Humanities is a wide field of study that includes human philosophy, history, culture, behavior, literature, religion, art, anthropology, and law. Under these subjects, cultures values are defined in various unique ways. Humanities allow people to perceive values and beliefs in different ways, following the experiences, contexts, and times they encounter. This essay describes how humanities have contributed to expressing cultures values. Experiences people have through artistic works, lawmaking, poetry, religious traditions, classicism, and philosophy shape and demonstrate their cultural values.
Laws are one way that a cultures values get conveyed. For instance, the Babylonians established human rights and beliefs under Hammurabis law. Values determining punishments, fines, and guidelines for commercial interactions for the people in Babylon got built on Hammurabis code (Fiero 67). The mode of governance in Babylon was through Monarchs, who made decisions that afflicted the rights of many individuals. Through these experiences, people determined that establishing Hammurabis law would safeguard their rights from the ruthless rule of the Monarch.
Poetry and religion, other subjects under humanities, have also influenced the expression of cultures values. In ancient Mesopotamia, a great poem titled The Epic of Mesopotamia narrates a story about a character who faces great challenges before kings, monsters, and gods (Fiero 65). The poem depicts how man vainly chases glory, fame, and endless life, hence shaping their beliefs. Phoenicians, a type of ancient religion, were composed of people who had mastered the art of sea travel (Fiero 70). Having written the first alphabet in history, the Phoenicians impacted communication worldwide (Fiero 70). Due to their travel across seas, connections between overseas cultures got extended, hence the exchange of ideas that shaped our values today.
Furthermore, the teaching of good versus evil and classicism have made a basis for building on cultural values in almost all communities. The Persians established their culture of good and evil based on the lessons from the monotheistic religious tradition, guided by the prophet Zoroaster (Fiero 71). Another aspect of humanities is classism, which builds grounds for viewing things as unique or outstanding. Today, people determine the worth of something, say a film or car, depending on the classicism culture created ages ago (Fiero 33). However, people have extended this view by diversifying the foundations of determining the uniqueness of something.
Philosophy has been another essential part of shaping values in various cultures. One of the greatest philosophers in history is Plato. Plato came up with a treatise called the republic, which defined justice and described the appearance of a just society (Fiero 136). Plato provided a comparison between the level of satisfaction of the unjust and just people, getting people to think about the values they serve critically (Fiero 137). Also, Plato discusses the theory of forms, which states that an actual reality exists, and what people see or experience is only a shadow of the truth (Fiero 136). For instance, although people have different ways of showing justice and goodness, they hold a similar meaning of goodness and justice as standardized in the realm of forms.
In conclusion, shaping beliefs and values in society took various forces to achieve what people have today. Humanities have played a central role in presenting values. Cultures values are a result of the combined efforts of people who viewed life from different points of view. Through poetry, philosophy, religion, explorers, musicians, historians, and artists have promoted the expression of cultural values, building the morals and beliefs people uphold.
Work Cited
Fiero, Gloria K. Landmarks in Humanities. McGraw Hill, 2021, pp. 30-140. Web.
I do believe that cultural sensitivity is important in negotiations and that they are an important process in todays society. Foreign business talks and culture go hand in hand, with cultural variations having a significant impact on these conversations. In reality, whether a corporation is marketing to ethnic markets in its own nation or to new markets abroad, knowing cultural distinctions is crucial.
Discussion
International business talks are impacted by cultural disparities. Cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural communication abilities are necessary for international negotiations. It is necessary to negotiate, draft, sign, and then implement several agreements, including turnkey contracts, agency agreements, licensing agreements, joint ventures, and different sorts of partnerships (Hampden-Turner & Trompenaars, 2020). Negotiations are dependent on a variety of factors, including the quality of interpersonal and social interactions as well as the law and business, which are frequently stressed as the sole relevant factors.
As you have rightly mentioned, culture is a catalyst for the process of communication. Assumptions may breed mistrust and put up walls that show both parties needs, attitudes, and objectives (Barry et al., 2019). The negotiator often has a restrained and cautious demeanor. Knowing a potential business partners cultural quirks might involve anything from subtle variations in body language and word choice to how a corporation meets clients and gives feedback.
Conclusion
In general, negotiators and sellers get an advantage over rivals by investing in cultural understanding. The cultural, personal, and social backgrounds of businesspeople have a significant role in the challenges they face while interacting, negotiating, designing joint ventures, developing them jointly, and attaining them (Gates, 2022). Thus, it is crucial to comprehend and improve this area of negotiations. It will allow the organization to strive and develop new contacts while being successful in negotiations.
One of the biggest questions I have always had about the ancient Greeks was why do we give them so much credit for anything. It seems like no matter what I try to learn more about, there are elements of Greek thought somewhere involved. Studying politics, I learn it was the Greeks who put the basic concepts in place. Studying science, it was the Greeks who provided the systematic means of breaking down a question to find the answer. Learning about the arts, it was again the Greeks who brought this to the forefront and remain a constant influence on new works. As a result, when given the opportunity to know more about the ancient Greek culture and their contributions to society, I found myself focusing more on their philosophy as something that has strongly influenced the society I grew up in.
Textbook
The textbook gives a nice basic understanding of the ancient Greek philosophers. Starting with an overview of how Greek culture was largely concerned with knowledge, the text moves on to explore some of the basic schools of thought that emerged. This starts with how some Greeks concerned themselves with discovering the unity of the universe, even going so far as to suggest that all things are linked with water as a means of discovering more scientific causes than the superstitious and fanciful stories of the gods and goddesses. The Sophists developed the thought that the unity of the universe could not be discovered by mortal man, but what could be discovered was a greater state of being within man. They accomplished this primarily through the medium of rhetoric, which is still used today in a number of arenas and became the means by which future Greek scholars would act. These future scholars included Socrates, who developed the Socratic Method of questioning as a means of helping students discover the answers of life within themselves, Plato, who ensured that the world would know about Socrates and who developed his own philosophical thought including the idea of Utopia and Aristotle, who became the teacher of Alexander the Great. These men contributed a great deal of thought regarding what comprises a moral and ethical man and, by extension, what is a moral and ethical government.
