Rousseau, Fromm, Locke

Here are the major points you should have in your notes for both of these thinkers.

***Remember, do not copy these verbatim into your notebook.  Use them as a guide to add to your notes in your own words!  You cannot use a print out of this on the quiz (nor can you use them if you copied them exactly into your notes!).

Jean Jacques Rousseau

1.  Similarities between humans and animals:

• We have similar needs (food, water, shelter)
• We are treated alike by nature (no one animal is favored over another)
• We all have a sense of self-protection
• We all have thoughts/ideas

2.  Differences between humans and animals:

• Humans are less strong and agile
• Humans have a "better constitution" (means we are more resilient and hardy)
• Humans sample from the instincts of all the other animals (so we can pick and choose what works best for us)
• Humans are "free agents"-- we have a choice to either follow our instincts or not (whereas animals always follow their instincts)
• Humans have more complex ideas:  we make connections where animals do not

3.  Humans have brought many of their problems upon themselves, including:

• Inequality
• Laziness amongst the rich
• Overwork amongst the poor
• Superficial desires
• Problems with digestion (for those who can afford "rich" foods)
• Hunger
• The torment of every day living
• War
• Murder

4.  Natural state of humanity for Rousseau:

• No speech
• No buildings
• No industry
• No war
• We are self-sufficient
• We only work to satisfy our "true needs"
• No progress of intelligence
• No progress of culture (art, music etc.)
• No education
• (For Rousseau, "progress" is not worth all of the problems it causes in #3)

5.  Origin of inequality:

• Inequality came about when people began to gather
• At gatherings, humans would begin to form bonds
• These bonds led people to develop preferences
• Example: people began to judge how "well" others sang and danced
• The judgement is what created the inequality

Erich Fromm

1. Origin of human nature:

• Human nature comes from the "social process" -- our nature develops based on our interactions with other people and our integration into the society in which we live.

2. How human nature has changed:

• We now want fame
• We now notice the beauty of nature
• We now are obsessed with work

3. Human nature is “malleable”

• malleable (definition):  moldable (changeable)
• Fromm means…most of what makes up our nature can change.  HOWEVER, it is not 100% changeable.  There are aspects that do not change, no matter what (our instinct for survival, which involves our need for food, water, shelter)

4. Static adaptation

• Define:  A change you make to adapt to a situation that does not change your personality
• Example:  Eating with a fork and knife rather than chopsticks

5. Dynamic adaptation (In this part, the example is given first, then the definition)

• Define: A change you make to adapt to a situation that changes your personality
• Example: Reacting to an overbearing parent (which may make you resentful and perhaps change you into a more defiant person)

6. Characteristics that differentiate people from each other (some people may have more of one of these traits than another, but this all depends on your interactions with others and the society you live in):

• love
• destructiveness
• submission
• sadism
• desire for power
• detachment
• desire to make yourself seem better than you are
• tendency to want to save money
• enjoyment of sensual pleasure
• fear of sensuality
• THESE ARE FLEXIBLE DURING CHILDHOOD

7. According to Fromm, the main thing that determines how we act is our need for self-preservation or survival:

• In order to stay alive, we need to eat, drink, sleep, and protect ourselves
• In order to do this in our world, we must work
• The type of work is determined by society we live in, and we can’t change this.  (In other words, if you are a teacher, you have certain responsibilities and expectations, you must change yourself to fit these, because otherwise you won't have the money to eat, have home etc.  The changes you need to make to become a teacher could influence your nature)
• The work we do (and the society we live in) determines our  nature or character because need for self-preservation/survival forces us to accept the conditions we live in.

8. Human beings need community

• Because…we need to feel connected and not alone.  We all have a need to feel as if we belong.

9. Summary of overall argument:  Human nature is shaped by

• Our need for…survival (basic instincts that do NOT change)
• Our need for…community (which can change our nature since we need to submit to the rules of the community we live in, and that may result in "dynamic adaptation")

John Locke:

1. The metaphor Locke uses is that our mind is a blank piece of paper

• Locke means…that when we are born, we have no personality or nature at all.  We are a blank slate that can be written upon.

2. Our character ultimately comes from: experience.

Parent Packet

Dear Parents,

Below you will find links to the information distributed at Curriculum Night for English 8.  I look forward to meeting you at Parent Teacher Conferences.

Best,
Vanessa Snowden

English 8 Parent Packet
Edmodo Parent Accounts

Hobbes & Nietzsche

Major Points on Hobbes & One Introductory Point on Nietzsche's "Will to Power"

Note:  You cannot print these and use them for the quiz tomorrow.  You may use these notes as a guide to make sure you have all the major arguments.  Do not copy them verbatim, or you will not be allowed to use them.  The point is to utilize the following as a supplement to class notes (not to copy them mindlessly).

