Monday, August 12, 2019
Fiscal or Monetary Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Fiscal or Monetary - Research Paper Example This is because the article was written at a time when the global economy had generally recovered from the economic crunch and so there was much active economic performance in terms of buying and selling. Because the global economy had generally recovered from the recession, a lot more employment avenues had been created and investments had started among several multinational companies. Consequently, Mathai (2011) notes that ââ¬Å"workers then use their increased income to buy more goods and services, further bidding up prices and wages and pushing generalized inflation upward.â⬠The above points discussed not withstanding; there is a very clear tendency that if the author had written his article at the time of recession from 2007 to 2009, his points and opinions would have changed a great deal. For instance at the time of the recession, even though monetary policies that were geared at adjusting the supply of money in the economy were relevant, these supplies were not needed to stabilize prices. Clearly there was no active demand and supply interfaces and so the need to channel resources at inflation would not have been the most prudent option. In relation to the recession of 2007 to 2009 therefore, the authorââ¬â¢s choice of monetary policy would have been directed at economic growth, which would have been a perfect response to the consequences of the recession that was being
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Methods to deal with difficult trainees while conducting training - Research Paper
Methods to deal with difficult trainees while conducting training - THIS IS FOR A TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT COURSE - Research Paper Example Introduction: Training and development have become the quintessential factors for effective human resource development in contemporary organizations, and therefore are the value-adding factors for organizational growth and sustenance. Instead of the conventional theoretical approach to learning, training is adopted to impart learning in organizations, which Lall and Sharma define as ââ¬Å"a systematic procedure or technique by which a skill is developed in a person/employee of an organization,â⬠(2009, p.444). The main components of any training include trainer, trainee, training methods, and time and resources. Trainer refers to the individual that imparts learning through various activities and with the use of his/her knowledge, understanding, experience of the topic to be learned and about the individuals that are interested in learning a specific topic; these individuals that seek learning through involvement, action and commitment are referred to as the trainees. The train eesââ¬â¢ characteristics, skills, and motivations help the trainer in determining the training method to be used to deliver the training. Trainer will have to adopt specific approaches to handle different types of trainees and to address any behavioural issues that can affect the training execution and effectiveness. Based on teachings from literature and case studies, an analysis will be performed to understand the implications of trainee personalities on their own learning and on the other trainees as well as the impact of these personalities on the training effectiveness. Finally, conclusions will be drawn based on key findings and analysis. 2. Literature review: Effectiveness of any training can be seen only when the trainees are able to apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired through the training course to work areas or real-time situations (Nijman et al., 2006). This requires optimum commitment from both trainees and trainers; however, studies identify a number o f reasons for training ineffectiveness one of which includes disruptive trainee behavior, such as anger and talkativeness as seen in following case studies. 2.a. Case study 1: Angry Trainee Hara (2010b) explains about a case where controversial subjects are taught to about 20-25 students in order to make them understand about the possible existence of different perspectives to a subject. One such subject related to the position of women in the U.S culture, which thwarted a student, Tina, resulting in a furious reaction refusing to read such topics as it challenged her belief about the status of women in the U.S culture. If such a thing was to happen in a training course related to organizational development, the trainees and the organizations will be affected. When the trainees express their anger during a training session, it will certainly affect the motivation and morale of the rest of the trainees. In this case, misunderstanding and misinterpretation will increase between the tr ainees coming from different cultural backgrounds. 2.b. Case study 2: Talkative Trainee Hara (2010a) describes the case of talkative Nancy and how this behavior disrupts the concentration and morale of other members in the session. Quoting an example of a student in a classroom, the author refers to Nancy as the ââ¬Ëknow it all-Nancy,ââ¬â¢ who always tries to give all the information that she has related to the subject being discussed and goes beyond the subject topic to give information. Hara (2010a)
