Frans de Waal, Selections from The Ape and the Sushi Master and:
- Lani Guinier, "Second Proms and Second Primaries:
The Limits of Majority Rule"
- Mary Kaldor, "Beyond Militarism, Arms
Races, and Arms Control"
- Martha Nussbaum, "Women and Cultural Universals"
- Mary Kaldor, "Beyond Militarism, Arms
Races, and Arms Control" and Lani Guinier,
"Second Prom and Second Primaries: The Limits of Majority Rule"
- Martha Nussbaum, "Women and Cultural Universals," Lani Guinier, "Second Proms and Second Primaries: The Limits of Majority Rule," and Mary Kaldor, "Beyond Militarism, Arms
Races, and Arms Control"
- Lani Guinier, "Second Proms and Second Primaries: The Limits of Majority Rule" and Martha Nussbaum, "Women and Cultural Universals"
- Stephen Jay Gould, "What does the dreaded 'E' word mean anyway?"
- Malcolm Gladwell, "The Power of Context"
- Malcolm Gladwell, "The Power of Context" and James C. Scott, "Behind the Official Story"
- Jon Gertner, "The Futile Pursuit of Happiness"
- Jon Gertner, "The Futile Pursuit of Happiness" and Steven Johnson, "The Myth of the Ant Queen"
For more assignment ideas involving this essay, please
visit the de Waal link-o-mat.
Frans de Waal: The Transformation of
Evolutionary Thought across Knowledge Communities
1. One way to think about knowledge is to see it simply as information
that can be judged either true or false. But another way to think about
knowledge is to view it in terms of "knowledge communities."
Evolutionary biologists make up one knowledge community, a community to
which de Waal himself belongs, as did Darwin before him. Another community
might be described as the "interpreters of evolution," some
of whom are practicing scientists and some of whom are journalists or
freelance writers. Within this community we might include Thomas Henry
Huxley, Richard Dawkins, Robert Wright and Matt Ridley. A third group,
by far the largest, might be called "non-scientists" or, better
yet, the "general public."
For this assignment, I would like you to explore the ways in which knowledge
first created by the community of biologists gradually made its way into
the common knowledge of the general public. What distortions, improvements,
elaborations, or applications did Darwinism undergo along the way? Is
the contemporary public understanding of evolution primarily the outcome
of scientific inquiry or have other forces shaped it just as much as science,
possibly even more. What might these other forces be?
When I ask you to "explore" the transformation of evolutionary
thought as it travels from the knowledge community of biologists to the
larger community of the general public, I really want you to make some
kind of point or argument. In order to make that point, you will need
to draw heavily on the evidence provided by de Waal, but I am not looking
for a simple summary of his argument. The last part of my question–about
the forces that have shaped scientific knowledge after it has left the
hands of scientists themselves–requires you to engage in some intelligent
speculation. Why might non-scientists be so ready to see nature as "red
in tooth and claw," if this is not what Darwin tried to tell us?
Could it be that attitudes and values that have nothing to do with science
have somehow gotten mixed up with our popular understandings of evolution?
What might be some of the cultural, social, or economic sources of those
attitudes and values?
Kurt Spellmeyer, Rutgers University, Fall 2002
From Culture, Evolution, and the Problem of a Global Morality.
Frans de Waal: To be Fit or To be Kind?
Frans de Waal concludes "Survival
of the Kindest" with a description of the animal kingdom that is
bound to shock some readers: he describes dogs who became "depressed"
when exposed to a great deal of death; he discusses strategies that were
pursued to help the dogs recover their "emotional investment"
in helping others; finally, he concludes with the assertion that there
are species of animals who intend to do good deeds. Imagine that de Waal's
revision of the evolution narrative is not simply an academic matter,
but has importance in a larger context. Your project in this paper
is to take a position on the social, cultural, or spiritual ramifications
of de Waal’s assertion of kindness as an organizing principle of
evolution. In beginning this paper you may want to consider the following:
What would change if de Waal were right? That is, what would the consequences
be if de Waal's account of the evolutionary value of kindness replaced
the dominant account of evolution as the arena of "the survival of
the fittest"?
