Human nature refers to the characteristics that identify people. In this case, it involves thoughts, feelings, and behavior that are manifested by individuals and independent of culture. Furthermore, human nature is important when it comes to politics, ethics, and religious perspectives of a particular group of people. This is due to the fact that it presents both positive and negative norms that aid to shape or destroy the society. Moreover, the study of human nature is boosted by the findings of…

First World War was unlike previous conflicts in its scope and scale. While previous wars tended to be limited wars, where war only consisted of direct combat away from society, the Great War was a total war. For the purpose of this essay, total war will be defined as a type of war that involves all aspects of society and comprises of both the destruction of the enemy by direct combat and the disruption of enemy resources and morale. This essay will argue that the characteristics of total war are clearly…

Machiavelli's The Prince: Politics, War, and Human Nature "[I]t is necessary for a prince to know well how to use the beast and the man." (Machiavelli, The Prince, p. 69[1]). In this swift blow, Niccolò Machiavelli seems to strike down many visions of morality put up on pedestals by thinkers before his time. He doesn't turn to God or to some sort of common good for his political morality. Instead, he turns to the individual?more specifically, self-preservation in a position of…

With numerous wars, murders, and rapes it’s normal to think that humans tend towards disorder. Even at a young age, humans are selfish and think egocentrically. If they are lucky, they grow up to think abstractly, only to use those thoughts to outsmart another human. However, human nature is fundamentally good: if one was to strip a human of their social responsibilities and influences, they would realize that a human is simple-minded and morally good. They openly donate their time and resources…

We as humans have an important role to play when confronted with an issue which is in any way concerned with our relationship to nature. Although we coexist on this planet with numerous other species of life, ours is the only one whose decisions can potentially have a significant influence on the status quo of the delicate system that is Earth. Our attitudes and connections towards nature are important because they directly affect how we will realize the goal of sustainability. Nonetheless, in order…

1.) Based upon the current week’s lectures, how did grant and Sherman exemplify a new war strategy? Grant and Sherman decided that a different tactic for war would be better served in their favor if they focused on something called “total war.” This meant to target the areas that benefited the south and that furthered their war agenda. These two men went after crops and railroads and anything else the civilians had that helped the other side along in the battle. Army’s usually were only supposed…

Burridge Moral Ambiguity Nathaniel Hawthorne, as an admirer of psychology, uses a distinctive theme of moral ambiguity amongst his characters in the novel The Scarlet Letter. The characters, in particular Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth, are rather difficult to classify as either good or bad; they are simply human. Hawthorne’s moral ambiguity amongst these characters makes them more relatable to real human beings and serves as a clear portrayal of the complex human psyche…

questions concerning the concept of war and its multitude of effects in his article entitled, ‘The Utility of War’. By this extent, he discusses the positive and negative aspects, as well as the reason wars take place, and even how they often end. A common belief that Hanson has come to understand is that the occurrence of war is sporadic and that it is not in the norm of human nature. Contrary to this common belief, Hanson claims in his article that, History proves that war is more common and natural than…

Human Nature and Moral Theory in Plato’s Republic In Chapter 2 of Republic, Glaucon uses the Myth of the Lydian Shepherd to portray a pessimistic view of human nature. Plato, the author of Republic, uses his brother Glaucon to tell the Myth of the Lydian Shepherd. We are led to believe that Plato takes the myth and its implications on human nature very seriously by use of a personal character. The argument, originally given by Thrasymachus, contends that at the root of our human nature we…

person like that has ever existed. It appears that it is human nature to want to pronounce others as either purely good or evil. But does everyone fit into the mold of good or evil? In Albert Camus's The Stranger, Meursault is a morally ambiguous character, and this ethical indistinctness plays a major part in the novel as a whole and the theme that Camus is trying to portray. Meursault resists being typecast into an archetypal moral category in many of his deeds and actions. Many of his actions…