...beliefs, standards, values, and behaviors of other individuals in society while inwardly opposed to the model of the displayed behaviors of other individuals as it relates to another individuals beliefs, value systems, and other variables that influence how an individual functions in society. Individualism and collectivism is arguably two topics that are the subjects of continued debate and for that reason, this paper provides a comparison and contrast of individualism and collectivism. Additionally the paper provides a description of variables supporting the significance in understanding cultural differences as the differences relate to individualism and collectivism. The understanding of individualism and collectivism bridges the gap of understanding the similarities and differences between the two topics, provides a clear picture of various cultures, and facilitates sensitivity, and tolerance (Shaughnessy, Zechmeister, & Zechmeister, 2009). The ability to accomplish the sensitivity and tolerance portion allows for individualism and collectivism to be embraced and not feared. According to Segall, Dasen, Berry, and Poortinga (1999) a society can have an increase of individualism and collectivism or a smaller amount on both. “Because all human beings are parts of social entities (families, clans, ethnic groups, societies, etc.”) (Segall, Dasen, Berry, & Poortinga, 1999, p. 206). The practices and methodology of both concepts has come into play through people educating...
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...Liam Rawson World Literature Assignment 1 An analysis of the role of minor characters in The Visit and Chronicle of a Death Foretold in establishing a collectivistic or individualistic society. March 13, 2011 Word Count: 1073 Rawson 1 Without any characters; there is no story. Every tale needs a knight in shining armor to save the endangered princess or a misguided hero to meet a tragic end. A protagonist and an antagonist are the most basic of writing conventions and are crucial to the story. It is important; however, to not overlook the roles of minor characters in the plot. For example, Snow White would have been a radically different story without the seven dwarves. This exemplifies how minor characters can drastically influence the outcome of a story in a number of ways. In both Durrenmatt’s The Visit and Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the minor characters have an influential role in determining the fate of the protagonist. These minor characters are used by Durrenmatt and Marquez to establish an individualistic or collectivistic society within their works and by doing so isolate the protagonists and lead them to their deaths. In a collectivistic society, the people tend to view themselves as part of a group and hold the needs of the group over that of the individual. This is the society which Durrenmatt has presented in The Visit. In Durrenmatt’s The Visit, the town of Guellen is populated by minor characters lacking any names. Throughout the...
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...Jackie Ly Professor Jacoby English 205 Tuesday & Thursday 14 April 2013 Mid-term Exam In the article Deluded Individualism by Firmin Debrabander, he explains to the readers the conflicts of Individualism and how controversial this topic truly is in the eyes of Americans. Debrabander express his thoughts on individualism and how it is just a misleading belief American citizens have created to make themselves feel like they are truly individuals because they are capable of making their own choices and decisions. The speaker makes a valid and convincing argument on why he believes it is called Deluded Individualism rather than Individualism by providing proof related to politics and using Sigmund Freud, a famous figure in psychology, to prove his argument is indeed valid. Debrabander’s argument is profoundly persuading due to his use of evidence, the way he organize his essay, and the choice of words he used. Out of all the evidence Debrabander could have used, he chose to use the article, “Even Critics of the Safety Net Increasingly Depend on It”, because it would most likely relate to his targeted age group readers and because politics and government is controversial itself which fits in with the topic about Individualism. In addition to using politics as evidence, he also used theories of Sigmund Freud to further validate his argument by explaining to the readers the importance of the Ego and the Id and how it connects to the reason humans like to regard themselves as Individuals...
