Man's Nature is Evil

In this completely separate article a philosopher named Hsun Tzu explains his idea of how people are born purely evil. He believes that when you are born the only way to become good and stay good is through harsh discipline. Basically Hsun writes that people are naturally born with envy and hate that will eventually lead to violence and crime unless they are disciplined. The article is an argument against Mencius and his article on how mans nature is good. To be specific Hsun writes “Goodness is the result of conscious activity.” Personally I prefer Mencius’s view on mans nature because it is more of how I view it. It is very interesting to know where Chinas way of Law and Discipline stems from. You can clearly see how much of Hsun’s thoughts transferred over to the Chinese culture. The idea of man being born entirely evil seems too strong, because if man was born evil than how does someone such as myself have feelings and have care for people. My parents did not discipline me very much as a child because it was unnecessary and yet I still feel as if I am partly good. There are more flaws to Hsun’s way of thinking than there are with Mencius’s although they can and will be argued by many. It is also interesting to think about how many would agree with each article if brought to different countries such as America and China you would most likely get people in one country choosing one side and another country choosing the other side. All due to how information was transferred over so many years ago and whose thoughts were heard by whom.

Quote 1: “If the nature of man were good, we could dispense with sage kings and forget about ritual principles.”

Explanation: I chose this Quote because it brings up a good point and that is that people must not be born fully good but people must not be born fully evil both because we do have kings and we do have people who forget about ritual principles and live life along with everyone else.

Quote 2: “A man, no matter how fine his nature or how keen his mind, must seek a worthy teacher to study under and good companions to associate with.”

Explanation: This principle is still practiced today. Your parents always tell you to have good smart friends because they have a big impact on you just as your teacher does the same. People try so hard to get into a good college because good teachers reside there and if you are taught by the best teacher you have a better chance at being the best student.

Man's Nature is Good

This article starts out with the explanation of Kung Fu Tzu and Meng Tzu or also known as Mencius and their idea of man being born either good or evil. To be more specific you are born with a "blank slate" that could go either way. The question is man forced in one direction or is it molded into either direction depending on the person. Mencius speaks of how your surroundings and the events that go on in ones life will change how much evil or goodness will come. If you are born in a time of hunger or depression you are more likely to be evil or if your parents who are considered your teachers teach you to be good you will be good. You are naturally born with both good and evil inside but what you take from life will bring one of the two out more. This article is very interesting to me because I often think about people and how they can be so evil and yet so good at the same time. Throughout your life I think you find that balance of good and evil but on your way there you find yourself stuck judging yourself making some evil decisions and some good ones. Personally I catch myself weighing the amount of good and bad decisions I have made just in one day and hope that they balance themselves out. Another reason as to why I like this article is the way Kung Fu Tzu and Meng Tzu speak and how clearly you understand exactly what they mean.

Quote 1: “The nature of things is like swirling water: channel it east and it flows east, channel it west and it flows west. And human nature too is like water: it doesn’t choose between good and evil any more than water chooses between east and west”

Explanation: I believe this is a great quote because it almost sums up Master Kao’s precise thoughts of what this article is all about and it does it in such plain and simple terminology. It is the best metaphor for fit so that you can imagine exactly what he means.

Quote 2: “When people see you’re like an animal, they think that’s all the potential you have. But does that mean this is the human constitution?”

Explanation: Although it may not pertain to the exact message this article is talking about I do believe this quote is a good one because someone’s reaction to somebody else not acting human once is normally evil towards that human but if you were to think about how that person is not normally like an animal you are judging so instead of them being the evil man you are.

The Shadow

"The Shadow" written by Carl Jung is an article focusing on the contents of personal consciousness and unconsciousness and their invariable archetypes. This article speaks of the examination of dark characteristics as well as the emotional nature behind them. The article also goes on to explain that a mans shadow can be seen easily but a different story is told when face to face with the same evil. 

This article was a very complex and difficult piece to get through. The amount of vocabulary only used by someone who has much knowledge on the specific subject is vast. This makes it hard to follow and even harder to understand. Although many examples are given some even personal to the writer which does make you continuously engaged in the reading.

Campus Space

In the Role of Design and Space the author writes about a family who decides to view the Mid-Rocky University campus. They are confused as well as disappointed due to the fact that no signs nor directions to the administration office can be found. It takes them longer than normal to find the office. It is clear that the administration itself is either unaware or doesn't care enough about their visitors to apply more material to make getting around the campus easier. My first year of high school and college have both been very similar to the situation this family was in. Both times I thought i had a good idea where my classes where but about four minutes before class is about to begin I get lost. Not only because the building is hidden but because the rout to get simply to the second floor is unseen it takes about five minutes and two laps around the first floor to find the hidden staircase. As you can most likely understand anyone could get frustrated when trying to find a building or a classroom at a fairly large college or high school.  This would definitely change the behavior of the people going or just visiting these campuses. Students not only get frustrated because they cant find the class but then they get to the class late and miss important information. A persons behavior will also change just being in a certain location in general. If your at a school I am sure you do not feel as if you were in a theme park or club. There is a certain level of excitement that comes along with the space your in the controls how much energy you gain for the activities that go on in that area. 

