Premium Essay

The Pragmatic Individual

In:

Submitted By desperatebd91
Words 2965
Pages 12
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an international document created by the United Nations, which states the basic rights and fundamental freedoms to which all humans are entitled. Adopted by the United Nations in December of 1948, it serves as the identification of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. It claims to be universal – to be enjoyed by all people, no matter who they are or where they live. However, in the eyes of a pragmatist, it is impossible for many of these rights to be satisfied simply by the general idea of the human being as a rights-bearer. In this paper, I will attempt to examine and critique the principles behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from a pragmatist’s perspective, but more specifically, from John Dewey’s philosophy.

I. The Problem
To address the issues concerning the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I must first identify its goals. In the Preamble, it states:
“Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.”
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that all human beings have economic, social, and cultural rights. From the Preamble, notice the crucial terms “common standard of achievement”, “shall strive by teaching and education” and “by progressive measures, national and international.”

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Leadership Styles

...the leader is present in every area of our life in some manner. Consider the leadership roles of teachers who instruct, managers who drive business, artists who inspire ideas, politicians who lobby to fulfill needs, entrepreneurs who bring a vision to life, and caretakers who provide supportive services. Each is affecting the lives of others by assuming a leadership role that brings benefit to them both. While most of us will find ourselves in a leadership role at some time in our life, simply being in a leadership role doesn’t make someone an effective leader. (Gordon, 1977) It is important to recognize different types of leadership styles and to how these styles fit to individual personality types. Three general types of outstanding, frequently traveled, paths are charismatic, ideological, and pragmatic. In order to be an effective leader, it is not necessary to radically change a personality style. (Ponder, 2005) It is much more beneficial to identify inherent tendencies and learn how to develop those traits into effective attributions. It would be beneficial to understand each of the formidable leadership styles and how to develop the style that comes intuitively. (Mumford, 2006) The charismatic leadership is indicated by the ability to effectively communicate a vision of the future. Studies show that leaders who can inspire a great vision will have a higher level of motivation in their followers. The vision and expressive communication style resulted in followers having...

Words: 2811 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

‘Conservatism Favours Pragmatism over Principle.’ Discuss (45 Marks)

...conservatism very much favours a pragmatic approach. This is the belief that behaviour should be shaped in accordance with practical circumstances and goals rather than principles, beliefs or ideological objectives. However with the introduction of the liberal new right conservatism due to the conservative view of economic and social breakdown, things have started to look a lot more ideological and challenged the pragmatic nature of conservatism. This is where the debate arises. Traditional conservatives undoubtedly favour a pragmatic approach rather than stick to the core ideologies of conservatism. Burke famously said ‘a state which doesn’t change cannot conserve’ which perfectly explains the traditional conservative favouritism towards pragmatism. If a government does not change in order to help all aspects of society and bring in some kind of social reforms there will be revolt by the poor of the country. Conservatives hold this belief due to the belief that humans are naturally imperfect and therefore limited intellectually. Society is too complicated for human’s to fully understand and can therefore never fully understand the political system. Traditional conservatives are therefore suspicious of abstract ideas and systems of thought that claim to understand how society and the world should be run as it is out of grasp for an individual to understand. They prefer to ground their ideas in tradition and therefore giving a more pragmatic approach to the world, and avoiding...

Words: 958 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

It's Not Reliable

...What is Linguistics? According to Professor David Crystal, Linguistics is the science of language. It is the subject whose practitioners devote their energy to understanding why human language is the way it is. They study the history, acquisition, structure, and use of as many languages as possible. In general, Linguistics studies the nature of human language. It aims to uncover the general structure of natural language which is not dependent on individual languages and ways in which languages can be described. Moreover, the discipline examines the characteristics that separate human language from other sign and communication systems. Both in teaching and research, language is studied in a versatile manner from the level of sounds to complete sentences and texts, their meanings and entire spoken discourses. Moreover, Linguistics studies regional, social and temporal changes occurring in language, context-related use of language and production, and understanding processes of linguistic messages from the perspective of individual psychology. Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. There are many approaches to the study of language, emphasizing different scientific traditions and aspects of the subject. Two broad divisions are the following: Theoretical Linguistics: the study of the structural properties of language, e.g., the rules or constraints that govern the formation and interpretation of words and sentences in the world's languages. Experimental and...

