Survival of the Humankind - Literature review Example

I.D. 1128506 Written Text 2 – Principles and Patterns Assignment 3 Text analysis ‘Knowledge and Wisdom’ by Bertrand Russell Introduction Texts are concept of action, which are supposed to give a complicated tool with a contribution based on the designing of reality. In this paper, considering the aspects of text and its relevance to human life is critical. With this regard, a text reflects a sacrifice of our actions in speaking, thus if the text fails to dictate our actions in speaking a lot of problems could be experienced. Actions by their own seem like fossilized in comparison to the actions that is applied in expressing the same words in text. This perspective is important to the text being analyzed since it provides a viewpoint regarding the way the author presents his ideas about knowledge and wisdom. In his essay ‘Knowledge and Wisdom’, Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, and pacifist, attempts to define wisdom and also to identify the means of promoting it. The essay reflects the author’s concern for world peace in the post – World War II scenario (Bertand Russel, 1997). The message of the essay is not meant for a particular segment of the world population. Instead, it addresses an issue that concerns survival of the humankind as a whole or ‘citizens of the world and not of this or that sector nation’. The analysis is based on the ideology that the problems emerging from the present day theories are controlled by a model that is linguistic. This perception is completely wrong (Coulthard, 1994). One of the main aims that opposes united sign concept is that the written text is that is more like an extended linguistics category. Essentially, it is different from spoken language in many ways, especially in its stylistic aspect (Underhill, 2013). This is where the actions are developed as purposely produced in codes in a convenient way. Concept of sign history has a very different evolution in times or rather patterns that are phylogenetic (Coulthard, 1994). Lately, the general sensations concept was theorised to give different definition of the natural sensation which describes linguistic sensation like nouns and verbs. These aspects are very critical in presentation of ideas through text since they are the basic elements in language (Underhill, 2013). Summary and Pattern Russell was keen on choosing a specific genre that could perfectly present the theme and ideas of the text. He specifically uses epic literature to pass his ideas and perception in a clear and an attractive manner. In this case, the text seems to be a superior-mixed narrative as it explores people and trends in both wisdom and knowledge from the past to the present. He starts his argument by generalization of what most people would agree on, regarding his point of view. He tries to leave some room for judgement in most cases by avoiding to present the ideas in stringent conclusions. He sometimes uses words like “I think” to show suggestions implying that his arguments are based on critical thinking and creativity (Bertand Russel, 1997). Looking at the content and the flow of the text, the first paragraph of the essay introduces the two questions the author intends to deal with, the first being ‘What is wisdom?’ and the second being ‘What can be done to teach it?’ The second, third, fourth and fifth paragraphs address the first question and provide a definition of wisdom as a combination of five factors namely comprehensive vision, awareness of the ends of life, choice of goals, emancipation from personal prejudice and emancipation from the tyranny of the here and now. In paragraph 6, the author deals with the second question and in the next two paragraphs he illustrates how wisdom can be taught. Thus the essay follows a problem-solution pattern (Bertand Russel, 1997). It may also be noted that the former half of the essay dwells in raising questions and answering them and in the latter half and towards the conclusion, the author makes his recommendations to promote wisdom. As such, the essay has the characteristics of a scientific research article in view of its IMRD (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion) structure. Content Analysis The author used a rich content to pass his ideas across and to prove his perception regarding the themes. In the process of driving home the point of the essay, the author takes a number of examples from an array of subjects such as medicine, nuclear science, history, chemistry, psychology, religion, politics, education and above all logic. He points out how the discovery of a medicine that can lower the infant death-rate may result increased poverty levels across the world. Contradicting the positive connotation of the word ‘power’ as used in the saying ‘knowledge is power’, he illustrates how the pursuit of knowledge can sometimes be dangerous as it happens when governments abuse the findings of a nuclear scientist (Bertand