I will evaluate your paper by looking at:
1. Your project: You should express and
support your own idea about the assigned topic and use textual evidence
for de Waal to help develop and support your claim.
2. Your organization: You should express,
explain, and explore a central claim in each paragraph. Your paragraphs
should connect logically to each other. The paragraphs should all work
toward developing your central project.
3. Your use of quotations and examples:
Choose relevant quotations and examples. Explain the connections between
these quotations and examples and your larger project.
4. Your sentence clarity and correctness:
Proofread your essay carefully for grammar and spelling errors.
Piper Kendrix Williams, Rutgers University, Spring 2002
From Tradition, Modernity, and Change: Assessing the Value of Re-thinking in an Evolving World.
In the following passage from "Selections from The Ape and the Sushi Master", Frans de Waal discusses the transformation of one type of altruistic behavior into another:
"The impulse to help was therefore never totally without survival value to the one showing the impulse. But, as so often, the impulse became dissociated from the consequence that shaped its evolution, which permitted it to be expressed even when payoffs were unlikely. The impulse was thus emancipated to the point where it became genuinely unselfish." (de Waal 654)
Discuss how de Waal's proposition of animal behavior that is "emancipated" from its pre-defined evolutionary narrative may be applicable to human beings in transforming some of our social institutions. Using a social institution of your choosing (i.e., the University, a branch of the government, a charitable organization, etc.), describe what these transformations would resemble and why. Remember to connect your thoughts to the de Waal essay, using textual evidence and quotations.
Ameer Sohrawardy, Rutgers University, Spring 2005
From Issues of Difference.
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Frans de Waal and Lani Guinier:
Culture and Biology, Voting and Altruism
For your second assignment, I would like you to use de Waal and Guinier
to make an argument that answers this deceptively simple question:
Is the principle of "majority rule" consistent with genuine
Darwinism, as Frans de Waal represents it, or is it more consistent
with the "survival of the fittest" mentality that de Waal
calls into doubt?
Basically, this question asks you to decide whether democracy by majority
rule, which Lani Guinier regards with suspicion, is more conducive to altruism
and reciprocity than to selfishness and competition. You might respond in
a variety of ways. Among them are these possibilities:
If you decide that majority rule is indeed consistent with altruism,
then you might also make case that Guinier's idea of proportional representation
is less consistent with altruism or completely contradicts it.
On the other hand, if you decide that Guinier's proposal is consistent
with altruism, you might also try to demonstrate that majority rule undermines
reciprocity and therefore flies in the face of our biological heritage.
Alternately, you might make the case that evolutionary biology cannot
give us any meaningful guidance at all about the conduct of our political
affairs. Remember, however, that you will need to explain in some detail--drawing
on de Waal as well as Guinier--why biology and culture constitute completely
separate domains.
Finally, you might argue that evolutionary biology lends support to
both majority rule and proportional representation. Perhaps both serve
the ends of evolution in different ways.
Please bear in mind that this assignment is not asking you to compare
and contrast de Waal with Guinier. Instead, it asks you to explain how
the evidence provided by de Waal might confirm, contradict, and/or complicate
Guinier's argument.
Kurt Spellmeyer, Rutgers University, Fall 2002
From Culture, Evolution, and the Problem of a Global Morality.
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de Waal and Guinier: Reciprocity in Politics
In your last paper you considered the social, cultural, or
spiritual ramifications of de Waal’s theory of “survival of
kindness” and “human goodness.” In this assignment we turn
to the political. In “Second Proms and Second Primaries: The Limits
of Majority Rule” Lani Guinier argues that majority rule does not
meet the ideals of the democratic process, proposing instead a system
based on proportionality. de Waal is obviously aware that humans can be
unfair or unjust towards one another as well as kind. Your project
in this paper is to take a position on the place of kindness and altruism
in the workings of democracy. In beginning this paper you may want
to consider the following: How does the reciprocal nature of a proportional
system fit into de Waal’s theory of kindness and altruism? How can
de Waal’s argument be used to shed any light on the working of democracy
in the US? Can evolutionary theories be used to explain or illuminate
Guinier’s account of democracy?
