The Philosophical Methodology of Geneaology

This paper deals with ways history can be interpreted and influences different interpretations have on society and individuals. This is explored through

Often times a person lives their life based on how their own family would see it. Whether it disappoints or makes their family proud, it is inevitable; a person’s family will forever remain an important factor in their life, actions and the consequences that come with it. In “The Idea of Ancestry”, the author Etheridge Knight writes a poem where it is obvious that he is guilty of his actions and the shame and hurt it brings to his loved ones. Knight is haunted by the faces of his loved ones in his cell, and it is symbolic of the guilt he feels as he sits in prison and contemplates on his bad choices and addiction to heroin.

Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher who wrote a book called On the Genealogy of Morals. This book is comprised of three different essays, and the first essay is titled “’Good and Evil,’ ‘Good and Bad.’” Rather than going straight into what Nietzsche talks about in his first essay, it would be better to start off by breaking down the title of his book. The Oxford English Dictionary defines genealogy as “an account of one’s descent from an ancestor or ancestors, by enumeration of the intermediate persons.” From this definition, we can see that genealogy and history are closely related, and that history is going to play a big part in Nietzsche’s writings. In his first essay, Nietzsche discusses his theory of the origin of morality.

The study of history not only provides information about the past, but gives people knowledge and details that help shape lives, in the present and future. For the longest time it has been said that history is bound to repeat itself if it is not understood. Although the repetition of previous tragic historical events is an important reason to study the past, there are many others. As American playwright James Baldwin said, people are a part of history, but history is just as much part of them. This is one of the more fundamental reasons why the exploration of the past is vital to human beings. The study of history gives humans a sense of belonging, a feeling that

At some point of our lives, we’ve all wondered who our ancestors are, and what might

Not all is known and the facts passed down may not reveal the whole truth. History is biased and can easily be manipulated by those with more power, and it is a modern historian’s job to weed through the commonly accepted information, and try to find the truth. If the truth is not found, then they present alternative theories to broaden the world’s knowledge on the possible course of events in the

History is a subject that can define a person’s heritage. Each one is different, but can have a few similarities. Each person’s history can explain where their family originated, the culture that they are originally from, the struggles that their family encountered, and so much more. But the most important thing that a person’s history can show, is how they ended up where they are today.

Genograms are used to graphically represent a family tree and display detailed data on relationships among the individuals included in the family tree. In essence, families are complex systems that interact with kin groups in specific ways, and a genogram helps to show a diagram of a family tree, but also maps out interactions, relationships, traits, and characteristics that may otherwise not be noticed. The purpose of a genogram is to identify and understand patterns in family history which may influence an individual’s personal behavior and traits. Family Systems Theory, presented by Dr. Murray Bowen, suggests that an individual cannot be understood in isolation from their family members. According to Dr. Bowen, the family is an emotional

Exegesis and Critique of Nietzsche’s Conception of Guilt In The Second Essay of On the Genealogy of Morality

There is much speculation as to where humans today came from, until recently much was up for debate when considering where one came from. The film, The Human Family Tree, directed by Chad Cohen, produced by the National Geographic Channel in 2009 attempts to answer the question: Where did we (as humans) come from? The film’s answer to this question comes from the Genographic Project which aims to uncover the origins of humans as a modern species. “The Human Family Tree” argues that modern humans originated in Africa around 200,000 years ago. The film uses the evidence provided by the Genographic Project to support their claim.

Technological developments are growing fast and individuals can not live without technology in the modern society. People all have their moral compass and ethical boundary which limit their behaviors. As technology is widely used, the connection between technology and ethics is getting inseparably associated. In the article “Ethics and the New Genetics” by Tenzin Gyatso, he mentions the genetic engineering field’s benefit and potential harms which lead people to consider the relationship between ethics and technology. He argues that technological development advances individuals’ lives and also pushes the envelope which leads people to shrink the ethical lines and is harmful to human societies. Thus, technology is the pivotal point of humans’ moral responsibilities.Although

In this Commentary of sections 1-7 of essay two in Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Genealogy of Morals, I will give a brief overview of the text, to help with showing the content that the comment covers, the go deeper into the individual sections and relate them to Nietzsche’s way of thinking and also look into any problems or solutions offered by those arguments.

Nietzsche asserts that Judeo-Christianity is founded on a revolt of the noble race. The Jews are uncanny and creative in their invention of slave morality, as they establish Judeo-Christianity as a ressentiment of master morality. Slave morality poses as a danger to humanity because it negates life and promotes the herd mentality. We have the task of examining Nietzsche’s genealogical work, and determining whether its historical claim of the origin of morality is true. Nietzsche’s genealogical work does not include scholarly references to support his claim that Christianity is both philosophically and historically false. However, Nietzsche provides reasons that are logically valid and sound for thinking that Judeo-Christianity poses as a danger to humanity.

Recently deceased, author and historian Dr. Michel Rolph Trouillot gives an explanation to what the meanings of “history” are in his ever important work Silencing the Past: the Power and Production of History. Trouillot explains that there are two meanings of “history,” one being the

This week we learned about and studied gene based evolutionary theories that are associated with criminal and antisocial behavior. Among the theories was the r/K theory. The r/K theory is used in evolutionary biology and argues that organisms follow a continuum when reproducing (Smith, 2016, p. 17). This theory consists of r and K selection which are basically opposite of one another. When environmental opportunities allow, organisms near the r end reproduce rapidly and productively. However when doing so, not much time is invested in their offspring (Cullen, Agnew, & Wilcox, 2014, p. 71). All of the following are components of r selection: mating is emphasized, several children are reproduced, early reproduction occurs, and rapid and productive