"When the institutions of law and order slip away or are ignored, human being revert to a more primitive part of their nature." Please agree or disagree
After reading this statement, the key idea that came to mind was to consider more the mental structure of humans. When a drastic change occurs oftentimes we tend to become simple minded in order to find a way to adapt to the situation being presented. For example, as Evan mentioned in today's class discussion, during the Holocaust with the events that were taking place everyone began to think less of others and they focused more on their own survival. As well mentioned by Fairooz, in the novel Night the boy attacked his father for the piece of bread. He resorted to animalistic actions in order to try to survive whereas, if the circumstances would have been less severe he would have most likely shared the piece of bread with his father. Thus, if law was taken away, morals would change. In the end it will always come down to taking whatever action necessary in order to survive and or overcome. Thus, I agree with this statement.
I agree with katie and I also agree with this statement. When law and order slip away and are no longer the foundation of society human beings begin to fend for themselves, hence self preservation and survival of the fittest. Once law and order began to fade human beings will most likely care less about luxury and more about neccessity because it is instinct to survive. I agree with katie that humans will being to think more simplistic. For example, in Night, at one point the boy felt his father was a burden that was holding him back and no longer did he care about his father or what was going on but when his next meal was going to be. In some way laws and order serve as a basis in society for the way people act. When this is gone no longer will people act the same due to their natural instinct of survival.
I agree with this statement. Humans good or evil are selfish. So if and when society fails a or falls, everyone will think of their survival and themselves first. According to David Brooks' article, people are naturally good because of their humanity. I agree that many people are good because their humanity and their consciences makes them that way. Iktider mentioned today that even if society tried to make murdering someone okay, something inside of you would tell you that its not. Therefore, I feel that humans are good because of their nature.
I'd have to say I agree with the quote to a certain degree since people react to situations differently and hold different ethics and morals.
Inherently people are who they are as each individual carries their own unique essence, but are later influenced by the people around them and their environment.
Humans are creatures that have the potential to act in ways that are established and deemed both evil and heroic, both cruel and altruistic.
Humans are also naturally social creatures and even without law and established order people will band together to survive, though those who decide to fly solo will most definitely revert to a more primal side of their nature (don't forget we're a species of animal too) to survive and continue to live.
Because of this aspect of the human nature, people are constantly struggling within themselves--with the forces of darkness and light(as touched upon the article, When the Good Do Bad from The Opinion Pages)--to find balance and live in harmony with themselves and the Universe.
Now the reason why I say even in the desecration of established institutions of law and order people would usually fall back upon their primal side to a certain extent is due to the necessity to do so and a dependence upon their morality.
If a person has what they need and are used to even with the fall of "society" they would have no need to embrace their innate animal side. Their morals may remain intact and they may try to help, it honestly depends on the person as the acts of one person or a group of people cannot define the nature of others.
In all honesty, my answer to the quote is dependent upon the individual to whom it is applied, but to an extent I agree with it.
Katie, Jennifer, and Jai also happened to post their responses while I was constructing mine, explaining why I showed no regard for their answers in my own.
I do think that humans will be reduced to a primitive state of nature when the institutions of law and order slip away or are ignored most of the time. As I said in class today, in the book Night, the son beats his father for a piece of bread. Even when the protagonist's father dies, he feels some form of relief. As Jennifer said, it was all about survival of the fittest and self preservation. At extreme measures, these characters returned to a sort of primative form. Humanity will do the same and has done so numerous times. Humans place physiological needs as a priority as stated in Maslow's hierarchy. In that case, they will rely on whatever means to get it and maintain themselves.
I agree with my peers regarding this statement. Society brings a sense of order and structure with the institution of law that everyone abides by. If the laws and the order ceases to exist, humans would revert to more of a primitive state, seeking the means of survival. The primitive part of human nature is instinctual. Katie's reference to the book Night illustrates what occurs when law and order begins to slip away - you begin to lose part of your humanity. The boy fought his father for the piece of bread when it came to the last resort of life or death. As Katie has said, if the circumstances were less severe he would more than likely share the bread amongst his father in a moral act and duty.
I agree with the quote " When the institutions of law and order slip away or are ignored, human being revert to a more primitive part of their nature". Because, once there will be no law and order, human would tend to return to their basic behavior where they wouldn't care for no moral but only their own. As others mentioned about the events of holocaust and the example from book nights are the perfect examples to illustrate the human nature to do anything for own's benefit. I'd like to add little bit more to it. According to David Brooks, "David Buss of the University of Texas asked his students if they had ever thought of killing someone. He was shocked to see that almost everybody organized all the horrific thoughts of murdering. Therefore, I'd say if the institution of law slips away then human starts to return their own horrific nature.
