Nature vs Nurture Essay Example for Free

Nature vs Nurture Essay Abstract The discussion surrounding Stephen Pinkers book The Blank Slate: the Modern Denial of Human Nature has sparks some rather interesting arguments as to whether our being is a result of nature, genetics or is it learned through nurturing. The discussion revolved around Pinkers idea that there is no such thing as the Blank Slate theory, when it comes to human nature. He believes that the human mind, like the human body, has been designed by natural selection through the process of biological evolution (Bailey Gillespie, 2002, p. 2). The Blank Slate theory derived from John Locke, a great philosopher who lived in the 16th century. In John Lockes philosophy, tabula rasa was the theory that the (human) mind is at birth a blank slate void of all characters, without any ideas or rules for processing data, and that data is added and rules for processing it formed solely by our sensory experiences. As understood by Locke, tabula rasa meant that the mind of the individual was born blank, and it also emphasized the individuals freedom to author his or her own soul. Each individual was free to define the content of his or her character but his or her basic identity as a member of the human species cannot be so altered. Implicit in this theory is the belief that individuals are infinitely and arbitrarily malleable by society: by changing the individuals environment, and thus sensory experiences, one can shape the individual with few, if any, restrictions. Steven Pinker challenges the Blank Slate theory. He thinks, we are genetically coded to be whatever we are. The experiences we encounter only have a minuscule impact on how we grow. Pinker argues about the idea of which nurture plays a more important role than nature in the development of the human mind. He believes a child is born with a personality, and parents cannot cause their children to have a different personality to that which is given. Pinker states in an interview by Bailey and Gillespie that: Blank slates do not do anything they just sit there. Human beings do things. They make sense of their environment they acquire language they interact with one another. They use reasoning to bring about things that they want. Even if you acknowledge, as you have to acknowledge, that learning, socialization, and culture are indispensable aspects of human behavior you have to admit that you cant have culture unless you have some kind of innate circuitry that can invent and acquire culture to begin with. (p. 5) Pinker also has an interesting notion, that there is no such thing as intelligence as we know it. If everyone is born void of everything, how do we explain intellectual difference among humans? One of his ways to solve the difference, because it is given to us genetically is to have its checks and balance. We have to match social structure to genetics. Pinker stated that the Blank Slate theory made divisions among humans socially, intellectually, racially and by gender. Method Participants Research participants stemmed from his research with twins where Pinker with the help of Jennifer Ganger, PhD. They gathered data. On the development of words, sentences and past tense forms in a large sample of identical and fraternal twins. In the research he looked at there gradual development of their language, if it looked like the development appear in closer synchrony in identical twins (who share all their genes) than in fraternal twins (who share half their genes, among those that vary), it would suggest that language development is paced in part by a genetically influenced maturational timetable. (Pinker research 2002 p. 1) Pinker also conducted research studies on Neuroimaging of inflection where he used (functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neural organization of language. He also used a set of projects that focused on inflections such as the past tense and plural to understand the psychology of language. I have studied how past tense forms develop in children. I studied this processed in real time during speech productions. How they vary and do not vary? and how their details, quirks and exceptions are explained by linguistic theory. (Pinker ? research, 2002 p. 1) My view of this topic is that I think to some extent we are born with some kind of personality but our experiences molds what we truly become. I do not believe that nature give us, by genetics all the things we need in life. I think we are born with some intellectual capacity and by nurturing that, we improve our knowledge. I saw an example of nurturing on an interesting episode of CBS 60 minutes. A little boy was born severely brain damaged and was blind. He could barely walk, talk or move his hands. At the age of two, his parents gave him a piano, he began playing it, and by age five, he was already playing classical music. The gene found in this child is found, is found in one in ten thousand people and it allows him to read music. He just needs to hear a sound once in its entirety and he can play it on piano minutes later. No everyone with this gene has this ability. His parents nurtured him and invoked the intellectual part of his brain that allows him to be an extraordinary musician. Our experience in life and the way we are nurture plays a vital roll in the individuals we become. In closing, I think we do learn a great deal from nurturing and we are born with a gene that gives us certain personalities. Therefore, a human being cannot be completely void. References Bailey, R Gillespie, N (2002). Reason: Biology vs. the blank Slate. http://reason. com/0210/fe. rb. biology. shtml Pinker, S (2005) http://pinker. wjh. harvard. edu Wikipedia. Org http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Tabula_rasa http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/The_Blank_Slate.