1.  Hobbes argues that everyone starts off pretty much equal mentally and physically.  This leads to conflict because:

• People on the same level will naturally compete
• People who have the same abilities will likely have the same goals or desires and will compete over them.

2.  Hobbes argues there are three major causes of conflict amongst people who are equal

• Competition (see above)
• If someone lacks confidence he/she may try to attack someone else before they can attack him/her
• People who are equal will try to get a better reputation or more recognition from peers; they may try to gain this by “beating” someone else at something.

3.  According to Hobbes, when everyone is competing (what Hobbes calls a “state of war”) we can’t make progress as a society (culturally, socially, and economically):

• People do not create new ideas/inventions/products, because they are uncertain that anything good will come of it when it's every man for himself.
• People are so afraid of death that there is no room for anything else.
• This results in Hobbes stating his most famous quote: If we have no government to keep us in line,  "the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" because we are all fighting against one another.

4.  Hobbes believes we don’t trust one another at all

• We travel “armed” (this may not seem as true to you now,  but Hobbes would argue that that is because we have a strong government and laws.  That said, some people still carry mace with them, and many students at my former school carried weapons to protect themselves when they walked home, since they lived in dangerous neighborhoods...)
• We lock our doors because we think people may try to steal our belongings or harm us.
• Inside our houses, we lock cabinets, drawers, (to relate this argument to the modern world, we password-protect documents, phones etc.) because we don’t even trust our own family members!

5.  Hobbes believes that if there is no law against something, it is not a “sin” to do it.

• People don’t actually understand the difference between right and wrong.  
• We need laws to tell us the difference.
• Therefore, if there are no laws, there’s basically no such thing as right and wrong.  If there is no law against murder, it’s not wrong to kill someone!  We simply don’t know any better.

6.  Nietzsche believes that everyone strives for power

• He argues against the idea that people want happiness or pleasure (well, we DO want that, but on a more fundamental level, we want power, since we are only happy when we actually have power).
• If you have power, happiness and pleasure are the result (so you may think you want happiness, when really what you want is power)
• All of our actions, whether conscious or not, are geared towards gaining power.
• Nietzsche is, however, more concerned with complete power over oneself and one's life than power over others.  
• His theories were misconstrued by the Nazi party to further their antisemitic agenda.

Vocab - Hobbes & Rousseau

If you want to double-check your definitions, here are some notes on the words you are working on for this unit:

1. selfish:  used to describe someone only cares about him/herself
2. warlike:  used to describe something or someone that/who is prepared for war or has the characteristics of war (strategic violence, battle, use of weapons etc.)
3. naturally: an adverb to describe an action that happens without having to think or learn about it.
4. complex:  used to describe something with many different parts—often can be considered complicated or difficult to understand.
5. corrupt: used to describe someone or something that is dishonest, wicked, or even evil.
6. purity: used to describe the state of being pure, or untainted by anything “bad."  Could also be related to innocence.
7. nature: someone’s fundamental characteristics; also used to describe the universal characteristics we share when used in the context of "human nature."
8. inclination: a liking or preference of something.  When you are drawn to doing something.
9. content: satisfied with what you have.
10. conflict:  to be in disagreement or to be contradictory
11. solitary: alone
12. brute/brutish: Noun: usually someone who is insensitive or crude.  Adjective: to be like a beast or with animal qualities.
13. society: a group of people organized by common rules (religious, political, cultural etc.) and a common identity.
14. civilization: an “advanced” living condition in which there is culture, science, government, and business pursuits.
15. idle: inactive or not doing anything.
16. instinct: a behavior that people/animals occurs without thinking.  A natural impulse.
17. savage: For Rousseau, he is talking about an "uncivilized" human being.  Keep in mind, though, that Rousseau considers civilization as a corrupting force, making someone who is not civilized actually better off than someone who is civilized. That said, Rousseau's argument has been criticized for its rather racist (or at the very least, condescending) overtones.
18. diffidence: not confident, timid.
19. awe: an extreme feeling of admiration and even fear.  Usually produced by something overwhelmingly powerful.  For Hobbes, he definitely means FEAR.
20. tendency:  a predisposition or urge to act in a particular way (that is acted upon frequently). (The way I see the difference between a tendency and an inclination is that a tendency actually happens: you complete the action that you are drawn to with a degree of frequency.  On the other hand, you can have an inclination to do something, but not necessarily act on it.  Those are my thoughts on this--though let me know if you had other ideas on differentiating these two words.)

Welcome and First HW

Hello and welcome to English 8!

Here is the link for the Online Anticipation Guide HW assignment due Friday, September 7th.  (Link will become active this Thursday).

Also, remember that the first part of the summer assignment, the Philosopher Packet and Essay are due this Monday, September 10th.

Additionally, the New York Times extra credit assignment is also due Monday, September 10th.