The Ancient Greeks
The article The Ancient Greeks by Dr. C. George Boeree goes into much more detail regarding the ancient Greeks and their philosophies, particularly the earlier Greeks before Socrates. In doing so, he provides his reader with a much closer means of understanding the importance the Greeks had to todays society. This starts with their use of the alphabet and its distribution through their sailing efforts and continues to tell about how the Greeks developed metaphysics, materialism, idealism, epistemology, empiricism, rationalism, ethics, hedonism and cynicism. He also explores the development of Greek thought from the early Ionians and how they worked to discover the unifying element of the universe to the Greeks of Italy who focused more on mathematics in their philosophy and insistence on material evidence. He discusses an entire group that wasnt even mentioned in the textbook who he calls the Abderans who were focused more on metaphysics before he moves on to the Sophists.
Conclusion
This research really fills in the blank spots regarding how the knowledge of the Greeks has translated into the knowledge of present-day society. While the textbook focuses, like most do, on the political and ethical contributions of Sophocles, Plato and Aristotle, this article fills in the blanks regarding other ways that the Greeks have contributed to our modern thinking. I believe that any real look into the Ancient Greeks should include some of this information to illustrate that they werent just about politics and ethics, but that different groups were interested in different elements of thought.
Works Cited
Boeree, C. George. The Ancient Greeks, Part One: The Pre-Socratics. (2000). Web.
In line with Deweys writing regarding education, (39) there is a large notable distinction between inanimate things and living, in that lifeless things react from forces, which have to be grater than the resistance involved. They are not able to react against the forces to change the outcome. Living things have the ability to endure or struggle to make use of the adjacent energies such as light, materials or air to control any unfriendly forces.
If the living being is able to subjugate forces, then considering life as a self-renewing process through the reactions against environmental factors can maintain the process or keep renewing it indefinitely. This continuous renewal is growth. Research considers many aspects regarding education as growth such as possibility of existence of conditions that promote further advancement or one that shut off a person who has grown in a particular direction from advancing to another new direction. (Dewey, 2008, 29)
Thinking of life in the sense and principal of continuity through renewal, it applies that there is some literal facts over renewal of social groups. A person is born without any knowledge, language, maturity, belief, ideas or social status. There is necessity to indicate interest, information, skills and practices to form a characteristic life.
Civilization has brought great significance regarding capabilities such as enjoying social life as a transmission just like biological is. This is achievable through communication, thinking and reacting from feelings. The ideas, expectations, hopes, standards, opinions, between social groups would not survive.
According to Krueger and Mikael on Education for Growth (1126), the state where a member group educates the new groups is directed by personal interest rather than social or work necessities. It is possible to make the transmission of ideas and practices achievable by the fact that passing knowledge is progressive such that the gain is gradual day by day.
Null hypothesis
If all members of a society perished at ones, then obviously knowledge gain of the next generation would be zero because transfer occurs from one generation to another.
Research Hypothesis
It is factual and logical that there is great difference between communication and community but they both influence knowledge gain as growth. Community is the setting under the virtue that some resources are commonly used and communication is the way through which these resources are used.
Bearing in mind this differences then one can classify the resources as believes, aspirations or knowledge and therefore the physical existence is not a necessity. Living in close physical proximity does not guarantee participation or common understanding. It is possible to achieve comparable emotions or intellectual characters for instance how to respond to anticipations and requirements through reading books, mails or any other media resource. The physical separation does not compromise transfer or gaining of knowledge.
Formation of social groups not only occurs because of existing common goals, but also through consensus. Making machines to work towards achieving certain goals will never make them consult to find each others needs and purposes. In such situations, consensus will never exist. Groups may lack social relations, the individual may use each other to achieve results but without reference to intellectual or emotional consent, then the process of knowledge gain is physical.
As long as the relationship between supplier and recipient of information only involves exchange of skills, response, technique or command of tools both mechanically and economically, then there exist no true social group.
Exchanging orders alters actions or results but rarely affects sharing purposes or transfer of interest. In accordance with Fiske (48), the genuine social life is therefore identical to communication and thus educative.
One should formulate experience and modify attitudes before communicating. Formulation calls for having a different perspective to appreciate meaning. The communicator must catch phrases, assimilate them imaginatively to tell the experience intelligently. Any social or shared arrangement is educative, enlightening, simulative and enriching to the imagination. Inequality to a form that is easily communicable and usable.
Formal education
People acquire this kind of education through living with one another. In this case, education is incidental, natural and important. the measure of the worth of any social institution, economic, domestic, political, legal, religious, is its effect in enlarging and improving experience; yet this effect is not a part of its original motive, which is limited and more immediately practical. (Dewey, 2007, 9)
Religious associations cane to existence with the desire of gaining the favour from the overruling powers, to get rid of evil influences, to satisfy family lives, ensure family perpetuity remains safe and sound and ensure systematic labour to avoid entailed enslavement. These gradual changes were evident on the quality life and a directive factor over conduct of the institution. Today human intellectual or emotional reactions receive less concentration compared to the physical output.
According to Dewey (10), Association is important for young ones but this must be within developed social groups. Children are able to learn through direct pursuit of their elders because of the difference in occupations. Formal education entails directly sharing meaningful tasks through prior training. Formal teaching entrusts special groups/persons with the aim of delegating unique or complex resources and achievements.