I agree with Fairooz, as I had mentioned in class that a perfect example of this is the Holocaust. I was thinking of the book Night as well. I was however, thinking about the survival of the fittest category people adapt to when they are in such barbaric circumstances. People start to only worry about themselves and begin to lose their humanity for others. The main character of the book Night was slowly despising his father and regarded him as a burden. When he died he was relieved from that burden because he was trying to "survive".
Because the quote specifically says, “when the institutions of law and order slip away or are ignored”, I do agree with the statement. Last year our class read portions of the Federalist Papers, in which it explained that government exists to protect people from each other. We have a natural instinct to protect what is dear to us, whether it is our family, ourselves, or our prized possessions. That is part of our primitive nature. But it does not necessarily mean that it is wrong or evil even if it leads to negative consequences by means of self preservation. Good and evil are simple measurements of what is acceptable or unacceptable by society. As everyone else had already stated, people just adjust to circumstances. Laws exist to maintain a form of order, and when these laws are ignored, people with much to lose will do their best to maintain this order while people with nothing to lose may go either way. Anil made a good point where he described how government can be a corrupting factor to the people but in its own sense still have its own “order". Then again, as George stated earlier in class, everything is left to interpretation. So what do you consider an ordered society?
I agree with this quote because when all else fails humans adapt to looking out for themselfs. Law and order is what keeps everything in place. Without these rules and regulations this world will be like a jungle. More crimes will be comitted because there is no one to punish you for your crimes. If law and order slips away people will not feel the need to obey by anything and instead listen to themselfs. Since it is a proven fact that many people have had fantasies of killing of commiting a crime what would stop them now? Exactly, nothing would stop them.
I agree with this statement. When law and order slip away, this tends to mean that there is also no justice system. People would take advantage of this new found anarchy and do anything they can do to fend for themselves. This goes back to the basic "survival of the fittest." The strong survive, and they act almost animalistic and revert to their primitive states in order to survive.
After reading this statement, the key idea that came to mind was to consider more the mental structure of humans. When a drastic change occurs oftentimes we tend to become simple minded in order to find a way to adapt to the situation being presented. For example, as Evan mentioned in today's class discussion, during the Holocaust with the events that were taking place everyone began to think less of others and they focused more on their own survival. As well mentioned by Fairooz, in the novel Night the boy attacked his father for the piece of bread. He resorted to animalistic actions in order to try to survive whereas, if the circumstances would have been less severe he would have most likely shared the piece of bread with his father. Thus, if law was taken away, morals would change. In the end it will always come down to taking whatever action necessary in order to survive and or overcome. Thus, I agree with this statement.
ReplyDeleteExcellent stance and use of examples from our texts
DeleteI agree with katie and I also agree with this statement. When law and order slip away and are no longer the foundation of society human beings begin to fend for themselves, hence self preservation and survival of the fittest. Once law and order began to fade human beings will most likely care less about luxury and more about neccessity because it is instinct to survive. I agree with katie that humans will being to think more simplistic. For example, in Night, at one point the boy felt his father was a burden that was holding him back and no longer did he care about his father or what was going on but when his next meal was going to be. In some way laws and order serve as a basis in society for the way people act. When this is gone no longer will people act the same due to their natural instinct of survival.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement. Humans good or evil are selfish. So if and when society fails a or falls, everyone will think of their survival and themselves first. According to David Brooks' article, people are naturally good because of their humanity. I agree that many people are good because their humanity and their consciences makes them that way. Iktider mentioned today that even if society tried to make murdering someone okay, something inside of you would tell you that its not. Therefore, I feel that humans are good because of their nature.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say I agree with the quote to a certain degree since people react to situations differently and hold different ethics and morals.
ReplyDeleteInherently people are who they are as each individual carries their own unique essence, but are later influenced by the people around them and their environment.
Humans are creatures that have the potential to act in ways that are established and deemed both evil and heroic, both cruel and altruistic.
Humans are also naturally social creatures and even without law and established order people will band together to survive, though those who decide to fly solo will most definitely revert to a more primal side of their nature (don't forget we're a species of animal too) to survive and continue to live.