Words: 2023 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Critically Examine the Eap Debate

... You may also support your argument with evidence drawn from your own experience.’ This paper critically examines the varied approaches to teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP). In particular, it examines Critical Pedagogy, Pragmatic Pedagogy and Critical-Pragmatic Pedagogy in the context of teaching academic writing to university students. This is an important issue as there is widespread debate as to what constitutes effective EAP instruction within the academic sphere. The conflicting perspectives are that a critical approach to pedagogy, with its challenge of current ‘implicit and explicit standards’ (Cherryholmes: 1988) is most effective. Other academics argue the case of a vulgar pragmatic approach that relies on structure and ‘the notions of theory and practice’ (Williams: 1983). There is also support for a hybrid approach to EAP learning, known as critical pragmatism. This method encourages the characteristic critical pedagogical challenge of the status quo, while still requiring ideas to be translated and conveyed by means of structured ‘discourse practices’ (Cherryholmes: 1988). Finally, upon examining the aforementioned approaches to EAP by review of scholarly literature, I intend to argue affirmatively that vulgar-pragmatic based pedagogy is the best and most effective method of teaching EAP to university students. The concept of critical pedagogical learning relies on the principle that ‘the classroom needs to be continually interrogated for the ideologies...

Words: 2060 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Esl Lesson Plan: Thanking

...Overview This paper will identify two categories of learner divergence (Ishihara & Cohen, 2010, p. 77) that could impact the effectiveness of English language/pragmatics training that I have proposed for the Bosnian immigrants working at The Principia. Learners This paper supposes teaching adult Bosnian immigrants who have a basic knowledge of English. Their knowledge of English has come through immersion and “street learning” vs. formal instruction. Prior to immigration, they completed at least 12 years of education in their native language, and many hold college degrees. Most held professional positions, or positions of responsibility in social/volunteer organizations (for example: church). Cultural Analysis Because I have not yet conducted a class with these learners, and because my knowledge of Bosnian culture is limited, I referred to “The Hofstede Centre” web site (http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html). The Hofstede web site allows examination of cultural tendencies. These tendencies could contribute to or correlate with specific learner divergences. I recognize that this is a speculative approach, however, I have little other data to reference in determining a starting point for instruction. Although the Hofstede web site does not include Bosnia, it does include Serbia and Croatia – countries that bound Bosnia to the west and east, respectively. This chart shows how the two countries compare in terms of the “6-D” model proposed by Hofstede: ...

Words: 1446 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Cross Cultural Communication

...Direct and Indirect Strategies of Refusing 103 Direct and Indirect Strategies of Refusing among Indonesians Fransiska Oktoprimasakti Abstract This study is a pragmatic study of Indonesian strategies of refusing. By modifying a discourse comprehension test (DCT) developed by Bebee et al (1990), this study was conducted to answer two research questions; the strategy used in refusing and whether the difference in status and gender of the requesters affects the strategy used. The findings of this study show that Indonesian respondents are similar to Japanese, Egyptian and American respondents who in previous studies used mostly indirect refusals. However, the type and frequency of the indirect refusals differ. While an Egyptian and American comparative study conducted by Nelson et al (2002) reveals five primary indirect strategies, Indonesians use six primary strategies. The type of primary strategy also differs from Nelson’s findings since there are strategies used in this study which were not included in Nelson’s study; white lies, suggestions and the use of pragmatic particles. In conclusion, Indonesians use indirect strategies to ‘save face’ and the effort given to do this differs according to the status of requesters. Indonesians use more strategies and attempt to ‘save face’ when refusing requesters of higher status; less effort is evident when requesters are of lower status. Keywords: politeness strategy, negative face, direct and indirect refusals Introduction ...

Words: 5330 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

Pragmatics

...ISSN 1798-4769 Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 682-684, September 2010 © 2010 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland. doi:10.4304/jltr.1.5.682-684 Interlanguage Pragmatics Theory and Its Implications for Foreign Language Qian Huang Foreign Language Teaching Department, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China Email:qqh@dzu.edu.cn Abstract—The major purpose of college English teaching is to cultivate and develop student’s pragmatic competence. Interlanguage pragmatics is a new interdisciplinary branch of study based on the theories of pragmatics and second language acquisition which has direct guide significance for foreign language teaching. This paper firstly introduces the theoretical models of the two theories and then focuses on the implications for foreign language teaching. Index Terms— interlanguage pragmatics, pragmatics theory, SLA theory, implications I. INTRODUCTION In 1969, the psychological linguists Selinker in his paper "Language Transfer" pointed out that when people in different countries and regions have communicate in second Language, language often appears with some native Language and relevant, and with this two kinds of pragmatic styles of Interlanguage totally different, this is "the Interlanguage" (Interlanguage). In Selinker view, the former study of interlanguage study was just the grammar system study. Therefore, the study of interlanguage was only limited from speech phonemes, lexical, syntactic to semantic etc...