Informal education pertains personal and vital sharing directly or vicariously while formal is abstract, symbolic, technical and superficial. In low grades, the accumulated knowledge ought to practiced or transmuted to character or meaning of urgent daily awareness. Informal data that has not been part or structure of social life remains symbolic or technical information conspicuously in schools. (Dewey, 2007, 39)
One of the biggest problem philosophy of education has to face regard the act of balancing formal and informal education and intentional and incidental methods of education. The society determines its future through by addressing that of the young. The young generation is the societys future.
The type of activities children engage with during their early life determines the future of the society. Argumentatively as Fiske (10) put it, growth is the aspect of basing the cumulative achievement through childhood en route for some future results. The basic condition that determines growth is immaturity. This does not imply absence of power, but existence of forces that positively provides chance for growth.
Physical effects on education as growth
People tend to take immaturity as deficiency of power while growth as what fill up the gap between the maturity and childhood. We regard childhood comparatively as opposed to intrinsically the standard measure being adulthood. Comparative may be legitimate but it might bring guiltiness due to conceited conjectures.
The assumption has serous consequences because of considering fulfilled growth as accomplished. The assumption may bring out the feeling that adult life has no growth. Immaturity can allocate some positive ability if considered absolutely instead of comparatively.
Absolute consideration implies that children already have the eager and passion to learn and this growth is something that will come from them. Dependence and gracefulness are two main attributes of immaturity. Getting help from others does not promote growth of skills it restrains potency. Dependence promotes growth if considered as a positive aspect or power as opposed to helplessness.
A child is physically weak and cannot convert its strength to something that helps it to tackle worldly problems. Unlike animals whose ability for growth is physical contributions, human beings infants mainly depend on the social capabilities to promote growth. Human reaction from talks or thoughts is able to equip them with the tool of social intercourse.
Native mechanism of a child tends to be simplistic over social responses. Children have the ego of self-centeredness, which is therefore against adults ego because what the children consider to be of ample importance, to the adult its not, it probably ceased to be of their interest long ago. (Dewey, 2007, 41)
Social dependence indicates power or interdependence as opposed to weakness. Increased personal dependence means more self-reliance or self-sufficiency but this may decrease the social capacity and hence lead to unfriendliness and indifference. People are suffering because they have become very insensitive in relations with others or lone rangers.
Adoptability of people for growth depends on their ability to learn through experience for the sake of latter situations or problems. Growth is therefore power to modify results of an action with regard to prior experiences to tackle later situations. Without such powers, the ability to acquire habits would be impossible. Human beings are born with huge amounts of instinctive reactions as an original specialized power of alteration that secures instant efficiency.
The ability to retain or carry on prior experiences to modification of consequent activities is a significant way of indicating the ability to acquire, develop and retain definite authentications such as habits. A habit can be termed as an ability to use ordinary circumstances to meet the needs. Habits entail controlling the organs of action in the environment. Measure of value of specialized skills or characteristics that people have such as playing a piano depends on the economical and effective control of the environment in which they are.
These habits affect adjustment of an individual or environment but their acquisition does not apparently define education. The definition of education expresses an essential part of growth but adjustments ought to be controlling measures to achieve goals. Habit is a change that affects subsequent changes in the environment. In relation to Deweys writing over Education as growth (2007, 42), the environment is fixed but people adjust to fit the environment.
Another argument is habit being habituation such that people get used to the environment through personal changes but not modification of the environment. Habits entail using something to get used to it. Habituation is the adjustment for environmental conditions, which at times we might not be interested in modifying.
Men have habits, which enables them to adapt to certain conditions and transform the environment. For ease in adaptation, one must accept, tolerate and get social contacts or active controls of the used subject. It is not easy to exhaust the significance of a habit because it entails the formation of intellectual and emotional characteristics.
Any habit is a reflection to preference and choice for the conditions involved. It actively seeks acquaintance with materials and equipments of an occasion or action, to pass into full operations. Above all, the intellectual element in a habit fixes the relation of the habit to varied and elastic use, and hence to continued growth . (Dewey, 2007, 44)
A fixed habit means a fixed hold upon routines or way of action. They are opposed to conclusions or the deliberation to decision making. Acquisition of habits entails the ability to change the responses until one achieves appropriate and effective results.
Education is development and everything depends on development. Considering life to be growth, this notion then implies that education is life. Fiske, (13) Education has no end and we ought to consider it as a continual reorganization, reconstruction and transformation. When considered in comparative terms of special trait of adult or child life, education is development.
It involves formation of habits with executive skills, definiteness of interest and specific objects of observational and thought. (Dewey, 2007, 46) Children have specific and special powers for growth. The adult will use power to transform the environment, thus promoting new stimuli that redirect power to continual development. Growth is not a movement towards a certain fixed goal but has an end.
Conclusion
The adult environment is a standard for development of the child. The power of growth depends on flexibility of the environment to accommodate learning through experience and formation of habits and needs for others. As a background for growth, a habit helps one to be in charge of environmental powers for various human purposes and general persistent balance over organic activities and surroundings. Habit is the ability to readjust activities to meet new conditions and therefore considered to be growing.
Active habits involve thought, invention and initiative as the basis for new goals as opposed to routine that is an arrest of growth. Growth is a characteristic of life that defines education as a process without an end. The value of education is the extent it creates on the desire for continued growth. Educational and cultural renaissance is therefore the voice of a labouring child.