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Total reward system proposal Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Total reward system proposal - Coursework Example to the overview provided above, it is clear that Rational Holidays will only be capable of meeting its HR needs if it adequately accomplishes a number of crucial elements. According to WorldatWork (2007), the primary aims of a TR strategy are to communicate a unique value proposition that sufficiently meets the needs of current and potential employees in order to minimize unnecessary employee turnover. Secondly, the strategy aims to offer a framework for the design, administration and communication of rewards programs by employers. To achieve these objectives, Rational Holidays must conceive a suitable strategy involving the various elements: The first element is to lay out the companyââ¬â¢s strategies. In other words, the firm must first articulate its core values together with its business strategies. Particularly, the firm must spell out how the proposed strategy will ensure that the business needs as well as aims are met. In addition to this, the company will need to stipulate exact timelines when goals are set to be achieved. The second vital element that be encompassed in the TR strategy is the statement of the firmââ¬â¢s overall objectives. It is well-known that multinational companies operate in an environment that is highly diverse, from a number of perspectives. Apart from the diverse legal requirements involved, multinationals have to respond to different customer needs, just the same way that it has to deal with the demands and conflicting opinions of numerous shareholders. As a result, the TR strategy for Rational Holidays will need to include distinctive statements that outline how the system will uphold these diverse needs. To accomplish this, the approach will need to clearly delineate the roles that will be played by every reward element. The third element is prominence. Every TR strategy ought to give a general description of the superiority of compensation rewards over other tools with an impact on actions as well as decisions. To achieve this
Friday, August 9, 2019
The Strategic Management of Geopolitical Interests Assignment
The Strategic Management of Geopolitical Interests - Assignment Example One of the most enduring theories about geopolitics is the one proposed by Sir Halford Mackinder. In his influential work entitled ââ¬Å"The Geographical Pivot of Historyâ⬠, he had proposed that Eurasia (most of Central Asia) is the main strategic point from which great land power emanates from.1 His theory and published works had a marked influence on subsequent heads of state in their conduct of foreign and state policies. Despite the passage of several years, it continues to be an influential work and one of the foremost proponents of his theory is former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. In this regard, Brzezinski subscribes to the same principle that the massive landlocked area of Eurasia is still the so-called ââ¬Å"key positionâ⬠in most military strategy formulation; whoever possesses Eurasia will win the strategic battle. Brzezinski continues to see the world in terms of black and white; not in shades of gray. This is a dangerous carryover of the Mackinder theory about see-saw struggles between land and sea power over previous centuries (or fight of East vs. West, Christianity vs. Islam, whale vs. white bear, Europe vs. Asia, etc.). Along this line, Brzezinski believed that Eurasia is the chief geopolitical prize in a fight for world dominance because it possesses great potential for development from its raw materials. With the United States considered as maritime power itself (which succeeded Great Britain), the current occupant of this big land mass which is Russia (or the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which was the successor of the Russian Empire) is considered as a threat to the U.S. for global power. In this aspect, Brzezinski is similar to Mackinder in his global outlook or world view of historical events. His assertion regarding Soviet threats (communism) is but a repetition of Mackinders theory regarding threats
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Assessing Media Influence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Assessing Media Influence - Essay Example Readers, viewers and consumers of information should supply the necessary interpretation of stories and symbols to discover the relation of information and of its consumers. This is because a phenomenon unfolded in a television show could not be understood in itself but about how the meanings interacted and impacted to viewers or readers (Berger, 2005, pp. 10-28). Cultural norms, socialization process and ethical concerns have so much regulatory effect to determine the informationââ¬â¢s acceptability or non-acceptability to the taste and standard of communication (Berger, 2005, pp. 60-120). It is therefore important for viewers and readers to be positively self-critical in absorbing the information. It should be the goal of every media consumer to combine analysis and creativity to effectively segregate the truth from myth and to free self from the victimization-effect of violent media production (Berger, 2005, pp. 2013-214). This is not just about words or video shoots at work. T his is also about responsible media consumption by unmasking the paradigmatic and syntagmatic meanings evoked differently (Berger, 2005, pp. 2013-214). Most media institution is not truly an independent entity. They are incorporated as either a public, private and rarely in cooperative in nature. As companies, they are also competing in sourcing and presenting information to gather more readers and viewers. The most attractive and those who have certain leverage in the market by possessing