Lesson Eight

We’re Only Human

Dr. Laura C. Schlessinger

Introduction to the background knowledge

The structure of the text

Detailed discussion of the text

Assignments

Teaching Procedures

About the author

.Dr. Laura C. Schlesinger was born in Brooklyn. New York in 1947. She has a Ph.D. in physiology from Columbia University and a post-doctoral certification in marriage, family and child counseling from the University of Southern California, where, upon graduation, she became a faculty member and taught for five years. Dr. Laura Schlessinger is the recipient of many national awards and the author of many New York Times best-sellers, including: Parenthood by Proxy; Don’t Have Them if You Won’t Raise Them.

About The Text

The present text is and excerpt taken from the book “Courage and Conscience”, a book based on Schlessinger’s conversations with her radio callers (She runs a very successful radio program)This essay should be studied with more emphasis on the content. The author here is addressing the problem of moral principles, which is a very important part of our education, and should be particularly interesting for our students at a time when many feel confused and cynical.

The structure of the text

Part 1 (para. 1—7): Brief introduction of humanity

Part 2 (para.8-

23):

Three core elements for a true human

Part 3 (para.24-29): Pleasure principle

Part 4 (para.30): Further probe into conscience

Detailed Discussion of the Text

1.Nobody is acknowledged to have … victims in groups (1)

People no longer admit that every person has a free will to decide to do or not to do, and therefore should be responsible for their actions or behaviors. According to the behaviorist theory, human behavior is a response to external stimulation, and therefore is genes-determined. In this sense human beings have no free will, they are all victims of these external causes as a group.

2. As if one’s humanness… the animal kingdom (2)

As if the fact that we’re human were a kind of detailed plan which determines how we react to situations. This reaction is instinctive and natural just like with all animals, insects, birds.

3.We were put on the earth ro rise above the animal kingdom. （ 3）

God made us to be better than animals. This sentence quoted from Bible is also what the author wants to say.

• 4. …there is something extra …“survival of the me” （ 5）

…there is sth. special about the human mind which can make us go beyond selfish actions which can only be explained by the need for survival.

5…self-advancement and self-indulgence and powerful drives (6)

…the desire to improve yourself, or achieve your purposes and the desire to enjoy life are very powerful, and natural, inborn and instinctive.

6. the investment concept (7):ofen people do things to benefit others ,so that some day those people will do things to benefit them in retort, so what they do to others today is basically a kind of investment. The author here is very critical about this, and she calls it the investment concept.

7.character, which I once heard defined as “what you are when no one else is looking.”(8)

If you do good things when no one is looking it means that you are doing what you’re doing not for returns of any kind but because you feel happier do them. This is now character was once defined, and the author obvious agreed with it.

8.Bachelor party (9)(Ame E): a party for men only, esp the night before a man’s wedding.

9. entertainment type women (9): refers to strippers or prostitutes.

10.the inner drive toward self-indulgence over character(16):

the desire to enjoy life rather than defend once character.11.leap of faith (17): an act of on instance of accepting or

trusting in something that cannot be easily seen or trusted. eg: It requires a leap of faith to pursue this unusual step of

transplanting an animal beat into a human patient.

12.Courage is to life what broth is to soup (18). Courage is as important to life as broth is to soup more.

More egs: (1)The communication network is to the nation what

the nerve system is to a human body. (2)You’re to me what water is to the fish.13.quality time (27): the time you spend giving your

full attention, esp time you spend with your children after work.

14. a gainful pursuit (27): A pursuit is sth you spend a lot of time on such as sport, art, or academic work. A gainful pursuit is a pursuit from which you gain a lot.

15. internalized fear (30): fear that has become part of you through learning or socialization.

16.To impose on/upon sb: to place sth unpleasant on sb.

eg: Teachers sometimes have no choice but to impose strict rules on the students.

1. Finish the exercises after the text.

2. Write a short essay of about 200 words on the topic.

What it Mean to Be Human

You are expected to

1) Provide a definition of the word “human”.

2) List two or three key qualities that convey what it

means to be fully human;

3) Use examples to illustrate each quality.

Assignments