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The Old Man's Argument In What Is Man? By Mark Twain

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In What Is Man? By Mark Twain, I would side with the Old Man as far as who has the better argument for many reasons. One reason I feel that the Old Man had the better argument is because he was correct that outside influences are what ultimately determine the thoughts and feelings. For example, the Old Man states “Whatsoever a man is, is due to his make, and to the influences brought to bear upon it by his heredities, his habitat, his associations” (Twain, 6). The Old Man has point with this because in a world where we have so much outside influences it's difficult to believe Man fully develops ideas without prior influences. Another example of the Old Mans argument happens in the section that discusses training. For instance, the Old Man states: …show more content…
I also agree with the statement on mans mind being too active to truly control (Twain, 38). This statement is one of the things I agree with specifically because many times you have fallen asleep with an idea; however, if one has the television on during ones sleep or is waking up with some other issues then you will not be able to solely focus on the idea from the night before. Another reason I agree with the Old Mans argument is because the Young Mans argument includes the idea that while one has outside influences we are born with the attributes such as intellect, courage, majesty of build, charity, heroism, etc (Twain, 58). I do not believe the Young Mans argument of supreme creation from God explains the capability of free will and moral responsibility specifically since even religious beliefs have to be taught to a certain extent. For case in point, one goes to church to learn about the teachings of God and has to read the Bible since, we are not born with the information of

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