Discussion Questions for Friday - 15 views

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  #1 cj_woldanski on 28 Oct 11

   

  Hey everybody, so here are some questions that I have for you on the assigned readings
  
  1. In the first article, author Steven Pinker illustrates that as a human race we have become more and more less likely to be as violent as the previous generations. My question for you is, do you think that the human race will continue to reduce in violence or do you think that we could backtrack and become the savages we once were? Provide examples as why you agree with either one.
  
  2. In the second article, it describes the how people rise to power. Do you think that politicians obtain power as a way to achieve greatness for themselves or greatness for the polis? Are there other factors that come into play when someone is trying to win this power?

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Hey everybody, so here are some questions that I have for you on the assigned readings <br /> <br /> 1. In the first article, author Steven Pinker illustrates that as a human race we have become more and more less likely to be as violent as the previous generations. My question for you is, do you think that the human race will continue to reduce in violence or do you think that we could backtrack and become the savages we once were? Provide examples as why you agree with either one. <br /> <br /> 2. In the second article, it describes the how people rise to power. Do you think that politicians obtain power as a way to achieve greatness for themselves or greatness for the polis? Are there other factors that come into play when someone is trying to win this power?</div>

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  #3 Tavish Dunn on 28 Oct 11

   

  I believe the reduction of violence will continue. As technology advances, people's needs can be met more easily. People are also held more accountable by the speed at which information about people's past crimes against the law and people can be accessed through newer media outlets such as the internet and television. Our culture has also become more aware of violence in the world and tolerates its presence less. A more pessimistic argument would be that violence in the world is decreasing because our capacity for violence has increased. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union opposed each other, but neither wanted to take action directly against the other because of the arms buildup. The main thing preventing a third world war was the knowledge that it would bring greater destruction as nuclear weapons became an option to more countries than just the United States. Although we could become savage again quickly if something dire happened, I believe that the trend will continue, even if it seems to be progressing slowly at times.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I believe the reduction of violence will continue. As technology advances, people's needs can be met more easily. People are also held more accountable by the speed at which information about people's past crimes against the law and people can be accessed through newer media outlets such as the internet and television. Our culture has also become more aware of violence in the world and tolerates its presence less. A more pessimistic argument would be that violence in the world is decreasing because our capacity for violence has increased. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union opposed each other, but neither wanted to take action directly against the other because of the arms buildup. The main thing preventing a third world war was the knowledge that it would bring greater destruction as nuclear weapons became an option to more countries than just the United States. Although we could become savage again quickly if something dire happened, I believe that the trend will continue, even if it seems to be progressing slowly at times.</div>

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  #4 Gaby Ramirez Castorena on 28 Oct 11

   

  I think that violence will be reduced with time, but we will never completely live under full "peace". That being said, I think the possibility of us backtracking into the savages we once were depends solely on the exterior factors such as food scarcity, natural disasters, etc. As for the matter of power, I think politicians obtain power for both reasons. Politicians may start with the belief of obtaining power for the sake of bettering the polis, but with time this notion gets lost in what the side effects of power are, and thus they create a combination or power for their own sake, and power for the sake of the polis.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I think that violence will be reduced with time, but we will never completely live under full "peace". That being said, I think the possibility of us backtracking into the savages we once were depends solely on the exterior factors such as food scarcity, natural disasters, etc. As for the matter of power, I think politicians obtain power for both reasons. Politicians may start with the belief of obtaining power for the sake of bettering the polis, but with time this notion gets lost in what the side effects of power are, and thus they create a combination or power for their own sake, and power for the sake of the polis.</div>

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  #5 Bethany Petersen on 28 Oct 11

   

  I would like to believe that the human race will keep becoming more and more peaceful. While the carnage of the 20th century was dwarfed in comparison to that of ancient times, that does not necessarily mean that it was less horrific. I think that the most influential force that drives recent generations toward peace is the sheer fear of the destruction that a full-scale war would bring, not necessarily their respect for human life. While wars did not kill the same percent of the population, new technology brought with it the power to kill more people in a single day (around 300,000 died at the Battle of Verdun), and definitely have the power to dwarf the carnage of ancient times. I think that the tension of the Cold War in a sense still exists today- people are too afraid to use military action against another nation for fear of retaliation.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I would like to believe that the human race will keep becoming more and more peaceful. While the carnage of the 20th century was dwarfed in comparison to that of ancient times, that does not necessarily mean that it was less horrific. I think that the most influential force that drives recent generations toward peace is the sheer fear of the destruction that a full-scale war would bring, not necessarily their respect for human life. While wars did not kill the same percent of the population, new technology brought with it the power to kill more people in a single day (around 300,000 died at the Battle of Verdun), and definitely have the power to dwarf the carnage of ancient times. I think that the tension of the Cold War in a sense still exists today- people are too afraid to use military action against another nation for fear of retaliation.</div>

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  #6 Taylor Rofinot on 28 Oct 11

   

  I feel that the amount of violence will dwindle but it will never become nonexistent. As Bethany says we as humans are more concerned with destruction than with the respect of other humans. As humans we have managed to progress from stoning for nonviolent offenses to finding that immoral. Because of all of the technology that we have it makes it much easier to cause destruction and kill others but because of the way that we feel about destruction we somehow find ways to control all of these technology advances.
  
  I feel that while politicians propose things that idealistically would be perfect for the polis they do focus on issues that are more self serving. In a way we as humans do that because we are a very selfish group. We always want things to occur in the polis that would also benefit us personally. When trying to win the power it is always best to focus on big social issues especially issues that cause people to think with emotions because then the voters are going to pay more attention to your campaign.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I feel that the amount of violence will dwindle but it will never become nonexistent. As Bethany says we as humans are more concerned with destruction than with the respect of other humans. As humans we have managed to progress from stoning for nonviolent offenses to finding that immoral. Because of all of the technology that we have it makes it much easier to cause destruction and kill others but because of the way that we feel about destruction we somehow find ways to control all of these technology advances. <br /> <br /> I feel that while politicians propose things that idealistically would be perfect for the polis they do focus on issues that are more self serving. In a way we as humans do that because we are a very selfish group. We always want things to occur in the polis that would also benefit us personally. When trying to win the power it is always best to focus on big social issues especially issues that cause people to think with emotions because then the voters are going to pay more attention to your campaign.</div>

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  #7 Andrew Rothans on 28 Oct 11

   

  I believe violence will reduce and crime rates will go down, as they have been in the past years. I do not believe we will become savages one day we will always have our morals and never relapse to how we once were. There will always be violence in the world, but I dont believe it will be great violence turning into another "World War". I believe politicians obtain power to achieve greatness for only themselves. Politicians will do whatever it takes to achieve greatness even if it is wrong or against their morals. When people try to achieve greatness and power, sometimes they step on smaller people on their way up. They will do whatever it takes even if they must abandon how they really feel.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I believe violence will reduce and crime rates will go down, as they have been in the past years. I do not believe we will become savages one day we will always have our morals and never relapse to how we once were. There will always be violence in the world, but I dont believe it will be great violence turning into another "World War". I believe politicians obtain power to achieve greatness for only themselves. Politicians will do whatever it takes to achieve greatness even if it is wrong or against their morals. When people try to achieve greatness and power, sometimes they step on smaller people on their way up. They will do whatever it takes even if they must abandon how they really feel.</div>

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