Common Sense as a Cultural System (Clifford Geertz) Common sense is an organized body of considered thought which forms an ordered realm, therefore is a cultural system. A person shows common sense if he is able to adapt to his environment with some effectiveness, i.e. he is able to come up with strategies to ease living. Distinguishing between matter-of-fact apprehension of reality and down-to-earth assessment of it is vital in the analysis of common sense. There are five quasi-qualities that characterize common sense. First is “naturalness”. Common sense represents matters as being what they are. They are intrinsic aspects of reality and peculiarity is unnatural. Second is “practicalness”. Showing common sense means being practical. One should gain something from doing or knowing something. Third is “thinness” which can be equated to “simpleness” or “literalness”. Everything is what they seem to be, they are being taken literally. The fourth is “immethodicalness”. Common sense wisdom is inconsistent in such a way that it comes in different ways which are informal such as jokes, anecdotes, epigrams and proverbs. Last is the “accessibleness” of common sense. Everyone has given the opportunity to learn or to know common sense knowledge. It is open to all. There is no such thing as special powers, for common sense is for everyone, therefore there should be no peculiarity. (Geertz, 1983)
Introduction: Globalizing Cultural Complexity (Mike Featherstone) In the postmodern
American Exceptionalism was coined by Alexis de Tocqueville in his book Democracy in America. To illustrate how the American way of thought is superior to the other ways of the world, Tocqueville expresses that the American way of thought is distinctively unique and special. This distinction is exemplified through liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and Laissez-Faire Economics. These qualities prove America’s exceptionality and difference from other countries. Although American Exceptionalism originated in the early 1800s, the idyllic values Tocqueville paints in his book can be seen throughout American history.
Brave New World – Journal Assignment
Theme: No individuality exists due to controlling government with aid of technology.
Quotation: “We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage works or future …’
In American culture, there are certain “living mythologies” that have become imbedded in our identity as a nation. All of the societal myths that exist in the United States can be considered a result of so-called “False American Exceptionalism.” From early childhood to adulthood, the idea that America behaves better than other nations, is responsible for all the good in the world, and has some divine responsibility to regulate international affairs has been drilled into American minds. Throughout the decades, these beliefs have been showcased by dozens of American leaders. Politicians have described the U.S. as the “last best hope of Earth” and an “indispensable nation.”
In today’s world, many American leaders and citizens believe that their nation is infallibly exceptional despite the vast amount of evidence that points to the contrary, and these views are far from harmless towards the nation’s identity and progress. When a group -- or in this case, a nation -- believes themselves to be exceptional, it can lind then to the problems that exist around them. They would see no reason to improve themselves if they were already exception in their minds. more and more Americans are
American Exceptionalism is a true and driving force in society and politics throughout America’s history, this idea can create multiple debates over opinions of the matter. First American Exceptionalism is the idea that America is exceptional to all other countries, the belief that we are dominant to anyone and that nothing stands in our way. The term American Exceptionalism is found commonly used in a political setting, but also affects the normal everyday life of all residents of the United States of America. The idea of American Exceptionalism has been a controversial topic for years now, and many scholarly authors have written their own opinion, or somehow addressed American Exceptionalism in a book or essay. A prime example of this is Thomas Paine’s essay, Common Sense, written around 1775, in colonial times.
Historians across the world have pondered over the idea of American exceptionalism. In Seymour Martin Lipset’s “American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword” and Ian Tyrrell’s “Is America Exceptional?” spoke of the debated topic of American exceptionalism. Exceptionalism is an idea in which a nation does not conform to the normal ways of life and history. Historians claim America is exceptional when comparing it to other nations. Lipset discusses America as a place that is exceptional but describes how being exceptional has both positive and negative effects.
One theory in particular contends that the reason for this exceptionalism is America’s foundation on Enlightenment ideals of freedom and human rights, which is not only a desire of citizens of the United States, but it
Earlier this year I had to write an essay on “American Exceptionalism”, this term was coined by was coined by Alexis de Tocqueville, the French historian and author of Democracy in America. For this essay the purpose was to critically think about the term “American Exceptionalism and determine for ourselves whether America was exceptional or not. I came to the conclusion that America is exceptional, but my America is not the America others see. I can appreciate everything this country has done for me, whereas others have a hard time appreciating America. These people aren’t anti-America, they’re America’s marginalized.
Cultural relativism is the understanding of other cultures in their own terms. To achieve the understanding of the rituals used in the cultures of another, one must be able to look at them from an emic (insider) perspective. One must also be able to look at his own culture from an etic (outsider) perspective. The ability to look at one’s culture from the etic point of view will make it easier to explain the rituals to someone from a different culture, for example, rites of passage. Rites of passage are used to mark a life stage and are celebrated by tradition or religion, meant to separate a specific group.
However, in sociological parlance, in the words of E.B.Tyler ‘Culture 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.’
Broadly, culture has seven elements. These are things that are common to each and every culture.
a. Social Organisation: Social organisation refers to patterns of social interaction.
Student Name: Yan Wang
Theory Critique between Cognitive Theory and Socio-cultural Theory
For this assignment, I have selected two theories, cognitive theory and socio-cultural theory, to compare and contrast for further understanding children development and both theories’ implication in current education. Cognitive theory studies how people think, what’s going on within people’s mind. Social-cultural theory studies how the society, the culture, other people or external environment impact individual development. This paper would firstly respectively demonstrate both theories’ basic philosophy, representative persons and their claims.
He views common sense as the capability of the animal soul that has distinctive individual sense, to collectively understand the characteristics of physical things. This will allow the humans and other animals to differ and discover the physical things using basic individual belief. This type of
Al-Hakeem: means wisdom of all wise. The attributes has three notions; He exists, He is one in His own self and He is omniscient. It specifies that Al Hakeem is wisdom in its content, rulings, order, arrangement and wisdom in its style.
Al Mubarak: it is that which is clear in itself such as; the Quran it is clear in its content, understanding and it is full of blessings.