wider area of coverage will likely gain more advertisers (Croteau & Hoynes, 2006, p. 15-19). They are also for profit. Thus, consumers of information should be critical too about the kind of commercial products they introduced. Everyone knows that advertisements are used by corporations to leverage in introducing their products to the market (Croteau & Hoynes, 2006, p. 15-19). Media played much on its influencing capacity regardless on what products are introduced. The fees of advertisers are actu ally their most prevent concern and not the quality of products indorsed (Croteau & Hoynes, 2006, p. 20-68). While we agree that media is an avenue of free ideas, but it remained the info-consumers responsibility to ascertain whether goods popularized by the media are truly relevant for public welfare (Croteau & Hoynes, 2006, pp. 17-48; 192.) Lest, everyone should be reminded that nothing can blind an intelligent and responsible consumer to know which products in the market can be bought for healthy consumption. Moreover, while media is required to be impartial and independent in espousing views, but researchers observed evident tendencies for media to slant the reports and information to some interests, depending on what to their purview is the story worth tackling about in a day. Slanting, for some, have serious effects to public perception and such affect the models of social equilibrium where companies are in constant discourse with consumers. They criticized that media is biase d and are perceived to have favored certain groups of consumers than others. True, unbiased reports these days are hard to see, except for investigative reportage where all views and voices of stakeholders are put into serious consideration, thus, widening the relational and contextual meaning of a phenomenon discussed. The media has been also powerfully putting women
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
ACD-IP PBX Request for Proposal (RFP) Research Paper
ACD-IP PBX Request for Proposal (RFP) - Research Paper Example This paper will focus on comparison and assessment of different vendors for IP PBX. It will focus on the requirements of the organization. PBX is a VoIP phone system that is used to manage communications and phone calls. There are many SIP phones which have been connected and working together to achieve the desired results. It is a private branch exchange that is used to switch private calls between different VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) users that are using local lines. The users are allowed to share a certain number of external phone lines. It also has the possibility of switching calls between a VoIP users and a local user who is using local telephone lines. It can also switch two users who are using traditional lines to communicate. It does this switching in the same manner that a conventional PBX would have done. In a PBX, there would be a need to have several networks that would be used to handle voice and data communications. One of the advantages of using IP PBX is that it does not have to have different networks in order to handle voice and data communications. With IP PBX, there is converged data and voice networks. It means that it is possible to have internet access and at the same time have someone using VoIP using one line. With the use of IP PBX, there is reduced operation costs and decreased cost of maintenance. The IP PBX is owned by the enterprise. There are SIP phones, an IP PBX server, and a VoIP Gateway. In this case, the VoIP Gateway is optional. The IP PBX is the same as that of Proxy Server. The SIP clients can either be soft telephones to hardware based phones. These phones will be used in the entire process and will have the required aspects that will be used in the communication. The SIP clients will have to be registered with IP PBX server. When they want to make a call, they will have to establish a connection with the IP PBX server. The IP PBX
United States Declaration of Independence Essay Example for Free
United States Declaration of Independence Essay In contemplating the relation of freedom and identity, the Latin maxim libertas non datur sine veritate aptly reminds us that there can be no freedom without truth. While certain aspects of who we are, such as nationality or ethnic ancestry, may be cul? turally or serendipitously determined, there is a truth to hu? man nature which, if not observed, corrupts or destroys life and any exercise of freedom dependent upon it. Human nature and the natural law it reflects are inescapable, and, insofar as the Constitution of the United States was consciously fashioned with an outline of human nature in mind, natural law is an in? dispensable aid to proper constitutional interpretation. This essay explores the founding conception of liberty and its interrelationship with human nature. It then addresses how the Constitution reflects these aspects of human nature. Finally, it contains some concluding perspectives on aspects of human nature understated in the constitutional design and what ought to be done when there are disputing conceptions of human na? ture. I. LIBERTY The founding view of liberty was taken up directly by Ham? ilton. In Federalist 15, Hamilton asks ââ¬Å"why,â⬠if man1 is naturally * Caruso Family Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law, Pepperdine Uni? versity; Dean and St. Thomas More Professor, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, 2001ââ¬â2003; Professor and Director of the Center on Law Government at the University of Notre Dame, 1980ââ¬â1999; Assistant Attorney General and Head of the Office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice, 1985ââ¬â 1989. 