Nonmoral Nature Essays

Nonmoral Nature Essays Nonmoral Nature Paper Nonmoral Nature Paper In Stephen Jay Goulds Nonmoral Nature, he discusses nature, and the difference between cruelty in animals and humans, and explains how the same moral can not be applied for both. The order in which he presents the different points of view is very important. At the beginning he supports his writing with sources from scientists that are not famous. However, to close out his work, he uses the well-known scientist Darwin to leave a lasting impression on the reader. In this essay, Gould provides both sides of moral in animals as well as humans, and then gives his explanation, then lets the reader decide from his own point of view. According to Gould, morality in nature can be perceived from the existent power, wisdom and goodness of God instead of the no-God thesis of Darwin. If moral nature is different in animals and humans, and cruelty can not be applied to both at the same time, then a God can exist. When Reverend Francis Henry died in 1829, he left money to support a series of books by many writers on how the power, wisdom and goodness of God, [are] manifested in the creation (474). Gould, as many other writers did, wrote about morals in nature, and how it can not be applied to human morality. The example of the Ichneumon fly or wasp is brought up by many scientists. William Buckland explains how the female locates the appropriate host and converts it into food for the larva, which then grows inside, keeping the host alive, preserving intact the essential heart and central nervous system. Finally, the larva completes its work and kills its victim (476). Gould clarifies Darwins main theory, that for all the misery in the world, a God can not exist because he would not have created the Ichneumonidea (481). Furthermore, Gould cites scientists that have a different way of viewing cruelty in nature. Reverend William Kirb focused on the virtue of the mother love that is displayed by provisioning the young with such care (476). Mirvat also makes an argument based on the fact that the suffering of animals is different from the suffering of people. Mirvat states that suffering is connected to the mental condition of the sufferer, that we as humans see it differently, and that the more cultivated and refined men are, the more they suffer from recollection of past moments and anticipation of future ones (481). If moral nature can not be applied the same way in animals and humans, then an all-powerful God may perhaps exist. Goulds writing is very effective because he has a strong argument supported by strong evidence and logic. Science who knows much about this topic in an English class? Gould wasnt limited by this. Although science sometimes can have words that are not regularly used in universal English, the clarity needed to understand these complex concepts is offered by Gould through explaining the scientific word used right after using it. For instance, The ichneumon fly ichnemonoidea are a group of wasps, not flies, that include more species than all the vertebrates combined (475). Even though advanced biology terms and Latin classification are used to identify his subject matter, the explanation of the word teaches the audience the new word so that it might have understanding of the area under discussion. Furthermore, Nonmoral Nature is a very controversial matter that many scientists have written on. For the improvement of the reader, since science might not be his or her strongest ability, and the knowledge on the subject might be limited, Gould introduces the matter by quoting other scientists who have studied the issue before. This is very effective since the readers do not feel unintelligent while reading about a subject that is unknown to them. Gould makes the interpretation flow easily from one paragraph to the next one, helping the reader understand the general concept as well as his ideas. To illustrate, Gould quotes William Buckland to show what the big controversy is by presenting his thesis by questioning if God is good, why are we surrounded with pain, suffering, and apparently senseless cruelty in the animal world? (474). Moreover, Gould points up William Kirby, who in the same situation focused instead upon the virtue of the mother love displayed by wasp in provisioning their young with such care (479). Gould is very effective by teaching the readers about the subject, and then explaining his point. This way the reader feels part of the essay and has an opinion, and by being part of this dissertation the reader gains understanding. Equally important for the reader is the understanding and creating of ones own ideas on the area under discussion. Logic through critical thinking is what in fact makes the difference between an effective essay and a vain one. The way Gould uses the words and his sources helps the audience to make its own judgment on the subject. This was very effective in the nineteenth century when he first wrote the essay as well as nowadays. The reader wants to feel smart and able to make a personal resolution, without the author having all the influence. For instance, at the end of the essay Gould quotes Darwin as he says; Let every man hope and believe what he can (484). This was a good strategy because Gould was telling the readers that they were intelligent enough to make their own judgment on the subject. Gould inspires the readers to look at the facts that he gathered and find their own conclusion on moral nature. This was done in a very effective way because the reader learns to understand Goulds writing instead of judging his ideas, and after doing that the readers decide what their hopes and beliefs are. Consequently, because of the techniques used by Gould in this essay, it was easy for the reader to understand the subject as well as the point he was trying to make. If either non-God believers or Christians that believe in the power, wisdom and goodness of God, as manifested in the creation, read this essay, they would not feel harassed. The way that Gould looks at morality is to unlock a new idea for the people without forcing them to believe it. The essay was tremendously effective through the use of support to his writing. In fact, the support of his thesis with the ideas of more distinguished scientists at the end leaves a lasting impression on the reader. As Darwin said; Let every man hope and believe what he can (484). Gould lets the reader hope and believe what he can. Gould, Stephen Jay. Nonmoral Nature. A World of Ideas Essential Readings for College Writers. By Lee A Jacobus. Bedford: St. Martins, 2002. 471-484. Rpt. in A World of Ideas Essential Readings for College Writers.

