Essay on Evolutionism - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1066 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/09/19 Category Anthropology Essay Type Narrative essay Tags: Scientific Essay Did you like this example? Essay Critically discuss the Nineteenth Century theory of Evolutionism in relation to the social development of cultures. Critically discuss the Nineteenth Century theory of Evolutionism in relation to the special development of cultures. Anthropology originated in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Missionaries, traders and travellers in Africa, North America, the pacific and elsewhere provided the first great anthropological works. Anthropology is the holistic study of the biological, social and cultural aspects of mankind, paying particular attention to the relationships between our physical and cultural natures and between culture and the environment. Anthropology is basically the study of the human species and its immediate ancestors. Early ‘thinkers’ such as Hume, Smith and Montesquieu wrote about primitive institutions which they argued about amongst themselves. Their conclusions were not based on any scientific that could be tested but from principle s found in their own culture. They laid the foundations for modern social anthropology believing that universal laws found in nature could be applied to human society. The thinkers were concerned with social evolution and progress. The term evolution was popularized during the 19th century by Herbert Spencer to mean cultural evolution. Evolutionists were those who believed that the cultures and life forms being studied are evolving to a particular form. Evolutionism is the idea that this universe is the result of random cosmic accidents, life arose spontaneously through chemical processes and all life forms are related and share a common ancestor. Evolution is a process of formation, growth and development from generation to generation. Socio-cultural evolutionism describes how cultures and societies have changed over time. In the nineteenth century Edward B. Tylor maintained that culture evolved from simple to complex and all societies passed through three basic stages of dev elopment which was originally suggested by Montesquieu. The three stages are called the lines of human progress which states that man evolved from savagery to barbarism and finally to civilization. Man became civilized after discovering pottery. To account for cultural variation different societies were at different stages of evolution. Simpler people of the day had not yet reached higher stages. Some societies were more evolve than others. Evolutionists believed Western Europe had evolved from a backward society to a more advanced society. Simpler contemporary societies were thought to resemble ancient societies. More advanced societies exhibited traces of earlier customs that survived in present day cultures, this was known as ‘survival. ’ Pottery is an example of survival, earlier people made their cooking pots out of clay, today pots are most often made with metal because they are most durable but dishes are preferred to be made out of clay. Tylor correlates t he three levels of social evolution to types of religion: savages practicing animatism, barbarians practicing polytheism, and civilized man practicing monotheism. Tylor formulated a definition of culture: â€Å"Culture or civilization is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society,† Tylor believed that because of the basic similarities common to all peoples, different societies often find the same solutions to the same problems independently. Tylor also noted that different cultural traits may spread from one society to another by a simple means of diffusion which means the borrowing by one culture of a trait belonging to another as the result of contact between the two societies. Lewis H. Morgan was one of the most influential evolutionary theorists of the nineteenth century. In his book Ancient Society, he divided the lines of human progress into the three stage s and further divided savagery and barbarism into upper, middle and lower segments. Each stage was distinguished by technological development and connected in patterns of subsistence, marriage, family, and political organization. Middle savagery was marked by the acquisition of a fish diet and the discovery of fire, upper savagery by the bow and arrow, lower barbarism by pottery, middle barbarism by animal domestication and irrigated agriculture, upper barbarism by the manufacture of iron, and civilization by the alphabet. Morgan believed family units became smaller and self contained as society became more developed. Johann J. Bachofen developed a theory of evolution of kinship systems which was agreed upon by Morgan. Morgan believed in the theory of ‘primitive promiscuity,’ which means that human society had no sexual prohibitions and no real family structure. Primitive promiscuity can be divided into ‘matriliny’ where descent was traced through the female only, ‘patriliny’ where descent was traces through the male only and ‘polyandry’ were several husbands shred one wife. Morgan believed that family units became progressively smaller and more self-contained as human society developed. However, his postulated sequence for the evolution of the family is not supported by the enormous amount of ethnographic data that has been collected since his time. For example, no recent society that Morgan would call savage indulges in group marriage or allows brother-sister mating. Modern social anthropologists regard these reconstructions as over amplifications of events that can never be known in detail. The efforts of early writers were only historical enquiries. At this stage it became clear that there was no evidence