I will evaluate your paper by looking at:
1. Your project: You should
express and support your own idea about the assigned topic and use textual
evidence from de Waal and Guinier to help develop and support your claim.
2. Your organization: You should express, explain,
and explore a central claim in each paragraph. Your paragraphs should
connect logically to each other. The paragraphs should all work toward
developing your central project.
3. Your use of quotations and examples: Choose
relevant quotations and examples. Explain the connections between these
quotations and examples and your larger project.
4. Your sentence clarity and correctness: Proofread
your essay carefully for grammar and spelling errors.
Piper Kendrix Williams, Rutgers University, Spring 2002
From Tradition, Modernity, and Change: Assessing the Value of Re-thinking in an Evolving World.
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de Waal, Guinier, Kaldor: What is to be gained
by "rethinking the world"?
In the selections from The Ape and the Sushi Master we’ve
read, Frans de Waal provides us with an optimistic interpretation of human
nature, advocating an understanding of human evolution as shaped by “kindness,”
rather than “fitness.” He argues, “At least in some cases,
we seem to be dealing with the genuine article: a good deed done and
intended” (333). Lani Guinier, in “Second Proms and Second
Primaries: The Limits of Majority Rule,” argues for a hopeful revision
of American politics, one that will fulfill the “ideal of reciprocity…
[and] the moral authority” of democracy (339). Both writers rethink
old and static ideas in order to construct a better world. In “Beyond
Militarism, Arms Races and Arms Control,” Mary Kaldor analyses the
nature of armed forces and war in the post-Cold War period. She also extends
a new way to think, extending the “humanitarian approach” as
a way out of “wars that cannot be won” (9). All three writers
implicitly suggest a role for individuals in changing human, national,
and global relations, subscribing to a belief in an essential human equality.
Given the world Kaldor describes, does it make sense for the individual
to re-think the world? What’s at stake? For whom? In beginning
this paper you may want to consider the following: de Waal and Guinier
provide specific ways to rethink: for example, in the “survival of
the kindness” model, locating acts of intended kindness and altruism
and in a proportional system of politics, achieving reciprocity. Use these
and other specifics to think though concrete ways to achieve the “humanitarian
approach” Kaldor calls for.
I will evaluate your paper by looking at:
1. Your project:
You should express and support your own idea about the assigned topic
and use textual evidence from de Waal, Guinier, and Kaldor to help develop
and support your claim.
2. Your organization:
You should express, explain, and explore a central claim in each paragraph.
Your paragraphs should connect logically to each other. The paragraphs
should all work toward developing your central project.
3. Working with
Texts: Choose relevant concept quotations and examples. Explain the connections
between this evidence and your larger project.
4. Your sentence
clarity and correctness: Proofread your essay carefully for grammar and
spelling errors.
Piper Kendrix Williams, Rutgers University, Spring 2002
From Tradition, Modernity, and Change: Assessing the Value of Re-thinking in an Evolving World.
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Frans de Waal, Lani Guinier, Martha Nussbaum:
Finding a Ground for Moral Action
We have now read three authors--de Waal, Guinier, and Nussbaum--all
of whom explore in different ways the subject of ethics or morality, whether
their concern is altruism among primates, an ethically responsible political
system, or the need for universal human rights. None of them argues for
divine revelation as the basis of ethics.
For your third assignment, please write an essay that answers the following
question:
Do human beings need moral absolutes? If so, where will these absolutes
come from? If not, what sort of morality might be an adequate alternative?
As you consider the possible sources of moral absolutes, use the three
authors to explore the complexities that are produced by any answer
to this question. If you are intrigued by the possibility that moral absolutes
might come from science, then please explain how we should respond to
disagreements within the scientific community. Consider in particular
the debates between de Waal's camp and its opponents. Similar complexities
must be faced by those who turn to religion as the bedrock of morality.
