...sowed in them when they were young? In Frankenstein, nurture, or lack of nurture plays a larger role than the nature of the creature; this idea can be seen by the relationship of Victor Frankenstein and his creation, and is also evident in the life of Mary Shelley and her child. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein creates a creature who isn't human but resembles one; he is very large and an alarming sight to most people. After Victor creates this thing out of dead body parts, he brings it to...
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...care for himself and do the things that made his life worth living. If we are allowed to put our pets out of their misery, why can’t people choose to end their own misery and suffering? No doctors will be involved first hand, a judge may decide for it to be legal in ones case, it isn’t brutal or violent, its natural in most cases, and its respecting the choice of someone else. The biggest reason for legalizing Euthanasia would be that it respects the persons right to their own body. Why not just take the person off of the drugs and let them go naturally? Without pain and suffering. Everyone else doesn’t have to deal with the effects of being paralyzed but him. Let him choose what happens to him. If the doctors and society doesn’t let him go on his own terms, he may even just refuse treatment and do it on his own terms. Its not hurting anyone else; death is a natural process and inevitably it will happen. If the worry of doctors being sued or being involved; then don’t have the doctors be involved first hand. Make the patient swallow the drink that will stop their heart, or push the button that will inject them with the drug. Or just control the person’s pain while they naturally go. The doctor’s are there to save lives, but if one cannot be saved isn’t there job to make sure that their quality of life is good? And if their quality of life isn’t anything but pain and sorrow, why not let them put...
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...The Life of America’s First Serial Killer Being known as America’s first serial killer may not have been on Herman Webster Mudgett’s bucket list however, pursuing a career in scamming and murder was. Mudgett, also known as H. H. Holmes was born intellectually smart and used his gift for infamous reasons. Starting out with a passion for medicine he began studying animals and animals corpses, this then led to his obsession with disassembling human corpses and murdering victims for satisfaction. As a scam artist and murderer, H. H. Holmes can be classified as a human monster that possesses more fearful characteristics of a naturally born monster than a fictional character such as, Norman Bates. Born into a wealthy family on May 16th, 1861...
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...hierarchy of human race. Once firmly in power, Hitler’s plans for the ending of the struggle between the Aryan race and the “inferior races” was set to work. These races feared as a biological threat to the master race purity. At the bottom of this hierarchy were “parasitic” races which were perceived to be dangerous to society. Hitler’s Nazi theory also claimed that his Aryan race is superior to all other races, that a nation is the highest creation of great races. These nations developed cultures that naturally grew from races with natural good health, and aggressive, intelligent, courageous traits. The weakest nations, Hitler said were those of impure or mongrel races, because they have divided, quarrelling, and therefore weak cultures. The Nazi rationale was heavily invested in the militarist belief that great nations grow from military power, which in turn grows naturally from rational civilized cultures. Races without homelands, Hitler claimed, were "parasitic races," and the richer the members of a "parasitic race" are, the more "virulent" the parasitism was thought to be. A "master race" could therefore, according to the Nazi doctrine, easily strengthen itself by eliminating "parasitic races" from its homeland. This was the given rationalization for the Nazi's later oppression and elimination of Jews. Hitler and the Nazis drew upon the ideas of the German social Darwinists of the late 19th century. Like the social Darwinists before them, the Nazis believed that human beings...
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...attempts to define natural inequalities by first examining the origins of man. Immediately, Rousseau discounts Hobbes’ version of a state of nature, in which man is a violent being whose passions will ultimately cause him to live a life of desire and fear. While both philosophers agree that man, in a state of nature, is not naturally sociable, Rousseau argues that man is naturally peaceful, as a result of his ignorance. In the state of nature that Rousseau depicts, man and animal are both mechanical, and can only be differentiated by the unique way in which each develops. Even though man and animal are mechanical beings, Rousseau makes two important distinctions that separate them. He asserts that only man has the unique ability to act freely. This grants him the ability to choose, thus altering his behavior. Additionally, humans have, what he terms, “perfectibility, ” or the ability to be molded by one’s environment. Rousseau argues that the quality of perfectibility accounts for human development because it produces both enlightenment and virtue. It is with this quality, also, that propels humankind out of a state of nature into, what he terms a...