Moral and motivation report - Working with people in teams. Essay

Moral and motivation report - Working with people in teams. TERMS OF REFERENCE ================== I Amanda Robinson, Assistant Personnel Manager with James Watt Hotel, have been asked by the Personnel Manager to submit a report on the subject of Moral and Motivation within the organisation. This report is a result of problems that have been highlighted by a preliminary survey conducted by an independent body. Report to be submitted by 28 January 2003. PROCEDURE After studying the preliminary report I spent 2 weeks researching the problem of Moral and Motivation within the hotel. My research took the form of observations and face-to-face interviews. Also researched were the personnel records of staff within the hotel. My observations gave me insight into how staff interacted with each other, management and our customers. Face- to- face interviews randomly selected from various departments within the hotel gave me great insight into more detailed problems and grievances felt by a number of staff. My reasoning for researching personnel records was to collect information on indicators of low moral such as level of absenteeism, level of grievances, incidence of complaints and the high level of staff turnover. FINDINGS The following problems have been identified from the preliminary survey conducted by an independent body. * Staff believe they are overworked. * Staff believe pay is low. * Staff believe promotion prospects are poor. * Staff believe little/no training is given. * Staff believe they are not encouraged to air grievances. * Staff perceive a "them and us" attitude between them and management. * Staff believe communications are very formal. * Staff are concerned that they are not consulted when new investments/equipment is ordered. * An analysis of customer complaints suggests "unpleasant atmosphere" "miserable staff" and "poor service" throughout the hotel. The survey also revealed a wide cross-section of managerial styles. Some members of management were only concerned about getting work completed, with no regard to the welfare of employees, some were concerned with only the welfare of employees with no concern for the standard of work, and then a few were neither concerned for the employees or the standard of work. After spending 2 weeks conducting my own rese... ...peak at length. It helps employees to unload problems and it's believed that the employee benefits psychologically. Outside agencies should be used to give the interviews to eliminate interviewer bias. EXIT INTERVIEWS- This is given when an employee is leaving the organisation. This benefits the organisation as they receive a more honest reply as the leaving employees feels he can speak more easily. This can provide essential information on moral and motivation problems throughout the hotel. CONCLUSION Simply by making a few adjustment in our working procedures can have great impact on others. Simply by saying please and thank you can lift a person's spirits. At the end of the day the loser is the hotel, as customers just wont return. It is vital to remember that all changes must be on going and monitored to judge their effectiveness. Remember that a happy customer will tell only 3 people, whereas an unhappy customer will tell nine other people. For the continued success of this organisation we cannot ignore these problems. For clarity on any aspect of this report please do hesitate to contact myself, Amanda Robinson, Assistant Personnel Manager, ext 1888

The Tragic Hero of “Antigone”