Works Cited
Dewey, John. Democracy and education: an introduction to the philosophy of education. New York, NY: NuVision Publications, LLC, 2007
Dewey, John. Experience and education New York, NY: Kappa Delta Pi, 1998
Fiske, John. Excursions of an evolutionist, Charleston, SC: BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008
Krueger, Alan B. and Lindahl, Mikael. Education for Growth: Why and For Whom? Journal of Economic Literature Vol. XXXIX (December 2001) pp. 11011136
The Difference Between Subjectivism and Cultural Relativism
Subjectivism and cultural relativism are two similar but different views that concern morality and define approaches to examining the justifications for peoples actions. Both doctrines deny the existence of universal truth and a complete set of knowledge and ethics, substantiating it with distinct reasons. The key difference is that relativism relates the human experience to the influence of culture, while subjectivism states that right and wrong is a matter of personal opinion.
Subjectivism is grounded on the claim that knowledge is exceptionally judgmental intrinsically, and there is no universal, external or objective truth that is not viewed through personal perceptions. It entails in subjectivisms statement that a humans attitude toward morality depends strictly on the mental judgment of events occurring around an individual. Therefore, morality is subjective and personal that makes it impossible to condemn a person for their actions.
Cultural relativism is grounded on the statement that knowledge and morality are closely associated with culture or society, and there is no universal truth that is not adjusted by them. It implies that the humans approach to perceive morality depends on rules established and supported by the community. Thus, human experience in defining what is right and wrong is related to historical context, culture, traditions, and society. Subjectivism and cultural relativism are fundamentally different in truth judging and based on a unique, personal perception of morality or an already existing set of rules and behavioral principles.
Objections to the Forms of Subjectivism
Subjectivism is divided into four forms: existential choice, noncognitivist views about ethics, group and species subjectivism. All the mentioned parts of the doctrine are partially equitable and respectively conceive objections focused on examining the subjectivisms statements reliability. Existential choice is a form of individual subjectivism that covers the decision-making process regarding life and death matters. From this perspective, significant issues such as abortion or capital punishment are adopted on individuals values basis and often for no objective moral reason. This approach is exceptionally biased as different people, even within the same culture, may choose diverse options. In their turn, noncognitivist views about ethics can conflict with some basic moral perceptions. If moral subjectivism is true, then most violent crimes would be morally right as individuals are only doing what they believe to be right. Moreover, this approach may give rise to disagreement about morality and imply that everyones judgments are always correct.
Group subjectivism states that moral facts and values are not based on any objective moral realm but derive from shared attitudes that may vary from community to community. This approach implies the impossibility of disagreements adjudicating between cultures and the difficulty of separating a personal opinion from a groups beliefs. Species subjectivism is grounded on the view that ethical matters depend on human beings subjective aspects, such as emotions. During the decision-making process, people are vulnerable to emotions, as it is in their nature that results in a lack of objectivity during the consideration of morality aspects.
Objection to Cultural Relativism
Cultural relativism claims that there are no objective moral standards, while ethics is culturally relative. The mentioned statement conceives the objection to this doctrine, as it implies that matters of right and wrong can be decided by consulting societys principles. This approach deprives individuals of their unique opinions and surpasses mental processes regarding morality aspects, as the culture already defines the solution for every issue. Therefore, all the revolutionaries were wrong whenever they went against the prevailing moral code. On the other side, individuals who follow the established rules are always right inherently. The mentioned evidence reveals the imperfection of cultural relativism as a doctrine that denies progress through changes.
Human beings are very proud of history, they often spend too much time looking at what happened in the past yet there is nothing that can be done to alter the situation. This is the reason why Geothe said that he hates everything that does not improve or even energize his present actions (Nietzsche, 1983). This dwelling on the past whether good or bad will only brings harm since, as we remember the good so do the bad appear.
We ought to realize that the past no matter how glorious it was is past and we are in the present and should concentrate on making it better and happier.
When we dwell on the past, it is like suffering from a disease that slowly eats us up since we are unable to appreciate the present and what we can do to make it better. We instead become bitter and remorseful and worse still we let another precious day go to waste (Ramadanovic, 2001).
Though human beings claim to be better than animals, there is a lot they can learn from animals. Animals live in the moment; they feed, rest and leap about all day and at night they eat more then lay down to rest.
Day by day and night by night the same routine and they never seem to get bored or down cast, they indulge in the pleasures or displeasure of the moment. It is only when they look at man that they stop what they are doing to give him a critical look may be wondering why he can not be happy or why his mind is always occupied or why he can not move and leap about in happiness just like them.
Man on the other hand, tries to understand why the animals always look happy and never seem troubled by anything. The reason is actually very simple, animals live in the moment once it passes it dies naturally and they never go back to it instead, they embrace each moment they have.
The reason for mans unhappiness is that moments and experiences are stored up, they seem to go away only to come back and haunt him when he least expects them. Mans experiences are stored up in history, a history he tries very hard to shake off but simply can not let go.
Man is unable to go into a state of forgetfulness and when he does, it is in death where not only does he loose his past but also his present and become a has-been, another history. What is the use of history then if it only brings suffering in a persons living days (Heidegger, 1991).
If one is to achieve happiness, even the smallest happiness, one has to have the ability to forget the past, the history, no matter how good or bad it was. If one lives in a past that was good and full of happiness, longing and the inability to appreciate the present and what can be made of it, will bring bad feelings.
If the history is bad the same case happens, one is wishing they never went through that or thinking of the things they could have done differently and is unable to appreciate the present as gift to be happy. Happiness is about embracing the smallest of happiness in the present without interrupting it with memories of the past and using it to cultivate more and more happiness.
This is better than having great episodes of happinesss once in a while. The continued cultivation of happiness can only be achieved by a person who stands firmly against history and never be swayed by it. This is a person who will also make others happy (Nietzsche, 1983).
It is good to live unhistorical; this means not being disturbed by any past memories just like an animal and live in the moment. However, for a healthy individual, people or even culture, a balanced measure of both historical and unhistorical is important. This starts in people with the right capacity to get out of the past and foreign, to heal the wounds, pick up the broken pieces of their lives and move on with life.
