What are the true motivations behind people’s actions? This is a question asked by philosophers for years. To understand why people, do the things they do, you have to dig deeper into their belief systems. Thomas More and Soren Kierkegaard differ in many of their views. The major differing opinion is their views on human nature: why people do the things they do. Kierkegaard believes that humans act because of faith in God. Thomas More says that humans do what they do for the community as a whole. Their views on moral and divine law, individualism, and in punishment of citizens oppose throughout both texts.
The treatment of moral and divine law is contrasted between the two texts. In More’s, Utopia, moral law and divine law are synonymous.
…show more content…
In More’s, Utopia, there is minimal punishment because of the lack of freedom. More says; “Instead of inflicting these horrible punishments, it would be far more to the point to provide everyone with some means of livelihood, so that nobody's under the frightful necessity of becoming first a thief and then a corpse” (More). There is hardly anything to punish for, citizens do not have enough freedom or urge to break laws. When punishment is necessary, it is done by the government. In Fear and Trembling, punishment is different. Kierkegaard believes that if humans looked at what could happen before acting they would not act; “If anyone on the verge of action should judge himself according to the outcome, he would never begin. Even though the result may gladden the whole world, that cannot help the hero; for he knows the result only when the whole thing is over, and that is not how he became a hero, but by virtue of the fact that he began” (Kierkegaard). If Abraham was not willing to sacrifice Isaac he would not have been punished by the world, he would have been punished by God. In Kierkegaard’s society, humans get guilt and conviction from God, not government like More’s
What is a human person? How do human beings relate to God? Who am I? Why do I exist?
Our fear-driven society is mirrored in both Fahrenheit 451 and Things Fall Apart. In Things Fall Apart, their society is so drastically driven by fear that there is a justice system in place, not for the means of actual justice, but because the citizens of Umofia are afraid of the Earth god, and the demise of their town. This is apparent in their use of the “evil forest” which is where twin babies are left to die, in fear of the babies bringing evil with them. The fear of the citizens of Umofia is also seen in the punishment Okwonko is forced to carry out as a result of his gun accidentally going off and killing a boy. For this crime, Okwonko is forced to flee Umofia for seven years and his obi is burned to the ground. It is important to note, that the punishment given to Okwonko was out of the fear that the whole town would have to pay for Okwonko’s actions. This is shown in the quote, “As the elders said, if one finger brought oil it soiled the others.” P.106. This quote shows the mentality that the people of Umofia had. They lived in fear of offending the Great goddess. So much so, that they would go to exorbitant lengths to please her. They made sure to exile anyone who offended the Great goddess, because they feared the weakening of their town. Fahrenheit 451
In forming his ideas for the country of Utopia, More points out many of the problems that he sees in English society. One of the most striking examples of English social problems that More points out is the punishment of thieves. In England, thieves are punished with death. There is no distinction between the severity of crimes in the justice system and a man who steals a loaf of bread is given the same sentence as a man who kills. According to More,
Although comparing one society to another does not require them to be different in government or human behavior, it does necessarily weight one’s faults against its victories to render it better or worse than the other. This comparative structure, found between Thomas More’s two books of Utopia, poses the country of Utopia opposite the broader communities of world civilization. Despite the comparison of Utopia as distinct from and morally better than widespread society, in truth Utopia is, at best, an extension.
In The More Factor author Laurence Shames explains that Americas fascination of wanting as much of everything as possible has played a key role in building this nations character and has been evident through Americas short history. Laurence Shames claims that the so called "ethic of decency" has been absent in the American way of life and replaced by an "ethic of success". While Shames has a valid point, I consider the lack of emphasis on decency and contentment in America a positive rather negative. Shames suggests that in the 1800's Americas love of possession and want was born.
A long-debated argument in the field of Psychology has been which theory or explanation of human behavior is the most important and the most viable. Is B. F. Skinner’s theory that behavior is the result of man’s response to external stimuli or is Carl Rogers’ theory that man’s behavior is the result of his determination to achieve self-actualization the best explanation? After much research and thought, I will argue in favor of Carl Rogers’ Humanistic Theory that “emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth” (Weiten, 2016, p. 9).