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...emphasize personal achievement at the expense of group goals, resulting in a strong sense of competition. Collectivist cultures, such as those of China, Russia, and Japan, emphasize family and work group goals above individual needs or desires. Collectivism and individualism deeply pervade cultures. People simply take their culture's stance for granted. Both collectivist and individualistic cultures have their failings. People in individualist cultures are susceptible to loneliness, and people in collectivist cultures can have a strong fear of rejection. Traits of Collectivism * Each person is encouraged to be an active player in society, to do what is best for society as a whole rather than themselves. * The rights of families, communities, and the collective supersede those of the individual. * Rules promote unity, brotherhood, and selflessness. * Working with others and cooperating is the norm; everyone supports each other. as a community, family or nation more than as an individual. Traits of Individualism * "I" identity. * Promotes individual goals, initiative and achievement. * Individual rights are seen as being the most important. Rules attempt to ensure self-importance and individualism. * Independence is valued; there is much less of a drive to help other citizens or communities than in collectivism. * Relying or being dependent on others is frequently seen as shameful. * People are encouraged to do things on their own; to rely...
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...Looking out into the world in which we exist, my thoughts turn towards the turbulent times that we are facing, those that we have already faced, and those that we will face tomorrow. I wonder if there is hope for the present, the future, and if we as individuals and leaders can make a difference, change our behavior patterns and mental models, so we can improve relationships among ourselves our communities and our workplace for the betterment of mankind. I find myself thinking of Kwame Anthony Appiah and his vision of a Cosmopolitanism world. He believes that we must change our minds and we must make our conversation across boundaries worthwhile. He believes that we must not judge different cultures by their values or beliefs, but instead must try to understand them and accept them for what they are, who they are, and what they can offer to the world. He believes that the wealthy must change their mental model too and feels that they hold a tendency to think that unfamiliar cultures of the world are not so much subjects of interest or even curiosity, but as objects of charity. Are we so ignorant to the beauty of different cultures that we think they are objects of charity? Or that they have nothing to offer? Are we as humans unaware of the things around us that we ourselves lack involvement? Arthur D. Colman writes about the Tao Te Ching Philosophy and its way of life and how it teaches us that to be able to function fully within the group, that we must first understand...
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...In Charles Larmore’s essay, he tries to illustrate the idea of political liberalism from board to narrow. Firstly he admits that liberalism is a controversial issue even between its adherents and adversaries, but that is not worthless to investigate. Larmore points out that there are two basic problems motivate us to continue research this project. The first one is we always try to seek the moral limits to the government. This is not just that provide rules to constrain the conduct of the rulers. More significant point is to find out the common goods that the government ought to promote and recognize. The second basic problem is that the increasing awareness that the reasonable people tend to differ and disagree about the nature of the good life. This is mainly focus on the reasonable disagreement about what good life should be, the example given by Larmore is religious wars. On the other hand, rather than the views hold by pluralists that who asserts there are many valid forms of human self-realisation, Larmore tends to think that there should be common values we would accept unanimously (e.g. we share certain views that what makes life worth living). Larmore claims the minimal moral conception can be devised political principles which expressing some idea of common goods. One of the methods can be able to describe the idea of that is using “neutrality”, which means that to be neutral with respect to controversial views. Larmore believes that different views of good life...
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...Blair Allman Optimism and Individualism With the society in the world we live in today, I do not think it is possible for people to live as complete individuals and nonconformists. Emerson gives a good visual of society whenever he says, “[s]ociety is a joint-stock company in which the members agree for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater.” (page 184) I mean, yes, I wish the people of the world could be complete individuals and do what makes them happy and not have to worry about pleasing everyone else. But it’s just not a logical thing. I agree with Emerson whenever he quotes, “[n]othing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind…” (page 184) but there has got to be limits somewhere. Emerson makes it seem like every single person in the world is good. Like when he says “[h]e who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness.” (page 184) But that’s not how it truly is. Some people just choose to do as everyone else around them does. They choose to join clubs that their friends join. They buy things that other people persuade them to buy. And they base their votes and Government participation on the views of others. People do this because they want to fit in with the group and they want to be like everyone else. From the story Self-Reliance Emerson says, “[w]e but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each...