1. The use of the masculine in this essay is intended to include the feminine; the masculine usage is continued in the essay so as not to raise in the mind of the reader any inference that the thoughts expressed are somehow at odds with the quoted material from the founding period, which reflected a different custom in 34 Harvard Journal of Law Public Policy [Vol. 29 free,2 ââ¬Å"has government been instituted at all? â⬠3 Hamiltonââ¬â¢s an? swer is blunt and rests squarely on a claim about human na? ture. Government is instituted, Hamilton asserts, ââ¬Å"[b]ecause the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint. â⬠4 Liberty without restraint will not lead to private or public good. How does Hamilton know this? Well, he says, just look around; and further, if the evidence of our own eyes does not convince us and we seek something beyond this empirical claim, he urges us to draw yet another inference about human nature: It is to be expected that men in a collective or group will act badly because the ââ¬Å"[r]egard to reputation has a less ac? tive influence. â⬠5 Think about it, Hamilton admonishes: Liberty will be badly used if joining together obscures accountability. Moreover, ââ¬Å"a spirit of factionâ⬠will aggravate these intrinsic human aspects, thereby magnifying the resulting harms. 6 In a group, we will ally with others of like mind in a shameless way to disadvantage or harm others. We will be inclined to use our liberty to pursue ââ¬Å"improprieties and excesses, for which [we] would blush in a private capacity. â⬠7 The desire for liberty to be well used, once ââ¬Å"we the peopleâ⬠were united in political society, greatly motivated the Foun? ders. It will be argued below that this founding conception of liberty informed by human nature accounts for much of the constitutional structure and the express limitations upon gov? ernment power within and appended to it. The justification for the new Constitution is forthrightly anchored in the mainte? nance of human nature as the ââ¬Å"great principle of self? preservation. â⬠8 As such, the precondition for liberty to be used well is honoring the core principle of preserving the truth of oneselfââ¬âa proposition traceable, as Federalist 43 expressly af? using the masculine pronoun alone, but which this author believes is applicable to all persons without gender distinction. 2. Note that any other presupposition is counterfactual, except to extreme be? haviorists. See, e. g. , Thomas Szasz, Against Behaviorism: A Review of B. F. Skinnerââ¬â¢s About Behaviorism, 5 PSYCHOL. NOTES (1991), available at http://www.libertarian. co. uk/lapubs/psycn/psycn005. pdf. 3. THE FEDERALIST NO. 15, at 110 (Alexander Hamilton) (Clinton Rossiter ed. , 1961). 4. Id. 5. Id. at 111. 6. Id. 7. Id. 8. THE FEDERALIST NO. 43 (James Madison), supra note 3, at 279. No. 1] The Human Nature of Freedom and Identity 35 firms, to ââ¬Å"the transcendent law of Nature and of Natureââ¬â¢s Godâ⬠upon which the nation is founded and all human action de? pends. 9 The question whether identity is a limitation or starting point for freedom may be a puzzler for twenty?first century man, but it is an easier question when tossed the way of Pub? lius. The authors of The Federalist Papers knew human nature or identity to be the starting point for human freedom or liberty. II. HUMAN NATURE What is the law of nature? An early twentieth century lec? turer put matters nicely: Every living creature is the embodiment of some form of natural law. Its duration of life depends upon its obedience to the law of its nature, as embodied in its organism. It lives by being itself, by persisting in being itself, and when it vio?lates the law of the kind of being it is, it renounces life and perishes . . . . All animated beings are subject to the laws of cause and effect, as Nature has prescribed them for each species . . . . [I]n any complex organization, like human soci? ety, something must be freely granted to the individual. This is what we mean politically by ââ¬Å"liberty. â⬠On the other hand, something must be insisted upon for the benefit of the group. This is what we mean by ââ¬Å"law,â⬠in its social sense . . .. Without liberty, there is no initiative, and hence no progress. Without law, there is no survival of the group. 10 It is within the will of man to have positive law either ad? vance human nature or undermine it. It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the constructed, positive law of soci? ety can disregard the law of nature without consequence. We can construct governments and other social structures beyond our individual natures, but these perform well only if natureââ¬â¢s truths are observed. ââ¬Å"What we must never forget is that Nature never ceases to govern; and that, if men wish to govern, they must govern under Natureââ¬â¢s Laws, or they will be doomed to failure. â⬠11 9. Id. 10. DAVID JAYNE HILL, HUMAN NATURE IN THE CONSTITUTION 24ââ¬â25 (1926). 11. Id. at 29. 36 A. Harvard Journal of Law Public Policy [Vol. 29 Human Liberty or ââ¬Å"Rightâ⬠Derived from Assumed Duty The founding generation was studied in the dismal history of societies that sought the false freedom of governing against human nature. If one begins the history of human government with the patriarchal clan, one sees force, but little acknowl? edgment of human liberty or freedom. 