This power is of different degree in each individual. Some people are able to recover from past nasty experiences and suffering and go on with their lives while others are broken by the smallest of misfortunes or injustice and their lives are sucked in it forever.
Some people can not be able to recover from a broken marriage that ends up in divorce and succumb to alcoholism while in others, this is a momentary setback they build their lives again, succeed and even give themselves a chance to commit themselves to another marriage. Others are cruel and will commit many injustices and not feel any remorse and go on with life as if nothing happened.
For a healthy individual, people and a culture, strong people who are able to bound their experiences in the horizon and cultivate cheerfulness, good conscience, joy and confidence in the future are required. These people know when to look into their past experiences for lessons and when to forget it all (Pearce, 2007).
Interestingly, Nietzsche, (1983) says that the finest of all things are done in a state of unhistorical where a person forgets all the past and the surroundings and concentrates on which he desires and strives to do. It is in this condition that a painter of the finest pieces of art works, separating himself from everything and everyone, focuses on the task ahead.
This means acting unjustly to the surrounding, never give the past a chance, thought of the possible danger and warnings are completely forgotten and one thinks in a very narrow minded manner. All his love is given to the deed ahead and the results are the greatest. On the other hand, there the suprahistorical individuals who succeed by looking into the past so as to get the courage to conquer the future.
These individuals chase happiness which is in the future and they have to work hard to get there. They look into the past so as to be able to understand the present and what they desire of the future. However, their look into the past is not in dwelling into it, it is to shed light into the present and the future thus; history serves them instead of being an impediment to the present.
In regard to this also, are those individuals who blend the past into the future to become one. To these individuals there is nothing new the future will bring that has not been experienced in the past. The world comes to an end at the end of every single moment. What I can not understand about these individuals is whether they achieve any happiness with this kind of attitude (Lovitt, 1977).
Conclusion
It is however important to note that man can not completely disregard history in the guise of seeking happiness. History is important to him.
Man cannot act like an animal since he it at a higher level that them in that he takes actions and struggles to make things happen, he preserves and respect some aspects of his life that must not be forgotten and also he experiences some things that make him suffer but, he always seeks salvation from this.
References
Heidegger, M. (1991). The Age of the World Picture. In T. Rorty, Essays on Heidegger and Others (pp. 98-127). Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.
Lovitt, W. (1977). The Age of the World Picture. In W. Lovitt, The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays (pp. 115-154). United States of America: Harper Torchbooks.
Nietzsche, F. (1983). Untimely Meditations: On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life. In T. Howard, Religion and the Rise of Historicism: W.M.L de Wette, Jacob Burckhardt, and the Theolocical Origins of Nineteetnth-Century Historical Conciousness (pp. 59-123). Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.
Pearce, C. (2007). History for Life: Simms and Nietzsche Compared. United States of America: University of South Carolina Beaufort.
Ramadanovic, P. (2001). From Haunting to Trauma: Nietzsches Active Forgeting and Blanchots Writing of the Disaster. New Hampshire: Universirty of New Hampshire
Enlightenment or age of reason refers to the cultural movement associated with the intellectual growth in the eighteenth century. This movement occurred in American colonies and Europe. The main goal of this age was to encourage reforms in the society by embracing the concept of reasoning and acquisition of knowledge through science. This period promoted science and intellectual growth, at the same time, fanaticism and abuses were motivated by the church, as well as the government representatives.
The Enlightenment period also contributed to the development of art. Philosophers emphasized on learning art besides augmenting the use of music among the middle class. Different forms of art were under development and spanned across among the middle class in such areas of specialization as philosophy, fine art and literature.
Another significant concept of enlightenment was the confidence in fostering analytical enquiry to promote happiness and progress. Sprouting about 1650 to 1700, the movement was ignited by philosophers such as John Locke, Pierre Bayle, Baruch Spinonza, Isaac Newton and Voltaire among others.
Descartes (1596 -1650) was a renowned French philosopher. He joined Jesuit College at the age of 25. The works of Aristotle and his philosophies motivated him to join college; however, at that time, he became interested in logic and classics. He also acquired mathematic skills through studying books written by Clavius. Mathematics became his favorite subject and played a critical role in shaping his way of thinking.
It is no surprise that mathematics laid a basis for his later works. After spending much of his time in Paris, Descartes began travelling around Europe, spending much of his time in Holland, Hungary and Bohemia. Some of his most influential works include; Meditations on the First Philosophy, Principia Philosophiae, The Principles of Human Knowledge and Of the visible world and the Earth.
In one of the discourses, Descartes begins with a friendly tone when describing his education. He makes it clear that he was totally discontented with the brilliant but traditional education he has gained. He explains it with the fact that education did not provide solutions which he yearned for the truth.
Descartes says to be infatuated of a vigorous mind is not enough; the essence is to aptly apply it.. the greatest mind& are open likewise to big aberrations.. This quotation indicates that Descartes has experienced a critical immersion in the gained knowledge and accepted methods of understanding nature, philosophy, and literature; however, he yearns for something greater than this, perhaps what represents an assurance of conviction.
Perhaps, Descartes viewed that traditional disciplines encompassed or confined a persons mind limiting him his/her own initiative, hence; this constrains the level of thinking and innovation. I support his idea. Besides, because of limits or boundaries always associated with education, such as rigorous curriculum and moderation, Descartes views that this inhibits a persons creativity.
Also, Descartes rejects normal modes of thinking in regard to truth. He illustrates Every person is endowed with his/her own knowledge&. That there might be &.. reformers ahead By this statement, Descartes embraces a cynical viewpoint on everything he perceives with his senses besides what he has learned.
