Does the open source culture relate to human morality and instinct? These two topics may seem strange to compare to some people. However, this essay will demonstrate how the topic of human instinct presented in the text The Origins of Virtue by Matt Ridley very closely relates to the idea of open source culture presented in the essay Homesteading the Noosphere by Eric Steven Raymond. This essay will dive deep into ideas presented in Ridley’s text and relate these ideas to Raymond’s essay. There are many topics and ideas presented in Ridley’s text that strongly support the ideas presented in Raymond’s paper. Most notably, there are benefits to cooperation, reciprocity is ubiquitous in our society, and ordered and successful systems can emerge without design.
The idea that cooperation has benefits is presented immediately in the first paragraph in The Origins of Virtue. Ridley uses many different examples of how cooperation helps other animals and insects thrive. The example that will be discussed here in greater detail is the ant. Ridley mentions in his book that there is an estimated ten trillion ants on this planet, which weighs more than every human on this planet combined. Obviously ants are doing quite well, but what makes ants do so well for themselves? The answer is cooperation. Ridley states in the first chapter, “A single ant or honey bee is as feeble and doomed as a severed finger.
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The three major topics that were discussed in Ridley’s text The Origins of Virtue That support the ideas mentioned in Raymond’s essay Homesteading the Noosphere are that there are benefits to cooperation, reciprocity is ubiquitous in our society, and ordered and successful systems can emerge without design. To some people the idea of comparing human morality and instinct to open source culture may seem strange. However, once a person become more knowledgeable about these topics as we have described in this paper, they will find that these ideas are not so different
Aesop’s “The Ants and the Grasshopper” and Milo Winter’s accompanying illustration demonstrate rhetorical appeals in rational, sentimental, and ethical manner to persuade the audience that life is not just a question of work or fun but the way you manage both. Young children approximately between primary and third grades learn the worthy lesson of scheduling their time for study and fun. The JOURNAL OF THE CAXTON CLUB OF CHICAGO describes Milo Winter’s illustrations as one of the … “better-known of the early 20th Century” (4-5). Likewise, the AMERICANLITTERATURE.COM characterizes Aesop as a “fabulist credited” and who had been slave for many masters before working for the King, which immediately links the importance of spreading
Ara Norenzayan asserts that religion is not necessarily a basis for morality. Norenzayan is a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, giving him the credentials to discuss humans’ moral compass and its origins. However, his judgements on religion are not completely justified as he is not a religion expert. This said, Norenzayan argues that “foraging societies that give… clues… of ancestral human conditions” show they do not have religions with a basis in morality. He also gives an account of a psychological study by Henrich that uses 15 pastoral and horticultural societies that showed “greater prosocial behavior” most prominently when experiencing “economic exchange with strangers” and not just a religion.
Katy Waldman’s article, “Is Anybody Watching My Do-Gooding?” elucidates the kindness and selflessness in people to prove the claim that humans are admirable. Waldman calls to attention that humans are “reflexively pure and kind” and unfortunately are in fact shaped by and “corrupted by our hyper-rational, transactional society” (Waldman). The use of the word “reflexively” indicates automatically, or without conscious thought. This implies that humans are without a doubt, born good and pure and that, without society, humans will evidently be kind and not be shaped into embodying an evil sense.
In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, mankind is a philanthropic machine. The brotherhood nobly works together to achieve a common goal. In doing so, each man is asked to disregard his own personal means and goals. For every decision must be a collective thought and every advancement, a joint action. However, one man in this machine malfunctions.
“Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.” This quote, while neither in the play nor memoir, depicts how both the society and the individual must work together to complete a task. Without this harmony between the two, events
In the de of the Dao, the “outward appearance of great Virtue comes forth from the way alone” (Ivanhoe, 21), the Way and the Virtue are the origin of all things. Overall, species must give up human behavioral standards to reach
Werner’s story taught us there will always be evil, but as long as there is courage and community, good will prevail. By making the choices that align with our morals, by utilizing our free will, we can ensure the outcome. Werner asks himself and the reader, “Is it right to do something only because everyone else is doing it?” (Doerr 246). Werner’s story tells us the correct answer is no.
Critical Review Military Fraud: The Myth of Automatic Virtue The short story by Steve Gillman was written on the bases of his personal beliefs on the praises military received from just by joining. He starts the essay with a short paragraph saying “It is about cultural mythology that has been created in the United States, which makes all soldiers into “heroes” (Gillman 679). The most important part of this quote was that by reading it the readers would understood that he was clearly against that all soldiers where no heroes.
From the friends’ constant determination to look out for each other, to the uses of teamwork and intelligence to accomplish goals, the author successfully conveys his message to the reader. It shows the brilliance of the author and his use of literary devices to five a moral
Since human beings are born, people always try to find a general standard to judge our morality and behaviors. We call this standard as moral compass, people expect that a stable moral compass can become the rules of all human behaviors. In Hal Herzog’s essay “Animals Like Us”, he points out that people have a very contradictory mentality when they face relationship between human and animals becuause people have their own ideas and attitudes about different animals. That is why people do not have a stable moral compass when they face different animals. The same moral issues also exist when people deal with the influences about the new genetic technologies.
The combination of individualism found in the division of labor and the use of reason found in the effort to stay on task contribute to the enlightened characteristics of the passage. Specialization and everyone at the garden doing “something useful” (Voltaire 79) avoids possible “misuse of [one’s] natural gifts … the fetter of an everlasting immaturity,” which inhibits mankind from enlightenment (Kant 58). The passage describes each character embracing their freedom to use reason through unique skill sets. No longer are they unwillingly taking part in undesired occupations or
Writers like Alasdair MacIntyre, Bernard Williams and Philippa Foot have abandoned “the project of rationally justifying a single norm of flourishing life for and to all human beings.” They deny that ethics can have trans-cultural norms
Thesis Statement: Origin of Morality Outline A.Universal Ethics 1.Karl Barth, The Command of God 2.Thomas Aquinas, The Natural Law 3.Thomas Hobbes, Natural Law and Natural Right 4.Immanuel Kant, The Categorical Imperative B.Morality and Practical Reason 1.Practical Reason a.Practical Reason and Practical Reasons C.Evolution of Morality 1.What makes Moral Creatures Moral 2.Explaining the Nature of Moral Judgments F. Answering Questions 1. What is the origin of Morality: Religion or Philosophy? 2. What does religion say about morality?
The virtue theory, which pursues virtuous principles, strategies and actions, can lead companies to understand their values, including mission, purpose, profit potential and other objectives. Virtuous employees tend to perform their roles consistently and competently in the direction of the company's goals. Virtues are the kind of thing you allow someone to take action to appreciate. Business people increase their likelihood of reaching their values and goals when they reach Objectivist virtues. Virtues emphasize the importance of each employee's valuable contribution.
However, let’s forget the past, humanity evolves all the time and humans learn from their mistakes and find prohibitive measures to prevent an unethical behaviour. The time has come to extract the moral values and the good teachings from the old religious systems to adapt them to our modern life, merge them with our socio-economic systems and dissolve them all in one furnace to extract the new Eco-socio-economic system that is more forgiving and fairer to all