Who is John F McLennan? :: Essays Papers

Who is John F McLennan? John Ferguson McLennan was born on October 14, 1827. Although his life centered on a legal career he always had the desire to enter the academic world. McLennan studied law in Edinburgh, Scotland. He practiced under the Scottish bar until 1870. However, he was not a successful advocate of this profession because instead of studying and supporting the law he chose to argue over its conventions. This is shown by the fact that in 1868, he became the secretary of the Scottish Society for the amendment of the Law (Rivià ¨re). Primitive Marriage was published in 1865 and according to J.B. Tylor was a type of law book that had â€Å"the natural and immediate effect of losing him half his briefs (Rivià ¨re)." McLennan’s dissatisfaction for his chosen profession prompted him to apply for a professorship at Cambridge. His interest did not stop there and McLennan continued to interacted with those in the science community. His house became an informal meeting place of the academic co mmunity that discussed literary and scientific findings. Interestingly enough McLennan was not apart of the Ethnological Society of London which included notable figures of the time including Sir John Lubbock and E.B. Tylor. The main objective of the society was to inquire â€Å"into the distinguishing characteristics, physical and moral, of the varieties of mankind which inhabit or have inhabited the Earth; and to ascertain the causes of such characteristics (Burrows, 122).† McLennan’s feud with Lewis Henry Morgan became a topic of controversy in the 19th century. They meet in London in 1871 and initially became quite good friends. In fact Morgan knew of McLennan’s desire to enter the academic world and wrote to President of White of Cornell University encouraging him to give McLennan an academic appointment. Their relationship took a turn because of their disagreement over â€Å"the validity of their respective evolutionary frameworks, the nature of relationship terminologies, and the true meaning of exogamy and endogamy (Rivià ¨re).† McLennan’s dispute with Morgan masked the main adversary to his work, Sir Henry Maine. Maine’s Ancient Law promoted McLennan to place his own ideals in an evolutionary framework and at the same time disputed Maine’s patriarchal theory. Although Primitive Marriage is not an apparent attack on Maine’s theory, McLennan’s disagreement appears more strongly in his later works. McLennan used the comparative method as well as the universal belief of human nature to try to answer the question of marriage by capture.

