首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about what it and life in it ought to be. Such consensus ca
What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about what it and life in it ought to be. Such consensus ca
admin
2015-02-12
46
问题
What our society suffers from most today is the absence of consensus about what it and life in it ought to be. Such consensus cannot be gained from society’s present stage, or from fantasies about what it ought to be. For that the present is too close and too diversified, and the future too uncertain, to make believable claims about it. A consensus in the present hence can be achieved only through a shared understanding of the past, as Homer’s epics(史诗)informed those who lived centuries later what it meant to be Greek, and by what images and ideals they were to live their lives and organize their societies.
Most societies derive consensus from a long history, a language all their own, a common religion, common ancestry. The myths by which they live are based on all of these. But the United States is a country of immigrants, coming from a great variety of nations. Lately, it has been emphasized that an asocial, narcissistic(自我陶醉的)personality has become characteristic of Americans, and that it is this type of personality that makes for the lack of well-being, because it prevents us from achieving consensus that would counteract a tendency to withdraw into private worlds. In his study of narcissism, Christopher Lasch says that modern man, "tortured by self-consciousness, turns to new therapies not to free himself of his personal worries but to find meaning and purpose in life, to find something to live for". There is widespread distress because national morale has declined, and we have lost an earlier sense of national vision and purpose.
Contrary to rigid religions or political beliefs, as are found in totalitarian(极权主义的)societies, our culture is one of great individual differences, at least in principle and in theory. But this leads to disunity, even chaos. Americans believe in the value of diversity, but just because ours is a society based on individual diversity, it needs consensus about some dominating ideas more than societies based on uniform origin of their citizens. Hence, if we are to have consensus, it must be based on a myth —a vision — about a common experience, a conquest that made us Americans, as the myth about the conquest of Troy formed the Greeks. Only a common myth can offer relief from the fear that life is without meaning or purpose. Myths permit us to examine our place in the world by comparing it to a shared idea. Myths are shared fantasies that form the tie that binds the individual to other members of his group. Such myths help to ward off feelings of isolation, guilt, anxiety, and purposelessness — in short; they combat isolation and the breakdown of social standards and values.
The asocial personality of Americans results from______.
选项
A、the multiracial constituents of the US society
B、the absence of a common religion and ancestry
C、the want of shared myths they possess in life
D、the obstruction of achieving a general agreement
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/v8h7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
NegotiatingSkillsCanBeLearned[A]Managersnegotiatecontinuously,withsuperiors,subordinates,peersandclients.Researche
WemustTrainPeopletoBreaktheRules[A]Layouttheentrails,readomensandauguries,studytheheavens,shakeyourhoarylo
A、Themanshouldstartrunningdaily.B、Shealsopreferstoexerciseintheafternoon.C、It’simportanttowarmupbeforeexerci
Don’tWasteOurOceans[A]Fortoolong,marinelifehasbeenlargelyopenforthetakingbyanyonepossessingthemeanstoexplo
AccompanyingIndia’sindustrialtransformationhasbeenanotherrevolutionofprofoundsignificance.Aproperty-owningmiddlecl
HowExerciseCouldLeadtoaBetterBrainA)Thevalueofmental-traininggamesmaybespeculative,asDanHurleywritesinhisa
HowExerciseCouldLeadtoaBetterBrainA)Thevalueofmental-traininggamesmaybespeculative,asDanHurleywritesinhisa
A、StudentsfromAmerica.B、StudentsfromEngland.C、StudentsfromAustralia.D、StudentsfromJapan.A
A、Theyshouldbeclearaboutwhattheyaregoingtodo.B、Theyshouldturntotheirparentsforhelp.C、Theyshouldignorethec
A、Theyshouldbeclearaboutwhattheyaregoingtodo.B、Theyshouldturntotheirparentsforhelp.C、Theyshouldignorethec
随机试题
债券投资是商业银行最主要的资产,也是其最主要的资金运用。()
地陪导游人员不同于全陪导游人员的职责是()。
持有以下()签证的外国人,可以在签证注明的期限内停留,不需办理居留证件。
结合材料,读图回答下列问题。图中的主要国家是拉丁美洲经济一体化集团的重要成员国。甲国为拉丁美洲人均GDP较高的国家,与中国有良好的贸易关系,2006年8月双方签订了农田灌溉系统建设、矿产品开采、机电生产等多项协议。(2)描述H河中下游的水文特征。
中国有四大海峡,位于最北端的是()。
有5人报名参加3项不同的培训,每人都只报一项,则不同的报法有().
证明奇次方程a0x2n+1+a1x2n+…+a2nx+a2n+1=0一定有实根,其中常数a0≠0.
在路由器执行(64)________________命令可以查看到下面信息。
如果某线性表的结点不等长,但希望能按下标随机存取每个元素,可以采用(33)表示。
内置计算函数Avg的功能是
最新回复
(
0
)