Superson’s goal is to defeat the skeptic and does not believe self-interest is sufficient enough to do so. I understand the approach Superson is making about self-interest but I don’t think she is looking at all aspects of the topic. I think people will always act in self-interested ways regardless of the circumstances; people act according to their dispositions, not by force, unless they are being coerced of course. It is human nature to instinctively maximize our personal utility. We act in ways that we see fit, whether or not an act is considered moral is completely dependent upon the individual.
However, the citizens wanted to make their own rules to follow, sensible and understandable rules. Further on Paine explains “the sun will never shine on a cause of greater worth?” I think that Paine is saying that it is such an issue that we should look to reform it in any way so that it is more fair to all citizens. The struggle of having a King or a Monarchy for the people at that time was difficult. The community wanted a more fair and equal government, while the king was not giving that to them. Let’s take for instance when Paine refers to the past writings of another author, Mr. Pelham “they will last my time.” The name of ancestors will be remembered for their great deeds by future generations with destinies of their own.
Applying this to social action essentially creates a utopian society. Both of the ideologies acknowledge that individuals must be united through the pursuit of “the way” for it to succeed. We must ignore our individual greed because in the end everyone will suffer, society will never achieve harmony as long as we walk over other to benefit ourselves. For example according to Lao Tzu “The government is divided, fields are overgrown, granaries are empty, but the nobles’ clothes
This is because Transcendentalists believe the only way to find peace is by being self- reliant. This opinion is repeated in Thoreau’s, “Civil Disobedience Part 1”: “All machines have their friction; and possibly this does enough good to counterbalance the evil… I say, let us not have such a machine any longer” (4). The “friction” Thoreau talks of represents the lack of self-manning that becomes present in society when machines are brought in. This would be an important issue to Transcendentalists as self-manning is key to living life. When the author voices his
It seems clear that if one individual harms another, through whatever means, it makes it more difficult for the harmed individual to carry out parts of their “life-plan”. According to Mill, this is where intervention should occur. This is not a valid way of exercising your autonomy because you are putting the autonomy of other individuals at risk. This is what constitutes harm. However, the state or any other individual has no grounds to intervene if you’re not seen to harm others.
We might think that it’s impossible to change the entire world—and it is—so we passively sit and continue to complain. While complaining may seem easier, it comes with a sinister cost. It casts a shadow of helplessness and victimhood and it compounds the issue. Nothing ever changes because of criticism alone. If everyone complained and no one picked up the trash, the situation would stay the same (at best).
Brahma teaches that all things, no matter how unrelated, are part of a bigger picture or purpose, and that material goods are worth nothing when it comes to finding truth. Although both these works are, at a first glance, totally different, they both relate directly to lessons that can be followed in order to reach enlightenment. In the journey for the self, being a free thinker is difficult, especially in this society because of the increased reliance on the system. It is important to always push the boundaries and test the authority of one’s superiors because without the restriction of a higher power, truth cannot be accomplished. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest shows this kind of attitude in the scene where he wants to switch the schedule so he and the rest of the ward can watch the World Series.
These principles can only be valid when we make principles and values for ourselves by which we adhere to as opposed to following the principles of others in which we have no standpoint. Reasoning comes from the things people belief in and the ethical as well as the moral values people set for themselves. The system of government as implemented by a dictatorship has the inability to make people reason, as their reasoning capability is cut short for them by the government and they must instead follow, not reason, the instructions on how to live, act and speak. The extensive restrictions prohibit the manipulation of reasoning and in doing so; confine the amount of diversity
I would not recommend imperialization because it is unnecessary and risky. Based on this examination, the United States should keep to ourselves and focus on bettering our country before we even consider interfering with another
There is a middle ground between fear and love with a ruler because you should not have a ruler who you do not love and agree with because then there is no point into listening to him but you should not also have a ruler who you do not fear because then if just one person disagrees with him, they will take advantage of the fact that the leader is not someone intimidating and get rid of him. Leaders should have a little bit of both traits. Fear is safer than love because you never have to worry about getting killed by a traitor or anyone ever opposing you publicly. With your people being terrified of you, you will never have to go through what President JFK went through, assassination. You will not have to ever go through opposition like Mao because will be so terrified that if you oppose them, you would kill them like Mao did.