Lindsey Folcik Mrs. Monzel Period 1 8 April 2010 The Tragic Hero of Antigone In Sophocles’ play Antigone, both Creon and Antigone display some characteristics of a tragic hero. Creon is the king of Thebes following the late Oedipus and his sons. He decrees that no one should ever bury Polyneices because he was a traitor to his city, while Eteocles would be buried with full military honors. Antigone hears this proclamation and decides to bury her brother, Polyneices, in order to follow the laws of the gods. They could both arguably be the tragic hero of the story. A tragic hero is usually of high birth that has a tragic flaw that causes them to fall from a great height after having a moment of recognition all too late. This comparison between Creon and Antigone will show that Creon best fits the characteristics of a tragic hero. The definition of a tragic hero includes having an anagnorsis, or moment of recognition when they realize their tragic flaw, and this is one way in which Antigone does not qualify as a tragic hero while Creon does. In the beginning, Creon is very stubborn in his decision to kill Antigone for burying her brother. Even after he hears Teiresias’ prophecy, de does not change his mind. It is not until later he realizes that â€Å"it is worse to risk everything for stubborn pride† though it is still much too late for him (235). He sees that â€Å"the laws of the gods are mighty, and a man must serve them to the last day of his life! † (236). He has not served the gods by denying Polyneices a proper burial. By foolishly rejecting the laws of the gods, his â€Å"own blind heart has brought [him] from darkness to final darkness† (242). Now he has recognized the wrongs he has committed against Oedipus’ children, which ultimately causes his downfall. Antigone, on the other hand, is aware of the consequences of her actions from the very beginning. She says to her sister â€Å"I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy†, showing that she has very consciously made this decision. She is also aware of the inevitable outcome of her decision, but it does not stop her as she says to Creon, â€Å"I knew I must die, even without your decree† (208). She ends up accepting her punishment, and still stands by her decision. Even as Creon is about to send her to her death, she says sternly, â€Å"I have not sinned before God† (227). In contrast to Creon’s blind decision making, Antigone made her rash, yet conscious, decision fully aware of the bleak ending, so she never has a moment when she realizes her flaw. In Antigone, Creon is an excellent example of a tragic hero. He has a major tragic flaw and falls from a great height. It could be argued that his tragic flaw is excessive pride. He tries to reason his decision to kill Antigone by asking the Choragos, â€Å"Who is the man here, /She or I, if the crime goes unpunished? † (209). The power of being king seems to have gone to his head. He believes that his â€Å"voice is the one voice giving orders in this city! †, which is true, but his edict is still not popular with many of the citizens (220). He is so prideful, he will even hurt his son, Haimon, to prove his point. He plans to â€Å"Let [Antigone] die before his eyes! † (222). In the end, Creon locks Antigone up in a stone vault to kill her, but he was so full of pride and did not want to be proven wrong that he was willing to hurt his son. Another way that Creon is a very good tragic hero is that he falls from a great height. This great height is the throne of Thebes. Since the death of Oedipus and his sons, he has â€Å"succeeded to the full power of the throne† (196). He is now the most powerful man in the land. Creon states that â€Å"whoever is chosen to govern should be obeyed†, and he insists on showing just how much power he holds. However, after he has his moment of recognition and his fortunes are reversed, he has fallen lower that anyone else. He says that now he has â€Å"neither life nor substance† (244). He has killed Antigone unjustly and indirectly murdered his son and wife. There is not much more miserable than that, in great contrast to his once high and honorable position as king. Through an examination of his tragic flaw and fall from grace, it is easy to see why he is a great example of a tragic hero. One of Oedipus’ daughters, Antigone, could also arguably be the tragic hero of Sophocles’ play. She has some of the main characteristics of a tragic hero, like having a tragic flaw, although she does not have a moment of recognition or fall from a great height. It seems that her tragic flaw is also excessive pride in addition to making impulsive decisions. After Creon’s decree, she refuses to give up, claiming â€Å"Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way† (191). Then, when her sister, Ismene, tries to caution her against such a rash and dangerous decision, Antigone rejects her, as she says, â€Å"I should not want you, even if you asked to come† (192). Sometimes, her great amount of pride comes off as insolence. While she is speaking to Creon prior to her death she says rudely, â€Å"Ah the good fortune of kings, / Licensed to say whatever they please! † (210). Ultimately, her pride and lack of thoughtful decision making cause her demise. But even though she has this tragic flaw, she does not fall from a great height. Her status in society is relatively low, especially compared to that of Creon. As her sister puts it, â€Å"We are only women† (191). In ancient Thebes, women are very low on the social ladder. Also, her family’s â€Å"curse† does not help her status as a woman. The Chorus says that they â€Å"have seen this gathering sorrow . . . / Loom upon Oedipus’ children† (215). The story of her father and family has brought her no honor because â€Å"The blasphemy of [her] birth† has plagued her her entire life (226). So, when she has been found burying Polyneices and is condemned, she does not fall from honor, as a true tragic hero would. Even though Antigone does posses some characteristics of a tragic hero, she does not match the definition as closely as Creon does. All in all, Creon is the true tragic hero of Antigone. He is a perfect example of one, because he has a significant tragic flaw, a moment of recognition, and falls from a very high place. Some may argue that the tragic hero is Antigone, because she has a tragic flaw. But she does not have a moment of recognition or fall from a great height. Clearly, through these examples, Creon is the tragic hero of the play. Works Cited Sophocles. Antigone. Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. The Oedipus Cycle. USA: Harcourt, 1977. 186-245.