Comics In L.A.

Los Angeles has a population of 3,792,621 people this makes it the second most populated city in America behind New York City. L.A. was founded in September 4, 1781 by Felipe de Neve who was a Spanish Governor, however N.Y.C. can be traced back as far as 1624 making it much older. New York City also only has an area of 305 square miles. All factors are detrimental when thinking about using a major city as the base of a comic strip. Everyone knows New York City as the base of great Comics such as Spider-Man and as you can see they have many prime facts as to why they chose the great city. Now although Los Angeles may not have the numbers is is a very well known city with a lot of potential. So without solely looking at the facts as to why it is not a great comic city look at the great stories that could come from all of its perks. Consider Hollywood, a numerous amount of famous actors and actresses live in Los Angeles and could easily make a great comic strip story. Another great idea that could come from having a comic focused on in L.A. is unfortunately the amount of major gangs and violence that goes on daily. We honestly need a superhero to keep the grime down. We may not have the crowding or the Gothic look that N.Y.C. has but we definitely have an interesting and lively style that may potentially change or at least give comics a new look.

Comic Book Space

This article "I Am New York" explores the connection between New York and Marvels Comic books. It explains the relationship New York has with numerous super hero's especially Spider Man. Whedon and Cassaday say that "Spider-Man's comments about a 'whole life' spent in New York, about being 'part of a greater whole' and 'enmeshed,' speak largely to the enduring importance of New York City in the Marvel Universe." You could not find a more perfect quote to specifically explain how much New York and Marvel Comics depend on each other. Later in the article Kirby explains that "This idea of Marvel sutured to the real world through New York has also enabled the easy transition of Marvel product into other visual media, as demonstrated through Sony's highly successful Spider-Man movie franchise." This is another great point and one that just opens more and more points of view that could be looked into on the subject. The friendship between New York and Marvel Comics has made many great thinkers dream.

Public Space

Why it is a Great Park

There is a park about half of a mile from my house that is called Lazy Jay Park. This park is approximately one block long and half of a block wide, the land has been a public space for as long as I have been alive. Lazy Jay is a great fairly large park with lots of space for sports and other activities. It also has a great play area with swings and slides. Lazy Jay is a great place to bring your child to teach them how to interact with other children or even teach them sports such as how to catch a baseball.  The location of the park is on the outskirts of the San Fernando Valley which is nice because personally living on the outskirts you find that you have to drive further to get to most things such as a grocery store or the mall. Knowing that the government notices this and would place a park in the middle of all the homes is comforting. Whenever someone in that area decides to take a walk or bike ride they are more than welcome to ride through the park and get some exercising done. Many people go to the park and there are a lot of groups that gather there to get projects and meetings done. Lazy Jay is well groomed and taken care of on a regular basis so it is not at all a damper on the community, it actually makes it much better.

Reasons to Renovate

The ways in which I would renovate Lazy Jay Park would be to add more concrete to it. I have been living in the same house since I was one years old and since elementary school I have been skateboarding. I grew up getting to know many skateboarders who lived in the area. Almost every one of those friends of mine who used to skateboard do not today and one main reason for that is because there are no places to practice relatively close. If a skate park were to be added to Lazy Jay even a small one the amount of kids that would normally be home on their computers or playing video games would be out exercising. If the skate park was anywhere close to decent people from further away would come to visit it and the small businesses around it would potentially get more business which is always a good thing. The skate park could also put on events and all around support the community. The park as of now is focused mainly on the part of the community that plays sports, jogs, and has kids under the age of 10. This leaves a good amount of people in the community with absolutely no use for Lazy Jay Park. If anything another part of the community the skateboarders would have a place to go and people interested in skateboarding even a little bit would be able to go and watch stunts be performed free of charge. Another great reason for building a skate park within Lazy Jay is the mere idea of taking those skateboarders who are normally busy bothering store owners by skateboarding in front of their establishments and giving them an alternative place to skate freely.

Right to the City

The article The End of Public Space? is an article about the fight over what some call a national land mark. Peoples Park is piece of land in danger of being replaced with buildings that would become an extension of the University of California. The Chancellor of the University has proposed to build dormitories on the property that they legally own. However Peoples Park has become home to many homeless people who are scared that the place they feel free to roam will be taken away. Others argue with the school saying that by making the park no longer public you are taking away part of the community's freedom.

Favorite Quotes

- "...defenders of the park were zealous in their determination that no new structures be built there and that some of the traditional structures -- such as the stage and the 'free box' be preserved at all cost."

I chose this quote because it really hit home to how these people feel about the park. Not only would they hate for anything to change Peoples Park but they want the park to be preserved forever.

-"... not that it was a dangerous or out-of-control place but rather that it was working as it should." 

This quote is relevant because the park is and always has been working completely fine and has not disturbed the community and in many was has probably saved the community a lot of trouble because without the park there would be no place for the homeless to go.