12 As the clan gave way to various forms of warrior chiefs and kingships, there was a natural mindfulness of the well? being of oneââ¬â¢s group. Several thousand years before Christ, Hammurabiââ¬â¢s famous legal code would describe the clan leader as a shepherd chosen ââ¬Å"to care for the people [and cause them] to dwell in peace and security, that the great should not oppress the weak. â⬠13 The Greeks would give a name to these assumed natural duties of care, and these in turn would later become encapsulated into the notion of rights or liberties. Rights, therefore, arose as correlatives from the reasoned objection of manââ¬â¢s intellect when leaders defaulted on their expected duty of care and irrationally de? prived man of the necessary goods or sustenance to survive. Stoic philosophers like Cicero would bring this conception of human right or liberty derived from duty to Rome, but, with Romeââ¬â¢s fall, barbarian kings once again obscured the concept of natural rights. It would not re? emerge until the American Founders decided to build a government upon human nature and its associated rights. B. Affirmation of Creation as Source of Natural Right or Liberty ââ¬Å"When . . . the Laws of Nature and of Natureââ¬â¢s God entitle them, [and] a decent respect to the opinions of mankind re? quires . . . .â⬠:14 With these words, the Founders gave explana? tion not only for the formation of a new sovereignty, but also the human liberty the newly established United States sought to advance. It was an explanation premised upon the pro? claimed truth that man is not self? creation, but created. That the handiwork of the Creator came with a conscious endow? ment of unalienable rightsââ¬âlife, liberty, and the pursuit of happinessââ¬âled to the conclusion that any governmental form 12. This is not to say that force within the clan was always contrary to human nature. 13. HILL, supra note 10, at 37 (quoting Hammurabiââ¬â¢s legal code from approximately 2250 B. C. ). 14. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE para. 1 (U. S. 1776). No. 1] The Human Nature of Freedom and Identity 37 that followed would need to have one overriding end: to secure human nature and the rights associated with it. There is much speculation as to why America in the late Eighteenth Century was the locus of natural law rediscovery. Possibly, it was the wide sweep of land, and nature, itself, that the colonists daily inhabited and sought to harness. Perhaps it was the extraordinary discoveries of the era in natural science. Or it may simply have been that no people so distant from their country of origin could rationally continue to think of them? selves as ââ¬Å"subjects. â⬠American colonists were persons enjoying natural liberty. However it was, ââ¬Å"[t]he American colonists came upon this idea in their own way . . . . It was the result of their own experience in self? government, coupled with their faith that their human nature had a Divine origin and involved a moral responsibility of which freedom was a necessary corre? late. â⬠15 If freedom, and the new government that aspired to it, were to be guided by human nature, then that nature would need to be understood. At a very basic level, giving proper attribution to a Creator put human nature off? limits to human redefini? tion16 and secured unalienable rights against the government,17 but a workable government would require some greater identi? 15. HILL, supra note 10, at 51ââ¬â52. 16. Such attempted human redefinition of truth, unfortunately, is all too common. For instance, disputes abound over what legal protection to extend to an unborn child ever since Roe v. Wade, 410 U. S. 113 (1973), but the legal dispute has absolutely no effect on the truth of the childââ¬â¢s humanity. So too, any association of persons can be legally called a marriage, but such domination has no effect on the truth of what marriage is in terms of conjugal unity and procreative potential. Moreover, because legal assertions have no discernible power to redefine the natural essence of these matters, man ought not to seek to have positive law and nature work toward different ends. Justice James Wilson, who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, sagely counseled that ââ¬Å"law can never attain either the extent or the elevation of a science, unless it be raised upon the science of man. â⬠JAMES WILSON, Man as an Individualââ¬âAbstractly Treated, in 1 THE WORKS OF JAMES WILSON 206, 207 (James DeWitt Andrews ed. , 1896). It was obvious in the 1850s that black men and women were human. Nonetheless, the law pointedly chose to treat them inhumanly. The bloody consequences of the lawââ¬â¢s impertinence in ignoring human nature are etched in history. 17. See Thomas L. Pangle, The Philosophic Understandings of Human Nature Informing the Constitution, in CONFRONTING THE CONSTITUTION 9, 74 (Allan Bloom ed. , 1990) (ââ¬Å"This means . . . while the majority retains supreme political power, it does not retain and never had unlimited power. The supreme (irresistible) power governing every rational personââ¬â¢s behavior is the desire for self? preservation and every individual retains the inalienable right to resist perceived threats to his property and existence, no matter what the source of those threats. â⬠). 