After all, the various religions do not always agree, and even within
a single faith, sharp disagreements are quite common. After considering
science and religion as sources of authority, you might turn to our nation's
civil institutions: the people, you might argue, should be free to decide
on the morality they will abide by. But in that case, who qualifies as
"the people"? If we base our ethics on majority rule, does that
mean that the majority is always right?
Needless to say, the questions I have posed here are huge ones. Your
paper does not necessarily need to reach a firm conclusion: a strong essay
might simply explore the complications of the issue or demonstrate the
strengths and limitations of various possible answers. If you manage to
come up with a truly compelling answer, one developed in a well-organized,
persuasive, and articulate way, you will qualify not only for an "A,"
but also for a Nobel Peace Prize. Good luck!
Kurt Spellmeyer, Rutgers University, Fall 2002
From Culture, Evolution, and the Problem of a Global Morality.
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Frans de Waal, Guinier, Kaldor: Three
Approaches to Revising the World
In "Beyond Militarism, Arms Races, and Arms Control,"
Mary Kaldor describes the different types of armed forces that have developed
in the world following the Cold War. She offers the "humanitarian
approach" and the institution of "laws of war" as strategies
that will prevent both a "war of global annihilation" and the
present "series of real wars that cannot be won" (394). Just
as Guinier rethinks the ideals of democracy and de Waal rethinks the role
of kindness in evolutionary theory, Mary Kaldor suggests ways for changing
the position of national armed forces in contemporary society.
How does Kaldor's humanitarian approach ask you to reevaluate
Guinier's "system of proportionality" and de Waal's "survival
of the kindest"? Did reading Kaldor help you recognize strengths
and weaknesses in Guinier and de Waal?
This paper asks you to compare and evaluate these three approaches
to revising the world. To answer this question, you might want to consider
if proportional voting or majority rule would fit into Kaldor's "humanitarian
approach." Does Kaldor's essay question assumptions regarding kindness,
altruism, or human goodness? Is altruism a prerequisite to peacekeeping
and "humanitarian law enforcement?" You can develop a project
based on your own ideas and questions, but be sure to evaluate the action
horizons of each author.
Carrie Preston, Rutgers University, Spring 2003
From Re-Vision,
Tradition and Public Life.
Frans de Waal, Lani Guinier, and Mary Kaldor all propose alternative models for examining ways in which human beings perceive themselves and their places in society. All three suggest changes to conventional ways of thinking; which they propose will then result in a greater understanding and regard for our fellow inhabitants of Earth - regardless of whether those inhabitants are of the same race, nationality, or even species.
Mary Kaldor proposes that the United States must seriously consider humanitarian law as one way of controlling the "new" warfare. To what extent does Kaldor's proposition that we need to re-think our foreign military policies and actions rely on the reciprocity of human altruism to overcome fundamental differences of race, culture and national identity? Refer to both de Waal and Guinier's essays while responding to this question, and evaluate whether global justice (as Kaldor proposes it) "is the only way to minimize the exclusive political appeal" of belligerent military networks (Kaldor 397).
Remember to connect Kaldor, Guinier, and de Waal through a thoughtful analysis of ideas; and not just a common set of terms, parallelisms, or simplified summaries.
For the rest of the assignments in this sequence, please visit our sample sequences page.
Ameer Sohrawardy, Rutgers University, Spring 2005
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Frans de Waal, Martha Nussbaum, Lani Guinier, and Mary Kaldor
In her essay, "Women and Cultural Universals," Martha Nussbaum articulates some of the reasons that have been used to justify the denial of basic human rights to women throughout the non-Western world. She argues that this trend should and can be reversed by combating some of the limiting beliefs that make such oppression possible. At one point, she writes, "Acknowledging the other person as a member of the very same kind would have generated a sense of affiliation and a set of moral and educational duties. That is why, to those bent on shoring up their own power, the strategem of splitting the other off from one's own species seems so urgent and so seductive" (Nussbaum 473).
Analyze this quote in detail, and use it as your starting point to take a position on whether Nussbaum shares the same perspective on universality that de Waal, Guinier, or Kaldor argue for, in their respective essays. Do you think the issues at stake in each of these authors' essays are place-specific or are truly universal (regardless of location, species, race, color, gender, etc.?) Explain why in detail.
