Strengths And Weaknesses Of Cynicism

Hedonism basically is how people chose pleasures over pain; pleasures are the thing that drives them in life. Aristippus’ view showed that pleasures and/or the good life were the end rather than happiness. He felt strongly that pleasures are often chased after by all people, whereas pain is often avoided. He also states that physical pleasures are valued more than intellectual pleasures because physical pleasures require more units of pleasure. Aristippus believed that people should go after the pleasures that are immediate as opposed to those that come over time.

Derek Parfit believes that split-brain cases support the Bundle Theory because split brain cases appear to demonstrate two levels of consciousness, rather than suggesting that consciousness is destroyed in people whose sub-dominant hemispheres are destroyed. The suggestion that there are multiple levels of consciousness aligns with Parfit's understanding of Bundle Theory, although his explanation of Bundle Theory does not limit itself to two dimensions of consciousness. On the contrary, under Parfit's explanation, Bundle Theory suggests an almost infinite variety of levels of consciousness, which, when taken as a whole form the experience that one refers to as a human life. Therefore, to have dual experiences of consciousness would not conflict with Bundle Theory.

“‘On the one side we have the free personality: by definition it is not neurotic, for it has neither conflict nor dream. Its desires, such as they are, are transparent, for they are just what institutional approval keeps in the forefront of consciousness; another institutional pattern would alter their number and intensity; there is little in them that is natural, irreducible, or culturally dangerous’”(para. 3).

Based on the Clifton Strengths Assessment my top five strengths are strategic, deliberative, learner, maximize and individualization. As an individual, I rarely look into my weakness. I believe that when your too focused on your weakness, you forget about your strengths. Everything the book said is true, and we need to take the time to look at our strengths and make it perfect. It is true that in this world or the school system, we are taught to look at our weakness and correct it so that we can become stronger in our life. This book brings out the truth that I longed to hear for a long time. Invariably, I hear my professor tell their students that for them success in life, they must practice and look at our weakness. This book proves it wrong because for us to become successful, we must stay to our strengths’ path.

“An opinion is a judgment based on facts”- Fowler, H. Ramsey. The Little, Brown Handbook.

Paul Taylor also mentions about his attitude of respect for natural. He basically breaks it down into 4 components. Firstly, organisms have a relationship called interdependence; it means that organisms are mutually dependent on the relation to other organisms. For example, while animals inhale oxygen gas for aerobic respiration and exhale carbon dioxide as a metabolic waste, plants absorb carbon dioxide to form carbohydrates and release oxygen as an end product. The interdependence is very important for maintaining a healthy eco-system, since every organism has their own unique biological functions.

The ease of modern technology that lets people communicate globally, the access to extraordinary mobility, and the well roundedness of people today has produced the biggest population in history that prides itself in being egalitarian and fair-minded. Psychologists have found evidence in recent studies that, although people are not as outwardly racist and discriminatory as they were in the past centuries, there is an underlying bias that can lead people to act in ways opposing their beliefs. In their book Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good people, psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald explore the ideas of unconscious identity, the judgment and treatment of others based on stereotypes and the phenomenon of association, and our inability to simply stop being biased as opposed to outsmarting it.

In his article, The Power of Negative Thinking, Oliver Burkeman discusses the realities behind excessive optimism and the benefits to negative thinking. Specifically, Burkeman argues that positive thinking hinders the preparation and motivation necessary to tackle actual real world problems whereas negative thinking allows for such preparation. His argument’s strengths come from his constant use of logic in regards to his evidence whether it be the “fire walkers” in the first paragraph or the opinions of Barbara Ehrenreich in the paragraph nine. In short, Burkeman does a superb job of championing the benefits of pessimism through his criticism on positive thinking.

“The good life” can have various interpretations to different people. Sophocles’ Antigone and Socrates in the Apology represent similar principles that guide the way in which the characters live their life. In Sophocles’ play, Antigone goes against the wishes of her uncle, Creon, to do what she believes is morally right and just. Similarly, in the Apology, Socrates defends himself against the accusations of Meletus, who claims that Socrates does not acknowledge the gods of the city and corrupts others by teaching philosophy (Apology, 28). Both Antigone and Socrates believed that “the good life” was rooted in following the wishes of the gods and doing what was right in accordance with the divine. Additionally, Socrates held the idea that

A moral panic is the public’s response to problems that seem threatening to the society. Moral panics are used by the media, however people are likely to panic out of proportion due the way it is upheld.

In the 1998 film American History X, Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for brutally murdering two black men who were breaking into his truck. Through his Brother Danny’s narration of a paper he is writing, it is learned that Derek was the leader of a large Neo-Nazi group known as D.O.C., or Disciples of Christ, that committed many acts of racial crime throughout Los Angeles. During his time in prison Derek decides that hate is a waste of time after being violently raped by fellow white supremacists, and his only friend being a black man, who was only in prison for a misunderstanding. After getting out on parole, Derek learns that Danny is headed down the same racist path as him, and decided that he must put a stop to it. Throughout this film there are many examples of the five theories of deviance; Functional, Conflict, Labeling, Broken Windows, and Differential Association. From Derek’s initial exposure to racism, all the way to him deciding to change, all five theories are exemplified through Derek, Danny, their Father, Cameron, or the D.O.C. as a whole.

Stephan Crane and Jack London incorporate naturalism, title significance and representation effectively through the relationship between God, man and nature, and life and death. Naturalism represents our individual control over our destiny and our actions as determined and limited through the natural world, specifically humanity. Stephan Crane and Jack London depict descriptive images of human despair illustrated by distressing environments and environmental forces within in their stories.

The world around us holds so many different things. There is the natural beauty of nature, found in waterfalls, and forests, deserts and beaches, that help us to appreciate where we come from. There is the supernatural, almost the exact opposite, being something that we either envy and want or despise and fear, such as witches and vampires, superheroes and magic. Everything we feel as people, as individuals plays into what we want and how we act. All of these things are aspects of Romanticism, which we can see in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

The cynics believed that the end of life is virtue instead of pleasure, and it can only be obtained by independence of all earthly and material luxuries and by living in accord with nature.The first philosopher to outline these themes was Antisthenes, who had been a pupil of Socrates in the late 5th century BC (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Cynicism is one of the most striking of all the Hellenistic philosophies. It offered people the possibility of happiness and freedom from suffering in an age of uncertainty. There was never an official cynic doctrine, but at the time of Hellenism, the beliefs were practiced by many people.

Leon Festinger created the cognitive dissonance theory as an attempt to explain why people desire to have consistency between their behaviors and actions. Cognitive dissonance is the distressing mental state people feel when they find themselves doing things that don’t fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold (Festinger, 1957; as cited in Griffin, 2009). Thus, people are motivated to change either their behavior or their belief when feelings of dissonance arise.