which could detail the earliest stages of society and few societies developed in total isolation of other human cultures or outside influence. The evolutionists became unpopular by the nd of the nineteenth century. The school of Diffusionists became popular, they brelieved tahat cultural change and progress were mainly due to borrowing because items of culture were mainly transmitted from one society to another. Despite the errors of the nineteenth century scholars, modern social anthropology owes much to their efforts because of their interest in the social institutions of different societies and the methods used to draw conclusions. The current anthropological view concentrates mainly on the institutionalized aspects (kinship, marriage and religion) of culture taking into account systems of belief, values and ideas. Modern anthropology relys mainly on fieldwork which is the gathering of data which organizes, describes, analyzea and interprets to build and present that account which may be in the form of a book, article or film. The latest investigations regarding early humans is that mankind started at hthe bottom of the scale and worked their way up from savagery to civilization through the slow gain of knowledge. Reference: * Introduction to anthropology 101 (course book 2010) * Culture vs civilization https://www. edwardjayne. com/culture/fallacy. html * https://www. as. ua. edu/ant/Faculty/murphy/436/evol. htm * Wikipedia * Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Essay on Evolutionism" essay for you Create order

Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto Essay - 1097 Words

Donna J. Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto Haraway’s provocative proposal of envisioning the cyborg as a myth of political identity embodies the search for a code of displacement of the hierarchical dualisms of naturalized identities (CM, 175), and thus for the breakdown of the logic of phallogocentrism and of the unity of the Western idealized self. Haraway defines the cyborg as a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction (CM, 149). Her argument is introduced as an effort to build an ironic political myth faithful to feminism, socialism, and materialism (CM, 149). She claims blasphemy and irony as her vantage tools. Blasphemy invokes the seriousness of†¦show more content†¦Cyborgs are technological constructs and thus deny the logic of reproduction; they rather mock the masculinist reproductive dream (CM, 152). They have no memory of a primary state of innocence; they conceive of no Father’s saving through the restoration of a garden –they don’t recognize the Garden of Eden in that they do not re-member the cosmos (CM, 151). As they build no sense of community on the model of the organic family, they live outside the oedipal project –they are wary of holism, but needy for connection (CM, 151). Though the offsprings of militarism, patriarchal capitalism and state socialism, they are illegitimate offsprings and thus unfaithful to their origins. The late twentieth century scientific culture in the United States has experienced three crucial boundary breakdowns: the boundary between human and animal is thoroughly breached the boundary between human and machine has become leaky and ambiguous the boundary between physical and non-physical has become very imprecise –in that the experience of fluidity and lightness made possible by signals and electromagnetic waves renders the physical both material and opaque, very near to quintessence. When boundaries are transgressed, the transcendent authorization of interpretation is lost, and with it the ontology grounding Western epistemology (CM, 153). If cyborg myth is about the transgression of boundaries, as Haraway seems to posit, it envisionsShow MoreRelated`` A Cyborg Manifesto `` By Manfred E. Clynes And Nathan S. Kline1429 Words   |  6 PagesThe cyborg figure is a common fixture in both science and science-fiction. The term, coined by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline in 1960, refers to an organism with enhanced functionality due to the incorporation of a mechanical component (Clynes and Kline, 27). The animal-machine hybrid was a figuration and embodiment of the modern era’s lust for technology as a means of pushing the human towards what was often militaristic and capitalist ideals. However, in her groundbreaking essay â€Å"A CyborgRead MoreEssay Relationship of Women and Technology in Cyborg Manifesto1181 Words   |  5 PagesAbstract: Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto discusses the relationship of women and technology. Summary Critique of ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’ Donna Haraway’s essay, ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’ is an analysis of women and advanced technology in a postmodern world. Haraway uses various illustrations to focus on women’s relation to the technologically scientific world, she uses the metaphor of a cyborg to challenge feminists and engage in a politics beyond naturalism and essentialisms. She also uses theRead MoreFeminism And Cyberfeminism1712 Words   |  7 Pagestheory with a universally accepted definition, but rather centers on a number of central ideas and practices. However, it is generally accepted that the preliminary concepts of cyberfeminism, namely the idea of a â€Å"cyborg,† were presented by Donna Haraway in her 1984 piece â€Å"A Cyborg Manifesto.