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...Utilitarianism, Ethical Egoism, and Moral Relativism Tom Gardner Ethics is a branch of philosophy that attempts to answer the questions; what’s right? What’s wrong? And why? Moral relativism is an ethics position that essentially states that people have disagreeing moral beliefs and therefore you must but tolerant of other's morals. This position leads to the problematic realization that if this is the case there can be no objective moral truths nor can there be any universal principles. Act utilitarianism and ethical egoism are two different ethics theories that attempt to respond to this challenge of moral relativism in different ways. Ethical egoism attempts to respond to the challenge of moral relativism by justifying that there is a universal principle for what actions are right and what are wrong. It is a form of consequentialism, which means it looks solely at the consequences of action to see if it is right or wrong. The defining sentence of egoism is as follows, “What's good for you is right and what's bad for you is wrong.” This phrase can be interpreted in a number of ways, the most popular one being: every person should act in their own self-interest. This means that when deciding on whether an action is good, any effect on others (mental or physical) by said action has no merit. An egoist that is measuring or justifying an action's goodness is only examining the possible positive or negative effects this action will have on him. The majority of the justification...
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...charity, but the question is, if this is mostly to promote themselves, or if it is actually to help people. Looking at Hofstedes 4 dimensions, there are also a lot of differences between the Danish and the American culture. Power distance is the first dimension. America has a lot of power distance compared to Denmark. They have some Christian societies, where the pastor is above everyone else. But this is very different from place to place. America is so big, so there are also other places, where there is very little power distance, but I still think Denmark takes the title as the Country with the least power distance. It is very rare, that you see an American call their teacher by first name. The next dimension is collectivism vs. individualism. As I wrote in the beginning, America is a country for individualists, where the personal freedom fills the most, while Denmark is very collectivistic, where we help the weakest, so everybody have an income even though some people do not even have a job. Uncertainty avoidance is very typical for the Danes. In America it is not abnormal to take contact to the person sitting next to you in the bus or tube, but in Denmark this is very rare to see, because we are very uncertain on, how they are going to react, because a lot of us just want to mind our own business. Denmark is a very feminine society with soft values (helps the week), and makes compromises, while...
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...The Conflict of Morality and Egoism, in Daily Life and Business The most basic distinction to make between morality and egoism is that morality demands that, at sometimes, you are obligated to do what is not in your self-interest to do. If morality never made these demands, then it would not be anything additional to the doctrine of ethical egoism (always do what is in your self-interest to do). In daily life, people are generally expected to act within moral constraints. Most people would claim that it would be wrong for me to kill an innocent stranger, even if it was in my self-interest to do so. One variable in these types of cases is the law, which is basically an instrument to make moral constrains more self-interested. So, when considering whether or not to kill someone for their money, the threat of lifetime imprisonment or death may make not killing in my self-interest. However, the key in these cases: is there any constraint on me not to kill the person if I could get away with it? Morality would say yes, there is a genuine constraint on my actions that obligates me not to kill the person even if I could get away with it. There are also other ways that morality can stretch beyond legality. There are plenty of things that people would consider immoral, but are not illegal. Cheating on your significant other, for example, is considered immoral even though is not illegal (though it is actually illegal to cheat on your spouse in some states). Where I’m going with this:...
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...carried thirty-four instead of the typical twenty-five grenade launcher rounds when he was shot down. Lavender also carried tranquilizers to help him cope. It’s this detail that helps this story stand out from the history books. We are told why each man carries certain things and this helps us to connect with the men on a personal level. We follow as Cross looks for comfort in the letters from Martha and eventually realizes that he is searching for something that probably isn’t there and destroys them along with the photographs of her. What I take away from this story is that war is very impersonal and at the same time very individualized. Each man contributes something different and has his own habits, but in the grand scheme his individualism means nothing. He is just another body. If a man gets too caught up in his daydreams and thoughts he loses focus and puts others in danger. Lieutenant Cross feels responsible for the death of Lavender because he was not focused on what he was doing at the time that he was shot. Because of the guilt he realizes that he...