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...parks. In the documentary Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, killer whales are naturally affectionate, harmless to humans, and strongly family-oriented. However, when held captive in unnatural environments, killer whales will show a malfunction in behavior, causing injuries and deaths of trainers. The techniques used to show this are communicative function and illumination theory of truth. To begin, the first technique used in this documentary is communicative function. Communicative function is implemented to inform viewers of the message the documentary is trying to convey. In the context of the documentary, the evidence and statistics prove the danger that comes with captivating killer whales. For example, Tilikum, the famous orca at SeaWorld, killed three killer whale trainers. This technique is used to inform the viewers of the violent behavior demonstrated by captivated killer whales. This technique allows us to observe the aggressive behavior shown by the orcas towards its trainer. In this documentary, an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) expert stated, “what we learned, is that they are amazingly friendly and understanding and intuitively wants to be our companion. And to this day, there is no orca doing harm to a human in the wild” (Duffus, 24:18). In contrast, whales are more violent when placed in an unnatural environment, causing them to attack their trainers. This technique...
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...The Purpose of Government What is the Purpose of Government? Ronald Reagan said “Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.” This quote follows the fundamental principles of a Social Contract as described by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Though the two Enlightenment thinkers had some contradicting views they came to the same conclusion. Government is created by the people, for the people. Thomas Hobbes was the first person to explore the idea of a social contract between citizens and their government. Hobbes was an influential Enlightenment thinker who believed that people are naturally selfish and violent and that life without government is “nasty, brutish, and short.” He argued that people...
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...violence. There has been long lasting disagreements surrounding the Nature Vs Nurture controversy. Nature refers to the idea that teenage delinquents are born naturally violent as a result of genetic disorders, it is assumed that the genes an individual has inherited makes some teens behave violently. Nurture refers to the ways that people learn to behave violently as a result of their surroundings. The causes of teenage delinquency are greatly based on nurture due to the juvenile youth experiencing or witnessing parental violence in the home, living in a violent neighbourhood and witnessing violence in the media. Teen violence is a growing epidemic that is increasing rapidly and the negative behaviours of teens can result in crimes murders, rape, robbery and threaten an individual with physical harm. Teenage Delinquency is the product of nurture. A person’s upbringing can be negatively influenced by the socialization agents’ family, peers and media. Firstly, Family has a strong influence on the individual’s positive or delinquent behaviour. The absence of family resources may cause youth to engage in criminal behaviour. Families play an important role in the development of children; however when children are brought up with parents that are too harsh, children start disrespecting their parents and become violent. Research proves that a major problem in the absence of family resources is the lack of adequate parental supervision resulting in factors such as single...
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...centers. Many questions have arisen as to why the youth are the most likely to get involved in violent crimes, according to statistics postulated by the government. The answerer to this question in as much as it may complex as it is elusive gives an insight of the actual fact about the cause of the escalating crimes of violence among the youth and possible remedies. Young adults have become violent in the recent years particularly in U.S.; also it has become a norm in many other nations including Africa where actual violence has been experienced leading to unimaginable losses to the natives and the whole country at large. Therefore, there is need to first of all study and understand factors that involve in development of human behavior before considering the root causes which will possibly help in preventing violence (Michael 1998). Causes of violence Media and Exposure In modern day society, children and young adults are the one at the highest risk for experiencing violent crimes. Technological developments and achievement has changed the face of the society in that, it is evident many people have efficient accessibility to the media and thus tend to spend much time on it. Some of these media content that attract many of the people are violent. The continual exposure to violent media has negative effect on the behavior; children and young adults imitate and develop violent behavior (Graham 1969). Also, involvement...
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...WHY ARE INDIVIDUALS AGGRESSIVE?Aggression is difficult to define, it is a complex phenomenon, and depending upon the context the term can be made to carry either positive or negative connotations, it can be attacking behaviour that may be either self-protective and self-assertive or to the infliction of injury toward oneself or toward others, to the total destruction of others. Is aggression biological determined or the product of learning and environmental influences.? This essay, will consider instinctive theory, the frustration - aggression hypothesis, and social learning theory. It should then be possible to draw a conclusion to see if any or all of the theories discussed are the cause of aggression. Brain disorders, hormonal and chemical imbalances, environmental factors, such as heat, noise, air pollution and overcrowding, although contribute to the causes of aggression will not be discussed during the course of this essay. No universally adopted definition of aggression exists, for the purpose of this discussion, the definition of Gross will be used.Gross defines aggression as :- "The intentional infliction of some form of harm on others" (Gross page 444)Freud proposed that aggression is an instinctive biological urge. According to Freud this instinct, is made up of the libido (pleasure) and "Thanatos" (the death wish) (pain). This basic instinct is present in the Id from birth, at first the aggression is relatively uncontrolled, but with the development of the Ego and...
