2010 HSC Question Analyse how the central values portrayed in King Richard III are creatively reshaped in Looking for Richard The work of Pacino is able to creatively place Shakespeare’s core ideals of humanist philosophy and the corrupting influence of power within a modern context, to reveal the perennial nature of the playwright’s central values. Shakespeare’s King Richard III (1592) identifies hereditary power as a potent force when the natural order is usurped. Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard (1996) sees power within a democratic time and thus presents it as privilege, not a God-given gift, yet the two maintain a similar view of the dangers of authority without balance. Shakespeare’s time demanded a negative portrayal of Richard’s humanist ideals, where blame is placed upon the King’s lack of Christianity for his abhorrent acts. Pacino, however, contends with a time where it is increasingly becoming the norm, but still contends with a society that can be considered moral devoid in some manners, and thus the importance of spirituality and thought is evident in both.
This essay aims to prove ethical objectivism by using the form of moderate objectivism. I will first prove the truth of the various premises of this argument and then consider the strongest objection against moderate objectivism that is the queerness argument. The queerness argument put forth by Mackie is in favour of error theory. Firstly, there is a need to establish that there is a common human nature; there is a common set of interests that is independent of cultural influences. A common human nature is an ambiguous term to use and it is impossible to establish that everyone have the same interests.
To use the limited to pursue the unlimited is simply foolish. While Confucius argued that the only way to achieve a successful and meaningful life was to learn as much as possible in order to find the way, namely by studying everything around you. This is the biggest difference between the two philosophies. Confucius believed that above all else; emphasizing personal and governmental morality and correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity is the most important aspect of life. Chuang Tzu believed that how we perceive things are directly related to each of our separate pasts, or our “paths”.
In other words, truth is an illusion. Similarly ethics and morality are social constructs. In other words, faith becomes more important than science or logic. The central tenets of Postmodernism includes elevation of text and language as a fundamental phenomena of existence, questioning of reality as represented because of inherent flaws in language, and a general critique of western institutions and knowledge (Kuznar, 2008). It is evident that there is a fundamental tension between the two world views.
a) Culture bias is a tendancy within psychology theory & research to ignore differences between cultures and impose understanding based on a single culture, mainly weastern. The most significant of which, ethnocentrism. A term used to describe the belief of superiority of ones own culture. The opposite of ethnocentrism is cultural relativism. The idea that all cultures are equaly respect, and cultural research is a way of seeing another way of life.
For example, if you were to compare classical music against a modern pop song, he would likely hail the classical work as musically dynamic, sophisticated, and refined, while dismissing the pop song with an upturned nose. All forms of “high” art are intrinsically better than cultural products that fall under the category of “popular” culture. To Adorno, “high” culture is not just about appreciating and collecting the most important works in the world, but also about shaping the everyday
This paper will argue that Robert K. Merton’s theory of anomie is a good foundation for the explanation of deviance in society; it is far too general in its assumptions and much too vague in its consideration of certain circumstances. The paper will begin with a review of Merton’s theory and then point out the how his theory succeeds in providing a universal explanation of the incidence of many forms of deviance, while failing to explain the occurrence of “white collar” crime and crimes of passion, assuming a uniform culture, and ignoring other theories which state that it is in fact the structure of society that deters us from deviance. The concept of anomie was originally developed by Emile Durkheim in his 1897 book, Suicide. Durkheim used the term anomie, which he borrowed from the French philosopher Jean-Marie Guyau, to describe the lack of social regulation in modern societies as one way that could raise suicide rates (Durkheim, 1897). The criminologist Robert Merton, applied Durkheim’s concept of anomie to modern industrialized societies, and redefined the term as the structure of a society in which there is a significant gap “between valued cultural ends and legitimate societal means to those ends” (Akers, 2000).
Second, he argues that it is only by virtue of something being sentient that it can be said to have interests at all, so this places sentience in a different category than the other criteria: "The capacity for suffering and enjoying things is a prerequisite for having interests at all, a condition that must be satisfied before we can speak of interests in any meaningful way" (175). That is, Singer is trying to establish that if a being is not sentient, the idea of extending moral consideration to it makes no sense. This negative argument is important, because one common criticism of Singer is that his criterion ends up excluding humans who are no longer sentient (like those in an irreversible coma); Singer is content to accept that consequence, but it is important that he show why the exclusion of some humans by his criterion is not problematic, given that he has criticized other criteria
Could you imagine how history or our literary works would be altered if only one person stood up and said that it was wrong? Similarities between McCarthyism and The Crucible is the key to understanding this literary work. Both are centered around the belief that manipulating people for their own good is justified. The act of making unfair accusations leading to investigations and trials without regard to evidence or truth is the main theme to both. Standing up for what is right and true, regardless of what the outcome may bring you should be the norm.
Several questions stand against its reliability. Functionalism could be described as the most generalized and ineffective of the sociological schools. It is not logically in synch with variability between cultures and it cannot effectively explain change. Still, it has its strong points, such as its ability to explain crime and deviance. Functionalism essentially serves as the most conservative of the sociological schools of thought.