Russel, 1997). In this case, a stylistic language is used. The phrase “knowledge is power” is a metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson, 1981). By taking the example of historians who distort facts, he establishes the importance of broad feelings in the absence of which the value of wide knowledge diminishes. The case of people who wasted their lives trying to find the philosopher’s stone and the elixir illustrates that goals must not only be noble but also be attainable. This case of dedication is literally epical and further explains the genre of the text. The instance of hatred between Mr. A and Mr. B is to demonstrate how personal prejudice makes one blind to one’s own faults. We are very much prone to misunderstand things that appear to be simple and this is made clear through the parable of the Good Samaritan, which also enriches the style and language he use to pass his ideas (Salkie, 1995). Russell makes a mention of three great characters in human history namely Elizabeth I, Henry IV and Abraham Lincoln to prove that understanding in resistance is compatible with vigour in action (Bertand Russel, 1997). This is a concept that is repeated by the philosophers of the recent times. It clearly shows that some norms present in the human beings might not die. In the quest to appreciate, in what way, can be developed as well as understood, rules on sematic-pragmatic need to be followed accordingly. These are aligned in representation like of an encyclopaedia that found the conditions and how the recipient of the written text ought to participate to visualize the text meaning (Salkie, 1995). Artificial Intelligence Researchers are in are trying to develop a way of computer programming consisting of knowledge on word. This will allow the computer to draw more inferences and comprehending the presumptions (Bertand Russel, 1997). In reading a text, one is able to manoeuvre over coded and less coded semantic material. Moreover this kind in form of instruction is not verbal but a mere system of sign. For instance, “STOP” as a road sign ought to be understood as way of telling u to stop your car. When you stop, check cautiously your right then left, and if there is no endangerment, move on. On the other hand, if you fail to stop and look, you are in for a fine. Theme The essay is very academic in nature, at times sounding quite philosophical. In the English language, knowledge and wisdom figure as synonyms of each other. But a closer analysis can reveal that they are two entirely different faculties (Bertand Russel, 1997). Though the title of Russell’s essay gives us the impression that the discussion is going to be an attempt to make a clear-cut distinction between knowledge and wisdom, the purpose of the author in writing the essay is not just to make a semantic discussion. Rather, he endeavours to throw light on the peril that world peace is in. The author’s example of the dangers of the knowledge of a nuclear scientist being placed ‘in the hands of powerful lunatics’, the case of enmity between Mr. A and Mr. B being ‘harmful to both’, the importance of ‘knowing things [...] in time or space’, the mention of ‘Communist or anti-Communist’, the notion of ‘war without [...] departing from [...] wisdom’ and the warning that ‘every increase in knowledge [...] augments our capacity for evil’ may be considered evidentials that put in place the essay’s context, attitude, epistemic stance and purpose (Bertand Russel, 1997). As most people were during the post-World War II and the Cold War periods, Russell was apprehensive about the developments in science and politics and their possible evil implications on ‘the survival of the good things that we wish to preserve’ and that becomes the central idea of the essay. This perspective brings about the epical aspect of the literature text. The solution suggested by Russell if we are to be able to survive those good things is to realize that ‘hatred of evil is itself a kind of bondage to evil’ and that ‘the way out is through understanding, not through hate’. I am inclined to think that this particular idea is the foundation of the essay and it effectively summarises the message that Russell wishes to drive home. However, it is also important to note that the essay does not preach non-violence as such, the fact that Russell is a pacifist notwithstanding. Russell admits that he is ‘not advocating non-resistance’. Language use The language used in the essay is highly formal and impersonal as may be seen in expressions like ‘an awareness of the ends of human life’, ‘emancipation from personal prejudice’, ‘tyranny of the here and now’, ‘knowing things somewhat remote in time or space’ and ‘war without ever departing from [...] wisdom’. The grammar seems incorrect in some cases, but it plays a key purpose in both the style and message being passed across (Halliday, 1994). It is impersonal in the sense that the author makes little use of imagery and chooses to depend entirely on