Words: 2131 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Help

...family, and coworkers. According to Answers.com (2008), “Negotiation is the process of two individuals or groups reaching joint agreement about differing needs or ideas” (para.19). Oftentimes people negotiate and are unaware they are negotiating. For some people, negotiating appears easy, but other people view the process of negotiation as a conflict (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2006). Analyzing the roles of communication and personality in negotiation and how they contribute or detract from the negotiations will be reviewed. Included will be an example of when I have participated in a negotiation situation. Verbal and Nonverbal Communication “Negotiation is a process of communication in which parties aim to ‘send a message’ to the other side and influence each other” (Beyond Intractability, 2003-2007). Communication techniques are a vital role in negotiating. Negotiating is about effective communications. When negotiating, communication occurs at two levels, the logical level and the pragmatic level (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2006). A logical and pragmatic message received by the other party is communication. What is said is not the only point, the information inferred, intended, conveyed, or perceived is a vital factor. Thus, tremendous care must be taken to direct pragmatic messages. In order to avoid sending the wrong message negotiators must be aware of the potential issues of pragmatic miscommunication (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2006). According to Nonverbal Communication...

Words: 273 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

7 Elements of Culture Nigeria India

...CULTURE NIGERIA INDIA MATERIAL LIFE Industrial sector - structurally weak, industrial development based on import substitution strategy, production, distribution and consumption depends a lot on families and community efforts. Industrial Sector is comparatively well developed. LANGUAGE 529 languages - 7 extinct English is the official language, Other most spoken languages are - Haus, Igbo, Yoruba, Pidgin-English 780 languages – 220 lost last 50 yrs. 14 official Languages Hindi is the first official Language and English is the second, Other most spoken languages are Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil SOCIAL INTERACTIONS Extended families-Social standing and recognition, Family relationships are guided by hierarchy and seniority. Individuals turn to members of the extended family for financial aid and guidance Very similar to Nigeria Family relationships are guided by hierarchy and seniority. Great importance is given to elders in the family who are also decision makers. AESTHETICS Ethnic, tattooing & Ornamentation, Art inspired by nature, Depends on availability of recourses, has utilitarian significance, socio-cultural significance is symbolic, Extensive use of colours. Follows similar patterns use of vibrant colours, jewellery, Colours and music art folk songs for every occasion. RELIGION Main religions of Nigeria are Islam (50%) and Christianity (48%), other religions, which includes: Judaism, Hinduism, Bahá'i Characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and...

Words: 929 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Mister

...conservatism very much favours a pragmatic approach. This is the belief that behaviour should be shaped in accordance with practical circumstances and goals rather than principles, beliefs or ideological objectives. However with the introduction of the liberal new right conservatism due to the conservative view of economic and social breakdown, things have started to look a lot more ideological and challenged the pragmatic nature of conservatism. This is where the debate arises. Traditional conservatives undoubtedly favour a pragmatic approach rather than stick to the core ideologies of conservatism. Burke famously said ‘a state which doesn’t change cannot conserve’ which perfectly explains the traditional conservative favouritism towards pragmatism. If a government does not change in order to help all aspects of society and bring in some kind of social reforms there will be revolt by the poor of the country. Conservatives hold this belief due to the belief that humans are naturally imperfect and therefore limited intellectually. Society is too complicated for human’s to fully understand and can therefore never fully understand the political system. Traditional conservatives are therefore suspicious of abstract ideas and systems of thought that claim to understand how society and the world should be run as it is out of grasp for an individual to understand. They prefer to ground their ideas in tradition and therefore giving a more pragmatic approach to the world, and avoiding...

Words: 311 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Teaching Environment Influences

...that seemed to be the most encountered interruptions to classroom learning. While looking at the disruptions in the classroom from a teacher perspective, the most common disruptions were talking without permission or out of turn, and making noises. When examining the Win-Win and Real discipline, and Pragmatic Classroom I feel that you would examine why the student would be talking or making noises and then guide the student back to the appropriate behavior, and remind the students that the behavior is not part of the expectations that were established. On most occasions the reminder of expectations especially when cooperatively made with the teacher and the students would be enough to correct the behavior and also provide a teaching moment for the whole class by rehearsing the appropriate behavior together. Providing a preventative plan for the behavior by having a free taking time within a lesson or class would also help with these behaviors depending on the class dynamic. The next behavior was being out of their seat and wandering about the classroom. With Real Discipline you would firmly remind the student of the rule and have them go back to the seat. With Win-Win and Pragmatic Classroom the...

