Issues of Difference

Ameer Sohrawardy, Rutgers University, Spring 2005

Assignment 1

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.

Assignment 2

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.

Assignment 3

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.

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