...Comparing Thomas Hobbes and John Locke’s views concerning what life is like in a state of nature, we can see that the two-theorist’s share opposite views in making an assumption of what the state of nature is like. Thomas Hobbes’ views include pessimistic views of nature and how its effects can influence man to selfishly consider what he would need to do to secure his safety while John Locke presents a natural concept that assumes there is a universal thought of good that man is aware of. Attempting to justify the role of government or justice by understanding the state of nature can be somewhat accurate and can be considered for such purposes, but may fail to answer some aspects of society overall and leave other things unanswered. In regards...
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...War Primarily the Product of ‘Human Nature’? It is too great a task to identify a common cause of all wars, past and present, then attribute it responsibility for their commencing. However, what can be done is to identify certain foundations common in all “war”, and pay heed to how “states [or other structures] actually behave, behind the façade of their values-based rhetoric” (Kaplan, 2012, p.1). It will be this essay’s goal to determine first, what needs be included in the definition of “human nature”, and what constitutes “war”, and second, stake the claim that all political action, including that of states, is derived primarily from this definition of human nature. The first task is to define what is meant by “war”, and while definitions abound, it is possible to order them into one of two categories supplied by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. The first is the modern conventional view, that war is “the state of armed conflict between nations or states” (Oxford, 2007, p.3573), and the second, considerably broader, of “any active hostility or struggle between living beings” (Oxford, 2007, p.3573). The former accounts well for conflicts that were overwhelmingly state-centric, such as the First World War, and marks a clear distinction between war and individual political violence: war is the business of states. However, is the Vietnam War to be understood—like the Korean—as a simple north versus south conflict, despite the northern state only assuming active involvementnine...
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...Nature vs. Nurture There is an issue that has been conferred upon by philosophers in the past and still so by scientists today. This issue is whether heredity or environment plays a greater role in the determining or shaping of an individual's behavior. It is known as the nature versus nurture debate. Numerous generations before us have deliberated on the reasons behind the development of human behavior. There have been many theories formulated to explain why humans behave the way they do. The surviving theories for behavior derive from physiological and sociological explanations. However, the two explanations have not always been compatible with each other. The famous nature vs. nurture debate over human behavior resulted from conflicting views between proponents of the physiological (nature) and sociological (nurture) explanations. Throughout history, research has swayed popularity back and forth between the theories. Yet, theorists have broken down the line separating nature and nurture. As of today, people utilize both explanations to explore human behavior. Way before our time, early philosophers endeavored to understand the human behavior. As early as 350 BC, such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle tried to understand behavior. The question of nature or nurture as the primary drive can be traced to these times. Plato believed behavior and knowledge was due to innate factors. Author Fiona Cowie states, "The claim that the character of our mental furniture is to...
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...geological aspects of our planet and whether human actions maintains or disturbs the balance between the planet's different life forms and geological systems. This essay will include exploring theories and deciding whether we have an individual moral responsibility towards the environment. Many people believe that as humans, we do have a moral responsibility towards the environment and we must preserve and protect it for the future generations. However, others take an anthropocentric view and they believe that humanity is the centre of creation and therefore has greater importance over the environment so we should do to the environment what we wish, if it serves a purpose for us. Christian views have often be accused of placing an emphasis on human domination of the world and therefore not taking an individual moral responsibility for the environment. This belief perhaps comes from the Bible itself where, in Genesis it says that humans are given "dominion over the fish…the birds…over all the earth" dominion, being defined as having sovereignty or control over everything means that if humans have dominion then God's creation is anthropocentric and therefore a human must do what he needs to do if it betters his quality of life, despite what future repercussions it may have. These anthropocentric ideas are reflected by Aristotle when he states "she (nature) has made all animals for the sake of man", because nothing that is made by nature is made purposeless or in vain. Peter Singer...
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...Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher in the 17th century, who was best known for his book Leviathan and his political views on society. Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, who was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle, explored justice, beauty, and equality, and among many other topics. There are many common topics available to compare and contrast Thomas Hobbes and Plato. Although one point that has to be made clear is that, they share similar ideologies. Between Plato and Hobbes, there are many differences, however one of these differences is the result in how each writer perceives human beings and their roles within the state and society. Both have radically opposing views on human nature in general; because of the fundamental...