38 Harvard Journal of Law Public Policy [Vol. 29 fication of the particulars of human nature. A few of these par? ticulars are explored below. III. MAN IS FREE, BUT NOT APART FROM OR ABOVE, SOCIETY In the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, it was under? stood that man was not intended to live alone, but in society. Of course, part of this sociability was a product of pure neces? sity. ââ¬Å"From his beginning [man] was born into [society], and without it he could never have been. Helpless in his isolation, he could be exterminated even by swarms of insects. â⬠18 But the yearning for community was more than a utilitarian means of defense against predatory animals or other threats to physical existence. The Founders read Aristotle and accepted his propo? sition that ââ¬Å"man is by nature a political animal . . . . There is . . . a natural impulse in all men towards an association [with others]. â⬠19 This natural desire, according to Aristotle, arose from two sources: reasoned reflection on right and wrong (which is only a comprehensible exercise in relation to others) and our love of others. 20 A. Jefferson: Man Has a Moral Sense Developed Out of Service to Others Thomas Jefferson most notably made reference to manââ¬â¢s so? cial side, observing in correspondence to John Adams that man is ââ¬Å"an animal destined to live in society. â⬠21 For this reason, Jef? ferson would deliberately criticize the anti? social, atomistic conceptions of Hobbes as a ââ¬Å"humiliation to human nature. â⬠22 Thomas Pangle records that Jefferson had derived from the Enlightenment philosopher Helvetius that we experience pleasure ââ¬Å"when we aid or even when we seem to sacrifice for others. â⬠23 Jefferson was not fully satisfied that Helvetius had explained the origin of the pleasure derived from the service to 18. HILL, supra note 10, at 17. 19. ARISTOTLE, THE POLITICS 10ââ¬â11 (Ernest Barker trans. , 1995). 20. Id. at 106. 21. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams (Oct. 14, 1816), in 2 THE ADAMS? JEFFERSON LETTERS 492 (Lester J. Cappon ed. , 1959). 22. Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Frances Gilmer (June 7, 1816), in THE WRITINGS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON 24 (Albert Ellery Bergh ed., 1905). 23. THOMAS L. PANGLE, THE SPIRIT OF MODERN REPUBLICANISM: THE MORAL VISION OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDERS AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF LOCKE 120 (1988). No. 1] The Human Nature of Freedom and Identity 39 others and was unprepared to ascribe the origin of manââ¬â¢s moral sense solely to God since that would leave unaccounted for the moral sense or like sensation in a disbeliever. Therefore, on a philosophical level, Jefferson would conclude that, like other aspects of the moral sense in man, nature simply reveals the pleasure of service. 24 As he grew older, Jefferson would come to value tranquility over continued public service,25 but he would continue to lean upon the theorem that the pursuit of happi? ness was dependent upon the virtue of knowing oneself and being useful to others. The ââ¬Å"moral instinctâ⬠that inclines us to do good out of a love of others is, Jefferson would conclude, ââ¬Å"the brightest gem with which the human character is studded, and the want of it as more degrading than the most hideous of bodily deformities. â⬠26 B. Wilson: Man Has Moral Sense Because He Has an Innate Conscience James Wilson would question Jeffersonââ¬â¢s reliance upon the pleasure or utility of serving others as a sufficiently reliable ba? sis for the development of a moral sense. Unlike Jefferson, Wil? son would insist that human nature intrinsically includes not only a desire to be social and socially useful, but also a con? science. 27 Relying upon Thomas Aquinas by way of Richard Hooker, Wilson would insist that it is conscience that guides reason. 28 The first principles of virtue are self? evident to man, and, were it otherwise, most men would find the pursuit of vir? tue to be impossible and beyond their capacity. Wilsonââ¬â¢s attachment to innate conscience contrasts with John Locke, who, in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, opines that not even the Golden Rule is innately known. Locke is often quoted in a way that makes his writing seem highly relativistic, and certainly the statement, ââ¬Å"[c]onscience . . . is noth? ing else, but our own Opinion,â⬠seems to be just that. 29 Locke was obviously a stronger influence on Jefferson than on Wil? 24. See id. 25. Pangle quotes Jefferson as advising a young James Monroe that ââ¬Å"public service and private misery [are] inseparably linked together. â⬠Id. at 121. 26. Id. at 120. 27. Id. at 121ââ¬â22. 28. JAMES WILSON, Of the General Principles of Law and Obligation, in SELECTED POLITICAL ESSAYS OF JAMES WILSON 215, 222ââ¬â24 (Randolph G. Adams ed. , 1930). 29. JOHN LOCKE, AN ESSAY CONCERNING HUMAN UNDERSTANDING 70 (Peter H. Nidditch ed., 1975) (1689). 40 Harvard Journal of Law Public Policy [Vol. 29 son, as Lockeââ¬â¢s denial of conscience as innate fits nicely with Jeffersonââ¬â¢s proposition that men always inquire further to seek an underlying reason for a moral rule. 30 For Jefferson again, it was the utility of service that brought happiness, not following an inner voice guided by an objective, knowable virtue. Locke would similarly write that ââ¬Å"[p]ower and riches, nay Vertue [sic] it self, are valued only as Conducing to our Happiness. â⬠31 C. Manââ¬â¢s Created Nature Bridges Jefferson and Wilson But Jefferson (and Locke) may not be as far from Wilson as it first would seem. What unifies them is reference to the tran? scendent. All three concede that acknowledgment of a Creator influences manââ¬â¢s moral sense. Locke makes repeated reference to manââ¬â¢s creation, and Jeffersonââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"endowed by their Creatorâ⬠reference in the Declaration is well known. Nevertheless, Jef? ferson is sometimes described as a ââ¬Å"materialist,â⬠a term he bor?rowed