Missing Information in APA Referencing

Missing Information in APA Referencing Missing Information in APA Referencing Referencing can be tricky even if you have all the source details. But what do you do when you can’t find an author’s name or a date of publication? In this post, we look at how to deal with missing information in APA referencing. Sources Without a Named Author: Organizational Authors Not every source will name the person who wrote it. When this happens, you can cite an organizational author instead (i.e., the company or organization that produced the source): Anonymity can affect the psyche over prolonged periods (American Psychological Association, 2008). Here, for example, we’re citing the American Psychological Association. We would then cite the same organizational author in the reference list at the end of the document. For instance: American Psychological Association (2008). The Psychological Effects of Anonymity on Self-Esteem. New York, NY: APA Press Inc. If you cite a source like this more than once, you may also want to abbreviate the organization’s name. You can do this within a citation by adding the abbreviation in square brackets: Anonymity can affect the psyche over prolonged periods (American Psychological Association [APA], 2008). On the next citation, we would then use the abbreviation by itself instead of repeating the full organization name again. Sources Without a Named Author: Anonymous Authors If a source truly has no author to name, APA recommends using the title in place of a name in citations and the reference list. If the title is quite long, you should also shorten it. For instance, we could cite an anonymous book called How to Cite Sources Effectively like this: Citing sources with missing information can be difficult (How to Cite, 2001). We would then use the full source title in place of an author’s name in the reference list. The only time you should attribute something to â€Å"Anonymous† is when the author is listed as such on the source. Sources Without a Year of Publication If you cannot find a date of publication for a source, use the phrase â€Å"n.d.† This is short for â€Å"no date.† We would use it in a citation like this, for instance: Time makes fools of us all (Smith, n.d.). We would then also use â€Å"n.d.† in place of a year in the reference list. Sources Without Page Numbers Possibly the most common issues of missing information in APA referencing is that some sources, such as websites, do not have page numbers. In cases like this, APA says you can use a paragraph number in citations: Smith (2003) rejects the â€Å"supposed need for page numbers† (para. 6). As a rule, paragraph numbers are most useful for shorter documents where you can quickly count the number of paragraphs therein (or for sources that come with pre-numbered paragraphs). Summary: Missing Information in APA Referencing If you cannot find full source information, APA referencing suggests: Cite an organizational author if a source is missing a named author. If there is no suitable organizational author either, use the source title instead. Use the abbreviation â€Å"n.d.† if a source has no year of publication. Use a paragraph number if a source has no page numbers. The points above should cover most cases of missing information in APA. However, remember to check carefully before using these methods. Most sources will have the information you need available, even if it is not easy to spot at first. And don’t forget that you can have your work proofread to make sure your referencing is complete.