David Gauthier says humans act in their self-interest. David Cummiskey claims desire motivates our actions. J. David Velleman argues human nature is based in rationality. From philosophers to comic strip writers, the question of human nature has crossed the minds of many. What is a part of human nature?
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Dry leaves waltz across the grass, dancing to the silent gust of wind that comes past. In the same way that the leaves move separately, the people wander – singular entities avoiding collisions in the natural world. No roads. No community centers. No sounds of people talking to one another. No sight of others close by. In the state of nature, society doesn’t exist. There are no laws or governments, just individuals governing themselves and only themselves. Conflicts are fought between individuals, not arbitrated in courtrooms. But due to the absence of rules and authority, true human nature reveals itself. With no deterrents from police forces or governing bodies, individuals can act however they like. They can be altruistic, violent or selfish – but one common denominator will reveal itself in this environment as true human nature.
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“The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins. Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch — this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.” (Collins)
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“During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that conditions called war; and such a war, as if of every man, against every man.” – Thomas Hobbes
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The Hunger Games “artificially re-create[s] the Hobbsean State of Nature” by fabricating an environment in which individuals can take whatever action they choose to, as within the arena there are no rules to prevent violence or conflict between individuals (Foy 210). Hobbes concluded that the state of nature results in a “bellum universal, a war of all against all,” which further suggests its similarity to the arena where all tributes compete against each other (Foy 211). In the state of nature, the world is “fraught with divisive struggle” and individuals “compet[e] for resources” due to a scarcity of goods (Lloyd). This suggests the Hunger Games’ similarity to the state of nature since the individuals not only compete for their lives but also engage in conflicts around the cornucopia for resources that can help their survival just as much as a weapon can. Hobbes believed that only in the state of nature can we gain a “glimpse at the “natural” condition of human existence” (Foy 208). Thus the arena from the Hunger Games yields insight into the characteristics of human nature since it provides the same environment and is fraught with the same struggles as the state of nature.
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In the arena, Katniss and Peeta are forced to make many decisions regarding strategy and what values they are willing to sacrifice in order to win. One thing that they never sacrifice throughout the games, however, is their altruistic behavior, suggesting this characteristic as part of human nature. Peeta acts benevolently throughout the games, starting from the very beginning. When the tributes enter the arena, he teams up with the careers to help them find Katniss, but in actuality allies with them to lead them away from her. Staying with the careers poses significant danger to him though, since they could decide to turn on him at any time. This suggests his altruistic nature as he places Katniss safety above his own even while in the arena. Furthermore, Katniss also displays similar altruistic behavior. She often takes actions “from a place of care,” and the arena is no different (Averill). She protects Rue from district 8, a “completely selfless act,” and attempts to protect her from the other tributes (Montgomery). And when she doesn’t manage to save Rue and the young tribute is killed, Katniss covers her in flowers and sings to her – a final act of kindness to conclude the young girls life. Lastly, the Hunger Games ends with one final act of altruism. At the very end of the games, Plutarch announces that there can only be one winner and that the two must fight each other for the title of victor. Most individuals in this situation would turn on each other, but not Katniss and Peeta. Instead, they both take Nightlock in their hands and agree to end their lives together. Their willingness to commit double suicide ends the hunger games with one ultimate act of altruism: an agreement to sacrifice glory, riches and life to evade harming another.
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“The somewhat surprising answer at which some biologists have arrived is that babies are innately sociable and helpful to others. Of course every animal must to some extent be selfish to survive. But the biologists also see in humans a natural willingness to help. When infants 18 months old see an unrelated adult whose hands are full and who needs assistance opening a door or picking up a dropped clothespin, they will immediately help, Michael Tomasello writes in “Why We Cooperate,” a book published in October. Dr. Tomasello, a developmental psychologist, is co-director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. The helping behavior seems to be innate because it appears so early and before many parents start teaching children the rules of polite behavior. “It’s probably safe to assume that they haven’t been explicitly and directly taught to do this,” said Elizabeth Spelke, a developmental psychologist at Harvard. “On the other hand, they’ve had lots of opportunities to experience acts of helping by others. I think the jury is out on the innateness question.” (Wade)
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Hobbes always believed man to be innately evil. In fact, Cato and the careers probably stand up more to what Hobbes had in mind when he imagined individuals in the state of nature. But Collin’s characters of Katniss and Peeta compete against the Hobbesian careers and triumph, demonstrating altruism as a characteristic of human nature since they win the games and prove themselves to be the best of the tributes. Katniss and Peeta prove that “human goodness can flourish even in the most dehumanizing circumstances” or that altruism remains a part of human nature even in the worst of situations (Smith). By creating a fictional State of Nature, Collins argues against Hobbes idea that individuals are evil on his own playing field and demonstrates the human capacity for altruism in every circumstance.
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Works Cited:
Averill, Lindsey Issow. “Sometimes the World is Hungry for People who Care,”
http://morepopfiction.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/3/8/26383539/katniss_and_care_ethic.pdf
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press. 2008.