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...Keating vs. Mersault Rousseau’s quotation, “Man is born free yet, everywhere he is in chains” implies that a person is gifted with great possibilities and potential. Unfortunately, the society surrounding that person is responsible for crushing that individual’s essence. Those who refuse to conform to such a society are judged negatively and consequently, feel alienated. Both Keating and Meursault are strangers in a society that wants to dictate their expected behaviour and actions. Society seeks to imprison their individual freedom. Meursault is indifferent and passive to this conventional life that is not worth living. He refuses to be anything but himself, regardless of the price he must pay. In contrast, Keating responds to such a society by actively and passionately trying to make a difference by nurturing each person to be free to reach his or her potential and essence. Society seeks to chain these two free individuals into conforming to ways that stifle their individuality and freedom, but the key lies in their choice of response in dealing with such a society, regardless of its negative judgement. Both Keating and Meursault distinguish themselves from the masses that seek to chain their spirit. Meursault is an outsider who feels very removed from his surroundings. His reactions are very different from the conventional norms and society judges him negatively. The prosecutor describes him as a man “whose heart is so empty that it forms a chasm which...
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...According to Trumbull & Rothstein-Fisch (2008), “Individualism encourages independence and achievement while collectivism emphasizes interdependence on the family and groups’ well-being. This struck me as I read the article because it seems that we need a balance of both for either to work effectively. Trumbull & Rothstein-Fish (2008), also state, “no culture or individual is completely individualistic or collectivistic”. Individualism-collectivism is a term that I have been aware of but had not analyzed it in terms of my teaching style. “This framework describes idealized models of two cultural value systems that implicitly shape people’s worldviews and parents’ developmental goals for their children” (Trumbull and Rothstein-Fisch, 2008). In my family’s background, things were modeled and then it was expected that I achieve solely by my own means. I could be shown how to do something or it could be explained to me however, the actually doing had to be totally me. I took this perspective when I attended college which pushed me toward the collectivistic view which I later applied in my classroom. Over my years of teaching I have learned many things that the textbooks did not teach but I learned by doing. One of the things that I learned through observation was that when students were allowed to work with a partner either by my selection or of their choice, students often grasped the concept or skill. When I have directed students to model their understanding of a concept or skill...
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...Individualism as an American Cultural Value Individualism is often viewed as a positive trait in America, suggesting a certain level of personal confidence. American society tends to reward independent thinkers and those who decide autonomously. To this end, individuality has become a value in many American homes. Although individualism is widely received and respected in American culture, it is not as well respected in other cultures. One culture in particular which frowns on individualism is the Asian culture. Thai family values are very different from American family values. In Asian cultures the family unit is highly valued and emphasized, whereas, in American culture, the focus is on individuality. Values derived from the American family all suggest individuality by stressing autonomy and self-sufficiency of the individual members. In contrast, members of the Thai community are taught to embrace a “we” Identity. The individual does not stand alone, but is seen as the product of all generations of his or her family. One of America’s most prominent cultural values, as seen by Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel in her article Individualism as an American Cultural Value, is individuality. She believes that the way Americans are raised teaches them to become independent and individualistic in their everyday lives, unlike in Thai culture. One of the main values in the United States is individualism. Dr. Sponsel faced a cultural shock when she moved to Hawaii. Being born and raised...
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...Project Part 3 In this section I will be discussing how my personal code of ethics addresses consequentialism and non-consequentialism, self interest and other interestedness, and the issues of act of rule. First of all, my personal code of ethics addresses consequentialism by 2 major consequentialists ethical theories which are ethical egoism and utilitarianism. Both of these theories believe that humans should behave in ways that will bring out good consequences. The difference between the two are that they disagree on who should benefit from these consequences. Ethical egoism says that human beings should act in their own self-interest, where utilitarians basically say that human beings should act in interest of all concerned. Now deep into the ethical egoism my code would more address universal ethical egoism because like most other theories it’s universal. An ethical theory that applies to all human beings. This theory does not state only what the individual should do, rather it concerning itself with all human beings should do if they want to be moral. They should act in their own self-interest. On the other hand with utilitarianism is addressed by stating that everyone should perform that act which will bring about the greatest amount of good over bad for everyone affected by the act. The belief is to not believe in setting up rules for action because they feel that each situation and each person are different. Each individual must assess the situation they are...
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