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...knowledge. During the 1980s, feminism and the role of gender have gained entry in the study of international relations. Prior to this feminism was greatly ignored. However, over the last decade, feminism has emerged as a key critical perspective within the study of international relations. The initial thrust of this critique was to challenge the fundamental biases of the discipline and to highlight the ways in which women were excluded from analyses of the state, international political economy, and international security. According to O'Callaghan (2002) feminism in international relations can be framed in two main domains. The first wave of feminist scholarship in the 1980s is now called feminist empiricism; in which international relations scholars have sought to reclaim women’s hidden voices and to expose the multiplicity of roles that women play in sustaining global economic forces and state interactions. For example, women’s participation and involvement facilitate tourism, colonialism, and economically powerful states’ domination of weak states. The maintenance of the international political economy depends upon stable political and military relations among states. O'Callaghan’s discussion on feminism clearly explicates how the creation of stable diplomatic and military communities has often been the responsibility of women (as wives, girl friends, and prostitutes). Feminist empiricism, according to O'Callaghan, exposes the role of women and demonstrates their importance in...
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...be said to be both one of the main similarities, and one of the main differences between modern and classical liberalism. Classical liberals believe in negative freedom; freedom being the absence of external constraints. The individual is therefore free: left alone and not interfered with or coerced by others. Classical liberals believe this leads to the formation of a meritocracy; where people can make a success of themselves based on their hard work and talents, and are not held back by the state when trying to do so. Modern liberals share this same concept of freedom and believe that the individual should be free to make the best of themselves through talent and hard work. However, in Beveridge’s words ‘A starving man is not free’. This concept progressed into Positive freedom. People should be free to realize their potential and be able to make a full range of choices, and they are not able to do this if they can’t afford basic services like education or healthcare. The ‘enabling state’ can therefore help individuals to reach their potential. This has lead to the...
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...The idea that the role of the state should be minimal in order to protect the liberty of individuals is a view fundamentally based in liberalism. Many liberals hold a positive view of human nature, seeing us as autonomous, and according to Locke and Bentham rational beings who act in their own self-interest, unlike many conservative theorists who view humans as fundamentally flawed. This positive view of human nature leads to the argument that the state should merely act as a neutral umpire, as is the view of Mill. Firstly it is necessary to establish what liberty is. This may be considered as the freedom from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority, this is known as negative freedom, and is a view typical to liberals. Another view includes the application of positive freedom, the ability to carry out our desires and the possession of resources to do so, this requires more state intervention. Anarchism however criticizes the state for limiting liberty unnecessarily, Individualist anarchists argue that negative liberty is required by the respect that we owe each person as sovereign over their mind. This may be supported by Locke’s view that humans are born free, however the anarchist view would be that all states oppress, according to Proudhon, the state humiliates. However Hobbes argues that in a state of nature, a society without a state, there would be a lack of negative freedom due to the ‘war of all against all’, making law a necessary evil, preventing the exploitation...
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...minimise the role of the state’ Discuss. Liberalism as an ideology revolves around the idea of freedom for the individual. The reason for this is due to the liberal’s view of human nature; they see the human being as unique and rational; able to make decisions in their best interest. Although all liberals agree on individual freedom, when it comes to the role of the state they are split down the middle. On one side there are the classic liberals who believe in as little state intervention as possible, and on the other side there is the modern liberals who believe state intervention is necessary as it can develop people and create equal opportunity. When looking at a liberal view of the state it is necessary to focus on both modern and classic liberals and compare their ideas. Classic liberalism can clearly be defined by the desire to minimise the role of the state, this is also known as negative freedom. Whereas modern liberalism believes the state is necessary to develop individuals and create opportunity, this is known as positive freedom. The individual is important to both Classical and Modern liberals, as Mills stated, “Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”. For liberals, the individual is the most important part of their belief and government should not restrict the individual. Instead of looking at society as a whole, they look at it as a group of individuals, all striving to be the best they can be. Apart from this, a liberals view on the...
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...rules based on moral law derived from reason. Nagel draws heavily upon the constricting nature of the deontological system, operating under “personal demands governing one’s relations with others” rather than “impersonal claims derived from the interest of others” (Nagel, “Ethics” in The View From Nowhere, 1986, Page 176). This form of thinking challenges Hume by creating boundaries by which moral laws should be followed and displace human impulses “which opposes our passion” (Hume, “A Treatise of Human Nature,”1896, Page 217). This allows moral choices to be made as an object of “common moral intuition” (Nagel, “Ethics” in The View...