communicating his thoughts verbally. On the one hand, this monopoly of language makes the content of the essay all the more difficult to grasp but on the other, it completely eliminates ambiguity and lends absolute clarity to the author’s expression (Fairclough, 2003). The expression of time in the events being analyzed in the text strengthen the kind of genre as epic literature since like most epic literatures and poetry, the plot is centred around a thematic journey both physical and mental. This case also depicts a keen choice of language and style (Hoey, 2000). The piece is so cohesive and coherent that there is no second way of construing any part of it. The sentences are often long and hypotactic with complicated structures as in ‘Gradually with the years, his horizon widens, and, in proportion as his thoughts and feelings become less personal and as he becomes less concerned with his own physical states, he achieves growing wisdom’.As for the lexical choice, liberal use of a lot of polysyllabic words can be seen throughout the essay such as comprehensiveness, emancipation, persuasiveness, impartiality, incompatible, beneficent and narrow-mindedness (Bertand Russel, 1997). The register is often scientific as may be inferred from the frequent use of passive voice: ‘This may be illustrated by [...]’, ‘an end [...] may be pursued unwisely’, ‘their lives were wasted’ and ‘you will have instilled some fragment of wisdom’. A sentence like ‘But I am saying that resistance, if it is to be effective in the spread of evil, should be combined with the greatest degree of understanding and the smallest degree of force that is compatible with the survival of the good things that we wish to preserve’ is an evidence of the author’s linguistic competence as well as intellectual profundity. How we are apt to miss the point of the parable of the Good Samaritan is put forward in a very subtle manner, ultimately connecting with communist and anti-communist orientation and that is a wonderful illustration of what communicative competence is all about. The essay may be considered an authentic text not because Russell is a well-known writer mainly because of its target language for the genre-intended audience (Bertand Russel, 1997). The use of the example of Mr. A and Mr. B as well as that of Communist and anti-Communist is an instance of symbolism referring to a polarized world as it existed then and the disastrous consequences of a possible military conflict between them. In this case, symbolism is important since it communicates a wide message in clear and brief manner besides other importance (Hoey, 1991). Much in the same way, the example of the knowledge of ‘the composition of the atom’ is a grim reminder of the devastation that occurred in Japan in early August 1945. In the comment that ‘wisdom in the sense of comprehensive vision is not necessarily present in specialists in the pursuit of knowledge’ and in the observation that ‘even the best technicians should also be good citizens’, the author allegorically puts a fine point on what may be called a blunder committed by some members the scientific community in passing on their fatal findings to ambitious politicians thereby paving way for the destructive use of nuclear weapons (Bertand Russel, 1997). The essay makes the best possible effort to gain ‘acceptability’ by persuading the reader about the validity of the ideas presented by employing numerous examples. The informativity of the essay, however, is limited for, considering the number of examples and the diversity of subjects, adding further information on any or all of them would make stretch the size of the essay to that of a book. Style in this case comes through language choice to extent the text length (Johnstone, 2008). Therefore, when the author makes a statement such as ‘Queen Elizabeth I in England and Henry IV in France [...] remained free from the errors of their time’ or ‘Abraham Lincoln conducted a great war without ever departing from [...] wisdom’, he does not elucidate on the issues mentioned but leaves it to the reader (Bertand Russel, 1997). The assumption is that the reader has the required knowledge of history to be able to see the point of what the author means. This aspect further motivates the language choice (Carter & Nash, 1990). Obviously, the degree of intersexuality of the essay is high. Several parts of the essay call for some prior knowledge of a different subject, be it comprehensive vision and the composition of atom or Hegel and history writing or chemists and the philosopher’s stone or the precept ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself’ and the parable of the Good Samaritan, which presents a clarification through a biblical example (Lakoff & Johnson, 1981). The essay is an excellent example of effective argumentative writing. It also teaches the reader how one can disagree without being disagreeable. But it does not mean that the value of the essay lies solely in its