Essay On Man Is Nature's Enemy

“The gentle green hills which on either hand enclosed the village, tufted here and there with magnificent trees, the village itself, straggling and wide, each cottage being far apart from its neighbors and each ornamented with flower beds and shrubberies; these with a lovely stream which would through the valley, formed, as far as my memory may be trusted, one of the most exquisite panoramas, on which it has ever been my good fortune to

Although Leopold’s love of great expanses of wilderness is readily apparent, his book does not cry out in defense of particular tracts of land about to go under the axe or plow, but rather deals with the minutiae, the details, of often unnoticed plants and animals, all the little things that, in our ignorance, we have left out of our managed acreages but which must be present to add up to balanced ecosystems and a sense of quality and wholeness in the landscape.

Journeying through the mountainous desert towards this remote, yet beautiful park, I was shocked by the extent of the untamed land. I searched my mind, tempted to recall a time. I gazed upon an expanse of earth so untouched by human hands. Before me, the earth and sky unfolded, stretching for miles with little interruption. The closer we journeyed to the park, the more I began to feel isolated from the rest of the developed world. Overcome with feelings of excitement and curiosity, I felt

“On the outskirts of town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage. It had been built by an earlier settler, and abandoned because the soil about it was too sterile for cultivation, while its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marked the habits of the emigrants. It stood on the shore, looking across a basin of the sea at the forest-covered hills toward the west.”

A famous philosopher Socrates once said, 'the unexamined life is not worth living.' With that idea, the question 'Are Human Beings Intrinsically Evil?' has been asked by philosophers for many years. It is known as one of the unanswerable questions. Determinists have come to the conclusion that we are governed by the laws of science, that there is nothing we can do about ourselves being evil because we naturally are. Evil is simply the act of causing pain. In this essay I will argue that human beings are born with a natural reaction to 'fear and chaos' to be instinctively evil.

The concept of nature vs nurture is easily one of the oldest and most controversial arguments of modern times. Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker is notably known in the world of psychology and the social sciences for his book “The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature.” In his book, Pinker addresses this exact argument and reasons that human behavior is mostly and at its roots is formed by evolutionary psychological adaptations. In 2003, Steven Pinker gave a Ted Talk regarding his book and the idea that human behavior is predisposed, rather than formed by socialization, interactions between people and the exposure to culture. Pinker discusses the reasoning behind his stance on nature over nurture using five key discussion points, these points being, human universals, neurology and DNA, political reasoning, the arts and parenting. During his Ted Talk, Pinker begins by stating that there are human universals, concepts, behaviors and traits that are carried and found, with many similarities, throughout every human civilization, he then explains that a common example of this is with twins separated at birth, and can be proven through neurological studies. Another concept that Pinker address to further solidify his stance is the idea that the argument that humans are ‘blank slates’ and human behavior is developed through nurture rather than nature is the political reasoning behind the benefits of everyone being ‘blank slates’. Two critical points he made however

To people foreign to California, the state is boxed into a set of stereotypical characteristics. The Golden State has received labels such as ‘surf nation,’ and ‘liberal land.’ But to those who’ve gotten a chance to live within this great state appreciate the opportunities and ambitions that come with living in California. Furthermore, what truly differentiates California from any other place in the world is the consistent paradoxical environment. This notion is best epitomized by the city of Sacramento and the cultural, economic and social change that the city has undergone. Gary Snyder communicates this theme through building around John Muir’s ideologies in his work of “Covers The Ground.” Snyder’s work exemplifies the contradiction between nature and innovation. It presents the paradoxical state individuals around the world face on whether to accept the innovation and accept the benefits that come with it, or stay true to the roots of nature and the history that accompanies it. This dilemma boils down to whether we as a race embrace the progression of time and the paradoxes that follow, or we find solace in our current state.

For centuries many philosophers, as well as most individuals, have pondered on the question what is good and what is evil. More-so philosophers of all ages have also stumbled upon a more in depth question which is if the intuitive knowledge of man's nature is good, or if it is evil. Many have claimed to have an answer to these puzzling questions yet most of their answers were found to be incomplete and inadequate at a later date. Religion also tried to provide a solution but to my understanding only caused more of an entanglement if anything.

Reading this memoir causes the reader to remember home. The description the author makes at the beginning sounds a lot like my Texas. In this memoir written by Debra Marquart titled The Horizontal Word, you are able to identify some rhetorical devices being used such as allusion, diction, and various devices. Throughout the whole passage Marquart uses allusion.

Human beings are part of the animal kingdom, and therefore part of nature. If that is true, then everything they create or destroy is by default "natural". I agree with the statement.

Friedrich Nietzsche, a prominent German philosopher in the 19th century is one of the most well-read philosophers of the past two-centuries. His ideas regarding morality and nature continue to be discussed and debated to this day among scholars of all beliefs.

The central theme of Bladerunner is the relationship between humanity and nature. More specifically it has a purpose in showing how science can negatively influence this fragile relationship. Set in Los Angeles of 2019 we see the decadence of western society into an inhumane harsh impersonal, technology-dominated realm. The inhabitants who fight for their daily survival are in desperate want for nature, contact with which is denied to them by the unrestricted scientific progress and the consequent exploitation of the natural world conducted for the sole purpose of profit. Humanity is also losing touch with it’s own nature. The compassion, the empathy, the love and the emotion are all rare or absent. This ailing relationship between

    "The world was made for man to conquer and rule, and under human rule it was meant to become a paradise" (Ishmael 82). Much like this evolutionary mythological theory, the movie Jurassic Park tells a tale of man's attempt to rule over nature. Through the movie's description and imagery, the viewer perceives the arrogance of humans to control nature, and the consequences and failures of this flawed intention. John Hammond, park creator, uses state of the art technology and ideas to recover dinosaur DNA, fill in missing gene caps, and breed the previously extinct animals to exploit his accomplishment. This process is set into motion without regard to the ethics behind the research, and

The Federalist Papers provide priceless insight into the spirits of both human government and human nature. In fact, The Federalist Papers repeatedly acknowledge a basic truth of human existence: humans are naturally selfish, hostile, and full of such characteristics that hinder the continuation of peaceful, harmonious existence. The corruption of the human race permeates even the strongest governments, as history has shown time and again. Ironic as it is, governments must take precautions to guard themselves, even from their very own members, from the very thing that all governments are meant to remedy: the shortcomings of human nature. The means by which The Federalists

Whether human beings are instinctually good or evil in an elementary natural state is a question that has been boggling the minds of even the greatest philosophers. There is a spectrum of theories that support both good and evil within the human race, each with valid points that explains the range of our interests, being either for ourselves or for others. However, my personal stance is the sensible theory of Altruism. Past experiences and observations allow me to take the stance, and support the argument that humans are caring and genuinely good individuals and have the will and desire to help those around them.