Words: 1440 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Discuss Whether Margaret Thatcher Was a Pragmatist or an Ideologist

...became Prime Minister in May 1979, the legislation to implement the ‘Right to Buy’ was passed in the Housing Act 1980 which had a huge impact on Britain's housing market. The high discounts made the offer a fantastic bargain for those lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. It meant that there was some real growth in levels of owner occupation and was considered to be great for individuals. Half of the proceeds of the sales were paid to the local authorities, but they were restricted on spending the money (they were made to reduce their debt until it was cleared, rather than being able to spend it on building more homes). The effect was to reduce the council housing stock, especially in areas where property prices were high such as London and the south-east of England. 200,000 council houses were sold to their tenants in 1982, and by 1987, more than 1,000,000 council houses in Britain had been sold to their tenants, although the number of council houses purchased by tenants declined during the 1990s. The ‘Right to Buy’ can be argued to be both ideological and pragmatic. Firstly, it could be said that the reason that Margaret Thatcher followed through with this plan is because it appeases the traditional conservative ideology; that home owners are more likely to care for the society/the wellbeing of the country, including the responsibility of owning a home, if they have ‘a stake’ it in. Heseltine stated that ‘There is in this country a deeply ingrained desire...

Words: 991 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Structuralism, ” "Ethnoscience and Cognitive Anthropology

...“Structuralism,” "Ethnoscience and Cognitive Anthropology" Goals of cognitive anthropology and how is componential analysis important in reaching these goals? Cognitive anthropology focuses on the intellectual and rational aspects of culture, often through the study of language use. Humans’ information and knowledge shared through words and stories often answers many underlying questions about a culture. It also addressed the ways in which think about events and objects in the world. It hoped to be able to form a link between human thought processes and the multiple aspects of culture The study of language use in Cognitive anthropology can be first be linked to Lockes empiricism and Kants rationalism. This breeds a correlation between psychology and anthropology built around the structure of experience and environment creating knowledge. Mid 50’s was when Cognitive anthropology was first recognized as a field of study thanks to the ethnoscience studies at Yale. Ethnographic studies proved that different data can be gathered by studying the same people studied by different theorists which caused the anthropological community to question the accuracy and reliability of all ethnographic research methods. With the Goal of increasing validity of ethnography, new techniques’ were used largely inspired spawned off of linguistic phonemic analysis. Componential analyses or contrast analysis, developed out of this when Goodenough and Lounsbury attempted to break semantic structures...

Words: 591 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Types of Research

...Chapter 5 The Components of Language and Reading Instruction Multiple references have been made in preceding chapters to the use of “balanced” reading instruction in studies of reading instruction. Prior to describing the components of reading, an introduction to the components of language that shape that foundation is warranted. Components of Language Reading would not exist without the human capacity for language. Because the components of language and their associated terminology align with our demarcations for many of the elements of reading, they are described briefly in this section. Linguists have identified five basic components (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics) found across languages. Language acquisition progresses across these components with increasing quantity (e.g., sounds, words, and sentence length) and gradual refinement, and understanding of the subtler and more complex points of usage (e.g., using “taught” rather than “teached”). Readers are encouraged to explore the literature in the field of language development to better understand and appreciate the oral language skills students may bring to the reading process. Speech and language pathologists are a great resource for identifying resources in this area and assisting in determining whether a child’s language skills are developing normally and providing support when assessment and intervention may be required. Phonology The study of speech structure within a language...

Words: 718 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Annotated Bibliography

...Writing 3 Assignment Annotated Bibliography By: Andre Mutia 12010/NK-1 2012 1. Article 1 Abed, A., Q. (2011). Pragmatic Transfer in Iraqi EFL Learners' Refusals, International Journal of English Linguistics, 1(2), 166-185. doi:10.5539/ijel.v1n2p166 The study deals with pragmatic transfer of Iraqi EFL learners' refusal strategies as reflected by their responses to a modified version of 12- items written discourse completion task; and compare with two groups ,namely Iraqi native speakers of Arabic and American native speakers of English. The data were collected from task consisted of three requests, three offers, three suggestions, and three invitations. Each one of the situations included one refusal to a person of higher status, one to a person of equal status, and one to a person of lower status. Data analyzed according to frequency types of refusal strategies and interlocutor's social status. I prefer this article because it is very useful for my topic. The author found that Iraqi EFL learners are apt to express refusals with care and/or caution represented by using more statements of reason/explanation, statements of regret, wish and refusal adjuncts in their refusals than Americans. Americans are more sensitive to their interlocutor's higher and equal status, whereas Iraqi EFL learners to lower status. The study is suitable for the topic I chose for its valuable information. 2. Article 2 Al-Khatani, S., A., W. (2005). Refusals Realizations in Three Different...

Words: 2596 - Pages: 11