persuasive style and perfect organisation. We are living an age in which we are witnesses to unprecedentedly fast growth of science and technology. We are carried away so swiftly by the currents of what is perceived as development that we do not even have a moment to pause and ponder whether our new acquisitions are assets or liabilities. Amid this chaos, Russell’s observations and recommendations inspire us to think differently and therefore continue to be of timeless value to all ‘the citizens of the world’. The use of all these feature are meant to enrich the chosen literature genre. Bibliography Bertand Russel, J. G. 1997. Last Philosophical Testament: 1943-68. Psychology Press. Carter,R. & Nash W. (1990) Seeing through Language. Cambridge: Blackwell. Coulthard, M. (ed.) (1994) Advances in Written Text Analysis. London: Routledge. Fairclough, N. (2003) Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. London: Routledge. Halliday, M.A.K. (1994) 3rd ed. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Arnold. Hoey, M. (2000). Textual Interaction: An Introduction to Written Discourse Analysis. London: Routledge. Hoey, M. (1991) Patterns of Lexis in Text. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Johnstone, B. (2008) Discourse Analysis. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1981) Metaphors we Live by. Chicago: Univ. Press. Salkie, R. (1995) Text and Discourse Analysis. London and New York: Routledge. Underhill, J.W. (2013) Creating Worldviews. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Appendix: Text of the Essay ‘Knowledge and Wisdom’ by Bertrand Russell Most people would agree that, although our age far surpasses all previous ages in knowledge, there has been no correlative increase in wisdom. But agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define `wisdom and consider means of promoting it. I want to ask first what wisdom is, and then what can be done to teach it. There are, I think, several factors that contribute to wisdom. Of these I should put first a sense of proportion: the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight. This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to the extent and complexity of the specialized knowledge required of various kinds of technicians. Suppose, for example, that you are engaged in research in scientific medicine. The work is difficult and is likely to absorb the whole of your intellectual energy. You have not time to consider the effect which your discoveries or inventions may have outside the field of medicine. You succeed (let us say), as modern medicine has succeeded, in enormously lowering the infant death-rate, not only in Europe and America, but also in Asia and Africa. This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequate and lowering the standard of life in the most populous parts of the world. To take an even more spectacular example, which is in everybodys mind at the present time, you study the composition of the atom from a disinterested desire for knowledge, and incidentally place in the hands of powerful lunatics the means of destroying the human race. In such ways the pursuit of knowledge may become harmful unless it is combined with wisdom; and wisdom in the sense of comprehensive vision is not necessarily present in specialists in the pursuit of knowledge. Comprehensiveness alone, however, is not enough to constitute wisdom. There must be, also, a certain awareness of the ends of human life. This may be illustrated by the study of history. Many eminent historians have done more harm than good because they viewed facts through the distorting medium of their own passions. Hegel had a philosophy of history which did not suffer from any lack of comprehensiveness, since it started from the earliest times and continued into an indefinite future. But the chief lesson of history which he sought to inculcate was that from the year 400AD down to his own time Germany had been the most important nation and the standard-bearer of progress in the world. Perhaps one could stretch the comprehensiveness that constitutes wisdom to include not only intellect but also feeling. It is by no means uncommon to find men whose knowledge is wide but whose feelings are narrow. Such men lack what I call wisdom. It is not only in public ways, but in private life equally, that wisdom is needed. It is needed in the choice of ends to be pursued and in emancipation from personal prejudice. Even an end which it would be noble to pursue if it were attainable may be pursued unwisely if it is inherently impossible of achievement. Many men in past ages devoted their lives to a search for the philosophers stone and the elixir of life. No doubt, if they could have found them, they would have conferred great benefits upon mankind, but as it was their lives were wasted. To descend to less heroic matters, consider the case of two men, Mr. A and Mr. B, who hate each other and, through mutual hatred, bring each other to destruction. Suppose