed the importance of liberty and equality. Rousseau believed that the creation of institutional bureaucracy and capitalism was leading humanity to a dark future, one that needed to be corrected. He found that the answer could only be found through the comprehension of natural world, “not in the books of your fellow-men, which are liars, but in nature, which never lies” (Rousseau 104). In the state of nature, equality flourished because the “barbarous man does not bend his head for...
Words: 1518 - Pages: 7
...Hobbes and Rousseau For the political theorists Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau there came a point in history where people, in order to have security in their persons and maintain a standard quality of life, entered into a social contract with one another and established the first sovereign states. For both theorists the period before the institution of a social contract, what they call the "state of nature", is important in understanding what form this first government took and what rights or liberties it was meant to protect. The state of nature is a time in which primitive humans roamed the earth without regard for what we now consider laws or social customs. While not a scientific study of social or biological evolution by any means, in fact both Hobbes and Rousseau admit the State of Nature may very well have never existed, it is an important concept of abstract political theory that enables us to debate the role human nature plays in the formation of governments and how these governments can better serve the people who institute them. Hobbes describes our natural state, in his treatise Leviathan, as one of equality. By this he does not mean moral or social equality, he is referring only to physical equality. He says, "Nature hath made men so equal, in the faculties of body, and mind."(Hobbes 68) He adds that on occasion one may be stronger or smarter than another, however, "when all is reckoned together, the difference between man, and man, is not as considerable...
Words: 2642 - Pages: 11
...What it means to be human: a philosophical view on human nature Eyong Tabot SOSC 1012 Dimitris Kagia Thursday, March 10th 2016 1 Humanity, what does it mean to be human? Are we simply static beings defined by our ability to walk upright, and perform a range of mechanical tasks? Or does our ability to process thought, pass judgment, and adapt to a changing environment completely define us? For us to determine what it means to be human, we must observe humans actions within their environment. Many philosophers gave answers to the question what does it mean to be human? Now we can form an opinion by exploring these answers. Within this essay, we will be comparing and contrasting the views of two philosophers, Socrates in “The Republic” and Jean-Jacq Rousseau in part one of the “Discourse on the Origin of inequality”. Socrates believed Human nature is unchanging while Rousseau believed humans changed. As we explore both accounts can we find an answer to what it means to be human? In Socrates’s perspective, human nature was like the three classes found in the Polis (The Greek word for community). He believed the three classes which made up the polis were: the rulers, the guardians, and the workers. The rulers created laws, the guardians enforced these laws and the workers followed those laws. The stability of the polis revolved around the boundaries set by those three classes which cannot be crossed. Thus, a worker could not become a guardian, a guardian could not be a ruler...
Words: 1224 - Pages: 5
...Rousseau’s state of nature, is one where man is free, and thus it is only until man becomes integrated into society, do we see ugly patterns about the nature of man emerge. Rousseau believes that man needs to have an active engagement within society, or directly participating in society under a “General Will”. Rousseau puts more focus, on the part of the individual to make society work, with less being on the institutions at play. This directly contradicts Hobbes’ opinion that man is innately less capable of being more inherently democratic, whilst having a monarchy rule over them as a tyrant would; instead of having institutions themselves for being the whole, that is made up from the many. Essentially, Rousseau argues in more optimistic terms,...
Words: 1877 - Pages: 8
...Machiavelli vs. Rousseau: View of Humanity Machiavelli shares his view on human nature, in which he firmly believes is the truth. It is that “all men are evil and that they will always express the wickedness of their spirit whenever they have the opportunity,” (Machiavelli, pg. 181). In response to this, I would say that not “all” men are evil despite the fact that men do things that are cruel sometime. To say that every man is a heartless creature is a bit exaggerating. However, I must confess that there are a number of people in the world who are truly evil. Donald Trump would be one example of that type of man. He plans to build a “wall” on the border of Mexico so that immigrants would not be able to enter the United States as well as deport...