† While her article was written in the mid 80’s, Cyberfeminism achieved popularity in the late 80’s and 90’s in relation to the blossoming technological advances, particularly in computers and the internet (Paasone nRead MoreAn Analysis Of Haraway s Manifesto Manifesto Essay1375 Words   |  6 Pages In a world invested in (overly) determined-biological authenticity, its margins will be populated by the identified and self-identifying cyborgs. This is not a coincidence. Haraway’s Manifesto strongly suggests that in such a mixed subjugated population emergent opportunities for political alliances based on affinities thrives. She reminds us that cyborgs do not/cannot respect traditional boundaries and are therefore driven by ‘survival’ (294) imperatives to reach across, to break through, to shatterRead MoreA Cyborg Manifesto Essay1789 Words   |  8 PagesIn Donna Haraway’s essay, â€Å"A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century† it is an effort to establish a political point of view on Feminism which an ironic political myth which is authentic to feminism, socialism, and materialism. Her motive is to build a structure that is faithful to feminism and socialism, â€Å"To build an ironic political myth faithful to feminism, socialism and materialism.†(p.149) Haraway develops her ironic myth by hypothesisingRead MoreThe Vampire Is Not A New Manifestation Of The Fears Of A Society1815 Words   |  8 Pagesconcepts of creation and origin in order to forge a new identity for the vampire in literature. She truly stands as a stepping point toward the elusive cyborg – a new biological citizenship being crafted by her very existence in Butler’s universe, and what else is the cyborg but an attempt at that very determination of self? Before addressing the cyborg, the concept of the â€Å"other† and its place in Butler’s novel must be addressed as the bridge between the two theories. Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel was oneRead MoreThe Relationship Between Technology And Humanity2331 Words   |  10 Pagesthe cyborg. Haraway’s cyborg is a concept which emphasizes the blurring of divisions and the combination of man and machine. Haraway states in her work A Cyborg Manifesto that by the late 20th century â€Å"we are all chimeras, theorized and fabricated hybrids of machine and organism. In short, we are cyborgs.† (292).3 What she is proposing through her philosophy is that, even if humanity were not originally any sort of technology, we have essentially become technology over time by becoming cyborgs. Humanity’sRead More Capitalism, Marketing, and the Insidious and Covert Co-optation of the Self6482 Words   |  26 PagesCapitalism, Marketing, and the Insidious and Covert Co-optation of the Self Subtitle: A Manifesto for Avatars 1. Introducing Avatars AVATARA-Sanskrit.; ava-down, tarati-he goes, passes beyond literally, a descent, a conception described in the Bhagavad gita, 4th Teaching, 1-8 where Krishna confides: when goodness grows weak, when evil increases, I make myself a body. (OED) Originally referring to the incarnation of Hindu deities, avatars in the computing realms have comeRead MoreSocial Media And Its Effects On Society1266 Words   |  6 Pagesof â€Å"A Cyborg Manifesto† viewed technology as mostly positive. Technology creates people just as much as they create it. Her definition of what a cyborg truly is, â€Å"[that a] cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction† captures the idea of humans becoming cyborgs due to being exposed to technology (Haraway 291). Haraway also brings feminism into the mix, bringing up another definition of a cyborg: â€Å"the cyborg is a kindRead MoreThe Importance of Philosophy to Engineering8110 Words   |  33 PagesVenturis playful postmodern architecture is the playfulness of a skilled engineer39. Franà §ois Lyotards postmodern condition of self-reference mimics the self-referential iterative practices and processes of engineering design40. Donna Haraways border-crossing coyote-cyborg could not exist without biomedical technology.41 For literally thousands of years human making and using relied on what was given in nature. Under such conditions, artifice remained unalterably limited in both quantity and substantiality

Food Law, Food Safety Risk Management Free Essays

string(129) " officers are permitted to enter the premises of a food business operator whether they are in or outside the authority’s area\." Introduction Details needed from Mrs Its Disgusting In order to make a thorough investigation into the food complaint that has been made by Mrs Its Disgusting, it is necessary to take some details from her so that the actual cause of the complaint can be determined. This is also necessary in establishing whether the bakery in Elsewhere has breached food safety legislation by manufacturing and distributing the scones. Once the relevant information has been gathered, it will then become clear what the best course of action to take is, having regard to the Food Law Enforcement Policies of Somewhere Local Authority. We will write a custom essay sample on Food Law, Food Safety Risk Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now The exact details of the bakery where Mrs Its Disgusting purchased her scone will be needed so that an investigation of the premises can take place. The time and day in which the scone was purchased is also required as well as the details of who served Mrs Its Disgusting. This will enable the correct premises to be identified and will ensure that no time is wasted trying to locate the bakery. It will also be necessary to find out who actually purchased the scone from the bakery and whether it was eaten on the premises or off the premises. The reason this information is needed is because it may affect the duty of care that was owed as shown in Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] UKHL 100. Furthermore, it will also be necessary to find out whether Mrs Its Disgusting altered the scone in any way by spreading butter and jam onto it or whether she actually purchased the scone like that. This will help to determine liability since there is a possibility that there was no glass in the scone when