from Locke, or often as a ââ¬Å"deist. â⬠These terms obscure more than they clarify because it was Jeffersonââ¬â¢s concession of a Creator God that had real consequence for filling out his con? ception of human nature. As Father John Hardon, S. J. , wrote in apprising the so? called Jefferson Bible, the Life and Morals of Je? sus of Nazareth: That Jefferson believed in God is evident first from his ready acceptance of the teachings of Christ on the subject, the Lordââ¬â¢s Prayer, the Eight Beatitudes, the Parables of the Un?just Steward and the Ten Talents, the Sermon on the Mountââ¬âall of which presuppose a belief in the existence of God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Correlative with this goes the belief in prayer and some kind of Providence, and to that extent, at least, an acceptance of some kind of grace, requested for example in the petition, ââ¬Å"Deliver us from evil,â⬠in the Pater Noster. Also the Morals of Jesus allows us to conclude that Jeffer? son believed in some sort of future life, where the good are rewarded and the wicked punished. Besides the Parables of Lazarus and Dives, of the Pharisee and Publican, and the Wedding Feast, Jefferson accepted and extracted the whole discourse of Christ about the Day of Judgment, in the twenty? fifth chapter of Matthew, not excluding the classic 30. See id. at 65. 31. John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, in THE EDUCATIONAL WRITINGS OF JOHN LOCKE 109, 249 (James Axtell ed. , 1968). No. 1] The Human Nature of Freedom and Identity 41 verse 46, in which Christ foretells: ââ¬Å"These will go into ever?lasting punishment, but the just into everlasting life. â⬠32 What, then, of Jeffersonââ¬â¢s self? description as a materialist in the Lockean sense? Hardon writes that it was not a denial of the spirituality of the human soul, but merely the humble con? fession that there is no human proof anchored solely in reason of the soulââ¬â¢s spiritual nature. 33 Hardonââ¬â¢s explanation is persua? sive. Even though Locke (and by extension Jefferson) was un? able to prove the imprint of a moral sense in man and questioned whether reason is naturally inclined toward seek?ing the good, as Aquinas taught, Locke nevertheless insisted on the existence of natural law, knowable only by means of the Divine creator and legislator. 34 By this, Locke meant that hu? man beings are the creation or ââ¬Å"workmanshipâ⬠of God; there? fore, they belong to God and are His property. From this declared status as created beings, a set of prescrip? tions under the natural law can be deduced. For example, the presupposition of creation allows man to deduce moral pre? cepts in support of ââ¬Å"unalienable rightsâ⬠derived out of his rela? tionship with a Creator? Owner and other created human beings. These moral precepts themselves then encourage habits of virtue, especially including Jeffersonââ¬â¢s insight of service to others. Habits of virtue yield happiness. Disregard the presup? position of man as a created being, however, and think of man as his own self? creation living outside or above society, and the process would work in reverse: unhappiness resulting from practices of vice and self? interest unchecked by any moral sense derived from human nature. Without the public ac?knowledgment of manââ¬â¢s created nature, the derivation of moral sense would be impossible, because there would then be no 32. Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. , The Jefferson Bible, AM. ECCLESIASTICAL REV. , June 1954, available at http://www. catholicculture. org/docs/doc_view. cfm? recnum? 6040. 33. See id. John Locke writes, ââ¬Å"we do not owe our origin to ourselves . . . .â⬠JOHN LOCKE, QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE LAW OF NATURE 161 (Robert Horowitz et al. trans. , Cornell Univ. Press 1990) (1664). Locke was sure that this is not a religious doctrine, even as such doctrines may confirm ââ¬Å"the truth of our argument that man can, by making use of sense and reason together, arrive at knowledge of some su? preme power . . . .â⬠Id. at 165. Locke admitted that reason may prompt some to doubt Godââ¬â¢s existence, but he said ââ¬Å"there exists nowhere a race so barbarous, so far removed from all humanityâ⬠that is not suited to ââ¬Å"infer from sensible things that there exists some powerful and wise being who has jurisdiction and power over men themselves. â⬠Id. at 165, 167. 34. See Michael P. Zuckert, Do Natural Rights Derive from Natural Law? , 20 HARV. J. L. PUB. POLââ¬â¢Y 695, 721 (1997). 42 Harvard Journal of Law Public Policy [Vol. 29 stable conception of human nature. Human nature would, of course, be factually constant, but insofar as it would be subject to legal redefinition by those in the possession of force, it would not yield moral clarity for public or private decision. Of course, man is not assured of happiness merely by public acknowledgment of his created nature. When man enacts laws or undertakes personal action in defiance of that created na?ture, he is acting in a way that is contrary to a state of happi? ness. For this reason, if a government of law is to be successful, it must be formed to meet the reality of manââ¬â¢s nature: a reality which recognizes both manââ¬â¢s created nobility and rebelling imperfection. Hence, Wilson insightfully comments: [G]overnment is the scaffolding of society: and if society could be built and kept entire without government, the scaf? folding might be thrown down, without the least inconven? ience or cause of regret. Government is, indeed, highly necessary .. . to a fallen state. Had man continued innocent, society, without the aids of government, would have shed its benign influence even over the bowers of Paradise. 