Words: 1309 - Pages: 6
...Essay Title: Is Global Civil Society an answer to War? Introduction War is not a modern phenomenon but as old as human existence itself. Wars are not like natural calamities or phenomenon but are very much part of human existential dynamics that seeks both peace and ability to survive acknowledging its natural competitive behaviour which unlike realist assumptions is conditioned and not natural. However, realism has dominated the field of international relations since the end of World War 11. It dominates political thinking, with exclusive emphasis on the state as the primary actor in world politics. Realists display a very overt pessimistic view of human nature, advocating with religious conviction that selfish human nature drives international relations into conflicts subjugating state to resort to organized violence and wars in order to gain upper hand and to always resort to wars to resolve international conflicts. Thus resulting in a system framed to maximize state’s military power in a predominantly anarchical environment. As a distinct school of thought, Realism emphasizes separation from domestic to international with little or no democratic structures within its sphere. Consequently, warfare has remained an institutionalized social order against the predatory behavior of others and consequently a legitimate instrument of survival. Moreover, growth in the size of armies and the development of weapons technology has led to an increase in the frequency of wars resulting...
Words: 3354 - Pages: 14
...Russell Ellis Simerly III AP European History Chapter 17—The Age of Enlightenment: Eighteenth Century Thought Chapter Overview: The Enlightenment is a movement of people and ideas that fostered the expansion of literate sectors of European society and that economic improvement and political reform were both possible and desirable. Contemporary western political and economic thought is a product of Enlightenment thinking; therefore, some historians believe the process of Enlightenment continues today. Inspired by the scientific revolution and prepared to challenge traditional intellectual and theological authority, Enlightenment writers believed that human beings can comprehend the operation of physical nature and mold it to achieve material and moral improvement, economic growth, and administrative reform. Enlightenment intellectuals advocated agricultural improvement, commercial society, expanding consumption, and the application of innovative rational methods to traditional social and economic practices. The spirit of innovation and improvement came to characterize modern Europe and Western society. Politically, the Enlightenment had a direct impact on some rulers--in eastern and central Europe—whose policies came to be known as enlightened absolutism. Section One: Formative Influences of the Enlightenment Section Overview Chief factors that fostered the ideas of the Enlightenment The Newtonian worldview the political stability and...
Words: 5147 - Pages: 21
...QUEEN OF APOSTLES PHILOSOPHY CENTRE JINJA (PCJ) CRITIQUE OF THE NOTION OF AUTONOMY IN KANT’S MORAL PHILOSOPHY AN UNDER GRADUATE DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE INSTITUTE OF ETHICS AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES OF UGANDA MARTYRS UNIVERSITY (UMU) NKOZI, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN PHILOSOPHY BISIMWA MUNYALI EVARISTE MARCH 2011 1 DEDICACE This work is dedicated in a special way to: My ever loving and caring God, My family and the community of the Missionaries of Africa. 2 DECLARATION I………………………………………………………..have read the rules of Uganda Martyrs University on plagiarism and hereby state that this work is my own. It has not been submitted anywhere else for any qualification. I have acknowledged the secondary sources used in this work. NAME OF STUDENT…………………………………………………………. SIGNATURE…………………………………………………………………… DATE: …………………………………………………………………………… SUPERVISOR………………………………………………………………….. SIGNATURE…………………………………………………………………… DATE: ………………………………………………………………………….. 3 ABSTRACT The importance of a philosophical study dealing with moral issues, especially the principle of autonomy is indisputably great. It is a common agreement that morality is located within the scope of duty. Kant corroborates this held agreement by stating the categorical imperative which every human is obliged to act upon. He conceived this categorical imperative as the moral law which all those who claim to be moral beings have to live on. However, he also affirmed...