it left the bakery. Furthermore, it will be necessary to find out whether any other food was purchased from the bakery and the condition of it. It is also important to find out if there is a likelihood that someone could have tampered with the scone subsequent to it being purchased and before Mrs I-D took a bite out of it. In finding this out, Mrs Its Disgusting will need to be asked whether the scone is in its original state and whether it has been kept in a refrigerator or not. Finally, Mrs I-D’s address and telephone number will be needed so that she can be contacted during the investigation and both Mrs Its Disgusting and Mrs I-D will have to sign a food complaint form to state that they are happy for an investigation of the problem to take place and that they will act as witnesses if the Council decide that legal action is appropriate. The following questions will need to be asked; Has the food been stored in a safe place Has the food been tampered with any time after it was purchased Are there any other packages apart from the one that you have provided me with Was the scone part of a pack and if so do you have the remaining scones Could you tell me exactly when and where you purchased the scones and at what time Can you provide me with specific details as to how you handled the scones from the time of purchase up until you discovered the problem What did you do with the scone after you discovered the glass Can you tell me exactly how the food has been stored before and after the problem was discovered Has you or Mrs I-D been affected by this What injuries did Mrs I-D sustain as a result of the broken glass and do you have a medical report in relation to this Are you and Mrs I-D willing to give evidence in court if necessary Investigation Steps Once all of the necessary information has been gathered from Mrs Its Disgusting and Mrs I-D it will then be determined whether an investigation is necessary and what steps will need to be taken. Since it is the responsibility of all enforcement authorities within the UK to ensure that food businesses comply with the law (Food Standards Agency, 2011, p. 4) it is evident that an investigation will be needed. This is because, under the Food Safety Act (FSA) 1990 and the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations (FHR) 2006 it is an offence for any person to sell or process food for sale which is harmful to one’s health (Rochdale Metropolitan Council, 2012, p. 1). Furthermore, although the food was baked in a bakery in the neighbouring food authority, Elsewhere it will still be appropriate for the enforcement officer in Somewhere Local Authority to investigate this case because this is where the food was actually eaten. Since Mrs Its Disgusting found glass in a scone she purchased from the bakery it is evident that this would be harmful to her health as this is a serious matter which needs to be dealt with accordingly. Under Reg. 6 (1) of the FHR and section 10 of the FSA it is made clear that an enforcement officer authorised under the FSA may serve a notice on the food business operator ordering them to improve their business if they have reason to believe that the business is failing to comply with the Hygiene Regulations. In doing so, the officer will thus be required to; â€Å"State the officers grounds for believing that the food business operator is failing to comply with the regulations; Specify the matters which constitute the food business operators failure to comply; Specify the measures which the food business operator must take in order to secure compliance; and Require the food business operator to take those measures within a certain time period† (Reg. 6 (1) (a)-(d)). In deciding if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the food business operator is failing to comply with the regulations the officer would need to enter the premises and take necessary samples of the food being produced. Under Reg. 14 (1) of the FHR officers are permitted to enter the premises of a food business operator whether they are in or outside the authority’s area. You read "Food Law, Food Safety Risk Management" in category "Essay examples" Furthermore, under Reg. 12 the officer will also be permitted to take samples of food or articles so that they can be used as evidence in the event of proceedings. If any samples are taken, the officer will then need to decide whether they should be examined under Reg. 13 and in accordance with their powers under section 9 of the FSA. Regulation EC 178/2002 provides the general traceability provisions which will provided the officer with the ability to trace and follow the food being produced by the baker through all st ages of production, processing and distribution (European Commission, 2007, p. 1). As part of the investigation process, it is also necessary for the enforcement officer to send details of the food complaint to; the manufacturer or importer of the food; the bakery where the food was purchased; and the Elsewhere local authority. This is because, the comments provided by the manufacture of the scones and the bakery may be able to establish what caused the problem and an overview of the precautions normally taken will be provided. In addition, they will also be able to demonstrate what steps will be taken in the future to prevent this from happening again. The Elsewhere local authority will also be able to â€Å"provide information on hygiene conditions at the production plant, the precautions taken and how well they usually comply with legal standards† (Embridge Borough Council, 2012, p. 1). Once the investigation has been undertaken, it is then up to the officer to decide whether an offence under the FSA has been committed. Since the bakery has rendered food that is injurious to health, it is likely that an offence