The Right Thing Theory
My personal views coincide with those of the author for this week’s essay prompt, who praises the practicality of Locke’s theories while renouncing the overtly idealistic ones of Rousseau. I agree with the author’s analysis that Locke’s theory holds more merit and is more persuasive than Rousseau’s. The author of the excerpt makes a compelling argument that Rousseau’s theory of human nature is naive and not applicable to reality. Rousseau's theories are inapplicable to reality because they are far too idealistic and fail to acknowledge the self-interested aspect of human nature. The argument from the essay prompt is a strong analysis of the philosophers because it effectively uses a personal anecdote to support Locke’s theory that a desire
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In Do The Right Thing this type of behavior is demonstrated through the demeanor of Sal and his son Pino, who are both reluctant to identify with the predominately African-American neighborhood that they operate their business in.Although Sal and Pino do not identify with the community that they operate their business in they are still an integral part of it.This leads to them placing stereotypes on the members of the community that eventually results in violence. One particularly interesting aspect of Sal and Pino is that they both are both fond of individual African-Americans, both in their own society and in popular culture, but succumb to the societal pressures that push for a racial divide between the different racial groups. This aspect of their character demonstrates Rousseau’s naivety when he argues that equality and idealism are inherent and important aspects of human nature. Locke’s theory, on the other hand, provides a persuasive explanation why Sal and Pino act in the manner that they do. Locke’s theory explains that the characters act in a bigoted manner as a means of asserting their superiority by “transgressing the law of nature….to live by another rule than that of reason and common equity”(Locke,53). The importance of the correlation between these characters in the film and the argument presented in the essay prompt is that Sal and Pino demonstrate that their value of in-group security and self-interest takes precedence over any desire for equality and
In Do The Right Thing this type of behavior is demonstrated through the demeanor of Sal and his son Pino, who are both reluctant to identify with the predominately African-American neighborhood that they operate their business in.Although Sal and Pino do not identify with the community that they operate their business in they are still an integral part of it.This leads to them placing stereotypes on the members of the community that eventually results in violence. One particularly interesting aspect of Sal and Pino is that they both are both fond of individual African-Americans, both in their own society and in popular culture, but succumb to the societal pressures that push for a racial divide between the different racial groups. This aspect of their character demonstrates Rousseau’s naivety when he argues that equality and idealism are inherent and important aspects of human nature. Locke’s theory, on the other hand, provides a persuasive explanation why Sal and Pino act in the manner that they do. Locke’s theory explains that the characters act in a bigoted manner as a means of asserting their superiority by “transgressing the law of nature….to live by another rule than that of reason and common equity”(Locke,53). The importance of the correlation between these characters in the film and the argument presented in the essay prompt is that Sal and Pino demonstrate that their value of in-group security and self-interest takes precedence over any desire for equality and