Words: 21012 - Pages: 85
...Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Key facts full title · Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus author · Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley type of work · Novel genre · Gothic science fiction language · English time and place written · Switzerland, 1816, and London, 1816–1817 date of first publication · January 1, 1818 publisher · Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones narrator · The primary narrator is Robert Walton, who, in his letters, quotes Victor Frankenstein’s first-person narrative at length; Victor, in turn, quotes the monster’s first-person narrative; in addition, the lesser characters Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein narrate parts of the story through their letters to Victor. climax · The murder of Elizabeth Lavenza on the night of her wedding to Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 23 protagonist · Victor Frankenstein antagonist · Frankenstein’s monster setting (time) · Eighteenth century setting (place) · Geneva; the Swiss Alps; Ingolstadt; England and Scotland; the northern ice point of view · The point of view shifts with the narration, from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to Frankenstein’s monster, then back to Walton, with a few digressions in the form of letters from Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein. falling action · After the murder of Elizabeth Lavenza, when Victor Frankenstein chases the monster to the northern ice, is rescued by Robert Walton, narrates his story, and dies tense · Past foreshadowing · Ubiquitous—throughout...
Words: 51140 - Pages: 205
...Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction ‘Jonathan Culler has always been about the best person around at explaining literary theory without oversimplifying it or treating it with polemical bias. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction is an exemplary work in this genre.’ J. Hillis Miller, University of California, Irvine ‘An impressive and engaging feat of condensation . . . the avoidance of the usual plod through schools and approaches allows the reader to get straight to the heart of the crucial issue for many students, which is: why are they studying literary theory in the first place? . . . an engaging and lively book.’ Patricia Waugh, University of Durham Very Short Introductions are for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible way in to a new subject. They are written by experts, and have been published in 15 languages worldwide. Very Short Introductions available from Oxford Paperbacks: ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY Julia Annas THE ANGLO-SAXON AGE John Blair ARCHAEOLOGY Paul Bahn ARISTOTLE Jonathan Barnes Augustine Henry Chadwick THE BIBLE John Riches Buddha Michael Carrithers BUDDHISM Damien Keown CLASSICS Mary Beard and John Henderson Continental Philosophy Simon Critchley Darwin Jonathan Howard DESCARTES Tom Sorell EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BRITAIN Paul Langford The European Union John Pinder Freud Anthony Storr Galileo Stillman Drake Gandhi Bhikhu Parekh HEIDEGGER Michael Inwood HINDUISM Kim Knott HISTORY John H. Arnold HUME A. J...
Words: 45107 - Pages: 181
...Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction ‘Jonathan Culler has always been about the best person around at explaining literary theory without oversimplifying it or treating it with polemical bias. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction is an exemplary work in this genre.’ J. Hillis Miller, University of California, Irvine ‘An impressive and engaging feat of condensation . . . the avoidance of the usual plod through schools and approaches allows the reader to get straight to the heart of the crucial issue for many students, which is: why are they studying literary theory in the first place? . . . an engaging and lively book.’ Patricia Waugh, University of Durham Jonathan Culler LITERARY THEORY A Very Short Introduction 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford o x2 6 d p Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogotá Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris São Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw with associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Jonathan Culler 1997 The moral rights...
Words: 44695 - Pages: 179
...Running Head: Philosophy to Psychology Philosophy to Psychology: The Question of Nature Versus Nurture Bernard Stevens Lux Ferre University Senior Research April 26, 2011 Abstract What influences more, society on the individual or collective individuals on society? Is society, thereby the individual, constructed by a set of pre-existing material conditions, or a pre-existing social condition? The philosophical origins of the question of nature versus nurture, are steeped in the ancient Greek philosophers nomos-physis debate in which the question is man the product (his actions) of conventional law or natural law? If so, is it possible to be balance of both, as suggested by Plato’s construction of the kallopolis (ideal city) in The Republic. For centuries, in Western Philosophy, the debate of which has dominion over man, nature or nurture, has been key to the establishment of many disciplines in the arts and sciences such as sociology, philosophy, and biology. Research suggest in ancient Greek civilization, the debate was termed as the Nomos-Physis debate, in which Plato challenged and/or expounded upon Pre-Socratic philosophers beliefs as to which rules man. The core subject matter is not, as in Psychology, a debate of which determines the personality traits of an individual per se, but whether or not man acts according to the laws of nature (Physis) or laws of man (Nomos). Though it...
