Assignment #1

“Many people are happier during a war than they are in peace time, provided the direct suffering entailed by the fighting does not fall too heavily upon them personally. A quiet life may well be a boring life. The unadventurous existence of a well-behaved citizen, engaged in earning a moderate living in a humble capacity, leaves completely unsatisfied all that part of his nature which, if he had lived 400,000 years ago, would have found ample scope in the search for food,  in cutting off the heads of enemies, and in escaping the attention of tigers” (Russell 10).

Prior to the above quote, Betrand Russel relates his whole lecture with social cohesion and human nature. He speaks upon the importance of family and its beginnings. As survival instinct was to depend on those most similar to another creating a strong bond of loyalty. Russel suggest an argument that competition has occurred since the origin of man. This is later divided into different categories. He says how competition leads to a life that is definitely the opposite of dull and spiced with adventures. I agree with Russell that a life without some form of competition may be boring. From a look at today’s society, the United States is competing with foreign countries to have the best education system with effective results. Competition can lead to positive outcomes. As implied from the example, with the readjustment of the educational systems the newer generation will have a brighter future. Overall, competition is a human trait that can’t be erased without impacting other aspects of human nature.

Alisha Alex