Reason and Its Role in Human Nature Very few ideas are examined and reexamined and scrutinized as much as the idea of human nature. From the 1700’s all the way to contemporary times, countless people have contributed to this discussion, two of the most influential being William Golding, a well-known author, and John Locke, a philosopher during the Enlightenment movement. Though John Locke and William Golding lived in very different times and had very different influences, they both focused on what people would do without any rules. Golding explored this in his novel The Lord of the Flies, in which a group of boys crash on an island and have to figure out a way to be rescued. They start out maintaining civilized practices and valuing fairness
…show more content…
As previously stated, Locke is of the opinion that everyone would be compassionate because they would work towards the collective wellbeing. In the start of Golding’s novel, the boys do this as well: they do their best to set up a fair society, implementing a council and having regular meeting to bring up any concerns. They were all fairly good to each other. However, as soon as the boys are no longer confident in their safety, they become violent. No one joins the savage tribe until their leader says “my hunters will protect you from the beast” (Golding, 150), after which they “found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society” (Golding, 152). Once the boys are offered security and safety, they do not care about the collective wellbeing any longer- as long as they are safe, they don’t question things. In summary, Golding and Locke agree as to what people would do until those people are exposed to fear, which Locke believes will change nothing but Golding says completely changes their behavior so that they no longer consult reason before acting. However, Golding claims that the lack of authority will create uncertainty that will give way to fear, so that, without authority, the people’s descent into violence is …show more content…
Locke believes reason would guide all people to be compassionate towards each other, while Golding believes that the fear and instability created by the lack of direction would make people act on flawed and violent instinct rather than reasoning. In the absence of fear, they predict people will act the same way, though Golding claims that fear is the inevitable consequence of an environment without rules and the stability they provide. The instability that is prevalent in the situations set up by both Golding and Locke bear many similarities to situations that can be seen in the news or even in daily life, though their examples have been pushed to the extreme to better illustrate the points they make. The lack of authority shown in both Locke’s unstructured society and Golding’s stranded boys is mirrored in the power vacuum present after many revolutions, in which the lack of a central authority fosters instability and insecurity in the public, so that, for a little while, violence goes unchecked and rules are no longer enforced. This pattern can also be seen in riots and, in some cases,
As previously stated, Locke is of the opinion that everyone would be compassionate because they would work towards the collective wellbeing. In the start of Golding’s novel, the boys do this as well: they do their best to set up a fair society, implementing a council and having regular meeting to bring up any concerns. They were all fairly good to each other. However, as soon as the boys are no longer confident in their safety, they become violent. No one joins the savage tribe until their leader says “my hunters will protect you from the beast” (Golding, 150), after which they “found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society” (Golding, 152). Once the boys are offered security and safety, they do not care about the collective wellbeing any longer- as long as they are safe, they don’t question things. In summary, Golding and Locke agree as to what people would do until those people are exposed to fear, which Locke believes will change nothing but Golding says completely changes their behavior so that they no longer consult reason before acting. However, Golding claims that the lack of authority will create uncertainty that will give way to fear, so that, without authority, the people’s descent into violence is …show more content…
Locke believes reason would guide all people to be compassionate towards each other, while Golding believes that the fear and instability created by the lack of direction would make people act on flawed and violent instinct rather than reasoning. In the absence of fear, they predict people will act the same way, though Golding claims that fear is the inevitable consequence of an environment without rules and the stability they provide. The instability that is prevalent in the situations set up by both Golding and Locke bear many similarities to situations that can be seen in the news or even in daily life, though their examples have been pushed to the extreme to better illustrate the points they make. The lack of authority shown in both Locke’s unstructured society and Golding’s stranded boys is mirrored in the power vacuum present after many revolutions, in which the lack of a central authority fosters instability and insecurity in the public, so that, for a little while, violence goes unchecked and rules are no longer enforced. This pattern can also be seen in riots and, in some cases,