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...Mencius and Xunzi on Human Nature Mencius and Xunzi both follow Confucian philosophy yet have a dramatically different understanding of human nature. Additionally, the two philosophers make their arguments in strikingly different literary methods. Mencius believes that the “goodness of human nature is like the downward course of water” (147) in that people are naturally inclined to be good, and he makes this argument through conversations among friends and public figures. In contrast, Xunzi staunchly argues that “Human nature is evil” (179) and through essays claims that human nature’s only “goodness derives from the conscious activity” (179). The two philosophers both use many metaphors to explain their own interpretation of human nature in different ways. By exploring the philosophies of these two great Confucian thinkers, one better understands the multitude of ways human nature can be explained in Confucianism throughout Chinese history. As the “single most influential contributor to a view of human nature in Confucianized East Asia” (116), Mencius’ philosophy is fundamental. Mencius argues that human nature is good, and “ru” teachings furthered natural tendencies. To explain the natural goodness of human nature Mencius shows that “the goodness of human nature is like the downward course of water.” By this he claims, “there is no human being lacking in the tendency to do good, just as there is no water lacking in the tendency to flow downward” (147). Furthermore he...
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...is undermined by the realization that violence existed long before video games and television. In fact, violence has actually been steadily decreasing since these things have been growing in popularity. Critics of violent media seem to long for the “good old days”; a time before there was violence in the media. These critics fail to acknowledge that those “good old days” were actually far more violent than today. While violence is still present in modern society, it pales in comparison to the violence that was once a part of daily life. For most of human history, people have lived lives dominated by violence. From primitive hunters killing for food through centuries of society built around warfare, violence has never been less a part of the human experience than it is today. Horrific acts of violence such as the holocaust, the Salem witch trials, and lynchings all took place before the advent of modern violent media. The people of Salem didn’t listen to Tupac, violent racists didn’t all play Grand Theft Auto, and Hitler never watched Saw III. Even relatively recently, violence has been more tolerated in society than it is today. Violent hazing, domestic violence, and child abuse were all even more common in society before the increase in popularity of violent media. Historically, real life violence has been declining at almost the same rate as violence in entertainment has been increasing. It’s almost an inverse relationship between the two. “History alone should call...
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...disobedience and rebellion is justified, particularly in the United States. Locke and King support their view with a variety of arguments. Thomas Hobbes, on the other hand, views any kind of rebellion as unacceptable. This essay will review the effectiveness of both positions, but in the end civil disobedience is justified in the United States. John Locke argues that resistance against one's government is acceptable under certain circumstances. Locke believes that we have God-given rights,which are: life, liberty, limb, health, and property. If at any point our government fails to protect those rights then we are allowed to step in in a non-violent way. It is up to the individual to enforce own executive power. Martin Luther King Jr.’s argument is very similar. He discusses multiple biblical figures. They fought for what they believed in an a non-violent, yet extreme way. King says: “... Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative...
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...PHILOSOPHY FINAL EXAM (West campus) 1. Which of these is a problem with Kantian moral theory: a. the individual doesn't count, a few can be sacrificed for the benefit of the many b. it appears impossible to calculate the resulting effects of any action on all the different people it affects in all the ways it affects them c. the moral truths are universal, and thus differences in particular circumstances of certain situations cannot be accounted for d. all of the above e. none of the above 2. Thomas Hobbes: f. believed that human beings are naturally evil g. believed that human life is "nasty, brutish and short" in the absence of a Leviathan h. was one of the founders of the idea of the "social contract" i. all of the above j. none of the above 3. Which of the following is true of Rawls' "veil of ignorance": k. it is used to try and determine the fairest rules of a just society l. it forces us to imagine that we could be anybody in a society m. it leads to an argument in favor of progressive taxation n. all of the above o. none of the above 4. The teleological...
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...Rosel, Jeannette Psych 100 Telecourse The Origins of Evil To many human beings when they hear the word evil what automatically comes to their mind is the devil. Evil to me means someone that does something morally wrong that can cause pain or injury to someone either physically or mentally. I have many examples of someone that I would consider evil. One of them would be a convicted murderer, a person who has taken the life of another human being that has cause pain to the family and of course to the one whose life was taken away. Another one would be Hitler he just has that evil reputation. He didn’t care if they were women, children, seniors he took their life’s and he didn’t care he had no feelings what so ever he caused so much suffering and pain on all of the families. Our environment and our upbringing have a lot to do with how someone becomes evil. Our environment such as the neighborhood that we grow up on or the group of people that we interact has some effects of how we can become evil. They always say be careful with who you hang out with because their bad behaviors will influence your own behaviors. For example if someone grows up seeing people getting shot at in the streets or just seeing violence one grows up thinking that its ok and that that’s the way how life is. They become that evil person that may end up taking someone else’s life. Our upbringing also affects it too if there is abuse in the family such as domestic violence and sometimes rape...
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