Remember to connect Nussbaum with at least one of the previous authors you read, through a thoughtful analysis of ideas; and not just a common set of terms, parallelisms, or simplified summaries.
Ameer Sohrawardy, Rutgers University, Spring 2005
From Issues of Difference.
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to top
Altruism and Universalism
In your last paper I asked you to take a position on the place of kindness and altruism in the workings of democracy. Frans de Waal calls altruistic acts those than do not involve personal gain, in which the impulse to help becomes “dissociated from the consequences that shaped its evolution,” allowing the impulse to be “genuinely unselfish.” Lani Guinier, in the meantime, seeks a democracy that is “fair and just," involving a system of proportionality in which one would have to recognize underrepresented groups and provide them with a voice equal to that of the majority. But what about a situation where what is altruistic becomes unclear?
Martha Nussbaum, a philosopher and social critic, takes a universalist stance on the rights of women in her essay “Women and Cultural Universals” in presenting her “Central Human Functional Capabilities”; however, she also presents the side of the anti-universalists, the cultural relativists, who place the right to tradition first. Both universalists and relativists mean well, and act out of a sense of altruism and the greater good for a particular group of people, without any real benefit to themselves. Both groups see themselves as acting according to a system of proportionality, giving equal rights to those outside the majority; for relativists, it is a matter of placing the rights of non-Western traditions as equal to Western thought, while for the universalists in this article, it is a matter of placing the rights of women as equal to those of men.
Can cultural relativism and cultural universalism be reconciled or made compatible at all? Do you believe that Nussbaum finds a compromise in her Central Human Functional Capabilities? Does being kind to one group while potentially violating the rights of another compromise an act’s altruistic intentions? You may consider the following questions: De Waal offers a picture of evolution based on a mixture of “survival of the fittest” and “survival of the kindest”; how might these roles work according to relativists and/or universalists? Are the women in Nussbaum’s article less entitled to enfranchisement that the blacks in Phillips County because their tradition still prohibits it? Or, is it wrong for Western democracy to impose change upon a culture, rather than allowing it the autonomy to change on its own? You should use at least three main supports to your argument, and each support should contain at least three quotations, one from each author.
Rough Draft (4 pages)
Final Draft (5-6 pages)
I will evaluate your paper by looking at:
1. Your project: You should express and support your own idea about the assigned topic and use textual evidence from de Waal, Guinier, and Nussbaum to help develop and support your claim.
2. Your organization: You should express, explain, and explore a central claim in each paragraph. Your paragraphs should connect logically to each other. The paragraphs should all work toward developing your central project.
3. Your use of quotations and examples: Choose relevant concept quotations and examples. Explain the connections between these quotations and examples and your larger project.
4.Your sentence clarity and correctness: Proofread your essay carefully for grammar and spelling errors.
Megan Heller, Rutgers University, Summer 2002
From Learning, Altruism, and Violence.
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Gould and de Waal: Evolution and Humankind's Place in the Cosmos
In "What does the dreaded 'E' would mean anyway?" Stephen Jay Gould offers two competing definitions of evolution. Can either of Gould's definitions accommodate de Waal's vision of the evolutionary process? In the end, does it matter how one thinks about the evolutionary process? Is there a necessary connection between how one thinks about evolution and how one understands humankind's place in the cosmos?
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Power, Civilization, and the Self (Assignment 5)
In the selections from The Ape and the Sushi Master, Frans de Waal writes of a continuity between “humanity’s heroic combat against forces that try to drag us down” and “the doctrine of original sin” (661). The dualistic outlook that would place civilization at odds with instinct, de Waal maintains, is the same outlook that views morality as a struggle against a sinful human nature. Yet based on various examples of unpremeditated altruism in animals and humans, it appears that civilization and morality may reflect not so much a struggle against evil as a conformity to some essential “goodness.” Moral behavior, in this view, is “firmly anchor[ed]…in the natural inclinations and desires of our species” (663). Basing your argument on the evidence presented in both essays, address the following: What is the relationship between civilization and human nature? Does civilization reflect an essential goodness on the part of humans, or does it exist to rein in a natural tendency toward destructive behavior?