Words: 4729 - Pages: 19
...WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION? Four Possible Answers Simon Reich Working Paper #261 – December 1998 Simon Reich holds appointments as a Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. In fall 1997 he was a Visiting Fellow at the Kellogg Institute. His publications include The Fruits of Fascism: Postwar Prosperity in Historical Perspective and The German Predicament: Memory and Power in the New Europe (with Andrei S. Markovits) both published by Cornell University Press. His most recent coauthored book is The Myth of the Global Corporation (Princeton University Press, 1998). Reich has also published many book chapters and articles in journals such as International Organization, International Interactions, The Review of International Political Economy, and German Politics and Society. He has received fellowships from the Sloan Foundation and the Kellogg Institute and was awarded an International Affairs Fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations. His current work is on the issue of the definitions and central propositions of globalization. This paper was written during my stay at the Kellogg Institute. I wish to express my appreciation to the fellows and staff of the Institute for all their help on this project, notably to Scott Mainwaring who is now director of the Institute. Introduction The end of the Cold War provided a major shock for scholars of politics and policy in at...
Words: 9416 - Pages: 38
...THE PROBLEM WITH WORK A JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN CENTER BOOK THE PROBLEM WITH WORK Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries KATHI WEEKS Duke University Press Durham and London 2011 © 2011 Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper co Designed by Heather Hensley Typeset in Minion Pro by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data appear on the last printed page of this book. THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED WITH LOVE TO JulieWalwick (1959-2010) Contents ix Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION i The Problem with Work i CHAPTF1 37 Mapping the Work Ethic CHAPTER 2 79 Marxism, Productivism, and the Refusal of Work CHAPTER 3 113 Working Demands: From Wages for Housework to Basic Income CHAPTER 4 151 "Hours for What We Will": Work, Family, and the Demand for Shorter Hours 5 CHAPTER 175 The Future Is Now: Utopian Demands and the Temporalities of Hope EPILOGUE 227 A Life beyond Work 235 255 Notes References 275 Index Acknowledgments thank the following friends and colleagues for their helpful feedback on versions of these arguments and portions of the manuscript: Anne Allison, Courtney Berger, Tina Campt, ChristineDiStefano, Greg Grandin, Judith Grant, Michael Hardt, Stefano Harney, Rebecca I would like to Karl, Ranji Khanna, Corey Robin...
Words: 116847 - Pages: 468
...LACAN AND CONTEMPORARY FILM EDITED BY TODD McGOWAN and SHEILA KUNKLE OTHER Other Press New York Copyright © 2004 Todd McGowan and Sheila Kunkle Production Editor: Robert D. Hack This book was set in 11 pt. Berkeley by Alpha Graphics, Pittsfield, N.H. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Allrightsreserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from Other Press LLC, except in the case of brief quotations in reviews for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast. Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper. For information write to Other Press LLC, 307 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1807, New York, NY 10001. Or visit our website: www.otherpress.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McGowan, Todd. Lacan and contemporary film / by Todd McGowan & Sheila Kunkle. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-59051-084-4 (pbk : alk. paper) 1. Motion pictures-Psychological aspects. 2. Psychoanalysis and motion pictures. 3. Lacan, Jacques, 1901- I. Kunkle, Sheila. II. Title. PN1995 .M379 2004 791.43'01 '9-dc22 2003020952 Contributors Paul Eisenstein teaches literature and film in the English department at Otterbein College, Columbus, Ohio, and is the author of Traumatic Encounters: Holocaust Representation and the Hegelian Subject (SUNY Press, 2003). Anna Kornbluh...
Words: 97016 - Pages: 389