In doing this, Descartes views that the essence of learning is being creative and constructing or coming up with something which is more vigorous and based on ones ability to think and reason. Thus, I concur with him. Every person should use his/her creativity to embrace a new revolution.
What I find more compelling about Descartes is written in Part IV of his discourse. Descartes challenges his own interpretation. Although he believes that the three things are not prone to create doubt, they complement one another; he does not believe that something has to be there to warrant doubting. This assertion intrigues me.
In his discourse, Descartes illustrates a correlation of reconstructing a house from a solid base. He extends this analogy to the idea of needing a temporary residence whereas his own house is being reconstructed. This assertion by Descartes is ambiguous owing to the fact that he is experimenting with radical doubt .
The article The Challenge of Cultural Relativism by Rachels explores the issue of ethics. According to the article, moral philosophy focuses on the issues that can steer an acceptable life. The term cultural relativism describes the moral codes embraced by different societal groups. Moral ethics differ significantly from one culture to another. The philosopher uses several characteristics to describe cultural relativism.
For instance, different communities have dissimilar moral codes. Cultural relativism also explains why there is no truth in ethics and morality. This is the case because wrong and right are matters of human opinion. Such opinions will definitely change from one region to another. Rachels also explains why there is no formula for judging peoples societal codes.
The first observation from Rachels article is that human beings tend to appreciate the differences existing between cultural groups. Every culture also has its unique moral codes. Many people strongly believe that this approach is critical towards understanding morality. However, James Rachels believes that moral relativism has numerous problems. That being the case, Rachels argues that many cultures tend to have unique opinions about different ethical issues. Such opinions vary from one society to another. He describes how different cultures dispose the dead.
The important thing is embracing the opinions supported by different cultures. However, the philosopher believes that human beings should use universal standards to understand whether specific actions are wrong or right. This argument examines why cultural relativism is inapplicable in the society today. This is true because moral relativism can make it impossible for a given culture to improve its moral values. According to Rachels, the idea of cultural relativism fails to follow the anticipated premises. For instance, the philosopher explains why universal morality is attainable and possible. This is true despite the fact that some ethical differences exist in various societies. Human beings should explore these shortcomings in order to deal with every immoral practice in their societies.
According to Rachels, cultural relativism fails to support the existence of universal moral standards. The philosopher rejects cultural relativism because it discourages individuals from criticizing the practices and beliefs of different societies. Rachels uses several arguments to explain why cultural relativism is unacceptable. The philosopher explains how cultural relativism fails to criticize malpractices such as discrimination and slavery.
Cultural relativism describes how individuals can determine what is bad or good by examining the ethical standards of a given society. The philosopher criticizes the concept of moral relativism because it makes moral progress impossible. Rachels believes that fundamental values cannot differ significantly from one society to another. These weaknesses of cultural relativism encourage human beings to formulate universal laws that can result in happiness.
The best argument for cultural relativism is that it has many problems. To begin with, the cultural practices of a given society are not different from those of other communities. Rachels believes that there are slight differences between cultures. This situation explains why a universal ethical practice can be critical towards governing all human beings. This approach will ensure there is moral progress in the world.
It is agreeable that cultural relativism is a powerful concept that analyzes the existence of different cultures. However, cultural relativism is incomplete because it ignores the similarities existing between societies. For instance, murder is an immoral action in every society across the globe. This discussion explains why the world should embrace Rachels arguments in order to produce better universal moral standards.
According to international peace academy peace keeping is essentially prevention or ending, or dealing with the effects of conflict, containment, moderation and termination of hostilities between or within states through third parties intervention. The process is organized and directed internationally by use of multinational military impartial between conflicting parties, in practice, at least four or five nations participating (Roger Fisher et al, pp 79). The operation also uses the police and civilian personnel to restore and maintain peace and has rules of engagement and actual practices on the ground ensuring minimum use of force consistent with achieving of the mandate of the force (SNOW, par 34).
Main body
Conflicts are defined as disagreements between parties perceiving a threat to their needs, interests or concerns. States respond to the perceived threat through hostility or wars, as the durability of the interests and concerns of the parties transcends the immediate presenting situation. Participating states in a conflict tend to respond on the basis of their perceptions of the situation. As such, they filter their perceptions (and reactions) through their values, culture, beliefs, information, experience, and other variables (Ting-Toomey, pp 64).
In most cases states or governments that find themselves in conflicting situations with neighbours or within their boundaries are forced to avoid the eventuality of peace keeping forces when the acknowledge that their citizens should be spared the effects of conflict. International pressure makes them realize the importance of peace and peaceable behaviour so as to promote stability in their regions and other regions.
These issues make the states or governments to negotiate with their antagonist to arrive at agreeable solutions to the causes of hostility. Negotiations help them facilitate further economic cooperation and trade promoting even further forms of cooperations and restorations of positive images of their states in cases of humiliations or defeats where war was involved.
A case study of the Israel Egypt conflict and the acclaimed Camp David accords highlights the need for negotiations in conflict resolution. The 1978 Camp David accords were made after 13 days series of negotiations between Israel and Egypt. The negotiations took place under American mediation with Egypt president Anwar Sadat and Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin. They were taken at the time to be the most comprehensive agreements between Israel and Arab nations. Credit is given to the Israels presidents effective bargaining tactics which were optimal by the then standards of foreign policies. tangible results of the accords was that Israel traded the Sinai peninsular captured in the war for peaceful coexistence with Egypt, while both states ended up with financial and aid packages from America. There by terming the negotiation successful.
