Recognizing the Other as a Path to Morality
In Totality and Infinity, Levinas examines how people can treat each other morally. You must recognize the dichotomy of the Same (yourself) and the Other (the other person). You must recognize that the Other infinitely transcends your own categories. We see the Other by looking into their face, we communicate with the Other by using language, and by doing this, we can prevent going to war with the Other. Finally, I provide some practical applications of Levinas’ thought, such as how it can help us avoid inappropriately judging people who are of different socioeconomic levels than we are, and how it can help us understand cultural differences.
The Same is the self; it to say “I” to yourself. To
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That is, they do not recognize the face of the Other, but instead view the other person through the original person’s preconceived categories. As long as you do this, you will be unable to treat the other person ethically, because you will not see the other person as they really are, but only as an extension of your own …show more content…
For example, we might describe people with different adjectives, such as “intelligent,” “kind,” or “gentle.” Or we might say that they’re an “INFJ” according to the Myer Briggs Personality Indicator, or a “4” according to the Enneagram test, and so on. However, these tools are ultimately insufficient, since they limit the infinity of the Other through established categories.
We use language in order to traverse the infinite distance between the Same and the Other. This “distance is untraversable, and at the same time traversed” (62). Truth arises when a person recognizes the Other as such, “where a being separated from the other is no engulfed in him, but speaks to him” (62).
In every moment, we are ready to go to war with another person. We do this when hunger and fear make us think that it is worth it to hold ourselves over the other person, for “hunger and fear can prevail over every human resistance and every freedom” (35). However, we always have the freedom to resist hunger and fear, however tempted we may be, as “freedom consists in knowing that freedom is in peril” (35). It is imperative to resist the urge to treat the other as merely an object, and that we perpetually postpone this urge (35). When we do go to war, we must obscure the face of the Other, since if we recognized the face of the Other, then we would most likely not be able to go through with our war towards
In May of 1998, Kipland Kinkel brought a gun to his school. Over the course of two days this escalated from: being sent home, to murdering his father and mother, to murdering 2 students and wounding 26, earning a lifetime sentence of 111 years and 8 months in prison. In the court case being examined, the presiding judge addresses the original case, defendants ground for appeal, and the justification for the State’s decision to deny the appeal. Judge Haselton effectively uses ethos, logos, and pathos to support the Higher Court’s decision to deny the appeal because the original sentence was constitutional and just.
In Chapter 7, an example that stood out to me that is impactful to society is the obsessive avenger theme that is present with Captain Hook. In the story, Hook lost his hand in which he used a hook as his prothesis. He becomes obsessed on getting revenge on the crocodile that took his hand. In this example, it depicts someone who was once abled-bodied and then became disabled to do another person, or event. I have seen this behavior in the physical therapy office where I currently work. This man lost function of his arm, making his life difficult. He was so fixated in suing the company that “caused” his injury that it was the only topic he spoke about. He was blind sighted and therefore, he did not really care for his rehabilitation. In addition,
Five more minutes passed, then ten. Louie’s arms began to waver and go numb. His body shook. The beam tipped. The guard jabbed Louie with his gun, and Louie straightened up. Less and less blood was reaching his head, and he began to feel confused, his thoughts gauzy, the camp swimming around him. He felt his consciousness slipping, his mind losing adhesion, until all he knew was a single thought: He cannot break me. Across the compound, the Bird had stopped laughing.
“McCandless didn’t conform particularly well to the bush casualty stereotype.” Jon Krakauer, in his book Into The Wild, argues that McCandless was a unique personality who yearned for adventure. He supports his claim by the usage of epigraphs, interviews with McCandless’s acquaintances, and various maps that are indicative of where the protagonist travelled. Krakauer's purpose is to use an argumentative structure in order to convince the audience that McCandless was more complex than previously known. He uses a nostalgic and commanding tone in order to emotionally appeal to an audience who may have originally had different opinions on McCandless. In Into The Wild, Krakauer employs techniques of ethos and speaker in order to thoroughly convey
Krakauer’s argument is, “McCandless wasn’t “stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate,” but instead paints a sympathetic picture of a young man with a profound moral compass seeking a higher truth”. His effective case justifying McCandless’s behavior, which may include potential biases, is effective for most personages. This contretemps is feasible, but there are some personages, like Peter Christian, that see the flip side of Krakauer’s assessment. Peter, who “arrived in Alaska in 1992” with McCandless, said “Alaska is populated with people who are either running away from something or seeking themselves in America’s last frontier” he came to Alaska with the same intentions. In his article he states that he was one of those young man.