Because of this aspect of the human nature, people are constantly struggling within themselves--with the forces of darkness and light(as touched upon the article, When the Good Do Bad from The Opinion Pages)--to find balance and live in harmony with themselves and the Universe.
Now the reason why I say even in the desecration of established institutions of law and order people would usually fall back upon their primal side to a certain extent is due to the necessity to do so and a dependence upon their morality.
If a person has what they need and are used to even with the fall of "society" they would have no need to embrace their innate animal side. Their morals may remain intact and they may try to help, it honestly depends on the person as the acts of one person or a group of people cannot define the nature of others.
In all honesty, my answer to the quote is dependent upon the individual to whom it is applied, but to an extent I agree with it.
Katie, Jennifer, and Jai also happened to post their responses while I was constructing mine, explaining why I showed no regard for their answers in my own.
ReplyDeleteI do think that humans will be reduced to a primitive state of nature when the institutions of law and order slip away or are ignored most of the time. As I said in class today, in the book Night, the son beats his father for a piece of bread. Even when the protagonist's father dies, he feels some form of relief. As Jennifer said, it was all about survival of the fittest and self preservation. At extreme measures, these characters returned to a sort of primative form. Humanity will do the same and has done so numerous times. Humans place physiological needs as a priority as stated in Maslow's hierarchy. In that case, they will rely on whatever means to get it and maintain themselves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my peers regarding this statement. Society brings a sense of order and structure with the institution of law that everyone abides by. If the laws and the order ceases to exist, humans would revert to more of a primitive state, seeking the means of survival. The primitive part of human nature is instinctual. Katie's reference to the book Night illustrates what occurs when law and order begins to slip away - you begin to lose part of your humanity. The boy fought his father for the piece of bread when it came to the last resort of life or death. As Katie has said, if the circumstances were less severe he would more than likely share the bread amongst his father in a moral act and duty.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the quote " When the institutions of law and order slip away or are ignored, human being revert to a more primitive part of their nature". Because, once there will be no law and order, human would tend to return to their basic behavior where they wouldn't care for no moral but only their own. As others mentioned about the events of holocaust and the example from book nights are the perfect examples to illustrate the human nature to do anything for own's benefit. I'd like to add little bit more to it. According to David Brooks, "David Buss of the University of Texas asked his students if they had ever thought of killing someone. He was shocked to see that almost everybody organized all the horrific thoughts of murdering. Therefore, I'd say if the institution of law slips away then human starts to return their own horrific nature.
DeleteI agree with Fairooz, as I had mentioned in class that a perfect example of this is the Holocaust. I was thinking of the book Night as well. I was however, thinking about the survival of the fittest category people adapt to when they are in such barbaric circumstances. People start to only worry about themselves and begin to lose their humanity for others. The main character of the book Night was slowly despising his father and regarded him as a burden. When he died he was relieved from that burden because he was trying to "survive".
ReplyDeleteBecause the quote specifically says, “when the institutions of law and order slip away or are ignored”, I do agree with the statement. Last year our class read portions of the Federalist Papers, in which it explained that government exists to protect people from each other. We have a natural instinct to protect what is dear to us, whether it is our family, ourselves, or our prized possessions. That is part of our primitive nature. But it does not necessarily mean that it is wrong or evil even if it leads to negative consequences by means of self preservation. Good and evil are simple measurements of what is acceptable or unacceptable by society. As everyone else had already stated, people just adjust to circumstances. Laws exist to maintain a form of order, and when these laws are ignored, people with much to lose will do their best to maintain this order while people with nothing to lose may go either way. Anil made a good point where he described how government can be a corrupting factor to the people but in its own sense still have its own “order". Then again, as George stated earlier in class, everything is left to interpretation. So what do you consider an ordered society?
ReplyDeleteI agree with this quote because when all else fails humans adapt to looking out for themselfs. Law and order is what keeps everything in place. Without these rules and regulations this world will be like a jungle. More crimes will be comitted because there is no one to punish you for your crimes. If law and order slips away people will not feel the need to obey by anything and instead listen to themselfs. Since it is a proven fact that many people have had fantasies of killing of commiting a crime what would stop them now? Exactly, nothing would stop them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement. When law and order slip away, this tends to mean that there is also no justice system. People would take advantage of this new found anarchy and do anything they can do to fend for themselves. This goes back to the basic "survival of the fittest." The strong survive, and they act almost animalistic and revert to their primitive states in order to survive.
ReplyDelete