under section 7 (b) of the FSA will be found. This is because an article appears to have been used as an ingredient in the preparation of the food which had caused Mrs I-D to sustain injuries. In deciding whether the appropriate action shall be a warning letter, formal caution or prosecution, the seriousness of the offence and the steps taken to avoid any future mishaps will need to be considered. Regardless of this, however, if the bakery is able to demonstrate that they had taken all reasonable precautions to avoid problems such as this from occurring then they may be able to put forward the ‘due diligence’ defense as provided for under section 21 of the FSA. If it can be shown that the person involved in the sale of the scones had acted with due diligence to prevent the commission of an offence from occurring then that person will not be found negligent (Wild and Weinstein, 2010, p. 627). Because of the broad nature of investigations, it is likely that the process will take a number of months since a lot of in-depth information needs to be gathered. This is because unless all of the relevant information is attained, a proper review of the case cannot be mad e and the due diligence defense will not be made out. On completion of the investigation, the officer will be required to write to Mrs Its Discgusting informing of the action that shall be taken. If the matter has been resolved informally during the investigation no further action will be taken and the food business complained of may want Mrs Its Disgusting’s and Mrs ID’s details so that they can send an apology or provide them with compensation. The permission from both ladies will first be needed, however, before any details can be passed on. In deciding what action shall be taken, the officer will need to decide whether the bakery had acted reasonably in order to prevent any risks of contamination and if not a plan of action will need to be devised so that care is taken to â€Å"identify and consider the risks of potential sources of contamination in the surrounding environment† (Brennan, 2006, p. 357). Accordingly, suitable controls will need to be developed and implemented so that future contamination is avoided (Sprenger, 2003, p. 229). This will ensure compliance with Regulation 852/2004 which makes it clear that all food business operators must ce rtify the â€Å"hygiene of foodstuffs at all stages of the production process, from primary production up to and including sale to the final consumer† (Europa, 2009, p. 1) in order to avoid damage to health. Compliance with Regulation 853/2004 must also be certified which lays down the specific hygiene rules relating to the microbiological criteria for foodstuffs. Available Options There a number of different options available for the investigating officer, yet it would be appropriate to serve a notice on the food business ordering them to make necessary changes to the production process in order to avoid a re-occurrence of this problem. This will require the officer to serve a notice on the food business, yet in order to decide what changes need to be made, the officer will be required to interview all those involved with production. Once this has been done, the officer may also want to undertake legal action so that Mrs I-D can make a claim against the food business for breaching their duty of care towards Mrs I-D. In doing so, it will need to be established that the food business did actually owe Mrs I-D a duty of care, that they breached their duty and that the duty caused the harm as in Caparo Industries plc v Dickman [1990] 1 All ER 568. Because Mrs I-D would have been so closely affected by the actions of the food business that they ought to have had her in their contemplation it is clear that they owed her a duty of care. This duty was thus breached by allowing the glass to enter the scone and the glass subsequently caused injury to Mrs I-D’s gums. As a result, it is evident that the food business shall be liable for negligence and that Mrs I-D should be compensated for the damage. This can be settled out of court but if the food business is un-cooperative; legal action will be the next step. And it will therefore be up to the food business to demonstrate that they acted with due diligence (Atwood and Thompson, 2009, p. 346). References Atwood, B. Thompson, K. and Willett, C. (2009) Food Law, Tottel Publishing, 3rd Edition. Brennan, J. G. (2006) Food Processing Handbook, John Wiley Sons. Elmbridge Borough Council. (2012) Food Complaints; What we can do about unsatisfactory food, [Online] Available: http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/envhealth/food/foodcomplaints.htm [28 December 2012]. European Commission. (2007) General Food Law – Traceability, Health and Consumers, [Online] Available: http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/foodlaw/traceability/index_en.htm [29 December, 2012]. Europa. (2009) Food Hygiene, Summaries of EU legislation, [Online] Available: http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/food_safety/veterinary_checks_and_food_hygiene/f84001_en.htm [29 December 2012]. Food Standards Agency. (2011) Making Every Inspection Count, Internal Monitoring Advice for Local Authority Food and Feed Law Enforcement Team Managers, [Online] Available: http://www.food.gov.uk/enforcement/enforcework/ [27 December 2012]. Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council. (2012) Food, Pests, Pollution and Food, [Online] Available: http://www.rochdale.gov.uk/health_and_social_care/food.aspx [27 December 2012]. Sprenger, R. A. (2003) Hygiene for Management, London, Highfield Publications. Wild, C. and Weinstein, S. (2010) Smith Keenan’s English Law: Text and Cases, Longman, 16th Edition. How to cite Food Law, Food Safety Risk Management, Essay examples