Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
6 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
To say that money is the root of all evil is to say that it is the sole motivator behind all atrocities that occur. This is clearly not true. So before we can examine why money is not the root of all evil we must first question what motivates people to do immoral things. To start, science provides an explanation behind why some people are more willing to resort to their animalistic natures in certain situations. |
An article by Larry Greenemeier explains cognitive control mechanisms, and how our sense of self control has a huge impact over the actions we take. All humans have mirror neurons, which cause us to reflect the actions we see, but some people have a stronger sense of control over these neurons than others. To quote Greenemeier, “The idea is that there are systems |
|
|
in the brain that help us by imitating only ‘internally’—they dampen the activity of mirror neurons when we simply watch, so that we can still have the sort of ‘inner imitation’ that allows us to empathize with others, without any overt imitation.” So, what we experience can influence how “dampened” our desire to reflect a violent action is. For example, a child that regularly |
watches violent movies and sees their parents fighting may more easily turn to violence in a bad situation than someone who was raised in a more restrictive environment. Money might provoke them to do something evil, but it is their inability to restrain themselves that actually causes them to go through with the action. |
|
|
In addition, science can not account for all causes of evil, and emotional motives hold a powerful influence over how many atrocities occur. Some claim that money is the only reason that people decide to commit crimes, but statistics show that there are many motivators of evil other than money, so it can not possibly be the root of all evil. |
The chart to the right shows motivations behind hate crimes committed in Canada from 2006-2007, as reported by the police. Race or ethnicity accounted for about 6 out out of 10 crimes each year, and religion and sexual orientation were close behind. Only two percent of crimes were committed for other or unknown reasons, (including money). |
|
|
As proven by statistics, money is not the only motivator of evil, and often human nature holds a powerful influence over what we do. Humanity has proven time and time again that barbarism lies in our core. Some people are better at repressing their animalistic natures, but others let violence and chaos reign. In addition, serious mental disorders can cause people to desire death and horror for unknown reasons. |
A perfect example of this is the Sandy Hook shooting. The children in Sandy Hook elementary school had no money, and their deaths did not bring the shooter any wealth, yet he still chose to kill them. He was reported to have never been mentally sound, and to claim that the only reason he killed so many innocent children was for wealth is extremely foolish. |
|
|
If money is the root of all evil, then why didn’t the shooter attain any wealth from his actions? They were certainly awful, yet money held no influence over his twisted mind. Even in a world without money, people with mental disorders and twisted ethics would still exist, and the shooting still would have occurred. |
Furthermore, political anger and racism can motivate people to commit atrocities. In a sword attack, a man wearing a mask and holding a sword was in a school in Sweden, where he began playing creepy music. A couple girls, thinking it was a Halloween joke, approached the man and asked to take a picture with him. |
|
|
When a teacher asked him to stop bothering the students and leave, he stabbed her, and began chasing the girls. He obtained no wealth from the attack, and he was probably motivated by his political beliefs and racism, as proven by the fact that he only targeted people of certain backgrounds. His inability to repress his violence and anger caused the attack, not desire for money or killing those who had more of it. |
fini |