Nonconformity allows people to go against a prevailing rule so that they may do as they please.
“One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.” (Edwardo de Bono 2016). Susan Cain wrote the book Quiet which is about introverts as well as extroverts in today’s society. This chapter, chapter three, is about how working in groups instead of by yourself ultimately kills creativity along with everything that creativity brings to the table. Susan uses pathos, logos, ethos, values, and stakeholders to demonstrate her main ideas which are: solitude is essential for creativity which is a key trait in introverts and groupthink damages our society.
A prosecutor’s job is to find evidence to support his case against an individual accused of breaking the law while a defense attorney tries to present evidence to prove the innocence of the person accused. Neither can be truly be unbiased about their evidence but each of them is motivated to confirm a particular position. Much like a defense attorney, in his biography, Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer attempts to prove that McCandless’s tragedy was not due to his incompetence or lack of knowledge about the wild. He asserts emotions and rational onto McCandless’s experience as well as drawing similarities between his personal experience and McCandless’s in order to create a more sympathetic response from readers.
This postcard builds suspense in the reader’s mind. Alex saying that this adventure could kill him makes the reader interested in finding out more. “If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again I want you to know you’re a great man.” (Krakauer 3).
The primary election for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is to be held Thursday, September 3, 2015. This momentous occasion happens every four years. The elected chief and officials, such as council members, can run for office for as long as they see fit, for there is no term limit. Our past chief, Michell Hicks, was in office three consecutive terms for a total of twelve years. This year Hicks has decided to step down and the new candidates for chief are Patrick Lambert and Gene “Tunney” Crowe. These new candidates must be able to fill the role of a generous and successful leader to those of the Cherokee nation. The platforms of both Lambert and Crowe are used to persuade the public to vote in their favor and are extremely versed in the
In “Bring Back Flogging”, Jeff Jacoby addresses the problems within America 's criminal justice system. He gives many reasons why imprisonment simply does not work, and suggests that corporal punishment should be used as an alternative. Published in the Boston Globe, a newspaper well known for being liberal, Jacoby provides a conservative view and directs his argument towards those who strongly support imprisonment and view corporal punishment to be highly barbaric and inhumane. However, in order to shed light on our current situation, Jacoby discusses the dangers that we face though our criminal justice system a nd shows concern that imprisonment is doing more harm than good. In effect, Jacoby looks to the past for solutions, and
“People go to war because of how they see, perceive, picture, imagine and speak of others: that is, how they construct the difference of others as well as the sameness of themselves through representations,” they argue.
War is a human endeavor. Humanity continually pursues solutions to counter evolving threats with the end of preserving power while also enabling peace. Civilizations resort to war to maintain their perception of this equilibrium. Defined threats and adversaries have changed throughout history, however, the essence of human nature and the base concept of conflict itself have not. Carl von Clausewitz’s theories on warfare capture the relationship between humanity and its application of war, remaining relevant in today’s era through their pensive explanations of timeless philosophical principles regarding the concept of war. These theories regarding war in politics, the key factors affecting war, and the extent that war is applied are inherently interconnected, providing insight on the relationships between humanity and its application of war.
In response to Geoffrey Shepherd's article “It’s clear the US should not have bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki”. Shepard tries to pull us into his claim by using pathos, logos, and ethos. He uses estimates of 500,000 Japanese soldiers died from the atomic bomb. Then Geoffrey begins to state that we had an alternative spot to drop the bombs, the alternate spot we could’ve dropped the bomb would have been Tokyo Bay. It was idle and estimated that less lives would’ve been taken and would showed more of a threat to the Japanese leaders.
Advertisements are everywhere. From billboards, to magazines, to newspapers, flyers and TV commercials, chances are that you won’t go a day without observing some sort of ad. In most cases, companies use these ads as persuasive tools, deploying rhetorical appeals—logos, pathos, and ethos—to move their audiences to think or act in a certain way. The two magazine ads featured here, both endorsing Pedigree products, serve as excellent examples of how these modes of persuasion are strategically used.