During the negotiations Egyptian objectives were primarily financial as the wars of 1967 and 1973 had left the Egyptian state drained financially. the war ended catastrophically for the Arab nations with Israel having occupied the Sinai peninsular, Golan heights, the whole of Gaza strip, west bank including Jerusalem. The illusion of the Egyptian military might in the Arab nations besides the financial recovery need public reaffirmation. The new president Anwar Sadat after the death of the previous president Nasser had very little options but lay claim to the occupied land as Sinai peninsular was part of the sovereign Egypt. To regain integrity and honor lost during the wars. But as noted by the president himself the cost of the war was much greater financially than the loss of land. During the same period other Arab nations had benefited greatly from the proceeds of oil but Egypt had not instead lost a lot. He reasoned that the nation would gain more in peace initiatives than war and the gains were to come from the American aid. As previous financial aid from the soviet unions had not improved their financial need the president reasoned that negotiating with Israel and making some concessions in line with the American interests would give him the much needed financial aid to reconstruct his country. The Egyptian president was the first to initiate the discussions of ceasing hostility as while the war was on he made a call for international conference to be held under the United Nations for establishment of peace in the Middle East. The president went further even to offering the Israel people the idea of peaceful coexistence with him traveling the border of the two nations. But he had two objectives in his mind, to reclaim the lost land and to get financial aid.
Even if the same problems that were facing Egypt at the time were evident with the Israel as a state, the need for peace in the Middle East by freeing most of the defense budgets for the more productive uses, Israel had not only the financial objectives but also the territorial aspirations in the proposed negotiations. By way of decreasing the defense budgets both countries under negotiations realized well that they would be boosting their development by intra regional trade specializations and cooperation in joint economic projects besides taking advantages of comparative trade.
It territorial interests were much more in line of gaining some recognition within the Arab world. Israel needed to have some kind of buffer zone in the Sinai area and some earlier boundary changes with Egypt along the red sea. They needed a right of navigation in the red sea and the gulf of elating the negotiation Israel expected to gain a territorial controlled strip from Mediterranean to Eilat. The territorial boundary instigation were that the cultural deference between the Israel and the Arab people were seen to too big and the mistrust between the two groups was so profound as the fear of the Israel people was so high for them to be comfortable with the Arabs. The Arabs on the other hand insisted that Israel was not supposed to exist in the first place and that was the primary causes of the war. These were the differences seen in the multicultural aspect of theses negotiations (Davidheiser, para 10). The accords were therefore an attempt by the Israels securing existence among the Arab world.
The Camp David negotiations used the optimal strategy in negotiations for both parties for it to have been that successful as noted by many international relations scholars. The Israels negotiating team highly used the strategy of issue displacement. Though they new their problems were more to do with the problem of the Palestines west bank and Gaza strips they highly insisted on retention of the Sinai territory. This deception of the intention made the Egyptian assume that the Israel was more accommodating. Begin was able to play that game refusing to negotiate on issue of settlement to the last minute while at the same time taking the position of a bully by threatening the Egyptian all along while knowing very well the Americans had no option but to make sure the accord were successful. Begin knew very well that the Egyptian Sinai issue was central to their demands and having occupied he had all the power to threaten them so as to manipulate the American to adhere to most of the Israels demands such as increased financial aid. This made him to seem superior to the Egyptians and actually that position adopted by the Israel made the whole negotiations to be under very high levels of suspicions and contempt from the American and the Egyptians. The Egyptian negotiator was more accommodating and accepted much of what was given by the Israelis as he managed to regain the Sinai peninsular and the sovereignty of his country in return to cessation of hostilities against Israel. Sadat was less successful in enforcing deceptions as he is noted to have been more trusting to the mediator. This helped the America president at the time to be able to negotiate from an informed point. The optimal deception displayed by the Israels earned them much concession while the Egyptians amateurism in negotiation was only helped but the mediator as he had noted the openness that Sadat had started the negotiations with. while negotiations are seen as bargains for possible agreements between parties, the gains accrued for one party are a loss to the other party. The optimal bargain requires that you assume some position in the bargaining table so as to achieve maximum from the negotiations. Optimal negotiations necessitates that you have project a tough position to make the other party concede more to your demands. This is where deceptions and issue displacements as strategies come into play. These are best achieved when threats and coercions are used to achieve the desired goal.
Conclusion
Coercions with their limited use in negotiations are highly used in the games of negotiations as appropriate responses to the mutual mistrust present between the parties. Optimal bargaining are essentially position based bargaining and as such grants the party that chooses to use it a dominant position over the other party. Once dominance is established the party has the capacity to go on and issue threats and ultimatums to force the other party to concede more to your demands (Ting-Toomey, pp12). This strategy was highly used by the Israels negotiation team. The goals of all negotiations are achievement of a mutually agreed accord and Camp David managed to arrive at these. It is hailed as a successful negotiation as Israel managed to get to remain with the Golan Heights and the Palestine land of Gaza and west bank. the results of those accords were that the was also the cessation of hostility between the two countries along their common border as Sinai was traded by the Israels for increase anti terrorism activities efforts to be undertaken by the Egyptian, while both countries ended with bigger financial packages from the American.
Works cited
Camp David Accords (1978): 2008. Web.
Conflict Research Consortium Staff: Book Summary of Getting past No: Negotiating With Difficult People by William Ury, 2007: Web.
A states political culture is a crucial factor, which influences many aspects of forming social policy issues as well as impacts the establishment of public opinions significantly. A political culture is an essential tool that creates an overall idea about the government and its perception among citizens, therefore influencing each states decision-making process in the government. This essay will discuss the notion of political culture itself and its various types that differ from state to state. The uniqueness of every kind of political culture will be reviewed and compared to each other, with provided examples of its influence on social policy. The factors of the states political culture and its effect on public policies will be determined and analyzed.