Plato and Aristotle: An Analysis Essay

Determining the best form of political association was important to the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, and each of them expressed his opinion in important works such as the Republic and Politics. In explaining, comparing, and contrasting the political philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, it is evident that each of them shared the same goal of identifying and promoting the best form of political government. They also shared in common the same philosophy regarding the origins of a political state. The State arises, Plato says through Socrates in the Republic, â€Å"out of the needs of mankind. † (Plato) Aristotle agrees, and declares that the state is a political partnership that exists for purposes of self-sufficiency as well as for the sake of living well. In other words, the State exists in order to provide for the well-being of its citizens. Aristotle expresses this in Politics when he argues, â€Å"the good life is the purpose of the city-state. † (Aristotle) Furthermore, both Aristotle and Plato agreed that Man is by nature a political animal, because he has the ability to express his thoughts about justice. Their respective analyses reflected their respect for justice, and their elevation of it to the highest priority. In the Republic, Plato defines just political rule as a system in which each interest is satisfied to the proper extent and everyone has what is theirs. The philosophers have the knowledge they want; the warriors have the honors they want; and the commoners have the goods and pleasures they want, under the enlightened guidance of philosophers and warriors. The methods of Aristotle and Plato were similar in many ways. They both utilized logic, evaluations of contemporary politics, and lengthy comparisons of various types of political rule to arrive at their conclusions. As citizens of ancient Greece, they both shared much the same outlook on society, religion, morality, and politics. They also shared similar historical perspectives, and their perceptions of contemporary events were formed through the same philosophical context. One of the contrasts between their methods is that Plato used analogies to make his points. He examined a political state by comparing the state with the human soul. Unlike Aristotle, he also used a style of approach in which he made his points through dialogues involving Socrates. He also designed an ideal state run by people he referred to as â€Å"The Guardians† which differed from Aristotle’s approach in Politics, in which style and form more closely resembled an essay or monologue. In Politics, Aristotle emphasized that correct political rule involves pursuing policies which are to the common advantage of the most people. Aristotle reasoned that rulers who placed their own interests above everyone else’s had no political legitimacy, for their tyranny brought suffering upon their own people. Aristotle described the best forms of political rule as kingship, aristocracy and polity, and described the worst forms as tyranny, oligarchy and democracy. Plato was also harshly critical of tyranny, and described it in the Republic as, â€Å"not a matter of minor theft and violence, but of wholesale plunder, sacred and profane, private or public. † (Plato) Both men’s methods involved a comprehensive analysis of the consequences of each form of rule. Aristotle criticized Democracy because its consequences were rule by the multitude, which causes injustice. He criticized Oligarchy because its consequences were rule by the wealthy, which also causes injustice; and he criticized Tyranny because its consequences were dictatorship, which again causes injustice. In terms of the merits of the citizenry, Aristotle notes that the people may collectively be the best judges of certain things, so it is justified for them to take part in deliberations. But like Plato, he feels that the common people are not qualified to share in the highest offices. Both Plato and Aristotle also agree that laws need to be made in accordance with the regime, and agree that the more just a ruler is, the more just the laws will be. Essentially, both Aristotle and Plato asserted that the goal of politics should be justice. One difference between them is that Plato believed that the best claim to rule was education and virtue, although he conceded that there is also a claim to rule based on wealth and on numbers. Another difference is that Aristotle emphasized that the most important task for a leader was to be a lawgiver, and to frame the appropriate constitution for the city-state. In Aristotle’s system, it was the leader’s duty to provide enduring laws, customs, and institutions for the citizens. According to Aristotle, once the constitution was in place, the ruler needed to take the necessary steps to maintain it, to implement reforms when he considered them necessary, and to guard against any subversion of the political system. Aristotle’s emphasis on a constitution sets him apart from Plato, who considered philosopher kingship the best form of political rule. Aristotle described a constitution as â€Å"a certain ordering of the inhabitants of the city-state,† and as â€Å"the way of life† of the citizens. (Aristotle) He also speaks of the constitution of a community as â€Å"the form of the compound† and argues that whether the community is the same over time depends on whether it has the same constitution. (Aristotle) It should be noted that despite the fact that Aristotle’s political views were influenced by Plato, he was very critical of the ideal city-state set forth in Plato’s Republic. He based his criticism on the grounds that Plato’s ideal city-state overvalued political unity, embraced a system of communism that was impractical and inimical to human nature, and neglected the happiness of the individual citizens. In contrast, in Aristotle’s view of the ideal State each and every citizen would possess moral virtue and the equipment to carry it out in practice, and thereby attain a life of excellence and complete happiness. All of the citizens would hold political office and possess private property because â€Å"one should call the city-state happy not by looking at a part of it but at all the citizens. † (Aristotle) In conclusion, the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle were both concerned with identifying and promoting the best form of political association. In works such as the Republic and Politics, they used similar methods of analysis to evaluate the best form of political rule. For Aristotle, the best form of political rule corresponded to the best way of life for a human being. Since the best way of life is living nobly and according to virtue, the best political form of rule is the one which promotes this kind of life. For Plato, the best form of political rule was Aristocracy, for it involves rule by the best people in the political community. Bibliography Aristotle. Politics. New York: Dover Publications, 2000. Plato. Republic. New York: Viking Press, 1955.

Eye Contact And Nonverbal Communication - 962 Words

Eye Contact in Nonverbal Communication Another important aspect of nonverbal communication process is eye contact. In America, eye contact is very important but it is different in some cultures and countries. For example, Muslims often lower their graze and try to not focus on the opposite sex features except for the hands and face. In fact, lustful glances to those of the opposite sex is prohibited in their cultural. In addition, the Japanese culture view eye contact differently. According to (SITE), Japanese children are taught in school to direct their gaze at the region of their teachers Adams apple or the tie kot. As adults, the Japanese culture lower their eyes when speaking to a superior as a gesture or respect. On the contrary, in America, teachers prefer students to engage in eye contact because it indicates that they are alert and following along to their lecture or peers. According to (SITE), a study conducted in Germany which infants were examine during their first 12 we eks of life. The researchers studied the relationship between eye contact among the infants. After watching the videos, the researchers measured the mutual eye contact between the mother and the infant by looking at the overlap in time when the mothers looked at their infant’s face. In addition, the study found that the amount of eye contact between the mothers and infants increased over the first 12 weeks. The mother who held eye contact with her child during four weeks was described asShow MoreRelatedEye Contact And Nonverbal Communication1184 Words   |  5 PagesEye contact: Eye contact is fundamental when imparting as it tells the beneficiary you are tuning in, demonstrating an intrigue and understanding messages. The absence of eye contact could mean the beneficiary is not hearing you, so you may need to consider advances to help with this. 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