Sunday, December 11, 2011

For teachers or other academic/smart people... what do you think of my essay?

This is an essay based on a passage from ';Moral Man and Immoral Society';. The questions that needed to be addressed are:

What is your reaction to Niebuhr’s perception of the relationship between individuals and society? Do you agree with his “highest ideals” of each; if not, what might they be? How would you propose addressing the tensions and aspirations he articulates? How might this apply to your experience reconciling your inner life with a community of which you are or have been part?



If you want the passage it is:

“A realistic analysis of the problems of human society reveals a constant and seemingly irreconcilable conflict between the needs of society and the imperatives of a sensitive conscience. This conflict, which could be most briefly defined as the conflict between ethics and politics, is made inevitable by the double focus of the moral life. One focus is in the inner life of the individual, and the other in the necessities of man’s social life. From the perspective of society the highest moral ideal is justice. From the perspective of the individual the highest ideal is unselfishness. Society must strive for justice even if it is forced to use means, such as self-assertion, resistance, coercion and perhaps resentment, which cannot gain the moral sanction of the most sensitive moral spirit. The individual must strive to realize his life by losing and finding himself in something greater than himself.”





I disagree with Niebuhr when he says that the “highest ideal” of the individual is unselfishness and that of the society is justice. This is an oversimplification, in which he places everyone into two groups, “the society” and “the individual”. He describes them as two separate entities, when in fact the society is comprised entirely of individuals. If every individual had the same goal of unselfishness, and pursued it with any success, then that would be the collective state of the society. I believe that everyone has different ideals and goals, which is why the “irreconcilable conflict between the needs of society and the imperatives of the individual conscience” exists. If not, then the leaders of the society could simply tell the individuals what to believe, and all conflict would cease. Of course this has been attempted time and time again, which is central to Niebuhr’s reference to the “inner life of the individual and… the necessities of a man’s social life” being separate. The society can try to push its ideals and goals on an individual, in which case he will never truly adopt them as his own. This begins the conflict between the natural inclinations of humans and what they profess to strive for in the name of society.

On a larger scale, not all societies have the same ideals either. But where does one society end and another begin? Every individual belongs to several societies that all preach different beliefs. For instance, a child might be Christian, and belong to that society, which teaches him one set of beliefs that may be completely conflicting of the ideals he is taught by his peers at school, a different society. On one hand he is influenced by people at church, who teach him to believe in God, Jesus, and Heaven. He believes that if he breaks the Ten Commandments, and sins, he will be damned to an eternity in Hell. This idea is reinforced by his parents and family, another society. However, when he goes to school, he interacts with people of different religions and beliefs that inevitably and unconsciously penetrate his state of thought and belief.

The conflict between inner goals and societal rules exists everywhere, in almost everyone, on different levels. For example, I am not an athlete. Being on a sports team is fun, and I enjoy the camaraderie and friendship that comes with being on a team, but I do not plan to be an athlete, or continue competitive sports after high school. So why do I play them? Although I find it to be time better spent pursuing music, or something I am truly passionate about, the society tells me that I have to play sports to get into college. Society says that if I don’t play sports, I don’t have a “normal” teenage, high school experience. Adults believe that I am essentially marking a giant, red, “X” on my application for all potential colleges. As a result, I have always conformed to the societal ideal of playing sports, and fitting in.

In another scenario, a devout Christian is elected as ruler of a country, and it is his job to unite the society over which he presides. This doesn’t seem like a difficult task, but it is, because the large society is comprised of multitudinous smaller societies, whose beliefs and ideas conflict. There are too many divisions characterized by religion, economic class, ethnicity, etc. that all teach different values. The leader has few options. One is to force all of the citizens to convert to Christianity. This has been attempted several times throughout history, and the resulFor teachers or other academic/smart people... what do you think of my essay?
Well, I'm actually applying to Bard College at Simon's rock, too. And to be honest your essay wasn't so bad since it did go out side of the box for ahat was being asked. Yet it was way to philosophical and you should add more detail. But over all not bad... Good Luck on getting accepted :-)

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