In your paper, be sure to draw equally on both authors.
Anthony Alms, Rutgers University, Fall 2005
From Power, Civilization, and the Self.
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Power, Civilization, and the Self (Assignment 6)
By beginning his essay with a reference to the expression “Speak truth to power,” James C. Scott seems to imply (albeit in retrospect, after defining his terms) that a hidden transcript is a more truthful expression of self than its corresponding public transcript is. The “truth,” suggests Scott, is influenced in some way by the domination of those in power. De Waal and Gladwell likewise suggest that the truth about a given phenomenon may be other than what is typically presented. Using concepts and examples from each author, address the following: How does the current distribution of power, wealth, and status in the United States affect the way in which “truth” is represented here?
Consider the following questions in your prewriting:
1. What are some of the alternative views that Scott, de Waal, and Gladwell argue for, and what accepted views do they argue against?
2. Does each author make a convincing case for the “correctness” of his respective position? That is, do you think the new “truths” presented by each author irrevocably supersede the positions they argue against? Why or why not? 3) Do you think these new views will become commonly accepted as truths? Why or why not?
Anthony Alms, Rutgers University, Fall 2005
From Power, Civilization, and the Self.
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The Impact Bias, Altruism, and Human Intelligence (Assignment 2)
In “Selections from The Ape and the Sushi Master”, Frans de Waal discusses the possibility of viewing altruism as a natural product of evolutionary processes rather than a contrived invention by intelligent human beings. He details several cases in which various non-human members of the animal kingdom violate the historically well-accepted view that nature encourages organisms to act in a self-centered manner.
Question: What ramifications does the evidence for the impact bias and the empathy gap have for the thesis that altruism is a natural component of evolutionary adaptation?
Deploy the concepts discussed in Gertner’s article to either confirm, contradict, or complicate the arguments in de Waal’s paper. Consider how Gertner’s discussion can cause difficulty for the theses advanced by de Waal. Also consider how Gertner’s discussion may actually help us understand, explain, or expand on the conclusions that De Waal advances. Make certain to draw on both selections in your essay.
Your paper should:
1. Frequently introduce and discuss key concepts from both texts.
2. Clearly indicate where Gertner’s and de Waal’s words and ideas end and your own begin.
3. Explore a project that you have devised. The paper should be an analysis rather than a summary. Look for points of connection between the two texts.
Jeff Glick, Rutgers University, Fall 2005
From The Impact Bias, Altruism, and Human Intelligence.
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The Impact Bias, Altruism, and Human Intelligence (Assignment 3)
Much of “The Myth of the Ant Queen” is devoted to exploring the ways that intelligence manifests itself. One feature of seemingly intelligent systems, like an ant colony or a computer program, is that they do not always have a unifying and organizing controller which directs the movements and inputs of all the components of the system. Instead, the intelligent effects emerge from the combination and interaction of otherwise unintelligent parts as a result of long processes of adaptation.
Question: What role does happiness play in our understanding of how intelligence is manifested?
You should consider what one might mean by the words ‘happiness’ and ‘intelligence’. Could altruistic actions be construed as intelligent behavior in virtue of their positive overall effects? Or are we perhaps more like the ant colony where any organizational advantages which seem to display intelligence are merely the byproducts of an unintelligent evolutionary process fraught with cognitive errors? Are the effects of an action on an individual’s happiness a good measure of whether the action is intelligent? If so, why? If not, then why not? Make certain to draw from all three articles in your essay.
Your paper should:
1. Frequently introduce and discuss key concepts from all three texts.
2. Clearly indicate where Gertner’s, de Waal’s, and Johnson’s words and ideas end and your own begin.
3. Explore a project that you have devised. The paper should be an analysis rather than a summary. Look for overlapping concerns and points of connection between all three texts. Use the conclusions of each text to shed light on the others in the context of advancing your project.
Jeff Glick, Rutgers University, Fall 2005
From The Impact Bias, Altruism, and Human Intelligence.
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