Final Exam, Winter 1998 - Knox College



Final Essay: “Human Nature”

Anthropology-Sociology 101, Human Origins

Years have passed since your first big archeological find, and you have gradually become recognized as one of the great scientific essayists of the 21st century. Thus, no one was surprised that you were asked to deliver the final address at the year-long "World Institute for the Study of Human Nature and Social Policy." Over the course of the year, world-famous scholars have studied and debated the questions, "What is human nature?" and "What bearing does human nature have on our social ideals and aspirations?" Since the Institute included people of all academic disciplines and political philosophies--militarists, liberals, Marxists, Freudians, followers of the neo-feudal economic theories of President-for-Life Quayle, and members of the anarchist free-love "Neo-Hippie" movement (begun by an aging Knox professor in 2006)–the answers to these questions differed widely. Some emphasized aggressiveness, inequality, patriarchy and acquisitiveness as being essential to our biological nature; others made claims for natural tendencies quite the opposite of these; still others claimed that, as an existentialist philosopher once put it, "It is man's nature to have no nature." Of course, each of these opinions led to different ideas about what people can and should strive for in their social arrangements.

Your goal as a renowned anthropologist is to offer insights based primate societies, diverse cultures, and the behavioral evolution of the hominds. Based on your dazzling use of relevant, accurate examples from the Human Origins course you still remember so fondly, you offer insightful conclusions on the Institute's much debated questions, "What is our nature?," "How does our view of human nature influence our social ideals?," and "Couldn't we have gotten someone who did better on the quizzes?"

As with your first scientific paper so many years ago, you will at some point in the presentation be called on to answer thoughtful, informed objections from members of your audience. (Fortunately, the frizzly guy in the tie-dyed cap and gown cannot remember his question; maybe he'll think of it later.)

Good luck.

Length: 5-6 printed pages

Due date and time to be announced in class

Advice:

Any “Person on the Street” could easily write a six-page essay about human nature based simply on their own personal and cultural prejudices. Try not to write the sort of essay that could be written by someone with no particular knowledge of the scientific study of human origins, primate behavior, human cultures and other relevant fields. Remember, the purpose of this essay is to demonstrate and apply your scientific knowledge of human evolution.

Every part of the course contains material that could be used to discuss what humans are like and why they behave as they do–for example, the comparisons with other animals, the scenarios of early hominid behavior and its divergence from that of other primates, Leakey’s chapters on human language and intelligence, discussions of biological determinism in Gould’s essays and in class, and the classroom presentations on cultural evolution. You couldn’t possibly use everything relevant, but you might begin by reviewing the course and taking notes on things that could be used in your essay. Then you might think about some themes around which you can organize the information in order to make a coherent argument.

The term “human nature” is generally used to refer to the complex of behavioral traits or tendencies (if any) that all humans inherit as part of their biological makeup. These traits need not be unique to humans (for example, someone who claims that aggressiveness is part of “human nature” is not necessarily denying that lions are also aggressive). In order to avoid confusion, it is probably best to follow the accepted usage of the term “human nature,” even if you intend to argue that we have no such inherited traits (i.e., that there is no human nature).

Because the evidence is so complex, and informed people can reasonably interpret it in various ways, there is no right or wrong answer to this question. However, it is extremely important that your essay be as richly and accurately informed, as clearly written, and as logically sound as you can make it. It is also important that you address any evidence or informed arguments presented in the course that might go against your conclusions.

Please feel free to discuss your ideas with me and with other students in the class. It is OK to use ideas that you have gotten from other people, as long as you acknowledge their source.

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