you go Mr. A and say, Why do you hate Mr. B? He will no doubt give you an appalling list of Mr. Bs vices, partly true, partly false. And now suppose you go to Mr. B. He will give you an exactly similar list of Mr. As vices with an equal admixture of truth and falsehood. Suppose you now come back to Mr. A and say, You will be surprised to learn that Mr. B says the same things about you as you say about him, and you go to Mr. B and make a similar speech. The first effect, no doubt, will be to increase their mutual hatred, since each will be so horrified by the others injustice. But perhaps, if you have sufficient patience and sufficient persuasiveness, you may succeed in convincing each that the other has only the normal share of human wickedness, and that their enmity is harmful to both. If you can do this, you will have instilled some fragment of wisdom. I think the essence of wisdom is emancipation, as far as possible, from the tyranny of the here and now. We cannot help the egoism of our senses. Sight and sound and touch are bound up with our own bodies and cannot be impersonal. Our emotions start similarly from ourselves. An infant feels hunger or discomfort, and is unaffected except by his own physical condition. Gradually with the years, his horizon widens, and, in proportion as his thoughts and feelings become less personal and less concerned with his own physical states, he achieves growing wisdom. This is of course a matter of degree. No one can view the world with complete impartiality; and if anyone could, he would hardly be able to remain alive. But it is possible to make a continual approach towards impartiality, on the one hand, by knowing things somewhat remote in time or space, and on the other hand, by giving to such things their due weight in our feelings. It is this approach towards impartiality that constitutes growth in wisdom. Can wisdom in this sense be taught? And, if it can, should the teaching of it be one of the aims of education? I should answer both these questions in the affirmative. We are told on Sundays that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. On the other six days of the week, we are exhorted to hate. You may say that this is nonsense since it is not our neighbor whom we are exhorted to hate. But you will remember that the precept was exemplified by saying that the Samaritan was our neighbor. We no longer have any wish to hate Samaritans and so we are apt to miss the point of the parable. If you want to get its point, you should substitute Communist or anti-Communist, as the case may be, for Samaritan. It might be objected that it is right to hate those who do harm. I do not think so. If you hate them, it is only too likely that you will become equally harmful; and it is very unlikely that you will induce them to abandon their evil ways. Hatred of evil is itself a kind of bondage to evil. The way out through understands, not through hate. I am not advocating non-resistance. But I am saying that resistance, if it is to be effective in preventing the spread of evil, should be combined with the greatest degree of understanding and the smallest degree of force that is compatible with the survival of the good things that we wish to preserve. It is commonly urged that a point of view such as I have been advocating is incompatible with vigor in action. I do not think history bears out this view. Queen Elizabeth I in England and Henry IV in France lived in a world where almost everybody was fanatical, either on the Protestant or on the Catholic side. Both remained free from the errors of their time and both, by remaining free, were beneficent and certainly not ineffective. Abraham Lincoln conducted a great war without ever departing from what I have called wisdom. I have said that in some degree wisdom can be taught. I think that this teaching should have a larger intellectual element than has been customary in what has been thought of as moral instruction. I think that the disastrous results of hatred and narrow-mindedness to those who feel them can be pointed out incidentally in the course of giving knowledge. I do not think that knowledge and morals ought to be too much separated. It is true that the kind of specialized knowledge which is required for various kinds of skill has very little to do with wisdom. But it should be supplemented in education by wider surveys calculated to put it in its place in the total of human activities. Even the best technicians should also be good citizens; and when I say citizens, I mean citizens of the world and not of this or that sector nation. With every increase of knowledge and skill, wisdom becomes more necessary, for every such increase augments our capacity of realizing our purposes, and therefore augments our capacity for evil, if our purposes. are unwise. The world needs wisdom as it has never needed it before; and if knowledge continues to increase, the world will need wisdom in the future even more than it does now. Read More