The Morehead Inspiration Center is a residential recovery program, serving approximately 100 adult males, over the age of 18, that are seeking recovery from chronic alcohol or drug related addictions. The primary mission of the center is to strengthen the individual recovering from an addiction, support their families and to serve the community in which they reside. The Morehead Inspiration Center is one of ten across Kentucky that participates in the Recovery Kentucky Initiative, a not for profit organization, that was initially started by Governor Ernie Fletcher in 2005. This initiative was an attempt to address chronic addiction in Kentucky, a primary cause of homelessness. It is a 9-12 month recovery program that is peer-driven,
William Shakespeare’s “The Twelfth Night” original text and Trevor Nunn’s filmed version were both well-crafted works highlighting the director’s point of view. Shakespeare’s original work introduced the reader to a worded text that would have numerous embedded narratives which help deepen the interest in the plot moving forward. For instance, light vs. dark, good vs. evil, and perfect vs. imperfect scenarios were given specific characteristics throughout the film version-- eloquently allowing Shakespeare’s original text objectives to move forward without a wrinkle. Nunn allowed his unaligned and nonchronological sequence to somehow meet Shakespeare’s original text in the end intact with its original integrity.
“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.V.31). In Shakespeare's play titled Hamlet, Lies, deception, and foul play are all encompassed into an iconic tale of revenge. The tragedy takes place in Denmark, following the death of Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet. Shortly after his death, King Hamlet’s brother Claudius marries, the Queen, who is prince Hamlet’s mother. The ghost of the dead king later shows himself to Hamlet in order to reveal that he was actually murdered by his own brother Claudius. After the ghost instructs Hamlet to avenge his death, he composes a plan involving false insanity, to discover whether Claudius really did kill his father and how to avenge his father's death. In comparing the original Hamlet play, to movie
More seems to specifically highlight this when describing his Utopian society. For example, More describes Utopians spending idle time participating in scholarly activities, such as attending public lectures and their natural enjoyment of learning. However, More clearly asserts the significance of reason when describing the religions of Utopia. In Utopia, each religion is fundamentally the same, each guided of nature and what is natural. Doing what nature intends, which is established through reason, is the true way of worshipping God, according to the Utopians (More, 2011, p. 2011). This is consistent with the humanist theory of a higher, absolute natural law created by God and thus must be followed by man. In order discover this natural law, one must use reason. With this in consideration, it apparent that More intentionally created Utopia to represent a society of humanists, one that is adheres to all aspects of Renaissance humanism without fault.
A few thousand years ago, three sets of laws were composed that show remarkable similarities in their instructions on how to live a moral and righteous life. Although they were written hundreds of miles apart from each other, and in totally different cultures and civilizations, the Edicts of Ashoka, the Bible, and Hammurabi’s Code all elucidate the moral principles of self-control, justice, and abstention from harming living beings.
It has been discovered from multiple sources that ever since ancient times, punishment was a necessary concept in order to prevent crime or wrongdoings. Ancient laws such as the Code of Hammurabi and the Mosaic Law (or Law given to Moses atop Mt. Sinai) use different methods to attempt to prevent or minimize the unavoidable occurrence of crime. Hammurabi’s Code using retribution (e.g. an eye for an eye), and the Mosaic Law using fear of God’s judgement. Neither of these have proven to be very effective. Since the dawn of human law, new laws have emerged. others have been forgotten, and many have been refined. Logically, it would be impossible to rid society of all actions that harm another person, which means the controllers of our societies (corrupt governments backed by mega-corporations) must concoct a way to keep society from descending into chaos, while still retaining their bloated wallets. The first prisons came about almost immediately after the first sets of laws. In Ancient Greece, “Imprisonment as a penalty was used initially for those who could not afford to pay their fines. Eventually, since impoverished Athenians could not pay their fines, leading to indefinite periods of imprisonment, time limits were set instead” (Allen). For some odd reason, society has still not evolved from using the Machiavellian method of instilling fear in order to prevent rebellious acts. Our supposedly ‘wise and responsible leaders’ actually believe that by using isolation and
They both explore ethical motive as a concept and the moral impact of living according
In his work Euthyphro, Plato introduces a religiously based moral code. This code, the divine command theory, stresses the pleasing of god in one’s moral actions. Plato’s characters, Euthyphro and Socrates, take turns in a debate defending and criticizing this theory. Its flawed nature is uncovered and we as readers are able to notice its advantages and disadvantages. Using these criticisms, revisions to the divine command theory have been made. After analyzing the divine command theory and noting both its advantages and its critiques, I largely agree with the criticisms that are made about it. However, with certain revisions, it can be transformed into a reliable and successful philosophy.
One of the major connections between the two works is the relationship between morality and the state. Both differ widely on where morality comes from and whether the state’s origin is from