35 he Founders believed man had not ââ¬Å"continued innocentâ⬠T and so shaped American government to meet his shortcom? ings. IV. MANââ¬â¢S IMPERFECT NOBILITY The seventeenth? to? eighteenth? century period out of which the Constitution emerged was, as Arthur O. Lovejoy records, a period of transition between the denigration of man and the celebration of his potential. 36 Theologians and religious writers reminded the Founders of manââ¬â¢s creation in the image and like? ness of God and manââ¬â¢s supernatural destiny, but one satire writer after another demonstrated that man, in action, failed regularly to live up to this nobility. These satires of the Seven? teenth Century were but the flowering of earlier writing. Father James Gillis writes: Shakespeareââ¬âthe myriad? minded Shakespeareââ¬âprobably knew man better than any other poet or dramatist or phi? losopher. Certainly he made a life study of man; he tracked 35. JAMES WILSON, Of the Study of Law in the United States, in SELECTED POLITICAL ESSAYS OF JAMES WILSON, supra note 28, at 210. 36. See ARTHUR O. LOVEJOY, REFLECTIONS ON HUMAN NATURE 20 (1961). No. 1] The Human Nature of Freedom and Identity 43 every emotion and mood and thought and passion of man to its secret lair in the human heart, dragged it out, incarnated it in man or woman, king, peasant, soldier, student, lover, clown, clothed it in ermine or fustian or in mournerââ¬â¢s weeds, and made it ââ¬Å"strut and fret its hour upon the stage. â⬠If ever a man revealed ourselves to ourselves, it was that all? But? omniscient Shakespeare. But even he was compelled in the end to confess that he couldnââ¬â¢t solve the riddle of man. Wit? ness the famous monologue, ââ¬Å"[w]hat a piece of work is man! â⬠continuing ââ¬Å"how like an angel! â⬠but concluding, ââ¬Å"this quintessence of dust! â⬠37 A. Man Rationalizes Himself as an Exception: The Self? Interest Problem Thirty years before the Declaration, the French writer Mar? quis de Vauvenargues noted how much we enjoy pointing out human defect, thinking we can somehow exempt ourselves from the same criticism. Vauvenargues lamented, ââ¬Å"We are so presumptuous that we imagine we can separate our personal interest from that of humanity in general, and malign the hu? man race without implicating ourselves. â⬠38 n response to this criticism, man would assert as a defense I his commitment to reason. However, one would have to cau? tiously wonder if ââ¬Å"reasonâ⬠was itself rationalization and self? deception. Man reaches a conclusion favoring passion over rea? son, then finds reasons to justify the passion and deceives him? self into thinking the reasons discovered were the cause for the initial decision. Again, satirists of the Seventeenth Century regularly pointed out that ââ¬Å"[t]he passions always seek to justify themselves and persuade us insensibly that we have reason for following them. The gratification and pleasure to which they give rise in the mind which should be judging them, corrupt its judgment in their favor. â⬠39 hese insights were best represented in the founding genera? T tion by John Adams. He observed that men tend to act first and think after. Men have a tendency to flatter themselves, and Ad? ams thought this self? deception was responsible for many ca? 37. JAMES M. GILLIS, THIS MYSTERIOUS HUMAN NATURE 5 (1956) (quoting WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, HAMLET act 2, sc. 2). 38. LOVEJOY, supra note 36, at 20 (citation omitted). 39. Id. at 26. 44 Harvard Journal of Law Public Policy [Vol. 29 lamities. 40 Caught up in the various political controversies of his day, Adams wondered why those against him sought to ââ¬Å"blacken and discreditâ⬠his motives, rather than address under? lying issues. 41 This trait of human nature has not changed. 42 B. A Government to Bring Perfection from Imperfect Human Nature Richard Hooker had faithfully recorded the noble, but imper? fect, aspects of human nature: Laws politic, ordained for external order . . . are never framed as they should be, unless presuming the will of man to be inwardly obstinate, rebellious, and averse from all obedience unto the sacred laws of nature; in a word, unless presuming man to be in regard of his depraved mind little better than a wild beast, they do accordingly provide not? Withstanding so to frame his outward actions, that they be no hindrance unto the common good for which societies are instituted: unless they do this, they are not perfect. 43 et all was not lost. God had created a universe by counter? Y balancing the forces of physical science, as Newton explained, and man could likewise construct a successful polity by follow? ing His model. So the Constitution came to be, following this instruction of counterpoise or balance, reflected in the planets as well as literature. The Founders, already having declared their fidelity to ââ¬Å"the Laws of Nature and Natureââ¬â¢s God,â⬠pro? 40. See generally JOHN ADAMS, ON SELF? DELUSION, in 3 THE WORKS OF JOHN ADAMS, SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 432, 433ââ¬â36 (Charles C. Little James Brown eds. 1851). 41. Id. at 436. 42. Why, for instance, did environmental groups seek to demonize then? Judge John Roberts as anti? environment because of his dissent in Rancho Viejo v. Norton, 334 F. 3d 1158 (D. C. Cir. 2003), rather than take up the jurisprudential difficulty that animated the Supreme Court decisions upon which preced.
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