Poetry Exercise How to Write an Ode

Writing an ode is a fun task for anyone who wants to exercise both their creativity and their analytical mind. The form follows a prescribed format that anyone—child or adult—can learn.   What Is an Ode?   An ode is a  lyric poem that is written to praise a person, event, or object. You may have read or heard of the famous Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats, for example, in which the speaker reflects on images carved into an urn. The ode is a classical style of poetry, possibly invented by the ancient Greeks from an older form, who sang their odes rather than writing them on paper. Todays odes are usually rhyming poems with an irregular meter, although rhyme is not required for a poem to be classified as an ode. They are broken into stanzas (the paragraphs of poetry) with 10 lines each, typically consisting of three to five stanzas in total.   There are three types of odes:  Pindaric, Horatian, and irregular.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ Pindaric  odes have three stanzas, two of which have the same structure. It was the style used by the Greek poet Pindar (517–438 BCE). Example:  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Progress of Poesy† by Thomas Gray.  Horatian odes have more than one stanza, all of which follow the same rhyme structure and meter.  The form follows that of the Roman lyric poet Horace (65–8 BCE). Example: â€Å"Ode to the Confederate Dead†Ã‚  by Allen Tate.​  Irregular  odes follow no set pattern or rhyme.  Example: â€Å"Ode to an Earthquake† by Ram Mehta. Read a few examples of odes to get a feeling for what they are like before you write your own. Writing Your Ode: Choosing a Topic The purpose of an ode is to glorify or exalt something, so you should choose a subject that you are excited about. Think of a person, place, thing, or event that you find truly wonderful and about which you have plenty of positive things to say (although it also might be a fun and challenging exercise to write an ode about something you truly dislike or hate!). Think about how your subject makes you feel and jot down some adjectives. Think about what makes it special or unique. Consider your personal connection to the subject and how it has impacted you. Make note of some descriptive words you can use. What are some specific qualities of your subject?   Choose Your Format   Although a rhyming structure is not an essential component of an ode, most traditional odes do rhyme, and including rhyme in your ode can be a fun challenge. Test out a few different rhyming structures to find one that suits your subject matter and personal writing style. You might start with an ABAB structure, in which the last words of every first and third line rhyme and so do the last word in every second and fourth line—the A lines all rhyme one another, the B lines do the same, and so forth. Or, try out the  ABABCDECDE structure used by John Keats in his famous odes.   Structure and Write Your Ode Once you have an idea for your subject matter and the rhyme structure you want to follow, create an outline of your ode, breaking each part into a new stanza. Try to come up with three or four stanzas that address three or four different aspects of your topic to give your ode structure. For example, if youre writing an ode to a building, you might devote one stanza to the energy, skill, and planning that went into its construction; another to the buildings appearance; and a third about its use and the activities that go on inside. Once you have an outline, start filling in the ideas using your brainstorm and chosen rhyming structure. Finalize Your Ode   After youve written your ode, step away from it for a few hours or even days. When you return to your ode with fresh eyes, read it out loud and make a note of how it sounds. Are there any word choices that seem out of place? Does it sound smooth and rhythmic? Make any changes, and begin the process again until you are happy with your ode.   Although many traditional odes are titled Ode to [Subject], you can be creative with your title. Choose one that embodies the subject and its meaning to you. Need more help when writing poetry? A number of smartphone apps are available.