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...personality characteristics and to explain how personality develops. As psychologists seek to define personality, a theory of personality is developed. This research paper examines six major tenants that are fundamental to the development of a personality theory. First, research is provided to explore the tenants of nature versus nurture, the unconscious, and view of self. These tenants build the basis under a broad area of foundations of personality. Second, research is provided to examine the tenants of development, motivation, and maturation. As these tenants are studied, a view on the progression of personality is developed. A third aspect of this research is an investigation into Biblical principles of developing a personality theory. To explore the six major tenants of a personality theory, this research paper analyzes scholarly journal articles and scholarly books published from 2007 to 2014. The findings of this research are valuable in developing a theory of personality that includes important Biblical integration. A Theory of Personality How is a theory of personality developed? Psychologists have long studied the development of human personality. The debate of “What influences the things people do and do not do?" has been ongoing since the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud. Personality theorists seek to describe personality characteristics and to explain how personality develops. Through personality research, a number of theories have developed...
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...In Hobbes’s Leviathan, he examines man’s relationship with one another in a state of war. Hobbes claims that naturally humans are in a state of “kill or be killed”, pushed to hurt each other by their need for self preservation. But this idea that men are controlled by their fears in a state of nature provides a cynical and faulty view of man. Hobbes fails to take man’s capacity to love into account in his philosophy. Because of this, Hobbes’s belief about man’s state of nature is faulty and untrue. When Hobbes examines man’s behavior, he claims that man is controlled by a need for power. Hobbes argues that each action committed by a man is his attempt to become more powerful. He claims that all of man’s desires “may be be be reduced to the...
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...UGFN1000 In Dialogue with Nature Man and Nature- A dialogue among scientists through the ages Notations: (I: Myself, J: Joseph Needham, C: Rachel Carson N: Issac Newton) I: Welcome to the seminar ‘Man and nature’. I am honoured today with Mr. Needham, Mr. Newton and Ms. Carson. J&C&N: I: Our pleasure. The relationship between man and nature is one of the most vital relations human is currently handling. Humanity’s progresses are largely dependent on the resources our mother nature offers us. From ancient times, nature is human’s best friend and greatest foe. Human is suffering from natural disaster. Meanwhile, many of our daily essentials, such as water and food, are obtained from the nature. In my view, the relationship between man and nature has evolved from ages to ages. To examine the relation, I believe we should first inspect on the advancement of human understanding towards nature. The explanation towards natural phenomena starts from supernatural power. At ancient times, human understanding towards nature was limited, thus resulted in belief of deity. Ancient Greeks used different deity to explain astronomy and natural phenomenon, for instance, Zeus is the God of thunder, Apollo is the God of sun and light, while Poseidon is the God of ocean. Also, different Heroes and Heroine are involved in respective horoscopes. Greeks were not alone. Various primordial civilizations also reflected their incapability of understanding nature in creating deity and idols...
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...What are your thoughts on the Nature vs. Nurture argument? One of the biggest debates that continue to remain unsolved is the Nature vs. Nurture argument. My opinion is that the answer is not definitely one or the other but a mixture of the two. This argument tries to establish the role of genes and the environment in human nature. In some situations it is obvious that genetics have a greater role in shaping a person. An example of that is a person that desires to drink alcohol. Some people would say that the feeling is pre-determined by their genetics, while some people would believe that outside sources such as manufacturers and peers have a greater influence. This debate turns out to be one that is hard to explain because there are many factors involved. Some people express concerns that could be applied scientifically, some have true legitimacy that may not be answerable, and some just do not make sense. To make things more complex with this debate, it seems that things are blended together and there is no distinctiveness to separate the roles. Another issue is that some of the uncertainty comes from the genetic language itself. It seems like we try to sort out the contributions from nature and nurture when in fact the distinction is between what is in born and what we receive after birth. It will always go back to genes and the environment which keeps the debate on going. It is obvious the truth lies within nature and nurture, but it has been difficult to determine...
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...The Diverse Nature of Psychology Marie Feltio PSY 490 February 9, 2015 The Diverse Nature of Psychology The field of psychology has its modern origin set just over 100 years ago and during the last 100 years, interest in the field has risen increasingly. Psychology is the scientific discipline that works to explain human emotion, cognition, actions, and motivations. The diverse nature of psychology is clearly defined in its 54 divisions of the American Psychological Association (APA) as each unit addresses a different perspective of psychology providing a distinct aspect of human interaction (Plante, 2011). Although the psychology field has its own diverse distinctions, it offers a variety of perspectives that respects and honors the individuality of every person regardless of background. The diverse nature of the field of psychology provides a greater ability of embodying the humanity as a whole because of its broad nature and diversity. Influence of Diversity on Major Concepts in Psychology Diversity poses an enormous influence on the major concepts in psychology. The cognitive-behavioral, humanistic and psychodynamic perspectives respectively represent different perceptions of human behaviors, each providing and exclusive theory on human nature. The variety of these perspectives and their respective variations are reflective of the diverse thinking among humanity. No person will perceive an event in the same way as another person, and the same should be noted for...
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