Irrationalism and Imperialism: A Discussion of Works - Book Report/Review Example

Number] Irrationalism and Imperialism: A Discussion of Works Mathew Arnold and his "Dover Beach" In the poem Dover Beach, the poet uses conflicting imagery to give meaning to the poem. The differences in the way that the poet sees the relationship between the beach and the sea and the way that most people would see it become more pronounced as the poem develops. He also uses the change in attitude from the first stanza to the last to emphasize his message. The poem starts with the normal image one would expect of a beach and a peaceful moonlit night, but quickly moves to an entirely different point of view. By the end of the first stanza the sea is no longer peaceful and calm, but crashing with a "grating roar". The poet has taken an image that most people associate with tranquility and turned it into a depressing scene. The stanza ends with 'the eternal note of sadness' being brought in by the sea. The poet is comparing the sea to the sum of all human troubles. The sea is eternal just as human suffering is eternal. The sea has also seen all of the human suffering and it mirrors these in its roars and waves. Society has became a sea of conflicts with different interests clashing with political theories and the way hunger for new territories and subduing of people gave rise to irrational justifications. 2) Darwin's universe consisted of individuals who, in the course of time, would undergo a process called evolution. The guiding principle behind this evolution is the 'survival of the fittest' wherein the weak will become extinct and the strong will dominate the land. In this theory, some men are designed to be stronger than others while others, with their frailties, are designed to be extinguished. The concept of the "survival of the fittest" is used to justify the notion that some men are born to govern while others exist to be governed. Individuals were subject to this rule whether they like it or not. This is the connection of Darwin's universe to our topic. Geometric order, rigor and reductionism were seen as virtues of the Enlightenment. The modern movement points to reductionism and rationality as crucial aspects of Enlightenment thinking of which it is the inheritor, as opposed to irrationality and emotionalism. In this view, the Enlightenment represents the basis for modern ideas of liberalism against superstition and intolerance. Darwinism had a more irrational aspect justifying that some activities, repressive as it seems, is necessary even though it is based on the notion of superiority which is seen by many as irrational and unfounded. Romanticism regarded men as a work of art and place emotions at the forefront of reasoning while Darwinism presented a rather cold view of man with should have no feelings towards the acts of others. Remember that Darwinism forwards the notion that some acts, no matter how cruel, are necessary. Feelings have no place in the evolution of men. Darwininism also forwards the notion that inequality is an outgrowth of the social evolution of man. Instead of striving to change the society to resemble a utopia, let the gradual course of human social evolution take place with minimal disturbance. Spencer is most associated with the Social Darwinism movement where the 'survival of the fittest' also governed the social development of humanity. However, in contrast to Darwin, he held that evolution had a direction and an end-point, the attainment of a final state of 'equilibrium.' The end point of the evolutionary process would be the creation of 'the perfect man in the perfect society' with human beings becoming completely adapted to social life, as predicted in Spencer's first book. According to Spencer, humanity's handing down of his time's psychological constitution to the next generation and which we in turn would hand on to future generations, was in the process of gradual adaptation to the requirements of living in society. For example, aggression was a survival instinct which had been necessary in the primitive conditions of life, but was maladaptive in advanced societies. Over the course of many generations the evolutionary process would ensure that human beings would become less aggressive and increasingly altruistic, leading eventually to a perfect society in which no one would cause another person pain. However, for evolution to produce the perfect individual it was necessary for present and future generations to experience the 'natural' consequences of their conduct. Only in this way would individuals have the incentives required to work on self-improvement and thus to hand an improved moral constitution to their descendants. Hence anything that interfered with the 'natural' relationship of conduct and consequence was to be resisted and this included the use of the coercive power of the state to relieve poverty, to provide public education, or to require compulsory vaccination. Although charitable giving was to be encouraged even it had to be limited by the consideration that suffering was frequently the result of individuals receiving the consequences of their actions. Hence too much individual benevolence directed to the 'undeserving poor' would break the link between conduct and consequence that Spencer considered fundamental to ensuring that humanity continued to evolve to a higher level of development. Spencer is now chiefly remembered for his political theory. Although he has been claimed as a precursor by Libertarians and philosophical anarchists practically all that now remains among the ashes of Spencer's reputation is that he was a 'Social Darwinist' who applied the law of the survival of the fittest to society. Humanitarian impulses had to be resisted as nothing should be allowed to interfere with the severity of the social struggle for existence, the entire point of which was to produce winners and losers. Due to the 'strong governs the weak' concept of Spencer, he has been associated with the racism that is still plaguing our world today. 3) Fyodor Dostoevsky A man, according to Dostoevsky, only achieves consciousness by breaching reality and experiencing pain. This is taken to mean that man will only recognize his value if he becomes an irrational being experiencing pain and inflicting one. In essence, he has no liberty. He is the subject of sufferings and the one making other people suffer. For Dostoevsky, war is the rebellion of the people against the idea that reason guides everything. Reason is the ultimate principle of guidance for neither history nor mankind for many things in life are unreasonable such as grief, despair and death. Only by acclimatizing one's self with these events do we exist. We are not free beings able to pursue whatever delights us but is in fact vessels of torments and irrationality. 4) Imperialism as an outgrowth of late nineteenth century Europe conditions Imperialism is empire building. Expansion occurs when one state is more powerful than are the obstacles to expansion. The obstacles may be other states or peoples, or they may be geographic or physical or technological obstacles. The central core of the empire may be a nation-state, or in ancient times, a city state or a tribe. European civilization experienced a period of unprecedented rapid expansion around the globe during the last third of the nineteenth century. European nation-states had become very powerful because of industrialization and because of the organizational efficiency of the nation-state. European global expansion had actually begun in the fifteenth century, but the process greatly accelerated in the nineteenth century. The ease with which Europeans dominated non-European areas of the world is explained by the power they had resulting from industrialization and the nation-state organization. But the explanations that Europeans made to themselves were that they were superior to non-European peoples. There were a number of racist ideas widely believed by Europeans. Whites were superior to non-whites. One variation was Rudyard Kipling's idea of the White Man's Burden. The white man had the burden and responsibility of bringing the blessings of their superior civilization to the savages of the non-European world. Another was a variation of Social Darwinism in which white Europeans were considered more fit in the struggle for survival. Another variation was that Christianity was the only true religion. Racist attitudes also separated northern Europeans from southern Europeans, Anglo-Saxons, Nordics and Teutons from Latins, and Aryans from Semites. Anti-Semitism had traditionally been interpreted on the basis of religion with Jews considered to be Christ-killers. A new anti-Semitic concept of Jews as an inferior race, which endangered the purity of Aryans, developed in the late 19th century, particularly in Eastern Europe. Vienna, as the capitol of the multi-ethnic Austrian Empire, was a particular site for the greatest variety of anti-Semitic writings. Racism and anti-Semitism was a virulent motivating force in 19th century Europe, which boded ill for the future. Reference: Mochulsky, Konstantin trans. M.H. Minihan. (1967). DOSTOEVSKY.HIS LIFE AND WORK. Princeton University Press Read More