Determining What Political Culture Is
To analyze the influence of political culture on the states social policy, one must define precisely what political culture is, and what the nuances of its existence are. Political culture can be interpreted as deeply rooted norms, values, and beliefs of a citizen community, which influence the perception of politics inside the state and play a vital role in their lives. It can also be defined as the reflection of government with a combined set of already established traditions and values that directly influence current authority. Foremost, political culture determines the dynamic of the citizen-government relationship; therefore, it also affects the process of creating and implementing social policies inside the community.
Types of Political Culture
In the United States of America, cultural politics can be divided into three branches, which were initially identified by Daniel Elazar, who justified their diversity as the reason each state has a different approach to adopting various social
policies and opposing views to upholding issues (Smith and Greenblatt, Governing States and Localities). The three branches of political culture are the following: individualistic, moralistic, and traditionalistic. Within the individualistic type of political culture, communication between the government and a citizen is similar to marketplace communication. The government is pursued in the form of an individualistic mechanism as a way for citizens to achieve their own goals (Smith and Greenblatt, Governing States and Localities: the Essentials).
The government is expected to provide its citizens with highly approved policies but is not perceived as a tool whose purpose is to form the ideal united society. Each individual seeks personal benefits from it. Therefore, political culture in individualistic nature affects social policies in such a way that they follow their own needs in the first place. The state of Texas remains one of the brightest examples of individualistic culture with its policy that denies personal or corporate income tax. Moreover, elections demonstrate the individualistic culture better than anything. In Texas, election attendance remains extremely low less than half of the citizens turn up for presidential election and only thirty percent for gubernatorial.
The complete opposite of individualistic political culture is moralistic. It is determined to achieve collective goals through the government and form a right and just society (Smith and Greenblatt, Governing States and Localities: the Essentials). The moralistic culture model envisages the active participation of citizens in political life with the primary goal of achieving the overall wellness of their community. In this case, the states social policies are mainly aimed at greater society rather than separate individuals.
Moreover, the government puts the public interests as a priority and has a positive influence on the lives of citizens. A great example of a moralistic culture influence on social policy is the legalization of same-sex marriage. The government prioritizes the needs of society and decides what is better for a community as a whole. Communism society was similar in some parts to moralistic political culture. The government put the needs of an individual citizen first and allowed a person to work as much as one wanted to gain the resources they thought were enough.
Traditionalistic political culture does not have any similarities to individualistic or moralistic cultures. It refers to the one where citizens do not concern themselves with the government and carry on conservative views to preserve their well-established society (Smith and Greenblatt, Governing States and Localities: the Essentials). Usually, citizens do not show much interest in the political life of their states and refer to its representatives as the province of the elite.
The only concern of the citizens is to maintain the existing social order. Countries with the traditionalistic political culture commonly carry conservative views and frequently oppose any change in social policies that contradict with their current beliefs and require any changes. An example of traditionalistic social policy is stringent restrictions or a complete ban on abortion because it is perceived as a murder of a live organism. Such policies represent traditionalistic conservative views.
States with constant individualistic political culture are situated in the northeast of the United States, except for a few that are in the Midwest. Those states that represent moralistic culture are located in the north-western part of the country. And lastly, southern states represent the traditionalistic political culture. That explains the different concepts and radical disparity in the social policies between different parts of the country. For example, moralistic and traditionalistic states have contradicting views on the abortions issue, which is caused by different views formed by political cultures. Moreover, the difference between the approaches to the government is what makes social policies throughout the country so diverse.
The political culture, in many ways, follows an idea of supporting the individual well-being of the citizens prior to forming them. It gives community the in-control feeling over the government and provides people with an opportunity to become a part of collective decisions in the vital creation of policies. When people are coming out on peaceful protests with a belief in policy changes by the government, it allows them to be a part of the democratic society, which can influence the decision-making process inside the country.
Because in different parts of the country, people perceive government in different ways and have many opposing views of political cultures, their involvement in government life varies significantly. For instance, with moralistic political culture, citizens show a very high interest in any decision-making process of the government. That is why in the states with such political culture, protests, and petitions to defend ones views are more common.
People reflect a strong desire to use politics to construct the best possible society (Smith and Greenblatt, Governing States and Localities: the Essentials). For instance, influencing government to spend more money on social programs that would benefit the society reflects the urge to change the community through politics. Therefore, social policies in those states reflect the best interests of the citizens. However, in the states with traditionalistic political culture citizens are not usually politically involved, and only concerned about maintaining the current society, thus, the influence of political culture on different social policies is not as apparent.
Political Cultures Impact on The States Public Policy
Many types of research were conducted to determine the effects of political cultures on public policies. Numerous studies have found that the dominant political culture shapes politics and policy in significant ways. Policy change and innovation, for example, are more likely in moralistic states, where citizens are more likely to change their points of view to suit the greater good of their community.
Elections can be a solid example: it would not be significant if a candidate belongs to the party one does not support, if he/she is motivated by the idea of a greater community and follows has intentions. In this case, a voter may change their party identification but for the belief in a greater good. Another example of such social policy is an affirmative action, the primary goal of which is to minimize discrimination of all means through strict measures with a purpose to ensure equality for everyone. Individualistic states are more likely to create policies that chase the personal interests of citizens. Traditionalistic states tend to support old, long-time stated policies without any urge to change or modify them to the standards of the modern world.
Concluding, political cultures impact on the states public policy is inevitable, and many examples show that political culture plays an essential role in forming public opinions towards the government. By determining the different branches of political culture, it became clear why different states have such contradictive views on similar issues.
Works Cited
Smith, Kevin B., and Alan Greenblatt. Governing States and Localities. 5th ed., Sage, 2016. Web.
Smith, Kevin B., and Alan Greenblatt. Governing States and Localities: the Essentials. CQ Press, 2013. Web.