Foy, Joseph. “Safe to do what? Morality and the War of All against All in the Arena”
http://morepopfiction.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/3/8/26383539/safe_to_do_what_morality__war.pdf
Lloyd, Sharon A. and Sreedhar, Susanne, "Hobbes's Moral and Political Philosophy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/hobbes-moral/
Montgomery, Molly. "Safe to Do What?" More Popular Fiction. April 7 2014.http://morepopfiction.weebly.com/molly-m.html
Smith, Jeremy Adam. “Five lessons in human goodness from ‘The Hunger Games’” The Berkeley Blog. UC Berkeley News Center. April 2 2012.
http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2012/04/25/five-lessons-in-human-goodness-from-the-hunger-games/
Wade, Nicholas. “We May Be Born With an Urge to Help.” The New York Times. November 30, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/science/01human.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Image citations:
http://blog.brennangilbert.com/2011/02/human-nature.html
https://popspoken.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/5-exciting-scenes-to-look-forward-to-in-the-hunger-games/
http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/File:Hunger_Games_Cornucopia_bloodbath.png
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hunger Games “artificially re-create[s] the Hobbsean State of Nature” by fabricating an environment in which individuals can take whatever action they choose to, as within the arena there are no rules to prevent violence or conflict between individuals (Foy 210). Hobbes concluded that the state of nature results in a “bellum universal, a war of all against all,” which further suggests its similarity to the arena where all tributes compete against each other (Foy 211). In the state of nature, the world is “fraught with divisive struggle” and individuals “compet[e] for resources” due to a scarcity of goods (Lloyd). This suggests the Hunger Games’ similarity to the state of nature since the individuals not only compete for their lives but also engage in conflicts around the cornucopia for resources that can help their survival just as much as a weapon can. Hobbes believed that only in the state of nature can we gain a “glimpse at the “natural” condition of human existence” (Foy 208). Thus the arena from the Hunger Games yields insight into the characteristics of human nature since it provides the same environment and is fraught with the same struggles as the state of nature.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the arena, Katniss and Peeta are forced to make many decisions regarding strategy and what values they are willing to sacrifice in order to win. One thing that they never sacrifice throughout the games, however, is their altruistic behavior, suggesting this characteristic as part of human nature. Peeta acts benevolently throughout the games, starting from the very beginning. When the tributes enter the arena, he teams up with the careers to help them find Katniss, but in actuality allies with them to lead them away from her. Staying with the careers poses significant danger to him though, since they could decide to turn on him at any time. This suggests his altruistic nature as he places Katniss safety above his own even while in the arena. Furthermore, Katniss also displays similar altruistic behavior. She often takes actions “from a place of care,” and the arena is no different (Averill). She protects Rue from district 8, a “completely selfless act,” and attempts to protect her from the other tributes (Montgomery). And when she doesn’t manage to save Rue and the young tribute is killed, Katniss covers her in flowers and sings to her – a final act of kindness to conclude the young girls life. Lastly, the Hunger Games ends with one final act of altruism. At the very end of the games, Plutarch announces that there can only be one winner and that the two must fight each other for the title of victor. Most individuals in this situation would turn on each other, but not Katniss and Peeta. Instead, they both take Nightlock in their hands and agree to end their lives together. Their willingness to commit double suicide ends the hunger games with one ultimate act of altruism: an agreement to sacrifice glory, riches and life to evade harming another.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“The somewhat surprising answer at which some biologists have arrived is that babies are innately sociable and helpful to others. Of course every animal must to some extent be selfish to survive. But the biologists also see in humans a natural willingness to help. When infants 18 months old see an unrelated adult whose hands are full and who needs assistance opening a door or picking up a dropped clothespin, they will immediately help, Michael Tomasello writes in “Why We Cooperate,” a book published in October. Dr. Tomasello, a developmental psychologist, is co-director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. The helping behavior seems to be innate because it appears so early and before many parents start teaching children the rules of polite behavior. “It’s probably safe to assume that they haven’t been explicitly and directly taught to do this,” said Elizabeth Spelke, a developmental psychologist at Harvard. “On the other hand, they’ve had lots of opportunities to experience acts of helping by others. I think the jury is out on the innateness question.” (Wade)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hobbes always believed man to be innately evil. In fact, Cato and the careers probably stand up more to what Hobbes had in mind when he imagined individuals in the state of nature. But Collin’s characters of Katniss and Peeta compete against the Hobbesian careers and triumph, demonstrating altruism as a characteristic of human nature since they win the games and prove themselves to be the best of the tributes. Katniss and Peeta prove that “human goodness can flourish even in the most dehumanizing circumstances” or that altruism remains a part of human nature even in the worst of situations (Smith). By creating a fictional State of Nature, Collins argues against Hobbes idea that individuals are evil on his own playing field and demonstrates the human capacity for altruism in every circumstance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Works Cited:
Averill, Lindsey Issow. “Sometimes the World is Hungry for People who Care,”
http://morepopfiction.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/3/8/26383539/katniss_and_care_ethic.pdf
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press. 2008.
Foy, Joseph. “Safe to do what? Morality and the War of All against All in the Arena”
http://morepopfiction.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/3/8/26383539/safe_to_do_what_morality__war.pdf
Lloyd, Sharon A. and Sreedhar, Susanne, "Hobbes's Moral and Political Philosophy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/hobbes-moral/
Montgomery, Molly. "Safe to Do What?" More Popular Fiction. April 7 2014.http://morepopfiction.weebly.com/molly-m.html
Smith, Jeremy Adam. “Five lessons in human goodness from ‘The Hunger Games’” The Berkeley Blog. UC Berkeley News Center. April 2 2012.
http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2012/04/25/five-lessons-in-human-goodness-from-the-hunger-games/
Wade, Nicholas. “We May Be Born With an Urge to Help.” The New York Times. November 30, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/science/01human.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Image citations:
http://blog.brennangilbert.com/2011/02/human-nature.html
https://popspoken.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/5-exciting-scenes-to-look-forward-to-in-the-hunger-games/
http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/File:Hunger_Games_Cornucopia_bloodbath.png